by Marcus Sloss
“Fifth wife?” That was all Velia said.
“Indentured servant. Stupid contract law. She will have some explaining to do. That is Princess Amber, last surviving heir to Emperor Igrad. I couldn’t save him. Didn’t know he was alive until she mentioned it after a deal was struck. Go to them and see if you can help. She has been a slave for a long time. I have a lot to do before I can work on breaking her contract to me.”
“Don’t, at least not right away. Trust me on this. That is the most powerful woman in the entire kingdom, who is suddenly in your protection. Let us handle her reintegration into humanity. I mean it Gryff. Keep her close and safe for now, please. This ruins all claims Salvoni has. It also puts her at great risk.”
“You are my rock Velia. I trust you in all things. See it done. I have a Duke to convince and troops to manage. I love you.” A quick kiss on her cheek and I was gone.
I lightly jogged to the Duke’s estate being escorted by a guard. A set of guards guided me into his hall where I was announced. It was a small rectangular room with only a few dozen attending nobles. They were dressed in nicer clothing than I was used to and most looked bored until my arrival. I was hoping he would clear the court, but if I made my declaration in front of his nobles, he would have a layer of insulation.
“My Lord Gryff, how may I assist you?” Duke Jarv said with a pause. His son Dax was seated with his advisors. He knew why I was here, the questioning a formality.
“I have parlayed with the enemy. I have gained much for returning the sails, and wooden oars. Ships are being assembled as we speak not far from this very port…” This caused a ruckus, because of what I had proclaimed. I held a hand up to let the silence return. “I admit I traded with the Horde and even committed to a secret task that will not harm my fellow humans. It will enrich our petty enemy leaders. I want to give you all the facts before you aid me. The enemy marched a caravan of at least ten million strong past my Streb holding. The cyclops’ want us to believe it is a small army, but they lie. When the tail end of that very caravan was passing a narrow point, we seized four wagons. Two of the four were parts for ships being assembled at some unknown location or locations.
“So I asked myself. Why would the Horde need ships in the south? Well, my primary reason was you. It is your fishing ships and the other fishing ships that are keeping this Empire figuratively and literally afloat. Humans and griffins rely on the fish. We all do. The Horde told me they were readying for an invasion of the Vartin Tundra. Their goal is to collect delicate meat that they trade for large amounts of wealth. Ask yourselves. Is that the only thing they want? Or are the ships that feed us a bonus target. I parleyed and bartered to make the Venisis Sea off limits to combat, but my request was denied. So I ask you Duke Jarv, and citizens of Bavie, will you join me in sinking the ships already built? My plan is simple. Sail out in the night and use the superior griffin eyesight to guide us to our targets. Then bombard the enemy and clog their harbor with the skeletons of their ships.”
I waited as the Duke thought on my questions.
“My orders are as follows and I hope you understand why. We prepare the fleet, not for tonight, but instead tomorrow night. I have sent for King Horus himself to come, it is his fleet to order about. He will bring sailors still proficient in war with him. Patience for one night. Tomorrow, explain your plan to our King and then we will move forward from there.” Duke Jarv proclaimed. His nobles were nodding their heads in agreement.
I myself saw the rationale. An extra day would be fine, at least I hoped it would. Who knew how many wagons with sails and oars there were. I thanked the Duke and exited. I was lost where to go and hired a street ruffian to guide me to Emperor Igrad’s estate. The scruffy young man never tried anything untoward and I was delivered safely to the estate.
Velia waited on the steps for me. I walked over to her and plopped down beside my wife. I slung an arm around her and she tucked into me.
“She has been through a lot. Not every day you get to escape the Horde. Addilyn and Amber have a connection from childhood. It is best to give them space. Are we sailing tonight?” Velia asked and I shook my head no. She stood trying to pull me up with her dainty figure. I yanked her into my lap where we kissed. “Take me to the book store you big brute. I always wanted to shop down here.”
I laughed at this… So had I. “To the bookstore it is. We can let others handle affairs for an hour of free time. Oh… Fernlan got double the barrier size than before. I think that means I can go fishing from within the safe zone.”
“No… We will never see you anymore. You can actually buy a pole and everything now.” Velia said with rosy cheeks and a genuine smile. “How we will ever make a baby if you are nonstop fishing?”
I rolled my eyes. “Same way we do every night.” I then leaned in and whispered into her ear as I stopped her movement with an arm around her waist. “With your ass cheeks red from a spanking and my juice dripping out of your swollen… little… pussy…”
I knew Velia. That woman lived for naughty talk. It was a switch to her. She lunged for me and I bear hugged her tightly. She became content being held and wrapped her legs around my waist while tucking her head under my chin. I walked down the street holding my wife like a clingy teddy bear. A few tips to random people for directions and we made it to the bookstore.
CHAPTER 5
A day of preparation had commenced smoothly. The loading of gun powder, cannonballs, ballista, water, and more, takes considerable time. There were large chain gangs set up to facilitate quick loading. I was on the docks since the early morning sunrise. Another person among the many toiling to get the ships ready for war. It was backbreaking work and the simpler side of me enjoyed it. I found myself at the start of the chain. I was the first link that heaved the heavy cannonballs from the floor to the next man in line.
Nate read a few reports to me while I worked. The griffins found the bulk of the Horde navy, including the assembly cove that they were launching ships into. This was excellent news. The bad news was a few dozen were fully assembled already with sails and paddles. There were hundreds in construction and what looked like supplies for thousands of ships. When I thought about the sheer size of the caravan I was not that surprised. It would make reaching the enemy soon, more important with this knowledge.
The word had reach Streb, and two of my captured wagons were released to the enemy. This resulted in the siege around Streb being lifted as the army retreated south to their brethren. Fernlan had great news, it had indeed expanded and now encompassed some of the river. The griffins were hard at work clearing trees and harvesting much needed shrubs. They did complain about the wall being prematurely built. I got a chuckle out of this, as did Nate. It was one of those sad after the facts laughs. The reality was we wasted a lot of goblin hearts for nothing.
King Horus had arrived an hour ago and I was expecting a summons any minute now. It was a surprise when I handed him a cannonball. The king inserting himself into the chain.
“I remember when I was full of energy such as you. A few more then we need to talk, plus I am gray and old. Only so much of this manual stuff, my soft body is capable of.” King Horus said between labored breaths. Yeah… It was only three cannonballs for him so far. “Come let us tour the flagship Penelope. I set a meeting with my sea captains. I need you to translate anyway for Lord Nova.”
I hefted one last long shot cannonball and handed it off. King Horus led the way with his honor guard closing ranks on us. I was without armor but had my sword on my hip. We walked the busy docks. When I say busy, I mean it… People were shoving and pushing to get to and from the warships. Everyone was trying to complete weeks’ worth of work in a few hours. The King’s guards recognized this and went single file smashing swords on shields to alert the traffic that we had priority. I glanced up at Penelope and was awed by the ship's majestic nature.
She was fat and round. I know that sounds bad, but for a wooden behemoth, it was perfect. Cannon ports were stre
wn across her sides numbering dozens per deck, with seven decks of firepower. Her wood was a shiny hardwood, that was earth mage smooth. It was a ship that was at least a dozen years old, her hull bristled with barnacles. It was a given, bound to happen when she never left port. We reached one of the dozen ramps into the lower hold and the guards cleared us a path. The ramp creaked and swayed with the jolt of moving people and the small motions of the bay. The smell was the greatest here, and not of the sea. Unwashed man assaulted my nostrils.
A grey haired bulky tall man hollered out commands. “Port and starboard cannon windows need to be open. I don’t care if you are stacking powder. Open the bloody windows or I will have the lash unleashed.” There indeed was a whip at the man’s hip. Not my style of leadership, but I knew nothing of sailing.
We finished climbing the ramp and the deck boss waved us over to the central point in the hold where another ramp was. We went up then around to another side to keep going up. This happened seven times until we were on the top deck. I gazed at a clear view of the city from this high up. I shifted my head to look up at the crow's nest and saw it swaying. My legs became a bit unsteady, so I looked at the horizon and quickly recovered. Lord Nova and King Aves landed with thuds beside me. They let their weight slowly balance on the ship before they stopped flying. I caught up to our group as we entered a meeting room under the steering wheel of the mighty ship. The door to the meeting room was left open and quickly clogged by the giant griffin head of King Aves. It looked like we were all here. I saw five captains, two Dukes (Jarv and Riza), King Horus and finally me. It was a party in the small room with a map displayed on the table.
“Listen up,” The black and gray haired King said with a stern voice and determined narrowed eyes. He gazed upon the map with hatred and clenched hands. “If our fishing grounds fall, we fall. And then we all starve. Maybe we can do without, but the sheer number of fish we haul out of the ocean in a day is staggering compared to what we hunt in the wild lands. It even surpasses what we grow. We control five southern port cities, one on the east and one on the west. These waters are a last stand for us. This invasion fleet must be destroyed regardless of their desires.”
King Aves coughed for attention. “The griffins understand the circumstances. We are working to improve our dependency by intertwining our bonds with humans. In this, we completely agree. While we may risk the discovery of our magical offensive abilities, we find the benefits well worth the downfalls.” King Aves paused as I spoke a few words behind him. At first, I had struggled to be an interpreter. Now I was smooth, easily relaying his messages. “We have kept an eye on the enemy army and navy. Every hour, they finish getting closer to launching the next ship. It is an efficient production run by a single cyclops and his shamans. Based on the thirty seven completed ships, it will be months before their armada is fully assembled. Our guess is they plan a few raids on fishing boats, and a few attacks on the tundra. This winter will probably be construction, as well as production, and by spring the main assault will begin. If we let it reach that point, there will be no stopping them. We can strike now or during the dead of winter. I actually recommend both to be certain.”
We let this set in for a minute as I finished relaying his message. The old bossy captain was the first to speak.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Captain Evran speaking, I cannot speak to what the griffins are capable of giving with the peace accords limitations. I never saw them fight. These ships, these admirable ladies, they were retired way before their prime was over. All of these ships were the finest the Empire had to offer. They will sail slowly from barnacles and I wish we had time to scrape the hulls but there simply isn’t.” Captain Evran pointed to a spot on the map that was the target location. “Three hours row with no wind. There is a light breeze, with proper sails unfurled two and a half. The problem is that the men are stale and most of the crews not ready to finesse a big bitch like Penelope. I recommend breaking some backs and manual rowing our way. If we get in real trouble, we can always risk the sails. Might end up going slower though. At least I warned ya.”
I scratched my scruffy beard thinking this over. “How well manned are the enemy ships in the water?” I asked while I realized I missed Pipi. She gave the best combo of a haircut, shave, and blowjob.
“Empty, besides a few who watch the anchor lines. That is all those poor goblins do. A few of the first built ones had dead goblins that died of dehydration on the deck. No one cares about them. We may be over analyzing this combat situation. They have zero preparations for defending. It is as if they have no fear of us. I say the fleet slugs cannonballs into the ships until they sink. When the hornet’s nest is stirred, we griffins inferno everything once it gets dark. Maybe they will think we are dragons. Assuming any Horde survive to tell the tale.” King Aves said and his head retracted for an update from an arriving griffin. “Okay, they just started a second assembly line. It looks like they want to get more ships ready sooner rathan than later. More of the supply carts have been pulled forward to help move the chain along.”
King Horus was the man with a tough decision. If I married Amber I might have a claim to the Emperor's throne that superseded even Salvoni’s claim. The issue was I was not a power grabbing kind of guy. I wanted things done right. Poor Amber was still in shock, clinging to Addilyn and finally letting Velia in to help. Her true identity hidden from almost everyone. Even King Horus hadn’t had time to see her or address the issue.
“We start raising anchor now. No weapons on anyone. We use mages and griffins for this. Cannons will do the work for us. If they find a way to our ships, we break and run. The main goal is to irritate and bring more to the shore so the griffin spells do the most damage. Have your respective men disarm, including daggers. Then pass a pat down before boarding your ships. I will be on Penelope. Duke Riza, the Battleship Voracious. Duke Jarv you are on the Battleship Thunder. Captain Evran, Battleship Winter. Captain Flenk, Cruiser Swiftclaw. Captain Dern, Cruiser Crackle. Captain Ilon, Cruiser Tightseam… Who named that one? Last Cruiser Butterfly, goes to Captain Went. Finally, that leaves you Gryff. Whose title is ever changing. We need to talk, assuming you return tonight. We are going weaponless because you are on foot. You have twenty miles of rough bush to trek through. It should be a breeze for the Knights of Fernlan. Your mission is simple. Find those you can and kill them. Your primary mission is to bring back some hearts. Then if you can, clean up the mess. Find the stragglers and kill them. I understand there are millions of Horde there. No way that you get them all. We all have endless projects we want to tackle that those hearts can help drastically with.”
I slumped my shoulders and then quickly grasped his extended hand. We shook with a gentle grip until I excused myself. I had far more planning to do. If any of the idiots brought weapons onto the ships then we would be locked out when they crossed the barrier. Right now all the anchored vessels were inside the barrier. Immediately I knew I had a problem. My knights were scattered helping where they could… I thought about it until I caught sight of Tammy on the docks, chatting with another air mage.
It was not fun squeezing through the crowd of people. I eventually reached Tammy after a few minutes. She gave me a professional smile.
“How can I help you Emperor Gryff?” And there went the professional character. She said this like a snarky smartass.
“Amplify my voice please.” My demeanor was rigid and serious. Tammy wised up quickly and tendrils of white magic coned in front of my face. “Knights of Fernlan, regroup now. The estate. Knights of Fernlan regroup now. I repeat, the estate.”
I gave her a nod and shifted my way through the crowd toward the estate. She shadowed my path and followed in my wake. Tammy was a profession like the rest of the team. The moment we hit fairly sporadic traffic we were off. We raced up the slope for the manor and… I got lost. She doubled back for me and guided me the right way. I shrugged it off, the city was new to me and very big while being poorly laid out. She was in a tiz
zy of delight at my error of a wrong turn.
We raced to the Igrad estate and bounded up the steps. I bounced to the third floor and into my assigned room. With a burst, I rushed into the room, startling the three beauties talking on my bed.
“Velia, Addilyn. My armor now. Amber, when I ask for those bolt thrower launcher things, bring them.” I said and the ladies raced into action. I stripped naked as Velia brought my thin layer of cloth padding.
Amber shrieked. “Have you no decency? I am a lady in waiting. If my future husband ever hears of this audacity.” I chuckled as she kept glancing at my swinging penis.
“He is your future husband. I will apologize in advance. He is not modest and we did hear his call from the docks even all the way up here. Your master is going to battle. He has more pressing issues than your virtue.” Addilyn said in a scold.
“Amber I must give you a sincere apology… See, there, my pants are on. Thick leather padding next, and then the actual armor. Crap. Amber drop those crossbows gently on the floor and hand me the belt on the end table. I keep using it to spank Velia and I never put it back in my pant loops.”
Velia roared in laughter and Amber covered her mouth in shock but still carried out my orders. She handed me the belt and hesitantly locked her green eyes to mine. “Does she deserve the punishment? I do not want to marry a man who beats his wives.”
This got more laughter out of the other girls and flustered Amber to no end. “My wives, please fill her in on your husband’s style and how I treat women. Ensure you mention the good and the bad things. No surprises going forward. I studied our contract, Amber. I cannot break it because of its design from the original shaman or cyclops who created it. Unfortunately, while I think you look fantastic and are a stunning woman who I would love to dote on, I have four wonderful wives. If you don’t like me or fit into our family, I can see if I can hand the contract off to another man or woman you desire.”