The Legend of Baldur the Bold

“What do you mean, we can only do one more expedition?!” King Featherblight asked as he flared his gold tinted wings at his cowering royal adviser, Adam.

“I’m sorry your excellency, but you have already cleaned out most of the reserves, any more of these expeditions will start taking away the royal guards stationed here at the castle, leaving us vulnerable.” The old griffon explained as he bowed his head. Featherblight glared at his advisor as he lowered his wings with an irritated sigh.

“Very well then, what are my options for this ‘final’ expedition?” The king smirked, “I assume we’ve saved the best for last? Send Maximus and his company.” Adam flinched at the order.

“I’m afraid that Maximus has been missing since your last excursion into the dragon land's sire.”

“Well, what about Captain Redwing?” the king leaned forward on his throne.

“Redwing and his team were made an example of by dragon lord Atlas sire. When he dropped their scorched helmets on our doorstep with a final warning to and I quote; keep your grimy claws out of his territory” Adam cleared his throat as the king glared at him.

“Well then, who do we have left in the reserves then?” He said with a huff.

“W-well your reverence…the only candidates left for the final-“

“Next expedition” the king corrected.

“Of course…the next expedition leader in line is,” he flipped through his notes, “…captain Rook.”

“Never heard of him, what is he in charge of again?”

“He’s…in charge of the castle groundskeepers…” Adam answered quietly.

“You expect me to entrust the future of my kingdom to a bunch of lowly groundskeepers?”

“They're the only non vital castle staff we can afford to lose…your majesty” Adam explained as a bead of sweat formed on his brow, “I can assure you they’ve been through the same rigorous training as all of your other knights” Adam added with a nervous smile. King Featherblight huffed as he got off of his throne and walked past his advisor.

“Gather the grounds keepers and meet me in the courtyard” The king stopped at the door to the throne room, “This better work for your sake, Adam” He spat before exiting the throne room.

…

“I can’t believe the King wants us to go on a scouting mission!” Captain Rook exclaimed as he practically jumped with joy, much to Adam’s dismay.

“Please compose yourself, Rook. You and your men are about to meet with his royal highness, so please do show some restraint” Adam scolded, causing Rook to frown. “Wait a moment,” Adam looked around the castle courtyard “Where are your men?”

“About that…” Rook scratched his head “pretty much all of them quit on the spot when I told them we’d be going on one of his majesties expeditions” he explained with a nervous grin.

“So…it’s just you then?” Adam asked as his eye twitched.

“Oh no!” Rook exclaimed proudly “I managed to get one of them to stay and at least hear what the king has to say” Adam looked around but didn’t see anyone else but the Captain.

“Well where are they?” Adam asked, causing the captain to step aside revealing a smaller griffin with light brown feathers in a royal knight's armor cowering behind where he once stood. “This is the best you could muster?” Adam deadpanned as he eyed the fearful young griffin.

“Now he may be a bit of a runt, but” The captain pulled the scared Griffon into a standing position, “good old Baldur hear is one of my best men, seriously the guy has a way with plants” Rook slapped Baldur on the back, “Go ahead and introduce yourself soldier.”

“H-hello, my name is Baldur. I’m one of the groundskeepers of castle Clawthrone.” He said bashfully, causing Rook to laugh loudly and smack him on the back again.

“That’s Baldur the bashful for ya! Timid as a field mouse, you’d almost think he’s a pony with that attitude.”

“Indeed” King Featherblight said as he walked up behind Adam causing the three griffins to bow their heads as he approached. “How did this spineless excuse for a griffin ever manage to become one of my royal knights?” The king glared at Baldur. Adam raised his head and cleared his throat.

“He must’ve been grandfathered in when you decided to make the groundskeepers into a branch of your royal knights…your excellency” Adam explained, causing the king to huff and flare his wings, silencing his elderly adviser.

“Where are the rest of the groundskeepers Captain Rook?” The King walked up to the captain who raised his head.

“Like I said to Adam, me and Baldur here,” he threw his talon around the young griffin and pulled him in, “are the only ones who stuck around once the news broke,” Rook explained as the King furrowed his brow. “I know that sounds bad, but I can assure you that he is my best and brightest!” He boasted.

“I suppose beggars can’t be choosers,” King Featherblight let out a frustrated sigh. “Maybe a two griffon team will draw less attention and yield better results.”

“If I may ask, your majesty,” Baldur chimed in, “What exactly are you expecting us to do?” The king glared at the young griffin before a snide grin spread across his face.

“That is an excellent question,” Featherblight let out a hardy laugh, “I’ll be completely honest with you, my loyal knights” he began pacing back and forth in front of the two knights. “We are on the brink of war with the dragons,” The two knights snapped to attention.

“War…? W-with the d-dragons?” Baldur asked, practically shaking in his armor.

“Your fear is very understandable young Baldur, we don’t stand a chance against those vicious savages as things are now” The king stopped his pacing and turned to face the two knights. “That’s where you two come in, through various expeditions I have come into possession of a map that leads to the source of the dragon's power in the heart of the dragon lands” The king looked at Adam who pulled a worn and slightly charred map out of his bag which the king swiftly snatched.

“Your comrades in arms laid their lives on the line for this very map,” The king said seriously, “Your mission is to follow this map and brave the dangers of the dragon lands, retrieve the dragon stone and bring it back to me.”

“I see what you're getting at your majesty,” Rook smirked, “we steal the source of their power and win the war before it starts.”

“Precisely captain Rook!” The king grinned as he handed the map to Adam, “You’re smarter than you look.”

“High praise coming from the king, eh?” Rook elbowed Baldur in the side.

“The dragon lands are super dangerous, your majesty…” Baldur gulped, “remember what happened to Captain Redwing and his men?”

“Yes, they served their king and country valiantly until the bitter end. They will be immortalized as heroes in the history books,” the king said dramatically. “You will be as well should you succeed,” he smirked as Rook’s wings perked up.

“Heroes, huh?” Rook smirked, “I like the sound of that, don’t you Baldur?” Baldur opened his beak to answer but was cut off by his captain smacking him on the back yet again. “Of course ya do! We won’t fail you, your majesty!” He said enthusiastically.

“That’s exactly what I want to hear, captain!” The king turned to Baldur with a more serious look on his face. “Because should you fail,” he leaned in close to Baldur causing the young knight to recoil slightly, “it will mean the end of Griffonstone as we know it, do I make myself clear?” He hissed.

“Y-yes your majesty…we won’t fail you!” Baldur stood at attention as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face. The king's face quickly changed back to a friendly smile as he moved away from Baldur.

“I’m glad we have a mutual understanding,” he beamed, “Adam will get you all the supplies you’ll need and you’ll set off at midnight!” King Featherblight decreed before turning his back to the knights and leaving the garden. As soon as the king was out of sight both Baldur and Adam breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was intense…” Baldur said as he sat on his hind legs.

“This is great!” Captain Rook cheered, “We’ve finally got a chance to prove ourselves to the king and stop a war with the dragons, plus I’m sure his majesty will reward us handsomely when we succeed” he nudged Baldur who was still in a bit of a daze from the kings intense demeanor. Adam cleared his throat as he regained his composure.

“Captain Rook, Baldur, if you’d both be so kind as to follow me, we can get you geared up and ready for departure.” Adam turned and started walking away with the two knights close behind.

As Adam brought the two knights to the barracks to gear up, Baldur couldn’t seem to calm his nerves. This wasn’t what he signed up for when he joined the castle groundskeepers. He certainly never had any interest in becoming a knight in the first place but the King made the groundskeepers into knights to make up for the losses. Now he was being tasked with preventing a war with the dragons? The harsh words of King Featherblight echoed in his mind sending a shiver down his spine. The two knights were equipped with saddlebags filled with a few days worth of provisions and navigation equipment before spreading their wings and taking flight towards the dragon lands.

“Now remember Baldur, once we get to the first landmark on the map we gotta take to the ground so we don’t draw attention to ourselves! Got it?!” Rook looked back at Baldur who was struggling to keep up. The smell of sulfur burned his nostrils as they flew. If it weren’t for his flight goggles, he wouldn’t be able to see at all.

“I hear you captain!” Baldur yelled over the wind. After a few more hours of flying Captain Rook signaled for them to land next to a large lava pool.

“Alright, this is the first landmark” Rook took his flight goggles off as Baldur did the same with some difficulty, “I’ve never been this far from home before,” Rook looked over his shoulder at Baldur, “What about you?” Baldur shook his head bashfully.

“I’ve never left Griffonstone before sir,” Baldur admitted, “I have read a lot about other places though,” he bowed his head shyly, “mostly about the plant life though.” Rook walked over and slapped Baldur on the back.

“Don’t sweat it, never know when that info might come in handy!” Rook said with a hearty laugh before taking out the map, “According to the map, we head due north from the giant lava pool, hope this is the right lava pool.” He joked before they set out following the map.

“Captain…are you sure that this is a good idea?” Baldur asked as they navigated through a canyon. Rook looked back at Baldur with a smirk.

“Of course I’m sure, when we pull this off we’ll go down in history as heroes!” Baldur sighed and bowed his head.

“I was happy just taking care of my plants back home.” He mumbled as he trudged on behind his fearless captain. The two continued following the map crossing active lava flows, and avoiding being spotted by an increasing number of passing dragons as they grew closer to the marked location of the map.

“We’re deep behind enemy lines now Baldur,” Captain Rook whispered, “stay alert and watch your tail.”

“We don’t even know where this artifact is,” Baldur huffed, “or what it even looks like.” Rook stopped in his tracks causing Baldur to bump into him. “You ok captain?”

“I think I know where it is,” he turned and locked eyes with Baldur, “but you’re not gonna like it.” He said in a serious tone that Baldur had never heard before. Baldur looked past Rook to see that they were at the edge of a giant crater filled with lush plant life. The likes of which Baldur had only read about, but more more concerning was the humongous horned dragon perched on what looked like a throne made from jagged stones.

“Is that…” Baldur made an audible gulp. “Dragon Lord Atlas.” Rook answered boldly, “I recognize him from when he dropped off what was left of Redwing and his squad.”

“A-are you saying that the dragon stone is guarded by the Dragon Lord?” Baldur asked with a shaky voice.

“It makes sense if you think about it. No wonder none of the other teams made it back in one piece.” Rook clenched his teeth.

“We need to retreat and come back with reinforcements-“

“There are no reinforcements, remember?” Rook huffed, “You and me are the only ones who can pull this off and prevent a war.”

“It could be anywhere in that jungle.” Baldur protested.

“Then we’ll comb through the whole thing if we have to,” Rook said sternly. Baldur looked down in disappointment before noticing a set of griffon footprints.

“We may not have to sir, look” he gestured to the tracks. A smile spread over Rook’s face much to Baldur’s relief.

“Looks like our comrades in arms left us everything we need to pull this off,” Rook started following the tracks into the thick jungle “Come on Baldur, we’ve got an artifact to snag.” Baldur reluctantly followed his captain into the brush and down into the crater. “How can this much plant life thrive in such a harsh environment?” Rook asked as he used his talons to cut a path through the brush as they followed the tracks.

“Actually, volcanic soil is surprisingly fertile and promotes plant growth. Also the plants here in the Dragon Lands are especially resistant to heat, in fact they thrive in it.” Baldur explained with a small smile causing Rook to scoff, “I…may like to read about exotic plants in my free time.” Baldur chuckled nervously. The sound of large beating wings suddenly filled the air causing Rook to pull Baldur into some brush.

“Shhh, the dragon lord must be going out to hunt for food” Rook theorized. “Or maybe one of the other dragons saw us and told him and now he knows we’re in his territory” Baldur said nervously.

“Don’t be such a downer Baldur, would ya cheer up if I sang a song for ya?” Rook asked with a sarcastic grin. “I know you’re scared Baldur, I am too but we’ve been given an almost impossible task by our king. Better knights than us have tried and failed to do this,” He stepped out of the brush and faced Baldur, “If we don’t at least try, then Griffonstone is doomed so,” he pulled Baldur out of the brush, “let’s get to it.” With Baldur’s confidence somewhat restored by his captain's rousing speech, the two griffons continued to follow the tracks deeper into the Dragon Lord’s domain. Eventually they reached the base of the large rock throne where the tracks suddenly stopped. “No more tracks means one of two things” Rook said cautiously, “Either they started flying…or--” Rook was suddenly grabbed around his back leg by a large vine and dragged away through a large opening in the rocks. Baldur froze for a moment before shaking his head and flying after his captain into the opening. Baldur managed to use his talons to slice the vine freeing Rook before the two crashed into a body of water. Rook surfaced first and spat water out of his mouth, Baldur surfaced a few moments later doing the same.

“Thanks for the save” Rook coughed up some more water, “When did you get so bold?” He joked.

“I dunno, I just…moved without thinking,” He coughed, “It was…terrifying.”

“Come on, let’s get out of the water before whatever that thing was comes back angrier than before.” The two griffons pulled themselves out of the water and were amazed to find themselves in a beautiful underground grotto filled with exotic flowers that Baldur had only seen sketched in various botany books. “How is all of this inside the mountain?” Rook asked in awe.

“Must be magic,” Baldur theorized, “Oh my goodness, those are dragon tails,” Baldur rushed over to smell some bright orange flowers, “Smells exactly as described in Green Thumb’s Guide to Draconic Botany,” Rook laughed as Baldur fawned over the various exotic plants.

“Easy there pal, we’re not here to sight see,” Rook said, snapping Baldur back to reality, “Sorry captain…I got a bit distracted,” Baldur admitted.

“So I guess that means we’re in the right place,” Rook huffed, “The Dragon Stone must be in here somewhere and we better find it quick before those vines come back.”

“Actually those vines might just lead us to what we’re looking for,” Baldur said examining the vines running along the ground, “those vines are Snapdragons, they feed off magic and in some extreme cases can contain magic in large groups, and these,” Baldur pointed to the vines running along the ground, “are their roots, so if we follow the roots,”

“We find the magic it’s feeding off of,” Rook smirked, “I knew your plant know-how would come in handy!” he exclaimed as the two griffons set off following the roots deeper into the lush cave with the number of vines getting more dense as they went. Eventually they discovered what looked to be a stone dragon egg entangled in the snapdragon roots.

“That looks like a mystical artifact to me,” Rook said, eying the stone, “How do we get it out of there?” He asked Baldur, who was deep in thought.

“Well, they’re not letting it go without a fight, so one of us is going to have to cut them away and distract them,” he explained.

“Say no more!” Rook exclaimed as he dropped his saddle bags and began stretching his wings, “I’ll have that stone cut out in no time flat and we’ll be on our way,” Rook took flight towards the vines with his talons at the ready.

“Wait! These are the roots which means-“ before Baldur could finish Rook slashed the vines causing the stone to drop to the ground. Baldur quickly flew over and grabbed the stone which now had a crack in it that emanated an enchanting green glow, Baldur shook his head before quickly placing the stone in his bag. Baldur then quickly flew over to Rook, “We need to go, now.”

“What’s the problem, they’re just roots,” Rook shrugged.

“Exactly, you attacked the roots which means,” a loud growl echoed through the cavern, “the heads are nearby,” Baldur suddenly shoved Rook back, pushing him out of the way of the jaws of the snapdragon, “they have more than one head, so start flying!” The two griffons took off towards the entrance of the cave dodging the jaws of the Snapdragon heads. Along the way, Baldur noticed that the lush greenery had begun to wither. Baldur and Rook flew out of the cave and flew as fast as their wings could carry them out of the crater and back in the direction of Griffonstone. Though his heart was still beating quickly in his chest, Baldur couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease growing in the pit of his stomach.
…

King Featherblight sat on his throne impatiently tapping his claw as Adam paced nervously off to the side, “It’s been two days Adam, you assured me they could handle this,” the king sneered.

“I implore you to have a little more patience, your majesty,” Adam pleaded as he began to sweat. Before the impatient king could respond, Baldur and Rook burst through the doors into the throne room with both griffons panting heavily. “See? I told you they could handle it,” Adam grinned before the king glared at him causing the elderly griffon to go silent.

“Rook and Baldur, I knew you two would return safely!” The king beamed as he landed in front of the two exhausted knights, “Did you find what we discussed?” he asked eagerly.

“We…we…got it…” Rook huffed as he got up, “had a few close calls along the way…but we got it and right from under the dragon lord’s nose to boot,” Rook puffed out his chest proudly before reaching down and pulling Baldur to a standing position, “Baldur’s got it in his bag!”

“Excellent work my loyal knights, I knew you two wouldn’t fail me,” Featherblight said with a snide grin as he held his claw out to Baldur who hesitantly reached into his bag and pulled out the stone, “Beautiful, now hand it over,” the king said a bit for forcefully. Baldur stared at the stone for a moment before snapping out of it and handing the stone to the king.

“Ya know, I thought it’d look a bit more…I dunno, magical” Rook said as he scratched his head.

“That’s because this is just a vessel to contain the stone’s power,” Featherblight explained as he tightened his grip on the stone causing more cracks to form before the rock crumbled away in flash of green light revealing a glistening red stone shaped like a dragon’s claw that gave off a green aura, “this is the dragon stone,” Feather blight flashed a menacing grin as the stone began glowing brighter and his menacing laughter echoed throughout the throne room as a bright flash filled the room. Once Baldur’s sight cleared up he was stunned to see King Featherblight had been transformed by the dragon magic. The king stood clad in dragon scale armor, his tail had been replaced by a more dragon looking tale and his eyes had slit pupils much like a dragon’s and his wings had been replaced by a pir of dragon wings, “Finally, with this power no creature will be able to stop me from expanding my empire across the world!” The king decreed in a booming voice.

“Wait a second, you said we were stopping a war, not starting one,” Rook yelled, “All those knights you sent to their doom…it was all just so you could have more power?”

“I don’t expect a simpleton like you to understand my motivations,” The king sneered, “But you have given me a most wonderful idea Captain Rook,” he snapped his fingers and in a flash of green fire a legion of skeletal griffons clad in the same armor as the king with their heads aflame, “even in death they shall serve me as an immortal army that never tires and together,” the king and his legion took flight, “we will burn down all who oppose us and a new empire shall rise from the ashes!”

“Maximus…Redwing…” Rook stared in disbelief at what used to be his comrades. A loud roar suddenly echoed from outside, shaking the entire castle.

“It seems you two were followed after all,” Featherblight glared at the two griffons, “no matter,” a section of the castle wall was torn away followed by the gargantuan Dragon lord Atlas poking his large head through the gap.

“Featherblight, you were warned to stay out of the Dragon Lands,” growled the dragon, “return what was stolen or face the consequences!”

“Very nice speech for a barbarous dragon,” Featherblight clapped sarcastically before being punched through the adjacent wall by the dragon lord and Baldur noticed that Dragon Stone had fallen to the floor. Featherblight blight flew back into the room and blasted the dragon lord with fire sending him flying before the king and his legion flew through the wall to continue the fight.

“Baldur we have to do something to stop this,” Rook yelled, “they’re fighting will destroy Griffonstone, and then the whole world is doomed,” Baldur couldn’t bring his body to move as he was filled with fear as he stared at the stone, “snap out of it,” Rook smacked Baldur on the back snapping out of his trance.

“I-if the magic of the stone did this to him…then maybe it can be used to stop him,” Baldur theorized before flying over to where the stone had fallen, “It’s our fault this is happening, so please let me fix this,” Baldur whispered before picking up the stone and being engulfed in green light. Meanwhile, Featherblight and his legion had managed to overwhelm Dragon Lord Atlas, knocking him out cold with one final blast of fire.

“I am all powerful,” the king boasted, “this is proof that not even the ‘mighty’ dragon lord can stop me, no creature can!”

“Not if we have anything to say about it,” Baldur declared as he flew out to the courtyard with green flames emanating from his eyes, “without the stones power, the dragon lands are dying, the land cry’s out in agony…and it demands justice,” Baldur pointed at the mad king.

“Woah, I didn’t think he had that in him,” Rook poked his head out from behind the rubble as Baldur began to command vines from the ground that wrapped themselves around the kings undead legion and began pulling them back to the throne room.

“What are you doing?” The king asked in shock, “I’m doing this for the good of all griffons,” he declared before a large vine wrapped around him and brought him face to face with Baldur. The king looked into the young griffon’s eyes and saw nothing but green flames, “what are you…?” He winced as the vine tightened its grip.

“I am, lifeblood of the dragons, and you are nothing but a power hungry tyrant,” Baldur said in a booing voice that wasn't his own as they moved back into the throne room. The vines bound the undead griffons to the walls of the room and the king bound to his throne, “you wish for an eternal empire,” Baldur raised his claws which held the stone that glowed brighter, “be careful what you wish for,” Baldur said coldly. A bright flash engulfed the room as Featherblight screamed and the green fire engulfed him and his legion. When the dust settled the undead griffons stood as stone statues still surrounded by vines. As for King Featherblight, he sat fused into his ornate l throne like a decoration with his golden crown still sat on his head. Baldur laid unconscious on the ground still clutching the dragon stone.

“You’re one heck of a knight after all Baldur,” Rook said as he surveyed Baldur’s handy work, “I’ll make sure this gets back to where it’s rightful place,” The dragon lord poked his head through the gap in the wall again, “We didn’t realize what we were doing until it was too late,” Rook held the stone out to the Dragon land, “I know it won’t make up for what we did, but consider this a peace offering on behalf of Griffonstone,” Dragon lord Atlas took the stone and turned to leave before looking back at Rook.

“It is a start,” Atlas bellowed before taking flight. After many peace talks with the Dragon Lord, Baldur and Rook managed to broker a peace between Griffonstone and the Dragon Lands which held for many moons. As for King Featherblight and his legion, the legend states that so long as the king's crown remains on his head, they will stay bound within the walls of castle Clawthorne for all eternity.