He was exhausted, Alfred was desperate for a moment’s respite. The soldier slammed the stock of his rifle into Alfred’s back, he let out a surprised wail and continued marching forward with his claws on his head.
Their guerrilla war had gone well for the first few weeks, raiding unsuspecting Griffonian military convoys and sabotaging bridges that were crucial for the Archon’s invasion into Feathisia. They even ambushed a company of imperial troops that were engaged in a firefight with the Feathisian militia.
Lieutenant Barris had informed them that Strawberry and Feathisian troops were mustering together to repel Griffenheim's attack on Reitscheid. It was up to them to slow down the Griffonian troops as much as they could while the two dukedoms gathered their armies to coordinate a counter offensive.
They lost many griffons in the third week of fighting, but intercepted communications and official news reports from Readewetter confirmed that imperial forces were retreating from Northern Reitscheid.
A successful pincer movement by Gene Eagleclaw pushed the Griffonian armored divisions back across the Brantbeak river, and Gerben Kogchel was able to seize emergency powers in order to organize the Feathisian Army.
They holed up in the forests of the Interriver to reorganize themselves while waiting for their eventual rescue by Gabriella’s armies.
Weeks turned to months as their supplies dwindled. Imperial troops eventually found their hideout and bombarded them with mortar strikes one early afternoon. Lieutenant Barris attempted to rally all the griffons into a desperate last stand, but there was no point.
The fighting only lasted for a few hours as Griffons dropped their rifles and attempted to flee deeper into the forest or were gunned down by Griffonian machine guns.
To his credit, Lieutenant Barris held a small dugout and killed a number of Griffons before he ran out of ammo. The lieutenant was gunned down, his last moments in life were spent attempting to charge a Griffonian officer with a broken wine bottle.
Alfred heard the sound of Felix collapsing behind him; his breathing was shallow and exhausted. A gunshot rang out behind Alfred, and he barely had time to process what had happened before the soldiers gave him a shove to continue marching.
Eventually, they stopped at a dirt crossroad, and Alfred was given a short moment to rest.
One of his guards sauntered over to him and offered him a drink from his flask. Alfred guzzled the cheap whiskey greedily, the Griffon staring at him with a mix of apathy and pity.
He gave the flask back and murmured his thanks. The soldiers proceeded to put a sign around Alfred's neck and began to tie a noose around his neck.
He closed his eyes as they began to lift him higher. The rope steadily choked the life out of him as he desperately gasped for air. He was tempted to claw at the rope with his talons, but he knew it would be a pointless gesture.
He could have said anything with his last dying breath. He could have declared his loyalty to the empire or Gabriella. He could have cursed Archon Eros or cried out to Boreas to preserve him.
But he only croaked out an apology, desperately hoping that his wife would one day forgive him for dying without her.