Gryff the Griffin Rider 2

by Marcus Sloss

  “There is a low chance dragons will flood this planet. They would be wild and it is expensive. A Horde planetary controller can send untrained dragons to feast on the stubborn inhabitants to generate more dragons. It has been done, wild dragons are common enough. One in a hundred thousand responds well to the whip instead of eating the whip master. As you can imagine that makes trained dragon extremely rare. We did not lie when we mentioned we control hundreds of millions of planets and that there are planets designated for trade hubs.

  “Those yeti make great situational soldiers if you can breed them and control them from a young age – you simply point them at a foe. They are hard to kill, large, and can tear into weak formations. We do not know what creator or god placed them on ice planets, but that god liked to sprinkle his creation across ice worlds universe wide. Or maybe they are a natural occurrence. Their meat is a cyclops delicacy, that part was also true. The ice cats are a much desired mount for cyclops and ogres. So desired that they sell for more than dragons at times. Simply because dragons can turn on a master where the cats bond. Rakmar’s eldest daughter died to a dragon incident. An ice cat can carry a full grown ogre if bred right, but that takes lots of time to get them to that size. A cavalry charge of ogres on ice cats is as mesmerizing as it is devastating.

  “That lets you get the idea of the value of the southern Vartin Tundra as you call it. It is immensely valuable to the planetary lord. In this case Rakmar. Yet he underestimated you once, and now twice. I will not be around for the third. Back to the dragons. It is easier to purge the world with fire than to deal with the inhabitants. When Vin was conquered the central leadership from high gave orders to dominate and produce. The need for lumber was high, and the war efforts were seeing a shift in food production. The needs of the entire Horde take priority. Well, Rakmar did not have a choice and the halting of our invasion just north of here was a good place to establish the peace accords.

  “Well, the peace accords hurt Rakmar more than help him now. I expect him to try to remove the barriers through violations and then burn it all with dragons. Unless a dragon is trained they will not fly into the snow. There are ice dragons but they won’t be herded like fire dragons. They will die before being moved. Trained dragons cost too much to keep sending them to their deaths but he very well may buy some after your deal is completed or he may retire quietly. It depends on if he carries a resentment or if he has other grand plans with his newfound wealth. Will the hundred books you are tasked with providing the Vin master. Well, it will earn him roughly five hundred trained dragons.”

  I whistled at this and figured this was part scare tactic. The griffins were simply too powerful in the air even before they had offensive magic.

  “The Horde sent dragons to Vin at the beginning of the war.” Virtue started to say when King Aves interrupted.

  “I would have heard of this.” I translated.

  “You sure are impatient. Yes, you should have. Vin was deemed a very rich planet for conquest. The people make great slaves, the southern ice shelf has immense value, and we could get quotas filled. It was a win of many factors. When the Biponi were torn from the skies to crash into the ground from griffins we knew we had an issue with our air power. We have fought air creatures before, the dragons a prime example. Yet, you were unique. The griffins could heal at a distance. We scouted a small settlement of griffins only ten strong to the north of your main nesting area. An isolated expansion. A thousand trained dragons were sent to destroy that nest. Forty survived. It was a massacre. The high command decided we would win the war on the ground, casualties be damned. There were infinite fodder troops to dispose of.”

  He paused his information deluge for Pipi. She came walking out with two plates and Vern struggled to carry a slab of meat. I loved Pipi, I was famished and she knew my weakness for food. I was handed a plate, Virtue declined and I got seconds. King Aves graciously accepted his snack and gently rubbed Vern’s head in thanks.

  “You want Rakmar to fail?” I asked and King Aves said he thought that was the case also.

  “Yes, and well yes. I have warned him. I warned him about this deceit, it was poorly contrived. His loyal shamans demanded the extra quota saying I could convince you. Do not pretend you humans do not have your own internal struggles. I know you do. In this case, Rakmar is being a stubborn greedy cyclops.

  “If he has to keep the peace accords up, then he will send another caravan south. This time it will follow a different path. Or he may send five. Regardless he wants those ice cats and yeti. Wild stock fetches a lot of our stone currency.” Virtue said and I raised a hand like a child in a class.

  “Why not just portal the army onto the tundra? You moved a hundred shamans no problem.” I asked as I finished off the first plate which had a nice sandwich on it.

  “Rules, and energy. Muarta does not grant me infinite power. I can portal as one of his servants. Most shamans have not undergone the ritual initiation. Few who do survive. It is a mind bend of endless torture. To the outside world it only lasts for hours or days, inside the victims' mind it will last months. My trial was… There that look on your face… That is how you know contract magic. When did Unforina touch you? How did you survive?” Virtue said in agitation. “May I test you? Actually, that is my favor exchanged in full now.”

  I look at King Aves who shrugged. I had finished the second helping of food while he talked. The only time I felt Virtue had been deceitful was on Rakmar’s orders. That didn’t mean I trusted him. Yet, I might find some answers in the test.

  “I should be able to handle the pain. Go ahead. Oh, you sent a contract for the test. It makes sense you are about to inflict pain.”

  “Indeed, now place your plates on the ground. Are you ready?” He asked and I confirmed I was. A boney finger with a clean nail was set against my nose. My armor covered too much so he had to reach up to touch my exposed face. “Here we go.”

  I felt the tendrils of the test but nothing else.

  “What is purple aura and by the seven gods does it burn bright in you? Yes, there it is… Yellow contract magic. It is small and new… How? You leave me with more questions than answers. When I retreat I will have to go to a planet of knowledge.”

  “Okay, my part fulfilled. Rakmar will send multiple caravans, and we will want to keep the peace accords up. What else should we worry about?” I asked.

  “Do not do further deals. If you continue to fund his wealth he will pour more through that portal and onto Vin. All it takes is for him to find one decent counter to the griffins and your advantages stop. Right now central command is busy fighting hundreds of species on thousands of planets. You humans, are but a speck in our quest to claim the universe. Stay that way. Win, but don’t draw too much attention here. If you see me one day again please do not kill me on sight. Any last questions before I leave?”

  I was in information overload at the moment. My brain spinning at the realities of this universe.

  “May I know what deal Gryff struck?” King Aves said and I translated.

  “Excellent question, he is bound not to disclose. I am not any longer. He is making copies of our bible. They are extremely hard for us to duplicate and are considered holy relics due to the requirements to properly complete. They must be perfect. You have magic unknown to us which is rare. Earth magic. You can copy books with green tree worm blood I believe. Something else I plan to study in my retreat. He is going to copy a hundred bibles and return them to Rakmar. I can guarantee the cyclops will want more done. Again I recommend you refuse this due to attention drawn and empowering him.

  “It may be years before you see me again. Farewell Gryff. This time you will not be the cause of my defeat and I properly warned Rakmar. Until next time.” Virtue said with a wave and stepped into a portal to vanish.

  We stood there in silence for a few minutes. “Well, that should make things a bit easier,” I said.

  “Yes. I will send a hundred griffins to escort you north in case dragons are
around. Your mission must succeed. You will get the tree blood, copy the bibles, and then never deal with Rakmar again. Are we clear?”

  “Very, and I agree. We got a lot from this deal and the Horde no longer has anything I want besides leaving the planet. I have enough locations to gather supplies to train you in the rest of the magic types… and before you stress it to me. As soon as the bibles are done, yes… I am going to Vartin Tundra to get catalysts. For everyone. Oh… I want to trade or buy human slaves, but I would not know how to value them.”

  “It would be a tough decision, one I could allow. The hundred fly with you tomorrow. After you are sent off I will take some vole blood and cleanse Salvoni. Consider yourself the uncontested human Emperor by tomorrow night.” King Aves said and unfurled his wings to roost in Zenith and lifted off.

  ∞∞∞

  I decided to walk the fields of pines and light underbrush. There were game trails in here, and I breathed in the cooling fall air. I exited the trees to stroll onto the northern fields. A few wolves played over a bone while monox scampered around. It made me think of Deb. I hoped she was alive and okay. I caught sight of Phen the animal master shooing a wolf away from the duck pen.

  “Phen may I get a tour and an update, please. It has been too long since I have seen the animals. Your recommendations would mean a lot to me.” I told the balding portly man. He wore a dirty set of leather overalls and it was easy to see from the dried muck that this was a working man.

  “Lord Gryff, I had been meaning to see you. Every time I seek you out, you are detained by business or adventure. I left Bella with a letter… Did you get it?” Phen asked and I shook my head no. “Well, I can summarize. Count Conway has been barking mad at your rat idea. He coined it first by releasing some wolves into the slums in Lakeland. They started to eliminate the rodents until the smart ones caught on. It is a story of mixed success. Now you going and hiring youngens and the poor. That is genius and he is tickled by your ingenuity. So much so, that when your contracts dried up, he placed his own to be filled.”

  I frowned thinking about this. The greatest form of flattery is imitation until it involves business. I liked Count Conway though. No way could he keep the buying pressure up, and it was good for the Empire to utilize the rat protein.

  “Well, that works into my next point. You are a smart man my lord. The large a pie the bigger the outer the portion, if you make the pie twice as wide you get a lot more area. Fernlan is that pie, my lord. The northern fields have five times more room than they did before. We have only been slaughtering the feeble and elderly runtlets and I was running out of feed when the rats came into play. The runtlets just devour them, won't touch them live. Bonk one on the head and toss it in the pen and it’s a race to eat it first. Our stock is already bursting. The females only take two weeks to pop out tiny lets.

  “That is the other part I wanted to talk to you about. Count Conway sent a list he made of livestock for sale from other markets. With your city expansion, the ryegrass growth, and rat influx, I say you buy everything you can. It will pay off in the long run, by large margins. I will need more help though and some upgrades. The numbers are in the paperwork Lady Bella has. She glanced at it earlier and was impressed. It will be for you to decide. How about that tour though?”

  “Please,” I said as I thought about his idea. Expanding into the livestock market was a good expenditure of our gold in my opinion. Everything I did, was geared toward never facing starvation again. Grown runtlets were expensive. If we could hunker down this winter and eat Horde we could really explode our livestock numbers with rye and rat. Funny that. I was happy for Fernlan and the expansion. I would just need to see if I could afford it. Bella was looser with the purse than Addilyn and I was curious how Amber would be. Velia was a thrifty spender but focused on needs. She would for sure approve more livestock, understanding how vital it could be and desperate a village could become without it. Then I remembered I may be the best source to keep livestock alive during the winter with our northern location and the lava balls.

  “Your ducks my lord. They are routine layers and we have been hatching one for every two. I admit I was worried about this winter until that condensed feed from Streb showed up. These ducks and the three yakin have been doing really well.” Phen said while we toured the duck pen. Sure enough, tiny ducklings were scattered about.

  “Three yakin are here?”

  “Pipi had three males hauled out of Streb and to here. Much shorter journey by ground now that we have expanded. A dozen horses were moved to Streb too. The yakin males are fine when the females are not around. Stick four of them together with a lady in heat and they fight. It was easy to swap the animals out when the Horde vacated. Even the Horde hanging around here vanished. Anyway, if you can get more horses up here I can start breeding them… Messy work that, but I do love horses. I plan to cycle the male yakin out every quarter. Should help the herd with inbreeding but if you want to long term them, get me some more, please. To be honest you are going to hear a recurring theme from me. More animals, more workers, more feed, which equals more money and security.”

  “That Calia widow… Wonderful lady. My only wife is on her way up to meet her. We have been chatting real friendly like, and if the first wife approves, I will be moving my family into Dais to grow it here. I like it here… Need more animals though…”

  “I do enjoy your honesty Phen, what about the monox? I see so few.” I was chuckling at Phen. I liked the farmer. He was a down to Vin kind of man. Easy to laugh with and a hard worker. The man knew his animals and I would fight to approve his recommendations.

  “They are breeding like rabbits. You want to make thirty six monox turn into three hundred. Give them food and freedom. They really love critters and grub. Head down to the river… Oh, right you haven’t been able to. Can now! You will find them rearing young there already. Tiny little monox everywhere. I can get more… but you will see that on the list. Oh, speaking of Lady Bella here comes your wife. You have been found it appears. Excuse me, my lord. Welcome home and buy some animals.” Phen gave a mad chuckle and left to tend to ducklings. The man stank of animals, even with his smell I was sad to have him leave. I liked the honest nonpolitical talk.

  Bella approached with Amber, Mina, an older boy of twelve and a younger girl.

  “There you are, my lord. Amber and I met… Sad you were not there to introduce the Empress herself to me. You have outdone yourself Gryff, she is simply stunning. Gorgeous, smart, and humble while dignified. Very impressed and proud of you. Might make a Vin man of you yet.” Bella reached me and kissed me in a welcome home greeting. I scooped her up for a spin and she giggled in delight. “I do love seeing you again my lord. I saw Phen retreat at our approach. His list is on your desk. How about we walk to the fishing lines since it is such a lovely day? Before I forget these are Oomla and Asif. Oomla is on rotation for your wives to help as needed and Asif is a runner for you. Sent by King Omarr. I am sure he may visit himself when he learns you are the rightful Emperor. Assuming that he sides with you over Salvoni.”

  I set Bella down and extended a hand to Amber. Bella snatch my other hand as I tried to play keep away from her. She smiled at the teasing fun. It was good to see them in high spirits.

  “Salvoni will be dead by tomorrow night,” I said and Asif skid to a stop. I watched him realize he had overreacted to the news. “Something the matter Asif?”

  “My lord, I was told to report back to my father about how things are here. I am young but not ignorant. You make a bold claim.” Asif said with caution.

  “Indeed I do. I am not going to do it, or is an assassin going to infiltrate his fortifications. He will be burned by the magic of the griffins. You nor your father can stop it. Hell, I certainly couldn’t at this point. Lesson one from your time with your new master… me. Do not piss off the griffins…” I said and froze. Where were the terrible trio? I had let my guard drop and I spun around looking for them.

  “Haha!!! I kn
ow that look. You are scared of the little terrors. Fret not they are being doted on by Velia. Also they really do not rough play when I am around. So I guess lesson two Asif is baby griffins scare even mighty warriors.” Bella said and we all had a laugh.

  “Damn right they do. Have you seen the missing feathers on poor Lirkon, how is he doing?”

  “I am fine, enjoy your walk.”

  “Lesson three griffins can hear amazingly well, Lirkon said he was fine. So Amber what do you think of your new home?” I asked.

  “It’s mud and clay. Everything is functional, nothing is for display. It is a far difference from the Vin I remember. It is like you took Fernlan back in time and built it from scratch.” Amber said while gazing around the western fields we entered. They had improved a lot. The windmill, little homes, supply sheds, and cut outs all were upgrades from the dainty shacks of before. I nodded at her words. “I don’t want to live above a bar. No offense to you both, but we are the ruling family now. We need a castle. I know castles. I know traps, moats, drawbridges, and the details. I want to build one that mirrors Zenith in its scope.”

  I thought about this and agreed.

  “Few problems, we will have to make it out of the hard clay. I do recall Zack, our earth mage mentioning ant chitin as a catalyst. Maybe he can take the smooth clay into rock with the catalyst. We build the bones and then design the exterior in a harder substance. Who knows if it will be more beautiful? The issue is there is no massive quarry here and importing is out of the question until we clear the Horde from in between our cities. Which would take years if not decades.” I said as we approached the old western gate. A tombstone sat under the wooden map. It contained the names of those lost not far from here. I gave it a nod as we passed it and entered the shrubs toward the river. I unslung my sword and cleared a path then I thought on it briefly. “Can we get a griffin to clear a path to the river with fire, please? Something we can walk on.”

  I halted our party and had us sit on the benches. A dozen griffin launched from the roost and soared toward the trees. I was expecting fire but the first thing they did was turn at the last second and rip trees from Vin. They tossed them in a pile. Another dozen added to the number already at work and a path was quickly cleared. King Aves land beside us and Asif, as well as his sister Oomla, spooked. The work lasted mere minutes when King Aves launched into the air and projected a slow controlled burn into the shrubs and grass. As he went griffins followed behind in mighty wing beats to snuff out the residual flames and cool the ground. I think they were testing as much as showing off. King Aves approached upon his completion.