by Marcus Sloss
Poe wobbled while watching the progress of the creature being flayed. Donnie steadied her and mentioned she would be on sack duty.
“One last thing before you go starting your own. Save the privates. They sell well. I will instruct my men on bagging your parts separate. If you run into any issues just ask for me, Tribeard.” The dvaren said and we split into teams of two.
I peeled Poe from her shock and we worked our way to a body. My bag was set beside the dead yeti and I pulled out a sack for Poe and my lava ball. I set the ball on my leather bag and unwrapped it. Immediately heat warmed our proximity. If you went too far, the cold became too much and the heat disappeared. It was certainly welcome. I went to work and used my short sword to carve off useless parts.
“Poe, do me a favor. Look away for now. I do not need you fainting when I am working a blade. You become accustomed to it eventually. When I came to Vin I was squeamish… Well, not much but the nastiness did get to me. Now I will grab a heart from a living enemy with a bare hand… I might break that hand, but the point is there. You grow numb to the blood. We are doing vital work. This body will provide and free others. That is what my mind focuses on when I…” I said while I plopped the heart out of the body. “Grab a cold heart in my hands. It is gross, and for the life of me, I hope there are some brass tubs we can warm to bath in later. I am not turning you away to scold you for your dislike of blood and guts. Merely trying to relate and keep you from falling over.”
I guess I struck a chord in Poe. She placed her bag on the other side and opened her lava ball. The area was moderately warm now, my frosted breath was gone. As I peeled the right half of the body she worked the left. If she planned to say something to me… Well, she scowled with determination and sliced away. I finished my side and scooted over to her side to work the leg. This triggered her to talk.
“Thank you for allowing me on the team. I can do this, wanted to vomit and managed to hold it in. I do need to talk to you about Donnie. I talked with his wife Mina. We got along well while you were recovering. I know Janice has taken up with Victor so you don’t seem to object to teammates binding to each other. Donnie is different though. Mina said sometimes you treat him like a brother and others like a son. I know Tammy was removed from the team when she joined your family. I would like to join Donnie’s but stay on the team. I can do this, my aura is strong, and growing rapidly. I am mumbling a bit though. Donnie and I would like to marry and I want to stay on the team… There.”
I finished the leg and she finished the torso. I flipped the body and worked the back with Poe. “I love Donnie like a brother. He was a different man months ago. I approve and hope you are happy. I hope to get more human males to knock down the ratio of men to women, but it seems males are used to die even more as slaves. I hope you find happiness.” I sighed as we finished the skinning. I looked around and the dvaren were making quick work of the battlefield. “Only a few hundred more to go. Start sacking the key parts while I dismember the rest. I am sure Tribeard will send someone over to load this meat up. I want to save the other bits for the rats or fish bait. Looks like Snomer has an update. I will join you when I can Poe.”
I collected my items and slung my bag on my back. A double check ensured I was not leaving anything behind and I went to the dvaren boss while she went to the neared body. I saw her feebly trying to behead the body and failing. I wanted to save her the effort, then decided to let her work out her issues.
“Emperor Gryff, we have fantastic news!” Captain Snomer said. The dvaren were normally dapper and drab. This was unusual. “There is the largest colony of walrus I have ever seen. Millions upon millions. If there are that many here then this tundra is probably loaded with them. It is as if the gods dropped trillions of fish for millions of walrus for tens of thousands of predators. I could be here for years and years with endless work.”
I got some of that. The rest went over my head though. “Okay, how do you want to proceed?” I asked.
“I don’t. I want to go back to the ships.”
“We just got here today. We haven’t even seen or killed an ice cat… sorry, icraw. Why would we go back to the ships?” I asked confused.
“We need to build an outpost. You have been here now and can guide your portal shaman to our base camp. You need to trust me and give us our own shaman. They are not cheap but we can do so much with one here. We are experts at this, let us work with those in Uhara. We will build a camp here as a go between. With your earth magic and our know how we can build one of the largest yeti and icraw farms ever. There are literally so many fat walrus down there they don’t even worry when a few die to predators. What we lack is mobility.” Captain Snomer said with excitement.
If he was giddy then I was pumped too. This would fix our food problem with a base here too. Assuming I didn’t bring more people to immigrate than we were producing. I think I was grasping what he wanted now.
“You want to send me home so you can do this properly. You are requesting easy access to a team of mages and your brethren in Uhara. That way you can move meat home, rotate troops, bring new troops, and handoff young icraw as well as yeti to sell. Plus you can farm walrus, which will help with food. The whole time you will manage populations and be a producer…” I phrased it as an unasked question and he nodded. Well damn, I wanted to kill more stuff. “Okay let us clean up these bodies. Haul this load back on the boats and I will head to Bavie. I hope to be back here myself in seven days do you have enough supplies?”
The dvaren laughed. “There is enough meat, clean snow, and space we could live out here for years. I don’t even want to tell you some of the horror stories of surviving on the ice. This is not that case, especially if you leave us some lave balls.”
“I can do one better,” I said as I pointed in the direction of the ships. “We have four lava rocks in a chest on board. They will heat an enclosed village no problem. So while I am sailing north. I want a full list of what you need, and attach dvaren to send north to ensure our return is swift. I will aid them… It will be their job to get your supplies though. Then design your layout for your outpost. An earth mage will build it over a few days unless I send a team… Which I might. While that is happening I will work on another shaman to bind in slavery that can portal. If not, Roz will have to do. I should have enough…”
Snomer interrupted me to interject. “I don’t think you realize it yet human. I am ecstatic. That is almost nonexistent from me. These bodies. Just the fur and meat would have paid for my unit. Yeti have been overfarmed. Their meat is a delicacy. Their young which we will get out of the caverns sell for ten times what one of my troops would go for and that is on the low end. Let the stones filled with souls do the talking though.”
“You are saying this is a major economic boon. I was not expecting the dead to be worth this much… Yes, this changes things. I will divert as much as I can to see you get everything you need. It will probably slow the development of Uhara but that city does farming and fishing. Do you want me to leave the two ships or take them home? If I do will need rowers.”
“We clean this battlefield. Load the ships minus me and one company. Send them back with more dvaren from Uhara. Tell Major Ista and Ponisa I need at least another company of troops and a few hundred dvarettes willing to brave the cold. Make sure you stress you can heat the climate here. That should get us the support we need. Enough gabbing though. Time for some hard work.”
I nodded as he went to the body closest to him. I found Poe with minimal progress completed. A pile of vomit steamed beside her, it was forgotten though as she sawed at the chest looking for the heart. I lopped off the hands, feet, and vagina of the female yeti. This one was smaller, making me wonder if it was young or the lady yeti were naturally less stout. We worked the body and Donnie came by to collect the meat. I saw the two smile at each other. Yup, they were in the young couple romance stage. Good for them.
We set to work for hours. The sunset before we finished and a vole torch il
luminated the area from on top the highest sled point. It was well into the night when the caged sled was loaded with the pieces of the dead yeti. The only thing left behind were small gore bits and the blood. On the outskirts of the light, I saw an arctic fox get pounced by an ice cat. It was at that moment I did not regret getting to fight the icraws.
They were thirty feet long and ten feet tall. There was no color on the one I saw as it was all white. The claws were large and its teeth made quick work of the fox it caught. They probably had ten feet of reach with their long front legs and massive paws. I noticed even the claws were white. This was an apex predator and in a large formation with long pikes seemed manageable. To my team of twelve, a single one would have been a challenge. As it ate the fox we were watched as we retreated toward the shoreline.
The march in the night went by quickly. The entire time Janice kept reminding me to collect some ica seeds for catalysts. I got tired of it, but she stressed our need for them and their easy accessibility. When we hit the shore even Captain Snomer and his teams yanked bushes out of crevices. We came to the Vartin Tundra to pillage a few catalysts. Instead, we decided to build a new base for profits. By the time we dropped off the lava rocks and stored all the yeti parts the sun was rising again.
I was the last to leave the shore for those heading north. I said farewells to Captain Snomer and his team. He wished us safe sailing and I was rowed to the Tightseam in a dingy by the crew of the ship. When I retreated to my room I had not slept in almost a full day. Nexa and Ahris helped me out of my armor. The two were bundled up in custom fur onesies. While I was cleaned I put two lava balls in the room from my bag. I should have left one here, in my defense though, I thought they were coming to shore.
Once I was clean and the room heated up, the ladies pulled out books. They shed the furred outfits and joined me naked in bed. The light was enough for them to read and enough for me to sleep.
Before I drifted off Ahris spoke. “I need a contract of secrecy please Gryff.”
“Uh… I guess. Ominous much.” I said and sent the tendril of yellow magic out. It was accepted, then Ahris and Nexa kissed my forehead.
“We are pregnant… How… we do not know. We have never been able to produce offspring outside of elvath males. This will be a first. We guess it is the magic gifted to Vin by the retreating four. Given the way your men leer at us and the amount of us elvath in Fernlan then others may already be pregnant. You introduced sex starved hotties to men and you will get sex. I want you to know. I have no idea if our children will be a mix, or what. Time will tell. Just know we are not increasing our labor time until we talk with Lady Linzy,” Ahris said and both elvath snuggled into me. She saw me drifting off. “I know you are not as excited as we are but this is a big deal. Back when our might was at its peak our warriors were nigh impossible to defeat. If we can start to rebuild our population you may end with the perfect combination in your armies. Dwarves to halt enemy lines, Griffins for air, humans for calvary, and elvath for archers. Dream of victories Gryff… Dream of defeating the seven.”
They sang me a sweet melody that I could not resist. I wanted to talk but I was too tired. I fell asleep quickly.
CHAPTER 20
We arrived in Bavie seven days later. We had to tact into a headwind for three of those and at one point powered across the water with only our oars. I utilized this time by learning more about elvath culture. They were avid students of all things. The concept of regulating themselves to one expertise was foreign. The ladies showed me how they could paint, dance, sing, sew, and cook with mastery. Those elvath were divine at cooking. Then it settled in… They were so old, they were masters at almost everything they did. Including sex, which I was afraid I had grown accustomed to. I worried my wives would be stale without the same abilities as the elvath. I had to let that line of thinking go. The elvath, while they had amazing vaginas, were not the type to attach. I had deep meaningful love for my wives. Nexa and Ahris were as much fuck toys for me as I was for them.
There was another important development during the boring voyage home. I knew I could see air magic. I could trace the white tendrils when they were cast, and I saw Lily fix Tammy’s air shield. I had Ovas instruct me on the basics. Three days into the trip home I had finally learned how to cast a poorly assembled silence shield. I accomplished the ability to increase the volume of my voice. Those two spells were starter spells and every day I drained my aura on them. There were no catalysts for me to practice with. So I decided to improve my basic abilities to pass the time. Both Nexa and Ahris were boosting my aura meaning I could practice more and increase why white aura rapidly. When I asked how I only had contract and air unlocked all the mages shrugged. I was not the norm.
When we entered the port of Bavie I felt confident in those two spells. The docks of Bavie were abuzz with our arrival. Thousands of idle hands came to help us unload. I sent the local griffin north to fetch Roz, we were a few days early and I wanted to ensure she got to us soon. There was no room for the two hundred dvaren to fit in my estate here. After half a day of moving my team's equipment and our haul of yeti remains, Roz showed up at the portal.
“Good to see you Roz. Uhara first, these dvaren need to talk with their kind. You can fill me in while they march.” I said and the portal was spun up crisp in its design. I could tell when she was fresh which was good because we might be moving around a lot today.
“Afternoon master, I lot has transpired in the last two weeks. Pick where you want to start. Finances, purchases, or development. Keep in mind I can only answer what pertains to my limited knowledge. Your wives do not include me in much of running your Empire.” Roz said without any disdain.
“How about finances then purchases and finish with development,” I said as a black portal to Uhara materialized from Roz.
“You are wealthy. I almost was caught though and I have plenty of spare bibles I could not sell. I went to every trade hub bank I could and offered the books. The thing is some cyclops from the bible crafter guild caught on. While the Horde does require their bibles to be perfect they expect them to still be unique. A faded dot, or longer letter. Your bibles are duplicates. While they cannot say they do not meet the standard… Which they do. They did ban me from selling more. So you would have to buy a fresh bible of different penned work and copy that one until it was discovered. Or you could just move on. I suggest you move on. I collected forty million souls worth of stones. Most of that is not in a bank. It is in your dungeon above Fernlan. Which there is more to that but let me go to purchases.
“Urshoe bought a thousand goblins. She is figuring how to manage your Goblin Isle as we call it. That sand is tough, and there are baby creatures that eat the goblins when they dig down. She has a few proposals ready for you to approve. You will need an earth mage to manage the upgrades she has planned. The second biggest slave market has a large sale tomorrow. The lower tier ones got overloaded with humans when it was obvious you were an elvath disguised as a human. Many, and I say this in probably millions of your male human slaves died in fighting pits over the last two weeks. Your value has plummeted to almost worth the same as a goblin. I asked for approval and your, wife Empress Amber approved. She was cranky while is resting in bed with your baby. Stop… Do not ask me about your offspring, they are a guarded secret at least from me. I purchased three hundred thousand females for three hundred thousand souls. It has been a never ending process of spreading them out in your empire. I only urgently purchased those because they triggered a warning they were going to be converted into stones. Meaning they were sentenced to death to provide value. Since I bought them all, the price has increased slightly. With you back, I should be able to get a few million more without overpaying. Mind you, its twenty to one female to males.
“Development… The largest development is there is another portal caster in your dungeon. His name is Virtue. He surrendered himself into your care and has been provided for. I like him, he is an ancient scholar among us shaman
s. I think he wishes to study you. I could not accept the contract he offered or could your wives. It will require your scrutiny. The dvaren have been having me move around materials to develop Uhara and with the move today I am guessing I will be traveling to the snow soon.”
This was a lot to process. The entire time she talked the dvaren had removed themselves from Bavie. It was time to go home and I was excited. “Excellent. I will have much to catch up on. Take us to Fernlan… Wait… Study the tundra basecamp from my mind.” I ordered and she touched my head, her orange eyes watching me. “Basecamp… Now remove your hands, thank… as you were. If I get detained in Fernlan here are your orders. You are to prioritize two main objectives. I want all the goblins Urshoe has on Goblin Isle moved to Fernlan. Have her stage them in the western fields for slaughter. I need the hearts and the griffins will feast on the bodies. Assist the dvaren in establishing the tundra basecamp. It is our next economic powerhouse. Then try to get me to go to the market tomorrow. If not buy only… I repeat… only human, dvaren, and elvath slaves. In reverse order. I do not need some fairy that may help plants but ends up making my children grow four arms. This planet has effects of magic I want to understand before more surprises shock us. Okay, that should keep you busy. Generate the portal now. I have some babies to see and a shaman to talk to. And probably a million meetings.”
I watched Roz nodded in understanding of my orders. She formed a neat portal to Fernlan. My team and I stepped through.
∞∞∞
It was slightly warmer in Fernlan… My goodness, the changes completely blew that fact away. A second larger Zenith was mid construction. I craned my neck looking up trying to find the end. A team of griffins were maneuvering earth mages on their back as the structure grew. I glanced over to the government building and a hundred foot castle was erected over the area. It rested on top of the stilts for the under market. Dais entrance had been expanded with multiple elevators popped up on the western fields. People mixed with evlath flowed everywhere. There were so many women and a lot of the elvath were bursting with pregnancy. Oh damn…