Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet

by Nom De Pony

Chapter 2

Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet
Chapter 2

The train ride to Griffonholm, set deep within the mountains north-west of Equestria, took most of one day; the ride to the griffon capital of High Hall took another half day. It had been many years since Daring had entered the griffons’ mountains and to see them again made her happy deep inside. Daring admired the splendor of these mountains and valleys, but the cities the griffons had built in the walls of the mountains’ high peaks were beyond impressive.

The mighty city of High Hall came into view as the train rounded the final bend. The griffons had carved marvelous buildings with great facades out of what had once been plain cliff faces. High Hall itself was carved into the upper half of four mountains; they had begun on a fifth since she was last here, all interconnected with rope and wood bridges. The bridges were mostly for visitors and young griffons, the adults choosing to fly from mountain to mountain.

Daring pulled on her bags and trademark pith helmet as the train pulled into the station at the base of the main mountain known as Royal Peak. Stepping off the train she took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air then, by habit, spread her wings to take off towards the museum which housed the griffon Department of Antiquities before the tinge of pain in her right wing and the promise she had made to Dusty reminded her that she was grounded. With a sigh of resignation she walked towards the tourist check-in which she knew would lead to the lifts up into the city proper.

Below Royal Peak was a small village in itself that catered to visitors and tourists. She had never been in the village before, having never needed to go through it, being able to just fly to her destination. Within the main strip she found griffons selling touristy items and food beside ponies who sold Equestrian fruits and vegetables, at marked up prices compared to back at home, alongside animals from all over the world. Daring struck up a conversation with a pony vendor, who she bought some carrots from, when she noticed the two griffons paying extra attention to her. Not just in the normal fan recognition she would get from time to time, but in a way that told her meant trouble.

Excusing herself from the mare, Daring continued down the strip only stopping to pretend to be interested in a necklace being sold by a zebra, when in reality she was checking to see if she was being followed. She was. Without warning, she took off at a hard lope down the length of the strip, cutting hard down the first alleyway she came across. To her horror it was a dead end.

Cursing her foolishness she desperately looked for an escape. The only thing she could see was up, but with her injured wing she would barely make it over the rooftops, let alone escape two griffons determined to catch her. She hoped that she had made enough distance between herself and her pursuers to escape from the alley. To her horror, before she could make her escape, the two griffons rounded the corner, not looking too impressed with the idea of having had to chase her. She braced herself for a fight.

“Stop right there, Miss Do.” One of the griffons called to her, “There is no need to run.”

She glared at the griffons, “I won’t go down without a fight if that’s what you’re hoping for.”

The griffons gave Daring a shocked look before they looked at each other then burst out in sudden laughter, “Miss Do, we are not here to fight.”

It was her turned to be confused, “Then, what do you want with me?”

“Why, Miss Do,” the griffon chuckled, “we are your escort.”

That answer didn’t solve any of her confusion, “My escort? To where?”

“Why to the Lord’s Hall of course, where else would we take you?”

The confusion was suddenly replaced with anger at their answer, “Why... why were you following me then? Why didn’t you just come introduce yourselves?”

“Well, we thought there may be a good reason you were staying on the tourist strip and didn’t want to pressure you. We assumed you would fly up towards the city proper when you were ready and we would rendezvous with you in flight.”

Daring felt silly now, and more than a bit embarrassed, “I guess that makes more sense than what I had thought was about to happen.”

The griffon laughed again, “Miss Do, we mean you no harm.”

“I see that now. I’ve never needed an escort here before, why now?”

The second griffon, which had been quiet up until this point, cleared his throat, “Because, Miss Do, there are those who do not welcome you into this city after the disaster you caused last time, and we were sent to ensure your safety.”

Daring knew she shouldn’t be but was still surprised at the news, “There are those who still wish me harm after that?”

The second griffon narrowed his eyes, “It took months to repair the damage that you caused and we griffons have long memories. I suspect that if Lord Grendor wasn’t desperate he would see to it that your hooves never touched griffon soil again, nor your shadow darken our sky.” The look in his eyes told Daring he was amongst those that felt this way, “We are also here to make sure you do not break anything else during your stay.”

Daring swallowed, “So, shall we be off to then?”

“Yes, lets.” The griffons spread their wings preparing to take off, but hesitated when Daring delayed to do the same, “Is there a problem, Miss Do?”

Daring looked away and dug at the ground with her hoof before mumbling an inarticulate reply.

The griffons looked at each other then back at her, “I’m sorry we didn’t quite hear you.”

She let out a sigh of resignation, “I’m grounded, my wing is injured and I can’t fly.”

The griffons did a very impressive job of containing their laughter, but Daring saw it there, behind their eyes. The first griffon cleared his throat, amusement still clear in his voice, “Well then, shall we be on our way to the transport lift then?”

Daring sighed again, “Lead the way.”

The lift was a simple platform that was caged on all sides that could take, what looked like, up to ten ponies at a time. Daring was escorted to the front of the long line and given the lift all to herself, the griffons choosing to fly up and meet her at the top rather than ride with her. She tried not to take it as a slight against her. As the lift rose into the air she grumbled inwardly wishing that she had never crashed in the jungle all those weeks ago.

The scene had replayed in her head countless times since the accident. A sudden storm had blown up unexpectedly, the irony of a pegasus being caught off guard by weather was not lost on her. Heavy winds, torrential rain and constant lightning forced her to find a place to take refuge. She had spotted a cave but clipped her wing on an outcropping of rock as she banked too hard rather than circle around for an easier landing. She had panicked, quite simply, and every time she relived the crash landing she saw all the signs of the approaching storm she had ignored and dozens of safer places to land before the cave.

Daring had been reckless, but now was forced to chalk it up to another lesson learned. The only positive was that the more she thought about it, the more she had realised she had gotten off lucky with just a broken wing. It hadn’t helped that it had taken her over a week to get professional medical help, where had to reset the wing and immobilize it for several weeks. The cast had only come off the week before her call to Griffonholm. The sudden jerk as the lift came to a stop broke Daring from her thoughts.

Stepping off the lift she found her two griffon escorts waiting for her ready to lead her down the main thoroughfare. It always impressed Daring the way the griffons’ had built the city without the use of magic, at least any she was aware of. Tall apartments rose above storefronts of griffons hawking their wares of amulets and clothing of all prices and styles. Food stands and cafes were set up near hotels and tourist traps. The deeper into the city they walked the less tourist-oriented the stores and buildings became. Businesses became more utilitarian; food stands became less and less vegetarian and more and more suited to the griffons’ primarily carnivorous diet.

Daring started to automatically turn towards a tall building with a pillared front that loomed to their left and almost ran into one of her escorts when he didn’t. Confused, she asked: “Are we not going to the museum? To the Department of Griffon Antiquities?”

“No Miss Do, his Lordship has requested you to come to him directly.”

Not wasting any time are they? The griffons to either side guided her towards High Hall, the home of the of the Griffon Lord. She had only been inside High Hall twice before, the first was an audience with the Griffon Lord after she had recovered an invaluable relic to request that it go back to Canterlot with her, she was denied with little thought on his part. The other time was when she had accidently unleashed the Wind Stones without fully understanding their power.

The hurricane force winds that emanated from the stones destroyed the front half of High Hall, as well as much of the upper class portion of Royal Peak had been damaged or destroyed by the time she had gotten the stones under control only a few minutes later. She was younger then, barely a mare, and much more brash. The incident had taught her the lesson to not dabble with powerful artefacts she didn’t fully understand first. She didn’t suppose the griffons took much solace in her lesson however.

As the party proceeded closer to Lord’s Hall she couldn’t help noticing the stares she was getting from the local griffons. The paranoid part of her was saying that they were laughing because the word had spread that she was a pegasus that couldn’t fly. The reality, she knew, was actually much worse: they all knew precisely who she was; the one who destroyed their homes and livelihood once, the great griffon’s menace. The angry glares suddenly made her very glad for her escort.

Daring and her escort passed through the vaulted opening into Lord’s Hall, relief at escaping the looks of hatred washed over her. The repairs actually make this place look better than it did before, she thought, I should probably keep that to myself though. The temporary relief she had felt a moment ago vanished as she came before the Griffon Lord. Perched upon his golden nest on a high pillar he glared down at her with such hatred that it threatened to freeze her blood solid. Every step closer to that glare took enormous effort that she hoped didn’t show.

“You darken my doorstep once again Daring Do.” The Griffon Lord’s low voice growled down at her, “Were it not for my deep respect for your Princess I would have you thrown in to the deepest dungeons that my mountains have to offer.”

Daring never knew what the exact deal that Princess Celestia had struck with the Griffon Lord to keep her from being extradited to a griffon prison for the rest of her natural life, but word of her accident had reached Canterlot only hours before her return to the city. Dusty went before the Princess several times over the course of two weeks on her behalf before he came to her with the decision: Daring was banished from ever setting hoof inside griffon lands ever again and being in contact with griffonkind. She was informed that she had been labelled a menace to the security and safety of griffons and would be arrested on sight should she dare break this agreement. Daring knew there were other political agreements that had occurred in order to secure her freedom, but she was never told of them, nor did she ask. But, she was eternally grateful to both Dusty and Princess Celestia for her freedom.

Daring put on her best grin, internally she was forcing herself to remain calm, “You’re not still mad about that little incident last time are you, Lord Grendor?” Daring regretted saying it as soon as the words were out of her muzzle.

The Griffon Lord vaulted quickly to his feet, his glare darkening, the feathers on his neck bristling with rage, “Little Incident?! Unleashing the Wind Stones’ power and destroying my hall plus the homes of hundreds of griffons in the process is not a little incident you insolent pony!”

Daring knew she needed to get this situation into her control quickly, “Lord Grendor, need I remind you that it was your Lordship that invited me here to his lands today? However, if you have changed your mind, I will leave.”

She turned, took a few steps before Grendor’s voice called out, “Wait,” she could tell without looking how much effort it was taking the Griffon Lord to not simply allow her to leave, “I called you here for a reason, pony... Miss Do.”

She allowed herself a quick grin but hid it before turning to face Lord Grendor again, “And what is that reason exactly? Every pony and griffon has been less than informative on the subject.”

Grendor sat once again in his perch, the look in his eyes telling Daring that it was a great effort to say what he was about to, “As you may or may not be aware the middle of next month is the fiftieth anniversary of my coming to power.”

“I am aware of this, yes.”

“I am in need of something grand to celebrate the occasion with and I thought that to be able to display a relic of significant importance will achieve the desired effect.”

Daring pretended to be only mildly interested in what he was about to tell her, but she was becoming more and more giddy at the idea of being able to be on the hunt again, “Go on.” She said calmly.

“What I am after, Miss Do, is the Goblet of Twelve. Are you familiar with it?”

The old colt was right! She pretended to think on it for a moment, “Is it not the goblet that is said to have been drunk from by the original dozen griffon clan leaders during the coronation of the first Griffon Lord?”

Grendor seemed genuinely shocked that she had the answer, “Your knowledge of antiquities never ceases to amaze me, Miss Do. As troublesome as you are, you are still amongst the best at what you do; that is why I was forced to call upon you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Do we know where the goblet might be?”

“If I had that information I would not be calling upon you, now would I?” Grendor glowered, “In fact the only reason why you are here is because my Director of Antiquities insisted upon it and I saw no better option.”

“Once again I will take that as a compliment.” The old griffon that took care of the museum and Daring had always gotten along very well. Even after the Wind Stones incident she would receive anonymous letters with tips to certain relics in writing that looked suspiciously like his.

Grendor sighed deeply, “The only thing we do know so far is where it is not. We have searched countless ruins where it was supposed to be and I am near ready to assume it lost like the stories say. Reluctantly, I am willing to try you as my last hope.”

“You expect me to be able to find a relic that you are about to declare lost in under a month? That’s a tall order, even for me.”

“Are you saying you won’t do it?” He seemed almost pleased by that idea.

“I didn’t say that. I enjoy a challenge. I will need some things however.”

“I have already arranged for a team of griffons who will follow your command and all the supplies you will need.”

“I am glad to hear that. But I will also need access to the archives, including maps and tomes from around the Discord event.”

“Those are some of our most precious items, pony. What makes you think I will allow you free access?”

“If you want any chance of me finding the goblet, this is what I need. Your teams have come up empty so I will need to start from scratch. Give me what I request and a few days to prepare myself in study and it will at least give me a slim chance to find the relic.”

Grendor still seemed hesitant but after a moment of thought he gave in, “Fine, but I will not allow you unrestricted access on your own. Galiffe, the Director of Antiquities, will be in constant supervision of you.”

She restrained the sudden delight she felt, instead answering in a resigned tone, “I can agree to that.”

“Then we agree. Send word when you are ready to leave, be sure to keep your deadline in mind.”

“I had better get to work.”

The Griffon Lord dismissed her with a wave of his claw, Daring was only too happy to leave his presence. The quick journey to the museum passed by in a haze for Daring as she tried to recollect everything she knew about the Goblet of Twelve. She was disappointed with herself in her limited knowledge of the relic so tried to come up with a list of books and other items she may need to even have a chance of finding the griffon’s goblet in under a month.

As she entered the museum the relics on display drew her in as they always had before. The collection had grown significantly since her last visit; perhaps the search for the goblet had been beneficial to them for that reason alone. She stopped to study a set of griffon armour, like her pegasi ancestors the griffons had developed a society of great warriors. The two races had clashed many times throughout history in violent and often bloody battles. The conflicts eventually faded into terse peace after the alicorn sisters took rule of Equestria.

“Daring Do, it has been far too long my little pony.” a voice called from behind her. Daring had been so absorbed in the armour that she hadn’t heard the older griffon sneak up on her. He was smaller than most other griffons, his feathers looked more dishevelled and less preened than was normal for a griffon, but he was a pleasant sight to Daring as she turned.

She gave him a wide smile “Galiffe, you old griffon, it has been too long.”

“You look well, Daring. Your adventures have not taken a toll on you by the looks of it.”

She shook her head, “Except for a banged up wing I am very well, and you?”

The griffon shrugged, “I have my moments.”

“Well you must be in one of your good moments then, because you look as good as I remember you.”

He laughed, “Thank you young filly, now come. I hear you have a lot of work ahead of you and I am at your disposal as always.”

With a wave of her hoof she indicated for the griffon to lead the way towards the rear of the museum where the workrooms waited. As they walked Daring couldn’t help notice he still walked with a limp in his right paw. “The leg still bothering you Galiffe?”

“I hardly notice it anymore, but yes it seems to always be at least a little bit sore at all times nowadays.”

“How did you get the injury again?”

“Haven’t I told you this story a dozen times?”

She grinned, “Indulge me.”

Galiffe shook his head, giving a soft chuckle, “Your mentor and I were wandering an old tomb, you were probably still a little filly trying to find herself at the time, when we broke through to an ancient chamber that had been hidden behind a cave-in of a tunnel we had been excavating for over a week. The chamber was unlike anything we had seen inside the ruin up to that point and it was easily most impressive mother lode of artefacts that either of us had ever set eyes upon. The sheer amount of history packed within that one chamber was astounding.” Daring’s eyes were riveted on the old griffon as he told his tale, “We took our time, carefully observing each of the relics without disturbing them until we reached a simple statuette on an altar of its own. I thought it was a goddess of some kind, Dusty thought it was perhaps an alicorn, so, to settle the argument, I went to take a closer look. As I pressed my claw on to the first step of the platform the altar was set upon it sunk into the floor and the next thing I knew I had an arrow lodged deep into my flank. Luckily, any poison that had been on it had long since lost its potency, however I did have some feverish dreams for the next week. Your mentor carried me out of that ruin and to the camp on his back. Not a short trek I should mention.”

Daring had indeed heard the story many times from both Galiffe and Dusty. But, despite the injuring of one of her friends, it was one of her favorites to hear. The griffon and the pony each told it subtly different but no matter which version it always showed the power of good friendship and co-operation, and that was a lesson that Daring tried to take to heart whenever she could. While not everyone she encountered became her friend, she hoped that she would leave a good enough impression that she would be able to count on them in the future and them in her in return.

“The things we do for history.” Daring sighed and stretched her damaged wing reflexively.

The griffon nodded, “I have no regrets because your mentor and I were the first in who knows how long to see those relics in their natural state, and amongst the last before they were catalogued and rounded up.”

In the rear of the museum private study areas as well as restoration tables were laid out for those who were granted access. Daring was shown to the archives where Galiffe granted her anything she asked for without hesitation. Before long there was a large stack of books and maps piled on Daring’s work station.

For several fruitless hours Daring pored the old maps and tomes before letting out a sigh of frustration, blowing her mane from her eyes. Galiffe saw the distressed look on her face then disappeared for a moment to return with a basket of fresh apples and celery.

“I think we could use a break, how about you.” He said after dropping the basket from his beak.

“I couldn’t agree more. I’m about to go cross eyed after staring at the same point on this map for the last half hour.” She leaned into the basket and pulled out a large apple, devouring it in four bites.

Galiffe laughed, “I forgot about what a voracious appetites you pegasi have. So, tell me, have you found any interesting relics since we last met?”

Daring had found many relics, all of them were interesting to her, but some definitely stood out. This gave her a chance to test one of her theories, “Hmm I guess the one that immediately stands out is I came across the Idol of Zebrestia last year.”

It was Galiffe’s turn to be surprised, causing him to choke on the food he had been trying to swallow, “You did?! Was it indeed somewhere within the Hippotigris Savannah?”

Daring nodded, “Inside a small ruin that I almost missed. I gave up hope after traveling two days past where I eventually found it. It was on my return trip that I happened to notice the small, almost completely, overgrown opening.”

“Is it all that the tomes say it is?”

Daring smiled, “it’s beautiful. Onyx inlaid with mother of pearl to form the stripes on the mother zebra feeding her foals below her.”

“I am truly jealous. I would have loved to have been there with you.”

“Well I would have never have even known where to begin if it weren’t for an anonymous tip.” She grinned at him knowingly, Daring was certain that the old griffon was blushing underneath his feathers. The way he didn’t meet her gaze now after being so focused on what she had to say a moment before confirmed her suspicions, “Ah hah! So it was you!”

“I… I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Galiffe stammered, still refusing to meet her gaze.

She continued to grin at him, “Of course you don’t, but I am grateful all the same. I hope one day you can come to Canterlot and I can show you it amongst our beautiful collection.”

“I would be honoured to.”

Over the course of her studying books and maps for the next several days she tried to get a confession from the griffon but, he never gave in. Daring knew with almost certainty that it was indeed him even without admission.

Throughout her days of study her Griffon escort from first day in the city were her constant shadow. They followed her wherever she went, except into the back areas of the museum. On the second day one of them had almost knocked over a clay pot that was from the first griffon settlements and Galiffe had subsequently banished them from the area. Daring was delighted at the outcome. Today, with much protest from Galiffe, they simply barged in. Ignoring the old griffon they marched straight towards Daring. She was propped up on her elbows with her hooves in her mane as she stared at the same point of the map that she had continually come back to over and over again.

One of the griffons cleared his throat, Daring didn’t look up, “Lord Grendor demands to know when you will be ready to leave. He reminds you that your deadline looms near.”

“No, his deadline looms near, not mine.” She still didn’t look up from the map. “I only care for the relic, not the Griffon Lord’s schedule.”

“Need we remind you that you are in his employ?”

Slowly she lifted her head from the map, narrowing her eyes, “No, you do not. You have reminded me of this fact every single time his Lordship has demanded answers I do not have. Which reminds me, what am I getting out of all of this? His Lordship gets an ancient relic and gets to look all fancy as he shows it off, but what do I get in exchange?”

The two griffons looked stunned that she was talking to them in such a manner, “You will be compensated I am sure of that.”

“You are sure are you? Why don’t you go to your Griffon Lord and make certain for me?”

The griffon opened his beak to reply but thought better of it with the look that Daring shot him. “We will look in to that for you, Miss Do.” Quickly they turned and left, seeming suddenly eager to escape her gaze.

Galiffe approached Daring cautiously, “You were harsher than normal with them.”

Daring let out a deep sigh, “I’m just frustrated. I’ve looked over my information dozens of times and I keep getting the same nonsensical answer.”

“What answer is that?”

She pressed her hoof to a point on a map marked Featherfield, “It should be there. But they’ve already checked there twice over and come up with nothing.”

“What makes you think it’s there?”

She pulled over an old tome and indicated a paragraph, “It’s right here in War of the Griffon Clans and the Rise of the Empire: ‘Upon the field where the bloodiest of battles had been waged,’ which is agreed to be where they founded Featherfield, ‘the clan leaders feasted and drank in celebration of their declaration of peace. It was after the meal that the host of this celebration called out for his surprise: a goblet forged from the bronze of each of the clan leader’s blades they had carried to war for so many years previous. Each of those blades had drunk of the blood of fellow griffons and their spirits were now imbued into this goblet.’

“’Grifand, their host who would become the first Lord of All Griffons, demanded that each griffon at his table drink from that goblet so that they would each taste the bitterness of war, drink of the fluid within as a pledge that never would a griffon’s blade taste the blood of another griffon because only unified can griffons become great.’ So on and so forth. The author describes each pledge each griffon makes and the electing of Grifand to Lord of All Griffons and the building of Featherfield.” She flipped several pages, “Finally we come to this: ‘For many years the goblet sat in view of all until enemies within the fledgling empire tried to steal away this symbol of unity. Grifand was forced to seal away the goblet and only bring it out again on the anniversary of the founding of their empire where each griffon in his court would swear his loyalties to the empire once again.’ Hold on, my point is in here somewhere. Ah ha, here we are, ‘Shortly after Grifand’s death the re-swearing of loyalties fell out of favour and the griffon’s goblet was sealed away behind Grifand’s beak where it remains to this day.’

“They searched that whole ruin top to bottom though!” Daring let out a frustrated sigh, “They excavated the old vaults, heck even Griffand’s tomb was opened to see if it buried with him. It just seems to disappear from history after that last line.”

Galiffe looked over the paragraphs that Daring had read to him, “Could it have been stolen?”

Daring shook her head, “I don’t think so. A relic like that tends appears several times again in history if it gets stolen, usually as a symbol for armies to rally around during war, and it never does. But you’re the expert in griffon history, so correct me if I’m wrong.”

Galiffe tugged at the feather below his beak as he thought for a moment, “You’re right I can’t seem to recall it ever showing up again. Even in the wars with the pegasi shortly before the Discord event, and the thousand plus years after it just does not reappear.”

Daring threw up her hooves in frustration, “I don’t know what to do.”

Galiffe gave her a reassuring look, “You're a smart pony, what do you usually do when you’re not sure?”

She shrugged, “I guess.”

“More like you go on instinct, that’s what you should do now.”

Daring gave a resigned sigh, “I guess I have nothing else to go on. I’ll send word to prepare to leave in the morning.”