Just Roll With It

Chapter Five

Toss a Coin

The mountainside wasn't the most grueling hike I had ever been on, growing up next to the Appalachian trail made sure of that. Hiking would normally be a soothing experience, but this hike wasn't in the slightest. I'm in fantasy land, doing fantasy bullshit. Climbing up Mount Sarton to slay a Griffon. It almost makes me feel like I'm a I'm no mutant, Roach is a Pegasus, Vesemir is a red-headed Pegasus Knight, And we're all royally fucked. Speaking of the redhead, Cordelia much to her chagrin was stumbling up the mountain beside me. I silently chuckled at my usually graceful friend's struggles.

Keeping up with that train of thought I began to sing, "When a humble man, graced a ride along, with Cordelia of Ylisse, along came this song…"

Aurora was still tired from carrying us the rest of the way to Sarton this morning. Besides that, despite Cordelia being a talented Pegasus Knight Aurora didn't stand much of a chance against the larger creature. I didn't fully understand why that was the case, but Cordelia explained to me saying; 'Griffons are much faster than Pegasi, and have claws.' Her explanation was enough to sate my curiosity. Pegasi are prey animals and probably don't get along very well with Griffons.

Now fully belting out the song, "Toss a coin to your Witcher, Oh valley of plenty-"

Cordelia giggled beside, "Are you sure that being a Shepherd is your calling? You'd make a nice bard." She joked.

I stopped walking and flashed her a toothy grin, "Nah, I'm sure being a bard doesn't pay nearly as well."

Cordelia took the opportunity to sit, "So you do it for money? I didn't take you for the mercenary type."

I brought my hand to my chin in mock contemplation, "Nah, It's about having nothing better to do." I half-lied. It's not like I volunteered to come to Ylisse.

Cordelia turned her nose up at me, "So it's about accompanying me then? Is being around me paramount to torture for you?"

I took a step towards her, "Now that's a leap in logic," I patted Cordelia on the head, and leveled our eyes. "If that were the case, I wouldn't let you come hang out so much at the barracks."

Cordelia blushed. She opened her mouth to respond, I cut her short by slapping a hand over her mouth.

There were noises coming from the brush behind us. The sounds ceased when Cordelia and I stopped talking. As I removed my hand from Cordelia's mouth, I raised a finger to my mouth, telling the now agitated Pegasus Knight to be silent. I motioned for her to listen. She looked confused, but took the opportunity to listen to our surroundings, after a few moments, the rustling came back. I unslung my spear, and began to search for the source of the noise.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement, a bush was trembling. Cordelia drew her lance and stood beside me. Taking a few careful steps towards the offending foliage, "We hear you, there's no point in trying to hide." I took another step towards the bush, "Come out now, and we won't hurt you." I demanded.

My muscles twitched when the bush moved again, this time violently as an arm sprouted from it. Eventually a young man emerged from the undergrowth, his face obscured by a pot he wore on his head. In his right hand was a spear, If you could even call it that. The 'spear' was no more than a branch with a knife tied haphazardly to the end.

My brows furrowed when I recognized the villager, "Donnel?" I lowered my spear, "What are you doing here?"

Donnel grumbled as he dusted debris from his light blue tunic, "I wanted to come help y'all," Donnel's gaze shifted between Cordelia and I, "But ya ran off so quick, I couldn't get ready fast enough."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, "Okay, I get wanting to help, but why hide?" I asked.

"Well you and Miss Cordelia there seemed to be in a private conversation–" Donnel began.

Cordelia ended his sentence for him, "That's quite enough Donnel!" The Pegasus Knight's face reddened for a moment before returning to her usual expression. Coughing into her hand she continued, "The thought is nice Donnel, but this beast could prove too much for even us."

She doesn't think we're going to win? I mean it's just a bird… With claws the size of my face. Of course, she very well could be right, my actual combat experience is limited to almost dying to Brigands, and almost dying to Risen. I have a really strong Zero and Two record going.

Donnel brought me out of my thoughts, "I gotta help!" Donnel declared, while stamping the butt of his 'spear' on the ground, "That monster has killed my friends…" His eyes shifted to the ground. "And my Pa… I can't sit by and watch it keep happening!"

I'm not particularly fond of the whole 'get revenge for my dad thing'. I mean what's the worst that could happen? "Fine, you can come along and keep watch…" Cordelia jammed her elbow into my side and shot me a grim look. I shrugged her off and continued, "But lose the pot, you look ridiculous." The boy seemed sincere enough. Who was I to say no?

I turned to start hiking once again as Donnel's eyes lit up at my approval, "Thank you sir, you won't regret it!" He promptly threw the pot off of his head and chased after.

"Let's hope not." I said flatly. Cordelia may do more than just elbow me then.

The rest of the trek to the top of the mountain was uneventful, save Cordelia falling over a time or two. The sun would set in a few hours. Mount Sarton wasn't the biggest mountain I'd ever seen, but it took us the better part of the day to reach the area the Griffon had taken off towards.

On the approach to the summit, little things started to catch my eye. Tree stumps littered the area, a path that seemed a bit too traveled opened up before us. For it to be a Griffon's lair there seemed to be too much going on. It made my skin crawl. Cordelia must have noticed it as well, she stood a bit taller than usual, peering around us looking for the first sign of trouble.

Upon reaching a flat on top of the small mountain, we got to work scouting the area for any signs of the Griffon. Cordelia suggested that we might save time by splitting up our efforts to search a wider area. So we split up, each of us going in a separate direction.

My search was slow-going, I searched the surrounding brush for any signs of life but found quite the opposite… Pushing aside a particularly thorny bush I was hit in the face with the putrid stench of rotting meat. Cow carcasses were piled on top of each other, each with varying degrees of rot. Beyond the gouges in their spinal columns, presumably from the Griffon, there were no signs of the creatures even having a piece butchered from them. I stumbled backwards, why would the Griffon go through the trouble of taking these if it wasn't going to eat them…?

After noting the location, I left to find the others. Hopefully they had found something that wouldn't lead to even more questions. Making my way back to where we had originally split up didn't take long. Pushing through one last annoying piece of brush, I spotted Donnel in the distance flagging me down.

"Mister Nik, there's something you're gonna want to see over here." Donnel called to me from a distance

I raised a brow and called back, "What is it?"

I jogged to meet Donnel next to a small clearing. Looking to where he was staring, I saw what had caught the boy's attention. Ashes sat around the charred remains of camp fires. Small tents littered the area in front of a cave entrance. More cow carcasses were also present, except these had been picked clean.

I didn't waste any time, "We need to find Cordelia." If there are more people up here then the Griffon may be the least of our worries.

Donnel and I raced in the direction the Pegasus Knight had gone to search. Cordelia wasn't too hard to find. Bright red hair does that to a person. Donnel and I found her crouched on a knee inspecting severed trees on the edge of the flat. Donnel and I quickly shared our findings with her. Along with the camp and cow carcasses, Cordelia had found an axe or two beside the felled trees. We decided to sit down and plan our next course of action. Cordelia and I sat side by side, while Donnel leaned on a tree a few feet away.

After a few moments of contemplation Cordelia spoke, "Considering all the variables, We need to plan what we do next carefully."

'No shit Sherlock,' Is what I wanted to say. But frankly, Cordelia scares me, so I settled for,"You're telling me…" This whole situation had started to put a bad taste in my mouth. This was supposed to just be a hunting trip.

Cordelia ignored my comment, "Donnel, do you think that the Griffon lives in the cave you mentioned?"

Donnel screwed his face up as he thought, "I can't rightly tell you ma'am, I'm supposin' it wouldn't be out of the question. But–"

Donnel clamped his mouth shut. Large footsteps sounded from behind him on the path we'd entered from. Upon hearing the footsteps, I grabbed Cordelia's arm and dove into the nearby foliage. I said a silent prayer that whatever approached didn't hear us. Careful to not make a sound Cordelia and I peered out of our shared hiding spot.

Into view stomped at least ten men. Typical bandits… Three of them pulled a massive chain behind them, attached to said chain was the Griffon I had seen in Sarton. The winged-beast snapped at the men as they pulled it towards the campsite at the cave. The Griffon was not the all powerful beast that I had thought it was, it was emaciated. Ribs poked out from under fur and feathers. Don't get me wrong, it was evident the Griffon still had plenty of power. Well that's not a willing participant if I've ever seen one.

My heart sank upon scanning the rest of the area. Donnel stood trembling before the men, his makeshift spear pointed at them. Rage burned in his eyes, but his bodies involuntary spasms betrayed just how scared he was.

Oh god, Oh fuck.

One of the Bandits not holding the Griffon's chains approached the purple haired teen, "Well look what we got here boys! One of the hicks from the village decided he was gonna slay our big bad Griffon."

Donnel shook while he desperately looked around for us. My muscles tightened as I prepared to jump to his rescue. I let him come, there's no way I'm letting him deal with this alone. A hand across my chest stopped me. Cordelia closed her eyes and shook her head, all I could do in response was give her an incredulous look, and whispered through gritted teeth, "What are you thinking? We can't just let him be killed!"

The villager opened his mouth, "I–I recognize y'all!" Donnel said through gritted teeth, "Yer the dastards that raid the village every year!"

Donnel took a few steps forward, and sloppily jabbed his spear at the man. "Look at him, Roddick! He's trying to get some payback. Hah!" A very large bandit jeered.

Roddick gave his companion a slap on the back, "Why don't you deal with him, Dirk?" Turning to look at his other men he continued, "Get that mangy beast back to camp!" The men who held the Griffon's shackles nodded and took off towards their camp.

A sick smile crept over the large man's face, "With pleasure boss." Dirk pulled an axe off his belt and raised it. "Well come on then farm boy, a year is too long to wait to play with you hicks."

Donnel lunged at Dirk overzealously. The more experienced man easily sidestepped his clumsy blow. Dirk moved next, slapping the butt of his axe into Donnel's back. Donnel let out a pained cry and whipped his spear around scoring a hit on Dirk's bicep.

Dirk winced, and then laughed, "You're gonna pay for that one whelp!"

The villager didn't let up there, continuously he jabbed the spear at Dirk, throwing the bandit off balance. Donnel somehow had the advantage, but quickly lost it. Dirk cut a wide arc at Donnel's spear, severing it in two.

I tried to move once again, but Cordelia had wrapped her arms and legs around my chest and held me back with all of her weight. "Cordelia, we have to help him!" I grunted through gritted teeth. She didn't respond, the Pegasus Knight only tightened her grip

Donnel moved fast, rolling to grab the kitchen knife that was once his spearhead, and taking up a defensive stance. Dirk lifted his axe and rushed Donnell. To my surprise, the boy was quick enough to dodge and weakly parry a few of the blows that rained down on him. However, Donnel couldn't keep this up forever, he was tiring and fast. Dirk quickly gained ground on the boy, using his size to box Donnel in a corner. Closing in now, the bandit sent a boot into Donnel's gut, knocking the wind out of him. Before falling over Donnel stabbed his knife into the bandit's calf.

A horrendous scream left the bandit. "That's it! You're dead!"

Dirk pushed Donnel the rest of the way to the ground, threw his axe to the side, and began to pummel the teenage boy. Donnel had clearly been knocked unconscious by the third blow, but Dirk kept going.

I bucked against Cordelia to no avail, she had me in a death grip, "Let me go! I can't let this happen!" I said, tears tugged at the corners of my eyes.

After a few moments, Roddick pulled Dirk off Donnel, "Say Dirk?" Donnel's opponent cast a glance that could kill at his boss, "Wouldn't it be a lot more fun to make him suffer for what he did to you?" An eerie grin plastered across the man's scarred face.

Dirk looked like he wanted to argue, but after a moment of thought acquiesced to Roddick's suggestion. "Maybe…" he conceded. The bandit leader pulled Dirk to his feet, and helped him walk towards their camp. A nod from Roddick was all it took for some remaining spectators to collect Donnel's alive, yet unconscious body and follow their leader.

Cordelia waited for the last of the bandits to get out of sight before releasing me. I quickly pushed her off of me and glared down at the redhead, in my eyes there was no excuse for not trying to help Donnel. Tears rolled freely down my face. I should have never let him come…

My voice caught in my throat when I tried to speak, "Why…?"

Cordelia sighed. "What could we have done?"

Her words dug into me like daggers, rage radiated to my core, "Literally anything!" I grabbed her shoulders and glared into her eyes. "We sat there and watched Donnel get torn apart by those… those fucking bastards!"

Cordelia's gaze met mine, "And done what exactly Nikolas, Ran out there and died too?" Cordelia shouted back, her eyes were red-hot, "I'm so sorry that I have the common sense you seem to lack!"

I shuddered and sighed, trying my best to calm myself down, "He's not dead…" I said barely above a whisper. "I don't know about you, but come hell or high water I'm getting him back, today!" I turned and began to stalk off towards the bandit's campsite.

Cordelia grabbed my shoulder, "You can't just rush in there, you'll be killed!"

I turned to look her in the eye, "Better to die trying to save Donnel than to let him be tortured and killed." shrugging her hand off of my shoulder I continued forward.

Cordelia called after me, "At least wait for me to get help!" I looked back at her, her eyes weren't angry anymore. Cordelia's eyes almost pleaded with me to reconsider and stay, I exhaled, gave her a thumbs up, and continued my march.

The bandit's encampment laid before me. I decided that I would lay in wait near the edge of their camp in a thicket. After a few hours of mostly loafing around, the bandits begun to settle in for the night. Just watching the bandits meander about disgusted me. Donnel is just a kid, how could he possibly deserve any of this? How could people be this disgustingly evil? I couldn't possibly know the answer.

I was more than ready to get Donnel out of there, but Cordelia asked me to wait, and she is a friend. Or I hope she still was, couldn't be too sure after earlier. Thinking back on what she had done when Donnel was captured, and how I responded made me shudder. She was right… I knew that, but it didn't matter, I made my decision. Although I sincerely hoped she would forgive me and come help, but I saw no signs of the Pegasus Knight. She's probably not coming anytime soon.

I'll be the first to admit, even thinking of going into the encampment alone was extraordinarily dumb. However, I'm clearly not that smart, and I got Donnel into this mess, and I'll be damned if I wasn't going to get him out. Donnel couldn't have been more than seventeen years old, just a kid in the grand scheme of things. Over the hours I spent concealed in the brambles, I observed a fair bit about how Roddick ran the camp. Roddick seemed to reside in the cave at the far end of the encampment. He didn't engage with the rest of his men, he seemed to prefer to be the solitary leader.

His right-hand man was Dirk. His tent sat just outside the entrance to the cave. He was the one to dole out tasks to the rank and file of the encampment. The most worrying thing about the camp was that the Griffon was nowhere in sight. Since I had arrived there were no signs of the creature, hopefully that meant I wouldn't have to deal with it to get to Donnel, but I doubted it heavily.

The sun was long gone when I made my move. I waited as long as I could stand to for Cordelia, but my anxiousness over Donnel's current situation pushed me out of the thicket I concealed myself in. As luck would have it, there were no more bandits than what I had seen when Donnel was taken. So, that left ten men and possibly a Griffon to deal with. Now I'm an idiot, but I'd like to think I'm not stupid. I had zero chance of winning an all out brawl against the bandits, there were just too many. Stealth would have to be my ally in this endeavor.

Roddick certainly wasn't an effective leader, and with Dirk injured, there was no night watch to speak of. Many of his men had drunk themselves to sleep during their 'festivities' that evening. I took care not to let that fact make me careless in my approach. My approach to the cave was slow yet easy. If Donnel was going to be held anywhere, it would be in there. I never saw him when I was overlooking the bandits, but it made the most sense in my mind.

I stepped as lightly as possible through the camp, sticking close to the shadows cast by tents in the moonlight. Holding my breath, I edged my way around the perimeter of the camp. Blending in with the shadows I moved through the tents. It was easy, almost disturbingly so.

Within moments, I reached the cave's entrance. Peering into the cave, I was met with a narrow tunnel, lit by dim torchlight. Careful not to disturb any loose gravel, I took a deep breath, and pressed into the cave. Pained groans became more and more audible the deeper I went. My heart felt like it was about beat out of my chest, Donnel is still alive! Picking up my pace, the villager came into view. Donnel sat against the stone walls of the cave, his hands bound. His face was battered to a near unrecognizable state. His shirt had been torn in two, now hanging off of the boy's frame like an unbuttoned vest.

I rushed to his side. Donnel glanced up at me, confusion in his eyes, "S-sir, w-what are ya doing here…?" The villager asked, his voice was weak.

Unsheathing Emmeryn's dagger, I cut Donnel free from his binds, "Don't worry about that buddy, I got you." I reassured. Pulling Donnel to his feet, I continued, "You good to walk?"

"Yeah, they haven't got around to anything too serious yet."

I flashed him a small smile "Let's go then."

Donnel lagged behind me as we made our way out of the cave. Reaching the entrance, we ground to a halt. One bandit loomed at the mouth of the cave, blocking our escape. Upon further inspection it became clear the man was Dirk.

"Going somewhere farm boy?" Dirk sneered, raising his axe.

Only slightly panicking. I spoke for Donnel, "Yeah, I didn't sign his permission slip for this field trip, sorry but I gotta take him home."

Dirk raised an eyebrow, "W-What? Permission slip?" he shook his head and laughed, "Never mind that nonsense, you aren't going anywhere, you still gotta pay for my leg."

I doubted anything I could say at this point would help anymore. Not that confusing the man really helped to begin with. After handing Donnel my dagger, I unslung my spear, and dropped into a fighting stance. Donnel may be good enough to run, but I don't know about fighting. At least if worse comes to worst he can protect himself.

"Death it is then." Dirk sneered, and launched himself at me.

Roddick's right-hand man was quicker than I expected. His injury didn't bother him in the slightest. Dirk cut a sickeningly wide arc at my face. I barely dodged it. Pulled off balance by his momentum, Dirk's axe splintered against the stone walls, causing sparks to rain from the point of impact.

My counterattack was swift. Thrusting my spear forward, I tagged the larger man in his side. A glancing blow. Dirk whipped around, batting away a strike I had aimed at his scarred face. Fully enraged now, Dirk discarded his broken axe, and charged me, he tackled me before I had a chance to bring my spear back up.

The air was forced from my lungs as I hit the ground. The impact stunned me long enough for Dirk to rain blows down on my face. My vision began to blur as his assault continued. No amount of BJJ could help me now, he hit me too hard and too fast.

"You think you could come into MY house and take MY things?" Dirk spat in between punches.

Consciousness began to drift away from me. My vision tunneled, just as the void was about to claim me, a blood-curdling scream erupted from the brigand above me. The weight of the man straddling my chest fell away.

Slowly my vision returned, Donnel stood above the bandit, Emmeryn's dagger in his shaking hand. From the solemn look on his face I could tell what he was the one who saved me. Realizing what was happening and where I was, I shot to my feet, still dizzy from the pummeling I'd received. I glanced to the floor beside where I laid, there lied Dirk, dead. His back marred by the stab wounds Donnel had given him.

I steadied myself on the boy's shoulder, "Thanks Donnel, you really saved me there." I panted.

Donnel's eyes widened, "It may be a bit too early for that Sir…"

Looking up and out of the cave, the camp was coming to life. The remaining bandits must have heard Dirk's death rattle.

I shook my head briskly, and grabbed my spear from the ground, "We gotta run Donnel."

Donnel nodded, and we broke off into a sprint through the camp. The first bandit we came across stood no chance. He let out a shriek as I dug my spear into his abdomen, where it got stuck. The pause I was forced to take to withdraw it was enough time for the bandits to surround us.

Donnel and I stood back to back, I took a few preemptive jabs at the bandits forcing them back. It did not take our attackers long to realize they had the numbers advantage and all charged at once.

When the first one reached me, I plunged my spear into his leg, causing him to fall to a knee. I finished him off seconds later. Behind me, Donnel swung the dagger I'd given him wildly, trying his best to fend off the men coming for us. We were doing well for ourselves considering the situation; However, this was not going to last much longer. With both of us injured, we couldn't keep up with our assailants.

Trying to reassure the boy behind me, I shouted as loud as I could, "Keep pushing, Donnel!" I knew it was pointless, but there was no point in making it easy for them.

Wing beats sounded in the distance. I knew exactly what they belonged to. Did you really need to sic your fucking bird on us as well? The bandits moved in, making our already tight circle collapse even further. It was over for us. My spear was too long to be effective at this close of a range. A short sword slashed across my dominate arm, not deep enough to render it useless, but enough to make me drop my guard.

The wind from the wing beats was on top of us, intensifying with every flap, there was no time to check the sky. All of my focus went into sloppily parrying every attack coming toward me. A slash from the man in front of me nicked my left shoulder. I winced at the cold steel, the man rushed past my defenses, ready to deliver the final blow.

I couldn't watch it happen, I couldn't stare death in the eyes. In an effort to avoid seeing, I whipped my head to the sky. At least I can look at something cool before I die. To my surprise, no Griffon came into view, only a flash of red and white. Blood splattered my face, and the man about to end my life fell to the ground. I stood there stunned.

A familiar voice called to me, "Don't just stand there and die! … Fight!" Looking to the voice I recognized a crimson haired Pegasus Knight.

Regaining my composure, I launched a counterattack. Impaling the first bandit I saw through the neck. I had created enough separation to fight properly. Or at least as properly as I could at the moment. Whipping around to face the rest of the bandits, I saw Donnel had discarded my dagger in favor of a sword, likely picked up from a dead bandit.

"Enough!" A booming voice echoed through the camp. Almost instantly the remaining bandits stepped back, revealing Roddick, a large egg in hand.

Looking at the corpses of the men he'd lost, Roddick sighed. "What a show you three have put on," A grim smile came to his face, "I'm afraid however, that it has to end." Roddick brought his free hand to his mouth and whistled.

Wing beats followed quickly after Roddick's whistle. From behind the mound of dirt the cave sat in, the Griffon rose into the night sky. Hovering in the sky in front of him, the beast let out a screech. Cordelia, Donnel, and I gathered in a loose huddle, weapons at the ready.

I smiled at the Pegasus Knight. "I'll have you know I had them on the ropes."

Cordelia deadpanned, "I don't know what ropes you're referring to, but you are lucky I got here when I did."

The beast, now fully on the ground, took a step towards Roddick with murderous intent. The bandit simply palmed the egg and extended his arm, "Ah ah ah," He chided. "You know what happens when you disobey." Roddick jerked his outstretched arm, mocking like he would drop the egg.

What a piece of shit.

The feathered beast took one last glance at its offspring and lunged at us. Within seconds, it was upon us. Cordelia spurred Aurora forward, intercepting the Griffon mid-flight. Their clash was a one-sided affair, the larger creature had the advantage, easily batting Cordelia and Aurora to the side.

I didn't have the chance to worry about Cordelia any longer, almost as if taking the Griffon's attack as a cue, the bandits rushed forward. Despite thinning their numbers significantly, they still had a slight advantage. There were about four bandits left, to our two. With renewed vigor, I let out a battle cry and spurred myself forward. My spear thrust through a swordsman's chest, killing him instantly.

To my left, Donnel swung his sword wildly. It would be funny to watch if he wasn't fighting for his life. All things considered he was doing well for himself. He'd already felled one, and the next was surely soon to follow.

Engaging my next opponent was a bit more tricky. Wielding a spear, the bandit was able to keep me at a distance. To my credit I held him at the same distance. I narrowly side-stepped a thrust aimed for my midsection. When it came to the other bandits, it seemed like they threw themselves on my spear attempting to close the distance. This is taking too long… Cordelia needs help…

Dodging more and more thrusts from the bandit, I had an idea. It was probably going to be risky, but I stopped caring. Leaping backward, I raised my spear above my head in one hand, and threw it at the bandit. The bandit's eyes widened as he side stepped the spear and watched it pass.

A small smirk came to my face, the gamble paid off. I drew my bow and nocked an arrow, releasing the arrow the bandit screamed and fell over.

Donnel had finished off the last bandit as well. Only two left, The Griffon and Roddick… Taking a glance up at the aerial battle. Cordelia was holding her own, the two fliers vied for position. I nocked another arrow and took aim at the Griffon. Getting a clean shot was going to be difficult, Cordelia and the Griffon switched position constantly. I shot. My arrow sailed straight towards the Pegasus Knight. You have gotta be kidding me.

I screamed the moment I loosed the arrow, "Look Out!" Cordelia heard me in the nick of time. Aurora's wings curled in tight as they dove out of the way of my arrow, letting it sail harmlessly past them. However, the Griffon capitalized on her momentary lapse in focus. Slamming into Cordelia, sending her into the nearby treeline.

My blood ran cold, "No!" I screamed. Donnel and I took off to where she'd crashed. A searing pain in my leg stopped me in my tracks. Looking to the source of the pain, a small hatchet was embedded in my left leg.

Whipping my head back up, I saw Roddick. His face screwed up into a mixture of disgust and pure hatred, "Where do you think you're going?" He sneered. "You don't get to massacre all my boys and walk away!"

My eyes narrowed at the bandit. Nocking another arrow, I took a shot at the bandit leader. The arrow landed with a thunk in his hamstring. I turned my head back to

Donnel, "Go make sure Cordelia's okay!" The boy nodded and took off in her direction.

Either Roddick didn't care that he'd been shot or, he was made of tougher stuff. We rushed to meet each other. I didn't think. Limping slightly, I ran at Roddick. Making sure to lean over and collect my spear off the ground. "You're dumber than you look." The bandit cackled at my approach. Roddick set the Griffon's egg down, and drew a two-handed axe from his back.

I thrust my spear at his midsection, "Coming from the man who lives in a cave that doesn't mean much." Roddick batted my spear to the side. Gripping my spear at the base, I leaned fully into the next strike.

Roddick side-stepped the blow, and slammed my forehead with the shaft of his axe. I staggered, conceding the advantage to the bandit. His axe sailed over my face. I dropped to a knee, narrowly avoiding it. Taking another stab at Roddick, I caught his side. The bandit flinched, giving me enough time to rise to my feet. Capitalizing on his shock, I stabbed him twice more. Just before I could deal the finishing blow, Roddick made a mad dash around me.

Roddick dove for the Griffon egg he'd set down. Clutching it in arms, he screamed, "You're gonna die now!" Roddick whistled sharply. Dust stirred in the area as the Griffon made its descent. It landed to my right, forming a triangle between Roddick and I. Turning my attention to the beast, I prepared to defend myself. However, the Griffon took a step towards Roddick.

Roddick narrowed his eyes, "Get over there and deal with him, now!" he shouted. The beast took another step. Fear shot through Roddick's expression. He raised the egg above his head, and began to scream, "Don't you fucking dare!" Another step.

Roddick's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his skull at this point, "Fine you want to play that game do ya?!" In one fluid motion he smashed the egg into the ground. The Griffon shrieked, raised its talons and pounced on the man. Blood splattered against my face as the beast decimated what was left of the man.

I'd seen enough, Cordelia was still unaccounted for, I needed to see that she was safe, she was the only person I could truly call a friend in this world.

Taking a few steps, my vision began to blur, the blood loss from the wound on my leg must've caught up with me. My feet fell from under me, the last thing I saw was the ground getting closer.

Sorry for taking so long for another chapter, this one sort of drug by for me while writing it. Turns out writing fight scenes is hard. Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review, all feedback is appreciated.

-Dratwer

The Black Kraven- :)