Guess whose back
I woke up to the rays of the sun, hitting my face through the window. Groaning a bit, I pushed myself up from the bed. I noticed that Gilda wasn’t in hers, and I could hear the spray of water coming from the bathroom. Jordan and Taphy were still sleeping in their beds. I stretched out my arms, stimulating my muscles a bit. While doing so, I could smell a faint stench in the air. I took a whiff of myself, only to locate where the foul stench is coming from. I guess a few days without a shower would do that to you. I got up and took a look out the window, making sure no one sees me from the other side. I could see a few stands selling food products. A couple of griffons were walking about, and a group of younger griffons, cubs I believe, playing with a ball. Seeing those kids play around, it really does bring a smile to my face.
“What are you looking at?” I turn to see Gilda, already out of the shower with a rolled up towel over her shoulder.
“Ah nothing really, just admiring the town.” I said, looking back outside.
I wasn’t really a big city kind of guy, and seeing this small community reminds me why. I turn to look at Gilda only for her to turn her gaze away from me. ‘Is she blushing?’
“Y-you need to take a bath, you wreak dude.” She quickly said.
I chuckled a bit by her suggestion.
“Yeah, I guess I should.” I said, walking my way toward the bathroom.
The design of the bathroom is what you expect from a cabin. Everything was mostly made of wood except for the faucets, handles, and shower head. The sink was placed on the left side, and the shower and toilet on the right, giving you room to walk in the middle. There were a couple of towels and some bottles, probably shampoos and ointments. The shower was a tub with a faucet and sprinkler. There was a handle between them, probably to control the water flow.
“So how do you get hot water?” I asked.
“You just twist the lever down. The further down you go the hotter it gets.” Gilda said.
“That’s what she said!” I heard Jordan blurt out.
I rolled my eyes from his comment, and I don’t think Gilda knew what he meant by it. Taking another look at the shower, I noticed it was kind of small compared to regular showers back home. After taking off the rest of my cloths, I entered into the shower and twisted the lever down. ‘Sh#t cold, cold!’
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Gilda
I had no idea what he meant by ‘that’s what she said’. I’m sure it was some sort of human joke. Jordan was on his bed with his arms crossed behind his head. Taphy was still sleeping, seeing some of his limbs hanging from his bed. Feeling a bit bored and seeing that these humans may take some time to get ready, I decided to head down to see Hans.
“I’m heading down to stretch my wings.” I said for whoever is listening.
After heading down, I could see that the tavern was quite empty.
“Good morning las, I hope you rested well.” I turn to the bar table to see Hans cleaning it.
“Hey Hans…” I said walking towards him, “thanks for giving them a chance.”
“I was willing to give them a benefit of a doubt,” he said, putting the cloth away,” but their appearance and the appearance of these monsters is beyond coincidence.”
“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion.
“I mean, I believe there is more to this story then we know, and it’s probably isn’t good.” He answered.
“Hans, now your sounding ridicules.” I said, chuckling a bit.
“Gilda, this is serious…” he said, sounding more concerned,” I have lived long enough to know that there are things here that are beyond any of us, and I’m afraid we’re going to find out what it is soon.”
We stood there in silence, feeling the gloominess of the conversation take hold. ‘I have never seen Hans this serious before.’
“What are the humans doing right now?” he asked.
“They’re just taking a bath. They’ll be down soon.” I said.
“Did they tell you what they are going to do?” I looked at him a bit confused by his question.
“Didn’t he tell you?” I asked.
“He was vague, but I would like to know what he told you.” He answered.
“They were going to gather supplies and information, but, other than that, they don’t know where else to go.” I said.
He only stood there, stroking his beak in thought.
“I would suggest you take them to your father…” he finally said,” I’m sure he can provide better help then I.”
I had almost forgotten about my father. I have been gone for at least four days now. I’m sure he had sent out the entire guard in search for me. I’m not sure what he’s going to think of the others, but I’m going to have to convince him that they are no threat to the kingdom.
“I’m not sure if my father would be as accepting as you were.” I said.
“Just tell him the truth las. That is the best advice I can give you.” He said.
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Daniel
Taphy was the last of us to get ready. Jordan told me that Gilda was already downstairs. We decided to leave our gear in the room, seeing that we won’t need it for the time being. Taphy was to gather as much food as we can carry, while Jordan and I consult with Hans to see what information we can gather. We put our cloaks on and headed down.
“Ah if it isn’t my special guests…” I turn to see Gilda and Hans, at the bar table,” come, come!”
We complied and took our seats at the bar.
“Can I offer you something to drink?” he asked.
“No thanks. Gilda do you still have the bag of bits?” I asked.
“Yeah, right here.” She said passing it to me.
“Alright Taphy, you know what to do.” I said giving it to him.
He nodded and went out of the tavern.
We spent more than an hour looking at a map, and Taphy hadn’t come back from his errand. Apparently, Equestria is another continent across the ocean. The only way to get there is by boat. Therefore, I decided to put the idea on going to Equestria on hold, seeing that we’re not going there any time soon. Our next best bet is to go to Highfeather, Gryphonia’s capital. We can be able to get help from the king, that’s if we can convince him that we’re not a threat.
“So how do we do this? We can’t just simply walk through his front door.” I asked.
“I can help with that…” Gilda said,” my family has…’connections’ with royalty. I can get you guys to meet with the king.”
“Well that takes care of that. Now all we have to do is get on his good side…” I said, rolling up the map,” it’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try.”
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Taphy
The multiple market stands were selling products ranging from breads, fruits, vegetables, and even meats. Many of the griffons were eyeing me curiously, making me feel a bit uncomfortable. I decided to go for the fruit stand first. As I walked up to it, the owner was examining me, seeing his eyes move up and down.
“Can I help you sir.” He asked when I got there.
The stand had a display of apples, pears, bananas, and watermelons; all organized to make it easier for customers.
“How much for the apples and bananas?” I asked.
“Apples are three bits while bananas are only two.” He answered.
“I’ll have six apples and eight bananas.” I ordered.
“That will be thirty four bits.” he said.
While I was counting what I owed, he began putting the apples and bananas inside a brown pouch.
“Here you go.” I said giving him the bits.
“Here you go sir.” He said, giving me the pouch of fruits.
Luckily the pouch had a strap to it, letting me carry it on my shoulder. After I left the stand, I began to count the bits I had left. ‘Man, that bag of fruits cost me a lot of cash. I better be careful on what I buy next.’ I looked up to see a group of griffons across the street, wearing the same leather armor, like the ones we fought at the underpass. I quickly hid behind an alley, hopeful that they didn’t see me. I peeked through the corner and was relieved that they didn’t spot me. ‘D@mn who the hell are these guys?’ I then see another group going towards them, and some of them were wearing the same armor. ‘I have to warn the others.’ Keeping my head down, I moved quickly to warn my friends that we got company.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel
(Knock knock knock) “The tavern is closed; come back later.” Hans yelled, after we heard knocks at the door.
(Slam) we turn to see the door had been forcibly opened, breaking the inner locks. A group of griffons began walking in, and some of them were wearing the same leather armor the bandits at the underpass wore. ‘Uh oh’
“What is the meaning of this?!” Hans yelled in anger.
“Oh please forgive us for our ‘intrusion’, but we couldn’t help but over hear that there were a group of interesting travelers, that were staying in this very tavern…” said one of the griffons, whose tone was familiar,” did you truly believe you’ve seen the last of us?”
“No, but I expected you would have brought a little more than just five guys.” I said mockingly.
As if on cue, some more griffons came through the door, a lot more. ‘Oh dear’
Bar fight
The griffons began spreading out, blocking all routs of escape.
“Thanks to your actions at the underpass. you have angered quite a few griffons,” said the griffon, who I assume is the leader,” including me.”
His expression became more serious after he said that.
“Now remove that hood of yours and tell us who you are.” He ordered.
I knew that our identities would have been revealed eventually; so I might as well have fun with this. I slowly brought my hands up to my hood and pulled it down, revealing my head to them. I kept quiet and my expression neutral. Looking at the faces around me, their expressions of seriousness and anger turn to ones of confusion.
“I am Daniel and, if you’re wondering, I am a human.” I said, with all seriousness.
“Did he say human?”
“What is a human?”
“Aren’t they supposed to be like a myth?”
The griffon bandits were mumbling among themselves, questioning the very being that stood before them.
“Heh…heh heh… heh hahahaha,” I looked at the leader to see him laugh profusely,” you know, I thought that a group of nobodies came to sabotage everything we had here, but for those nobodies to turn out to be the humans of myth, that’s something.”
His sudden outburst caught me a bit off guard, but I still held my ground.
“Who are you?” I asked.
He gave me a bit of a smirk before he answered.
“The names Ringgold, but you won’t live long enough to remember it…” he said, showing that sly grin he had before,” I may not be as mad about it, but I still want your heads.”
The other griffons began unsheathing their weapons, replacing their looks of confusion with malice.
“You think we can take them?” Jordan asked, getting up to stand next to me.
“We’ll soon find out.” I answered.
Before they could do anything, Taphy burst through the door.
“Guys we have a problem…oh. (music)” Taphy stopped to notice a group of bandits in the room.
I was guessing he was going to warn us about them. It’s too bad they found us first. Taphy began walking slowly backwards toward the door.
“Heh oh look at the time. I think I should be going-“Taphy was instantly stopped by a griffon, slamming the door on him.
“Oh, but you’ll miss out in all the fun.” Ringgold said.
I took the opportunity to grab the stool behind me and chucked it at him. He quickly ducked, letting it hit the griffon behind him. Using the distraction, Taphy made a run for the stairs. Jordan and I went to grab a chair from the nearby tables, and we began swinging them wildly, to keep the bandits back. After dodging a slash from the side, I swung the chair at his back, causing the chair to break on impact. I then turn to see another griffon, trying to slash at me with his sword. I quickly grabbed his sword arm and punched him in the gut. I then threw him at another griffon. I then backed away from a large group that was coming at me.
I slid over a table and kicked it toward the group of griffons that were after me, stopping two in their tracks. Three other griffons just ran around them. I was now frantically dodging swords of two griffons. After kicking one griffon away and ducking past the other, I was suddenly hit on my back by a chair, sending me to the ground. I looked up to see a griffon prepared to impale me to the floor. I rolled away from the strike, hearing the crack of the floor as the sword penetrated through it. I got up, trying to ignore the pain in my back. A griffon came at me, swinging his sword to hit the top of my head. I grabbed his arm and fell backwards, using his weight as leverage to throw him. After doing so, I rolled back up, only to be greeted by another sword. I backed away in time from the strike, but I got kicked in the chest, pushing me to the wall behind me.
My back hit the wall pretty hard, but I quickly ducked, after seeing a sword being thrust toward my head. I rolled away, but the pain on my back kept me from getting up entirely. I looked up to see my attacker to be Ringgold himself, pulling out one of his dual swords from the wall.
“I’m going to enjoy seeing my blade pierce through your body, human.” He said, getting into a fighting stance.
I looked to my side to see legs from a broken chair. ‘(sigh) It’s better than nothing.’ I grabbed two and got into a duel stance of my own. I heard him chuckle a bit before he came at me at full charge.
I had to give him some credit, for he was quite skilled as a duelist. Being unconfident of the woods durability, I was degraded to meager blocks and avoiding heavy attacks, while the lighter strikes were chipping away at the wood. Eventually, the wood could not withstand the beating. He gave two more strikes, slicing each leg into small stumps of wood. ‘Oh cr@p’ He smirked at the pitiful sight that stood before him. Before he could give the final blow, a sudden bottle of glass exploded on top of his head, causing him to fall into unconsciousness. I looked up to see Jordan with a broken bottle in his hand.
“Thanks.” I said, tossing the two sticks at the unconscious body.
“Don’t thank me yet.” Jordan said, looking to his side.
I turn to see a group of twelve griffons surrounding us. ‘Oh come on; give us a f#cking break.’
A sudden scream had adverted all of our attention towards Taphy. He had a chair in each hand, and he was swinging and yelling like a mad man, keeping the griffons around him at bay. Using the sudden distraction, Jordan and I charged at the griffons in front of us. We jumped in the air and dive kicked two griffons, which were to slow to react. After knocking them down, we went back to back, and prepped ourselves for a counter. Once they gathered themselves, they charged at us. Jordan and I poured all of our skill and might in trying to swiftly knock out as many griffons as quickly as possible, before their numbers overwhelm us. The griffons were able to get a few shots in, giving us some cuts and a few extra bruises. However, the adrenalin that kept us going in this fight helped our bodies ignore the pain, pushing us to our very limits. We threw strikes, grapples, and counters; everything that we learned in our training was used in this fight.
After minutes of brutal fighting, we stood victorious, leaving griffons on the ground around us with bleeding beaks and broken bones. Taking multiple heavy breaths of air, the adrenalin was beginning to fade away, while pain and exhaustion were taking its place. I took a knee with one hand on the ground to keep myself from falling. Jordan was leaning his back on the wall, using it as leverage to keep him up. Our bodies were littered with cuts and bruises.
“Jordan, Daniel!” I looked over to see Taphy running up to us, with Gilda and Hans behind him.
They all had their fair share of cuts and bruises, but luckily they weren’t as bad as we are.
“Jesus, you guys look like sh#t.” He said, after he got to us.
“What (huff huff) can I say? (huff) We know (huff huff) how to throw down.” I said in between breaths.
“Not to say you are not deserving of a rest, but they will not stay down for long.” Hans said, lending me a hand ‘or claw’ to help me up.
As much as I would hate to move around right now, Hans was right. They may be down, but they’re not out.
“Taphy, how many did you see outside?” I asked.
“I saw a few groups hold up around town. There could be more.” He answered.
‘Damn, did he bring a whole army with him? He must have been pissed.’
“Taphy, go upstairs, grab all our gear, and meet us outside. It looks like we’re going to have to bail.” I said.
Princess Gilda?
We went out through the back of the tavern, thinking that the front entrance is being watched. My body was in quite a bit of pain while moving around, but I pressed on. We waited in the alley way for Taphy to bring our gear. Hans decided to take the time to look around, planning our escape route. Within a couple of minutes, Taphy came through the back door carrying three bags, my MP5, and Jordan’s pistol.
“We better hurry. The guys inside are starting to get up.” Taphy said, passing the gear to their owners.
“Hans, we’re going to have to move.” I said, putting my bag on and placing the strap of my gun over my shoulder.
We gathered behind Hans, waiting for him to give us the go.
“We’ll have to move through the alley way. I do not see anyone out there; so we can go across unnoticed. Let us just hope that we can stay that way.” He said.
With a wave of his claw, we began to move.
We tried to move as quickly as possible, trying to stay undetected. At first, the groups of griffon bandits were ideal, probably waiting for their leader to give them orders. However, I heard yelling in the distance, and whoever it was sounded pissed. ‘Looks like Ringgold is finally awake.’ Afterwards, we begin seeing griffons hovering in the sky, and groups searching around, harassing the locals on their attempts to be thorough. I could hear shattering of glass, crashing of furniture, and the screams of families being threaten.
“Those b@st@rds are tearing the town apart…” Jordan said, looking through a corner that leads to the street,” we have to do something.”
“And what are we going to do? Need Me to remind you that we’re out numbered twenty to one.” Taphy said.
“Jordan’s right, but I don’t know if there is anything we can do; there’re just too many to fight.” I said.
“Did you hear that?” Afraid that our conversation was overhead, we remained quiet. “It was coming from over here.”
“Hide.” Jordan frantically whispered.
We withdrew within the shadows, hiding behind barrels and crates. “Look around; they couldn’t have gotten far!” I clenched on my MP5, hearing footsteps coming toward us. Looking through a gap between the crates I hid behind, I could see two griffons walk by, with their swords at the ready. Unfortunately, Taphy wasn’t in the best hiding spot. He was behind a single barrel, and, if one of those griffons turned around, they could easily see him. My sight was then blocked by another griffon, standing in front of the crates. At this point, I had no choice but to take him out. I slowly lifted myself up, trying not to alert him. I lifted up my gun, preparing to blunt him in the head. He began turning back around, only to discover Taphy behind the barrel.
Before he could do anything, his head met the backside of my gun, causing him to drop to the ground. “Hey!” Was all one of the bandits could say, before being tackled to the wall by Jordan. He then grabbed his head and slammed it onto the wall, making a loud crack. Hans took care of the other one, grabbing him and holding onto his beak to silence him. He then threw him onto the ground, and kicked him on the face to knock him out. Our attack was swift, but, unfortunately, was not left unnoticed. “They’re here!” We looked up to see a griffon in the air, pointing to our location.
“Run!” Hans yelled.
We darted through the corners of the alley way, hearing the yells and footsteps of the bandits behind us. Seeing a group of bandits on the other side, we were forced out into the street. “Don’t let them escape!” We were apparently in the market area of the town. The bandits were pouring in from all directions. We were surrounded. We had our guns out, but we held our fire.
“Congratulations…” I turn to see Ringgold with his arms crossed and having a neutral expression, “how you are able to elude us this far, whether it be by skill or mere luck, baffles me.”
“Well I’m glad I was able to amuse you.” I said jokingly.
He glared at me after I said that.
“Kill them all, but I want him alive!” he commanded to his men.
They were slowly closing in around us, but I kept my gun pointed at Ringgold. If we were going to die here, I’ll make sure he dies too, with a bullet to the head.
I was almost about to pull the trigger, but then a griffon swooped in next to him. He began to whisper in Ringgold’s ear, having a bit of concern in his eyes as he spoke.
“What!?” Ringgold yelled, making all the griffons stop in their tracks.
The anger in his eyes was intense. He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes fixed on me.
“It seems the odds are still in your favor…” he finally said, “everyone fall back, now!”
The other bandits were confused by his order, but they followed it none the less.
“This. Isn’t. Over.” With that said, he took off into the air with the rest of his bandits.
Within a few minutes, they disappeared into the distance, leaving us in confusion.
“Um, what just happened?” Taphy asked.
“No idea.” Jordan answered, putting his pistol away.
Relaxing myself a bit, I took a look around. The local griffons of the town were coming out of their homes, examining the damage that the bandits did.
“You alright?” Gilda asked me.
“(sigh) This wasn’t their fight, yet they still suffer from it.” I said, seeing the sad faces of families whose homes were butchered.
I felt a claw on my shoulder, and turn to see Gilda looking at me.
“They won’t get away with this,” she said, “but if it means anything you were quite awesome out there.”
I chuckled a bit, having a small smile on my face. “Halt!”
We turn to see a griffon with golden armor and helm. There was also a group of griffons that appeared around us. All of them had the same kind of armor, except their color was silver instead of gold. ‘These must be the king’s men. No wonder Ringgold left in such a hurry. Wait, why are they looking at us like that?’
“As captain of the Griffon Elite, I place you under arrest for kidnapping the princess. Now, I command you to release her at once!” ‘Heh, sounds like another female, interesting.’ The griffon in golden armor yelled, unsheathing her sword.
The ones in silver did the same.
“Wow, hold up now. I think you got the wrong guys here. We didn’t kidnap a princess.” Taphy said, putting his hands up.
“Captain Taloniana, put you weapons away.” Gilda said.
“But princess-“ ‘Wait what?’
“I said stand down captain.” The captain stood there unsure, but she sheathed her weapon as commanded.
“Princess Gilda, you have been missing for four days. The king had feared the worst.” Captain Taloniana said. ‘Wait…WHAT?!’
“I was… held up, but I’m fine thanks to these guys. They saved my life, and your way of thanking them is by throwing them in the dungeon.” Gilda said, with anger.
The captain was a bit shocked by this news, eyeing the three of us.
“M-my apologies princess for my rash conclusion, but I still have my orders to bring you back.” She said.
Through out the conversation, I was at a loss. ‘Gilda was a princess! How did I miss that?!’ completely ignoring them, I looked at Hans.
“D-did you?” I asked, gesturing at Gilda.
He nodded his head in response. ‘So that’s what she meant by “connections”, who knew?’ as my mind was coming back to me, I turned back around to see Gilda and the captain, looking at me.
“What?” I asked nervously.
“The captain asked if you wish to join us to Highfeather, to receive a proper reward.” Gilda said.
“Oh, uh sure; why not. Right guys?” I said.
Jordan and Taphy also accepted the invitation.
“I’ll have to decline. I have a tavern to clean up.” Hans said.
After he said that, another griffon in silver armor appeared.
“Captain we were able to subdue the fire.” He said, saluting to his superior.
“Wait, what fire?” Hans asked.