Before me stood six injured, profusely sweating, armor clad bandits; all ready to gore me on their collective weapons. Two Earth ponies, a Changlic, a Griffin and two Pegasi. In my left hoof I clutched my white wooden staff tightly and in my magical grasps I held my gem encrusted sword. They were sizing me up, running their scarred eyes over my cloak covered form and trying to figure out what I was.
"If ya' leave bub, we ain't gunna fellow ya, jest a thought." One of the Earth ponies, the brown one, said with a small cackle as he banged his front hooves together in a futile effort to intimidate me.
"And what, pray tell, will you do with the maiden behind me?" I inquired as I looked back at the jacket wearing griffon who was laying in the warm sand.
"Well, that's for us to know and you to not know, huh?" The Changlics said, his voice raspy and dry, doubt not used to such a tropical environment.
"If you are insinuating that you have something malicious in store for her then I fear you'll have to duel me first. I will warn you once, I shall spare no quarter if you raise your weapon against me..." I said as I prepared myself to charge them, lighting my horn a little as my naelstone sword began to glow.
"Hah! He thinks he can scare us?! Boys, you know what to do." The Griffin said as he and the other pirates, aside from the two earth ponies, raised a few wooden sticks of various size. The Changlic raised his long stick with metal in it and leveled it at me, as they did this I knew they were going to try something.
"Now!" Shouted the Pegasus as a series of loud bangs echoed across the beach. Acting fast I raised a small, translucent shield around me as whatever they were firing at me bounced harmlessly off, causing small ripples in my shield.
"Shit, reload!" A Pegasus cried in alarm as those that had fired those things at me acted frantically and tried to do...Something to their sticks. Despite their best efforts they were still fumbling with their equipment thanks to the small and medium sized injuries to their limbs. The two Earth ponies who had no stick in their hooves looked at each other and charged full force at me, only tripping slightly thanks to the wounds in their legs.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" They shouted in tandem as I lowered my shield and walked towards them. They swung their front hooves at me in a futile attempt to hurt me with their studded gloves. Side stepping the brown one I levitated my broken sword to his throat and cut with such speed that the untrained eye couldn't have seen it. Now with his companion grasping at his neck the blue one tried to buck me in the face, no doubt it would have resulted in a broken jaw given the size of his legs.
Steeping back and around I whacked him violently in the stomach with my staff, causing him to keel over and vomit on the sand. As I stomped on the back of his head, I was meet with the sound of a loud snap as his neck gave way.
"D-Dear gods!" I heard one of the Pegasi say behind me in shock and awe. Turning around I saw some of them were frozen in terror while the Changlic and the last griffin ran in terror.
"Leave befor-" I tried to warn them to flee but was interrupted as one of the two Pegasi tried again to hit me with his queer weapon, only to damage the service of a rock three meters to my right. As I ran forward he dropped his weapon and pulled out a rusted cutlass, meanwhile his friend choose to wield his tool as a club, moving the object to hold onto the long, chipped bronze part.
"Give up, you can't win." I said plainly as they charged me, determined to strike me down. They attacked at once, the gold, cutlass wielding one aiming for my head while his orange partner tried to hit me in the side of the back. I raised my staff above my head, stopping the cutlass as it collided with it's wood, not even leaving a dent. I positioned my sword in the way of the instrument and cut it clean in half, sending bronze metal scrap, dark brown wooden splinters and a foul smelling black powder flying everywhere as the blade finally stopped once it reached the other side of my would-be assailant's neck, causing his head to roll off and land without a sound in the sand as his bleeding body soon followed.
Turning my attention back to the first striker I pushed him away with my staff, causing him to stumble, as I ran my sword into his chest, causing him to shout in alarm and pain before I struck him in the side of the head with the jeweled end of my staff, causing a loud reverberating thud to ring out as he feel to the ground with a faint, milky blue light in his eyes. Looking up from the dead Pegasi I saw the last two far off in the distance, no doubt going to enlist aid. sheathing my sword and holding on tightly to my staff, I flapped my wings swiftly, blowing my dark blue cloak enough to see my body underneath. slowly I rose from the ground and rocketed after them, my cloak, mane and tail blowing gracefully in the wind. I quickly caught up with them and before they could react I pounced on the Griffin and whacked the Changlic in the back with my staff, causing the bug to fall to the ground as I and the Griffin both came crashing down. The fall was less then ten feet but before we had even hit the ground I was already assaulting the Griffin.
"I yield, I yield!" He shouted, begging for mercy. I stopped punching him with my free hoof but kept my hoof ready.
"Why should I forgive you? You attacked a family of innocent animals for sport, burnt their home, attacked that female Griffin back there and tried to cut me down where I stood with your outlandish weapons. Why should I spare you?" I asked with venom in my voice.
"W-W-We needed the food! A-A-and that bitc-I mean, that lady was gonna ruin our plans! We had to! W-We thought you're gonna h-help her! Please you gotta listen to me!" He cried, clearly giving me excuses instead of answers. I was considering letting him go with a few bruises and a broken ego, but then his pleading act fell as I felt something tear through my side as one of those loud bangs cried out. With a small grunt, I fell to the ground and felt my sides burn from the strange object piercing my body. As I feel I saw the Changlic use it's long stick to pick itself up of the ground and hobble over to his friend.
"Thanks there mate, fucker almost had me...What the 'ell was he?" The griffin asked in clear amazement. They must think I'm dead...Fools. Closing my eyes and slowing my breath, I waited for the right opportunity. Slowly they laughed off what had just transpired, gloating loudly about their supposed triumph. As they wiped themselves off and looked each other over for serious injures they failed to notice the small, narrow cylinder of water floating up from the waves, held in a faint blue field.
"Don't know, don't care. Lets grab what we can of 'im and finish off that girl, she saw too much...Huh, how what's this staff made off? It's wood, but nun' I've seen 'round these parts...And look at this gem!" The Changlic asked his friend as I felt him try and pull my blessed, ancestral staff from my hoof.
"Bloody gits still holdin' on tight to dat thin' huh? Just cut the hoof o-" The griffons annoyed instructions were tragically cut short as a long, sharp chunk of ice embedded itself in his side, killing him instantly. As he collapsed in a pile of ice and blood, his Changlic friend screamed in shock as I rose from the ground, the wound in my side closing rapidly as a small, dented ball covered in silver blood came out of the wound. Looking up in pure hatred I sized up the cowering bug with contempt as he readied his weapon once more and fired, only to have the ball be grabbed out of mid air and thrown back at him, breaking the chitin around its left foreleg.
"You...What are you?!" He asked in shock, hate and fear as he held his wounded leg. I leveled my hex covered staff at his head.
"I am the last of the Elementals." I declared with pride and strength as a swirling vortex of red, incendiary energy entered the pitch black orb before a large beam of fire shot out and incinerated the Changlic where he sat, killing him instantly and near painlessly. Turing away from the large pile of black ash that was once a living creature I surveyed the small battlefield and sighed in disgust at myself for what I did, though I knew I had to fight or they would have no doubt brought more to challenge me. Walking back over to the injured female Griffin they had hoped to harm, wobbling slightly as my body began to repair any damage both internal or external I might have received during that little encounter, I picked her up and placed her on my back, making sure she wouldn't be prodded by my sheathed sword.
With a sigh I looked around for the small Jackalope and saw it peek it's head out from a large, green bush with various blue wild flowers growing on it.
"It's alright little one, the bad people can't hurt you anymore..."I said, trying to make it feel some form of happiness or closure. Instead it seemed puzzled by the unconscious Griffin lying on my back.
"Don't worry little one, she wasn't one of the bad people...I hope. Would you lead me back to your home? I know it must hurt but I need to find somewhere to aid this Griffin somewhere off the beach that could be safe and if possible I wish repair as much of the land as I can." I asked, knowing it would be hard for the little child to go back there. Instead of refusing he sorrowfully accepted and lead me back into the woods. Knowing I had much to do, I prepared myself.
Hours later
I awoke to the sounds of a strange, mystic voice, completely unintelligible yet held a sense of peace. Despite my splitting headache I was able to listen to the voice clearly. It was a young, soothing and beautiful voice but seemed to possess a sense of understanding and intellect that would suggest he was a sage of some kind. His voice was lyrical, seeming to sooth the soul like a harmonic song, despite making no sense. Slowly, as if being guided by the voice, my eyes opened to a orange light. Above my was the late evening sky boarded by the dark green leaves of the forest trees. Despite the pain in my neck, I turn my head to the left towards the center of the clearing and what I saw will forever remain in my mind. I saw a large hooded figure, completely obscured by the dark blue and gold robe around him, casting some form of spell. Around him and in front of him grew countless flowers of unknown genesis. The colours were extravagant and so diverse that it was like a rainbow had landed in the clearing. Slowly what had once been a large pile of dirt in the center was covered with lush, dark green grass and then even more flowers, the colours were so vibrant that it was like a painting.
"Wow..."I said silently as the strange figure continued to chant something alien while swaying slightly. His chant was soft, sweet and melodic like a bittersweet song. As he sang the cool wind seemed to gently blow the petals of the leafs into the air. I noticed for the first time a small little Jackalope, barely bigger then a new born, crouched in front of the large, flower covered mound. Slowly, the singer ended his song after sometime. The wind died down to a mellow breeze and the flowers continued to sway in the wind. The figure rose from his spot on the ground quietly and walked over to the Jackalope and said...Something. It was still in that strange, song like dialect. With a single nod the Jackalope hopped away from the mound but froze when he saw I was staring at it. With a loud squeak the figure turned around, a large white staff that was previously hidden by his form at the ready; when he saw it was just me he visibly relaxed and smiled warmly.
"Yes, good. Finally, awake you have." He said in very broken Griffish. His voice still held that sweet, young and air to it but it was now lacking the strange, tranquil tone. He had a calm and kind voice that had a noble accent you'd expect from some rich, foppish wanker. He sounded like he'd never been angry before in his life and his tone of voice gave the idea that he could sing ya to sleep if he wanted to. Calming, handsome, strange and mystic of some kind, a dangerous combination around these parts.
"Um...Yes I'm awake...What are you and where are we?" I questioned, trying to sound as unfazed as possible. With a little chuckle he lowered his hood and I was finally able to see his face. He was a tall, beautiful Unicorn with one of the biggest horns I'd ever seen. Sharp and polished as if it'd just been clean, it had a clear aura surrounding it like it was casting an unseen spell. His mane was a mix of leaf green, darkish red, ocean blue and plain white. His face, though hidden partially by his straight, scruffy mane, was the definition of attractive. His eyes were a bright, infernal red and his warm smile housed a set of sparkling, spotless teeth. His serene, youthful features looked so flawless and happy, like he'd never frowned in his life. He seemed gorgeous and charming, but when one has my line of work you tend to be a bit skeptic.
"Guy is name. I'm a Unicorn. Clearing? Minutes away from beach." He said with a quizzical look, as if he was struggling to remember how to talk.
"Look, can you speak anything else? It's truly painful to hear you butcher my language." I said with an unimpressed look. He seemed to chuckle a little before rubbing the back of his head.
"My apologies, Griffish is not my first nor second language. I found you injured on a beach with ruffians chasing after you, I dealt with them and brought you to this clearing." He said fluently. He seemed well versed but spoke in a somewhat antiquated way.
"Right, about those bastards, what happened? I remember some hooded figure looming over me as I bleed out on the sand, damn blighter looked Death...I take it that was you?" I asked rhetorically as he sat down a meter or so away from me.
"Yes, I followed the sound of loud thunderclaps and came across those brutes. Pray tell, why where they after you?" He asked, genuinely worried.
"Those twats had been causing trouble all over the area, it would be foolish not to try and hunt them down. The last I saw of them they were running after me and greatly out number me as well, care to elaborate on how you managed to escape with me? For all I know you could be some mysterious friend of theirs trying to lull me into a false sense of security." I asked, wanting a decent explanation and reason to trust him.
"I didn't escape, I fought; If you want prove that I'm an ally then you need only walk back to the beach, 'tis a grizzly scene to behold." He answered with a neutral look as he opened up his left saddle bag, the brown buckle and cover obscuring his face slightly. I knew there was some truth to his words but why he would he go out of his way to help me while putting his own life in great danger?
"Okay, so what do you want?"
"...Pardon?" He asked as he lifted his head out of his bag, genuinely confused.
"What do you want. You must want something in return, I highly doubt you'd have rescued someone like me out of the goodness of your own heart." I said with a hard look. He was obviously playing the fool, no one would help a buccaneer around these parts.
"Well then you are going to be disappointed. I could have avoided those barbarians but they'd done more then enough to irk me and if it means I would help an innocent women then I couldn't ignore them." He stated with a strange sense of justice.
"Right, innocent, sure, let's go with that. What do you want from me?" I asked with a slight roll of my eyes. He may be able to convince himself with a few words and a kind look but I wasn't an idiot, I knew he had ulterior motives.
"Well...If you can point me in the direction of the closest town and I'll be on my way." He said with a small smile as he went back to searching through his bags.
"Heh, the nearest town is a days trip that way." I said while point into the direction of the sea, winching slightly as my wounds weren't completely healed. "You're lucky you found someone who happens to own a ship big guy, otherwise you'd have to swim. There's no one around these parts who'd give ya a ride, only crazies, pirates and outlaws at The End. Hope none of them are you." I said with a small chuckle as he gave me a quizzical look.
"The End?"
"You know, The End of the World. No ones gone out to the Far'lai Alps and came back. Back to what matters, you want to get to a town and I'm offering a ride, you want it?" I asked, trying to steer him back to what's at hand.
"Hold on..." He said before pulling out a small clay pot of some kind. "Not that I have a problem with the offer, but why are you insisting on helping me when I merely asked for directions?" He inquired as he opened the pot, letting out a pungent smell of honey, wheat and grass.
"A women of my caliber in my field of work can't be owning favors to every clocked stranger now can she? 'Sides, I say we're even if I offer you a lift." I said with a small smirk as he started to take out small piles of the strange, yellowish goop that smelt funny.
"Hardly, I saved your life and you're offered me a voyage...What do you do by the way? Your outfit seems most peculiar." He asked curiously as he began rubbing the goop into his dirt covered hooves.
"I'm the soon-to-be most revered corsair this side of The Sundering Schism." I said with a small amount of pride and ambition. His cheerful smile and calm attitude seemed to vanish in an instant as I said those words. Swiftly, he looked at me accusingly.
"You're a pirate? A criminal?" He interrogated with an accusing stare.
"Hold on there buddy, I've done nothing criminal, to much to lose just now if I ruined my reputation. What I meant to say is that one day I'll be the greatest captain that ever lived, though all I got to show for it is a boat and some mates. Still, it's something...Heh..."I hastily said with a nervous chuckle as he slowly got back to doing...Whatever he was doing.
"My apologizes, I've had less then stellar experiences with pirates in the past...Most recently a few hours ago." He said with a small, apologetic grin as I saw a small, blood stained tear in the side of his cloak.
"Damn, you were shot? How are you still standing?" I questioned, awestruck that he could have survived a bullet to the flank.
"Shot? huh, I suppose I was shot. I'm in relative comfort thanks to this ointment, now hold still you suffered a horrid wound to the side of your body." He said, somewhat unsure about the first sentence, though I quickly stopped him when I saw he was planning to rub something on me.
"Arrêtez! I mean, stop. I can rub whatever that is on fine, don't have to be so creepy about it..." I said quickly as he handed over the small jar.
"My apologizes again, I didn't mean to do anything untoward, I simply thought you'd be in to much pain to do it yourself." He said with a small amount of redness in his blue cheeks.
"I'm fine, not the first time I've been shot." I said as I dumped a small amount of the strange, glowing gel like stuff.
"Is getting shot a common thing around here?" He asked with genuine intrigue and worry. I had to stop myself from laughing, mostly because it would hurt to much.
"Heh, If I wasn't sure if you were a Tourist I know now. Yes, getting shot is how some situations tend to end around here. Boy, how dumb are you?" I asked with a small smile as I looked at my bullet wound with a small bit of worry.
"I like to think I'm well versed in world knowledge...Though I may be lacking in 'current' knowledge. Just apply the ointment directly to the wound and let the herbs work their gifted magic. If you'll excuse me, I need to use the lavatory." He said as he quickly rose from the ground and dropped his bag and belt which had housed a longsword I'd previously not seen.
"O-oh, fine, didn't really need to know that but sure..."I said as he walked off into the bushes. Alone, I opened my red and gold armoured jacket and inspected the wound. With a small whistle I slowly touched the wound. Whatever was in that clay pot worked wonders. A few hours ago I had been dying on a beach and now my wound was little more then a small hole with some dried blood over it. I expected it to hurt when I applied the cool medicine, instead it soothed the wound and made my body feel better then before. My sandy yellow feathers seemed to gleam with new found luster and my cloudy mind was clear and ready. After a small amount of rubbing I closed my jacket and wiped what was left of the ointment on my black and stained pants leg. Standing up I was amazed at how great I felt. Stretching my once damaged wings out wide and also my limbs I couldn't help but laugh at how amazing this mans medicine was. If he felt inclined to I would have to get the recipe.
Looking around the quiet clearing, my eyes were drawn to his baggage, more accurately his leather sheath. From a distance I could tell the belt was made from some old and no doubt rare materials but whatever was inside that holder was shiner then a whole treasure chests loot. Letting my curiosity get the better of me I reached out and picked up the sheath and tried to pull out the blade.
"Aïe! Adroit!" I cried in pain. I don't know what was etched into that sword's handle but whoever placed the hexes on that thing knew what they were doing. The instant that I rested my hand on it it felt like I'd touched lava. I went to blow my hand but saw it was completely fine, no burn marks or blisters, nothing. As I inspected my left hand I heard what sounded like someone clearing their throat and felt a small tapping on my right hand. Looking down I saw a small, feral Jackalope with an angry look on it's face.
"And what's your problem runt?" I asked, still annoyed and in pain from my foolish attempt to pull out the mystic sword. The second I insulted it it looked shocked but quickly began pointing at the sword and the bushes were that guy just went.
"Yeah, I know it's his, I wasn't planning to steal it furball I just wanted to check it out. Since when can food be so judgmental?" I asked myself, clearly bothered by the ugly look I was being given by the little thing. As I went to place the sheathed sword back next to the bags I accidentally knocked over his saddle bags, spilling the contents out.
"Merde..." I said with a sigh as I placed the sword on the ground and begun to place everything back inside the bags, all while that annoying rabbit glared at me. Most of his stuff was simple supplies and pots, nothing overly remarkable. But, as I stuffed the last few supplies he'd packed into his bags I felt something very soft and very hard at the bottom of the bags. Despite previous outcomes, I gave into my curiosity and pulled them both out.
Thankfully they weren't cursed to set thieves on fire or something. The soft thing turned out to be a small kids doll of some Alicorn. His mane and tail were a combination of various reds, oranges, yellows and greys that resembled a mix of fire and ash. His coat was dark red, much like his gem stone eyes. The cutie mark, as the Equestrians call it, was a large, flying phoenix with a trail of ash behind it. Despite the childish look, it was clear that this thing was made with love and care and the materials used were clearly expensive. The eyes alone must have set this drifter back a bit. Thinking it better not to hold onto something that could easily break, I carefully placed his doll back inside his bag.
The other item was a large, recently dusted and faded leather book. Much larger then any I'd seen before. Turning it around to look at the front I was somewhat surprised to see that all too familiar giant tree. Despite lacking colour it's hard to mistake such a distinct design. The thing smelt old and musty and I suspected I'd tear off the pages with a slight glance, so out of respected I didn't look inside the book. But just as I went to stuff the volume back in I heard the rustling of leaves and saw the vagabond enter the clearing.
"Sorry if I kept you-Oh! I see you're up and about!...And going through my possessions...Why are you holding my grimoire?" He asked, switching from apologetic to surprised and lastly suspicious.
"Sorry, I knocked over your bags and went to put everything back in, I didn't mean to pry or make you nervous." I said with a small smile, hoping he bought my bluff and ignored the small rabbit thing. "I must say, I'm surprised that you're a follower of the teachings, what with you being a Unicorn." I said, trying to shift the conversation.
"Teachings? What teachings?" He asked, confused and still suspicious as he grabbed the book and yanked it out of my talons using his surprisingly strong magic.
"You know, the Teachings of Gaia? That old ass storybook from way back when, I thought only old people, shamans and the local church still practiced that stuff." I said, giving the abridged version. He seemed somewhat shocked for a second before going back to normal.
"I wasn't aware of that, it's simply an old heirloom. Tell me more about these 'teachings'." He said, intrigued. He had a somewhat distant look in his eyes and his voice sounded nearly nostalgic.
"The Teachings of Gaia, at least from what Father has told me, is some old scripture from the Immortal Ages. It was written by some long dead Alicorn or something and is basically just a bunch of spiritual nonsense about the world mixed in with a few life lessons, stories and holy rules. You'd have to talk to Dad if you want the full story but that's what I remember him telling me about that piece of writing from the Church." I said, somewhat bored and uncaring. "That mark, the Eternal Tree of Life, is synonymous with the Church." I said while pointing a single claw at the tree on the cover of his old book. He seemed surprised beyond believe but quickly recovered.
"I fear I now have more questions then answers...If you're partial to it I'd rather leave as soon as possible Miss?" He said as he buckled his saddle bags, which bore the same mark, up and also secured his sheath and belt.
"Liz." I said as I checked my pockets for my stuff.
"As I stated before, My name is Guy. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."He said with a weird smile, as if he knew something. I could tell that wasn't his name but everyone has their secrets I suppose.
"Guy huh? Strange name for an Equestrian. Raised by Griffins?" I asked, trying to get as much out of him as I can.
"No, but I had a few Griffin friends growing up. You mentioned your father knowing more about this religion, is he a priest or monk?" He asked.
"Heh, you can say that..." I said with a small smile and laugh. "I'll lead the way, once we hit the beach it shouldn't be far till we find my boat." I said as I began to walk through the foliage, but stopped when I heard something hopping. Turning around I saw that annoying Jackalope was tailing Guy.
"Hey, you got food chasing after you."
"How dare you? Bo is not food, he's my companion and is too young to be left alone without a family." He said, defensive then sympathetic as he knelt down and petted the Jackalope, which had a hurt look that was quickly replaced by a contented look as he patted it.
"Bo? It has a name? And how the hell do you know it's orphaned?" I asked, confused and giving him a very suspicious look.
"He told me, and that small mound of flowers was his burrow." He said dead serious as the small Jackalope looked saddened.
"Wait...He TOLD you? Are you drunk or just superstitious? And while we're at it, what the hell were you chanting when I woke up?! That's far from Equestrian, Griffish or Minotaurian." I asked, suddenly questioning this strangers sanity and he's race.
"Yes, he told me, why are you looking at me like that? And I was merely speaking in Old Tongue." He stated like any of that made sense. I slowly gathered myself before I continued.
"Old Tongue? That long dead language mentioned in scripture? Right, and I'm the Chieftain of the Blood Plains. How do I know you're not a Siren in disguise?" I integrated, slowly backing away.
"...What do I have to do before you'll trust me?" He asked after grumbling something under his breath. I thought for a bit before I came up with a request.
"Take off your cloak and clothes." I instructed with a demanding tone in my voice. His face turned beat red and he seemed shocked.
"W-What?! Why?" He questioned, stuttering slightly as he raised his left hoof up slightly and in front of him.
"If you're some kinda fish pony you must have scales of some kind!" I said, hoping what I said was true. He gave me a baffled look.
"No!" He firmly said.
"If you don't take off your robe then I won't give you a lift, and good luck getting into the town without a local with ya." I said with a small smirk as he was stuck in an ultimatum.
"Gods...Fine!...Oh Gods this is so degrading..."He shouted with a huff, though continued to comment under his breath. He slowly took off his robe, clothes and sheath and stood still, he shied away from my gaze as I looked for anything suspicious.
Like his facial features, he was gorgeous. He was tall, maybe a talon or two taller them me if I were to stand close to him. His body was athletic but not overly muscular, just enough to show off his muscles and features but not to make him look bulky like a farmer or a guardsman. His fur was a royal blue, something rarely seen in ponies outside of Unicorns and nobles. He seemed to take good care of his body showing no signs of unnecessary fat, any birth defects, abnormalities or wounds. His legs were long and seemed well suited for running, though his fetlocks and hooves seemed caked in dried dirt and stained his shinny coat. His mane flowed down to his back and his multi-coloured hair didn't clash with his fur, despite the vastly different colours. His tail matched his mane and hang lazily down, the bottoms of the hairs ruined by small amounts of dirt. His cutie mark was that of a few floating leaves of various colours, what I'd expect from someone who looks like a hippy.
Overall he seemed normal for a Unicorn: attractive, graceful, well kept and dignified. The only abnormalities I could spot would be his long, sharp horn, his stained fur and hair, his somewhat vague cutie mark and the very uncomfortable look on his face which matched the mortified look in his big, red eyes. Aldo, I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something...Something important, but I couldn't see what.
"Are we about done? I'd feel MUCH more comfortable wearing my clothes again..."He hastily said while bouncing on his hooves slightly, it'd seem funny, adorable even, if it weren't for the fact that I didn't find it amusing.
"Yeah, sure, but be warned; I got my eyes on you. You try something and it'll be the last mistake you make." I threatened with a warning tone and a hard look in my eyes. It fell on deft ears though, as he was more occupied with putting on his now grass stained robes. Aldo he was holding it in his magical grasp it must have touched the ground or something.
"Now that that unpleasantness has been dealt with, can we PLEASE move on? I would much rather make some progress towards this town before nightfall." He said as he calmed himself down, his little pet looking at him an expression of sympathy as it lightly tapped him in his left hind leg, almost like it was trying to pat his back. It seemed to work though as Guy smiled and lightly patted the thing. He levitated the small rabbit onto his back, picked up his supplies, secured his belongings and looked at me.
"So, onward Liz?" He asked with a small, comforting smile. He seemed like a sweet, naive guy but something told me he wasn't telling me everything.
"Sure, when we reach the beach head I'll know where to go." I said as we walked off in the direction of the beach.
Gaia
Twenty minutes later
An hour till Nightfall
We were now a small ways away from the bloody, corpse covered battlefield. I'd covered Bo's eye's with my wings and told him not to look. Liz seemed in awe at the scene but quickly got over it and continued to walk.
Liz was a peculiar women. She wore foreign clothes, the likes of which I'd never seen, and carried one of those bizarre sticks. Her clothes seemed regal in design but were stained by sand, dirt, grass, possibly blood and various odd smelling chemicals. She spoke with a funny accent I'd never heard before. It was a strange mix of strong, powerful Minotaurian accent found commonly in the Northern, snow washed lands the Minotaurs crawled out of and a more regal and a more calm, refined Griffish accent, one heard throughout any Southern land ruled by the Griffins. It was odd, her voice was mysterious yet calming, graceful yet uncultured and brutish and she spoke like a laymare.
She had lovely sand yellow feathers and a cool patch of light blue feathers on the top of her head and also around her long wings but she seemed to barely worry about her appearance as her hair was a mess, her wings were in need of a preening and her outfit seemed in need of a cleaning. She swaggered around like she was a Queen yet looked more like a filthy commoner or someone who just got back from a tavern brawl. She was perplexing to say the lest.
"How far until we reach this vessel of yours Liz?" I asked, not really because I wanted to rest or anything along those lines but merely because I wanted to make some substantial progress.
"Not far, I had to hide the little thing when I saw that those buggers were camping near the coast. Their supplies were really shitty so I didn't grab nothing." She said as she scanned the trees, periodically snapping her eyes to her stick thing.
"Very well...If I might ask, what is that you're carrying with you?" I asked while pointing at her weapon. She seemed confused then surprised.
"...Are you telling me that you have NO IDEA what a gun is?" She asked, giving me an odd look.
"Yes, I'm a bit out of the loop when it comes to modern technology." I said honestly.
"Where have you been living for the last few decades? Under a rock? Guns are a Griffin weapon made a hundred or so years ago. Functioning as a small canon, its for personal defense but can be used for warfare. There's bigger kinda firearms for different uses, like taking down multiple people in a single shot or blowing a hole in the side of a building. Some places have banned these things or stick to swords, cannons and other old weapons 'cause their dumbasses but there's no better tool for a traveler. This is a multi-barreled pistol built by me and a few mates, but mostly me. eight mithril barrels, a smooth, black wooden handle and gold flower patterns engraved into it. Made just for me and loaded with paper cartridges, Anne's the most powerful thing I own." She said as she twirled the thing around her talons and stared at it lovingly.
"Sounds powerful, but unnecessary. I think I'll stick to swords and magic if I can." I said as I continued to walk with her.
"Suit yourself big guy, but don't blame me if someone shots you in the gut while you're trying to cast some useless spell." She said with a small smirk.
"If it was a live or death situation, I doubt I would be casting a 'useless spell', if one even exists. I hate to annoy you but where is your ship? I can't see it anywhere along the beach." I asked, repeating myself.
"Right over here, just past theses rocks." She said as we approach a long, jagged stretch of rocks that served to divide the beach. When we stepped past them and into a small, hidden stream that ran from somewhere inland and out to the ocean. Hidden along the natural wall was a small boat. It had a somewhat big sail, enough room for six normal sized people to sit, excluding larger races like Minotaurs or drakes, a rudder at the back and a raised piece of rusted metal at the front, it looked like it acted as a shield but it seemed unnecessary. It looked more like a raft then a boat and I doubted it would be safe at sea.
"This...Is your boat?" I asked, surprised and somewhat disappointed.
"This is my boat's dingy, don't worry it's sea worthy. Come on, the less time we spend around this beach the better, I'm sure those dead pricks have friends that are gonna start lookin' for them." She said as she started pushing the boat out to the sea. I helped her out by picking up the boat with my magic and placing it out a far bit. She almost stumbled though, and gave me an annoyed look.
"A bit 'a warning woulda been nice." She said as she walked towards the boat as I followed her. Lifting up my robes, I followed her, softly walking through the water.
"Okay, the trip should be about...Ten hours?" Liz said as she flapped her wings and flew into the boat.
"You sound unsure." I stated as I stepped onto the little boat.
"Well, the wind seems unfavorable and we'll be going against the tide for awhile." She said as she raised the sail and picked up a pair of oars and began to row. I calmly placed my bags on the floor, underneath a bench, lightly levitated Bo off my back and next to me and patted him on the head to calm him down. I knew he wanted to come with me, but he was still afraid. Looking back at the tranquil shore behind Liz, I decided to reflect.
'It feels like eons since I went on an adventure. Five days since I've left and I've already killed a group of people, I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. This will all be worth it though, a new born Alicorn...'
"Hey, you okay? You're kinda freaking me out." Liz said as she stared at me with a confused look. I blinked and looked at her.
"Apologies, I was just thinking about things." I said with a soft tone. Liz turned around and looked towards the shore, her eyes drifting to the blood stained area.
"Hey, don't worry about it, those landlubbers had it coming." She said, trying to console me.
"Oh, I wasn't worried about that, I knew they were horrible people but it was still upsetting. I was just thinking about how long its been since I've traveled." I said with a hint of nostalgia.
"What'd you do last time you left wherever you life?" Liz asked, though I was unsure if she actually cared.
"I went on an adventure." I said simply, not wanting to go back to that part of my life.
"Wasn't a good time huh?" She asked, looking towards the horizon.
"No, it was not." I said as I rested on the bench, curling up under my cloak to fit in the boat as Bo hopped on top of me and curled up. As stealthily as I could, I cast a spell. There was a noticeable, soft roar coming from the wind as the sails suddenly blew out, carrying the boat towards our destination.
"WOW! Huh, guess we'll be getting to the Isles sooner then I thought...Hey, you may want to catch some shut-eye, it'll be awhile." Liz said as she grabbed onto the boats side and then composed herself and grabbed ahold of the rudder.
"Sleep sounds wonderful..." I said happily. I smiled to myself as I let my body sink into fatigue and I slowly fell asleep, praying I would have an uneventful slumber and that my rest wouldn't be clouded with nightmares.