Speeding north on the back of Pegasus, Orion watched as the landscape rushing beneath them changed as they traveled. Leaving the sunny bright cool lands of the Mediterranean in the full glory of autumn behind, now an endless landscape of barren grassland of the vast steppes of Russia opened up before them. Gone were the deep reds and warm oranges of the forests of the Balkans, replaced by eternal desolate stretches of brown grass, already dormant in the late October weather. The air grew colder as they flew and it was clear, Winter was rapidly approaching.
Orion had to shake his head at the foolhardiness of his mission. Few mortals were foolish enough to hunt the Griffon, but NONE were stupid enough to attempt it in winter and if not for the fear of never being released from his sacrifice to Artemis, he knew he would be safely back in his own town wenching the night away with his friends if not for his curse. These desolate lands of the North were legendary for their cruel polar blasts and blinding sudden blizzards, and he knew he had to act quickly before the first snows began to fall.
Pegasus too seemed to understand the growing danger as she grew more nervous and excitable as the traveled, bucking and snorting restlessly as each hour in flight passed. Each mile they flew was a mile further away from the lands they both knew and even the Gods they worshipped were powerless here. This was the domain of the fierce Gods of the Norsemen, and they were a foreign and barbaric lot. Prayers to Zeus, Aphrodite or Artemis would be pointless here in these uncivilized lands.
As Zeus ruled the Mediterranean, Odin Ruled the north and the two hated each other fiercely. Grim, humorless and barbaric, Odin had none of the easy charm of his distant cousin Zeus. Scarred by constant battle, his one remaining eye glowed blood red with a ferocity that would turn any human instantly to ice upon seeing it. Zeus and Odin, although hating one another, respected the other's territories and had a begrudging respect for one another. Odin thought Zeus self-indulgent, oversexed and silly, but certainly did not want to provoke one of his lightning bolts being hurled at his good eye. Zeus thought Odin a hopeless redneck barbarian, but knew that in a fight he would be a serious threat. A ten-thousand-year truce remained in place between the two kingdoms and rarely were there many interactions between the two lands. Orion would be seriously breaking protocol by violating the Norse God's territory on a mission relating to the Olympian Gods, and because of this, none would lift a finger to help him in case of trouble.
Seeing the Rhipean Mountains in the distance, Orion gently petted the mane of his increasingly agitated companion Pegasus. Rising like a black scar on the horizon, the mountain range was an intimidating sight. Here was the home of the dreaded Griffon, and inviting it was not. Erupting violently from the formless plain, the towering black cliffs appeared almost like a giant wall on the earth, a permanent barrier separating East from West. Trees grew on its slopes, but already they were stark and bare having been stripped clean of their leaves by the relentless cold winds barreling down from the north. Reaching the foothills, he guided Pegasus to land as his search would have to commence on foot from this point.
Pegasus would not settle after they landed, and with human like understanding, she glared at Orion as he dismounted. Running his hand gently over her neck, he tried his best to comfort her but it was no use as she nuzzled his arm in a gesture to beg him not to proceed. Moved by her concern, Orion spoke.
"Pegasus girl, I must make the rest of this journey without you. Now, go find a nice field back in Greece and meet me back here in one week. I promise I will be alright". It took several minutes of begging before eventually the winged horse sorrowfully launched into the clear blue sky. She would return within a week as directed, but in her horse's soul she feared for her new master. Now alone, Orion stared up at the huge mountain range in front of him with steely determination but also growing dread.
For the several days it had taken to arrive, he had not seen another soul on these vast plains. The Rhipean mountains were extremely dangerous and apart from the Norse Gods, few humans were dumb enough to explore their dark canyons and secret caves. Checking his gear, he headed up the slopes on his quest.
After full day into his hike he made camp and slept. When he awoke the next day and continued he quickly discovered a warm stream, still steaming from heat wafting off of its surface into the chilly morning air. This is what he was looking for and he grinned when he discovered it. Legend had it that the Griffon resided in a cave high on the slopes of the Rhipean mountains, but that the cave also was the source of an underground hot spring. This was obviously the runoff from that spring and if he followed the steaming brook to its source, he should be able to find the cave. The fact that the water was still hot enough to create steam indicated the lair of the Griffon was not far away.
His whole body tense as a drawstring, the slope of his climb grew even steeper as the ground became rockier and more difficult to traverse as he progressed up the mountain. Now reaching late afternoon, he saw a clearing in the forest of denuded trees and hunkered down to avoid any potential detection. Climbing over the rocky ground, it took more than an hour to crawl up the final feet of the slope to the edge of the clearing as the rustling of the fallen leaves were too loud, so stealth was the order of the day. Wanting to surprise the Griffon, Orion timed his movements to that of the wind to disguise the sounds of the rustling leaves under his feet. As he crawled through the underbrush, he exhaled fully as he suddenly found himself face to face with a human skull and was obviously quite startled by the revelation. Looking at the vacant eye sockets staring back at him, Orion smiled as now this was absolute confirmation that the Griffon was very near. Slowly pulling an arrow from his quiver, he opened his bag and dipped the tip into the blood of Medusa. His hands shook slightly as he knew he would only get one shot, so his aim would have to be perfect. Pushing the skull to the side, he crept softly up the embankment and stared down into the clearing.
Looking into the ravine, he saw what he came for. The entrance to the cave of the Griffon was surrounded on three sides by steep rocky hills. The yawning mouth of the cave was immense, at least one hundred feet tall and equally wide and presented quite a ominious sight in the stark surroundings. Steam billowed out of the entrance as the spring gushed from the source deep inside, forming the river that Orion had been following for over a day. Large piles of human bones were strewn over the entire area, and the white bleached debris was the final confirmation that this truly was the lair of the Griffon. The bones were spread on the ground haphazardly, literally looking like they had exploded and created a truly ominous and sinister sight. Orion hid behind a makeshift blind of human femurs and pelvic bones and decided to wait for the Griffon to emerge, his bow already primed with his Medusa blood tipped arrow, all of his senses on full alert, his whole body tense with anticipation. Looking up into the sky it was already mid-afternoon so he felt confident that the beast would emerge from his lair before nightfall.
As the afternoon drug on, Orion became quite fatigued. Being on high alert and in that constant state of readiness was exhausting and as the sun began to sink behind him he assumed he would have to wait until the following day to take his shot. Putting his bow down, he rubbed his burning biceps that were now throbbing in pain from the strain of holding the bowstring taught for so long. As he slowly relaxed he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he was engulfed in shadow. Terrified to turn his head and thus confirm his fear, the long shadow of the Griffon now painted its inky black image onto the barren earth before him, its enormous wings already spread. The beast was obviously highlyintelligent as it had silently been able to creep up behind the experienced hunter and catch him entirely by surprise. Completely silent, Orion now felt the icy breath of the Griffon rush over the back of his neck. Completely helpless, he knew that the slightest movement on his part would be detected and no doubt he would be instantly devoured by the monster. Knowing that he was doomed anyway, he acted.
Reaching for his bow, his arms were instantly entrapped by the Griffons sharp and powerful claws as it attacked before he could reach his bow. Closing his eyes as he expected to be shredded to pulp at any moment, Orion was shocked as now both man and beast began to rise as the Griffon took flight with him trapped in its grip. Horrific shrieks of delight erupted from the eagle head of the monster and pierced the late afternoon air, echoing loudly onto the plains below as they rose into the late afternoon sky. Surprised at his continued survival, Orion popped open his eyes and stared up at his attacker.
The Griffon was all that he had heard and then some, terrible beyond his wildest imagination. Enormous in size, he was at least twenty feet long with the head, front claws and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, as intimidating in appearance as he was ferocious. Pinned as he was, Orion could not move his arms as the steel like grip of the Griffon's sharp nails held onto his body in the front talons of the beast. Orion knew he could have been crushed within seconds or shredded to bits by the powerful grip but he still lived and was grateful but confused. As he looked below him however, the horrific truth became revealed, as it was now apparent that the Griffon was toying with him. Now thousands of feet above the Mountain, he panicked as he knew his main weapon of the Medusa tipped arrows were still on the ground. He did still have his dagger tied to his belt so squirming in the grip of the beast, he was able to reach his blade. Reaching the weapon with much difficulty, with all of his might he freed his right arm and plunged the dagger into the claw gripping his chest. It became instantly obvious to Orion that further attacks by steel would be pointless as the knife shattered to pieces on the diamond hard scales of the monster. Rushing into the stratosphere he cleared his head from his rage as he suddenly realized the folly of this attack. Even if he could kill the Griffon, which was doubtful with a tiny dagger, it would mean his own certain death if he was dropped. Falling from this height would no doubt mean he would be nothing but a bloody stain once his body hit the earth. Now clinging to the scaly talons of the Griffon he had just tried to stab, he swore he heard the monster shriek a scream of laughter as they flew higher.
