Gwen raised her off-hand dagger above her head to deflect the attack coming at her head. She stepped forward. She closed the distance and stabbed her sword at her opponent. In return her opponent stepped backwards to get out of Gwen's range. Gwen's mind raced. She had a split second to decide her next course of action. She decided to press the attack. Her opponent raised their shield and batted away Gwen's blade. They then swung their sword at Gwen's neck. Gwen tried to backstep out of range, but Gwen was unable to block it.
The blow stopped just before hitting Gwen's neck.
"You have really improved in the past two weeks," Tristan told her, lowering his sword. "Your battle instincts have improved."
"Yes, knowing to close the distance when fighting someone with a longer reach than you is one thing, but being able to put that concept into action while in the heat of battle is impressive," Gabriel told Gwen. "You have gotten much better at thinking on your feet."
The three of them were in the training room at the Magician's Keep. It was a large empty room, like a gymnasium. The room itself was about the size of a high school basketball court. The training room was located in a sublevel of the Magician's Keep. According to Maximus, it was reinforced enough for two dragons to have a spar as well as to test some of the more destructive experiments and volatile technology. Maximus had also stated something about there being some kind of terrain simulation apparatus in which different sized objects, walls, and slopes could be deployed from the floor.
"I think that you have gotten proficient enough with combat that you could defend yourself against an average adversary for at least a while. You might even be able to defeat someone if you are lucky," Tristan said.
"Alright, we should go see what Max and Marigold are up to," Gwen said, already sheathing her weapons.
The three left the training room and took the elevator up to the third floor. Upon reaching the third floor, the trio headed for the kitchen and cafeteria. From the smell wafting towards them, Gwen could tell that someone was cooking.
Stepping into the cafeteria area, Gwen saw that the old matron was making lunch for everyone. The matron and Alara had both become greatly proficient at operating the kitchen appliances without the help of Maximus or Marigold.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Gwen asked the old woman. "Also, do you happen to know where Max is?"
Thank you for your kind offer, but I have everything under control," the matron responded. "As for the location of the Draconic Emissary, I mean Lord Maximus, excuse me, I believe that he and Lady Marigold are currently giving the children a lesson. I believe he mentioned that the topic was science. They should be finishing soon. Lunch will also be ready so we can all eat together."
"That sounds wonderful, we will prepare the tables for lunch then," Gabriel stated.
The three teens went about preparing the tables for lunch.
A few minutes later, Maximus and Marigold came into the cafeteria followed by the children with Alara taking up the rear.
"I didn't know rocks could be so interesting," one of the children said aloud.
"I know, igneous rocks are so cool. They literally form from cooling lava," another added.
"I really liked the obsidian Mr. Maximus showed us, it was so cool," a third added.
The children sat down to eat, still chatting about what they had just learned.
Maximus, seeing Gwen and the brothers, walked over to sit with them. Marigold followed him, landing on his right shoulder.
"How is your training going, Gwen?" the magician asked.
"I think I have improved my fighting ability," Gwen said. "Thank you for giving me my sword by the way."
"Gwen has become proficient at fighting. She is also surprisingly good at thinking on her feet," Gabriel added.
"How is it going with getting everyone settled?" Gwen asked. "Is anyone having any problems adjusting? Have you finished setting up the children's curriculum?"
"Yes, the children are adapting wonderfully to life in the Keep. I have set up lesson plans for the next three months. The children are wonderful students, they truly apply themselves to their work," Maximus explained. "We have also set up a schedule for some chores for the children to perform. The tasks are simple, like harvesting food from the hydroponic farm, helping with meal preparation, or taking care of the horses. The children also have plenty of free time to enjoy however they would like."
"The children are also making great progress with their reading abilities and arithmetic lessons," Marigold mentioned from Maximus's shoulder.
"So, when do you think you will be ready to head back out on our quest?" Tristan asked the magician.
"We should head back to the capital. We will be able to search for information most easily there," Gabriel added.
The magician took a moment to think before responding, "Mari and I will be prepared to leave in two days. We should all prepare for the possibility of a long journey this time."
Everyone nodded in affirmation.
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Two days later, the day for the party's departure had arrived. The children hugged everyone and wished them good luck on their journey.
Gwen had her gambeson on and was wearing her new sword and her original dagger on her waist. She smiled cheerily at the children, wanting them to have happy memories of her as she did not know whether she would ever be returning to the Magician's Keep. She was a bit sad to be parting with the orphans, but she knew that they would be happy living in the Magician's Keep.
As the companions exited the Keep and headed for the stable, Gwen turned back one last time to see the children waving at them. She waved back.
The party mounted their horses; Gwen would be riding behind Gabriel for their journey back to the capital. They then set off along the newly renovated forest trail.
Gwen noticed how much more quickly they were able to pass along the trail compared to the first few times that they had passed along it. The adventurers soon reached the main road and continued their journey towards the capital.
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About an hour into their journey, Gwen was thinking about how they were going to find information on the location of a Dragon's Key.
Suddenly, a screech pierced the sky.
"Griffin!" Marigold shouted from behind Gwen.
They were completely exposed on the road with the river to their right providing no protection. The nearest shelter was the tree line of the forest a few meters away. Looking up, Gwen saw the griffin's body get bigger as it plummeted down at them from the sky.
Gwen became highly apprehensive about their ability to deal with such a threat.
The griffin landed lightly on the grass next to the road. Its body positioned directly between the party and the safety of the trees.
"Protect the horses!" shouted Tristan, dismounting and drawing his sword.
The whole party dismounted, preparing for the battle that was about to commence.
Tristan rushed forward with his shield raised to block the griffin from reaching the horses. The young knight swung his sword at the griffin's head. He landed the hit, but the wound was shallow.
A swipe of the griffin's large left talons blasted the young knight to the side. He rolled three times before crashing against a tree, his sword flung from his grip from the impact. His shield, which had taken the brunt of the damage, was lying mangled next to the boy, with claw marks ripped right through the metal. With a heavy flap of its wings the griffin flew back into the air.
"Tristan!" Gwen shouted as she ran over to the boy lying crumpled against the tree trunk. Removing his helmet she breathed a sigh of relief; he was still breathing.
"Drag him into the woods. The griffin can't attack us from the sky there," Gabriel commanded as he aimed and fired his crossbow at the body of the beast. "Magician? We need your skills."
The griffin swooped down, deftly dodging the crossbow bolt.
Max put out his hand and shouted something in Draconic. A jet of fire flew from his hand and torched the griffin. The beast screeched in pain and fell to the ground its scorched feathers unable to keep it airborne.
The grounded griffin, while scorched, was still a great threat.
"Mari, can you blind it? I will attack from the side," Maximus asked the fairy, preparing to rush the creature.
"On it," the fairy replied, flying closer to the griffin and saying something in Draconic.
A thick fog formed around the griffin's head, obscuring it from view. Following this opening, Maximus ran forward at an inhuman speed and swung his saber at the side of the winged beast.
The griffin swung its right talon, likely instinctively knowing that an attack was coming. Maximus met the talons that had torn through a metal shield with the blade of his sword. To Gwen's surprise, the blade sliced through the hard talons with only light resistance.
The griffin screeched in pain, blood pouring from where its talon had previously been.
Not stopping, the magician swung his sword upwards, decapitating the monster.
The monster's corpse dropped to the ground, blood starting to pool from its injuries.
Gwen and Gabriel were shocked, the magician and fairy had taken down the massive threat with just the two of them.
The threat vanquished, Maximus sheathed his sword and walked over to where Gwen crouched next to Tristan. Gabriel, still near the horses, led the horses over to where Tristan lay. Marigold was the last to arrive, flying over after doing a fly-around examination of the dead griffin.
"How is Tristan?" Gabriel asked, worry written everywhere on his face.
"He is unconscious, but he is breathing. His arm really doesn't look good though," Gwen stated, pointing at Tristan's arm which was bent at an unnatural angle.
"It appears that Tristan might have a clavicle fracture," Maximus stated, analyzing the unconscious young knight. We will need to remove his armor for me to get a look. We will need to do so carefully though, so as not to worsen any injuries."
Gabriel carefully removed the armor from the unconscious Tristan. During this process, the young knight awoke.
"What's happening? Is the griffin defeated?" the young knight asked the questions frantically. "Ow, my shoulder really hurts. I feel that I may have broken something."
"Yes, it appears that you have a clavicle fracture," Maximus told Tristan.
"Maximus, you can use your magic to heal my brother's arm, right?" Gabriel asked the magician.
"It is not magic, but yes, I can accelerate and enhance cellular growth to rapidly heal the wound," Maximus stated.
"Max, simplify," Marigold said from floating above his shoulder.
"Right, I can increase the speed at which his body heals the wound," Maximus stated. "We will need to immobilize his arm first though, so that the bone heals correctly."
Maximus pulled a sling out from his bag.
"I will immobilize the arm with these, then I will help you heal," the magician stated.
Maximus put Tristan's arm in the splint and sling. He told Tristan to try not to move as it would hinder the healing process. With his instructions finished, the magician started speaking in Draconic.
Gwen watched as the bruising and swelling on Tristan's shoulder started to quickly decrease. She was again reminded how amazed she was at the impressiveness of the technology of the Dragons.
"You should keep your arm in the sling for the rest of the day just to be cautious," Maximus told Tristan.
The immediate issue of Tristan's injury resolved the companions were reminded of another problem. That problem was Tristan's destroyed shield. The shield was completely unusable. The claw marks went right through the shield.
"I guess that I will simply need to purchase a new shield once we reach the capital," Tristan said. "Maximus, would you mind carrying the remains of this shield in your bag?"
Gwen remembered that the armor that Tristan was wearing belonged to his late father. Losing a piece of it must feel like losing a piece of his father.
The companions' issues resolved, they continued their journey towards the capital.