After I managed to get my face to a state where I didn’t look like I was a complete emotional wreck, I went to find the crypt. It had clearly been built specially for the people from the orphanage. It was still brand new… all the other crypts had moss and all sorts of things growing on them. This one was pure stone with the V’Rel sigil carved in pure white marble at the top.

  Chloe was reading the names to Tadwick and Tadwick was telling her what he remembered about each of them. Even the ones he disliked… the boys that bullied him… he made an effort to think of something nice to say about them. He has such a pure heart. I hope that never changes.

  It reminds me of something that my dad used to say. “They’ve never buried a bad’n yet.” I never understood what he meant when I was little… but I think I get it now. No matter how much of an arsehole you were in life, as soon as you die, your sins seem to be forgotten and everyone has all these nice things to say about you. Tadwick has spoken a little about his time at the orphanage before and some of the older kids he lived with sound absolutely vile… I would have hated them if I was him. The fact that he can look past all that stuff at a time like this does him credit.

  Suddenly, that Alexander guy burst into the crypt. He had a Kataravonia cape on too. Agaroth did say he had been given a job as a knight.

  Chloe: “The hell are you doing here?”

  Alexander: “There is a griffon attacking a farm to the east. Your knights have gone to handle the situation and they apologise that they won’t able to meet you as planned.”

  Tadwick: “Aww, so we aren’t going to see the knights?”

  Chloe: “Don’t be silly, this is much better. Now ya get to see ‘em in action. Alex, take the kid on your horse. Dwyn, you’re with me. Let’s ride!”

  Once again, I find myself being treated like a child. Chloe had me sat in front of her on her horse with her arms around me so she could control the reigns. Alexander has Tadwick on his horse in exactly the same way. I get that we are small but come on… I would get myself a pony that I could ride by myself… but I feel like people would just take the piss out of me more if I did. Urgh… I wish I was tall.

  The farm was actually relatively near the graveyard, so we arrived relatively quickly. Unlike my farm, this farm was literally just outside of the city. No need to walk for an hour down a road. The griffon had been attacking the cattle in one of the fields. There were half-eaten cow corpses all over the place. There were four knights attacking the griffon. Two up front… and two stood a reasonable distance away.

  Tadwick: “D’ya see that? D’ya see that? That cow’s ribs are all sticking out, there’s blood everywhere!”

  Alexander: “Griffons can be very dangerous young man. I advise waiting back here.”

  Chloe: “Don’t worry so much, Alex. Here kid, climb on this fence. You’ll get a better view.”

  Alexander rolled his eyes. He is clearly a lot more cautious than Chloe.

  Alexander: “Sir Cleaves, you know that we are supposed to use surnames while on duty.”

  Chloe: “Don’t be such a straight-laced bastard. You know I don’t go in for all that shit. Pointless self-inflating twattery is what that is.”

  Alexander rolled his eyes again. I climbed up on the fence next to Tadwick to make sure he didn’t fall off… and definitely not so that I could get a better view too.

  Dwynfel: “Hang on… griffon’s don’t have snakes for tails… a griffon is a cross between a lion and an eagle.”

  Chloe: “Guess it’s daddy musta fucked a chimera.”

  Tadwick: “What’s a chimewa?”

  Dwynfel: “A cross between a lion and a goat with a snake for a tail.”

  Tadwick: “That sounds cool, can we hunt one?”

  Alexander: “I would advise against it. They can be quite fierce.”

  Tadwick: “Aww… but they sound cool.”

  Chloe pointed at the four knights who were fighting the griffon ahead of us. She had a look of pride about her. You could tell she was pleased with her squad… and clearly confident in her leadership.

  Chloe: “Those four are my squad right there.”

  Dwynfel: “Is Alexander not in your squad then?”

  Chloe: “Fuck no.”

  Alexander: “I am part of a Sir Zafar’s unit.”

  Chloe: “You’d better be getting back, Alex. That guy’s a real hard ass. Wouldn’t want him to think you were taking things easy now, would ya?”

  Alexander: “Pains me to admit it, but you are correct. Until next time, Sir Cleaves.”

  Alexander sighed, before hopping back onto his horse and returning to the city.

  Tadwick: “So are you, like, in charge, Sir Chloe?”

  Chloe: “Drop that sir shit with me kid. I hate all that formal crap. But yes, I am in charge of this squad. The old duke knows talent when he sees it. So, I got me my own squad. Just look at them go!”

  The two knights up front both had pretty sturdy looking armour on. One had a shield and spear. He was taunting the griffon. The other was wielding a scythe and swooping in to make deep slashing wounds while it was distracted.

  The other two were stood a good distance away… but even at this distance I recognised sir Lucas… the knight who had been waiting at my house when we finally got back home. He was stood with his crossbow taking pot shots at the griffon whenever it looked like it was going to land a hit on anyone. The other one I couldn’t see much of. He was fully covered by a hooded white robe. He was brandishing a glowing platinum sceptre.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Dwynfel: “So, that Lucas is part of your squad then?”

  Chloe: “Yeah… he’s a good bloke. Don’t let the fact he speaks like he’s got a flagpole rammed up his arse put you off. He’s got a lot of mummy issues, but he’s one of the best guys I know. When lady Katheryn asked for somebody to keep an eye on your mum until you got back, I put him straight up for the role. He’s grown quite fond of her. I don’t think she needed much protection though. She kicks more arse than most of the knights. She’s had him doing farm work, ha-ha, the thought of that upper class tit doing farmwork still has me in stiches.”

  Tadwick: “What about him?”

  Tadwick pointed to the one in the robe who was stood by Lucas.

  Chloe: “Well, bloke in the robe is Sir Tristan Carmichael. I never used to rate support mages much… most of ‘em are bloody useless. But he’s really changed my mind about that. His curse magic has made some fucking difficult fights a total breeze. He’s Lucas’ half-brother. He’s not posh though, son of the mistress you see, wasn’t raised with the nobles. But his mum died when he was like 13 and his dad took him in then. He’s a sweet guy, do anythin’ for ya. Just don’t get him started talking. He could be telling the most interesting story in the world, but fuck. He has this voice… it is just so boring… it just never changes… always the same… just droning on and on and on. No wonder he struggles so much with women. I mean, I still would, but I’d have to gag him first.”

  Tadwick: “Still would what?”

  Chloe: “Ride him like a pony…”

  Dwynfel: “Chloe!”

  Chloe: “Oh, calm down…”

  The griffon looked like it was beginning to flag from its injuries. It spread its wings and started to fly away. Lucas went to aim his crossbow at it. Tristan aimed his sceptre at the beast and spoke in a dull lifeless tone.

  Tristan: “Slow.”

  The griffon slowed down very slightly in the air. It must have a high resistance to that type of spell, because it was very slight… but not so slight as to be unnoticeable.

  Lucas fired one bolt right into the left wing of the griffon. The bone in the griffon’s wing snapped and it fell to the ground. The griffon, greatly angered by this, began to charge at both Lucas and Tristan. Tristan raised his sceptre in the direction of the griffon once more.

  Tristan: “Static shock.”

  The griffon collapsed to the ground, blinking its eyes, and looking pained.

  Tadwick: “What did that spell do?”

  Chloe: “Sends a surge of lightning through the brain. Gives you one hell of a headache.”

  Tadwick: “Wow.”

  While the griffon was down, the knight with the shield positioned himself between the griffon and the other knights.

  Tadwick: “Tell me about that one!”

  Chloe: “That’s my Bobby. Sir Robert Wills if we’re being fancy. Now him, I have been riding like a pony.”

  Dwynfel: “I strongly doubt that’s what he wants to know about.”

  Chloe: “Don’t be so miserable. Me and him are going steady you know. He’s great, loads of stamina, just keeps going. Lot of crossovers from being such a bulwark in combat. Just look at him go. He doesn’t need any poncey spells like that tit Asmodeus. He just has solid footwork and the muscles of a god. That thing is ramming the fuck out of his shield and he holds his ground every time. Even that snake tail can’t bite him. It just gets a mouth full of spear. He’s a great frontliner is my Bobby.”

  Tadwick: “And the one with the cool looking armour?”

  Chloe made a sour face at that question. She took a deep breath and sighed.

  Chloe: “Hmph, Flynn… Flynn Drezden.”

  Dwynfel: “I’m sensing you aren’t a fan.”

  Chloe: “I just don’t trust the guy. Something about him just puts me on edge. Good enough fighter though. Wields that scythe like an absolute nutter. Uses something called shadow self which is handy, but I dunno, it’s just a bit creepy.”

  Dwynfel: “I’ve never heard of a spell called shadow self.”

  Chloe: “That’s cause it isn’t a spell. It’s just something he does. He doesn’t even say anything, nothing, it just suddenly happens… creepy fucker that one.”

  Tadwick: “Look, look, look, there two of him, no, three. That’s so cool!”

  Chloe: “See what I mean? It just happens. Fucking creepy.”

  Dwynfel: “I mean… it just seems like a helpful combat ability to me.”

  Chloe: “Don’t take his fucking side.”

  Dwynfel: “I’m not taking anybody’s side… I’m just saying it looks helpful.”

  Chloe: “Yeah, well, when he snaps and goes on a killing spree, just remember that I called it, alright.”

  Flynn had some rather interesting armour. It left absolutely no skin exposed, like my leather armour that my mum made. Except his was heavy plate armour. His helmet was black and had two horns. You couldn’t see any of his face at all. His armour was darker than the others… I assume to match the helmet. And he also wore a Kataravonia Knight’s cape.

  It was odd seeing the way he fought. One second it would be just him, then suddenly there would be two of him… sometimes three. I always thought that I could keep track of the original… but most of the time I was wrong. I have no idea how he managed it. For a man in full plate armour, he can move abnormally fast. It is quite impressive really. The griffon eventually tired of attacking Sir Robert once Sir Flynn had managed to cut right through its snake tail. The snake writhed around on the floor still trying to bite people for a while, but it soon died.

  The griffon attempted to attack Sir Flynn, but every time it attacked, it only ended up hitting one of the shadows. Sir Robert charged forwards and rammed his spear hard into the creature’s side. The spear was well and truly stuck in there. The beast turned, causing Sir Robert to retreat back, leaving his spear in the creature. It was clear that it was not surviving this encounter… I think the griffon knew it too. It attempted a few swipes at Sir Flynn before eventually collapsed to the ground. At which point Sir Flynn walked over and slit its throat open.

  Chloe: “See, told ya they were good.”