Aethia

by Malckeor

III - Out of the shadows

"Ah, here he is," said the light-feathered owner who rose from his seat behind the counter. "Hey there, Breeg! What kept you? I was afraid you got yourself stuck in a tree or something, heh."

Old floorboards creaked under the aged griffon's talons. Breeg settled onto a stool and folded his claws as a thick guitar sounded from the stereo. He noticed two others seated by a window in the corner of his eye; their names were Jeneine and Simon, he'd recalled. Simon was asleep, and Jeneine sat silent with no look towards Breeg's entry. An orange sunlight touched her tan feathers.

"Evening, Zolf," Breeg said, grasping the bartender's paw with a shake. "I was just...on a stroll out in the plains. It's been a while since I've breathed in a good amount of spring air with my paws on the ground."

"Hey now! Got something against flying, big guy?" Zolf chuckled. "I figure the good mother of nature or whatever gave us these wings for a reason."

"Eh, I just feel we could benefit from taking our heads out of the clouds once in a while," Breeg replied. "Especially you, Zolf."

They shared a laugh before Breeg ordered his usual drink. His gray claws tapped in an agitated rhythm as Zolf prepared it; the seasoned griffon still couldn't tackle that feeling. Without letting his thoughts get to him again, Breeg relayed a curious, cautious voice to his acquaintance. "So how's everything been? Seen anything crazy? Have you had to take that bludgeoner to any talon-happy drunkards? Any fights?"

Zolf was chopping at a piece of meat. "Not really. It's been just as dry as always. There's occasionally a couple that'll get shouty, or a few guys who can't keep their mead down if you know what I mean, but none of that happens too often during the day." He scraped the tinier cleaved pieces into a mug. "Oh yeah. A few night hunters were giving the whole place an earful earlier about some ponies they ran into yesterday just after they'd set out. A unicorn in the group apparently touched a few of their nerves; 'that stupid horn-faced loser should go back to muzzling through the shit in his princess' royal asses. I swear, they've got no place here on our land, bleeeeghhhh,' that sort of thing. It was kind of funny at first, but I don't like tolerating talk like that here in my tavern, so I shut 'em up." He separated some of the meat and chopped again. "Other than that, it's been typical."

"Oh. I see," Breeg replied, scratching through his orange feathers. "Well... That's good."

"I guess," Zolf replied. He placed down the hatchet and grabbed a case of cider. Breeg's wandering eyes found the familiar framed photos of Zolf and his grandfather. In the middle, they cheerily posed with nonalcoholic drinks on a busy day, a young Zolf just about up to his old pop's knees in height. The photos kept going until the old-timer was in a wheelchair, still bright as ever with his number one apprentice and assistant at his side. Higher was the tavern's sculpted logo: a sharp talon touching the under-side of an outstretched paw, cracked from age. The Pawtapped Inn had been established by Zolf's family long ago, well before the famed Scorched Huntress made her mark. Linone's tale kept the numbers high for a time, but Peak's Pass had grown quiet in the decades following her mysterious disappearance in the mountains. The place wasn't what it used to be; most of the wooden boards were rotting, and the windows were cracked in places. Everything was gray, as if the town's spirit died with its savior.

Breeg was pulled back to reality when a thin figure brushed up against him.

"Hi there, handsome," she said, taking a seat on his left.

Breeg kept his eyes on the wall of photos. "Evening," he replied.

She drifted a delicate talon along the counter. "I don't recall seeing anyone of your caliber around these parts. You in here often?"

He leaned forward with a sigh as Zolf poured the cider. "Occasionally."

"Here's your drink, Breeg." Zolf shot a quick glance towards the newcomer, and Breeg passed three bits his way.

"Hehe. I'm feeling a bit thirsty myself, Breeg, and you look like quite the customer if I do say." She placed a stroking claw on his arm. "How's about you order me up a mug or three? I'd do whatever I could to make it worth your while..."

Breeg at last gave a look to his company. Her feathers were a light crimson masking strong violet eyes, and she had a curved dirk sheathed below her left wing. Given his recent circumstances, this exchange made the old griffon feel all the more unsettled. He'd wondered if her presence in town was the source of his persistent discomfort.

"I'll pass," he replied, taking a gulp and chomping on a rogue piece of meat. "You have the look of a...rather prideful huntress. I'm sure you're capable of buying a drink yourself."

"Awww, but where's the fun in that?" She all but threw herself onto him and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Just imagine it for a second..."

"Nira, come on now," Zolf said from his side of the counter. "This is the fifth of my patrons you've approached today. Can you not take a hint?"

Nira glared at the bartender. "Screw off, Zolf-"

"Unless you'd rather spend your night out front, I suggest you go back to your seat," he said, resting a claw on his mace. "If I catch you being bothersome again, you're outta here."

Nira split a cold glance between the two and spit in Zolf's direction. With a deep scratch on the counter, she rose and strutted back to her table.

"Some griffons..." Zolf sighed. "What was that you said? About having our heads too high in the clouds? Yeah..."

Breeg shared a chuckle with the bartender, taking another gulp of cider. "How many has she had?"

"None," Zolf replied, mimicking Breeg's low tone. "Can't afford any. She barely had enough bits to book a room for a few days."

"Wow," Breeg said with a quick peek backward. Nira was collapsed on the table, running a pitiful claw along the wooden surface. "Damned shame."

"Yeahhh, it's all sad and depressing," Zolf droned, chopping away once again. "But hey, she paid well and that's all that matters to me. As long as she cuts it out with the whoring attempts at extorting, she's free to stay."

A sudden sound from just outside interrupted their conversation. Zolf jumped, dropping his cleaver and running a claw through his white feathers. "Oh, don't tell me... Did part of the damned roof collapse again? I swear, if my Pop were still alive-"

The door swung open, and a young pegasus with a crossbow holstered to her back scurried inside. Beads of sweat lined her brown coat as she panted. There was a scar on her left side - which vanished when she folded her wings - and Breeg took notice when she closed her eyes tight with a sharp breath and slammed a hoof on the floorboard.

Simon had awakened at sound of her entrance, and Jeneine turned her head to stare at the tavern's new addition. All eyes were on the young pegasus.

"Oh! Hmm. This is a surprise," Zolf said as she continued to pant. "Don't worry, come on in. Take a seat. Ponies are just as welcome here as griffons, and you look like you could use a drink. An import of cider just came in from central Equestria. You're in luck." He placed a claw on his chin. "Mmm, what was the name of that town again? Ponyton? Hoofville? Anyway, yeah. It's good stuff. The folks who cured it definitely have a passion. I'm sure you'll enjoy, Miss..."

She took a deep, calming breath, wiping the sweat from her brow as she adjusted the small bag on her right and turned towards the bartender. "Dream. I'm Emerald Dream, and we need to-"

"Emerald Dream, you say?" Jeneine rose, interrupting the newcomer.

A sudden chill made Emerald step back. "Y-yes. That's my name."

The tan griffon stepped forward past Nira, her light claws tapping on the wood until she was a step away from the new addition. Breeg rose up from his seat.

"And let me guess," Jeneine said. She towered just about a head over the lone pony. "Your parents named you that...because of your eyes?"

Emerald peered up at the griffon and blinked her green eyes at the strange question. "...Umm-"

"How riveting," Jeneine finished with a spastic laugh. "Isn't that riveting, Simon? Hmm?!"

"Yeah, pretty riveting!" Simon slurred from across the room, joining in her laughter. Nira joined as well while Breeg and Zolf glimpsed at each other with beaks agape. Emerald was just as confused, but stood her ground.

"Alright Jeneine, that's enough," Zolf said.

"Dammit Zolf!" Jeneine's laughter came to a sudden stop as she addressed the tavern owner. "I told you yesterday to stop calling me that! Just call me 'Jen.' Please. All of you. I'm fed up with having to deal with this forsaken name."

Breeg moved closer to where the two stood and raised his gray paws. "How about we all relax for a second? It looks like our newcomer has had an eventful day as it is."

"Oh, so you fancy ponies then?" Breeg growled at the sound of Nira's voice and shot her a glare, after which she looked away with a masked submission.

"No more," he insisted, watching as Jeneine moved back to her table. "Let's let her speak."

Emerald sighed with a nod towards Breeg, relaxing herself. "Okay, look. We're all in danger. Dragons are tunneling up from beneath those mountains. We ran into two of them on our way down here." She gestured towards the door. "We need to get-"

"Whoa, hold on. Slow down a second." Zolf held up a paw. "Back up a little. Dragons? Isn't that..."

They were once again interrupted by a muffled voice outside. It looped around the building's right side exterior, becoming more legible with each clopped step. "...damned griffons and their stupid wings, building a town right next to a mountain..." Breeg caught white and gray silhouettes of two more ponies rushing past the windows, the gray one holding onto what looked like a shovel for dear life. "...Stupid Emerald with her flying ahead and leaving us to trudge all the way down here..." The door flew open once again, and they both pranced into the establishment. "Where's the loot?" the panting unicorn asked, wiping sweat out of his white coat.

Both Jen and Nira stood up at that. "What'd you say, horn-face?" Jeneine grabbed the holt of her maul. "Is that what this is about? You three want to scare us away with those stupid old rumors and ransack the place?! Well it won't work!" Zolf was moving around the counter past Breeg.

"No, it's nothing like that!" Emerald said, positioning her awkward self in front of the other two ponies. "These are my associates. We're just here to-"

"Hey, hold on," the unicorn interrupted. "You said they'd have stuff for us."

"Dazzle!" Emerald yelled, holding a hoof on her temple. Nira drew her dagger, and Jeneine followed suit with her spiked maul. Simon was rising on wobbling legs when Zolf put himself between Emerald and the griffons.

"Put the weapons away," he said, stern paws raised between both parties. "Calm down, everyone. I'm sure this is all just some kind of misunderstanding."

"Oh please," Jen retorted. "They're a bunch of no-good ponies who want nothing but a life-changing pay. You can tell by just looking at them."

"Swooping Stan is dead," said Emerald Dream with a stomp of her hoof. "And his pack have likely perished as well. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

With that, the bar grew silent except for that droning guitar from the stereo. Nira lowered her weapon a tad, and Zolf turned towards a silent Breeg. Jeneine took a step back, and Simon was asleep once again.

"Bull," said Jen.

"I think you're going to have to give us a bit more than that," Zolf began, stroking around his beak. "Stan and his pack are the only griffons who have hunted nonstop on those old peaks for five years running without, well, perishing. To hear that they've suddenly done just that is a bit hard to take in."

"A dragon came out of the ground and devoured the guy," Dazzle said, running a hoof along the back of his neck.

"Yeah. It was big. Both of them," added the earth pony.

"He was gargling in the thing's jaws right in front of us," the unicorn continued. "It was quite the-"

"Yes!" Emerald interrupted. "That's what happened. They called it a terra drake, and there were at least two of them. Another appeared and came after us, but we escaped. I'd imagine it caught them by surprise when they were dealing with the larger one that killed Stan."

Breeg began stroking the feathers beneath his wide beak. Zolf shot another unsure glance towards his friend before Jen's laughter filled the tavern. "How stupid do you think we are?" She holstered the maul and shook her head. "No way... You're seriously using those ancient rumors to push this ridiculous story? Stan himself has combed those mountains, and he's ensured us that there's no mythical dragon cave network beneath them." She chuckled again.

"He has?" the earth pony asked. "But he told Miss Dream-"

"I'll handle this, Doug," Emerald interrupted. "Look. From what we've come to understand, Stan only told the truth to those who he felt were experienced enough to make the trip in one piece. We went deep under and found the hoard, yes, but when we got back to the surface, he jumped us and took everything we'd gathered. He'd been stealing the treasure from whoever he led to those mountains with no sweat in his own fur." She took a desperate step towards the griffons. "Please, you have to believe us. His status as 'Linone's Chosen' made it easy for him to manipulate everyone around the facts."

Another long pause. Emerald glanced between all of the silent griffons, shifting uncomfortably in the guitar-trimmed silence. Breeg was still stroking through his feathers. She had hoped to convince them of the impending danger by cutting straight to the point while also saving time, but the looks on their faces alone indicated that she'd been too forward. Emerald's brown ears lowered, and with a pitiful sigh, she braced herself for the inevitable scolding.

"You're freaking insane," Jen said, chuckling once again. "Seriously, heh, what's your game with this? What in the hell are you trying to...?--snkkt-bwahahahaha!" She broke into another snorting hysteria. Simon jumped awake, taking a quick look around before joining in her and Nira's laughter. Even Zolf was letting out a chuckle. Breeg remained quiet, squinting his yellow eyes.

"Alright. These morons are a waste of time," Dazzle said over the guffaws. "Are we going now? Or what?"

"Yeah, it doesn't look like they're going to listen to us..." Doug added.

Emerald had looked away from the griffons. "...I guess so. Yeah. Let's-"

"Wait." Breeg spoke at last, and the laughter died down as he stepped further towards the ponies.

Jeneine rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't tell me you believe these clowns. We've gathered that you're approaching your twilight years, Breeg, but come on..."

Breeg paid no mind to her voice. "How many griffons were there when you got jumped?"

Emerald sifted through her thoughts. "Umm...a dozen, at least."

"More than that, I think," Doug added.

"Hmm," Breeg peered out the window. "I saw a rather large pack heading towards the mountains a few hours ago. They were too far away to make out any details, but there were a lot of them."

Emerald blinked. "Well...it did seem like they were searching around for a long time. Stan said something about us being underground 'for a while.'"

"Oh, c'mon!" Jen interrupted. "That could have been anyone, Breeg. It still doesn't change how insane this whole thing sounds."

"And something else about this tale is a bit strange to me," Breeg continued.

"You mean the whole thing?"

"Alright, can you give it a rest already?" Zolf intervened, interested in what Breeg had to say. "Let the guy speak."

Breeg nodded towards Zolf and continued on. "I find it strange that you would say 'terra drake,' as they're rarely ever seen above ground."

Emerald's ears perked back up. She hadn't read too much into the drakes themselves, but the griffon's words reminded her of a particular page she'd almost skimmed over. "Right. It's unheard of, isn't it?"

"Almost completely unless they're migrating in search of a mate, or a new brood network to call home, but that only happens once every few years," Breeg continued. "Now I may not know the full extent of who this 'Swooping Stan' is, but I was involved in a good amount of packs during my golden years, and I can tell you that terra drakes prey on ursa minors and other cave life while hardly ever venturing into the light of day; for the most part, they're underground until the brood mother's surviving young are ready to fend for themselves." He ran a flabbergasted paw along his forehead. "It's just so bizarre that they would tunnel upward to save her treasure. They'd only care that there were enough gems for the hatchlings to eat, and given how much a brood mother gathers before breeding, it's unlikely they would ever concern themselves beyond the cave network." Breeg glanced at the griffons and then back towards Emerald Dream. "If you're formulating all this for some devious plot, it seems very strange that you would skimp on something so obvious to those who have hunted for a living; it's known how dangerous terra drakes are, and precautions are taken to avoid certain routes when they're migrating. It just doesn't add up, especially after delving far enough to learn who this 'Swooping Stan' is." Breeg stepped closer to Emerald Dream. "If this truly happened..."

Emerald bowed her head and let out a sharp breath. "It did, I swear. We saw them. Two of them."

Breeg peered out the window, towards the distant slopes backed by a crimson glow. "...I believe you. Something isn't right."

Jen's beak had hung open throughout Breeg's entire explanation. "Do you two even hear yourselves?" She slapped two paws on her forehead. "So, what? Nature developed a will of its own and decided to screw Stan and his legendary pack...for no reason?! That's crazy! There's no way!"

"I don't know," Nira said while sheathing her dirk. "Breeg here may be a buzz-kill, but now that he's mentioned all that..."

Everyone quieted when they saw the look on Breeg's face. Zolf didn't have to glance out the window to feel a cold nausea enter his gut. Emerald shared Breeg's same frightening sight; that wobbling wingspan ascending over the tree-trimmed peak silhouetted against the setting sun. It stopped, hovering as it scanned the landscape with a long shadowed gaze until it faced the spec of a town in the mountain's shade. The distant beast was darkened against the sun, but Jeneine could almost feel its Tartarus-forged eyes burning through her feathers. It dove into a gliding descent, growing larger as it zoomed through the air.

"Oh no," Doug murmured, beginning to shake as if he'd fallen into a frozen lake.

The beat-up drake set down less-than-gracefully at a moderate distance from the window. A slight rumbling reverberated through the inn, causing Simon to wake up. When it'd settled on its legs, the drake began approaching with a slight limp in its stride, where one of several scorched-shut wounds were present.

"I-it's..." Jen froze in place, unable to speak.

"It's hurt," Nira said in a quiet tone. "Let's split-"

Their small relief was gone when a second beast answered the tremor. It erupted from the ground just behind its wounded companion, taking off on spiked wings and circling Peak's Pass.

"Well, we warned you," Dazzle said as he followed the airborne drake with his eyes. "You're all free to give me whatever you've got for compensation."