Morning light seeped through the gap in the curtains, thick and warm as melted honey. When Yavi opened his eyes, a shaft of golden sunlight fell diagonally across the corner of his blanket, tiny specks of dust drifting slowly within it.
Outside the window, the chirping of early-rising sparrows rose and fell, awakening the sleeping campus. The morning breeze gently stirred the curtains, slipping into the room with the fresh scent of dew and grass. Wisps of white smoke were already rising from the distant dining hall's chimney, tracing soft curves across the azure sky.
After a quick wash, Yavi stood before the full-length mirror and slowly put on his black studded leather armor. The cold metal rivets gleamed dimly in the morning light, and the firm leather rustled faintly with his movements. The armor fit his lean, muscular frame perfectly, its reinforced shoulder guards outlining his broad shoulders and its waist straps cinching his narrow waist. Finally, he tightened the armor around his wrists, where the metal studs formed a dangerous arc in the morning light, matching the sharpness in his azure eyes.
Once he was ready, Yavi ate a little in the downstairs dining hall, then went to buy some food and drinks. Afterward, he headed to the stables by the west gate, retrieved the pony he had left there, and went out through the west gate toward the wilderness.
On the day Yavi fought the griffin, the subdued creature had told him roughly where its nest lay. He only needed to search the area briefly to find it. Yavi rode his pony leisurely southwest. The summer morning was a little hot, but the occasional breeze brought traces of coolness. Looking at the lush flowers, grass, and trees around him, Yavi's mood grew cheerful.
He took a waterskin from his storage space, and the slightly chilled water slipping down his throat dispelled some of the heat within him. After a few more mouthfuls of cool water, Yavi let out a comfortable "Ah," patted the pony's neck, and poured the remaining water into its mouth.
Horse affinity +1
Near noon, Yavi reached a pile of scattered rocks. This was the area the griffin had described. He activated his Witcher Senses and soon caught a foul, bloody stench on the wind. Frowning, Yavi headed toward its source. As the stench grew stronger, the pony beneath him began to tremble involuntarily. It, too, sensed the dangerous presence of a fierce beast and dared not go any farther. Seeing this, Yavi dismounted, patted its head to soothe it, then slapped its rump to drive it away from the area.
Without the pony, Yavi could only proceed on foot. Fortunately, he was not far away. Within a few minutes, he spotted the griffins' nest atop the rocks. Before he could approach, the larger griffin standing outside the nest let out a piercing eagle's cry. It was just about to attack the intruder when the female beside it roared it back. The male ducked its neck at her roar, then lay back down where it stood.
"Don't worry, human. He won't attack you. He was only trying to protect me."
The somewhat weakened female griffin sent Yavi a magical message.
Yavi readied his body for combat, prepared to respond at any moment if either griffin suddenly attacked, and cautiously approached their nest. Though called a lair, to Yavi it was simply an enormous bird's nest, only too large to build in a tree, so it had to sit on the ground. This also gave some people an opening to exploit. Up close, Yavi noticed that new tissue had already begun growing where the female griffin's left claw had been severed. It seemed she would recover fully before long. After examining the male more closely, Yavi was surprised to discover that it was a rather rare Royal Griffin. Royal Griffins were far stronger than ordinary griffins and possessed an exceptionally rare innate resistance to magic. Such resistance was extremely uncommon among beasts and monsters; only certain occasionally occurring variants might possess it, whereas Royal Griffins seemed to be born with it. Had this larger Royal Griffin been the one Yavi fought that day, he probably really would have died on the spot.
Only after confirming that the danger had passed did Yavi enter the griffins' nest to search for any possible clues. The female griffin obligingly stepped out as well, leaving him free to investigate.
The moment he entered, an overwhelming stench struck him in the face, nearly making him throw up his breakfast. Yet he feared missing clues if he deactivated his Witcher Senses, so he could only endure the nausea and steel himself to rummage through the nest. Rotting animal remains lay scattered throughout, with human remains and equipment occasionally visible among them. After searching for a long while without finding anything, Yavi had no choice but to crawl out. Any longer, and he reckoned the stench would kill him in there.
Kneeling with his hands braced against the ground, Yavi dry-heaved several times before struggling to his feet and gulping down fresh air. He had never felt that air could be so refreshing...
Only after taking quite a while to recover did Yavi approach the two griffins and communicate with them through magic.
"I didn't find any useful information in the nest. I can only search the surrounding area now."
The two griffins looked somewhat discouraged at the news, but they did not give up.
"I've been searching around the wetlands to the southwest for traces of those humans lately. I've destroyed the bridge leading south, my mate patrols the north of the wetlands, and I've kept the west sealed off, so they definitely can't escape. But the wetlands are too vast for me to pinpoint them. Still, I'm certain they're hiding in there!"
The male griffin, who had remained silent until now, sent Yavi a useful lead. Since he could find nothing here, Yavi could only venture into the wetlands and see whether he could discover their traces there. During the time they had been trapped, they would surely have needed to seek food and water in the wetlands, so they must have left footprints. This was also the only lead Yavi currently had to begin his investigation.
After parting with the two griffins, Yavi set off toward the wetlands to the south. A little way from the nest, he whistled to summon his pony. Before long, it came trotting over and rubbed its head against him incessantly. It seemed to have had quite a fright. Yavi kept patting its neck until it calmed down, then mounted and headed toward the wetlands.
At noon, Yavi had a quick lunch in the wilderness before venturing deep into the wetlands. The hollow croaking of marsh frogs sounded in the distance, only to be interrupted by a sudden splash-whether an animal had lost its footing or something else had fallen into the bottomless mire, he could not tell. Distorted shadows occasionally flashed beneath the water, indistinguishable as schools of fish or reflections. Even the sunlight seemed pale and feeble here, like diluted bile, barely penetrating the thick mist to cast blurred patches of light upon the ground.
Amid the mud, Yavi suddenly discovered a faint footprint in a muddy pool...