“Minutes at most they are at the river shore south of you making fast progress.”
I swore at the gods in muted frustration. I picked up Una in a cradle and jogged as fast as I could while limiting her movement. I watched four men including Marcus and Brad ride up to the ogres to harvest their hearts. I warned them off and continued with a purpose. They raced past me when I told them to set up defenses inside the barrier. I arrived not a moment too soon.
A company of the biggest, meanest, scariest looking orcs bellowed a challenge at us to fight them. I did not stay to accept and felt that magical sensation of a tingle. I called out for Jak or Bella. When no answer came I called out for any healer.
An old man with black hair that had sprinkled gray in it approached. He laid a hand on Una and told a lady in an exquisite pink dress to catch him if he fell. He poured healing into Una, her hips reformed. Then her arteries that had been clenched closed with compression flowed freely. Horrified I watched as Una's heart pumped blood out of her destroyed legs faster than the man could heal. He noticed her pale as she bled out and fought harder to heal. He did not fall, he crumpled as if his body had no bones. The woman picked his face out of the dirt and propped his head up.
I held Una as her breathing stilled and she died in my arms.
“No!” I screamed out. Sure we had our differences but I revered her as a brave warrior. She was vital to me in ways I could not afford to lose.
Bella showed up moments too late and tried to help her sister. It was for naught, her healing flow never entered the now cooling body. I laid Una down and left Bella to grieve. Instead of joining her I decided to meander the area and check on the living.
I surveyed the survivors for more wounded and found Jak healing a pale man. The patient's color returned slightly when Jak face planted into the man's chest. I helped right him, as he muttered about being fine.
I found Nate who was slumped against a tree by four ogre hearts.
“Eight from Una's Fearless. Two from my company. Kyle, and a new mercenary.” He tilted his head back until it gave a slight thud when it contacted the tree. He closed his wrinkled tired eyes and gave an angry sigh. “I bet we never recover the other two hearts. The Horde knows how much magic they create. Let us be glad they have no earth magic. This heart with the slice, it will have to be split into two but can still be used to almost the same potency.”
I squatted beside him and the plopped down to rest on the same tree.
“This is real. This world was created by a... well... a god I know. That is where I went. I got answers from my god through a shaman portal. I am still in shock. Some good news, some bad news, more questions though.”
“Ha, I want to believe you. We know that griffin came to the Inn like the hells themselves had ascended. She rushed us to the eastern gate and pointed to the fishing spot, then the many and the scariest of bad guy images. The griffin drew an image of your face right over there. Una threatened me to get first attempt to find you when we realized what had the griffin so worked up.” Nate said and took his head from tilted back to find the spot a bunch of people stood and pointed.
“Oh, wonder what happened to King Horus. Is he... Phew, he is breathing. Odd place to take a nap.”
“The older warrior right there, huh never would have pegged him as a King. He tried to heal Una but did it wrong. He went hip down and opened up her arteries. If he had gone feet to hip she may have lived. It is things like that, that haunt good men. He gave it his all though. Hit the dirt so fast even I would not have caught him. So much for offering him a combat healer spot on our team right.”
For whatever reason the two of us found this dry stupid humor to be hilarious. We broke into a roaring laughter that caught the attention of a few. It was inappropriate but we were attempting to cope with the situation.
I went to the creek smothered in ogre and Una blood. I stripped naked and scrubbed down in the cold water. Velia waited patiently for me to finish with a change of clothes. These were new and she had stitched them together herself. It was cloth pants with pockets. I immediately dug my fists into them with glee. Velia knew she has broken a bit of my glum and kissed my cheek. I pulled over the tunic and saw a moping Bella make her way to us. She told me that we were being summoned to a meeting.
I followed Bella as we entered Dais. Luminous torches were being added to the vast cavern by workers and fire mages. It was already significantly brighter and none of the vole hearts were on the ceiling yet. We walked in somber silence down the ramp and toward the mage academy section until we got to a new building.
A four foot fence enclosed the space in a large rectangle. Inside were sectioned areas for training lessons and ranges. Every space was large enough to accommodate human or griffin. Deep into the yard, the main structure rose five stories high. It had lots of windows and a massive two story entry door. Extra bright torches adorned the walls inside the foyer.
The intense light told me these were torches that included more golem heart. We passed beside a central staircase and were lead into a private room further back.
Inside the room, an extra large table was surrounded by chairs. Engraved into the table was an intricate display of a griffin beside a human fighting an orc. At the head of the table sat King Horus. Behind him were two window cutouts large enough for a griffin to fit their heads in. I saw Lord Nova in the blazing light and did not recognize the other griffin. Duke Riza, Zack, Patti, Tarkon the water mage, Eona the air mage, Master mage Lamont, and a few other lords sat patiently. I choose a random chair not sure where to sit.
“Let us begin, I for one would like to hear a report from our allies the griffins. It would be the first time for me. If you could oblige us Earl Gryff.” King Horus said as he rotated an open palm toward the griffins behind him.
“Well met Gryff, I am King Aves, leader of the griffins. Tell him we need more food. We expect additional prides to arrive every day. It will be a struggle to get the malnourished properly fed again. Mention that we are content here, and are looking forward to our new roost being built. We thank him for bringing so many mages here so we can begin training in secret. Got anything to add Lord Nova?”
“If we use one of the ogre hearts we can have the roost built today. That would be nice, we were lucky we took too long designing it and the mages used the remaining goblin hearts on this academy and houses. Our latest design is much grander in scope to accommodate all the extra griffins. There is an endless amount of work to get to. We need food but we have those two spare villages sitting empty. I recommend we begin launching small offensives from Cern, Xiq, Lakeland, and that outpost to draw off some of the attention here. Hunting around Fernlan is becoming too difficult.” Lord Nova added.
I relayed their message to the King. The entire time I talked to him, he held eye contact with King Aves and Lord Nova.
“Adjusting to the limits of our peace accords has made my generals upset. They yearn for the days where we could battle freely with as much might as we could muster. I have reminded them that we need twelve person teams and they have delivered. I brought four teams with me. I will send two teams to these villages.” The King paused and glanced over his notes. “Xiq and Straddleback... No, new name. Xiq and Streb. Can we add a pride of griffins to each location? Help clear out the old structures so we can be ready to build the new? I will need help finding workers for those villages. I have all my construction workers underground of Tent Crossing.”
“A pride at each location works.”
Duke Riza and a few other nobles mentioned they could add support in the form of people to improve the villages. The conversation dragged on long into the day. Refreshments and snacks were brought which I demanded more off. Politely of course.
The topic turned to the ogre hearts and what was to be done about them. I mentioned that I only need one, maybe one and a half to finish building what was needed here. This got the lords and nobles salivating at the thought of upgrading their c
ities or adding new underground complexes. King Horus said he would auction the two and a half hearts. To keep infighting and favoritism down. Also because he could use the money to get any extra food the other kingdoms might have available to help feed the griffins. It was a smart and noble cause. One I felt Una and those we lost today would feel worthy of their sacrifices.
Then came the fated question of my disappearance.
“My lords and ladies. I admit I am not from Vin, and some things I am ignorant to. One such thing is that shamans can teleport through portals anywhere on Vin. I will take more precautions to not be alone again. A shaman appeared behind me while I gathered fish, he proclaimed to be the Shaman Master of Vin. Said his name was Virtue and offered me a white contract for peace talks. Why? My guess was curiosity as to who had unraveled his plans he had with the Emperor. Or because he knew King Horus would deny such a contract for discussion. He talked of possible retreat from Vin or adding more troops. I think he was used to talking to himself out loud. He then told me of things about my home world, things that do and do not affect Vin. I did not believe him until he proved it to me by taking me to see... How do I word this? My god... No, our goddess works best. I had so many questions for her. Like why did griffins hate men and how did I break the spell? Why can only I talk to them? Why was I inserted here of all places? Because Virtue was there, I got to ask very little, and learned almost nothing.”
I propped my elbows onto the table and ran my hands through my hair.
“I guess what I did learn is that Vin is vital in the expansive war against the Horde. There has to be a reason I am here. I admit I love my life here, it is one of adventure, love, and battle. The only question I should be asking you all and myself is… What is next on the endless to do list?”
THE END OF BOOK 1
CHAPTER 1
“Get ready Gryff, here I come.” A loud thud sounded beside me as I gazed at a brewing storm to the east. “Hurry up! Before they see us.” Lirkon said with an urgency.
I didn’t hesitate and raced up his saddle. Before I had the chance to get settled – we were off the ground flying low to the north. Both Lirkon and I checked over our shoulders to ensure we were making a clean getaway. In the distance, I saw Pipi and Velia feeding the three younglings. Those tiny baby griffins would go berserk if daddy left Fernlan while in sight. My wives pulled it off flawlessly and we cleared our escape as we tingled through the barrier.
“That was close, I cannot believe Lydia said you could go,” I whispered as if concerned I would be heard. We were far enough away I could speak normally now. “Xiq it is, my friend. Is Traz going to join us?”
“Dina has him locked down still, she wants cubs. It will be a slow winter and we are stabilizing the food issues. At first thought I say, lucky male, then I remember the torment of the three little ones. They started plucking my feathers out while I sleep! Do you have any idea how much that hurts? I don’t even complain about the lack of sleep anymore.”
I glanced over his white feathers with blue tips and indeed noticed a few missing at easy to reach locations. I figured his question was rhetorical and decide to not answer. I reflected on the three weeks that had passed and on the time wasted. For that is what it mostly was. I was summoned every time King Aves and King Horus wanted to chat. There were important things discussed, don’t get me wrong, it merely was nothing that impacted me or mine. I wanted to be going out and securing food around Xiq or Streb. To be honest there were a lot of things I would have rather been doing. They finally separated with a consensus yesterday after endless debates. King Horus and his entourage left shortly after. Of course, he left behind three stunning daughters. To which I had hidden from endlessly.
King Aves never left though, the griffin leader was firmly entrenched in my home. Fernlan was the new griffin capital of Vin. On any given day, hundreds if not thousands of griffins flew in and out of the massive new roost. That building was something I did not feel was time wasted. The roost had been delayed for days, and then weeks. Constant changes, edits, and desires prolonging its construction. When it was settled and approved, Zack, Fae, and Patti prepared to erect the towering structure with griffin aura to help. A full ogre heart, three earth mages, and a dozen griffins chained together channeled the spell to completion. We luckily had set aside a quarter of Dais for expansion because that whole space was eaten up by this structure above and below ground. The southern end of Fernlan was re-designed to accommodate the towering roost.
It was such a massive building the griffins named it Zenith. It dominated the skyline of Fernlan as it arced high into the sky. It reminded me of a towering kid’s toy for cars to race downward. On the outside was a gentle spiral ramp than went deep into Dais. The twirling ramp connected to the main structure via landing pads that transitioned into nesting homes, numbering in the hundreds if not thousands. Those nesting homes opened up to the ramp or to a hollow center of the structure. That central open zone allowed the griffins to go into Zenith at any point and drop down into Dias directly. Where additional homes, space, and play areas were located. It truly was amazing to see the board sketch turn from a blueprint into a reality. The griffins had never been happier and always wanted to thank me for the completed work. Then they mumbled and grumbled with endless pestering, about a lack of nesting materials. It was unfortunate that they could not go out into the wild lands and harvest the bushes or treetops they wanted. It did stimulate the human economy when we sent word out for certain palms and ferns to be collected. Which translated into more griffins flying around and my need to get Xiq established as a farm. Flying griffins did eat a lot after all.
There was limited success in obtaining extra food during the last few weeks. The bodies Xar melted back at Malvia had been rapidly hauled into the city and salted. Here in Fernlan, only the close ogre bodies next to the barrier were recovered. The food certainly was a boon and it fed starving griffins in both locations. The excess food was not enough long term though. Most cities were not selling their surplus and the sheer amount of griffins arriving at Fernlan for Zenith raised a mounting problem. The initial solution was fish, the same as the previous solution that was devised after the peace accords. Since the southern ports on the Venisis Sea were still friendly to King Horus and the griffins, the harvesting never slowed. It was a reliable source of winter protein. There was also the fact that I could talk to griffins to learn what foods were edible but not served. We were able to assemble a long list of items griffins could eat that were never being fed to them before. Unripe or past ripe smelons were a great example of this. The earth mages in most cities were overproducing smelons with the excess going to creatures like the runtlets. It was another factor in the never ending battle against starvation.
I did have a defining moment of ingenuity. Well, more like I watched something and it triggered me to have an idea. A week ago a shipment of fish arrived at the landing area when I happened to be inspecting imports. There also happened to be three little shadows following me waiting to pounce. The baby griffins were nicknamed the triple terrors by their father. Their mother called them by their actual names. Lance was blue and all spunk, ever eager to find trouble. Pearl was a green demon as ornery as her mother, never minding any commands or requests. The last was Sunny, she would listen but only to my wives. That fact drove her parents wild to no end. The three of them knew I could talk to griffins, they tried to talk to me but Larkin said it would be months before they could talk properly. The only word I ever got out of them was food. Since they knew I heard them after feeding them only once, I was a routine target of theirs. One of their favorite games was to follow the tall Gryff human around and shout food at him. Not a pleasant experience and I was working on tuning them out, but for days like today, it was great to avoid them. Back around a week ago when the fish arrived, a rat scurried out of the sack of stinky fish and raced for safety when it realized it had been exposed. Pearl got the little rodent with a back breaking claw snatch. The babies
could not fly yet, but they were natural predators and fast. Well, the siblings went to inspect the dead catch when she gobbled the rat whole, tail and all. I remember grimacing at the sight when then it hit me like a brick to the face.
I asked as many griffins as I could if rats were a worthy food source. Most had no issues with what humans had long denied as a delicacy. Every human city was rife with rats that hustled and bustled between tight corridors that griffins could never catch. They did, however, face an opponent in traps, as well as humans if properly motivated. This whole week I sent griffins out to every major city friendly to us to collect rats. I was paying good money for the furry, pest ridden rodents. Well, a silver for fifty, but still. That was decent coin for a kid in the slums worried about their next loaf of bread. Most cities were not reduced to eating rats and they happily started collecting for me.
“You zone out again?” Lirkon asked as I sat on his back not realizing we were on the ground in Xiq. “Admit it, you did. It’s all that wife drama you have going on, sometimes I think I have it easier with the trio of terror.”
My wife issues had indeed become a thorn in my side. King Horus had left three of his daughters behind and they immediately formed a bond with Bella – and only Bella. Which was the opposite of what I wanted. I wanted Bella to continue to form relationships with Pipi and Velia. Yet women were complex and there would be no perfect situation. At least I rationalized the drama that way. The defining issue was Pipi. She did not want more kids yet, and Bella could not accept that. I got it, and that should be the end of it… but it certainly was not. Pipi also was into Velia, while Bella was a man only kind of lady. Also okay, but again strife. We rotated nights and had to take up an extra room at the Inn. I still resided in the basement not ready to move into Dais. As rooms opened up and the Inn became less crowded, we set up a second sleeping location for our family. While Pipi and Velia shared the night together, Bella would stay solo. There was also the issue where Velia got her period and Bella did not. A fact that Bella would brag about when she didn’t have morning sickness. The issue with the whole mess was the ladies were all fantastic to me. I only heard about the side stuff as I was a venting tool to release on. It was something that I was conflicted about on how to address. Did I insert myself and demand them to be obedient? Did I let them work it out themselves? How the seven hells could I send King Horus his daughters back? Well, as you imagine these things weighed on me and escaping to Xiq was almost mandatory.
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