Velia had her hands behind her back and Pipi was looking guilty. I gave them both a goodbye kiss and heard a 'ladies rule', in the background as we made our way out the manor.
There was a buzz of activity around the manor grounds. I stopped counting the griffins once I got past thirty. There was a lot. Lord Nova slept by the gate with his own griffin guards. Traz waited by the stable where everything started last night.
“You rise, good to see you well. I told you we would sort of protect you. If only you were smart enough to stay in armor while in hostile territory. Or if you were a griffin, well that would make everything better right. No fragile, tiny, weak body and only one aura. Poor human... I tease, we have a lot of griffins here. Some of the roosts from around the realm are stopping here to rest. We actually need a favor. We need food. You see all the rib cages sticking out of these starving griffins. Let us fix that. You got fire mages, your captain Nate has more troops, and you have a lazy patrol of six wargs with riders not far out to the east.”
I wanted to go kill dumb golems but the request to fight some wargs had my interest.
“What nonsense is this silly griffin saying now?” Nate asked.
“You two would get along so well, makes me sad you cannot talk,” I replied.
“We are working on it, he draws in the dirt in images to convey a sentence to me. I can talk and he understands and replies with drawing. It works most of the time. Did he mention he wants to kill some wolves?”
“Yeah, he did. He said some of the griffins are malnourished and need to eat and rest to keep going. It will put our golem killing plans on hold for today but we can start fresh tomorrow. He mentioned that warg patrol is now up to six and not far to the east.” I said to Nate.
“You both do know I am right here,” Traz said and drew a wolf with a headless orc. That drawing was actually very impressive. It was a big image, probably because of the size of his claw tip.
Nate pointed at the picture. “See perfect, I get it. Take the heads off some warg riders. How do we get them to attack though instead of running for reinforcements? We won't have time to set a surprise ambush so we need to do a baited ambush. Also, I would love to have the horses to fight mounted orcs. Actually, that is it. Not the horses...” Nate began talking fast as he formulated his plan. “We use one of these mules as the bait. We find some blood from some recently slaughtered animal to lure the wargs to us. Then lame a mule and have it hobble toward us. The blood brings them in, the bleating of the mule sets the trap. When they get close we ranged attack and then charge. When it is all done we heal the mule and give it extra food tonight and plenty of rest.” He finished proudly.
Traz bumped me with a paw. “I like the idea. We must hurry for it to work through. Hop on my back so we can get the blood, have Nate get his men assembled here ready to go. Other griffins will help move the troops to the eastern end of the barrier.”
I raced up his side and seated myself in the saddle. I told Nate to hurry his men, and that I would meet him at the eastern gate with the blood and we would bring the mule. Traz took off, grabbed a surprised and angry mule and flew us down to the stables.
If you want to see a man go pale quickly, show up at his place of work and demand a bucket of blood. He did not protest or even say anything, instead he went into the stables. I heard a pig squeal and then go silent. A minute later I had a bucket of blood in hand and got back onto Traz. I was told not to spill any on him a few times. I kept pretending his flying was sloshing the blood onto his back. Mean things were said.
We were the last to arrive at the eastern exit of Malvia. There was no Donnie today. I recognized Nate, Brad, Kyle, and Marcus. There was also three men and Krix. They displayed red in their robes or leather outfits. They had a bandoleer of sorts across their waist or diagonal across their chests. Vials were placed into pockets on the extra belt for easy access. Inside the clear containers was the goo and puss that made up the blood of the golems. Krix saw me eyeing the containers and mentioned they were a decent fireball catalyst. The mages had little in the form of armor and carried short swords that hung from the waist.
The new mercenaries could have blended right into the Frontier Knight's ranks. They talked and mixed with the men I already knew with ease. They were fashioned in the same way. Skirmish armor that was light and allowed them to move quickly. One carried a shield and mace. The other two had short swords and longbows.
“Listen up. We are going to jog as I talk. Nate get someone to pull the mule or team carry it. We need to hurry. We will come back for a cart later.” I said as I crossed the barrier at a light trot carefully balancing the bucket of blood. The men followed me with Brad forcing the mule to keep up by tugging on a rope. The mule, happily kept up as it was without burden. “We need to get a mile east of here and set a trap, preferably find an open clearing and something we can hide behind. When the orcs arrive with their mounts we will rain fireballs and arrows on them from cover. The goal is to avoid melee combat and down at least a few. At best the entire group. For the new people, follow what Nate or I tell you to do. Wait for the signal to fire. If you hear me talking to the air, I am not crazy, I am talking with the griffins. Speaking of which I need to check where the enemy is at the moment.”
The pace was easy to keep going and nothing too drastic as a run. We were carving our own path between the thin set of trees and small brush. I saw a few rabbits scurry from underfoot as we progressed nicely.
“I have a visual Gryff, it looks like they picked up the scent of the fresh blood. The wargs are diverting your way now. The riders are trying to fight them to stay on the path but are unable to deter the large wolves. You should stop at the next clearing you find and set up your ambush there.” Traz informed me.
We kept moving east when I saw a small downhill opening. There were some trees and a few rocks to hide behind. It was not perfect but it would do. I told the men to set up and face the opening. I then grabbed the mule from Brad and dragged it into the clearing. I tied it loosely to a tree so it could free itself with minimal effort. I heard excited yipping not far away and realized I was out of time. I quickly dumped the bucket of blood on the mule. I then thought better of leaving him because we never needed the mule. The blood was enough. Oh well, I sprinted to get behind cover.
I was beside Marcus who had some javelins on his back, the same type I borrowed for the troll fight. I grabbed two as he leaned over the rock with a crossbow at the ready. Some people stuck out a little, and there were no traps to help but we were ready. I had gotten into cover right in time.
The wargs raced between the trees, the scent of blood sending them into a frenzy. The mule heard and then sensed the predators. It went crazy trying to undo the rope from the tree... My knot held. It was supposed to slip not tighten. Awe... The lead warg gave a final burst and leaped onto the defenseless mule. The alpha locked his jaw on the mule's neck and twisted. A resounded snap echoed across the space. The orcs were cheering on their mounts as they tore apart the dead mule.
Nate gave the order to fire. It was perfect timing, the considerably larger wolves with their orc riders were transfixed on the sacrificed mule. They were vulnerable as they clumped to rip into the body. Our initial salvo caught them by complete surprise. Great balls of fire seared across the distance. Arrows whistled away seeking to reach their targets. The javelin I threw arched in deadly fashion, adding to the salvo.
Four orcs fell to wooden projectiles and three wargs were on fire. A fifth orc caught on fire from his mount’s inferno. It was chaos for long enough to get a second volley in. After that round, there was only a single warg left. The lone survivor took off at a run. It raced away from us and the dead faster than I thought possible. I grabbed the last javelin from Marcus' container and lined up the shot. The warg was at least four hundred feet away by the time I threw.
My missile shot out with such a force and speed I worried it would never land. I overthrew the wolf and it got away. It was a
risk we were willing to take, that word or knowledge might make it back. A single orc writhed in pain and was quickly dispatched by Kyle. One of the burned wargs had played dead, it lunged for Nate but he was ready and his sword gave it a killing blow to the chest.
The skirmish was over fairly quickly, and I felt awful for the poor mule I had unwittingly sacrificed. The death it suffered was gruesome. The killing blow was fairly quick at least. There were guts and torn bits of the mule all over the kill zone. Two of the orcs had open eyes staring blankly at the sky with crossbow bolts sticking out of their heads. Looks like the weapons were paying off.
To ensure no other surprise attacks happened, all wargs and orcs were beheaded. I watched as the men stripped the orcs of weapons and valuables. These orcs had purses on them but the currency was some time of stone that looked common. Not gems or gold I could probably use, but I decided to keep them to send to Lakeland. Maybe Derfran, the man who could speak the Horde language, could get some value from them. I found it odd because of all the kills we had made these were the first bodies with a purse. I shifted to studying the wargs.
Up close I realized they were much bigger than the wolves I kept in Fernlan. They were probably twice the size of my wolves, but they had to be to carry the orcs. There was no saddle on their backs and you could see from the patchwork fur where the orcs held on. These orcs were not as huge and bulking as the others I had seen with the chieftain. Nor were they as thin and young as the scouts. It was almost like they were determined to be riders from a young age and molded to fit that role. If I ever made it back to Derfran or found another Horde expert I would ask.
“Well can we haul this or cart it?” I asked Nate.
“If you can carry three of the wolves we can handle the rest. Worst case we make it partway and grab a cart when we realize it is too much. Traz say there were more coming?” Nate asked and I checked.
“Nope he said we are clear, the last wolf is heading far to the east and will take a long time to make it back to the orc settlement. So we got time.”
“Earl Gryff, I must admit sacrificing the mule made for the best distraction to get them all in one spot. As they tore apart the mule they were perfect targets. Well thought of sir.” Krix said to me.
Nate scoffed and held in laughter, and I caught Marcus smirking.
“I get it, I get it... My turn to get the abuse. It was an accident Krix. The dumb thing was supposed to slip out of my loose knot, but he tightened it. Which was probably the knot's fault and not the mules. I actually need more animals like that to haul stuff. I get tired of pulling carts everywhere, and those damn golems are heavy.” I said as I stacked the third warg on the opposite shoulder of the first two. “Speaking of heavy, these wargs are no joke. Let us return, I am going to jog to help reduce the time I have to haul these flea infested, smelly, carcasses.”
I took off west towards Malvia. I set the pace and no one was able to keep up while they were loaded down with bodies. I felt the barrier's tingle and dropped the three wargs. I turned and raced back to the men and grabbed the last two warg bodies. The men shifted the remaining heads and orc bodies amongst themselves and tried to keep pace with me. I made another trip back to them but they shooed me off saying they could handle it the rest of the way.
The griffins were massed inside the eastern gate. They hauled the warg bodies to the manor where the rest of the catch was piled. It went smoothly and the next thing I knew I was landing in front of an angry Bella. She waved papers at me with one hand while her other fist was planted on her hip.
“Hmm... How did it go?” I asked Bella.
“Terrible, of course, you were right. I am still mad that the griffins killed children, which will take me time to cope with.” She said with her nose to the air. Bella was wearing a lovely baby blue sundress that hugged her curves perfectly. My mind got wandering and I had to redirect my eyes to meet hers. “This place is better off if the volcano goes off. It will be more merciful than the starvation that will start soon. They have enough food and livestock to last this month. Then that is it, the most shocking thing here on the notes was this...” Bella handed me a logbook.
I looked down the list of imports, it had them broken down into what was purchased, what it cost, and from where. At the bottom, there were two entries that baffled my mind. Food rations, ten prisoners, Bar'nacmar the merciful. Well, this opened up another level of deception. If I had to guess the only people who would trade for human sacrifices were the Horde.
“Good job Bella, great find. Your skills surpass my expectations. If this is a trade to the Horde we need to know who is dealing with them and how. You are done, for now, I thank you for your work. Do you wish to stay here while I continue my mission or return home and manage Fernlan?” I asked her while running my hands down her shoulders until our hands clasped.
“Tough decision my love, does a wife belong at her husband's side or managing his estate. For now, I will stay here, simply to spare our treasury the cost of your constant healing.” Bella said with her nose tilted upwards. She freed her hands and folded her arms under her chest. It propped her bosom up a delicious amount to further prove I needed her in other ways. While those amazing tits were distracting I defended myself.
“What... I managed to go a whole battle with no injuries!” I said and heard chuckles around me.
Maybe this was a conversation best held in private.
“Alright come inside let us have a discussion with Velia and Pipi as well. Dinner time is in an hour so might as well spend some family time.” Nate landed beside me with Krix on Lord Nova. “I am going to retire to handle some family stuff. Nate, I need you to prepare the landing pad up top for tomorrow or maybe even some golem farming after dinner.
“Krix, someone figured out how to trade with the orcs. My guess, it was the Count himself or another viscount. Is there anyone alive you would suspect for this or are they dead?” I asked.
“The nobility managed the city treasury and trade. They are more than likely dead.” Krix replied.
“It disturbs me greatly. I wonder how many other cities are interacting with our enemy. They were trading prisoners for rations to meet the quota. Malvia is a steaming pile of shit. On one side I want to watch it burn, on the other most of the people here did not get themselves into this mess. Arr...” I paused and kicked the grass in frustration. “Joey, get me the bookshop owner. I forget his name, a nice older fellow with a young son. Send for them both... The son was Tim or Timmy the dad was...”
“Strin, earth mage Strin of Malvia. I know the pair, good man, well-mannered son. You mean no harm?” Krix asked hesitantly.
“What, no. Why would I... never mind. I am making him a Baron and giving him Malvia to rule in my name. We are annexing this festering stink pile of a town.”
“But Malvia does not smell at all compared to other cities?” Krix said confused.
“Fair point, fine. This corrupt, soon to be starving, town needs new leadership. Maybe I can save people, maybe I cannot. Least I can do is try. Now I have other affairs to attend to. Have them waiting in the Count's courtroom please.” I said and left with Bella on my arm.
I found both Pipi and Velia in our room when I arrived. They greeted me warmly.
“So ladies, it has been a whirlwind few days, seven hells a busy few weeks. I need Bella here to heal me. While it was fun Velia you are going home to run Fernlan. I only trust Elan and Una so much. Ensure that progress continues and our coffers grow. Where is Vern?” I asked Pipi.
“With Dennis. Our son loves the smithy since the fire has been going again, you cannot pry him out of that place.” Pipi talked with her hand animatedly. “Una went to the mines the day you left to dig around for more trinkets. They found some gems and lots of ore. Needless to say, Dennis was ecstatic to have real work to do and Vern is right by his side. I worry a bit but he minds Dennis very well and I do not hear a complaint about him. Were you wanting me to stay? I would like that, we ha
ve not had much time together since we have been married.” Pipi stood straighter and got more confident. “Actually I am staying, I know I am not your first wife but I will be here with you for as long as you will have me here.”
I clapped at the small performance and everyone grinned. “Perfect then you will share a bed with Bella and I. Speaking of which Velia, get us a bigger bed, one that can fit four.”
“Only four my lord? You are such a novice to Vin. You think King Horus is going to not send his prettiest daughters to try to woo you. If you do add to his lands by claiming Malvia, it will be a blow throughout the kingdom. Seven hells even disposing Count Winter and the nobles here will send shock waves around the empire. Especially when he can do little to retaliate. It would take over a year for him to get twelve men out of every city, put them in one spot and then march here. Hmm...” Bella paused in thought. “I bet they are trying to figure out a workaround. Maybe make a deal with the shaman that the empire confides in. Break a barrier to march an army with the promise of another safe place or its replacement. I would need to dig into the fine details of the peace accords. Excuse me husband, sister wives, duty calls. I will send a griffin to get a copy immediately, or see what the experts my father has can pull up.” Bella left the room with a purpose.
“I will miss you and want you to know I enjoyed our time here together. Thank you for taking me and for making me feel like a woman who is desired and cared for again.” Velia came over and planted a long sweet kiss on my lips. Pipi started to look at us hungrily. I knew the two girls were passionate about each other, and now me too. I broke the kiss before I started to lose control of the situation. Lots to do. “Awe, next time then my love. I hope you enjoy your time with my sister wives. For now, let us eat dinner and discuss less serious things.
Velia extended a hand to Pipi and to me and we left for the evening meal. Bella joined us halfway through and the conversation about life kept going. We discussed Fernlan, I got a few minor updates, I told Pipi how big and dumb the golems were. Then I got asked about the wargs. I spoke of their size, and flea covered mangy fur. I mentioned how I got the mule killed and it made me a bit sad. The girls were adorable about that. They wanted to make sure I knew it was a mistake and not my fault. They were sweet but it was super my fault. We shifted to funny stories we had as children. Some of mine were modified to fit Vin. The laughter continued as the stories rolled on. A cough from the dining room door came from Krix.
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