Jerik dropped out of the sky perhaps ten minutes later, only noticing then that his suit was flashing a low battery warning. He fell nearly thirty feet, taking no damage, but he did bounce off of two trees before hitting the ground in a shower of dirt. He lay still when he finally slid to a stop, unwilling to rise. The shock of the last few minutes was finally registering on his body. It was the kind of exhaustion that only a close brush with death could give you.
Even though he knew by now that he couldn’t really die, fighting with the griffon had instilled a real sense of mortal fear that nothing else in Menora had managed to do. Not fighting, he reminded himself. He hadn’t managed to attack even once. That monster had completely outmatched him, and he was lucky just to be alive. He let out a weak laugh as he started to recover, and slowly pushed himself to a sitting position.
The forest around him was completely silent. No sound of an approaching monster reached his ears. Off to one side, he thought he could hear the scurrying of smaller animals, but they posed no threat. Then again, he thought, the griffon could be chasing after him now. It flew almost completely silently and could be on him before he knew it was there. That thought finally got him moving, clambering back to his feet and staggering a few steps further away from where he knew the griffon was last.
He had to wait for the suit to recharge before he could fly again, which would be much slower due to the lack of sunlight. According to the status screen before his eyes, the estimated time before full charge was four hours, three minutes, and twenty-six seconds. On foot it was, he decided. Using the closely-packed trees for support, he made his slow, shaky way back towards Haven. He held his pistol with one hand, listening intently for any threat that might come at him. At least he didn’t have to worry about running out of ammo for this, he thought, with the ability to summon extra rounds at the cost of points. He’d be fine, as long as he didn’t encounter any Legendary-Class enemies.
After about an hour, he was beginning to recover his stamina and could walk without leaning on the trees. He picked up the pace to a light jog, sure that Haven was less than half an hour’s walk away from him. But, just as he started to increase his pace, he heard a slight thumping sound off to his left, and slid to a stop, his nerves tense. The thumping sound stopped as well, replaced by his heartbeat. Feeling as though he’d swallowed a large ice cube, he turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Bright purple eyes were peering at him from two yards away, several feet off the ground. The sign of purple light was also visible at several dozen points in the air around it. The griffon was crouched slightly, staring silently at him. Once it saw that he was looking at it, it took a step forward, then another. It made no sound as it approached. He immediately took several hurried steps back, ready to dodge, but it didn’t lunge.
Confusion now mingling with the return of his fear, he lifted the pistol, ready to fire. At once, it crouched lower, and a low growl reached his ears. He lowered the gun, and it perked up once more, and the growling stopped. Could it be? Was it not willing to attack him now that it had been cured by Monster’s Bane? He holstered the pistol, and it took another step forward. So did he. The air seemed to be perfectly still. He didn’t draw closer, but it began hesitantly pacing forward again. Then it broke free of the brush and stood feet away from him.
It wasn’t all black, he saw. While its wings were, its body was dark silver in color. That purple energy was laced throughout its entire body, and its eyes, narrow ovals in a pool of purple, shined like tiny screens. If he didn’t know better, he’d say that the monster was curious. Now that its mind was cleared of the effects of the Monster Wind, it wanted to know more about this creature that it had failed to kill. Its head was tilted slightly to the side, waiting, watching.
“What do you expect of me?” Jerik asked. At the sudden sound of his voice, the griffon jerked back a few inches, his eyes instantly narrowing to slits. “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to spook you.”
He wasn’t sure why he was talking to it. Maybe some part of him expected it to be able to speak to him as Vernex did. But that was a dragon, he told himself. Surely a Griffon couldn't-
He gave a quiet gasp of surprise as his HUD pinged, letting him know he had an incoming message. Taking a steadying breath, he directed his attention to the message, wondering who had decided to contact him at this bad time.
Who are you? How are you still alive?
If it weren’t for the Raid-Class monster currently staring him down, he would have looked around to see if there was anyone else in sight. It had to be someone who could see him, right? How else could they understand what was happening to him at that moment and that he should be dead? Using his eyes, he sent back a quick reply.
If you know what’s happening, then you’ll know I don’t have time to talk.
You have time. I won’t attack you until I know.
As soon as the second message appeared, Jerik noticed something strange. A faint flash of something had appeared in the griffon’s eyes, almost like a computer screen scrolling through text. An impossible idea had just occurred to him. Ignoring the text that hovered in the center of his field of vision, he peered closer at the Griffon. “How did you do that?”
I can speak to machines. Make them ignore me.
“That’s why you haven’t been found,” he said. His eyes flickered towards the camera function of his HUD. If he could get a picture of it, it would instantly be sent to Morgan. But as soon as he did, his entire HUD went blank. He noticed that the griffon’s eyes had shrunk down to slits once more. His mouth went dry as he realized that the creature had the ability to disable the technology of his suit.
Don't try that again, or I’ll kill you. Don’t move. I’m listening to your armor.
Listening to his armor? He had no idea what that meant. But a second later, the meaning became clear. You’re looking for a monster to tame. Am I supposed to be your pet?
Until that exact moment, he had never entertained the idea of making this griffon the target of his goal. But the unmistakable intelligence and curiosity of the beast made him curious. Straightening up, he cleared his throat. “I’d planned on bonding with a dragon, but the only one I’ve seen so far was the one you killed.”
I have no interest in helping you become stronger just because you want to.
The violet eyes were still slits. Well, Jerik thought, that was it. It was done learning what it could, and now it was going to kill him. He closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself. He’d have to climb back up from the beginning and find three new epic gems, and their timeline would probably be set back several months. That was if Magnus, who was certain to be keeping an eye on them, didn’t take a chance to strike back.
But I do have an interest in seeing Kan-Menora fall.
The words took Jerik by surprise, not because of the source, but because of the sense of anger that he could feel radiating from the Griffon. It felt tangible, though he was sure it hadn’t been there before Kan-Menora’s name was mentioned. Jerik swallowed nervously. He was tempted to take a step back but somehow sensed that would be a mistake.
“Why do you want to kill Kan-Menora?” He asked, staring at the digital purple eyes in front of him. “You’re pretty strong, I can’t imagine that you suffered much with the way things are.”
My child was killed by him. I will see to his end.
So this griffon was a mother then, he thought. Strangely, there was no hint of gender to it at all. It was a rippling mass of muscles, razor-sharp talons, and a cruel, curved beak. He tried to imagine what it would be like to know that his child had been killed by someone else. He couldn’t picture it in his head, but he knew perfectly well that people would go to great lengths to get revenge. Perhaps monsters weren’t so different.
“I can help you get that revenge,” He said. The griffon’s head tilted slightly, and a faint rippling noise emitted from the depths of its throat. Not a growl, he thought. More amused than anything. “I mean it. My companions and I are going to kill him.”
Why should I believe you? Your kind have been here for years, and nothing has changed. You’ve made it worse.
“I’m not like that,” Jerik said, a bit more defensively than he’d intended. “My platoon isn’t either. We’re going to bring him down so we can end it all.”
And why should I join your cause? Even if you are the leader and your army is exceptional, that doesn’t say much about you. Are you capable?
“I think I showed you that I was capable of escaping you,” he said. “Even if you caught up. I’m not injured despite how fast you are. I can handle myself.”
That was when my mind was clouded by Kan-Menora’s poison. I did not have my intelligence. I could kill you quite easily now.
Jerik wasn’t stupid. He recognized the challenge for what it was. If he accepted it, she could kill him. But if he refused, she was also likely to kill him. Either option lead to a sharply increased chance of death. Strangely, that made the choice easier for him. She was testing him. He needed a strong monster companion if he wanted to pass this ritual that Haven had given him. He could pass both tests at once. Or die.
“I don’t know about that,” he said, jutting his chin out in the perfect image of stubbornness. He knew it was a taunt, and that he was offering a challenge of his own. But that was the goal. “I think I could still evade you.”
That rippling sound appeared again, and he realized it was laughter. There was grudging respect there, as he’d noticed before, but she clearly thought he was bluffing. Very well. If you are still alive in an hour’s time, I will join your cause. Good luck.
“Wait!” He said quickly, as she turned to leave. “Before we begin, I have to know. What’s your name?”
The last one I bonded with called me Athena. If you win, I shall tell you more.
Then, without so much as a whisper of noise, she vanished into the trees, leaving Jerik alone. He wasted no time and turned on his heel to run in the opposite direction. An hour could pass quickly, but if he was being hunted, he had a feeling it would seem to last much longer. Just the few minutes that Athena had attacked him while feral had felt more like hours. But it was his only chance, he thought, gritting his teeth. If he wanted to stay on top, he had to win.
