The setting sun turned the sky red. With his head hanging down, Mr. Gawain sent his horse past the bodies wrapped in canvases. The family who got the fire directly on their home did not stand a chance. As a result, five deaths were to be regretted. Several people were in the infirmary with burns and smoke poisoning. It looked like most of them would survive. Lord Gawain knew the nature of the dragons all too well. He was aware that this was an accident, possibly caused by a fire coldness.. If this had been a targeted dragon attack on his people, would he be happy to have five people left alive. He nodded at the priest. The dead were too badly burned to recognize them. That's why a pit was dug for the unfortunate peasant family to bury everyone together. The priest was blessing the ground. Alan turned his gaze away from the scene. He had helped mountains the bodies. His stomach turned from it. The smell of charred human flesh was apparently burned in his nose for good. He had his mind set to zero. His hair, clothes and face were covered with soot sweeps. He was in the saddle of his fox stallion. The noble animal was as stubborn as its rider. Because of this, the master's squire had got it under his wing. His gaze found Thomas, who seemed to have forgotten the practice fight. The chance that the two young men would ever agree with each other was minimal. Lord Gawain led his horse back to the squires and did Alan sign to come next to him. The young man sent without crushing his rider beside that of his master. His attention wasn't quite there. In his mind, he remembered the direction in which he had seen the dragon disappear. “People of Middleton!” Mr. Gawain began his speech. It became silent, after which he continued: “A great pain has been inflicted on you! Five loved ones burned alive by the monster! Many of you are homeless and lost your cattle because of this cowardly attack! I promise you this will not go unpunished!” A mumbling resounded. Lord Gawain kept silent for a moment. He had to choose his words right. Storming his neighbor's castle just like that wouldn't be a good idea. He knew the black dragon Bronwyn would be waiting for him.. She was able to roast his army alive. Her master, Lord Melchior, would make no effort to stop her. It would be a pure suicide mission. He got another idea. “We're going to track down and kill the monster!” he promised. His desperate people began to cheer. The masses did not know better. Alan listened to it with one ear. His focus was on taking out the dragon. Perhaps this would alleviate the suffering of the black burnt bodies he had found among the debris. They almost fell apart when he tried to pick them up with some other squires. He realized there were three kids there.. The corpse he was holding was so much smaller than himself, he cooked internally.. The dragon had to die! He had to die by his sword. The squire didn't care that he wasn't even knighted yet. That Thomas, too, was silent earlier, did not come to him. The moon shone in the sky. Almost everyone slept. Only Alan did not care about the guards on the walkway and the towers. He had saddled his horse and planned to seek the dragon. It took him too long against Lord Gawain to call his knights together for this, if he intended to do so.. More and more Alan began to doubt. He noticed that his master kept his face strikingly smooth when he observed the havoc on his land. “Psst, you're not going without me!” Shocked, Alan turned around. Now he understood why the horses were restless. He wasn't alone. “Archie,” he hissed. The griffin emerged from behind a pillar. He was hiding in the stables, knowing what his master was up to. “Because of you the horses are calmer,” said the griffin. “You know you have a gift to be with animals...” “It's called magic and I don't want to hang. I risk hiding enough with you here.” “I'm going with you. It's been an eternity since I met another dragon.” “Well, I've seen what it's capable of, and I'm certainly not going to let him live long.” Archibald squeezed his eyes to crevices. The way he looked at his master made Alan feel uncomfortable. He may be the last Gryffin master and have the ability to communicate with animals, he did not get hold of the stubborn griffin. “No, you don't believe that,” Archibald sighed after a few minutes of silence. “Why not? ” “Because you don't want war. Then more people are going to die. You weren't there when...” “Stop rubbing under my nose that I wasn't there!” Alan had raised his voice a little more than he planned. He heard a guard approaching. If he was caught in the stables, some waved. If he was caught with a griffin, that meant his death.. The watchman took a look at the stables. All horses stood quietly. He feared earlier that they would be afraid of his torch and walked through. He didn't notice that there were two figures hidden behind a pile of straw bales. A mysterious smile appeared on Archibald's face. He had taken Alan to this hideout just in time. The griffin knew all the corners of the castle to play hide and seek. Relieved Alan breathed deep. He got up, knocked the straw off his clothes, and decided it was best to lead his horse to the tunnel, to escape through the secret corridors. That was a secret his master had once entrusted to him.. Even most of the soldiers had no idea how to get there. He grabbed the reins of his saddled horse and led the animal through the dark corridors. Normally, it would panic by the fire of the torch holding his boss in his other hand.. The fox stallion trusted Alan and remained calm. The young man did not want to dwell on the fact that he was using magic. He was aware that Archibald was following him.. The corridor was too narrow to walk with two next to a horse. Actually, in certain places the animal was more behind him. Alan's heart was beating in his throat. He had to trust Archibald. He didn't stop him, as he would have expected earlier. What did the griffin put in his shield? The stars sparkled in the dark blue sky. The moon shone like a bright sickle between. Everything stayed quiet. No alarm was raised. When Alan came up at the edge of the forest, he realized that his absence had not yet been noticed. He decided to take advantage of that opportunity. Without crushing, he climbed into the saddle and urged his stallion to go into trot. He looked around. His heart almost skipped when he saw a figure in the sky. Archibald had stretched his wings. The griffin could fly, but was not strong enough to carry a human. Alan wanted to remember that he had once flown around the back of the griffin as a child. When he got bigger, he started to get too heavy for that.. His friend with fur and feathers had explained to him that only dragons were big and strong enough to transport people. Dragons. That was it! After his journey into the desolate tunnels, he almost forgot why he undertook this journey. He had to find the dragon who killed a peasant family. If Lord Gawain and his knights were to embark on this journey, chances were that Lord Melchior sent a real dragon attack. Then the consequences would be much worse. His mother had often pressed to him that the only reason Lord Gawain had spared her was because Bronwyn the Black Dragon was still alive. It was powerful enough to rework even the reinforced bust to ashes. The dragon that had now attacked was smaller and brown. It wasn't Melchior's dragon Bronwyn. Alan noticed that his master Gawain turned pale when her name was mentioned. Yeah, Alan, think! Do you really want to kill that dragon, or do you want to know the truth. That's why you need to leave now. Archibald's voice haunted through his head. He followed the griffin that flew out before him. The flight of the fabulous animal was much faster than the trot of his horse, which he turned into a canter. Still, the griffin was faster in the air. I'm still holding in! Only a unicorn can trot faster than I can fly. Archibald's voice continued to challenge him in his head. Telepathic contact had become stronger over the years. Alan sometimes complained. The griffin could thrive on loose. Is it a coincidence that your mother died when you turned 12 and became a squire? Alan did not want to dwell on this question. The tears rolled out of his eyes. The last memory he had of his mother was that she was lying on the bed. She was pale and weakened. Lord Gawain told him she was sick. In the middle of the night, the disease had found her. Alan visited her that morning. He grabbed her hand. She felt colder than usual. He squeezed. She squeezed back, after which her grip fell. She gasped for breath with great difficulty, as if she wanted to tell him something. The words didn't come out. That was the last time Alan saw her.

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Griffin Claws and Dragon Fire: Chapter 4 | Martine77 (yoo.rs)

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