We Are Born From The Mist

by NeverEatTheLemonsAlone

XIV

“So, that’s Mjors? Little bit taller than I expected.”

Such was Hurricane’s comment. It wasn’t that the village itself was tall, no. It was, however, built into the side of a mountain. Rather unconventional, yes, but both flying ponies could certainly see how that would be useful in case of an invasion. It seemed that the gryphons’ reputation for being experienced in war wasn’t unfounded. They touched down on a stone plaza in the middle, which appeared to be a market. The first to notice them responded in a way that…rather confused them. He—it seemed to be a male, both by physique and voice—placed his head in a talon and groaned. “Oh for the love of the Ravenlord…they have wings now?”

Hurricane cocked her head in confusion. Then she felt a sharp pain in her flank and turned, stumbling backwards a few paces upon seeing the heavily-armoured soldier with a razor-keen sword pointed at her, a little bit of blood coating the tip. In one quick, fluid motion, her spear was in her hoof. Still, she couldn’t keep up with Star. She’d had her knives in her hooves the instant she’d seen what happened to Hurricane.

The gryphon’s eyes narrowed and it began to very deliberately move towards her, his talons and claws making a pronounced click on each impact with the stone. His beak was set in a hard, straight line. More of the heavily armoured gryphons began to emerge, all of them converging on her with the same intensity. Her nervous eyes flicked around, and she eventually realized that there was no way she could fight them all. She would be hard-pressed against one, if their fighting prowess wasn’t exaggerated. Twenty? She would be dead in seconds.

For the first time, the first guard spoke. His voice was low, gravelly and cold, like stones grinding on ice. “Why are you here, little horses?”

Hurricane stepped forwards, hoping that Star would keep a level head. “We’ve come to stop for a brief moment. Our journey takes us far to the north, and we need a place to rest, and hopefully obtain some rations.”

The gryphon glared pointedly at her for a moment, then broke the eye contact, motioning to his fellow soldiers. “Put up your spears, boys. They seem fragile enough to be harmless.” Hurricane grumbled, but made no protest. The gryphon turned back to her, his beak still firm. “If you want lodging, then you’ll get it. You’ll have a pair of guards outside of your door, and outside of each window, at all times. You may find something in the marketplace to eat on the way to your quarters, but I doubt we’ll have anything for you. We eat meat, not grass. Follow me.”

He led them through the small village, which was really more of a town, until they reached a long, low building, hewn directly into the wall of the mountain. Opening the door, he ushered them inside. The boisterous atmosphere of the inn instantly silenced itself, and despite herself, Hurricane began to feel rather out of place. The hostile stares that were directed at them were more than enough to ensure that.

As they made their way into a hallway off to the side, the noise resumed, albeit a bit more muted, and they ended up standing in front of a solid door, carved of a dark, solid oak wood. Once more, the gryphon held the door open, and once more, they entered. The room was comfortable enough, with two beds, a large, empty shelf and a washbasin. As the door began to close, Hurricane hurriedly turned. “Hey, um…what’s your name?”

He eyed her for a moment before responding. “I’m Asger. And you?” Grateful for the brief bit of conversation, she replied much more quickly. “I’m Hurricane, and the ialtag over there is Star.” He tilted his head, curious.

“Ial…tag? What’s that, then?”

Hurricane opened her mouth, but Star moved over to the door, cutting her off. “We’re a kind of pony, sort of like a pegasus. Only difference is, we’ve got bat wings. We can also see a lot better.” She chuckled. “I imagine you know how that feels?”

Despite himself, the gryphon laughed, his own slightly slitted eyes glinting in the ambient light. “Yes, I believe I would. I’ll be taking my leave now.” He turned, closing the door gently. There was a click, and when Star moved to try it, it refused to open. The two faced each other for several seconds, gulping simultaneously. Hurricane broke the silence. “I’m not sure if we’re guests here, or prisoners.”

Star shrugged, looking around the room again. “Eh, it seems fine to me. As long as we can get refueled tonight and get going tomorrow, I’ll be a happy pony. Rations would be nice, but that would be too good to be true. As for now, let’s just take it easy.”

A few hours later, she was ready to climb the walls. She moaned, banging her head gently on the stone. “Ughhhh. Forget what I said about taking it easy. I’m about to explode.” Hurricane nodded distractedly and tried the door for perhaps the twentieth time. Unsurprisingly, it was still locked.

She sighed, flopping down on one of the beds. “It’s really not that bad, Star. By the King, you sound like you’re about to die.”

Star chuckled unhappily. “I’m sure that any of those gryphons out there would be happy to oblige me. Tell me again why I let you talk me into this?”

Hurricane yawned. “We needed somewhere to rest up before we have to start really flying hard. There isn’t much hospitable land between here and the Barren Sea, and there’s nothing but a few icy islands once we start the crossing. I’d say it was an easy trade.”

BANG

The door slammed open at high speeds and both mares jumped. Asger stood there, his face grim. His voice was rough, rage evident in every carefully-restrained movement. “I’m going to need you two to come with me.”

Star trotted over to him. “Why? What happened?”

He turned sharply, glaring fiercely at her. “One of the most important gryphons in our village was murdered. You’re the only new creatures to come to Mjors in nearly ten years, and the healers have put the time of death at only a few minutes before you arrived. Now come with me peacefully and don’t make a scene, or I might have to beat a confession out of you!”

Star stared hard at Hurricane, who dropped her head into her hooves. “Okay, fine. You win. We really shouldn’t have come here.”