[Bounty] Archgriffin Amok

[Monomakhos 1837]

Wanted: Archgriffin
 
Threat level: High
 
Description of beast: From what was reported, the Griffin has plumage of blue and purple. As characteristic with all griffins, it bears the mixed features of a wildcat and eagle. Be wary.

Location: East of Al-Wakrah
 
Rewards: Twenty-five hundred minas.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Bagley

[Snake Plissken 637]

18th of The Amber Cold, 1523

 

Five men; a wood elf, a Marked Man, and three warriors of the Caliphate, ascended the mountain of the griffin's nest, climbing in single file. Approaching the summit, they discovered the perch to be empty and took position inside, planning to ambush the creature upon it's return. Soon enough the sound of flapping wings could be heard in the distance, accompanied by an faint, "Screeee!". Swords drawn, arrows knocked, arbalests loaded, spears poised, the hunters braced themselves for the oncoming fight. Within a minute the creature was upon them, swooping in and then disappearing over the side of the nest, out of sight. The men scrambled into the centre, scanning all around for signs of where the beast might re-emerge, but before it could, something else caught their eyes; an even larger griffin, flying in from the south. The original griffin let out of another harrowing screech, soaring up over the edge of the nest and diving back down at the hunters, it's talons splayed and ready to strike. Two of the Caliphate's warriors threw their spears at the smaller griffin, the third firing his arbalest at the large one. At the same time the Marked Man released an arrow at the diving beast with his longbow, and the wood elf raised his shield in defense, preparing for impact. One spear managed to pierce the smaller griffin's wing, and the arrow found it's mark on the other, while both the bolt from the arbalest and the second spear missed their intended targets. Swooping in low, the small griffin tried to impale the elf on it's claws, though it's attempt was blocked by his shield, and the beast continued hovering in place, scratching and stabbing at the metal barrier with it's talons. Meanwhile the larger griffin dived in and grabbed the first of the spearmen with it's own claws, carrying him up into the sky before dropping him to his death at the foot of the mountain. As the archgriffin arced bacl around and made a beeline back for the mountain's peak, the Marked Man nocked a second arrow in his bow and attempted to shoot the smaller griffin's head, though the shaft was blown off course by the beating of the creature's wings and flew back over the edge of the nest. The small griffin continued to push it's weight down on top of the wood elf, who lashed out with his sword, striking at it’s beak. Swooping in again the archgriffin grabbed the second spearman and carried him off to the same fate as the first before soaring down at the nest a third timee, now going for the final Caliphate warrior. The beast's talons sliced through the man's chainmail and into his arm, though ultimately the creature was deterred from grabbing him and instead landed in the nest. Finally the smaller of the two griffins was pushed from the wood elf's shield, stabbed and cleaved by his sword, and sent stumbling over the wall of the nest, plummeting to it's death. All three of the remaining men turned their attention to the archgriffin, the Caliphate man going to spear it in the chest, the Marked dropping his bow and sending a torrent of fire at the beast from his palm, and the wood elf slicing into the monster's wing with his blade. The beast went to take flight once more, it's feathers singed and flesh punctured, but as it did so the Marked Man charged forward, leaping onto it's back and digging a hook into it's flesh. As the griffin sprung off the nest he grabbed hold of it's feathers with his free hand and clung on for his life while it carried him away, holding himself close to it's body as it soared towards the forest below, twisting and turning, trying to rid itself of the uninvited passenger. The Marked Man slowly made his way forward, climbing up the creature, digging the hook into the base of it's neck and pulling it back towards himself, causing the beast to rear up before crashing down into the forest. The two remaining men in the nest rushed down the mountain towards the site of the landing as fast as they could, the dust having settled by the time of their arrival. They found the griffin impaled on the remains of a tree, letting out it's final screech before slumping over, dead. A few metres away the Marked Man lay unconscious, but miraculously very much alive. After an hour of griffin-beheading, mending wounds, and searching for the corpses of the two deceased spearmen, the survivors set off back towards the Caliphate, having succeeding in making the region that much safer, and earned themselves a hefty sum in the process.