Warm wind caresses my face as I exit the gazebo. The men follow me out in rows of two. There are six of us here today. Henry and I came to the decision to limit how many soldiers we brought into the dungeon, so as to ensure nobody could be forgotten among the crowd. Only the most capable are here today.

  "Captain Dirk, Look! There's rabbits!"

  Scratch that--almost everyone here is capable.

  "Yes, Billy, I know. Did you not listen during the briefing?"

  "I listened Captain! Just was surprised to see it in person, is all."

  Some of the other men look like they agree with him by the way their wide eyes are taking in the surrounding area. I can't blame them. This place isn't what any of us expected to find within the dungeon's dark corridors.

  "Billy, I expect you to be in the vanguard with me."

  "Of course!"

  "Henry, you're in charge of surveying. Make sure that map is as accurate as you can get it."

  "Yes, Captain Dirk!"

  "Alright. Stay sharp."

  Having reminded my subordinates of their duties, I turn to face the grassy field. Rabbits bound through the meadow a fair distance from us. They duck into their burrows when we get too close, and emerge once we've walked far enough away.

  It doesn't take long for us to reach the edge of the field. Here, we can look out across the entirety of the valley. Brown rocky cliffs form a barrier at the edges of the valley. Leafy gnarled trees populate the forest below. Greenish blue water fills both a flowing river and lake.

  "It's awfully green here, isn't it?" Henry observes.

  He's right. The trees, water, and grass are all a vibrant shade of green.

  "I suppose that's what we'll call it, then. Green Valley."

  The men nod. Somehow, all of us agree that this place should be called Green Valley. Rare to have Billy agree with the senior soldiers on something like this.

  Crouching down, I inspect the drop off. It's a sheer cliff face. We're standing on a plateau a lethal distance up off the base of the valley floor. I lay on my stomach, scooting until my arms are hanging down off the edge. A cursory inspection of the rock reveals no glaring faults in the stone, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

  "Stay back from the edges, we don't know how stable the ground here is."

  Back on my feet, I resume guiding our party. We move along the edge of the plateau with a few meters between us and the edge. Several more rabbits make an appearance, prompting a suggestion from the ever eager Billy.

  "Captain, what if we hunted those bunnies? Could make for a good meal!"

  "Not a bad idea, Billy."

  With a side objective in mind, I assign a pair of our best sharpshooters to use their crossbows on the rabbits. Thankfully the rabbits are large enough that a crossbow bolt won't obliterate all the meat. We move silently, watching for the less cautious bunnies.

  I stop, raising my hand to signal the others to cease movement. Ahead of us is a particularly fat rabbit. The white fluffy thing is munching on the grass idly, but its eyes and ears twitch with an alertness that only a prey animal can boast.

  One of the crossbowmen raises his crossbow, and takes the shot.

  With a soft thump and a cry of anguish, the rabbit goes still. We move over to it swiftly in our eagerness for a meal. Unfortunately, someone else has their eyes set on our meal. A shadow passes over our heads. Talons bury themselves in the body of the rabbit. A great hawk has descended to snatch our rabbit!

  "What the- that hawk is huge!" Billy exclaims.

  "Crossbows! Reload, now!"

  The sound of bolts being loaded is drowned out by the shrieking cry of the hawk. It wings to the sky, the fat rabbit held tight in its vice-like grip. The thing's size is hard to gauge from this distance. It could be as big as a dog, or as large as a horse.

  Strings twang as the two men beside me fire their crossbows at the hawk. Both bolts miss, soaring away and plunging uselessly into the lake. I click my tongue in annoyance. That hawk is far out of reach, soaring toward the gazebo's roof.

  "Keep your crossbows loaded. There might be more of those big hawks."

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  The men nod, the ones with crossbows looking far more demoralized than those without. Billy makes some odd noises--I look to him, finding the boy hemming and hawing over something he must think is more important than my orders.

  "What are you huffing about, Billy?"

  "Well, Captain, I was thinking..."

  "Finally. Go on?"

  "Wasn't that hawk more great than it was big? Felt grand, you know, for a hawk."

  Sighing, I ignore Billy's ramblings. I don't want to admit that his observation is resonating with me as well. That thing was certainly great in both stature and skill. To be able to swoop down and snatch our catch from us unscathed is no small feat.

  "We're resuming our march. I want to check out the cliff wall."

  We move across the plateau with cautious glances aimed skyward. The fear of another great hawk swooping down for an easy meal is weighing on some of the more fearful men. I can't blame them for their nervousness--that hawk could probably drag someone off the edge of the plateau, if it so wished.

  Our march comes to a stop as we reach the cliff wall. This somewhat circular valley is bordered by these rugged cliffs on all sides. Henry is the most interested in the natural wall of stone. He studies it while the more excitable soldiers trade gossip.

  "Captain Dirk!" Henry suddenly shouts.

  I turn to look at him. He isn't looking at me, instead he's looking skyward. We grew complacent after reaching the cliff wall, and failed to notice the many nests lining the high rocky outcroppings. Three great hawks are dropping toward us like stones.

  "Enemies! Crossbows, aim high!"

  The pained cry of one of the men reaches my ears before I finish giving the order. I whirl around to find an older man crumpled to the ground. He's holding his hand over several large deep gashes, likely caused by those great hawks' talons.

  My sword is out of its sheath in an instant. I turn just in time to slice a great hawk in half, my sword cleaving the beast in twain. It lets out a guttural squawk as it dies. The third hawk is now my top priority-

  "Agh! Fuck!"

  Billy has a nasty round across his face. It looks like the great hawk got his eye, and some of his forehead. He's bleeding quite badly. Somehow, the boy is still standing. I curse under my breath before barking out orders to the men.

  "Henry, take a crossbow and shoot those hawks down! You two are on medical duty, bandage those wounds! The rest of you ready your weapons and stay on guard!"

  Henry wrenches a crossbow out of the shaking hands of one of the crossbowmen. The other crossbow wielding soldier aims up, and fires the weapon. The air whistles past the bolt as it soars up. Miraculously, it hits its target. A great screeching cry is heard as the great hawk sways lopsidedly in the air. The thing is too hurt to stay in the air.

  I sprint to where the great hawk is about to land before it plummets. The last remaining great hawk moves higher into the air, avoiding a bolt from Henry. The injured great hawk hits the ground a few paces in front of me. I leap upon it, my sword piercing its body savagely. The thing lets out a few strangled shrieks before finally dying.

  A shrill cry from high above grabs my attention, making me look up.

  Shadows loom over me. I feel my blood run cold for a moment as I stare up in horror. The number of great hawks has increased. Ten fresh and uninjured hawks are flying straight toward us, and they don't seem happy.

  One look at the men is enough to tell me we need to retreat. Two men are gravely injured, one is scared out of his wits, and there are eleven great hawks.

  "Retreat!" I shout.

  The men are quick to follow my orders. The unarmed crossbowman helps Billy walk toward the gazebo. Henry and the other crossbowman are working together to carry our unconscious swordsman. I take up the rear, grabbing and loading a crossbow as I cover their retreat.

  The first bolt I fire hits, causing a bird to drop out of the sky.

  An especially fast hawk zips toward me, its talons bared. I don't have the time to dodge it. Instead of dodging, I let my legs fall out from under me. The great hawk is so caught off guard its talons wind up buried in the soil behind me.

  I whirl around and brandish my sword. The bird isn't able to escape my strike as I slice its neck cleanly. Pain suddenly blooms in my shoulder. One of the hawks crows as it wheels up and away after slicing open my upper back. I grit my teeth, turning to face the flock of birds.

  Another eager hawk swoops down to face me, but this time my back isn't turned. It's body is partially bisected horizontally, the thing's corpse falling in a heap beside me. The death of their kin slows the other hawks' assault.

  "Henry! Is everyone safe?"

  For a moment I worry Henry is too far to hear me. Thankfully, that isn't the case, as he calls out from the stairs.

  "We're out of combat, Captain Dirk!"

  "Good! Don't let them die on me!"

  Another pair of great hawks descend to take a stab at my bleeding body. They're attacking in unison, a strategy that is frighteningly intelligent for a couple of oversized birds. I tighten my grip on my sword until my knuckles turn white.

  The hawk's talons are coming at me fast, but I don't need to be faster. I raise my blade like a spear aimed directly at one of the two incoming birds. The bird's momentum kills it, its body impaled on my sword like a grotesque kebab.

  Unfortunately the other bird is unharmed. I knew it would most likely hit me, but I chose to let it target my uninjured side just in case. Now I've got two bloody sets of gashes on either shoulder. The dizziness is getting to be a problem, but I can keep going a bit longer.

  My feet slip backwards as I stumble toward the stairs. I'm unsure if the great hawks will follow me down the spiral stairs, but I know for certain they won't be able to squeeze through the stone doorway.

  A rather large great hawk screeches from high above. I tense a bit, watching the frighteningly large specimen do a few loop de loops in the air. The thing dives for me like an arrow. The thing's bladed talons are approaching much faster than any prior attack.

  Taking a deep breath, I swing my sword.

  There's a wet squelch and a heavy thud. My breath comes out in erratic gasps as I glance at the headless corpse of the hawk. Even if it was bigger, it wasn't much smarter than its brethren.

  "That's for Billy's eye," I mutter, spitting on the dead bird.

  Suddenly I'm standing on smooth stone. Relief floods me as I realize I've managed to back up all the way to the gazebo. Much to my surprise, the great hawks have also started to fly away. I don't have much time to celebrate. I'm losing a lot of blood.

  This place is far more dangerous than I thought.