The Woodward Academy,

Year 2

Chapter 1: June

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David was sitting on his bunk, his eyes closed. He was reviewing, in his mind, the various spells he'd learned the previous year. He challenged himself not to look at his notes, and to remember all of them. This helped him to pass the time at the Northern Callamandia Criminal Management Facility. Otherwise, he was back to bouncing the tennis ball against the wall again.

David's internal study was interrupted when a guard came to his cell door.

"C'mon, Stroud. Warden wants to see you."

David opened his eyes in surprise. He had never seen the warden one-on-one before.

"Come on, Jailla," David said, picking him up from where he'd been sitting on the bed. "Back to your cage until I get back." David put Jailla in his cage - the facility required all familiars to be fully enclosed when not supervised - and then he waited for the guard to open the door.

"What's this about?" he asked the guard as they were walking to the warden's office.

"I just pick up and deliver," the guard said, ending conversation at that point. The walk was not that much longer, in any case. The guard motioned David inside, and then he went about his business.

David stepped up to the warden's desk, and waited. The warden was filling out some kind of form, and didn't even acknowledge David until he was finished. Finally, he put away his InkyQuill and looked up.

"Ah, David. As you know, we received a request from Prof. Stott about you, asking that we allow you to continue your apprenticeship practice while here in the facility. I must say, it is very unusual for us to receive such requests. We almost never hear from professors regarding their students. At least, not in a good way," the warden said with a chuckle. David remained quiet.

"The request Prof. Stott made was quite unusual, and I had to take it up with the Board of Trustees. This is what took us so long to make a decision regarding the request.

"As you have been a model prisoner for your entire stay here, and as Prof. Stott is an established, high-ranking staff member at a rather prestigious academy, we have decided to grant her request. You will be allowed to continue your practice.

"There will, however, be some serious stipulations. You will do all practice work in a room we have set aside for the purpose. You will be under observation at all times while you are in that room, and you may not bring anything in or out of the room."

"What about books and scrolls, sir?" David asked immediately.

The warden nodded. "Yes, you may take those, but they will be searched on your way out of the room, every day."

David nodded. He understood the precautions. Potions could be deadly, and they were the one source of magic it was very hard to trace back to its creator, because the person who made the potion might not be the person who actually used it. As such, David was surprised they had agreed at all.

"Understand, David, that if you should become a troublemaker here, the first thing that will happen is that you lose this privilege permanently."

"Yes, sir."

"We'll have the room set up and ready for you by tomorrow. Your time will be from ten in the morning until lunch."

"Thank you, sir. Sir, will I be allowed to leave potions brewing overnight? Most complex potions take much longer than two hours to craft, and some cannot be allowed to cool."

The warden pursed his lips. "If we can craft a containment spell around the cauldron, then yes. Otherwise, no."

"I don't see why you wouldn't be able to, sir. Or... I'm not sure if this is feasible, as we haven't covered it in class anywhere, but perhaps you could take a larger cauldron, give it the ability to magically shield the first cauldron, and then put the larger cauldron upside-down over top of the smaller one."

The warden nodded. "Things like that are possible, yes. I will let you know about that tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

A guard appeared at the door to the warden's office as if by magic. David suspected that was exactly how he had gotten there, or at least how he knew he needed to be there at that point.

"You can go back to your cell now," the warden told David.

As David headed back to his cell, he was smiling. At least I'll have something to do for a couple hours a day... In actuality, he knew it would be quite a bit more than a couple, as there would be books to study while he was not actually making potions. He thanked Prof. Stott silently for that.

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David was returning from his potions time, expecting to spend his afternoon going over the procedure for making up the potion he had been preparing ingredients for. During his time in the facility, he was making the effort to craft potions from start to finish, taking the fresh herbs and other ingredients, prepping them to their appropriate state, and then using them in the potion. It took a lot longer, but time was something he had in abundance.

When the guard let him back into his cell, however, he found someone there waiting for him.

"Gwen!" he cried. The two met in the middle of the room and embraced strongly. They stayed that way for a few seconds, then broke apart. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came for a visit. I figured you'd be bored out of your mind. I didn't realize that Prof. Stott would have taken care of that for you."

David smirked. "It's still pretty boring here. I'm glad to see you."

Gwen smiled at him. "Mom was a little hesitant to let me come in here, but I talked her into it."

"I'm glad you did. So, what have you been doing with your summer?"

"Not a lot, really, although we did go to Mirelia a couple weeks ago."

"Really? What was that like?"

"Vast. We couldn't see very much of it. Mirelia is huge, much bigger than Callamandia, but not nearly as many people, actually. A lot of the land is desert."

"What would Mirelia cover, in Earth terms?"

"Hmm. Well, it goes all the way to the other ocean. It goes almost up to what you call Canada, and extends a little ways into what you call Mexico."

"So, it contains everything west of the Mississippi...er, I mean the Chantuya River?"

"Not everything. Gtharsis covers the lower Chantuya area on the west side. And, of course, Vrudena has a piece of the north side."

"How big is Gtharsis? I know that Vrudena runs all the way to the other coast, as well."

"Gtharsis is a fairly small nation. I believe it stops around the middle of what you call Texas." David nodded.

"So the gnomes like green areas."

"Yes."

"Did you go to one of the Mirelian temples?"

"I wanted to, but we didn't get a chance. The one we tried to enter actually had a waiting line, and my parents didn't feel like hanging around."

"Well, that sucks."

"Yeah."

"What else did you see?"

The two continued to chat and relate events for some time, just catching up. They had not seen each other in nearly a month, and Gwen, at least, had been a few places she could describe for him. Eventually, though, she had related to him her entire summer up to that point.

"Sounds like you're having a good time off," David said.

"Yeah. Wish you could have come with us. Mom did tell me to say hi for her."

"That was nice of her."

There was a pause in the conversation for a moment, during which David gave Jailla a piece of the food that Gwen had brought with her.

"Oh!" Gwen said suddenly. "I just remembered. You want to hear the letter I got from Devyn?"

"Well, if it's not too personal..." David said.

Gwen shook her head. "No, it's not. It talks about the quest she went on."

"Quest? Why is she on a quest? Quest to do what?"

"Beats me. I didn't know she was on a quest until I got this letter, and I don't have a way to write her back."

"Oh. So, what's the letter say?"

Gwen pulled out a lengthy letter, and opened it up.

"Dearest Gwendolyn," she started, then blushed.

"She calls you Gwendolyn?"

"Only when she's trying to get me horny," she admitted, blushing crimson now. David smiled, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to embarrass her further.

"I must relate to you the journey I have just completed. It was an intense and harrowing experience, and I have to tell someone, or I will burst.

"It started two weeks ago, as I began my Citizen Quest."

"What's a Citizen Quest?" David asked, interrupting.

"I have no idea. I looked it up, even, but couldn't find anything. Mom didn't know, either."

"Oh."

"Anyway, she goes on to say, "My goal was to obtain a live feather from a tiger griffin..."

-----

Devyn stared at the swamp in front of her. She knew that she had to go in there, but she didn't have to like it. Her destination was on the far side of the swamp, and attempting to go around meant adding three weeks to her journey, as well as facing some even less pleasant terrain.

Drawing her knife, Devyn slowly made her way into the swamp, staying to the driest ground she could find, which was scarce, and grew scarcer as she plunged deeper into the swamp. She kept her knife loosely in her hand, to make sure that she had something to protect herself with. Though she knew it was unlikely she would encounter any other people here, the creatures that lived here were far more dangerous than any robber might be, anyway.

After an hour of walking, there was no dry land left to be had. Half the time, Devyn was walking in knee-deep water. The rest of the time, she was walking in ankle-deep mud. The going was rough, but she pushed on, knowing that this was what she had to do. She jumped back as a snake slithered through the water in front of her, seemingly oblivious to her presence.

The day wore on, and the swamp grew thicker, the vegetation closing off the light above, and the tree roots making the footing beneath more difficult. She wondered that anything could grow in these conditions, but there were plenty of small plants surrounding the trees.

For the last twenty minutes, Devyn had a growing sense that she was being watched. Each time she looked around, however, she spotted nothing. She looked up into the trees, and still, there was nothing there but a few animals that showed no interest in her, whatsoever. She pressed on warily, keeping her eyes moving to see if she could catch sight of whatever it might be, before it caught her.

When the creature attacked, Devyn was looking right at it, and still had not seen it. It pounced, and only Devyn's quick reflexes saved her. The wyvern swooped over her head, its talons missing her by inches.

Devyn reached up, swinging with her knife hand. She contacted the underside of the animal, at the base of its tail, but the wound was superficial, not even causing any real bleeding.

It did, however, cause the animal to be royally pissed off. The wyvern screeched as it wheeled around a large tree, aiming right for Devyn's head. It wasn't a huge creature, but it was big enough to kill and eat Devyn, and that was as big as it needed to be.

Devyn dove into the muck as the Wyvern flew past. She grabbed a nearby rock, and hurled it at the animal, hitting it on the back. Once again, the creature screamed in anger, but this time, it latched onto a tree, clinging tightly as it stared at her, waiting for her to make the next move. As soon as it stopped moving, she began to have trouble seeing it.

Stealth magic, she told herself. The wyvern was not colored the same as the tree, but as soon as it settled, the magic it possessed made it very hard for anyone to see it. This would make hunting much easier for the wyvern, as it could ambush almost anything.

Devyn picked up another rock, and judged her aim. She really couldn't see the creature now, but she knew where it was. Had it moved, she would have been able to see that. She hurled the rock with all her might, and it smacked right into the wyvern's head. The creature fell off the tree into the water with a mighty splash.

The wyvern quickly righted itself, and the gleam in its eyes was even more murderous now, if that were possible. It folded its wings tightly against its body and stalked toward Devyn. She retreated, circling around a giant tree. Once she had gotten out of the wyvern's sight, she stuck her knife into the bark and used it to pull herself up onto the tree's first branch. She did this in a flash, and the wyvern was still a few seconds from being able to see her by the time she got there.

The wyvern rounded the tree, its gaze fixed at the level of Devyn's head... or where Devyn's head would be, if she was standing on the ground. Fortunately for her, she was a good eight feet above that, now. The wyvern had grown too intent on its stalk, forgetting to use its senses. Had it looked up, it would easily have spotted Devyn. Had it seen her, she would still have been marginally safer in the tree, but it didn't, and that made her the safest of all.

She knew, however, that once a wyvern took up the hunt, it would not give up. It would either catch what it was after, or it would die trying. Devyn decided this one needed to die trying.

As the wyvern walked underneath the branch that Devyn rested on, she launched herself. She actually raised up some before dropping down, right on the wyvern's back. The animal could not take the impact, and it collapsed to the ground beneath Devyn, who almost lost her footing, which would have been fatal.

Quickly, Devyn took her knife and plunged it right into the back of the wyvern's skull. It was tough hide, but she put all her weight behind the thrust, and the sharp knife slide home, turning out the animal's lights like a switch.

Devyn backed away from the creature, breathing heavily. She wanted to make sure that it was actually dead, before she tried to hack off a piece of it for her dinner.

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Devyn spent her night high in a tree, wondering if eating raw wyvern meat would do anything bad to her. There was no way for her to light a fire. Even the magic she knew could not have done so under these conditions, had she been able to use it. She, however, was under the same rules as all other magic users, and had she used her magic here, she would have been met by the Rimohrs upon her return to civilization.

Two more days of slogging through mud and water brought Devyn to the edge of the swamp. She could see the change in lighting up ahead. As the trees thinned, the land went from swamp to marsh, leading her toward more solid land not so far away.

The additional visibility that she was given without the trees in the way, however, saved her life. In the distance, she caught sight of movement. It almost appeared as though the grass itself was rippling, but there was no wind. Devyn knew what that had to be.

Marsh python. The marsh python was a huge snake, at least seventy-five feet long. Its head was big enough to swallow a cow, and so killing and eating an elf would be little more than a snack for the beast. She could tell that it was moving in her direction; it probably had already sensed her presence.

She could retreat into the swamp, but the python was likely to follow her, and then she would be stuck there. Her best bet was to either sneak past the snake, or try to kill it.

It can sense my footsteps. Sneaking past it isn't going to be easy. Killing it requires a precise shot to the head. Anything else will only make it mad.

Devyn pulled her bow from her back, and drew an arrow from her quiver. She'd not used her bow against the wyvern because she knew it was pointless. No arrow would penetrate that hide. The marsh python, however, had a weak spot. If she hit it right behind, or between, the eyes, it would be an instant death for the snake.

Her real problem was that, right now, she couldn't even see its head.

Devyn moved sideways, relative to the snake, hoping to force it to turn, or maybe even raise up to get a look at her. The big snake swerved, always heading toward her. Devyn began to sprint, trying to get out of the animal's path. Still the snake came onward, always changing direction to keep her right in front of it.

Devyn got an idea, and began running headlong for the snake's tail. The snake, of course, turned to follow her. The snake was now beginning to form a giant circle, its two-foot-wide body sliding through the grass, with Devyn unenviably in the middle of the circle. She watched the animal's head, and then she ran for the opposite side of the circle, jumping on the snake's back. She nearly fell off, but managed to get her footing. The snake paused for a second now. With her on its back, it was a bit confused. It knew that if it attacked her and missed, it would hurt itself. It was smart enough to know that was not a good idea.

It wasn't smart enough to know what to do about it.

The snake raised up its head, glaring at Devyn. Devyn held her ground, her bow in her hand. She nocked the arrow, and raised it to firing position. The snake ignored whatever Devyn was doing, as it was beyond the animal's comprehension. The snake slipped its tongue out, flicking it at her, tasting the air to gain any information he could. Meanwhile, Devyn waited patiently.

Suddenly, the snake twitched its entire body. Devyn was flung off, into the grass. Her arrow went sailing aimlessly into the sky, and she cursed. She got to her feet rapidly, moving away from the snake as fast as she could. She could hear it behind her as she ran. She knew it was gaining, though not as rapidly as she thought it could have.

Perhaps it is wary of me now. How can I use that to my advantage?

She didn't have much energy to consider the question, as she was running at her top speed. Finally, ahead of her, she saw some boulders. She reached the nearest one and jumped up onto it. It was the smallest here, but she used it as a launching pad to get to a much larger one. Then, she turned and faced down the python.

The snake was close behind her, and she had only a few seconds before it reached the rock field in the middle of the marsh. The rocks had been thrown here many millennia ago by a volcanic eruption, and they were sunk far enough into the ground that they were completely stable. The snake could not tip Devyn off her rock. On the other hand, Devyn couldn't go anywhere with the snake below, waiting for her.

The python slithered around and between the boulders, just waiting for Devyn to slip up. Devyn watched, wondering what to do, before she decided on the obvious. She drew another arrow, nocked it to her bow, and waited.

Finally, she had her opportunity. The python's head came around the front side of her boulder, not covered up by other coils. Devyn had perhaps two seconds to make the shot. She only needed one. The arrow sang as it left her bow, and embedded itself into the middle of the python's forehead. The big snake stopped moving instantly, as if time itself had frozen. Devyn once again waited, to make sure that the snake was dead.

Once again, she ate raw meat for dinner.

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Devyn had spent the night on her boulder. She figured that other creatures would avoid the python's territory, and since she had killed the python, she was as safe right where she was as she could possibly get in this hostile country.

In the morning, she quickly made her way to the other side of the marshland. Marsh gave way to solid ground, which quickly grew into hilly terrain. There were significant mountains in the near distance, and she knew that was the most likely place for her to find her quarry.

Some rumbles in the distance caused Devyn to pause and look at the sky. The clouds were dark and ominous, and she knew that there would be rain in her near future. She hoped it would not be too severe; the hills and valleys in this area would be prone to flash floods. She changed her plan of attack. Rather than walking around the hills, she decided to stay on top of them as much as possible.

-----

When the rain came, Devyn was caught in a bad position. She could not remain on the hilltops forever; she had to go into the valleys to move from hill to hill. The rain arrived as she started to climb one of the larger hills. She felt this was good; she would be on high ground soon. As she crested the hill, however, the rain had not slackened, and the risk of flood grew as it continued to rain. As she reached the bottom of the other side of the hill, she increased her pace. This was a bit dangerous, as she might lose her footing, but she wanted to be across the low terrain as quickly as possible.

She did this twice without incident, but her luck couldn't hold forever. Three-quarters of the way across the third valley she tried to cross, the flash flood could be seen in the distance. It was coming fast, and Devyn broke into a dead run. She reached the side of the hill and started to run up it, but there was just no time. The waters were upon her, sweeping her off the hill and down the valley. She managed to keep her wits about her, and she was a strong swimmer. She was able to get to the side of the hill, and grab hold of a small tree at the edge of the torrent. She pulled hard, and got herself out of the current, but she knew that she couldn't stop to rest; the water was still rising.

Devyn dashed a hundred feet straight up the hill, and only then did she stop to catch her breath. She figured that she was safe at this point; there was no way a flash flood could reach this high into the hills.

Still, once she had recovered, she didn't stick around. She made for the top of the hill with all due haste.

-----

The flood waters had certainly slowed her travel, as had the rain, which had not let up. She was soaked to the bone, and had only managed to cross three more hills before she could simply go no further this day. Walking the hills was not a problem. Trying to cross raging waters without dying was exhausting.

In the end, she huddled beneath a tree, put her head on her knees, and went to sleep. She'd had no food this day, and wasn't likely to have any the next day, either. She just hoped the rain would end.

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The rain did not end, though it did lessen during the night. Devyn made her way to the bottom of her current hill, to see that the flood waters had receded. The ground was now a wet and muddy mess, much resembling the marshland she had left a couple days ago. She pushed on through the valleys, sticking close to the hills, in case it should flood again, but staying on the low ground to increase her speed of advance.

Around midday, she was lucky enough to catch a rabbit with her bow, and so she had food for the first time in two days. She was so hungry that she barely noticed the meat was raw. She ate her meal on the move; she wanted to get clear of the hills as quickly as she could. She figured that she had one more day of walking through the hills before she made it to the mountains. Then she would have to figure out how to find the griffin.

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The rain ended, and Devyn kept walking, and she did clear the hills. Unfortunately, all this really meant was that she was faced with even taller, more imposing geography to cross. She stuck to the lowlands as much as possible, looking for signs of a large creature's home. Griffins were intelligent, but they weren't the tidiest of creatures. She expected to find piles of bones near the animal's home. She also felt that the griffin would live on the very edge of the mountain range. There wasn't much food to be had within the mountains themselves, with little to no vegetation, but there was plenty within the hilly land, and so she expected the griffin to live closer to its food.

A half-day of walking proved her right. She found a huge bone yard at the bottom of one mountain, and then looked up. She could see several caves in this particular mountain. She didn't know which one would contain the griffin... or if they all tied together, and the whole thing was one giant griffin mansion.

Well, nothing for it but to climb up and find out. Devyn wasted no time, but began her climb in earnest. She reached the first cave without incident, but didn't dare go in. She could smell rotting meat inside.

Whatever lives in there, it's not a griffin. No griffin would keep their home in such a fashion. Maybe there's no griffin here, after all. Maybe whatever's in there is responsible for the bone pile.

Still, she had to find out for sure. She continued her climb upward. She had seen four caves from her spot at the bottom of the mountain, and so there were three more to see. The second and third caves were fairly close together, their entrances nearly side-by-side.

When she crawled into the first cave, it was obvious that this, too, was occupied. There were small bones strewn around the entrance. Though the bones were small, they clearly belonged to larger animals.

As if something threw the large skeleton down, but these little bones fell off in the process. Just like a griffin would do.

Devyn immediately withdrew from that cave, and made her way into its neighbor. She knew this was very dangerous; the two caves were likely connected, and that meant she was walking into a tiger griffin's lair uninvited. This was, however, exactly what she had to do.

The cave went deep into the mountain, and Devyn could barely see anything at all by the time she reached its end. She felt around, but could find no way forward.

There appears to be nothing at all in this cave, including a way into the other cave.

On this, Devyn was mistaken. As she made her way back toward the cave entrance, she heard a noise to her left. The only thing to her left, however, was the cave wall. She stepped lightly over to the wall, and listened. Now the noise was ahead of her. Slowly, Devyn crept along the wall, listening and feeling. Suddenly, the sound was above her. The cave ceiling was twenty feet over her head in this spot, and the wall apparently had an opening near its top. Devyn felt for handholds, making her way up the wall slowly. The opening turned out to be halfway up, and it was large enough for her to step into.

The hole led to a small tunnel in the rock, apparently created by running water at some point in the past. She moved along until she could feel air moving again, and then she stopped, now inching forward until she found the end of the tunnel.

She could sense, rather than see, that this cave was larger than the other. The roof did not feel as if it was close to her head, but rather well above her. She had no sense at all of where the floor was, until she heard that noise again.

The noise turned out to be the rumbling snore of a tiger griffin, which was sleeping five feet below, and perhaps twenty feet away. Devyn barely breathed as she backed further into the tunnel. She was safe where she was; the tunnel was far too small for the griffin to enter, and it was deep enough that she could even avoid his reach. She sat down silently, her knees each touching the sides of the small passage, and waited. She would have to observe the creature, to learn his habits, and when she could best obtain a feather. Was he a heavy sleeper? If so, that would be the very best time to grab what she needed. If he slept lightly, it would be suicide. She needed to know these things.

Devyn reached down onto the floor, and found a couple of small stones. She dropped one on the floor of her tunnel. It made a soft clack as it hit. The beast's snoring did not end. She tossed another stone toward the end of the tunnel. It bounced, and then fell to the floor of the cave, making a noticeable thump as it hit the floor. The griffin's snoring was disrupted, but it was clear that the creature did not wake up. In only a couple seconds, Devyn could hear it shift position, and then the snoring resumed, full force.

So, not a really light sleeper. But I'll need to know more than this before I make my move.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Devyn watched the creature for an entire day before doing anything. When it left the cave the next day to go find food, she took a big risk. She went to the end of the tunnel and dropped down into the griffin's cave, so she could explore it. She was hoping there might be something at the back of this cave that could help her out. The cave made a couple of turns, and dropped down, but then it took a very sharp turn downward, and she could not see how far the drop was. Going this way would probably prove fatal.

As she turned to go back, Devyn discovered she had a problem. She heard the griffin return to his home. He sounded burdened, which meant that he had probably caught his dinner. Devyn crept back up toward the main portion of the cave, but stopped before she made the last turn. There was little to no danger of the creature seeing her, as dark as it was in the cave, but it might smell her if she got too close.

The sound of the griffin eating was fairly disgusting, and it was turning Devyn's stomach. She was actually thankful that she had not eaten for some time, as she had nothing in her stomach to heave up.

Finally, the creature was done with its meal. She heard it shove the carcass over the edge of the cliff, and then the animal stalked back into the darker depths of the cave, close to where Devyn crouched. The animal let out a roaring yawn, and then it sank down onto the cave floor, folded its wings, and promptly fell asleep.

Devyn wasn't sure how to proceed. In order to move at all, she had to walk past the griffin. She didn't know if that was safe. She estimated that, just to get back to the tunnel, she would have to pass within five feet of him. If he woke, she would have little chance at survival.

When the griffin had been snoring loudly for a good ten minutes, Devyn silently walked past him. She stepped to where the tunnel was, feeling for it in the dark. Once she was standing beneath the entrance, she paused, and looked back toward the griffin.

My chances aren't going to get better if I stay here longer. I either have to do it now, or abandon the quest. I will not abandon my quest.

Devyn measured her steps carefully as she walked toward the griffin. She could barely make out the outline of his form in the darkness of the cave. Her eyes were so accustomed to the dim light, she feared the pain that would come when she emerged into daylight. That, however, was not something for her to worry about right now.

Slowly, carefully, Devyn moved to within feet of the large creature, and then drew even closer, until she was standing over him.

Devyn took a deep, but silent, breath, and then she reached down. Her action would have to be swift and sure; there would be an immediate reaction whether or not she succeeded.

Unable to see clearly, Devyn simply grasped the first feather that she touched. She took a very firm hold of it, and then, with all the force she could muster, she yanked. The feather came free, and Devyn literally jumped away.

The griffin screeched in pain at having one of its feathers forcibly plucked. It swung its head around, but didn't immediately see Devyn. This was the chance she needed, and she bolted for the entrance to the tunnel. Her earlier care with marking her steps allowed her to judge the direction and distance with high accuracy, and she reached the tunnel just as the griffin rose to its feet. Her movement had attracted its attention, and it screamed its rage at her before moving to attack.

Devyn scrambled up into the tunnel, fairly jumping the last two feet. She ran down the tunnel, banging into its sides, until she was more than halfway along its length. She knew that there was no way that the griffin could reach her now.

That did not stop the animal from trying, however. It shoved its head in the opening, making a noise that was a combination of a roar and a screech. It reverberated through the tunnel, hurting her ears and shaking her nerves, but did no more damage than that.

For long minutes, the griffin tried to reach Devyn, but she knew she was safe, and so she did her best to ignore it. She withdrew a small vial from her pocket, and uncorked it. Live feathers contain blood. She needed to keep the blood inside the feather, in order to prove that it had been plucked, rather than picked up off the ground. She quickly dunked the quill-end of the feather into the vial, which immediately sealed the quill, trapping the griffin blood inside. Finished with that, she put the vial back into her pouch. The feather would not fit, however, and so she slipped that inside of her shirt to keep it safe. It was, after all, the entire point of the trip.

When Devyn heard the griffin stop scrabbling at the opening to the tunnel, she wondered if it had finally given up trying to reach her. She carefully poked her head out of the tunnel into the adjoining cave, and realized that this griffin was smarter than she had given it credit for. It had moved out of its own tunnel into the neighboring tunnel, to see if it could catch her that way. She rapidly moved back into the tunnel, keeping as close to the center as possible.

The griffin could not easily get to this end of the tunnel, and so it screamed its rage at her. The roar was even louder than before, and Devyn clapped her hands over her ears to protect her hearing.

Finally, the griffin gave up, and returned to his own cave. It was over an hour before the animal's snoring returned, and Devyn felt safe to move. Keeping her footsteps as silent as possible, she made her way to the adjoining cave, and lowered herself down to the floor. Once there, she stopped to listen. She could still hear the griffin's snoring, regular as clockwork. She did not relax, however. Any noise she made before she was off this mountain could potentially bring that griffin, and it would know that any human nearby was probably the cause of his pain. Even though the pain had probably gone long before the griffin had given up looking, griffin's tended to hold grudges, and Devyn didn't want to be on the receiving end.

When Devyn made it outside, she had to squint against the sunlight. Her eyes were mere slits as she tried to figure out how to get down. She did not want to travel the same path down that she had taken to get up. She wanted to put the cave entrances out of sight quickly. That way, if the griffin awoke and came out, he would not see her.

After giving her eyes time to readjust, Devyn started down the mountain, moving at a diagonal until she was, she estimated, about a quarter the way around. After that, she started to move straight down as best she could. She needed to get off the mountain quickly.

Once Devyn was once again on solid ground, she took a long moment to rest and consider her actions from this point. She could go back the way she had come; the threats were known, and it was the shortest route. It was not, however, the safest route anymore. The hills were griffin territory, and if it found her, it would be quite angry. Something would probably have replaced the marsh python by now, and so that would be an unknown enemy. Finally, there would certainly be more wyverns in the swamp.

Devyn decided to go in the other direction entirely. She could not head into the mountains, as there was no food to be found, and she needed to eat soon. She would head along the mountains, away from the marsh. This would put her along the hills, and after she was a half-day's walk away from the griffin's home, she could start hunting again, to get dinner. This would take her twice as long to reach a village, but safe, in this case, was preferable to quick.

Satisfied with her success, and having her plan firmly in mind, Devyn turned away from the mountain, and started walking.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"'...I made it to the nearest village in a little over a week. I'll show you the feather when we get back to school.' The rest of the letter is just personal crap," Gwen said, setting the letter down.

"Damn, that was one hell of a little trip," David said. Gwen nodded. Seeing the light outside, David said, "Yikes. It looks like it's getting late. You'd probably better go."

Gwen nodded, packing up her letter. As they stood, she gave David another hug. "Take it easy. And stay out of trouble."

"I will. Will you be back?"

"I'll have to see. I'll try to come back in a couple weeks, but we've got a pretty active summer planned."

"Well, anyway, it was good to see you. Thanks for coming."

"No problem. See you!"

David went and lay down on his bunk. Jailla flew over from his perch.

"Do you know what a Citizen Quest is?" David asked.

"No."

"You seem subdued."

"Sorry, I know what having feathers plucked feels like. It's not pleasant. I hope she had a good reason for doing it."

David smiled at Jailla, and then stared off, thinking about Devyn's adventure.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was in the shower, with all the other guys, trying to ignore what was around him. He hadn't been comfortable in gym class, and he certainly wasn't comfortable here, standing in a room full of naked men.

Two guys, who were newcomers to the facility, arrived late. They were trying to act tough, and they shoved people as they moved down the line toward the empty shower heads.

When they tried to shove David, however, he turned his body, and the guy's hands slid off. David had had quite enough of this kind of treatment last year, and he wasn't about to put up with it from these two goons.

"Ooh, tough guy," the one said. "You want a piece of me?"

"Which piece are you offering?" David asked. "Couldn't be a piece of your mind, as you clearly haven't got one. I certainly don't want a piece of your dick... assuming you could spare any."

There were appropriate ooh's from the others in the shower.

"You son of a bitch!" the guy snarled, and lunged at him. David sidestepped and pushed, forcing the guy's head to hit the tiled wall of the shower. David kept his eyes on both men, but the second man seemed to sense trouble, and he moved away.

The first man, however, was now pissed off. He whirled around and swung on David, who merely ducked out of the way. He wasn't going to get into a fight, but he wasn't going to be pushed around, either.

"You swing like a girl," he told his attacker. This infuriated him even more, and he lunged at David. David let him make contact, and then swiveled again, letting the man tumble to the floor, as he was off-balance.

"Is this really the best you've got?" David asked. "My grandmother could fight better than this, and she's dead."

The goon snarled as he stood up, but then another voice was heard. "What the hell is this shit!" the guard screamed out. "Stroud, you starting shit?"

"No, sir," David said. "He was starting shit. He's just not very good at it." The others in the shower chuckled.

"All of you! Finish up, and wait outside. You're not special, Stroud. You're in deep shit now."

David shrugged, and turned back to his shower.

-----

"At any time, did you put your hands on Mr. Beckel?"

"No, sir... wait, that's not true. When he first tried to push me, I did, in fact, place my hands on him to push him away from me."

"And this would be when he hit the wall?"

"Yes, sir."

"Was that your intent?"

David tilted his head this way and that. "I'm not sorry he hit the wall..."

The warden tried to hide his grin. "Did you, at any time, ever attempt to punch Mr. Beckel?"

"No sir. I never raised a fist to him."

"And you felt the need to fight back at all, instead of just accepting the abuse because..."

"Firstly, because I just spent a year at school doing exactly that, and it doesn't work out very well. Secondly, because allowing the abuser free reign is ethically wrong. He needed to know that someone was going to stand up to him."

"Mm-hmm. You didn't think that should be a guard?"

"The guard was standing there. He wasn't doing anything about it."

"Is that so. I'll have to have a talk with the guard, then." The warden closed the folder he had been looking at. "Eyewitnesses clear you of any instigation in this, so there will be no disciplinary action taken. Be careful, though, Mr. Stroud. You're not the police here."

"Don't I know it, sir."

The warden smiled, and then motioned him off in dismissal. David was escorted back to his cell, and then sat down to study his potions work.

"Trouble?" Jailla asked. David related events to him. "Ah. At least you didn't wait eight months to deal with them this time."

David chuckled, and said, "Oh, shut up."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Stroud, come with me."

David was in his cell, reading. He put his book down, and then ushered Jailla back into his cage.

"What's up?" David asked.

"You have a visitor."

David looked at him, puzzled. "Visitors come to my cell, don't they?"

"Not this one. Come on."

David walked with the guard deep into the facility. He had never been in this section before. Finally, they stopped outside a doorway that looked much more secure than the other doors in the facility.

The warden was standing there, waiting for David.

"Mr. Stroud, your visitor is waiting in there. Now, I need to explain some things about the room you are about to enter. Inside this room, you are allowed a very limited amount of magical use. Specifically, you are allowed to fade. Please be aware that there is only one way in and out of this room, regardless of your form, and that is through this door. I wouldn't advise trying to sneak out through a wall. The consequences could be rather unpleasant. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir. What's going on? Why the special room and all?"

"It was at the request of your visitor. The request was made officially, and approved. When you go through this door, you will be in a small chamber. The other door in the chamber leads to the visiting room. When you are finished, you must stand and wait in the small chamber... and you must be solid. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good. You can go in now."

David stepped through the door into what was basically an airlock. He waited until they closed the door behind him, and he heard it click shut. He shrugged, and then opened the door in front of him, stepping through and shutting it before looking around.

When he did look, he saw who his visitor was.

"Penny!" he said in happy surprise. He faded as he stepped over to her, and the two embraced. When they finally separated, he said, "It's good to see you! I didn't think ghosts could even come in here."

"It takes some doing," she said. "That's why the special room. And it took me a week to get approval."

David looked around. The room looked like a small apartment, almost. There was a couch, a table and chairs, a bed, and some cabinetry, even. "What is this place?"

"I don't know what they use it for. I've never been here before."

David motioned her over to the couch, and the two sat down together.

"So, why did you come?" David asked curiously.

"Well, I figured you were probably bored, and could use some company. And, of course, Jacob wants to know how you're doing. And I missed talking with you."

David smiled at her.

"So, how has your stay been so far?" she asked.

David related all the things that had happened to him in the facility.

"It was good of Prof. Stott to do that for you," she said. "I'm sure it has made the time go by much faster."

"You can say that again," David replied.

Penny looked at him curiously. "I could, but why would I?"

David laughed. "It's just an expression. It means I agree with you."

"Oh," she said, grinning sheepishly. There was a pause in the conversation. Finally, Penny turned to face David fully.

"There was something else I thought you might be missing while here in the facility," Penny said.

"Oh?" David inquired curiously. "What's that?"

In response, Penny leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to David's. She put her hand on the back of his head, and then she moved forward, pushing him down onto the sofa as she pressed her body tightly against him. David did not resist, but slid his arms tenderly around to her back, holding her close and rubbing his hands up and down.

When Penny finally broke their kiss and leaned back slightly, she watched David's eyes for any hint of rejection.

David said, "You're right, I did miss that. I didn't expect to have the pleasure of your attention, though."

Penny smiled at him, a mix of relief and happiness. "You and I have become quite close over the last year, I think. Much closer than I got to most men in life before I slept with them. I have missed the touch of a man, David. You asked me, when we met, if I missed being alive. That is the one thing I miss most."

David leaned up and kissed her again. She came willingly, and opened her mouth immediately when he slipped his tongue out against her lips. Their tongues danced wetly as they held each other, not moving much more than that.

After a minute or two, they came up for air, and smiled at each other. David said, "Since it's available, why don't we make ourselves more comfortable, and move over to the bed?"

Penny agreed, and moved off of him, so he could stand up. The two moved quickly over to the bed, but did not yet lie down on it. Instead, they stood next to it, and resumed their kissing.

While they were liplocked, David began to undo the buttons on Penny's dress. She let him do it himself, rather than try to get in his way by helping. It took some time for David to undo all the buttons, but neither of them really minded, as they continued to kiss while he worked. Finally, David was able to push the dress off her shoulders. It pooled at her feet, and David pulled her close to him again, embracing her tightly as they continued their kissing.

Penny decided it was only fair that he should lose some clothing, as well. She could not take off his shirt without breaking their kiss, and she wasn't going to do that, so she reached down and unfastened his pants. His prison clothes weren't nearly as nice as his school uniform, but she was interested in what was under his clothes, so it didn't really matter.

Once David's pants fell to the floor, she worked to push his underwear down, as well. It took her a few moments, but she managed. After that, she gently ran her hand along his very hard cock. She felt him shiver at her touch.

They broke their kiss at that point, so that David could remove his shoes and socks, and he pulled off his shirt while he was at it. Penny stepped out of her dress, but was still wearing all of her underthings.

David stepped close to her, then reached around to unfasten her bra. Penny smiled softly at him as he drew the garment gently off her shoulders and down her arms. He stepped back to let the garment fall away, and to enjoy the view of her bare breasts.

"You are a very beautiful woman, Penny," he told her. She smiled in embarrassment at him. He moved close to her again, and slowly pushed her panties down off her hips, until they tumbled to the floor. Now, Penny was wearing only her low heels, and her stockings.

"Sit down," he said to her softly. She slowly complied, brushing his dick with her hand as she did so. He grinned at her, but then he bent down, taking her left ankle and lifting it up, so that he could remove her shoe. He repeated the process with her right, and then he stepped close to her. He put his hands gently at her waist and pushed her back onto the bed. She helped him, and turned herself when she was far enough on, making room for him to lie beside her.

David joined Penny on the bed, and the two immediately resumed their kissing. David could feel Penny's full breasts pressing against him, her nipples digging into his chest. It wasn't long before they both were as ready as they could get.

David gently rolled Penny onto her back, and she immediately spread her legs for him, giving him as much access as he wanted. He placed the head of his prick at her opening, and then he paused.

"Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes," she replied.

David slowly slipped himself into her depths, and Penny sighed heavily in contentment.

"Oh, dear Lord, I've missed this," she said to him quietly.

"I hope I can live up to your desires," David said.

"You're doing well so far," she told him with a smile. With that, David began to move inside her, using long, slow strokes. He pulled out of her until just the head of his dick was inside, and then slipped his entire length back into her. He kept this up for long minutes, until Penny couldn't stand it anymore.

"Oh, gods. Please go faster. I need to finish."

"Your wish is my command," David said, and sped up, using slightly shorter strokes, but still not pounding into her too hard. Penny began to moan as her arousal increased, pushing her towards her orgasm.

As Penny drew near her climax, David sped up some more, trying to push her over the edge. Penny cried out in pleasant surprise, and her screams of pleasure filled the room as her orgasm arrived, sending her mind into ecstasy while her body quivered beneath David. He stopped moving while his cock was buried inside her, and her pussy massaged him unconsciously, keeping him nice and hard.

When she finally came down from her high, Penny looked up at her lover. "That was incredible," she said.

David smiled, and asked, "Do you want more?"

Penny looked over at the rest of the room, and then she said, "I want you to take me on every flat surface in this room."

David raised his eyebrows. "This could take a while." Penny just smiled at him.

-----

Honoring her request, David had made love to Penny on every surface that would hold her. They were now standing in front of the table, which was the second thing they'd had sex on.

"Now what did you have in mind?" David asked.

"Something special," she said. She sat up on the table, facing him, and then she told him, "Enter me."

David moved to her, and slipped his cock deep into her pussy. Even after the afternoon they'd had, it still felt incredible to be inside her. He paused, waiting to find out what they were doing differently this time.

"Now, we will both fade to invisibility. This way, we can only feel each other, and we will have to focus on that."

David smiled and nodded. He closed his eyes and faded to invisibility, and when he opened them, he could not see Penny or his own body. He could still feel her pussy gripping his cock, however, which felt wonderful.

David very carefully moved his hands upward, until he made contact with Penny's sides. He slowly moved his hands along her skin until he was cupping her tits. Only when he had both of them in hand did he start to move inside her.

"Oh, yes, David. It feels wonderful!"

As David continued to thrust into Penny, he leaned down and took one of her nipples into his mouth. Penny cried out in bliss as he tongued her nip while he increased the pace of his thrusting.

After a while, David switched to the other breast, and Penny moaned, enjoying the sensations of it all.

Finally, David let loose her tits. He told her, "Lay back on the table." Penny did, and then David slid his hands down, to grasp Penny's legs. He moved them up onto his shoulders, and then he bent over slightly, pressing her down into the table more firmly.

With his partner firmly in place, David started to thrust, hard, into her. Penny was immediately groaning and panting in pleasure.

"Oh, gods, yes, David!" she cried out. David continued to pound into her. He slid his hands along her skin again, returning to her tits, and this time molding and fondling them more aggressively. He slammed his cock into her over and over, driving both of them toward final release.

Penny was screaming with every thrust now, and David grunted. They were both right on the edge. David lightly twisted Penny's nipples, and that sent her over the edge, with a loud cry. Her body writhed beneath David, lost in the throes of her orgasm. Her pussy squeezed and massaged his cock, and that was all he could take. He let loose a torrent of cum inside of her, continuing to slam his cock into her throughout. Even after his climax ended, he continued to fuck her until her own orgasm subsided. Only then did he slow to a stop, and straighten up. He kept his dick inside of her, however.

David slowly moved Penny's legs off his shoulders, and then he reached down and, carefully finding her sides, pulled her up against him. He slid his hand along her skin up to the side of her face, and then he pulled her mouth to his, kissing her passionately. They remained like that until his dick finally softened enough to slip from within her. At that point, they separated, and both of them returned to visibility.

"That did make it more intense," David said.

Penny merely nodded. He helped her down off the table, and the two went over to lie on the bed. They did not want more, now. They merely cuddled in the afterglow of great sex.

"Did I live up to your expectations?" David asked, a little concerned. She'd not had sex for twenty years; he had wanted to make it good for her.

"David, you are, without a doubt, the best lover I have ever had," she told him. David grinned in embarrassment, and turned away. She brought his face back so she could look him in the eyes. "I mean that," she said, and then she kissed him.

The two didn't say anything to each other for a while, instead just relaxing together and enjoying the company.

Finally, the two did get up from the bed, and got dressed. They went over to sit on the sofa, basically to say good-bye to each other slowly.

"Will you come back?" David asked.

"I don't know. It's so hard to get permission for a ghost to see you in here. I might just wait until I can see you whenever I want, at school."

"Well, I'm glad you came today, anyway."

"I am, too."

After a long pause, David said, "And you don't need to wait twenty years to have sex again."

Penny smiled at him in a very womanly way. "Thank you."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~