Three weeks. They needed three whole weeks to find the roc's nest. And of course, it was located in the middle of a jagged cliff. If she and Arvog were alone still, she would have honestly just turned around and went to find an easier target.

But now? Ves'ra had access to a stone mage, so tunnelling up to reach their prey's nest wouldn't be a problem. The roc itself was huge, and she guessed it made its nest in a large cave. Good for them. The easiest way to kill it probably involved collapsing the cave mouth, and simply wait for it to starve.

But that'd be stupid, considering they wanted to eat the roc, not get its feathers. So a direct fight it was. Wait. Suffocation would work too.

"Ok, change of plans. We're going to collapse the cave mouth, and I'm gonna fill the cave with unbreathable air. That way we don't have to fight something so dangerous." She explained.

"A good idea. I'll prepare the village." Tes'va said.

"Let's start with making a tunnel and cave for us to use first. It can return any moment and I'd like to have something solid over my head when that thing comes." Ves'ra said.

"Let's." Her second agreed.

Soon enough, the whole village was gathered inside a small cave, happy chatting and eating as they waited. Now, their next mana-filled meal was only a matter of time. Ves'ra herself spend the time to go over some more of the heroine's memories, refining her plan, and waiting.

Two days later the small tunnel towards the roc's nest was finally finished. Ves'ra, along with two other kobolds lay in wait, ready for their prey to come home and go to sleep. They were protected by layers of natural magic, as she feared their prey would be able to detect actual magic.

Soon enough, day became night, and the roc returned. It really was huge!

Brown feathers nearly half as long as a grown kobold protected its body. It had a beak large enough to bite anyone of them in half. From her estimations, the roc was nearly ten metres long, half that tall and had a wingspan of nearly fifty metres. It really was a monster.

They watched as it tore into the prey in its feet, a large deer. Larger than any deer either of them had ever seen. Ves'ra wanted to taste one!

She would have to hunt one down herself though, because she wouldn't go and fail the plan now. And the plan was to wait for the roc to sleep, before attacking. After all, small weak kobolds like them had to use every advantage they had, and that meant the ability to plan, and the option to surprise their prey. This one time at least.

If they failed now though? They’d either be dead, or their prey would be warned. So they had one try, after which they’d probably have to follow their prey for another month or two, to find where it fled to. If they managed to keep up at all, which was doubtful.

The roc went to sleep about an hour after it arrived, obviously sated by the deer it ate. Good, now they only had to wait another hour, to wait until it slept as deep as rocly possible. Slowly, Ves'ra started gathering mana in her core, stopping it from circulating inside of her.

And she started casting a powerful spell. A spell that would take all breathable air and replace it with unbreathable air. And they waited. And waited. Ves'ra could feel her magic working, by now it had filled the cave about half a meter up from the ground. Another few minutes and the roc would breathe in the first of the air.

There. She waited, ready to give the signal to collapse the cave mouth, and bolt, but needed have worried. Their prey didn't so much as twitch as it breathed in the first mouthful of unbreathable air.

They continued waiting, and their prey continued breathing. Slowly, she watched at its breaths got a little slower, shallower. Still, they continued to wait. Something this big wasn't to be messed with. No, they’d wait until the last breath had been at least half an hour ago. Then, they’d collapse the cave mouth, to wake the roc up if it still lived.

Only after that would they leave the safety of their tunnel, and check on their meal. A perfect plan.

Suddenly, that slow breathing roc showed signs of waking up. Its breathing increased in speed, taking in even more of the unbreathable air that nearly filled the cave by now. Slowly, its eyes opened. And it moved its head.

The roc slowly fought itself to its feet, let loose a screeching cry of anger, and took a step towards them. Ves'ra’s heart jumped into her throat, but the roc stumbled taking its second step and lost its footing.

It did not get back up.

“Close the cave, but leave a small hole to I can return actual air in there.” She commanded finally, as the first rays of sunlight shone into the cave.

“Yes, chief.”

Mana left the kobold next to her, passed through stone until it passed the roc. After that, a large wall of stone rose, sealing the cave. The roc did not move. Ves'ra formed a spike of ice, sending it at their prey. No reaction.

Still, she did not move into the cave. Instead, two long arms made of ice slowly formed on her back, and moved into the cave in her stead. One had a hand, while the other had a long spear at its end. She concentrated but saw the bird’s eyes were still open. Did birds even have the eyelids required to blink? No matter.

The spear of ice stabbed forwards, right through the roc’s eye, and deep in its brain. It didn't so much as blink. Ves'ra grinned savagely.

“Fetch the others. We have a feast to consume.” She commanded.

“Yes, chief.”

Ves'ra herself cast another spell and made a strong gust of wind move the unbreathable air out of the cave, drawing breathable air from the tunnel behind them. By the time the other kobolds joined them the air in the cave was breathable again, so long as you didn't bow down.

“Let's get this thing processed, and moved back down. I don't know why, but it cried for something before it died. Probably backup.” Ves'ra said. “And I don't want to be around when that happens. Let's go.”

The kobolds nodded and started working. About half the village plucked the roc’s feathers, with the other half cutting it into pieces and transporting their loot down the tunnel. Ves'ra herself helped too, creating knives of magical ice to cut its flesh. Furthermore she cut both its beak and claws off herself, after the magical knives lost their sharpness too much for anyone but her to use them. After all she could keep them sharp while cutting. They should be good weapons.

They didn't take any bones, birds lacked the solid bones of land-bound animals after all. After that, a big bonfire was lit, and they dug into the raw roc. It tasted glorious. Totally worth nearly dying for. Arvog seemed to agree with her too, and send her a feeling of happiness as he dug into his food.

After she ate her fill Ves'ra carefully threaded the new mana into her channels, noting she was getting close to evolving again. Another monster of the roc’s power and it was time. Perfect. They’d leave the mountains as they fled from the army, shaking any pursuers the roc may have called. They’d need a break after that, process the roc into a useable form, before moving on.

She smiled, things were looking up.