by Marcus Sloss
“The moon never came out last night. The darkness was complete, and by morning the black streets ran red with blood. The lower section of the city dare not revolt in fear they are next. We told them to stay in the lower city and upper business district. They were warned anyone coming into the nobility area would die. So far it has been quiet. The side news is we looted twenty three manors. While you were getting stabbed last night... too soon... I procured a team of adventurers. The eight of them and the dozen fire mages you hired helped us clean up the loot. We piled all the gold, expensive items, and valuables we could early this morning with the help of the new carts and donkeys I bought. By midday it had been shipped to Fernlan to help pay for the added costs of your refugee griffins.” Nate said with a finality.
I paused looked at him then turned to Pipi. “Is there thirds. Tell me there is more food in this room.”
Nate chuckled but Bella scoffed. “They slaughtered entire families! Children Gryff, the children died, and you want more food.” Bella said losing her composure.
“Wife, calm, please. I would not have ordered the children killed and what the griffins did is nothing compared to the atrocities of the Horde. I am not saying I agree with it, but they are our allies and that is not going to change. Look, this city was going to fall. With King Devon making the calls and pulling Winter or Tami's strings this entire city and many like it would have burned in months. Maybe a few years max. The Horde is playing the long game. Trade will halt soon is my guess, as the Horde seizes vital supplies in caravans once thought safe. Doubt will plague the nobility into preserving what they can so they can last the longest while the peasants starve. Look at the fields and the farms. It is clear as day. Malvia is importing food and a lot of it. Someone has been lazy and not preparing for the doomsday scenario the peace accords really are.
“Actually I order you, Lady Bella, first wife of Earl Gryff of Fernlan to immediately get an overview of the cities production numbers and stored goods. Once that is done you are to find out the quota number on the portal that should be in kilograms. Two point two pounds to one kilogram, do the math and tell me which number is greater. Go, now!” I said with authority.
“As my husband commands,” Bella said with a proper bow of respect.
“Nate get Joey to go with her, and find Dina to fly her, she is the pink tipped white feathered lady griffin. Thanks, Nate.” I said and they left the room.
When they were gone the room settled into silence while I finished the third plate of food.
“That was a bit harsh husband,” Velia said. Pipi knew better and stayed quiet.
“Were the griffins justified in their actions?”
“It does not matter...” She tried to continue.
“Exactly. Enough said. We move forward, thank the gods we are on the same side, and continue the mission. Yesterday you asked what my general goal was that I wanted to achieve. It is to get the griffins enough supplies and training that if the accords break or expire we are ready. Then the griffins will purge this world of the Horde with magic that will make our enemies wish they never came to Vin. That is what I need to have happen for me to feel like I have achieved what I was sent here for. Right here in Malvia, we may have a key to a part of that answer. That fire mage Krix said the vole blood was rumored to produce fireballs beyond imagination. I plan to see that tested by griffins who have an aura so large it makes veteran mages gasp in surprise at the size.
“I was there when Dais was formed, I saw how easily Lirkon added his earth magic to the ogre heart. He did not swoon or stumble after the massive spell but instead smiled. Well griffin smiled, it counts.” I said and handed the empty plate to Pipi. I licked my fingers and was looking for more food but there was no more. “The griffins killed some nobles aligned to the evil Emperor who consorts with the Horde, I do not care. Children were killed, yeah that sucks, and I do not love that fact. This sends a clear message. Do not fuck with the griffins or those they call allies. Or you and those you hold dear will die. End of story. I can get on board with that.”
I got up and stripped. Pipi and Velia exchanged looks. “My light armor please I have to go into the searing heat, this armor will be shit for that. We can kiss and make up later and I need both of you to calm Bella. I want you to know I would not have killed the children myself, but what is done is done. Please help me suit up and let us move forward. I got a mountain of work to do... get it because we're on a mountain?” The ladies rolled their eyes at me and the serious demeanor dropped.
Nate came back into the room when I had finished suiting up.
“You ready to kill some golems, it will take a mountain of work to make progress to the voles. Unless we fight by torchlight it won't be until tomorrow...”
I paused him bursting out in laughter.
“I just used that pun. Let us stop with the silly wordplay and get to the grind, shall we? Hundreds of dumb rock creatures to slaughter for the rest of the day. Should be fun, right?” I said to Nate and exited the room. I felt a stinging slap on my ass.
Velia had her hands behind her back and Pipi was looking guilty. I gave them both a goodbye kiss and heard a 'ladies rule', in the background as we made our way out the manor.
There was a buzz of activity around the manor grounds. I stopped counting the griffins once I got past thirty. There was a lot. Lord Nova slept by the gate with his own griffin guards. Traz waited by the stable where everything started last night.
“You rise, good to see you well. I told you we would sort of protect you. If only you were smart enough to stay in armor while in hostile territory. Or if you were a griffin, well that would make everything better right. No fragile, tiny, weak body and only one aura. Poor human... I tease, we have a lot of griffins here. Some of the roosts from around the realm are stopping here to rest. We actually need a favor. We need food. You see all the rib cages sticking out of these starving griffins. Let us fix that. You got fire mages, your captain Nate has more troops, and you have a lazy patrol of six wargs with riders not far out to the east.”
I wanted to go kill dumb golems but the request to fight some wargs had my interest.
“What nonsense is this silly griffin saying now?” Nate asked.
“You two would get along so well, makes me sad you cannot talk,” I replied.
“We are working on it, he draws in the dirt in images to convey a sentence to me. I can talk and he understands and replies with drawing. It works most of the time. Did he mention he wants to kill some wolves?”
“Yeah, he did. He said some of the griffins are malnourished and need to eat and rest to keep going. It will put our golem killing plans on hold for today but we can start fresh tomorrow. He mentioned that warg patrol is now up to six and not far to the east.” I said to Nate.
“You both do know I am right here,” Traz said and drew a wolf with a headless orc. That drawing was actually very impressive. It was a big image, probably because of the size of his claw tip.
Nate pointed at the picture. “See perfect, I get it. Take the heads off some warg riders. How do we get them to attack though instead of running for reinforcements? We won't have time to set a surprise ambush so we need to do a baited ambush. Also, I would love to have the horses to fight mounted orcs. Actually, that is it. Not the horses...” Nate began talking fast as he formulated his plan. “We use one of these mules as the bait. We find some blood from some recently slaughtered animal to lure the wargs to us. Then lame a mule and have it hobble toward us. The blood brings them in, the bleating of the mule sets the trap. When they get close we ranged attack and then charge. When it is all done we heal the mule and give it extra food tonight and plenty of rest.” He finished proudly.
Traz bumped me with a paw. “I like the idea. We must hurry for it to work through. Hop on my back so we can get the blood, have Nate get his men assembled here ready to go. Other griffins will help move the troops to the eastern end of the barrier.”
I raced up his side and seated myself in the s
addle. I told Nate to hurry his men, and that I would meet him at the eastern gate with the blood and we would bring the mule. Traz took off, grabbed a surprised and angry mule and flew us down to the stables.
If you want to see a man go pale quickly, show up at his place of work and demand a bucket of blood. He did not protest or even say anything, instead he went into the stables. I heard a pig squeal and then go silent. A minute later I had a bucket of blood in hand and got back onto Traz. I was told not to spill any on him a few times. I kept pretending his flying was sloshing the blood onto his back. Mean things were said.
We were the last to arrive at the eastern exit of Malvia. There was no Donnie today. I recognized Nate, Brad, Kyle, and Marcus. There was also three men and Krix. They displayed red in their robes or leather outfits. They had a bandoleer of sorts across their waist or diagonal across their chests. Vials were placed into pockets on the extra belt for easy access. Inside the clear containers was the goo and puss that made up the blood of the golems. Krix saw me eyeing the containers and mentioned they were a decent fireball catalyst. The mages had little in the form of armor and carried short swords that hung from the waist.
The new mercenaries could have blended right into the Frontier Knight's ranks. They talked and mixed with the men I already knew with ease. They were fashioned in the same way. Skirmish armor that was light and allowed them to move quickly. One carried a shield and mace. The other two had short swords and longbows.
“Listen up. We are going to jog as I talk. Nate get someone to pull the mule or team carry it. We need to hurry. We will come back for a cart later.” I said as I crossed the barrier at a light trot carefully balancing the bucket of blood. The men followed me with Brad forcing the mule to keep up by tugging on a rope. The mule, happily kept up as it was without burden. “We need to get a mile east of here and set a trap, preferably find an open clearing and something we can hide behind. When the orcs arrive with their mounts we will rain fireballs and arrows on them from cover. The goal is to avoid melee combat and down at least a few. At best the entire group. For the new people, follow what Nate or I tell you to do. Wait for the signal to fire. If you hear me talking to the air, I am not crazy, I am talking with the griffins. Speaking of which I need to check where the enemy is at the moment.”
The pace was easy to keep going and nothing too drastic as a run. We were carving our own path between the thin set of trees and small brush. I saw a few rabbits scurry from underfoot as we progressed nicely.
“I have a visual Gryff, it looks like they picked up the scent of the fresh blood. The wargs are diverting your way now. The riders are trying to fight them to stay on the path but are unable to deter the large wolves. You should stop at the next clearing you find and set up your ambush there.” Traz informed me.
We kept moving east when I saw a small downhill opening. There were some trees and a few rocks to hide behind. It was not perfect but it would do. I told the men to set up and face the opening. I then grabbed the mule from Brad and dragged it into the clearing. I tied it loosely to a tree so it could free itself with minimal effort. I heard excited yipping not far away and realized I was out of time. I quickly dumped the bucket of blood on the mule. I then thought better of leaving him because we never needed the mule. The blood was enough. Oh well, I sprinted to get behind cover.
I was beside Marcus who had some javelins on his back, the same type I borrowed for the troll fight. I grabbed two as he leaned over the rock with a crossbow at the ready. Some people stuck out a little, and there were no traps to help but we were ready. I had gotten into cover right in time.
The wargs raced between the trees, the scent of blood sending them into a frenzy. The mule heard and then sensed the predators. It went crazy trying to undo the rope from the tree... My knot held. It was supposed to slip not tighten. Awe... The lead warg gave a final burst and leaped onto the defenseless mule. The alpha locked his jaw on the mule's neck and twisted. A resounded snap echoed across the space. The orcs were cheering on their mounts as they tore apart the dead mule.
Nate gave the order to fire. It was perfect timing, the considerably larger wolves with their orc riders were transfixed on the sacrificed mule. They were vulnerable as they clumped to rip into the body. Our initial salvo caught them by complete surprise. Great balls of fire seared across the distance. Arrows whistled away seeking to reach their targets. The javelin I threw arched in deadly fashion, adding to the salvo.
Four orcs fell to wooden projectiles and three wargs were on fire. A fifth orc caught on fire from his mount’s inferno. It was chaos for long enough to get a second volley in. After that round, there was only a single warg left. The lone survivor took off at a run. It raced away from us and the dead faster than I thought possible. I grabbed the last javelin from Marcus' container and lined up the shot. The warg was at least four hundred feet away by the time I threw.
My missile shot out with such a force and speed I worried it would never land. I overthrew the wolf and it got away. It was a risk we were willing to take, that word or knowledge might make it back. A single orc writhed in pain and was quickly dispatched by Kyle. One of the burned wargs had played dead, it lunged for Nate but he was ready and his sword gave it a killing blow to the chest.
The skirmish was over fairly quickly, and I felt awful for the poor mule I had unwittingly sacrificed. The death it suffered was gruesome. The killing blow was fairly quick at least. There were guts and torn bits of the mule all over the kill zone. Two of the orcs had open eyes staring blankly at the sky with crossbow bolts sticking out of their heads. Looks like the weapons were paying off.
To ensure no other surprise attacks happened, all wargs and orcs were beheaded. I watched as the men stripped the orcs of weapons and valuables. These orcs had purses on them but the currency was some time of stone that looked common. Not gems or gold I could probably use, but I decided to keep them to send to Lakeland. Maybe Derfran, the man who could speak the Horde language, could get some value from them. I found it odd because of all the kills we had made these were the first bodies with a purse. I shifted to studying the wargs.
Up close I realized they were much bigger than the wolves I kept in Fernlan. They were probably twice the sizeof my wolves, but they had to be to carry the orcs. There was no saddle on their backs and you could see from the patchwork fur where the orcs held on. These orcs were not as huge and bulking as the others I had seen with the chieftain. Nor were they as thin and young as the scouts. It was almost like they were determined to be riders from a young age and molded to fit that role. If I ever made it back to Derfran or found another Horde expert I would ask.
“Well can we haul this or cart it?” I asked Nate.
“If you can carry three of the wolves we can handle the rest. Worst case we make it partway and grab a cart when we realize it is too much. Traz say there were more coming?” Nate asked and I checked.
“Nope he said we are clear, the last wolf is heading far to the east and will take a long time to make it back to the orc settlement. So we got time.”
“Earl Gryff, I must admit sacrificing the mule made for the best distraction to get them all in one spot. As they tore apart the mule they were perfect targets. Well thought of sir.” Krix said to me.
Nate scoffed and held in laughter, and I caught Marcus smirking.
“I get it, I get it... My turn to get the abuse. It was an accident Krix. The dumb thing was supposed to slip out of my loose knot, but he tightened it. Which was probably the knot's fault and not the mules. I actually need more animals like that to haul stuff. I get tired of pulling carts everywhere, and those damn golems are heavy.” I said as I stacked the third warg on the opposite shoulder of the first two. “Speaking of heavy, these wargs are no joke. Let us return, I am going to jog to help reduce the time I have to haul these flea infested, smelly, carcasses.”
I took off west towards Malvia. I set the pace and no one was able to keep up while they were loaded down with bodies. I felt the ba
rrier's tingle and dropped the three wargs. I turned and raced back to the men and grabbed the last two warg bodies. The men shifted the remaining heads and orc bodies amongst themselves and tried to keep pace with me. I made another trip back to them but they shooed me off saying they could handle it the rest of the way.
The griffins were massed inside the eastern gate. They hauled the warg bodies to the manor where the rest of the catch was piled. It went smoothly and the next thing I knew I was landing in front of an angry Bella. She waved papers at me with one hand while her other fist was planted on her hip.
“Hmm... How did it go?” I asked Bella.
“Terrible, of course, you were right. I am still mad that the griffins killed children, which will take me time to cope with.” She said with her nose to the air. Bella was wearing a lovely baby blue sundress that hugged her curves perfectly. My mind got wandering and I had to redirect my eyes to meet hers. “This place is better off if the volcano goes off. It will be more merciful than the starvation that will start soon. They have enough food and livestock to last this month. Then that is it, the most shocking thing here on the notes was this...” Bella handed me a logbook.
I looked down the list of imports, it had them broken down into what was purchased, what it cost, and from where. At the bottom, there were two entries that baffled my mind. Food rations, ten prisoners, Bar'nacmar the merciful. Well, this opened up another level of deception. If I had to guess the only people who would trade for human sacrifices were the Horde.
“Good job Bella, great find. Your skills surpass my expectations. If this is a trade to the Horde we need to know who is dealing with them and how. You are done, for now, I thank you for your work. Do you wish to stay here while I continue my mission or return home and manage Fernlan?” I asked her while running my hands down her shoulders until our hands clasped.
“Tough decision my love, does a wife belong at her husband's side or managing his estate. For now, I will stay here, simply to spare our treasury the cost of your constant healing.” Bella said with her nose tilted upwards. She freed her hands and folded her arms under her chest. It propped her bosom up a delicious amount to further prove I needed her in other ways. While those amazing tits were distracting I defended myself.