His stomach ached with hunger which could no longer be ignored by inane games. They'd counted the stalactites, compared them to the stalacmites, practiced transfiguration and melding their magic. They'd slept for hours and hours on softened rocks and throughly lost track of time. His injuries ached and itched, and the puncture wounds around his hips had started to smell and weep pus whenever Berg changed the bandages.
Knowing that they would only get weaker from now on, they'd decided to leave now and attempt to steal mounts. Hours and hours had gone into creating what was realistically a very vague plan. They had decided to walk along the canyon rather than across the flats, reasoning that they were far less likely to be seen and that there was more cover if they did end up having to fight. They waited until the sun was just beginning to set, casting the canyon in deep, purple shadows before making their move.
They levitated the rock covering the entrance of the cave back out of the way, then waited for five long minutes to see if anyone would react. Both boys breathed a sigh of relief when there was no reaction which meant that this canyon at least was not being watched.
They crept out, sticking to the deepest showdown near the wall as they made their way downhill. They rocks were unstable, and occasionally one of them would slip, sending pebbles skittering away down the slope. They'd both freeze, knuckles white around their wands incase they'd warned someone of their approach but every time there was no motion is response.
'Do you think they've stopped looking for us?' Berg whispered. 'I bet we were down there for days.'
Gellert grunted in reply. His hips hurt every time he had to take a large step down and he could feel the slight coolness that suggested he'd bled through another strip of torn shirt. Perhaps Berg hadn't been expecting a more detailed answer because he continued down the track regardless.
They came to the first fork just after dark fell fully but after the complete darkness of the cave, neither felt the need to cast a witchlight. They paused for a drink and a quick rest, Berg changed the wrappings around Gellert's waist, his expression grave. The air was warm enough that neither boy was particularly sorry to have lost their cloaks but it felt particularly cool against the inflamed skin around the injuries.
'We've got to get back quickly.' Berg pointed out. If the boy hadn't also chosen that moment to press a damp rag to the injury, Gellert would have agreed. As it was, his reply was lost in a hiss of pain and clatter of rock as his body spasmed.
'Let's just keep moving.' He gritted out once the pain had faded and his waist was neatly wrapped again.
'This isn't it?' The other boy asked, peering up the fork that hadn't come from.
'No hoof prints. They had a pair of sleipnir.'
'Right.' Berg agreed, helping Gellert up.
The moon was casting a steady silver light down into the canyon by the time they spotted the first hoofprint in the sand. The canyon was much wider here and the ground flatter which made travelling much easier, but the cover was far less frequent.
They slowed, walking more cautiously as they followed a winding path up a gentle incline. They remembered all too clearly the screeching alarm that had alerted their foes last time. They had no idea what the spell was, nor how to counter it. Their plan was simply to cross the encampment as quickly as possible and try to steal a mount before anyone really woke up enough to stop them. They would be using Hermione's patented sticking-charm-on-seat instead of saddles and whatever headgear the mounts were wearing already, along with a desperate hope that the beasts would comply.
A hand on his arm pulled Gellert to a sudden stop, and they flattened themselves against the wall as something stirred in the moonlight.
'It's that beast.' Berg breathed.
They were much, much closer than Gellert would have liked to it. From this distance he could easily make out the smooth, hooked beak that was as long as his arm, talons as thick as his waist and a wingspan with feathers bigger than he was.
'What is it?' He whispered. It was obviously some kind of bird, but he'd never heard of a bird big enough to pass as a dragon.
'Dunno, but its not happy.' The Tunninger son lifted his chin in the direction of the massive manacle that clamped around the beast's leg.
'You think it's intelligent?' Gellert whispered. Berg shrugged. 'I'm going to find out.' He decided, slipping forwards and out of range of Berg's grasping hand.
The beast noticed him almost immediately, lifting it's massive head to face him.
Gellert made soothing noises and was somewhat reassured when the beast made no more move to stop him. Until it suddenly snapped at him.
He froze.
The beast subsided.
He tried again, but a soon as he lifted his foot, the beast's beak yawned open.
He placed his foot back on the sand and the bird settled again. One big eye remained fixed on him as the massive head drooped back down to rest on a rock. Now that he was closer, he could see that the bird really was in bad shape; its feathers were dirty and several large clumps were missing. The neck was scrawny and the manacled foot wept as much blood as the wounds on his own body.
'Hey, my name is Gellert Grindelwald.' He whispered. The bird blinked. 'My friend and I need to get out of here or the people back there will kill us.' The bird blinked again, then to his great surprise it shifted, looking up the canyon in he direction of the camp, then back to Gellert again.
'Do you think it could fly us?' Berg whispered, coming up from behind him and standing as still as a statue as the mighty beast eyed them up.
'Yeah, you could.' Gellert said to the bird. It blinked again. 'You could come home with me, my family have a huge estate with mountains and forests and wards to keep the muggles out.' The bird cocked his head at him. 'We could get a magizoologist to look at your feet and feathers, I bet those hurt. You'd never have to wear it again.'
The nodded head was unmistakable and the two boys shared a wild grin. They were going home!
'Right, I recon that alarm spell is just in front of us, that bird didn't want me to take another step forwards. So, as soon as we move forwards, they're going to know we're here.' Gellert began, a new energy infusing him and numbing the pain and grumbling of his stomach.
'Sure, so, I'll climb up as soon as we're over if you blast that chain off. Then I can help you up.' Berg continued, the same fire in his eyes. They both looked to the bird who shook it's head in an unmistakable negative. It stood, the chain clinching and rattling, claws scrabbling against rock, spreading it's wings until they hit the rock wall on either side.
'Oh.' Berg said softly. 'It widens out down there, you might be able to make it?'
The bird shook it's head again, then swung it's beak around to face the encampment behind them.
'Ooh.' Berg said, this time with more emphasis. That was a far more dangerous plan as they would have to pass deeper into enemy territory, but Gellert was willing to believe the bird if it thought that was the only way.
'Right, Berg, you can cast blasting curses at the top of the rocks, maybe you can get some of them to collapse like you did the other day. Maybe we can get a couple of them trapped in their tents. I'll do my best from the ground, and you can scoop me up in your claws as you take off. I'll be able to keep casting from there.' Gellert decided, already bracing himself. There was no disagreement.
'Ready, Go!' Berg shouted as he jumped forwards over the invisible line. The screeching klaxon split the night air as Gellert's spell blasted the links of the chain to pieces. He didn't wait a minute, scrambling forwards, dodging the trailing tail plume of the bird. Shouts rose above the wailing alarm and lights flared to life in a ring around the tents. A spell shot overhead, crashing into the cliff and sending it crumbing. The very ground shook as boulders the size of a horse thundered down, crushing one tent entirely and sending the mounts plunging on their tethers and smaller stones glanced off their hides. Dust rose up into the air, obscuring the remaining tents as another red jet of light flew from behind him, bringing down another cliff. Berg gave a triumphant whoop, which was hastily stifled as their opponents marshalled enough to return fire. The bird was a big target and entirely unable to dodge, which left Berg to perform some impressive shield charms as Gellert desperately supported him with a hasty barrage of curses aimed at bringing down more rock.
The shadow of the bird's wings stretching over his head was a welcome relief and he threw himself upwards, grabbing onto a clawed foot as it swept overhead. With his wand held between his teeth, he swung beneath the claw like a human pendulum as spells shot around them. He was hanging onto the rear claw, and a moment later the three front talons curled up underneath him and he pulled his legs up until he was astride the central toe, riding it like a broomstick. Huge wings beat frantically either side of them, desperately gaining height and speed as several smaller, more nimble beasts launched into the air behind them.
Berg was still casting and Gellert joined him, his shield charm glittering as he did his best to deflect every spell that came within dangerous range. The pursuers were much quicker, their mounts fit and healthy despite being much smaller and he could soon see their faces and wand movements as they cast. It became harder to deflect their spells as the two lead mounts drew even with them, so he had to keep an eye on both sides and behind. He could hear Berg shouting something, but he didn't know what.
Then suddenly the bird dipped and wheeled around. The claw next to Gellert dropped and stretched out, and they slammed into one of the mounts beside them. There was a sharp hippogriff screech, a french shout of surprise and pain, then the sharp snap of bones. The giant bird's claws opened, the crippled hippogriff dropping away like a leaf in the turbulence of the much bigger animals wings.
By this point the rest of the group were upon them. He cursed a witch on a Granian as the ducked beneath the deadly giant claw, then managed to nail an Abraxan in the muzzle with a swelling jinx. The wheezing mount drifted towards the ground as his rider desperately tried to fix the damage. The massive wing to his left caught another one of their enemies with a crunch of bone. A bright flash of fire engulfed another beast, courtesy of Berg. The remaining mounts drew back to a safe distance and the bird carrying the two boys wheeled again making another desperate bid for freedom.
They hadn't gotten off scot free though. Hot, thick blood spattered Gellert with every wingbeat and he could hear the bird wheezing. He couldn't do anything to fix those problems, but he could relieve them of a significant amount of weight.
Ignoring the throbbing of the injuries at his waist, he tucked his legs up underneath him, reached for the rear claw above and carefully stood up, grasping first onto the claw, then the fluffy plumage of the bird's belly. Carefully, he made his way up the leg until he reached the iron manacle that clamped tightly around the delicate skin.
Cutting charms were relatively new to his repertoire and he didn't dare use them this high up, so he took a page from Hermione's book instead. Hermione had never understood the concept of how magic worked, which he would have thought a hinderance if he hadn't seen the way she just... did things. He'd felt her just push their joint magic at things, and will something to happen and often her magic would fill in the gaps for her. So, he pushed his magic into the metal and thought about it breaking with every fibre of his being. He felt the temperature drop, the metal becoming painfully cold beneath his hands. The bird jerked uncomfortably, then their was a sound like cracking ice and the manacle snapped, falling away into the darkness. There was a grateful squark, and the pace picked up slightly, the foot that held Gellert tucking more tightly into the warm feathers. The tail lifted, streamlining and finally, they started to really draw away from those that followed them. The steady, powerful wingbeats eating up the miles beneath them at a pace the smaller mounts just couldn't sustain.
He was just beginning to think that they should land, when a cloud passed over the moon, plunging them into darkness. They dropped like a stone, air rushing past them as the wings tucked in along the bird's sides. A moment later, the wings snapped open with a powerful whoosh and the deceleration almost unseated him. The legs extended and realising what was about to happen, Gellert hastily scrambled onto the top side of the extended talons. A moment later they landed with jarring impact, the wings flapped twice for balance, then the bird dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding crushing him as he was thrown from his seat.
He lay winded on the ground as the moon popped out from behind the cloud, bathing them in light again. Far up in the sky, he watched six figures swoop above them in hot pursuit of... nothing. Rolling sideways he saw that the bird had tucked its huge head beneath a wing and looked, for all intents and purposes, like a large mound in the darkness.
They were free.