Shatter

***

“What is going on? What is all this about?” Wyman growled as he stumbled down the stairs of the inn, chanting and hollering rousing him from an already troubled, light sleep. “What is all this commotion?”

“Seems the city has fallen into chaos with Gerlach’s death…” An upper-class looking griffon spoke between drags of a cigar, long black hat dangling on a hook behind him as he leaned back in his chair. “I could barely even make it in the doors this morning when all this started.”

“Gerlach is dead?”

“I’m afraid so…you hadn’t heard?” The well-dressed griffon lazily moved a claw to pull the curtain aside enough to look over the crowd again, head shaking dismissively as he turned back towards Wyman. “The entire Duchy seems to have fallen with him. Its complete chaos – this is nothing compared to further to the coast.”

“Along the coast? Even Rottendedam? That can’t be, my family and I were headed there…”

“That won’t be possible if it’s the same as when I left.” The griffon took another long drag from his cigar, expression still as stoic as when Wyman had walked in. “The entire city has been brought to a halt; ports and all. What little government is left isn’t letting anyone leave or enter without good reason…given that the government even still controls anything there.”

“That…isn’t the end of the bad news, I’m afraid.” Another voice spoke up as one of the staff leaned over from behind the counter, claws turning the dial of a radio that had been lowly babbling away in the background of the two griffons’ conversation. “The so-called ‘Lord-Protector’ or whatever he is calling himself now…h-he seems to have just declared war on Feathisia…”

“Pardon?! A declaration of war? Amid this chaos?” The upper-class griffon nearly dropped his cigar as his eyes widened in shock, only a brief few seconds of emotion shown on his face before he managed to compose himself once again, head shaking as the cigar met his beak once more. “Seems the entire Herzland is breaking apart.”

“What? That can’t be right, the duchy is part of the Empire!” Wyman felt a shiver run down his spine as memories from just a few weeks earlier flashed in his mind.

“I’m afraid that isn’t the case. The Empire fell apart the minute that child-killer launched his little rebellion…” The smoking griffon stiffened himself as he took another long drag from his cigar before setting it down in a tray on the small table beside him, his expression still unchanged as he looked between the two griffons.

“What is there to be war for?”

“To ‘Restore Order’ in the ‘rebellious’ provinces…some of the militias are putting up a fight but…” The griffon behind the counter motioned towards the window, loud bangs echoing through the room as something knocked hard against the door followed by a few gunshots. “They seem to be equally interested in fighting one another.”

“Indeed. There isn’t much to put up a fight anymore. Most of the army itself is in complete disarray aside from a few holdouts and I doubt they’re willing to work with the rebels even for that common of a cause as staving off that madgriff…” The upper class griffon left out a sigh – a lingering bit of smoke exhaled as his eyes turning to the top of the stars as the clanking of claws on the wood caught both his and Wyman’s attention.

“Wyman, what is going on? What are all these people doing outside?” Willa stopped after descending a few more steps, her daughter and son already behind her with equally worried expressions. “We can hear them yelling all the way upstairs…”

“Willa…”

“I could hear some of what you all were saying down here…is it true?” The son spoke up as he pushed past his mother, his tail swishing behind him. “Gerlach is dead?”

“Yes…I’m afraid so.”

“Wyman…” Willa finally reached the bottom of the stairs as she pushed against her husband. “Another rebellion? Now a war? What has our luck become…”

“Excuse me, my apologies, I can’t help but overhear your conversation…” The griffon behind the counter interrupted again, slowly moving around to the other side now as he motioned the entire family forward. “You are trying to reach Rottendedam?”

“Yes, my father…we have tickets there to get across to Equestria.” Willa stepped forward as she spoke, claws pulling the clothing tighter around her as a few more loud bangs from beyond the walls of the small inn echoed out.

“Between there and here, it’s pretty bad…and I’m afraid the good sir over there was correct in his assessment of your chances of being able to leave through the ports.”

“We’ve got to try…we can’t just stay here and wait for the soldiers or these rebels to make their moves.”

“Listen, one of my co-workers – really quirky fellow – he’s out back right now just about to end his shift. He’s from up north, planning the same thing as you all – getting out of here that is. I could see if he can take you along with him.”

“He’s headed to Rottendedam then? He can take us there?” Willa’s voice rose with a hint of hope as her gaze shot back up.

“No, I believe he said he was headed back up to Winghagen, up in Cloudbury.” The staffgriff watched as Willa’s expression sunk again. “But, I’m sure he wouldn’t head up there without a plan. Perhaps he can help arrange transport. He’s a pretty resourceful fellow, and owes me a few favors. At the very least it is safer than here for your family.”

“I don’t mean to seem ungrateful…but why help us? Why not go with him yourself?”

“This little Inn has been in my family for ages, I’m not going to leave it just because the Duchy has gone to hell…my father would never forgive me.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’d help some poor folks from the Heartlands.”

“Something my father had always taught me, to help those in need. He just passed away a week ago, I figure what better way is there to honor his memory?” Wyman didn’t respond as his gaze dropped – the tan griffon sitting in silence as memories of his own father-in-all pushed into the surface of his mind; mind barely kept from thinking about where the old veteran would be known, left at the mercy of the insane regime that had cost them all what little normalcy they had.

“This friend of yours…” Henry waited for a few seconds before speaking, eyes scanning over the sullen expressions of his family before continuing. “You said he was from Cloudbury…he wouldn’t happen to be a member of the Republican movement, would he?”

“I have no idea where his politics lie, but he’s been there since before the Republican take-over so he has been through this sort of thing before. Managed to survive all sorts of things according to his wild stories…I believe him.”

“If you are sure he is someone we can trust…” Wyman almost muttered the words as he gave another glance at the window – dark shadows still dancing over the closed curtains.

“I am. Come on then, he’s just out back.” The griffon motioned for the family to follow him as he led them behind the counter – some hesitation following before Wyman finally took the first step forward; Willa, Henry, and his young daughter soon not far behind. They’d be led on through the tiny kitchen before the staffgriff finally reached the back of the Inn, the griffon turning to make sure the family had followed before opening the door and stepping through.

“Who are these griffs you’ve brought to me Erick?”

“Just some folks that could use a helping claw.” The staffgriff took a step back as he ushered the family forward, Wyman moving first before Willa and Henry stepped forward with the small griffion hiding between them. “I figured it wouldn’t be too much for a griff such as yourself to take some company with you.”

“Do I—” The griffon let out a deep heavy sigh as a claw raised to pull the cigarette from between his beak, head shaking as he stopped himself from protesting the polite demand. “Fine, fine! It shouldn’t be too much trouble, after-all…as long as we are headed to the same place.”

“They’d be following your lead, friend.” Erick smiled, once more urging Wyman and his family to step further into the ally.

“Great…just the four of you then? Three adults, a child…” The griffon let out another sigh as he took a drag from his cigarette. “Great…so first things first; no detours, no falling behind, no sight-seeing. The countryside is dangerous enough without getting yourselves lost. Second, we are on a strict schedule which means no unneeded breaks. If you can’t go any further, you are on your own.”

“Understood.” Wyman held out a claw to stop Henry as the younger griff was about to speak, a glare seeing him take a few steps back. “We appreciate you doing this.”

“How can I say no to a family in need, hm?” The griffon let out a mocking chuckle as a gaze shot over to Erick before throwing his cigarette to the ground and stamping it into the wet dirt. “One more thing though; if anything goes wrong, if we are caught or separated…You all are to keep heading North. I have some friends, should be some folks on the border there expecting me. They’ll be able to help you out.”

“Sounds fair to us.”

“Good, then we leave immediately. Grab whatever you need, and then a little extra. It’s going to be a long walk.”

***