The Land of Green and Gold Part II: Silence

Chapter 39: Gardrinol's Orb

His gaze dropped down to the spriggan bracelet. Its shiny black surface reflected the moonlight, its glint seeming to beckon.

Griffin touched the Elder object. "Wild."

"Always late at night, huh?" Wild joked hardly a minute later.

"Yeah, well, I don't exactly get much time away from my responsibilities to call during the day."

"True. Maybe you should just join my band!" Wild paused, becoming serious. "You sound frustrated."

Griffin snorted. "That's putting it mildly. I just got into a physical fight with one of my members who won't respect me no matter what I do, and just now my best friend basically said I'm not fit to be leader."

"There's always someone who won't like you," Wild replied. "And there will always be hardships."

"I know. It's just...just so infuriating!"

"You could exile the troublemaker."

Griffin shook his head. "No. I'd just be giving in to him. I'd look weak."

"Ah."

Griffin scooped up a handful of sand and watched it stream between his fingers. "Power. That's the issue here. He and the others still don't trust my power. They don't think I'm strong enough to lead."

"Weren't you searching for the Alderin ring?" Wild questioned.

"Yeah. I found it."

"And?"

"It's not enough."

"That ring is quite powerful," Wild remarked.

Griffin shrugged and scooped up some more sand. "Yes, but its power is fire. To Jolt, the troublemaker I was talking about, that means nothing. He's a phoenix, so no matter how strong the ring is, he wouldn't view it as any different than his own powers."

"I see. A non-phoenix Elder Object might persuade him better, then. Don't you have a few others though?"

"Yes. The one you gave me and two others, but none of them are offensive."

"Which is what this phoenix seems to care about."

"Exactly."

Griffin released the sand in his fist and rubbed absently at the pebbles that had stuck to his palm. He froze, finger on his palm. "Wild, what's the strongest Elder object?"

"The oldest one," Wild replied.

"Which is?"

Wild hesitated. "Gardrinol's Orb I believe. It's a spriggan Elder object."

Gardrinol's Orb, Griffin repeated to himself, committing the name to memory. Aloud he asked, "Do you know where it is?"

Silence met his question.

"Wild?" Griffin prodded.

"I...do have a good idea where it might be. However—"

"Where is it?" Griffin interrupted.

"It's in the ancient spriggan city somewhere in the Burnt Sand Caverns. But Griffin..." Wild trailed off.

"But what?" Griffin snapped. Why is he so hesitant?

"There's a reason why no one has sought it out. The rumors I've heard say it was locked away on purpose."

"Okay. So?"

"It has killed the most Elder, Griffin," Wild quietly explained. "It's a deadly weapon that's past is bathed in blood—and not all of that blood was from the user's enemies."

"You're afraid someone will kill me for it," Griffin surmised.

Wild did not reply.

Griffin sighed, feeling the cloud of frustration begin to swell again. "I'm not weak, you know. I can defend myself even if someone does try to steal it from me."

"I know, you're not weak. I'm not trying to say that. It's just..."

"I'll be fine," Griffin dismissed. Does even Wild think I'm not strong enough?

"Just be careful." Wild paused. "Have you been hiding your Elder objects with the technique I taught you?"

"No. I had to release it recently due to, um..." Memories of his fight with Cold rose in his head. "...extreme magic-loss during a fight. I haven't put the protective layer back up since. If it'll make you feel better, though, I can create it again."

"I'd appreciate that. I know you'll probably be fine without it, but it never hurts to walk on the safe side."

"True." Griffin felt the frustration dissipate. He's not underestimating me. He just cares about my safety. "Thanks, Wild. I really needed someone to talk to. Someone who actually believes in me."

"No problem. And I know I was joking earlier, but seriously, if you want to join my band or even just get away for a bit, my band is always open. We're actually not that far from the desert right now. We're headed to Grïzen, which is right on the border of the Jajin and Merzai regions."

"I'll keep that in mind." Griffin glanced up at the desert sky. The moon had begun to drop a bit from its galactic throne. "I should probably go. Thanks again, Wild."

"Anytime, Griffin."

Griffin drew his hand away from the bracelet then stood and returned to camp.