A Soldier's Life - 12 - Griffins are Real

Chapter 12: Griffins are Real

As we climbed the next mountain, Renna paused to relieve herself out of sight of the others. Delmar asked me to stay close to her, so I stood guard while the embarrassed young woman did her business. When she finished, I took my turn, choosing a different rock to hide behind. I decided to experiment with my dimensional space while I relieved myself. I tried to remove just a five-foot cylinder of the stone I was facing. It took time to visualize the shape correctly, and then...

I stumbled back, groaning loudly and dizzy, accidentally urinating on myself a bit. I looked up to see a five-foot round opening extending ten feet into the mountain. My aether was drained, similar to what happened when I killed the bulette. I surmised the aether investment depended on the mass of the object. Since I did not have enough aether, it simply closed my space, the object captured.

The edge of the hole was extremely sharp. I also now had a large stone cylinder in my dimensional space. Would it take all my aether to remove it? Or was the drain mostly from removing the object? I had no aether to test right now, so I finished up, cleaned up as best I could, and rejoined Renna, who was bright red and avoided eye contact. Three men had waited for us, and we caught up to the main group.

As the sun set that day, we set up camp on the rocky ground beneath an overhang to shield us from the elements above. I had the night shift guard rotation with Mateo and Felix. We drew the worst shift—right in the middle of the night, breaking up our continuous sleep. We heard some rocks tumble down from high above, but nothing disturbed our camp during the night. In the morning, Mage Castile addressed the company.

“The nest is about three miles toward the rising sun. Stay vigilant. Griffins attack when they feel threatened in their domain. We will handle them one at a time. I will ground them with shadow chains, and we will attack them together. With their wings restrained, they are still fast creatures and will pounce on the next closest target in front of them. Stick in formation, and be ready to receive them, and if possible, surround them.” She concluded her brief speech and gave the order to march.

I was placed in the middle of the company with Renna for protection. The morning was cold, but my aches and pains were subsiding as my body adapted. Renna was quiet as we walked in silence. Konstantin, the forward scout, found a large game trail that seemed to head in the direction we wanted. We stayed on the trail, and eventually, the summit where the nest was located came into view.

The company halted at a cave. Konstantin spoke animatedly with Castile. Assuming he had already scouted the cave, I moved closer to listen.

“Do you think he entered?” Castile queried Konstantin with irritation.

“The hard rock leaves little to interpret. They definitely camped at the entrance. They could have confronted the griffins or went into the dungeon. We need to kill the griffins, they are a menace either way. When we find study the nest, we will know more of the boy’s fate,” Konstantin shrugged.

Delmar swore, “What the fuck is a dungeon doing out here, anyway? How is there even enough aether to feed it?”

Mage Castile remained calm. “The ley lines run deep and sometimes bleed out in unusual places. The question is, where did the baron’s son go?”

Delmar spat on the ground. “The dungeon would have been suicide. I could see that idiot Justin trying it. I say we return and tell his father he died in a wild dungeon.” Castile arched an eyebrow at her lieutenant. He threw up his hands in defeat. “Fuck. It is an unknown dungeon. Someone is going to die, Castile.” It was stated more as fact than a complaint.

Castile considered before speaking to the company. “We will camp outside the dungeon entrance, and we will do as planned. We will kill the griffins, search the nest, and look for signs of baron’s son,” Mage Castile commanded with authority. She looked at her two lieutenants. “If we don’t find the remains of the baron’s party, I will consider entering the dungeon to look there.”

Adrian nodded, and Delmar grunted unhappily. Orders were sent down the line to enter the cave. As we entered, torches were lit, and we settled in. About seventy feet into the cave, it ended with a flat, black, oily wall. The area before the chamber showed signs of an abandoned campsite, with seven single-person tents, a large fire ring, bedrolls inside the tents, and some backpacks. Delmar swore once more and muttered, “Those harpy fuckers definitely went into the dungeon.”

The tents were larger and nicer than ours—so were all the bedrolls. Some legionnaires began claiming the better equipment. I moved to a tent near the black wall and tossed my pack inside. Mateo was nearby and smirked, “You can definitely take it, Eryk, as long as the original owners don’t show up. Just realize that tent and bedroll weigh twice as much as your legionnaire-issued gear.”

Renna set up her tent next to mine and seemed a bit shy about it. My new tent was definitely big enough for two and had flaps for privacy—but maybe I was being too optimistic.

As everyone settled in, I asked, “So, what do you know about that?” I pointed at the wall in front of Renna, which appeared to be slick with oil.

She paused unpacking her gear. “Just what I heard from stories. I grew up in a small village, and my education so far has focused on learning spell forms and how to cast spells.”

Renna sat on a stone to stare at the surface. “In the bard songs, it is said dungeons are concentrated aether given sapience. The ley lines that run beneath the earth carry vast amounts of aether, and the aether seeps out and pools together. When it accumulates in an area, the aether mutates creatures and forms passages and rooms. The mutated monsters are very strong. This—” she pointed to the black wall “—is how they attract the adventurers.”

“That bard was a fool,” Delmar said, interrupting her. “Dungeons are alive, but it is not aether that birthed them, but something darker.”

“So the dungeons are alive?” I asked Delmar. “Should we be camping so close to it? Is that the entrance?”

Adrian joined us, giving Delmar a look that told him to stop scaring the new guy. Delmar stormed off and Adrian sat next to Renna to remove his boots. “Yes, that is the entrance, Eryk. Only people can enter and exit it. The dungeon prevents its host from leaving. Dungeons are alive, but the creatures that enter are killed, absorbed, and then repurposed. Dungeons only appear where ley lines intersect. This one appears to be an anomaly as I don’t think there are any ley lines out here.” Adrian tipped his boots, and a few pebbles hit the ground.

Castile joined us as well, standing before the oily wall in intense study. “The ley lines run deep, and not all have been mapped, Adrian. I can feel a faint density of aether in the air, but it may be coming from the entrance itself.”

I pulled out some food and started eating, content to listen. Adrian looked to Castile. “The monsters inside dungeons are strong. I agree with Delmar, and he has delved dungeons before. Only idiots travel into dungeons not knowing what is inside. Let the Adventurers Guild come and scout it.”

Castile seemed bothered by Adrian’s hesitation to enter the dungeon. “Don’t worry, Adrian. If we go in, you can stay outside and guard the camp.” That jab made Adrian flinch, as it was clearly a subtle rebuke.

Castile then turned to Renna and me. “Dungeons are both blessings and curses,” she said in a scholarly tone. “Stepping through that surface will teleport you deep in the earth and into a dungeon. Dungeons can stretch for miles. Whatever consciousness controls them lures adventurers with the promise of treasures. For those with a collector, the creatures are more likely to yield an essence, and the dungeon itself offers rewards, typically precious metals or artifacts it has created.” This concept was not entirely unfamiliar—akin to the mechanics of a video game from Earth.

I nibbled on some salty jerky and cheese before asking, “What does a dungeon gain from luring adventurers? Can it be killed? Stopped?”

“Yes, a dungeon can be killed,” Castile responded. “It’s possible to destroy a dungeon’s core if you can find it. Usually, the Adventurers Guild assesses a dungeon’s value before taking such drastic measures.” She stood up, continuing, “When someone perishes within a dungeon, it absorbs their equipment and remains, gaining strength and expanding. A clever dungeon balances the allure with the level of danger. Finish your food. We have enough daylight to approach the griffin nest. Don’t concern yourself with that,” she gestured at the oily surface.

With orders issued, six men remained behind. That left Castile and Renna, along with seventeen legionnaires. Free from heavy gear, I carried a spear and had my short swords strapped to my back for easy access. We moved along the game trail, and about an hour later, Konstantin called out, “On the sun, it’s diving!”

We all turned and squinted upward. Something massive was rapidly approaching in the sun’s glare. I ducked behind a rock and aimed my spear skyward. The griffin, boasting a thirty-foot wingspan, targeted Mateo. Its massive talons stretched out menacingly. Castile quickly cast some wispy black lines that zipped toward the creature, ensnaring its body and wings.

The griffin screeched in fury, struggling against the bindings as it crashed to the ground, slamming into someone I couldn’t see. Commands were shouted in the chaos.

“Attack!”

“I need a healing potion!”

“Encircle it!”

“Keep watch out for the other one!”

Realizing the potion call was for me, I grabbed the requested potion from storage and dashed to the downed man. Amid the violent clash nearby, I focused solely on administering the potion. The man’s bones visibly shifted back into place.

A minute later, Castile knelt beside me, and I looked up to see the griffin bloodied, in its dying moments, calling out for its mate with a pained shriek. “Give him a second potion,” Castile instructed me, then stood to survey the skies.

Someone pointed upwards. The other griffin was visible, but it did not attack. Instead, it landed in its nest on the summit and swiftly flew off with two eggs in its talons. Delmar cursed, “Stupid birds are smarter than they should be. There goes our mission bonus.”

Castile appeared unfazed and began harvesting the essence from the griffin corpse. The resultant essence sphere was larger to any I had previously seen and a deep red color. “A major constitution essence.” She looked to Adrian, who nodded at Linus’s back. “Linus, this is for you,” she said, tossing it to our medic. It was intriguing to watch how Castile interacted with Adrian and Delmar. She took advice from both, but Adrian’s words seemed to have more weight.

Adrian looked at me. “There could be more eggs. Eryk, empty your space and check the nest. Konstantin, accompany him.”

It seemed logical, given my dimensional space was ideal for safely transporting the eggs. Still, why was I volunteered? What if the griffin returned while I was in its nest? As I cleared the legion’s property from my space, Konstantin nudged me forward impatiently. It appeared that as the new guy was expected to face any danger first. The climb to the nest was arduous, with Konstantin insisting I lead. At least the scout had a short bow and small quiver of arrows.

The griffins had chosen a steep peak for their nest, forcing me to learn free climbing on the spot. Ascending was manageable, but the thought of descending was daunting. I reached the nest and discovered two eggs amid numerous cracked bones. Even with the wind, the scent of death permeated the nest. I quickly stowed an egg into my dimensional space, leaving the other to be seen.

Konstantin climbed up shortly after, “Looks like we got lucky. Hopefully, the griffin didn’t abandon a dead embryo. Can you store it?” I complied, securing the second egg in my space. The scout nodded approvingly.

As Konstantin sorted through the nest, tossing debris over the edge, he eventually concluded, “No human remains. At least three horses, but no humans. They tend to strip the clothes off people before consuming the flesh and use it to line their nests. This pair hasn’t feasted on humans. I’ll see you back at the cave.”

He then expertly descended the near-vertical incline we had just climbed. The scout was a bit of a prick. I took a moment in the nest, pulling food and water from my dimensional space, before cautiously following him down. My descent was significantly slower than Konstantin’s, but fortunately, the other griffin did not return.

Hours later, at the base, the harvested griffin was stripped clean. Konstantin had waited for me, having likely watched my slow descent so he didn’t abandon me as I had thought. “Looks like griffin steaks tonight. Come on, boy, they should have saved us the best cuts for doing all the work.” We headed towards the cave, and even before arriving, the tantalizing scent of BBQ filled the air.

© Copyrighted 2024, 2025 by AlwaysRollsAOne

No permission is granted to translate, copy, or repost this original work of fiction. If you are reading this on a site other than my Patreon, it has been stolen without my permission and violates the DMCA. Remember, this work is the result of my creative effort and is protected by copyright law. Removing or altering this notification acknowledges that you are aware that you are violating the DMCA. No permission is granted for my original work to be used to train AI.