//------------------------------// // No Distance Too Great... // Story: What Remains I: The Griffon and Her Dweeb // by Bateman66 //------------------------------// Zahn smiled sardonically down from his throne at the sullen looking Alistair and Gilda, cherishing their expressions with his own self-entitled superiority over them. They had just arrived back at the stronghold gates not even an hour earlier and of course the regional “governor”—more so, king—wished to learn of their adventure and exploits. But most importantly, he wanted to know if the alluded treasure had really been successfully acquired. The graying griffon male didn’t quite see himself as one to be too concerned with money and its loose promises, but what the human had described was an ambiguous wonderland of free and legal loot, all ripe for the taking to whoever came across it first. Instead, what he got for funding the escapade as well as supplying one of his own troops as protection was two stout-faced adventurers and not a hint of compensation Sighing with an exaggerated heaviness, he mockingly shook his head. “And here I was thinking you two would actually succeed. Two able-bodied thrill seekers with stars glittering in their eyes.” He shook his head again. “Guess I thought wrong.” “The treasure was gone when we got there,” said Alistair tightly, taking a few steps toward the raised part of the room where Zahn’s throne sat. “The Changelings got to it first, who knows how long ago but definitely not recently.” Zahn snickered. “You’re joking, right? This is your joke, some elaborate way to make me forget about you failure? Because if it is…” Zahn’s eyebrows suddenly furrowed, “it’s not working.” “I’m not joking,” he insisted. “The Changelings really were there. I saw remnants of a small hive within the treasure chamber. It was cracked and frozen over but definitely there.” Zahn cocked an eyebrow while inquisitively leaning forward in his throne. “Changelings? In the Northern Griffon Kingdom? Impossible, they have no purpose in our land. Especially with treasure, I doubt they even use money.” “I’m not lying.” Alistair said with quiet exasperation. “I really did see it.” “Don’t test my patience, boy,” the griffon monarch retorted harshly. “First you try to tell me you were attacked by some imaginary group of murderers, now Changelings are in the equation too? I hope you’re not taking me for a fool.” “There was an attacking group of ponies,” Gilda cut in, too taking a few steps towards Zahn. “They were really well trained, had equipment, weapons, even these weird spheres that bounced against the ground and—” “Enough!” shouted Zahn, thrusting himself out of his seat aggressively while fully extending his wings outwards. “I’m not going to sit here and have the two of you spin obvious lies over honorably admitting to your mistakes. Get out of my sight, now!” Both equally glaring daggers back at the aged griffon before them, the two friends turned around and walked out of the king’s court. -------------------- A few minutes later, the two friends stood casually in one of the castle corridors, blazing wall torches to each side of them. “Is he going to do anything to you?” Alistair asked with crossed arms. “He did seem pretty mad.” Gilda shrugged. “Probably gonna get a demerit, maybe extra cleanin’ duty or somethin’ like that. It won’t be anything that big; Zahn isn’t as bad as he wants you to believe.” Alistair nodded. “That’s good to hear, especially since I’m still in his castle.” “How long are you thinkin’ on staying anyway?” “Not long,” Alistair said with a wave of his hand. “I’d like to be on my way back to Port Isaz by tomorrow morning. Not that I’m mad or anything, I just want to get this trip over with as soon as possible.” “Well…” said Gilda cautiously, choosing her words more carefully than she normally preferred. “If you’d like, and if it wouldn’t be any trouble, I could come with you to Isaz if you want. It wouldn’t be for anything particular, just to give the both of us something to do.” Alistair smiled, not even needing a moment to ponder his answer. “Of course I’d want that, Gilda. After travelling these past few weeks I’d feel like something was missing if you weren’t with me.” Gilda could feel her cheeks begin to warm as she looked down bashfully toward the floor. “You…d-dweeb,” she stammered out in a way Alistair couldn’t help but beam at even further. “T-This isn’t—I j-just—what I meant to say was—” “See you tomorrow?” Alistair finished with a twinkle in his eye. “Of course, see you then.” He slightly bowed his head to her and briskly walked back down the corridor, a smile stuck uncontrollably across his face. Gilda sighed in relief and slumped her body graciously against the wall. She’d gotten through the entire ordeal with only minor difficulty and in the end she’d gotten an excuse to spend more time with her friend before he left. Although this should’ve been considered a bitter sweet moment, the positives in her mind clearly outweighed the negatives. -------------------- Alistair and Gilda quietly walked side by side down the rugged dock platform. Not much activity was present from they were, with only a single midsized passenger vessel moored in that section of the yard. Other than that, the murky blue waters of Port Isaz stretched out across the rocky bay, with the forested mountain crevices encircling almost the entire city, save for the small passage that led out to the ocean. The late morning sun stretched above their heads at a three-fourths tilt, not quite reaching its noon position but very close to getting there. The handful of griffon dockworkers they passed while moving through the simple wooden platforms hadn’t even attempted some semblance of respect and blatantly stared agape at the sight of a real live human. The two responded by glaring back until whomever the longshoreman was got the message and scurried back to their own business. The two stopped near the gangplank of the passenger ship, both inspecting it with passive interest. “Not as big as I thought,” remarked Gilda. “You’d think with how long it’s gonna take you to get back they’d settle for something with a bit more leg room.” Alistair shrugged. “It’s only about three weeks, and we stop at a few islands along the way. And even then, I find ways to keep busy.” “Such as?” “Reading, doodling, staring off across the endless abyss of water that covers the breath of everything I see before me, stuff like that.” Gilda smirked. “Even before you leave you’re still able to bring out that unending dweebness of yours. It’s like a bottomless pit or something.” “I try,” he said with feigned pride. “In fact, when I applied for External Affairs that was what I specifically noted to my boss, I’m very good at being a dweeb in the workplace.” Gilda playfully slugged him in the shoulder. “I bet.” The two stood by the ship for quite sometime, keeping a peaceful silence between them as they observed the easy goings of the small port. Even as the handful of other passengers (mostly ponies) boarded the vessel they continued to stand by its mooring, wishing to cherish this last time together. But, as the departure bell rung abrasively atop the deck, Alistair knew it was time to go. Reaching out gingerly with his hand, Gilda tightly grasped it with her claw. “This isn’t forever you know,” he said with a weak smile. “I can definitely apply for another trip over here, maybe even something with Zahn if I’m lucky.” Gilda pursed her lip, doing her best to stay cheerful. “I hope so…I don’t have much of an excuse to go back to Equestria.” Alistair squeezed her claw, feeling his throat beginning to choke up. “We’ll think of something.” Staring into one another’s eyes one last time, the two friends slowly broke their grip in unison and moved away in alternate directions. The passenger line was unhinged from the dock as the anchor was slowly raised out of the water. Setting the sails tightly atop its mast, the ship slowly began to chug out of the harbor, leaving the entirety of the Griffon Kingdom, and all those in it, behind.