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The castle— if that’s where he was— appeared to be deserted. He’d been wandering the various corridors and rooms for what felt like nearly an hour, but so far all he’d found were more empty rooms.  He reached the end of a short hallway and walked through the doorway. Expecting to see more of the same, his eyebrow went up in mild surprise as he saw the contents.  The room was circular with a domed ceiling, firstly.  He’d yet to encounter any of that shape.  Second however, there were three doors set at regular intervals.

“Which one, I wonder,” he muttered.  Shrugging, he walked to the one on the far left.  He opened the door and started to take a step forward… before immediately jumping back.  In front of him was a deep chasm.  The far side of it looked to be several dozen feet away, and the bottom was out of sight.

Avatus quickly closed the door and stepped away from it.  “Not that one then.”

More warily, the soldier approached the second door.  Expecting danger this time, he also drew and ignited his sword.  The steel glinted like gold in the flames.  Avatus opened the second door quickly and gripped his weapon.  This time the room was dark, though not cavernous like the previous one.  A sound emanated from someone inside it.  The soldier frowned.  It sounded familiar, almost like a bird.  He took a step forward, the flames casting light across the stone walls.  Something further inside moved.  Avatus began to take a more defensive stance—

A mass of fur and feathers slammed into him and threw the weapon from his hand.  Claws raked at his armor, though they fortunately didn’t pierce.  Rolling onto his back, Avatus drew his dagger and stabbed upwards.  An angry squawk came from the creature as it rolled off of him.  Avatus rolled to his feet and summoned an orb of fire in his hand and took a step back, only now getting a good look at his attacker.

“A gryphon. Great.”

As if angered by this comment, the gryphon let out a series of chirps.  It pawed the ground in front of it and flared its wings. Not waiting for him to come to it, the beast launched itself at Avatus a second time.  The soldier slid aside at the last second and slashed at the gryphon’s exposed flank.  A shallow cut opened up around its ribs, though Avatus suspected he’d only angered it further.

As if trying to prove him right, the beast immediately turned and snapped at him.  This time it was more successful, catching Avatus by the forearm in its bone crushing grasp.  Avatus let out a groan of pain, feeling his bracer dig into his arm as they began to give.  Opening his left palm, the soldier launched a plume of flame at his attacker. An acrid smell suddenly filled the wide corridor as the fire latched onto the gryphon’s fur.  It let out a screech of pain and released its prey.

Avatus didn’t hesitate to recover his sword, grasping it in a two handed grip. He approached his attacker and raised it above his head.  A spatter of blood ended the beast’s cries.