Richard Knaak - The Citadel

Tyros could scarcely believe this turn of luck. Had he been made a fool of by this woman? What good was a kender to his quest? Would the creature suddenly sprout wings and carry them?

Serene leaned down, talking kindly to Rapp. “Perhaps you’d better call them now. We haven’t much time, and they need to get used to the men.”

Rapp nodded, then left her side to climb atop the outcropping. He smiled once at Tyros, then looked up and suddenly called out like a wild beast.

“Why’s he spouting like a hawk?” Bakal demanded.

Tyros thought that Rapp’s call ended more like that of a lion or some other great cat, but he could see why the captain had taken it for a bird. He looked around, waiting for something to emerge from the rocks.

From above came a deeper, longer version of the call the kender had made. As one, the humans looked up. All but Serene looked startled. Tyros saw birds, huge birds, leave their mountain roosts and begin to descend.

Only they were not birds.

“Gods!” one of the men shouted. “What are those beasts?”

Tyros looked to Bakal for an answer, but the usually fearless soldier stood speechless and pale. He shook his head over and over, his eyes never leaving the oncoming creatures above.

“I knew I’d seen one!” he finally uttered. “I wasn’t mad! It was a griffon! It was!”

Tyros had heard of the fantastic animals, even studied them as part of his education, but as with the gargoyles, he had never actually seen one before. Now six of them-no, more like eight-descended upon the party, and at a kender’s behest.

Bakal suddenly went into action. “Form a circle! Swords at the ready! Be ready to fight your way out!”

“There’s no need for that!” Serene called. “They won’t harm you! Rapp, tell the children to land!”

The kender nodded, then gave out a cry with slightly different tones than the first. The griffons suddenly swerved and, moments later, alighted around the outcropping. Despite their immense size, they landed gently, then folded their wings.

The animals presented a fantastic combination of two other creatures, the proud eagle and the majestic lion. Their tails, although whiplike, had a shock of feathers at the end. The torso mostly resembled that of the feline, golden-furred and very muscular. However, the legs ended in peculiar talons, like a bird of prey’s, yet more dexterous. The talons could have easily seized a full-sized man and taken him aloft, not a comforting thought.

The griffons stared at the intruders, their heads almost identical to those of a true eagle. Yet the feathers mixed with fur toward the back and under the beak, the latter giving the winged furies a bearded look. Tyros stared at the eyes and saw far more intelligence in them than in most animals. He wondered if the griffons could actually understand what others said.

“That’s our transportation?” Bakal spouted.

“They’re really well behaved!” Rapp offered. “I raised them mostly myself! I found them after the parents had been killed by hunters, and even though I was on my way to Solace, which is supposed to be a nice place that I hope to still visit someday, I couldn’t very well leave them to die, could I?”

“Of course you couldn’t,” Serene replied approvingly.

“Well, that’s what I thought, and even though it meant having to stay in the woods a lot, I fed them and then found Serene, who taught me more about how to take care of them, and I love them like they’re my own children, which they really aren’t because they wouldn’t look like that, especially the beards.”

“I don’t know which is worse,” the captain said to Tyros. “The griffons themselves or listening to his story about them. You can’t be serious about us riding those monsters!”

A couple of the nearer creatures squawked at the last word.

“Be careful, Bakal,” Tyros warned. “I think they sense your dislike.” To Serene, he added, “but the captain raises a good point. Do you think we can actually make use of the griffons? They seem to obey the kender, but will they let us ride them?”

“They let me ride all the time,” she replied with just a hint of mischievousness. “Surely you two will have no trouble.”

Bakal took umbrage at the possible slight to his courage. “You tell me what to do and I’ll ride one of the beasts,” he insisted. “And that goes for the others, too.”

While the spellcaster noted some continued unease among Bakal’s soldiers, none of them sought to dissuade their leader. The captain had chosen well. Despite their misgivings, these men were still willing to go on.

“It’s very simple. Put your leg over the torso, then hold on to either the mane or the rider in front of you.”

The wizard studied the huge animals. “They can carry two at a time?”

“They’re very strong.”

“What about supplies?” Tyros asked.

“They can carry a little, but we won’t be able to bring any unnecessary items along.” She had made note of Tyros’s heavily packed horse.

Thinking of the mounts, Tyros turned to Bakal. “You’ll have to leave a man to bring the horses back to Gwynned.”

“Already thought of that. Simon there.” The captain indicated a tall bearded man about the mage’s age. “He’ll take them back. Brought him along just for that.”

The cleric nodded. “Then it’s all settled. Good! The longer we delay, the farther Cadrio and the citadel get. Rapp, you and I need to deal with the griffons before the others mount. They’ll be a bit nervous around the men, and I don’t want any trouble. Come!”

“Isn’t she wonderful?” Rapp asked, gazing up at her with pure devotion. “She can do so much! I thought about becoming a cleric of Branchala-he likes kender more than most, you see-but then I thought that if I were a cleric of the Skylord, then I could talk to all the animals, not just my griffons! Of course, then I might have to go walking around in a robe and pray in temples and-”

Bakal grimaced as the kender went on, then turned to the men. “You heard her! Get everything ready! Hurry!”

As the soldiers obeyed, Tyros studied the beasts, which remained near the outcropping, watching the antics of the people. Serene and the kender talked to each, which seemed to have a relaxing effect on the griffons. Tyros noted that most stared longest at Rapp, their eyes filled with as much devotion as he had shown for Serene.

Returning to Tyros, the cleric commented, “They’ll be fine now. By the way, you and I will ride together.”

“Me?”

“Rapp and I need to ride different griffons so that we can better maintain control of the entire group. And since you’re the one who knows most about these castles, I want you near if there’s a question to be asked. The captain will ride with Rapp. Understand?”

“I do.” Bakal would be thrilled.

“Fine.” She looked past him, to where Bakal and the others had nearly readied themselves. “It’s time for them to choose.”

“Choose?” Tyros looked over the beasts, trying to pick the best one. “What difference does it make which one we choose?”

Serene grinned. “You misunderstand! You don’t choose.”

“Then you do it,” Tyros said, nodding at the kender.

She tapped her staff, which set the animals moving. Rapp ran over to Bakal, no doubt to give him the good news about their traveling together. “Oh, I don’t do it either. They do.”

“They?” Tyros stared at the griffons, which now began to circle the humans.

“Tyros! Mage!” the captain called. “What the devil’s going on here? Why’re they coming toward us?”

Tyros looked back at the captain, trying to keep his voice steady. Serene trusted these animals; surely he could do the same. “Remain calm, Bakal! Nothing to worry about! They’re just in the process of-”