Post
by waysoftheearth » Mon Mar 24, 2014 3:06 am
In the pre-dawn dark of the seventh day since arriving at Southwatch our intrepid company at last shoulder their packs--heavy with provisions--and clamber up to the highest reaches of the great watch tree to a platform which looks like nothing so much as an over-sized "bird's nest".
The Elvish beastmaster and several of his apprentices is already there, holding a tight rein on a magnificent, but frisky, hippogriff. The beast has the forequarters--and wings--of a giant eagle, and the hindquarters of a horse, and is straining and squawking to get skyward.
"First pair, mount up!" instructs the beastmaster, "Your guides are already aloft!" You have already been briefed that you'll be riding in weight-balanced pairs, and now see that there is a great double saddle upon the hippogriff's back. First up are Dieter and Desmond, and the beastmaster's apprentices help them to mount and strap in. "Don't worry," they advise the nervous travellers, "The beasts know what to do!".
No sooner have they got into their saddles than the beastmaster lets go the reins and the animal pounds the air mightily with its wings as it leaps upward, screaming. Those at the nest are nearly blown over the edge by the furious gusts, while Dieter and Desmond cling grimly on for dear life as the whole of their world tips upward and lurches savagely.
As soon as they've cleared the nest another hippogriff drops out of the black sky in a flurry of wind and feathers, and an elvish rider leaps down, allowing the next pair--Torben and Wen--to mount and be swept up into the sky.
This continues until all twelve company members are aloft upon the backs of six hippogriffs. Flying!
On the chill dawn air! IT IS EXHILARATING!
[f=32]
Golgildir the Elf Medium (MV 12", AC 9, HD 1, hp 1/1, AL N) great cloak,
lantern; spells: color spray; scrolls: sleep, sleep, charm person
Hirelings: Georges;
torch[/f]