On the road again
As I adjusted the straps on my backpack, I begin to feel excited for this expedition. We all made sure to pack everything the night before. We properly stowed our gear and weapons, along with the new cloths, so they can be easily acquired if needed. However, thanks to the lack of ammo, we decided it was best to use our guns for life threatening situations. Checking myself over and searching my bed in case of any items I may have missed, I nodded to myself and looked over towards my friends. Jordan was just resting on his bed, and Taphy was sitting on his, messing with his phone. ‘Probably seeing what still works.’
“Well guys, it’s about time we head out.” I said, getting their attention.
“About bloody time!” Jordan yelled, getting up from his bed.
“Oy Taphy, come on lets go.”
“Yeah, give me a second.” He said, twiddling some more on his phone.
“Taphy, get your lazy bum up and let’s go; I’m tired of laying around!” Jordan commanded.
“Alright, alright I’m going. Sheesh.” Taphy said while putting his phone away and picking up his bag.
We walked down the hall towards the courtyard, where our caravan will be waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gilda
“Pluck, pluck, pluck, I’m going to be late!” I screeched, frantically searching around my room, trying to get what I need for this trip.
I knew I should have packed ahead of time, but forget that. I needed my sleep… and now I’m starting to regret it, but only a little. I stuffed my saddle bag with a pouch of bits, a blanket, hygiene supplies, and some other things I thought were important. As I was closing my saddle bag, I heard a few knocks on my door.
“Who is it?!” I asked as I continued to dart to every corner of my room for important items.
“It’s me. I came to see you off.” I peeked over my shoulder to see my dad walk into my room.
I didn’t really pay much mind to him. I was too busy searching for my cloak in the closet.
“I see you had quite an early morning.” Even though I wasn’t looking at him, I could hear his amusement in his voice.
“Yeah, I know dad.” I said halfheartedly. ‘Where is that darn cloa- ah here it is.’
“Gilda, no matter the reason I am glad you are doing this, but I’m still concerned with the company you keep.”
“Dad these guys saved my life.” I reasoned while I fiddled with the neck straps, “besides I know how to take care of myself.”
“I know I know, just… be careful.” There was a pang of worry in his voice when he said that.
“Don’t sweat it dad, I’ll be fine.” I said, finishing my strap and grabbing my saddle bag, “I was top of my class in combat school after all.”
“I know… but still.”
“Whatever dad, got to fly, see ya!” I yelled running out the room with a loose saddle bag.
“Are you forgetting something?!” I heard my dad yell out.
I began to check myself over. ‘What is he talking about now? I already have everyth- oh pluck, my sword!’
I quickly ran back in, ignoring my father’s chuckles, and grabbed my sword.
“This changes nothing!” I yelled as I ran out… again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel
After wandering into the courtyard, the search for our carriage wasn’t hard. In fact, it just looked like one big box chariot with a door on the back and windows on every side. ‘Hmm, must be your common transport chariot.’ I could also see a few griffons around it. ‘No, it can’t be.’
“Well well, if it isn’t the princess’s champions, finally coming to join us.” Falco said, gleaming towards us.
“I’ll be d@mned, didn’t think I’ll see you guys so soon.” I said smiling back.
“Aye, don’t pay them much mind. They’ll be acting as escorts for this trip.” I turned to see Hans coming from the other side of the carriage.
“You mean acting as the king's insurance.” Hans chuckled a bit, knowing full well that I was right.
“Could you truly blame a father protecting his daughter?”
“Nah, it’s alright, I understand …” I said, waving my hand defensively, “however, he did choose an interesting lot.”
Andor was sitting down nearby cleaning his sword, Falco was laying on top of the chariot, and Thrain was leaning against the side. Every one of the competitors were here, except for one.
“Is Ember going to be joining us?” I asked.
“Aye she will, the las is just running a bit late is all.”
“Heh yeah, she isn’t the only one though. It seems Gilda's also late for the party.”
“Aye that be true… but there is also one more.” I looked at him confusedly, knowing there were only four competitors.
“Who?”
“Don’t worry; after all, you did meet her at the tournament.” ‘We did…but…then who…’
“Hi!” I looked behind me to see an excited young griffon next to a cloaked one.
“Nova, what are you doing here?”
“Please, when I heard there was an expedition, led by no other then you guys, in need of a doctor. I didn’t hesitate to sign myself up.” She cheered, gleaming at us.
“I found her on my way here, and she’s right… but she wouldn’t stop talking about it.”
(Not long ago
“-at first I was like, ‘expedition what expedition?’ then I read the post on the board and by my beak it was led by the very humans that came here; you know the ones that were at the tournament and won, well I guess you would know cause you were there, anyway I ran up to the front desk and was like ‘where do I sign up!’ and she was like, ‘you got the job.’ And I was like, ‘OH MY CELESTIA!’-)
Ember grumbled as she walked passed me. I took a glimpse at her staff. She already replaced the fire stone with another. ‘Well it’s a good thing those gems aren’t rare or else she would have been more pissed off at me.’
“We’re flattered that you’re willing to join us in our quest to find… the hand on the wall!” I said, exaggerating it to epic proportions.
“Wait is that what this is about?” I looked at her, as if she just blurted out complete nonsense. ‘You got to be kidding me.’
“Did you even read what you were signing up for?”
“Nope!” she replied cheerfully.
Silence fell upon us as I just looked at her. ‘Well, at least we have plenty of time to explain.’
“Hey, what’s a han-“
“Anyways…” I continued, cutting her off, “that just leaves us one more-”
“LOOK OUT!” I was interrupted by a loud shriek from behind me.
I tuned to see a blur, making a head on impact on my gut. I was pushed off my feet and landed hard on the ground.
“Oh… my head…” I heard a very familiar griffon groan, “ok who’s the dweeb that got in my- oh… pluck, sorry about that.”
She quickly got off me, leaving me motionless on the floor.
“Uhhhhhhh ow.” I softly said.
“BWHAHAHA, oh yeah, I say this trip got on a great start.” Taphy said, his words laced with satisfaction.
Once I got back on my feet, we sorted ourselves out so we could take off. Andor and Thrain would fly the carriage while Falco would be playing as escort. The rest of us would be inside for the duration of the flight. Before entering, we were informed that the king had graciously offered us weapons and were stashed within the carriage. Looking inside, there were three sets of weapons neatly arranged on each seat. In fact, they were similar to what we used in the tournament, except they were custom made. The handles of the blades were made to easily fit our hands, the blades looked so sharp that even the simple touch could cut you, they were also enchanted with runes that was meant to increase their durability, and let’s not forget their design. It was obvious that the weapons were pure steel, but the handles were coated in gold. There was also an emblem above the grip with the kings seal etched on it. ‘Talk about sparing no expense.’
The trip was quite long ,and it didn’t take much time to explain to Nova of its purpose. We were pretty quiet for the rest of the way. Some of us tried to get some sleep, while the rest occupied themselves in any way they can. Jordan, Hans, and Ember were the sleepers, Nova seemed to be occupied with a book, Taphy was fiddling with his phone some more ‘probably trying to ignore the fact he’s in the air.’, and Gilda seems to be comfortable looking out the window. However, I noticed she occasionally glances at me. I wasn’t too bothered though. I was too busy inspecting my sword. You can’t blame a man for admiring a fine piece of work.
“You look like a cub who found a new toy.” I looked over to see Gilda, looking at me bemusedly.
“Hey, any guy back home would kill to have something like this.” I said indicating my sword, “you jealous or something?”
I smirked at her, hoping she’ll play along.
“Ha, jealous of a dweeb like you, please.” She scoffed, looking back out her window.
I chuckled a little then returned my attention to the sword. ‘Hmm, I wonder if I could get a bow. Royal ranger… I like the sound of that.’
Over the meadow and through the mud
(The shire) After landing in a town named Oakinshire, we began to suit up for our trip into the forest. The locals were quite curious about us, but, when they’ve seen our cloaks, they respectfully gave us some space. However, the younger ones were a little more awed by our presence. Hiding behind fence posts near by, I could hear them questioning each other about our appearances. ‘Heh kids.’
“Nice town.” I commented, eyeing the curious cubs.
“Aye, Oakinshire is an old establishment.” I heard Hans say behind me, “In truth, they tend to call this place the Old Oak.”
I continue to watch the children peek through the fence. They suddenly realize I was on to them and hid themselves. I chuckled a bit at that. ‘Kids will be kids.’
“So how old is this town anyway?” I asked.
“Oakinshire been around long before the civil wars broke out. Since merchants are hard to come by, it’s always been independent. Just humble griffons trying to make a living.” I turned my attention back to the kids, only to find one of them trying to sneak toward us.
This one looked smaller than the others. It had a dark brown coat with light brown feathers. The feathers around his head had black smudges on them. The cub froze when I laid eyes on him.
“Why hello there.” I said, trying to sound friendly.
He shrunk a bit, looking up at me with a bit of fear in his eyes. ‘I know I’m tall but d@mn; am I really that intimidating?’ I slowly knelt down to try to be close to eye level with the youngster.
“Hey it’s alright; I’m not going to hurt you.” He seemed to ease up a little, but he still had his head down between his claws. ‘God he looks adorable.’
“I- I’m sorry… I d-didn’t mean to-“ he finally spoke, but it was more like a stutter.
“Hey now, don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I said trying to ease him out some more, “what’s your name?”
“L-Lewy.” He muttered in a soft tone.
“Well Lewy, your real brave for a kid. The names Daniel.” I said slowly offering my hand for a shake.
He was hesitant, but he eventually reached out to return the gesture. His fear was subsiding, while he examined my hand in awe. I could hear the other cubs, whispering amongst themselves in astonishment.
“Hey Lewy do you know those guys?” he turned to see what I was looking at.
“Oh yeah, there just the other cubs in my class.” He said, sounding more relaxed now.
“Oh, so they’re friends of yours?”
“Well, not really.” He said, looking a little down.
“Is something wrong?”
“No… they just…. (sigh) they bet me that I couldn’t get close, saying that I was a scardy cat.” He said, drooping his head down.
I looked at him in sympathy. Seeing that he looks like the smallest compared to the others, he may have been picked on a lot. ‘Another victim of peer pressure, poor guy.’
“Hmm listen, don’t mind those guys. You don’t have to prove them anything. The fact that you’re here and they’re there shows that you got more courage than they do.” He seemed to beam up with what I said.
I begin to dig in my pocket for something as I got up.
“Here take this.” I tossed him a pouch filled with quite a bit of bits.
When he caught it, you could hear the jingle of the coins inside. After looking inside it, his eyes widen in surprise.
“These are…” he didn’t finish what he was saying. ‘Probably never seen that many bits before.’
“Take this as a reward for your bravery… and a little bragging right for your class mates over there.” I said with a smile.
He said a quick thank you and pranced off with the pouch in his beak. I could hear the coins bounce around as he made his way back to the others, having more pride in his step. ‘Heh, kids.’
“I didn’t know you were good with twerps.” I felt Gilda punch my shoulder teasingly.
“Eh I don’t know about that. If a guy gives a kid money to buy candy, people will see that as very kind or very creepy.” I said with a shrug.
“Or a guy, whose race is known for chaos and destruction, shows a bit a kindness for a cub isn’t?” I scrunched up a bit at that.
“Touché.” Taking a minute to look up, I could see dark clouds moving in. ‘and here comes the rain.’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The weather started off as a light sprinkle, but, as we went on, the shower turned into a full out storm. We all already had our hoods on but the cloaks can only do so much in the heavy rain. Thrain was the only one who was strong enough to pull the wagon by himself; so we gave him the job. The rest of us were posted around it as lookouts, except for the ladies. They were inside having girl talk to pass the time. I didn’t mind though.
I considered my sword a very conservable weapon, but I couldn’t help but take out my MP5 as well. I have it strapped on me, hidden under my cloak, for quick access. However, due to the undeniable fact that I was extremely low on ammo, only one clip to be exact. I have to choose my shots carefully. I sighed at that thought.
Our movement was slow but steady. The rain, mud, and constant shifts in the path didn’t help either. As we treaded on, I was humming a theme from one of my favorite movie series. (Misty mountains) I continued to hum, keeping a weather eye on my surroundings. It soon went to a soft whisper on the first verse. I then got a little louder to fit the cue of the song. Little did I know the curious stares my griffon companions were giving me? As I came to the last verse, I begin to hear a rumble from above. (BOOM) I was startled by the roar of the lighting strike that came down some ways ahead of us.
“Ok am I the only one who thinks this is too dangerous.” Taphy complained, who was also startled by the strike.
“Yo he’s right. This is getting too much.” Jordan chipped in.
“I must agree with sir Taphy. These conditions are far too dangerous to travel in.” Andor said.
They were right of course, but, other than the carriage, there isn’t much else to shelter us from the storm.
“Let’s see if we can find a dry spot somewhere. Falco, you’re on me, we’ll look ahead.”
As we went on, the clouds were getting a bit darker.
Further along the path, there was a large trunk blocking the way.
“Well that’s not good.” Falco said, stating the obvious.
It looked too heavy for just the two of us to move and was too large to maneuver around. I took a deep breath knowing the work load it will take to move it.
“Hey go get the others, but leave one to guard the carriage.” I said.
“Got it, be right back.” With that he took off, leaving me with the trunk.
As I looked at the stump in which the trunk came from, I noticed the strike was way too precise to be a coincidence. It was placed on the right spot to have it be a complete obstruction.
(Snap) I suddenly heard the crack of a twig, making me grip my gun upon reaction. I looked around through the thick trees of the forest, but I couldn’t find anything that stood out… until I caught a glimpse of a dark figure behind a tree. When I looked back, it was gone. ‘What....’
“I’m back!” I flung around to see Falco, walking up to me with my friends and Andor behind him.
I turned back to look through the forest again, but there was nothing out there.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, looking where I was staring.
I stayed silent for a moment, unsure if what I’ve seen was real or not.
“… It’s nothing.” I finally said.
Though difficult, we were able to move the trunk, and the carriage arrived when we finished. As we continued, I couldn’t help but feel a little jumpy. I was still unsure of what I’ve seen, but I did see something. Now I’m looking around more intently, keeping my grip on the handle of my gun.
Over the meadow and through the mud (part 2)
We stopped near a cliff to give ourselves a rest. Surprisingly, the rain subsided, but the path was still muddy. Annoyingly, we still haven’t found a single cave. Standing near the edge of the cliff, I looked out at the vast forest. Doubt was running through my mind, if we were even going to find it. I pulled out my map, hoping for a clear direction. To my disappointment, the map hasn’t changed. I sighed deeply and placed the map back into my backpack. I looked out to the forest again, thoroughly examining the area. ‘This place is way too big to be walking blindly.’
“Hey, Mr. Explorer.” I turned around to see Gilda, holding one of the bags we put together to ration our food supply, “well are you going to take it, or are you to busy admiring the trees.”
“Heh, says a griffon who likes to hang out in a forest.” I said, implying where we first met.
“I had my reasons; now are you going to eat this or not.” She spat back defensively.
“Alright alright, sheesh.” I grabbed the bag and pulled out a piece of bread.
I continued to look out the landscape while eating.
“Hey um… can I ask you something?” Gilda said, standing next to me.
“Yeah what?”
“What was that song you sang?” I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Song?”
“You know, the one you sang along the way.” It took my mind some time before it clicked.
“Oh that song, I uh heard it from a tale back at home.” I noticed that Gilda looked at me expectedly, indicating that I should continue, “it was about a group of people that were forced out of their home by a ruthless dragon. After years of waiting, a small band of brave warriors set out to reclaim their home again.”
While I was giving her a brief summary of the movie, in which the song came from, Gilda moved her gaze from me, looking at the landscape ahead.
“So did they do it?” I stopped to look at her, feeling a little annoyed for the interruption.
“Do what?”
“Take their home back.” I turned my head and chuckled a bit at her question.
“Now now Gilda, one does not simply skip to the end without knowing the beginning and middle.” I said, taking another bite of my bread.
“Hey, how am I supposed to hear about it, if it’s only where you’re from?” Gilda scoffed, scrunching her face at me.
“Hmm that could be a problem… maybe I could tell it before we call it a night, like a camp fire story.” Gilda just looked at me unamused, “what?”
“You’re such a dweeb.” Gilda then went to the carriage. ‘Heh, oh yeah she’s looking forward to it.’
I was about to take another bite before I heard a rumble in the sky. Looking up, I could see a few volts appear, colliding in one area above. Before I knew it, a surge of electricity began to converge on that spot before blasting a bolt towards us. I quickly ran towards Gilda and pushed her away from the strike. (BOOM) I had no time to get away as the bolt exploded in front of me, pushing me over the cliff. After the white flash cleared my vision, I could see the edge of the cliff quickly becoming smaller as I rushed to the ground. Very soon my vision went dark as I crashed through the foliage of the trees. All I could hear were the snaps and cracks of the branches before it all stopped with a loud thud. Then I blanked out.
“…iel!” I began to wake up with a swirly headache. “Dan…” I could hear a small sound, muffled by my disorientation. “Daniel can you hear me!” while I was regaining my focus, the noise I began to hear became more understandable. “Daniel!” I groaned a bit as I felt the multiple impacts I received during my tumble down the hill. I slowly got up, fighting through the pain I was feeling. The fact that I was able to meant that I didn’t break anything.
“Hey!” I yelled, looking up from where I’ve fallen.
“Oh thank God, Daniel are you alright!” I heard Jordan yell from above.
“Yeah, just a little bruised up is all!”
“Are you sure, can you move at all?! Wait no, don’t move, are you hurt?! On the scale to one to ten, how much does it hurt?! Whatever you do, don’t go towards the LIGHT!” Nova shrieked in a state of panic.
“Calm down, I said I was fine!”
The tree line above me prevented me from seeing the cliff. Though, I did take quite a fall. I’m guessing the branches slowed me down, or at least that’s how I felt it did.
“Daniel, there’s no way of getting to you without flying, but the storm is too unpredictable; so it’s too dangerous to get to you!” I cursed under my breath for my predicament.
I looked at my surroundings, pondering on what we should do.
“Alright, this is what’s going to happen! Look ahead of you! I’m going for the center; just meet me around that area!” there was a brief silence before they complied, “if I get in trouble, follow the gunshots!”
“We’ll do the same… just be there alright! Stay safe!”
“Yeah you to!” with that said, I checked my rifle and made my way through the murky forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jordan
I looked over the area of the forest that Daniel wanted to meet us at. ‘That’s a lot of area to cover.’
“(Sigh) you better be there.” I said under my breath.
“What now?” Taphy asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” I stood up and made my way to the carriage, passing everyone who stood near the cliff, “we rendezvous in that area.”
“You’re joking right?” Falco said, “Looking for him there would be like looking for a feather in a hay stack.”
“Let us not forget lads. The sun is going down.” Hans added in.
The day was running late, and the darkness was already creeping in.
“We should hurry then, while we still have the light.”
We all quickly set up to move again, except for Gilda who was still looking over the cliff. I didn’t blame her. After all, Daniel saved her from that strike from hitting her, causing him to fall off.
“Hey, we got to go.” I said, after walking up behind her.
She stayed quiet, looking over the edge.
“…Gilda?”
“This is my fault isn’t it?” she said with a bit of frustration.
“Don’t blame yourself; he’s still alive out there.” I went up to her and placed my hand on her shoulder, “come on, let’s go find our friend.”
Her ears perked up a bit after I said that.
“Right, no more lying about.” She began to walk to the carriage with utmost determination.
I looked back to the forest one last time. ‘Don’t worry buddy, we’re on our way.’ With that, we left with as much speed as we could muster.