I Reincarnated as the Bastard Prince? Well, At least I'm OP!

Chapter 25: The Snow Eagle

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast of roasted meat, we gathered around the cracking fire to discuss our next move.

"There are seven of us," Raven said. "If we are going to work together, we need to know each other’s names, strengths, and weaknesses."

Raven placed her hand on her chest. "I’ll go first. My name is Raven, from the Southeastern kingdom."

Anais stood up. "And I’m Anais, proud son of a carpenter. All I’m good at is building things, but my real talent is lightning magic. I can generate and redirect lightening."

The girl who skillfully weaved our cloaks raised her hand with poise.

"I’m Pandra Thornewood," she said softly. "Second daughter of House Thornewood."

Everyone caught their breath, shocked.

"Wait, doesn’t House Thornewood control the high seas of the Eastern markets?" Anais said, his jaws dropping. "They’re filthy rich."

Pandra lowered her head modestly. "Please, just treat me equally, the same as you’d do to any ordinary person."

She’s humble and down to earth. A rare traits for a Thornewood.

Pandra added, "I can manipulate water and mists to create illusions. My magic makes puddle seem like a bottomless pit. I still have a lot to learn though."

The panicking girl from the undead dungeon cleared her throat and stood up. She was the eldest amongst us, probably thirteen years old.

"My name is Odessa," she said. "I work with earth magic. Don’t expect much from me."

Two boys faced us. "We are Brody and Hardy. Brothers. Brody and I manipulates both fire and wind magic. With all our powers combined, we can whip up a fire tornado."

Despite all their amazing magic skills, these kids were still inexperienced and weak.

Nothing much is expected out of them. Dawken knew that which was why he rejected them from his party.

But where Dawken saw weakness, I saw potentials.

I’m going to use these kids magic to pass this exam.

Raven glanced at me. "It’s your turn, Archer."

I stood up and addressed the party. "My name is Archer. I hail from King Godfrey III kingdom. The truth is, you all are inexperienced. You don’t have the strength to confront the giant snow eagle. It’s too dangerous and risky."

A tensed silence ensued.

"But what can we do?" Odessa asked. "If we don’t gather the required items, we’ll be disqualified."

I tapped my temple. "We will use our brains. We don’t have to confront the giant snow eagle. You see, I have a plan, and every single of you, has a part to play."

* * * *

Snow eagles are massive and territorial creatures. Their razor sharp talons can shred a person in one full strike.

They nest on high, icy cliffs, making it difficult to approach.

Plucking ones feather requires great skills and insane luck.

The first thing we did, was scout for an eagle’s nest.

There weren’t many Snow eagles around but we found one eventually, high off a cliff.

Due to the extreme cold weather, Snow eagles rarely leave their nest unattended except when it’s time to hunt.

Our snow eagle was nestled in it’s nest, looking unbothered.

We hide in the shadows, spying.

"Okay, we’ve found our eagle’s nest," I turned to the party who looked at me eagerly. "We stick to the plan. Our objective is to pick it’s feathers without getting killed or causing it to flee."

"I’m nervous," Anais said, creasing his brows. "What if it doesn’t work out? Snow eagles are dangerous."

"It will work out just fine," Raven chimed in, boosting the party’s spirit. "If we work together, there’s nothing we cannot achieve."

She has a way with words that keeps everyone fired up.

The party’s spirit lifted.

"Let’s do it," Pandra said, cracking her knuckles.

Everyone dispersed and took up their positions. We communicate through telepathic magic.

When all was ready, Pandra executed the first step of the plan.

Using her magic, she created mist and water illusions of a small herd of deers near the frozen lake.

The Snow eagle saw the herd and decided it was time for lunch.

It spread it’s massive wings and soured away from the nest.

The plan was simple. Distract the eagle long enough to buy us time to sneak into it’s nest.

To do that, we must create a diversion from the fake herd near the lake.

That’s where Brody and Hardy comes in.

Hardy manipulated the wind to combine with Brody’s fire. Together, they summoned a flame tornado.

The snow eagle was startled by the sudden danger. Distracting it from the fake herd below.

This was our chance.

Odessa, Anais and I sneaked towards the eagles nest.

However, despite our best effort, the nest was still high from our reach.

That’s where Odessa’s magic comes to play.

She placed both hands on the ground and chanted a spell.

Suddenly, a portion of the earth grew up like a pillar to the top of the nest.

Once at the nest, Odessa hardens the earth around any loose snow or ice to stabilize the nest.

There were many feathers to choose from in the nest. Feathers of different shapes and sizes.

It was like staring into a Goldmine.

"Alright guys," I rubbed my hands greedily. "Let’s dig in."

We worked quickly, fetching as many small feathers as we could and careful not to crack the snow eagles massive eggs.

This mission was going smoothly, we might just get away with it.

But then—

A screech pierced the sky.

"The eagle’s returning," Raven who was our watch guard below spoke through our mind. "It figured out our trick. Get out of there now."

We all stiffened.

I never imagined snow eagles to be intelligent. It must’ve seen through Pandra’s illusion magic and knew something was wrong.

"This is bad," Odessa lamented. "If it catches us in here, it’d rip us to shreds."

The flapping of the eagle’s wings drew much closer now. It was literally overhead us.

"Archer," Raven’s voice grew more urgent in our heads. "It’s above you!"

The Snow eagle landed with a thud that shook the nest. It looked very furious and suspicious.

It paced around the nest, searching and scratching the surface of the nest.

It found nothing.

Meanwhile, hiding perfectly still at a corner, was us.

My invisibility magic was at work. The other two were sweating profusely, their heart banging against their rib cages.

I on the other hand was calm. If it were just me in the nest, I believe I can take the snow eagle.

It was enormous and deadly, no doubt, but just like other magic creatures I’ve faced, this eagle was a small fry.

However, I cannot risk showcasing my strength yet.

Just when I thought we were going to stay long in the nest, we heard singing.

A sweet, compelling voice from across the lake.

The eagle shot a glance at the frozen lake and sighted a figure in mists and fogs.

"Wait, who is that?" I asked telepathically to Raven.

"I think it’s Pandra," Raven replied. "She’s luring the Snow eagle from it’s nest."

I was stunned. She has such a beautiful voice. Much like a siren.

Pandra’s singing distracted the eagle as it launched into the air, towards the lake, drawn by the voice.

This was our chance. I grabbed Anais and Odessa’s hands and together, we jumped out of the nest, falling straight to the ground.

Before we hit the ground, I casted fly magic which slowed our descent until we landed safely.

Raven rushed out of her hiding place. "Let’s go, guys. This way."

Strapping our bags full of feathers, we followed her, keeping to the trees and avoiding the open clearing.

"Pandra, Hardy and Brody, we have the feathers," I said telepathically. "Call off the distractions and meet us at the log cabin."

"Roger that," they replied in illusion.

Just then, Pandra’s singing stopped and we heard the eagle screech in anger and frustration.

We laughed together. It had just been fooled again.

* * * *

When we arrived at the wood cabin, we spread our bags, spilling the feathers on the table.

There were enough feathers for everyone. It was a big steal.

Raven smiled. "We did it. I knew if we work together we can achieve anything."

"It’s all thanks to your leadership, Raven," Anais said. "And Archer’s brains. I think we might just pass the second stage."

"This calls for a celebration," Odessa said, sighing in relief. "I thought I was done for when the eagle returned. We owe our lives to Pandra and the two brothers."

Just then, the doors opened and Brody and Hardy entered. They looked cheerful and pleased at our haul.

"Wow, you kept your word," Brody said, picking a feather and tickling his brother playfully with it. "Now we don’t have to worry about being eliminated from the exams."

"Don’t get your hopes up yet," Raven said, sorting out the feathers. "We still need to find a strand of ice Giant hairs for each of us. It won’t be easy. We have to think up a better plan. We only have two days left."

I frowned. "Pandra is taking quite long, isn’t she? She’s supposed to be back by now."

This had everyone tensed. Even the two brothers haven’t seen her.

Before we could think of what to do, the doors slammed opened and Pandra stepped in.

Everyone breath a sigh of relief.

"Pandra, what took you so long?" Raven asked. "We were getting worried about you."

Pandra’s eyes were shaking. Her face has turned white and there were sweat beats on her face.

"I’m sorry," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

Dawken entered the cabin with two mages, his sword a tip away from Pandra’s back.

"Well, well, well, what have we got here," he said, a wide smile threatening to split his face.

We all froze in shock. What was Dawken doing here?!