I am not amused

This is chapter number four out of ten, still going strong, I feel like I have it in me to write one more today, it's a Saturday at night so I got nothing better to do anyway, well here I go onto number five.

Have a good one and remember, if the novel gets like 100 pps by Friday I will do a triple release on the weekend.

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Having done everything I could, including the act of giving a pep talk to an unsentient summon I prepare mentally for what is to come.

With a twitch of my arm, the wannabe eagle bolts upwards and disappears in the darkness. Its order is simple, head in the direction of the forest and tell me when you get there.

While I wait I might as well make sure the fire doesn't die out, first thing first I put my now dry shoes back on, they feel very nice after a few hours of trekking through the snow.

Then I get up, have a look around, and start gathering the small pieces of dry wood thrown around on the ground, it does not take long until a pile of them is formed and ready to be used.

Taking a seat back on the warm log I use the old metal fire poker to move around the coals.

''I wonder where the guys are at''. My guards haven't returned yet, I feel like it's been a bit too long, hopefully, they didn't ditch me, I feel like we became friends, well, somewhat friends, more like mutual respect, yeah let's leave it at that.

Thinking about getting abandoned again doesn't do a lot for me, thankfully it doesn't last long as I feel the connection I had to the summon being moved.

It's time.

Before leaving I throw some more wood in the fire, wouldn't wanna freeze to death while not paying attention.

With a tug I am no longer in the dark warehouse, at least mentally, I am now flying above the top of trees, they are as majestically purple as always.

There are a few differences tho, the first one is the feeling that my vision range increased, it's hard to tell while I'm moving but I think that it is possible to see a couple of treetops further than before.

The second one is the speed, the wannabe eagle is a lot faster than the crow, he does feel more sluggish tho, in a good way, it's like a car with a loose steering wheel and one with a normal stiffer one, feels better in my opinion.

It doesn't take long for me to find the clearing with the body, I don't even stop the summon but have it fly in circles above the area, there's no need to land.

From above I'm able to see the undisturbed body, it stopped snowing so it was still uncovered, as perfectly juicy as any bait gets.

It is now or never. While willing the bird to fly deeper into the forest I take one last look at the body swiftly leaving my vision, a pang of guilt hits me, just like that one time I broke my friend's bicycle, for the record, I still feel bad for that.

Soon, I am in uncharted territory, all I am able to see are trees and snow, no rocks in sight, mostly because they are covered by the snow, I order the summon to get closer to the treetops, as it does so I see what looks to be a movement to the left, must've been the wind, yeah, sure.

After what feels like several hours have passed, well, realistically it's more like half an hour, I decide to risk it by ordering it to get even closer, there's been no success yet, only the 'wind' knocking snow off the trees.

I just need the 'wind' to get closer, more invested.

As the falcon gets into position flying right above the trees, close enough to have to avoid some of the taller ones for fear of hitting them, it finally happens.

My back straightens and I can feel myself starting to sweat heavily, there's one right behind me right now, very, very close.

A monstrosity like I've sadly seen before, large, robust, and very very unappealing. The white combination of a wolf with a crocodile and some dinosaur sprinkled in is looking straight up while running.

It is miraculously avoiding all the trees even while its eyes are clearly on the figure of the moving summon.

It seems very aware of its surrounding, I may have underestimated it.

Slowly the summon starts changing course and heading back towards the trap, the thing hasn't gained or lost any distance yet, it is clearly not giving its all, it is satisfied keeping pace, probably thinking that the 'bird' would eventually tire and that would be the moment to strike.

Smart, a bit too smart, this isn't going to work at all.

Soon I can see a familiar area, the summon must have just passed the trap and reached around where the sled got stuck, there are still footprints on the ground belonging to us from earlier today, so I tell it to correct course.

It does so and to my chagrin, it slows down a bit due to the sudden direction change, the damned Vulnog takes that very moment to strike.

I could see it perfectly as the monstrosity pounced on a tree, which very promptly bent like a twig before launching itself straight up towards my summon, its massive jaws were wide open and I could see several rows of very sharp looking teeth heading towards me.

Duck, duck damnit, that's the order I gave, go down as fast as you can. The summon obliges and seems to stop mid-air, it folds its wings and dives towards the forest ground, some branches hit it on the way down, I can instantly feel that it is compromised, the bird will vanish in minutes.

Thankfully the bait is in sight already so I have it go as hard as possible, structural integrity be damned, and the bird follows my instruction to the letter. Even while falling it opens its wings to gain altitude again, the pressure is too much and I can feel the right one snap right off, turning into mana as it separates from the summon.

At least it served its purpose, the summon was no longer falling, it momentarily gained stability before starting to spin out of control, it was doomed, didn't even respond to my controls anymore.

As my vision was spinning I briefly saw the bait right under the vanishing body of the summon for only a moment, and that means if I saw it then the fur-wearing thing also saw it.

With a surge of will, I command the summon to do one last thing, plunge down, directly into the ground, it kind of listened as the vision angle changed, the whole world was upside down yet still spinning, and behind me, was the damned thing rushing right at the bait.

It leaped into the air the same it did when going for the bird and plunged maw down onto the body, the Vulnog bit into it, I could briefly see fluorescent purple colors splattering all around, that's blood.

And as the Vulnog took a bite of its prey the bark shattered under it, plunging the heavy body down into the trap, for a moment I swear there was something akin to surprise in its eyes.

A triumphant feeling arose inside me as the summon crashed onto the ground turning itself into a cloud of mana and sending me back to my body.

Feeling my limbs again I don't even open my eyes and jump up to my feet while concentrating as much mana as I could to create another summon.

It happens almost instantly this time, the mana flows cleanly, probably due to the extreme amount of overconfidence I am feeling right now. My cape flaps and the falcon comes out accompanied by a cacophony of scared shouts.

Wrily my eyes snap open and I find myself by the fire pit, only now I am no longer alone, I am surrounded by giants, eight of them to be exact, it seems none of the left me this time, that's good.

With what I would consider to be a bloodthirsty grin on my face I shout at them. ''Calm down!''. They don't listen.

''Calm down and prepare yourselves, we are leaving!''. My surroundings were in chaos as a giant that was in the way of the falcon gets scared of its approaching figure and dodges backward falling on his back, arms flailing in the air as he hits the ground.

That gets rid of my smile and puts a frown on my face, what's up with these guys, they ruined my moment with all the grunts of panic.

With the frown on my face deepening, I look for someone that could solve this situation, namely Vun, he was standing arms crossed over his massive beard while he stared into the direction the bird flew.

Let's try this again.

''Silence, silence I said!''. They still didn't listen. ''Vun'' I shouted. ''Deal with them''. He looked at the giants talking loudly among themselves then at me, he nodded simply and made a grunting noise.

He then proceeded to walk over to the fallen giant and grab him by the shoulder lifting him up, the youngling said something that I couldn't hear over the other ones before he took his eyes off Vun and looked at me.

I was staring right back at him and as I did so, the surrounding area quieted down, everyone was staring at me right now, Ubam, that I just discovered was behind me was making some sort of noise that, if it were to be associated with a human, would be a giggle, a low gurgling sound that kinda made my chest vibrate.

''What's so funny''. I asked. ''Mind sharing?''. It better be a good one, your buddies ruined my moment.

Ubam stops and looks over at the youngling being held by the shoulder by Vun.

''Boss, he said he's willing to work for free if you don't curse him with the demon birds''

I am not amused.