Chapter nine - get out of my way

Chapter nine – Get out of my way~

First contact with the griffons was boring. One patrol made of three griffons. They didn’t even have the time to lift their swords. Perhaps if they saw it coming, but they didn’t, so they died.

The first village I encountered was small, just a small town of lumberjacks.

I thought they could swing an axe properly, but no. The guards there also didn’t count for much.

After about an hour there is nothing left of the small town but burning rubble and smoking corpses.

And so I continue to cut and burn my way to the capital.

I now stand in front the city gates of the capital, securely shut to keep me and other threats out.

Night fell as soon I saw this city. It will make the fire stand out all the better as I burn it down.

The thick wooden gate would take to long to bash open by myself of burn through, and this probably isn’t the only one.

I look up and see only a couple of sentries on the wall.

Focussing my magic on the nearest one, I pull him down with the chain. As soon as he’s within arms reach I break his neck.

I use my wings to get up to the wall where the sentry used to stand.

In seconds the other guards are onto me. About three or four of them are charging me with spears and halberds.

Taking a deep breath, I prepare fore when all of them are close enough.

As soon as the last one is within range I unleash my fire breath. All of them scream in agony, as they are burned alive. One jumps down to on the roof of a near by building setting its straw roof on fire.

I turn to look at the city. It’s a big place, circular with the palace and other important buildings in the middle. There is a main road leading up to the palace.

After a minute of looking out over the city, bells start to ring. Signalling the people there is something amiss.

Griffons look out of their houses to see what’s going. People who live close to the house that’s on fire start to throw water on the fire; some are smart enough to push a raincloud over it.

I jump down, and summon my whip. These are not soldiers but they’ll have to do for now.

They don’t even fight back; they just take it as I cut down men and women all the way to the main road, setting buildings on fire as I go.

Looking back at the destruction I breathe in the scent of smoke and death. It puts a smile on my face.

The clatter of armor draws my attention back to the task at hand.

A big group of guards, around twenty in total come running my way.

With my sword in one hand and my whip in the other in meet the head on.

I’m back in my cell. My face still burns from all the cuts and the salt from yesterday.

My cell door opens and Gunther removes the chains from the wall again to take me for another round of torture.

I follow him again as he leads me to the torture chamber.

I look at the chain that goes from my cuffs to Gunther’s hand.

With I quickly whip the chain around Gunther’s head and pull it tight around his throat.

He tries to call for help, but to do that you need air going past you vocal cords.

He walks back and pushes me against the wall. He starts bashing me into the stone in hope of getting me off.

After a while the bashing grows weaker until it stops entirely.

I let go and search his pockets for the key to my cuffs.

He has several keys but no cuff keys.

I take his knife and move further down the narrow hallways.

“Gunther?! What’s taking you so long?” the grey-one shouts from within the chamber.

I quickly stand next to the door and wait.

“Gunther?” he asks as he opens the door.

As soon as he sticks his head outside I stick the knife in his eye. He squawks and falls back I sit on his chest and stab his other eye, and now I push it as far in as I can.

I hold him there until he too stops moving.

I search him; he also doesn’t have the cuff keys.

I groan but it makes sense to keep the cuff keys away from the one who you are torturing.

I look back in the hallway but nothing has changed.

I try to pry of the magic inhibitor, but it’s on to tight.

I walk through the dungeons trying to find a way out.

I find a stairwell and a small spark of hope lights in my mind.

Walking to the top I spot a griffon sleeping in a chair with a crossbow next to him. He’s alone.

I walk in front of him and use the knife to slice his throat.

He gurgles in an attempt to call for help. He grabs his throat as blood spews between his fingers.

He looks at me with fear clear in his eyes.

I have to close my eyes and look away. I know I have to do this but that doesn’t make it easier, or make me like it.

After a while the sounds stop, and I look him over to see if he has the keys.

Finally, he has the keys I get these cursed cuffs of and try put the small key into the hole of the inhibitor. I can’t find it.

I look for a mirror or something reflective.

I find a discarded metal plate with some food residue on it.

As I look in my reflection for the keyhole I get the first look at my face as well.

My face is scared to Tartarus.

There are three lines coming down from my forehead. The middle goes strait until the halfway down my muzzle where it splits in two to go down ether side of my muzzle.

The left one goes down and forms a square spiral under my eye

The right one goes almost all the way down and goes back up over my eye and makes a zigzag pattern in my forehead.

I look like a foals attempt at making modern art.

All the wounds are still red and my face is covert in dried blood.

Only when alarm bells start ringing do I focus back at the task at hand.

I look at the inhibitor and remove it with the keys.

I take the downed guard’s crossbow and combat knife and make my way outside.

As I walk through the river of blood that I made with bleeding corpses of those who stand in my way, I walk towards the palace.

Every now and then I set a building on fire.

I like to watch the griffons try and escape, only to be met with more death on the streets of their once proud city.

Guards come in a steady stream down from the palace, and every time I cut them down.

Usually it’s the whip that gets them, but every once in a while one gets close enough to land a blow only to be decapitated by my sword.

Decapitated, it’s such a funny word. I rather like it.

When I enter the palace courtyard I see someone already standing there.

He is a griffon, but she wears a more extravagant armor, with more gold and red.

“You come here, slaughter my soldiers and you think that I wouldn’t stop you?” she yells at me.

This will be interesting. “Yes, I really like your soldiers. They manage to entertain me quiet well. Although they aren’t very skilled at combat, they die to easily. Perhaps you are better,” I say as I move towards her.

She pulls a crossbow from her back and fires and bolt at me as she takes to the air.

The bolt pierces the armor at my shoulder but doesn’t do too much damage.

She reloads mid air and line up her crossbow for another shot.

I call forth a cloud of ash to shroud me from her site.

She looks for me but can’t get close enough the ash without being burned.

Just as she lowers her crossbow to take a better look, I ram her as I take flight myself.

I keep pushing her until we meet the wall of the palace.

I can feel her armor warp and bent, I back of and with a surge of magic pound her deeper into the wall with a ball of lava.

She doesn’t get up and I land again.

“Disappointing,” I say as walk into the palace.

I walk outside expecting several squads of guards. But only find a burning city instead.

A crash further away in the courtyard alerts me of fighting.

As I make my way over I see Dem walking to the palace.

As soon as he is gone a figure falls down.

A female griffon in what used to be fancy armor groans as she lies there.

I walk over to see if she is a threat.

She sees me, and rasps; “Protect the royal family, he’ll kill them all-“ and with that she goes still.

I look up at the door Dem went into and follow him.

Author's Note

Chapter nine