//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained // Story: Numbered Days // by Im a B O X //------------------------------// Griffonstone, several days later… After what seemed like a long and exhausting train ride and an uphill hike, Smolder and Solemn had finally managed to reach their golden destination. What greeted them up top was a revolutionized city, not anymore was Griffonstone a cold desolate city of a bygone Kingdom, instead, it was a fairly modest City-State, having transitioned from being a sole Kingdom into another one of many other cities that made up the “Greater Eastern Federation”, unofficially still referred to as the Griffon Kingdoms and Principalities or “Griffon Federation”. Surrounding them as they entered the city-proper were, to their surprise, better-mannered griffons. The worst case was simply being ignored, but when compared to what this city used to be and you could say it’s a huge step forward from what once was. “So, remind me why we’re going to Griffonstone again?” Smolder asked, still bewildered at what had happened to this once shallow nest of a city. A sigh of aggravation escaped Solemn as he looked back at the hovering Smolder. “Were supposed to check up on what Gallus been up to if he’s even around these parts, as well as check-up in the locals for some things relating to your work. “So who are we looking for? Apart from Gallus of course.” Looking around whistles still listening to the souring mood of Solemn Vow. Lifting a piece of paper, he showed her who the picture was. “Gustav, a good associate of Ideals. He’ll know a bit more about him since they knew each other on a much more… eh, ‘mutual’ grounds.” “You don’t say…” she remarked, taking her sweet time at admiring the amount of tremendous effort to turn the life of this once ragged city around. Of course, Solemn wasn’t exactly explaining the whole picture to Smolder, at the behest of his new employer, Twilight Sparkle. One that he had to begrudgingly accept, plus, as his old friend would have said, “not everything may seem as it is...” Soon after, both would arrive at their first destination in the city, a small and seemingly humbling little pawnshop, owned by an old griffon, Grandpa Gruff. As they entered through the front door, it creaked all the way through, which was enough to gain the attention of the only griffon in the establishment. “And here! The old bastard is still kicking, how’s it been old grandpuff?” Solemn asked the elderly griffon, receiving more of an annoying puff than anything else from him. “Been better,” the old griffon simply replied, but he responded to a question yet to be asked. “Plus, I know you’re looking for that Blue jay. Truth be told, I haven’t seen him much since he became a captain, heard from Gilda that he’s been a bit of a downer lately at their bakery. As for any clue as to why? No idea...” “Blue jay?” Asked Smolder, clearly still bewildered but trying to get over and think nothing more of it. “Gallus, he means Gallus,” Solemn answered. “Speaking of which, where’s Gilda? I haven’t seen that tough bird since she moved her bakery.” Solemn asked, looking around the place but seeing no sign of neither Gilda nor Gallus nearby. “Oh, she’s moved places, heard they get a decent increase in earning since the ‘old timer’ had started working there, heavy quotes on that one.” He said, pointing in one direction towards the newer part of the city. “Down there in the upper district, they make some of the best pie’s round there.” “Well, that’s good to hear! Oh, and do you have any idea who this ‘old timer’ is? He asked, doing a little looking around from where he was, admiring some old antiques he could spot. The old griffon seemed to be in deep thought for a moment before he spoke again. “I think his name was Gustav, good chef from what I’ve heard.” “Bingo,” Solemn whispered, leaving Smolder to just wander for a bit around the shop. “Well, it’s nice to get some help with you, old grandpuff,” Leaving thirteen gold coins for the old griffon, “and don’t spend it all in one night!” “I won’t …” he mumbled, returning to cleaning some old antiques as he watched Solemn drag the young dragoness outside, grumbling, but still smirking in the process. He had changed, and old Grandpa Gruff was still kicking despite his age, but eventually, that would cease to be the case, everyone is now only waiting for the eventuality, no matter how grim it may be. … After a short while of more walking and searching, the two finally managed to find their footing and made their way to the place that they were looking for. A fairly large bakery in the upper district of the city, and much to their surprise, the griffons have not only changed but seemed to be better overall, what with their initial expectation of everything all being a ruse for some small-time scam. In retrospect, they found it pleasant that it was a truthful change for the better of the city and its inhabitants, all things considered. “Ready?” Smolder asked as they approached ever so close to the city square. A deep sigh and an unexpected answer were what Solemn gave. “That’s a stupid question and you know the answer.” “So it’s a yes?” she asked, fully expecting him to be prepared for whatever may come. “No! Of course not!” Solemn burst, “We’ve got no idea how this is about to go down, and we only went here because… where else are we supposed to get going? We're following the directions of an old griffon mind you.” She was about to object to that when she realized something. “Good point.” “Regardless of that, we better get in.” He said, opening and holding the door for Smolder as both entered the establishment they were led to. A ringing signaled the arrival of new patrons, thankfully, the duo didn’t receive any hassle from any of the other patrons who were already there, and as such, they simply made their way to the counter. Once there, the young griffon that ran the counter made some adjustments for their accommodation, while they ordered some treats that caught their sweet tooth. Eventually, both found a table to settle down for a while while they waited for their snacks to come by. “Any other story I should be caught up on?” He asked, guessing that Smolder lived a pretty livid life, all things considered for a dragon her age and connections. “So tell me, what happened with Gallus anyways?” “He got a promotion, Captain of the Royal Guards, first griffon to do so.” she blandly replied as if it wasn't a big deal. Straightforward to the point, Solemn could only smirk at a slowly dawning realization; if Ideal’s predictions were correct, then that would mean that Gallus is the first truly revolutionary figurehead outside and since Twilight’s ascension and Shining Armor’s days of a Captain, a griffon who could be a big player in the upcoming years of change. “You don’t say…” He remarked, unable to hide his ever-growing smirk. One that Smolder caught on. “Why? What’s with the sly grin?” She asked, somewhat concerned but still thinking of it as nothing serious. “Oh, it’s nothing, just a bit of lingering thoughts from Ideals.” He said, genuine in his response. And that’s where they left their little conversation for the moment. Content with waiting for their treats, they would soon be served what they would pay for. … Several hours later… Soon, the duo would find themselves carrying a half-asleep Griffin through the streets, one that they had found while waiting at one of the lower district’s plentiful bars. Having had their fill at the bakery earlier that day, they had the opportunity to talk with Gilda, a merry time, all things considered. Although unfortunately, their trip to the bakery would mostly go uneventful, with Gilda telling them the griffon they were looking for was on leave, their whereabouts allegedly being somewhere in the lower district. Plus, they had sat out the afternoon for too long, being filled with pastry and the like thanks to Gilda’s passion and… insistence for them to take more. That said and food aside, they had, by some miracle, been carrying Gallus for a good half hour or so, having found him in the wayside drinking to his heart’s content, they didn’t intervene and allowed the blue Jay to have his fill before trying and promptly failing to convince him to fly to a nearby dorm where they planned to stay the night. “Holy shit, by Celestia’s ass, you’re fucking heavy for your size, Gallus.” Solemn remarked as he and Smolder tried to guide the stumbling and half-awake griffon to their place of sleep for tonight. A difficult thing to accomplish no doubt, with the griffon seemingly being unable to go sober anytime soon. “Don’t you think you took in a bit too much?” Smolder asked the mumbling griffin, who simply ignored her question and somehow had managed to avoid vomiting up to that point. “Bit much? HE FUCKING DOWNED A GALLON OF WHISKY BACK THERE!” Solemn exclaimed, finding it to his surprise that Smolder was this calm. “I KNOW HE DRANK TOO MUCH! Damnt…. Listen, I know he’s intoxicated, geez, you don’t have to make a fuss over it.” She retorted in equal volume. “Plus, I didn’t ask you.” “Ah… ok.” He was visibly taken aback, further enforced by the fact he couldn’t think of a rebuttal, being too caught up in the moment. So instead, he decided to focus on diverting his effort of getting this heavy griffin moving. ‘Holy… griffon stomachs are impressive.’ He silently thought to himself. Taking a mental note to maybe try out the bar’s around when he had the time. … After much time and an excruciating amount of effort, the trio had managed to find themselves a room and roof to sleep under. Gallus was still intoxicated, and Solemn feared he’d just empty his stomach any minute now. A mess he didn’t want to clean up after if what he downed was anything to go by. “You think he’ll be fine?” he asked Smolder as they simply looked over the now fast asleep griffon. “Because thinking about it, I might have a couple of letters that need sorting after this. So I need to stay clear to avoid any... unfortunate mishaps.” Looking to him, then towards her friend, Smolder motioned for him to go on. “I’ll keep an eye on him, do what you’ve got to do.” “Ok…” he mumbled, making his way to another part of the complex to be alone for the night. The light generated from his horn was the only thing that alit his view as he conjured up a pen and paper, prepared to write his message to Twilight. It was heavy, heavier than usual for him... he didn't know why, but he could feel as though there was pressure being placed on him to succeed, whether he knew it was his own expectations or not. ‘This is stupid,’ he thought to himself, ‘why the fuck down I have to write her a letter? I thought she already knew I could be trusted!’ Alas, he didn’t allow himself to ponder on those thoughts any longer than he needed to, he still had a letter to write and send. So he began, in a soft mumble, he began to mumble the words that he began writing, telling the princess about his current findings. “To the Sovereign, that’s concerned, As you may know, I accompanied your former student as per your request for the trip to Griffonstone. We had limited success in most regards to finding Gustav, as we had to also stop by the bakery and some shops. The information we had gathered is fairly limited, but we will continue our best in continuing this… investigation of sorts. Another thing of note is that we had found your recently promoted captain; tired and heavily intoxicated. Rest assured, we had managed to bring him with us for his own safety. Although I highly suggest you clean up after his act, the papers are likely to get wind of this, so do take my warning for precautions as intended. There is no fruitful news for you to hear as of the moment, furthermore, the developments of your plan seem to be unraveling at a snail’s pace, although I’d have no say in that matter. Griffonstone, or the federation for that matter, has changed, for the better when compared to the slumps it once was, and I recommend you get someone to do a bit of digging for you, especially on your future endeavor. Other than that, there is probably no news that you haven’t yet heard of, at least by the time I am writing this letter. Your sources and our previous discussion about Griffonstone have been accurate for the most part. We even managed to stumble upon some of your old associates. Unfortunately, he has yet to find our leading griffon, although reset assured, it is still too early to say anything is for certain, I would still have to check on some possibilities and some old faces for the time being. Other than that, I should be finished with my end of this arrangement by the end of the week, and I look forward to the possibilities we’ll have to discuss later on. On a lighter note, I can attest to the fact that your student, Smolder, is putting up a good front, all things considered. I hope that she’ll be able to hold her own when the time comes. Scenery, Your only informant.” And with that, he set the pen down as he looked over the letter he was about to send to her highness. Pure silence, nothing to interrupt as his magic held the letter in place. It was short, all things considered. It had everything he needed to tell, which much wasn’t, but he did think it was still early in the game to say anything was concrete. After all, he still had to find Gustav in this open city. He stared on for a little while longer. Content with waiting as he could hear in the distant room the snoring of a dragon and griffon. “I should probably get some sleep now…” he muttered to himself. Deciding to send this mail first thing in the morning. No harm in it, plus, he would be rewarded with a good night’s rest. Although he’d still have to arrange some common grounds for him and Gallus if he wanted to get along with him. ‘Don’t worry, it’s all fine…’ he thought as he slowly drifted off to sleep from where he sat. The letter still being in his reach as he slept over it. The night was cold, a good night to sleep under. It was all good, all things considered…