Realms of Magic: The Realm of the Gryphons

by TheEighthDayofNight

Chapter 5

Darkness began to fall as Kathranis and the trio of gryphons descended from the forested hills they had been walking along.

“We’re close,” Zefuris announced, breaking the silence that had settled between them. “It’s only a few miles to the outer wall.”

Kathranis couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. They had only stopped once for a brief meal, and while he had enjoyed trading questions with Aquila, he wasn’t used to the constant march the gryphons seemed to easily keep. His elvish regiment moved in fast sprints, always out and ahead of the Thayan army, keeping their own pace, and stopping frequently to relax and rest. It helped them remain loose if a fight came, which it often did, but Kathranis supposed the gryphons didn’t have such concerns.

As the sun had set, cold had crept in, and while his fur lined cloak had helped ward away the cold initially, it was beginning to seep into his very core as his every breath sent a cloud of fog into the air. Aquila had drifted away from him when their conversation had lapsed, but she seemed to notice his susceptibility to the cold, so she embraced him with her wings once more, stopping just short of hugging him to her chest. The warm, fuzzy protection from the chilled air was more than enough to overcome his trepidation of intimate contact.

Following Zefuris, they walked through a pair of bent pine trees and onto a well-worn path. Valan let out a loud sigh of relief.

“Finally, now we can make some real progress.”

“If you’re about to suggest we leave Shadowsong behind with directions to the city,” Aquila said lightly, “you’re mistaken. I gave my word to escort him to the city, and I will do so.”

“I will then stay with the elf as well,” Zefuris said. “Princess Aquila is my responsibility, as is Shadowsong as long as he wears my clan emblem. My lord, if you wish to fly ahead, be my guest. You will do so alone.”

Valan rolled his eyes and huffed.

“Fine, I’ll stay with the slow human, only because I don’t want to be yelled at all by myself.”

Despite his outward flippancy, Kathranis managed to catch a look of nervousness in the young gryphon’s eyes as he looked about. One of his taloned hands drifted to the sword on his hip, and he looked to the sky.

“Isn’t it a bit odd that we haven’t seen any patrols?” Valan whispered to Zefuris.

The armored gryphon frowned, then looked to the sky himself.

“We’ve probably just missed them all, our timing has just been off. Let’s keep moving.”

None of the gryphons looked like they believed Zefuris’ words, and Kathranis noticed Valan and Zefuris inch their swords out of their sheathes. The elf looked to Secil, who gave him a short nod, then disappeared into the dark without a word said between them. Despite his complaints, the great cat truly enjoyed scouting ahead. It was the only way he could still act like the mighty predator he used to be.

Walking along the road did help their pace marginally, and after a while, Kathranis noticed something in the dim light. Before he could voice his observation, however, Zefuris held up a hand to stop them. The gryphon’s eyes narrowed as he dropped into a crouch, scanning the woods around them.

“Something isn’t right,” he whispered. “Can anyone else feel that?”

Valan nodded, his normal flippancy absent as he scanned the road ahead.

“My fur is standing on end. Do you think it’s an ambush? Who would be stupid enough to try this close to the walls?”

Zefuris shrugged.

“I know not, but we don’t have many options to avoid it.”

“We also do not have enough information,” Kathranis said. “I will take a look, see if there is anything that can clue us in to who our ambushers are. If we can identify the size of their group, we may be able to fight our way out.”

A flicker of distrust flickered across Zefuris’ gaze, but the gryphon let out a loud sigh, followed by a nod.

“Agreed. We shall remain back. My Prince, My Princess, let us retreat to-“

“I’m going with Shadowsong,” Valan cut in.

Kathranis felt Aquila’s wings tighten around him.

“And why is that?” she hissed.

Valan shot her a glare.

“I don’t need to explain myself to you.” His gaze softened. “But, I recognize that I need the experience. You seem Tartarus bent on keeping this human around, and I would be an idiot if I didn’t see that he has some uses, this being among them.”

Kathranis flashed a smile.

“If that was your way of complimenting me, I’ll accept it, though your wording could use some work.”

Valan’s glare made a return and focused in full force on Kathranis. Aquila giggled softly in the elf’s ear.

“If you have no issue taking my brother with you, be safe. I want both of you back.”

Her warmth withdrew, and Kathranis had to suppress a shudder as the cold night air sucked away any comfort he had. Kathranis rolled his shoulders and loosened his swords in their sheathes. He nodded to Valan, and the pair set off at a crouch. As the sun continued to set, Kathranis allowed his eyes to shift into detecting heat, and he scanned the trees, asking Secil for the occasional update on their situation. The panther reported no would-be ambushers, but that he still couldn’t shake the feeling that they were out there.

As Kathranis and his gryphon companion moved along the road, a wagon came into view. Kathranis held up his hand, and to his surprise, Valan immediately stopped moving, crouching lower to the ground. His wings fluttered out, spreading out to make him blend better in the darkness. If they weren’t in the middle of the woods at risk of ambush, Kathranis imagined he would have asked the gryphon all about how he used his wings to blend in with his surroundings, but as things were, he needed to focus.

Eyeing the wagon in the dim light, Kathranis tapped Valan’s shoulder, waiting for the gryphon’s shining eyes to meet his before he spoke.

“I’ll take a look, you stay here and run back to Aquila and Zefuris if something happens.”

The usually look of defiance, and even outright hatred creeped into Valan’s eyes, as the gryphon sneered at him.

“Looking to disguise the evidence your human friends left behind are you?”

Kathranis let out a small sigh and looked to the trees.

“If you distrust me that much, then you go investigate, and I’ll stay back in case you trigger the ambush.”

“Not a chance wretch,” Valan hissed. “I’m not going to crawl up there only to get shot in the back with one of your arrows. Don’t think I forgot that bow on your back.”

Kathranis rolled his eyes.

“Fine then, what would you suggest we do Prince?”

“We go forward together,” Valan said. “Once we’re done looking around, we go back to Aquila and Zefuris together. It’s simple, and allows me to keep an eye on you.”

“At the cost of another set of eyes not looking at our surroundings,” Kathranis responded.

He quelled his irritation and let out a small huff.

“It doesn’t matter. If you wish to follow, then follow. Just know that you are putting yourself in at unnecessary risk.”

He moved forward, just barely catching the gryphon’s whispered reply.

“It’ll be worth it if I catch you in the act.”

Kathranis decided to ignore the overly suspicious gryphon and focused on the wagon as he moved closer. It was unremarkable in the darkness, but as he approached Kathranis felt his boots squelch in a large, sticky puddle. He glanced down, taking care not to kneel in the warm liquid. He dipped his fingers in the puddle, then raised them to his nose, taking a careful sniff. The metallic scent was easy enough to identify, and Kathranis’ mouth curled in disgust as he wiped his fingers off on his cloak.

“Blood,” he whispered to Valan, who was standing slightly back of Kathranis’ stopped form.

The gryphon sniffed at the air, his sharp eyes looking around.

“How fresh?”

Kathranis shrugged and took a few more careful steps forward.

“Still warm, still wet. Can’t have been more than an hour or two.”

He peaked into the wagon, then under it. Though he found more blood, as well as a broken arrow or two, he found no other signs of violence, nor of the cargo the wagon had been carrying. No dropped weapons, no tatters of clothing, and most importantly, no bodies. Not even a stray finger was left in the pools of blood. Whatever had been on the wagon was missing without a trace as well.

“It definitely wasn’t animals,” Kathranis whispered.

Valan looked down into the empty wagon.

“Not humans either. They are too stupid to make a fight without something being left behind.”

His eyes flicked to Kathranis.

“Usually at least.”

The elf sent a mental message to Secil, and the cat again reported nothing, only adding the note that there were also no animals nearby. Something had scared them off. He glanced back to Valan.

“Humans where I am from could pull something like this off, but not often, and not with this level of precision. It’s too clean, almost as if we stumbled upon it while they were still hiding it.”

“And who do you think they is?” Valan asked. “Friends of yours?”

Kathranis felt a twinge of irritation, but ignored it.

“I don’t know who would go to this level of care to erase an ambush, but I do know that I would rather we didn’t find out. Come, let’s go back to the others.”

As he turned to walk back in the direction they had come, a flicker of heat appeared in Kathranis’ peripheral. He looked in the direction to find the small mote of orange increasing in size. As it steadily overwhelmed his vision, Kathranis realized what he was staring at.

“Get down!” he shouted, tackling Valan away from the wagon.

The fireball exploded before he could full cover the gryphon with his cloak, and he far underestimated how much force was packed into the ball of flaming energy. The explosion sent Kathranis flying through the air, chased by the burning remains of the wagon. The elf rolled to his feet, quickly casting about for Valan. The gryphon held his head with one hand as a second fireball spiraled through the dark above them. It exploded against the trunk of a wide tree, driving the pair to the ground. As he began to push to his feet again, Kathranis heard a loud crack, and looked up to find a massive branch falling.

He rolled away, mostly avoiding the branch. The edge of his cloak caught under one of the lighter offshoots of the branch, but with a firm yank, Kathranis was able to free the garment. He mentally called out to Secil as smoke filled the air.

‘What do you see?’ he asked.

‘I can’t!’ the cat replied in a mild panic. ‘I don’t even know where those spells came from!’

Kathranis spat.

‘Keep looking. Even the most talented wizards leave a trace.’

Squinting his eyes against the smoke, Kathranis tried to maintain his focus to keep his eyes seeing heat. The flames licking at the tree and the branch made it more difficult, but he knew that looking for an invisible wizard in the dark with his normal vision was nearly impossible. Cloaking spells had been perfected since before he was born, but most wizards didn’t think about hiding their body heat. Before he could begin to search the trees for the visible difference of body heat however, a weak cough reached his ears, followed swiftly by a whimper. Kathranis let his eyes shift back to his normal vision as he looked toward the source of the sounds.

Pinned beneath a section of branch that wasn’t yet on fire, Valan clawed helplessly at a shard of wood embedded in his leg. The gryphon managed to see Kathranis through the haze of smoke, and he reached out a hand.

“Please, help me.”

Kathranis’ mind worked at a mile a minute. He moved before his plan was fully thought out, but he didn’t have time to waste. Taking the cloak from his shoulders, Kathranis rolled it into a ball, then snatched his waterskin from his belt. He emptied the water onto his cloak, doing his best to ensure that it was soaked completely. He then tied the damp cloth around what little of the branch wasn’t burning, buying him precious time to get Valan free.

Kathranis dropped his bow, quiver, and bag to the ground, then slid under the branch. He frowned as he regarded the branch impaling Valan’s leg, and after a moment, he gave an understanding look to the gryphon.

“Apologies my friend, but this is going to hurt quite a bit.”

Valan’s beak opened, no doubt to ask what he meant, but Kathranis acted before he could speak. With his fist curled as tightly as possible, Kathranis struck the branch. Valan cried out in pain the punch jolted his leg, but Kathranis didn’t flinch as he pulled back to strike again. On the third punch Kathranis felt the wood begin to crack, and on the fourth he felt flames beginning to lick at his back. Fire flickered in Valan’s eyes, and the gryphon squawked in alarm.

“Hurry up, the fire’s getting closer!”

Kathranis huffed as he dealt another punch to the branch.

“Give me a moment,” he gasped as smoke clogged the air. “I’m not exactly a dwarf. I don’t punch trees for enjoyment.”

The joke was lost on the gryphon, who whimpered as the leaves around them began to char. Kathranis grit his teeth as he reared back and struck with all the force he could muster, ignoring the splitting of his knuckles. The branch shattered, and though Valan let out another pained howl, he was free. He scrambled free of the branch, then rolled to his knees and offered his hand to Kathranis. The elf felt an increase in pressure on his back, but Valan seized his wrist and yanked him forward. Kathranis fell beside the gryphon, and looked back in time to see another massive branch crash down where they had been. His cloak was aflame, burning easily between the two branches.

“That was my favorite cloak,” he said with a small grin, glancing at Valan.

The gryphon snorted in disbelief as he stared back.

“We almost died, and you’re worried about a cloak?”

Kathranis groaned and rolled to his knees, sitting up to take a look at the gryphon’s leg.

“Only the living get to complain good Prince. I have you to thank for that privilege.” He chuckled as he withdrew his holy symbol from beneath his armor. “Besides, that cloak was probably older than you are.”

“I’ll get you a new one,” Valan grunted. “And um…. Thanks. For saving me that is.”

The gryphon looked mildly embarrassed, but Kathranis could only grin as he pressed his hands against Valan’s bleeding leg.

“It is no issue good Prince.” He gave Valan a wink. “As long as you buy me a new cloak, I think I would consider us even.”

Valan gave a pained smile in return.

“Fair enough I guess.”

Kathranis began to pray to receive healing magic, only for a small warning to tickle the back of his mind.

It came too slow.

Kathranis felt a hand grip his throat, and he found himself flying through the air, away from the heat of the fire. He slammed into a tree, his ribs cracking as he impacted. He could barely feel the breath in his longs as he fell to the ground, and a series of ragged coughs left his throat as he tried to find his breath. An invisible foot kicked him in the gut, sending him back into the tree. Another kick swiftly followed into his ribs. Kathranis tried to curl up to protect his core, but an invisible hand grabbed his throat again and lifted him into the air. The meaty hand tightened around his windpipe, and already deprived of air, Kathranis found his vision swimming.

He choked as the invisible hand lifted him into the air and pinned him against the tree. The firelight flickered, and Kathranis could just faintly see the outline of a body as smoke parted around it. He could just tell the person was smiling as he slowly strangled Kathranis, and as soon as the half-orc spoke, Kathranis knew who it was.

“Gotta say elf, di’ no’ think ya’d go out with a whimper. Figured ya fer a fightin’ type. Wizard! Let down yer spell so ‘e can see who killed ‘im.”

Kathranis tried to pry Galdug’s fingers apart as the half-orc’s ugly grin came slowly into view. One of Tatiana’s “allies”, Galdug had always been a pain in Kathranis’ side. Legends were told about the best fighters amongst the armies of the Red Wizards, and Kathranis and Galdug always came up in competition. Kathranis could secure kills in a number of ways, erasing undead targets from miles away with carefully measured out, enchanted bowshots, or up close with his enchanted swords. Galdug was far more brute force in his strategy. With legs like tree trunks, and arms that matched, he could have strangled a grizzly bear. Throwing him into battle left him hacking undead into such small pieces that not even the most talented necromancers could raise them. In a war where the dead were given new life as the enemy, Tatiana had no choice but to keep any and all allies, so Kathranis and Galdug had crossed paths more than once as favored warriors of the Red Wizard. More than once Galdug had called for contests to prove how he was a better warrior, and each time Kathranis won, leaving the half-orc insulted and angry. To say they didn’t work well together was an understatement, and though he couldn’t prove it, Kathranis knew that half-orc had tried to kill him once.

As Galdug’s fingers tightened on his neck, Kathranis upped the tally to twice. Kathranis wrapped his legs around Galdug’s now visible arm and tried to pull himself free, but the half-orc merely laughed.

“Not gonna work this time elf. Learned that trick I did.”

Instead of prying his fingers open, Kathranis felt Galdug’s grip tighten, and he let out a strained gasp as what little air had been in his lungs was forced out. The elf felt his air move in a breeze, then realized that he was the one moving as Galdug slammed him into the tree. The first hit hurt, and the second put stars in his vision. Galdug laughed in his piggish way as he slammed Kathranis to the ground, then stomped his ribs again.

“Gods damned, I missed this!”

The hand disappeared from Kathranis’ throat, but before he could roll away, it reappeared, slamming into his jaw. Kathranis could feel his teeth loosen with the blow, and Gladug let out another laugh.

“Not so tough without yer pet, is ya elf?”

His smug laughter changed to a yelp of pain as something warm and wet pattered against Kathranis’ cheek. He opened his eyes to see Valan standing over his body with his talons dripping with blood, while Galdug pawed at his face.

“Stupid bird hit my eye!”

“I’ll take the other one too,” Valan snarled, fluffing out his wings. “I don’t know what kind of roach you are, but if you don’t leave Gryphonia territory immediately, you’ll be sorry.”

Kathranis uncurled from his protective ball and grabbed Valan’s ankle. The gryphon glanced down and shifted in place.

“Don’t worry Shadowsong. You saved my neck; honor demands I save yours.”

“Galdug’s too strong for you,” Kathranis whispered through his battered throat. “Run, leave me. I’ll be fine.”

Valan rolled his eyes and snorted.

“Please, this brute looks slower than a hatchling. He’s no threat.”

Galdug’s hands dropped from his face and to the twin hatchets on his belt. Kathranis grimaced at the ugly sight of the half-orc’s bloodied face and destroyed eye.

“Ah’ll show you who’s a threat, rat!”

Galdug roared and rushed Valan, who dropped into a crouch, ready to meet him. The half-orc never got close.

Secil dropped from the trees with a howl and began raking long furrows in Galdug’s back, causing the half-orc to screech and thrash about in pain. He struggled to get the panther off his back, but Secil wasn’t one to be so easily dislodged, and he continued ripping and tearing at the half-orc’s back. Kathranis gritted his teeth, and with a moan, as well as Valan’s assistance, he got to his feet. He rubbed at his ribs.

“Thank you,” he said to Valan, “but you need to run. Secil and I will keep Galdug and whatever friends he has with him distracted. Trust me, whatever beating is in store for me is nothing compared to what you will receive if he catches you.”

Valan’s eyes flashed with outrage.

“I will not run like some coward, especially not on the orders of a human.”

Kathranis let his anger flash up in response.

“But you would do well to listen to the elf who has fought more battles than you have feathers. It is not cowardice to use that piece of meat behind your eyes, and I will follow shortly. We are pissing away the time that Secil is buying us by arguing. Go, run!”

He was too slow. Galdug finally managed to catch a hold of Secil’s pelt, and he ripped the panther from his back. Kathranis managed to slip under the panther’s body as Galdug flung Secil at him and Valan. While the gryphon went down under the furry black missile, Kathranis’ swords sang free from their sheathes and he moved forward, advancing on the bleeding half-orc. Galdug snarled and drew one of his hatchets, twirling it in his hand.

“That’s right elf, come and get a piece.”

Kathranis cast an eye back to Valan, who shoved Secil off him. The gryphon got to his feet and drew his sword, stalking forward to stand at Kathranis’ side.

“Bring it pig-man,” Valan spat. “I think those ugly teeth of yours will make nice trophies.”

Galdug snarled at the gryphon.

“Big talk bird brain.” His eye flicked to Kathranis. “Gotta put our little fight on hold elf, I got me some chicken to cook.”

Kathranis began stalking around the half-orc’s blind side.

“I’m not here for an honor fight Galdug. Stand down and I’ll let you live. Fight, and we’ll kill you.”

Galdug grinned at him.

“That so? Guess I better get some friends of me own then.”

Magic flashed from the treetops, and Kathranis hopped backward, narrowly avoiding a green beam aimed for his head. The beam splashed on the ground, then began to sizzle and hiss, melting away the leaves. He didn’t have any time to trace the arc of the spell however, as shouts rose in the air, heralding the arrival of dozens of well-armed humans. The steel of their swords glittered in the firelight, and Galdug barked out a short laugh as the humans charged past him.

“Leave the bird to me boys! Kill the elf and ‘is pet!”

Kathranis took a deep breath, locking eyes with the closest human. The man looked old, with a healthy, yet greying beard. Most telling was the way he carried his sword, keeping the grip the perfect balance between firm and loose. The combat posture was familiar, it was a common human way to swordfight, but though the human was a competent, well-seasoned warrior, he was no elf bladesinger. Kathranis parried the human’s opening swing, then used his other scimitar to chop into the human’s neck. The enchanted steel left a wide, gaping hole, and the human collapsed with a sputter, his sword falling from his limp fingers.

The second human came a second later, and Kathranis had no time to read his face, had no time to predict his movements. Instead, he watched the human’s broadsword, slipping under the first wild swing. He parried an attack from a third human, then stabbed at the second one’s belly. The probing attack met resistance, giving Kathranis all the knowledge he needed. The second human reversed his swing, trying to take Kathranis’ head off, but the elf easily slid under the attack, and he caught the human’s dominant arm under his armpit. His scimitar bit into the human’s wrist, severing the hand, then Kathranis planted a boot on the human’s chest, using it as a spring board to jump away from a fourth human, who tried to stab his ribs with a spear.

Kathranis landed a few feet back from his previous position, and he took a second-deep breath, tasting the air in his throat. The fire spread smoke in the air, making it dangerous to take further deep breaths. Already his lungs were irritated, and a cough at the wrong moment could spell his doom. As it was, there would be no singing in his battle momentum. He would just have to keep the tempo in his head.

The human’s rushed forward again with war cries, and Kathranis met them with silence, sending Secil a mental order as he dipped around the spearman’s jab to cut the man’s throat.

‘Try to scare as many as you can,’ Kathranis commanded. ‘If they run and tell further reinforcements that this fight is pointless, it will make it easier to escape.’

‘The wizard is still here,’ Secil replied. The cat let out a yowl as he pounced on an ax wielding human, ripping the man to shreds. ‘We can’t run if he’s tracking us.’

Kathranis took a dangerous moment to glance up into the trees.

‘I’ll see if I can draw him out. Until then, fight on.’

Secil grunted his affirmation, the howled a warning.

‘Kathranis!’

The elf realized his mistake as a blade bit into his cheek. Though he had managed to prevent the blade from taking his head, a long, painful scar marred the tattoos on his face. Kathranis gritted his teeth and slashed down with both of his scimitars, embedding both blades threw the human’s shoulders and into his chest. The enchanted steel didn’t stick as he ripped them free to face another on-rush of foes. He glanced toward Valan to find the gryphon being beaten by Galdug. The half-orc laughed aloud as he rained blows on the gryphon held in his fist. If Valan had still been awake, he would have been in great pain. One eye was swollen shut, and his beak sat agape, dripping blood toward the ground. Kathranis growled and parried a swing aimed toward his chest, retaliating with a cut to the human’s eyes. The man screamed and fell back, replaced instantly by a half-orc. Smaller, and less skilled than Galdug, Kathranis had little problem slipping past the half-orc’s guard, and he left two deep cuts in the beast’s belly, sending him howling to the ground.

More enemies came forward however, and though he kept ahead of their attacks, Kathranis could already feel himself tiring. There was no break between engagements, and there were more than enough humans to drag their wounded away while keeping him engaged. Kathranis avoided another jabbing spear, and spun around the human, reversing his swords and his momentum to plunge both blades into the soft meat under the human’s ribs. Pulling the blades free, Kathranis parried a dagger stabbed at his belly, then slapped away another aimed for his neck. He drew one of his arms closer to his body and began a short series of jabs at his opponent, while his other arm remained wide, coming in for a hard cut. The human he was fighting didn’t put enough strength into blocking the longer cut, and while jolted, it still raked across his side, opening his guts to the air.

The human fell with a shriek, and Kathranis took a step back, trying to catch his breath.

“Ya idiots! Do ‘im like this!”

Galdug plowed into his side like a bull, tackling him to the ground, and wrenching the air from his lungs. The half-orc’s stench caused Kathranis to gag, but it was the least of his concerns as Galdug pinned him to the ground and raised a fist.

Like a wraith, Secil appeared again, howling as he dug into Galdug’s back. The half-orc roared in pain, and renewed his attempts to remove the panther from his back. The distraction gave Kathranis the opportunity to pull a knife from his hip, and he plunged the blade into Galdug’s throat. The action only seemed to enrage the half-orc further, and he ignored Secil for long enough to headbutt the elf, stunning him. Galdug got to his feet and wrenched Secil from his back, ignoring the meat and blood the cat took with him. Secil hissed at Galdug and tried to wriggle free of the half-orc’s iron grip, but the half-orc merely growled at the panther.

“Gettin’ real tired of ya cat.”

Keeping one hand on Secil’s neck, Galdug wrapped the other around the cat’s tail. Kathranis tried to sit up to stab at Galdug’s leg, but the half-orc stomped his head into the dirt.

“You’ll get yers in a second elf,” Galdug growled. “Let me take care of this pest first.”

Even through his daze, Kathranis could see what was about to happen. He reached out a hand to Secil, who yowled and writhed, fighting to get free.

‘Secil!’

A trace of fear entered the cat’s eyes as Galdug lifted him high in the air. Before he could bring the cat smashing down however, and arrow seemed to sprout from Galdug’s arm. The half-orc howled, and instead of slamming Secil, he settled for throwing the cat against a tree. Kathranis heard a sickening crunch, but let out a sigh of relief when he felt Secil’s mind still settled within his. The cat was in pain, but very much alive. Knowing his familiar was safe enough, Kathranis focused on the hail of arrows that began raining from the trees.

The arrows flew like silent daggers, embedding themselves into every piece of meat available. Galdug roared upward as another arrow pierced his shoulder. Kathranis vaguely recognized the fletching on the arrow, and he smiled as elves, his elves, focused their fire on targets they could kill. The humans scrambled for cover as arrows took them apart piecemeal. Even though humans began carpeting the forest floor however, more started pouring into the clearing, with some bearing shields that helped absorb the arrow fire.

Kathranis closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and counted to three. His head began to clear, and when he opened his eyes, he had a plan of action in mind. Incapacitate Galdug, grab Secil, find Valan, and withdraw. Hopefully his hidden kin would see him and retreat as well. With Galdug sufficiently distracted, Kathranis was able to slip his legs free of the half-orc, bunch them up toward his chest, then slam his heels into Galdug’s chest. The half-orc staggered away under the force of the attack, and Kathranis rolled to his feet, snatching up his swords with him.

Galdug glared hate at Kathranis as the elf rolled his shoulders, more than prepared for a second round. A third arrow stuck in Galdug’s back, and for the first time, Kathranis noticed that the pain of his wounds was beginning to overwhelm the half-orc’s anger. Galdug growled and took a step back, jabbing a fat finger at Kathranis.

“Yer not gonna be so lucky next time elf. Next time we fight, we’re gonna finish.”

Kathranis flourished his swords.

“If you weren’t a coward, we would finish things now.”

Galdug growled louder, but he grabbed a human and shoved him at Kathranis, then turned on his heel and fled. The human stumbled at Kathranis with wide eyes, and with his sword so limp in his hands, Kathranis felt sorry for the man. He stopped the man’s stumble with one hand, then slammed the pommel of his sword into the man’s forehead with the other, knocking him out cold.

Kathranis pushed the human aside, and readied himself to fight the more able combatants. A pair of humans approached him, one bearing a wicked looking battle-axe, while the other wielded a short sword and a shield. The one with the shield screamed a war cry and charged forward, leading with his shield. Kathranis let on his swords slip behind his back while spreading his feet. He held his other sword up in a fencing pose, ready to deflect the upcoming hit.

The swordsman tried to bash Kathranis, but the elf took a step back, poking at the man’s chest with his leading arm. He had to immediately withdraw the attack as the axe-man tried to cleave his shoulder. Dancing back, Kathranis sheathed his rear scimitar and drew a knife from behind his back, keeping the blade in waiting. Again, he waited as the swordsman tried to bash him with his shield, and when he tried again to poke the man’s chest, the axe-man lunged forward. Kathranis suppressed a hiss of pain as the man’s ax glanced his thigh, cutting easily through the leather armor. The elf still danced backward however, but this time he let his dagger fly. The blade tore into the axe-man’s throat, and he fell with a gurgle. The swordsman rushed at Kathranis, headless of his friend’s death. Instead of dipping backward, this time the elf avoided his shield bash by slipping to the man’s left. Kathranis’ scimitar slipped under the man’s chest plate, opening his guts. Spinning around, Kathranis plunged a second blade into the back of the man’s neck, ending his suffering.

He was given no rest as more humans began their attack, and with so many of them flooding the clearing, he couldn’t check on Secil, or Valan. The elf gritted his teeth and prepared to meet them, only for Huron to drop to the ground before him. His older brother flashed him a grin, then loosed an arrow into the throat of one of the approaching humans. The bow dropped to the ground as fast as the arrow was loosed, and Huron drew his sword, parrying away an axe aimed at his chest, then plunged his dagger into the man’s neck. Huron shoved the body away, but before Kathranis could say anything, more elves dropped from the trees.

Luieustriel landed on the shoulders of a half-orc, quickly slashing his throat before leaping off his shoulders to her next opponent. One of the larger elves; Riven, slammed into a pair of sword wielding humans, cracking the skull of one open with his mace, while overbalancing the second, sending him to the ground. The large elf pounced on the fallen man, bashing his head in with his usual savagery. Kathranis parried a swing aimed at his eyes, but before he could deliver a strike of any kind, an arrow tore through the man’s throat, sending him lifeless to the ground. Kathranis glanced toward the source of the arrow to find Gaelin, who offered him a small nod before he resumed firing into the mass of bodies. Light flashed, causing Kathranis to look up to find Fordred dueling a red wizard. The treetops exploded with the fury of their spells, sending debris raining down as the pair sought to overpower their foe. Unlike normal, Fordred looked quite comfortable as his hands wove runes in the air, sending shards of ice spiraling toward the red wizard.

Kathranis felt a burst of energy, and he focused downward. After an instant of watching, he dove into the fray, slapping aside the knives of a halfling. After a few clashes of their blades, the halfing turned tail and sprinted into the dark, and with the abundance of available opponents, Kathranis let him. He picked out a human at random and attacked, leading with his scimitars.

The fighting continued as more bodies flung themselves into the fray, and after slaying his seventh opponent, Kathranis began to tire. He batted aside a spear aimed toward Huron’s back, and took the spearman’s hands, sending him screaming to the ground. Blood sprayed Kathranis’ face, and he winced as it threatened to clog his nose with its iron stench. A sword lanced toward his neck, and Kathranis slipped around the blade, taking the throat of the swordsman. He fell without a sound, joining the bodies that were beginning to get in the way of Kathranis’ footwork. Doding away from another sword, Kathranis slipped back, trying to find a winged body amongst what had become writhing battlefield.

It took him less than a second to find Valan’s still body, and with his location in mind, Kathranis began cutting his way to the gryphon. Blood spilled and more and more screams filled the air as thunder and fire split the sky overhead. Kathranis couldn’t spare a glance at anything other than the fighters before him. He parried a knife, then a sword, then locked blades with an axe, all in the same right-handed stroke. Kathranis headbutted the axe-man in frustration, then blocked another knife strike with his left hand. With the axe-man staggering back, their blades came un-locked, so Kathranis used the free hand to stab to swordsman before he could attack again. The knife wielder took an arrow to his neck, and the axe-man engaged Riven, leaving Kathranis free to finish his journey. The elf broke through the fighters to kneel beside Valan’s body, and keeping an eye up, Kathranis checked the gryphon’s pulse. He let out a sigh of relief when he found the gryphon’s heartbeat, and he sprang back to his feet to fend off more humans.

Yet more war cries filled the air, and more humans rushed into the clearing. In the darkness, Kathranis couldn’t get an accurate count, but it was clear that he and his brethren were far outnumbered, and no matter their combat prowess, the elves were beginning to tire. A glance at his fellows found minor wounds on all of them. Huron sported a small nick on his neck, while Riven had a large cut across his brow. Gaelin’s quiver was empty, and one of his eyes had swollen shut. The elves were slowly being back into a corner around their leader. As Huron sliced open a human’s arm, he glanced at Kathranis, and spoke, his voice at a shout.

“We’ve got to go brother. We can’t keep this up all night.”

Kathranis nodded in agreement as he cut a spear shaft in two.

“We can slip into the shadows, but we need to take him with us,” he said, nodding at Valan.

Huron scowled and ran his opponent through.

“Gryphons are heavy. I’m not sure we can carry him.”

Kathranis opened two cuts on a man’s chest, while Huron swept the legs out from another. Their exchange disappeared under the pressure the humans began applying. In ones or twos, the elves could keep them well back, and could even exact a heavy toll, but they quickly began grouping up in threes and fours. One his elves, a scout named Lauidele, let out a shriek of pain as a spear pierced her hip. Riven let out a roar and pounced on the human responsible, but he was quickly swarmed by others. Only a roar from Secil brought the large elf relief. The panther limped forward, his hind leg twisted as he lashed out with his front paws. Even wounded, the panther was something to be feared, and Riven managed to withdraw to the defensive circle the elves found themselves in. Kathranis grimaced as a blade glanced his cheek, nearly taking his right eye.

“Hold together!” he shouted, hacking down the swordsman. “We can win, just fight together!”

His words were drowned out by another loud war cry. Kathranis felt his shoulders sag at the high-pitched screech, and he briefly wondered how many humans could possibly be rushing to what started as a simple skirmish. To his surprise, however, the humans weren’t the ones who were reinforced.

Gryphons, glad in glistening steel armor, descended by the dozen, ripping the humans apart with ease. Crossbow bolts the size of an arm struck down several humans closest to the elves. Whatever coherence the human battle line had descended into madness as they scrambled to escape the vengeful gryphons. The wizard that was still dueling Fordred was struck with a hale of crossbow bolts, ripping the life from him, and sending him to the ground with a wet plop. On the ground, gryphon’s armed with swords, spears, and armored talons tore through the humans, showing no mercy as they cut them down in droves.

Fordred descended from the treetops as the battle turned into a rout, with many of the gryphons setting off into the dark to catch the humans-turned-prey. He landed next to Huron, giving the elf a small bow, before his eyes widened at the sight of Kathranis. The scimitar wielding elf smiled at the wizard and gave him a wink.

Greetings would have to be saved however, as with the humans shattered and most of their number dead on the ground, the gryphons looked to the loose ring of elves gathered around the fallen body of a gryphon. The silver clad saviors eyed the group with an aggressively appraising eye, watching each and every move the elves made carefully. After a moment, Kathranis resisted the urge to slap himself in the face. Of course they were nervous! Valan, Zefuris, and Aquila had thought him a human, why wouldn’t the rest of the elves be viewed as such?

He sheathed his scimitars and stepped forward of the elvish defensive arc, holding his hands up.

“Hold friends, my kin and I are not your enemies.” He motioned back to Valan’s body. “In fact, it was Prince Valan and I who accidentally sprung this ambush that the rest of my kin saved us from. The Prince and I owe them our lives.”

The tallest of the gryphons stepped forward. In the blink of an eye he was holding his sword tip to Kathranis’ throat, staring at the elf with smoldering eyes from beneath his helmet.

“And why should I believe you human filth? How do I know that you’re not just trying to save your worthless hide by capitalizing on the corpse of some random gryphon?”

Kathranis kept his smile wide.

“That’s possible friend, but very unlikely. Why would I fight these humans if that were the case?”

“To save your worthless band of rats from utter destruction,” a crossbow wielding gryphon spat.

He leveled the weapon at Huron, who responded by readying a dagger. More gryphons raised their weapons, as did the elves. A readied fireball sat in Fordred’s palm, and he let its light brighten, casting the clearing in steep shadows. Kathranis still didn’t drop his smile, and he put a hand back toward his elves.

“Hold all!” he called. “There is no need for pointless bloodshed. I can promise, as soon as we help Prince Valan up and mend the wounds he’s suffered, we can have this sorted out.”

He motioned into the trees.

“In fact, if you go in that direction, you should find Princess Aquila as well. She and her guard should back up my story.”

The gryphon pressed the tip of his sword into Kathranis’ throat.

“Do you really think a quick tongue and cursory knowledge about famous gryphons will save you rat?” the gryphon hissed. “I ought to take your head just for daring to speak their names in your defense.”

Secil seemed to appear beside the gryphon, his tail lashing back and forth as he hissed and growled. The gryphons tensed up, and a stray talon pulled a trigger. A crossbow bolt lanced into the tree beside Riven’s head, and Kathranis saw Fordred tense in preparation of launching his fireball. Kathranis did his best to fix the young elf with a sideways glare as he shouted;

“I said hold damn you!”

His mind raced for a solution. The gryphons clearly didn’t like humans, and with their similarities, his elves counted. His words weren’t going to stop battle for much longer, and even if they weren’t exhausted, Kathranis imagined his band would lose any engagement with the well-armed gryphons. Zefuris had been fast, and if he was any indication of gryphon fighting prowess, Kathranis didn’t want to fight them while his elves were all still battered and tired.

Like a gift from his goddess, Kathranis remembered something important. He saw the gryphons began easing their fingers onto the triggers of their crossbows, but they all froze as he remembered the words Zefuris had said, and he bellowed them as loud as he could.

“I carry the clan emblem of Zefuris, and I am his responsibility!”

The air seemed to freeze, and the gryphon holding the sword to his threat stared at him carefully. His golden eyes flicked down for a moment, then met Kathranis’ eyes again.

“You have no proof,” the gryphon said evenly.

“I do,” Kathranis responded. “It just got covered in the fighting. I can feel the medallion’s weight around my neck. I swear this is not a trap.”

The gryphon continued staring at him for a few long moments, then took a step back.

“You have ten seconds. If you do not offer proof of yours words, we will slay you all.”

Kathranis nodded.

“Of course, just a moment.”

He slid his fingers under the collar of his armor and found the chain that held Zefuris’ clan emblem. Pulling the chain over his head, Kathranis found the emblem, glistening with blood, and stuck to his armor by mud and gore. Kathranis pulled it away and held it in the air, grimacing slightly at the sight. He looked to the gryphon.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a clean cloth would you? I imagine I was supposed to keep this clean.”

A dark form flared its wings as it landed beside the sword-gryphon. Despite the face covering helmet the gryphon wore, Kathranis still recognized the brown eyes of Zefuris as he fluttered his wings and stood up straight.

“Yes, you were,” the gryphon said. “But I’ll forgive your transgression as long as the Prince is still alive.”

Kathranis smiled and lowered his arm.

“He is, I checked myself.”

Zefuris grunted and turned to the sword-gryphon.

“Hello brother.”

The gryphon bowed his head.

“Brother. I must express my surprise at lending a clan emblem to a human, but I’m sure you had good reason.”

“Reason I don’t need to explain to my younger,” Zefuris snapped. “Now go observe the clean up operation.” He looked up to the other gryphons and snarled. “And what are you lot doing? Put those damn things down before you shoot the Princess’s allies!”

He jabbed a talon at one of the gryphons.

“You, go fetch the Princess and the healers. Prince Valan needs his wounds treated.”

The gryphon flapped hard and disappeared above the trees, while the rest of the gryphons began peeling off into the dark, no doubt to go in pursuit of the fleeing humans. Kathranis tried to ignore the occasional scream he heard from deeper in the forest. With his people dealt with, Zefuris turned toward Kathranis with a sigh.

“Apologies Shadowsong, we shall discuss all of this in a better place. May I see the Prince?”

Kathranis nodded and smiled. He began to raise a hand to place on the gryphon’s back, but found Zefuris’ filthy clan emblem in his fingers. He winced as a spot of blood dripped off the medallion.

“Ah,” he said. “Would you like this back?”

Zefuris snorted and shook his head.

“Keep it for now.” He drew a cloth from his sword belt and gave it to Kathranis, who immediately set to cleaning the medallion. “I don’t want the savior of my Prince to end up stabbed by some blood hungry gryphon.”

Kathranis smiled toward his brethren, motioning for them to sheathe their weapons.

“It’s alright everyone,” he said. “Zefuris is a friend.”

He began to walk toward Valan, only to collapse as his leg gave out. Kathranis saw stars as his head slammed into the ground. He rolled onto his back, and looked toward his rebelling limb to find the wound on his thigh blackened, and oozing a strange green goo. For some reason, he fixated on the wounded, briefly trying to clutch at it as he vaguely heard shouts of alarm. Kathranis felt hands on his arms as his mind began to shut down.

He closed his eyes for only a moment, and his stomach flipped and rebelled, threatening to spill its contents into the… sky? Kathranis could barely hold his eyes open, but he felt a frigid night wind on his face. A glance down found only darkness below him, and a glance up found a trio of leather armored gryphons flapping hard. He recognized only one, who looked back to smile at him.

“It’s going to be alright Shadowsong,” Aquila shouted above the wind. “We’re going to get you all fixed up, okay? Just stay with us.”

Kathranis opened his mouth to respond, only for a cough to rack his chest. Blood sprayed from his lips and fell into the darkness below. Kathranis found himself joining it as his eyes slipped closed.

Comments

[SolitariLupus]

What I still don't get is why everyone in this story calls a moonelf a human. They have completely different eye colors, skin colors, pointed ears, and body and facial structure. Except for being humanoid there's no way you can confuse a elf for a human. Are they all blind and can't see the ears?

[TheEighthDayofNight]

11075506
Or they're in a world where elves don't yet exist...

[OPMew]

“Give me a moment,” he gasped as smoke clogged the air. “I’m not exactly a dwarf. I don’t punch trees for enjoyment.”

WHAT?!?! dwarfs play Minecraft?