The below is a record written by witnesses following the Yellow Bird of the Cerulean Coast, as she began her journey joining The Oracle's Chosen.
Harpies on the Track (Part II)
As the harpies continue their attack, the Oracles Chosen plus Xan and Corinna take action. Calliope and Xan rush towards the fight, as Corinna throws a dagger at one of the harpies. Xan takes aim and hits one of the near threats, grazing its wings. It screams in anger but does not falter. Xan looks around at the bridge. It is a huge drop into a rushing river, Xan suspects even she may not survive the drop if she falls.
One of the harpies screams out a song, and some of the runners are enthralled by it, walking slowly towards certain death. One of the harpies swoops into where Xan is standing and whacks her with a club. She blocks it but the club hits her arm hard.
Xan sees one of the runners standing nearby to her climb up onto the side of the bridge, she shouts a ‘NO! At him but it seems the spell breaks just in time. He stands confused on the bridge edge.
They battle on. Xan takes the harpy out who caused her pain, watching it fall to its death over the side of the bridge. She cannot see the bottom but hears it hit the rushing water. She turns to Theo and shouts a noise of jubilation.
A few seconds later she sees Theo run forward, grappling a ball of rope in his hands. He throws his hands up and lightning flies across the empty space on the other side of the bridge. A harpy screams.
Alke appears by Xan’s side and maneuvering around her, casts a barrage of spells towards the other harpies, eliminating them with seeming ease.
Xan hears a slash and war cry from Calliope down the bridge, and though she can’t see what is going on she can tell there is a swift blade work and clever tactics going on to take out these enemies.
Braz mutters something under his breath as a larger harpy flies towards them, and is surrounded by some sort of glowing lights to battle this evil.
Xan sees what Hippofilius was talking about - these are powerful companions who should not be underestimated.
The big harpy launches forward and Xan runs up, stabbing her favourite spear directly into its centre mass. A direct kill.
But the harpy doesn’t falter, in fact, it was as if Xan never attacked. She freezes.
Alke steps back and lifts her hands with a worried look on her face. She throws flames towards the large harpy and Braz. He turns and shouts in fear at Alke as his fur is singed. The harpy shouts something about Braz’s bloodline and screeches off into the distance, abandoning its battle. Hearing Calliope’s battle cries, Xan runs at speed down the bridge towards where she can see Hippofilius and Calliope facing down the final harpy. She shoots an arrow over the 60-foot length of the bridge as she runs, hitting the harpy on its arm and scaring it away.
Corrina shouts for help - she grabs a rope and throws it down into the ravine to retrieve Pavlos. Xan, without question, hangs onto the rope and carries herself down to the bottom. She finds a deceased Pavlos face down in the shallow water. She looks up at the waterfall and the water that snakes around the ravine. The beauty of the water and the death at her feet reminds her of the harshness of the seas. She ties Pavlos back onto the rope and tugs on this to bring them back up.
The party, with their lost runner, make their way to the finish line.