by Marcus Sloss
The midday sun was rotating toward an evening sunset. I called a break for now so we could eat, plan, and ready ourselves for the next fight. There was always more to do. The question was. How would we deal with all these Horde and ships on the west coast?
CHAPTER 6
I was eating strips of orc meat spiced to perfection while I looked over the growing encampment. Those dvarettes sure could turn a bland orc slab into a yummy steak. I was famished as I devoured the food. A few mage grown smelons were next on my to eat list. We ate in silence while we internally debated on how to proceed next. Everything I could think of was to stop more ships from invading the Nagolands. I had a feeling the others were thinking the same thing. The problem was we were short three thousand fighting griffins. It was still hours until they arrived.
Virtue was out of energy as was Urshoe. The four new portal shamans were placed in collars and sent to human cities to retrieve our cavalry. They gleaned the locations from Virtue and then went to work. That old shaman had been to every human city at some point. It was nice to see our numbers grow as our mounted soldiers arrived. Even Duke Riza showed up and joined us for lunch. He immediately asked why there was an overly large troll stuck staring at a corner.
I shrugged and King Aves had Barice answer. “She is my property. I spared her life, in exchange she does as I wish. Right now I wish for her to understand her insignificance among the universe. Later I will reward her for information we might find helpful to our cause. I still sense her stubbornness. She believes her father and the advancing seven will find a way to free her.”
“Can they?” Duke Riza asked.
I answered this one. “No they cannot, at least I rationalize they lack the means. Unless they can portal spaceships into this solar system then land them here. Which all the shamans on both sides would probably prohibit. The surviving Horde shamans would think they are enemy ships and consume the electricity. So would ours. That is assuming they run on electricity. Either way, I don’t think they can portal into an unknown spot in this solar system without visiting it. Maybe they can open a personal portal and try to fix the master portal’s platform. Again unlikely, we will be carting off pieces to all over Vin and erecting a castle around the broken remnants.”
Yvette raised her hand I nodded to her. “So there are lost elvath being easily captured. The crowded slave wagons lead me to believe these lost elvath do not either know how to fight or if they do, they choose to surrender for some unknown reason. Either way that port where boats are launching from needs to be secured. After we establish a new base over the portal that should be our priority. While we have been eating my keen eyes have seen a lot of Horde slipping away. Some are moving to defend the shattered platform. Time will be key on all fronts. What do you recommend we do?” Yvette said as she looked to me and King Aves.
I looked at King Aves and he nodded for me to lay out my plan first. This was not uncommon for him, he tended to adjust plans to properly utilize the griffins. I agreed with this because he knew his winged brethren the best while I managed the humans with Nate. Now we had General Halsad and Queen Yvette available to add to the plans.
“It is obvious we have one major objective here. The question becomes how do we combine our forces to be most effective. Once we split them how do we go on the offensive while holding the objective. I would like to know more about the port though. Maybe we can split… Just thinking out loud sorry team. Lirkon…” I said while looking for the griffin in the mix. He raised his head at his name. With the trio getting bigger he marched off to war like many other fathers. “Did you scout the port location yourself?”
“Do you wish for me to draw you a map of the bay where they have set their ships at?” Lirkon asked and walked over to the wall expecting me to answer yes.
I left my clay chair and went to watch him work. The location was west by northwest of here. It was actually not that far. If I remembered right from my Vin map research earlier, they were launching into a protected bay and then sailing between a chain of islands. The harbor the enemy was using was as close to the portal as they could get it. As Lirkon drew out the details of the map I had an idea form.
“This harbor has a narrow exit point. We build it up to block its entrance and exit. Then we clear the defenders. Once we have it secured we open the pass back up and ambush returning ships. While it is not perfect it is generic enough. The goal here will be to secure and maintain though. Which means we will lose lives. The alternative is to torch everything and build our own. Which if we control Vin there is no rush. Hmm… Maybe set the ships on fire to cleanse the crews out the use pearls to drench the flames out.” I said. I was planning to keep going when King Aves interrupted.
“I feel we are wasting time. I know we have some to stall until Lord Nova arrives, but I think we are overthinking this situation. We have an excess of golem blood and of pearls. We are lacking the resources to clog the pass though. It is deep and wider than that map shows. There is also the fact that all these defenses will eat our dwindling heart supply for earth magic. We really need to see what the enemy does while we wait.” King Aves sighed while Barice paused. “When the griffin army arrives we will form the best plan we can with the most up to date information at our disposal. I am leaving this meeting… I am going to nap for now. See you when Lord Nova arrives.”
I agreed it was a wise course of action. King Aves flew off to a spot above another watchtower. He unleashed brown magic and crafted himself a nest on top. It was neat to see him build his own sleeping area and then lay down in it. We were in a lull between fighting so I studied my surroundings. More shiny knights atop warhorses entered FOB Watchtower and a new defensive wall was built further out. This was not the first time I felt constrained by the realities versus my wishes. I could move to the portal from here. I looked over the fields. There were tens of thousands of ogres between us and the fields. I sighed at this. I decided to wait. Everything hinged on more griffins arriving. It looked like we would be fighting at night again.
I sat around the meeting table discussing scenarios and our group war gamed them out. In every plan, the superiority of the griffin magic resulted in victory. While I was ecstatic for that here, I knew I would be launching counter offensives soon without the griffins. To free slaves on distant planets I would be without our mightiest of allies. It caused me to frown around the otherwise jovial group. Our morale was high. The portal was closed with it still needing to be secured. At most in a few days, we should have victory. I was already thinking of the next step though. I decided to take my somber self away from the group. Nate and Virtue followed in my shadow.
“Where we off to boss?” Nate asked.
“We are going to pat backs, shake hands, and encourage the troops. Some may die here in a few hours. Least we can do is mingle with them and hear their ideas.” I replied as we went down the ladder. If we weren’t abandoning the watchtower so quickly I would have gradual ramps build. I hated vertical ladders like this. I reached the bottom and waited on Virtue. “Alright, Virtue there should be a door in here somewhere with your name on it. Catch a nap if you can. I will see you in a few hours.”
I left Virtue as he made his way to the bedrooms under watchtower. Nate and I exited the door to join the mass of troops. Our first stop was to visit some dvarettes handing out warm soup. It was not too chilly here this far north. No frosted breath or people shivering. It was still nipply out. I say that because the dvarettes were rocking rock hard nipples. It was delightfully distracting. When I got caught staring I received blushes. I realized I was craving post battle sex. Too bad. There was more battle to be had soon enough. I would get a release later.
We thanked the ladies for their hard work and I went to a clump of neighing warhorses. I was greeted by a Count Marin who gave a salute with a fist over his heart. His troops replicated the action. He mentioned that the men were eager to run down some goblins. There was a rumor going around that the griffins were probably going to scatter the en
emy and the cavalry was going to get to run down some foes. I concurred with this rumor and disappointed them when I could not verify it. This was met with cheers and excitement regardless. They were ready to go and it showed. The hate of the Horde was evident.
The next place Nate and I traveled to was a mages building. There etched on the side were the words ‘Magequarters of Vin’. That was cheeky and I grinned. I passed into the building that was illuminated by torches hanging strategically. We navigated among the sea of black robed mages with all the different frilly colors. There were thousands in this large expansive hall that sat among long tables made from earth magic. There were some circular tables with benched where senior mages talked. I saw Patti and even Zack, a quick wave was exchanged between. I looked up the wide staircases in the hall and saw the second floor held private rooms. A long line stretched out of a door with Master Mage Lamont etched over it. At least it was going to be easy to find the man I was looking for. To be honest I should have him in the meetings with us. It was dumb of me not to have an asset like mages in meetings.
A make way call out echoed through the second floor line as I bypassed the waiting mages who gawked at us. When I got to Lamont’s doorway I popped my head in. I saw a green mage standing in front of a clay desk that the Master Mage sat behind. My appearance caused them to pause their conversation to hear what I had to say.
“You got anything pressing for me besides catalysts. We are working on getting more hearts tonight. Outside of that if you need something now is the time to ask.” I asked.
“We need more elvath if you can send some here. The female archers say they are not batteries. I do not even understand what a battery is. When they mention an energy storage device I get it. I could use a few hundred for a few what if scenarios. Probably would not hard to find tasks for them here.” Lamont said.
I told him I agreed with this as I placed a pen and paper on his desk from my bag. I penned a quick note addressed to Amber or Lady Linzy. We needed nonpregnant elvath here on standby. I approved to pull them off other tasks. The war effort came first and they could be sent home when combat slowed.
“Did he solve your issue?” I asked the young female green mage in front of me. She shook her head while Lamont sighed. “What is it?”
“Her sister is Tammy the yellow air mage. She wishes to work on healing in your estate. I told her if she can stomach the blood and guts out here in the field… Then Uqsie can handle it in your estate. Your eight floor is currently full my emperor.” Lamont informed me.
“Perfect. Serve your empire well here and I will…” I paused to add hiring her to the list. She was cute so I did a full head to toe look. The robes did not reveal too much. Uqsie was prettier than her sister Tammy. If I had to guess they had different mothers. Where Tammy was small breasted and narrow hips. This woman had nice tits and a small tight ass. If Amber needed her now in Fernlan. Then she was to steal her, if not return her to the front for later employment. I mentioned she was family with Addilyns concubine. “Done added you to my to hire list. This goes right to the Empress herself. You are to run it to her then return here unless she orders otherwise. Trust me. My household is more gruesome than these fields sometimes.”
I did not wait for a reply and spun myself out of the room. Nate followed behind me. The make way calls were cried out again. We exited the mages building and went to tour the dvaren front lines. The two of us walked behind the solid walls with sporadic openings. Infantry units were held in reserve all across the front in a semi ready position. Every gap in the walls a unit four deep stood. They were on high alert. I did not hear any fighting though. My guess was the enemy was figuring out who was the next in charge. Temi died recently, Raxrune fled, and Aroxa was captured. There had to be more than a few cyclops out there trying to restore some semblance of order.
We toured the entire outer perimeter as we killed time by mingling with the troops. I got to learn a lot of commanders' names. So many it was hard to remember them all. There were a few recommendations that stood out from my time with the troops. Embedding mages with the dvaren heavy infantry. Now that was a fantastic idea. If they had that from the start our progress would have never stalled. I only needed to think of a way to get the elvath elevated over the front lines. Mounted archers worked the best… Which led me wondering what Roz had uncovered for potential mounts. My day ran long yesterday so it would have to wait. I would certainly like to prepare more thoroughly before invading Horde planets. I felt we were doing fine with no casualties so far. A few dvaren had been wounded in the initial scrum but they were healed.
I was pondering on all these things as the sun faded over the horizon and darkness crept forward. The nightly battle for dominance of dark vs light was being determined with each passing minute. I was expecting the griffins any moment now and was not disappointed. I think they were waiting for the sun to set before arriving.
Two thousand griffins flew shallow over the treetops and approached quietly. They landed wherever they could amoung the masses. I raced for watchtower with Nate in tow. We entered the building and I got stuck behind Virtue stepping his old butt up the ladder. This is why I hated chokepoints. A few minutes later and I was on the platform fifty feet up. Lord Nova and King Aves talked by the map wall. I waved over Yvette, General Halsad, Duke Riza, Victor, and Janice. Not sure when my fire and water mage arrived, but I wanted them in on the planning.
Barice intercepted our group. “King Aves requires… Nevermind they are ready.”
“Welcome Lord Nova, I tried to save the fighting for you still endless Horde to burn out there,” I said as I swept my arm across the fields being illuminated by fires. The enemy had decided we were not to be messed with and in return figured we would leave them alone. The only units we saw organizing into any battle formations were those not far from the portal. They were forming lines with ogres and orcs in front, with shamans and trolls in the rear. It seemed like there was a central figure trying to organize a push to defend the portal. “Will you need to rest or can you fight?”
“King Aves and I discussed it shortly after my arrival. We need to smash that hive of resistance pushing for the portal. Then we will farm goblins and ogres. Once that is done we will push for the harbor and make it ours. After we can slow clear out these wagons and try to save as many enslaved friendlies as possible. Are you in agreement with our strategy?” Lord Nova asked me. I was the interpreter for all of us. Lord Nova needed his own Barice.
I looked over my advisors and they had very little to add. It was time to fight again.
“It sounds great to me. Where do you want our ground forces? Contain those that flee then deal with the cleanup?” I asked.
Yvette interceded before he could answer. “I would like to have two elvath per griffin back. Unless you feel differently. Based on what I saw the griffins capable of we can help bring down casters with quick precise arrows if the shields break.”
Lord Nova and King Aves held a quick side chatter at this. Barice who was still on King Aves back spoke. “We can indeed carry riders, especially those who can help down potential key targets. This will help because we griffins miss key targets at times while trying to focus on big formations. As for the humans and dvaren on the ground, we recommend you march quickly for the portal. We will detail the ground troops a hundred griffins to help clear any resistance that you encounter.”
“It looks like we have a plan. I will need to split my forces though. These engines cannot move quickly can they?” I asked Halsad thinking of all the catapults and ballista that had not been used yet.
“Yes and no. In the dark with how they are elevated at the moment. No.” General Halsad pulled on his bushy beard as he said this. He was decisive in his declaration. “So a rearguard will be needed. One sufficient enough to hold off charging ogres until griffins can help. So at least a hundred thousand here. Safe side two hundred thousand. That leaves you with the majority of your forces. All these defenses put in place by the earth mages
will help a lot too. The ballista boys have a great line of sight if ogres come charging in. Maybe leave behind a few mages and that should do it.”
“Janice… Victor. Go to Lamont. Tell him twenty five percent of mages are to stay behind. When we march I want the rest with us. Yvette, work with the griffins to get mounted and assemble your archers staying behind. General Halsad…” I said even speaking the word in a hushed tone. “Quitely. Key part here, quietly assemble three quarters of the troops and have them pointed towards the closed portal. We march once the griffins spring their surprise. Nate, Duke Riza, you both secure horses for us without them. Hopefully, there are a few extra. I will ride for the first part of the battle. We will march once we see the night sky light up unless you object to King Aves.”
There were a few more things worked out that were trivial towards the success of the missions. Mainly Halsad wanted the dvarettes sent home. I couldn’t even move troops forward via portal right now. Let alone send any back. We needed the support troops here anyway. If the battle went our way I was going to be bringing millions here.
When it was just Virtue and I – we talked of how it was best for him to stay here. He was still weak. If the defenses did get challenged he could throw a few fireballs which were at least better than nothing. I shook his hand goodbye and then slid down the stupid tall ladder. I found Nate and Duke Riza waited for me while they were mounted. A black stallion was riderless beside them. The horse was a monster in size.