(rip aiolos)

As Aiolos spotted the Bywark, a rollercoaster of emotions surged through his brain. First surprise, then fear, then caution, and then... something else. CoopSomething within Aiolos urged him to take down this beast. It was over 25m tall for sure, it had eight thick legs and violent nature, and for some reason, Aiolos wanted it dead. With the gyrfalcon-construct distracting it, Aiolos didn't have to worry about being targetted while he set his trap.

Initially, the length of rope Aiolos now held in his hands was meant for the giant. Aiolos, however, had plenty of cash; he could easily head back to village, buy more rope and head back into the forest. That is, if he survived this encounter.

Aiolos would survive. Without Aiolos, the Daeceran manor and the Daeceran family would never be rebuilt. Determination flared in Aiolos' eyes: "I will not die."

Then, the plan set in motion. Aiolos moved out of the Bywarks sight, using a gyrfalcon-construct or two to distract it while he did so. Then, he set up a field of tripwires with the rope he had brought with him by wrapping it around the trees. The field was big enough so, even if it trampled down some of the trees with ropes around them, it would not be able to take them all down, even with its large body.

Aiolos made sure to move out of the field of tripwires before sending the gyrfalcons towards it in the hopes of luring the bywark. Judging by its behavior, at least, it didn't seem very smart. This meant that Aiolos could, to some extent, predict how it would move. With this knowledge, Aiolos tried to move just close enough so he wouldn't get trampled by the beast but would still be relatively close to its head when it fell.

(fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck)

On the inside, Aiolos was beginning to panic. On the outside, however, he seemed almost calm, save for his eyes darting all over the place. The beautiful thing about his gyrfalcon-constructs, he'd found, was that they served very well as distractions. So, he began to double down on distracting the bywark, leading it in the opposite direction of where Aiolos was. Even if the plan had failed, Aiolos would not forfeit his life.

His initial plan had failed. Fine. The adrenaline pumping through Aiolos' veins had not died down yet, however, so he'd keep on going. First, Aiolos decided to make some distance behind the bywark.

The adrenaline seemed to be getting to Aiolos' head. Not that he cared too much, however. As soon as he untangled himself, he continued to make distance while keeping an eye on the status of his gyrfalcon-constructs. In the meantime, he created another. Even if all the gyrfalcon-constructs fell, it would be of no consequence as he could simply create another to take its place. He had to stay within his maintenance limit, however.

The seemingly endless amount of shadows Aiolos could use as gateways overshadowed problems like the light shining on the lake. With some quick thinking, Aiolos went a little deeper into the forest while he maneuvered behind the bywark.