by Marcus Sloss
I was going to go rage mode asshole on her for bossing me around until I heard what she requested. That was a decent idea and to be fair, I had been planning to avoid my resting wives. A quick goodbye wouldn’t hurt my schedule.
I approached a now nude, clean, and tucked in Pipi who was so pale and white. Mary, her healer, was a young woman no older than sixteen with brown hair and brown eyes. The young lady held my wife’s hand in anticipation. She had heard what I was about to attempt and probably knew from Velia’s recovery that those who were healed by griffins tended to go a tad mad upon returning to their bodies.
I placed my palm on Pipi’s shoulder and extended her a contract. It reached into her body and searched for the soul and quickly became lost, spinning in circles around her center in its swirling yellow magic. On the fifth or sixth lap, it burst into an arrow and disappeared.
I contemplated this and equated it to my contract failing. Suddenly, Pipi’s eyes shot open and she screamed in agony. The healer instantly sent her back into a peaceful slumber. The collective room breathed a sigh of relief. I would need to get word to Vern his mom was okay. I was sure he was worried.
“Well, we know how to keep them away from Unforina now. Her mind and soul are back home much sooner than expected. Wonderful. I will watch over her while you retrieve some of my kind.” Lady Linzy said.
“Nate, there are sacks of soul stones in the empty prison cells. Go retrieve all three bags for me, please. Place them on the balcony for now. I should be finished before you get back.” I said and Nate nodded in understanding.
When he left I went two rooms down to the nursery. My four daughters were in here but no Herc. Lila – Amber, Perthos – Addilyn, Bianca – Velia, and Siena – Bella. I greeted each one as they slept peacefully. They must have all just fed because there was normally one squalling. I exited quietly out the way I came and walked to Amber's private chambers. I lightly tapped at the door.
“Who is it?” Bella whispered from behind the door.
“Me…”
The door shot open and I was embraced tightly. I scooped my wife up and carried her into the room. Velia laid asleep on the bed with a tiny Herc tucked into her arm. They were adorable asleep like that. I saw Amber and Addilyn scouring over paperwork that was probably vital documents that hit a backlog. Velia was still recovering. Seven hells they all were. Bella, who delivered Siena first, had the most color returned so far. The girls at the table waved me over and tried to get me to sit. I tenderly kissed them and said I was merely her to check in before I left. I asked them to tell Vern his mother was going to be okay and that I’d saved Pipi just for him. They thanked me, had me sign a few documents, and then I escaped with a few sweet kisses. No ass smacking this time. They were barely able to handle the pile of paperwork I was happily avoiding.
I returned to my quarters and walked to the balcony. Roz was still instructing Urshoe on her portal magic. Virtue set his book down on a wooden bench with metal framing. It was one of the very few crafted by our smithies so far. Another perk I guess. It was comfy at least.
“Incredible work those griffins are doing. Two days ago you had a watermill, a lumbermill, Zenith, and then this castle. Those were the only things above ground.” Virtue said as he stood and walked to the balconies edge. “Now look at all the work they can do with parts of their foes. Marvelous… And they make it look so easy too.”
The view from up here was my favorite place in the world besides down by the river fishing. I could see east, with most of north and south for endless miles from my private balcony. It was large enough that I could portal to avoid the stairs and land right here. The original balcony was smaller until I asked for it to be tripled in size. I absorbed the view with proud eyes. If I squinted at the right angle I could make out the roost in Xiq.
The eastern and northern fields had been completely cleared for miles. It went so far I couldn’t see a single tree even from this height. The lumber mill had a pile of wood so high that a second and third mill was under construction. The land wasn’t dictated to be set aside to plant seeds. Instead, a city had been born much like Herc, suddenly and with magical effort. The northern road still snaked toward Xiq as it left Fernlan though now it was paired with rows upon rows or large two story homes. There were probably half a million family homes that went as far as the eye could see north. I had designed them with no back yard and a small front yard. The griffins endlessly questioned the need for a front play area when I also mandated parks. After King Aves settled the matter for me by stopping his quibbling griffins, the yards were allowed. I was surprised the griffins even hesitated. They loved earth magic and building. They cast and erected those homes in a few hours. I now had enough space to house many, many slaves.
Northwest was a continuation of the herding fields, where every square mile had four foot walls for pens. There were thousands of them stretching across the land. My balcony only allowed me to see so many as I looked north. I shifted to look east at the commerce section of Dais. It had been rebuilt over by where the smelon trees used to be. The inns, restaurants, library, stables, and smithies were organized above ground now. This Included the bathhouse, of which there were a few of these close to the new homes as well. Shithouses were also everywhere, on a smaller scale, since venting was not as much of a concern as we simply raised the size of the exhaust stacks.
I reflected back on that single tree to the east of Fernlan that I harvested when I first came here. That old smelon tree was a park now with swings hanging from its branches. I grinned at the thought and the scope of the changes. Large manufacturing buildings and storage warehouses dotted the landscape all the way to where I had slain the chieftain. Further south by where I found the dead war boar were new fields ready for planting next spring. If I could look west, which I could from the duplicate room on the western end of my floor, then I would see cleared fields fertilized by the guts and excess Horde we couldn’t save. I was zoning out when I heard a baying goat that caught my attention. A griffin had it clenched with pressure and not claws between his front two paws. I know it was a he because of the huge balls. The bleating goat was terrified until it was gently set down in a new pen area. Looks like the griffins were out hunting for animals to domesticate. Awesome. There probably was… yup, I already saw a young war boar smashing at a clay wall trying to escape.
All of this went up in a single day. That’s how vast and mighty the griffin earth magic was when combined with nearly unlimited hearts for catalyst. Ogre hearts used in conjunction with shaman hearts and you get hundreds of thousands of homes in hours, completed to perfection. There were still thousands of goblin hearts. Sure, the majority of the dead Horde were orcs but there were still thousands of goblins and ogres. We were expanding way beyond our current needs in hopes of good trades soon. I actually ordered more but King Aves was worried about the rest of the production chain. Our glass, door and hinge factories would be working non stop to try to keep up as is.
The smithies belching out their smoke caught my eye and I focused in on them. A separate pile of branches and broken or short trees was piled by the large airy structures. Some of the dvaren from Kikra were here working beside Dennis and his crew. I had managed to keep them all busy because the old mine was open again. The one that I had killed the goblins in was a hive of activity to feed the endless requests for metal. The Knights of Ferlan we detailed to Ogre’s Mine to ensure it was functioning effectively until I could get a proper manager for it. To be honest I was thinking of retiring Donnie from combat to oversee the operation. I could trust him and he just became a dad himself. The kid was not even seventeen and had seen a lot of blood and battle. That made me think of where else I could place key people I trusted in my growing Empire.
The entire time Fernlan was blossoming into a major city – soldiers and mages were filtering in. Most came with weapons but some were simply barehanded and ready to fight, answering the call to push out the Horde. The only thing missing were mounts for a cavalr
y charge. Of course, there were griffins which was why I let this gaping hole in our strategy slide for now. New mounts were firmly on my to do list. Horses were decimated in population and it would be generations before we had a steady number large enough to be fighting with instead of just hauling wagons.
That was another business my Empire was involved in now – crafting wagons. The academy mages and griffins could make wagons of all sizes. Overgrown roads were reduced to ash to reveal the hidden cobbled stones of the past. Trade was once again flowing among the cities of the Empire. Wagons hadn’t been destroyed during the peace accords like horses but there was still some demand. Fernlan definitely needed carts and Virtue said they sold decently on trade worlds. They were harder to make for the Horde than on Vin with earth magic. It opened another potential revenue source for slaves.
Count Strin had asked for help again in Malvia with killing more golems. His economy was stalling out so I sent the mountain company of dvaren there yesterday. I new the dvaren were able to swing with more might than an average man so I wasn’t surprised when received a dispatch last night that their warhammers could kill the golems. I had known as much. I was glad they were doing well in Malvia. They had no means to hunt the voles themselves but I coordinated with Duke Riza to fly over with his hounds in a week or two and stay until we had a decent stockpile again. Our lava rocks and stones were still in high demand with the intense cold of winter blizzards not even having hit yet. I was happy we were collecting the vital resource again. Even happier it was not me by that lava stream. I hated the blistering heat that lava gave off.
Virtue shook me gently to bring me out of my daze.
“Marvelous indeed. We are growing rapidly. Let me address Roz and Urshoe, then you, Nate and I are going to Entria. When Nate comes back with some stones I plan on bringing a spare bag.” I said as I left the view to Virtue and approached the teacher student combo.
“Emperor Gryff, how may I help you today?” Urshoe asked.
“Do you feel confident enough go to Uhara and aid the dvaren in building up Iceshore?” I said and Urshoe immediately summoned a portal. It was still messy, so I cleaned it up. Roz raised an eyebrow. I could probably cast one myself now, I needed to join them in training. “Do you have any way of regenerating your aura like Roz does with her succubus talent?”
“I could try… Owning cyclops as slaves is illegal on many Horde planets. There are some lower tiered markets you might be able to buy me a test subject. They would be expensive though and I am not sure what value they would hold beside that. I can be filled up with elvath blank aura though, I see them everywhere here. I am so accustomed to them being a rare forbidden commodity. I almost never saw one outside of the slave markets.”
I halted her from continuing. “Lady Linzy. I need ten elvath to escort Urshoe wherever she goes. Preferably equipped with bows. You elvath are masters with a bow correct?”
Lady Linzy pried herself from my meeting table where she was going over paperwork and came to my side. “We refused to fight for the Horde. In all my life, I have never raised any type of weapon but it was once acknowledged that the elvath were the greatest archers in the Universe. Our males are still known to hone their skills with grace and efficiency. We females have not experimented with bows in over a billion years. Part of our slavery pact as a species was to never assist the Horde in further utilizing us to aid our foes in their conquest efforts. For this Empire, for Vin, we will. Today I will task ten elvath to help maintain her aura. Give me a few weeks to get a bowyer factory going and an archery range built. Then we will cycle every one of us through. Stick us on top of griffins and we will be nigh unstoppable.”
“Thank you Lady Linzy. Urshoe, close your portal and follow the Lady until she gets you the support you need. Roz, you are to travel with… ah, perfect timing Nate.” I said as Nate approached while awkwardly hauling three heavy bags of stones. I snatched a bag close to falling and handed it to Roz. “See all these empty pens to the Northwest? Fill them, and with herbivores only, please. I am tired of eating carnivore meat. Especially buy anything that can produce milk, eggs and such. King Aves and I plan to march our armies for the master portal of Vin in a few days. If we do not bump into each other before then, keep buying livestock and goblins. I want you to buy the animals who produce something without needing my second approval, you got me? Good. Get a tour ready for me to view the other animals you think I might want. Also, if you see a mount that humans can fit on, get some for us to test. Our warhorse populations are decimated. We need to move fast on the ground and I need some options.”
“Understood master. You want me to go to an animal trade market and procure livestock. If decent mounts for war are available, to buy some for testing. If an animal is a maybe buy, acquire some to see if they can be utilized.” Roz said and left the sentence hanging. I merely nodded. She placed the stones in the backpack I’d bought her with the sound of clanking noises from them colliding. Her bag string was pulled tight and then locked securely. She spun a black portal with her black magic. It was flawless. Moments later she stepped to a different part of the universe. Magic was so awesome.
“Virtue, before we go to Entria, anything we should know?” I asked.
“It’s a wholly owned planet. Glowvia, the god of gravity and orbits, is a very passive female god. Probably the most elusive and unknown of the seven. She pulled an ice moon into its own perfect planetary orbit. It sits at a constant seventy five degree temperature and only a seven hour night cycle. It was terraformed with Bucie the god of… hmm… chemistry is the best way to put it. She takes compounded elements and bends them to her will. In this application, she terraformed the planet. Warg awarded it as a trophy to the commanding general who won the elvath campaign. That general was Alexor, who left it to his family's care while he fought the dvaren. He died deep in a mountain during peace talks. Some dumb goblins never heard there was a ceasefire and blew an ambush point. This killed a lot of dvaren and since the general was wearing the white he disintegrated. To this day his family still owns the largest male elvath population anywhere. Rumor has it in the millions but no one knows as they are very secretive. The general on the ground is the first to steal the gold, as we like to say. In this case, it was the elvath for his planet. That was billions of years ago.” Virtue said while leaning on his staff. He must have thought of something else because his eyes went wide. “They are well off, so I don’t expect that sack to get you very far. Those little fox faced big eared monkey creatures. What do you call them?”
“Monox, what about them?” Nate asked.
“I see them riding humans on occasion. Is that normal?” Virtue said as he looked at us. I thought of Deb.
“Yeah, they tend to bond somewhat. You offer them a treat and they’ll tag along for a bit. I think the monox that stayed with Markus even vanished recently. I bought three dozen, had Phen and Earl Conway buy some more and even flew some home from Goblin Isle.” I said genuinely confused.
“I have a plan… hear me out. What does a breeder of elvath want more than anything else?” Virtue asked us.
I looked at Nate, Nate looked at me. We both shrugged, not putting it together.
“Increased pregnancy rates... What does Fernlan have a lot of right now – waddling too and from super pregnant? Elvath. Is this common? Seven hells no! The handlers on Entria will know your elvath the second you step through that portal if we bring any. They will know if they are pregnant out of cycle. Now as you can imagine, there have been crafty cyclops schemes with the promise of getting more babies out of your elvath. The difference here is you have actual pregnant elvath and a unique critter that will ride on their shoulders. You combine the two and the slavers on Entria will believe the monox helped get your limited females pregnant with your hidden males. They’ll approach you. Remember, you’ll need to be secretive about your males just like they are. Once they have, we trade monox for more slaves. Eventually they’ll realize you tricked them but do you care? You could
always tell them it’s because of the land here or a combination of things. Offer a service for a small fee. Get them to send females under your care and then never send them back. I’m not sure if you like the…”
I interrupted Virtue. “Let me get this clear. You want to get some elvath to bond with monox. Then when we go to pick up our five thousand elvath promised by contract, you want to run a con. I love it! Nate?” I said asking the man while he scratched at his stubble.
“I don’t know the downsides. For all we know, it’s a ploy for you to get indirectly hurt by the shaman. It does sound like a good deception play though. I even know the best meat to tempt the monox with, even on a full belly, runtlet. Your call though Emperor.” Nate said with a glow in his eyes showing his hidden excitement.
He had his mask up, trying to keep a bland face on. As if I couldn’t see through it. My contract with Virtue was rock solid. This was not a ploy to get me killed by a third party. This was a trust building idea based on his knowledge. I wasn’t sure it would work but dammit I was in.
“That seals it. We’re going full throttle. Let’s get at least a dozen pregnant elvath and a dozen monox to bond with them. The ideal scenario is just to trade the dozen monox we’ll have with the soon to be mommas. Worst case is we offend and only get our promised five thousand females.” I said and then tried my first portal cast.