Lirkon thanked me for leaving them alone. Lydia told me how males were dumb, and how they should birth cubs. I avoided any argument and told them to let me know if they needed anything. The request was for meat, lots of meat for when the cubs were born. I pinched my nose in frustration at the fact I once again needed a runner, maybe I would hire three shadows to follow me around. Probably quiet Bella about me doing menial tasks. I should have told Velia and Pipi to hire a team of servants. Hopefully, she reads my mind and gets a few.
The second dugout was empty besides some materials and tools for crafting clothing and leather armor. Which reminded me that I should probably hire a seamstress. Maybe I had, something to check on at least. The items were light and easily carted away. Once the cavern was empty, they let me know they were ready. Fae placed the ogre heart against the back wall raised on a small rock. It was a dark purple, and as large as Zack's head.
“Lord Gryff, I will need everyone to stay back. You can be in the cavern. Avoid stepping between the heart and us earth mages. I will... Hey, what are you doing?” Zack said to Lirkon as he pushed his way beside the trio. “Okay I guess he wants to watch, he say anything to you?”
“No, but if you feel his aura aiding yours I would not be surprised. He seems grumpy because his wife is having cubs. I would start the spell before he changes his mind.” I said as the griffin huffed in agitation at me calling him grumpy.
Patti took charge and launched her aura into the ogre heart. I could only see the faintest trace of the aura as it transferred into the heart. Then Zack, Fae, and Lirkon joined the spell. Patti had her eyes closed and chanted in a deep slow voice.
“Earth obey me, earth I command, earth do what I demand!”
“Earth obey me, earth I command, earth do what I demand! Earth obey me, earth I command, earth do what I demand! Earth obey me, earth I command, earth do what I demand!”
At the end of the fourth chant, there was an explosion of blinding brown light. The end of the dugout was gone, now becoming the entrance to a cavern the size I had never seen. A twenty-foot wide ramp descended sixty feet lower at a gradual decline. The ramp extended a couple hundred feet deep into the cutout. Where the ramp connected to the bottom deck was the central point of the village and the cavern. I took a few steps down the ramp to get a good view of how much space there was. It was too dark to get a vivid details and I immediately wished for a bright light. I gave a loud cry and it reverberated back much slower than I expected. I was baffled at the scope and size of the vast subterranean area. The height was much larger too. This was beyond what I was prepared for.
I looked over and saw the mages had not collapsed. Fae had a confused look on her face, while Patti and Zack were in open shock. Lirkon chuckled at their surprise that sounded like a hyena laugh.
“So... That just happened. I never knew they had so much aura. I barely used twenty percent of my total. He fed so much into the spell the limiter was the heart. Not to sound ungrateful or demanding, but if we can use him or other griffins we can have your bathhouse and roost completed today.” Zack said.
“On our way!” Sly, and two other griffin voices I did not know said in unison.
“I hereby name this cavern as Dais!” I proclaimed and so it was. It took a few minutes for the shock to set in at recent events. Both the sheer size of the cavern and what griffin aura meant to our projects going forward.
“Which building should we start with Gryff,” Zack asked.
“No more buildings today, we will wait. Let us not rush this. In this diagram, the ramp down is on the edge and not in the center like it actually is. This cavern is significantly larger than we expected and that means we should redraw some plans that go with the actual layout and dimensions. I will get the torches I bought in Lakeland brought to partially illuminate the space.
Tomorrow I want a few draft layouts posted on the bulletin board. Spend the rest of today figuring out the best way to utilize this space, I will have the griffins make some plans carved into wood for how they want their roost. Once we are ready tomorrow we can start putting buildings up.”
Everyone in the dugout still seemed to be in shock at the results of the spell. I nudged Nate out the doorway and as we left, Sly and two griffins I did not know came in. They walked down the ramp a few paces and then flew around the dark hollowed-out space. We left them to it while getting the torches. A few men who had been waiting outside in the rain with the covered wagon went back in to unload the crafting supplies. We passed by them and went to the fourth dugout for the torches. We loaded up and brought them to Dais.
The underground area was so vast that the dozen magical torches barely beat back the darkness. I would need to find a way to illuminate the place from the ceiling. I would talk to Lamont when he got back. As we were hanging the torches a dozen griffins swooped inside and consolidated into Dais. They were excited and planning exactly how they wanted the roost to be built. As I left they assured me they wanted to wait until tomorrow when Lord Nova arrived. They said if we started something this grand without his input he may become offended. And we could not have that.
I spent the rest of the evening hoping the rain would settle down and I could get some wild land work done. There was no reduction in the torrential downpour. I ended up spending the evening going over paperwork, eating a large meal, and then retiring to my chambers for the night. Bella was insistent that we practice our baby making skills deep into the night. I fell asleep with a big grin on my face, content with life.
CHAPTER 10
I had finished reviewing the proposed plans for Dais. The one I liked the most sectioned out the underground space into four zones. A whole quarter was devoted to large residences and apartments. There were to be three layers of two story houses, with only the first layer to begin with. Family sized homes came in three, four, and six bedroom options. A vast improvement over the hovels of Fernlan. The single room apartments were one per floor with ample space. I wanted something away from the slums of Lakeland, and tiny houses of Fernlan. They would not be furnished but the layouts were very nice, and I felt people would want to move into them. I figured I could give them to residents free for six months and then charge a small rent. Contract employees had housing provided as a perk in their paperwork. Not many of my contracted personnel had moved their families but if I built nice homes and had a good economy going that would change.
Another quarter of the cavern was partitioned off for the mage academy and the roost. The plan I liked here was having them close together. The problem was I did not have actual blueprints for either building. While a quarter of the space was immense, without the plans I had no idea how much area they would actually need.
The third section was for a bathhouse, inn, market, shops, and storage. It went to three stories and had two levels. The second level would be built as needed but for now, there was more than enough room. The final quarter was allocated for expansion or if the roost, and academy did not fit into one area.
The earth mages were sure to run into some issues with such a large project. I had faith in them though. I still wanted to move the actual stables for the animals underground. I had no idea if Dais was directly under the northern fields or if it was deep enough to allow the stables even if it was. It was on my to ask list. I stacked the papers neatly, signing off on the ones I liked and setting aside the disapproval ones.
I was walking to the door to leave my room when a knock sounded. I opened to see Donnie, in a matching suit of armor to mine. He looked like a proper young warrior. The bonus was I noticed he was dry. That meant the rain had stopped. No lazy day for me.
“Welcome back Donnie. Remember those smelon trees? I want you to find the Fearless Company, they have a leader named Una. Get them ready to leave the eastern gate. I will meet you over there soon enough. Going to scout with a griffin for you guys. Oh, and bring a cart.” I said to him.
“Yes, Gryff. And thank you, Mina and I had a very nice time in
Lakeland. The armor is very excellent, thank you. I spent some gold on a better sword and shield that came with a matching sheath and pattern. I also bought a few nice bags. Here is one for you. There is rope, a hook for climbing, a torch, fire starter, and a few other things the merchant said would help any adventurers.”
Well, I am... I should have gotten one of these myself. I must have missed the vendor or maybe he went into a local shop.
“Awesome find Donnie, I appreciate it. I will get armored up myself and then strap it onto my back. Fearless Company, eastern gate. See you soon,” I said, then went back in to get fully geared up for the day.
Ready to go I exited the Inn and saw Zack talking with Elan out by the town center. I jogged over and approached the two.
“Morning Zack, Elan. Here are the plans I approved. Start with another inn, give it a name besides Inn. Then work on a bathhouse. Once I get the roost approved that will take priority. I am going to speak with the griffins. If you see a griffin following you around like a puppy, it is to help with aura. If you think it is for food, well you probably are also right, they eat more than I do. So find Fae and Patti, and build me a city under the earth. Oh quick question, is Dais underneath the stables? If so can we build the stables underground and utilize the fields above ground? I was thinking you wouldn't want the animal smell around Dais, and also a smaller ramp for daily movement would make more sense. Maybe only ten feet under the earth for the stables. ” I talked in coordination with my hands. I dove down and circled a landing area, it was all overdone and not followed. I still felt I had tried hard to convey my words with my gestures.
“Thanks for the paperwork, I will get started building. I will go over to the griffins in a bit and see who follows me. As for the stables, yes they are above Dais, but it is not a big deal. They are over the proposed business zone. We can make a level only ten feet deep, would probably only take five or six goblin hearts. I would place it on the low priority list though, most things are wild. The stabled animals like the ducks, sheep, runtlets, and rabins are all in decent homes at the moment. What I do recommend is adding a large storage section under the griffin landing pad. That way you have one central point where things are stored. The dugouts are spread out and hard to organize.”
“Fair point, consider it approved when you can actually get it done. Alright have a good day, I look forward to seeing the progress. If you need something I want you to bother this guy or post something to the bulletin board.” I said pointing to Elan.
I gave them each a wave and I was gone. I passed the Inn again and went down the ramp to the western fields. I stopped by the first dugout to do a quick check on Lydia, who was still in labor. The only thing they wanted was some water. I went to the well and got them a fresh bucket. She thanked me and said she thought any hour now. I left her to it because I was not sure what else I could do to help. Phen was on standby if he needed to do birthing stuff. Not my field of work.
I entered the second dugout that housed the entrance to Dais. Instead of running down to where the griffins were I called out for whoever was going to be my scout for the day. Traz came flying up from the dimly lit bottom and landed beside me. He was saddled and ready to go.
“Morning Traz, we are going to recon the northern gate and see if any orcs were left behind. Then we will go over and scout the eastern gate. There are two ripe smelon trees over there I want to get plucked before the fruit goes bad. Then off to the oat fields. After that, we will give a report to Una, then north to scout the orc settlement and then west of that to find the village Xiq. It should be a fun filled morning of flying and looking for bad guys. Any questions?” I asked.
“No, I am happy to get in the air and away from the roost debate. It is going to take Lord Nova to get them to come to any consensus. Some do not want a below ground roost, others want it deeper. Some want it tall, others wide. It goes on and on. I want a space for my mate and I to make some cubs, then a nice place for the cubs to learn the ways of the past. It will be hard to teach them to hunt with the rules of the peace accords. See, even I am going off about it. Let us leave the drama here and fly,” Traz said then lowered himself so I could get on easier. I thought of bringing Deb when the little monox scurried to me and up on my armored shoulder. I wondered if they had some telepathy, or if it was coincidence.
I was firmly seated when Traz shot us out of the dugout and into the clear, blue, cloudless sky. You almost would have never known there was a storm until you looked down. The fields were flooded, the river at its highest point yet. Everywhere I looked there were pools of water from the heavy downfall of yesterday. People moved through the village going about their tasks. Trees were being chopped down, fields being worked on with Rabins, the streets being cleaned, and old buildings being torn down. I saw a sawmill being setup, as well as the fire from Dennis' forge producing smoke. I saw the bow targets set at the end of a range that a lady was practicing at. The village was alive and well, growing and improving. That made me feel proud of it as we flew north. The covered crate of food sat where I had left it yesterday. I had Traz bank a turn and fly slow over Elan who was still outside the town center. I told him to bring the crate into the village and put the food to use, either in storage or today's breakfast and tonight's dinner.
We got to the spot where the young orc had paced all yesterday, his footprints heavy from his back and forth movements. Last I had heard he was there before sundown, now he was gone. We spotted three scouts left behind and saw clear signs that the main force had vacated the area. Traz moved us high and slow over the eastern gate. We passed into the barrier and back out, I was not sure how high it went but apparently, a few hundred feet up and the barrier still existed.
We had reached the boar trail and turned south toward the smelon tress when Deb let out a screech and pointed. It was hard to see so Traz glided lower. The trail now had a few traps on it and about a half dozen orcs watching them. They spotted us and I had Traz do a wide sweep of the area to try to find a second back up force. There were only a few sporadic youth scouts, and no big force to aid this half dozen if we attacked them. We checked the oat fields and saw a few grazing deer and one of the young war boars. Traz got excited about that and wanted to ditch the day's plans. I convinced him to turn us to the eastern gate to make our report.
Una was waiting there with her men and Donnie. Eleven total, all ready to fight. I had Traz land right beside Una to tell her of what we saw.
“Donnie knows this area semi well. You keep going east until you hit a wide boar trail, not even a hundred feet south of that is a squad of six orcs waiting in ambush. They saw us, but there is no large backup for them anywhere close that we could see. There are sporadic scouts in the area left behind by the main orc force of last night. They may come to the fight if the sounds of the battle reaches them. I want nothing more than to join you but I have orders from the King and Duke to scout Xiq. I am going to leave this one in your hands Una. Have Jak waiting here for any potential injuries from the fight. Even if it hurts your pride send for Bella if you exhaust Jak's healing and need more. Any questions?” I said.
I wanted to go so badly with them but they were my hired help. I had other things to accomplish this morning. Sometimes you have to miss the fun. Oh well.
“We got this, my lord. Go do your scouting, between my men, and Donnie's knowledge of the area we will be fine. Danny, that ass of a man right there has a monox also, so we should be able to pick them out no problem and avoid the traps.” Una pointed at the only guy with a monox. It was pretty easy to identify which one Danny was. “I will ambush the ambushers if they decide to stay after being spotted, if not we will disarm the traps and return with the smelons. I will send a runner for Jak, you go scout.” Una said in a formal manner.
“When you swap out with Nate and the Knights of the Frontier, have them take the horses to the oat fields. Donnie knows where it is on the map, fifteen minutes east of the smelons across the creek. We saw some deer a
nd a young war boar in those fields. Have them try to get a kill. Or you can feed the horses if you finish the ambush, and fruit picking quick enough. Good luck and may the gods bless you all,” I saw Una's face contort at the thought of handling the horses, I bet she chooses not to rush.
I pulled ever so gently on Traz's saddle and we were off. I wanted to see the fight, but if Una played it right, it would be a while before the battle started. I told Traz to fly over the goblin and ogre nest south of the village. I had him take it nice and slow so we could see if there were any fresh footprints in the wet ground. There were no signs, so we proceeded to head north. If my day ended early, I would head down here and set up more fishing lines.
We flew over the battle spot with the ogre, a few wolves were roaming the area teamed up with some monox. Deb chirped at them but I doubted they heard her. Then we flew over new territory for me. There were endless pines, ferns, and underbrush. The only thing that broke up the monotony was the partially overgrown northern road. We spotted the odd scout, and a few orcs hunting. The new chief who retreated back to his settlement had probably realized he now needed a new food source.
It took an hour to see Xiq silhouetted on the horizon. I had discussed it with Traz on which to scout first. He said Xiq over the orc settlement because they tended to be less active midday due to the bright sun and heat. So we went northwest and followed the road. What I did see of Xiq worried me. A square wall used to protect the village homes and businesses. The wall had severe damage to it and many holes in its defense. Signs of battle were evident even this far out. There were burned farmhouses and abandoned farm fields all around the village. That told me this place relied on farmers for its existence at one point. The fields still produced some vegetables fighting against wild growth. The entire village looked neglected and abandoned.
Gryff Boxset Page 26