Gryff The Griffin Rider

by Sloss, Marcus

  ​ We discussed the next day's plans and came to a general understanding. We were on one of the last flights down, only the crafters kept going on the plateau.

  ​ As I landed at the manor, a handsome one armed man I knew arrived on Lord Nova.

  ​ “Earl Gryff you look like shit, is my daughter not feeding you?” Duke Riza said besides Lady Ona. Both were soaking wet in their riding outfits. A few more griffins landed with their entourage. I saw one of the sacks moving and heard a yipping of wolves. That reminded me that Count Conway said he kept them for defense in his room. I needed to do that too. I wondered how Deb and my critters were doing back at home.

  ​ “My Duke, I am fresh off the killing fields... You know what, let us go, and kill some golems.” This made all the men I had given the rest of the day off to freeze. All eyes shot to the Duke in hopes he would decline.

  ​ “Tomorrow morning I will join you,” a collective sigh of relief escaped the men and they found a way to disappear quickly, in case the Duke changed his mind. “I need to figure out the numbers of this city and then go over some things with the commoner you are making a Baron... Before you give some excuses, fret not. I have ruled for long enough to know that locals make the best leaders for their cities. Oh, and before I forget, Una had great things to say about you... which is rare. She is happy fighting and gets to tell me war stories as I once told her. It makes me feel old and missing combat a tad.”

  ​ “Tomorrow we will make some new stories. For now, I am off to find some fresh clothes and then a nap, I overexerted myself... oh and nine plates of food.” I said and was super serious.

  ​ I saw Pipi holding a plate under the cover of the manor's main doors. She knew I would be hungry, and that made my day. My wife waited for me after enduring the suck with a steaming plate of yumminess.

  ∞∞∞

  ​ We prepared on the plateau in the early morning sun. The clouds had been driven off by a strong eastern wind. There were more people up here than the previous two days. The Duke was in his armor, his four wolves by his side. Behind him stood a three of his guards. Nate was talking to him and showed the Duke the hastily made nets. I left them to their discussion to give orders to Donnie, Joey, Marcus, and Kyle.

  ​ The four men took off running with rocks in hand, the day's hunt had officially begun. I waited in the muddy area as golems roared out at the runners. It went the same as yesterday. They would follow one of the men, end up in the mud, and then become occupied with removing the offensive wet dirt. I killed over fifty when Donnie mentioned we had cleared a space big enough to begin vole hunting.

  ​ “Nate, you are up. Traz will hover over an area where he sees voles. Run like seven hells if you get golem aggression that I cannot handle. I will provide protection while you work. If we kill a few this far out, we can always harvest the hearts and leave the rest.” I said to Nate and his assembled team.

  ​ The Duke joined the group with his four wolves as they left the barrier following Traz on the rough terrain. I trailed them by a few dozen feet on the lookout for golems. Traz quickly located a hiding spot for the voles. From my distance, I saw Nate and another mercenary preparing to toss the net. Right before they threw the wolves howled.

  ​ The four animals darted to the hiding spot Traz flew over. There was growling, and furious head shaking. I could not see clearly what they were doing but I got the idea. They were hunting the voles. The wolves trotted back and four voles were laid at the Duke's feet.

  ​ He cheered them on and gave them all lots of praise. Then they each got a treat and the Duke asked for more voles by picking a dead one up and sticking it in front of each animal's nose. That was all it took. They were gone and back with four more dead voles. They would wait for their treat, then go get more.

  ​ Nate, his team, and even Traz were shocked. Hours of planning for catching the voles and all it took was a trained hunting wolf. We circled around the Duke deciding to provide support giving ourselves a new purpose. We let the wolves do their work and they were cunning in their hunting. A few smarter voles realized staying still was a doomed tactic. The wolves caught on that their prey was fleeing and would send one to push, while the others waited in ambush low to the ground ready to pounce. It was interesting and I knew I had some work to do when I got home to train my own wolves.

  ​ I realized two things while I watched. The first was I needed to send someone to get more treats for the wolves. The second was, I was done here in Malvia and I could finally go home. Within an hour the wolves had collected over a hundred voles.

  ​ “My Duke, I am thoroughly impressed. Your animals are prime examples of well-trained companions. If I may I would like to run a few voles for testing by the fire mages. There is little information on how potent these voles are. We need to confirm or deny some rumors.” I said.

  ​ “Oh please, this is your hunt, take them all. How about twenty percent of all profits for compensation. That should let me feed the remaining wolves nicely in Lakeland. Maybe even start my own underground expansion.” Duke Riza offered.

  ​ I accepted his more than generous offer. Nate scooped up five dead voles, handed them to Donnie and told him to run to the fire mages back at base camp. I saw the wolves making further and further trips. The last trip by the wolves included a pull of four golems. It took Nate's help but we got them down. I did not want to risk the Duke. I could come back out here any time, and clear this area again and send in my own wolves.

  ​ I congratulated Riza and told him that we had a nice hunt. I asked him if we could call it a day. After the golem charge, he was amenable to my request.

  ​ “A nice tea with Bella sounded lovely,”

  ​ “You seem to be knowledgeable about the peace accords. I know the griffins cannot pick up or drop items in the wild lands. What happens if they poo while flying, does that count?” I asked.

  ​ We were making our way back to the barrier with the nice breeze cooling us from the lava heat.

  ​ “Well yes, it was specifically written in. One of the lead female griffin riders at the time, Lady Canda was insistent that it be included. Else the roosts would be a cesspool in no time. Did you not notice the griffins taking off in the morning, and no extreme foul odor by where they slept? They were dropping griffin poo bombs outside the barrier. Perfectly fine as long as it is natural from them. Well within the rules of the accords.” Duke Riza informed me.

  ​ “I think the Horde negotiators may have made a large mistake we can exploit then,” I said with a grin. This caught Traz's attention and he listened intently while he hovered beside us. We felt the tingle of the barrier crossing and Traz landed to walk with us. “Well… some know that griffins can do magic, what most do not know is how powerful it can be. Also how limited their knowledge is on it. How about before tea with Bella you join me for a demonstration?”

  ​ “Of course lead the way.” Duke Riza said.

  ∞∞∞

  ​ Drix was holding a vole heart in his hand and told everyone to close their eyes. He infused the heart with some magic which ramped up in intensity until it was too much. I, of course, am an idiot who watched him and never closed my eyes. I was blinded. Even in the sunny daylight, the illumination was too much. I covered my eyes in pain, stomped my feet, and used many curses at my stupidity.

  ​ When it eventually wore off. I saw I was not the only one recovering. Drix proclaimed that it was indeed a vole heart that battle mage used in his story, evident by the test. Which meant a few of those anchored into the ceiling of Dais and I had daylight. I would need to develop a way to cover them for the night but I figured that would be easy enough.

  ​ All around me people smiled with the news, this was a giant leap in the lighting needs for humanity. You could light dark city slums and reduce crime, light mines for mineral digging, and so many other applications. This was more than enough raw materials, and even King Horus would have his needs meet for his underground capital. We had killed more than e
nough golems and voles by this point.

  ​ What I really wanted to know was the vole blood a catalyst for fire spells? I walked over to the vials and found one of the golem goo. I figured we would start our testing with the less potent catalyst first. I walked over to Traz with three containers.

  ​ “Alright Traz, we will start small. Listen to what Krix tells you and then you will attempt to launch a fireball. Aim it for these trees inside the barrier please.” I said.

  ​ “You sure you want that wild griffin testing around all these people? ” Lord Nova questioned. “I could do it .”

  ​ “Donnie grab three vials of this goo and bring it to Lord Nova, we will have two griffins testing,” I said hoping to placate the big griffin. Donnie did as ordered.

  ​ Krix stood on one of the tables used for sorting hearts into torches. He turned to face a dozen griffins on the plateau. In one hand he held a vial between his thumb and index finger.

  ​ “The glass of these containers is a conductor, to use the catalyst have one side touch your body to mix with your aura. If you place this vial into a leather pouch that will negate the catalyst as the leather is a great insulator. That is why you see all of us fire mages with spare belts on our bodies. We pull a vial out to use it, and that one alone. If we pull too many vials or do not have an insulator against our flesh we can over catalyst the spell. The best mages can control the amount of catalyst consumed while most new mages have the amount limited to prevent overdraw. This is bad for a few reasons, but for now, we will avoid the chance of that happening. When I normally train an apprentice I insure they start slow. A fraction of this vial is all that is needed for a small fireball. So bring me back those vials, and mage Willis will give you some smaller amounts.” Krix waved for Willis to go to me.

  ​ I swapped out full containers for low amount ones with Willis. Once Donnie and I were back to our respective griffins Krix continued. Before he talked again I handed Traz his first vial.

  ​ “For a human, we find our aura in our core. It is under our chest and above our stomachs. It takes time to master how much you summon for each spell. I extract an amount that I have grown accustomed to throwing a fireball. I drain the catalyst into my aura and then channel the spell. When I feel the spell is properly channeled...” Krix paused and ducked as a large fireball arched over his head.

  ​ So my idea to hand Traz a vial early was probably a poor decision. The griffin launched a ten foot wide and five foot long ball of flame over Krix. It burst into the pines and a fire broke out. Not to be outdone Lord Nova pried the three vials from Donnie and threw a fireball at least five times greater. This one burned so hot the trees vaporized to ash.

  ​ “Seven hells, bison shits, by the gods.” The curses poured forth from the gathered humans. The griffins jumped with joy and excitement. My head suddenly was overloaded with griffin talk. There were endless requests to try shooting a fireball from the assembled griffin. That lasted a few minutes and was only enhanced in torment level when the griffins from below joined the chorus.

  ​ “Enough!” I shouted.

  ​ I looked crazy because everyone was actually quiet from the shock of the spell. I was the only one with the loud nagging of the griffins. I rubbed my temples in frustration.

  ​ “Clear the plateau. I need Krix and the fire mage team to make some small vials for all the griffins.” I said as I look over our golem goo inventory. There were wooden keg barrels of the stuff stacked behind the fire mages. There must have been a few hundred containers filled with the catalyst. More than enough to spare. “Let them shoot fireballs to their hearts content for now. I can always get more golem blood later but we clearly have a surplus. Let them have their fun, and when there are fewer lives at risk we will move up to testing the vole blood. Alright for the rest of us we get that rare third meal today ladies and gents, lunchtime.”

  ∞∞∞

  ​ The ceremony of making Strin a Baron had ended and it was a rather dry affair with minimal attendees. I did see Prince Rodriq excitedly talking to the Duke. I was glad he was happy with his transition. I exited the court chamber and walked to the stable outside. I was looking for a ride up to the plateau. I started to get a little nervous when I noticed the area was mostly clear but I saw a few griffins guarding the gate. I called out to Traz and instead, Dina arrived with her pink tipped feathers.

  ​ We exchanged pleasantries and in a few moments, we were up above the city and landing. The fire mages were still working. Three were dissecting the rodents and extracting the vole’s parts. A half dozen were constantly loading vials for the griffins to test. A set of rocks had been moved where the trees used to be. Griffins of all colors and sizes were slinging fireballs down the range. It was impressive and frightening.

  ​ Lord Nova raised his resting head when I arrived. He did a rapid twisting shake of his body that griffins tended to do when they were waking from a nap. I waited as he approached.

  ​ “Do you know how hard it was to tell female mages we wanted their catalysts to try? Let me say it was impossible, and we gave up that effort early in the war. Now with you, we can finally progress forward with our talents and magics. Today is a big day for my species, and the fact you made it come to fruition will not be forgotten .” Lord Nova said while he looked down at me. “Let us test the vole blood, and then I have a volunteer here. This griffin is named Xar. He will go out into the wild lands and see if throwing a fireball at the Horde triggers the peace accord magics. It is always sad to see these tests fail if they do, but we must know .”

  ​ I had been thinking about that myself. If the magic was in the same category as a bodily discharge then it should be allowed. They were not touching the ground in the wild lands or dropping combat personnel. If it violated the accords the contract magic would turn him to ash by disintegration.

  ​ I agreed that we should proceed. There were far fewer people up here for this test. Dina placed herself between me and Lord Nova. Even the fire mages stopped their work and hid behind cover.

  ​ There was no count down, or warning. Lord Nova was handed a container of vole blood and then he cast a spell. I never saw its release, but I did see the effect. The rocks that had been target practice melted to slag. The fireball was a lava ball and it left an utter trail of destruction on where it hit. Dirt, tree, grass, rock, and all else were melted down into a baser liquid form. The result was a growing river of lava. As the lava ball died off the magma cooled and steamed. We watched as within a few minutes an outer shell hardened.

  ​ “Scary stuff Gryff, I could melt this city of Malvia no problem with a single vile. I barely used any there and my aura is still nearly full. Very scary. I have slain over a million Horde, but with this, I could burn billions. Enough talk gets a vile Xar, go burn that orc settlement to the south. Use the golem catalyst. I want to send humans to salvage the bodies for meat. May the creator watch over your soul .”

  Lord Nova said.

  ​ Of course, I started thinking in my head the amount of work that fetching the dead bodies would take. How many carts, how many trips with limited people. I got lost in that thought when Lord Nova told me to get on Dina.

  ​ I did as he said and got in Dina's saddle. I then ordered Krix to load up Xar with as many vials as he could in a conductive manner.

  ​ I watched as a large glass container was stuffed under the saddle on Xar. Krix said the pressure against his body should hold it fine if he flew without excessive movements. He pulled the test glass back out and poured golem goo from a cask filling it. He worked the gem shaped glass container under the saddle again until he was satisfied.

  ​ Xar gave a nod to Lord Nova and as one… The griffins bowed in respect. Xar held his head high and flew off out of the barrier. Dina and I glided behind Xar by a few hundred feet. I was nervous, Dina was nervous, the entire clump of griffins were nervous. When I glanced back there were over fifty of them in the air watching us fly.

  ​ The river took a soft turn and t
hen straight by the settlement. There were only a few hundred orcs in this village. I saw no warg riders or trolls. Only orcs and goblins. They had their traditional hide huts and large fire pits throughout. There were a few defenses erected with wooden spikes and a small trench. Warriors trained, female orcs herded children, and goblins fetched water. It was similar to the orc city north of Fernlan, merely smaller.

  ​ Xar flew over the village once and was ignored by the residents. He stopped his flight a few hundred feet in the air and channeled the spell. I watched as his two front paws formed a tiny every growing fireball of lush oranges and reds. The twirling circle of magic only grew until he rapidly released the energy.

  ​ As the fireball streaked toward the ground it continued to increase in size. A few goblins pointed at the approaching doom but nothing was done to stop it. There was no shaman here to erect a defensive shield. The ball hit the dirt and spread in an inferno of death. The impact site formed a crater and everything inside it was ash. The circle of destruction spread which caused the rest of the village to catch fire. On the outer edge a few goblin who had been fetching water dove into the river.

  ​ They were the only survivors. Well them... and Xar. I was right in my assumption. The Horde who had made the accords did not know the griffins could cast offensive magic. Therefore they did not include it in the agreement. Xar had destroyed hundreds of orcs and goblins in a moment. We had hundreds of barrels of this catalyst and there were tens of thousands of griffins still left alive. The implications were astounding and this was not even with vole blood. Contract magic was how the Horde maintained order, for them to make a mistake on this scale was jarring.