Chapter 4-6

The big griffon flew with renewed enthusiasm, now that they had another lead, but soon his energy waned as the sun neared the horizon. 

 

“Have t' rest soon,” Almonihah grumbled.

Garkhen nodded. “Perhaps we should rest earlier rather than later? We might be able to spot a fire in the darkness, but we had best be well-rested before confronting them, yes?”

Almonihah grunted. “Suppose.”

Zakhin'Dakh descended without having to be instructed, giving his agreement with his actions. He landed a bit clumsily, and his half-bronze dragon friend patted him as he dismounted.

Good job, Zakhin'Dakh. Sorry we tired you out so much.

Is okay. Not that tired.

Yeah, you're not. Almonihah snorted in clear disbelief.

“Is he well?” Garkhen asked after they were silent for a moment, looking concerned.

“He's fine,” Almonihah growled in reply. “Just not used t' carrying people in full armor.” 

 

Garkhen nodded. “I see.” He turned to Zakhin'Dakh. “I apologize for my additional weight, Zakhin'Dakh.” 

Is okay! Zakhin'Dakh screeched. Almonihah failed to translate.

The huge griffon settled down to rest, leaving his half-dragon friends to keep watch. With a sigh, Garkhen took off his armor, Almonihah by now unimpressed by the magic that aided him. They were silent as dusk and then night fell, the only sounds the shifting of scale against grass and stone.

Finally Garkhen broke the silence. “The moon is out now. Perhaps we should rouse Zakhin'Dakh?”

Almonihah grunted. “No sign 'f anything 's far as I can see. Prob'ly best t' just rest the night and not risk running int' something if a cloud goes over th' moon and we can't see it.”

Garkhen sighed. “Perhaps you are correct. Still, I am loathe to allow the thieves to get farther ahead of us.”

“Prob'ly sleeping too. Can get up with th' sun 'nd get going before they do.”

Garkhen nodded slightly. “Very well, then.”

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Another short post, yes, but this finished out this chapter. I should be able to be a bit more on-the-ball with the next chapter.

Chapter 4-5

“Fly lower, Zakhin'Dakh. Let's look for signs 'f travel,” Almonihah said.

The griffon nodded and gently descended, flying in widening circles only a couple dozen feet in the air. He and Almonihah looked around, searching for any signs of humanoids passing through the area. Garkhen looked as well, but he didn't have the skill in searching for tracks. Instead he kept watch in the distance, trying to see if anything large enough to be a person was moving nearby. 

 

They kept searching until nightfall. Garkhen marveled quietly at the big griffon's stamina—they had stopped only to eat and drink, and otherwise Zakhin'Dakh had been in the air. He did seem quite tired now, yet he still seemed energetic underneath the fatigue. 

 

“Better not 'f lied to us,” Almonihah grumbled as Garkhen finished setting up his tent.

The half-blue dragon gave the other half-dragon a quizzical look. He grunted.

“Easy for Maritha t' be th' one working with them.”

Garkhen sighed. “While certainly I cannot completely rule out the possibility, it seemed she was genuinely shocked by the existence of the artifact. And given our lack of progress today, I suspect we have little choice...”

“Getting tired 'f little choice,” Almonihah growled. “May have t' come up with another choice soon...”

“Garkhen? Do you hear me?” Maritha's voice suddenly spoke from midair. 

 

All three of the companions looked about, though Garkhen and Almonihah quickly guessed that it was a magical message of some sort.

“I do, Archivist Maritha,” the Warder responded. 

 

“Good, good. Well, that's where you are. We've been able to get a better idea of where your quarry is. If you're there...” There was a brief pause. “You'll need to go roughly north-northeast. It seems like they're changing direction a bit—maybe going around something?”

Garkhen looked over at the other half-dragon. “That seems reasonable. Certainly there are many obstacles here to travel on foot.”

“That's another thing,” Maritha added. “They're moving fairly quickly. They may be mounted.”

Garkhen nodded. “I see. Thank you, Archivist.”

“I think that's all, then. Good luck, you two.”

Zakhin'Dakh screeched, and Garkhen grinned. “Ah, three, Archivist.”

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Just a short little bit here to keep things moving. It's these connection bits I'm bad with. I have points planned out, but I sometimes struggle getting from one to the next.

Chapter 4-4

“Hello again, Zakhin'Dakh,” Garkhen said, as he approached.

The griffon raised a talon and shook it in what seemed to be an attempt at a wave, combined with a screech that sounded friendly. Seeing this, Almonihah snorted in bemusement.

“Well, we should get moving,” he said. “I'll saddle up Zakhin'Dakh, and we can go.”

Soon enough they were in the air, flying to the northwest. Soon signs of cultivation and grazing grew thin, and the land grew rocky and mountainous. 

 

So what look? Zakhin'Dakh screeched.

Almonihah, precariously positioned behind the saddle, replied, “Don't really know what we're looking for, Zakhin'Dakh. But not many good people around here.”

So people bad if see?

“Should at least check 'f we see someone,” the half-dragon agreed. 

 

“We would not wish to be hasty in assuming ill intent,” Garkhen cautioned, “But it is true that anyone seen this far from civilization would be suspicious. Certainly it bodes ill that they are traveling towards the Madlands.”

Almonihah grunted. “Where else 're you going t' go with a stolen chaos artifact?”

Garkhen nodded. “The only question is if they are in control, or if it is influencing them. Either way, we must stop them as soon as possible.”

They flew for a time without seeing anyone, in spite of three pairs of eyes searching. Finally Garkhen sighed.

“We may well have missed them—northwest is a very general direction, is it not? It seems unlikely they would have traveled this far.”

“'less they used magic,” Almonihah growled. “Wizard could get pretty far in a day.”

“True,” the other half-dragon agreed. “It seems we again must hope that the Archivist's team can give us more direction.”

Almonihah was silent a long moment, head-frill stiff. Finally he muttered, “Don't like waiting on them. Don't know which ones t' trust. Let's keep looking.”

“Of course we shall keep searching for so long as Zakhin'Dakh is willing to bear us,” Garkhen replied.

Zakhin'Dakh shrieked a happy agreement.

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Late. Bed. Good night.

Chapter 4-3

The Captain was as good as his word. Within the hour Almonihah and Garkhen were standing in front of a priest of Mashano. Said priest explained that his spell-prayer would bind them to their words, causing them to suffer greatly if they broke the oath they would make. As such, it was vitally important that they choose their words carefully.

“Or that I choose their words carefully,” The Watch Captain interjected. “I have given this some thought. Would this be acceptable? 'I swear to return to Elifort as soon as we retrieve the artifact that has been stolen from us.'”

Garkhen thought for a moment. “I feel that there should be some clause to allow us to adapt should something occur. Perhaps 'I swear to return to Elifort as soon as we are able to recover the artifact that was stolen and bring it with us'? Then if something more were to occur after we first retrieved it, we would be able to continue to pursue it.” 

 

The Captain thought it over for a moment. “That seems acceptable to me.”

Garkhen turned to the half-bronze dragon. “Almonihah...?”

After a long moment the Ranger nodded. “Fine.”

The priest chanted his spell-prayer, then motioned for them to speak. Both recited the oath, feeling an odd chill as the magic settled on them. Once all was done, the priest nodded to the Captain.

“Very well, then. You're free to go, gentlemen. I expect to see you again once you've brought this to a close.” 

 

As soon as they could, the pair returned to Archivist Maritha.

“Ah, I'd been thinking of contacting you,” she said as they were led into a room where she and several other mages stood. “We think we have a direction for you. A powerful source of magic that seems to match your box is moving northwest.”

“Northwest?” Garkhen repeated, surprised. “There is nothing in that direction save the Madlands, yes?”

Maritha nodded. “Given the nature of the artifact, I can't say I'm surprised, but it bodes ill. We'll continue to narrow down the location, but I thought you would want to depart as soon as possible. We shall send you a message when we know more.”

“Thank you, Archivist Maritha,” Garkhen said. Almonihah just gave a little nod as they departed.

“We'll meet up with Zakhin'Dakh first,” Almonihah said as they walked towards the city gates.

Garkhen nodded. “Yes, that would be wise.” The truth was he'd almost forgotten the griffon—a fact which he now felt a bit embarrassed about. 

 

Almonihah said no more, simply lengthening his stride to a pace which made the shorter-legged half-dwarf jog, armor clattering as they made their way through Elifort. Almonihah glanced back only once, with what Garkhen was pretty sure was annoyance, but he made no complaint. 

 

The Ranger did not slacken his pace once they were without the city walls. If anything he started jogging himself, and Garkhen was hard-pressed to keep up. Indeed, he found himself slowly falling behind. Eventually he lost sight of the half-bronze dragon as he crested the top of a hill. But he could hear the loud, happy shriek of a griffon quite clearly.

Almonihah! You come! Happy! Zakhin'Dakh shrieked in Great Eagle as he saw his friend come up over the next hill. He took off and flew over to him.

Worried not see! But now here!

Almonihah grinned as the huge griffon dove and landed in front of him. Glad you're here, Zakhin'Dakh. Sorry I took so long.

Okay! The griffon proclaimed as he walked up to his friend and settled down to be at eye level.

Finally Garkhen reached the top of the hill and saw Almonihah patting the Zakhin'Dakh on the head. He smiled a little to himself, but did not interrupt the two. His armor gave him away though, as Almonihah glanced over his shoulder at his approach.

“Some people stole that amulet,” he said in the Common Tongue, “So we're going to hunt them down. Ready to help?”

Zakhin'Dakh nodded and screeched, Yeah!

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And yes, they never got the Watch Captain's name. Because I didn't feel like coming up with it.