And he could guess another reason why travelers never came back: a fog that comes from out of nowhere. He wouldn’t want to be one of the many people that disappeared in the fog and be lost forever in a fog.
He needed them to keep going even if they were in an exhausted state. Once they got to this village, they could take a break and rest up. And when the fog lifted, they would have already regained their strength to walk once again. Also, it could mean they will sleep during the night, even more time to regain what they lost and reset their walking in the morning.
“Can anyone still walk?” asked Vaeludar.
“We can,” said Wonomi and Monico.
“I can’t,” said Flavius.
“I can walk all night if I need to,” said Galvin.
“I definitely cannot,” said Marina.
The people in the king’s army could still march onward, but the people Vaeludar the hybrid personally knew could not keep walking onward. He thought Galvin, Wonomi, and Monico come from a military force and train extensively everyday of their lives. He didn’t think much of Flavius since he mostly watches over the twin boys and of Marina since she was a Siren and Sirens’ muscles were so crude like human muscle.
“Flarefur, is it possible you can carry both Marina and Flavius?” asked Vaeludar.
“I can carry the two people who need carrying but the others who don’t need any carrying can walk on their own,” answered Flarefur.
Vaeludar nodded and looked back at Flavius and Marina. Both of them were sitting on the ground breathing softly. He walked over to help Marina. He saw her legs were showing red veins on her skin; he guessed it meant her leg muscles were too stiff to move. Without question, he lifted her up with his own two hands.
“Whoa! What are you doing?” asked Marina. She was caught by surprise like a fish swimming away from a giant shark. She was startled the moment she was picked up and she found herself being carried like a princess.
“Giving you to the Griffin that will give you a free ride so you won’t have to walk onwards,” answered Vaeludar.
The hybrid proceeded to carry the Siren over to the Griffin ready to fly off. After Vaeludar had carried Marina to the Griffin, he turned to see Flavius. “Flavius, can you walk…” He spoke too soon; he saw Flavius weakly walking to the Griffin and hopped on right behind Marina.
“I am not as weak as you think I am or are you paying more attention to a girl needing some male attention?” asked Flavius.
“Don’t patronize me,” said Marina.
“Just stay quiet, everyone. I want to get going before this fog rolls in on top of us. And I don’t want to find out what may linger in this fog. Even if I have some dragon traits within these hybrid eyes of mine, I won’t be able to see well in fogs. And I don’t want to take the risk of fighting fifty Minotaurs or a hundred Manticores. I know my limitations, and I don’t have the power to withstand an army myself. I want this group to get going now. Move out! Or stay behind! I’m not waiting!”
Vaeludar was the first to move out and he was the first to show the people the power not of magic but authority with a strong voice. His voice sounded so deep it made the others look at him in confusion.
After he placed a short distance from the group, the others stopped their time of short breathing and caught up to the fast-paced hybrid. He sounded so stern and serious he would make the king look like a child trying to play house.
Seconds after Vaeludar stormed off, Flarefur followed closely behind him. Galvin dropped what packed bags he could carry, heaved those over his shoulders, and dashed after the walking Griffin. Wonomi and Monico stared at each other’s eyes of what they were ordered to do by a single specimen born of a human and a dragon.
From their perspective, the king wasn’t always stern and rude like this hybrid was. Both of them gathered the few remaining bags and followed after the hybrid, staying behind the others and whispering to each other.
Vaeludar, having great flickering ears that could hear noises a short distance away, heard the twin sprinters talk about him.
“I’d never thought he would have such a rude awakening,” said Wonomi.
“You’re telling me,” said Monico. “My drill sergeant wasn’t always so picky and snappy about moving out in the morning. I wonder where he gets these personality traits.”
“If you remember the king saying, Monico, he is an offspring of a Dragon and human scientist. I really don’t get it. A human is considered to be an ant to a Dragon. And since his father is a Dragon, I don’t get how a Dragon could fit into a human bedroom. Dragons are too big.”
“By any method, Wonomi, they managed to create a little kid. I for sure don’t want to know how they did it, and I’m sure you don’t want to either.”
“That’s right,” agreed Monico.
After hearing a little about himself, Vaeludar ceased his hearing from the twin sprinters and drew his eyes to Marina who seemed annoyed and shown a hint of jealousy when she was riding with Flavius. His didn’t hear anything coming from them as they both decided to stay quiet. Then he looked to Galvin, who seemed to be muttering to himself.
Regardless of what they thought of him, Vaeludar didn’t care. He wanted to get moving as swiftly as possible. He had the strength to withstand a single Minotaur, an army of Hobgoblins, a close encounter of Black Dogs, and a sword fight with a Shadow King, but he had a bare minimum strength that he couldn’t take on an entire army of Hobgoblins. He could be pinned down but his skin could protect his insides because his skin was like steel