I took her paper and signed it then added it to my pile.
I kissed her cheek, grabbed my paperwork and made my way to Lily and Lydia before anyone or anything else got in my way of leaving.
“I am not calling you dad, Gryff. Just so you know.” The little girl said in a sassy teasing tone.
“Deal, now get serious. Get on Lydia, we need to go before we get tasked with other stuff that is on everyone's to do list. Lydia go grab that large sack over there with the stuff we need to sell. Then take us over where the creek meets the river and follow the river south to Lakeland.” I said.
I climbed onto the griffins back and noticed an outline of where a saddle had once been attached. I didn't know where to grab so I clutched a clump of feathers in each hand. Her body was too wide for me to straddle her back like you would a horse so I sat with legs spread across as wide as I comfortably could. Lily got on behind me and clung to my waist.
We slowly lifted into the air. Lydia grabbed the sack of orc parts, boars head, and random items villagers asked to be sold. We then banked gently, which I found to be easy to handle. I didn't know what to expect but staying firmly on her back was not a challenge. The entire village had gathered to watch us depart. Even a few griffins looked on, roused from their napping. We waved goodbye to Fernlan and were gone.
Who knew riding on the back of a soaring bird thirty feet long and ten feet wide would be so amazing. The way the wings beat the air into submission. The fresh wind on my face. The forward speed soothed my tensions. I took my time and enjoyed the feeling. The tall pines turned to birches and willows as we soared over the river. I saw the dam and looked for an ambush only to find none. There were a few goblins messing with the fishing lines I had robbed. They danced in excitement at seeing us and tried to get their bows to fire in time but we accelerated with a burst of speed and were gone.
Lydia beat her wings fast as we glided above the river rapidly progressing southward. We stayed slightly above the trees. The water was murky in some places and clearer in others where fresh streams entered the river. There were gentle bends where the watered slowed followed by downhill fast sections. The river stayed wide enough for a big boat. I saw lots of game trails and only a few Horde trails. It seemed like in the six months since humans had been penned in, wildlife has prospered. If the orcs were being fed by the humans then there was no reason to hunt. I was justifiably upset by how much was out here out of our reach.
The other thing that kept catching my eye as we flew were the past signs of humanity. Farmhouses littered the landscape. Some burnt down with silos still standing. Others looked completely fine but the fields unchecked and the wild fighting to reconquer the land. Abandoned boats remained tied to docks, while others were half sunk or only a mast breached the water. It was depressing, so many humans had made a life out here either to die or seek refuge in safe zones. We even saw a distant small fort that had archers on it, named Canad on the map. An abandoned outpost with no destroyed buildings gave me pause. It had no signs of life inside it, yet no signs of destruction. Too bad griffins could only land in safe zones or else I would have taken a detour.
The entire trip I had my map out and I was making notes and marks. I immediately added another item to my list. A larger more detailed map. Also some other way than an inkpot and pen. In case you guessed flying and using an inkpot... there may be some black feathers on the Lydia now. I glanced over my shoulder and Lily was ecstatic. The happiest I have ever seen a kid with wide eyes and a beaming smile.
The sun was at its peak and we had been flying for a few hours when I stopped seeing any signs of the Horde in large numbers. It was almost like the expansion of Horde settlements reached an endpoint. We were getting fairly far from the start of the human safe zones. I saw fewer game trails now, and at one point saw a team of four human hunters. As we flew over they waved our way. I waved back. They noticed I was a man and jumped for attention but we were quickly gone.
The tall gray stone walls of Lakeland were dirty with moss. Every hundred feet stood a tall square archer tower. A large oval roost dominated the city's skyline as the premier structure of height. A small moat was created by making a thin detour off the main river to encircle the defenses. A drawbridge was lowered. Not too far from the drawbridge in the fields, a lone circular stone structure stood out of place.
The fields took half the interior space the barrier provided and grew all sorts of vegetables. They went south of the city on the west side of the river. And carried on until what I had to assume was the boundary line. There was no section of trees for expanding like we had in Fernlan. Across a wide bridge on the east side of the river was the stables. Animals of all sorts were raised there. The number of different barn types, sizes, and utility was impressive. There must be thousands of animals being cared for. Every last bit of the space was being used. Lakeland was utilizing the land far more efficiently than Fernlan.
Inside the thirty foot gray outer walls were the slums. The buildings were compact and small in this section of the city. As we tingled through the barrier I was assaulted by the stench of humanity.
“For the love of all the gods everywhere, you live on a river, clean your city and yourselves,” I muttered to the air. Ugh. The slums took up the majority of the inside space. A second shorter wall was made of a tan colored smooth stone.
The second defensive interior wall was polished and clean. As were the large houses inside the new section. They were still close together, but the difference in effort, care, and size was pretty astounding. Plus this section didn't make me want to vomit as we drifted over it.
The city came to a peak where a mighty palace stood on top of a rising slope. Gardens were neatly placed inside an eight foot wall of polished white marble. Statues of heroes past, griffins, horses, and a water fountain decorated the lawn. The Palace itself was made of the same white marble as the walls. Gargoyles adorned the slanted roof and balconies stuck out of every room on the second floor. Large windows allowed viewing of the city and for the light to shine inside. At the front of the palace was a large staircase bordered by two statues of wolves.
“Lydia land us there please,” I asked her.
“It will upset them but I care not.”
We landed right in front of the stairs with a flair and a loud thud. I looked around to see a bunch of crossbows pointed at me. I raised my hands up and slowly stood. Okay, clearly crossbows were on Vin. I would bet they were called arrow thunkers or something dumb. A lady in an extravagant teal dress was getting ready to berate me when she realized I was a man.
“Lower your weapons he clearly means no harm. Standing there weaponless with his hands up and a behaved griffin around men. By the gods, I never thought I would see the day. Oh, and she is with cubs. Stay back, men. Lower your weapons, I will not repeat myself and step back.” The lady was clearly used to being obeyed and these guards were clearly not used to an unknown griffin landing on the palace grounds. They slowly lowered their weapons and backed up.
I slid down from Lydia's back then caught Lily as she followed behinds me. I checked to make sure I had all my lists... Check... Purse... Check... Okay now to grab the sack of goodies to sell. I went under Lydia and got the bag that had blood seeping out of it. It was minor amounts, as most of the heads and body parts had dried out. The lady in charge waited for me to get myself situated.
She stood with poise and a neutral face. There was no warm smile here. Based on the nice dress and telling the soldiers what to do she was someone important. Once I stepped away from Lydia and was clearly in the open I set the sack down and did a curtsy.
“What in the seven hells was that?” The lady scoffed at my gesture.
“Not sure my lady. I figure you are someone of importance and was trying to show respect. I am not from Vin and I am afraid I lack all the knowledge of its customs.”
“I am Lady Rain third wife to our great and noble Duke Riza. A traveler not from Vin who can ride griff
ins, and make them not enrage around men. Today suddenly got more interesting. Anything else you can do Sir?”
“Gryff of Redland. I am sorry for my lack of proper manners and protocol. I have business with your husband. I bear grave news of the city of Cern, and tidings from a village north of here called Fernlan.” I said to her. Lily patiently waited by my side and kept quiet. The guards with their shiny armor and sharp weapons had spooked her.
“You two.” Lady Rain said to two guards. “Escort our guests and ensure they behave while I guide them to our lord in his receiving court.” She gave a wave for us to follow her and started to walk into the palace.
We followed her with the two guards flanking us. I didn't blame her for putting an armed escort on us. We were still unknown to her. You can be welcoming, but being wary was wise.
The entry doors were massive and propped open to allow lots of draft into the palace. The air here was crisp and fresh. The foyer inside was a two tone white with black marble floor that spanned until it reached a carpeted staircase. I wondered what the carpet was made from but then thought better of asking. The stairs led to a landing that was defined by a long strip rug. On the left side, a banister provided a look down view of the foyer while the right held paintings of battles and leaders. A few statues and decorative items broke up the pattern of the hallway. I felt bad dragging a bloody sack into such a nice place.
The end of the hallway opened up into a large square room. A huge balcony adorned both sides on the exterior walls. Before the right side balcony was a platform with a large central throne and nine chairs behind it. Duke Riza sat in the central chair with no crown or flair. He wore a simple dark blue pullover shirt and tan leather pants. He had dark eyes, a short amputated left arm, and battle scars on his face. Behind him, only two of the nine chairs were occupied. The second and the ninth.
Nestled against the walls perpendicular to the stage were bleachers filled with nobles. There were maybe a hundred members sitting in on court today. Important enough to not work, lazy enough to slouch and observe. I saw the fashion and demeanor of the nobility and I quickly came to the conclusion these people would starve in Fernlan. Well, unless they had an army of servants, which they did. So I guess they might be fine. It irked me to see so much wealth on display doing nothing better than attending daily court.
Lady Rain approached an old man with a stick that stood by the entryway and whispered into his ear. She then left him and took the third chair behind the Duke.
Smash! Smash! The old man hit the stick onto the floor.
“I present Gryff of the planet Redland, not of Vin. Tamer of griffins. Here on urgent news from Cern.” The old man declared. I worried the tamer of griffins lie might set Lydia off. But I heard no griffin in anger. Instead, I heard a mix of things. Gasps from those who believed, laughter from those who thought it was a lie, and finally outright calls of blasphemy from one old man.
I tracked the call of blasphemy to a platform a few steps lower than where the Duke perched. My guess the section that held the old man and five of his colleges were advisors or some sort of council, because they were close to the Duke, but not among the nobles.
The announcer motioned for me to stand before the Duke. I grabbed Lily's hand to take her with me when a pretty young lady let out an eek noise. I paused and she rushed over and grabbed Lily's hand and led her off to the side. I guess I was doing my presentation alone. I was not comforted by how quickly I had been separated from Lily. When I reached the middle of the room I saw the Duke eye me with suspicion then take a long drink from his cup.
“Gryffffff was it? Whatttt do you come tooo begggg for?” The Duke slurred his words horribly, clearly drunk.
I had a couple of options, the wise smart man I was would make a deal with the drunk Duke and probably bribe one of his wives to enforce it. Too bad I was impulsive.
“I heard the Duke was a noble warrior. An honest man who upheld the laws of his kingdom and protected his people. I come on a diplomatic mission for the griffins of Cern. Yet I find you drunk and it is barely midday.”
Of course, this did not go over well. About the only person happy with me was Lady Rain who suppressed laughter. More comments from the gallery, but the Duke stayed silent and eyed me with a glare.
“You daaaaare?” he asked suddenly not as drunk as before.
“I do.”
“Duel? Bare knuckles, first to submit. Been a while since I fought a man as big and sturdy as you. Let me have a free first hit since I am missing half an arm,” he said proudly displaying this nub that ended before the elbow.
“Lost the hand in my first duel with a chieftain, the forearm to an ogre!” he proclaimed.
“Deal. First to submit loses.” I accepted his challenge.
I didn't hesitate. I may have been lucky with my sword and greataxe so far due to a lack of any training. If he had challenged me to a sword fight I would have declined immediately.
A fistfight meant we could end up on the ground and I had excelled at wrestling in school. Add in the fact I had size, reach, and purple aura strength I was confident I could win. I did feel like I had been played.
Both by Lady Rain and the Duke himself.
“Any objection to me clearing the wine from my system?” He asked as he walked over to the advisor seating area.
“Why? You seem fine to me. You asked for this duel. You clearly love to fight. Why not be sober and ready for one?”
A shot to his pride. The crowd gave an 'oh' gasp at my audacity. He stopped moving toward what I assumed was a healer and stomped to within five feet of me.
The announcer paced over to us and quietly asked if we were ready. I tossed the bloody sack down a few feet away. I took my armor chest piece off and placed it on the bag. I performed a quick stretch and got back into place.
Smash! Smash!
“As agree upon by Duke Riza of Lakeland and Gryff of Redland a duel of bare knuckles will commence after the Duke gets first free strike. Winner by knockout or submission.” The announcer declared loudly.
My blood was pumping and I started to get nervous. The Duke had a gleam in his eye that bespoke of an upper hand. Something was afoul here, but I was too far in to back down. I watched as he jumped toward me, his right arm swung at my face with all his might. I grimaced and tried to adjust my face to take the blow on the forehead but it caught me in the upper cheek.
Crack!
The sound echoed across the assembly room multiple times. I staggered but did not fall. My cheek felt like it was broken and it radiated with pain. I got lucky he didn't catch my jaw or I would be flat out. My first reaction was that he had the purple super strength aura also.
This time the gasp I heard came from the Duke himself. He was stunned and flat footed, clearly expecting me to go down from the hit. So had the rest of the room. A silence loomed loudly until Lily hollered “Get em Gryff!”
That broke me of my inaction. I bull rushed the Duke into a tackle that sent us sliding across the floor with me on top. He tried to get his guard up but I was fast. The first blow hit across the jaw and he was out.
“Winner, Gryff of Redland by knockout.” The announcer declared.
A shocked hush fell over the room in an awkward silence.
A healer rushed over to the Duke and revived him. The Duke immediately began to vomit profusely. When he finished emptying his gut and finally stopped dry heaving he ordered my cheek fixed. The healer glared daggers at me and muttered curses under his breath. The moment he finished healing my cheek I psyched him out by pretending to attack him. It was only a slight movement but the healer panicked in fright and landed on his ass. The whole room had a giggle as he righted himself and stormed off. I went over to my armor and tucked myself back into it.
I grabbed the bag and planned to go stand in the middle of the room when the bag's tie undid. The contents rolled across the floor.
A few ladies shrieked in terror at the sight of the fou
r bloody heads. Three orc’s and the boar’s lifeless eyes frightened the masses. Guards stepped forward in a sign of aggression.
“What is this?” The Duke walked up to the orc head with the crown attached. The neck had been cleanly severed at some point as it no longer had the shoulders attached. “And that is a war boar. By the gods! Clear the court! Reconvene in two hours!” The Duke Riza ordered and people hastily filed out.
I stood there patiently as the Duke examined the crown, then brought it over to his adviser group. His second wife got up from her chair and approached me. She was the tallest woman I had seen on Vin, at almost six feet. She was towering over the other women and even some men. She wore a riding outfit that was for function, a stark contrast to the rest of the women at court in their dresses. Her outfit was closer to what Nalia the rider from Cern had worn. That was what brought her to me, she was a griffin rider. Before she was able to corner me and talk the Duke got my attention.
“Gryff come with us into my war room where we may discuss some things in private, I had many questions before and even more now. Fret not about the little one you arrived with, my daughter Bella will keep an eye on her and give her a tour.” The young lady who had taken Lily's hand earlier nodded at us. Lily shyly waved then went with her with a smile on her face.
Ten of us entered into a medium sized room filled with massive maps. The map on Elan’s wall was tiny compared to these. I got lost in it all when I felt a poke on my shoulder. Reflexes took over and grabbed the hand. The second wife let out a cry and yanked her wrist free.
“That hurt you brute. I am Lady Ona, second wife of Duke Riza, rider of griffin Grank. I would like to see you prove you can speak to griffins.” She said to me with anger. Her squinted hostile eyes produced many worry lines.
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