Page 67 of I Ran Away to Evil
With a sniff, she slowly inspected the eggs. A delicate wing tip reached out and slowly brushed one egg. Visible joy overcame the griffin mother, and it reared back, letting loose an ear-piercing eagle screech. Its companions all took to the sky—even the injured one—as the griffin nodded regally at the princess. Then it gripped the crate in its talons and launched into the air.
Keith nudged Hubert to nuzzle Ria as a sign of support and approval. He loved watching her work. Also, hemighthave spent extra mana so he could smell in [Shared Senses].
Ria whispered to him, “That’s one thing done. Now I can go to Gren’s—”
“Princess.” Corporal Nova cut in front of them and stood, angry, at attention. “Why did you injure my men in the fight? Thomson has three broken ribs, and Dame Helga almost lost her eye when the netting hit her!”
“Excuse me …” Ria put away her sword, and Keith used the opportunity to tell her the dwarfess’s name. “Corporal Nova, are you not merchants and ambassadors stationed in the Dark Enchanted Forest?”
“Yes. Which is why—”
“And do you regularly seek to kill citizens of Nilheim?” Ria cut her off this time.
“They’remonsters,” Corporal Nova retorted. “Monsters who attackedfirst.”
Keith sighed. This was a long-suffering argument.
“Then is that how you do business with other kingdoms in Valaria? Taking the law into your own hand?” Ria stuck both hands on her waist and stared down at the offended corporal. “Is killing each other going to stop a griffin from attacking, or will it just bring back more griffins that wish for vengeance?”
“They started it!”
“Well, I’m finishing it. Please take these three advanced healing potions to use among the injured. No one need suffer long—”
A bloodcurdling screech resounded over the crowd as the young griffin who had fallen earlier shot out from between some mountain rocks. The griffin who had left to search for it was nowhere to be seen.
Keith hopped off Ria’s shoulder and on to Corporal Nova’s forearm.
Just before the griffin finished his downward assault on the group, Ria grabbed onto it. She swung her body neatly around to sit near the wingspan at the young griffin’s neck. She subdued it with her second choke hold for the day.
“She’s impressive, isn’t she?” Keith asked the dwarfess awkwardly holding Hubert the raven.
“Agh!Wait. King Keith?” Surprise turned into shock which turned into tentative placating. “I mean, she’s very strong.”
“She handles my subjects very well,” Keith sighed happily.
In front of them, Ria was petting an exhausted and cowed griffin youth trying to catch its breath. Ria was saying encouraging words to the creature and letting it know the eggs had been returned.
“Then I’ll get Chancellor Grimly to report the situation,” Nova finally sighed, the anger subsiding as a look of displeasure played across her face. “Now it’s time for the hard part …”
Keith tilted Hubert’s head.
The dwarfess swept her gaze around the outpost. “Cleaning up the mess.”
CHAPTER 43
The Unigoat Fell Apart in My Mouth
Henrietta
The battle had been fun, but now it was done, and something very important had to happen.
Food. I wasstarving.
This was the norm when I did intense dungeon delves as well. I came off cooldown from my [Quick Step] and [Swordsmanship] needing a full waterskin and a loaf of bread. My rations were pretty scarce at this point, and what with everyone running around trying to get the outpost back in order, I was left in a bit of a sorry state.
Which was why I may have come back to Keith pleased but a touch hangry.
“I’ve straightened out the young griffin, and he’ll head out when he gets his wind back,” I told Keith and the dwarfess holding Hubert. “He intends to find his brother—that’s the griffin who followed after him into the mountains—and report back to the flock. Or pride?”
