by Marcus Sloss
I got scolded by Bella for not sending someone else to do the little tasks. I did not want to argue back so I got dressed in fresh clothes after drying off. I went up to the extremely packed Inn. There were around a hundred people chatting or relaxing. The noise was overwhelming, and getting anywhere took time. I went to the bulletin board after a few people greeted me.
Zack had posted two proposals for me. One was the manor basement. It used the half ogre heart and planned an expansive underground building. It included rooms, a kitchen, storage areas, a training space, and an armory. All to be built under the planned manor that I had approved last night. A note at the bottom wrote that the walls would be cold and of the earth but could be covered with wood to preserve heat. It would take some work to make it match the rest of the manor in appeal and refinement. The other half of the heart would be sold to lavishly furnish the manor from top to bottom.
The second proposal was a giant cavern. One that almost stretched the entire village in size. It was a simple cut out below the village. A simple wide expansive open space. The measurements were a mile and half long and wide. The height was fifty feet tall. There was a note saying with more goblin hearts we could add specific sections. Then it told me to flip to the back. On the back was a rough idea about how, with time, the space would be filled. There was a large griffin section, a place for the mage academy, a barracks, and rows upon rows of large houses, a dining area, a bathhouse, and more. Zack had laid out a rough sketch of how I could remake the entire village underground where everyone had plenty of space. As I was reviewing the second proposal I must have been bumped three times from the overcrowded Inn.
“Anyone seen Zack the earth mage!” I shouted.
“Up here, my lord,” Zack said from the balcony outside Jak's room.
I held out a hand open to stop him from trying to get to me. I got up on the bar, leaped to the balcony railing and hauled myself up to avoid moving through the masses.
“Into Jak's room, maybe the door will reduce the noise so we don't have to shout.” I said to the group.
Zack, Jak, and two women I did not know came into the room. When the door closed introductions were made.
“Gryff, these are earth mages Patti, and Fae. They have been helping us improve the village.” Zack said.
Patti was an older lady with gray blended into her black hair. She had seen better years and looked tired with bags under her eyes. She was frail and skinny, not from starvation skinny. Her taunt skin reminded me of an old person who doesn’t eat enough. She wore a brown loose robe with the hood down.
Fae was the exact opposite in age, maybe an apprentice or freshly a journeywoman. She was young and vibrant as if excited to be here. She had short red hair and brown eyes with a bit of extra weight. She wore a matching brown robe and sapphire earrings.
“Well met,” I said and shook their hands. “Alright since I have you all here, tell me more about this cavern plan.”
The three earth mages looked at each other to decide who should talk first when Patti took the lead.
“Well Zack and I are technically master mages, we both are fairly strong among our peers but not recognized as such by the mage academy. Fae here is my former apprentice, her aura is slightly smaller than ours, but in a decade or two time, she will be stronger. I say this because this cavern you have planned will require more aura than we have here right now. Not sure how well informed you are regarding certain spells, but the one that uses the ogre heart as a catalyst is a onetime use. There are two limiters to how big we can make the initial dig out. The size of the heart or our aura, in this case, the heart was a young male in prime health, could probably handle an extra ten feet deep if we had five or six mages. The aura we have will do about seventy percent of this plan, but my lord, remember we still have a hundred and fourteen goblin hearts set aside. Every few days we can make this plan a reality, bit by bit, as we regain aura. If you had a prosperous city with plenty of room I would wait and hire more earth mages. In this case, I recommend using us, and get done what you can as quick as you can to stabilize the booming population. The Inn and town center have become overcrowded and now the dugouts are starting to fill.” Patti said.
I found myself curious and excited about all they could do. “Where would you plan on making the entrance and when could you start?”
“Right now, and we would use one of the dugouts next to the road. The supplies in there would need a new home but once we do the spell there will be no shortage of space. All we need is the ogre heart which is stored in cavern three. That, and a few people to catch us when we exhaust our aura.” Patti said.
“Well time to get wet again, Jak you are coming with us. Find Nate and his men, tell them to meet us at cavern dugout one by the road. Have a wagon brought over to remove the goods. Alright, let us go build the foundation for an underground village.” I smacked my hands together and rubbed them in anticipation.
We left the noisy bustling Inn and proceeded to get soaking wet. The trip down the cobbled road was muddy. I needed to get the dirt removed and the road cleaned. I would attach it on the bulletin board as a low priority task. It was the first time experiencing how disgusting the muck was. I hardly noticed the covering when it was dry. We sloshed through the mud and got to the first cavern. Lydia rested in here heavily panting. Lirkon was awkwardly crammed in a corner over the supplies trying to stay dry while he watched over her. The realization of what was happening dawned on me. Lydia was in labor. I circled my arms around the group of earth mages and guided us back out to the rain and proceeded to the next dig out.
Lirkon thanked me for leaving them alone. Lydia told me how males were dumb, and how they should birth cubs. I avoided any argument and told them to let me know if they needed anything. The request was for meat, lots of meat for when the cubs were born. I pinched my nose in frustration at the fact I once again needed a runner, maybe I would hire three shadows to follow me around. Probably quiet Bella about me doing menial tasks. I should have told Velia and Pipi to hire a team of servants. Hopefully, she reads my mind and gets a few.
The second dugout was empty besides some materials and tools for crafting clothing and leather armor. Which reminded me that I should probably hire a seamstress. Maybe I had, something to check on at least. The items were light and easily carted away. Once the cavern was empty, they let me know they were ready. Fae placed the ogre heart against the back wall raised on a small rock. It was a dark purple, and as large as Zack's head.
“Lord Gryff, I will need everyone to stay back. You can be in the cavern. Avoid stepping between the heart and us earth mages. I will... Hey, what are you doing?” Zack said to Lirkon as he pushed his way beside the trio. “Okay I guess he wants to watch, he say anything to you?”
“No, but if you feel his aura aiding yours I would not be surprised. He seems grumpy because his wife is having cubs. I would start the spell before he changes his mind.” I said as the griffin huffed in agitation at me calling him grumpy.
Patti took charge and launched her aura into the ogre heart. I could only see the faintest trace of the aura as it transferred into the heart. Then Zack, Fae, and Lirkon joined the spell. Patti had her eyes closed and chanted in a deep slow voice.
“Earth obey me, earth I command, earth do what I demand!”
“Earth obey me, earth I command, earth do what I demand! Earth obey me, earth I command, earth do what I demand! Earth obey me, earth I command, earth do what I demand!”
At the end of the fourth chant, there was an explosion of blinding brown light. The end of the dugout was gone, now becoming the entrance to a cavern the size I had never seen. A twenty-foot wide ramp descended sixty feet lower at a gradual decline. The ramp extended a couple hundred feet deep into the cutout. Where the ramp connected to the bottom deck was the central point of the village and the cavern. I took a few steps down the ramp to get a good view of how much space there was. It was too dark to get a vivid details and I immediately wished for a bright l
ight. I gave a loud cry and it reverberated back much slower than I expected. I was baffled at the scope and size of the vast subterranean area. The height was much larger too. This was beyond what I was prepared for.
I looked over and saw the mages had not collapsed. Fae had a confused look on her face, while Patti and Zack were in open shock. Lirkon chuckled at their surprise that sounded like a hyena laugh.
“So... That just happened. I never knew they had so much aura. I barely used twenty percent of my total. He fed so much into the spell the limiter was the heart. Not to sound ungrateful or demanding, but if we can use him or other griffins we can have your bathhouse and roost completed today.” Zack said.
“On our way!” Sly, and two other griffin voices I did not know said in unison.
“I hereby name this cavern as Dais!” I proclaimed and so it was. It took a few minutes for the shock to set in at recent events. Both the sheer size of the cavern and what griffin aura meant to our projects going forward.
“Which building should we start with Gryff,” Zack asked.
“No more buildings today, we will wait. Let us not rush this. In this diagram, the ramp down is on the edge and not in the center like it actually is. This cavern is significantly larger than we expected and that means we should redraw some plans that go with the actual layout and dimensions. I will get the torches I bought in Lakeland brought to partially illuminate the space.
Tomorrow I want a few draft layouts posted on the bulletin board. Spend the rest of today figuring out the best way to utilize this space, I will have the griffins make some plans carved into wood for how they want their roost. Once we are ready tomorrow we can start putting buildings up.”
Everyone in the dugout still seemed to be in shock at the results of the spell. I nudged Nate out the doorway and as we left, Sly and two griffins I did not know came in. They walked down the ramp a few paces and then flew around the dark hollowed-out space. We left them to it while getting the torches. A few men who had been waiting outside in the rain with the covered wagon went back in to unload the crafting supplies. We passed by them and went to the fourth dugout for the torches. We loaded up and brought them to Dais.
The underground area was so vast that the dozen magical torches barely beat back the darkness. I would need to find a way to illuminate the place from the ceiling. I would talk to Lamont when he got back. As we were hanging the torches a dozen griffins swooped inside and consolidated into Dais. They were excited and planning exactly how they wanted the roost to be built. As I left they assured me they wanted to wait until tomorrow when Lord Nova arrived. They said if we started something this grand without his input he may become offended. And we could not have that.
I spent the rest of the evening hoping the rain would settle down and I could get some wild land work done. There was no reduction in the torrential downpour. I ended up spending the evening going over paperwork, eating a large meal, and then retiring to my chambers for the night. Bella was insistent that we practice our baby making skills deep into the night. I fell asleep with a big grin on my face, content with life.
CHAPTER 10
I had finished reviewing the proposed plans for Dais. The one I liked the most sectioned out the underground space into four zones. A whole quarter was devoted to large residences and apartments. There were to be three layers of two story houses, with only the first layer to begin with. Family sized homes came in three, four, and six bedroom options. A vast improvement over the hovels of Fernlan. The single room apartments were one per floor with ample space. I wanted something away from the slums of Lakeland, and tiny houses of Fernlan. They would not be furnished but the layouts were very nice, and I felt people would want to move into them. I figured I could give them to residents free for six months and then charge a small rent. Contract employees had housing provided as a perk in their paperwork. Not many of my contracted personnel had moved their families but if I built nice homes and had a good economy going that would change.
Another quarter of the cavern was partitioned off for the mage academy and the roost. The plan I liked here was having them close together. The problem was I did not have actual blueprints for either building. While a quarter of the space was immense, without the plans I had no idea how much area they would actually need.
The third section was for a bathhouse, inn, market, shops, and storage. It went to three stories and had two levels. The second level would be built as needed but for now, there was more than enough room. The final quarter was allocated for expansion or if the roost, and academy did not fit into one area.
The earth mages were sure to run into some issues with such a large project. I had faith in them though. I still wanted to move the actual stables for the animals underground. I had no idea if Dais was directly under the northern fields or if it was deep enough to allow the stables even if it was. It was on my to ask list. I stacked the papers neatly, signing off on the ones I liked and setting aside the disapproval ones.
I was walking to the door to leave my room when a knock sounded. I opened to see Donnie, in a matching suit of armor to mine. He looked like a proper young warrior. The bonus was I noticed he was dry. That meant the rain had stopped. No lazy day for me.
“Welcome back Donnie. Remember those smelon trees? I want you to find the Fearless Company, they have a leader named Una. Get them ready to leave the eastern gate. I will meet you over there soon enough. Going to scout with a griffin for you guys. Oh, and bring a cart.” I said to him.
“Yes, Gryff. And thank you, Mina and I had a very nice time in Lakeland. The armor is very excellent, thank you. I spent some gold on a better sword and shield that came with a matching sheath and pattern. I also bought a few nice bags. Here is one for you. There is rope, a hook for climbing, a torch, fire starter, and a few other things the merchant said would help any adventurers.”
Well, I am... I should have gotten one of these myself. I must have missed the vendor or maybe he went into a local shop.
“Awesome find Donnie, I appreciate it. I will get armored up myself and then strap it onto my back. Fearless Company, eastern gate. See you soon,” I said, then went back in to get fully geared up for the day.
Ready to go I exited the Inn and saw Zack talking with Elan out by the town center. I jogged over and approached the two.
“Morning Zack, Elan. Here are the plans I approved. Start with another inn, give it a name besides Inn. Then work on a bathhouse. Once I get the roost approved that will take priority. I am going to speak with the griffins. If you see a griffin following you around like a puppy, it is to help with aura. If you think it is for food, well you probably are also right, they eat more than I do. So find Fae and Patti, and build me a city under the earth. Oh quick question, is Dais underneath the stables? If so can we build the stables underground and utilize the fields above ground? I was thinking you wouldn't want the animal smell around Dais, and also a smaller ramp for daily movement would make more sense. Maybe only ten feet under the earth for the stables. ” I talked in coordination with my hands. I dove down and circled a landing area, it was all overdone and not followed. I still felt I had tried hard to convey my words with my gestures.
“Thanks for the paperwork, I will get started building. I will go over to the griffins in a bit and see who follows me. As for the stables, yes they are above Dais, but it is not a big deal. They are over the proposed business zone. We can make a level only ten feet deep, would probably only take five or six goblin hearts. I would place it on the low priority list though, most things are wild. The stabled animals like the ducks, sheep, runtlets, and rabins are all in decent homes at the moment. What I do recommend is adding a large storage section under the griffin landing pad. That way you have one central point where things are stored. The dugouts are spread out and hard to organize.”
“Fair point, consider it approved when you can actually get it done. Alright have a good day, I look forward to seeing the progress. If you need something I want you to bother this
guy or post something to the bulletin board.” I said pointing to Elan.
I gave them each a wave and I was gone. I passed the Inn again and went down the ramp to the western fields. I stopped by the first dugout to do a quick check on Lydia, who was still in labor. The only thing they wanted was some water. I went to the well and got them a fresh bucket. She thanked me and said she thought any hour now. I left her to it because I was not sure what else I could do to help. Phen was on standby if he needed to do birthing stuff. Not my field of work.
I entered the second dugout that housed the entrance to Dais. Instead of running down to where the griffins were I called out for whoever was going to be my scout for the day. Traz came flying up from the dimly lit bottom and landed beside me. He was saddled and ready to go.
“Morning Traz, we are going to recon the northern gate and see if any orcs were left behind. Then we will go over and scout the eastern gate. There are two ripe smelon trees over there I want to get plucked before the fruit goes bad. Then off to the oat fields. After that, we will give a report to Una, then north to scout the orc settlement and then west of that to find the village Xiq. It should be a fun filled morning of flying and looking for bad guys. Any questions?” I asked.
“No, I am happy to get in the air and away from the roost debate. It is going to take Lord Nova to get them to come to any consensus. Some do not want a below ground roost, others want it deeper. Some want it tall, others wide. It goes on and on. I want a space for my mate and I to make some cubs, then a nice place for the cubs to learn the ways of the past. It will be hard to teach them to hunt with the rules of the peace accords. See, even I am going off about it. Let us leave the drama here and fly,” Traz said then lowered himself so I could get on easier. I thought of bringing Deb when the little monox scurried to me and up on my armored shoulder. I wondered if they had some telepathy, or if it was coincidence.