Gryff Boxset

by Sloss, Marcus

  Deb’s belly swelled a few days after Una died and I never saw her after. We still had the monox who occupied Markus’ shoulder. A brown with blacked striped male monox who was constantly on the lookout. Every few days I would get an inventory list from Count Conway on what was for sale. The available livestock had been reduced for winter.

  “Saddle up, a half hour or so ride and we will have our recon ready upon landing. Get your heads in the game,” I said and the dozen team members mounted griffins. All of us minus Fwar were in matching armor crafted in Lakeland. Fwar was boisterous in his excitement and I grinned at his enthusiasm. I saw Dina eye me and I raced up. The trio of terror were bounding our way trying to fly. “Uh… Velia hurry up before Dina takes off without us.”

  We scrambled into the saddle and shot off for Streb. We exited to the west and flew over the creek to the river where my fishing lines still were anchored. A half dozen orcs were set up in ambush. Not far away three dozen enemy warriors waited as reinforcements. So much for fishing… I really missed fishing. The Horde knew we could do nothing against those numbers. So we simply chopped trees or cleared land around Fernlan.

  The river fly over was calm for most of the way. Velia pointed out a war boar being hounded by a pack of orcs but they were in between villages and beyond our ability to deal with. The next ten minutes went fast as we soared to Streb.

  Last time I had flown over this village there were many structures standing. It was a ghost village, abandoned in haste before the accords and any raids. The villagers fled before realizing a protection was granted. Maybe they knew and still escaped for a bigger city regardless. I had to imagine any small village struggling would not be enjoyable. It was a shame to tear down all the structures but I let the guilt fade quickly. It was impractical to turn this village into anything other than a farm. The number of boards piled taller than at Xiq as I glanced around. The fields were a similar mix of picked vegetation intentionally grown and wild shrubs native to the area. Bare earth was quickly being reclaimed by nature as grass competed with weeds in old home slots.

  The roost was another simple two story structure. It had the same landing and sleeping area for griffins up top. Human rooms for resting and storage down bottom. Traz was waiting for us. A map of the local area was drawn into the wall where the griffins landed.

  When we touched down inside the upper floor of the roost I quieted the men and women of my unit. They followed me to the wall to gaze at the map. Streb rested due east of the river by a twenty minute walk or ten minute run. South was brush and light forest. North more of the same with a few old farmhouses dotted in the area. East was cliffs that ran north-south until they curved to meet the river in the distant south. Probably why no one set up farms south. The cliffs at the northern end bent right and a chokepoint for the valley rested a half hours hard march east. Traz bulked his way through the other griffins to stand by the wall.

  He never said a word to me, which were his orders. For now, we needed to become accustomed to briefings without me. The griffin pointed to a location on the map than an easy goblin image. Then the image representing the hundreds. Traz then drew an x in the air above the image for orcs, trolls, and ogres. This got me scratching my head for now.

  “Okay enough of this. Everyone got that. There are goblins east at this choke point. Are you telling me that mighty caravan we saw weeks ago is finally ending and they left their tail exposed?” I asked in excitement.

  “Exactly, wagons that are five times the size you are used to being pulled by a Yakin. The largest of the yak family. This is a rare opportunity. The valley chokepoint even has the warg patrols further south. If you race there you may get three or four wagons. They are hurrying through because they know they are exposed.” Traz said.

  “What did the ugly griffin say?” Nate said playfully only to get knocked over by Traz.

  “Get up you slouch, were running hard east for fifteen minutes. No way are we walking. I hope you can keep up Fwar. Let’s go!” I shouted in excitement and lead the team down the ramp. The moment my feet hit the hard earth I was off at a sprint. It was time to do some killing. Goblins were going to die. I worked myself up and then calmed the raged in anticipation.

  CHAPTER 3

  The tingle of the barrier shifted through my body as I ran. The cleared fields quickly blossomed into dense underbrush and pines. There was no time to pull my to do list out of my bag, but getting the perimeter of Streb cleared was going on it. As I smashed my way through the underbrush I mumbled and grumbled. The wild lands here were exactly that, overgrown and chaotic. There was no trail or cleared path for me to follow. It drastically slowed my progress to reach the goblins.

  I spooked a loose wolf who bolted and then paused at seeing a human. The hair on his neck quickly retracted as its defensive growl ceased. I kept going and he decided to join the brush crashing party. Maybe he thought I would feed him or was cruising along for the action. I was happy to have him with us either way.

  “Creek ahead, be ready to leap,” I shouted a warning behind me as I cleared the small waterway. My feet avoided the loose rocks that had collected. The reprieve of smashing through shrubs was short lived as we once again entered thick underbrush. I must have run through a hundred spider webs and I consciously imaged some crawling for my exposed face cover. Stupid spiders. At least these were small. The last thing I needed was a spider big enough to eat humans, wrapping me in silk.

  “You are almost there, I need you to slow by the rocks you see ahead and let your team prepare,” Traz said.

  I looked to find him, but between the thick trees, I was unable to locate the griffin in the skyline. He had a view of us though somehow. My last few bounds were arrested when I panted behind a large rock. I could barely make out the cliff wall to my right. The opening of fields were dead ahead. The barest of glimpses of our targets were available. The outline of massive carriages was clearly defined though and my adrenaline pumped in anticipation. The team trickled in slowly to regain their breath.

  Fwar surprisingly kept up, maybe he trained in running before he arrived at Fernlan, or the brush allowed him to keep pace. Either way, the twelve of us were a sweaty and panting group. We huddled in a semi circle behind our cover before proceeding.

  “Update Traz,” I said at a normal tone. Donnie had his back to us and was facing north, while Nate faced south, both ensuring we were not surprised. The lone wolf had turned into three that cautiously approached. I rummaged through my bag to find a snack. I tossed a few jerky goblin chunks to them while we waited for our update.

  “Good and bad news. You made it in time to capture four wagons. The bad news is I noticed three shamans in the very rear cart. I have some catalysts on me, but my orders from Lord Nova are clear. No fire magic can be seen by any living Horde. In this case, some goblins will certainly escape. I can rush to get a few more griffins to try to distract the shamans. Hopefully, we can soak up some aura before you attack. Best I can offer in aid… sorry.

  “I recommend you race for the valley choke point. There are six orcs stationed there. Defeat them and close off the last four wagons from the rest of the train. Then push north and kill until you reach the shamans. This will add fodder between you and your biggest threat. They may even flee before you have to combat the shamans. They may flee knowing they are isolated.”

  This revelation had me concerned. There would be orcs and shamans. Granted they were separated, but it would turn my planned goblin rout into an actual battle. Still, we had magic now, and I was thirsty for blood. I rapidly concluded what needed to be done.

  “Okay update, six orcs guarding the valley point. We will jog to the cliff then follow it east. Once outside the protection of cover, we will sprint out of formation until close to the orcs. Crossbows and fireballs at the six orcs. Should down them. Then we will push forward as a wall into the wagons. Tammy you are going to have your hands full keeping arrows off us. The goblins will certainly have weak bows firin
g. Janice, freeze some feet and extinguish unwanted fires with water. Victor conserve aura for the enemy mages unless you see an opening that can alter the battle in our favor. You are our primary damage dealer so I want you ready for those key moments. Winst your goal is to herd our foes. Change the elevation of retreating enemies to drop them or get them to climb. You are our ace though… If somehow wargs race to us you will need enough aura to create a pit for them to fall into. The rest of us, one crossbow for the orcs. Save your backup for drivers on the wagons or key targets.

  “Questions?” I asked and Fwar raised his hand. “Ask while we jog. To the cliff face let’s go.”

  “Should I be conserving mana?” Fwar asked.

  “No, we are not far from Streb, worst case we get healing from griffins inside the barrier. It will be seven hells painful, but better than death. This is a winner take all battle, at least I think it will be, and I plan on stealing it all. The moment we make contact, things tend to shift rapidly. So keep us healed for all the potential surprise scenarios,” I told the dwarfish Earl.

  We reached the cliff and it was go time. I double checked myself. I had my uniformed thin metal shield, not the one I arrived on Vin with but designed to lock with my fellows. My fancy short sword was in my right hand. On my back were my sack and javelins. My armor covered me in two layers from head to toe and a crossbow hung from each hip. I was ready.

  Without a battle cry or any noise, I burst from the underbrush and into cleared grass that led to the worn path of the Horde caravan. We ran silently towards our foes. They were listless and bored, it was another drab day for them. Probably marching for months without threat or any excitement. A few even noticed us and did not cry out in alarm. Maybe we were sent by a shaman to punish a wagon team. The last thing they were expecting was a full on attack by a dozen humans. The fact we were covered in armor probably helped our cause because we got to within shooting range without a call out.

  The orcs at the valley pass went from bored and leaning on weapons to alert. They blared a challenge at us, which we obviously ignored. I closed the distance to half what I had planned and raised my crossbow. The rest of the team skidded to a halt beside me. These orcs were scouts, not fierce warriors. Janice froze the targets in place and that was my signal.

  “Fire!” I bellowed and the ping of crossbows and sizzle of a fireball sounded. I watched as all six of the orcs collapsed. They never even had a chance, we probably could have simply run them down and saved the aura as well as ammo.

  With the valley entrance secured we spun to face the closest mighty wagon. It rose thirty feet tall and expanded thirty feet wide. A boxy contraption of wood on wheels. Four massive yakins pulled the monstrosity of a wagon. There were dozens of goblin on and around the cart frozen in fright at our sudden violence.

  When we faced them and started marching their way, the long haired brown yakins dug hooves into the dirt and stopped. The endless swatting from the weak goblins were not enough to turn the beasts. They were content to remain still in the hopes they were not the targets.

  I advanced us at a trot when the front line of goblins broke. Curse it all to the seven hells. We could never stay in formation and execute a rout of our foes. We needed bodies on the ground and to not let our enemies group further down the line.

  “Rout!” I called out. That simple single word broke our formation and the carnage began. I raced by the yakins and leapt onto the carriage platform where the drivers screeched. They brandish weapons weakly at me. I parried an incoming attack, thrust my sword into a goblin’s chest, and smashed a putrid face with my shield. These goblins tried to retreat and my slaughter was glorious. My armor protected me when I was jabbed in the back. I swung my sword at the offender and sent his head flying. I trounced over the dead and worked the platform clean of the living. Blood slicked the deck and I dropped to the ground with a jolting roll.

  The screams of the dying were as loud as the blood pumping through my ears. We wrecked through the enemy lines. A wall of goblins advanced from the third wagon as we tore apart the second crew. Arrows rained down and into an air shield. Things were on the precipice of spiraling out of control when Victor pulled out a big spell with vole blood. His hands projected lava plasma across the enemy goblins in rank and file. The results were staggering. They were melted and I saw Victor sway until Fwar healed him. This spell inflicted so much damage, it collapsed all semblance of defense the goblins had. The rout continued.

  I enjoyed carving up goblins with their back to me as I slew my foes by the dozen. I raced ahead of my team as a mad man on a mission of death. Suddenly I was thrown off my feet and back a dozen paces to crash into the ground. My body and face sang with a pain only less in torment than that of a griffin’s healing. Water drenched me and then Fwar healed me. I shook my head, slowly comprehending I had been hit directly by a powerful fireball. The shamans had decided to fight.

  After the healing, I was good to go, so I rocketed off the ground and assessed the situation. The goblins kept fleeing. A fact the shamans yelled curses at to no end. When I was seen by the Horde’s casters standing, they lost faith in victory. The one shaman who had been inching back in retreat full on ran while the remaining two hurled desperation spells.

  They were my primary focus now, and I would not be caught unaware of a new spell. I saw Victor and Winst working in tandem to hurl spells across the distance. Earth rose to protect the two while the shamans hastily erected air shields that vibrated in reply to the fireballs. It looked like they were close to collapsing from aura drain. The fight was drastically in our favor.

  My inner aura was an inferno of desire to be released and I called upon it with hunger. My legs propelled me into giant leaps dozens of feet between steps. My feet shot clods of earth high and far as I rocketed at speeds beyond what a mortal should be able to achieve. In mere fractions of a second, I was upon my foes. The first I hacked in half at the waist, and the second I shouldered into the ground with such force his bones snapped in thousands of places. My momentum never stopped though, the lightweight shaman a mere bump in my auras burn.

  My left foot anchored into the dirt and ejected bits of Vin as I continued my charge of death. The final retreating female shaman erected an air shield that I approached. I threw my sword at her to weaken its defense as I neared. The amount of force I applied in my throw was barely contained. The shaman’s face contorted in focus as she fought to keep her shield up. I shouldered my body through her shield, shattering the spell. She went to crumple to her knees, exhaust evident on her face when I plunged my hand into her chest. I softly grabbed her heart, a peal of mad laughter on my lips, as her eyes locked in fright to mine. She was dead and just now realizing it. I yanked the heart free and let her fall.

  Dizziness swam through me and I shuddered as I released my aura. I quickly shifted the bag off my back and stuck the heart in. I then beheaded the shaman and stuck the bloody head in as well. The remaining goblins were in full retreat to the east. Wolves were baying at them hungry for the easy kills. Five dozen had been resettled here and as they howled to the sky, I saw most chasing our fleeing foe. They ran into the woods and out of my concern. We had sixteen yakins and four wagons of loot to secure.

  “Traz update!”

  “The goblins are routed and no word reached the rest of the caravan. I am sure they will eventually notice, but for now, you have time. You have a few issues though. There is no clear path for these wagons unless you go north to the river bend and float them down to Lakeland. Well, that or you clear a path direct, but you don’t have enough time or earth mages. Lord Nova is on the way… He may allow us to lava burn you a trail if you go north then swing west… Yes, that is approved. Problem solved. Load up the dead bodies and go north. I will guide you from there.”

  I jogged to my team who had mostly split up to handle each wagon. Both Brads were shifting the first wagon to the north while the others were piling bodies.

  “We got lucky, the r
est of the caravan has no idea we attacked yet. Luckily we have secured all four wagons. I am sure some of the escaped goblins will eventually get word to our foes, but for now, we have some time. We are going to go north with this mini caravan. Pile the dead on the decks and let’s turn these wagons around.” I said as leapt up the ladder on the fourth cart. I turned the yakins with the reigns, who politely told me to bugger off. I grabbed a wipe and laced one yakin with a thundering clap. It bleated in pain. From that moment on, all four wagons did as the new drivers instructed. “Hurry up we need to be moving. Tammy steer this thing north. Correction I need Janice in the front.”

  Janice ran over from piling goblins on the second wagon and scurried up the ladder to the driving platform. “What do you need my lord?”

  “You are going to follow that griffin north then turn left west when he shifts. You will see a trail of cooling lava…” Right as I was talking, a sizzling smoke climbed into the sky to our northwest. A nice line of black soot indicated I had a newly cleared road. The spell and the casters were never seen. “That is our new path right there. It may be too warm for the wheels. Add water if you need to. The steam coming off will signal where we are, but we have to risk it. Here take these reigns.”

  “Got them, have fun stacking bodies Gryff,” I got a smile from her. As to be expected, it was a nice victory. I jumped down and rolled again. The damn driver’s platform was fifteen feet tall. I ran to find Nate. Most of the bodies were being piled on the platform of the third wagon. The fourth wagon was passing the third right now with the Brads giving a wave. The yakin eagerly moving to get in line behind the third wagon and away from the death.

  I was about to ask for a report when Nate provided one.

  “You took the worst of it. A few arrows got through and Tammy had one in her foot. Besides that and the fireball your face ate, the healing was minimal with no fatalities. We stacked the orc bodies first on the now third wagon. Pain getting them this high up. The goblins we can at least throw. A few with damaged faces will get left behind but I figured we were about speed over thorough looting. Plus the wolves will happily eat them. Haven’t inspected what is in the wagons, I say we wait until we're safe.”