Gryff Boxset

by Sloss, Marcus

  Winst nodded, tilted his head and kept going. “Then why don’t you become Emperor? We dozen know who Amber is.”

  “I will.” That was all I said and all that was needed.

  The hush settled over the marching group. If I said I was going to do something, then I did it. I was not a man of rash words or half measures. Sure I made mistakes but I knew in my heart Emperor Salvoni had to go. I also knew King Horus was a great leader. I was the next warrior Emperor and he was not. That was the sum of the equation. The world needed me. It had gifted me so much and my last gift was a five foot five babe with fiery red hair. I did not deny for one moment I wanted to strip Amber naked, smack her plump curvy…

  I had zoned out and a spider was on my face. Seven hells, I smacked my face so hard it stung for the next twenty minutes. Two hours in and we were still an hour run from the nearest goblins. I watched the sun, knowing it would set in two hours. That at least gave us some time to kill before the dark set in. I ordered us to eat some jerky. Tammy asked to sing and I let her.

  A song of love was kept mellow and low. The tale of two lovers and a mighty foe. They battled in desperation to maintain their hearts, only to end up dead, upon a cart. The victor a savage and brutal one, died alone… a story no one sung.

  It was a gentle rhythm that spun a light story for all to enjoy. It almost made me forget I was about to bring death across the fields of battle.

  “Emperor… never would have thought it could happen. At least you’re the right asshole to stick against the Horde. Been an honor killing the Horde with you. So you know… Una called it that day with Count Conway. No idea where we go when we die, but that woman is grinning right now. Either in the blackness of death or the pits of hell. I guess I will find out when I die.” Lazra said in morbid thought.

  “He is the right man for it, with the right advisors and experience, he will become something worthy of songs. To be honest we all will. They already sing of our feats at dead goblin pass. Fitting name really. We all have lost so much, it is times like these, where we get our due revenge.” Nate said.

  “As stirring as your banter is, you’re five minutes away from three dozen goblins harvesting vines from some willow trees.” Traz alerted me and I halted the march.

  “I know we have practiced formations to perfection. This is not one of those moments. I need to get myself between the main enemy force and these thirty plus goblins. I will charge and push them to you. I will not give a battle cry, but you will know when the battle starts. Push hard, accelerate… sorry, wrong term… No mercy. Carve the enemy to the last. Win the day. Parts for catalysts come second. Give me five to get settled then creep this way. Wait Traz wants me to point…” I shifted my extended hand from left to right until Traz said it was correct. “This way. Okay, griffins sure are awesome. Five minutes, Traz is keeping timer. If you miscount and see Traz hovering over you towards the east that means he wants you to join the fight. Enough said. Final combat checks. Stash bags here.”

  Nate and I inspected each other and we parted. I turned on my speed and burned some aura. Traz and I kept in constant contact as I circled around the goblins. When I hit the area that separated my foes from their reinforcements, I slowly crept forward. Traz let me know my allies were closing in too.

  The gutterish speech of the goblins hit my ears and riled my blood. I cracked my neck and pumped my shoulders. A few quick limbering moves and I darted between trees as fast as a bird. The first goblin never saw me. His arms stretched high to chop at vines. His head parted from his body. Since it was a harvesting group, I saw no weapons. It also explained the children and women I saw in the mix. A goblin on my left caught my attention. She noticed me too late and was bewildered. I was moving too fast for her to understand what I was and she tilted her head in confusion. I promptly shouldered her into a tree with such force her head split open. The youngling beside her squeaked. I punted the little ugly bastard a hundred yards. I wanted to shout goal…

  The surprise was over as the goblins clamored at my arrival. The goblins were mostly unarmed, forced to carry vines instead of weapons. There were two armed slave master orcs providing overwatch. I went from a standstill to a fast sprint again as I closed on the orcs. They were my only true threat here. Unfortunately for them, they only carried whips to control the slave. My armor was sundered from the force of a crack. The whip connecting easily, likely due to constant use. The skill was honed to excellence. I was a human in full armor, not a four and a half foot naked goblin. The impact site did nothing and I ran my sword across my opponent’s belly.

  The last orc bellowed in rage at me. I lifted the crossbow I had practiced with more than I sexed my wives and thunked a bolt into his forehead. The carnage had only begun. My team hit the stunned goblins with the force of death itself. Bodies hit the floor as none were spared. I was feeling that mad laughter creeping in as I descended upon my foes with glee.

  I ran my sword through a fleeing goblin and carved it out the side of the body. I looked around for another target to murder and found that the slaughter was complete. I belted my sword and retrieved my dagger. The fun work was about to begin. Eyes, hearts, tongues, and ears. All easy and light to carry. I tossed a pile in the grass not far from where I worked. Victor was on collection duty as was Donnie. They rotated between us Knights as we extracted the best pieces. It was efficient and we were done quickly. The orcs had the same process done to them. No carrying bones or whole heads. No excess weight without a cart.

  “Well done Gryff, another party a few hundred yards south. I am going to try to guide you to the south as often as I can so you can see when the ships arrive. Speaking of which, the fleet is finally on the move. They are slow but the learning curve has been established and they are moving as one now. You could skirt all the combat and set up on a cliff I picked out in a half hour. They still have three hours of sailing so you might as well keep the slaughter up. We do have new walls to build in Fernlan. The griffins were wanting to build a range for diving for our young with some of the space…” Traz said and then paused. “Two hundred meters to your south. Not that way… there you go. Head that direction cut left to get in between them and the main army.”

  I listened diligently to his commands. “How many?”

  “Single dozen, all males. Part of the other group is my guess, allowed to split unsupervised because they are well trained.”

  I address the group. “Drop packs here. A dozen enemy is ahead, I want the Knights to go straight in and I will catch any that escape.” The packs hit the ground. “Go.”

  They were off with hunger in their eyes. I set myself running at an angle to the left. Sure enough, the sounds of combat hit my ears and it was silenced. A little goblin was running my way when a sword erupted from its chest. Donnie grinned with delight. I killed nothing from this group. I knew I served my purpose and grinned at my teams results. I raced to the bags and fit mine onto my back. I then grabbed a bloody sack off the ground for cleanup detail.

  When I reached the dead bodies I saw exactly what I was expecting. A dozen dead goblins scattered among the trees. I let the team do the work and opened the bag ready for the bits to be thrown in. It was gruesome, but I long ago came to grips that Vin was nasty. Probably that first sex encounter with Lyna while she was on her period behind the well. After that, there was only more blood, guts, and organs. I shuddered and didn’t let myself get drawn into a zone out.

  “Where to next?” I asked the air.

  The Knights of the Frontier knew I was talking to a griffin and let the question hang. “Traz buddy, you there? Where to next?”

  Silence. I huddled the team as we waited. Dina popped into view overhead with her pink tipped feathers. I raised an eyebrow at this and grew confused.

  “Trolls ambushed Traz, we had to range heal him. Fret not, for he is fine. A dozen trolls overextended in chasing him. You can hit them but it may drag the rest to you. The fleet has sped up to try to keep all the differ
ent events timed in sync. Right now they are the only thing delayed. I say avoid the trolls and get in your spot to watch the event. I will guide you.”

  “Combat silence from here. We’re going to weave between enemy clumps and establish an overlook. I need you to be close, but not too close. Silent, but fast. Here we go. If you get lost… hoot. Or caw, anything besides crying for help in English.” I looked at Fwar while I said this and he grimaced. “Sorry new guy. Don’t worry, won’t always be so hard.”

  I heard some grumbling and then cursing at Victor for scolding him. There was only one option. To play the hand dealt to me. Dina helped guide us around the trolls. Five minutes later, we ran into an ogre taking a shit. Deep down I wish I was jesting, but this ogre was plugged up and struggling. I didn’t care if he was swimming in a river of piss and coated in a foot of dried feces. I wanted that damn heart.

  A few hand gestures and I had the group huddled around me. “Okay we’re killing a lone ogre in the woods. He is shitting, get over it. Janice will freeze him in place. Victor will flame the face. The rest of us range him down. Aim for the squishy eyes and hope we brain him with bolts.”

  The team nodded to me and I led them to the location Dina guided us to. Sure enough, after a few trees, there was an ogre holding two pines while squatted. His face contorted in agony trying to release a turtlehead. Janice never hesitated. She froze his feet and his hands. Before the first fireball hit him, two crossbow bolts ripped into his right eye and into his brain. The fireball smashed into the dead ogres face. The heat released his hands and he teetered until he fell. He died so quickly he never realized what had happened. We raced to the body. The stench was awful… I gagged a few times while keeping my stomach contents inside my body. Markus opened the bag as Nate went to work on the chest. I cut out the left eye and tongue. The heart gave a wet smack as it was added to the pile. I carried the bag for now because it was starting to get heavy.

  Dina guided us deeper into the trees away from our foes and then up a steep slope. The sun was setting now, we were about to lose all vision. Ropes with hooks were unpacked and launched up the hill. I felt mine grab a tree and I yanked myself up to find I was only halfway to the plateau. I saw another hook with rope coiled up here from a failed throw. I snatched it off the ground and launched a throw to get the rest of the way up the cliff. I snagged a root and climbed the rest of the way to the peak. I was silent as I reached the plateau.

  The slightest of movements gave the shaman scout away. I burned aura in a burst of speed and slammed into an air shield. It withheld most of my body except my sword arm had gotten through. I sliced then hacked at the concentrating enemy magician. The shield weakened as my blade did damage. I got through his defense with time and ended the surprised scout’s life. I rummaged through its bag to find basic supplies for a long camp out. That told me no replacements anytime soon. I scoured the plateau perimeter quickly with the dying light. I had to focus hard to find the enemy rope leading up here. It was a bent small sword with a long line of dried guts. I pulled it up and added to a loot pile with his bag.

  I returned to the shaman’s body to see Nate extracting the key components. I opened the sack that was quickly filling. I left it for him as I checked on my team. Donnie was the last one up, coiling the rope as he went. I extended my hand to the young man, he grasped it for the last few steps up. I grabbed the hook and rope from him and stuffed it in my bag. I pulled us all into a huddle around Nate.

  “Great work today team. Tonight the real fun begins. We put a scout on all four corners of this plateau. If you are supposed to be watching west… then watch west and ignore the cannon fire to the east. Trust me, when it starts we will swap out, so everyone gets a chance to watch. Stay diligent. Let your eye adjust and listen. Hoot or caw if you sense something. Four people on guard duty, the rest in the middle relaxing. We earned a snack, some water, and a chance to sit on our asses.”

  Donnie, Brad, Fwar and I volunteered for the first shift. We were doing fifteen minute rotations roughly. It was hard to keep time on Vin. There were a few watches and large clock towers, but only the richest of the rich had those. The sun had fully set and night rolled in. There was a cloud cover that was so thick, no stars or moon shined through.

  I was relieved of my post and had finished eating when the initial belch of a cannon roared across the bay. We never saw where that first long shot landed. I crossed my arms as I watched the bay remain silent, knowing the battle for Herodian Bay had begun.

  CHAPTER 6

  A nerve wracking half hour passed after that first shot. I was so concerned I checked in with Dina twice. The Horde ignored the shot and whoever fired earlier was probably no longer on the job. I really wished the griffins could talk with the other humans. Maybe we could create a sign language or something. The Horde never shifted as their armies lazed around the fires. The working goblins were full tilt though. They shifted around the encampment in hundreds of tasks. The fear of the whip did not allow any to rest. If I had to guess they worked better in the dark. There were at least a million goblins moving around the massed enemy. The fighters though, they relaxed… even after a ship launched a cannonball. If the enemy didn’t care and we were still holding fire, it meant we merely had to wait for the battle to resume.

  I checked on my scouts and added two more to our observers. We had counter rotating patrols now. It may seem a bit excessive but we were on a nice high ground, not too far from the enemy’s main base. Seven hells, there already was a scout up here, meaning this could become a strategic point. The rotating guards were there to look for hooks and rope or gut line used for climbing. It was also to keep the troops that were hunched down in the dirt awake. Not sure if Fwar ever pulled many full night shifts after a long day, but even I got drowsy. The friendly hand on a shoulder or gentle shake was normally enough to fight off the sleep. The troops were on edge, both literally on a cliff and figuratively because ships were not firing.

  Then it happened. A cacophony of thunderous booms echoed across the bay. The outer edges of the protected water danced in explosive illumination as the first salvo raced forward. Eight of humanity's final warships barked in anger. With the sky overcast and the moon not glowing, we never saw where the rounds landed. All we heard was the sound that shattering wood makes. The enemy reacted this time. Some goblins went to flee and felt their master’s lashes.

  Shamans shouted orders that ogres enforced. The shambling chaos of millions of Horde grew into a semblance of formation. A second volley belched forward and this time I could see the enemy ships at sea. The very few who had crews, which were the ships closest to the shore, were pinned in by the outer vessels. Large holes were evident in a few ships. They were still swaying and upright. I only briefly glimpsed the damage but it seemed the shots were too high. I heard more splashes than crashes this time. Good, that meant the sinking ships would permanently clog the enemy fleet in the kill zone.

  I counted the time between rounds fired. It was mere moments over a minute. Not bad for random people combined together. The fourth round was even faster. Give it to humans to excel at death once a rhythm gets established. I found myself too focused on the launching volleys. We were due for a swap out. The six of us in the middle went and replaced those on guard duty. I crouched myself into the roots of an angled tree as I relieved Nate. He whispered everything had been quiet and left to watch the show. I could see the fire blossoming in the night sky through the trees but my eyes were focused on the ground.

  Five minutes became ten, and then ten to twenty. I was expecting a change out soon when I caught a glimpse of movement at the base of the cliff. I turned to the center of the plateau.

  “Woot… Hoot…” I messaged out and cursed internally at using different callouts.

  Nate raced to my side. He gazed down until he saw what I did. He nodded to me and was gone. Markus and Victor showed up to get a peek also. Nate hustled them over as he devised a plan. I was stuck watching as a dozen sha
mans, a few dozen orcs, and a troop of trolls piled up at the base of the cliff. This was not good. At least a hundred Horde were making their way here. The only factor that kept me from outright retreating down the opposite side of the cliff, was they had no idea we were up here. They never once focused on the cliff and were constantly watching the ships fire.

  Donnie slid down beside me. When he settled in Donnie readied his crossbows. “Nate has a plan, hurry.” He said in a whisper. The young man sure was more confident now.

  I patted his shoulder and kept my silhouette low as I crept to Nate.

  “Update,” Nate said.

  “Got distracted… The Horde is flinging orcs via catapult at our ships and we griffins are snatching them out of the air. It is the funniest thing ever. They do not see the hundreds of us flying in the night sky. It is a snatch, kill, and then dump into the Bavie barrier. It only just started so we are overly excited. Let me scan your area…

  “They have no idea you are up there. They are lined up double file and the line stretches all the way to the base camp. Must be a whole division ordered up to your plateau. You can do some damage but if they encircle you… It will end terribly. Gryff… I guess I can watch you… instead of catching flying orcs. Sure know how to… Never mind here comes Lord Nova. I am the fastest and it makes sense that I catch, then haul the orcs.” Dina said with a certainty.