by Marcus Sloss
Virtue saw the last dvarette leave Uhara to enter our base camp and he closed the portal. He sighed and leaned on his staff. “I will have to wait for tomorrow or you can use Roz to move the human cavalry. Those dvaren were a lot, a few hundred thousand dvarettes went to aid the armies. A few moments ago Urshoe mentioned she had ferried a lot of supplies in and out of Iceshore. She is done for the day too. We can recharge our aura from the elvath, but we will pass out eventually. The body can only handle so much.”
I nodded at this. The old shaman looked exhausted. I needed to catch up Roz. Hopefully, she was helping ensure Vin was an overproducing planet. She did have Addilyn and Nautica with her so they should be doing well. Also, I forgot to see what mounted animals she found. I pulled my pen out of my bag and my paper to make a note. When I never asked a question to Virtue he continued talking.
“When Maurta locks onto a planet it is a spell. That spell gives him options. He can then choose between those options to open his locked portal. He sends a goblin in, and the goblin comes back. Then he sends a shaman or a cyclops. At this stage, the portal is still a small opening. No larger than an ogre, it is this size on purpose. If the intelligent being decides they should continue to hop around the planet they can. A few things are needed. A complete destruction of the portal and its base is required. That will sever the lock to the opening. A simple portal the size of an ogre and it is only a team of orcs to demolish the old portal. He severs the connection, searches the universe again, finds the same planet and then opens a new portal somewhere else on its surface. If they have indeed found a new elvath source after all these years… On Vin of all worlds… They would never risk losing the location of the planet. Even if Maurta could easily find it again, there is the chance the four can hide it, or something goes wrong. So they will not willingly break that portal to complete destruction. It would be too risky with too many potential downsides. If they sent stupid orcs to do the job, they may leave some of it intact and be separated forever from Vin. Then there is the fact that elvath are ruthless determined killers. They have an established portal now. Many portals were lost in the early days against the elvath. In all my years, never has a big portal been destroyed and a fresh one erected. While it is allowed in the rules, it is never done. You will need to partially break that portal and jam Maurta’s attempts to ever reconnect to Vin. Gryff there are many options. The griffins are the primary ones… I hate to tell you this Gryff. I really do… Sacrifice the dvaren. There is little other choice.”
Again I thought of the ramifications of this decision. The justification to eliminate a friendly foe was there. At the same time, I had no idea how my allies would take it. I would have to ask General Halsad and judge his reaction.
“Alright. Thank you for your insight. Take us to…” I decided to give our forward operating base a name. “Watchtower. That is the name of where we are staging. FOB Watchtower works. Virtue if you please. I will set you up with a quiet room for each of you to rest in.”
Virtue spun a black as night portal and it wobbled a bit. I added to it and then saw Urshoe add her weak tendrils. The portal cleaned up and we stepped through.
∞∞∞
Not much had changed when we arrived back. I grabbed a black robed mage with brown trim. Then I ordered him to create private quarters under the main platform King Aves built in conjunction with our lookout tower. I then told him to engrave FOB Watchtower on all sides of the structure. He nodded at my requests and went to work. I told Virtue to come with me for our meetings while I had Urshoe retire for a rest.
We climbed the steep ladder until we were fifty feet off the ground. I saw King Aves with Barice, Queen Yvette, Nate, and General Halsad chatting. When we approached they let us in the group.
“Virtue told me our goal is to fracture or break the platform for the portal. We cannot work around the contract the dvaren have. We will need to bypass them somehow or remove them from the field. Which leads to this question. What are the repercussions if we kill those defending dvaren on the portal? I know they are innocent and I do not wish to fight a species I consider family.” I said this and was met by stern faces.
“The citizens of Vin will not riot or turn on you for a one time occasion. We have been trying to find ways to get past them without death. The best we have is to sleep them by dropping spelled water. That will not work though unless we break the shield. To break the shield we have to go really high or get in ballista range with griffins, which means we have dvaren firing on us… There is no win here. They will have to die and we can hope those strong enough to survive will forgive us. If it makes you feel better. Queen Nautica would support this decision.” General Halsad said with a deep sigh.
“Well… not ideal. What is your plan, King Aves?” I asked the mighty griffin. I always talked directly to him even if he was being spoken for by Barice.
“We coordinate a combined rock launch. Heavy rocks break shields the best. Really the trick is mass with pressure. Big booms that fad quickly tend to be thwarted. You want continued pressure. We have enough vole blood to break them, except then we run the issue of fresh mages starting new shields. We really need more of that stuff. Add it to your to do list…” Barice paused. I waited for her to continue. Everyone stared at me. “Like now.”
I pulled out my pen and paper and flipped to the backside of my to do list. It was that long. I found send Duke Riza to Malvia to get vole blood and starred it. Then I slid it back into my bag. Griffin kings could be dicks.
“When the shield breaks we erect a few towers under the soil of the platform. That should bust the portal’s base and destroy its connection without completely breaking it. Once that is down we burn all these troops. Then work on killing the champions and freeing the elvath. Which… again maybe another issue. How do you want to handle hostages? Most scenarios that we played out the captured elvath are an unknown. We could barter Horde lives sent to a Horde friendly planet in exchange for unharmed elvath. There are just so many what if scenarios here Gryff.”
I chewed on my inner cheek while I thought about this. Then I looked at Nate.
“I vote you only barter if you have to and run over the enemy including the captured elvath. It is harsh and it will hurt… My thing is, we are here to secure the planet. Not to free the new elvath that were captured. That is a bonus. If you can. We have to remove this portal from the equation and then secure it by killing all the Horde we can. If the entirety of the Horde were to swarm here at once we would be hard pressed to push them back.”
“I agree with Nate we will… Hey is that a white flag being walked our way. Huh by a thirty foot ogre. May I catch a ride, King Aves?” I asked the griffin and he nodded.
I got on his back and sat beside Barice. When I was settled we flew toward Raxrune who waited in an empty cleared field. When we were a few hundred meters out I accepted his contract for the white and we all shifted colors of our clothes. King Aves landed with a thud and did something unexpected. He built a meeting table. Right here in a section of open field. A large chair for Raxrune, a cleared spot for him with Barice, and then a chair for me.
I planted my ass in the seat with a grin. Raxrune laid his weapons beside his chair and seat himself. The ogre was very intimidating in his sheer size. He was a deep brown color with gray patches. Angry red scars adorned his body. He wore no armor besides a kilt. His black eyes stared at me in silence as we got situated. This was a mighty foe and I wondered why he gave us the white and sat with us.
“Gryff I take it? My father warned me of you.” Raxrune said while glaring at me with his soulless eyes.
“Warg, yes. I enjoyed my time with him until he went a tad crazy,” I said and Raxrune smiled at this declaration. I pointed to King Aves. “This is King Aves and his voice for mortals… Barice.”
King Aves sat on his hunches and greedily stared at Raxrune as if he were so hungry he was starving. I was used to the griffin and I found it important to remember King Aves was fifty five feet long, th
irty five feet wide and weighed more than a building. If I were to wager he could defeat Raxrune even without magic. This got me thinking. How was he so big? Why was Lily so adamant to bring him to us during our conversation? I felt the pieces clicking together in my brain when my chair broke.
I rolled backward. When I stopped I dusted myself off. I had zoned out and Aves busted my chair to wake me up. He rebuilt the seat and I went back. King Aves was the only being I let give me shit. I even knew I was in the wrong here.
“Sorry, I was figuring something out,” I muttered.
“We were opening negotiations. What could be more important than that?” Raxrune chuckled and then tossed his thumb towards the master portal.
“I think I figured out how to kill the advancing seven with ease.” I deadpanned.
The look on Raxrune's face was priceless. Of all the things, this was the last one he expected me to say. He recovered quickly while Aves laughed.
“I am here to quit the field before we fight. My father ordered me not to engage you. Somehow he knew this was your world, and that you would arrive here to break this portal. Let me get that wagon through the portal then I will vanish.” Raxrune said giving his offer.
I was not stunned, merely confused.
“Your father is the god of war… He would never surrender this planet without a fight… Unless he knows… No that is not it. May I ask a question, I will answer one honestly in return? Well, besides how I can kill the gods.” I asked and he nodded. “This is bigger than the advancing seven isn’t it?”
This got a roaring laughter from Raxrune. Which from an ogre was startling. His whole chest heaved up and down as he expressed his happiness.
“Those stupid elvath. They are the prize of the prize in the upper universe. So cherished by the warring gods they will sacrifice their own children for them. Unfortunately, for me and for them my father gave me orders to not die to you. I believe him when he says your forces will reclaim this portal with or without me defending it. So, therefore, we give them some male elvath that they so desire. Say the world portal was destroyed and continue on with the regular mission. Expanding and conquering. If we cannot get back here they will cease their endless demands. Honestly, I think father wants them to come here and deal with this planet. He is not frightened by the four, more like concerned. Your gods have had billions of years to prepare. Whatever trap was conceived here he wished to not be caught in it. Hence his desire to let others crash against whatever carefully laid plans rest here,” Raxrune said while clenching his chair. It was hard for me to gauge the ogre’s expressions. It matters very little if everything he said was true. My focus and main goal remained the same. Close that portal.
“What are you exactly proposing? You want up to that wagon in the caravan to enter the portal.” King Aves had Barice reply while pointing at a wagon in line not too far from the gateway. “That is five more loaded male elvath I can free right now. Your defenses cannot stop me from breaking the platform. Then we can pick you apart at our leisure. So tell me, ogre… What are you going to do to make it worth my time? Make it good or else I strand you here to be feasted on once my armies arrive.” Barice said. I had to admit the dainty sexy elvath did not give off an intimidating vibe. King Aves certainly did.
Raxrune was not deterred though. “Before this white wears off I am leaving regardless. I can offer those dvaren and four portal shamans. The dvaren will have to leave behind the ballista in their haste. They are under my contract. I will transfer that contract to you so they will become your property. I wish I could offer more. You will still have to deal with Aroxa. The demigod of Maurta. She is very lethal if you cannot deflect her ranged attacks or close the gap to get close. She also decided to not listen to my…” Raxrune said as he looked over his shoulder. He saw his fellow troll demigod walking our way.
King Aves did something he had not done since we had elvath living among us. He spoke directly to me. “He is stalling. His deal states that the location of the caravan, not that exact wagon. The sooner we accept the more we save and the quicker we can get moving to our next phase of the battle. I am going to accept his deal and I will bear the responsibility.”
I nodded and I watched the yellow magic shift between the Raxrune and King Aves. Raxrune was not expecting this and at the same time did not hesitate. He was out of his chair faster than I predicted he could move. He ran full speed toward the portal and shrank in size as he left us. Aroxa tried to stop him but he ignored his fellow demigod.
Aroxa was a half mile away screaming at me. I saw the tendrils of contract magic for a challenge. I went to laugh then thought better of it. I studied the contract. She was not offering much in her proposed duel. Loser either died or was enslaved. Winner got nothing special. I thought about it then decided to accept it.
The tendrils raced between us and condensed to solidify the rules of the duel. It had the loophole I needed. “I declare a champion!” I screamed from our meeting area.
Aroxa never stopped running for us as she closed the distance quickly.
“King Aves is my champion!” I said in a declaration. Then I muttered at a low volume only Aves would hear. “Get her to submit. We can enslave her and then barter her to the seven. At least until Maurta replaces her.”
Now… Griffin expressions were hard to read most of the time. The smirk on King Aves's beak was clear. Barice scurried down his saddle in a hurry. She leaped the last part and I had to stabilize her as she needed help stopping her momentum. The timer on the contract had counted down to zero after my champion declaration.
King Aves unfurled his wings and went airborne. Aroxa did not hesitate. With determination and confidence, she hurled a spear at the griffin. It soared so fast it whistled through the air. King Aves channeled a thick ice shield to intercept the speeding missile. I held my breath as ice was shattered. Then I saw the spear falling with the ice, darting for the ground. It was clear a single spear would not be enough.
Aroxa skidded to a halt. She slung her overflowing quiver filled with spears onto the ground beside her. King Aves hovered patiently. I knew he was toying with her. Aroxa was a demigod though. This was an unknown factor to her. I did not think she realized she was facing an opponent more powerful than her. She probably was accustomed to hurling spears with such a might they went through shields and armor.
I watched as Aroxa hurled three, then four spears in rapid succession. The distance between her and King Aves was too much. I saw Aves radiate purple and he shot higher into the air. All four spears arrived too late and he dodged by flying above them. You could see the frustration etch onto Aroxa’s face. She hurled three more spears that were avoided with ease.
King Aves came closer and Aroxa waited patiently to throw this spear. Right when the metal projectile was about to leave her hand she was enclosed in a clay dome. Her spear erupted out of the enclosure, only to fly with a wobble and never come close. I could hear her beating on the wall of the clay trying to get out. The toying was over for her though as King Aves dove.
He plummeted right for her inside the clay half circle. The resulting crash sent debris flying hundreds of feet. A shockwave erupted from the impact of the collision. When the dust cleared I saw in King Aves’ paw rested a battered and broken troll. Her legs were shattered and she coughed up blood. Barice and I left the meeting area to walk to the defeated demigod. This had pretty much confirmed my theory. King Aves was the champion of Sion. This made sense to me for a few reasons. Lily said she worked for ages to make these griffins. She knew Sion was down in the core. Somehow she had gotten his seed and used it to make this immense griffin. He was the god killer, far more efficient and powerful than I will ever be. He ran over Aroxa like she was another fragile mortal. When we arrived at his side Aroxa screamed in pain.
“Kill me now, he will replace me eventually. The old fool never leaves… Argh!” Aroxa yelled out in agony as King Aves applied more pressure. “If I surrender to enslavement how will I be treated? I hear the
retreating four are merciful in their weakness.”
Barice kneeled beside the crumpled dying body. “You will serve at my whim. I am having to take responsibility for a lot of what transpires here. You will be fed, clothed, and provided for. In exchange, you will do as I say, how I say, and when I say it.”
The contract of the duel flared yellow and I had a new slave. I sent her slave contract to Aves who accepted it. Good for them. That eliminated both demigods in our way. I glanced at the portal to see Raxrune watching his fellow demigod be converted to a slave. The last wagon he was allowed passed through the portal.
There was a goodbye wave with a smile. He got what he wanted and survived. I sensed the slave contract for the dvaren and portal shaman were sent my way moments before Raxrune left. It was easy to see him vanish as he was the biggest ogre around. His shamans channeled air magic into the ground below the portal. A cracking noise blared so loudly it sent rows of shockwaves. I let the noise and bursts of air wash over me as I viewed the results. The master portal to Vin arched in static discharge, then warped into a wobbly mess. The portal shrank until it was a large angry ball of electricity. A loud blinding explosion thundered across the landscape. The silence that followed revealed a total collapse. One minute there was a massive yellow sparking portal, and the next it was gone.
A black portal opened at the destroyed site and exited inside our base camp. The dvaren were dashing into the gateway to join our ranks. Chaos erupted at this point. The steady flow of Horde wagons from the coast to the gate halted. The surrounding armies grew agitated at this new revelation. The white we were wearing vanished and I remembered we were surrounded by tens if not hundreds of millions of Horde. My inner kid wanted to dance with joy at us closing the link that chained Vin to the advancing seven. My inner Emperor demanded we retreat behind solidified lines and establish a plan for going forward.
Barice berated Aroxa to climb up King Aves back. I lithe elvath that probably weighed one twenty at most kicked, smacked and screamed at the defeated demigod. Probably should not call your opponent who kicked your ass weak. I was the last in the saddle and we rushed off the ground to return to FOB Watchtower. The little platform we left from earlier grew bigger until we landed on it. King Aves sent Aroxa to a corner. She sat down and stared at the two connecting walls like a scolded child. I wondered if she would need a collar.
