Griffin Rider: A Meeting

Caleb strode through the city gate, glancing at the guards who eyed him warily. He couldn't say that he blamed them. After all, a fully armed and armored rider and griffin were intimidating to say the least. Granted given that by nature of the fact that Bracken had to be able to fly with all the gear the armor was relatively light. Only the griffin's breastplate and skullcap were iron. The rest was hardened leather reinforced with bronze barding. His own armor was equally light. Consisting of hardened studded leather. Over the years of constant fighting he'd acquired a shirt of chain mail to wear beneath the leather and a scale mail vest to wear on the exterior. The triple layered armor wasn't the strongest thing he could've worn but it protected Caleb well enough. He wore leather chaps with inlaid chain mail and iron plates covering his thighs and shins. He wore a simple iron skullcap to protect his balding pate.
At his waist rested the long sword which he'd drawn on the elf bitch the day before. It was cumbersome to use one handed but in the air and even on the ground he needed its reach. There was no way around that simple truth. Bracken carried the ever present lance and javelins, the former being the length of fourteen feet, capable of reaching out and striking a foe easily while the javelins gave Caleb the ability to reach out further. He'd become quite good at striking down foes at distance with his thrown weapons, and also had a sling which he kept for when his supply of javelins had run out. He'd thought once of taking up the bow but he lacked the skill for such let alone strength of arm. A crossbow had been another option he'd considered but the price of the contraption and the bolts was too much to sustain. Especially out of wartime.
In any case, the guards looked at each other and then back at him before they turned their attention to the next individual in the crowd of people leaving through the city's north gate. Iskander wasn't a large city but it occupied a crossroads of sorts. One of the continent's rare paved roadways leading from the southern tip of the Borleias Peninsula up the to the High Way ran through the city and the city was also the meeting point of the Aila and Twain rivers which merged to form the Gortia which flowed the length of the peninsula before meeting the sea beyond. So while it was not a large city, it was a prosperous one, and during the wars it had been the site of more than one siege. This was evidenced in the still unrepaired damage to the city walls which were still scored and chipped where projectile and spell had both left their marks.
He passed out of the city gate and onto the roadway. He was unsure where the elf wanted him to meet her. He was still dubious about this job but he dared not endanger Bracken's life anymore than was already evidenced. He could not lose the great beast, he was not so much of a man that he'd not admit such to himself. Not after seven years of constant fighting with the griffin besides or beneath him. Bracken chirped curiously and cast his head towards a wooden covered wagon, a caravaners wagon of all things and a rather richly adorned one. It was the sort that wealthy merchants or vagabonds would use. The vagabonds being comprised of groups of drifting humans or orcs, traveling gnomes, or the wood elves. The intricate carvings upon its surfaces argued towards it being one of the last two The carvings were in an intricate tongue that Caleb couldn't even hope to decipher. He stopped, holding Bracken's reins tightly in his gloved fist as he surveyed the wagon and its company.
The animal pulling it was a great red elk that seemed perfectly content to munch on the grass about its feet. However it was not the elk, nor its impressive rack of antlers that interested Caleb. It was the centaur, minotaur, and nidracaal that stood around the wagon that told him he was in the right place. There was also a young apparently human girl present with a gnome who seemed to be exploding himself into a bright shower of gold before reassembling itself, Caleb could never tell the males from the females, damned beards. Given the nature of their company, the two most normal members of the gathering, the girl and the gnome seemed to be the odd pair out even though both were far more common in this part of the continent.
"Well, I suppose this must be it." Caleb grumbled, his grip tightening on Bracken's reins. The griffin for his part leaned forwards, clicking his beak pensively as his blue eyes examined the gathering. "Well lets go introduce ourselves."
Bracken's feathers rippled as the griffin flexed its muscles. Caleb couldn't blame him for being nervous. None of these individuals seemed particularly friendly save perhaps the girl and the gnome. He still saw no sign of the wood elf but she could be inside the wagon for all he knew. As he approached the centaur rose from his sitting position and strode up to Caleb, the eight foot tall beastman looked down at Caleb inquiringly.
"You are the griffin rider?"
Caleb looked up at the centaur without batting an eyelash. "Nay, I'm the Hippogriff Express."
The centaur's eyes narrowed and his hooved feet pawed the ground. "Do not test me human."
Caleb surveyed the massive claymore across the centaur's back and the longbow strapped alongside the beastman's flank along with a quiver of arrows. The blue tattoos covering the centaurs face, torso, and body indicated one of the plainslands tribes.
"Whats a centaur berzerker doing on the Borleias Peninsula?" Caleb asked.
"That is my business human. You are the rider that the elf has enlisted, she will be pleased."
Caleb glared. "I don't care much what pleases her. I ain't here willingly."
The centaur glared at him, but then turned and walked back to the wagon where the minotaur sat. The second beastman was sharpening a nasty double-bladed war axe. The minotaur looked up as Caleb approached and Caleb took a good long look at the beastman's heavy armor that covered his hide. It was finely etched iron and the skullcap the beastman wore encased the entirety of his massive skull. Even his horns were tipped with iron which no doubt made them even more lethal in a charge. Caleb did not wish to face such a monster on any field let alone one of battle.
Behind him Bracken chirped and clicked his beak in annoyance, crowing noisily in warning. Caleb turned, dropping the reins and laying his hand upon his sword. The nidracaal was standing besides Bracken, running its hand over the griffin's haunches.
"I wouldn't be doing that." Caleb cautioned, his hand still on the hilt of his blade.
The nidracaal turned to look at him, its piercing yellow gaze surveying him as its black fur rippled. "You are the rider of this beast?"
"I ain't its nursemaid that's for sure." he replied.
Now that he had a look to examine the nidracaal's appearance he realized that it was a woman. The front of her leather armor was rather obviously conformed to allow for a noticeable bosom. She strode over to him, her tail flicking from side to side. She stopped before him and looked down at him, Caleb had never been a very tall man and this woman was easily six foot of height, at least four inches taller than he was. He looked up at her defiantly, and then to his surprise she reached out a clawed hand and traced it over his armored chest.
"You have a strong and noble heart...I will work with you."
Without another word she strode past him and hopped atop one of the wheels of the wagon, perching there with her inhuman grace, completely natural among her feline species. Caleb shook his head. They were an odd group indeed. He glanced again at the gnome and girl, wondering what they'd be like. The gnome had stopped blowing himself into gold dust and was now looking at Caleb from behind his great bushy red beard, his bright black eyes twinkling excitedly. He marched forwards and stuck out his hand.
"Duulingknopf." he barked harshly.
Caleb blinked and looked at the girl who shrugged with a smile. "It's his name."
"Caleb, Griffin Rider." he replied, taking the gnome's diminutive hand.
It was an awkward shake, the gnome wasn't very strong to begin with and that the top his head barely passed Caleb's thigh made it all the stranger.
"Pleasure to meet you." Duulingknopf replied as his beard changed from red to blue.
Caleb barely had the chance to adjust to this sudden change before the gnome puffed up like a farmyard fowl and exploded in a burst of sand, leaving behind a scent of onions. Caleb stood there mutely, staring at the scattering sand that had been the gnome moments before. The girl was doing her best to hide her obvious mirth as she stood and walked over to him.
"You haven't seen many gnomes, have you."
Caleb shook his head. "Avoid them usually."
She nodded. "Most people do. They're not," she frowned for a moment, canting her head to the side. "Not like most races I suppose is a good way to put it."
Caleb nodded dubiously, surveying the girl's short cropped blonde hair and short leather skirt and vest. It was hardly the sort of clothing that any seemly young woman would wear yet she wore it easily and without shame.
"Entertainer?" he inquired.
She nodded with a bright smile. "I sing and dance mostly." she stamped her animal hide shoes and the bracelets around her ankles jingled merrily. "And other things from time to time." she added with a playful smile.
"How old are ye?" Caleb asked dubiously.
"Nineteen years this harvest." the girl replied. "Don't give me some speech about how I'm sinful or something like that." there was a sudden edge in her tone now that made her seem older. "I've heard it all before. At least I don't make my living killing others."
The centaur snorted. "Nil speaks her mind well. I too had issue with such a young girl making her living in such a manner."
"And I told you off too Ikras." she replied hotly.
Caleb looked between the pair of them. "You know each other?"
"We've been traveling with Sheera for a moon now." replied the girl, Nil, apparently. "You, Ra'ma back there," she pointed at the perched nidracaal. "And Duulingknopf are the newest members of our little band."
"The last members." interjected an unwelcome yet familiar voice from the rear of the wagon.
Sheera strode around the wagon and joined their party, her eyes surveying Caleb who took a step towards Bracken protectively. "I see that you made yourself ready before the settled time. Good. I respect promptness."
"I have no need for yer praise." snapped Caleb. "What's this business of yers?"
"I told you yesterday rider. We seek a High Elf ruin in the northern wastes of Vagre at the base of the Seven-Gates within the Oskillian Forest."
The minotaur had stopped sharpening his axe and was watching Sheera intently with his bovine eyes while the rest of the party did likewise, all were intent upon her person. Even Caleb was listening intently, though mostly because to not heed her was to risk her wrath. There was a shrill cry and all of  them looked up as a miniature drake alighted upon Sheera's shoulder. It coiled its tail around her arm and leaned forwards towards Caleb with a menacing hiss. Sheera stroked it soothingly and the small creature nuzzled against her cheek affectionately.
"Thank you Grimmel." she looked back at Caleb who was eying her dubiously. "This is my pseudo-drake, Grimmel. He and I share a connection, much like you do with your Bracken."
Caleb's eyes narrowed. "Then ye'll be understanding if I strangle the beast."
Sheera's expression twitched in annoyance. "I hope that we may eventually come to understand one another rider. Until then, do not forget that you are contracted and your griffin's life hangs in the balance."
Caleb nodded. He needed no reminding. Sheera looked around at the other members of the party, frowning.
"Where is the gnome?"
"Pudding!" exploded Duulingknopf as he erupted from the ground nearby, startling the red elk which reared and pined in alarm.
Sheera sighed and looked to Nil. "I trust that you can keep him amused?"
The girl nodded with an eager smile. "I can do that."
The minotaur, who still remained unnamed as far as Caleb could tell, stood and began to move off. Ikras nodded and followed after him. Sheera looked around at the remaining members of their band.
"You are all welcome to ride upon the wagon or walk as you please." she looked to Caleb. "I assume that you will not wish to do so given your mistrust of me."
Caleb held up a hand. "Before we head out. My payment."
She nodded in turn. "I thought as much." she produced a purse from within her robes. "As promised."
Caleb took it and strapped it to his belt, returning to Bracken's side and swinging atop the griffin's broad back. Bracken took the weight and flexed his sinuous muscles beneath Caleb's thighs before following after Ikras and the minotaur. Caleb didn't wait to see if the wagon followed them onto the road north, but a moment later he heard the pining cry of the elk and the trundling sound of the wagon wheels. He looked forwards towards the horizon, wondering what lay ahead of him and if this would be any better than another war.