Salt and Sapphire

Mirth huddled his raiding party together, the dogs smearing clay and herbs into their fur as he laid out the plan: Gobrend, since he knew the mines better than everyone, would lead two stormers who could squeeze into the rear tunnels. They would kill any Sapphires they came across and work their way to the entrance. He would not be armed. As for the enforcers who made up the rest of the Frayed’s raiding party, they’d hold off for five minutes before they, with Yorm leading the brawlers, descended into the mines of the Sapphire.

This was a war of annihilation, Mirth warned: if the Sapphires weren’t all dead by the end of this, the Frayed stood no chance of surviving their wrath.

“Got anything to add, Gobrend?” Mirth asked unexpectedly.

Gobrend, who was busy preening his molting feathers, blinked. He glanced to his left and right before his eyes settled on the Alpha. “Me?” he asked, pointing to himself.

Mirth rolled his eyes. “No, the other Fire-forsaken gryphon here. Yes, you! Does anything seem out of order?”

Gobrend looked at Mirth in surprise before quickly clearing his throat. He adopted a lecturer’s stance, looking each dog in the eye. “The Sapphires have scouting parties in the area, so you should anticipate the possibility of an attack from behind. Press on, and be quick and terrible in your conquest of their mines to keep those within on their heels.” Mirth nodded, noting that. “I will not pretend that I like you dogs, but I despise the Sapphires more. Many of you will die facing them, but as I gaze upon you, I cannot help but feel sorry for that hapless bunch huddled in those mines unaware of what is coming for them. Every individual Frayed is worth three Sapphires at the least! So why don’t you go show them who the top dogs are!”

The bluntness of the gryphon’s words, combined with his enthusiastic call to arms, stirred the gathered dogs into a proper fervor. They bashed their weapons against the ground, whooping and praising the outsider’s speech. Those immediately next to the gryphon roughly slapped him on the shoulder.

Mirth allowed himself a small grin. He may be a smug, conniving little vulture, but somewhere in there he’s got the heart of a Diamond Dog.

Mirth still only trusted the bird as far as he could throw him, but…

His eyes narrowed when he spied Yorm surreptitiously speaking with two grunts a little ways away from the rest of the pack.

...At the moment, he trusted a few others within his own ranks even less.

He approached the gryphon, who was adjusting the satchel slung over his shoulder. “Nice speech, bird. Can’t say I was expecting that.”

Still rifling through his belongings, Gobrend said, “What can I say, dog, I’m a spontaneous gryphon,” without bothering to so much as raise his head.

Mirth snorted. The jewels on this bird! After looking back, he placed a paw on Gobrend’s shoulder, ignoring how the gryphon tensed, leading him a bit away from the pack, who were gathering the last of their gear for the raid. “Alright, you’re gonna be going with Hex and Mannix. They’re good dogs, so keep them alive and they’ll keep you alive. Got it?”

Hesitantly, Gobrend nodded. “You seem tense, Mirth,” he commented.

Mirth scowled, removing his paw. “It’s nothing. Just amped up over this raid.”

“And Yorm, I presume.” Mirth’s scowl deepened. “He’s going to try to kill you, you know,” Gobrend said conversationally, observing his claws. “It'll be a nasty fight in those dark, clogged tunnels. In the midst of all the chaos, what better opportunity would there be for an ambitious, unfettered no-name to ‘accidentally’ bash in his Alpha’s head in order to take his place? There is no low some will not stoop to in the pursuit of power, my canine friend.”

Mirth sat in silence as he absorbed the gryphon’s words. “Get yourself ready, Gobrend,” he muttered, standing up. “We both survive this, we should talk.” He walked back toward the main group, shouting a few things to get their attention.

Gobrend sneered as he pulled out what it was he was searching for: a matchbox.

Razor whistled as he relieved himself. Sentry work was mind-numbingly boring, but it sure beat risking his muzzle in a raid!

Wiping his paws off on a tree, he went back to staring out over the various boring shades of green in this boring forest on this boring assignment before the rustling of foliage caused his ears to perk. Blinking, he called out “Four?” cautiously, only to receive no answer.

Gulping, the dog backed away, his eyes shifting over the brush, which was no longer any kind of boring. What was once monotonous and uninteresting had grown confusing and threatening, reminding him of whose turf he was on. Before he could turn tail and warn his pack of the enemy, a paw clamped over his muzzle.

“Hey, watch your elbows, Hex!”

“Why don’t you watch your tail, Mannix!”

Gobrend groaned, crawling through the tunnels as Tweedledum and Tweedledee continued their bickering. Rubbing his temple with a talon, Gobrend hissed, “Might I remind you imbeciles that we’re meant to be stealthy in our approach! Save the tomfoolery for later.”

The two looked at each other a moment before sheepishly saying, “Sorry,” in tandem.

Gobrend grumbled darkly to himself. “Of all the dogs I could be stuck with…”

Hex grunted as Mannix’s tail once again swatted him in the face. “So, you been a Sapphire slave, huh?”

“I said as much, yes,” Gobrend replied.

Mannix grimaced in discomfort when he received an elbow to the ribs. “Why’s it you barking revenge against ‘em?”

“Yeah,” Hex added. “You know they big and bad. You think you bigger an’ badder, bird?”

“My reasons are my own, dogs,” Gobrend snapped. “They took something from me so I’m taking something from them. Quid quo pro.”

“Ooh, he tough, Hex,” Mannix mocked.

“Yeah, he bad,” Hex replied, the two snickering derisively.

Gritting his teeth, Gobrend paused, sniffing the air. “Do you dogs smell that?”

“Pretty bad,” Hex affirmed. “Reeks of ashflake.”

Mannix nodded. “Death down thataway.”

Gobrend solemnly sighed, his eyes hardening. “Right you both are.” He pulled out a tattered cloth and wrapped it around his beak. Even so, he’d never get the reek out of his nostrils.

“We’re drawing near the hub of Sapphire activity, so keep quiet, ready your weapons, and follow my lead and this should go smoothly.” The dogs nodded and the rest of the trek was spent in silence.

Gobrend huddled against the wall, his ears twitching every few seconds. Looking back, he motioned to Hex and Mannix, holding up a finger and pointing to each side of the opening. Nodding, the two dropped low, crude stone knives at the ready, and moved quickly forward. Glancing toward each other to ensure they were in position, they sprung.

A small struggle was heard, followed by the sound of two bodies hitting the ground. Gobrend swiftly moved ahead, pointing down the corridor. They came upon an empty mess hall, Hex asking, “Where are they?” The question was answered by a unified roar, and the sound of dogs scattering about ahead as the tunnel awoke with the cacophony of battle.

“Mirth, you fool!” Gobrend hissed. “They started too soon!”

“What we supposed to do now, then? Go back? We can’t take them on separated from the pack!” Hex said.

“Absolutely not!” Gobrend immediately responded.

“What else can we do!?” Mannix demanded.

A calculating expression crossed the gryphon’s face for a moment before he muttered to himself, “Yes, that might work...” The dogs looked at one another. “You!” he said, pointing at Mannix. “Throw on the armor the guards were wearing! And you, Hex, I need you to go tell Razor to send for help!”

Hex’s brows shot up in surprise, Mannix looking slightly fearful. “Why?”

“Your packmates will be crushed otherwise! Now go!” Hex, still slightly confused, nonetheless complied, running back the way they came. Gobrend smirked at Mannix. “As for us, we’re going to give the Alpha a quick visit.”

Everything started well enough. With Yorm at the head, the Frayed had caught the Sapphire with their pants down, smashing through their defenses with lightning ferocity. Nevermind how his Beta seemed to know exactly where to strike. It wasn’t until they managed to fight their way into the main area that something became apparent: the Sapphire were most certainly not drunk off their tails.

That feathered rat lead us into a trap! Mirth thought with a growl as they were beset upon by a horde of teeth and armor.

Guided only by the light emanating from the veins in the tunnel walls, Mirth shouted orders for the pack to tighten their formation in order to weather the brunt of the storm.

Then came a rumbling as something came tearing down the hall, trampling over even its own forces. Mirth’s eyes widened as the monstrously large Diamond Dog came charging at them.

Avarice swore to himself as he stuffed as many jewels into a rucksack as he could, the thing filled to the verge of bursting. With a good chunk of his forces out scouring for that gryphon and those other escapees, all his property, there couldn’t have been a worse time for them to come under attack. To think the Frayed had the nerve!

Flint should make short work of those morons. But just in case...

He jumped when the door flew open, trying desperately to draw the string of his new favorite crossbow, but the thing may well have been made of iron. The diminutive dog breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was only one of his guards.

“What in Tartarus are you doing, grunt! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Makin’ sure you alright, Alpha,” the dog said calmly, standing in the doorway.

Avarice blinked, finding something about the dog to be off: the stench of blood rolled from his armor, but beyond that... Avarice cautiously approached. “Yeah, yeah, of course... Hey, grunt, what’s with your scent? You’re next to invisible,” he said as he reached in his vest for his knife. The dog watched his every move, his muscles tensing. “Almost as if you’re…”

As soon as he pulled out his knife, the dog yelped in surprise before falling to the ground, grasping ineffectually at a gaping wound at the back of his neck as blood pooled beneath him. Shocked, Avarice didn’t notice the knife flying toward him until it embedded itself into his shoulder. He screamed in pain, falling to the floor and losing his grip on his weapon.

“Hello, master.” Avarice’s eyes widened when a familiar gryphon stepped into the room. “So nice to see you again.”

“Gobrend!” he wheezed. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Your pet heard you were worried about his disappearance, master, and so he returned for a short visit. As it happens, your pet also has a few questions for you…” he said as he approached.

Avarice pulled himself away until he bumped against his desk, his paw on the knife, hissing in pain. When the gryphon was close enough, Avarice ripped the knife out, swinging at the gryphon. Gobrend grabbed the dog’s wrist and twisted it, making him cry out. Gobrend grabbed the blade and pressed it into Avarice’s mouth, staring the dog in his terrified eyes with an intensity that made him shiver. "How does it feel to be so small?”

Hex charged through the forest, searching for any sign of Razor.

He called out time and time again, only to receive no answer. Eventually, after minutes of searching, he heard muffled screams. “Razor?” He pushed through the foliage, forgoing usual protocol, and found the look-out bound and gagged. “Razor!”

The dog looked at him with an expression of fear, one of his eyes swollen shut, shying away from him as much as he could in his current state. “What the…” He made a calming gesture as he approached, Razor shaking as he pulled out his knife. “Hey, hey, let’s get you outta this. Quit the squirming!”

He cut the ropes binding Razor’s paws behind his back, the dog hastily pulling the gag from his mouth and shouting, “Look out!” Ears perking, Hex turned around and was slugged in the face, falling to the ground. An arm wrapped around his throat, pulling him into a headlock and cutting off his oxygen supply. Hex stabbed his knife into the arm and his attacker yelped, pulling away.

“Razor, go warn the others! Get them to help the Alpha! I’ll keep this Sapphire bastard busy.” He stood, turning to face his attacker, whose face was wrapped in a concealing mask of cloth, his scent camouflaged. He pulled the knife from his forearm, spinning it around in a way that suggested great familiarity with the weapon.

As the dogs circled each other, Razor, conflicted, looked between them and his exit. “B-But―”

“Go!” Hex commanded.

Razor hurriedly nodded before bolting, ignoring the horrible clamor of two dogs desperately doing their best to tear each other limb from limb.

Gobrend was having a good day.

He hefted his crossbow, firing a bolt into the back of a Diamond Dog’s neck, easily drawing the string back.

He was having really good day.

He ripped the bolt from the Sapphire’s writhing body.

The pony the dog was leading by chain scrambled off deeper into the mines. Gobrend almost told her she was heading right into a hotspot, but he didn’t feel like spoiling the surprise.

He grabbed an unlit torch off the wall, stuffing it into his old, worn down satchel which rested upon his newer one. With a little encouragement, Avarice was more than happy to fill in the blanks in Gobrend’s knowledge of the Sapphire mines. What came next was pivotal to his plan, but he needed as many dogs in these tunnels as possible if it were to go off without a hitch.

Next stop: mead storage.

The beast was dead! The Frayed basked in the brief respite as every dog gathered into groups and made off into different tunnels, the din of combat echoing through the mines. Somehow Yorm had been grouped with Mirth, the Alpha keeping a wary eye on his Beta. Or at least he thought he was his Beta. They’d be having a long chat about that when they got out of this.

Mirth couldn’t shake the thought that prying gryphon sneak had planted into his head. But he’d been right about pretty much everything he’d told them so far, parting the fact that the Sapphires were on alert for this raid, which meant the rival pack was in danger of crumbling tonight after all, so it wasn’t a stretch to believe everything else Gobrend had told him before the raid.

Mirth, Yorm and the rest of his group were swift and brutal in their work, bashing heads and clearing tunnels as they pushed forward, Yorm at the head. The Sapphires had grown so desperate they were using their slaves as meat shields, but the Frayed cut down everything in their path without prejudice. The somber fluorescence of the sapphire gems embedded in the walls was tainted, slick with the blood which coated them by this point.

With how well things were going, Mirth was having second thoughts about the dubiety of his subordinate. Maybe the gryphon was wrong. They pushed into the main tunnel when they heard the echo of dozens of pawpads coming from the direction of the entrance. Mirth turned around, his eyes widening. Yorm scowled.

“Ambush!”

Razor drained a canteen, sweat pouring from his body as he panted like a trout washed ashore. He needed to get back out there, to check on Hex. Wiping his muzzle with the back of his paw, he tossed the canteen to the ground and began the trek back to the Sapphire mines, his aching body protesting every motion.

Dammit, dammit, dammit!

Yorm skidded around a corner, bleeding from his side, his muzzle a misshapen mess. His weapon was long forgotten, the only concern on his mind at the moment being escape.

Screw Mirth, and screw the Sapphires, too! I just need to get out of here!

He tossed a cowering pony out of the way, dodging a spear and smashing a Sapphire’s head into the wall all without losing his stride, ignoring the hair-lighting stench of the place.

Yorm turned into another tunnel, finding the pain-in-the-neck gryphon hurriedly rolling barrels of alcohol into a pit.

“You!” Yorm growled through his bleeding maw.

The gryphon looked up, their eyes connecting. He backed away, muttering to himself as Yorm stormed toward him. He grabbed the crossbow at his side and fired it, Yorm ducking to all fours as he charged. Gobrend dropped his weapon and jumped out of the way, keeping his wings tight against his body.

Stopping himself before he fell into the pit, Yorm turned around, swinging for the bird’s head. Gobrend ducked beneath the swipe, stabbing his knife for Yorm’s neck, only for the dog to grab his arm and yank him forward.

The gryphon uttered no sound aside from a subdued grunt when the Beta’s fist collided with his stomach. Yorm slammed the gryphon to the ground, Gobrend rolling to the side to avoid having his head crushed under his fist.

Gobrend swiped at Yorm’s bleeding side, causing the dog to howl in pain as the bird attempted to put distance between them. Yorm blindly reached out, grasping the gryphon’s wing. Gobrend squawked in pain when he was pulled back.

Yorm pinned the gryphon beneath him, bringing his fist down into the struggling gryphon’s beak before wrapping his paw around his neck. Gobrend sputtered, panicking, as he clawed ineffectually at the enraged Beta’s arm, tearing away flesh to no avail before he was punched again.

Gobrend fought for air, his eyes rolling into the back of his head with blood and drool leaking from his gaping beak as he pushed uselessly against the larger, stronger dog. Yorm looked up from the dying gryphon as he heard something approaching from the tunnel, Gobrend taking the opportunity when the iron grip round his throat lessened to dig his talons into Yorm’s ravaged side. The dog screamed before the gryphon slammed his palm into his broken snout, sending him reeling as stars filled his vision.

Gobrend coughed and sputtered, hardly registering when a masked dog tackled Yorm off of him, the two wrestling on the ground as Gobrend crawled toward his crossbow. Yorm bit the dog’s arm, the masked dog baying as he weakly hammered away at the dog’s head with an injured arm. The gryphon drew the string of the crossbow, loading it with a bolt from his quiver before aiming it in the general direction of the dogs and loosing.

There was a yelp, and one of them fell limp. Gobrend blinked, finding that it was Yorm who had been shot. The other exhaustedly pushed the weak dog into the pit. Gobrend, still panting, pulled down the cloth wrapped around his beak to greedily gulp at the rancid, precious air of the mines, eyeing his ‘savior’ with malice as he loaded his crossbow with another bolt.

The masked dog looked back at Gobrend with resignation in his eyes as the gryphon pointed his weapon at him.

“Remove… your mask… now,” the gryphon commanded in between rasps.

The dog complied, revealing his face. Gobrend’s eyes widened before narrowing in rage. He put his finger on the trigger. “Hagley,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

Hagley panted, looking at the gryphon with a sad smile. “I’m helping.”

“You’re helping no one in your condition, dog,” Gobrend hissed. “And I’m not carrying you out of here.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to leave these mines when I returned. I’ve made my peace with that.” He stared Gobrend in the eyes. “So what? Are you going to shoot me now?”

Gobrend stared back, trembling in place before snarling and lowering his weapon. “You’re… You’re just another dog! What makes you think I wouldn’t kill you? I have all the reason in the world to do just that!”

“Well? This ‘dog’ is waiting, Gobrend.”

Gobrend paced, never taking his eyes off of Hagley. “I want this… I want nothing more than to kill you for what you did to me. I’ll show you, Hagley; I’ll…” He shook his head, his tail whipping wildly. He aimed his crossbow at Hagley once again. “I won’t let you get away with what you’ve done!”

“Will taking my life finally make you feel better, Gobrend?” Hagley sadly asked.

“Yes! Yes it will!”

“Then why haven’t you done it yet?” Gobrend froze. “Here’s your opportunity. You want to kill me? Do it, then!”

Gobrend grit his teeth, breathing deeply. “You… You…!” Gobrend screamed, throwing his crossbow to the floor. “I want to… I want…” He cast a withering glare at Hagley, who was now frowning. “Get up, damn you. We’re leaving.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Gobrend.” Hagley looked down, pulling up his shirt to reveal he had a deep gash in his side. Hagley shakily exhaled. “Told you I wasn’t leaving these mines.” He looked at Gobrend, shaking his head with an ironic smile. “You’re a damn tough bird to track, y’know that?”

“Why in Fulryn’s name would you do such a thing?” Gobrend asked, furrowing his brows. “I’ll never understand you, Hagley.”

“Because a Diamond Dog―” he winced, shifting along the wall he rested on “―is loyal to the end. Even to those who don’t really deserve it. You saved my hide, Gobrend Grasstalon. I couldn’t not be there to save yours.”

Gobrend chewed on his tongue, unsure of how to respond to that. After a long moment he approached, reaching out his hand, Hagley looking inquisitively at him, before he stopped, pulling it back to his chest and looking away. “...I’m going to burn the Sapphires’ heart out, Hagley. I’m going to take back what’s mine.”

Hagley tiredly nodded. “Go on, then. Leave me something to spark that flame. Wouldn’t want you to get caught in it, right?”

“Right…”

The two stared at each other for a long moment.

“You’re one of the good ones, Hagley.”

Hagley, in spite of himself, felt his tail wag. “You too, Gobrend. You too.”

Mirth had a bad feeling. An awful feeling. He couldn’t trust anyone. No one here was on his side. He fought fiercely to the entrance, forgetting about his dogs, uncaring about the familiarity of the dogs they were fighting in the murkiness of the tunnels. When there was an opening he took it, running through the dogs locked in combat without looking back.

He had to find Razor or Hex―someone whose loyalty was without question. Even the bird was preferable to these motherless, backstabbing wolves!

Then he spotted it: the exit! He was almost home free! He’d gather Razor and Hex and Gobrend, if the bird was agreeable, get out of Warg's Pass and restart his life where he wouldn’t need to sleep with one eye open all the time.

And just as he neared the entrance, he couldn’t ignore how hot the tunnels had suddenly become.

It was raining by now. Gobrend had emerged from the tunnels just before everything inside was reduced to cinders. He looked up to the sky, allowing the cleansing droplets to caress his face.

He was calm. He was calm.

The gryphon looked down to the earth, trembling, as he hugged himself. The rain came heavier.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying and failing to empty his mind of all the noise crowding it, not realizing he was bleeding from the shoulders as his talons dug into his flesh.

He was calm. He was calm.