Ambrosios
Griffons
Disciple Griffon
"And from the ashes, life begins anew."
Posts: 150
|
Post by Ambrosios on Oct 23, 2012 17:10:19 GMT -5
Hawthorne casually stepped off of the airship, descending onto the port jutting out over Royal Rocks below him. He had spent the last several days in the woodlands below the mountain, his trip not coinciding with the Wind Festival by chance. Most griffons would laugh at the idea of intentionally missing the festival. It was a griffon tradition! For Hawthorne though, all it meant was busier streets and more noise, especially with the rumor that more ponies would be arriving from Equestria this year.
So he had decided to skip out, at least this once. After all, it wasn't like the festival wouldn't happen again, and by taking a break he might even appreciate it more the next time. So instead of staying within the city to "engage" in the festivities, he had decided to take a short trip to woods and meadows below. At least down there he would be able to enjoy himself.
The griffon smiled contentedly as he reached the end of the gangplank, satisfied with the time he had spent. The excursion had indeed been quite enjoyable. He had even filled up another of his journals. The notes and sketch-filled collection would soon be alongside several others like it, all ordered neatly by date in a cabinet. Hawthorne turned off the dock and towards the rest of Royal Rocks, deciding to walk the rest of the way home rather than fly.
The unviersity had been let out for a few days so the students and faculty could attend the festival, but now that their break was drawing to a close, Hawthorne would have to-
Wait a minute. Was that smoke? The griffon came to a halt as a blast of burnt city entered his nostrils. Yes, that was definitely smoke. And looking ahead, Hawthorne could see more of it. A lot of it. It seemed some of the buildings had burned down. The professor decided to make a detour, walking around the smoldering wreckage rather than through it.
Except he was finding that this area of smoldering wreckage was in fact quite large. And as he got closer and closer to where he would eventually need to turn, Hawthorne began to get more and more nervous. His house wasn't too far now from where he was standing. Eventually he made a turn into the area of ruin, scanning through the smoke for where his house should be.
And sure enough, there it was, or what was left of it. The building had collapsed in on itself, leaving behind a messy pile of burnt wreckage. Hawthorne stood still for several seconds, staring at the debris in stupefaction, before stepping forward. Almost everything in the house was either burnt, buried, or destroyed. He stepped cautiously through the debris, looking for anything that might have survived. The only thing still standing was a severely charred cabinet in what used to be a small office area. Inside were the charred remains of his previous journals.
Hawthorne approached the cabinet, solemnly putting his new journal in place alongside the old burnt ones before taking a step back. A few moments later the cabinet collapsed in front of him, apparently unable to handle the small weight that had been added. The griffon let out a groan, rubbing his eyes from beneath his glasses. He wasn't sure whether to be upset or just glad he hadn't been here when any of this happened.
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Nov 16, 2012 2:13:44 GMT -5
"Oi, Geoff, you just came 'round? You 'ave no idea what's went down 'ere!" a small griffon piped up from outside the house, hopping around. He was a short hawk and puma hybrid, jumping around excitedly. "So we was all sitting around watching that pony concert right? Then this really smokin' pegasus lady she comes on stage starts singing all about war and whatnot, then out of nowhere fireballs right outta the sky geoff! Came crashing all round our 'ears! Was RUST PHOENIX, crazy innit?"
The griffon practically shouted with excitement, "Then all the warriors all go up try to fight it and it just kept throwing 'em off. I heard some died, that's just 'orrible..." The griffon bowed slowly, "Just be glad you weren't 'ere. Looks like you could use a talon cleaning up though. They's cleaning up the rich areas first y'know, but I can 'elp you!"
|
|
Ambrosios
Griffons
Disciple Griffon
"And from the ashes, life begins anew."
Posts: 150
|
Post by Ambrosios on Nov 16, 2012 21:18:07 GMT -5
The voice of a short griffon standing outside Hawthorne's house caught the professor's attention. "A rust phoenix?" Hawthorne asked, looking around at the other ruined buildings nearby. It certainly looked like the work of a rust phoenix, though one deciding to up and attack the city seemed a bit... random. Regardless, if this was true, Hawthorne really was lucky to not have been here for the festival.
"And thank you for the offer. I suppose the best thing to do right now is just look for anything relatively intact. I'm not sure much else can be done beyond that." Hawthorne was grateful for the help, but he was doubtful their endeavor would prove very successful. And after the two had finished looking through what was left of his house, he was still going to need a place to sleep tonight. "I don't suppose there's been much in the way of arrangements made for those in a predicament similar to my own." At worst the professor could spend a few nights in a cheap hotel. The idea was beginning to seem like more and more of a likely reality.
"And has there been much word as to why a rust phoenix decided to attack the city?" he continued, turning over and moving aside some chunks of wall as he spoke. "In all my time here I can't remember such an incident occurring. As far as I know rust phoenixes don't usually attack griffon settlements. Unless it had somehow gone frenzied." The griffon leaned down to pick up a broken lantern, examining it for a few seconds before setting it aside with the rest of the wreckage. "Sorry if I'm being inquisitive. I just got back to the city and all this is still new to me."
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Nov 17, 2012 1:16:46 GMT -5
"We 'ave no idea why 'e up and attacked us!" As Hawthorne turned his back on the smaller griffon, the latter flashed a grin. He stalked Hawthorne as he worked and when he saw the opportunity, he drew out a small, silver coated dagger from his coat. "It ain't no problem Geoff, ask all the questions you'd like!" The griffon said, grinning maliciously, lifting his arm just about to strike at the back of Hawthorne's neck, as a big chunk of the ceiling collapsed, crushing and burying the now deceased griffon beneath it.
The dagger however, flew from his hand and hit Hawthorne directly in the back of his head with its hilt, delivering a painful blunt blow to the back of the griffon's head.
|
|
Ambrosios
Griffons
Disciple Griffon
"And from the ashes, life begins anew."
Posts: 150
|
Post by Ambrosios on Nov 17, 2012 1:59:15 GMT -5
"Figures," Hawthorne thought to himself as the other griffon answered his question about the rust phoenix. Everyone else in the city probably knew as little about the situation as he did. The incident was rather unorthodox, and to reasonably expect anyone to have an explanation was a bit far fetch'd.
Bending over to brush aside more rubble, Hawthorne froze to a halt at the sound of stone cracking behind him. It was followed a split second later by a chunk of his ceiling falling behind him, as well as an object hitting him in the back of the head (probably part of said ceiling). The professor let out a groan, grabbing the back of his head and rubbing the now-throbbing area where he had been struck. "You alright?" he asked, turning around to look at the other griffon. "I hope that didn't-"
It had. Hawthorne stared wide-eyed at the now motionless griffon trapped underneath the collapsed ceiling chunk. He slowly inched forward, peering over the broken slab and trying to look at the flattened griffon underneath from various angles. "Oh, this is not good. This is not good. Not good, not good, not good." The griffon looked at his surroundings panicked-ly, entirely unsure of what to do. Should he go get help? The griffon looked deceased, but he had to tell someone. Who though?
Frantically looking around, something on the ground had caught the professor's eye. It was a small, silver-coated dagger. Hawthorne eyed it curiously, pausing his agitation to pick it up and examine it in his talon. That hadn't been here before. He looked over at the crushed griffon, then back at the dagger. Had he been...? No. No, no, no, no, no. Maybe the dagger did belong to the smaller griffon, but he could have just pulled it out to... okay, it looked bad. It looked like the griffon had attempted (and almost succeeded in) stabbing the unassuming professor while he was busy scrounging through the wreckage of his home. But that wasn't necessarily what had happened, even if it was probably what had happened.
Hawthorne spent several more seconds staring at the crushed griffon before finally looking around him, just to make sure there was no one nearby. The professor gulped before kneeling down to search through what the griffon had on him. He was looking for anything that would identify who the griffon was. Hawthorne would still need to tell someone about this, and being able to identify the griffon would provide much more useful information to the necessary individuals.
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Nov 17, 2012 2:21:35 GMT -5
While examining the contents of the dead griffon's pockets, Hawthorne.found a peculiar note, unfolding it he noticed it was the second page of what appeared to be a two page message.
"... Has to be in one of his journals, or on him. Replace all of his journals and burn down his house, make it look like the phoenix did it. Bring them to me and then stick around and wait for him to come back. Once he does, finish the job and bury him in the rubble. They're too busy to start suspecting anything. If you fail, you better start flying and never look back. - T"
It appeared that the Griffon also had a strange coin of some sort, a token perhaps. Though it had an unfamiliar symbol of a coiled sky serpent with a lightning backdrop. No one outside seemed to have noticed, or cared about the small collapse in Hawthorne's house. Most probably didn't even know something foul went on.
|
|
Ambrosios
Griffons
Disciple Griffon
"And from the ashes, life begins anew."
Posts: 150
|
Post by Ambrosios on Nov 17, 2012 2:44:43 GMT -5
"Oh good, a note," Hawthorne thought as he pulled out a folded over piece of paper. This would definitely help in finding out who this griffon was.
His stomach quickly dropped after reading the first line, however, and only continued sinking as he read the rest of the paper. The smaller griffon had been attempting to stab him. And all for something in his journals? What was in there that was so important to someone? They were all just filled with notes and sketches. Sure they were important to him, and maybe to anyone else who was interested in plants, but were those really the type of griffons who would burn down someone's house and send an assassin out to kill someone?
The only other item of interest Hawthorne could find was some sort of coin. The professor quickly stuffed the items, along with the dagger, into his bag before scampering out onto the street. Now he needed to tell the authorities. Arson, theft, attempted murder, and whoever was responsible was probably still looking to finish the job. The professor quickly ascended from the ground, taking off and looking for the closest griffon who could report the incident to. The sooner the authorities handled this, the better.
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Nov 17, 2012 5:06:14 GMT -5
And he did find someone, one of the military griffons aiding in the excavations and relief efforts to the griffons. A Cougar-Hawk griffon with a stern, weary face, despite the fact he was possibly younger than Hawthorne, he seemed far older due to great amounts of fatigue. He wobbled slightly as Hawthorne approached him.
"Sorry," He apologized, "Been up too long." As Hawthorne showed him the note he found he seemed unimpressed, "So you think this guy's tried to kill you? Sounds like a mugger, or exploiter to me. This note is probably in case he got caught. T hmm? Probably made up, or code or... let me see that!" The griffon said, bobbing his head quickly and pecking the coin out of Hawthorne's talon, spitting it in his own and examining it.
"That... that is bad." He said, presenting the coin. "The sky serpent, with the lightning... that emblem belongs to Tempest, a former Air Marshal, and incidentally, Admiral Tesla's sister." He ran his talon over the coin, feeling it, observing it with his keen eyes. "There's no mistaking it, that's a token of the Tempest Triad. Best to leave Royal Rocks friend." The military griffon said, handing him back the token and patting him comfortingly on the back. "Heck, best leave the Griffon Kingdom. Not sure even that would work."
|
|
Ambrosios
Griffons
Disciple Griffon
"And from the ashes, life begins anew."
Posts: 150
|
Post by Ambrosios on Nov 17, 2012 14:55:56 GMT -5
Hawthorne had quickly found such an individual, a tired-looking military griffon aiding in the relief efforts. The professor presented the items, explaining everything as succinctly as he could. The griffon didn't seem too unconcerned, blaming the incident on a random attempt at a mugging. That is, until he saw the coin. Hawthorne was completely unprepared for the guard's warning.
"B-but you're going to send someone after her, right? I can't just leave the Griffon Kingdom forever. This is my home!" What had he done to get himself in so deep? Why did someone this menacing suddenly have it in for him? "Surely there's an obligation to stop someone who's targeting random griffons. Criminals like this are supposed to be dealt with, aren't they?"
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Nov 18, 2012 0:49:37 GMT -5
"Good luck with that. We've been trying to capture her for years. We don't know where she is, nor how big her organization is. To be fair? They don't even do anything criminal. Well nothing we can link to them even circumstantially. They're like ghosts, operating behind the shadows. If this token is genuine, well, it's probably the first ever link we had between a criminal act and them. Of course he could have just forged it and kept it on his person in order to plea for a bargain as an informant, in case he got caught that is." The military griffon said.
"Though if I were you, I wouldn't take that chance. I'm sorry but the most we could do for you is dig around your house, maybe try to identify that griffon who tried to attack you. I seriously doubt we'll find anything though. They definitely won't put you under protection. I say just lay low, prefferably in another country. Not like you have a home here now anymore."
The Griffon looked genuinely sympathetic, but he made it absolutely clear that no one was really going to help Hawthorne. "Though I suppose, if this does turn out to be true, and I'm the one to obtain the evidence... hmm... Tell you what, stick with me for a while, we'll see if anything happens."
|
|
Ambrosios
Griffons
Disciple Griffon
"And from the ashes, life begins anew."
Posts: 150
|
Post by Ambrosios on Nov 18, 2012 2:22:37 GMT -5
The military griffon's response hadn't been what Hawthorne wanted to hear. Not only did this Tempest want him dead, but she also had made herself nigh-impossible to catch. So that was it then. He was going to have leave the kingdom all because some elusive Griffon he'd never even heard of had wanted something in his journals and now wanted him dead. The other griffon was also right about getting protection. There was no way the military was going to waste resources on a single, random griffon like himself.
With all that said, Hawthorne was grateful the griffon had allowed him to stay close for the time being. No would-be assassin would attempt another go at his life while a military griffon was watching, especially if the whole intent of this group was to remain secretive. He knew the situation wasn't going to be sustained for very long, but for the time being he didn't have to worry about getting stabbed every other second. "Thank you," Hawthorne said. "It's greatly appreciated. And in the meantime I can try and be useful. I'm sure an extra talon would certainly help the clean-up effort."
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Nov 18, 2012 2:41:38 GMT -5
"What do you even do? What's this they're looking for in those journals of yours anyway?" The military griffon asked. "Actually what's your name even?" The griffon asked, introducing himself as Aeolus. He was just a lieutenant in the 4th fleet, but he was very ambitious. Capturing Tempest or finding evidence linking her to any criminal activities would ensure his rapid promotion.
"Sure, feel free to do whatever you want, but if I catch you taking anything that isn't yours, Tempest will have to visit you in prison. And before you rush off to get yourself arrested for protection, keep in mind that someone like Tempest is more than likely to have a lot of contacts in prison."
At that he continued helping in the relief efforts with Hawthorne, delivering food, helping build shelters, clear out homes and streets. All in all backbreaking work. But at least it could only make Hawthorne stronger than he was. Even if all his muscles ached at the end of the day.
|
|
Ambrosios
Griffons
Disciple Griffon
"And from the ashes, life begins anew."
Posts: 150
|
Post by Ambrosios on Nov 18, 2012 11:13:00 GMT -5
"Oh, sorry. My name is Hawthorne. I teach at Royal Rocks University, natural history. As for what's in the journals, they were just notes and sketches from field work. You'd have to have a keen interest in wildlife to even be partially interested in them, and as far as I've encountered, most griffons don't."
"And I wouldn't dream of taking anything. I've got enough things to worry about right now, especially if Tempest has connections in prison as well." The professor assisted Aeolus and the relief-effort in any way he was told. He wasn't the sort of griffon who did this sort of thing often, and by the time he'd finished he was quite sore. Still, it was the right thing to do if Aeolus was going to let him tag along for the time being. He couldn't imagine how selfish it would be to just stand around while others around him were working so hard.
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Nov 18, 2012 11:15:51 GMT -5
"Well, looks like it's sundown." Aelous said with a sigh, "Haven't seen a single suspicious thing yet... Think that might actually have been a fraud." The griffon continued, finishing up a report he was writing and giving it to one of the other griffons around to deliver it on his way back to headquarters. Then he let out a big yawn. "Look, I'm tired, I think I might just go and rest now..." He said, not so subtly indicating that he didn't really see any reason for Hawthorne to hang around with him after all.
"Looks like you're in the clear anyway..." He commented, starting to walk away. "Can't see why'd Tempest go after a professor of natural history anyway."
|
|
Ambrosios
Griffons
Disciple Griffon
"And from the ashes, life begins anew."
Posts: 150
|
Post by Ambrosios on Nov 18, 2012 11:36:26 GMT -5
"Well... alright..." Hawthorne said as Aeolus began walking away. To be honest, he still didn't feel any safer. But what was he supposed to do, ask the griffon to be his personal bodyguard from now on? He was going to be stuck on his own again eventually, and he could only hope that Aeolus was right or that Tempest would drop the pursuit. "Good luck then," he spoke, talking to himself as much as the other griffon.
The best thing for him right now was to find somewhere to spend the night. The griffon ascended once again, his muscles starting to be more pronounced in their aching as he took off towards the nearest affordable hotel. He had soon reached such a place, entering the building just as the sun had finished creeping behind the horizon. He procured a room from the receptionist, making his way down the hall until he had reached it. "I just need some rest," he thought to himself as he turned the key and opened the door. "I can figure out what to do next in the morning."
As Hawthorne stepped into the room, however, he found an unexpected sight. There was already a griffon here, on the bed. Hawthorne had no idea what she was doing here, or how she'd gotten into the room. Unless it had been a mistake on the receptionist's part. Yes, she had probably given him a duplicate key or something. "My apologies. There must have been a mistake at the front desk. I'll just go back and see about getting a different room," he said, beginning to back up towards the door. "Sorry to bother you."
|
|