[ from not too far away-- south, somewhere south-- faint echoes of reptilian screeching, the fall and clash of rocks... voices shouting in warning, in anger, in panic... ]
[ ...the griffon points its head upward, flaring its wings, and the high cry it lets out pierces the air, through the light to the shadowed ceiling far above, strangely haunting to the ears... almost a mere echo itself of something once truer, once more alive, of a call meant for a greater sky... ]
[ it looks to you once more. ]
[ icy claws dig into the mud as they push against the ground--- and the beast is running straight at you. ]