I wanted to share that mine got out of control every time but I decided to not stay on boner talk.
“Okay, there are some of Nate's company coming. I think I am going to name them Frontier Knights, then knight them all.” I said.
“You wouldn't, they are all wild land adventurers and before that scouts. Not knights... Forgive me, Earl, it is your shit heap of a village. Who am I to judge how you run it.” Una corrected herself.
Joey, Frank, Carl, and both Brads showed up before I could reply. A shadow of an image raced overhead when we grouped together. There went Sly.
“Okay, we give Nate and friends a few minutes to get set, then let us go see what our guest wants. Same as yesterday, we use the barrier for protection. Use it wisely, and for all that is holy do not shoot from within the barrier. Gents this is Una, she is the leader of the Fearless Company that recently arrived. This is Brad, and Brad, I forget where they are from, then Joey, Frank, Carl. They are tried and true warriors. With pleasantries out of the way and a loose plan, let us see what trouble we can find.” I said.
The seven of us left the food create and approached the orc. The young male did not look happy, he swore at us. I think he was saying something about my sister, maybe my wife. Hard to tell when the only thing you understand is anger and sword swings. He stopped his antics as we got close and he retreated backwards. A quick look over his shoulder told me he was out here at someone's orders.
“Gryff, there are near a hundred orc warriors waiting in ambush. They are well hidden and the rain made them hard to spot. It was the deep tracks in the mud further north that gave them away. I would not exit the barrier .” Sly warned me.
Well, that blew my whole plan. “Do not exit the barrier under any circumstances. Return to the wolf enclosure and await further orders. I am off to go get Nate before he walks his men into a hundred plus orcs. Who knows how many she cannot see with the awful rain.” Since I was the fastest I bolted to the right and cupped my hands around my mouth.
“It is a trap, fall back!!!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. The seven men materialized out of the trees and ran back to safety. I told them about all the orcs waiting in ambush. Then I sent them to get the rest of the team and head back to the Inn while I paced the barrier. Every tactic I thought I could apply to this situation did not work in our favor. It was the limiting warriors allowed out. We could try to harass and launch some arrows and spears but if they were able to time it right we could die easily when we crossed to fire. Then there is the fact they could keep backing up out of range. I already was down two pikes. I gave up on my ideas a few minutes later and left the barrier.
When I got back to the wolves and monox, I saw they were all completely dry. Loyal guard animals, and fierce little enemy detectors, until it rained. Only Una waited.
“The day is a wash, get it...” I said and she rolled her eyes at my pun. “Organize your men and meet me at dinner if you have anything vital. I promised a certain griffin some food and fire. When that is done I will go handle some boring paperwork only an Earl can. Thanks for the backup today Una, and thanks for safely getting the cavalry here. Think of some ways you want to start taking down some of these orcs and get back to me on that. If you need supplies, gear, or have a barracks design in mind, pin the request on the bulletin board in the Inn behind the bar. Seems everyone pours themselves beer here and it’s the easiest way for everyone to see what is on the to do list. Oh, no one gets out of control drunk, I made this place a war camp, no issues okay.” I said while I pointed at her to ensure she understood how serious I was.
“Got it, boss. The beer is free but limit ourselves. Get a list of stuff we need, post it on the board. Get an idea for barracks post it on the board. If I cannot find you for orders, check the board. I will need to see where on a map the orc settlement is and if there are any offshoot villages.” Una said.
“Me too, as soon as the weather improves and I see the situation for myself I will fill you in. Until later.” I said and then raced into the rain without my cover. No need for it when I was already soaking wet.
It took three caves to find Sly. I got a fire going for her then brought her big helping of ogre. She thanked me and said the extra meat was the best. We talked until I started shivering from my wet armor and left to get changed and warm at the Inn.
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. With 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 with how with time 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 baggie 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, this plan about the cavern, tell me more.”
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 dig outs 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 dig outs 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 dig out 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 dig out 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 dig out 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 light. 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 from 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 dig out 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 dig out 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 r
oom 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.
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