Gryff Boxset

by Sloss, Marcus

  She sounded defeated by everything at the moment. I moved some pine needles and loose dirt to dig a mini pit. I collected a few rocks for a circle and piled some old hay. She got a spark turned into a fire quickly. I watched as she went over to a knocked over stable thirty feet away. She returned with a few decent pieces of wood that were dry. Once the fire built up and shimmered off heat the animals spaced out giving the fire room. The cool rain air kept us from overheating. Una got down to her undershirt and boy shorts. She propped up a log to help dry off her clothes.

  “Before you dry out go see if you can find something to cover you for when we leave. I used this board here, kept me dry.” I teased her with a wooden mock shield.

  She tried to take it from me, but I was too fast. She gave in and took off to the rotting stable. I watched her return with a section of the wall over her head. A loud creaking noise came out from behind her as the structure slowly tilted. The old stable tried to stay upright but failed and collapsed with a loud thud and a poof. Well, I did not say anything about leaving the structure as is. Oh well, we were going to tear it down and rebuild it underground anyway.

  The two of us sat in silence around the dancing flames for a while. We watched the covered crate on the road while I ate. The wolves and monox ate some more too. Finally, Una gave in and asked for some food. There was no small talk or banter, we slouched in the calm and looked on. An hour or two passed when the monox got agitated and the wolves perked up. Nate was coming over with a small Inn table over his head.

  “They said I could find you here. Got any orders for us, the men are bored. So bored they are willing to risk the rain. Especially if the work has bonus money in it.” Nate said.

  This immediately got Una's attention.

  “What bonus money, wait did you get more than ten percent, our contract is for ten percent. But there is shit all happening in this run down village. I cannot believe the Horde erected a barrier around this place. We will be lucky if we get a few coppers from bonus income. What, sell some extra fish we harvest, please?” Una said with a sneer. The girl needed a good ass kicking or a good fuck. I had done the first and was not interested in the second. If she keeps it up something would have to change.

  Both Nate and I gave her a weird look. Apparently, she was not in the know about anything around here. She blindly took the job. This made me roar with laughter. I mean it hardly mattered but to me, it was too funny.

  “Oh Una, you need to ask about work before you take it. In the past week, a half dozen orcs, an ogre, and over a hundred and twenty goblins have been harvested from these wild lands. While you were feeding horses, Nate, here used his sword as an ear picker for the ogre. Flung him ten feet, I kid you not.” I said as I closed my fist and pointed a thumb at Nate.

  Her demeanor went from a frown to an ecstatic cheer. I even got a high five.

  “Wait... so there will be fighting, and good chances at bonuses. When can we go out? How are we handling rotations?” Una asked. Maybe this is what made her become more tolerable. Insert money, add a mix of bloodshed, and she beams with joy.

  “Well, I was going to hold a meeting over dinner time with all the combat role people. Instead, since you two are the team leaders of my fighting groups we will do it now. We will split each day in half. If you find you want mornings instead of evenings you can swap every eighth day, seventh day is everyone off unless something drastic comes up. Basically, you split the time evenly. If a mission runs long, the other team gets extra time the next day. That is the easy part. Sort it yourselves, come to an understanding. Know that I want it to be fair to both parties.

  “The harder part is teaching you and your teams how to talk to griffins without words. We are going to make wooden maps and before each mission, a griffin will show you what is where on the map. There will be pictures and pointing so it should not be too bad but who knows. Right now the only threat we have is a thousand plus strong settlement to the north. Orcs with goblins have been sighted. I was going to recon it today but the rain got in the way. If it was light and I could see through it, I would still go but this is... Hey, you guys see that.” I said and pointed at the spot where the north road meets the barrier.

  We watched through the constant downpour as an orc pounded on the barrier. He was young, barely six feet. Not the next war chief for sure.

  “Get in your gear now Una. Nate, I want you to get the men. Run, when you get to the point where you can see me again send a half team to me. Take the other half out of sight to the right flank and hit them from behind. Unless it is a lot, then backtrack and tell me it’s too many. Go.”

  Nate was gone before Una got all her gear back on. “Ready for some fun?” I questioned the woman as she rapidly dressed.

  “Took you long enough to ask, but men normally ask that when I get naked, not armored. Not complaining, battle gets my blood going and my pussy wet.” She replied with the typical vulgarity she had been restraining.

  I shook my head in laughter and raced out of the wolf stable and into the driving rain. It was a cold rain that soaked my new armor immediately. I needed to swap to the kilt and metal single chest piece for rain next time. I got to the crate of covered food and slowed to a walk. I quieted the impulsive side of me that screamed kill, kill, kill. I got too excited. I was supposed to be stalling for Nate to send me back up and a flank team. All that would take time, probably ten minutes at least. I pretended to inspect the food as Una arrived.

  “Uh, let us go. Why are you staring dumbly at the food, orcs to kill? Ah, I am so excited.” Una said.

  This would actually work. The orc could clearly see us. If we argued it was a good stall tactic. Two enemies berating each other, what could you do but wait for them to finish and then hand you a pallet of food.

  “Baldwic is your trainer right. That dude would cut off your dick and feed it to you if he heard you saying let us charge the orc. You know it, I know it. We are stalling for back up, and I need to get eyes in the air. Oh, mighty griffin who is on rain duty!” I said singing the last line out.

  “We hear you human, the rain is coming down too hard right now. Visibility is poor at best. What could you possibly want?” I had no idea which griffin answered, but this one used a sultry feminine voice that was distracting. I tried to learn more of their names and get used to the voices but I had a lot going on.

  “There is a single orc banging on the north gate barrier. I am stalling as men flank him, a quick flyby off to the side. Come in low and fast and tell me what you see, check another few hundred feet out then go back to whatever dry spot you found.” I told the air as Una gave me disapproving looks.

  “A cave, I am in a cold cave, it is embarrassing for a mighty warrior griffin like me. I will do as you say but I will need a fire in my cave after... and some ogre meat. I am griffin Sly of Fernlan pride now. That is something we meant to discuss with you this morning, we left Cern for good even with the leadership changes there. We and our riders will be moving to rough it out here for now. Combat excites us and we have hope for the future with you. We heard of certain plans you are putting in motion and we want them to be successful. Enough so we are ensuring your protection. This means, even without the fire or meat, I need to go scan the orc and find his friends for you. Still, be a prince and help me get warm after. All I ask please.” Sly said sweetly.

  “A fire and some meat! No issue Sly. At the moment I am without a runner to fetch things and relay messages so it may be a few minutes until after the altercation.”

  Una tilted her head at me. “I should have a conversation with the air and see how you like it. I know, you are talking to a griffin, but still. You look beyond dumb with your facial expressions and hand gestures that only I can see. You were right on waiting, but I will never admit I said to go kill the orc without scouting. Also, I do not have a penis, so Baldwic would be out of luck. I may be a little bloodthirsty at the moment though. The men in my unit say my murder boner gets out of control.�
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  I wanted to share that mine got out of control every time but I decided to not stay on boner talk.

  “Okay, there are some of Nate's company coming. I think I am going to name them Frontier Knights, then knight them all.” I said.

  “You wouldn't, they are all wild land adventurers and before that scouts. Not knights... Forgive me, Earl, it is your shit heap of a village. Who am I to judge how you run it?” Una corrected herself.

  Joey, Frank, Carl, and both Brads showed up before I could reply. A shadow of an image raced overhead when we grouped together. There went Sly.

  “Okay, we give Nate and friends a few minutes to get set, then let us go see what our guest wants. Same as yesterday, we use the barrier for protection. Use it wisely, and for all that is holy do not shoot from within the barrier. Gents this is Una, she is the leader of the Fearless Company that recently arrived. This is Brad, and Brad, I forget where they are from, then Joey, Frank, Carl. They are tried and true warriors. With pleasantries out of the way and a loose plan, let us see what trouble we can find.” I said.

  The seven of us left the food create and approached the orc. The young male did not look happy, he swore at us. I think he was saying something about my sister, maybe my wife. Hard to tell when the only thing you understand is anger and sword swings. He stopped his antics as we got close and he retreated backwards. A quick look over his shoulder told me he was out here at someone's orders.

  “Gryff, there are near a hundred orc warriors waiting in ambush. They are well hidden and the rain made them hard to spot. It was the deep tracks in the mud further north that gave them away. I would not exit the barrier.” Sly warned me.

  Well, that blew my whole plan. “Do not exit the barrier under any circumstances. Return to the wolf enclosure and await further orders. I am off to go get Nate before he walks his men into a hundred plus orcs. Who knows how many she cannot see with the awful rain.” Since I was the fastest I bolted to the right and cupped my hands around my mouth.

  “It is a trap, fall back!!!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. The seven men materialized out of the trees and ran back to safety. I told them about all the orcs waiting in ambush. Then I sent them to get the rest of the team and head back to the Inn while I paced the barrier. Every tactic I thought I could apply to this situation did not work in our favor. It was the limiting warriors allowed out. We could try to harass and launch some arrows and spears but if they were able to time it right we could die easily when we crossed to fire. Then there is the fact they could keep backing up out of range. I already was down two pikes. I gave up on my ideas a few minutes later and left the barrier.

  When I got back to the wolves and monox, I saw they were all completely dry. Loyal guard animals, and fierce little enemy detectors, until it rained. Only Una waited.

  “The day is a wash, get it?” I said and she rolled her eyes at my pun. “Organize your men and meet me at dinner if you have anything vital. I promised a certain griffin some food and fire. When that is done I will go handle some boring paperwork only an Earl can. Thanks for the backup today Una, and thanks for safely getting the cavalry here. Think of some ways you want to start taking down some of these orcs and get back to me on that. If you need supplies, gear, or have a barracks design in mind, pin the request on the bulletin board in the Inn behind the bar. Seems everyone pours themselves beer here and it’s the easiest way for everyone to see what is on the to do list. Oh, no one gets out of control drunk, no issues okay.” I said while I pointed at her to ensure she understood how serious I was.

  “Got it, boss. The beer is free but limit ourselves. Get a list of stuff we need, post it on the board. Get an idea for barracks post it on the board. If I cannot find you for orders, check the board. I will need to see where on a map the orc settlement is and if there are any offshoot villages.” Una said.

  “Me too, as soon as the weather improves and I see the situation for myself I will fill you in. Until later.” I said and then raced into the rain without my cover. No need for it when I was already soaking wet.

  It took three caves to find Sly. I got a fire going for her then brought her a big helping of ogre. She thanked me and said the extra meat was the best. We talked until I started shivering from my wet armor and left to get changed and warm at the Inn.

  I got scolded by Bella for not sending someone else to do the little tasks. I did not want to argue back so I got dressed in fresh clothes after drying off. I went up to the extremely packed Inn. There were around a hundred people chatting or relaxing. The noise was overwhelming, and getting anywhere took time. I went to the bulletin board after a few people greeted me.

  Zack had posted two proposals for me. One was the manor basement. It used the half ogre heart and planned an expansive underground building. It included rooms, a kitchen, storage areas, a training space, and an armory. All to be built under the planned manor that I had approved last night. A note at the bottom wrote that the walls would be cold and of the earth but could be covered with wood to preserve heat. It would take some work to make it match the rest of the manor in appeal and refinement. The other half of the heart would be sold to lavishly furnish the manor from top to bottom.

  The second proposal was a giant cavern. One that almost stretched the entire village in size. It was a simple cut out below the village. A simple wide expansive open space. The measurements were a mile and half long and wide. The height was fifty feet tall. There was a note saying with more goblin hearts we could add specific sections. Then it told me to flip to the back. On the back was a rough idea about how, with time, the space would be filled. There was a large griffin section, a place for the mage academy, a barracks, and rows upon rows of large houses, a dining area, a bathhouse, and more. Zack had laid out a rough sketch of how I could remake the entire village underground where everyone had plenty of space. As I was reviewing the second proposal I must have been bumped three times from the overcrowded Inn.

  “Anyone seen Zack the earth mage!” I shouted.

  “Up here, my lord,” Zack said from the balcony outside Jak's room.

  I held out a hand open to stop him from trying to get to me. I got up on the bar, leaped to the balcony railing and hauled myself up to avoid moving through the masses.

  “Into Jak's room, maybe the door will reduce the noise so we don't have to shout.” I said to the group.

  Zack, Jak, and two women I did not know came into the room. When the door closed introductions were made.

  “Gryff, these are earth mages Patti, and Fae. They have been helping us improve the village.” Zack said.

  Patti was an older lady with gray blended into her black hair. She had seen better years and looked tired with bags under her eyes. She was frail and skinny, not from starvation skinny. Her taunt skin reminded me of an old person who doesn’t eat enough. She wore a brown loose robe with the hood down.

  Fae was the exact opposite in age, maybe an apprentice or freshly a journeywoman. She was young and vibrant as if excited to be here. She had short red hair and brown eyes with a bit of extra weight. She wore a matching brown robe and sapphire earrings.

  “Well met,” I said and shook their hands. “Alright since I have you all here, tell me more about this cavern plan.”

  The three earth mages looked at each other to decide who should talk first when Patti took the lead.

  “Well Zack and I are technically master mages, we both are fairly strong among our peers but not recognized as such by the mage academy. Fae here is my former apprentice, her aura is slightly smaller than ours, but in a decade or two time, she will be stronger. I say this because this cavern you have planned will require more aura than we have here right now. Not sure how well informed you are regarding certain spells, but the one that uses the ogre heart as a catalyst is a onetime use. There are two limiters to how big we can make the initial dig out. The size of the heart or our aura, in this case, the heart was a young male in prime health, could probably handle an
extra ten feet deep if we had five or six mages. The aura we have will do about seventy percent of this plan, but my lord, remember we still have a hundred and fourteen goblin hearts set aside. Every few days we can make this plan a reality, bit by bit, as we regain aura. If you had a prosperous city with plenty of room I would wait and hire more earth mages. In this case, I recommend using us, and get done what you can as quick as you can to stabilize the booming population. The Inn and town center have become overcrowded and now the dugouts are starting to fill.” Patti said.

  I found myself curious and excited about all they could do. “Where would you plan on making the entrance and when could you start?”

  “Right now, and we would use one of the dugouts next to the road. The supplies in there would need a new home but once we do the spell there will be no shortage of space. All we need is the ogre heart which is stored in cavern three. That, and a few people to catch us when we exhaust our aura.” Patti said.

  “Well time to get wet again, Jak you are coming with us. Find Nate and his men, tell them to meet us at cavern dugout one by the road. Have a wagon brought over to remove the goods. Alright, let us go build the foundation for an underground village.” I smacked my hands together and rubbed them in anticipation.

  We left the noisy bustling Inn and proceeded to get soaking wet. The trip down the cobbled road was muddy. I needed to get the dirt removed and the road cleaned. I would attach it on the bulletin board as a low priority task. It was the first time experiencing how disgusting the muck was. I hardly noticed the covering when it was dry. We sloshed through the mud and got to the first cavern. Lydia rested in here heavily panting. Lirkon was awkwardly crammed in a corner over the supplies trying to stay dry while he watched over her. The realization of what was happening dawned on me. Lydia was in labor. I circled my arms around the group of earth mages and guided us back out to the rain and proceeded to the next dig out.