The sun was peeking up over the city walls, traces of frost coated the grass. It was the first frost of the year, and the day they would set out on their expedition. Marcus was waiting beside the carriage, his steamy breath visible in the air. Sylvia was inside along with Kelly, Maria stayed behind at the villa, there was no reason for Sylvia to bring along two personal maids. Stewart, a guard, was driving the carriage, and four more guards were on horses. Everything was ready to go, they just had to wait on their guide, Massimo, to join them.
A sharp tap, tap, tap, could be heard in the crisp morning air, drawing the attention of everyone present. Marcus turned his head to see Massimo, with his long unkempt beard, walking towards them with a walking stick in hand. He was wearing his trapping gear, thick leather pants and wool shirt with a leather coat. He also had a large pack on his back, looking almost too big for the aged man. He waved at Marcus, looking refreshed, like he had slept well the night before.
"G'Morning Mister Marcus, I'm not late am I?" Massimo said, in a raspy voice.
"No, you're not. Here, we have a horse prepared for you, it'll make travel much faster." Marcus said, leading him over to a horse that was standing near the carriage.
Massimo looked around, then looked at Marcus with a questioning gaze. "What about you? I don't believe I miscounted, there seems to be one less horse than people."
"Don't worry about me, I'll be able to keep up. Now put your pack on top of the carriage, we'll set out as soon as you're ready." Marcus ordered.
Nathan was back at the villa, directing day to day operations, so Marcus was in charge of everything while they were out in the wilderness. He wanted everything to go smoothly, so he was wound a little tighter than usual. Massimo secured his pack, then mounted the horse. He rode it with experience, so they didn't waste any time and were soon moving down the road outside the city walls.
The plan for the day was to travel along the road for a few miles, then have Massimo lead the way once they left the well traveled path. The carriage would not be able to travel very far into the wilderness, so they would have to find a suitable place to hide it so it wouldn't be stolen. The only reason they brought it along was to make the initial trip a little bit easier.
After two hours of travel at a medium pace, they were approximately ten miles from the city. Massimo found a thicket of brambles next to an outcropping of rocks, it was almost the perfect fit for the carriage. After unloading the baggage and hiding the carriage under some branches and leaves, they pushed through the forest, looking for an area to set up a base camp.
A little after noon, they found an open area that was at a bit of a higher elevation than the immediate area. Massimo told them that this was as good as any spot, that if it rained the water would drain off quickly and they wouldn't have to sleep in a puddle. Marcus directed the guards in setting up the tents and the rest of the camp. They had to set up a few early warning devices around the perimeter, this would make up for the gaps left in their defenses due to the lack of manpower. The devices were just simple rope with noise makers attached to them, very rudimentary.
Once they filled their bellies with a simple lunch, they headed out to see if they could spot any wildlife. Massimo took the lead with Sylvia, Marcus and three of the guards following behind him. Two guards stayed behind at the camp with Kelly, they would keep an eye on the place and have dinner prepared for when they returned.
.................
Marcus could see the camp's fire through the trees, they were almost back. Everyone was tired, but Sylvia was by far the worst off. She was currently enjoying a piggy back ride on Marcus, her endurance had run out about an hour ago, so Marcus decided to just carry her back since it was nearing dark. They walked around the nearly invisible noise makers that had been set up a few hours prior,
"Thanks for the ride." Sylvia said with a giggle as she slid off of Marcus's back.
"Whatever Kelly is making smells delicious, I'll go get us a plate."
She ran off towards the fire, leaving Marcus standing there, watching her petite figure nimbly run to get some food. Marcus walked up to the rest of the party and started to take some of his equipment off. The day went fairly well, they saw many wild animals, none too dangerous, and several different types of plants. Marcus was afraid that it might be awkward between Sylvia and himself, but she behaved as if nothing had happened, much to Marcus's relief.
He sat down on a log they had drug over to serve as bench seating, Sylvia plopped down right next to him and handed him a bowl of stew. He said his thanks and they both started to eat.
"Where are we heading tomorrow Mister Massimo?" Sylvia asked in between bites of stew.
"Well my Lady, we'll head to the north-west, the opposite direction that we went today. There should be a nest of griffons on the cliffs, if we're sneaky enough we should be able to get a good look at 'em." Massimo explained to her.
"Griffons! I've never seen one up close, just when they were flying overhead." She sounded ecstatic to have the chance.
"They're a little territorial, but frighten easily so I don't foresee any problems." Massimo took a bite of his stew, blowing out of his mouth due to the temperature.
"Just don't harm the nest or their eggs, then they'll chase you to the end of the world."
Sylvia looked wide eyed at Massimo, nodding her head, like she was engraving what he said on her brain. Marcus paid attention as well, he would have to make sure Sylvia didn't let her affection for animals overpower her common sense and put her, or the rest of the group, in danger. Massimo then went on to explain the different variations of griffon, Sylvia listened intently, trying to learn everything she could.
....................
Sif had returned under the veil of darkness, she was carrying the pouch that Clair had giving her about a week prior. Clair was laying in her bed, staring at the ceiling, failing to fall asleep. She had decided to leave Sir Allister's manor the following day, there was no way in the nine hells that she would continue to stay there. She was just thinking about when Sif would return when she heard a thumping noise come from outside her window.
She hastily opened the widow, letting the now cold night breeze into her room. Sticking her head through the threshold, Sif dropped the pouch onto the bedroom floor. She started to slither into the bedroom, but to her and Clair's surprise, found out that she was too big to fit. She could fit her head by angling it a certain way, but the thickness of her wings plus her body wouldn't allow it.
"You're growing so fast, Sif, it's only been a week since I saw you last. Now you can't even fit through the window." She said, stroking Sif's head through the open window.
"Thank you for taking my letter to him, stay here for a little while longer. I'll read these, then write something for you to take to him."
Sif let out a snort, she'd been flying for quite awhile now, she was getting tired of it.
"I know, I know, I'm really sorry, but it's important. I'm in a little bit of trouble and I need to let Marcus know." Clair said, trying to smooth over Sif's disgruntled attitude.
"Plus it might be better if you stay out in the forest, Sir Allister seemed quite interested in you so it's probably safer not in the city."
Seeing Sif nod in understanding, Clair opened the first letter and read it's contents. She then moved on to the second letter, it was much shorter, but much more important than the first. It told her of his honorary title, this made her very proud of him, and gave her a glimmer of hope. With Marcus's title, there was a chance that he could petition the city lord in her favor. She did have another way that could save her from the whole mess, but it was a last resort, she swore to never talk to her family again.
She quickly scribbled a letter, detailing what had happened and the fact that she would be staying at his house for the foreseeable future. Marcus had left her a key before he traveled to Rosevalley, she didn't think she'd need it, but was glad that he'd done so. After stuffing the letter back into the pouch, she handed it back to Sif and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.
"I'll be staying at Marcus's house, so if you need me you can find me there." Clair told Sif.
Sif nodded, silently unfolded her wings and took to the air. Clair sat on the edge of her borrowed bed, letting out a sigh. She felt a little better after reading about Marcus's good fortune, but still had a heavy load on her mind. She would go to his house tomorrow and then start setting up a makeshift apothecary lab. She would have to spend most of her saving, but had to start making money. The sooner she started, the better, she just hoped Marcus wouldn't mind her using his house.
.................
Marcus was having fun, they were currently gaining altitude, slowly climbing a mountain. Everyone else, save Massimo, was huffing and puffing, struggling with the thin air, but he felt great. Seeing the guards and Sylvia struggling, Marcus called for a break, it was the third one in as many hours. The three guards found rocks to rest on, Sylvia just plopped on her butt right where she was standing.
"How much further Mister Massimo?" Sylvia lamented.
"I'd say another hour of walking." He replied after scanning the surrounding cliffside.
Sylvia fell onto her back, a 'haaaaaaaaaaaaa' sound escaping her throat. Marcus just smirked at her display, going over and nudging her with his boot.
"Are you going to make it? Should we just head back now?" He asked jokingly.
"No way! I'm fine, I just need to rest my feet for a bit." She retorted.
"Alright, we'll rest for thirty minutes, then continue on."
It was still early enough in the day that they didn't have to worry about running out of daylight. There weren't many beasts on the cliff sides, mostly birds of prey, but they did manage to spot a few mountain grazers off in the distance. They were pretty much mountain goats, but had a sail-like ridge running down their backs and were just a little bit larger than earth's mountain goats. Marcus was enjoying the crisp mountain air when he heard a very distinct cry off in the distance.
He looked in the direction of the cry, and using his enhanced eyesight, managed to see a griffon flying over the valleys and ridges of the mountain range. It looked as if it was flying in their direction, but was far enough away that it wouldn't bother them.
"Sylvia, come here." Marcus called out to her.
Sylvia begrudgingly stood up and hobbled over to him. "What is it? It hasn't been thirty minutes yet has it?"
"No, look over there." He said, pointing off into the sky.
Sylvia squinted her eyes, focusing and trying to see what he was pointing at, but couldn't. "What are you pointing at? I can't see anything."
Marcus got behind her, placed his rough hand on her slender waist, he could feel her tense up; he stooped over, placing his face right next to hers and pointed again. He could hear her breathing speed up slightly and her face turned red, he might have done this on purpose, just to tease her. Once she got over the sensation of him touching her, she finally saw what Marcus was wanting to show her.
She squinted harder, leaning forward slightly, trying hard to make it out. Finally, she managed to see it.
"It's a griffin! Mister Massimo was right, we must be getting close to where they nest!"
If Marcus didn't have his hand on her waist, she might have jumped right off the cliff. She seemed to have gotten all her energy back, instantly wanting to head out. Marcus had to convince her to allow everyone else to rest, there was no hurry. He was happy to see her so worked up, it brought a smile to his face.
They set out after resting, resuming their previous pace. Massimo motioned for everyone to watch their step, not wanting them to injure themselves on the precarious footing. He'd been up through this pace many times, so he knew the safest paths to follow. Soon enough, they were across from a handful of house size nests resting on the cliff face. There was a deep ravine in between them and the nests, preventing them from getting closer.
They hunkered down behind some rocks and waited. They couldn't see any griffons at the moment and there were no eggs in the nest, it wasn't egg laying season. Griffons mated in the winter, then laid eggs in the spring. The eggs only required about two months to hatch, the babies were only about the size of a house cat. After hatching, they needed another nine months before they could even try to learn to fly.
After an hour of waiting, a dark shadow raced over them. Looking up they all saw a large griffon carrying what looked like a fanged deer in its claws. Landing in a nest, they could see miniature griffons jumping about, squawking and growling, fighting over the meal.
"That's a male griffin, see the under feathers, how they're a darker color. That's how you tell." Massimo explained to a wide eyed Sylvia.
She was holding her breath, watching as the griffin family gorged on the meal. She didn't mind the gore of the process, she understood that was how nature worked. She was just fascinated by nature in general, not wanting to miss a single detail. Soon, other griffins arrived, all carrying varying meals for their offspring. A chachapony of snarls, chirps, and growls filled the air as they ate.
After observing the different families of griffins for a few hours, Sylvia finally had enough. They moved to head back to their campsite, not bothering to try and hide their presence. Griffins knew better than to mess with humans, all they did was take up a defensive posture over their offspring, watching them warily as they walked along the opposite cliffside.
As long as they kept the same pace as they did on the way up they would make it back to camp before nightfall. At the end of the day, going downhill is much easier than uphill, so after only two-thirds the time it took before, they made it back to camp. Like the day before, dinner was waiting for them when they arrived, it was the same stew as the day before. They didn't care, they were famished from the long hike into the mountains.
"Here." Sylvia handed Marcus a bowl of stew, Marcus got a sudden feeling of deja vu.
"I could get used to you taking care of me." Marcus said, before realizing how it sounded.
She didn't say anything to his remark, but she did sit right next to him, her shoulders rubbing against his arm. They ate their stew in silence, once everyone was finished and cleaned up, they separated and went to their respective tents. Sylvia would usually stay up and chat with Marcus for a little while after dinner, but was exhausted, so decided to head to bed early, he did the same.
The noise maker rattling woke Marcus up from his dreamless sleep. He was on his feet in an instant, he slept in his armor, so he only had to grab his hammer and he was out of his tent. The fire had burned down to just coals, an eerie red glow coming from the ashes. The other guards that weren't on watch exited their tents soon after Marcus, holding their swords.
"Group up, check the perimeter. It could have been a wild animal, make sure to check carefully." Marcus ordered.
The three guards then lit some torches and took off to check the surrounding area. Marcus stayed near Sylvia's tent, waiting to hear from the two guards that were on watch. There was no way they didn't hear the noise maker, so they should be on their way over. Soon enough Marcus heard running footsteps coming from where the three guards went to look. The guards were running with all their might, the torch light illuminating their terrified faces.
"What's going on? What did you find?" Marcus interrogated them.
"We found Eric's body, his head was smashed somehow. It's awful." Denise said in a shaky voice, fear all over his face.
"What about Garrett? Where's he?" Marcus asked, his voice betraying his apprehension.
Before the three of them could answer, another noise maker alerted them to movement. They spun around in the direction of the trap, holding their weapons out in front of them, ready for anything. They peered into the darkness, the light from the torches making it difficult to see very far. The wind was all they could hear, blowing through the branches of the silent, watching trees.
Without warning, the glowing red coals exploded outwards, showering the area with hot ash, something large had landed in the bed of coals. Marcus managed to not jump out of his skin, taking a torch from Denise, he edged forward to see what it was. Slowly, the light revealed Garrett's mangled and headless corpse.