Guardian #2 - Gnarbrydh (Zac Cooey)

Gnarbrydh
By Zac Cooey

The bitter cold swept through the mountainside, biting at Reginald's face. The merchant, wrapped in thick animal hide clothing, knew that this trek was dangerous. Most likely, it would kill him. But he had to speak with the Gnarbrydh. He knew he could find it.

He slipped on a particularly narrow path and only barely saved himself from falling a hundred meters to his death. He clung to the mountain wall with one hand, clutched the scroll to his chest with the other, and prayed to the gods that all this trouble would be worth it.

Finally, after hours of walking up the treacherous mountain path, he came to a very large opening in the mountainside. He scurried inside, away from the cold snow. It was dark and damp, but he just barely managed to light a torch with one hand and continued into the cavern.

He walked and walked and walked, between stalagmites and outcroppings of rock to his left or right, all the while eyeing the sleeping bats hanging from the ceiling. He tried to tread quietly to avoid waking them. The cavern seemed to grow taller and wider the deeper he went. On some of the stalagmites he saw deep clawmarks.

About fifteen minutes after he first entered the cave, he thought he saw a glint of gold in front of him. As he continued his walk forward, he discovered what it was. The Gnarbrydh, laying on the stone floor.

Its thick fur coat was the source of the gold shine. It was sinuous and muscled, with a body like a lion. It slept with its belly towards Reginald, and every time it snored, the sound was so great it almost pushed him backwards (though Reginald noted that the bats, curiously, did not seem to mind). Its claws seemed to be made of diamond. Its thick, snakelike tail twitched idly. The beast was far larger than even an elephant, though the cave was wide enough for it to fit with room to move. It had a bearlike head with massive iron fangs longer than the snout. Four emerald green antlers sprung from its forehead, an orb of dim red energy floating between them.

Reginald was overcome by fear for a moment, but then spoke up. "H-hey...you! You there!" His voice seemed to make a few of the bats stir, but not wake.

The Gnarbrydh's obsidian-black eyes shot open at the sound and it sprung to its feet with far more agility than it should have possessed, for a creature so large. It turned so quickly that its tail knocked a stalactite to the floor. This sent all of the bats on the ceiling scattering.

A voice seemed to echo from the red orb as the beast glared down at Reginald: YOU ARE NOT MY MASTER.

Reginald was once again frozen with fear, but then said, "No...no, I'm not."

DO YOU KNOW THE CODE?

Reginald gulped and slowly opened the flimsy scroll still in his hand, holding the torch close enough to read it. He reminded himself that this was standard procedure for the beast. According to the scroll, it knew a code that, if told to the beast itself, would allow you to become its new master. The story had been told to his people for generations, but only this one scroll had the code itself. He read it over and over again in his head to make sure he didn't say it incorrectly, and then said aloud: "Diok Gnarbrydh jav mun tigellod zijav!"

The earthen walls seemed to shake as he said the words, and when he finished, some of the intensity left the Gnarbrydh's eyes.

I SUBMIT TO YOU, MY NEW MASTER,it said, lowering its head in a bow. WHAT CAN I DO TO ASSIST YOU?

Reginald grinned. "Your old master, Evano...his treasure lies further in this cave, yes?"

THAT IS CORRECT.

"And there are no more defenses besides you?"

THAT IS CORRECT.

Reginald ecstatically ran past the beast, avoiding its swinging tail. It made no attempt to follow him.

He was practically jumping up and down with joy. Legend told of Evano's great treasure, a treasure so precious he sought out the mythical Gnarbrydh itself just to guard it.

For five more minutes, Reginald's torchlight swept across the cave and eventually found the box at the very end of the tunnel. But it was not what he was expecting.

The box was not a treasure chest, but a coffin.

He approached the ornate wooden box carefully. Despite being very wide, it was clearly a coffin. Under the dust, between carvings of roses, he could see what looked like a name. He leaned his torch against the cavern wall and wiped the dust off. It was not a name, but three in succession: HANNIS, MICHAELA, BARTHOLOMEW.

Reginald immediately recognized the names. In some versions of the myth of Evano, these were the names given to Evano's wife and children.

Reginald, hands shaking, lifted the coffin lid. Inside were three skeletons, one of normal size but the other two, on either side of the first, were child-sized.

Evano's "great treasure" was not gold. It was not diamonds. It was his dead family.

Reginald scanned the bodies for a pocket watch, some jewelry, anything, but no such luck. He had come all this way for nothing.

He had known he could find it, but it was never even there.

He nearly broke down crying, but then he remembered: the Gnarbrydh! Its hide was golden, its claws were diamond...the teeth of such a creature alone could buy him ten castles! He felt the long knife he had stored in his inside coat pocket and began walking back towards the beast.

The Gnarbrydh remained there, standing still, waiting for its master to give it orders. Reginald snuck slowly towards it. He pulled the knife out and raised it, ready to strike...
MASTER?the beast asked, turning its head to look at Reginald.

"Graaaah!" Reginald dropped the torch and leapt as hard as he could onto the Gnarbrydh's side, grabbing its fur as a handhold. He stabbed at it, but the knife snapped on contact with the monster's pelt. The Gnarbrydh shook Reginald off and into the wall of the cave. It turned to glare at him. The intensity returned to its eyes, and for the first time, Reginald recognized an emotion in them: betrayal.

It raised one paw and said, YOU ARE NOT WORTHY.

It took a swipe at him with its sparkling claws, but Reginald deftly rolled out of the way. The claws raked the stone behind him, leaving three two-inch-deep gashes. He quickly pushed himself up and ran back towards the entrance of the cave, dropping the scroll, a coin purse, and his overcoat to give him more speed.

Behind him, the Gnarbrydh unhinged its jaw like a snake and opened its mouth wide. All of the bats on the ceiling flew away, aware of what was about to happen. Sparks flew from the Gnarbrydh's throat. A line of white electricity seemed to dash between its fangs. There was a deafening crack of thunder as a bolt of lightning shot from its mouth straight into Reginald's retreating back.

Reginald fell face-first onto the floor, paralyzed but still alive. The Gnarbrydh came up and gingerly placed a paw on his head.

I WILL WAIT HERE, the Gnarbrydh said, its voice dripping with both anger and sadness. YES, I WILL WAIT FOR A NEW MASTER. A BETTER MASTER. A MASTER WHO WILL NOT BETRAY ME. UNTIL THEN, I WILL SLEEP. BUT BEFORE THAT...I FEAST FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A HUNDRED YEARS.

It pushed the paw downward, and Reginald's last thoughts were of regret for his greed.

Licensed under Creative Commons, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.