Gryff the Griffin Rider 2

by Marcus Sloss

  “It will take a long time for them to pack up and be ready to portal. Most likely a week. Your remaining balance is five point five million. I have bound all the contract bidding boards we passed in case you want to make later bids. You need to realize the bidding stops on the earliest ones tonight in six hours. Some were placed to go longer. I must confess the slave prices are much higher than I remember, Rakmar only dragged me through once. If you will follow me we will go to the uppermost region. The elvath warrant that with their immortality and amazing skills.”

  The Duke and I sighed. It was a few miles of walking through crowds before we reached the circle intersection with a dozen spin offs. Roz led us up the tallest ramp that only a few cyclops traveled. This trek up the hill was quiet with at most six cyclops sharing the road with us. They scoffed our direction assuming we could not afford what was up the hill. Unlike the Dvaren where it split again eight times, there were only two roads here. A team of greeters waited to assist the nobles wealthy enough to visit. Our accounts were scanned and a surprised well dressed female cyclops raced to us.

  Her solid pearl eye was different than the teal iris I was used to.

  “Greetings lady shaman and noble male humans, I am Urshoe,” Urshoe said in perfect English. “I was a liaison for a campaign on a human planet. I find you humans intriguing. Not to mention some human disrupted the arena event today. What an uproar. Who cares if he claimed a heart right.”

  She was pandering to us and we all knew it, but I did not mind. I decided to speak. “Lady Urshoe, I find your eye mesmerizing and your honesty refreshing. I represent a very powerful lord. We want to see your elvath. By any chance are there any males for sale?”

  “I am colorblind, I find my eye is a boon for clients who come expected to see the unexpected. There are a few thousand elvath here for sale but no males. They are dwindling with time and accidents. As you will see there are no auctions here, only a sale price. Too often we find buyers become enthralled with the potential product and instead want a straight purchase agreement. I see your accounts are in order so why don’t we start the tour. Follow me kindly.” Urshoe said and led the way.

  There were no massive pits here with thousands of elvath. Instead, there were small homes with patios. The moment I neared the first display the three women who were painting sensed me. I sensed them. Our aura raced from our bodies and clashed then entwined. My center pulled in their blank colorless aura and the ladies staggered. When they recovered they kneeled in unison. All three heads raised to gaze upon me at the same time.

  They were stunningly beautiful. They all had long ears, bright eyes of different shades that accented their high cheekbones. Tight luscious lips were bitten by the ladies as I was gazed upon. They wore form fitting, very revealing dresses that showed off perfect large breasts and smooth curved hips. It was elegant clothing that could have doubled as bedroom lingerie. They were taller than humans at least six to six and a half feet tall.

  When they rose they spoke rapidly in Horde. Roz translated. “Do not travel further, do not let the cyclops see more react to you. Or let others see our reactions to you. Secure us before it is too late.” They said and retreated into the house.

  Hmm… How to proceed? “We are at an impasse Urshoe. I need discretion and you are not bound to it. Sign my contract and I will give you this.” I reached into my belt and withdrew a bible I had stashed. I then offered it in exchange for a closed contract of complete discretion. She hesitated in confliction, then accepted. The moment our yellow magic transferred the three elvath raced out in gasped shock. They spoke in Horde again. “Thank you for accept Urshoe, what are they saying?”

  Urshoe gulped and squirmed. She grew frightened and the elvath gave a terrifying laugh at her displeasure. “They call you the harbinger of death. You will kill, maim, and destroy your foes…” She said collecting her courage. “You are to be worshipped and feared. I am to never forget the day I met you and so it has been prophesized.”

  “Urshoe, you signed the contract, I do not allow loopholes in my work. You will never speak of this and if you try to… you will disintegrate. Who knows you could always join my side at some point… How much for the three?”

  “They are triple the ratio of the ice warriors so three thousand per slave. Nine thousand for these three. It is overpriced but they are a rare commodity. How many elvath for sale and are they all priced this high?” Roz asked Urshoe.

  “Prices have gone up. A breeder acquired a new male today and bought most of the stock up. The breeder is rotation stock and trying to get lucky with late cycles maturing. You can buy a thousand or so. If you send me four million I can try to get fifteen hundred if I am lucky. That is the best I can do,” Urshoe said and I knew she was being honest.

  I escrowed the souls into a holding account attached to her. I did not want to work the other elvath into a further display of reverence. It was quite frightening. I ordered Roz to take us to where the awaiting dvaren were. I looked over our accounts one point five million souls were left.

  “Buyout both groups of lady dvarens with yakins and then all the females bid a good amount. If there is enough left add in some desert warriors please.” I ordered.

  “Done, purchased both the yakin groups. Be advised that it is nearly thirty five hundred dvaren. I will have enough to get them to Lakeland but then I will be done. I may not even risk going to my harem. The latest purchased female dvaren are en route and should reach the mountain and snow dvaren at the portal area before we do. I also think you will win most of the bids, I placed them higher than normal. We will have to wait until late tonight to find out so probably tomorrow. My next trip will be able to handle them all except the smithies. I will get them later in a few more days. You will need to house the dvaren and elvath separately for long term sanity. They are bound not to attack your property but that doesn’t mean they are peaceful.” Roz said as we walked toward the central circle again. “Prices have gone up. If you give me next week I can sell more bibles and we can purchase additional slaves. There are also livestock planets. You are drawing attention though. I think you should let me buy samplings and bring them back for you to view. Then you can buy those animals you find to suit your needs.”

  Duke Riza had a laugh at this statement. “Yes keep the wild human on Vin please, isolate the violence. Lots of people to feed and Horde to kill at home.”

  “Very true,” I agreed.

  We went down a ramp after reaching that main intersection with a dozen side roads. A few miles later we arrived in the well lit wide cavern – we found portal pens. There was a pen with our purchases I recognized. Thirty five hundred dvaren stuffed together in an area with large yakin hooting. Yeah easy to tell it was our purchases. Roz was already leading the way to them. We were confirmed as the new owners by shaman gate guards and allowed entry.

  “The can understand through our contract correct?” I asked Roz but the dvaren with the yeti skull on his helm stepped forward.

  “Interesting. The moment you became our master your native language was understood by us. Part of the contract. Your mage should study it for you.” The unnamed captain said.

  Roz went to talk when I halted her. “Not here. Take us to Lakeland,” I ordered.

  A portal was formed wide enough for three abreast. Duke Riza went through first to manage the incoming dvaren. A song belted out from the ice soldiers. A song they all knew, even the dvarettes in the back sand it proudly. I think this was my first test as their new master. I also got a wink from the captain who started the song. Yeah, he knew. I was not one with the Horde. He was going to a new home. I beamed in happiness as they marched in precision into the portal. The captain let his soldiers proceed first and helped the females navigate the yakin. The looks I received as those dvaren trooped past pulled at my emotions. I held them in check as the last of the mountain dwarves passed. Then it was just the captain and me. Roz was in Lakeland holding the portal open. He saluted me with a hand over his heart and enter
ed. I took what I hoped was my last step on Kikra and welcomed the blackness.

  CHAPTER 17

  I arrived in Lakeland with a minor disorientation. The spell had been held for a while and Roz was a bit wobbly on her feet. As I approached to help her, she waved me off. So be it. I looked at the three thousand plus dvaren amassed outside the walls of Lakeland. They were in awe of the new environment. They saw zero Horde, and Dina soared over with her wings spread wide. The pink tipped griffin was a marvel. Her kind found nowhere else which caused the dvaren to point and chatter about the arrival of the griffin.

  I saw Trish talking to her father not far away. When our eyes met she smiled while I waved her to me. When she neared I asked her to amplify my voice.

  “Greeting dvaren friends.” The side chatter, as well as muttering, stopped as Dina slammed into the ground beside me. She lowered herself so I could stand tall. I did exactly that as I raced up her saddle to address the slaves. “I am Emperor Gryff, to some of my trusted advisor I am more. To you, I am your chance at freedom. I purchased you by deceiving the Horde. I sold them something that took me very little effort and they cherish. I then competed to raise more funds which were a success. I have been bidding to free more of your brethren and slaves in general.

  “My goal is to eventually buy out all the slave markets I can. Assuming the slaves I buy are willing to be peaceful citizens. That is my selling point. I will extend a contract. Have your leaders study it if it is approved your collars drop. The contract is not for employment in my empire. Listen to that again. If you want to be a smith and you are a soldier currently. Then transition into becoming a smith. The moment you accept my contract you truly are free to do and be as you wish. There are still standard laws, no rape, no steal, and other basic stuff. You break one of those you no longer disintegrate, you get tried and a fitting punishment sentence by a jury of your brethren. The only thing my contract does is ensures you will not intentionally harm my Empire. That! Is! It!”

  I sent the contract out to the thirty five hundred dvaren when the yeti skull wearing leader stepped forward. “I am Captain Snomer, I have been a slave my whole life. What would be our purpose in your Empire? Why would you so willingly free us into it?”

  Seven hells I was going to be giving this speech a lot unless I delegated it to someone with proper authority. If I freed as many slaves as I intended to this would get old fast. Make a pamphlet maybe… I needed to disclose more to them for now, which was fair.

  “You are all on Vin, which we humans and griffins are regulated to safe zones. We found our contracted peace accords were not bound tightly with many loopholes. We have exploited them. My empire and its allies also do not worship the seven… I specifically pray to the retreating four.” I said to stunned faces. “You all are hard working prosperous dvaren. I merely wish to add you to our numbers. We need you for economic reasons more than military ones. Well, let me be clear. You Captain Snomer, I would like your help with both the economy and combat situations. I need to capture yeti and ice cats.”

  “Yeti is easy enough. And the only ice cat I know is the icraws. Icraws are a very nasty large ice cat, this planet has them with yeti?” Snomer asked with a loud booming voice. His natural level almost as loud as my enhanced one.

  “Yes, I want to raise the cubs and the baby yetis to sell to free more slaves. If not our magicians need parts for water spells,” I said and the dvaren scoffed as if was lying. The Horde had no water spells or magic. I understood his skepticism. The problem was I had no water mage besides Dina with me. Duke Riza pushed an advisor in blue forward. “May our ice mage freeze your feet?”

  Captain Snomer turned his head at this. He didn’t think I was being serious, but he allowed the test. His feet were frozen by the water mage. Only a few noticed though. Dina shot a fireball into the ryegrass field. The mage understood what the intent was and threw an arching torrent of water on the raging fire. This caused a sizzle with steam to rise into the air.

  The dvaren leaped with joy at this display. One, then more, then the entire mass of dvaren accepted my contract. The slave collars were piled up. “Your collars are valuable, we will sell them and when the markets run dry we will melt them. For now, I will sell them to buy more of your kind, my kind, and the elvath too. Soon my… our Empire will consist of any species willing to fight back against the Horde. You saw the might of one mere spell. We have more magic with far more spells at our disposal. This is the time, this is the moment to ratify our friendship and prepare to strike back. It will start right here on Vin.”

  I was greeted with cheers. Captain Snomer quieted the dvaren. “When do you want to go to these yeti, can I see the rest of my people established in homes first?”

  “I have an empty city, ruined by war as well as the Horde. It has good docks and solid bones. I believe a quarry is nearby. There are plenty of trees not far from its walls and fertile fields. It is empty besides a few fishing crews I can relocate. You can have that city. It is named Uhara which I recommend to you for now because it has a barrier. Are you familiar with the barrier system?” I asked and watched as most nodded. Those who looked confused were informed. I waited until the side chatter died down. “Great, there is that city available. I have a blank island no buildings with jungle and sand. Then three more sand cities uninhabited. I do not know what they are like yet and will need to fly there myself after we go south. If you do not want a barrier know the griffins can aid you with magic from the air but cannot land to deliver supplies for you. We can send twelve soldiers but no army to support you. Also, my capital has a mighty cavern we call Dais we can expand if you…”

  I was stopped as the dvaren leaders huddled together. “We will settle in Uhara for now, later us leaders can explore other options. It has been ages since our kind has been given the freedoms you are offering. We thank you.” Captain Snomer said.

  A sweeping song erupted from the dvaren as they rejoiced. I left Dina’s back to talk with Roz. “Roz, can you move the dvaren tonight and still make it to your harem?”

  “No. Sorry master, I need time. Give me twenty four hours. I will return and let you know which bids won and lost. Then I will move the dvaren to their new home. After I can move your army south or I can get the elvath and newly purchased dvaren, not both. You should probably give me some key locations and say the names out loud. Actually, master give me your head.” Roz said and I felt the tingle.

  “Fernlan… Uhara… Livina… Bavie… Maltan… Xiq… Streb…” I said and stopped. The pressure of her learning the places faded.

  “Okay, master I must rest, then sex and absorb my harems aura. I will see you tomorrow. We can hunt if there is not enough food on our island… Correct?”

  “There should be plenty of frozen sandworm meat left. I don’t care how you manage your harem, ensure they survive. If you need more supplies then ask one of my wives for supplies.” I said. The orange eyed shaman smiled, opened a portal, and vanished.

  Duke Riza approached me from the side. “I don’t have a place to host them besides in the stables. It is rude but there are a lot of them.” The Duke said sternly.

  “Best we can do is give options until the shaman is recovered.” I smiled at Riza and we walked over to the joyful dvaren. There were four leaders. I went first with introductions. “This is the leader of this fine city, Duke Riza. Can you give some introductions please Captain Snomer.”

  “Of course this is Longbeard Fidark, he leads that mountain company you hired. This is busty Betsy. Oh… sorry, your bust is very busty… Okay, no more hitting.” Captain Snomer said as he received two slugs to the arm. He was pointing each leader out as he talked about them. “She is the leader of the yakin herders. This is dvarette Yexica, the leader of the larger yakin group. Now that introductions are done how can I help you Emperor Gryff?”

  “Well, I cant move you yet. My shaman estimated twenty four hours to move you to Uhara. There are simply too many of you to move until I can open a portal. While my portal
shaman is powerful, we carried home more dvaren then intended. No regrets, merely know that it has left you stranded here for tonight. There is a massive stable you can sleep in and I am sure lots of food will be provided.” I said.

  “Yes, we can have pillows, fruit, and a few spare blankets brought. There is plenty of wood here, as long as you dig a pit and fill it after you can have fires in there. It is well ventilated. I simply do not have enough room anywhere else.” Duke Riza said.

  The four leaders chuckled. “Until ten minutes ago we were slaves. We would gladly rest for a night in a barn to await transportation to a new city. When were you wanting to engage south Emperor Gryff?”

  “It is a boat trip that would last a week. I do not need to use Longbeard Fidark yet, so he can go to Uhara with the yakin, Betsy, Yexica. We would either griffin ride south in the morning or we can portal. I need to check with the griffin king, King Aves before I can confirm that. So tonight… Actually, once my conversation is over I will be heading home. If I do not arrive before Roz does… She is a Horde rebel by the way. Also my actual slave… I know, not ideal, but baby steps right. If she summons a portal and you have not heard from me, you all are to go to Uhara. It is your city unless you decide you do not want it. That means tear it down and build it how you want. I only ask it keeps fishing and there is a roost for the griffins to land in.”

  “We would be honored to sleep in the stable if you would be so kind as to show us the way Duke Riza,” Betsy said with a sultry voice and a wink. Oh my…