Gryff Boxset

by Sloss, Marcus

  “I will be at the Inn checking on Jak. Thanks, Donnie.”

  The lad bolted away with his shield bouncing on his back. The young man made my life so much easier. I wonder how he would take it if we got enough adventurers that he needed to stay home. Ah, can't plan everything right.

  I walked up the ramp and went to the Inn. The front door opened with a creak and I was greeted to a bar room on the first floor. Tables were sporadically placed with wooden plain chairs around them. The bar and bar stools sat dusty and were as empty as the liquor shelves behind them. The door had rang a small bell at my entry alerting Melina. When she came around from the back with an apron on I greeted her.

  “Melina, well met. I am Gryff. I appreciate the deal you made for my healer to stay here. I hope he is not too much a bother.” I knew this woman had bad blood with Velia, but I hoped to start fresh with her. Especially if I had to get past her to see Jak.

  “Welcome Gryff, been hearing good things about you. That Jak boy healed my sprained wrist and I have never had so much energy. Thank you so much for hiring him. I will tell you what, I know me and your girls down there on the western fields had a bad split, but they all are welcome to visit Jak. I promise no hassle from me. I hear you might be making a trade run from here to Lakeland. I acquired the purest of gold coins and could use some supplies. Here is the list I had prepared.” Melina handed me a paper list. The penmanship was excellent... wait for it... or was it penwomanship?

  I had to give the old lady respect. She was prepared, cordial, and I couldn't help but want to say yes to her.

  “No promises, okay... I have no idea if the Duke will even hear counsel with me. Or if he does that I will survive it. Then also think that Lakeland might be dry, but I will try... Shit forgot trap trainer or maybe a trap manual. Add that to the list real quick. I swear this village is lacking everything.” I said to her.

  “Elan probably has a trap manual.” Melina said.

  I walked to the nearest table, bent over, and knocked my head against.

  “You alright there Gryff?” She asked with a confused look.

  “I will go talk to Jak then see Elan. I will send a runner with change and supplies when I get back. Thanks for dropping the ban on the girls. Hopefully, you ladies can reconcile, it seems like you were close at one point.” I said to her and took the stairs up toward the rooms Jak rented.

  Before I could knock I heard an “Enter,” from the second room.

  Jak was sitting in a chair behind a desk reading a manual. A bell rang downstairs and I saw Donnie enter the Inn.

  “Donnie go to Elan and see if he has any trap manuals. If he does ask for a fair price and have him collect from Velia.” I hollered down at him. The lad nodded and was gone again.

  “Off to the wild lands, I take it?” Jak asked.

  “Yuppers, wanna come?”

  “I will pass for today. Word has spread that I am here and have an established healing spot with a quiet room. Melina said I would be busy. Been a while since a healer has been here in Fernlan. I am sure there are many with issues they will only discuss behind closed doors.”

  “Fair enough, do me a favor and save enough energy in case I get hurt. Cut off patients after a certain point until I come back safe or injured. That way I don't show up with my guts hanging out and you tell me Susie had a sixth toe you had to fix so you are out of aura.”

  We shared a laugh with this and he nodded. We shook hands and I left the Inn toward the town center to catch up to Donnie and Elan. Donnie stood outside with some papers in his hand.

  “Got these for a copper. Elan said it was a good deal, would cost a few coppers in Lakeland.” Donnie said.

  “That is funny. These dusty papers were sitting on a shelf waiting to decay. Supply and demand though right. Good score kid. Now let us go off and see what that cranky pregnant griffin has found.” I told Donnie.

  “I am not cranky and hurry up so I can go back to napping.” I was notified by Lydia.

  Damn, how far could griffins hear? How could she talk to me this far away?

  “Let’s hustle kiddo, the mighty, majestic, and beautiful Lydia awaits us,” I said.

  “Damn she can hear from far,” Donnie swore.

  “Apparently,” I said to him and we jogged to the eastern border.

  CHAPTER 5

  We past the last of the rundown buildings and found Lydia napping in the trees. She had knocked some pines down to make a clearing and was folded up inside it.

  “Took you long enough human.” She unfurled from her nap position to reveal a map drawn in the forest dirt. It was surprisingly descriptive. My art skills were horrid. I would have drawn a square building for the village, two squiggly lines for the river, and a stick with fluff for trees. Somehow Lydia had used her talons to draw detailed trails, waterways, clearings, enemy outposts, and more. It was very well done.

  “We are here. The war boar trail starts closely here. Not too far from it at this clearing three orcs are tiring down the war boar.” She said and touched a talon the important location. “They have it trapped in the clearing with spiked barricades and numbers. When it goes for one of them, that orc hides behind the spikes and another comes out from a different side to get the boar's attention. Then it will charge the new orc who runs and hides. And so the process continues until it tires and the chieftain can make it submit to be claimed. I saw the three in rotation, with four more waiting right here. One of the four wore a crown and was much bigger than the others.”

  “Hmm...” I said thinking of how we could use this to our advantage. “Anything else”

  “Yes, off in the distance at this point.” Lydia pointed with a talon to a northern spot. “This was once a human village, it now is the orc’s camp. It bustles with the green beasts. Many are there, including offspring and goblins. I would need another flight to get better details on their settlement. The only other thing I found was the war boar’s young children. If you follow this trail south, then cross this creek, they are to the east in these caves. They are old enough and big enough to still be a threat. Well... more so to the brave little one than you. Any other questions?”

  “No we got it, thank you for your scouting. I will discuss what to do with Donnie while you return to the western shelter and nap.”

  Lydia yawned, gave the slightest nod and then gently leaped into the air. I waved Donnie closer to the map now that the griffin was gone. I explained the situation to him and then asked his opinion.

  “Mr. Gryff, to me it seems the orcs have come from far way to try to tame the war boar. With it trapped and still active we may have the element of surprise. But, I cannot recommend that. My momma and Velia would string me up if they heard I did. They would want us to go for the easier target. Did she say how big the war boar's children were?”

  “She did not mention it, only that they could still hurt us. Which, it is the wild lands, and nothing is safe. Alright, I made up my mind.”

  “I knew Lyna was wrong, you are not reckless. We go for the young boars.” Donnie said while smirking at me.

  “Uhh... About that. We will take the trail north here. At this point, where we leave the trail you will stay. From there, I will see if I can sneak up on the orcs and kill them. If it is too risky, I will fall back to your position and we will go south. Lydia said they are distracted so we need to at least try while we are the ones able to ambush. If I make this bird noise. Cacaw. Then that means I am bringing an easy target to ambush. If at any point you hear me yell run you sprint to this spot. Got it?”

  “But I can fight.” He pleaded by clanging his sword to his shield.

  “Hopefully, tomorrow we will have a trainer. Right now you have no ranged weapon and are smaller than anything we may face besides goblins. If I yell run, you run, to this safe spot right here. If you do not do so, I will never take you into the wild lands again.”

  He nodded and gave a defeated sigh as we marched past the sensation of t
he boundary. We quickly located the boar trail and continued north. We passed the smelon tree and trekked on for another ten minutes. In the distance to the east, we could faintly hear a commotion.

  “Okay, Donnie this must be it.” I looked around and found a good thick bush for him to hide. I quickly checked it for critters then pointed to it for him to get in. I took off my greataxe and two pikes. I undid the bindings that secured them for travel. I paced a dozen steps in front of Donnie's hideout and rested the greataxe against a pine tree. Another dozen steps closer to the noise and I leaned one of the two pikes against a bush.

  I walked back to Donnie who looked nervous but determined. His shield in front of him and his sword at the ready.

  “Any last questions before I go?” I asked and he shook his head no.

  I passed my staged weapons and walked carefully toward the noises ahead of me. When they clamored loudly I crouched and crept slowly. I watched where I stepped diligently, ensuring I was quiet as I could be. I moved at a tedious pace but eventually, I visualized what Lydia had described earlier. Walls of sharpened wooden X spikes closed off the clearing. Three orcs about as tall as Lyna at five foot five were exhausting the beast. These must be adolescents because the four orcs who watched them work were true brutes. The tallest with the crown was eight feet tall. The three other orcs were as tall as me at nearly seven feet. Wide rippling muscles were displayed, they only wore a loincloth and no armor. Tattoos and scars decorated their dark green bodies. I expected long savage tusks but all I noticed were two small rises from their bottom jaws. Hideous looking certainly but not as awful as the goblins.

  I took my time and watched the seven orcs with patience, trying to figure out a good opportunity to strike. I had my pike ready for a throw but only had the one, the damn things were too big to carry a bunch of. Maybe I needed to go back to the javelins. I was in an indecisive mood of self doubt when a goblin came running in from the north. The little creature approached the chieftain with bad news of some sort. How did I know it was bad? Because the massive orc picked up the goblin and launched it thirty feet into the air. It arced over the spikes and landed in the clearing with the boar. As badly as I wanted to see the goblin die a horrible death I knew this was the moment I needed.

  I watched as the four orcs focused on observing the goblin's demise. I waddled towards them as quickly and quietly as possible. I watched the ground with a determined focus not to give away my position when I felt a burning pain erupt in my left shoulder.

  I hunched over and tried to hold in my scream of agony caused from an arrow in my shoulder but failed. Not understanding what had happened, I heard a battle cry come from above me. A sudden weight smashed into my back.

  An orc had knocked me into the dirt face first by falling on me. I had been so distracted about making noise with my feet I had never glanced up.

  The orc and I both recovered from falling down. He was quicker since I had been surprised. My pike had flown away from me during my fall, I quickly got to my knees and pulled my short sword off my belt. The orc charged me with a rusty sword aiming to bury the weapon into my face. Still on my knees in the dirt I deflected the thrust. The orcs legs were exposed, and with a powerful short chop, I removed a leg. It howled in pain and crashed to the ground beside me. This orc was as small as the three in the clearing. Probably a youngling stuck on perimeter duty. I couldn't hesitate, my opponent was down in agony. I leaped up to my feet towering over his withering body and severed his head.

  I gave a quick glance toward the four orcs. Hoping by some miracle our fight hadn't been heard. Nope. No such luck. The three adult orcs and the chieftain barreled towards me in a sprint.

  I yanked the arrow out and tossed it to the ground. The arm hurt but was working fine. I quickly grabbed the body and placed it over my injured shoulder. I looked at the dead open eyes of the decapitated head and stuck two fingers from my left hand into its nose. Because... well as gross as it was to carry a severed head by its snot maker it worked. I had lost the element of surprise, and I was about to be swarmed by warriors who knew how to fight. It was time to...

  “Run!” I shouted with a bellow. I knew Donnie could hear my yell. I hoped his legs were long enough to keep ahead of us.

  The chase was on. I sprinted with my prize of a body as I was hounded by the orcs. As I got up to speed I noticed I was pulling away from all of them besides the largest chieftain. Our reckless charge through the woods had my heart pounding furiously.

  There. I caught the briefest of glimpses as we barreled onward.

  Off to the left was my staged pike.

  I was going too fast and off course to reach it. I did have a chance at my greataxe though.

  I came to a sudden stop as my feet dug into the dirt with the chieftain only a dozen paces behind me. The hulking brute of a creature gave an ear splitting war cry with flying spittle. In one smooth motion, I did two things. I dropped the head with my left fingers, then grabbed the hidden greataxe with my free hand. I bent forward and underhand threw my short sword at the chieftain's thighs. I didn't have time to watch my sword sail toward my foe. I used the momentum of the throw to spin my body. As I spun forward toward my opponent I got both hands on the greataxe and executed a mighty horizontal swing. The dead body from earlier flew off my shoulder from the movement.

  At the end of the spin, I saw the shocked face of an angry orc chieftain. He had deflected my distraction. The sword never touched him. Both his mace and shield were low on his body and unable to rise in time to parry my attack. Not that I think it would have mattered. The force behind my spin attack was massive. It shredded the orc’s left shoulder joint and tore across the body with ease. The blade cleanly parted his skin and bone, exiting under the right armpit.

  As the momentum continued my spin for another loop I felt the top half of the chieftain fly into my back with a splat. I arrested the turn and gazed off to see the other three adult orcs pause and howl in frustration at their leader’s demise. If I had to guess they had stopped to allow the chieftain a fair duel with his fleeing prey. Their mistake was my gain. I raced for my short sword and got it in my belt ring quickly. I placed both bodies over my left shoulder. I grabbed the first head by the nostrils again and managed to leverage the chieftain's head and shoulders under my right arm. It was awkward to do while I still carried the greataxe but I wasn't leaving anything else behind. I already had to ditch two pikes.

  Even weighed down by the two bodies I began to outrun the three orcs who chased me. I was tired, out of breath, and super happy to slow down when I crossed the boundary line.

  Donnie was there, hands on knees panting. I shifted my weight left and let the bodies tumble onto the ground, and tossed the heads beside them. Free of the burden of the bodies I turned to face the remaining orcs. There were no orcs behind me though. They knew better. Fighting by a boundary safe zone was suicide and a huge advantage to the humans. I simply could step out, range attack, and step back in. I let out a long sigh and collapsed down in the dirt.

  We panted until we caught our breath. I got up and kept my head above my heart to make sure I didn't pass out. My body was angry at me for running so intensely while eating so little. When we calmed Donnie asked what happened.

  “I was dumb. I never looked up. This asshole shot me from above and then tried to drop down and stab me. I got lucky that he missed his drop stab. I hacked off his leg and then his head. I had to leave the leg and a pike at the first spot. He was so well hidden in the trees even Lydia never saw him.” I said as I kicked the smaller body. I then pointed to the larger dead body of the chieftain. “This one chased me down, which I am surprised he could since I am insanely fast. I tossed my short sword at him as a distraction. While he deflected the throw I used the greataxe to cleave him into two. Check out this crown. It is fused into his head. By the gods, this must have hurt.”

  The chieftain's head had a six inch tall oval crown on it. The side of the crown was decorated with ru
nes of intricate detail. The shocking part was how the crown was attached to the head. I studied the base of the crown where it was fused into the chieftain's head. If I had to guess it was melted into his skull. The skin above the skull had angrily healed into the crown. I tested how firmly it was connected to the head by picking up just the crown. The head traveled with it into the air. Yup, it was firmly joined.

  “Looks like someone burnt this into the top of his skull. Savage, oh well. I will ask Elan or Velia about it later. Good thing you are full of energy Donnie, I need you to run to Jak and have him come heal me. Oh, and get the hand cart we forgot. While you’re down there in the western fields have a fire started. Bar Bee Que orc for lunch!” I said with excitement. I didn't care that the orc was a sentient being. I needed to eat.

  I rested while I waited for Jak to show up. He found me napping against a tree and gently woke me. I peeled off my armor and showed him the hole in my shoulder. He nodded and touched me. I felt his aura heal the wound. It was awkward but the pain and tenderness of the wound vanished. We waited for Donnie to arrive with the cart.

  Jak told me how he was done for today with his healing. He was low on aura now and that I should probably wait until tomorrow to risk further injury. I told him about the young boars that were a priority. That Donnie and I would have to risk going without his healing. When Donnie arrived we loaded the bodies onto the cart and made our way to the western fields.

  Lyna and Pipi were the first to greet us with beaming smiles. I saw Elan down in the fields talking to Velia. They stood by a new fire pit that held a dancing flame. I hauled the cart with the dead orcs right up to the pit.