Timenall & the Captive Gryphon - Chapter 13

Everything seemed to happen at once. The other dragons pushed their boulders down from the rim. Men dropped the leads on their gryphon captives and scrambled from the avalanches created by the huge rolling stones.

As soon as Farloft reached the cage he wrapped his paws around the upper bars and flapped his wings to hover over the hatchlings protectively until Melozzo arrived.

The group of men who had gathered to discuss the problem of getting the hatchling cage around the impediment were regrouping and trying to arm themselves with weapons strapped to the packs on the backs of the their gryphon prisoners - the gryphon were having none of it. They were fearlessly bucking and kicking. The heavy weighted boots on their paws were lethal if they impacted a man’s head or chest.

The other dragons descended following the tumble of rock. They grasp men with claws and teeth and flung them against rock and hard packed trail.

Timenall & the Captured Gryphon - Chapter 12

“Back up,” Timenall warned and followed the order with a shove of his wing. “They’ll see you.”

The hybrid and his dragon allies were stationed all along either side of the rim of the canyon the Varda were about to enter. The plan was to separate the caravan into smaller units so the human’s couldn’t put up a unified defense. Last night the dragons placed large boulders in the path that the Varda would need to navigate around and over in single file. As this broke up the line of the caravan the dragons would push some even larger, strategically placed boulders down the canyon walls. At the opposite end of the canyon the dragons blocked the exit totally with boulders and fallen trees. The Varda would not be able to see it until they rounded the curve in the canyon. By that time it would be too late. There would be nowhere to run and no way to drive the cage full of hatchlings through.

Timenall & the Captured Gryphon - Chapter 11

Farloft cocked his head as he dipped a wing to get a better look at the scene below. Timenall assigned him the duty to scout out the location and status of the captured gryphon. The hybrid thought the Varda would not associate the dragon with a possible rescue attempt.

Farloft chose to spy on the caravan at night. His night vision was excellent and the fires the Varda clustered around made it easy to survey the kidnappers and assess their strengths and weaknesses.

Farloft had no trouble spotting the cage Timenall described which held the hatchlings. It sat right in the middle of the camp. The little ones were all huddled together in the middle, using each other’s bodies for warmth and comfort. The Varda had the adult gryphon staked out separately, hobbled with their wings bound to their sides and their beaks all covered with wire cages which kept them from chewing off the weighted boots they all wore, much like the ones Timenall was wearing when Farloft found him. The hybrid had told Farloft the boots were way too heavy for any of the gryphon to fly far or high, but they could for a short time if their wings were released. It was only the foolish actions of the Varda not binding his wings right away, and his size and strength from his dragon side, which allowed him to escape in spite of the boots.

Timenall & the Captured Gryphon - Chapter 10

Farloft followed Timenall down into a valley surrounded by old growth forest. They had been traveling for three days and finally arrived in the remote area Timenall’s mother once called home before leaving her clan.

Timenall waved a wing toward a meadow below and the pair descended, spooking a small herd of deer from their evening drink at the stream that bisected the lush glade. Farloft’s paws sunk into the dense moss and fern covered floor of the meadow. Even the dragon’s heavy weight rebounded as he approached the stream to get a drink. He marveled at its beauty. The bed was lined with multi-colored agates which sparkled in the rays of the setting sun and the water was crystal clear. Farloft licked the beads of water off his muzzle. It was fresh and left almost a sweet taste in his mouth.

The young dragon raised his head to see a hare sitting on its haunches watching him from the edge of the glade. In the distance his eyes caught a pair of squirrels chasing each other in a frenzy of spring mating excitement around a huge pine tree. Birds flitted, chirped and twittered from all sides as they settled in for the night.

Timenall & the Captive Gryphon - Chapter 9

Belree trudged along the steep trail beside Weirim. Her wings were pinned down tight to her sides and her back was heavily loaded with Varda trade goods. The fall of her weighted gryphon paws fell muffled in the dust. Her beak was covered with a cage held on by straps wrapped in a figure eight around her head and neck. She hadn’t had a drink in hours, none of them had. She was so tired and hot, and so very discouraged.

“Why are they doing this?” she asked between gulps of air. “If they want help transporting their goods why won’t they let us fly them?”

“We’re being trained,” Weirim answered her friend. “They want to show us who’s in charge.”

“We aren’t stupid,” Belree countered. “They know we will behave as long as they have the hatchlings.”

Weirim looked back over her shoulder at the caged wagon Riple and Marsdon were pulling. At least the hatchlings didn’t have to walk. They were caged, but they were safe from the whips and the prods the Varda were using so liberally on the adult gryphon.

Timenall & the Captive Gryphon - Chapter 8

Timenall shook his head. “I just don’t think it is a good idea. You don’t know these people. They are ruthless.”

The two were back at Farloft’s lair and the young dragon was worked up having witnessed the brutality of the crime against the gryphon colony. He was trying to convince his new friend they didn’t have to wait for Timenall’s paws to heal. He could do something in the meantime. He could infiltrate the Varda traders in order to set the captured gryphon free.

“They are not going to refuse the help of a dragon my size,” Farloft boosted. “I can carry four times the weight of an average gryphon. I tell you they would jump at the chance.”

“Farloft,” Timenall was trying to temper the young dragon’s imagined solution. He thought he could just walk in, offer his services and the Varda would fall agreeably at his feet.

Timenall & the Captive Gryphon - Chapter 7

Farloft and Timenall sat on the ledge outside the dragon’s lair watching the sunrise.

“I should go home today,” Timenall said reluctantly. He was not anxious to. “There is something I need to do.” He started to paw at the ground, but thought better of it. The young dragon’s administrations had succeeded in scabbing over the injuries. He didn’t want to break them open. He would need his paws for what he had to do when he got home.

Farloft could feel how upset the hybrid was just sitting next to him. There was something at ‘home’ that he didn’t want to deal with.

“Would you like some company?” Farloft innocently asked.

“It’s about a two hour flight from here.” Timenall remembered what was waiting and didn’t know if he should get the young dragon involved, but at the same time he would appreciate the company and the help once they got there, if the dragon was willing.

“Not far,” Farloft smiled a toothy grin. “I could do that sailing on my back.”