[Cards] Rocborne Rod (Patreon)

They thought the old man was senile.

He presented himself as a guide to the mountains, but these men wanted nothing but to trick him and poach for rumored roc eggs along the mountain.

"Is it true that these mountains are home to majestic rocs? We'd love the opportunity to study their natural habitat," they smiled. Smiles sickly sweet and fake, filled with malice. The old man simply smiled back. He walked with the help of a weird looking rod. Surely, it would be easy to ditch and outrun him later on.

They reached the peak of the mountain, but they didn't find any rocs. Maybe the rocs weren't home today, but it didn't matter. Touring through the mountain, the men had figured out the probable hiding spot of the eggs. Halfway down the mountain, three of the men went missing. Of course, it was a ruse. In the confusion, the men pretended to start panicking and running off in different directions.

The men had regrouped and rushed into the nest's hiding spot. They were surprised that instead of the nest, they found the old man waiting for them. He was keener than they thought, and they had walked right into his trap.

"The rocborne will not let you harm the little ones," the old man said, still smiling. A smile sickly sweet, but genuine. There was no malice in his smile.

Suddenly, the men felt a strong rush of wind around them blowing them upward. They were helpless, completely under the mercy of this accursed mountain and its old caretaker. As quickly as it arrived, the winds dissipated, and they all fell to the ground with a loud collective thud. The last thing they saw was the old man, aloft, with his weird winged rod, before everything faded to black.