#griffon wrangling

[isabelaexplainsitall]

A Modest Proposal

I detached the leather straps from the harness about my waist with practiced speed. The mighty animal beneath me warbled as I dismounted, then dipped his enormous head into the feeding trough. 

"What's going on out there, mum?" asked Wallace as he handed me a towel and a steel goblet filled with wine. The dusky young warden had taken to keeping vigil whenever Feathers and I went out for a flight, as well as his duties attending Feathers and the others in the griffon brood. He looked a bit more haggard than usual.

I wiped my face with the towel and took a swallow from the goblet before answering.

"It's nasty out there. The templars have built barricades and taken up defensive positions, but the darkspawn are relentless. I think all that red lyrium has something to do with it."

"Aye, the commander thought that would be the case. She's really something else, isn't she?" he asked, sounding extremely respectful.

"That she is, my friend," I agreed.

"If she wasn't here when those templars arrived... I don't know what we would have done."

"We're not out of the storm yet," I warned. "Trust me, Hawke gets people into about as much trouble as out, and that's just by being there."

"Well, I do have a surprise for you, mum," said Wallace, smiling. His eyes still seemed tired, but they were full of hope.

"Is it better wine than this?" I asked hopefully.

He shook his head. I shrugged, then took another swallow of the slightly-sour wine. He held up a small wooden box.

"It's finally finished," he said.

"To my specifications?" I asked, reaching for it.

He nodded.

I carefully took the box from his hands and opened it. I examined its contents carefully and, once satisfied, closed it.

"Does she know yet?" I asked.

"Not yet, mum. I thought you'd want to be the one to give it to her," he replied.

"I knew I liked you for a reason, Wallace," I said, grinning.

I felt uncharacteristically nervous approaching Hawke as she stood over the table in the war room. I gripped the small wooden box in my hands tightly as I neared.

She was studying the makeshift map of the area, one hand stroking her chin while her other would occasionally try to size up distances. The map was marked by plenty of little scavenged objects - orphaned chess pieces, dice, oddly-colored pebbles, all sorts of things. A quill and half-filled ink pot sat off to one side where the lines of the area had been drawn and redrawn regularly. She paused to take a sip from a tankard of something... tea, if I guessed right.

The room was far from empty - the other wardens were scattered about, conversing or preparing. Some were talking about supplies, others discussed the situation below. The lyrium explosives they had detonated to open up the new entrances to the deep roads had worked, but the increased darkspawn activity meant that the lower reaches of Weisshaupt needed additional security in case any of the foul creatures managed to find the lower entrance.

Hawke looked up from the table and broke into a smile when she saw me.

"You're back!" she said, clasping my forearm in both of hers since my hands were full. She looked down at the box, then back up at me. 

I smirked.

She raised an eyebrow.

I got down on one knee and lifted the box before speaking.

She spoke first.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Hawke, we've been through a lot together. I know you've been having some trouble recently... as have I. I know you've always got my back, even when you sometimes do stupid things to get it. I just wanted to show you that, in your times of need, I've got yours too," I said, offering her the box.

She took it and opened it carefully.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked.

"You wear it, you goose," I answered. "Allow me."

I got up and lifted the contents of the box. I stepped in close, pressing myself against her as I put the item on her face. I carefully tied them behind her, and she looked at me, confused.

"These things feel... strange," she said, looking at me through the pair of glass goggles I had fastened to her face.

I leaned in close and gently blew directly on her eyes. At first, she shut her eyes, but then realized a moment later that she could open them without any discomfort.

"Will you fly with me?" I asked, putting on my own set of eyewear. 

She threw her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss in answer.

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[isabelaexplainsitall]

Shoot first, Questions later

The wind howled as Feathers began twisting. I felt Hawke's grip on my waist tighten, but I knew that we couldn't afford to dawdle. The grounded templars quickly formed a line and nocked their first flight of arrows. One of the templars gave a shout and I heard the whistling sound of a dozen shafts hurtling through the air.

I threw myself to the left, pressing hard as I dared on the left saddlehorn I used to command the griffon beneath me. The mighty beastie lurched to the left and gave a muffled squawk of surprise as he saw the arrows hurtle through the space we had just recently occupied. Feathers circled, trying to spot the source of the missiles and spotted the armored men and women just as they loosed another flight of shafts in our direction. I quickly pushed forward on both saddlehorns and Feathers dove, trying to get under the volley. I muttered a curse under my breath and flattened myself against the griffon's body, hoping that Hawke would follow suit. Warm relief washed over me as I felt her press against my back. 

Feathers, however, was not quite so lucky. He gave a roar of pain as one of the arrows managed to find purchase in his shoulder, just above the wing. He faltered, but he was strong and managed to keep going. I paused for a moment, wondering how he would react. He had always been an inquisitive and enthusiastic creature during our training sessions, but I'd never seen him hurt before.

The mighty animal roared in rage, tucked in his wings, and dove towards the massed archers like a ballista bolt.

I hadn't expected that. I grit my teeth as I watched the archers draw to loose a third volley, and I feared he would fly headfirst into the oncoming barrage. 

"I hope this works," I muttered to myself, but the words were lost in the rush of wind. I pressed down hard on the left saddlehorn while simultaneously pulling up on the right. I half-expected Feathers to completely ignore me and, for a brief moment, he did. Then he extended his wings and spun, rolling through the air and using the extra gust of wind to buffet the arrows as they approached. The light missiles scattered, and most of the archers fled in panic as he reached them. The furious griffon raked at the remaining archers that were frozen in fear with his mighty claws as he flew by, completely tearing the arm off of one and ripping into the belly of another. The templar captain shouted orders, trying to reform the line as we ascended.

Feathers was about to take a second run at the templars, but I pulled back on the saddlehorns to continue our ascent. There were more archers coming to join the initial group, and my steed's injured wing was taking its toll - I could feel him struggle. He managed to evade the subsequent arrow volleys as we climbed, searching for their maximum range, but they quickly moved to cut off our return path back to the citadel. Feathers tried to go, but the archers fired another volley to cut us off, forcing us back out of their range.

I could see the warm blood leaking from the wound and staining his glossy grey plumage, but the archers had too good a position to let us through. We were trapped.

Suddenly, I heard a rumble, then another, and a third. I looked and saw that some of the hastily-erected buildings in the encampment had collapsed, while several of the templars were milling about in confusion. I watched one of the clumps of templars scatter as the very earth beneath them cracked open. I quickly tapped the woman behind me and pointed.

An enormous grey ogre, flanked by a pair of armored hurlocks, slowly emerged from the newly opened cavern entrance.

Several of the red templars pointed and drew their swords, hastily forming a line. The deep rumbling sounds continued as more darkspawn began surfacing from the cracks in the ground... enormous genlock alphas with their massive spiked iron shields led the advance while their smaller cousins huddled behind the barriers, ready to attack with their small iron blades. The archer line began loosing their arrows at the appearing darkspawn, felling several of the genlocks, but the ogre was not to be denied. It lifted an enormous jagged boulder, jogged loose by the opening in the rock, and hurled it over the shield-bearing genlocks and into the hastily-formed templar line. The enormous missile crushing several of the gathering armored men and women beneath it like ants under a heavy boot. The genlocks charged and the battle was joined.

Our way back to Weisshaupt was clear, and I needed no further encouragement. With a quick yank on the saddlehorns, we took advantage of the darkspawn distraction and winged our way back to the stables. Feathers managed to land, though somewhat shakily, and Hawke quickly called for Valya and the remaining mages to apply healing magic to the griffon's wound.

"Well, that was certainly bracing," I said as I cradled the griffon's head while the healers did their work. "At least we came out of it in one piece, more or less. Did you get the information you needed, sweet thing?"

Hawke flushed and looked to the ground.

"What's wrong, commander?" asked Valya while holding a glowing green hand over the griffon's injury.

"I... don't think I was able to open my eyes that entire trip," admitted the Champion sheepishly.

"I guess that means I need to take you for more than one type of ride in the immediate future," I said with a shrug.

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[isabelaexplainsitall]

Hold On Tight!

"Do you have it yet?" I asked as I fastened the leather straps to my riding belt.

"We're trying, mum, but metalworking takes some time. We're doing our best," answered Wallace as he placed the third cured ham in the feeding trough. The enormous animal looked woefully from the meat to me, but I held my expression firm.

"This is all we've got left, Feathers. You and your siblings have already eaten all of the goats," I said as sternly as I could to the creature.

The steel-grey griffon somehow managed to look petulant as he turned to the pork and ripped chunks of meat as big as my fist from the bone with his mighty beak, but eat it he did.

"We need it soon, Wallace. I've got enough trouble with the somersaulting belly and the insects in my teeth, but I'll be damned if I have to do it while squinting like a nearsighted templar," I complained.

"Aye, mum. It should be ready tonight," Wallace assured me.

"Are you sure about this, sweet thing?" I asked, as I felt a steadying, armored hand on my shoulder.

"They're detonating the charges in an hour. I need to survey the battlefield so I can look for the best way to collapse the tunnels once the siege has been broken," Hawke answered, shifting awkwardly in the second saddle behind mine.

"It doesn't have to be now, does it? We could wait until the preparations are complete."

"It's better if we are there while it is happening. We're more likely to see the tunnels opening if we've got a good view before and after," she explained, as if that settled everything.

"Well... just hang on tight," I said. "And make sure you're properly strapped in."

She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek in response.

"Just don't blame me if you fall off!" I grumped, but I couldn't stop the heat from reaching my cheeks as I felt her arms wrap around my waist.

I gripped the animal with my knees and placed my hands at the saddlehorns on either side of the great beastie. 

"Come on, it's time we got up there," I urged, pushing the saddle horns with both hands. Feathers warbled and swallowed the last of his cured pork. He gave a loud squawk as he climbed to the top of the stables, spread his broad wings, and leaped into the air.

I gritted my teeth as I braced for that pressure and gravity that always followed the brief moment of weighlessness. Hawke was not expecting it, and suddenly her grip tightened like a vise. A mighty flap of the wings and we were climbing through the air as the griffon happily let loose another squawk.

The wind roared in my ears as I held myself low against the creature's back to minimize the effects of the gusts that buffeted my body. That much air moving that quickly irritated my eyes, and I squinted in discomfort. We cleared the fortress in seconds, shooting out over the walls like one of Sebastian's arrows. 

After a few minutes, we leveled out as I used the saddle horns to direct the griffon toward the templar encampment. His wings were held wide, flapping only to gain additional altitude, but the massive shoulder movement of each flap caused the muscles in his long body to ripple beneath us.

"..."

I tried shouting, but the words were lost in the roar of the wind. Instead, I reached back and tapped the woman hanging on for dear life. Her body jerked in reaction. I pointed toward the encampment, and I felt her give my waist a squeeze in acknowledgement. We circled the camp, and I noted the positions of the templars and the angry red rock outcroppings jutting from the earth. I hoped that Hawke saw them too. 

Then I noticed the prisoners. Feathers circled high above the group of templars marching a line of prisoners toward a red rocky outcropping. Near its base, a trio of hooded spellbinders were butchering the captives with long, ceremonial blades. Crimson lifeblood splashed against the rock and, wherever the blood touched, the outcropping would spark and flash and a new lyrium growth would sprout.

We had discovered what the prisoners were being used for.

One of the armored soldiers looked up as we passed overhead, alerted when Feathers' enormous shadow passed over him. He began pointing and waving at us. I began pulling at the saddle horns, first left, then right, and gripped harder with my knees, hoping Feathers would understand that we needed to speed up.

He squawked in joy and began whirling in the air, playing with the wind and going faster. My heart sank as the realization dawned on me.

Feathers had never been in a battle before. He had no idea that anyone would consider trying to hurt us. And, as I got this realization, I looked down in horror as several armored men bearing longbows and steel-tipped arrows nocked and drew on us.

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