//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Expedition // by Raugos //------------------------------// The fireplace had gone out when they woke up, about a couple of hours or so before sunrise. After wolfing down some oats and dried fish, Lenny peeped out the windows and found nothing but pitch blackness beyond the frosty glass. Here we go. They had little time for idle chatter as they readied up for the long haul. After getting everything on, Lenny flexed his wings to ensure that they weren’t obstructed by the hefty array of bags he’d strapped to his sides. He then trotted in a tight circle around the living room, testing the fit and tautness of the straps. Chafing and open sores ranked pretty highly on his list of things to avoid, especially considering how much everything weighed. All together, they had enough supplies to last for five days, which they could easily stretch to seven or eight if the situation called for it, consisting mostly of dried meat and hard bread. Lenny also kept a pack of pressed hay and grain for himself, since he could not subsist on meat alone for extended periods without risking his health in some way. They each had their own sets of tinderboxes, oil lamps, blankets, tin pots, water canteens and other essentials. To compensate for his lack of opposable thumbs, Lenny had come equipped with a modified set of bracers, straps and steel hooks which he wore on his forelegs so that he could climb as well as any griffon, and they also doubled as a mount for his slingshot if necessary. He’d strapped his sheathed hunting knife to his foreleg and stowed his sling and pebbles away in one of his packs. A harpoon would’ve been nice, too, but he didn’t think it likely that he could make good use of such an unwieldy tool for an underground trip. “How do I look?” He turned and found Audri studying herself in front of a cracked mirror in the corner. She looked like one of those griffs going on a long pilgrimage to far-off lands, heavy-laden with supplies and tools for the journey. Either that, or a lonely merchant who couldn’t yet afford a caravan. “Good enough,” he replied as he tightened the last strap. “That’s it?” Lenny raised an eyebrow. “Is there a beauty contest nobody told me about?” “What? No.” Audri rolled her eyes and beckoned him over. “This one’s a little more interesting than that!” Frowning, Lenny trotted to her. Once he got within reach, she pulled him close so that they stood side by side, facing the mirror. “Something I’m supposed to see?” he asked. “Yeah. The siblings from Skarhold who helped bring back the Idol of Boreas.” “Hah.” He shook his head. “Getting ahead of ourselves, aren’t we?” “I call it planning in advance,” she replied, playfully punching him in the shoulder. “Like it or not, we’re leaving a mark on our clan’s name once this is over, especially after that little stunt you pulled yesterday. Got to look the part, don’t you think?” Lenny peered into the mirror and saw a bluish-grey pegasus with pale yellow hair, posing with a griffon who had a tan coat and mottled white plumage. They wore red face paint to accentuate his sky-blue and her golden eyes, honouring Skarhold’s traditions in hunting and foraging. Adding exploration and archaeology to the list wouldn’t hurt, and he saw no reason to pass up the opportunity when they were already all geared up and ready for adventure. A little corny, maybe, but he wouldn’t complain when Audri seemed to enjoy the idea so much. His reflection grinned. “Find us a bard and we’ll make history.” “That’s more like it. Come on!” Audri half-dashed over to the front door and unbolted it. “Time to—oh fluff, that is cold!” Lenny’s breath instantly turned to fog when the blast of freezing air flooded the living room. Say what he might about Griffonstone’s upkeep, but they certainly knew how to set up proper insulation. He’d hardly felt any of the chill from inside Gilda’s house, in stark contrast to the hoarfrost visible on the ground outside. The mountain range had some seriously fickle weather if it could go from rain to ice in less than a day. He chuckled when his sister shivered, puffed up her feathers and muttered, “Don’t know how griffs here put up with it.” “Really? It’s not too bad, actually.” An eyebrow went up. “Maybe you’ve just got more… insulation.” “Har har.” Rolling his eyes, Lenny barged past her and leapt into the sky. They flew over the tops of the houses, weaving in and out between plumes of smoke from chimneys on their way to the King’s Roost. Lenny counted just over a dozen griffons assembled in the barren field outside the inn, including the guards stationed at the fences. Lamps hung from poles staked into the ground next to oaken tables to provide light as they worked, casting long shadows in every direction. An attendant came hurrying over to verify their copies of the contract as soon as they landed. Once done, he pointed at a miniature mountain of equipment and said, “Quartermaster’s that way. After the inspection, he’ll provide your standard-issue supplies. Be quick about it; Lord Karhonnen wants to move out by sunrise.” After submitting themselves to a brisk inspection by a couple of surly griffons, they received several packs filled with food and other supplies to complement their own, most notably sets of personal harnesses and rope to link to one another for the climb down. After that, they met with a representative of Griffonia’s leading bank to confirm their account details for the advance payment. The process was more tedious than Lenny cared for, and since Audri had a far better eye for detail than he did in that sort of thing, he left her to deal with the accountant whilst he surveyed the site and inspected their would-be companions for the expedition. He found it rather easy to sort out the pick-ups from the ones directly in House Karhonnen’s employ. Those who answered directly to Reynard wore blue cloaks embroidered with the emblem of black, outstretched talons, poised for the kill. Everyone else had a more rag-tag appearance with mismatched gear and, in a few cases, slightly malnourished physiques. There was a pair of scruffy vulture-like griffons – probably twins – dressed in hardened leather armour with knives on their belts who looked as likely to go out mugging as exploring; a surly, dark-feathered fellow wearing a bone necklace and a longbow slung on his back; a rather large peregrine-head who wore scale mail and seemed to walk on her hind legs all the time; and several others that he couldn’t clearly make out in the hustle and bustle. Not the most promising companions in the world, save for maybe the big female. In comparison, Reynard’s armed subordinates looked a tad more impressive. Two of them in particular stood out: a massive guy with the head of a grey hawk and hindquarters of a snow leopard, dressed in chainmail with a sword strapped to his belt, and an odd sort of reverse-hippogriff with a pony’s head instead of an avian one, complete with pale, purplish mane and bright orange eyes. Both wore the House’s cloaks, and the… mare flanked Reynard like a bodyguard whilst he conversed with the big griffon, gesturing emphatically and pointing repeatedly to the map on the table before them. Judging by the big guy’s frown and tense posture, he wasn’t too happy with what he was hearing. “He sure looks annoyed. Wonder what’s got his tail in a twist?” Audri quipped. Just then, the big griffon arguing with Reynard glanced in their direction and locked eyes with Lenny. His hackles immediately rose when the griffon abandoned his conversation – much to Reynard’s apparent displeasure – and began plodding towards him like a mountain of bone and muscle. Lenny unfastened the buckles on his equipment and set them all on the ground; he knew trouble when he saw it, and judging by the way others paused whatever they were doing to watch, things were going to get ugly in short order. Audri had tensed up as well and moved closer to him, but he quickly stopped her with a sidelong glance and a discreet shake of his head. Reluctantly, she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently, then retreated to give him some space as he trotted forward to meet his adversary. If it came to a fight, it wasn’t hers to win, especially not when they had an audience watching. “Lenny Redtail,” said the griffon as he towered over him. He stood firm and met his gaze. “That’s me. Something you need?” The griffon inclined his head just a tiny bit and said gruffly, “I am Sir Grell, Champion of House Karhonnen. Lord Reynard tasked me with leading this expedition of his, and now—” “Might I remind you that I will be leading from now on?” Reynard called out. Grell stiffened. “You most certainly have, my lord.” He then focused on Lenny and continued, “It has come to my attention that you insulted Lord Karhonnen in the presence of his subjects yesterday.” “Yes.” “And you still wish to join his expedition?” Lenny didn’t blink. “Yes.” The corners of his beak curled upward in a grin, but his black eyes remained cold and hard. “Would you consider yourself stupid or brave?” Lenny could tell that Grell was just toying with him. The way he answered mattered more than the answers themselves, so he simply shrugged and said, “Both. Is there a problem?” “No, I suppose not. Every king needs a fool.” This time, a hint of mirth twinkled in Grell’s eyes. “You’re quite the interesting long-face, Lenny Redtail, which makes it all the more regrettable that I have a duty to perform. Defend yourself.” Lenny ducked when Grell swung a huge fist at his face, and then spun around to kick up dirt with his hind legs. Like most griffons who’d tangled with him, Grell had probably expected him to buck and instead got a faceful of dirt for his trouble. Less than what Lenny would’ve liked because ice had hardened the ground, but enough to distract his opponent. He then twisted back around, lunged at Grell and stomped on his toes, hard enough to feel something crack. A quick, powerful beat of his wings propelled him backwards and out of harm’s way when Grell swiped at him with outstretched talons. Rats, he’s fast! He felt a streak of hot, itching pain on his foreleg where Grell’s talons must’ve grazed him. A split-second afterward, Grell barrelled forward, intent on ramming him head-on. Rather than resist the blow, Lenny loosened up and spread his wings so that air resistance would absorb most of the impact. Still, the sheer force behind the attack winded him, and he lost his footing as soon as his hooves hit the ground a good ten feet or so from the point of contact. As soon as he got back onto his hooves, a grey blur appeared seemingly out of nowhere by his side and took another swipe at him. Lenny managed to block the attack with both forelegs, but then a wing swung out from the other side and struck him in the temple. The world spun, and Grell followed up with a punch right in the midriff, driving out what little air remained in his lungs. Before he could recover, a wall of blue cloak slapped him in the face and stung his eyes. Blinded and gasping for breath, he swung wildly and struck something that felt like chainmail overlaying solid rock. He thought he heard laughter somewhere in the distance as his opponent kicked him in the gut and then, as he curled up in pain, planted a foot on his back and sent him sprawling to the cold, hard ground. Gritting his teeth, Lenny blinked rapidly to clear his eyes and tried to rise, but found that he could not with the weight of a mountain pressing down on his back and wings. “Enough.” He felt pressure at the base of his skull and a pricking sensation on his throat. Grell had him in a death grip and could easily sink a talon into his jugular whenever he pleased. “Yield. Or do you need more persuasion?” Lenny squirmed, but Grell had far too much of a weight advantage over him. He could not break his grip or wriggle out from under him. “I… I yield,” he murmured, feeling his cheeks burn as some of the guards chuckled amongst themselves. Grell pressed Lenny’s neck to the ground, hard enough that it interfered with his breathing. He then leaned close and said, “You may still join us if you wish. However, remember your place: you follow Karhonnen’s orders in this expedition, be it from Reynard or myself. Also, if you insult my lord again, I will break more than your pride. Is that clear?” Between the agony in his chest, neck, squashed wings and constricted throat, Lenny only managed a strangled grunt. “I didn’t catch that, boy.” He growled and strained against Grell’s weight, gaining just enough leverage to free up his airway and draw a quick breath before his muscles failed. “Yes,” he choked out. The pressure lifted, but he could do little more than simply lie on the ground with Grell’s shadow looming over him whilst he caught his breath. After what felt like an eternity, he managed to struggle back onto all fours, suppressing a groan when his aching muscles protested. “That will do,” said Grell, and he began marching back to Reynard’s table, gingerly nursing his right hand. Halfway there, he looked over his shoulder and said, “You’re a dirty fighter, Lenny. Is everyone in Skarhold like you?” “You have your talons, I have my moves. We use whatever gifts the Sky Mother gives us.” Grell studied him in silence for a moment, then turned around and hollered, “All right, show’s over. Briefing’s in fifteen minutes, and then we move out. Get ready or get left behind!” Almost like clockwork, everyone stopped watching and went back to business. “You might want to sit this one out,” said one of their companions as they walked past him. “Leave the hard work to griffons, eh?” Lenny didn’t answer, even though he would’ve loved to take on the glorified pigeon in a fight. Challenging him so soon after losing spectacularly to someone else would reek of desperation, so he simply ground his teeth in silence as the fellow gave him a sympathetic smile and went on his way. “I think he means well,” said Audri when she came to him. “That makes it worse.” “Yeah…” She inspected the cuts on his foreleg and began dabbing them with some cotton from her pack. “Shallow and clean; they’ll heal. How are you holding up?” Lenny stretched and winced when his sore spots sent little knives digging through his nerves. He was going to have some lovely bruises tomorrow. Still, he bulled through the pain to test his flexibility and check for fractures. Once done, he sighed and said, “It hurt like you wouldn’t believe, but I’m feeling a lot better already. I don’t think anything’s broken.” “I’m not surprised. He looks like the kind of guy who trains soldiers, and he’s freaking fast for his size.” She shook her head. “Well, at least you got him once, right? His fingers must feel real tender right about now.” Lenny grinned. “Crowning achievement right there. Where’s my knighthood?” Audri chuckled and looked east where the sky had already brightened to a light blue glow just before disappearing behind Griffonstone’s neighbouring peaks. Then, she picked up one of his discarded packs and said, “Let’s get these back on you before we miss the briefing.” Lenny had to admit that Reynard had surprised him by coming along; he’d fully expected him to relax in Griffonstone whilst everyone else did all the dirty work. Altogether, their expedition was fourteen members strong. Reynard, his hippogriff companion, Sir Grell, and four guards led from the front whilst the rest of them hirelings followed, with him and Audri bringing up the rear because he didn’t fancy putting up with snide remarks or staring for the time being. He just needed a little more time for his bruised pride to recover. The mountain warmed considerably once the sun came up, sending tiny streamlets of ice-melt flowing alongside the rocky path down Griffonstone’s steep slopes towards the Abysmal Abyss. They descended about a quarter-mile northeast before reaching the gaping chasm that ran nearly the full length of Griffonia, from the northern glaciers all the way to the coast in the southeast, nearly three hundred miles or so, according to the most reliable maps. Estimates of its depths ranged anywhere from several hundred feet to Tartarus from those who claimed to have reached the bottom, but the most level-headed griffons believed it to be just over three miles, similar to Griffonstone’s height above sea level. They’d planned to walk along the edge till they reached the area where Gilda had found the idol and then go down straight down, as far as they needed to retrieve it. Hopefully for no longer than a week, and without any accidents. Gnarled pines and grass dotted the rocky landscape on either side of the chasm. A constant, dull roar resonated from it – audible even though they kept a respectful distance from the edge – like a massive waterfall even though no significant amount of water ran that close to the surface. It took some serious wind velocity to make it sound like that, which explained why no smart griffs ever attempted to simply fly down there. At times, the roar shifted to either a forlorn howl or a low moan that made his hair stand on end; if anyone asked him to describe what a thousand lost souls would sound like, he would’ve readily suggested that they take a stroll by the abyss. Upon reaching the place Gilda had indicated, everyone put on their harnesses and linked up with rope for the descent, going in three series of up to five. The chasm was relatively narrow at this point, with the other side less than a hundred feet away when it usually spanned more than five hundred or even a thousand in some areas. Though weathered, the rock face still provided plenty of anchor points for the steel hooks fastened to his bracers, allowing him to keep up with the others. Before long, Lenny had settled into an almost hypnotic rhythm of repositioning one limb after another. No one spoke save for the occasional command from Grell or warnings about treacherous footholds, and the incessant roar of wind from the deep. The deeper they went, the stronger the wind grew. His mane and tail constantly whipped around in the turbulence that clawed at them, just waiting to pick them like beetles off the wall and fling them into darkness. Every now and then, they found ledges or outcroppings with enough room for a few of them to sit on at a time, so they took turns resting whenever they could. By the four-hour mark, they found Arimaspi’s bones nestled in a hollow, exactly as Gilda had described. Reynard and his cronies helped themselves to its grave first, picking it clean of any jewellery that the incessant gale hadn’t already snatched away. Once done, they clambered a little lower to make room for the rest of them. “Ten minutes and then we move on. Make it quick!” Grell shouted over the roar of the wind. Lenny simply sat down and waited his turn. “Pretty sure it’s already picked clean,” said Audri. “That’s not what I’m after,” he replied. Still, that didn’t stop the others from trying for gold. The twins went about it with great enthusiasm, sticking their talons in just about every nook and cranny. Others rummaged through the detritus beneath the bones. Sure enough, one by one they came away empty-handed and went back to the ledge to join those waiting. Once he had enough room, Lenny trotted over to a massive arm and used his knife to prize out one of the six-inch claws from its socket. He slipped the souvenir into one of his packs, turned around, and nearly bumped into Grell’s armoured chest. What the— He instinctively leapt back, ready to defend himself and everything, before he realised that it was actually that big female griffon he’d seen earlier – the one who walked on her hind legs like a diamond dog. Up close, he saw that she almost matched Grell in size and musculature. She had grey-brown plumage, black fur on her hindquarters, blue eyes and tied her crest behind her head like a ponytail, and in addition to the supply pack, also wore a sword strapped to her back and a long knife at her belt. “That’s quite a step beyond simple grave-robbing, don’t you think?” she asked in a distinctly Griffish Isles accent. A little deep in tone for a female, too. Although she had her arms folded in an imposing stance, her merry eyes and half-smile seemed friendly enough, so Lenny found himself relaxing as he answered, “He’s dead. I don’t think he cares.” She studied him for a moment, during which he wondered if she was one of those who bought into the old ‘angering the dead’ stories. Eventually, she grinned and offered a hand. “I’m Erin. Nice to meet you, Lenny.” He almost forgot to extend his hoof in response. “Uh… right.” After vigorously shaking his hoof, Erin looked past him and sighed, shaking her head as she planted her hands on her hips. “The great Arimaspi... Poor blighter came so close to making it out. Would make for a very interesting story if he’d brought it back to his homeland, wouldn’t you say?” “Umm, yes?” “Quite.” She clicked her beak thoughtfully and continued, “If only we could’ve seen what happened. Why did he stop here, of all places?” “What’s going on?” asked Audri as she came padding over. “Hi there, name’s Erin!” Lenny ignored her as she gave his sister the same bone-crushing handshake and cheery introduction, frowning as he inspected the skeleton. It did seem odd, now that she’d pointed it out. He could see no fractures or notches on the bones to suggest grievous injury of that nature, but something else was off, too. He just needed to— Oh. That could explain it. Aside from the bones, there was no trace of its hide, hair or any other stains on the rock to suggest rotting fluids. Something must’ve gotten to it, though he couldn’t tell whether that happened before or after it had kicked the bucket. After was only normal. Before could mean trouble. “Something might’ve killed and eaten him,” he said. “Aye?” He looked at Erin and Audri, then pointed at the skeleton. “Clean bones and nothing else; I don’t think he ever got around to decaying properly. Keep your eyes open; if something managed to take him down…” “Then griffons are probably prey, too,” Audri finished. Erin whistled. “I’ll be sure to send word to the big cheese. If anything happens, maybe he’ll get to test his skills on something other than someone half his size, aye?” As if on cue, Grell shouted, “On your feet, everyone. Break’s over!” “Ah, back to work. Nice meeting you two. Lovely chat!” With that, Erin saluted them and re-joined her climbing partners for the descent, leaving Lenny and Audri staring at her as she whistled an admittedly catchy tune. “What did she want?” “Just small talk, I guess.” Audri narrowed her eyes. “Yeah… I don’t believe that for a second. I’m not sure I like the way she was watching you. Be careful, okay?” Aside from her abrupt friendliness, Lenny couldn’t remember anything suspicious about Erin’s behaviour. Still, he nodded in agreement and followed her over the ledge into the darkness. Progress slowed from that point on. Reynard wanted everyone to fan out in groups instead of going in a straight line, just in case the idol had snagged or lodged itself onto something on the way down. One of the soldiers recommended angling their descent downwind, which Reynard agreed to until someone else pointed out that the winds sometimes changed direction; Lenny found that incredibly inconvenient. That left them with the original plan: get to the bottom and then search in both directions until they found it or ran out of supplies. With luck, they might just stumble upon it without needing to go all the way down. Three hours later, Lenny found himself very thankful for his relatively active lifestyle as a hunter in Skarhold. His muscles burned with exertion and his heart rate had accelerated to a constant drumming in his chest. He felt slick with sweat, and occasionally got to taste someone else’s when stray turbulence blew in his face. Only about half of their party seemed to fare as well as he did; the vulture twins were panting visibly, as well as two or three of Reynard’s soldiers – to be fair, though, they were wearing heavy chainmail. No one could rest properly. Aside from halting their descent every now and then, they had yet to find a suitable ledge to rest on since leaving what Reynard had dubbed Arimaspi’s Hollow. If they didn’t find a good spot soon, they’d have to drive pegs into the rock to serve as anchors whilst they hung on to rest, which did not sit very well with him. He’d much rather have the additional safety afforded by a ledge or mild slope. They’d gone deep enough that only a dim mockery of sunlight illuminated their way, reaching down from the thin, blue line high above. At Grell’s command, a few of them had already lit their lamps. “You okay?” Lenny didn’t answer. Front right, rear left. Front left, rear right… “Hey!” He felt a tug on his harness from above and put his scowl away when he saw Audri looking at him with one raised eyebrow. “Sorry. Was counting steps… I’m fine.” “Liar,” she huffed. “You’re… totally winded.” Lenny let his breath whoosh out and wiped his brow. Then, he grinned up at her and retorted, “Right back at you. How long has it been?” “Four hours… since… the cyclops,” panted the griffon with the longbow, just beneath him. For a moment, Lenny felt annoyed that the guy had butted into their conversation, but decided to let it drop when he remembered that he’d accidentally listened to some idle chatter from the others earlier, even though he couldn’t remember what they’d talked about. “Thanks,” he said. The fellow grunted in response. Then, Lenny heard a scraping noise followed by a shriek. A split-second later, the harness tightened painfully around his chest and belly as the rope went taut. He fumbled with his footing but managed to wedge the ends of his steel hooks into some cracks just before the wind grabbed his companions and peeled them off the rock face. His bracer straps held, but they bit hard into his foreleg for bearing the load of two fully-laden griffons trailing out at an angle behind him. Lenny gritted his teeth as he pulled himself up with one foreleg and snagged his other pair of hooks onto rock, then held on tight. He couldn’t quite make out what Audri and the others were shouting. A moment later, the angle of the rope shifted. Risking a look down, he saw Longbow Griffon and the one guard below him swinging back to the wall. Well, not so much swing as slam into it from the force of the wind that caught their outstretched wings. The rope went slack once more, and he allowed himself a sigh of relief. “Sorry! I slipped,” the soldier called out. “Bloody Tartarus,” muttered Longbow, shaking his head. He was practically hugging the wall as if it might disappear at any moment. Lenny grunted and motioned for them to keep moving. With the way his heart kept pummelling his ribcage, he didn’t trust his voice to hold steady with a verbal answer. A brisk chirp from above caught his attention, and he waived Audri’s look of concern with a shrug of his wings. Less talk, more walk. A little later, Erin’s group had a close call, too. He never saw exactly what happened, but the series of shouts and curses told him enough. By the time he’d looked in their direction, they had already recovered and reluctantly resumed their descent. Luckily, they encountered a fault line of sorts after just one more hour of descending. Geological formations jutting out from the wall provided some shelter from the wind, and a series of rock shelves interspersed between them were just level enough for them to safely rest on. He even detected a hint of relief in Grell’s voice when he called for everyone to stop there for the evening. As he expected, Reynard chose for himself the safest rock shelf in the middle of the cluster, and everyone else made do with those surrounding it. Lenny and Audri picked a ledge farther out from the others’ and hammered pegs into the rock to secure their equipment, then treated themselves to some extremely indulgent stretching in what little space they had, groaning and sighing as their joints cricked and popped. Audri arched her back like a cat and murmured, “Oh yes, that’s so good.” He rolled his eyes as he righted himself and fished a lamp out of his bag. After lighting it, he stuck another peg into the wall and hung it just above head height. The chasm had some degree of curvature in and out on the way down, so sunlight had no direct path to their position this deep. Night had fallen on the surface anyway, so they’d have to rely on their supply of oil to keep them going further. They made a quick meal of some bread and rabbit jerky, just enough to satisfy their hunger without going so far as to stuff themselves to lethargy. The others did the same at their respective perches, with varying degrees of excitement. The twins played dice with the guy whose name Lenny couldn’t remember whilst Longbow brooded in silence. Reynard conversed quietly with his hippogriff companion. Naturally, his soldiers had the most camaraderie amongst themselves, and there was an almost festive atmosphere surrounding the biggest ledge where they sat in a group and chattered loudly as they ate. Erin even joined them after a while to play some jaunty tunes on a little mandolin. Lenny frowned as the whole scene played out before his eyes. Something about it felt wrong to him, though he couldn’t yet put a feather on it. His ears twitched. “I’m going exploring,” he announced to Audri. She cocked and eyebrow. “You’re awfully eager to get back into action. Something the matter? Also, for the record, I don’t think that’s the smartest thing to do right now.” He gazed into the abyss, assuring himself that there was nothing in the impenetrable darkness staring back. After a while, he turned back to her and shrugged. “Long day. Just need to clear my head and think for a bit.” “Alone?” “Yeah.” “Well… okay.” She nodded reluctantly. “Just wear a rope and yell if you need anything. I’m tired and I’m staying right here.” After resting a little more, he took a spare lamp, tethered himself with plenty of slack to cover some distance, and set off at a horizontal climb away from the crowd of thirteen. Bit by bit he edged away from them, until their noise dwindled to a dull background hum that melted together with the roar of the— Wind… Lenny tested the grip of his hooks, then leaned as far away from the wall as he dared and cocked his ears. The airflow in the chasm no longer roared, but had slowed down to a low, hollow moan. Less eerie than the sudden dirges it periodically shifted to, and much steadier in tone. The shift must’ve happened gradually, otherwise he probably would’ve noticed it sooner. Slower wind meant less danger and should have made him feel better, but his ears still refused to stop twitching every now and then. He shook his head and went further, taking extra care as he clambered over the lumpy projections that partially protected their perches from the wind. The noise of his companions dwindled further to near-silence and their lights a dim glow when he got to the other side, and that’s when he noticed a significant change in the nature of the chasm’s wall. The wall had a massive, crater-like depression in it, large enough that the light from the lamp tied to his belt barely revealed its rim, and deep enough that the wind simply flowed over rather than into it. He could already feel an increase in humidity just going a few feet in, and its surface was pockmarked with holes a few inches wide. A sour scent wafted out of the nearest one, and Lenny frowned when he saw brownish stains flowing out of it. Whilst gazing at the hundreds or possibly thousands of holes, he briefly toyed with the idea of poking his hooks into one of them, but decided that he’d rather not tangle with anything that lived this deep underground. He was probably risking enough just being there alone. His ears twitched when he heard a cricket-like chirp, and a tingling sense of unease clung to his spine as it echoed out into the blackness. Yeah, I’ve seen enough. Lenny made his way back to safety as quickly as he could. “You found something,” said Audri when he reached their perch. “Burrows. Lots of them. I think we have neighbours.” She sat up straighter. “What kind, and how big?” “Can’t be much bigger than bats,” he replied. “They’re probably nothing to worry about, but I’m going to warn the others just in case. “Right. I’ll keep an eye out until you get back.” Reynard did not look at all pleased when Lenny interrupted his attempt to nap by hopping onto his ledge, and neither did the hippogriff he shared the space with. Lenny almost felt sorry for them – judging by their damp coats, ruffled feathers and droopy postures, they had really worn themselves out in the climb – but he changed his mind when he saw the rich cushions on which they sat. Someone must’ve carried those for them. Probably the soldiers. “What do you want, Lenny?” asked a gruff voice behind and above him. He turned and saw Grell watching him from a higher ledge, with one hand on his sword hilt. Fast, strong and stealthy? He’s one heck of a bodyguard. “Just letting you know that I spotted lots of burrows just behind those,” he said, gesturing in the direction of the rock formations with a wing. “Not sure if they’re occupied by anything dangerous, but you might want to keep watch just in case.” “Did you actually see the creatures?” asked Grell. “No, but…” He remembered that chirping noise. “I heard something. I think I still am. It doesn’t feel safe here.” “Imagining things now, are we? None of mine have reported hearing anything worthy of attention.” Reynard chuckled and shook his head. “Either way, I think your fears are unfounded. My soldiers are armed and well-trained. They will handle anything you cannot.” Lenny bit back a retort. The hippogriff hadn’t been paying him much mind at all, at least until he mentioned hearing something, at which point her piercingly orange eyes focused on him and her equine ears perked up. “Why don’t you ask her?” He tilted his head in her direction. “She looks like she knows what I’m talking about.” Reynard cocked an eyebrow and turned to his companion. “Ginny?” She didn’t answer immediately. First, she looked at Reynard, and then turned to stare at the ground as if deep in thought. A moment later, her ears twitched, and she gave him and Lenny a curt nod. “Yes, I feel it too. I just thought it was in my head, but now that he’s mentioned it... this place feels unsafe, and it’s been that way for a while already.” Her voice was mostly smooth with a slight rasp to it, reminding him of a knife being sharpened on a whetstone. Whoever she was, Reynard probably hadn’t brought her along just for plain companionship; whilst she didn’t appear as fit as Lenny or the soldiers, she possessed some innate intensity that made her feel a lot more formidable than her lightly-built, leonine frame suggested. Aside from her cloak, she wore no other adornments, and she didn’t have any visible tattoos on her dark grey foreleg scales to indicate membership in guilds, clans or the like… Is she an outcast? Lenny almost missed Reynard’s response. “I take it this is a pony-specific quirk?” Grell leapt from his ledge onto theirs and landed with an audible thud. “It could be, my lord. Ponies are naturally more attuned to danger than griffons, after all.” He turned to Ginny, and Lenny detected a tense undercurrent in his voice when he added, “Even those of mixed blood…” Reynard glanced at Ginny and then nodded at Grell. “Very well, then. See to it and leave us be.” “I’ll have our griffs on rotation for sentry duty.” Grell then regarded Lenny with an inscrutable expression for several moments before finally continuing, “Get some rest. If your instincts are right, at the rate we’re going, we’ll be sorely tested before this is over.” “Got it.” Lenny nodded and headed back to his ledge. Once he’d brought Audri up to speed on the situation, they decided to turn in for the night. For safety, they still kept themselves tethered to the pegs, just in case the wind got stronger whilst they slept. Besides, despite being well below gale strength, it still had enough velocity to make the chasm feel colder than it was. As they lay snuggled up together on their sleeping mats, Lenny’s thoughts sifted through the day’s events and with each passing minute his muscles and eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until he could barely lift them. His hearing dulled, too, and eventually he could hear only their breathing and heartbeats. Funny how fatigue had a way of catching up when he least expected it. Still, he couldn’t complain; it made it a lot easier to ignore the noise around him. Sighing contentedly, he sank under the waves of sleep. * * * * * A shrill whistle went right through Lenny’s skull. Moments later, he felt rock beneath his sleeping mat and remembered where he was and why. Growling, he sat upright and rubbed his stinging eyes, silently promising a thorough beat-down to whoever had woken him up if they didn’t have a good reason for it. Aside from a couple of sentries, everyone else had their lamps shuttered, dimmed or altogether put out, so he could see little more than silhouettes shambling in the darkness. “What the—it can’t be morning already!” Audri protested. Lenny didn’t need a pocket watch to tell him that. His movements were sluggish, like swimming in honey, and his eyes felt dry and crusty. “It sure as heck doesn’t feel like it. Something’s up.” “Right. Literally.” “Eh?” “Look.” Lenny followed Audri’s gaze upwards and saw a faint light flickering in the darkness, distorted every now and then by projections on the wall above. A lone figure clung to the rock, and its shadowy profile suggested a female griffon. As she climbed down closer to them, he saw Reynard’s soldiers fanning out to take defensive positions along the ledges whilst their fellow adventurers – those who had gotten up, anyway – brightened up their lamps and watched from their perches. “That’s close enough,” Grell called out when she came within earshot. “What is your business here?” “Got a message for you crazies!” the intruder hollered back. Lenny blinked. Gilda? “Let’s hear your message, then,” Reynard said. “You gonna let me come down or not? Been climbing all day.” “Very well. Be quick about it.” Lenny shared a look with Audri. She gave him a curt nod, and they both leapt and climbed to a vacant, neighbouring ledge to get closer view of Gilda. Her torso and hindquarters glistened with sweat, a good portion of her feathers stuck out at odd angles, and her chest heaved in and out as she panted heavily. Without much ceremony, she flopped onto the uppermost rock shelf where one of Reynard’s soldiers attempted to help her down the last few steps. She waved him off and made in down on her own. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she hollered, “Wake everyone up. I don’t want to say things twice.” “We’re quite capable of repeating the message. Get on with it,” Reynard answered, tapping his talons on the ground. “It’s important,” Gilda insisted. “We’ll be the judge of that,” Grell piped up. Gilda rolled her eyes. “I get it. You don’t want competition and blah, blah, blah.” She paused and surveyed the lot of them, sweeping her gaze from one side of the clustered rock shelves to the other, and then raised her voice. “You should know that there’s a whole lot of meatheads poking around in Griffonstone right now. War Wings, Mad Cats, Steel Talons… the whole deal.” Lenny recognised one of those names. Steel Talons mercenaries sometimes flew in Skarhold territory, protecting caravans or raiding them, depending on who paid better. “I just thought your hired griffs might want to know,” Gilda continued, “that they want to sit down and have a serious talk with you, and I don’t think it’s for tea and cookies.” Reynard scoffed and said, “A likely story. I’d expect another party’s just waiting to steal our lead the moment I waste time investigating your tall tales in Griffonstone.” “You’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?” Gilda threw up both hands in exasperation. “This is nuts. Fine, don’t believe me. Do what you want.” She shook her head and fixed her gaze on Lenny. “I’m here for the rest of you morons. This field trip is bad enough already, but if you stay here, you’re throwing your lot in with someone who’s crossed griffons with enough pull to send a small army after him. Even if you manage to bring back the idol, there’s no way they’re letting you keep anything you find.” “Well, that can’t be good,” Audri murmured. “Can’t say I’m surprised,” Lenny replied. Whispers drifted between their fellow adventurers, like snakes from a disturbed nest. Crests rose, postures stiffened, and all eyes turned to Reynard, whose silence had stretched just a little too long… Long enough that Lenny noticed his talons fidgeting even as he puffed out his chest and cried, “I’ll have no more of your lies. Seize her!” “Stay your sword!” Grell shouted, just as the griffon pointed his blade at Gilda. “Do you have any proof, girl?” “Oh yeah, I’ve got a letter signed by Mister Mercenary Captain saying Lord Karhonnen’s a wanted griff and of course I don’t have any proof!” Gilda shot back, wings flared. “Didn’t think I’d need any for something that might save your flanks from a shakedown!” “Lord Karhonnen. That gold you paid us in advance, or the little fortune it must’ve cost to equip each and every one of us at Griffonstone’s daylight robbery prices… It didn’t happen to come from very powerful individuals with a tendency to pose exceptional interest rates and deadlines, did it?” asked Erin. “The type who are likely to use very, ah… firm methods of exacting payment if you can’t do it on time?” Silence fell. Wonderful. Lenny rubbed his forehead. Reynard had royally fluffed up if Erin had correctly guessed that he’d borrowed from loan sharks, crime lords or even one of the more notorious noble houses. Slowly, Grell turned to face Reynard. “My lord, you didn’t. The seneschal said all the gold came from Karhonnen’s own coffers…” “Of course they did! As I’ve said, she’s lying through her beak and—” “Bloody Tartarus, are you saying that we’ve come all this way for nothing?” someone cried out. “That’s it, I’m done here. We should get out of town before those thugs find us. They’ll wring every coin out of our bones if they—” “Too late for that. If they have our names, our accounts are as good as gone…” “—just stay calm, I’m sure we can work something out.” “He lied to us!” The vulture twins drew their daggers. Reynard’s soldiers unsheathed their swords. “Everyone shut up and put your weapons away!” Grell thundered. He turned and glared at each of them in turn before finally switching back to Gilda. “Do they know where we are?” “It’s not a secret. They’re watching the passes, and they know you’ve got nowhere else to go.” “You believe her,” Reynard accused. Grell drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, then gave him a long, hard look. No one said a word as they faced off. Eventually, though, Reynard’s gaze faltered and Grell shouted at the rest of them, “Get back to sleep, all of you. We head back up in the morning, and if we’re lucky, we won’t have to fight our way out of trouble. Gilda, you may spend the night with us.” “We can still finish our task,” Reynard insisted. “They might leave in a few days. Whoever hired so many mercenaries surely cannot afford to pay them for so long, and even if they don’t, we can sneak out under cover of darkness.” “My lord, not now.” Reynard made a swift, cutting motion with his talons and growled, “Damnation, Grell. We have a chance to restore House Karhonnen’s fortune once and for all. I am not throwing that away on account of a few hired thugs after my blood! Let them come. They cannot force us out, not with you and Ginny here!” “And what of the estate? You know they’ll go after it if they cannot get to you, we’re not there to defend it. They’ll ransack and destroy everything.” “All replaceable if we get the Idol of Boreas.” Grell shook his head. “My lord, don’t do this. It won’t replace the griffs and alliances we lose. You’re gambling away everything your father spent a lifetime building up.” “Whom do you serve?” “Rey…” Reynard cut him off with a wave and repeated with narrowed eyes, “Whom do you serve?” From the way he clenched a fist, Lenny suspected he very much wanted to say a name other than Reynard’s, but then Ginny stepped between them and looked at Grell. It might’ve been a trick of the flickering light, but Lenny thought he saw the huge griffon’s crest wilt under her steady gaze. A moment later, Grell regained his composure and said, “I serve you, Reynard Karhonnen.” “You will continue leading the expedition. We have an artefact to retrieve.” “Very well.” Grell turned and addressed the rest of them. “We have our orders. We move out in the morning.” “Feel free to go on without us,” one of the twins declared. One of the soldiers moved to bar their way as they climbed, but Reynard stopped him with a sharp whistle followed by a dismissive wave. “Let them go. If they haven’t the stomach for it, I’ll not have them slowing us down on this quest. As for the rest of you… get back to your posts.” It took everyone a while to comply, but before Reynard could tell them twice, he got into a discreet but clearly heated argument with Grell that involved a lot of fierce gesturing and hard looks. Meanwhile, Gilda had sidled away from the guards and climbed over to their ledge. “Mind if I crash with you guys?” she asked. “Sure, why not?” Lenny mumbled as he watched the darkness above swallowed up the climbing twins. “It’s kind of touching to see you take that much trouble to help us, though,” said Audri with a grin. Gilda rolled her eyes as she unrolled a sleeping mat from her backpack. “Like I said, it’s my fault everyone and their grand uncle thinks the idol’s retrievable. You can thank the dweeby ponies for infecting me with a conscience, by the way.” She paused. “Actually… don’t. They’ll never let me hear the end of it.” Audri sniggered. “It’s not a bad souvenir to bring back from pony school.” “Watch it,” she growled. “I still think I’m going to regret this. We still have a whole lot of horse apples to deal with.” “Did he double cross them or something?” “Best guess is that he borrowed heck of a lot of gold without telling them he’s going someplace he might never return from.” Gilda shrugged and lay down. “They’re getting antsy ‘cause shakedowns don’t work on a dead griff.” Lenny snuffed out the lamp and then curled up on his mat, yawning widely. “Well, it’s his problem. Worst case, they just take everything he paid us and we just wasted a whole day rock-climbing. I’m going to bed.” * * * * * Lenny woke in a cold sweat. He could tell that it still wasn’t morning. Something had woken him. Despite the background noise of the wind moaning through the chasm, he could hear some rustling, shuffling and clicking noises close by. He slowly lifted his wing, and saw a cloaked figure feverishly unfastening their supply packs from the pegs, illuminated by a lamp kept so dim that it probably didn’t provide more than a few measly inches of visibility in the permeating darkness. Probably one of Reynard’s soldiers, going by the clink of chainmail underneath his cloak. His heart drummed up to a steady beat as he gently prodded Audri, and her tail immediately curled around his; she was awake and aware of their situation. After a moment’s consideration, he decided not to risk the same for Gilda in case she made any noise waking up. They watched in silence as the soldier hefted their packs and sidled up to the edge of their shelf and stared down. He peered into the bags once and sighed with almost palpable regret, and then tossed the whole lot of them into the abyss. “—the hay are you doing?” Gilda hissed. The soldier gasped and spun round, drawing his sword in the process. Lenny and Audri rolled away and sprang onto all fours at once, limbs spread wide and ready for a brawl. Gilda did the same, though not as quickly. They faced off in a line, them with their backs to the wall and the soldier’s to empty space. “Oh, fluffing hell…” The wide-eyed soldier brandished his blade at them and said in an undertone, “Don’t move. Keep your beaks shut, and maybe this won’t have to get ugly, you hear me?” Lenny frowned. “Wait, you’re the one who nearly dragged us down today…” “Yeah, sorry abou—don’t change the subject!” “Okay, okay, fine. You’re in charge,” Audri soothed, raising both hands to placate him. “But why the heck are you throwing our food away?” “We’re saving your lives. Carry on, Gillon.” Lenny turned and saw Grell’s hulking figure perched on a neighbouring rock shelf like a gargoyle. At his nod, the soldier on their ledge sheathed his sword and climbed up, past him to another ledge – probably Erin’s. Within moments, another supply pack went flying over the edge into oblivion. He saw no one else scurrying about in the shadows, which probably meant that not all the soldiers were in on whatever Grell and Gillon were trying to do. But he quickly put aside any thoughts of raising the alarm when he saw Grell’s hand on his sword hilt. No sense in fanning the flames yet, and the big griffon looked very ready to go nuts with his blade. “Reynard’s ambitions have often exceeded his grasp, but this time, he’s taking it beyond all reason,” Grell continued. He shook his head, and Lenny got the distinct feeling that he was giving him a stern glare, despite the shadows hiding his face. “He was never supposed to come down here with us. I don’t know why he feels so threatened by you – a pony, no less – but he has gotten unusually stubborn about proving himself. He won’t listen to reason, and he’s willing to risk his father’s legacy and his own life on something so uncertain!” “So you think he’ll turn around if we have no food left?” asked Gilda. “And you said I’m a dirty fighter,” Lenny murmured. “Why bother with the sneaky way? It doesn’t look like he can make you go on if you don’t want to.” “He can’t.” Grell chuckled wryly and looked over his shoulder, as if afraid of someone striking from behind, then dropped his voice down to an ominous whisper. “It’s Ginny that I’m worried about.” Gilda tilted her head. “What, she some kind of freaky-good fighter?” “She’s not, and that’s the problem. She makes it very hard for me to… encourage my master to see sense.” He made a sweeping gesture towards his subordinates and sighed. “We served his father until his death, and not a day passes for me without hoping that Reynard will somehow display a shred of his father’s wisdom and leadership.” Lenny’s ears twitched, and a bead of sweat ran down his temple. He tuned out Grell’s voice and discreetly leaned to the side so his ears had a better angle to the abyss, and then he noticed that the wind had died down to near-silence. It barely sighed, and something else kept tickling the edge of his hearing, like a distant conversation that he didn’t want to hear yet couldn’t ignore. And then he noticed that he hadn’t really stopped sweating, and his heart had yet to drop to a normal pace despite knowing for certain that Grell didn’t intend to hurt them. Not unless he was forced to, at any rate. Something’s wrong. His wings fluttered involuntarily, itching to spread and beat for all they were worth. “You all right?” Audri whispered. Lenny’s tongue felt thick and clumsy as he murmured back, “I… I’m not sure. You feel that?” “Feel what?” He shook his head and turned his focus back to Grell. “—wait no longer. House Karhonnen is on the edge of ruin, and my last duty is to save the fool’s life, even against his wishes. Let us finish our work, and you can all feign ignorance in the morning whilst I take responsibility for sabotage. And if he still wants to carry on despite all he sees, you will have ample proof that he does not deserve any more protection from his foolishness.” “Hey what are you—get away from those! You dare—” Reynard’s voice suddenly cut off. For a moment, everyone froze and stared in his direction, waiting for the inevitable explosion. When Reynard finally recovered his voice, it practically seethed with fury as his roar echoed into the abyss. “Treachery! Guards, guards!” Grell bowed his head and sighed wearily. “Of all times to be a light sleeper…” The shadows boiled with movement as groggy sleepers fumbled with their lamps. The three soldiers who’d just woken up were quicker about their business and displayed no lethargy or hesitation as they advanced on Gillon under Reynard’s furious direction, trapping him at sword point on the ledge with a somewhat bewildered Erin and Longbow Griffon. “Let him go. He was merely carrying out my orders,” Grell called out. “You? That’s just—of all the times…” Reynard sputtered, apparently unable to find the right words. “You’ve ruined everythi—” “House Karhonnen needs you,” Grell interjected. His frown deepened as he locked eyes with his master. “Abandon this fool’s quest. Go home and get Karhonnen’s affairs back in order, and perhaps one day we might attempt this again without risking utter ruin.” “You.” Reynard pointed a talon at one of his soldiers. “Check our supplies. We might still have enough to carry on if we downsize the expedition.” Grell gave Lenny and his companions a pointed look. “Yeah, he’s lost it,” Lenny heard Gilda mutter. Others began muttering as well, but Ginny’s voice cut through all of them. “He may have a point. We should go. Now.” “You too?” asked Reynard. His anger seemed to have evaporated, replaced with surprise and hurt. Ginny nodded. Lenny saw that she looked paler than usual, and her pupils had contracted. Her mane and coat looked slick with sweat, and her ears twitched in rhythm to his own. A clicky chirp resonated in the distance, piercing his ears and burrowing right into his brain. His legs felt like they had turned to jelly, and he hated the way his voice quavered when he turned to Audri and choked out, “W—we’re in trouble. We n—need to get out of here now.” His sister gasped and placed her palm on his sweaty forehead. “Crud, you look really sick. What’s gotten into you?” “Something’s coming. Can’t you hear it?” The chirping noise came again. Once. Twice. A discordant, unnerving series of chitters in rapid succession that made his hairs stand on end, followed by a distant cacophony of flapping, like an approaching flock of bats. This time, he knew that the others heard it, too, as each and every griffon stiffened with almost perfect synchrony. Their crests wilted, their pupils shrank, and they shivered as if icy water had just rained upon them. Without waiting for a response, Lenny dashed to their stash of equipment, untethered himself and fitted on his harness as quickly as he could. Audri did the same seconds after. Whilst strapping on the rest of his bags he could see a frenzy of activity at the corners of his eyes as Grell shouted orders, with a distinct note of uneasiness in his voice. No one, not even Reynard, made any complaints about leaving; everyone simply had almost supernatural unity in their haste to return to the surface as quickly as possible. This shouldn’t be happening. They didn’t even know what they faced, and yet they acted like frightened rabbits! He tried to slow down and focus, but the chittering noise clawed its way through his thoughts and spurred him into feverish motion, and it was all he could do not to drop everything and leap into the abyss to fly up to safety. Gilda didn’t have a proper harness, but at least she did have a sturdy belt that she could link up with them using rope. Audri took the lead, followed by him and finally Gilda. In all the chaos, he just managed to make out Reynard linking up with Ginny and two soldiers; the rest might’ve formed their own groups or gone alone for all he could tell. The storm struck just as Audri took her first steps up. Something landed on the base of Lenny’s neck and sank its teeth or claws in. He yelped and reared up, flailing like a beheaded chicken, dragging a protesting Audri and Gilda around before one of them slapped him in the face. That cleared his head just enough so he slammed himself back-first into the rock face, squashing his unwanted passenger. He stared at the creature as it fell to the floor, twitching. It was about the size of a large bat, complete with leathery wings. The similarities ended there. Its black, lumpy body was covered in glistening, fleshy scales that tapered to a long, spiny tail with a nasty barb at the end. The broad, eyeless head reminded him of a sea lamprey’s, composed almost entirely of a sucker-like mouth lined with serrated teeth. “What the hay is that?” Gilda cried. It squealed at him, and he smashed it with a hoof without thinking. He had no word for it, other than its simple existence as a winged horror with lots and lots of teeth. Someone else screamed. When he looked, he saw that a writhing, black cloud had engulfed their party, swirling around them like a hurricane. Every now and then, a few of those flying monstrosities dove in for a bite. Grell, Erin and the soldiers were swinging their swords wildly, the former two displaying a little more discipline in their attacks. Black ichor splattered onto their clothes when their blades split the creatures in half. Longbow Griffon was swinging his bow shaft like a staff; he heard bones crunching when he struck one. Their shadows and silhouettes danced to a chaotic rhythm as lamps were swung around wildly. Something warm trickled down his shoulder, and his hoof came away red when he used it to explore the back of his neck. His nostrils filled with the coppery scent of blood, and his breath caught in his throat as he curled up on the floor and squeezed his eyes shut. “Hey. Hey!” Lenny grunted when someone shook him. “Snap out of it! That noise – it messes with your head. Ignore it and start climbing!” Gilda yelled in his face. A thought suddenly occurred to Lenny, and he believed he had a pretty good idea of what had taken down Arimaspi. He tried to move, but his hooves remained frozen in place. I—I can’t… Audri’s face suddenly filled his vision. She cupped both palms over his ears, and the horrible chittering grew died down to a muffled din. He focused on her golden eyes as she levelled a reassuring gaze at him, and clarity slowly returned to him and his frayed nerves. He could move again. She raised her eyebrows in question, and he gritted his teeth as he nodded an affirmative that she could let him go. The maddening chirps and chitters bore down on him once more, but he just managed to keep them from overwhelming his senses by reciting specific lines over and over again. One step at a time. It’s all in your head, it’s all in your head… He dodged a beheaded horror that flew his way and climbed up after Audri, hovering just on the verge of a panic attack. Gilda followed. As best he could tell, the three of them were at the rear of the party; the others had gotten a good head start during his temporary freak-out. The flying horrors clearly didn’t like seeing their prey getting away, and came swooping in with greater frequency, hindering their progress one bite at a time. The memory of the cyclops’ bare bones flashed in his mind, which he vigorously shook out as he swatted at the horrors with his wings. One landed on his foreleg, too high for his wings to reach, so he hauled himself up and bit down on its tail to tear it off. He nearly gagged on the dry, bitter taste and didn’t waste a second spitting it out the moment he got it dislodged. The swarm thickened as they went up. More and more dismembered horrors fell their way, but deep down he knew that they could not keep it up forever. Not for the distance that they needed to go. Someone up above screamed in pain. A chorus of shouts followed, and Lenny had to look away when blinding light filled his vision. He heard the whoosh and crackle of flames as he blinked away the after-images of a hundred black shapes getting swallowed by a massive fireball. A moment later, embers and charred carcasses rained down, trailing plumes of greasy smoke that somehow managed to fill him with nausea and hunger at the same time. At first, he thought that someone must’ve packed fire bombs for their journey, but black powder explosions did not produce that much flame, and Marelotov cocktails would’ve set him, Audri and Gilda ablaze as well when it rained upon them. He changed his mind when another plume of fire burst forth and baked a cloud of horrors out of the air. Just as the flames receded, he traced their point of origin to an outstretched arm and a pair of glowing, orange eyes. Okay, so she’s a pyromancer. “Get them off me, get them off me!” Lenny had no time to reflect on that fact, as a screaming Reynard suddenly fell from above, surrounded by a flurry of biting horrors. His cloak looked charred at the edges, and his safety rope trailed tongues of flame from its end. Lenny hissed when Reynard’s talons grazed his back as he fell past him, and Gilda shrieked when the fellow collided with her and held on like a drowning cat. She lost her grip, the ropes went taut and his harness straps bit into him as it bore their combined weight. Reynard’s frenzied clawing at the creatures biting him didn’t help, either. “Let go of me, you moron!” Gilda screeched as she tried to throw him off. “Great Sky Mother, they’re eating me!” Reynard cried. Bits of rock rained from above as Grell came barrelling down, all concerns for safety discarded as he rapidly dropped from one handhold to another. “Hang on, my lord. I’m coming!” Lenny felt something around his left foreleg snap, followed by another on his right shortly after. A sense of weightlessness overtook him, and the world spun for a moment before jerking rather painfully back upright. When he heard Audri’s pained cry and felt the chill of cold air on his forelegs, he realised that his climbing bracers’ straps had simply broken after so much abuse, and that his sister was now the only one keeping all three of them from falling into the abyss. No, no, no! He beat his wings in an attempt to propel himself back to get a grip on the wall, but Reynard’s and Gilda’s combined flailing effectively countered any force he could bring to bear. Just then, he heard a series of screams followed by another burst of flame. Erin and one soldier fell past them like a pair of boulders. About three dozen or so feet below, the soldier struck a rock shelf and scrabbled for a bit before he finally managed to hang on at the edge. Erin missed and disappeared into the darkness. Ginny fell, too, harried by a cluster of flying horrors. Just as she went past Lenny’s position, her eyes glowed like a pair of ghostly floodlights, and sparks erupted from her palms. “Take cover!” Grell shouted. Lenny pumped his wings furiously and managed to produce just enough downward thrust to keep most of the fire away from himself and his companions, but he couldn’t stop all of it. By the time his eyes had recovered from the blinding flash, his feathers and tail were smouldering at the tips. He looked up to see if Audri was okay, and his blood froze when he saw tongues of fire dancing on the rope between him and her. She hadn’t noticed yet; she was busy putting out the blaze on her tail. Lenny clapped his hooves repeatedly on the rope to kill the flames, but he knew that he had no hope of doing anything about the parts beyond his reach. “Big Sis!” he cried. The rope twanged as several of its braided strands snapped. Audri looked down, and her pupils shrank to pinpricks. “Lenny!” The rope snapped. Grell lunged and missed. And then the lights shrank to tiny dots as they fell. Lenny tried to fly, but the flames had damaged his feathers and he was still tied to two struggling griffons who were also trying to fly in different directions. They tumbled in the air, bouncing painfully off each other and anything they struck on the way down. The wind roared in his ears, snatching away Gilda’s and Reynard’s panicked cries. It grew stronger the deeper they fell, until he realised that they were no longer falling down in a straight line but were being tossed, beaten and shoved around like insects in a torrential river. A river of air. Their lamps had either died out or broken loose. Still, he could hear the gale’s tone changing whenever they whooshed past obstacles or got closer to the rock wall, and right then, it sounded like— He yelped when his forehead struck a hard surface, and lights danced in front of his watering eyes. Then, he felt as if someone had stuffed cotton into his ears; everything sounded distant and muffled. His head swam, and he found it harder and harder to think as the seconds passed. For some reason, he remembered the chasm’s wind earlier that day, sounding like a thousand lost souls… They’re us… We’re dead. And then Lenny’s thoughts sank into oblivion.