“The can understand through our contract correct?” I asked Roz but the dvaren with the yeti skull on his helm stepped forward.
“Interesting. The moment you became our master your native language was understood by us. Part of the contract. Your mage should study it for you.” The unnamed captain said.
Roz went to talk when I halted her. “Not here. Take us to Lakeland,” I ordered.
A portal was formed wide enough for three abreast. Duke Riza went through first to manage the incoming dvaren. A song belted out from the ice soldiers. A song they all knew, even the dvarettes in the back sang it proudly. I think this was my first test as their new master. I also got a wink from the captain who started the song. Yeah, he knew. I was not one with the Horde. He was going to a new home. I beamed in happiness as they marched in precision into the portal. The captain let his soldiers proceed first and helped the females navigate the yakin. The looks I received as those dvaren trooped past pulled at my emotions. I held them in check as the last of the mountain dwarves passed. Then it was just the captain and me. Roz was in Lakeland holding the portal open. He saluted me with a hand over his heart and entered. I took what I hoped was my last step on Kikra and welcomed the blackness.
CHAPTER 17
I arrived in Lakeland with a minor disorientation. The spell had been held for a while and Roz was a bit wobbly on her feet. As I approached to help her, she waved me off. So be it. I looked at the three thousand plus dvaren amassed outside the walls of Lakeland. They were in awe of the new environment. They saw zero Horde, and Dina soared over with her wings spread wide. The pink tipped griffin was a marvel. Her kind found nowhere else which caused the dvaren to point and chatter about the arrival of the griffin.
I saw Trish talking to her father not far away. When our eyes met she smiled while I waved her to me. When she neared I asked her to amplify my voice.
“Greeting dvaren friends.” The side chatter, as well as muttering, stopped as Dina slammed into the ground beside me. She lowered herself so I could stand tall. I did exactly that as I raced up her saddle to address the slaves. “I am Emperor Gryff, to some of my trusted advisor I am more. To you, I am your chance at freedom. I purchased you by deceiving the Horde. I sold them something that took me very little effort and they cherish. I then competed to raise more funds which were a success. I have been bidding to free more of your brethren and slaves in general.
“My goal is to eventually buy out all the slave markets I can. Assuming the slaves I buy are willing to be peaceful citizens. That is my selling point. I will extend a contract. Have your leaders study it if it is approved your collars drop. The contract is not for employment in my empire. Listen to that again. If you want to be a smith and you are a soldier currently. Then transition into becoming a smith. The moment you accept my contract you truly are free to do and be as you wish. There are still standard laws, no rape, no stealing, and other basic stuff. You break one of those you no longer disintegrate, you get tried and a fitting punishment sentence by a jury of your brethren. The only thing my contract does is ensures you will not intentionally harm my Empire. That! Is! It!”
I sent the contract out to the thirty five hundred dvaren when the yeti skull wearing leader stepped forward. “I am Captain Snomer, I have been a slave my whole life. What would be our purpose in your Empire? Why would you so willingly free us into it?”
Seven hells I was going to be giving this speech a lot unless I delegated it to someone with proper authority. If I freed as many slaves as I intended to this would get old fast. Make a pamphlet maybe… I needed to disclose more to them for now, which was fair.
“You are all on Vin, which we humans and griffins are regulated to safe zones. We found our contracted peace accords were not bound tightly with many loopholes. We have exploited them. My empire and its allies also do not worship the seven… I specifically pray to the retreating four.” I said to stunned faces. “You all are hard working prosperous dvaren. I merely wish to add you to our numbers. We need you for economic reasons more than military ones. Well, let me be clear. You Captain Snomer, I would like your help with both the economy and combat situations. I need to capture yeti and ice cats.”
“Yeti is easy enough. And the only ice cat I know is the icraws. Icraws are a very nasty large ice cat, this planet has them with yeti?” Snomer asked with a loud booming voice. His natural level almost as loud as my enhanced one.
“Yes, I want to raise the cubs and the baby yetis to sell to free more slaves. If not our magicians need parts for water spells,” I said and the dvaren scoffed as if was lying. The Horde had no water spells or magic. I understood his skepticism. The problem was I had no water mage besides Dina with me. Duke Riza pushed an advisor in blue forward. “May our ice mage freeze your feet?”
Captain Snomer turned his head at this. He didn’t think I was being serious, but he allowed the test. His feet were frozen by the water mage. Only a few noticed though. Dina shot a fireball into the ryegrass field. The mage understood what the intent was and threw an arching torrent of water on the raging fire. This caused a sizzle with steam to rise into the air.
The dvaren leaped with joy at this display. One, then more, then the entire mass of dvaren accepted my contract. The slave collars were piled up. “Your collars are valuable, we will sell them and when the markets run dry we will melt them. For now, I will sell them to buy more of your kind, my kind, and the elvath too. Soon my… our Empire will consist of any species willing to fight back against the Horde. You saw the might of one mere spell. We have more magic with far more spells at our disposal. This is the time, this is the moment to ratify our friendship and prepare to strike back. It will start right here on Vin.”
I was greeted with cheers. Captain Snomer quieted the dvaren. “When do you want to go to these yeti, can I see the rest of my people established in homes first?”
“I have an empty city, ruined by war as well as the Horde. It has good docks and solid bones. I believe a quarry is nearby. There are plenty of trees not far from its walls and fertile fields. It is empty besides a few fishing crews I can relocate. You can have that city. It is named Uhara which I recommend to you for now because it has a barrier. Are you familiar with the barrier system?” I asked and watched as most nodded. Those who looked confused were informed. I waited until the side chatter died down. “Great, there is that city available. I have a blank island no buildings with jungle and sand. Then three more sand cities uninhabited. I do not know what they are like yet and will need to fly there myself after we go south. If you do not want a barrier know the griffins can aid you with magic from the air but cannot land to deliver supplies for you. We can send twelve soldiers but no army to support you. Also, my capital has a mighty cavern we call Dais we can expand if you…”
I was stopped as the dvaren leaders huddled together. “We will settle in Uhara for now, later us leaders can explore other options. It has been ages since our kind has been given the freedoms you are offering. We thank you.” Captain Snomer said.
A sweeping song erupted from the dvaren as they rejoiced. I left Dina’s back to talk with Roz. “Roz, can you move the dvaren tonight and still make it to your harem?”
“No. Sorry master, I need time. Give me twenty four hours. I will return and let you know which bids won and lost. Then I will move the dvaren to their new home. After I can move your army south or I can get the elvath and newly purchased dvaren, not both. You should probably give me some key locations and say the names out loud. Actually, master give me your head.” Roz said and I felt the tingle.
“Fernlan… Uhara… Livina… Bavie… Maltan… Xiq… Streb…” I said and stopped. The pressure of her learning the places faded.
“Okay, master I must rest, then sex and absorb my harem’s aura. I will see you tomorrow. We can hunt if there is not enough food on our island… Correct?”
“There should be plenty of frozen sandworm meat left. I don’t care how you manage your harem,
ensure they survive. If you need more supplies then ask one of my wives for supplies.” I said. The orange eyed shaman smiled, opened a portal, and vanished.
Duke Riza approached me from the side. “I don’t have a place to host them besides in the stables. It is rude but there are a lot of them.” The Duke said sternly.
“Best we can do is give options until the shaman is recovered.” I smiled at Riza and we walked over to the joyful dvaren. There were four leaders. I went first with introductions. “This is the leader of this fine city, Duke Riza. Can you give some introductions please Captain Snomer.”
“Of course this is Longbeard Fidark, he leads that mountain company you hired. This is busty Betsy. Oh… sorry, your bust is very busty… Okay, no more hitting.” Captain Snomer said as he received two slugs to the arm. He was pointing each leader out as he talked about them. “She is the leader of the yakin herders. This is dvarette Yexica, the leader of the larger yakin group. Now that introductions are done how can I help you Emperor Gryff?”
“Well, I cant move you yet. My shaman estimated twenty four hours to move you to Uhara. There are simply too many of you to move until I can open a portal. While my portal shaman is powerful, we carried home more dvaren then intended. No regrets, merely know that it has left you stranded here for tonight. There is a massive stable you can sleep in and I am sure lots of food will be provided.” I said.
“Yes, we can have pillows, fruit, and a few spare blankets brought. There is plenty of wood here, as long as you dig a pit and fill it after you can have fires in there. It is well ventilated. I simply do not have enough room anywhere else.” Duke Riza said.
The four leaders chuckled. “Until ten minutes ago we were slaves. We would gladly rest for a night in a barn to await transportation to a new city. When were you wanting to engage south Emperor Gryff?”
“It is a boat trip that would last a week. I do not need to use Longbeard Fidark yet, so he can go to Uhara with the yakin, Betsy, Yexica. We would either griffin ride south in the morning or we can portal. I need to check with the griffin king, King Aves before I can confirm that. So tonight… Actually, once my conversation is over I will be heading home. If I do not arrive before Roz does… She is a Horde rebel by the way. Also my actual slave… I know, not ideal, but baby steps right. If she summons a portal and you have not heard from me, you all are to go to Uhara. It is your city unless you decide you do not want it. That means tear it down and build it how you want. I only ask it keeps fishing and there is a roost for the griffins to land in.”
“We would be honored to sleep in the stable if you would be so kind as to show us the way Duke Riza,” Betsy said with a sultry voice and a wink. Oh my…
Dina did her chuckle and Duke Riza smiled like a young man.
I said my farewells and told Dina to meet me at the roost. I found Bella with Trish and ordered them to prepare for home immediately Trish’s household items would have to wait. I knew we flew light coming here so it should be easy enough. We talked a lot on our way up to the room we stayed in. We secured our extra clothes and minor items while Trish brought an essentials only chest I had to lug to the roost. It was mighty heavy. When we arrived at the roost I set it down and the top popped open causing a pile of clothes to spill out. I tossed the top layer to the side, shut the top, and then sacked it. With that done I latched the sack. Trish was trying to scoop up clothes on the ground. I reminded her she was a part of the Emperor's family. Her clothes were going to be custom made from here on out. She beamed, dropped the garments in her arms, and scurried up Dina. I told the nearest handler to scoop this up for later and send it to Fernlan. Some of it looked expensive. The young griffin handler smirked at my comments and told me they would be on the next flight. I jumped up the ladder and shimmied in between the lovely ladies. I never got to buckle in. Dina burst off the ground in a hurry. We should make it home right before dark. I rested my head on Bella who sung a sweet lullaby to me and I succumbed to the power of a nap.
∞∞∞
I had to give it to Dina, that lady griffin could soar when she wanted to. I was shaken awake. Well more like poor Bella shifted from my constant mass. I noticed Streb in the distance and knew Fernlan was not far away. The sun still had a good hour left of light with only a few clouds in the setting sky. Trish was wide eyed in delight and Bella was drowsy herself.
I looked down at the river and noticed a fishing boat. Not big or fancy, merely a simple fishing boat with a father son duo. They were setting a long line attached to floating logs. An old dock was not far away. Maybe they were survivors from the wild lands feeling less pressure since the Horde were mostly removed. Or maybe they traveled this far. I watched them for as long as I could. I wondered when we would revert to calling untamed land just land.
“Welcome home human Emperor Gryff,” Lord Nova said from far away. It was probably near max distance because I barely heard him. “There has been a sabotage and assassination attempt. I wanted you prepared for the chaos before you land.”
Dina slowed down probably on orders to allow an explanation before landing. I wanted to know now though.
“Your friend Nate was stabbed four times this morning. His griffin friend Traz smashed into the Tipsy to save him. He barely got to him in time. The sad news is he is still in that torment phase. The good news is, if he keeps sane, he will be fully recovered in a few days at most – likely less. The attackers are awaiting your interrogation in a cell that earth mage Patti dug under Dais. Horray you have a dungeon now… The other phase of the attack was to disrupt your stores. It was unsuccessful besides some golem blood that was spilled. The sabotagers were so nervous we were able to pick out their heartbeats rapid movements. They also are now in the dungeon. Patti questioned them, they say they were sent by Salvoni to strike key members you value and ruin your vital supplies. Most of their team died on the way through the wild lands. Their heartbeats said this was true to me at least.”
“Thank you for the update Lord Nova, and for stopping the damage from spreading. I need to talk to you about Bavie. I was wanting to move some troops from Lakeland to Bavie. Three hundred plus each weighing a little more than a normal man. If not I can wait a few days. Your efforts would allow slaves to escape sooner rather than later.” I said as I felt the slither of Fernlan’s barrier.
There was not a single tree standing anymore inside the settlement. The griffins had been busy. The bushes had been cleared… The bushes were their goal. They moved the trees to look good while utilizing the bushes for nesting. Lord Nova did mention they were wanting to nest more. There was a massive pile of wood off in the distance by the lumber mill. The two Horde wagons rested beside the government building that dominated Fernlan. The deck of the rolling monstrosities were loaded with metal from the pass up north. That must have taken weeks.
“We will get a decision for you tomorrow. Dina tells me you received hundreds of yakin. We want to eat these three. If we can eat them now we should be ready to go by morning.” Lord Nova said bartering with me.
I laughed. Then I roared in laughter. Then I wiped the tears from my eyes. The key to a griffin's heart was always its belly. So relatable.
“You can dice them up and light your own fire. Go ahead. If anyone objects draw our emblem.” I said as Dina grew tired of our conversation and hungry for yakin.
We added speed which transitioned into a quick landing at the roost. I helped the ladies down, and unhooked Trish’s bag. A porter stood inside the roost loading and unloading area for this exact reason. I ordered him to haul Trish’s container to my estate. Then I turned to Bella kissed her and said to escort Trish around Fernlan. I was about to leave when Bella kept looking at me then Trish… Oh, I kissed her cheek goodbye. Women.
Speaking of women I wanted to avoid my wives until after I found Nate. We had no hospital. Seven hells I had not seen a single medical building set aside for health care since I arrived on Vin.
“Traz where is Nate?” I asked the a
ir.
“Second floor in the governmental building. Your team is with him. He was stabbed this morning. If you hurry you will catch him waking. I hear them saying he is sturring right now.” Traz informed me.
The streets were quiet at this hour with most residents in Dais for dinner. I was able to add some aura to increase my speed. There was a wide staircase that I went up to get inside the building. As I bounded the steps I slowed my speed. I noticed a few more vendors under the building were setting up shop. Even Dvar was there who did a head tilt until he recognized me and waved. I tried to wave back but I was too far gone up the stairs.
The building itself was the same drab clay color. The problem with building entirely with magic, you had little variety. Ant farm, already on the list, and now promoted in importance. If this was going to be how new residents first saw my city maybe I needed to go a step further. After the foyer was a wall map of the building illuminated by a torch. Medical was another floor up. I found a staircase not far and bounded up it. The medical wing was mostly empty. There was a woman screaming up here in what I assumed was labor. This made sense as to why I never saw hospitals. They were added on to buildings of import for simple stuff like deliveries or recoveries. Actual healing done by green mages at a business or client's home.
At the end of the hall, I saw Brad from Lakeland holding back a crying woman. I sprinted down and let my feet skid to a halt. I extended a hand to Nate’s wife. I knew it was her based on her description from him. We entered the room and Nate was coughing. Fwar poured another healing into him but his body was fine.
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