As they tossed down the anchor, Max heard the question about fleshpeckers, asked by Cross in an unusually wary tone of voice.  He turned away from the smoke billowing out of the Redloch ship and felt his attention drawn immediately to a number of shapes soaring through the air towards them. He squinted as they drew closer, and he recognized the creatures, things he'd only heard of in stories before. He never thought he'd meet them in person- or rather, he'd hoped a meeting would never take place.<br/><br/>He saw beaks that appeared to be made of solid metal, gleaming in the light; on some of the larger specimens he could see wings that were tipped with metal as well, growing more discernible as they closed the distance. He drew his pistol, a weapon equipped with arcane rounds that carried a powerful electric shock with a small radius of effect; if he could get a cluster of them together, he could potentially take multiple birds out with one shot. He lifted his firearm and took aim, his hand shaking slightly as he leveled his arm out in front of him.