Chapter 420 Takeoff

Olpi inhaled a lungful of crisp, morning air, and looked away from the looming beast in front of her. It took in her scent, its warm breath billowing her robe. She was glad to know that Wyverns couldn't breathe fire, but that didn't mean that it could not kill her in the blink of an eye. 'Wyverns are supposed to be smaller versions of dragons, but I can't imagine anything bigger than this,' she thought. 'How does someone even tame a beast like this?'

"Do not look them in the eyes," Sir Zashil warned. He sat atop one of the four Wyverns prowling the campsite.

The Wyvern's slitted eyes sat behind its fanged jaw, watching her, this tiny morsel, tip-toe towards its tail. It seemed to grow nervous. It fluttered its wings and shuffled back on its two legs. Olpi paused, lowered her head, and continued.

Sir Zashil whistled twice. The scales along the Wyvern's head shifted flat. It lowered its head into Olpi's hand. "I trained that one myself."

"What is its name?" Olpi asked.

"Pluck."

"That's an…interesting name," Olpi tried to sound convincing. "How did you think of it?"

"I named her because of this." Sir Zashil rolled up the sleeves of his flight suit, which was made of thick, wind-resistant material, and pulled off his right glove. Four fingers wiggled in the open air. Sir Zashil then pointed at the Wyvern's under belly. "And that's how I found out it was a bitch!"

"Ew."

Sir Zashil laughed as he slipped his glove back on. "You are different from miss Mech. I am sorry that you lack humor. Maybe try harder."

"And the other three, what are their names?" Olpi asked, putting on her servant smile. 'I do not understand this guy,'

Sir Zashil pointed at each of the three Wyverns. "Diddles, Killer, and lastly, Joseph. Take good care of them. They cost a lot of money."

"What do you mean?"

Sir Zashil didn't answer her, turning towards Doevm and Elero in order to hand them six suits, much like his own. "Make sure you wear these and put on the goggles. They'll adjust to your body and keep you warm…mostly. Miss Mech, do you still remember the signals?"

Elero nodded: "I'm sorry to be a bitch again."

"When are you not?" Sir Zashil shrugged, earning him a few, creative remarks. He held up Elero's letter. "You can curse me out or I can deliver this. Pick one."

Elero slapped a stiff smile onto her face. "Please deliver my letter, master. I would be ever so grateful."

"That is more like it," Sir Zashil said as he gripped his reins. "I am glad. You accomplished what you set out to do. Goodbye."

Doevm held up a hand. "Elero and Olpi, cover your ears."

Olpi and Elero exchanged a look, but did as they were told. As Doevm's mouth opened and closed, Sir Zashil's keen look softened. The body moved but the mind did not follow. Sir Zashil took his Wyvern into the sky.

'What was that about?' Olpi thought.

Elero seemed to understand since she turned toward Doevm and said, "He really won't remember anything about meeting with us?"

Doevm shook his head. "It is for the best, sorry."

Elero gave him a friendly punch to the arm. "Whatever you need. I more than owe it to you."

"In that case, can you wake up Frey?"

"Now you're pushing your luck." Elero walked towards Frey's tent in a huff.

"And tell him not to eat breakfast," Doevm warned. Elero flashed him a big grin and he sighed. "Humans…Olpi, take one of these." He presented a package to her.

"Thanks?" Olpi said. "I'm confused. Why did Sir Zashil leave these and the Wyverns behind? Where are their riders? Where are we going, if not the Mech residence."

Doevm opened up his own package and held out a suit almost identical to Sir Zashil's. "You should be more worried about yourself. Have no fear. Wyverns are not difficult to master, especially if you inherited the elves' affinity for nature."

Olpi cocked her head to the side. "Sorry?"

That is how, at the crack of dawn, Olpi found herself clamoring onto the saddle of a vicious, flying monstrocity. Elero and Doevm easily mounted their respective Wyverns (with Elero leading the group). The others mounted behind the riders.

"So…what do I hold onto?" Thomas asked, nervously looking around the saddle.

Olpi shrugged. "Hey guys, what do we hold-"

Elero whistled, and the Wyverns spread their wings. Olpi reached for the reins, fumbling them as her mount's accelerating strides threatened to throw her off. She found a handhold moments before the beast took off. The shift from jostling to gliding caused her stomach to sink. She shut her eyes and gripped using her entire body. Thomas held onto her out of desperation. Elero laughed and laughed.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Wyverns slowed their constant flapping, having gained enough altitude. Olpi only felt her rapid heartbeat and the wind rushing past her ears. 'I didn't fall off. I'm still alive,' she kept thinking to herself.

A scream shattered the calmness. She nearly jumped.

"Can you stop screaming?" Thomas moaned, his face turning a nauseous green. "I think I'm going to throw up."

"Please don't," Olpi begged. "Because if you do, I will as well."

"Then stop screaming!"

"That's not me!"

"Then who is it?"

"Frey, for the goddess's sake, would you stop that?" Kilot's voice boomed from the front of the formation. "I warned you to keep your eyes shut, ya daft oaf."

"Keep still or you'll send us both to the ground," Doevm growled. Olpi could hear both him and his Wyvern struggling.

"Wait, it actually is Frey!" Thomas roared in laughter. "Olpi, look!"

Olpi sat up. Peering through Sir Zashil's goggles blocked the wind and reduced the sunlight, allowing her to enjoy the sight of Frey clinging to Doevm's back like a boulder huddling in fear behind a pebble.

"I did not sign up for this!" Frey screamed.

"Frey, you're missing out," Olpi said, awestruck at the view. The big, wide world below had flattened into a greenish-brown background on which forests had become dark green splotches and hills were reduced to lumps. Only the clouds were above them, so close she could almost touch them. She leaned to the side, causing the horizon to slowly shift.

While the world did not actually shift, it was fun to imagine it did. She could turn the horizon upside, diagonal, or even perpendicular if she wished.

"Uh, Olpi?" Thomas tightened his grip.

Olpi reoriented the Wyvern to align with the horizon. Steering was surprisingly easy, almost natural. "I apologize, Thomas. Are you alright?"

"I've been through worse, but definitely been better."

"Are you sure? You look as pale as a corpse."

"I could have looked a lot worse if we stayed on the ground."

Olpi followed Thomas's line of sight over her shoulder. The pillar of smog had faded, as even Dragon fire had its limits, yet many carriages were already on route for the Bloodwood. 'I had barely seen anyone the other day,' she thought. 'Are all of them bounty hunters like yesterday?'