A rolled up letter appeared with a soft pop. With a sigh Harmony took it with his magic broke the seal and quickly scanned the contents of the letter. Harmony facehoofed at what he read.
Ever since the ash coughing/vomit incident six weeks ago Golden Heart has been on an overprotective streak. Another trait of Spike’s(which he was sure that he got from Twilight) showing through. Harmony would smile nostalgically at it if it wasn’t interfering with his work. With any luck Quartermaster will be able knock some sense into him before his return. In the mean time he had to report in every three days just to get him to let him go. That was after they got into an argument as Golden Heart originally wanted him send a letter every day.
He of Hourglass,
Please, Brother, relax. I will be fine. I am not a helpless hatchling. Need I remind you that I have survived much worse...
I just arrived in the town of Strongberg with any luck I should have the oscillarium ore that I need for the matrix.
Your Brother and Fellow Keeper,
He of Harmony
Harmony walked into forge behind the local blacksmith shop. The smithy should be able to get him the ore that he needed. Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long to get the ore. Even though Strongberg was known for its oscillarium ore deposits but he wasn’t sure if the there would be enough currently mined or not.
“Forge!” Harmony cried out when he saw a very familiar, greying, female griffin manning the fire.
“By the Roc’s feathers, Harmony!” The wizened griffin abandoned the fire to greet the cloaked alicorn. “Long time, no see. What have you been up to? And please tell me its not that boring Keeper work.”
“Well then, I’m going to have to disappoint you once again.”
“You know, if you ever need a squeeze I’m up for some pillow time.” Forge flicked her tail at Harmony’s nose.
“Forge…” Harmony was so glad that his embarrassed blush was hidden inside his cloak otherwise he was sure that Forge would have laid it on even thicker.
“I have always wonder what a horn–”
“Forge!” Harmony breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of someone calling for Forge. He wasn’t sure if he could handle any more of Forge’s colorful bedroom ‘suggestions.’ “Forge!”
A very small griffin fluttered into the forge. Harmony thought the griffon was a bit too small at least from the sound of his voice. The young chick tripped in his exuberance. He smashed into Harmony knocking him over. It was then that he noticed why he was so small and why he slid so easily. He wasn’t a griffin he was a hippogriffin.
Forge laughed heartily at the pile of feathers and fur before she helped them up. “Yes, what is it Pen Feather?”
“The sheriff needs you again. Apparently he forgot to grease the hinges to one of the cells again.”
“That feather brain! I swear he’s full of helium sometimes. Ugh. Duty calls. I shall be back shortly, my tweet.” She flicked her tail at Harmony again as she exited with an oil can.
“Yuck.” Pen Feather gagged.
Harmony facehoofed. He was beginning to remember why he had not been to Strongberg in nearly 30 years. He knew that Forge was teasing but it was still embarrassing. It wasn’t that his eyes never strayed towards a mare or two over his long life he just never let it go a second longer then that. He knew that it would never work. Between him being sterile and his work as a Keeper he knew it could never be. Still to have a family…
Yeah, you did… Killer.
Murderer.
Hypocrite.
“Hey mister…”
“Mister!”
Harmony almost jumped as he realized he had zoned out from the voices in front of someone, again. “Oh, I’m sorry little one, I seemed to have drifted off.”
Pen Feather ruffled his feathers. He mumbled angrily under his breath. Harmony could just make out the words ‘not’ and ‘little’. Harmony smiled knowing that all younglings seemed to want to be big only to wished they were little again once they were big.
The minutes passed by in silence as Harmony patiently waited for Forge to return. He was surprised that Pen Feather was staying quiet and out of trouble. It was not typical for a child of his age (pony, griffin, or in this case hippogriffin) to remain still and silent for so long. Although thinking on it he remembered how angry Forge could get when someone messed around in her forge without her permission. And if he recalled correctly the last one to do that was defeathered in less than ten seconds.
The sounds of an argument woke Harmony from his inner musings. He saw that Pen Feather feathers were ruffled up a bit in excitement. This was not a good sign.
“I don’t trust him.” A male voice yelled, muffled a bit from distance and walls.
“He is a Keeper! How can you not?” Harmony recognized that voice as Forge.
“Never heard of them.”
“By the Roc’s Feathers!”
From there the argument devolved into a cursing match. Harmony facehoofed while he appreciated Forge defending him but it was unnecessary. By this point they had arrived by in the forge. Pen Feather was cowering in the corner. Harmony didn’t blame him in the least. He could see that the male was a young pony with a blond mane and brown fur. His cutiemark looked like a police star.
“Forge.” Harmony yelled out over one of Forge’s more colorful rants.
As expected they either ignored or didn’t noticed his interjection.
“Forge!” He yelled again. This time Forge and the sheriff stopped their arguing to stare at the cloaked Keeper. “I’m not well known in Equestria.”
“How could they not know you?!”
Harmony shrugged. He knew why but he wasn’t on the sheriff's good side. The last thing he wanted was the sheriff knowing that the reason was dragons. He still need to get the oscillaruim ore and really was not in the mood for a posse or a mob running him out of town.
“Forge may trust you but I don’t. I don’t know what a Keeper is and I really don’t care. I’ll be watching you.” The sheriff threatened before he stomped out of the forge.
Harmony rolled his eyes as the sheriff walked out of the forge. If you really knew what a Keeper was you’d know that I outrank you.
“Sorry about that. The sheriff has been on edge since the traveling bard’s wagon was destroyed by the Phantom a few days ago.”
“The Phantom?”
“A mysterious shadow figure that has been haunting town the past few years. We can’t figure out what or whom this aberration really is. Everything about it is contradictory…”
“How so?”
“Well of the few confirmed sightings all describe it as minotaur like shadow. The most recent attack contradict that as there was evidence of claws.”
“Hmm…” A minotaur like shadow figure with claws… Harmony was pretty sure he knew what the Phantom really was. It was definitely was not a minotaur. The claw marks make that quite clear. He would need to look at the damage to be sure.
“I know that Hmmm… You think you know the culprit?”
Harmony would have given her a eye raise but he was still in his clock. “Maybe, I need to inspect the damage.”
“Well, as I don’t have any pressing work I shall... escort you.” Forge giggled like a little chick.
Harmony had to suppress a shudder. Somehow age had only made her more promiscuous.
He sighed as he followed Forge out of her blacksmith shop and down the street. Pen Feather apparently was curious as he quickly caught up to them near the tavern.
“You are lucky. We hadn’t gotten around to cleaning up the mess yet.” Forge was explaining as they rounded a corner. Next to the inn was the shatter remains of a wagon. “The Phantom was never like this before. Petty vandalism, sure, but nothing like this…”
“Whoa.” Pen Feather yelped.
“Indeed…” Harmony agreed.
“It was like a tornado went through an’ booom and it was like….” Pen Feather went full of CMC. Harmony groaned as he had hoped that this child would not be that way. “This is way cooler then the Phantom’s usual boring music and lame art… I mean flute music? Come on! Wheres the drums and the bass guitar…”
Harmony decided to just nod in a noncommittal way. Pen Feather kept talking on as if Harmony was intently listening to his every word. Harmony was not terribly interested in over dramatics or past incidents he needed the facts of this one. There had to be a reason for the escalation. But first he needed find evidence to confirm his suspicions.
It was definitely destroyed by claw and not by an instrument. The markings also showed that it was not a griffin. The scratch marks showed that whatever attacked used four claws. While griffins had four claws the orientation of the fourth claw meant that it almost near used in scratch like attacks.
Harmony was giving a particular plank a close examination when he heard something that Pen Feather was spouting out. “Wait back up… did I hear that correctly?”
“Uh… The part about always being against ponies?”
“Fascinating…” Another interesting part of the puzzle. Harmony put down the plank and shifted some more of the debris away.
He eyed something half hidden under one of the boards. With a hoof he pushed the board out of the way. He lifted the object that he saw earlier. It was a white scale. Well it appears that we have a dragon problem… Slowly he let the scale down as he didn’t want to reveal just yet that he discovered what the Phantom was. He continued to poke around the wagon like he was still looking for evidence. He needed to check out the tavern new paint ‘job’ but Pen Feather was still talking a mile a minute. After a while Harmony stopped looking as he figured that was enough time. He rubbed his chin in fake thought.
Pen Feather noticed this and finally stopped his hyperactive talking to ask. “So? What do you think?”
Finally the opening I needed. “I would like to see the most recent graffiti.”
“Uh… sure.”
Forge ruffled the head feathers of Pen Feather affectionately. “You do that. I have to go back and check on my forge.”
“See you in a bit Forge.”
“I look forward to it.” She leaned in and whispered a bit too loudly. “I’ll get the bed all warmed up for you.”
“Again. Yuck.”
“Come Pen Feather, show me where the tavern is.”
Pen Feather zoomed ahead laughing. Harmony chuckled a bit at the youth before trotting to catch up. He knew exactly where the tavern was. He also knew that the hippogriffin would be disappointed to not help out with his investigation. Not that he needed that help as he was done and just had to go find the culprit. Looking ahead he saw Pen Feather excitedly waving him over to the alley next to the tavern.
“Come on it’s over here!”
Harmony obliged and quickly caught up to Pen Feather. There on the wall next to him was the graffiti. It was a very crude depiction of a horseshoe with three painted claw marks across it. Below written in dripping red and extremely poor griffin was the words:
Clawz 4vR
Harmony facehoofed. Really? “Childish.”
“Huh?”
Harmony shook his head. “Just an observation.”
Pen Feather yelped as he suddenly realized that it was getting dark. “It is getting late and the streets are not safe after dark.”
“You go on ahead,” He waved his hoof dismissively, “I have something I need to do.”
“But…” Pen Feather suddenly couldn’t see Harmony anywhere. “Uh…” Where did he go?
The cave was definitely not one an adult dragon would use as the height of the cave would barely be large enough for a whelp to walk through. Even though the cave entrance looked over the town the rocks around it hid it from prying eyes. It would be a great spot for a young dragon to nest in.
“Good evening young dragon.”
The only response he got was the dripping of water and the sound of the breeze whistling through the cave. He knew the dragon was in there. The faint smell of sulfur drifted from within. If that wasn’t enough he had created a specific tracking spell from the scale he had found earlier. According to it the dragon was watching just beyond the light.
“Going to be quiet? Fine by me.” Harmony wasn’t terribly surprised. The dragon was probably surprised that someone, a stranger noless, found his cave so easily.
“I know it was you that destroyed the traveling bard’s wagon and instruments. I don’t know what your problem is with ponies or music. But it stops, now.”
“Here’s the deal. You are going to compensate very very generously the pony you terrified to help replace his wagon and instruments along with the bits he could have earned. Then you are going to wash off the graffiti that you spray painted on the tavern. You have three days to do this. And if you don’t like that I will notify the town who their ‘Phantom’ is and where you are. Trust me, my punishment is mild in comparison to what the griffins will do with you.”
“Don’t try and flee either because I will be watching.”
“Remember, three days. I shall be on the hill at sunrise on the hill overlooking town.” With that Harmony walked away from the cave and into the night.