Page 55 of Queen's Griffon

“Are you sure you’re going the right way?” grumbled Mustachio, real name Lenno.

“I don’t know anything for sure,” she muttered. “I’ve never been to Verlora.” Tell that to her feet that moved without her consciously controlling them.

“If you don’t know shit, then why the fuck are we following you?” snapped Lenno, his mustache quivering.

“Because your captain told you to,” she retorted right back.

“Fucking mouthy, aren’t you. Meanwhile, everyone knows you’re a bastard.”

“That’s royal bastard,” she reminded a tad too sweetly. “And, according to your captain, one who is engaged to your emperor, so you might want to watch what you say.” Not that she had any intention of marrying said monarch, but given Lenno’s intense dislike, it was best to remind him that she remained important lest he ensure she suffer a fatal accident.

“What do you think killed those folk?” whispered Ron, a young skinny fellow whose head kept pivoting left and right as if he feared something would pounce. Most likely accurate, given how many failed to return after setting foot on shore. Or had the kraken taken them before they even landed?

“Who says they’re dead?” argued Frisk. The man who’d been rowing on the skiff now gripped his saber tight.

She’d finally learned their names as they quibbled amongst themselves. The stocky and very tall, smooth-faced fellow was Collin. The barrel-chested guy who didn’t say much, Munro.

“If they ain’t croaked then why ain’t none of them ever come back?” Ron questioned.

“Who says they didn’t? Could be none ever admitted it ‘cause they wanted to keep all the treasures for themselves. Think about it. Emperor wouldn’t have sent us if it was a suicide mission.” Frisk jerked his head at Avera. “He’s planning to marry this one, so he obviously knows we’re gonna succeed.”

“You mean she’ll succeed,” Ron quibbled. “Same can’t be said for us.”

A sobering remark that brought silence again, but the tidbit had proved interesting. They seemed to think this emperor hadsome power of prescience. It reminded her of Opal, who claimed she could see hints of the future.

Their belief in the emperor helped Avera feel a little more confident. For herself, at least. Ron did have a point. Her success wouldn’t necessarily extend to them.

“Is that a house?” Ron pointed to a large vine-covered mass. Too wide to be a tree and with indents that appeared to be windows and doors.

“Heck yeah. I wonder what’s inside.” Before Lenno could hold him back, Frisk darted through a doorway narrowed by the vines climbing through the opening.

“See anything?” Lenno called out.

“Bah. Everything’s all rotted to shit,” Frisk complained. He appeared in the doorway, disgruntled expression on his face turning to wide eyes as he stared at something behind them.

Avera whirled in time to see a snake dangle down from a tree and wrap around Collin. Before the man could even shout, the snake reeled in its catch.

“Hey there, give him back,” Lenno shouted, racing to stand under the branch coiled with the fat snake who proceeded to crush Collin.

The poor man’s face turned an unhealthy shade of purple, and the vise around his chest must have crushed his lungs for he couldn’t even cry out.

Lenno banged the pommel of his sword against the trunk while Munro and Frisk threw rocks. Ron just stared.

The snake abruptly released its catch.

Thump.

The body fell to the ground, a mishappen mass of broken bones and squashed flesh.

Lenno backed away as the snake lowered itself and hissed in his direction.

“Fucker!” Lenno swung and his sword bit deep into the reptile’s flesh, causing it to swing and thrash. Another hack took its head and the stump spurted red blood. The decapitated reptile went limp, and as its body relaxed in death, it tumbled down to lie on the ground in a huge heap.

Avera had never imagined a snake could get so large. Even worse, it didn’t disappear, making it real and not some magical construct.

The leader of their party scowled. “Fucking oversized snake. Keep an eye on the branches overhead. Where there’s one…”

There would be others.

---