The sun had finally begun to set, bringing an end to the eighth of many long days in the saddle. The cooler evening air was much anticipated by everyone in the party, but to none more than the gargoyle astride the massive, quadruped reptile at the head of the group.
The small band, associates in the bounty trade, included a female drow elf, a young male centaur, two half-orc brothers, and herself.
The gargess muttered a curse and shifted uncomfortably, leaning further back into the shade of the howdah's canopy, not that it helped any. No matter what she did it was impossible to escape the stifling summer heat.
Clad in soft doeskin trews, modified with make-shift drapes bound around her ankles to cover her bare, tri-taloned feet. A loose fitting, long sleeve linen shirt laced to the neck, ribs and bust bound firm by a tanned leather bodice. Her wings she kept curled forward and wrapped about her shoulders, over them a light gauze cloak that clasped between her clavicles. Gloves, minus the finger-tips to allow for her heavy, curved black talons, protected her hands and wrists. The thin linen scarf that covered her head was wrapped and tucked just so to fit snug across her forehead and fall loosely around the lower half of her face, leaving only a narrow slit for her eyes. A bandit-mask painted in black with a mixture of soot, moist clay and animal fat had been applied thick around her eyes and across the bridge of her nose. — Though she could be active during the day, unlike others of her kind, direct sun on flesh that was not meant to see the light of day had miserable consequences, thus necessitating the garb she wore.
She despised operating during the day almost as much as she hated being confined to the ground. Alas, here she was enduring both.
The bounty offered for the return of her latest mark was too much to ignore so for now she'd have to set her rathers aside. This one job would cover provisions for the winter to come and then some, even after a five-way split. If brought back alive the reward would be doubled. To get it done in a timely manner daytime travel was required.
This job was unlike any other she had done in the past, as this fugitive had already been captured. Her job was to retrieve his prison caravan and escort him back from a neighboring realm. It seemed like easy profit.
The fugitive was a minotaur, a savage one she surmised, based on the offered reward, but other than that she gave it little thought.
Now, just over a week, finally they were approaching their destination. The trees had begun to thin and the slope had leveled off, two details of the map she had committed to memory. The cross-roads were just ahead.
From their vantage point on the hillside, rooftops and taller buildings could now be seen in the distance. "Rhydin." The word a mere whisper on her breath. She mused for a moment, tallying major life events since her departure and surmised that it had been about a decade and a half since last she was here. A fleeting desire to see the city's changes up close, to see if the Goblin Pub still stood and who might be there passed through her thoughts. The idea, though, was quickly banished when the clearing and the prisoner cell came into view, jarring her back into the present.
Reigning her mount to a halt the gargess beckoned and called to one of the others traveling in single file behind her, "U"jin."
The young centaur quickly side-stepped the drow in front of him and skipped into a trot, passing the elf perched atop her raptor who threateningly snapped at his flank as he moved by.
Hooves crunching on loose shale, he came to a stop alongside the goyle as she dismounted, his bow already in hand. "Ma"am?"
With a twist of her wrist she motioned a forward circle with her hand, 'scout the perimeter, be on your guard."
U"jin, though young in years carried himself like a seasoned soldier. Strong and proud, his well-muscled physique something of a marvel even among his kin, a fact that even the surly gargess couldn't deny having noticed. Quiet and calculating, an excellent marksman and deadly at swordplay, he was probably the most capable of dealing with the center of an ambush should one be laying in wait. She had worked with him thrice before and considered him the more trusted member of the troupe she lead.
He gave her a quick nod then sprang into a gallop, quickly disappearing into the trees on the far side of the clearing. As she watched him go the gargess gave a loud, sharp whistle, then waited.
To the right movement caught her eye, and then the rustling of shrubbery and the squeal of an injured animal met her ears. An imp then shot out of the shadows of some scrub brush, first on foot then clumsily taking to the air. Furless, greyish-green in color, perhaps a foot and a half tall; oversized eyes, black and pupilless, large feline-ish ears, four-free limbs and a set of bat-like wings.
Flying awkwardly toward the mounted group, she was struggling to gain control of a spirited cottontail she had caught a short time before she heard the summons. Her jaws and needle-sharp teeth clamped down on the scruff while little arms and raccoon-like paws were flailing about in an attempt to subdue the rodent. With wings flapping out of sync, she flew several feet above the ground, repeatedly dipping low before eventually gaining some reasonable height. Just when it appeared that she finally had the upper hand, a well-placed rabbit claw caught the underside of her nose. With a wheezed yelp, the imp released her grip and the rodent fell to the ground with a muffled thud, the fall having killed it. Within a blink the imp had righted herself and was diving for revenge. She landed atop her prey, teeth and claws bared, she clung with all fours and toppling head over wing, over tail, rolling several paces before flopping to a stop just short of the gargoyle's feet. The rabbit was dead, limp, and once again in the jaws of the imp, who for good measure, gave her head a vicious shake.
Quite proud of her catch, she gazed up at the gargoyle and wagged her short nub of a tail as well as the rest of her rear. Grinning from ear to ear from around the rabbit's dingy fur, she spat out her kill and gave it nudge forward with her short snout closer to the gargess" feet.
"So much for salvaging the hide" snorted the drow, more annoyed than amused with the imp's antics. With a twitch of her dark fingers she shot a tiny bolt of energy at the ground, intentionally missing, but startling the imp nonetheless.
The gargoyle snarled, grabbed for the raptor's reigns and jerked them down and forward. At nearly seven feet tall she stood at eye level with the beast, her surprising strength nearly yanking it off of its feet. Eyes flaring white hot, the gargess gripped the front of the elf's tunic with her free hand and roughly pulled her from the saddle. Feet dangling, she brought her face within an inch of her own and hissed quiet threat, 'do that again and I will break every bone in your body!"
Taloned grip then released, letting the elf drop about three feet to the ground. Landing hard but quickly regaining her footing, the drow glowered at the gargoyle but wisely said nothing. It was a harsh reminder that the gargess was not one to be trifled with and bullying the imp was a surefire way to piss her off.
Tossing the reigns aside the gargoyle turned back and snapped her fingers at the imp then thumb-pointed skyward. The rabbit was immediately abandoned and the imp leapt into flight to begin making patrol circles above the clearing.
The gargoyle stooped and grabbed the dead rabbit by a hind foot. She gave it a good shake to loosen dust and pebbles then pitched it into an empty saddle bag slung over the rump of her mount.
Perhaps fifteen minutes had passed when U"jin reappeared and gave the "all clear? signal. With silent hand gestures she commanded the two brothers, mounted on draft horses, each ponying another behind them to pull the wagon, to move ahead and toward the prison cell.