No Relief

"Your husband sure is taking his sweet time," Alaron looked at the sun impatiently.

Mairwen chewed her lip. "He will be back any moment. If not I will go look for him." 

Through the trees, a figure came dashing towards them.

"There you are, Renat! We were beginning to think--" Mairwen saw her husband's face and paused her chiding. 

"Go, go, go!" He screamed.

Eira, who had been sitting beside a tree, moved protectively in front of her mistress. "Where?" 

The princess screamed. "Behind you!"

Alaron barely had time to react to his sister's warning. The world around them was suddenly filled with feathers and claws. Not one but two griffins dove in to attack the group of six.

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After leaving the tunnels of the gnomes days before, the group had been making exceptionally slow progress. In order to speed things along, Mairwen had elected that an advance party be sent.

The twins, Renat, Eira, and the two elves with them had gone ahead to scout a safe path towards the Mystic Spires. 

The first days of doing this had been fruitful. With fewer numbers, they were able to stay undetected by big dangers and return to help the larger party avoid confrontations. 

On this third day, unfortunately, their luck ran out. Renat pulled away from the group to relieve himself. He had done so enough times now in the land of magic that he did not think much of the excursion. The scientist was quite curious to study all of the oddities around him, including the strange yellow and black flower in front of him on the ground.

"Hello there!"

He leaned over to look at the bloom when a needle as long as the man's arm poked out of the center. In response to the words, two large, wiry wings spread from the bud. It was no bud at all. It was a bug. The hornet's legs unfolded next, bringing the striped body up to its full height. The stinger brushed dangerously close to Renat's thigh as he backed up quickly.

A dark head, with two antennae that he had mistaken for a flower's stem, spun around and faced him with quiet fury. 

"Uh oh..." No longer interested in his scientific pursuits, Renat sprinted as fast as he could away from the insect. "Why are things always so huge here?!" 

A buzz filled the air, making the man quicken his pace. If that thing caught up to him, there was no way that he would survive that needle in his back. 

He saw a thicket of brush and dove headlong into it. The branches scratched at his skin, but that was far better than the poisonous barb trying to skewer him. The buzzing neared, hovered, and, finding no one to sting, headed on through the forest. 

Renat breathed a sigh of relief. 'That was close!' 

Deciding to wait a moment before venturing out into the open again, Renat made himself comfortable. He shifted in the brush, trying to find a place he could lean back. His hand brushed up against something smooth. 

'Huh?' He pushed back the branches to reveal a pearly, white stone. Except it couldn't be a stone. It was warm.

'No...' Despite the warmth radiating through his hand, Renat suddenly felt chilled to the bone. 

Trying to avoid a hornet-like creature, Renat had stumbled into something much worse. A nest. A low sound between a snarl and a squawk rumbled through the carefully woven netting of the branches. 

Peeking up, the scientist saw his worst fear coming true. Not one, but two aquiline heads were staring at him with an intense ire. 

Although griffins were normally solitary creatures, two had come together until their offspring hatched. They were none too pleased with the idea that someone might try to take their ultimate treasure: their child.

'And I thought the hornet was bad!' Renat cursed his bad luck.

He needed to think fast. The first griffin leapt forward and snapped at Renat, sending twigs and branches flying. The only reason the scientist was not cleaved in two was that he was close enough to the egg for the father to be careful. 

'Time to go!' Slipping underneath a big log, Renat ran as hard as his legs would carry him. He never thought he would miss being a wolf, but just now he longed for the speed of his canine feet. 

Behind him, the large log splintered and cracked as the male griffin bounded forward. 

'Down!' Renat went against his natural bent and dropped to the ground. His hunch had been right. A whoosh of air passed over his head as sharp talons clamped down on where his head had been. 

The griffin took to the air quickly joined by his mate. 

Renat scrambled into the thick trees, hoping to either lose the griffins or at least delay their next attack. He needed to warn the others. 

His mad dash left him winded, but as soon as he saw the others in his view, he began to yell, "Go, go, go!" 

The group seemed confused, but not for long. The male griffin dove from above at Alaron. The Guardian managed to get out of the way thanks to his sister's warning. 

Now, the cohort was locked in battle with an angry mother and father. 

No amount of coaxing or explaining was going to convince the pair of the human's innocence. They were out for blood. 

Instead of the Guardian, the talons of the male griffon took a clod of dirt into the air. A spray of pebbles fell over the group like rain.

Coming out of the roll, Alaron brandished his sword to block the incoming attack of the female griffin. She took to the sky with her back paw receiving a gash for her effort. She shrieked, temporarily deafening the humans. 

"What did you do?!" The Guardian chided an unhearing Renat. "My ears are bleeding!" 

When both men finally were able to lower the ringing enough to listen again, Lilith was screaming orders. 

"We cannot fight them! Get to cover!" 

Mairwen had lifted her bow, but Lilith caught her in time. The elf pulled the princess along, bringing the others with her in the process. Getting out of the open, the six dove back into the trees looking for anywhere that the griffins might not be able to reach. 

Unable to attack from above, the parents tucked their wings and landed. Their muscular bodies were fast and agile, but the creatures became more cautious as they prowled. 

The scouting party took advantage of every second they got. They scanned the woody terrain until Eira spotted a crevice in the ground. Someone or something had split the earth at some point. It might have been a battle or I creature could have done it to make their home. 

"There!" Eira pointed. 

"Good enough!" Lilith agreed. 

"What if something is still living there?" Renat had already hidden from a creature today only to find a much more devastating one in return. 

"Do you have a better idea?" Nath asked. He was holding up the rear and could see they had just been spotted again. "Then go!"

Alaron took point, sliding down into the narrow fissure with his sword drawn. It was around one and a half times deeper than he was tall and barely wide enough for him to turn around. 

Mairwen and Eira followed quickly after. Then Renat and finally the two elves. 

It was not a moment too soon. 

"Get down!" Lilith pushed the human's head beside her. 

The ground around them shook as the griffins bounded over the hole. Claws stretched down, raking at the dirt. Lilith had pushed Eira's head just enough to escape the woman's scalp from being slashed in two. 

Another talon and then another pressed down into the crevice, doing as much damage as they could with each strike. The six crouched low in their hideout, trying to keep as far from the razor-sharp nails as they could. 

Silt, grass, and remnants of snow poured down from above. The princess felt herself being covered and panicked. She would be buried alive! 

Renat seemed to have the same feeling, for he covered their bodies with his cloak to make a pocket of air for them to breathe. Dirt continued to crash down for what seemed like an eternity. 

Shrieking mixed with the shaking of the ground for so long that Mairwen thought it would never end.

And then, just when she thought she could stand it no longer. Just when she was sure the world was going to crush her. Just when she was ready to give up and surrender to her fate...

Silence.