No, the tree wasn't moving.
Only its crown was moving.
And the crown was moving because a bird had burst out of it!
Judging by what Rhode remembered seeing in the game, this should have been a carrion vulture.
Black feathers covered its entire body, except for a small tuft of white on its head. Its beak, tail feathers, and talons were red.
But shouldn't carrion vultures live in places like Westfall? Why were they here too?
And why was it so big? This world really wasn't quite the same as the game.
Oh, perhaps its wings were just enormous, making it look especially imposing to anyone below.
As it swooped down, it spread its wings so wide they seemed to blot out the sky. The sunlight between the branches vanished in an instant, replaced by darkness.
And through that darkness, a pair of blood-red eyes met Rhode's gaze.
Then the carrion vulture opened its mouth. Its pointed beak split apart, revealing rows of tiny, sharp teeth, and a long tongue flicked out.
Rhode had assumed carrion vultures generally attacked by biting or swiping with their talons. He hadn't expected it to look as though it wanted to swallow him whole.
For some reason, it reminded Rhode of the Giant Vulture in Black Cat Detective that ate little animals.
How terrifying.
But Rhode was no little animal. He was a powerful mage.
So a ball of light was already shining in his hand, and he fired three shots straight at the carrion vulture in rapid succession.
"Kraa, kraa, kraa-"
The carrion vulture shrieked in pain.
But the black-feathered brute was remarkably tenacious. Its charge barely slowed, and it kept hurtling toward Rhode with flames still flickering on its forehead and wings.
Just what I was waiting for.
Rhode had already