by Marcus Sloss
“About fucking time!” Sara exclaimed. I was obviously getting on her nerves. “Exhibit A. This is a goblin. A goblin is the lowest of the low of the enemy. They can stab you in the back with a rusty sword but for the most part, are not a grave threat. Do you see it? It is alive and doing goblin things. Hey, goblin wave. See it waves back. The goblin dies.”
The goblin tilted its head in confusion. Sara removed a thin pistol from a holster attached to her thigh. The door to the cell swung open and the goblin waved. Sara leveled the weapon and out beamed a projected laser that sliced across the goblin's forehead. The creature fell forward with a thunk. Blood pooled where it landed in its final death pose.
“Go inspect it to verify it is real,” Sara ordered.
I hesitantly let go of Indie I that I latched onto during the ordeal. I cautiously walked into the cell worried about the weapon behind me more than the dead monster in front of me. I was at this woman's mercy who thought she was a god. I knew for a fact she had a working laser pistol. When I touched the twitching goblin it was still warm. I kicked it from the side and heard ribs snap. Huh, the new body was not as weak as the old one.
“If there is a god, why are you showing me an alien?” I asked. I assumed gods could create, convert, and destroy at will.
“There are too many gods. So many, with so many skills. There still is the illusive creator of us all, that one is said to have the wand of all powers. The gods as we know them are unique and vulnerable. Generally speaking, a god is an immortal with superpowers of some sort. Some have mundane powers like growing a tree from this body. Others can shot electricity. All gods can be killed without that much effort and the smartest of us rarely expose ourselves.
“My power is I can calculate trillions of possibilities and arrive at the most probable solutions. Some might see this as trivial. I assure you when you realize there are millions if not billions of universes. Yes, not solar systems, or galaxies. There are millions of universes… Then you factor in computing for all the factors of all the possibilities. I am an amazing god. The problem is I have to plan so far out in advance to ensure everything works and reality versus desired outcomes twist eventualities. Did you follow all that?”
“You plan to stick me somewhere with a bunch of hotties like Indie,” I had to smack her hand away as Indie tried to reach for my dick. “Down Indie. Actually, go wait over there.”
Holy shit. I stood up to a woman. And she obeyed my command. Indie left with a pout, a wink, and a kiss in the air my way.
“One in a million. Is that sinking in yet? She will wait a long time, because for a lady like her she has been alone for ages. Best to get her on the way back. Reward her for her good behavior. You need to establish dominance over your harem else you will be a sissy ass bitch. No one wants a harem leader being a sissy ass bitch. Did you get that Barry? I put some big balls on that body. Use them.” Sara said to an invisible observer as she winked. I felt my back straighten and my chest puff out at her declaration. “Okay next is an orc. This is the backbone of the Horde. I am not shooting all my slaves. After that is a troll.”
The orc was huge at eight feet tall and all muscle. It cowered at Sara then went berserk smashing the glass trying to get to me. I dodge backward in anticipation of a blow that would never land. The orc laughed at my cowardice.
“Surprised me, I thought when it feared you it would fear me.” I made the excuse.
“I put on a strap on, chain him to the wall, and violate his anus nightly,” Sara said and I gasped in shock. “You need to man up and not be a dumb shit. I am his slave owner. Sit! Lay down! Punch the glass!”
The last command resulted in the orc breaking his hand as he slammed it into the clear wall.
“Will I get slaves?”
“Yes. Where you are going… I am sending you in, to get someone out. You are a plan… for a plan… for a contingency. I will go more into that in a minute. This is a troll, they throw things. Close the gap if you have to fight one. This is an ogre, don’t fight one. You can outrun them. This is a shaman, this lovely lady with the orange eyes is your first slave.”
I felt something pull at my gut. No, it was closer to my center.
“Close your eyes and look inward, as if you were trying to visualize your heart. Except your eyes are inside your chest. There will be a yellow band there. It is slightly different for everyone. Grab that yellow, you have it unlocked. Pull it from your center to your mind, and then study it.”
“A slave contract, what the hell is this?” I said as I read over the details. The contract was saying this shaman's soul was mine for eternity… Damn. If the slave tried to harm me in any way they would die from a breach of contract. Bollocks. I read over more minor details when Sara spoke.
“I am assuming that was rhetorical, good job on finding it so easily. Accept it.”
“Finding stuff was my job,” I said as I decided to test the shaman. “Suck your thumb. Huh… Easy enough. Not bad on the eyes either.”
“You crack me up Barry, by all means, sex the shaman when you get bored. She will teach you how to portal. Where you are going I cannot control her. You have to be in that universe to control the slaves you own in that universe. Hence why I am sending someone I can trust and why she is your property now.”
“What is to stop me from not doing your bidding?”
“I will kill your family and assassinate you,” Sara deadpanned.
“Easy, easy. What is my task?”
“You are going to the upper universe known as the warring universe. The initial hurdle you will have is passing inspection as a sissy elv. You will do that and then be given a place to breed. Your secondary mission is to impregnate your harem. Also, you are to generate income and horde it…” She chuckled at this and I did not get it. “That shaman is going to teach you how to portal to the universal portal. It is more or less and opening to an opening. You cannot jump through it that way. Only see it. Once you learn how to do that, twice a year you will open a portal to our universe. That is your primary mission. If you take a step in and see a portal, turn around and go back to your secondary mission. If you step in and see a human named Gryff you are to pull him out. Be extremely careful. He will either have a fractured mind or be ecstatic to see you, in both scenarios, he is extremely deadly. He will have had everything ripped away. And Barry… Unlike you, he had an amazing life. No offense.”
“So I go to this other place with slaves and elf babes. Sex to my heart's content and then twice a year check the portal for some Gryff guy?”
“Exactly, are you going to have any problems doing that?”
“Sara, I think we have a deal. I take it this will help humanity with its alien problem?”
“No Barry… This is so Gryff can continue his destruction against the warring gods of both sides. Here is the worst part though. I have to make you a slave, only way they will accept you where you are going.”
“I can only pretend to understand what you are saying about gods. I think I am ready, send me the contract.” I said and the yellow swirled towards me.
I decided to trust the least trustful person I had ever met. Mainly because I believed her about Indie. If she was willing to make me a new man… well, a new elv. Then she was invested in not killing me. I accepted her contract. In return, she sent me fourteen additional slaves. I had no idea who they were but I accepted the transfer.
Sara pulled a cloth from a pocket in her long heeled boot.
“You got something on your nose Barry,” Sara said and I leaned forward to let her clean my… I grew dizzy and realized I was about to pass out. That bitch got me again…
∞∞∞
I awoke in a cell surround by elf babes stirring from their own slumber. There was no glass outside view or anything special about the room. I saw Indie, Jani, the shaman, and another dozen babes. Eight of them quickly assessed the situation and grouped together in the corner. I confirmed these were the slaves I was contracted before being gassed. So a slave co
uld own slaves. There was a lot I needed to learn.
The building jostled and a klaxon blared. I deduced we were probably on a ship. Indie was super clingy while we waited. I wondered if I would love it or hate it long term. At first, it was fantastic, I really was concerned I would strangle her at some point if I did not get space. For a long time, I was a solitary person. I needed to let Barry Cuomo go, I was Barry of Entria now. The door to our cell opened and a nine foot cyclops yelled at us in Horde.
I was confused as to how I understood it. When he ordered me to walk with my hands at my side I found myself compelled to follow his orders. I guess he was my slave master now. I checked my contract. I belonged to Elvath Breeding for Profits, controlled by, and I saw the list was long. Very, very long. I was a slave to a massive corporation or business. There were conflicting emotions racing through me as I trudged down that hallway. Mostly I was concerned I would do something that broke my contract and killed me. The reality was Sara said I was rare, a breeding company owned me, and I was surrounded by babes. I exhaled my anxiety and continued forward.
We marched out of the ship and stepped into what I can best describe as a goliath spaceport. There were lines for everything, stations, terminals, restaurants, and so many aliens. This was not what Sara had shown me. There were a few of those goblins and trolls mopping or sweeping. By far there were more unique aliens. It was as if some god had sprinkled aliens from trillions of worlds here and then told them to move around. I was in shock but my slave controller did not let me stand and gawk.
I approached a line with a teller behind a cage. It was a squid with a water dome sealed over the upper half. The lower half had tentacles stamping documents, writing with pen and paper. I even saw a back limb grab a fish for a snack that it shoved up its anus. Bollocks… Oh wait, their mouth was there.
The rolling rock creature in front of me went through the gate and it was my turn in front of the squid or octopus creature. I felt my contract being pulled from my center and being examined.
“A new harem of elvath from mini verse Prox, with a shaman… Not that unusual, still different,” it said while studying me and the contract intently. “This is missing a lot of information. I guess I can do a few tests myself. Will have to charge your masters.”
I was about to ask what tests when a tentacle raced from the creature and smacked me across the face. With a shake of my head, I returned back to where I was stunned. The tentacle came again and I tried to dodge. A different limb caught me on the side of the head.
“Okay, it makes sense now. You are a feeble, weak, and an ineffective elv. They got rid of you, to please some parents or something. I will have to send you to one of our most passive reserves, for additional billing. You and your harem are to walk to terminal Yariw. You will be granted an inn with a low monthly stipend. Elv, I understand a lot of this is new. I highly recommend you produce babies before an overlord forces you to do it. Welcome to the master universe. You are in the only place that matters now.”
That was a dismissal and I felt my body tugging at me to go to a specific place to portal to my new home. The sixteen of us walked down the crowded walkways and I found I could dodge and sidestep as long as I went the direction I needed to. I showed up to a well lit area where a female cyclops with three busty breasts waited. She was eight feet tall and caught me leering at her cleavage.
“I have your new home ready to go. If you keep staring, I may have to visit elv. I heard your penis can vibrate.” The cyclops said as she opened a portal for me.
I admit the sight of it scared me. So far all my travel had been asleep or on a ship. I knew there had to be a way I was jumping across vast amounts of space and transferring to different universes. Wait… my dick can vibrate. The cyclops saw me have an ah-ha moment and only chuckled. I was commanded into the portal.
∞∞∞
That was my orientation. Make babies and get paid for it. Score right, especially with the hotties I had surrounding me. It was an interesting transition. I had survived on a no technology, heavily wooded preserve for three years since that fated day. I had no idea how long my transition from Alpha Prime abduction to going through the universal portal was. I could only guess. The way my life transformed was spot on from what Sara had said. I had a harem of fourteen elven babes and one shaman. I had made the mistake of calling them elves only once. I lost any respect the eight warlike ones had of me after that. They never slept with me anyway so I was curious as to why they were here.
I ran a local inn that was a waypoint for those traveling by animal between cities or seeking adventure. To my surprise, I found out I loved interacting with aliens. We named the inn the Chatty Box. I was infatuated by my home. When I traded for supplies I would travel to a city of cyclops and exchange stones of different weights. A portal dropped those off once a month and it was more than enough to maintain our operations. A life without electricity was interesting. I learned to cut down trees with an axe, I helped the wives carry water, and I had an awesome six legged rhino in our barn.
It was a million times better than my life before. Twice a year I would go into a portal and look for this lost Gryff fellow. In my studies over the years, I had learned that time flowed differently in the master verse than the mini verses. There was no perfect answer for the equation to compare as it was always varying. The big take away was things back home moved faster than here. I was right about to hit year four when I read reports of a rebellious mini verse. The papers, yes printed paper news, reported the mini verse had a species called humans that had magical powers normally reserved for gods. When I read that, I hid a bit inside. This year I anticipated that I would see him. I also expected to want nothing to do with him. He was labeled as a disrupter and a villain. It was even rumored he was The Harbinger. Sure he may have had some good traits, but even Sara said to be scared of him. I simply wanted to keep sexing my wives, and enjoying my life. Indie was pregnant and my stipend had increased when a big brained bald headed red alien inspected the child. I wanted to keep living this perfect life. Freeing a brutal murderer was not the ideal way to continue my quiet existence.
That fourth year anniversary I did create that portal despite my reservations. Sara frightened me. Gods indeed were real and everything I read said that crossing them was a giant no-no. I stepped into that portal not sure what I would find. I did know, deep down, that I was scared.
∞∞∞
I stepped onto a short grassy field. I instantly was on edge as I heard a conversation. Both of these revelations were new. It was normally a silent black void and a black vortex with a yellow static outline. I gathered my courage I had been building for this very moment. The last warning I had from Sara was to be clear and concise.
“Gryff, I am here to free you to the warring universe. Sara sent me.” I said with fake confidence.
Gryff rushed at me. He had mutated into a five headed aquatic monster. I pissed myself knowing I was dead before I could get back into the portal. The monster tackled me as I was pinned in a slimy covering. I found it hard to breathe and knew death was coming at the next moment. The five heads laughed as one.
“Silly long eared elvath. You need not fear master and me if you speak the truth.” All five heads spoke different parts. It was confusing.
“Kor, let the elv up. What is your name friend? I am Gryff…” The man was a giant for a human. Eight feet tall, brown hair with brown eyes. He bulged with muscles and his charming smile was rapidly reducing my fright.
“Barry, Barry of Alpha Prime. Sara mutated me. I am not complaining though I love being an elv,” I said noticing the man was very happy to see me. He needed a haircut and his beard was to his chest. He trotted over and shoved Kor off me. A hand was extended to help me up. “Thanks, Sara said you were prone to violence. She is one tricky bitch… I still love what she did for me though.”
“Ha Perception is a cruel and gifting god at the same time, that aunt of mine tricked me too. We can talk more later. Where does thi
s portal travel to?” He asked in excitement.
“The warring universe as Sara called it. There it is known as the master universe. More specifically to a planet called Yariw.”
“Did Sara leave me anything to utilize?” Gryff asked with his hands on his hips. “Kor into your orbit you go, we are leaving this place.”
The hydra waddled over to the warrior and leapt into his chest. It shrunk and then slid through Gryff’s skin as if it wasn’t there. Now that was a neat magic trick.
“Well, she sent me with fourteen wives. Six are sex fiending bimbos that I love. There were eight snotty bitches that shoot arrows nonstop and talk of nothing but vengeance. If I had to wager, they were never my wives. They were for you all along. Actually here are their contracts.”
I watched Gryff accept them and then shatter them. What!? I withheld questioning his sanity. Those babes would never follow him without that contract. Or maybe they would, he was strong, a powerful mage, and a killer. I was the opposite of those, creating a portal left me as tired as swinging an axe did. I decide to move the conversation forward.
“If your next question is can I get you home to Prox, which by the way is our mini verse that sent the master verse into a full meltdown... The answer is regretfully not at this time. Sara said that is all you would want,” I said hesitantly fearing his wrath. I flinched in anticipation of being stuck when he patted me on the back.
“I believe you, scared man turned elv. Come, if I cannot go home yet, then I shall be the harbinger they predicted. I will kill them all.” Gryff said with an evil grin and stepped through my portal.
THE END
AFTERWORD
Wahoo! I love writing about Gryff. I understand this may not be the ending some wanted, it was the ending I felt the series deserved. For now Gryff the Griffin Rider Series is done. That does not mean Gryff will cease to adventure. I chose to separate Gryff from the Griffins to see how he would do with reduced powers and having to find new allies. There will be a book 4 except it will have a new title and be a book 1. Not a prequel. Maybe Gryff the Harbinger Book 1.