This time, we took the north road, leaving as soon as we had our equipment ready. Blago gave me an iron helmet, one that does not cover my face, only around my head, and told me to not get any more armor as it would slow me down.
“Speed is your friend, you overachiever. Now go, and this time, actually kill something.”
He made sure to give findal forearm bracers to Meuko, saying it would help avoid any meaningless damage to her hands when she hits things. Findal is a material we use in the Village instead of leather, thanks to the Hunters’ magic and expertise.
Blago once showed me the process he went through… I was not paying attention that much. It was rather obvious I did not want to learn skills like that one. Anyway, Meuko barely even took those bracers. Apparently, a shirt and trousers is all she needs.
Sylvar had his gear ready. The same clothes he wore in the previous fight. He replenished his arrows and took some rope with him. Exactly. Sylvar guided us through forests so dark, we could barely see the light coming through.
Sometimes, the trees looked like they were fighting each other for space. I asked Sylvar about it and he said that sometimes nature fights against itself for sunlight and water. I do not know much about life… I mean, I have never left the few houses that I call Village since I was born. This life, however, seems hard... and now I am finally a part of it.
After what seems like three or four hours, we reached the base of the mountain. I do know mountains, they are visible all around the Village. South is the only place that does not lead directly to them. I am filled with questions but thankfully, Meuko and Sylvar seem to be in the mood to talk… I hope.
“So… how did Travlon reach us so fast?”
“What?” Meuko again seemed to follow my thinking “you are right...”
“What do you mean?” Sylvar is back to his calm and caring tone.
“If it took us a few hours to reach Hollis, how did he arrive fast enough for us to get to that cart in time, travel through woodland, without the goblins killing her?” I might be a bit suspicious, but I do not like this guy, his mood being one of the reasons.
Nothing personal.
“Well, my friends Volter and Meuko… you might not know much about the use of magic, but some people can use it to travel great distances in an instant. You have seen Julielle perform her healing arts, correct?”
We both nod in agreement.
Julie’s magic is warm and kind, saving me from many an injury pretending to be a hero, jumping from roof to roof, even though most of the houses are distant from each other. I was a problematic kid, I guess.
Meuko was always there to scold me and remind me that I am only a brat. The true nature of an overprotective “big sister”. Things changed a bit after Sylvar arrived. Three years ago, a hungry elf appeared, brought in by the Hunters. That is the company of three people, named Eadwald, Modesta and our Leader… Alayne.
Their job is handling problems like the one we are in right now, but I should focus on my friend with the bow. Sylvar does not spend so much time with the rest of the Villagers. He runs as soon as he finds a reason to help them but he is not one to engage in small talk, unless its Julie we are talking about.
Those two have been close friends ever since he first came to our Village. That is why he only keeps two chairs at his house. She often spends time there, where he is most comfortable. It is good that they found each other. I feel like I lost track of time. Better focus.
“My sister can heal wounds but you are talking about insane speeds of traveling, Outsider.” Meuko sighs in disbelief.
“Well, I do not think it is about speed at all... You see, I believe this type of magic can instantly transfer you to a place you know well. It is called teleportation.”
That definitely makes me curious.
“Wow, where did you read that?” Even I can tell my eyes are wide open in excitement. “Do tell, my friend Sylvar.” I mock.
“Oh, I cannot do that, I am afraid. I can talk about magic but not where I found that information from. I am deeply sorry, my friends.”
“Sounds fishy.” Meuko spends no time beating around the bush.
I guess we had enough of that today.
“Come on, there must be something that you can tell us ab-” My excitement is cut short.
“I said no. Do not make me repeat myself. I have been nothing but respectful towards you. I expect the same kind of respect from you.”
Sylvar’s kind visage cannot mask the serious tone his voice has. I should not ask further questions about this magic. Does not matter. I have other questions.
“There is one other thing...” I try to move on from that awkward exchange. “When we mentioned saving his wife, Travlon tried to dissuade us. As if… He does not want us to save her. He even questioned Julie’s ability to actually save Hollis if we get her the griffin egg. Also, what is a griffin?”
“Hey Volt… one at a time please.” Meuko says. “But… you are right about Travlon on that… Who questions the only healer we have?”
“I am sure he is merely worried of our potential injuries or worse… death”
“Way to bring the mood down, Outsider.”
“Remind me, Sylvar, what are we worried about this time?” I need to move on from awkward exchanges. “Is it goblins again?”
“I would imagine not this time. I do believe I can talk about griffins, so I can prepare you a bit.”
What does he mean by that? He could not talk about teleportation but he can talk about griffins, what is up with that? I need to focus.
“Griffins, you see, are large, eagle-like beasts that happen to have two arms that they use to feed on corpses, two legs to stand on when they want to look threatening and… Trust me, they are. They also have large wings-” He spreads his thin arms as far as he can. “Larger than this. Your knives will not pierce their fur all the way to the skin, so use the goblin knife instead. Meuko should have the force to break a bone or two. Taking the egg while the female is there will be next to impossible. That mother will do anything for her egg. We would probably need to distract her. After that, running as far down the mountain as possible will be vital. They are territorial beasts so they should remain away from us if we reach the thick part of this forest. That means we will be climbing up slowly for about half an hour and we will need to run back down here, safely… As you can see-”
“Not impossible.” Meuko cuts him short.
“Not the words I would use.” I say rather cowardly. I cannot help it. “You just said the female would do anything for the egg. Would they go outside their territory? Will we die right here among the trees if they do?”
“That is… Questionable. No one said it would be easy. We can only hope they would prefer defending their lair rather than hunting us.”
“They?” I make my worry clear.
“How many?” Meuko is really direct.
“The male should be out hunting.”
“Great...” my voice breaks. “Shall we?” All three of us looked at the side of the mountain we were supposed to climb.
This test is harder than I thought.
I honestly expected the mountain to have more… character to it. It was fairly simple. There was a dirt road, enough for two people, or one Meuko, to pass through, a few rocks and it had the same pattern. The road started from the left side of the base of the mountain and went upwards to the right and then it would switch to upwards to the left and so on and so on.
That is all. Hardly an adventure to climb. My legs had a different reaction, however, one more similar to… pain and suffering.
“Why is there a road here? This is supposed to be a griffin lair.”
“Does not matter. Just climb.” Meuko… what else is there to say about her? She does know how to lead by example though. She is first this time around, then me and last, our trusty bow user.
“This must be where the goblins tread, I think.” Meuko says.
“Great… More goblins. I want to talk to Travlon after I save his wife. I want three times my share of berries. I deserve them. Even if he does not want to have his wife saved.” I make sure to let the irony fall through my voice.
Never can trust Sylvar to take a hint.
“I am not so foolish, as to not see your intentions, my friend Volter. Try to remember, it was I that saw how wounded you were this morning and it is I that makes sure your knives are always ready to use.” I guess he has a point.
I look back to notice his expression. Same as always. Caring and kind.
“Not to worry, my friend Volter… I really like you too.” Sylvar says.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“How did- right, you are you. Thank you… for having my back during the fight earlier this day. I froze.” I say.
“Do not beat yourself over it, Volt. Freezing is natural, but you did not even freeze. You took a step forward and helped, that is what counts.” Meuko says.
Maybe she was worried about our little argument while running. If it was even that. She is a leader. Not that I know the qualities of one. She is my big sister. Why am I getting emotional? Must be tired. This day never ends.
“I will always cover you Volt, prom- shhh.” she waves at us to crawl, then makes a gesture to get next to her.
That is when we see it. This road leads to a few different paths, winding up and down of this mountain. It also leads to the infamous lair. One made of branches, months worth of wood gathering. We are supposed to get into that.
The lair is as tall as Meuko and thick as two tree trunks, which could be Meuko, if you ask me. She is big. The lair… Focus. We slowly walk towards the lair, passing a crossroads. One path leads west towards the inside of the mountain with a few trees, the other leads east towards fallen logs and more uneven ground paths to tread.
Every path has big rocks scattered around, almost as if they fell from higher ground and some of the trees in this area look rotten and unstable. The thin dirt line ahead is the one we want.
“I do not hear any breathing inside the lair.” Sylvar has closed his eyes, focusing like never before.
I suppose he feels the pressure as well. My heart pounds so loud, I can almost forget the fact that my body hurts. Almost.
“One thing left. Climb.” Meuko offers her hands for me to use as a boost.
I would love to say no, but I am not that proud, or stupid. Make a wrong move, and things could go extremely bad, awfully fast. Sylvar did not need any help as he nimbly worked his way up the lair. Meuko jumped in last.
We all stand in silence. Horrified. The griffin is there, right next to a weird pulsating object with glowing veins. The egg. Sylvar unexpectedly breaks silence. He is the one most horrified, yet he is brave enough to raise his voice.
“The female… It is dead. How?”
“How do you know? Talk quietly.” I whispered, more scared than I ever was before.
That griffin is so bigger than Meuko. The egg is like an ant next to it, only visible thanks to the glowing and steadily moving veins around it. Sylvar moves closer.
“The white feathers around her wings, that means it is the female. Come, quick, let us grab the egg and go.” Sylvar says.
The griffin had a brown beak, thick fur that could pass as the earth itself, if not for the cold wind here that made it move ever so slightly. Its face was looking straight at us, almost begging us not to take the egg, beak open, arms slashed. Slashed. Sylvar was right. It is dead.
How? I move towards the egg, feeling cold and alone. That is how threatening the lifeless body of this beast is. That is how much I do not want to fight it. For once… I want to go home. I want to talk to Blago about fighting techniques and see Meuko, Julie and Sylvar laugh at me for losing so hard that I can no longer get up.
I cannot do that. I need to help Hollis. Julie is waiting for us back home. I grab the egg, needing two hands to carry it safely, since it is the size of about half my torso. They look at me with wide eyes, knowing we must move fast. Meuko uses her hands as a boost again. The wind suddenly picks up and I miss my chance to climb.
It was not the wind.
“RUN” Sylvar shouts as loud as he can, quickly climbing the outer side of the lair.
It is here. The male is here and we are next to the child of the dead wife of that male. For all I know, they might be lifelong partners. They might be much smarter than me. They-
“Thank me later.” Meuko grabs me and throws me over the lair.
I could land properly if I had the use of my hands. I quickly throw the egg to Sylvar so I can land. I look at him from the bottom of the lair and before he can give me the egg, the griffin shrieks. A terrible, angry shriek.
It would tear us apart for revenge. I get it. I would do the same if something happened to my parents. I want to see my parents again. My body makes sure I know… I am scared to death. That will come soon enough. Not yet. Need the egg. I need to shout to Sylvar, he is the same as me.
“Throw the egg, Sylvar. Meuko, are you good?” I ask.
“Getting there.” Meuko sounds unfazed, but I am not so sure.
Sylvar tosses me the egg but he forgets being careful with it. Fear will do that, I suppose. The griffin attacks. Sylvar dodges the strike by rolling down the lair, but the griffin breaks the branches of this entire side completely. It does not care about its home. Anger will do that, I suppose.
I fall on my back, feeling a sharp pain in my shoulder. I cannot see Sylvar. The lair is wide open. Meuko jumps down from the remaining outer part of what used to be the griffins’ home. She picks me up. I think she is talking to me but I am disoriented. I cannot focus. At least I still have the egg.
Sylvar comes back from the other side of the opening. Probably looking for us. He is talking with Meuko and they both look away from the lair, towards the open sky. Why? The griffin. I turn and see it in all its glory. Or terror.
It is looking at us while flying in a way that makes the beast look big. Where the female had white feathers, this one has red. I am not sure if it is the natural color or blood. It certainly knows how to scare us. I can hear again.
“We need to go down, now.” Meuko says.
It is good to hear her voice. But her voice is trembling. Knowing her, she is worried about me. I need to make it back. For Hollis. For dad. For dad...
“I will try to hit this monstrosity. Move.” Sylvar is hurt.
His voice has a growl, almost as if he is trying to hold back the pain. He has a few cuts in his legs because of that attack. I need to move. The griffin attacks again. We will die here. Hollis will die soon. My body hurts. I need to-
The most unnatural of sounds interrupts my nervous thoughts and the griffin’s attack. A horn, sounding deep but… corrupted. The roads. Goblins. The horn moves my feet.
“Quick, there is no time. Cover me, I protect the egg.” I explain.
Both of them seem to follow my plan, staying close to me and not running too far. Another horn sound. The griffin looks towards the multiple sides of the trees. We see them a few moments later. From the east, goblins, dozens of them, moving towards us and the griffin.
From the west, goblins, but these ones are gray. They could be a different tribe? This morning, we were close to one of their camps probably. How many are there? One side is green, one side is gray and I am not intent on learning their familial bonds. They can solve it themselves. One problem is that they will reach us before we pass the crossroads.
“Do not provoke the griffin. It is going for the goblins.” Sylvar says.
Arrows start flying. We are high, so the goblins cannot aim well. Sylvar does not have the same problem. He quickly makes the goblins cower. The griffin seems to attack the western part of this mountain side.
There is a chance. Meuko runs towards the eastern side and tells us to keep running. More like, shouting. She screams violently as she uses one of the weaker trees to push it down towards the goblins. She went downhill with the tree.
That effort took about four goblins down. More start climbing up the fallen tree as she uses all her strength to catch up to us while grabbing one goblin, crashing its skull and using it as a weapon. The goblins are attacking us. What do they want? The egg. Really? Now?
Sylvar attacks the goblins at the western side, carefully avoiding the griffin. He is trying to avoid provoking it. I think taking the egg is provocation enough. A few goblins get past the griffin and attack us. We are just before the crossroads. Meuko is trying to reach us.
“Stand your ground here, wait for Meuko.” Sylvar says as he repeatedly loosens arrows towards moving targets.
He only missed one of the three goblins. The one in front of me. It lunges towards me. I hold the goblin dagger in one hand while carrying the egg. I need to quickly fight without risking the safety of the egg. That is my advantage. The goblin clearly goes for my head, too scared it might hurt the egg.
Blago is right. I find my center, lower my legs to avoid the lunge and stab. The sound the goblin makes is bloody, like it is choking and it is a short sound. The dagger went through the center of the chest, my hand touching the lungs of this… thing. I headbutt the goblin and throw it away.
My first kill.
No more freezing.
“Good one, my friend Volter.”
“Thanks for the cover, Sylvar.”
I only feel the excitement now. Where are the rest of them? Meuko and the griffin answer that question. Meuko caused a chain reaction. That log she dropped caused a rockfall, which caused a mudslide, which caused the rest of the mountain potentially coming down on our heads.
At least that stopped eastern reinforcements, even though some gray monsters made it through. I count seven. No arrows but they do throw stones and sticks from the ground. Meuko catches up with us as the griffin uses his arms to throw parts of a goblin body towards us. One of them hits Sylvar in the arm. No broken bone sound. He can still shoot.
“Now I aim at it. Run.” Sylvar says.
Sylvar gets ready to hit the griffin somewhere vital, hurting it long enough for us to escape.
“You think?” Meuko says.
“This is not a good athletic test”
We are at the crossroads, where seven gray goblins wait for us. One stone hits me in the head. Before I hit the ground, Meuko picks me up and gets in front of me. Blago just saved my life. I need to thank him. As soon as I get back.
“Sylvar, cover the griffin side. I will handle them. Keep the egg safe.”
Meuko is on the warpath. Her screams cause three of those goblins to scatter. I have had enough protection. I throw a knife at one of the goblins. I hit it in the shoulder, causing it to fall down. The fall down the mountain will kill it.
The griffin is completely engaged with the green goblins in the west as Sylvar tries to hit the wings. No luck. We are past the crossroads as Meuko uses rocks from the ground to pound the goblins to a pulp. Effective. No more gray goblins.
We keep running down the mountain, using the same road that changes every few steps. The goblins start jumping down the mountain, while the griffin makes a dive. Sylvar was waiting for that. One arrow is all it takes.
He hits the eye of the beast, making it shriek so loud, I thought I would burst. Meuko throws the two rocks she picked up, hitting a goblin that was trying to hit us with a small throwing spear. The spear had already left its hand. It hits me in my forearm.
No time to think.
“Break it, Meuko.”
“You are learning, Volt.”
Meuko snaps the spear and I can use my arm again. Just as the goblins are catching up to us, the griffin starts violently throwing goblins down the mountain. Alive or even body parts. The goblins cannot pursue us any longer, attempting to hide.
A goblin head hits Meuko, almost knocking her down the mountain. Sylvar and I instinctively try to catch her.
We definitely cannot hold her. All three of us fall down the path. Luckily, we had made most of the way down, so bruises and a horrible headache is the only harm done to us. I look at the egg, groaning and trying to get my bearings. It looks as pristine as when I first saw it.
This is one durable egg. We can still hear the griffin shrieking but we have no time. We run as fast as we can. I had to give the egg to Sylvar after I realized I had lost use of my left arm because of the spear. We are safe. We made it.
After an hour of running away, we decide to rest. I have multiple cuts around my body from stones and sticks I could not track during the fight, Sylvar has at least two serious head wounds as well as the slashes to his legs he took during the first flying attack of that griffin and Meuko took three serious cuts to her torso and more to her back.
I think she took some of that mudslide when she was trying to reach us. None of us have talked. We are… together, yet apart. I suppose near-death experience after near-death experience will do that to you. We are trying to find the right words when three goblins attack us. The three goblins that Meuko scared off.
“Watch out” “Behind you” “Got you”
All three goblins are dead. And we speak again.
“Let me check your head, Outsider. That looks bad.”
“Wow Meuko, you have some serious back wounds. I have to take care of that.” I say.
“Sorry, my friends, it appears I was not helpful this time around.”
“Tell that to the griffin’s eye.” I respond.
“Volt is right. We… were better than good.”
“I think she is trying to say awesome.”
“I think she is, my friend.”
“We are a good team.” Meuko says.
“Yeah… Next time… No griffins, though.” I sigh.
“I told you it was not impossible.” Meuko laughs.
We make our way back, laughing and hurting mostly. It is pitch black when we reach the Village. Thankfully, Sylvar can see well in the dark. Meuko gives the egg to Julie and she reassures us, telling us she will help us right after Hollis.
“He had his first kill.” Meuko pushed me forward.
“He protected us.” Sylvar says proudly.
“Is that so? Tell me Vol- VOLTER.”
I hit the ground before I realize my body is giving up.
At last the test is over.