Royal Griffon Ch.6

Nic turned out to be very bad at Three Fingered Coup.

The game itself was simple enough, a spin on poker where players tried to assemble a hand of cards to “coup” their opponent. Mechanically, he picked things up almost immediately but it was the bluffing that kept tripping him up. Nic just could not lie convincingly to save his life, even if he didn’t speak a single word. Isabella, by contrast, was a master at playing the truth like a fiddle, leaving her with all the cards that mattered. Metaphorically and literally.

“Call,” Nic said, placing his hand on the table. It was the strongest he’d managed to assemble all game, three assassins and a viceroy, a single butler the only thing spoiling an otherwise ideal set. He was confident in it all the same. Based on what had been discarded throughout the round, there shouldn’t be enough power left in play to counter all three assassins.

“Not bad,” Isabella said.

She slowly began to reveal her own cards, placing them down one at a time. Guard, guard, assassin, butler. Not enough to win, so it all came down to the last reveal. She of course made a show of it, holding the card up to Nic’s face before slowly lowering it into place to reveal a wild jester.

“Godsdammit!” Nic snapped, sitting back in his chair. “You had that the whole time, didn’t you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She teased. “Want to go again?”

“No, I think I’m done,” Nic said. “Can only take so much of getting my ass kicked.”

Isabella frowned but nodded, gathering up the cards as Nic scanned the room. Little had changed in the hours they’d been there, the crowd shifting and milling but never dispersing. The queen had retired some time ago, her health finally winning out against keeping up appearances. She’d taken the egg with her, promising to return before it hatched, leaving only Zulathon to hold court.

“So, what do you want to do now?” Isabella asked.     

Nic thought for a moment, grasping that her question was a polite cover for ‘entertain me dancing monkey’. He briefly considered agreeing to more cards when a thought from earlier in the day popped back into his head.

“Want to go take a look at the tree?” Nic suggested.

“Tree?”

“The big one, up top.”

He gestured vaguely towards the ceiling, growing concerned when the dagger appeared on Isabella’s lips.

“You don’t know what it is, do you?”

Nic cast her a look. “Have you ever known me to say yes when you ask that question?”

Isabella chuckled. “No, I suppose not.”

“Care to enlighten me?”

“It’s a religious site,” Isabella said. “An Urd Tree, the same kind which it is said all griffons first roosted in.” She gestured at their surroundings. “Before they started building places like this.”

“And let me guess, it’s the only known tree in this universe, marking whoever holds it as chosen by the gods to rule?”

“Fate, actually,” Isabella said. “But otherwise yes.”

“Right, and next you’re going to tell me Master Orlin helped Zulathon get the seed it grew from?”

Isabella’s smile sharpened, prompting Nic to give an exhausted sigh.

“Seriously?”

Isabella laughed. “Nah, I’m just messing with you. That tree is ancient, existed long before anyone here was born.”

Nic rolled his eyes, making Isabella laugh even harder.

“Still,” Nic continued. “I want to see it.”

Isabella nodded. “Lead the way, bold adventurer.”

They rose together from the table they’d commandeered and moved for the nearest exit, slowed by having to slog through the press of bodies. They’d made it most of the way when a griffon that seemed to be doing their best impression of a sunflower moved to block their path.

“Lady Hemlock,” he said, voice crackling. “A pleasure to see you again.”

“The pleasure’s all mine, Lord Juka,” Isabella said, dropping into a perfectly executed curtsy.

“I wonder if I might have a few moments of your time?” The griffon looked conspicuously at Nic. “Alone.”

“Of course,” Isabella said, earning a startled look from Nic. She patted him on the shoulder, indicating towards the door. “Go on without me, I’ll be along.”

“You sure?” Nic asked, trying to pick up on a double meaning.

“Of course,” Isabella said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Unsure but out of options, Nic bowed to Lord Juka, earning scarcely more than a nod in return, and continued through the crowd, leaving Isabella conversing with the griffon. He was still very confused by what had happened, at least until his tablet dinged with a message.

Importantt boIRGng can’t ignoRE WILL CATCH UP.

Nic chuckled as he read the words. Not a conversation she wanted to be having then. Hopefully her skills at navigating such things would see her through quickly.

The noise of the party faded as Nic left the grand hall, the press of people receding to only the occasional worker or uniformed guard. The latter were gruff, either staring him down whenever he passed or studiously ignoring him, leaving only an aura of quiet menace. It was so strong that Nic had to work up the courage to speak to one of them when he realized he needed directions.

“Um, excuse me?” Nic eventually managed to ask. He retreated a step when the man rounded on him with a full glower.

“Yes sir?” the guard asked in a snarling voice.

“I was just wondering, how do I get to the tree?” Nic asked. “The one at the top of the spire?”

The man considered the young techne for a moment, Nic getting the distinct impression that he was not appreciated. He could see why this guy was on empty hallway detail.

“That way,” the guard said eventually, waving in something that counted as a direction. “Elevator to the top.”

“And I’m allowed in there?” Nic asked.

“Yes.” The guard said, then added as an afterthought. “Sir.”

“Thank you,” Nic said, turning and moving away as fast as he felt was acceptable.

The guard’s directions proved insufficient to put it mildly. The halls quickly split multiple times; the entire Aerie seeming to be honeycombed with tunnels that ran in every direction. Nic had to guess which way to go several times, mostly going by which option looked more allowed. An explanation he suspected would not hold up if he came across more guards.

He was considering trying to backtrack to wait for Isabella when he rounded a corner and found a door that looked promising. It was large and ornate, golden details on the surface depicting the Urd Tree growing from a spherical seed, the branches and roots reaching out to overtake the entire surface. He pushed on it, finding the whole thing surprisingly light as it swung open with barely any effort. It shut behind him as Nic stepped inside, just as the young techne realized he was in the wrong place.

There probably wasn’t a much worse place he could be in fact, given he was standing alone in the same room as the royal heir. Their incubator sat against the far wall, nestled into a purpose made niche. The egg sat within the device, visible through the de-tinted viewing window, still illuminated by the heat lamp.

Nic turned to leave, hoping he hadn’t already tripped an alarm, but froze at the soft sound of cracking. Looking back, he saw the egg was moving, rocking gently back and forth on its pillow as its occupant shifted fitfully within.

Surprising himself, Nic stepped away from the door and approached the incubator, watching through the viewing window as another little tremor rocked the shell. It reminded him of a kitten winding up for a pounce, a thought which made no sense but brought a smile to Nic’s lips regardless.

He reached out to place a hand on the glass, the surface warm from the heat inside the chamber. A pulse was there too, something not unlike a heartbeat though Nic assumed it was more likely just part of the machinery. By complete coincidence, his touch coincided with an especially violent shift, the egg almost tipping over from the momentum.

“Eager, aren’t you?” Nic said. “Thinking of coming out?”

The egg settled into its bedding, going still again. Nic took that as his cue to leave and stepped away, heading back towards the door. He was just reaching out to open it when something made him stop.

A sound on the air, a soft one, little more than a murmur that barely broke the ambiance of the Aerie. Part of him almost dismissed it as nothing, but a lifetime experience of sneaking around places he wasn’t supposed to be made him pause. He strained his ears, listening intently to his surroundings and quickly picked out the sound again. Voices, he realized, talking out in the hall.

That should have sent him scurrying away, praying they hadn’t overheard him talking to the egg, but a sliver of doubt kept him pinned in place. The voices were wrong, hushed, as if they were as concerned with being overheard as he was.

Pressing a hand against the door, he gently eased it open a crack, just enough for him to peek through. He could barely see anything at first, not wanting to risk the thing flying open and giving him away. There was definitely someone out there though, the voices becoming clearer through the gap.

“Why’d you hit me Hob?” someone hissed.

“Cuz you got in my way Gob!” replied someone else, presumably Hob.

“But you told me to-”

“Will you two shut up?” snapped a third voice.

“He started it!” the first two said in unison.

Nic finally found the right angle and got a look at who was out in the hall. Three goblins stood in a small cluster, facing one another as they continued to bicker. They were dressed in dark garb, skintight body gloves that covered feet, hands, and faces, leaving only their eyes and ears visible. The last lacked the normal collection of decorations that goblins usually wore, a fact that made Nic sharply suspicious. The tallest of the three, the leader going by his bearing, swatted at the other two, sending the smaller goblins stumbling away, each making very strange whooping noises.

“Enough, both of you!” the leader said, causing his two minions to snap to attention. “I’m gonna go get the egg, you two go watch the hall in case anyone wanders in. Think you two idiots can handle that?”

“Yea boss,” they said, again in perfect unison.

Hob and Gob rushed away in opposite directions down the hall, quickly vanishing from sight. The leader remained, rolling his eyes in a most beleaguered way before he turned towards the door.

Nic’s mind raced, caught in a dozen different thoughts running in an equal number of directions. Hide, fight, flee, call out, he didn’t know what to do and they were all drowned out by a roar of fear overtop everything. He looked around the room for any guidance, or even just an option.

Instead, his eyes fell on the egg where it sat in the incubator, still and completely defenseless.

The door opened.

*

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