Gryff The Griffin Rider

by Sloss, Marcus

  ​ As I got close I saw the goblins pumping weapons into the air angrily at me and my group. Two who had bows and arrows launched at us. The arrows missed falling short and I wondered if they had ever practiced with those weapons.

  ​ “I got the ogre, run the goblins down, fight as one! If the ogre targets you outrun it, it is injured and slow!” I said as I built up speed toward my target that was rolling in pain.

  ​ “For the empire!” The men screamed as they charged the left flank of goblins.

  ​ The ogre was seated on his ass now. My pike from his calf was in his hand. He flung it at me with blinding speed. I dove face first into the grass in a slide. I felt the pike pass over me. My face burned as the impact of the mud and gravel tore at my skin. I was alive and my cheeks bleed slowly where the impact had peeled some flesh away, but the damn ogre was limping away in a trail of blood. He had used the time with the pike attack to flee.

  ​ I chased after him and he saw me getting close over his shoulder. A backhanded desperate swing forced him to put weight on his bad calf and he fell. The ground shook with his impact. The swing was weak and his movements were slowed which allowed me to easily dodge.

  ​ I raced in for the kill when a large goblin ambushed me from my right. A pike thrust inserted into my right butt cheek as I turned trying to avoid the sudden attack. My greataxe curved around and got stuck in the goblin’s torso.

  ​ The ogre used the distraction to club me across my left side. There were stars in my vision and no ground below me for a few moments. I landed and felt my left shoulder pop on impact. My left arm and a few ribs snapped. The only thing that saved me was he was weakened from blood loss. I managed to regain my feet with blinding pain.

  ​ We stared each other down. He was on his hands and knees, blood still pumped from his neck in spurts. I blared a challenge at him. He dared me to get closer with a roar far weaker than before. One of the adventurers had used our shouting match as a distraction.

  ​ I watched as the man charged from the side of the ogre. He thrust the short sword deep into the tiny ear on the massive head. The ogre turned his head in confusion, flinging the brave man into the air who had failed to release his grip. That was the last action of the mighty beast. The sword that pierced his brain caused the ogre to fall flat onto the ground with open eyes. It died with that shocked expression on its face.

  ​ I went to the man who had a rough landing and saw he was stunned but okay. Donnie and the two others were cleaning up dead goblins. We had won the day.

  ​ “Gryff,” I said to the man who killed the ogre in introduction.

  ​ “Nate of Lakeland, well done Earl. That throw that hit his neck, it was mortal. If you would have been more patient we could have tracked him to where he bled out. Oh well. He is dead, the goblins too. Lots of money these ogres.” Nate introduced himself. The man was short and stout, with bushy eyebrows and a wide nose. His hair was tight against his head and his brown eyes spoke of a hard life.

  ​ “Lots of money and lots of meat. Do me a favor, go run down Jak and haul his ass back here. I got a bleeding butt and broken bones. Donnie and new guys, great work! Donnie get some people and get me some carts over here, or better yet the wagon. New guys come to me, we can collect loot after I am healed. Watch over me until Jak gets me mended.” I ordered the two new guys since they were meandering around the remnants of the battlefield picking out loot.

  ​ Donnie ever the eager achiever was gone in a run. The two men walked to me.

  ​ “Frank of Lakeland and this is Carl of Two Peaks. Now that was fun, how often do you get to slaughter goblins out here? I knew signing up on the frontier would be eventful, but a first day combat. I don't know if I am merely super happy, or it is the adrenaline running through me. Maybe both. My wives will be ecstatic when I send home our share of the ten percent of loot. Well met Gryff, thanks for the contract.” Frank said.

  ​ I was not aware the contract had a loot share for party members but that made sense. Ten percent was low, but Fernlan needed the money and if it was the going rate I was happy with it for now. We could always give a bonus later if we had enough excess gold.

  ​ Both men were about five foot ten in woodland green leather outfits. Frank had red hair with freckles and a scarred face. Carl had brown eyes with brown hair, he looked fairly young. They both had experience fighting based on how easily they killed the goblins. It was good to have backup. Finding my armor was high on my priority list after this fight. I was sure I would hear some reminders about how fighting without armor is bad.

  ​ I went to sit but my side screamed in pain at the attempt. Then I realized if I did sit my wounded ass cheek would make me stand. There was no comfortable way to rest as I waited for Jak. Luckily I saw him approaching at a run with Nate.

  ​ “You said to retreat when two shots were fired. So I ran, wasn't a coward.” Jak said. He probably had a long winded response to say planned out, but I stopped him.

  ​ “Shut up and heal me. You were right to run, they got two arrows off fast and you took off. You did exactly what I said. By the seven hells, this hurts. I can't sit and standing is awful.”

  ​ Jak pressed a hand on my shoulder and aura flowed to heal me. His aura lasted long enough to fix me before he staggered to his knees, then fell face first into the grass. Redeemed. The guy went to the end of his aura and passed out.

  ​ “Carl, toss him over your shoulder, run him back to the barrier. Dump him inside then race back here. Nate and Frank, shit is about to get messy. Suck it up. I am going to cleave the ogre apart. I will leave the finer work of tendons and sockets for us to do as a team after you get the goblins piled. I want bodies here, weapons there, and then we turn this ogre into pieces. At least they never got the inlet plugged.” I told them.

  ​ I hefted my greataxe onto my shoulder and neared the ogre body. Three griffins buzzed overhead and spread out on the lookout for us. They didn't say anything but I figured they would if they needed to warn us. The ogre was surprisingly clean, its odor not too horrid. Heck, the villagers of Fernlan smelt worse than this did when I first met them. I was conflicted on where to start... A foot, guess that will work.

  ​ I sliced off the foot at the ankle. It was much easier than I anticipated until I got to the bone. I worked around the ankle joint and smashed away at it. I really needed my short sword so I moved to the knee. I had peeled back the skin and ligaments around the knee when Donnie showed up with a few carts and more people. With the griffins scouting and watching over us, unarmed noncombatants felt they could help speed up the process. The barrier never flared red with more than twelve people across telling me we were okay.

  ​ The butchering of the ogre went fairly quick with numerous people on it after the goblins had gotten carted off. We made sure to not ruin any of the parts. The head took four of us to lift and was a dripping bloody mess. By the time the carts were loaded, the only thing left on the ground was blood soaked grass and bits of gore from cleaving the ogre into movable chunks. We were disgusting, and I took the creek home. I swam the ten foot wide ditch and scrubbed as I went. Good thing I was still in the shirt Bella had ruined earlier because it got a whole lot worse.

  ​ Speaking of Bella, she was on the creek's edge working the fishnet. She was on one end while Velia was on the other side of the net. They were lifting the bottom to collapse the net and pull up the haul. I saw them with friendly smiles chatting away. I got out of the water and left them both to it since they were busy. There was so much to do and so many people I needed to talk to. I tossed the ruined blood stained shirt onto the fire pit when I arrived.

  ​ “Ah, you were made an Earl congratulations,” Elan said. I liked Elan, he had been nothing but kind and helpful since I got to Vin, his only downside was that the man was cheap. People prized possessions, it was human nature. Right now I needed his stuff.

  ​ “Yes, it was a surprise to me also! It was that damned crown, which is with King Horus right now and
will be with the Emperor soon. Who may visit.” This got Elan's eyes wide, his brain calculating what it would take to prepare for the highest noble in the land. Then a smile when he realized it was me who was in charge. I continued. “Let us make a deal. You have the knowledge and knowhow of running Fernlan. I will make you a knight of the realm as soon as I can send a request for it to the Duke. I have to pen him a report tonight anyway. So you get to be a knight, and with two years’ service of excellence, I will make you a Baron. The excellence will be defined in a contract of not bringing dishonor, deceit, or dereliction of duty to your Earl, me. In return, you do what I say and I take your advice. Starting with selling me the carts… at a fair price. Open up the town center besides your private office and private quarters. We will start with that and then go forward.”

  ​ He had his hand out to shake on the deal the moment I said, Baron. He could probably do his two years of more hardship then go to the capital and live in a small apartment with prestige.

  ​ “I have to admit I was going to complain and whine about you doing stuff before consulting me. My property is still mine by realm law, but I am more than willing to sell you my carts at a great price. I will get with Velia for handling the deal. I look forward to working with you Earl Gryff. The town center is your property now minus the office of the mayor and the mayor's room. I will go aid in making the rest of the building presentable. Good day, sir, I look forward to signing my contract.” The man said and limped away.

  ​ A loud thud sounded behind me that caused the earth to tremor slightly. Lord Nova waited for my attention as if I could ignore the behemoth.

  ​ “Gryff, while I commend you on your excellent throw. You were impulsive and impatient. That ogre was dead, all that was needed was to let it suffer and die a horrible quick death. I do not come to scold you, hopefully, you will learn your own lessons with time. We tracked back to where the ogre lived. He had a cave to himself, and a deep cavern of goblins in support. If we had to guess by the amount of dirt piled outside the goblin cave probably a hundred of the vile things. We recommend you eradicate them or else something will dominate them to their will. It will also let you worry less about your water source being blocked or polluted should the remaining goblins be left alone and decide to finish the job.

  ​ “I want you to know we have no problem providing scouting for you if you keep the good food coming. We will need to establish some things for when you are not around to talk to ordinary humans who need a scout. My first recommendation is that you set up exit points at each cardinal direction. Then at these points, you establish a way for anyone wanting to go into the wild lands the ability to notify us. A small gong or bell will do, please make them sound unique. Next, mud drawings are nice but it will rain at some point. Get some wood boards placed together and molded into one piece by earth magic. We will then take the time to carve out a map of a large area around the village. We will build a legend on the side that we can use to talk to the average adventurer.

  ​ “For example the goblin caves. You come over, ring the gong. You show me the area you want to go to. I fly it, see a goblin cave. I then point to the area and then to the little goblin icon on the side. Then the symbol for easy to handle, or hard. We haven't quite worked everything out but if we are to work together with normal humans somethings needs to be established. We can start with this than improve as time goes on with you translating the frustrations or problems.

  ​ “For tonight the skies look clear, nothing on your borders moves closer or waits for an ambush. I am going to head back to the Duke, do you have anything you wish for me to bring or messages to carry ?” The majestic griffin stoically rested when he finished talking. The beast was always so confident, I could never tell if he was posing or not.

  ​ “Good idea on the map, it will be a high priority issue for me. I know you can’t land or attack the Horde but you can still be active in the war effort. At least you get to hear how much we appreciate it. I am going to send a few people south for war fittings, supplies, and I need to write a report. I request a few hours to organize things. If you want some food let me know.”

  ​ “Your mate Velia fed us well. She had a late dinner and early breakfast cooked for us with a side of beyond delicious melons. Ugh, the Duke fed us horse meat for the whole last week, no variety. Do not be surprised if your village becomes a primary vacation spot for griffins seeking delicacy meals.” A peal of roaring laughter came out of the mighty griffin. “I tell you... what... I will make you a list... of what we need for fine dining .” He continued laughing as I left him. Stupid lists and griffins amazing hearing about all my endless lists.

  ​ I glided my way up the ramp into the village. Crumbled building were still everywhere. The village was a disaster in appearance and structure. I knew something drastic was needed. I would have to make a plan on how to rebuild. Underground had me thinking. If I could build the village under the earth that freed up so much of the square footage required for plant growth. Maybe start with the animal stables. Put them below ground at night and during breaks, but let them graze and get sun during the day. Would greatly reduce the footprint of the stables. Then that brought me back to the animals arriving. I hoped they were being managed by someone we hired. Preferably one of Count Conway's men. Another thing to get to when I could.

  ​ I opened the Inn door to see it mostly empty of people. The floor was barren while sleeping materials and supplies were loaded on the side walls. Waiting to be brought out and set up for slumber later tonight. It was an eventful day but still a few hours from dinner time. I had a lot of paperwork to pen and people to find. I climbed the noisy stairs and knocked on Jak's door to his private chambers.

  ​ He answered looking fresh from a creek bath. “You know with a fire mage, I think I saw one arrive after you, we can set up a bathing house. If you use the water mage prior to the water entering the bath it will be pure and clean. No more cold dirty baths, not that those are the worse than a dirty bucket bath like the slums. What can I help you with?” Jak said.

  ​ “Well I was coming for a pen and paper but now... Congratulations. You are our new health and bathing officer for the war camp. I need to make that official, the village to war camp thing. It helps me get around pesky laws. So five pieces of paper and a pen please, either bought at the current market rate or returned once supplies get sorted. Then since you’re drained of aura and useless as a healer go find a fire and water mage. Tell them to draw up plans for a bathhouse based on the creek location. Have an earth mage give it an approval. Underground preferred.

  ​ “Behind the bar, where the bottles of booze used to be. That will be the war camp bulletin board, where the endless lists and to do projects wait to be tackled. I hope to see the bathhouse blueprint there in a few days.” As I had talked Jak had retrieved the pen and paper for me.

  ​ I asked which room I was in and he mentioned I had Melina's old room. It was in the basement of the building. I clomped down the stairs, around the bar, through the kitchen and then down into the basement. Two empty old wine racks sat off to both sides of the hallway before the door. It was damp and surprisingly quiet down here. I wondered if this had been original to the build or added on over the years. The structure had to predate the war, probably by a few decades at least.

  ​ I went to open the door and found it locked. I knocked on it and was told to wait. Pipi opened the door with Vern by her side. She jumped into my arms and kissed my face all over. More of a welcome home, than a passionate embrace. I locked her lips in a drawn out kiss when I felt my right thigh being hit. I looked down and saw Vern throwing wild swings at my leg. Apparently kissing mommy was not okay.

  ​ “Vern, what did I tell you. We are no longer alone, Gryff is family now and I will not have you hitting him. Sorry, Gryff. Velia said to give you this.” She handed me a key. “We were cleaning this dusty place out for your arrival. Vern can be a handful so I keep him with me to help. Don't worry he will still sleep with the o
ther kids. We will give you some space and quiet so you can write. I am so happy you are home and will be back to make things nice in here later.” She said then left with Vern. The kid would take time, it was a big adjustment. I had enough problems to stress about, and Vern was low on my list.

  ​ I surveyed the long dark room. A few candles burned. One by the bed on a nightstand, one on the table where I placed my supplies, and then a final one by the door on a candle holder. It was a huge room. The bed was smaller than the one at the Dukes. Would make sleeping with my three wives interesting. There were two chests in front of the bed, a bookshelf on a wall, and a mirror. That was it, in the room that took up almost the same floor space as the entire inn. The walls were wooden planks in seven foot tall slats. I almost had to duck due to my height, my instincts said to, but my brain told me I was fine. I walked across to the bed and laid on it. Not the best, would be adding duck feathers to it or we could buy something to make it softer. Honestly, the room needed two of these beds or a large custom bed. I would need to actually sleep at some point. Four bodies on a small bed even if all tired and not wanting sex still made for bad sleeping arrangements. Maybe take this whole back wall and combine four beds together, the room was wide enough.

  ​ I sat at my desk, in my room, and smiled. Things were improving, even if I felt buried by the to do lists. Time flew by as I wrote a few things. I penned a report to the Duke on Outpost Straddleback. I told him my plan was to clear it and build a single tall roost. The bottom floors could house crews to manage the land. The middle floors could rotate adventurers and soldiers. Then the top would be for griffins on mission or resting. I told him if he approved the moment we finished work here in Fernlan we would transition there. I secured the waterway and tomorrow would dispose of a hundred plus goblins. Then I would scout Xiq village and send another report. I wrote of my deal of knighting Elan and then making a contract with him. About how I needed him to help manage the mountain of work here. If he objected to state so in his next letter if not I would proceed forward with the idea. I mentioned Bella taking right to working in the dirt and that we were busy, busy, and busy.