The creatures flew to Quinn, screeching. They had sharp, curved beaks, with black bodies. Their faces were deformed, ugly. They had black bodies with brown mixed in. They were huge, the size of a horse.
"We have heard your call. What do you want with us?"
The lead bird croaked. You could easily distinguish him from the others, because he had a huge chained necklace draped around his neck. A medallion looking just like the one Quinn held except was larger, was strung through a large chain. The Vwals were creatures ruled by only a magic that bound them to the medallion. Quinn was the keeper of the medallion, but not even he had the full power over the magic. A power greater than ever imagined would only show its face in time.
Talcar and his friends had not seen the creatures; they didn't even know they existed. The darkness passed after a short time, and they continued.
"The village is coming up, what are your plans?" Gideon asked of Talcar.
"I want to get to the heart of the matter right away. It is only mid-day, and I hope to get this argument done with peacefully." Arthur and Gideon nodded their agreement, and as soon as they were in the village, they stopped a blacksmith for directions to the farmers houses.
"Ah, we have awaited this moment for days! I will gladly show you the way." With that, the blacksmith led them to the outskirts of town, where two farms rested peacefully within each other. Talcar gazed around the countryside, wondering at how still and quiet it was. In his own castle and village, there was no quiet to be found!
The blacksmith motioned towards the fields where two men could be seen in the distance.
"Those very men are the ones you seek. They are harvesting their fields; go and tell them you have come to settle their disagreement."
Talcar nodded his thanks and they set forth on the dirtied columns.
The two men saw Talcar from afar, and quietly spoke to each other.
"Well, here comes the prince. You know your part?" The other man nodded. "This should be easy enough, though I wasn't expecting the other two. We'll have to deal with them first. This spade should do nicely."
The other man disagreed. "These young men have likely been taught jousting and sword fighting by now. We must first set them at ease by greeting them cordially, and then state our problem calmly. When they are off of their guard, I will motion, and we will attack. We must be sure that they are killed with one blow!" Now the man fell silent, for the group was near.
"All I want is for you to get the prince and his companions, and bring them here. And they must be unharmed. That is all I ask." Quinn looked at Yurin, daring him to defy his wishes. The large bird was tempted, but knew it was not really Quinn who he would be defying, but the great power and magic itself. It was a small task, and Yurin didn't really mind doing it.
"I will do as you wish. Just you remember someday I may hold that medallion in my own claw, and you will be knocked down with my beak and be torn apart. No magic will defend you then!"
With a cackle, the bird shot off of the tower into the air. With thousands of screeches, his birds followed.
Talcar shook the friendly man's hand, and thought about their predicament. He knew what his own opinion of the matter was, yet he knew he must say everything with the men's hearts in his mind. He did not want to anger the man who would lose.
"Sir, I can understand your frustration of having just bought this hay for a high price, and then having it be ruined, and your money wasted. As for you, sir; I can also understand your part. It would be hard to want to give a refund to this man."
"You cannot even begin to understand!! I have worked hard at my fields, and this man fairly paid my price for the hay. Now he ruins it, which is his own fault, and wants his money back!" The man spat out, furious.
Talcar held out his hand saying, "Calm yourself. I have not yet had my say."
The man looked apologetic. "I am so sorry. You are right, I should not get so angry." Talcar smiled at him, and started to continue, but the man took Talcar's hand in his own, and shook it. "You are indeed a kind and helpful young man. Our kingdom would do better with you on the throne."
The other man stood at Talcar's back, his hand slipping beneath his cloak to slowly pull out a dagger.
Yurin saw the glint in the sunlight, and went into a dive. He could not care less if the boy was killed, but he knew he had to get him to Quinn un-harmed. The same went for the other two boys, but it looked as if the prince was the only one in danger. Down and down he went, getting closer and closer.