Chapter 38 - Encounter

The surrounding mountains stood silently in the late morning. Unconcerned with the business of the creatures that traversed them during their eternal slumber. At their feet the river meandered by, a joyful tickling and play that brought pleasant dreams and washed away the sins of the mortals. They could feel the slow donning of their winter coats of white that allowed them to sleep deeper and ignore the delving of the dwarves that scratched and poked at their bellies. Their eyes long turned away from the life that traversed their peaks and saught protection in their arms.

Tiffaniel looked up at the mountains, the sensation of being observed crossing her mind, “Ven?”

He did not look up from his map, “Hmmm?”

She stood and walked over to him, “Do you think it was mountains like these that we lived in, before we went to the Enclave?”

Groyven looked at her momentarily before casting his gaze further, to the surrounding mountains, and the not-so-distant snowy peaks, “Our home is in the mountains, I remember snow. I think it was a little like this, the village we lived in may have been higher up though. Like among the mountains that look over this valley.”

Tiffaniel looked over his shoulder, “I hope we can find our way home, Ven.”

He frowned slightly, “I hope so too. But,” he said, still concentrating on the drawing.

She frowned, drawing some loose ebony hair over a tipped ear, “I know, I know. Survive first, find help if possible.”

Groyven nodded slowly as he drew more of the river on his map.

Suddenly they heard a click, then a low forceful shriek. They both turned to see Hendosphyre standing on guard, his stance aggressive as he stared at the opposing bank of the river and the tree line. Tiffaniel looked to Groyven.

He quickly grabbed his things and scooped them into the bag, “Run, Tiff!”

Without a word she ran for the gryphon, Groyven close at her heels.

“Quick, get behind him.” he said between short breaths.

Hendosphyre ran towards them, pulling up into a defensive stance, one wing out wide and low, providing shelter and a wall of feathers for the children to conceal themselves behind. As soon as the children had hidden, he pulled his wing in, letting it droop as if it were injured, lowering his belly to the ground. Scant moments before, he had caught the scent of the approaching predator and as he ran to the children his sharp eyes had picked out flashes of movement among the loosely gathered trees on the far side of the river. He posed himself as if resting, quickly checking on the children pressing against his body. He could feel Groyven shift under his wing, parting some feathers to peer out.

“What do you see, Ven?” he heard Tiffaniel say.

Hendosphyre immediately let out a hiss, tightening the concealing wing in warning as he picked out another glimpse of movement on the far side. Narrowing his eyes, he waited. Suddenly, a large wild cat broke out from the cover of the forest, a blur of white and greys. It slid on the mixture of shale and sand that made up the bank of the river as it attempted to change direction. Scrabbling, clawing for traction with its big paws. Hendosphyre marvelled to himself as it managed to keep itself from tumbling into the water despite its apparent reckless momentum. He watched on as it slid backward down the river bank, its fore-paws outstretched, its claws acting like anchors, tearing gouges into the shale until it slid to a stop, its rear paws just kissing the water’s edge. In one swift movement it launched itself back up to the edge of the bank, away from the water. It stood there momentarily, looking into the forest, gathering itself.

The gryphon had seen an animal such as this before, but only once, by chance and from the air. If there hadn’t have been the fresh blood on the snow from its kill he never would have known such an animal existed. This one was a prime example.

The snow leopard stood there, watching the trees in silence as it shook the mixture of sand and mud out of its paws. Its ears were erect, changing direction as it listened. It seemed to be satisfied after a few short moments and it started to slink upstream along the river. Hendosphyre watched carefully, they had not been noticed, yet. With that thought, he watched the snow leopard slow to a stop and turn its head, looking across the water at him.

Emerald eyes stared at the gryphon, with a mixture of suspicion, curiosity and unsettling intelligence. It took a few steps towards the river, its eyes now firmly scrutinising the appearance of a gryphon in these mountains. Its head tilted, one ear pricked as if listening to a spoken word. Giving one last glance, it suddenly exploded into a run, heading upstream. Within seconds it was gone.

Hendosphyre released his wing. As Groyven and Tiffaniel stood, he dipped his head, quietly gesturing for them to get on his back. Within moments he was moving as fast as he felt he safely could, immediately putting distance between themselves and where they were seen. Thankful that both Groyven and Tiffaniel instinctively understood the urgency and his need for silence. For nearly a quarter of an hour they made their way, Hendosphyre moving at the edge of a run and both Groyven and Tiffaniel holding on, keeping their grips tight and bodies low to his back.

Slowing, he felt Groyven’s hand patting his side, listening for his voice.

“Hendosphyre, let’s stop just inside the trees, up ahead.” said Groyven quietly.

Hendosphyre tossed his head and redirected himself to the edge of the forest. Entering the treeline, he weaved between the trunks until they were a dozen or so yards in before stopping and allowing the children to dismount.

Groyven was the first to speak, “That was no normal mountain cat.”

Tiffaniel nodded agreeably, “It was incredible.”

Hendosphyre clicked his beak, quietly. Turning and looking back toward the river through the trees.

“I do not think we were followed, it left pretty quickly.” said Groyven as he watched the concerned gryphon.

“Ven, is it just me, or did that mountain cat seem like it was it listening to a voice before it ran off.”

Groyven nodded, “I felt the same. But its paws, they were so large, its tail…” he shook his head slowly, “It was like it was running ahead of something. Not away from it.”

Hendosphyre quietly clicked his beak.

Groyven watched the gryphon, “The wolves we have been hearing?”

The gryphon fixed him with a stare.

“Is that why you wanted to get away from there?” asked Tiffaniel.

Again Hendosphyre nodded.

Groyven looked towards the river, “Maybe we should stay in the treeline for a little longer and keep moving.” he looked to Tiffaniel.

“It will slow us down, Ven. We have to reach…” she stopped talking as he looked at her.

“Hendosphyre, if we haven’t reached the place you found by sunset I will summon you early.” Groyven said.

The gryphon made a small reassuring sound.

“The trees are too thick here, so I will release you now. If we need you I will call for you immediately.”

Hendosphyre gently nudged Groyven’s chest before brushing against Tiffaniel. Standing in a gap in the trees he slowly became insubstantial, a glow forming around him as he returned to that place bound to Groyven’s amulet.

“Ven?”

“I know, Tiff. I don’t want to be without his protection, but we need him at full strength tonight so at least we can sleep safely.”

Tiffaniel nodded hesitantly as Groyven met her eyes, “Don’t forget, we have power to protect ourselves too. We are not defenceless without him. We just need to be more careful and keep our eyes open.”

She watched as he secured the bag, with the strap crossing his body from shoulder to waist.

“Ready?” he asked of her.

Tiffaniel nodded and followed him as they started off, both silent and keeping the edge of the forest and the river to to their left and within sight. They wove their way through the trees, without discussion and as quietly as possible.

Unbeknown to the twins, A sinister black form watched from the shadows at the edge of the treeline, looking out on where the gryphon had encountered the snow leopard less than twenty minutes earlier. It confidently stalked out from the cover of the forest, the sun did not reflect off its coat but rather was absorbed by it. It was as if its lupine form was a moving shadow as it covered the ground at a lope. Moving rapidly over the broken ground, it kept its nose low, skimming just above the ground, following the scent. It stopped with interest when it found the place where the gryphon had concealed the twins. It pawed at the ground, its red eyes glinting in the sunlight. After a few more moments of investigation it looked downstream, the direction the scent pointed to. Appeased, it padded without concern back towards the treeline. It gave one more look downstream before melting back into the shadows and disappearing into the forest while the sun slowly tracked its way through the heavens, heading unerringly towards midday.

Shadow of the Eclipse: Chapter Timeline

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