Author's Note: Sorry again for the long delay...I'm just not able to work on this as much as I'd like to anymore. *uncontrollable sobbing* ha ha But again, I'm still going to finish the story so just bear with me... Also, please review to let me know what you think! I originally intended to have the griffin fight a chapter earlier but it didn't work out that way, so here it is! :D
Ceileigh wiped away a few tears that fell against her will as she finished getting ready in the bathroom the next morning. She shook her head and once again tried to stuff her feelings for Leandor down he would believe everything was okay. Just focus on the mission, she told herself. When she could keep a straight face she came out to see him holding a new envelope with the letter already out and unfolded.
When he saw her he looked at her with slight annoyance and said flatly, "We were seen last night."
She raised her eyebrows just a little at his manner and tone, but didn't mind that much. She figured it was all part of her world's influence on him. Besides, she was more worried about what he'd said.
"Mercedes?" she asked with concern, kicking herself for not listening to his warning at the time and wondering why the vicious woman would send a letter instead of soldiers or worse.
"Fortunately not," Leandor replied, frowning even though that was good news. He was still displeased about the whole affair. "'Twas Ser Berne. He warns us not to attempt going there again, but is glad we appear to be doing well."
Ceileigh let out a relieved breath. "That's good."
"He also says to be wary because Mercedes still mentions you and is becoming 'more determined, almost obsessive'," he said pointedly, tossing the letter onto his bed and folding his arms. He didn't say it directly, but 'I told you so' was rolling off of him in waves.
This time Ceileigh did bristle a little. "Alright, I get it. You were right," she said with some embarrassment and irritation, turning from his gaze to pack her travel bag. She saw him raise his eyebrows at that out of the corner of her eye. "You know, I think I liked you better when you had less opinions," she joked, tossing a small pouch of potent greenwarish at him without warning. Of course he caught it with infuriating ease, smirking as he put it away in his own bag.
After choosing a mage named Darby and strider named Jocelyn at the Pawn Guild, Ceileigh lead Leandor and the two of them to the gate in the Craftsman's Quarter. Darby had light brown skin, green eyes, a close-shaved head and wore a drab gray robe. Jocelyn had pointy ears, sported a very long dark brown braid and wore nothing but a short white skirt, a very small breastplate and sandals that tied at the knee. A variety of workers were leaving on carts full of supplies at the same time as Ceileigh's party and one man waved at them.
"Hail, Arisen!" he called out in a friendly voice as they approached. He was tan with a bushy, dark brown hair and an even bushier beard and mustache. His cart was full of blankets, coats and other clothing.
"Hello," she replied, smiling up at him as they passed.
"Where are you 'eaded today?" he called after her.
"To the northern station, Windbluff Tower," she replied, shading her eyes from the rising sun as she turned back to look at him.
"I'm 'eaded there too, would you care for a ride?" he said, sounding very pleased at the opportunity to help them.
"Yes, thank you," she said, pleasantly surprised and looking forward to not walking all day as she'd expected to. I really have to find some more of those ferrystones, unsettling as they are, she thought. Maybe Madeleine knows of a fellow merchant who carries them.
They climbed up to sit on the edges of the cart, Ceileigh and Leandor across from each other close to the front and the other two pawns situated similarly farther down.
"So, what's your name?" Ceileigh asked as the ox lurched forward and they began rolling down the road.
"Daveth," said the man, his brown eyes twinkling merrily. "I weave blankets and the like, as you can see, and provide for the soldiers stationed at Windbluff. I'm their main supplier," he said proudly.
"Ah, Arisen! Excuse me, ser!" came a shout from behind them. Ceileigh turned to see one of the guards jogging after them with a hand in the air. She tapped Daveth urgently and he pulled up on the reins, stopping his ox. The soldier stopped with his hands on the back of the cart, puffing a little.
"Beg pardon, Arisen," he continued without waiting for her to speak. "I am Ser Rickart. Now, this may be a small matter, but I would yet have you hear it. I was at my post here a few nights ago, when a strange man came 'round asking after your whereabouts."
"Well, what did you tell him? Did you find out who he was?" she asked, sharing a concerned glance with Leandor.
"I told him nothing. I lied and said I did not know where you lived. Said I only see you come and go from time to time and that is all I know of the Arisen's movements. He would not reveal his name, and bid me tell no one of our encounter," Rickart told her. "Have you some enemy, Arisen?"
Ceileigh gave him a rueful smile. "I have built up a few since becoming Arisen, but which one he may be I don't know."
"His face was mostly covered, but his eyes were…mad. I shall never forget them. I beg you, be wary," said the guard in a worried tone.
"I will, thank you ser," she replied with a short nod. Rickart nodded back with a smile and trotted back to his post. Ceileigh glanced around as Daveth started them rolling again, feeling imaginary eyes on her from all directions.
"Have you run into any trouble on the road?" she asked the worker. "We were asked to help with monsters up that way."
"I have, though I've been lucky enough not to be attacked directly." He sniffled a few times, then sneezed mightily. "Terrible allergies," he muttered in apology, then continued. "Ol' Terry, he does woodworkin' y'know, he was set upon by them awful phantasms near dusk one day. Had to abandon 'is cart, couldn't get back to it till the sun came up!"
"I see. Anything else?"
"Just the usual wolves and direwolves, m'lady. Sometimes harpies come down outta the hills. Once I saw an ogre smack dab in the middle of the road, but that's uncommon. Y'know where that tiny little cemetery is, on a cliff overlooking the sea? 'Twas right there, bashing about nice as y'please," he replied, shaking his head, then he burst out laughing. "One good thing is, all the monsters keep the bandits away!
Ceileigh shook her head and chuckled with him, though he kept laughing long after she was done.
It had started to rain by the time they arrived several hours later. Holding cloaks or blankets over their heads that they'd bought from Daveth, they hopped off the cart. Ceileigh bought Leandor a cloak that was bright red, trimmed with white and hung to his ankles. The other two pawns and Ceileigh had opted for holding thick brown blankets over their heads.
"Well met, Arisen," said the royal soldier who trotted to meet her from the northern stronghold's outer gate. He squinted and held a hand up against the rain. "I am Ser Kostas. I have been stationed here at Windbluff Tower for eight months now. In that time, malicious creatures have plagued the road almost every night. You have our thanks for your assistance, ser."
"This place seems far from everything," Darby said, peering at the road and hills around them.
"Quite right," said Kostas. "Tis weary work, standing guard in the Northface Forest. Over time it can lower morale…'twill only get worse if we don't have what we need."
"Why don't you tell me what's troubling you?" Ceileigh requested.
Kostas quickly ushered Ceileigh and her party into one of the courtyard tents, where they shook out their cloaks and blankets and hung them up to dry on a rack. One of the stronghold's staff handed each of them a cup of hot tea as Kostas explained the situation.
"Direwolves have long roamed the north, but they encroach on the northern road and our supply caravans almost nightly now. They have eaten and destroyed too many of our provisions, and a few merchants have even lost their lives. We do not have extra soldiers to go on 'wolf patrol' or play shepherd to merchants and travelers," the soldier said in an irritated tone.
"Direwolves sound easy enough to deal with," Ceileigh assured him. "We've dealt with plenty of normal wolves and they must behave similarly. Besides, Leandor has fought them with other – well, it's too complicated to explain. Please go on."
"Excellent. There are two large packs in the vicinity – we would ask that you eradicate them as quickly as possible," Kostas replied. He took a sip of his tea, then continued. "Unfortunately, they are not the worst problem. Phantasms appear near the road to harass and possess travelers. It affects our morale and ability to perform our duties, since many people are now afraid to come anywhere near here. Fewer are willing to bring us the food and supplies we need and we are running low."
"Where do they come from?"
"Nobody knows. They do not appear in the shape of men, so they do not seem to be spirits of the deceased or some such thing. They are more of a…floating blob. A mass of glowing white wisps with strange, long arms that come out when they are ready to grab and possess you."
"A floating blob?" Ceileigh asked humorously, raising her eyebrows.
"Yes," Kostas smirked. "I know they do not sound threatening when described that way, but trust me, they can do some damage. They possess men and turn them against one another. During that act is when they are most vulnerable."
Ceileigh tried to remember what she'd read about them. "They are vulnerable to magick all the time, yes? Holy magick is their greatest weakness."
"That is true, but they have to become partially solid to grab people. When that happens you can hack at them with regular weapons too, like any other enemy."
"Yes, that's right," Ceileigh nodded. "I know they won't come out till tonight, but we should scout the area in the meantime, see what advantages the terrain may offer. Maybe we can take out some of the direwolves now anyway, and not have to worry about them while we fight the phantasms."
Ceileigh and her party left the stronghold and went under a stone archway to the right. The rain had slowed to a drizzle and everything seemed quiet as they left the road and northwest into the woods. They searched for some time but didn't run into so much as a rabbit.
"There have to be some wolves around here somewhere," Ceileigh said, flipping one of her daggers a bit restlessly as she climbed up on a small boulder to get a better look around. Once again she was eager for some action to keep her mind busy.
"That letter made it seem like there were monsters crawling all over this place," she said with some irritation, flipping her dagger higher, making it spin three times before catching it again. There was a tree branch a few feet over her head and Leandor eyed it, wondering with amusement how long it would be till she flipped her dagger high enough to embed it there.
"Should we cross to the other side of the road, Arisen? We may find aught of use along the edge of the cliff," said Jocelyn, gesturing east toward the sea with her bow.
"Why not, we're not finding anything here," Ceileigh sighed. Leandor watched in anticipation as she added another flip to her dagger, but it didn't quite reach the branch and he found himself somehow disappointed. She jumped down and they retraced their steps back to the road. As they crossed and Ceileigh looked back toward the station, she missed catching her dagger and her mouth fell open. Leandor looked toward her with concern, then saw what she was looking at.
"Arisen, prepare yourself!" cried Darby, sending streams of holy magick into the party's weapons.
"Monsters, Arisen!" Jocelyn shouted dramatically a second later.
"More like one big monster," Ceileigh said, still staring. There, sailing high over the road in their direction, was the griffin. The giant beast was moving quickly toward their position and she didn't want it to pass them by and disappear, but they couldn't fight it off alone either. She made a quick decision.
"Follow me!" she commanded urgently as she readied her bow just in case and started running back down the road. "We'll get soldiers from the Tower to help us!"
As they got closer to the station, she saw there was already a group of the Duke's men running after the griffin from the direction of the capital.
"It seems others have already taken up pursuit," Leandor said as they ran. "Shall we join them or turn aside at the Tower to gather more men?"
"They may have enough for a real chance against it. Let's talk to them first," she replied. She noticed Ville, one of the soldiers who was there last time the griffin was outside the city, near the front of the group. She called out to him as the two groups met, feeling a prickle on the back of her neck from electricity and fear as the creature and its shadow glided over her. She wasn't going to let her fear stop her though. There's no way I'm turning into the same mess I did last time, she thought determinedly.
"Arisen!" Ville responded. "The beast struck again not long ago near the junction of Moonsbit Pass and the canyon below it, right where it opens to flat land. 'Twas a caravan carrying gold and other items of tribute – the gleam must have caught its eye," he said, gesturing at the griffin, which had now passed them by.
"It frequents the area surrounding the capital more often now, and 'tis not a creature easily quelled," said another soldier named Spencer. "Of all the monsters disrupting trade right now, it poses the direst threat."
"The soldiers guarding the caravan drove it off and it took flight," said one named Carl. "It circled the capital and we followed, striking as we could the few times it set down. Now it continues to fly."
"Where do you think it's headed?" Ceileigh asked.
"We do not know, Arisen, but it seems ready to fly forever. We can only hope it will lead us to its roost after a while," Ville told her. "I know you have a score to settle with this beast, but Maker only knows how far we will travel in this pursuit, how long it will take or if it will yet end up out of our reach. If you still care to join us after hearing all that, let us be off."
"Of course I do," Ceileigh assured him. She wished she could hire new pawns that were better suited for this fight, but she had no idea where the nearest riftstone was in the area or how long it would take to get there, so she would have to make do with who she had.
As they ran father north, the trees grew denser and the land around them grew steeper. Ceileigh was examining specks in the sky far ahead, figuring they were harpies, when a small band of goblins ran out of the trees to block their way. The group was ready to mow the gibbering creatures down and keep going, but the griffin wheeled around and dropped right onto the goblins with a piercing cry.
They skidded to a stop, quickly changing tactics to battle the larger beast instead. Ville commanded his men and Ceileigh's party to fan out and surround the huge beast. It had two goblins pinned under one great claw and was busy shredding strips of flesh off of them with great relish.
"Clear your mind of all but the fight!" a soldier named Defoe shouted to the group as they advanced.
The griffin hardly seemed to care that it was being surrounded at first, but when the group charged its head snapped up, eyes flashing bright blue. Unwilling to relinquish its prize, it simply knocked everyone to the ground with a great snap of its wings and continued eating while making agitated trilling noises.
"The beast must die!" shouted another soldier as they got back to their feet and attacked again. Most of them were able to land some kind of strike on it but they had barely done any damage when it launched back into the air. Ceileigh sent a few magick arrows after it with a frustrated growl, then they were running after it again.
Eventually they reached a right-hand bend in the road where the dirt became tan instead of red, and giant off-white rocks and short cliffs rose much closer to the path, forcing their group together. A swift, chilling wind blew down the path hard enough that they had to lean forward to avoid landing on their rears. With a sharp pang of disappointment, Ceileigh watched the griffin angle east and disappear from sight.
"If only these cliffs didn't block our view!" she said to Ville, yelling to be heard above the rushing wind.
Ville leaned close to her ear and yelled back, "There is only one place it could be headed now - Bluemoon Tower! 'Tis a stronghold off the coast and the only place large and isolated enough in these parts to hold such a creature! That must be where it roosts!"
Leandor put a hand on Ceileigh's back, helping her move forward until they were out of the windy passage. It opened onto a wide slab of white stone that led to the left. To the left were hills covered in brush, while the right side ended in a sheer cliff dropping down to the sea. There was nothing on it but one scraggly tree and the wind was now absolutely deafening. Ville motioned everyone forward to a path between the tallest cliffs Ceileigh had ever seen. There they were blocked from the wind and after a minute they could hear each other again.
"Damned bird, fleeing to its roost the moment its fortunes turn," Defoe muttered, then turned to address the group. "We cannot let this chance escape – to Bluemoon Tower!" Ceileigh figured he must be second-in-command to Ville since he seemed to take charge at times.
The cliffs and even the ground were made of gray and brown stone. Large portions of the path were in shadow from the sheer height of the cliffs and Ville warned them all to stay on alert in case of an ambush by the bandits who were known to infest the place. Indeed, as soon as they reached the first wide space on the path they ran into a bandit hideout, where two lookouts were posted behind a thick wooden fence atop a large flat rock. The criminals started firing arrows as soon as the group came into sight and yelled for their comrades, who jumped down and fought with swords, shields and daggers. Ceileigh took an arrow to her right shoulder early on and was forced to go through the skirmish using only one dagger with her left arm. As soon as the bandits were defeated, Leandor braced her and held her hand while a soldier broke the arrow and pulled it out. Darby healed her wound, then moved through the group, healing whoever needed it.
They all held their weapons at the ready as they progressed again, wary of another ambush. There was no end to the small caves and carved out niches above them that served as homes or hideouts for bandits. The narrow path twisted and turned, gradually heading to the right. It finally opened to a large area with two piles of boulders in it.
"Watch for it to move," Defoe told the group in a hushed tone. "Stay far from it and step quietly."
Ceileigh was about to ask what he meant when she noticed one of the boulder piles shift a little and stopped in her tracks. She nudged Leandor with her elbow and nodded toward the pile with a questioning look. "A golem, I assume?"
"I believe so, though I have never encountered one," he replied only loud enough for her to hear.
They were almost past when angry cries rang out from atop the cliff to their left. They looked to see several bandits with bows and a few turning ballistas in their direction. The commotion disturbed the golem, who raised itself to its hands and knees with a loud grinding sound. When it saw Ceileigh's party and the Duke's men it roared and stood up all the way.
"Run! Go! Get to the other side!" Ville shouted, pointing his sword to where the path continued into the cliffs again. The group ran for their lives, dodging ballista bolts while trying to avoid the golem's swings. Thankfully the stone monster could only make short rushes at them and they easily outran it. One soldier was skewered by a bolt and they were forced to leave his body where it fell.
They stayed on high alert but no one followed them. Soon they saw a natural stone archway and through it they could see the top of Bluemoon Tower's walls. On the other side was a broad stone walkway lined with broken pillars.
"This is Cutlass Cape, and that is Bluemoon Tower," Ville told Ceileigh as they went down the walkway. She'd never seen a structure so large. The tower rose several floors high and had to be half as big around as Gran Soren itself.
"Look at the size of it! What could lie in such a tower?" Jocelyn marveled.
The walkway led to a gray stone bridge, which led to the actual tower, which Ceileigh could now see sat on a rocky island. They made it to the metal gate at the bottom of the tower's outer wall but still didn't see the griffin anywhere. On the bright side, Ceileigh noticed a rift stone to the left side of it. As soldiers worked on opening the rusty gate, she quickly used it to replace Jocelyn with a male warrior named Toli. He had fair skin, a big nose and jaw, very long blue hair and yellow, almond shaped eyes. He wore a dull gray set of armor with no helmet and carried a gigantic broadsword with an intricate pattern etched into the blade.
"A tower? Standing in such remotes?" was the first thing Toli said when he and Ceileigh came out of the Rift.
"We are seeking out a griffin, so prepare yourself," Ceileigh told him as he followed her through the gate. He nodded briefly in understanding as they headed up the stairs. As soon as they reached the top a large flock of snow harpies swarmed them, screaming as they dove down to tear at them with their claws and freeze them with icy blasts from their mouths.
"We'll take care of them, go on ahead!" Defoe yelled to Ville.
"Alright!" Ville shouted back. He commanded certain soldiers and Ceileigh's party to follow him across the next walkway and up some more stairs to the right.
"Undead warriors, Arisen!" Toli shouted, pointing up to the next landing. Indeed, a large corpse was staggering across it, ready to descend and meet them. It was at least as big as Toli, wore heavy duty armor and carried a battered but deadly-looking broadsword.
"Leave it to me, Arisen!" said the big pawn, charging along with a few of the Duke's men. He rushed up the stairs and impaled the enemy on his giant sword. The soldier beside him drove his sword sideways through its neck, and when they both pulled their weapons out it fell to the ground, lifeless once again.
A few more undead warriors and archers lurched out at them from around corners as they continued toward the top of the tower. As they started up a third flight of stairs they could hear Defoe's group behind them, clashing with more enemies that had appeared after they passed. Ceileigh wondered what big battle had happened here in the past to leave the tower so littered with fighting men's bodies. When they reached the landing they found a few more snow harpies that were feasting on dead animals they'd presumably carried there. The creatures shrieked and launched into the air but they picked them off easily since there were so few.
The small delay let Defoe's group catch up and they all advanced together across the landing, left then right down a hallway, then right again up more stairs. This time they heard a clattering noise and realized halfway up that the bones on the next landing were bouncing and skittering toward each other. Ceileigh stopped and watched in surprise as the bones and pieces of debris came together to form a skeleton wearing a cape and holding a staff and spell book. A red light swirled around the undead mage and his staff lit up with a high-pitched whine. Other skeletons with no armor and only simple weapons began forming around it as it shot a beam of destructive magic at the group.
Leandor and a few soldiers charged first, deflecting the mage's blasts with their shields. Ceileigh followed with the next batch, whirling with her daggers to help take out the smaller skeletons while Leandor's group attacked the skeleton mage, hacking it back into pieces. Ahead were yet more stairs, zig-zagging left and right for three more floors. They were now quite high, higher than Ceileigh had ever been within a building, and she was just slightly out of breath from so much climbing. Some of the soldiers around her were breathing a little hard too. After two more turns through a wide room decorated with pillars, they went through a metal door and came out on an upper floor, where they paused to rest on a wide walkway that ran around the outside of the tower wall to the left. As Ville and Defoe discussed strategies for effectively attacking the creature once they found it, everyone else caught their breath, rested their muscles and readied themselves for the battle ahead. It was getting slightly dark.
Suddenly a soldier named Ser Camden looked alert. "'Tis close, I can feel it!" he said urgently, looking around. The next moment they all felt the electrified air that signaled the griffin's proximity. They all stepped farther out onto the walkway and scanned the sky but didn't see anything. They stood for a moment, looking around in silence, then the beast rushed upward right in front of them, shooting straight up the side of the building with a giant flap of its wings that knocked most of them to the ground.
Shouting, they got to their feet as quickly as possible and ran down the walkway, determined to catch up. They soon came to a high stone wall with a wide metal gate in it, and they could see an identical one farther ahead, followed by several stone archways. A large rusty lock held the gate closed, and as one of the soldiers started to examine it the griffin dropped down on the group from the rear. With no time left to try picking the lock, the soldier and one of his companions took turns smashing it with the butts of their swords while the rest of the group turned to fight.
The Duke's men rushed the beast, splitting up to attack from the sides. Leandor and Toli stayed in front, slashing and stabbing the front legs while dodging its snaps and lunges. Ceileigh hung back with Darby, shooting magick bolts while the mage blasted the griffin with holy magick and flames. The creature snapped its wings forward again, knocking everyone down but Ceileigh, Darby and the two soldiers working on the lock. One unfortunate man stumbled and fell right off the edge of the walkway to his death. Ceileigh instinctively rushed forward to help Leandor up, but she had to roll away as the griffon's lashed out with its talon. As the foot passed above her she could see where the claw was missing from their last fight. She and Leandor got to their feet at the same time and she shouted for him and Toli to back away, then intoned sunburst right under the creature's chest. It screamed and reared up on its back paws, clawing at the air in anger and pain.
"The lock is broken!" yelled a soldier named Westley as the griffon's claws slammed back to the ground.
Everyone immediately ran through the gate as fast as they could and the same two soldiers began smashing the second lock as soon as they hit the next wall. The griffin let out a short screech and cleared the first wall easily with a mighty leap and a few flaps of its giant wings. It hunched its back like a cat getting ready to pounce, its pupils dilating and constricting rapidly like a bird.
"Toli, break that lock!" Ceileigh shouted, fear making her snap the command more harshly than she intended. The warrior pawn obeyed instantly, shouldering men out of the way as he ran to the gate. The chain didn't have much slack in it but he pulled it out as much as he could and jammed his sword down between it and the gate. With one mighty twist, he wrenched his weapon to the side, snapping the chain and lock just as the griffin lunged.
Everyone scrambled to the sides to avoid the strike, but Ser Westley wasn't quick enough. The griffin smashed him onto his back with one claw, then leaped to the top of the second wall with one flap of its wings, carrying his battered body with it. Ceileigh and Darby attacked continually with projectile magick as the griffin stalked along the wall, lashing its tail and crushing Westley into the stones with each step. When it stopped to scream at them again, Westley dangled over the edge of the wall, his vacant eyes open and his back clearly broken.
"Through the gate, men! We must get off this narrow walkway and show this beast a real fight!" Ville shouted.
"For our fallen brothers and Gran Soren!" Defoe shouted right afterward, echoed by several men as they ran under the griffon.
"Get to that stairway, there appears to be a bigger area above! If we can draw it there, we may have a chance!" Ville commanded as they ran for their lives through the archways.
A rumbling boom sounded behind them as the griffin smashed right through the first one in its pursuit. It demolished one after the other with terrifying speed, screaming and electrifying the air more than ever in its fury. Thankfully it was slowed down just enough for the group to run to safety in another large hall on the left. The base of the stairs were straight ahead now and they narrowed out into more of a line to run up them. There were walls on either side but they weren't close enough to prevent a fall, and the stairs were very steep and high. Leandor felt a sudden lurch in his stomach as they ran, and felt like he was going fall over for a moment. Glancing at the black crevasses to either side of the stairway, he felt a brief stab of anxiety knowing that he might fall if he was jostled too hard by the soldier next to him or if he lost his footing for a split-second. He kept running and tried not to think about it.
The space at the top of the stairs was a very large circular area surrounded by crumbling walls. Parts of the wall were gone altogether, leaving the danger of falling off the edge. In the middle was the griffin, crouched with its wings sagging, clearly winded and weary.
"I think we've got it now," Ceileigh panted, hoping it was more tired than they were.
"I'll pierce its black heart!" a soldier snarled, and his companions shouted similar sentiments.
After a quick discussion with Ceileigh, Ville addressed his men. "One last time, men! Avoid the head! Attack the sides and rear while the Arisen and her men distract it! Destroy the wings then we'll all finish it off!"
The griffin got to its feet again as the Duke's men quickly formed a half-circle around the back of its body. Leandor and Toli stood directly in front of the beast while Ceileigh and Darby stayed to either side of the neck. Leandor banged his sword and shield together just as the soldiers attacked, shouting to draw its attention. When it lunged, he and Toli jumped back as Ceileigh and Darby struck from the sides. Her party repeated the move over and over, one of them taunting the beast while the others struck at it. The royal soldiers were doing a lot of damage to the rest of the body at the same time. Finally it launched into the sky again, wheeling once above them before slamming back down right on top of the soldiers. Two men were crushed beneath it while the rest were knocked to the ground.
Ceileigh's party stumbled as well but were too far away to be lose their footing completely. They ran to help the soldiers, whose formation had been completely broken up. Together they simply formed a circle and attacked with no real strategy, hoping the creature had taken enough damage that they could finish it off. It bit at them repeatedly and pawed at them with its talons, but it mostly kept snapping electrically charged air at them with its wings. Dodging its attacks was wearing all of them down, but the creature seemed content to sit there forever and fend them off. Getting knocked down so often made it very difficult to do any real damage.
Every time Ceileigh got back to her feet she either shot at the griffin with a seeker bolt, which split into five bolts to do more damage over the beast's body, or tried to intone sunburst. Unfortunately most of her sunburst attempts were interrupted by getting knocked down again. Suddenly the griffon screamed louder than ever and reared up as its midsection was engulfed by a giant fireball. Everyone scrambled away quickly and looked around in surprise to see where the attack had come from.
"Steffen!" Ceileigh shouted, shocked to see the old man standing at the top of the stairway. He was holding the tome she'd found for him and intoning a spell. The griffin was now wheeling around in big circles, more dangerous than ever as its flaming wings and lion's tail spun haphazardly through their group.
They ran to Steffen's position as the griffin staggered for a few more steps, flames consuming its entire body now. It stumbled and went down, screaming one last time before it died, its avian head bending back almost parallel with its back. Its claws were curled up toward its chest and its wings drooped down to cover its lion-like hind legs. It suddenly seemed overly quiet, except for the howling of the wind across the top of the tower they were on.
"What are you doing here?!" Ceileigh asked Steffen.
"I was looking for lost artifacts in the Northface Forest when I saw the griffin flying down the road. I saw you and your pawns meet up with the Duke's men and thought I'd try to help. I still owed you for finding me this book!" he told her cheerily. "I followed you all the way here, just took me longer since I was on my own with no defenses. I had to hide and sneak around a lot, wait for my chance to get by all the bandits and such."
"You have our thanks!" Ceileigh said. "I never expected you to risk your life for me."
Steffen gave a pleased cackle. "Well, did I seem the hero?"
Ceileigh laughed with him. "Yes, you saved us much time and probably lives as well."
"The magick in this tome is quite powerful," he said.
The Duke's men all thanked Steffen and congratulated each other as the griffin's body began to dissolve. They were upset over the loss of their brothers but grateful to be alive as well. After looting what they could find atop the tower they all headed back to Windbluff Tower. Ceileigh looked back at the gooey spot where the griffin used to be, then up at the sky for a minute, satisfied and relieved now that it was dead.
"Master?" Leandor asked quietly as he came to stand by her side.
"I'm okay," she told him, smiling. "I'm only glad this is over."
"Yes," he agreed. They both turned to follow the group. It was the middle of the night by the time they made it back onto the Northface Forest part of the road. Ceileigh could see Windbluff Tower in the far distance. The Duke's men jogged on ahead but Ceileigh chose to stay behind and take her time. She just wanted to relax and enjoy their victory. She was glad to have helped take down the creature that had killed the farmer, and she felt like she'd successfully overcome her fear of it at the same time.
She was just about to comment on that to Leandor, when a strange feeling washed over her. Her words died in her throat and her whole body grew stiff. As she struggled to move forward slowly, she saw men rushing down the hillside at them out of the corner of her eye. She barely managed to turn her head toward them before she felt arms wrapping under her shoulders and around her legs to lift her off the ground. Her body stayed stiff as if they were lifting a log, and she could just barely see that the rest of her party was stuck in place too. It must be a petrifaction spell! she thought frantically. She could rest easy knowing that Leandor would vanish into the Rift if he stayed that way too long, but what was about to happen to her? What if she never made it back to a riftstone to pull him back out? On top of that, the only people who saw her get taken were all stuck there on the road, so no one would be coming after her. Breathing slowly became much more difficult and her body felt very heavy. Just as her eyes began to film over with a thin layer of stone, she felt fingers pushing into her mouth, then all her senses disappeared.