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Nest after nest, I checked, only to fail to find what I was looking for, but that did not mean I came away empty-handed. Turns out that these harpies like to decorate their nest, because their nests are full of shiny and colorful stuff, which mainly consists of man-made items.
I have just finished searching the nests of the mountain peak I started the night with, and my collection of salvage already consists of four different signet rings, two of which I recognize the heraldry, a small jewelry box's worth of other rings, necklaces, and bracelets, and a pouch's worth of silver and gold coins. There is no copper, though. I guess they were not shiny enough.
And the best part of this was that this is just the outermost peak where I think the lowest harpies on the pecking order are. If I continue my scavenger hunt in this manner, this job could turn out to be more lucrative than it has any right to be, not only in monetary value, but politically. I can hand over the signet rings and any other heirlooms I find to Dad so he can exchange favors for their return.
It took me a good two hours and change before I was done with all the nests on the first peak. It took me another hour before I got up to the next peak, but before that, I buried my findings in a crevice before I ascended the next peak.
By the time I was done with the second peak, I still had not found my objective, and by my rough calculation, I did not have enough time to search the nests on a third. So, I came down, grabbed my salvage from the crevice, and made my way to the tree I spied on these harpies from.
After stashing my findings, I climbed the tree and got some shuteye.
***
Sleeping in a tree in the wild was not the most comfortable experience, but with nobody around to watch my back, I could not exactly pitch a tent with a cozy campfire. That was an open invitation for all kinds of animals and monsters to come and get a quick bite, especially if the harpies woke up and saw smoke rising into the sky.
Speaking of harpies, it seems like they are rather agitated this morning. When I extended my spyglass and looked at what was up with them, I saw harpies flying around the two peaks I scavenged last night.
When I concentrated on what the harpies were doing, I saw some of the harpies land near the sleeping harpies to nudge them with their legs, flutter them with their wings, and even peck them, or at least a harpie's version of pecking. They did not have any beaks, so they would lean into the sleeping harpy's feathered plumage, which they had for head hair, and give the sleeping harpy a grooming nibble.
It seemed like the awake harpies were trying to wake the harpies that I had drugged, but even after a few minutes of doing so, they did not wake up.
Just as I was about to put away the spyglass and try to get some sleep, I saw the biggest harpy I had ever seen descend on one of the peaks that I had raided. This new big harpy was twice the size of the other petite harpies, making her the size of a normal adult woman if you took away the huge wings and digitigrade legs.
As for why I say it was a "her", it was mainly because, unlike the rest of the harpies who had an androgynous look that leaned more toward the feminine, this big harpy was THICC in all the right places that no one could mistake.
But her size and Thiccness were not the only differences. No, her overall body plumage was more majestic. She shared the black and white coloring of the other harpies, but her blacks were deeper and more lustrous, her whites shone in the morning sun. However, unlike the other harpies, the tips of her wings were colored a deep emerald that shimmered in the light as her wings moved.
I did not know what this harpy was, but from the way the other harpies are treating it, I could only call it a Harpy Queen.
When the queen descended, the other harpies gestured at the drugged harpies and made their harpy noises that I was too far away to hear. The Harpy Queen closed in on one of the drugged harpies, lifted one of its wings, and let it go, letting it slump back into its nest. Next, she picked up a discarded feather with her surprisingly dextrous foot and put the feather to the sleeping harpy's nose.
When the breathing of the sleeping harpy made the feather move, the Harpy Queen seemed satisfied and made noise at the other harpies, sending them away to be about their day while the Harpy Queen went around inspecting every drugged harpy.
When she was done checking in on each and every drugged harpy, she just sat atop one of the peaks I raided and kept vigil over the drugged harpies.
I was tempted to go back to sleep now that the Harpy Queen was just sitting there doing nothing, but this was new and unexpected, and she could be a potential foe in my search for my prize… hell, she might even be in the Harpy Queen's nest for all I know. The fact that I did not see her during my two days of scoping out the area means that she is most likely from the inner peaks, and either I missed her or she just didn't need to move.
As I kept watching, it eventually became late morning. That was when the first of the drugged harpies began to stir, waking up groggily. Before it realized what was happening, the Harpy Queen was upon it, checking and grooming it like a newborn chick. As the other drugged harpies started to awaken, the harpies flying around took the Harpy Queen's cue and began to check and groom their waking sisters.
I had read that harpies were social creatures, but I was not expecting this level of social group care. Could it be the influence of the Harpy Queen? I am going to need to get in touch with someone who specialises in ecology, maybe there is a professor back at the Royal Academy I can write to ask some questions.
When the drugged harpies were fully awake, they left the nest in a hurry to do some hunting before the day ended.
As for me, it was time I got some shuteye so I can resume my search tonight.