by Marcus Sloss
Copyright © 2019 Marcus Sloss.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination.
CHAPTER 1
“Get ready Gryff, here I come.” A loud thud sounded beside me as I gazed at a brewing storm to the east. “Hurry up! Before they see us.” Lirkon said with an urgency.
I didn’t hesitate and raced up his saddle. Before I had the chance to get settled – we were off the ground flying low to the north. Both Lirkon and I checked over our shoulders to ensure we were making a clean getaway. In the distance, I saw Pipi and Velia feeding the three younglings. Those tiny baby griffins would go berserk if daddy left Fernlan while in sight. My wives pulled it off flawlessly and we cleared our escape as we tingled through the barrier.
“That was close, I cannot believe Lydia said you could go,” I whispered as if concerned I would be heard. We were far enough away I could speak normally now. “Xiq it is, my friend. Is Traz going to join us?”
“Dina has him locked down still, she wants cubs. It will be a slow winter and we are stabilizing the food issues. At first thought I say, lucky male, then I remember the torment of the three little ones. They started plucking my feathers out while I sleep! Do you have any idea how much that hurts? I don’t even complain about the lack of sleep anymore.”
I glanced over his white feathers with blue tips and indeed noticed a few missing at easy to reach locations. I figured his question was rhetorical and decide to not answer. I reflected on the three weeks that had passed and on the time wasted. For that is what it mostly was. I was summoned every time King Aves and King Horus wanted to chat. There were important things discussed, don’t get me wrong, it merely was nothing that impacted me or mine. I wanted to be going out and securing food around Xiq or Streb. To be honest there were a lot of things I would have rather been doing. They finally separated with a consensus yesterday after endless debates. King Horus and his entourage left shortly after. Of course, he left behind three stunning daughters. To which I had hidden from endlessly.
King Aves never left though, the griffin leader was firmly entrenched in my home. Fernlan was the new griffin capital of Vin. On any given day, hundreds if not thousands of griffins flew in and out of the massive new roost. That building was something I did not feel was time wasted. The roost had been delayed for days, and then weeks. Constant changes, edits, and desires prolonging its construction. When it was settled and approved, Zack, Fae, and Patti prepared to erect the towering structure with griffin aura to help. A full ogre heart, three earth mages, and a dozen griffins chained together channeled the spell to completion. We luckily had set aside a quarter of Dais for expansion because that whole space was eaten up by this structure above and below ground. The southern end of Fernlan was re-designed to accommodate the towering roost.
It was such a massive building the griffins named it Zenith. It dominated the skyline of Fernlan as it arced high into the sky. It reminded me of a towering kid’s toy for cars to race downward. On the outside was a gentle spiral ramp than went deep into Dais. The twirling ramp connected to the main structure via landing pads that transitioned into nesting homes, numbering in the hundreds if not thousands. Those nesting homes opened up to the ramp or to a hollow center of the structure. That central open zone allowed the griffins to go into Zenith at any point and drop down into Dias directly. Where additional homes, space, and play areas were located. It truly was amazing to see the board sketch turn from a blueprint into a reality. The griffins had never been happier and always wanted to thank me for the completed work. Then they mumbled and grumbled with endless pestering, about a lack of nesting materials. It was unfortunate that they could not go out into the wild lands and harvest the bushes or treetops they wanted. It did stimulate the human economy when we sent word out for certain palms and ferns to be collected. Which translated into more griffins flying around and my need to get Xiq established as a farm. Flying griffins did eat a lot after all.
There was limited success in obtaining extra food during the last few weeks. The bodies Xar melted back at Malvia had been rapidly hauled into the city and salted. Here in Fernlan, only the close ogre bodies next to the barrier were recovered. The food certainly was a boon and it fed starving griffins in both locations. The excess food was not enough long term though. Most cities were not selling their surplus and the sheer amount of griffins arriving at Fernlan for Zenith raised a mounting problem. The initial solution was fish, the same as the previous solution that was devised after the peace accords. Since the southern ports on the Venisis Sea were still friendly to King Horus and the griffins, the harvesting never slowed. It was a reliable source of winter protein. There was also the fact that I could talk to griffins to learn what foods were edible but not served. We were able to assemble a long list of items griffins could eat that were never being fed to them before. Unripe or past ripe smelons were a great example of this. The earth mages in most cities were overproducing smelons with the excess going to creatures like the runtlets. It was another factor in the never ending battle against starvation.
I did have a defining moment of ingenuity. Well, more like I watched something and it triggered me to have an idea. A week ago a shipment of fish arrived at the landing area when I happened to be inspecting imports. There also happened to be three little shadows following me waiting to pounce. The baby griffins were nicknamed the triple terrors by their father. Their mother called them by their actual names. Lance was blue and all spunk, ever eager to find trouble. Pearl was a green demon as ornery as her mother, never minding any commands or requests. The last was Sunny, she would listen but only to my wives. That fact drove her parents wild to no end. The three of them knew I could talk to griffins, they tried to talk to me but Larkin said it would be months before they could talk properly. The only word I ever got out of them was food. Since they knew I heard them after feeding them only once, I was a routine target of theirs. One of their favorite games was to follow the tall Gryff human around and shout food at him. Not a pleasant experience and I was working on tuning them out, but for days like today, it was great to avoid them. Back around a week ago when the fish arrived, a rat scurried out of the sack of stinky fish and raced for safety when it realized it had been exposed. Pearl got the little rodent with a back breaking claw snatch. The babies could not fly yet, but they were natural predators and fast. Well, the siblings went to inspect the dead catch when she gobbled the rat whole, tail and all. I remember grimacing at the sight when then it hit me like a brick to the face.
I asked as many griffins as I could if rats were a worthy food source. Most had no issues with what humans had long denied as a delicacy. Every human city was rife with rats that hustled and bustled between tight corridors that griffins could never catch. They did, however, face an opponent in traps, as well as humans if properly motivated. This whole week I sent griffins out to every major city friendly to us to collect rats. I was paying good money for the furry, pest ridden rodents. Well, a silver for fifty, but still. That was decent coin for a kid in the slums worried about their next loaf of bread. Most cities were not reduced to eating rats and they happily started collecting for me.
“You zone out again?” Lirkon asked as I sat on his back not realizing we were on the ground in Xiq. “Admit it, you did
. It’s all that wife drama you have going on, sometimes I think I have it easier with the trio of terror.”
My wife issues had indeed become a thorn in my side. King Horus had left three of his daughters behind and they immediately formed a bond with Bella – and only Bella. Which was the opposite of what I wanted. I wanted Bella to continue to form relationships with Pipi and Velia. Yet women were complex and there would be no perfect situation. At least I rationalized the drama that way. The defining issue was Pipi. She did not want more kids yet, and Bella could not accept that. I got it, and that should be the end of it… but it certainly was not. Pipi also was into Velia, while Bella was a man only kind of lady. Also okay, but again strife. We rotated nights and had to take up an extra room at the Inn. I still resided in the basement not ready to move into Dais. As rooms opened up and the Inn became less crowded, we set up a second sleeping location for our family. While Pipi and Velia shared the night together, Bella would stay solo. There was also the issue where Velia got her period and Bella did not. A fact that Bella would brag about when she didn’t have morning sickness. The issue with the whole mess was the ladies were all fantastic to me. I only heard about the side stuff as I was a venting tool to release on. It was something that I was conflicted about on how to address. Did I insert myself and demand them to be obedient? Did I let them work it out themselves? How the seven hells could I send King Horus his daughters back? Well, as you imagine these things weighed on me and escaping to Xiq was almost mandatory.
I did at least cover my basis and say my retreats to a different village were work related.
“Definitely more than the wives then, you zoned out twice now.” Lirkon did his griffin chuckle as he lowered himself so I could get down. “Stupid rat infestation you are doing here. In all my years I never expected someone to build a rat farm.”
“It is an awesome idea, I am excited to get this village producing! Also, let me say I am happy to be the ruler of Fernlan again. I can focus on what matters and attend far fewer meetings where I did little more than be a translator. Ah, there is Zack, let us go say hello.” I said to Lirkon who had already balled up, ready for a nap.
“You go do human things Gryff, I am catching up on some much needed sleep. Sunny slept on my head last night. Well more like my neck and head… I am exhausted. Just wait until your wives start popping out some vampiric young that sap all your sleep and energy. Then you will be out here napping and not working.”
I laughed at this and got a side eye for finding humor in his suffering.
“Enjoy your rest, my friend,” I said and patted his side.
I walked the fields of Xiq on my way to the central roost point where I saw Zack working. The entire village had drastically shifted since my first visit here. The entirety of the former structures were brought down and the wood collected in a pile. The fields were still a mess, a mix of crops and overgrowth. We decided to leave them as is for now and harvest anything we could. The leftover plants would be food for the rats I was having hauled here. Next spring we would tear it all up and plant new fields or maybe do a massive grove. It was still up in the air for how Xiq would long term produce. For now, we utilized everything we could and added a roost combined with a housing structure as a waypoint station.
The lower floor was designed to hold a small company of troops and a few rooms for farmers. It was the only standing structure in the entirety of Xiq. Above the human quarters were sections for griffins who needed to rest or drop off goods. A gradual ramp wrapped around three sides of the first floor to ensure an easy slope. The roost wasn’t complete yet and was mainly utilized as a drop off point.
Zack saw me approaching and gave a friendly wave.
“Gryff, good to see you. We recently added the underground storage here under the roost. The damn rats already moved in. I swear I never thought in all my years I would see a rat farm.” The man paused and waved me to follow him inside the building. We passed a door frame that was bare, no door attached yet and walked by a few rooms that were empty. In the central point, a set of stairs transitioned down into a storage area. “Dark down here so watch your step. I forgot to bring torches this trip but that is an easy fix for next time. This is more than enough storage space for both the workers and soldiers I think. Any more and you will run into more lighting needs. Alright, follow me outside.”
We went back up the stairs and towards the exterior of the building.
“How are we doing on goblin hearts?” I asked in curiosity. “We stopped receiving them from Malvia and I have been unable to hunt recently, so I am a tad concerned.”
“We have a few left, enough to finish the mushroom farms you want to attempt here and the rat nests. Oh… We finished your small wall just inside the barrier. I think this will be tall enough. Come judge for yourself though.”
The two of us made it to the outer edge of the village where the barrier was. The trek across the fields revealed more of the toiled past of this poor place. Outlines of abandoned buildings revealed bare earth that contrasted the overgrowth. When we reached the end of the protected area for the village I noticed a little eighteen inch wall. This was to keep my rats inside and from leaving Xiq. I was sure they would tunnel and escape at some point, or craftily find a way over the short barrier. Still, it would be a deterrent, which was all I needed. A little taller and I could use it for runtlets. I needed to find out if the runtlets wanted to eat dead rats. If so, then I may move them over here and simply use rats to boom my bacon production. We only had a few shipments of rat deposits so far. I was interested to see how it would turn out. At the very least, we were importing protein. Regardless of the source, it could help stave off starvation.
“Seems high enough for rats, a runtlet can get over it. Make it three feet please, or near twice as tall. Then it opens up more farming options. I am going to go carve up some boards so they will be ready for planting when you make the mushroom caves. Let me know if you need anything Zack. Good catching up with you.”
“Of course, give me a few hours and I will raise the height. Patti should be around later if I end up running out of aura. Enjoy the simple work, my lord.” Zack said as we diverged.
He went for more goblin hearts and I went to the collected pile of wood. The stack of old boards was higher than I was tall. That left me plenty to work with. I slung my backpack to the ground and rummaged through it. Since I had been attending meetings and not going into combat, I had worn the pack everywhere I went. I wanted to get into the habit of having it on me at all times. I was tired of forgetting things and a storage container helped me maintain key items… like my to do lists. I found my knife I used to wear on my belt. The last combat I had seen was versus the ogres when Una died. King Horus had me too busy to venture out to kill the Horde and I was actually okay with that. I had a combat healer due any day now that I had been waiting on. Meaning that when the time came around to it, I would be going into action more prepared.
I picked out a long wide board and set it to the side. I found some short little bits of wood and stacked them to elevate the board off the ground. We had heavy rains a few days ago and the ground was mostly dry but an elevated workspace would help long term. I slotted the longboard over the makeshift stand and planted my butt in front of it. I slid my legs under the board and got to work. Elan had given me a pamphlet on mushroom farming when I mentioned the merits of growing the fungi. Originally, he had scoffed at my idea. Only a few people tried to grow mushrooms during the winter. The reason being mushrooms liked to grow in moderate, dark, and moist temperature. We had all of that in abundance here. The moisture because it was generally a wet winter, the dark from the custom dug out caverns, and the moderate temperature because of the lava stones that were still in production in Malvia. Baron Strin increased output to three cauldrons and was still months behind on processing all the lava golem shells into heated stones. Well, Dais was warm enough, winter not set in yet, and we had these lava balls stacking up. Insert my idea for mushroom fa
rms. If people grew tired of eating mushrooms, we could fill the Horde quotas with them.
I scuffed the first longboard and added holes throughout. It was mindless tedious work and I loved it. Being able to get lost in the wood while I whittled away was boring, yet enjoyable. When I felt the board was nice and prepared, I went over to the pile of wood and found an additional slate close in size. It went on my platform and I went to work. I did the same thing to this board as the last one. The minutes flew by and before I knew it, I was done. I left the board on the work station and dug into my backpack. There was a jar of mushroom spores I had imported from King Omarr, who ruled the southwestern portion of Vin.
I went and pried the lid off. Then I reached in and grabbed a pinch. I spread the spores on the board, letting the fungi get a good hold. While I was doing this I reflected on the political climate. King Devon had declared King Horus an outlaw and ordered all his cities to send the full twelve men to war against his new foe. Of course, this did not go over well. Those cities realized when griffins stopped flying and caravans started vanishing that they were in a dire situation. Instead, they denied King Devon and seceded from his rule. A few cities stuck with him while most were now self governed. Emperor Salvoni was in an equally disastrous scenario. No griffins and no caravans meant no one was paying taxes or sending goods. The capital Deltan had rioted last week when food ran low. It was stamped out by loyal guards and city defenders, but it was merely a precursor to further violence. He hid in his mansion behind his tall walls and guards. While I, the Earl of Fernlan, sat in the muck and made mushroom boards.
Satisfied I had put enough spores on the baseboard, I stacked my first scoffed and hole marked board on top. I reached into my bag, grabbed two nails and a hammer and connected the two boards into one. Done. I smirked at my completed work. It merely needed an earth mage to fuse the boards and push the nails out later to be reused again. Then they would meld the mushroom plank into a cavern wall above where rats could reach. Then a water mage would thoroughly soak it. Finally, a fire mage would set the lava stones. For now, before all the fun magic happened, a noble had to make a few hundred of these.
