Gryff Boxset

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Gryff Boxset Page 72

by Sloss, Marcus


  Nate’s eyes recognized me and his wife. “Clear the room everyone. How did you all fit in here? Nate, glad you are okay. Know this. The residual effects of griffin healing fades. Hurry up, Knights. I got a lot to go over. Enjoy your rest. If you want to skip tomorrow's mission no worries.” I said and everyone perked up. Well besides Mrs. Nate. She gave me daggers.

  We clumped up in the hallway. Donnie went first. “This is earth mage Poe. She has… filled our vacancy. This is air mage Ovas, he is a skilled air mage. Tammy is now an instructor at the academy. Her aura has grown significantly. We are glad you are alive. We got back with the metal this morning and it had been chaotic ever since. The team was wondering what you had planned, but you left so quickly.”

  Poe was a young bright eyed woman that was shorty and skinny. She had brown eyes and brown hair, which was the most common on Vin. She was cute in her own way. Ovas was young and confident. I felt Fwar and him would get along well. He wore a yellow robe that contrasted against our woodland armor theme. I needed to bring our armor maker here from Lakeland. If not send them to get a custom fit. I let it drop and filled them in.

  “I did leave in a hurry. Much transpired… For instance, I bought slaves!” I said rubbing my hands together evilly. The new team members did not realize I was being silly. The rest rolled their eyes. “Three and a half thousand dwarves. And they can come to Vartin with us without barrier issues. Then fifteen hundred elves, well I hope that many. Dvaren and elvath are the proper terms, at least that was what the gods and Horde called them. So shall we as well.”

  I scrunched at my mistake. It should be fine. I never said anyone by name. “Ovas cast a silence bubble around us,” I ordered and he did it correctly. Tammy must have shown him. “It turns out that the gods are real. They war across multiple universes and the Horde is empowered by a set of invading god. My mother is a defending god, a natural to our universe. Wait it gets better. If I were a mortal that stupid snake would have killed me even with the healing I got. And with time I can learn all magic. For instance, I know Ovas cast a proper silence spell. For now, that is trivial. My goals have not been altered too greatly. Training the griffins, and freeing Vin of the Horde is my primary mission. Which leads to us going south. We are going to capture young yeti and ice cats. The dvaren are coming with us, we leave for Bavie in the morning. Ensure you are prepared.”

  “Gryff we are ready to go. How about we leave these dreary hallways and catch you up on the month you missed. I know we have some interesting things to tell you about.” Markus said while handing me a javelin. “Garin has been pumping these out non stop. Hired a whole crew. The Mer are trading them for pearls which are selling well and go back to providing for Garin and his team.”

  “Getting that metal was fun… And by fun, I mean not fun at all. The smell of the dead was so bad we had the griffins melt the bodies with vole blood. Which we need more of.” Victor said as we walked out of the governmental building.

  Lazra went next. “After you went out we collected more tree worms and then headed home. For a few weeks, we recovered from the trip with some downtime while taking turns watching over you. Then we ran caravan protection for a trade trip to Cern and back. It was like old times. I even got to bow down a deer. The Horde has been removed from here. Means unless we are taming the wild creatures of Vin we may have to go further for fights.”

  I chuckled at this. “I think we will have plenty of fighting to do here soon enough. I am glad you retrieved the metal, guided a caravan, and got some downtime. You missed the Horde arena. I slew a few ogres… Damn it, I left a mighty ogre heart in Lakeland. Oh well. I think I will build my castle in Livina anyway. I like the ocean too much and it is near the center of our continents.” I said as we started to descend into Dais. The bright overhead lights were being reduced with partial covers as the sun was setting. “I loved this place. It is my home, I also love fishing. Nothing wrong with having two homes. Speaking of which what did you guys do with the homes I gifted you?”

  Donnie spoke up at this part. “Empress Amber traded us. We stripped a few other homes of goods in exchange for property rights. She said she would deal with you about it. I think she already planned to demolish those homes for your castle. It is probably good you are married since you think alike. We all graciously accepted her offer. Mina is beside the moon with what to do with the coins. I have no idea what to do with it. I have a nice home with nice decorations here in Dais. There is no vacuum in my soul that requires me to spend money. Mina did start talking about a second wife…”

  I slapped the young man on the back. “Ha! Good luck. I will tell you all what we can do. Maybe if you turn your coins into something the Horde wants you can get stones. Stones are the Horde’s currency. Essentially small granite chips infused with sacrificed souls. Very disturbing but they are the enemy. Anyway, I can buy some slaves for you to free Donnie. Convert the slave contract into employment ones. You could get Mina a maid. I plan to turn a lot of slaves into griffin babysitters. Besides retaking Vin, that is my goal. I feel it is a noble calling. Speaking of which, how many prisoners do I have?”

  Ovas fielded this one by raising his hand. “I watched Patti construct your dungeon. In reality, it is a closed-off pit. There were the two who stabbed Nate and three attempting to light fires to supplies. So five total. Baldwic is watching over them. Said he doesn’t mind when he is not training.”

  “Perfect, I was going to break their legs and cut out their tongues then feed them to my rat farm. I really, really, wanted to do that. Now I have a more noble idea. Sell them as slaves to free decent humans or allies.” I said and Ovas gulped at the image of the prisoners' demise I laid out. I pulled out my pen and a piece of paper. I wrote an official order sending the detained attackers to Lakeland to be handed off to Roz as slaves. I handed the document to Donnie. “Go hand this to Baldwic. Help him corral that filth, then move them up top. The griffins heard and will be ready to take them south. Man sack those Salvoni lovers. I will probably be able to buy fifty human women with them. Ha! More wives for you Donnie!”

  I was in a fit of laughter. The team was a mix of emotions. I didn’t need to justify myself but decided I should.

  “Hold up Donnie. I am serious those five are going to die. Anyone on the team have objections.” Everyone said they had no issue. “I see some of you don’t like the idea of slavery. So the option is clear. I sacrifice those five and free far more. Or feed them to rats. For probably the only time I will allow a vote. All in favor of a quick death. Score of four… All in favor of trading… Everyone okay I am confused.”

  Donnie who voted for both spoke up. “Those men have families, they came here on orders of an Emperor. They failed in their mission and deserve to die. I also find value in letting them live. Who knows what they will end up as slaves. Really I am more concerned where the line is drawn. These are clear cut. It will come…”

  Janice cut Donnie off. “Your wives may have better input. But I say you get some good people here on Vin for these bastards. Then from here on, do exactly as you did here. Hold a communal vote. It will give the nobles and your other wives something to do who are not running your Empire. It will also ease the pain of realizing the Vin Empire is an active slave trader.” Janice said and this got a lot of nods.

  “Deal. Speaking of wives. I have four I want to surprise. Be ready at first light at the roost. Good catching up with you all,” I said and ran for the Tipsy.

  It was much busier down here in Dais with hundreds of people moving about. As I entered the commerce district it was the fullest I had seen it yet. I weaved through the slow moving crowds and noticed a new restaurant was serving food. The library had its doors opened wide and people congregated over books for talk. The smithies were roaring with work. There was so much metal to smelt. They were in for a shock once the dvaren smiths arrived.

  The Tipsy was being repaired by Patti who I waved to. She went to tell me about work and I said it would have to
wait. I knew about the prisoners. This placated her and she returned to filling the griffin sized hole in the wall Traz caused to save Nate. As I passed the bar, Jak called out to me.

  “Your wives are eating a private dinner in the back. King Horus and King Omarr are in there. Around the corner. You can't miss all the guards.” Jak said and I thanked him.

  I went to the back of the Tipsy where the private dining was. I was stopped by four guards who did not recognize me. My anger boiled when they refused me entry. They did not believe who I said I was. I was going to shout to have my wives or one of the Kings let me past to avoid violence when I was shoved by a hostile guard.

  I poured aura into my body and hit the man so hard I killed him. His face erupted in gore from my punch. I stepped forward to kill the other guards when they lowered their weapons. Amber peaked her head out of a door at the commotion and squeaked in delight. Until she saw the dead guard and frowned. I shrugged and she waved me in.

  I entered a joyful room full of families. There were little kids running around, lots of wives, including mine, and the two kings. A servant rushed over and cleaned the blood off my face.

  The room went silent. “All hail Emperor Gryff, glad you are home, is everything okay?” King Horus said.

  “I guess. I need an emblem on my clothes ladies. That means by tomorrow morning. Someone’s guard assaulted me in my own home. They are dead now. Instruct your men to realize the tallest man on Vin that is built with lots of muscles is the Emperor. Shoving him leads to bad things. I am certain the mistake won't happen again.” I said as I worked my way into the room around playing kids and moms chasing them. A chair was pulled up and I was given a seat at the head of the table. A wife of Omarr’s was whispering in his ear and he gulped. It was his guard. “Ladies I need to talk business, please remove the children. If you are a wife who helps manage affairs, by all means, stay. I do not dally long with my meetings.”

  The dismissal was clear. As I sat my wives rotated to give me a kiss each. Amber first, then Addilyn, then Velia, and finally Pipi. Pipi decided to help with the visiting children. When the room quieted King Omarr apologized and I forgave the transgression. I sent Addilyn to fetch Tammy who, I was told was upstairs. I ate any food within reach while I waited. The wives handed me extra and that went down too. It was delicious and I asked to have the cook thanked. Tammy arrived and sealed off the room with a silence spell.

  “Update from my end. I went to Kikra… I need to step back. I traded with the cyclops master of Vin. That being is a greedy bastard. We concluded our trade and I acquired a portal shaman. I can now portal around the universe with limits of course. For now, Rakmar and I have concluded our agreement and there are no future deals planned yet. There are millions of humans for sale if not billions on the slave market. I intend to buy them all. Including those like the dvaren and elvath. As of today, Lakeland had thirty five hundred dvaren waiting to be moved to Uhara.” I said and King Horus frowned. I stopped and glared at him.

  “Gryff as your steward I promised that city to your fellow kings as an expansion point…” King Horus said and I paused him.

  I glared at Addilyn, then at Amber. They both tucked their heads. “Maybe I wasn’t clear… Maybe my rule has been too lax… I appreciate your efforts King Horus. THE KINGS CONTRIBUTED NOTHING!!!” I bellowed out in rage. I was irate. “King Omarr did not stop Salvoni from starving griffins. You King Horus have not killed a single Horde since I have been on Vin. You are managers. I respect that. My victories, my conquests are mine to do with as I please. I do not need to placate or please you. I am a DEMIGOD! I could crush you and replace you. You serve at my whim, not the other way around. This does not just go for you. Amber if I award my soldiers something, you do not back deal behind me. You will address me first. Give a moment.”

  There was silence as my breathing settled and my rage dissipated. “Better. I don’t have time for this petty nonsense. Build under your cites. Build outside the barriers now that griffins have cleansed the horde. I am bringing armies here to reconquer Vin. Hopefully by the millions. Next chance I get I am dropping the peace accords. That is final. The griffins and I are ready. While we wait for that moment I will expand my catalyst collection and my armies. I suggest you ready your generals. If I call upon your troops and they sit getting fat in southern ports I will not be merciful. Retaking Vin is not a minor objective, it is the only objective and it has been mandated by the gods themselves. Let that resonate while I go wash the rest of this blood off.”

  King Horus leaped out of his chair in rage. “I will not be…”

  I hurled my plate with purple aura at the wall. The shattering of it was deafening in the enclosed space. “Another word and it will be your last. Do you not realize you have zero power. You cannot march armies, you cannot fight me, and if you will not obey me… then step down. You are my wife’s father. That is the only thing sparing you from my wrath. If you want to retire then I have no problem making Riza king from a duke. I like you Horus… I do. Realize your family would like to see you grow old, seven hells that includes me. Empress Amber will run the Empire when I am away. You are to immediately return to Tent Crossing and stay there. That will be all. My wives follow me.”

  I was interested to see how Addilyn reacted. She turned her nose up and trooped with the rest of our family out of the room. It was a somber and quiet trip up the stairs until we entered our sectioned off estate. The moment the door closed Addilyn latched on in a hug.

  “I almost killed him, that plate went into the wall and not his face because of you,” I said as my wife sobbed into my chest. Addilyn just gripped me tighter.

  Amber walked over with a large stack of paperwork. “You are not home enough for me to know all your wishes. I will not apologize for buying back those properties in Livina from your troops. This… This stack, it all needs you or me to approve. Let us clarify this now. Do you want to adventure or handle this.” Amber said as she went to the small table in the room and placed the stack down. “If you have a portal shaman. You need to come home more if you want to manage the Empire to go exactly your way. Not to mention relieving Horus of steward increased my workload by a lot. A whole lot.”

  Addilyn had calmed now and was no longer crying. “I will help you Amber, but Gryff… she is right. You were down for a month. Decisions had to be made and we continue to do so. I think you may be missing the fact you cannot do both. Run an Empire and adventure.”

  I sighed at this. I did bypass the stack of paperwork because I did not want to deal with it. I hated to admit it but they were right. When I neared our bed I undressed and slid under the covers. My four wives stared at me. I propped myself up on my elbows.

  “I will try to come home more. I want the dvaren to have Uhara. I want Livina to be a home for the elvath. There will be many more dvaren and they need their own home. There is more than enough space in Livina it was big enough for hundreds of thousands. I want humanity to expand outside the barriers with the aid of the griffins. Write this down please.” I said and Velia raced to a dresser. She extracted a pen and paper. When she was ready I continued. “Hire a team to visit the last three desert cities. I want detailed maps and descriptions. If there is land to divvy out, then select one city and make it an awarded location. Leave two blank for our later needs.

  “Next, we are getting into the slave business. I need a committee formed in every kingdom. If a person's crimes are great enough to warrant execution I want them tried for punishment by slavery. Justification is I can free more innocent slaves, including humans by forfeiting the lives of the guilty. This is not up for debate. If you ladies need to make any major changes let me know. For example, Amber why did you acquire those waterfront properties?”

  Amber left the stack of papers behind. She was in a loose fitting casual dress. When she let it fall I grinned. Her large tits bounded free and her hips swayed as she sauntered for the bed. Pipi did an equally dramatic boob reveal and approached naked fr
om the other side. They slid into bed with me while I drooled. Addilyn went to the paperwork and started signing documents. Velia watched patiently while taking notes. I waved her over and she got naked to join us.

  “It is where I want to raise our children. We decided without you and it slipped by in your rush. It was kind of a wild day when you awoke. Let things settle and we promise to be more informative and transparent. Addilyn dear, leave that for later. Come snuggle.” Amber said and patted the bed.

  I patted the bed too and her frown vanished. We were all a bit on edge from earlier. They were doing a great job of running things while I was away. I did let it sink in, I couldn’t do both. Run an Empire and fight for it.

  “Do not expect these often. But I apologize. A lot has transpired that you handled marvelously. I trust you as a team. I think I resent your father trying to dictate my achievements. I don’t get angry the same way with you girls. I will visit more for updates if I can. Enough talk of business. Tell me how your day was. Each of you one at a time. Then I will go over mine.” I said.

  And so it went for the next hour. Eventually, Bella and Trish joined us through the nursery door. Introductions were made to Trish and Bella got a bit of teasing over never taking a concubine then doing exactly that. They joined our friendly conversation. At one point Pipi left to ensure Vern was behaving and to get snacks. For the first time in… Well, ever the entire family relaxed in bed and talked late into the night. I knew some of the girls wanted sex, but I kept my cock soft to discourage it because Bella was here. That was the first time we all squeezed into the large bed together. I was exhausted and for once was more than okay with falling asleep in a ball of bodies without sex first.

  CHAPTER 18

  I peeled myself out of bed early in the morning when I heard giggling. Like enough giggling to be a dozen young ladies. I exited our room naked and found a swarm of young women getting ready in the extra bedrooms reserved for the wives. I raised an eyebrow at this and then returned.

 

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