Going back to the training room, it looked like Gram had been wiping the floor with everyone. This was likely to remind them how things worked around here. Gram tackled Sunshine to the ground, making him suffocate until he saw Gallus, Silverstream, ‘Gwen’, and ‘Guy’ walk back inside.
“Ahh. About time you got back,” he spoke, releasing Sunshine to allow him to breathe.
“She was getting annoyed by these two, sir,” ‘Guy’ explained.
“Hmm, at least she only got two s**theads to deal with.” Gram walked closer to Gallus and Silverstream, making them worried as he stood over them. “Well since you two are the lucky ones, go to the guild to armor up.”
The guild wasn’t something that they saw yet, given how they ran into Ocellus, so they quickly let him know. “Gwen gave up before we could get to the guild,” Gallus fibbed. “So, we have no idea where it is.”
“Of course, she did.” He looked at ‘Guy’, who quickly made a salute when he noticed. “I appreciate that, but only Gideon gets that treatment. Take care of those kids right there, alright?” He pointed to the griffs that he was done with.
“R… Roger,” Ocellus responded.
“Good,” he then turned to Gallus and Silverstream. “You two, come with me.” Ocellus watched as Gram took Gallus and Silverstream away, leaving everyone else for Guy to deal with.
Taking a deep sigh, she helped everyone that needed assistance. Once everyone could walk, they made their way back to the cells, where they were locked in. Guy was about to walk away and go do another job when she looked to see where Smolder was tied up. She looked to be weak given the fact she didn’t have anything to eat. She managed to look up at Ocellus still in disguise who was checking to make sure only the ones that were locked could see her. Once she was in the clear, she transformed into a rat so she could slip through the bar then changed back into her original base form.
“Smolder, how are you feeling?” Ocellus asked. Her girlfriend tried to respond, but she was muffled by the muzzle that prevented her from using her fire breath. The changeling gave her girlfriend a sympathetic hug to try and raise her spirits. “It’s going to be okay. We’ve been through worse before. And besides, we’ve got some surprising outside help, not to mention not everyone working for the gang wants to hurt anyone.”
Smolder rose an eyebrow as it was the only way she could emote that she didn't believe what she heard. “I know how it sounds,” the changeling continued, “And… I know you might not wanna believe it, but I met a kobold who sounded like he didn’t want to be here too. Not to mention two other griffons seemed to be nicer than anyone else…”
The sound of footsteps approaching made Ocellus quiet down and quickly changed into a rat to try and blend into the cell. One of the guards walked past the cells to check on the prisons and make sure nobody had escaped. Everyone was in their place and the guard went back to his post. Once he left, Ocellus crawled through the bars and changed back into Guy.
“It’s not safe right now,” the disguised changeling said. “I’ll check on you later.” With that, she flew off to stay out of trouble. Smolder gave a muffled sigh as she didn’t want to be alone again. Ocellus felt horrible for having to leave the dragoness by herself, so much she shed a tear.
Glynn was feeling upset too. He took one last look at the note before he went to answer the workshop. Inside, Gadget was trying to see if she could put the pearl shards they stole from the hippogriffs to use. Judging by her face, she looked frustrated.
“Any luck?” he asked.
Gadget groaned and sighed, “I feel like I’m tracking a moth in a snowstorm.” She showed she had a pearl shard inserted into a dagger, one of the smallest weapons they had. She pressed the button that activated the elemental effects, but nothing happened.
Glynn put the note he had away as Gadget was upset as it is. “How about trying them as batteries? Maybe that’ll work.”
“I was about to test that out.” Gadget then showed a shard hook up to a wire that connected to a drill. When she tried pulling the trigger, nothing happened. “And… that’s a no.”
“So what do these shards do?”
“I have no clue. I think they’re just regular gemstones. Gideon will probably sell them on the market if we can’t find a use for them. I don’t understand why all of those strange-looking griffons…”
“Hippogriffs. I think that’s what Onyx said they were.”
“Ugh, whatever they’re called, it doesn’t explain why each one had matching necklaces.”
“Maybe because they’re a part of their culture. You know we’d ask them if we could.”
“Yeah… Which would make this much easier.” Gadget removed the shard from the drill and placed it back in the small container which held the other shards. “There has to be a reason why they had all of these. I’ve managed to detect some magical energy from these.” She showed a scanner that showed there was some sort of magical energy from the shards. “See.”
“I guess these are used for healing instead of offense. Mind if I take one off your claws?”
“Sure,” Gadget handed him one of the shards, “let’s see what you can do.”
He took it from her claw and trotted back to the medical center. He looked at the mark he extracted some of his blood from. He sighed as he knew if he had told Gadget what he found, she would’ve felt worse.
Back with Gilda, she was wandering around until she made her way down towards the mines. She only got a look at what she could see from the entrance as some guards were blocking her path. “Sorry, Gwen,” one of the guards spoke, “We weren't given orders to allow you in. We didn't even know you were back.”
“Sorry, men,” Gilda apologized, still pretending to be Gwen, “The desert has messed with my head and I’m having a hard time thinking straight.”
“Couldn’t you just see Glynn about that?” the other guard asked. “He’s a medic, you know.” Gilda didn’t know who Glynn was exactly, but did remember that griffon who showed them directions and places, including the medical center, saying that he’s a simple medic. She played along in order not to get caught.
“Okay, I’ll check with him.” She flew away leaving the guards at their post. Meanwhile, Sandbar thought he heard Gilda, but it was nearly drowned out by the sounds of pickaxes and the carts’ wheels rolling along the rails.
Eventually, when he and Yona were getting hooked up to more carts, they had another pony hitched up to help. The mane and fur colors were all too familiar along with the cutie mark of light shining through the clouds. “Hmm, it looks like fate wants us to be together,” the mare commented.
“It seems like it,” Sandbar chuckled. The sound of a whip cracking told them to get moving. Yona started them off, quite surprising to the two earth ponies.
“Whoa! Are all yaks this strong?”
“You’d be surprised!” The two ponies caught up with Yona’s speed and they went to get loaded up. “You know, I never caught your name.”
“Oh, really? I’m Skyline. I’d like to talk more about the escape plan.”
“I’m all for it. I think that Yona can be a key factor in it.”
“Who?”
“The yak I’ve mentioned.”
“Oh, right. It feels so refreshing to have someone want to help me break us out of here.” The two ponies began talking about a plan while they kept up the work.
Gallus and Silverstream cautiously followed Gram to the guild. Both young griffs held each other’s talons to keep their spirits up. Eventually, they made it to the guild which was a surprise to them. The room was an oversized closet that was right next to the exit leading to the launch bay. However, that was likely because of what was inside: suits of armor that were lined along the walls.
These armors were made of black metal that would cover every part of the body. Each suit of armor also had some sort of panel on each suit of armor that was heavily covered. Gallus was about to question it until two male griffons marched towards them. They were wearing armors just like the ones on display. One of them saw Gram and the two young griffs.
“Who in the name of Tartarus are they?” he asked.
“New recruits,” Gram explained. “Gideon has given me orders to show them the guild. And trust me, they’re not going to leave my sight.”
“Um… Permission to speak?” Gallus said, bravely.
Gram looked at the young blue griffon. “What do you want to know, kid?”
“These armors. They look… amazing, to be honest, but… how do you move in these?”
“Gemstone power.” He had one of the griffons open up the panel on its chest and showed off a large chest gemstone resting inside. It was quickly closed up after they got a good look at it.
“So. what happens if the gems aren’t there?” Silverstream asked.
“If not, then these things will feel like boulders,” Gram explained. “In fact, we’re about to see if we can find ones that can fit you.” This was a little worrying to both griffs. Despite saying they were fine to just look, Gram didn’t give them a choice. With some help from the other griffons, Gallus and Silverstream were each given a set of armor to slip into. Talons, paws, wings, and tails.
Though, since Silverstream’s body structure was different from Gallus and most griffons, she had a bit of a harder time fitting into her suit. Despite the ill-fitting nature of her suit, they made sure that both students fit into their uniforms. Only their heads were the only parts that didn't have any armor on. Both tried moving around, though it would seem that their suits didn't possess any gemstones.
They were stuck in place as the griffons examined them. “You sure that this isn’t a waste of time?” one of the armored griffons asked.
“These were Gideon’s orders,” Gram explained. “It also keeps them in place.” Gallus could tell they liked this as it meant there wasn’t much of a chance for either of them to fight back. Many of the griffons were curious about Silverstream, as they weren’t used to seeing hippogriffs.
They kept questioning what she was, to which an annoyed Gram answered, though his guesses weren’t right. The details mostly involved a pony and griffon having a certain relationship. Silverstream didn’t like what she heard.
“This isn’t right at all,” she whispered to Gallus.
“No kidding,” the blue griffon responded. “Though I don’t think we’re in a good position to correct them.”
Both just stood there as the griffons kept guessing on how hippogriffs were made. The inability to move was proving to make the two stuck students feel their muscles getting cramps. After discussing a couple of theories they finally got helmets and gemstones for the students and got the parts connected to their armors. As soon as everything was in place, the armors were on and the students could finally move. Both of them moved around a little bit, feeling relieved after standing still for so long.
“Gotta say, these armors are cool.”
“You haven’t seen the fun part yet,” Gram commented. “Boys!”
Gram and the armored griffons led the students outside. Even with the gems powering the suits, they still felt a little heavy to the students. They saw some boulders that looked to be in the way. This wasn’t an issue for the armored griffons, who just picked them up like they were as light as a pebble. Despite what they had seen this team do so far, the students were impressed. They were tempted to try it out, but the armored creatures wouldn’t let them. They were only allowed to watch. Gallus was starting to feel a little suspicious.
“I feel like they’re going to spring something on us,” he muttered to himself. “Why would they put us in these suits, yet did not let us use them to our full potential?” Gallus stayed on the side of caution and simply did everything that Gram ordered him and Silverstream to do.
Gram would've thought they'd tried something anytime now. Most creatures in their position would either make a run for it or would try to fight them back. Both of them were just standing there like statues. “Maybe those gems kicked the bucket sooner than planned,” he muttered. “Or maybe they're smarter than most creatures.” Seeing that both griffs were playing it safe, Gram requested to have their helmets removed. “You two, take off your helmets.”
Perplexed, the griffons listened and helped get the helmets off the students. “So, should we have the rest of the armor taken off?” Gallus asked. “We aren’t using them.”
“Just keep them on a little longer. You’d be surprised how much these things help in the heat.” Admittedly, the suits did feel rather cool even in the baking hot desert. “It was an absolute b**** to get into our armors, but I say it was worth it. Right, boys?” The armored griffins each confirmed they liked the armors’ cooling abilities.
“Okay, so these things can keep us from overheating. Is that and protecting our bodies all they can do?” Feeling a little fed up, Gram requested one of the armored griffons to hold his talon out at one of the boulders. When he did that, a blast shot out from his palm, coating the rock in ice.
“Whoa, that’s just like the weapons in the dojo!” Silverstream gasped.
“You’re a quick learner. Now, raise your right arm.”
Gallus and Silverstream both raised their right arms, he then showed them that there’s a slot for a gemstone to be inserted. Gallus gave a tap on his arm where a gemstone would be, only the tap gave the feeling that it was hollow. Maybe because he and Silverstream didn’t have any gems there.
“When do we get to take these suits off?” Gallus asked.
“In a little bit. For now, just keep following orders.” This was the best idea as they could see what these armors could do so far. Surely, there would be something deadly to dragons.
Speaking of which, Ocellus was searching around for Quartz. She needs to find him, so she could make a plan. She was flying past by the dojo and heard some swords clashing with each other. Curious, she poked her head inside and could see the kobolds training. Most of them were fighting claw to claw, others were practicing their aim by throwing shurikens at targets. Then there were the ones practicing with katanas.
At the corner, she found Quartz doing his training. Ocellus could see that he was going off against a female kobold, who appeared to have the edge. Quartz gave a couple of parries, but eventually, he looked like he would be decapitated if the opponent didn’t stop the katana inches away from his neck.
“You hesitated, Quartz,” the female kobold spoke, “and it cost you your head,” She placed her katana back into her sheath. “What is up with you? You’re starting to feel weak and defenseless.”
“Maybe I don’t want to have this lifestyle,” Quartz stated, growing a backbone. “This is getting way too far.” The female kobold didn’t like this attitude and grabbed him in the neck, belly, and back, disabling the muscles of his body. He fell over limp, only being able to look up at the ceiling.
“How many times do you have to be reminded that you don’t have any other choice? We’re all losing our patience with you, especially Onyx.”
Some of the other kobolds had stopped training to look at the disabled Quartz. Not wanting him to just sit around and do nothing, they used his pressure points to switch his muscles back on and had him leave the dojo. After he left, he then noticed ‘Guy’ was listening behind the corner. He saw her and was shocked.
“How long were you standing there?” Quartz asked.
“Just long enough,” ‘Guy’ responded. “Is there a place we can talk in private?” There weren’t too many options for privacy, but the kobold was aware of one spot.
“There is,” he replied. “Come.” He and the fake griffon went into the storage area, where they kept some crates containing weapons, explosives, and various other items. There wasn't anybody in there aside from the two creatures. “Okay, what did you want to tell me?”
“It’s… uhh… more of a thing to show you. But first… can I trust you to keep a secret?”
“You mean from everyone else in this base?” ‘Guy’ nodded. “Sure. I don’t get along with them anyhow.”
‘Guy’ then sighed in relief. “Thank you. And you might wanna stand back.”
He then stood back. Then a flash of blue surrounded her. The disguise was lifted and the kobold was shocked to see a changeling standing right in front of him. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing. “What the… How did you…?”
“Shh, keep it down. The entire reason we’re here is so that nobody knows our plan.” Ocellus looked around to make sure if anybody heard them. They were in the clear and looked back to the kobold. “Okay, so I’m a changeling, an insect-like species. We can shapeshift into any kind of creature we can think of. Just like this.”
With that, Ocellus shapeshifted into an exact copy of Quartz, much to the surprise of the original. “So… This… I can barely take this all in.”
“I know this is shocking, but it’s useful for the plan to break everyone out of here.” Ocellus then changed back into her base form and explained everything she and her friends knew so far.
“Okay, that’s easier said than done. I wanted to leave this place for years, though… they won’t let me. Even if they allowed me to go, I wouldn’t last long in the desert without help.”
“You will be part of the escapees. We could use all of the help we can get. I think we can only get inside help and you’re one of the only creatures I can trust here.”
“There’s also Glynn and Gadget. They hate working for the Gold Gang too.”
“You mean the two griffons with metal limbs?”
“Yep, that’s them.”
“Oh, good. Now I’m starting to feel more confident about this.” Ocellus quickly transformed back into Guy so she and Quartz could exit the storage room. They checked and made sure nobody was around. “And don’t forget, never tell anyone about my disguise. Got it?”
Quartz did a zip-your-mouth gesture, telling her that he’ll keep that secret. After that, they made their way there to find either Glynn or Gadget.
In the medical center, meanwhile, Glynn was already taking care of Gilda. She was lying on a hospital chair that the beck rested leaning back so Gilda could look at the ceiling. “How long is this going to take?” she groaned.
“Just stay still,” Glynn calmly requested. “I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t like having a heatstroke.” He then grabbed a thermometer from the side table and placed it in Gilda’s mouth. “Do you have any weaknesses in your muscles?”
“Not really.”
“Good.” The griffon medic took out a notepad and began writing things down. “Any cases of nausea or vomiting?”
“None.”
“Good. And… any skin irritations like you feel a rash?”
“None. Just feel like I got covered in enough sweat to fill a swimming pool.”
“Good to know.” Glynn took the thermometer out of Gilda’s mouth. “Let me see… 98.6℉. You’re perfectly fine. Just make sure to bring a bottle of water with you.”
“Yeah, got it. Thanks a lot.” Gilda got up and was about to get going until she saw something fall off from the side table onto the floor. It looked to be some sort of note. “What’s this?” she asked herself. Glynn saw her pick it up and jumped.
“Wait, Gwen, don’t look at that!” It’s too late. She got a good look at the note before the medic could cry out. Reading it through, she was shocked. Her pupils shrunk to the size of a raisin. Gilda cannot believe what she just read. She double-checks it before looking at a worried griffon.
“…Who’s your son?” Gilda asked.
“Gwen, I can explain. One of the griffons that we brought the past few days… Well… the ones that Guy had brought back… He’s… Gideon cannot know about it.”
“You mean about Gallus?”
Glynn almost felt his heart skip a beat. “…You know his name?”
“I know a lot more than that. Are you supporting this gang?”
“I have no choice! Do you think I like dragging creatures away from their homes, making their family members suffer and insane!?”
“Not anymore. You’re not the only one that’s been keeping a secret.” Glynn looked a little puzzled as she took a deep breath. “I’m only telling you this if you can keep a secret.”
“As long as you don’t tell anyone about what you read.”
Gilda promised to keep her beak sealed as she explained everything she knew that the Gold Gang didn’t. Glynn was shocked and a little confused when he heard about Ocellus, as he didn’t even know changelings existed. She even revealed to him about her disguise as Gwen, and the real one was still at the desert tied up, together with Guy and Gene. When the explanation was over, the medic had to take a minute to process what he heard.
“So… Griffonstone had a chance?” he questioned.
“Yeah, until you came in and crashed the party.”
“I… don’t know what’s harder to believe, the fact that griffons are trusting each other without the idol or the fact that six teenagers planned on taking on a gang that has been doing horrible actions since the fall of Griffonstone.”
“I had a feeling their plan was asinine. Since we’re here now, we might as well get them out alive.”
Glynn thought about the best solutions he could think of. “If we’re going to plan this smartly, we’re going to need Gadget. She’s the main one called whenever something in the base needs repairs.”
“Are you sure she’s going to be trustworthy?”
“Believe me, she and I have been together for a long time. You can trust her.” Glynn was given the note back from Gilda and they went to get Gadget, who the male didn’t know how to tell her the truth about Gallus. “Let’s go.”
When they got there, both saw that ‘Guy’ and Quartz were already talking with the gang’s mechanic. A couple of seconds of silence was in the room as the whole true colors thing hadn't been revealed.
“Um, Gwen,” Gadget said. “Look, what’s been said is none of your business.”
“Gadget, this isn’t who you think it is,” Glynn said. This was a little confusing until things were explained. Gadget was a bit surprised knowing that Gilda had disguised herself as Gwen, though probably would be nothing compared to who ‘Guy’ really was.
After making sure that everyone could be trusted and placing the warning sign used for warning others about the welder’s flash, the changeling dropped her disguise. Glynn jumped when he saw Ocellus's true form. “What the… How could…”
“Glynn, I’m just as shocked as you are,” Gadget responded. “I didn't even know these kinds of creatures existed.”
“Same here,” Quartz added.
"So... You already know about Ocellus’ abilities?” Gilda asked
“We do now,” Gadget responded. “And I’m up for whatever it takes to bring down Gideon.”
“Alright,” Ocellus commented. “We just need to know everything about this place.” The five creatures in the workshop then started planning out.
Down in the mines, Bill was laying the new tracks as Skyline, Sandbar, and Yona approached with some carts that were waiting to be unhitched from them. “Bill, we don’t have time to talk,” Skyline whispered. She glanced at the guards, who didn’t seem to take notice of them.
“Sky, if this is about your escape plan, I don’t want to hear it,” the Minotaur responded bluntly.
“But we have a chance this time. Just look at how many carts Yona there managed to pull doing most of the work.” Bill looked back and was amazed at a long line of seven carts loaded with gems and stones. Normally it would take ten ponies to pull this lot, at least to the Minotaur’s knowledge.
“Yona, do you think you can keep pulling this off?” Sandbar asked. The yak looked to be pretty tired judging her deep breaths, but she gave a smile and a nod despite this.
“Yaks are a lot stronger than they look,” Skyline added. “She might be the key we need.”
“That’d be true,” Bill commented, “But including all of us, that’s only for creatures against an entire army. We’ll need more ponies and minotaurs on our side to make this work.”
He went back to building the new tracks starting by picking up one of the rails. He accidentally tripped and ended up dropping the rail, which fell off the nearby cliff. It stabbed into the ground, nearly hitting any of the workers. Some of the guards took notice of this and flew over to the minotaur.
“Oh no,” Skyline gasped. She could see the concern on Bill's face, so did Sandbar. The guards got closer and the colt began thinking fast as he didn't want to have Bill in a worse position than he already was in. When the guards landed, he only spoke first.
“Sorry sirs,” Sandbar said. “I was trying to keep up, but I guess I must’ve knocked a stone loose or something. It must’ve made him tripped.”
The Minotaur could tell what he was doing and snatched a rock from the cart and placed it on the ground while the guards were listening to the fib. The guards saw the stone on the ground, adding to the evidence of the story.
“Things like this happen,” one of the guards commented.
“Should we report him?” the other asked. The four hooves creatures held their breath as they waited for a response.
“Do you want to? Something like this always happens and nobody gets injured. Besides, it’s only one colt. It’s more work than it’s worth.”
The guard just rubbed his eyes before speaking. “Look, kid, count yourself lucky that this isn’t worth it. Gideon won’t be so generous.” The guards flew back to their position, leaving Sandbar off with a warning.
After a sigh of relief, Bill had to ask Sandbar something. “Why’d you do that?” the Minotaur questioned.
“You’ve clearly been through a lot,” Sandbar noted. “You don’t deserve to be here. No one does.” He and the girls decided to get moving before they could get into any more trouble. Bill resumed his work too, thinking about what Sandbar said and did.
Back with Gallus and Silverstream, they were allowed back inside and had their armors taken off. “So, are you willing to have a real test drive someday?” Gram asked.
“Hmm, maybe,” Gallus responded. “Silver, how about you?”
“Um…. Would we be able to fly in these?” the hippogriff asked, trying to sound brave.
“Not likely, kid. These suits are too heavy to fly, even with a power source. At least these models are. We’re getting a new set soon.”
“So the next models are going to fly?” Gallus asked.
“It’s what Gideon has planned.”
“And what do you have planned for us?”
“Head to the barracks. Go straight and turn left, you’ll find it. I’ll ask Gideon what else you can do. Don’t leave the barracks until further orders.”
“Yes sir,” both griffs responded. They flew away to the said room which was a part of the that Glynn provided them. As they did that, Gram went to find Gideon. He found him in one of the rooms most creatures weren’t informed about. The leader stood in front of a vault door before he noticed the griffon approach him.
“You don’t just come in unannounced,” Gideon reminded.
“My apologies, sir,” Gram spoke, giving a salute. “I want to inform you that I’ve sent the two griffs to the barracks. I was unsure what to do with them at that point.”
“Did they show any signs of resistance?”
"Not at all, sir. They played along just fine. They’re smarter than we give them credit for.”
“I see. Enough about those teens, they think they’re one step ahead, while we're miles in front. I'm more interested in how Gwen is acting.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The lack of salute is a red flag. Not to mention that she and Guy are still one member down along with the kid they had still missing is something I can’t ignore.”
“Are you saying she's an imposter?”
“Precisely. I still could be wrong, but I’d like you to keep an eye on her. If she does something that will screw us over, terminate her.”
“Understood, but might I recommend that we have some of the kobolds assist in this?” Gideon smiled as he liked the sound of his suggestion.
Silverstream held Gallus’s talon as they made it to the barracks. She was trying to be brave but this was too familiar to a certain king.
“Silver, it’s alright,” Gallus reassured. “We’re in this together. The spirit wouldn’t send us on this mission if we couldn’t do it.”
The hippogriff managed to get some courage and the two walked into the barracks, where they were stopped by a griffon they hadn’t met yet.
“What are you two doing?” she questioned.
“We were told to come here,” Gallus explained.
“Then I’m guessing they didn’t tell you the rules we have here. Boys in one section, girls in the other.” She pointed in the direction of each section that was dedicated for each gender.
The two students both knew what this meant. “Silver, we’ll meet up again,” the blue griffon spoke. “I’m sure that they’ll have us teamed up to make sure we stay out of trouble.”
This helped Silverstream feel a bit better as they split up and listened to the different sections. Both different barracks had bunk beds lined up on each wall. Many griffons were still there, some getting a snooze, some performing maintenance on their weapons, and one was even practicing his throwing knife skill at a dartboard.
Gallus and Silverstream both found beds that weren’t taken and tried to get comfy. This was far from easy given their current location. Motivated by wanting to get everyone he loved out of here, Gallus began racking his brain to think of an escape plan, which was becoming a bit of a theme in the base.
Back with Ocellus, she, Gilda, Gadget, Glynn, and Quartz were all examining a map of the base. It looked to be eight stories tall, not including the mines. There were many highlighted areas such as the dojo, barracks, medic center, etc. These were likely there to help tell which room was which.
“Okay, so Sandbar and Yona are down in the mines,” Gilda commented, “Gabby and the students are stuck in cells, and Gallus and Silverstream are the only ones allowed around the base.”
“Provide as long as someone’s there to watch them,” Quartz noted.
“Right. Are there any particular places and certain griffons that we should know of?”
“Well, you’ve already met Gideon and Gram,” Gadget noted.
“I’m guessing Gram’s the right claw griffon?”
“That’s right. If one of them is alerted about something, the other won’t take long to know. They’re going to be our biggest threats as they can get any of the griffons to do what they order.”
“I can’t blame them,” Ocellus admitted. “I mean…. You have weapons that kill dragons. We have to play it smart.”
“So, let’s figure out their weakest link,” Gilda suggested.
“That would be Onyx,” Glynn noted. “He’s the leader of the kobold ninjas. They’re often sent in to take care of the smaller dragons about our size. It’s not a pretty sight when they try to take a full-grown one.”
“Tell me about it,” Quartz shuttered. He had a bit of memory he didn’t want to remember.
“Do Onyx and Gideon often argue?” Gilda asked.
“Only when there’s weight on their shoulders. What are you implying?”
“I’m saying we try and get them to fight with each other which either knocks one of them out of the picture or keeps them distracted so they can’t give proper orders. Of course, we’ll still have the other griffons to deal with.”
“Maybe not all of them,” Ocellus noted. “I’ve seen a couple of griffons that didn’t look like they wanted to be here. And I’m not talking about the ones that are locked up.”
“She’s right,” Glynn confirmed. “A couple of them have vented to me about wanting out of here. Sadly, it doesn’t end well when they fight back.”
“How about the creatures in the mines?” Gilda asked. “I bet they want out of here.”
“And how do you expect we get past the guards?” Gadget asked.
Griffonstone’s ambassador simply pointed to Ocellus, who didn’t like this idea. “Gilda, that’s a huge risk!” the changeling stated.
“Listen, Ocellus, I wouldn’t suggest this if things weren’t this dire,” Gilda admitted. “Most of the griffs are young and they won’t last long here. And I don’t even want to think about Smolder’s situation. I can’t even think about how her family reacts when she dies.” The feeling was mutual for Ocellus.
“As much as I’m against this,” Glynn admitted, “This’ll be the only way we can communicate with the ponies and Minotaurs in the mines.”
Ocellus thought about the situation and could only guess that the creatures in the mine desperately wanted out. Not to mention some of her friends were down there too. Since the gang likely never dealt with changelings before, this could be a major advantage for her team.
“Okay, what do I need to do when I get down there,” the changeling asked, ready to face the worst.