Gryff The Griffin Rider 3 (A Fantastic Harem) Read online

  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.

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  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

  “Gryff! It’s urgent, Pipi is dying! We need your help!” A griffin voice boomed into my head.

  Only two days had passed since the barriers had dropped and Vin had changed from a shaky peace to open war. The pressing issue on everyone's mind was closing the portal. Virtue had the location of the Vin master portal in his mind and assured us we could travel there when our forces were ready. The griffins had gorged themselves on the burned remains of the Horde so thoroughly they were in a bender. The food stupor would take a few days to finish and for the assembled griffins ready to go north. This was good because it took time to muster armies and assemble forces.

  The Empire reeled in shock from the collapse of the barriers. Some cities rejoiced, while others initially panicked. When no Horde advanced on their cities, they eventually understood we were on the offensive now, not the defensive. There were no shamans opening portals since Temi was killed and his army massacred. We theorized with the help of Virtue, that the hierarchy of Vin was in a power vacuum. Eventually they would send someone or another demigod would find us. The best guess was it would take weeks for the next ranking cyclops surviving on Vin to report the losses. That kind of report rarely happened, especially including the disclosure of a missing demigod. We concluded we had time for the griffins to feast and recharge while I summoned my armies from the three kingdoms.

  Every leader I talked to requested more time, which my wives agreed with since we were not on a war footing. Between scouring the remains of the battlefield for loot that seemed to have no end, dealing with the politics of summoning troops north, and doting on my new daughters, I had stayed busy with little time for much else. I was due to tour Entria and claim my five thousand female elvath from the slaving planet today. I had a contract to collect female elvath from when I traded a male elvath. The asshole male I won during arena combat on Kikra was an exchange I was excited to finish yet this distress call may put that timeline in jeopardy.

  I was still finding preserved soul stones on charred shaman bodies when the desperate plea reached me. I raced from the remnants of the Massacre of Fernlan and tore across the western fields for the castle. My purple aura burned fiercely as I sped up. Before I could reach the western ramp to head into the castle, Lydia rerouted me.

  “Go into Vertex! She is in the map room for humans and griffins; she is struggling on a table in the meeting pavilion. Only constant griffin healing is keeping her alive,” Lydia said as she flew over me.

  The new griffin structure was superior to Zenith. Vertex was more expansive in every way. Dozens of ogre hearts that we recovered from the Horde defeat went into its towering square layout. Additional griffins had flooded into town for feasting and battle preparations, creating a massive space issue that resulted in the new building becoming a priority project. Lord Nova and King Aves wanted a communal map room, which was in Vertex. Things must be truly desperate if she was there so fresh griffins could heal her. I had never seen a griffin exhaust aura completely, so it must be dire indeed.

  I entered a massive archway to run through a wide tunnel that was the outer wall of Vertex. Once I cleared that, there was an expansive courtyard for communal griffin feasting and relaxing. When I say expansive, it was ten miles long and wide. There were griffins scattered throughout Vertex in large bush nests, absorbing the early morning sun rays on the cool late fall day. I continued my incredible speed down a path to the left. On the inside of the courtyard, I raced for the pavilion tucked in the corner. Under the clay canopy, I could see exhausted griffins being dragged out by their brethren. A new griffin would take the fallen one’s place over a woman on a table. Then it registered, Pipi was dying. It was one thing to hear it… another to see it.

  I heard Pipi screaming horrendously and bounded as fast as I could to arrive at her side. Lady Linzy held a hand out to stop me.

  “The baby refuses to leave her womb. We can save him, it’s the mother I worry about. The boy is incredibly strong! I sense the same purple aura as his father. The problem is he is killing his mother in his stubbornness. He is ripping her insides apart. I can grab his head but we lack the strength to get him out once he digs in. Your wife may survive but her mind cannot take much more. I fear she may already be lost. I need you to reach in there and yank him out once we have two fresh griffins ready to heal,” Lady Linzy said with a pang of sadness.

  The woman was feeling defeated. She ushered the women and female elvath who were attending out of the tent. Two more griffins walked to a location they could touch Pipi from. There were three touching her at the ready, and I had to act fast.

  They had Pipi's legs spread in stirrups, and her energy was gone. Her body was limp, and I barely saw her chest rising and falling. I tucked her right leg over my left shoulder and took a deep breath.

  “You are coming out. There is no option!” I bellowed at my unborn son.

  I dove my right hand into my wife's birth canal. I felt his head. I went further until I had his torso gripped. The little shit was beating my hand. I ignored his feeble attempts to overpower my strength. I timed it right and clasped his arms to his torso under my grasp. His feet would still do damage, but that was unavoidable. I yanked with an excessive amount of aura. The little stinker was strong.

  The baby made a sucking plop sound as he exited and the two of us went flying backward. I cradled my son as I smashed into an inner wall of Vertex. My head smacked with a sickening thud and my back erupted in pain. Somehow I stayed conscious even through the spins. I felt blood running down my back from somewhere and was dizzy and disoriented. My son squealed in the anguish of being freed from his mother’s womb.

  I was having issues staying upright until Jak stepped up and healed me. He tettered toward the ground and I lunged to catch him. I only managed to slow his descent as he collided with the ground.

  “I am fine, just going to lay here for a while. I forgot how awful healing you is,” Jak said from the dirt while laying on his back.

  A young dvarette smiled warmly as she walked up with a blanket. My son struggled in her arms but she was able to manage his squirming. It looked like he would be seeing a lot of lady dvaren until he grew up and could mind. I walked over to Pipi. Two of the three griffins were being dragged out of the pavilion.

  “She lived… barely. Now we find out if she stays sane.” Lady Linzy said from behind me as I ran a hand over Pipi’s face.

  She was so pale and frail. All my wives were after birthing my children. Four daughters later I was wondering if I was slightly cursed… This was my first son. Lily had said my wives would struggle to deliver my children, that had been an understatement. I had to wonder if they would swear off sex with me after this. Velia had only recently come out of her torment. I was proud of my wives, this was no simple feat. Birthing my children was extensive and horrible. That was evident as I watched Pipi barely breathing. It would be the same diagnosis as Velia, Time; to keep a healer by her around the clock and give her time. I placed a few blankets over my wife and carried her in my arms against my chest. I was t
aking her to our castle to let her recover in her room. There were a dozen healers already stationed in the castle. The worst was over, it was time for her to start her long journey to recovery.

  “What is your name?” I asked the dvarette who followed behind me with my unnamed son. I wanted to call him Herc but I would let Pipi decide. If I asked for the name she would likely allow it. I decided I would, looking back at the wee lad it seemed fitting.

  “Uroxa my Emperor. He sure is strong, if I had not been healed back to my youth I may not be able to handle him. He is even stronger than a dvaren baby boy. They fight hard to come out too. Fortunately… our bodies are designed to eject them much smoother than your fair species. Those elvath will need your help too more than likely. Their children come out dainty from what I understand. My emperor, this boy is at my guess ten stones in weight. Oh, I know your system. Eighteen pounds, learned pounds when I learned English,” Uroxa said as we exited Vertex.

  “Are many of the dvaren getting healed to youth? It has been a goal of mine.”

  “All of us my lord, that I know of at least. Your wife Amber sent a team of healers north to Uhara. It takes very little aura and the elvath are boosting any who get low.” Uroxa said loudly over Herc’s crying. “This boy will be a biggun when he grows up. Maybe as tall as his daddy. Thank you for stepping in and pulling him out. We’d been stuck for hours without progress. Poor dear was in such pain.” Uroxa said as she tried to sooth Herc.

  As we walked the road to the castle, my guards found me and formed a square around Uroxa, Pipi, and I. The old cobbled road had been expanded and sidewalks added. Another simple thing that changed the feel it once had. Lady Linzy came up beside me and stroked Pipi’s head softly as we progressed. Her eyes were tight, fighting tears. I knew she had bad news and I stared down at Pipi. Even with Pipi being ghostly white she still breathed. Linzy saw my confusion at her distraught appearance and spoke.

  “Nexa has opted for no griffin healing. She is stubborn in her ancient ways. She refuses to be exposed to Unforina and Maurta during her struggles. Nexa will die in childbirth. Her water will break any day now. You can supersede her wish… I don’t think you should, she dies with honor this way, instead of suicide later. She has lived a long time and only birthed a few children. This will be her defining moment and her last. Respecting her wish, while difficult… is the right decision. We do not detect the purple magic in Ahris’ baby. We do feel she will be able to give birth with human healers only. She has accepted that and wants to raise both babies as her own in Nexa’s honor. The first elvath bearing human/elvath offspring will start to give birth tomorrow. We expect those to go much smoother than demigod babies. I have sent a rider with griffins out to every city to hire green mages at the Emperesses request. It will take some time to bring them all back in from their missions. Some are trickling in already though.” Lady Linzy informed me.

  I let out a long deep sigh as I continued to the castle above the market. Fernlan was buzzing with activity in the early morning chill. Griffins were flying everywhere casting earth magic as they built more than I ever dreamed. There was a steady stream of carts exiting Dais carrying household stuff to move into new homes I had the griffins build above ground. It turns out that humans loved Dais… until they had the choice to live above ground. As we built homes around Fernlan for the first time since the peace accords the residents flooded from below to above. Some of the dvaren had migrated down to Dais from Uhara so it worked out in not needing to remove what we started down there.

  The griffins were building an incredibly large city with the extra ogre hearts. The village of Fernlan was gone and now it was truly a Capital City. The griffins believed in me enough to build enough to house a few million citizens here. I merely needed to find the people to fill it, which was such a change from the hundred plus people who had started here, some without a roof to sleep under. The little village I remembered had been wiped away when Addilyn decided to cleanse the dwellings for a market with a government building above it. Amber then added the castle on top of that. In retrospect, I think they regret the constant stairs to get up and down, I know I was certainly not a fan as I carried Pipi up to our estate.

  Once inside the government building above the market, I hustled up the private stairwell until I reached our residence on the seventh floor. Poor Uroxa had her short legs to tackle what seemed like infinite stairs. Herc had silenced his cries about halfway up and was latched onto her plump and swollen teet. Huh, go figure, a dvaren could nurse a human. When the stairs ended I entered a wide foyer. I hated confined spaces so everything about our residential floor was roomy, no narrow hallways or tight corridors here. The foyer had a team of guards that parted as we passed. A few healers noticed me. They wore their green robes with my emblem over their hearts. At first back in the Tipsy, it had been a dozen young female mage students, now it was assorted ages and even had some men. We had dedicated the entire eighth floor to their living quarters. It was prudent when it became evident the healers were here to stay.

  The castle guards secured the only two entry points into the royal floor. My personal retinue stopped at the foyer and mingled with their comrades. They never followed further than there which was nice. While I was getting accustomed to an escort, I didn’t want them everywhere I went in my home. I passed a few decorations in the mostly barren halls. A wide, yellow shaggy rug squished beneath my dirty feet. Some poor servants would have to clean out the blood I was dragging into my home. Pipi had stopped bleeding after giving birth but we hadn’t had a chance to get cleaned off before heading here. A few servants noticed my approach and scurried to prepare for our arrival.

  My room was opened by Nate himself who beamed with a smile. “Glad to see her still breathing my lord. We heard her struggles all the way up here… Who is this little guy? Congrats Gryff, not harping on the four daughters, merely happy to see a son in the mix.” Nate said as he slowed my pace by partially blocking my way while viewing my son.

  “This is Herc. The boy has purple aura. He didn’t care he was killing his mother… stubbornly refused to leave and join us on Vin. I had to pry the lad out by force. It was not pretty.” I said to Nate who was fawning over my son in Uroxa’s arm.

  I allowed the servants time to clear the bed for Pipi and prepare to clean her before she settled in for a long rest. I held my wife tenderly in my arms and patiently waited while they worked only a few paces away inside my room. The room had wooden floors with blue curtains over the cutout windows. They produced glass in the Empire, the problem was our buildings had not had them installed. I knew there was a glass facility in production. I let that issue drop because it was on the in progress list. The dressers ate up most of the available space on the left side of the room as they were lined up against a flat wall. The middle section had a four-poster bed that could sleep twenty. Amber was adamant that the bed needed to be huge, because well… I didn’t fight her on it. It mattered little to me and I figured I would rarely sleep in it. The right side of the room had a meeting table and wide sliding dual doors. The balcony was my favorite place in the entire city and it was currently occupied by my converted foes. I saw Roz teaching Urshoe how to cast portals, while Virtue read a book on a bench. I observed everything quickly as I waited for the bed to be prepared for Pipi.

  Uroxa’s tits were exposed, as in she didn’t care if the other one was out too. I had noticed that was not a societal concern here. A woman breastfeeding was completely natural and no one got squeamish or looked away. I, for one, was a fan of the free the nipple movement. Dvarette boobs looked great and my son was drinking hungrily as Uroxa sang quietly to him. I swear I could see him smiling in joy.

  “I’m leaving once I get dressed in my armor. You want to come? Going to Entria as soon as Pipi is settled.” I asked Nate as I saw the servants had finished preparations for me to lay Pipi down.

  “Looks like they’re ready. I’ll prepare your armor while you lay her down. I’d like to go and speaking of whi
ch, when are you going slave shopping; after you collect your elvath?” Nate asked as I laid Pipi down.

  “Today if we find the time. I want more combat units and well… to free more slaves. The griffins want a few more days to collect more troops before the big fight at the planetary portal to Vin.”

  Okay, are you gals ready?” I asked the five ladies waiting. They had laid towels down, had buckets with rags ready, and one maid held a pair of shears. “Ok, laying her down now. Thank you everyone. Keep someone by her at all times. I am sure you know that Mary.”

  Mary was the green healing mage who was closest to me. I’d had them sew name tags on to humanize the help. Pipi’s birthing gown was being cut off and the blood and grime washed from her exhausted body. They doted on her with gentle care. Uroxa excused herself, heading for the nursery to get Herc cleaned up. I kissed my wife’s forehead and then quickly my son’s. I stripped out of my white tunic, which finally had my emblem on it. The shirt was probably ruined and ready to be burned. I actually indicated the entire set of clothes be set aflame to save some poor soul the torturous endeavor of trying to restore it.

  Nate had my armor all laid out. Lady Linzy, who had been sitting at the table waiting patiently, came to help me get geared as did an elvath with a Marnia tag. All my wives were recovering so they had stepped in. Nate let them get all close to my naked form and I grinned at him. Being an emperor sure had its perks.

  “Lady Linzy, I had an inquiry I never had the time to find the answer to. Will I ever find that elusive elvath willing to marry into my family?” Nate asked the elvath as she dressed me. “My wife and I recently found our household reduced in size, honor reasons only. I took on my brother's widows after he passed. I just gave them enough money to sustain them and now we find the house empty and quiet. We were interested in finding a suitable elvath.”

  “You may get one to marry into your family, especially with your status and the sheer amount of females to males here on Vin. You have to understand, our kind would see you wither and die unless there is a magic that can sustain humans forever. Is there that for humans on Vin?” Lady Linzy asked as she helped lace my boots. I shook my head no. “Then if that is the case, it will be probable if not highly likely, you find a marriage proposal. Even a lady of my stature may be tempted. Now… if Gryff asked me to marry, it would be a resounding no. We both will simply live too long. Now Gryff… before you galavant off to some other planet I need you to test something, then visit your wives and daughters. Try to break Pipi of her torment with a contract.”