Chapter 39

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Chapter 039: The Dream of the Gryphon

In the afternoon, when the sun was directly overhead, Jesse and Greed set off without even finding a place to eat lunch.

Carriages to and from Goldshire were available all day, so they caught one and hit the road.

Watching the dappled sunlight filtering through the shade of the trees in Elwynn Forest, glimpsing deer peeking out from the dense forest, colorful birds hopping back and forth on the tree branches, and listening to the rhythmic sounds of horse hooves and carriage wheels.

At that moment, he forgot all about Orcs, Worgens, Death Knights, and the Shadow Council’s orders, and instead stared at the distant Stormwind gate fading away between the tree canopy and the light and let his mind go blank.

Sitting in the rocking back seat of the car, sipping some fishy-smelling goat milk paid by someone else, Jesse really felt like if life could just go on like this forever.

"That day I looked at the horses in the Mage Quarter, one prettier than the next," he asked Greed with one leg up, "How much does it cost to keep a horse here?"

Greed opened his eyes, looking at the sky, said, "I don’t understand horses, never rode one, you asked the wrong person. But I know if you want to keep horses, you need to treat them differently, regular pack horses are not the same as warhorses, not to mention those fancy horses only ridden by wealthy people."

Jesse said, "Someone told me the real warhorses ridden by Stormwind Knights cost tens of silver a month, do you think that number is believable?"

Greed turned to him and said, "I think it should be about right, but that includes expenses for combat, like paying someone to get the feed, shipping costs, training expenses, I guess if you keep a warhorse in the stable as a pet, it shouldn’t cost that much."

"Keeping a warhorse as a pet, wouldn’t it just become a regular horse?" Jesse asked.

"Haha, exactly. You get what you pay for, it’s always like that," Greed said. "Some gryphons raised in nests, after not flying for a long time, when they try to fly, they can’t even take off, stupid like a pig with a bird’s head. But training them to fly regularly costs too much money and effort, dealing with gryphons tires me out. I just want to ride them into battle when it’s time to fight, I don’t want to deal with their eating, drinking, pooping, smelly and fierce, causing a lot of trouble."

Listening to Greed talk about gryphons, Jesse became curious, "Have you ever thought about how many animal trainers suffer for you when you ride gracefully on a gryphon?"

"Huh, I’m not heartless," Greed said. "Have I told you about Gossrum? He’s a gryphon breeder, my knowledge about gryphons is limited to how to communicate with them in battle, make them obedient in combat… whereas Gossrum is a true master animal trainer. I believe he can glance at a passing gryphon in the sky and know how heavy the eggs between its legs are."

"Does the gryphon still lay eggs?" Jesse asked.

Greed asked back, "Since birds and cats do, why wouldn’t gryphons?"

"That makes sense," Jesse asked again, "What does it feel like to ride a gryphon?"

The dwarf squinted his eyes, thought for a while, and said, "It’s like riding on a woman who desires more and more, shaking wildly to get what she wants, but you feel exhausted, letting her torture you as she pleases, grabbing your arms, shoulders, shaking frantically. But if you whistle, she understands your thoughts, follows them for a while, and then you realize you can’t control her. Oh, it smells similar too."

Jesse wasn’t sure if Greed was telling the truth or boasting about experiencing both a dissatisfied woman and a crazy gryphon, since he had no reference for either.

"I wonder if I’ll ever get a chance to ride a gryphon," he murmured to himself.

"You?" Greed turned to look at Jesse.

He didn’t answer immediately, instead, he looked Jesse up and down, thought for a while, and then said, "Before The Feast of Winter Veil, I plan to return to Aerie Peak, would you like to come?"

"Why, what are we going back for?"

"Maybe you humans don’t think so, but The Feast of Winter Veil is the most important holiday for dwarves. I want to go back and see old friends, at least to tell everyone I am still alive."

Jesse hesitantly asked, "Do they welcome humans at Aerie Peak?"

"Not really," Greed chuckled, "but they won’t hang you up to feed the gryphons. I think after the Orc War, my people’s attitude towards you will be better. Many dwarf warriors saw the bravery of humans in battle, which helped change a lot of prejudices. At least most of my kin think that humans are more reliable allies than elves. Look at you, a seventeen-year-old lad, usually as timid as a rabbit, but brave as a lion when faced with undead monsters, quite surprising."

Jesse awkwardly chuckled at his praise, finding it hard to adapt.

The dwarf sighed deeply and said, "What I mainly wanted to say is, you might have a chance to try riding a gryphon."

"Really?" Jesse sat up straight, "I can ride a gryphon too?"

"Why not," Greed said, "It’s not up to us if you can ride one, it’s up to the gryphon."

"What does that mean?"

"Gryphons are very smart. If you haven’t interacted with one, you wouldn’t appreciate how clever they are. Sometimes it’s hard to see them as beasts. The relationship between gryphons and our tribe is not about taming or being tamed, it’s more like a natural alliance. Even the wild gryphons roaming the mountains wouldn’t attack dwarves, and our tribe sees them as friends. They lend a helping hand when in trouble, and expect the same in return. However, gryphons prioritize their safety. If a dwarf encounters a bear, a gryphon may come to help, but if it’s a troll, a wild gryphon would lean towards self-preservation. The gryphons who live with us always fight to the death, unless they see some suicide mission as meaningless."

"But will this not affect your actions?" Jesse said, "For example, if you firmly carry out a high-risk but equally high-reward action, and the gryphons resist, what should be done? Wouldn’t this greatly reduce the combat effectiveness of the Gryphon Riders? After all, sacrifices need to be made many times."

The dwarf leaned towards Jesse and replied, "That’s the crux of the matter, my dear brother. The gryphons often have no fear of valuable sacrifices, but they strongly oppose some foolish decisions. They are mostly right, and they also have a positive influence on the Gryphon Riders’ strategies. That’s why I say the gryphons are unbelievably clever, like a group of noisy wise ones deserving respect."

From Jesse’s perspective, he found it quite difficult to understand this kind of relationship.

But Dwarf Wildhammers have lived like this for two hundred years, while their adversaries, the Hinterlandstrolls, have become increasingly weak. Yet the immigrant Dwarf Wildhammers have together with the gryphons built the great fortress of Aerie Peak. So, what grounds does he have to criticize this steel-like alliance?

"Of course," Greed leaned back, lying on his arm, "Those gryphons aren’t always obedient. Once they are on land, we have to find ways to cover their eyes, just like you humans put blinders on warhorses to shield their vision on both sides, enabling them to move forward fearlessly. Unlike horses being too timid, gryphons’ issue is that they are too bold. These mischievous creatures always like to bully the weak or constantly eat. After being suppressed in the sky for too long, once they land on the ground, their desires become uncontrollable, running around wildly, impossible to restrain."

Jesse asked, "If I appear in front of them, will they eat me?"

Greed sighed and said, "Did I just talk in vain earlier? What I mean is, gryphons are willing to cooperate with brave, kind people, willing to fight alongside those who cherish their relationships, and they definitely have the ability to discern this. Once we fought together with the elves of the Hinterlands against trolls, where the elves could even ride the gryphons without dwarf riders into battle. These gryphons were just as brave in battle as when with dwarfs. If the despicable elves can do it, why can’t you, unless you are hiding some unspeakable dark secrets?"

Jesse licked his lips, thinking to himself, "Indeed."

Now that he had encountered an undoubtedly dark magic – Fear, his mind and body might have been influenced by some Shadow Power, even if he didn’t feel it at the moment.

If those gryphons, like the Holy Light, could sense his inner darkness and swoop down to snatch him away, what would he do?

But the temptation of riding a gryphon was just too strong. What about taking the risk of being carried away for a ride? It would be so exciting to fly!

Jesse then asked, "By the way, why don’t the elves tame gryphons for battle? Since they can fight together, why not establish an alliance like the Wildhammers and gryphons? The elves have lived in the Hinterlands area longer than dwarves, right?"

"You’re right," Greed said. "Before we head to Aerie Peak, the elves have been living in the Hinterlands for almost a thousand years."

He pulled out a grass twig from a nearby bag, twisted it in his mouth, and said, "As for why they are unwilling to tame gryphons, I think it’s quite simple. The elves don’t like to cooperate with others and dislike uncontrollable things. They prefer to dominate all living creatures they encounter. If they can’t dominate, they kill them. If they can’t win in a fight or the cost is too high, they keep them outside their territory, avoiding contact as much as possible, unless they face a huge problem they can’t handle on their own and need help."

Continuing, Greed said, "They stubbornly believe they, the Quel’dorai, are different from us mortals. Do you know what Quel’dorai means in Elvish? Noble people. They consider themselves as high beings born from the Well of Eternity, a sacred race blessed by the world. Anyone not under their rule or not following their rules is considered worthless barbarians. Quite hard to understand, right?"

Jesse chuckled along.

"However, the fire of the Red Dragons has taught these arrogant folks a good lesson," Greed said. "Maybe they finally understand it’s time to step out of their ‘invincible’ runestones and explore the outside world."

Jesse teased, "If you dislike the elves so much, why are you always eager to see Windrunner sisters?"

The dwarf said, "Female elves and male elves are not the same species! And female elves are actually two different species above and below the bed! You’re in the Mage Quarter, at least learn how to classify species from those mages, kid. You’ll understand once you’ve lived longer, don’t be so rigid!"