by Marcus Sloss
Virtue walked behind me as we entered my private room. While I was sorting the bibles Velia woke up and asked if I was leaving. When I said yes she warned me about going alone. I sighed and finished getting the books I needed. We left the seventh floor for the sixth floor. A lot of guards tried to follow me. I let two come. When we got to the sixth floor there was a balcony right off the foyer. I halted the guards and had Virtue wait on the bench on the balcony.
I wondered the hallway and instantly noticed a few things about this floor. It was not a duplicate of ours in any way. It had narrow hallways, small rooms, and a lot less space. I felt enclosed. I knew it was the same amount of square footage, I still hated how condensed it was. I walked by a few closed doors and listened.
A door burst open and Priscilla bumped into me. The healer was in her armor and she looked around to find me alone. I went to tell her we needed to go get a team ready for an off world mission when she yanked me into her room. I was curious about what she needed to say to me in private. When she worked the top of her armor off her body… I understood what she needed.
I laughed. “I came to tell you we were going on a mission. I guess I can help you get your gear situated. It looks awkward only half on. How about we get it off and see if we can put it on better? Hey, what do you know my armor was crooked too?”
“And here I thought you were coming to seduce me. Thank you for marrying me, I am going to be direct because it is hard to get alone time with you. My family is from the southern port city of Janush. My father is a wealthy trade merchant and my prospect of a marriage dwindled when I took up healing as a profession. I was approached by Lamont and then Amber when they learned how powerful my healing talent was. I accepted their offer immediately. I am twenty two, that is ancient for being a single woman on Vin.” She was giving me a run down as we got naked. Well mostly me now as I struggled with my waistband. Priscilla closed the distance and worked my belt herself. She had round jiggly tits with huge nipples. Her black hair was long and fought to cover her ass that arched out. “I love being a professional woman. I do want kids though and I am excited to be your wife. The women in your life speak highly of you and the men who fight with you respect you. Our children will be talented and mighty. My door will always be open to you my…”
The trousers dropped and Priscilla knelled. She worked my cock with a delicate blowjob. The lack of experience was evident and I felt teeth a few times. I deduced by her shaking that this was the first time for her. I wanted to be sensual while at the same time hurrying the spontaneous sex. I halted her and pulled her up to my chest.
“First time?”
“I am nervous. This is what I want with all my being. Now lay down on my bed so I can work your cum into my eggs.” Priscilla said with determination. Gone were the shakes replaced by a confident sexy naked woman. My kind of wife! Between the two of us, we calmed her nerves. I watched her bouncy ass snap as she raced to the bed and patted where she wanted me.
I laid down, she got on top and ever so slowly inserted me into her. We kissed. A lot. It was a passionate love entanglement. I got so lost in exploring her body that I suddenly came from her tightness combined with her sheer desire. She did not finish which I saw did not phase her.
I looked for anything to clean up with after and all I found was the mage robe she had traded out for the scale armor. Our leftover sex stained it thoroughly. I hoped we had servants down here. I helped Priscilla get in her gear first. When we were working on my pants a knock sounded at her door.
“Prissybear, it is Ruby… This armor is the best right. Coming in. Put your pants on if you are playing with yourself.” Ruby said and walked in on Priscilla doing my belt. “Awe hell no… I missed the sex. I even was the first one to get fitted. When did it end? Nevermind I still smell it. Gryff tonight please!!!”
Ruby bounded to me and jumped into my exposed chest. She wanted to kiss me and show her affection. That dragon armor she wore instead tore my bare skin to shreds. I dropped to a knee for the hundreds of small lacerations. Seven hells that hurt. I had no idea the dragon scales were so sharp.
Priscilla healed me with ease. Her aura really was incredible.
“Husband do not spank me… I promise I had no idea,” Ruby said.
“In this case you are forgiven. Even I did not know or I would have halted you. Help me get my armor top on. Actually no… I am enjoying getting to know Priscilla. You will get your own time soon enough. Find me a brown, white and blue mage then meet me on the foyer balcony on this floor.” I said as I rubbed my chest where the damage had been. I then waved Ruby out. “Now… Priscilla tell me of your hobbies, siblings, and goals in any order you want.”
Ruby saved her sass on this occasion and quickly left to assemble the team. With help, the tunic part of my armor was slid over my frame and linked into my trousers. I equipped my helm minus the face cover for now.
“I like riding horses, even bred them at one point. When I was younger and healing I used my income to buy a horse ranch and a dozen cart horses. I was planning on working my way up to warhorses. Almost got there too.” Priscilla said as we left her room for the balcony. “The end of the war had my ranch outside the safe zone. My horses were turned to food. It is okay I will recover…”
I paused her as I placed her small hand in my big one. “You are my wife Priscilla. Let me add elk breeder to your list… Please. We need one desperately too.”
“Elk?”
“Ah, yes. I am always busy. Tonight will be spent with Nautica or Yvette unless they want to send me down here on this floor. Either way, you will have some time where I am not around you later. I want you to go down to the mount stable. Hmm, that sounds odd. We have a stable with animals that people can ride. Better. There is a female elk in there. She let me ride her without a fuss and minded very well. They are bigger, sweeter, and better war animals. I ordered some for breeding. It would make me proud if you could manage them when you are not protecting me or studying healing. Let’s also be honest here, you are an excellent healer.”
She blushed at my compliment and we reach the balcony. Virtue and my dvaren waited patiently. That was a great thing about Virtue, he knew I left him out here waiting. He always was reading or writing on his downtime. Never a complainer about getting a spare moment.
“I would love to help with your elk as you call them my Emperor. Thank you for noticing my skills in magic. I will make it a priority to visit the stables. While I still have you partially alone, I have three brothers who all are in the trade business. My goal before today was to find a nice family to join, improve my healing skills, and one day open a large ranch when things settled. My dad loved fishing and I learned to be okay at it. I mostly enjoy just sitting around with family on the boat.”
I smirked. “The best part… Shit.” I smacked my forehead and then rushed Priscillia for a kiss. She was in lustfully happy mode and devoured my lips. When I broke the kiss I was in a daze. That woman was pure passion. I saw Ruby biting her lip wanting in on the action. Victoria, Maise, and Tess completed the five mage team. “Priscilla was mentioning fishing. I purchased a species of fish creatures and sent them to Goblin Isle. It was on my to do list to manage… And my to do list caught on fire. I forgot all about them. Goblin Isle first Virtue.”
The shaman packed his book up, then latched the string. He slung his bag on his back and approached my head with a handout. I thought of Goblin Isle and he removed his hand. A portal opened and my guards jumped through first. I was not far behind with Victoria and Maise leading the way.
CHAPTER 10
The salty warm air greeted with bright rays of sunshine. I heard the caw of annoy birds mixed with the sound of crashing waves. A light breeze gave this place the perfect temperature. I scanned the area and was disappointed to see Goblin Isle was still a shack with a tiny griffin roost attached to the side. I saw Roz’s shamans milling about a fire on the beach while eating a fish. The griffin on duty raised their head at our arrival. I thoug
ht I recognized her.
“Sly?” I asked.
“Leave me alone Gryff, I am here in this desolate outpost to gestate in peace,” Sly said. The sultry voice was gone and a cranky one was evident. “Sorry… I don’t interact much out here. What can I help you with?”
Griffins were not big on apologizing. I decided to accept she was going through things. I looked around for the goblins that were supposed to be here when I remembered that I had ordered them to be slaughtered. Which led me to try to figure out what this jungle on an island could be used for besides a tree worm preserve. The wopax should be on the north side. I think my order was to simply survive.
“Congratulations to you and Lord Nova. I got something to cheer you up. Right after this, I am working on getting some war boar for Vin! For now, I am here for the wopax. I need to speak to them. Can you fly me over them please?” I asked.
Sly huffed out some air as she came from around the building and shook the brush from her nest back to the ground. She must be brooding to not be overjoyed at the prospect of war boar. I noticed there was no saddle on her grey feathers and she did not lower herself for me to get on. I used aura to catch the side of the shack and propelled myself by kicking up and off the structure to get onto her back. It was a nifty move that caused me to smirk.
“I will return shortly,” I said to the mages and dvaren. I saw Virtue meander over to the shamans to get some fish.
As we flew over Goblin Isle I saw the monox were prolific here. Much more than before. The little trouble makers had free reign to the ocean now. Without big snakes or sandworms, they were expanding back to the mainland. I saw a few wopax swimming in the shallow channel north. It was at this moment I figured out what I wanted to do here. Vacation resort type place. It would go on the personal project list like my fishing and running track over the city. I was thinking of ocean huts with slides and private balconies with plenty of diving spots on the reefs. I had to regain my focus on the task at hand as I was slipping into a zone out.
The wopax were swimming everywhere I looked. I saw them with nests in the coral and they looked happy. They went about their normal evening routine while I surveyed their work. They were one with nature and gifted aquatic hunters. I saw a few larger fish bones piled by homes dug into the reef. These were not the monsters of the deep, more than likely what a regular fishing crew would be targeting. I had seen enough and had Sly bring us low.
“Wopax of Vin. I have a need for you to locate a city to the southwest of here… That way.” I used my normal voice to power through the slave contract. I saw all of them turn as one with theirs pointed down to look up at me. “You are to find Uhara. It will have dvaren and an active dock. When you find it you are to send out hunting parties for the monsters of the deep in these oceans. Bring your kills to Uhara for harvesting. Find Uhara, kill big monsters, and bring them to the docks there for harvest.”
Sly hovered as my orders were understood by the wopax. They swam in wiggles as they fled the protected channel to the west. I saw the youthful ones scouting while the family units were heavily protected. At least they were going the correct direction. I had to hope they would carry out my orders. I gave Sly’s feathers a light tug to return us and she gave me a glare.
“Why are you so angry? I remember you as a sweet sassy griffin. One of the few.”
“Lord Nova will not let me fight because I am with his cubs. He sent me here. I am a warrior, not a female to be sent to hide. I hate him for it. How many griffins died in the fighting?” Sly asked in an effort to prove her point.
“I did not take Addilyn to war with me. She is part warrior, she also did not ask. Yvette was in the thick of the battle and I respect her warrior nature. If she were with human cub then I may have done the same. It is about the young and I see your point.” I said trying not to take sides.
Thankfully the flight was short and we landed by the shack a minute later. I hopped off her back and had Virtue create a portal to Rakmar. I waved goodbye to Sly, who nodded at me. I was third in the portal and curious as to what would greet me on the other side.
∞∞∞
The temperature was a muggy eighty or more. The humidity here was intense. I ran a hand through the air and wondered how thick the fog was in the mornings. I glanced up and was in for a shock. I saw a bright sun not too different from the others I was used to. The shocking factor was all the planets visible. There were at least a dozen I could see from where I stood. They were not moons. Planets stacked in synchronized orbits to allow each ample time with the sun. The calculating to establish these orbits with proper angles must have been intense. I had to wonder how long it took to manage all this precision. While I gazed I found two more planets moving in a different orbit pattern that still sustained life from direct sunlight. This was something even advanced humans had never perfected.
Virtue interrupted my awe by tapping his staff to the ground lightly.
“This star system is near the center of the universe. One of the second wave planets I mentioned. After the civil war with the cyclops, this was a primary system for their repopulation. Every planet you see orbiting this sun is filled with cyclops. Most have large estates with plenty of space, some of the planets are city planets though. I absolutely avoid those. Cyclops are scheming assholes when they can get away with it. Which they can, especially in crime ridden, alley filled cities. This though, I love this.” Virtue said and indicated the buildings in front of us.
We had arrived before a small castle. It was much darker than the estates on Vin in the sense that there were overhangs from the roof. The top of the structure was flat and a decorative railing defined its edges. It was only three stories tall but was hundreds of feet long. I hated the design because the only balcony was the roof.
To the left of the estate were a series of barns the stretched for miles. Goblins in the thousands worked around these. There were long runs or yards connected to each wooden structure. This was how the cyclops bred war boar. Not much different in setup than how a human bred horses. I saw the runs opened up into an expansive field that stretched for miles and miles. The fencing was all wood, a few sections had been replaced recently. It was inefficient and an eyesore compared to the bland clay that would last hundreds of years. Then again the Horde lacked earth magic and had an endless supply of goblin slave labor.
Virtue waved his hand forward and we approached the estate. I noticed there was no door for us to enter. It was a gate with a ramp up to the top floor. The gate spiraled up the thirty feet until it connected to the landing platform. When we neared a goblin rang a bell. A cyclops approached the edge of the railing and peeked at us. They saw Virtue and clapped twice. The goblin opened the gate for us and up the spiraled ramp we went.
When we reached the terrace on the roof I was impressed with the view. Mountains in the distance that trailed into large lakes. Large fields that competed against forested areas in a bloom of mixed colors. This view had a mix of it all and I like what I saw. Of course, the view soured when I saw Rakmar sipping tea at a table for one. Only a conceded cyclops would sit at a table only meant for themselves. I sighed, placed a fake smile on my face and walked to the former leader of Vin.
“By the seven, you brought that traitorous filth with you. I want to say I am surprised… Instead, I am not. Why in the seven hells did Rozmak never come back? That was my trigger by the way. When she never reported on your activities I fled to here. I find retirement suits me.” Rakmar said and clapped his hands. A shaman servant appeared from a ramp and brought me a chair. “Have a seat.”
“I rearranged Roz’s contract. No sense in letting you spy on me. This is one beautiful planet. I do find that the Horde has many interesting worlds. Is it spring or fall? The coloration on those leaves is stunning.”
“It is spring here. I do not believe you came here to talk of views or the weather. How may I help you Gryff?”
I dug into my bag and carefully laid out a dozed bibles. They had become all jumbled and
mixed so it took me a minute to find a full set. Rakmar pulled out a large monocle from his vest and started to study the books.
“I sold those bibles you gave me earlier. It is funny, I know you were selling some too. When word got out the prices went up… Can you believe that? There were some cyclops determined to buy them to try to figure out how they were copied. Sold the last thirty at a premium. Thankfully I used an intermediary so I avoid the hassle of requests for more. These though. These are from the original dozen… I am confused as to how you got your hands on these.”
I let him study the bibles longer before speaking. He was impressed and it showed.
“I need war boar,” I said.
A serious eye was pointed my way. “These… You don’t get it, do you? These are holy relics. You should never have these, let alone be able to view them. I cannot even put a price on these. May I know how you got these?”
I decided I could toss him a little bit of information in the hopes it would entice him.
“No vital information is ever free Rakmar. For you though… I went to the source of the bibles. The creator of their very existence.” I said. Rakmar closed the bibles and apprehensively stared at me. I think he was judging my statement for fact or fiction. I sent him a truth contract and he deflated to sink into his chair.
“At least I am justified in my retreat now. How did it go with Temi? I left some underling in charge when I retired. Last I heard Temi was going to smash the accords and raze your cities.” Rakmar sipped his tea then gave a sad chuckle. “Yet here you are, and if you are saying you got these bibles from the source that means you are allied with my gods somehow.”
“Temi is dead. I broke Vin free of the control of the seven, and you should be careful what you openly disclose. For both our sakes.”
“I have war boar… They sustain my income though. I have a cousin on that planet.” Rakmar said pointing to a blue and green world rotating away from us in the skyline. “Addicted to caffeine so bad he has been squandering his father’s inheritance. I can sell these bibles and buy out his operation. That way you get war boar, I get to keep my business as cover for my shady dealings, and my cousin dies of caffeine overdose. Win, win, win. It is five times the size of my farm here too. It will also make it harder to link me to these bibles being sold. I can send a few dozen back with you now and then his farm to your world in say seven days.”
