Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >> 

"Gryphon? Oh yeah!" Alex says, eyes brightening for a moment. He hopes that Cezar's old mount is doing alright. "Wait... would she count as a witness? She knows better than anyone how bad Cezars is..."

"Unfortunately, no." Astra shakes her head, "In most countries in Lancea, there are no laws against animals or monsters being a witness in a court. However, there is a law against people who cannot speak Lancean. It's too complicated for me to explain, but essentially, if you don't know Lancean, you are not counted as 'people' by law, griffons don't know Lancean so she won't be able to testify." But Janus did give you a translation amulet, that might work.

"It's noon right now. If you want to visit the griffon, do it before the fort closes at 16:00." She jumps down from the counter. "I suggest you go right now, I have my shop to tend to. And remember: the only thing that matters is getting the sun-bomb core. Good luck on your journey."

Getting increasingly frustrated that everyone else is beating around the bush (to her), Maya anxiously swivels her head in all directions before turning back to Mira, who is eager to visit that... 'gryphon'... whatever Mira is talking about. Thing is, beasts don't count as a witness so, other than being a potential companion... is it even worth visiting it right now? Besides... isn't there something else that they also need to worry about soon?

"Uh... mina... s-sorry... Anyone... w-w-what time's... trial... again? I-I person... not waste... time... if I... you... b-but...; Anyone... w-w-what time's the trial again? I-I'd personally not waste time if I were you but..." She pauses, her fox ears quivering whilst she scans the place one last time before peeing towards the exit just like her impatient son. "Um... G-g-go... m-m-mene... I-I-I... I'll wait outside..." Flustered, she makes her way to the exit before she retreats into her head on how she's gonna proceed with the sabotage on her end, especially with the fact that she's in charge of the food.

"Maya, the general we met when we first got to Madura Fortress told us they would try to hold the trial tomorrow. Not today because of the kidnapping of the judge," Liivi says softly. "I guess we don't have much else to do today."  She then looks one at time to Shugo, Alex, and Renar. "I mean, if there isn't anything you might do to prepare. I don't really know. It sounds like there ought to be enough evidence in your favor as it is."  

She then asks Mira, "Do you wish to see this gryphon out of curiosity? I mean, I understand you, it would be interesting to see. I just... was there a purpose to go? I can't shake the feeling that maybe there are things we should be taking care of. Though I don't know what really." 

Renar

Before I can even make my move, Okaa-san beats me to it, only to realize that she probably didn't hear the guards correctly. I sigh. Of course she'd miss out on something before I could even do so... but still. "She's right. The trial's delayed until tomorrow. And hold on too. None of us are gonna leave yet." I call her before I nod at Liivi-san as thanks, though my frown still remains intact. Turning to her awkwardly, there wasn't anything appropriate I could think of to respond with. In fact, if these guys are still insisting on visiting that beast before we make our next move...

"I'll trail behind you all with Maya-san if you're all going to visit it. Just make it quick." I tell Mira-san without making eye contact towards anything but the exit itself. Hopefully that queen plus whoever's going with her takes less than 5-10 minutes to do all of this. As I wait for everyone to finalize I held my head down whilst I map out our next steps to ensuring this stupid world doesn't destroy Sword Coast and Japan with its demise. Or at most, plan on the trial and how to gate crash and put the Lancean Queen at an advantage... My eyebrows furrow in frustration. "Damn it... even if the trial is delayed, it's only a day away. Stalling for time will only just heighten the pressure. I really hope things will go in our favour despite the buildups that have plagued us to this moment..." I mutter to myself before I eye a very distracted Okaa-san. "Hey. Just stick with them. Doesn't make sense for the two of us to stay given what just happened half an hour ago."

Suddenly, I felt the sudden urge to pull out the map again, and eye at the location of the base... If Shugo plans on "foiling" the invasion, should we warn them in advance first to let them know what we're up to? I grit my teeth behind the rest if they choose to lead the way... Karera ni subete o tsutaeru hitsuyō ga aru kamo shiremasen... (彼らにすべてを伝える必要があるかもしれません. We may need to tell them everything.) Either that... or we severe our ties without warning but risk them turning against us. Why do they even want us to join forces again? Other than to sabotage the stupid bird brain? Or is it only just that? 

Mira

Mira groans softly when Astra concludes. Sure, they have plenty of time to enact this, but... Turning to Liivi after she asks her, Mira's rabbit ears droop. "4:00... I mean, I'm still keen on visiting it if you're all up to it. I've been told tales of it by mother, but... I've never seen one up close in person, so I'm just aiming to put my curiosity to rest. There's still enough time to do so. Unless if anyone else has something to do?" She asks the rest. Of course though, Renar and Maya insist on staying behind them for their own reasons, which produces nothing but a sigh from her. "Sigh... yeah, yeah. Do as you wish. Just don't get up to anything behind my back ok you two? We've already had enough chaos for one single morning."

She then turns to Alek and Shugo, who seems to be the most knowledgeable (Shugo)/enthusiastic (Alek) about this gryphon. "You two seem to be wanting to find it with me. Are you also willing to make a quick detour? I mean, unless if you guys do get a chance to meet it tomorrow after your trial." She doesn't really know her way around this place, so if they're willing, she then trails behind whoever wants to lead and find the gryphon. But then she does eye a distracted Renar pulling out some massive folded sheet of paper whilst they walk behind her. 

"Wait... what's with that map?" Mira asks Renar, who seems to be lost in thought. "Hello? Hey! You're gonna trip into one of us if you keep your eyes peeled on that!"

With that, you head back to the fortress once again.

The afternoon sun is slightly obstructed by clouds, with winds blowing behind your back. You walk to the stable and find the section for the exotic mount, and in the first stall, you see the familiar black griffon curling up and sleeping. Her fur is shiny, she's clean and well-groomed, it's clear that she's well taken care of, even though she's only been here for a few days.

You look at the sleeping griffon for a few minutes, before you spot a stablehand, an elf lady, walking towards you from behind. "Pretty, isn't she? Blac griffons these days are pretty rare and highly sought after. Once you ride her, you'll see why." 

The stablehand stands beside you, "We're currently doing paperwork for her upcoming auction at the capital, which should be around the 33rd of April or so, or around three weeks from now. She did say she doesn't like Cezars anymore and she's eager to find a new rider."

"During my conversation with her, she did mention you a lot." The stablehand looks at Alex, "She said you were very kind to her and she feels you have some sort of connection to her. If you want to have a chat, I'll leave you there with her, sounds good?"

"Me?" Alex points at his own chest in confusion. Sure he'd been nice to the griffon... but hadn't most of them? Why would she feel a connection with him specifically? The comment, though confusing, also gave him a warm fuzzy feeling inside. He looks to the griffon, that brief look of happiness fading a bit when he says, "Up for auction?" He doubts he'd be able to pay whatever she'd go for, especially if the auction is going to be here in Madura. It isn't like he has a lot of money, and if black griffons are really that special then all the rich folk here will likely show up to bid. 

"Uh... sure, thank you," he says to the stablehand. Then he looks to the group, "Do... any of you have a spell that will let you speak to animals? I don't..." He wonders briefly if the amulet would work with this but... he doesn't want to ask Maya to take it off here were someone could walk up and start talking to them. Sure she's been decent at hiding her inability to speak lancean, but it still isn't a risk that Alex will ask of her. 

Maya, being the socially awkward woman she is right now, stays close to her disguised son and fidgets with her cloak during the trek to meet that particular creature she isn't familiar with. Reaching the destination, she gawks twice, one when she finally sets her (shut) eyes on that monstrosity and another when she hears that it's being auctioned to. It suddenly comes back to her now whilst her snarl sort of manifests on her face. She remembers now: That griffon was there when she slapped that particular Fire Genasi unconscious with her bare hands. 

She overhears Alek asking the group if they'd be able to understand her via a spell. Obviously she has to shake her head at that. Right now she's extremely reluctant to converse, but even if she was able to speak Japanese to it, would it even understand her and vice-versa? 

Renar

I didn't really see the point in hanging out somewhere unsafe despite the fact that I have no intentions to waste time meeting some monster that can easily KO one of us in one attack. Besides, what good would it do during the mess that is about to be hurled in our faces in a few hours time? Even if it says it wants to befriend one of us, I don't trust it. At least, I don't on my end. Reaching there, I had to excuse myself and stay at least a few metres away from the rest with Okaa-san whilst they deal with the situation. Hayaku shite kure. Son'na koto wa atsukatte inainda… (早くしてくれ。そんなことは扱っていないんだ… Make it quick. I'm not dealing with that thing...) I scoff in my head as its snoozing states catches my eye only for a brief five seconds. Ok, I wish they could hurry up I admit as I fidget with my poorly executed disguise, but maybe I do feel a little bit sorry that it got into this situation but still, I don't have any attachments to this thing. Maybe if Daisy was here, she'd be able to give it a shot...

Also, my ears quiver at a worrisome detail. They're gonna auction it... 33rd April... I raised an eyebrow at that date, because I know for sure that April normally has 31 days... but then relax it knowing that this Lancea is entirely different from my two realms. Even then, I have this worrisome feeling that this group will eventually sidetrack back to this issue, so I took no chances into writing the date down in case they forget along the way... Then Alek asks all of us if we have any spells to use to converse with . I sigh to myself. Again Daisy, if she was her but... "I don't." I deadpan at Alek.

Then my eyes widen in realization: I overheard someone saying that she understood what that creature said... this may be our only chance that we might be able to understand it if that's the case. "Hang on, you can understand it right?" I tell the guard from my distance. "None of us here are able to talk to it, so if you don't mind, are you able to help translate for us? That would be most appreciated." I attempted to address, only to have my eyes fix on the bunny queen again as she steps closer. What is she up to now? And then my muscles tense with each step I observe her take. Wha-?! Sore ga me o samashite totsuzen kanojo o kōgeki shitara dō shimasu ka? Kanojo ni wa shi no ganbou ga aru no ka​?! (それが目を覚まして突然彼女を攻撃したらどうしますか？彼女には死の願望があるのか, What if it wakes up and attacks her out of the blue? Does she have a death wish?! I couldn't help but scream to myself.

Mira

Arriving where the griffon is, Mira suddenly felt her entire body go limp as her mouth is instantly covered with her tiny paws. Her eyes have widened in diameter threefold upon arrival as well. "Oh. My. Gosh. I-I-I..." She stutters and pants upon locking her sights onto the griffon for the first time. And they say they encountered this poor creature in a fight... what on lancean terms did they get themselves into?! She thinks. To get the opportunity to come face to face with something as a future noble herself isn't something that will easily come to her. Her fur then twitches whilst she detects a myriad of confused stares from the remaining five members of the pack and immediately drops her shocked demeanour. "What?! It's not often I get to wander outside away from my own abode and meet these incredible monstrosities! Cut me some slack!" She pouts, her distinct accent becoming ever more noticeable amongst her embarrassment. And that's when she couldn't help but pick up another detail of this creature, one that easily shocks her to the back of her frigid legs...

"It speaks?!" Mira again gasps dumbfounded with her rabbit ears sticking high up in the air. Sure she's definitely heard of these beasts in her youth but... to actually be informed of its ability to talk? It seems that her mother has hidden so many secrets from her and she's now unravelling them piece by piece. But her heart sinks twice, one when Alek asks her if she can use a spell to make its language translatable and another when she hears it's being prepped for an auction. First off though, the griffon must be talking in another language that is incomprehensible to them. "I can't either. I really would like to noble boy but I can't." Mira sighs in response to Alek's question. However, the thought of the beast forming a connection with the young boy sheds a hint of warmth in her soul. Which also leads to the second issue: The auction. "Ah. You really must like it then. You've always been the chosen one to it it seems." She chuckles in the young paladin's direction. Right now though, she needs to deal with the royal conundrum first, so the auction isn't really on her to do list for now. But she kind of senses his distress in a way and pats him. "Look, holy boy. I know it pains you to hear that this... griffon, sorry... is looking for another owner it seems. If you want to work on earning its trust, we'll start once our current situation is done." She assures.

Then again... as Renar suddenly calls out, he does have a point. The guard seems to be able to understand it. However, if she says the griffon can speak, she may be able to identify its language, or probably ask if there's someone who can understand what it's saying. "Um, what language does it speak miss?" She asks, but regardless of what answer she gets, she attempts to converse with it as she slowly steps forward. Even if it's a language that seems foreign just like Maya's initial way of speaking, Mira remembers when her mother taught her how to identify languages in secret, so she's gonna attempt to put this knowledge to good use. "Hello there..." She breathes before approaching the griffon just a little closer. "I don't look familiar to you but... these guys here..." She gestures to Alek, Shugo, Maya and Liivi. "...do you remember them?" (Intelligence: 3)

Liivi grins, glancing over at Mira, then the creature they've come to visit.  "Oh, you know, I joined the group after you did Mira. I wasn't there to meet..."

She pauses, looking to the elf stablehand. "Does he have a name?"

She can't help but take in the sight of this... monster? No, just another creature. And if it can communicate and speak it must be more than just a beast. She stays a healthy distance back though as it seems there is more intetest in Alex as far as it is concerned. 

The stablehand replies, "Animals and monsters usually don't have names, and they're fine with it. They will only get a name if we Lanceans give it to them, right now, she will get her name once she gets her new owner."

She pulls out two scrolls of Speak with Animals from her pocket and hands it to Alex, "Beasts only speak one language, and that's Alharisian. Every one of them can speak and they're just as smart as us, but that depends on their willingness to communicate with us in the first place. Some animals just don't like to talk, but this one does. This scroll will allow you to communicate and understand Alharisian for a few hours."

Animals and monsters in Lancea are like this, they are just like other civilised beings, except they don't speak in a language that's considered 'acceptable' by Lancean standards. There's still a big debate about animals and monsters' sentience to this very day, some argue that they should have the same rights as civilised beings, and others argue that in order to keep the ecosystem balanced, monsters and animals must continue to live in the wild, or else there won't be food or resources for the civilised to consume.

At this point, the unnamed black griffon wakes up from her nap. She glances at you and ruffles her feathers, making a soft chirping sound, almost like a purr. It seems like she's happy to see you here.

Mira

Right. Alharisian. That was a language that Mira herself didn't enjoy when she was just a little girl. Looking back on it, her stomach lurches upon remembering her steadfast refusal to learn it despite her mother's incests. "Darn it..." She grumbles pessimistically. thankfully though it didn't last long, because now she may get the opportunity to converse with an actual griffon. Or watch Alek do it; Either way, it's obviously a first time experience for her...

"Well, you gonna use one, my boy? I'd like to do the same but... you're more than willing to talk to her on your own if you like." She insists to Alek.

Renar

I still have nothing to do with this beast. I'm not a ranger or a master of taming anything but other kitsune like myself and Okaa-san, so the more the rest interacted with this monstrosity, the more I feel inclined to Since I had time to kill though, I whipped out the map of this entire planet to better gain an understanding of this entire country myself. And I was indeed focused on one major detail that I'm sure the others definitely cannot get around in my head. "Stuckavas is their base... They're gonna approach the venue from there to sabotage it... we're supposed to pretend to stop the raid and humiliate this baka... Do we come to them, or do they come to us... How far is it from here..." I mutter to myself, or if Okaa-san's next to me, loud enough for her to hear. The thing is, there are so many ways to execute the multistage operation; How can I ensure that each phase goes smoothly? And how does everyone want it to go? I turn to Okaa-san, seeing if she has anything else to contribute on her end... 

(TBC)

"Thanks!" Alex says, eagerly taking the scrolls. 

Turning to his comrades, he asks, "Does anyone else want to talk to her?" He looks to Mira, "I don't mind at all if you want to talk to her too! It's up to her really," he chuckles. "It feels like forever since I've seen her. At least it seems like they are treating her well."

If anyone else decides to take one he'll hand it over before activating his. 

"Hi, how are you doing?" he asks the gryphon. 

"No names?" Liivi says in response to the stablehand, sounding a little surprised. "I guess if they're fine with it then it doesn't matter."  She thinks on it a moment, then tells Alex, "Mabye you should ask it whether it wishes it had a name or not?"  

She keeps back, willing to let Alex and others speak with the gryphon. 

Like Liivi, Maya stays behind in silence as Alek (and Mira if she does) attempts to interact with this... beast... She's got no interest in it either, nor does she have the ability to tame creatures from this planet for sure.

She shudders for a moment before eyeing her distracted son who flaps over some map of some sort. Nande... (なんで... Why...) She thinks as her ears fold underneath her hood slightly. Hearing him mutter his own thing, she goes over to where he stands and eyes it whilst she picks up everything he says... He must be discussing about the sabotage it seems. She doesn't have anything to contribute for now, but she does patiently stare at the map of her own accord too until a light bulb does point out in the midst of the two conversations that are going on simultaneously.

Shugo doesn't have much interest in speaking with the gryphon, so while the others interact with it, he remains a short distance away. He finds a decent place to sit down and take a break after everything that had happened earlier and takes the opportunity to check on the dragon egg. He feels bad that it's been bounced around so much in the last several hours.

He glances at Renar as the shifter mutters to himself, he has a feeling the kid is trying to think of some kind of plan. Shugo knows that's probably a good idea, though he also knows that no matter how well you plan, it will never play out accordingly. So, he doesn't usually put in that much effort. Make the skeleton, then fill in the gaps as you go. That's how he does it anyway. Keeps things more flexible.

He turns his gaze back to the rest of the group, and watches them interact with the gryphon.

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >>

 

"Hi, how are you doing?" he asks the gryphon. 

"(I'm doing fine, my friend.)" The griffon speaks to Alex, her beak moves but it doesn't match the word that's being translated into Shugo's head. "(These people treated me well, way better than my old owner, I don't miss Cezars.)" 

"(Although...)" The griffon shifts, ("I've always wanted an owner, but I also want to be free. I want to go out there and explore the world, I want to fly without any rein or anyone on my back, I want to taste the wind and touch the clouds... but I also don't want to be eaten by a roc or a dragon. I will decide later, but for now, I have a more important question to ask you.") She looks at Alex and the rest of the group.

"(I think you're worthy enough to grant me a name, we beasts have a tradition where we have to work in order to gain a name from a druid or someone that is important to us. You helped me a lot, you helped me free from Cezars, I think you deserve to name me. I'll decide if I will accept the name or not.)" This is the important part, because once the name is confirmed, that griffon's name won't be changed again until she doesn't consider you worthy anymore. It's time to decide.

The dragon egg in Shugo's bag remains stable.

Renar

With Okaa-san moving closer to me, I point at the map and unfurl it a little so that she can see it clearly. "Ok... if we're gonna 'stage' the prevention of the raid, I have mapped out two options: One we either tackle this head on without anyone's help or two: we... um... just... yeah... you know what I mean right? I also see an opportunity to warn them again, but... it's gonna take us several hours and the rest of our energy reserves too. It's either we go in blind or we handle this with them in tow." Either way, I realise that whichever decision we make, there's a trade off, but honestly, I don't see the point in befriending such useless idiots that don't care much about us for who we are. A lot can go wrong, so I need to spare myself constant reality checks in the form of backup plans on my end... I don't know what everyone else is thinking but unless if someone also know how to proceed, I'd be a little frustrated that me and Okaa-san are the only ones still serious about this. Inside, I know this isn't much, but I'd rather start somewhere and come up with something rather than get stuck in a rut when the event happens.

Mira

When Alek gives Mira a scroll of her own, her ears perk up and she gushes. "Oh you have two scrolls- Wait... really? Thank you... young one."  

She doesn't hesitate to use the scroll; In an instant as the gryphon speaks, she understood it nice and clear and begins to revel in her newfound excitement. "Oh... my... I'm actually... Sorry... g-g-give me a moment...!" Her breaths become rapid and shuddery; It took her at least 2 minutes to get into character again before she rubs her paws together nervously at this first time experience. "Sorry, um... It's an honour to meet you in person... I... I heard that my allies have... well... I heard they treated you well. I'm glad to hear that..." She pauses for a moment to let Alek converse, since he's obviously more familiar with it. However, as she revels in this pleasantry, she of all people is struggling to come up with a name as she turns to Alek unconsciously.

"I'm so glad you're doing well!" He looks a little sad at the mention of Cezars, "Yeah, I'm really sorry about him. ...was he always like that?" He shakes his head, now isn't the time to be thinking about that. 

He tilts his head as the gryphon mentions wanting to be free. Would she be allowed to just leave? Why can't she choose her own owner instead of being auctioned off? Animals or not, clearly she has just as much sapience as the 'civilized' races regardless of her 'uncivilization'. Isn't selling her just as bad as slavery? Apparently she does have some choice, but what if someone worse than Cezars has the highest bid at the auction? It just... didn't seem right. But if she is still here then perhaps that's what she wants. 

He blinks when she asks him to name her, "R...Really? You're sure?" He fumbles, not really thinking himself good at coming up with names. Well, he has lots of books to draw from, so... He thinks for a moment, putting one hand on his chin before saying, "What about Aquila? Like... the constellation?" Sure it might be a mythological constellation... or just one that he's never seen before outside of ancient history books. But it seems fitting considering Aquila was the name of a mythological eagle, and the constellation is home to Altair, the eagle star. 

"(That sounds like a great name for me! Aquila it is!)" She smiles and paws at the air. But once she notices Mira is talking, she stares at her.

"(I see you've brought me more food.)" Aquila jokes, "(But this one is too cute for me to eat, but right, back to the topic.)"

She looks down at the ground, "(I knew Cezars ever since he was a fledgling, he was kind and noble, like any Paladin would—but one day, his parents disappeared, and his aunt took him to his care. His aunt began to worship something... weird. They sit around in some circle, with strange statues I haven't seen anywhere, they chant in an unknown language too. And after that ritual, Cezars became different, as if he was reborn.)"

You can't really get that much info from a monster like her, they might be intelligent but they still don't understand a lot of things. But you do understand what this means.

Cezars was worshipping another god, and if you do that, you can break your oath, because in Shepherdism, there is no other god but God; if you worship anything else, then you're no longer Shepherdist.

Liivi stands and watches both Alex and Mira speak with the gryphon. She is a bit unnerved by the way she just stares at Mira, and wonders what might have been said. 

Slowly her attention drifts over to Renar and Maya. 'Of course, the two are again off whispering to each other. And looking at something. A map? What could they be up to?' She keeps an eye on the pair, only occasionally drifting back to what's happening with the gryphon. She decides to not interrupt whatever the two are doing. Renar especially seems very sensitive, and she didn't really want to create any sort of commotion at the moment.