The Griffons Rise

by Roran Dreamon

Rating: mature
Tags: Romance, Changelings, Sex, Adventure, Griffons, Princess Celestia, Alternate Universe, Human, Princess Luna, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 311091

Working for royalty is never easy, it becomes even harder when said royalty is trying to get me to marry their daughter who hates me for some reason. It becomes almost impossible when my neighbors want me for themselves. I hate this planet.

You know when you were young you had those dreams of magic, medieval kingdoms, royal princesses and princess's, mythical creatures and whatnot. Well when that dream becomes a reality it isn't as cracked up to be. Snobbish nobility, political maneuvers ,stoic and cold guards, stupid petitioners, the occasional feral beast wandering near civilization, teen-age dragons, skullduggery, intrigue and assassination attempts galore.

Sadly for me my job is to handle all of this AND maintain my own social life, whenever the hell I can even get the time to do anything other than eat, sleep and shower.

Published 2016-01-29 01:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2025-01-13 18:30:04 UTC

Abysmal Abyss Diving, sounds safe

Leaving the store behind I pulled out the map that was given to me and as my eyes looked at it I had made the fatal error of not asking for directions.

Everything written on the map was written in a language that I couldn't read.

'Well, I guess that saying that men never ask for directions is true...where the hell am I going to find this abyss? Not like one someone is going to fall from the sky and then give me directions.'

And as soon as I thought that I heard someone shout 'watch out' that was immediately followed by the sound of something crashing into the ground. Turning to the source of the crash I saw a griffon lying in a heap of feathers and from how far I am I can't tell if it is a he or a she. I can only hope that I don't get it wrong and get clawed for my mistake, getting slap by a girl hurts like hell, getting slapped by a griffon probably entails getting clawed as well.

Taking a risk I headed over to the fallen griffon and as soon as I arrived the griffon was just getting back on its paws, shaking off the crash as it shook its head around. When I got closer I saw that the griffon in question had teal colored feathers around the eyes with an equally light blue eyes, the feathers on its head were slicked back in a soft fashion. Well I could call it a she seeing how the first few griffons I saw up close were male and they all looked bulky and large and the one in front of me looked softer and smaller.

That and her voice was that of a girl unless I was standing in front of a very effeminate male griffon.

Imagine my surprise if that was the case, I asked if she was okay and in turns out to be a dude and he actually likes it and tries to hit on me...I am not sure what I would do. Most certainly say no thanks but I would not be a dick and call him out on it, don't need to call someone out on their sexual preferences so as long as they don't try to rope me into something I don't like.

"Oww...did anygriffon get the name of that carriage that hit me?" the now obviously female griffon said as I watched her rise onto her paws. When she pulled herself up I saw that on her forehead was three teal feathers, probably acting as either a beauty mark or a natural birth mark or an equivalent form for feathers.

Walking up to her I grabbed a paw and pulled her up as she nearly fell over, the crash must have done more to her noggin than what she has thought.

"No I did not see the carriage that rammed you but I did see the fall you took." I said as I kept her steady, conking herself on the head on the way down did nothing to assure me that she is fine.

Placing a hand on her back to help her keep steady I watched the griffon...ess? Is that correct, griffoness? Or would it be hen? Lioness? Eh fuck it. I placed my hand on her back and watched as she stumbled around a bit before having her paws firmly planted on the ground.

"You okay?" I asked as I kept her steady, I learned that apparently in this dream that cartoon physics are in charge. This griffon fell what I can only estimate several dozen feet and when I pulled her up she wasn't even hurt, just dusty and a bit wobbly.

"Yeah...just a bit rattled around is all. Can't believe that idiot didn't see me flying, seriously how hard is it to see something like me moving through the air?" The female griffon said, her eyes wobbling around before straightening out and looking right at me.

I know that she was inspecting me because I did the exact same thing when I first got here and met my first griffon, I just guess that I am just something new that she hasn't seen before.

"Huh, your new around here aren't you?" the female griffon asked me as she shook herself off, throwing dust and dirt into the air as it settled down everywhere, including on my person.

"Yeah, I am, who are you?" I said while wiping the dust and dirt off of me, grumbling silently at being dirtied by a griffon.

Probably wouldn't be the first time it would happen.

"My name is Greta, what's yours outsider?" The now named female griffon, Greta, said as she extended a talon to me, a simple hand gesture that clearly reads out as a handshake.

"The name's Ian, and what do you mean by outsider?" I responded in kind and slowly grabbed the extended talon and shook it, her grip wasn't strong but it held enough strength in it to tell me that if I were to mess with her then there would be a great chance that I would be pushing up daises.

"You know, those that aren't a griffon or those that are not born on griffon lands." Ah, that would make sense actually.

For a moment there I thought that she knew that we were in a dream...which would be strange as hell cause sometimes not even the dreamer would know they are in a dream in the first place...eh whatever.

"So, you new to town or something? Got yourself a traveler's kit and you look like a fish outta water here." Greta said, flapping her wings a bit to dislodge a loose feather that has been loosened in the crash.

Looking around where I am standing to get a better position of my current location, and sadly I don't know where the hell I am. Apparently by following the old griffon into his store I had managed to lose myself in this griffon city. Can this get any worse than it already is? Like seriously, what is next, am I going to get robbed or something?

Rotating my arms a bit to ease the straps from digging into my shoulders I looked back at Greta, the griffoness staring right at me, it feels like she is either staring right through me or is staring right at me soul, and I am not sure which is worse.

"You can say that I am new here, I just walked in a few minutes ago." I said, thinking back on that I did kinda just rolled on in, talked to an old man who pretty much gave me everything I will need to go on an adventure...and for a moment I could have sworn he said quietly 'It's dangerous to go alone, take this.' to me. In fact if he did say that then he does know that I am still alone, just because I got a sword doesn't mean my loneliness is fixed.

"Well watch your tail cause some griffons round here have been known to scam others and in some cases outright robbery." The scarf wearing griffon says as she checks out her left talon, flicking a pebble from said talon.

Before I could comment back that I don't have a tail, I smelled something baking in the wind, something...bread.

"What is that smell?" I asked, I know it wasn't a fart, I know one of those when I smell it.

You can tell if it was a butt trumpet, especially if you live with two brothers and two dogs, especially when a dog is always by your side and it is only the two of you in the room when one is let loose.

"Oh, that. It's just Gilda baking her scones. Seems like she is baking them a bit early today, I wonder if she has something planned later on for today." Greta said as she placed a talon under her beak and rubbed at it a bit, guess that counts as her chin since I don't see one.

"Gilda?" I raised an eyebrow, did she honestly expect me to know this griffon is?

"Yeah, what about her?" Greta says as she walked over to me, circling me like a shark as she looked me over, my guess is that she is just looking me over to see what I am.

"Don't know who she is." I mean seriously, not like I know anyone here by heart...maybe Grandpa Gruff but he is an old timer who everyone should know.

"Oh, well, lemme just give you the rundown 'bout her than. She is for the lack of a better word, a crabby bitch. If you don't meet her standards, are a nerd or as she says a 'dweeb', or are weak then she will tear you apart either by talking down to you or by literally tearing you apart. She has her days and ever since she lost her only outsider friend, that and I think that same friend dumped her or something." Greta said as she sat down, apparently this Gilda is well...a total bitch if what I am hearing has any truth to it.

"Wow really? She can't be that bad...right?" I asked, cause I mean someone can't be that much of an asshole right? Oh who am I kidding, I have seen plenty of assholes back home and I know plenty of them are only like that cause someone else was an asshole to them.

It's a vicious cycle, the asshole cycle.

"Do you want to find out?"

Yes and no.

"Nah, maybe later." I said before shuffling my backpack again, readjusting the weight.

"Well good luck on your trip to the abyss, I could lead you to it, for a price." And that was when I saw a smile creep onto her beak, I don't know how but she somehow managed to get her beak to bed to make a smile...now that is just creepy as hell. Last time I saw a bird up close, beaks don't bend like that.

"I'm broke." I said with a flat face. I mean I have money on me, I am sure I got a penny or two in my pocket, maybe a nickel or a dime but probably nothing that can be used as currency here.

"Oh...well, for a favor than." And for a moment, I thought I saw a glimmer sparkle in her eye, and I am not sure if I should feel afraid for my life or just shrug at it and keep going.

"Eh...alright, just as long as its not anything too strange for me." I finally said, agreeing to the deal of being led to my object for a favor.

I think I might have just doomed myself...maybe.

"Yes!" The griffon shouted while pumping her fist, apparently I just signed myself up for something horrible in the future.

"Nothing illegal! No murder, no theft, no loitering, no setting things on fire and most importantly nothing stupid! I do not want to wake up one morning on the floor of a jail cell."

"Oh don't worry about it buddy, just be ready for me to call on that favor in like...two or three months from now." Greta says before spreading her wings open, about to take off into the sky.

"Wait, what is happening at that time?"

"Like I said, don't worry about it! Just be ready for when I call on that favor!" And with that said I watched the griffoness take flight and circled around before landing on the roof of a building.

Thinking that she is trying to guide me to the abyss I decided to follow her and just as she had promised, although with a bit of messing around on her part, she led me out of the city proper and back down the mountainside. Apparently this abyss was at the very bottom of the mountain and that I had woken up somewhere above the bottom and away from the abyss.

During our walk...my walk to the bottom and her flight to the bottom the two of us decided to play a couple games of twenty questions.

"What do you do for a living Greta?" I asked as we exited the city of Griffonstone, a few griffons were watching us as we made our slow decent down the mountain path.

"Oh, you know, some things here, some things there. You?" The griffoness said, gently flapping her wings to keep pace with me as I walked down the dirt road.

"I used to work for my uncle making car parts." And boy was that annoying, the parts were either greasy, oily, or complex to put together.

"Car parts?" Greta says, tilting her head a bit as she tries to mentally picture what it is.

"Its for a mechanical vehicle that my people drive to get around." I said as I mentally rolled my eyes.

'Oh joy, the great feeling of telling someone what carbon-fiber wrapped four-wheeled vehicle is. I must be blessed by god!'

"So like an airship than?" Greta said, and apparently here in this dream world we have airships. Is it like a blimp of the real world or is it a boat with wings and sails, or is it like a final fantasy airship which changes in appearance based on the game.

"Yes...just like an airship, just not in the air but on the ground." I think I just said that a car is a land boat with sails and shit.

"Oh, then its a wagon." And now this place has wagons, things that are pulled by bulls, horses and donkeys.

Lovely.

"Yeah, a wagon." Kill me now.

"I wouldn't trust it, I rather fly because I know I only have to worry about other bad fliers, the weather, the wind and nearby airships."

"I would rather fly as well but seeing how I don't have wings I can't. Driving a car is dangerous in its own right, that damn thing is a metal deathtrap when it is in the hands of an inexperienced driver, an old person, or someone that is feeling suicidal." That and after watching several episodes of World's Dumbest and seeing how often some idiot crashes their car into other cars, trees, buildings and ditches, I would rather walk or ride a bike somewhere then place my trust into a four-wheeled metal coffin.

"Wow, must really suck." Oh you have no idea Greta.

"It does, it has its moments when shit happens."

After that was some other questions, how old are you, did you have sex yet, are you married, do you ever plan on it, plan for kids, how much money you have, ever got drunk, ever pissed yourself while drunk (twice!), and lastly at our current question...

"Why are you doing this?" Greta asks as she lands beside me and starts to walk on my left.

"Doing what?" I asked as I stepped on a twig, the resulting crack causes a flock of small birds to spring from a tree and fly off.

"Why are you going after the idol?" Oh, that.

"Uh...not really sure." I said while shrugging.

I mean, I don't really know why I am doing this, hell this is all a dream, if I wanted I could make it rain tacos for no reason.

"Are you serious?" The griffon says in a raised tone, turning her head to look at me, apparently not liking my answer.

"I think so...why?" Sometimes I don't even know why I do things, I just do them.

"Oh by the All Father...I am traveling with an idiot!" Hey! I take offense to that!

"Hey! I am not an idiot! I just sometimes don't really think things through and that I just do things."

"You are totally an idiot! You just up and decided to go hunt for a relic and not only did you not know where it is, but how dangerous it is and could be to even get to it! What kind of birdbrain would even not think of what could happen to themselves before even signing up to something so dangerous!"

"Well its not like anyone else was gonna go for it! Hell I don't even belong here and yet I am doing it anyways!" That and this is a dream, by morning I probably won't even remember any of this.

"But why though!" The question that many people ask but are never able to answer.

"For the hell of it! And also for the experience (points)!" I said with a hint of pride, puffing out my chest all while thinking of the things I will get for doing this. Maybe I will be given a title, a noble rank, maybe even a home!

Wow, I am such a nerd, this is not Skyrim damn it! OR is it? I don't know, dreams are strange, fickle things.

"You are truly one crazy featherhead, aren't you?" Greta says as she snickers at me, apparently by going on this quest I have been deemed crazy.

Well isn't that lovely.

"Yup!" Well we all are a little crazy, aren't we? I mean we are all mad here.

We eventually arrived at the bottom of the mountain, and my god that is one large ass crack in the ground. I thought this was just a massive ravine in the ground but when I kicked a rock over the side I failed to hear anything hit the very bottom let alone the sides. And also the abyss is named that because it truly is an abyss, no light was hitting the bottom and for a moment I saw some sort of dark, eerie fog down there.

"Well, this is it. The Abysmal Abyss, the deepest hole in the ground in the whole world. This blasted thing has prevented so many griffons from retrieving our lost idol for years, and for you it might just kill you. I wish you the best of luck and whether or not you get the idol back and you return to Griffonstone, remember that you owe me a favor in a few months!" Greta said with a wry grin, watching me set my backpack down and taking out the necessary climbing tools for the job.

"Well, I just hope that nothing bad happens to me while I do this. I really don't want to fall to my death here and it would really suck if I somehow fall down that hole into some kind of eternal drop. Starvation and dehydration are not ways I want to go out." I said as I slide some rope through my belt-loops before making a rope harness up top.

"You know, you kinda look like a Diamond Dog now that I look at you with your backpack...you seem to be missing your tail." My griffon companion said as she laid down on a large flat rock, flicking pebbles at me as I did my job.

"The fuck is a Diamond Dog?" I said as I grabbed a hammer and nailed a thick secure metal pin into the ground two feet away from the stony ledge.

"It's a large two legged beast that have some pretty massive arms, they aren't that bright, they love gems and they also love enslaving ponies to mine gems for them." She said as she looked at her talons, seeing for anything that might be wrong with them.

While she said that I was busy trying to comprehend what the hell she just said.

'Diamond Dogs? Are they the gnolls or goblins of this place? And ponies? The fuck? Like, sentient horses or is that just a racist slang for satyrs or centaurs? I sure hope its one of the two cause if it is sentient horses than I am just going to leave this dream right now.'

"Wow...giant armed dogs...and just how stupid are they?"

"Oh they are pretty stupid, you would not believe how stupid they can be. Heck you can easily trick them if you had a gem or two on you. You could probably trick the alpha of the pack into a fight and win so as long as you look like a Diamond Dog yourself." Wow, that is a level of stupidity that I have never heard of before.

At least it is good to know that I can somewhat pass for a dumb beast here in this dream...wait, that's bad.

"I'll take your word for it Greta."

"Good, well, I'll just watch you for now but as soon as you go over the side then I am leaving. I'll see you whenever you get back, try not to die." And with that said I watched the griffon stand up before taking off into the sky, flying all the way back up to Griffonstone.

Sighing to myself I looked over the side one more time before making sure everything is secure for this trip into the belly of the beast...I mean planet.

Taking one last look at the green grass, live trees and flying birds, I took my first step over the edge...

And almost immediately fell to my death when I forgot to get a firm grip on the rope.

"Shit!"

Grabbing the rope and earning myself a classic case of rope burn, I stopped myself from falling to my death or for me, falling on a smaller ledge that was just out of sight from the small spot I was last on.

'Phew, that would have been really bad if I fell to my death just now. Good thing there was this outcropping of rock here.'

Standing up to dust myself off I take out another anchor pin and nailed it into the wall above the rocky outcrop and this time I slowly got off of the safety rock and made my descent down once again but this time without falling to my death.

My slow as molasses descent into the planet was slow but it was progress for me. I was not going to take any chances and make a rapid descent downward, I am sure that if I tried that then I would more than likely cause the rope to break and I will then become one with the ground...

And by one with the ground I mean by splattering all over the floor like a bug on a windshield.

'Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down!'

Taking another step down I felt a rock give way but I managed to not slip and lose my grip on the rope so I let the rock beneath my foot give way before placing it somewhere else.

I swear they make this look so easy on TV and in the books, why can't it be as easy as it was when I first saw it.

Another step down, another inch closer to my goal...so as long as my goal is actually down here and not somewhere else.

After what felt like days of non-stop climbing turned out to be a few hours of utter hell and bullshit, but in the end it was worth it. Resting at the very edge of yet another outcropping of rock was a small golden idol, and in all of its glory it was still shiny, free of dust and not a single speck of rust nor decay.

"My god...it is so beautiful...it would look amazing on my mantelpiece!" I said as I took baby steps to the idol.

But naturally this was all a trap, because honestly who leaves a priceless treasure just sitting there on a ledge! That is just asking for a trap to go off! And before I could ponder any further I heard the tall tell sign of something cracking and when I looked down I saw the rock beneath my feet start to crack and crumble.

"Oh fuck..." Was all I could mutter before the rock gave way.

I would have plummeted to my death if it wasn't for the rope harness that I had made earlier but during my fall toward the bottom of the abyss, the rope that was preventing me from having a messy demise suddenly snapped. When I heard the rope snapped I had a brief moment to think that this was going to suck, and after that it was nothing but weightless doom.

Falling to ones death must be one of the worst ways to die but for me it didn't even hit my top five ways to die horribly.

It was during my fall to my death that I realized that I was actually on top of the rock that was the cause of my soon-to-be-demise and with what must be cartoon logic I grabbed the rock and held onto it tightly. If this was how I was going to die then I would at least want to be whole and intact, and after that I would wake up, mumble something and then go back to sleep.

Unless it was morning then I would just proceed with my daily ritual of brush teeth, shave, shower and shit before getting dressed for college then work.

Closing my eyes to not see my own death I waited patiently to hear the sound of the rock I am clinging on crack and crumble beneath me before hearing the sound of my head smacking against the ground before it all goes black.

But that never came.

I felt the wind get knocked out of me that was immediately followed by the rock I was holding coming to a complete halt but cracking more from the impact with something even large than itself.

Groaning in pain from having my air supply removed temporarily but when I breathed in and allowed my lungs to enjoy the sweetness that was good air, I opened my eyes to see where I currently am.

Before I could get a grip on my surrounding I noticed that something was missing.

The idol that came all the way down here for was gone.

"Where the fuck is it?" I muttered to myself, taking care not to cause a rock avalanche by shouting.

My answer to where the idol was came to me when something metallic and heavy collided with my head.

Before I blacked out, my eyes connected with the object of my quest, the idol.

"Oh...hey...griffon idol..." Was all I could say before blacking out from getting conked on the head.

Well...this is unexpected.

As soon as I was removed from what is obviously the prison cells that these diamond dogs have in their possession, I was dragged out of said room before turning abruptly and dragged even further out before being pushed down and then hauled back up by the second guard dog.

"Walk!" And without even trying to fight back I silently agreed to this before walking and following behind the first dog.

Resuming our walk through the rough stone halls of the cavern I looked around as much as I could with my arms being tightly held, I saw several branching caverns leading to parts unknown along with several more diamond dogs patrolling the halls, all of them male, and on occasional non-guard dogs milling about, some look like miners if their plain vest-like shirts are anything to go by along the fact that they are also wearing dog collars with a name tag on it as well.

While I was busy looking at the passing group of diamond dogs, the big brute behind me poked me in the ass with the sharp, rusty-looking point of the spear, earning a small yelp of shock from me.

"Hey! Take it easy with the prodding, I can walk on my own!" I said while growling at the dog in heavy armor behind me, all he did was let out a gruff of annoyance while rolling his eyes but for the most part he stopped with the butt jabbing.

And that was when I saw my first female diamond dog, and I must say...for a race of talking dogs with pretty large arms and are quite possibly dumber than a sack of hammers, she looks pretty good.

I mean, for a diamond dog and only for other diamond dogs. Not that I am saying that I was looking or anything but still...they for some reason have the weakness that all men fall for.

That ass and those tits.

I spent too much of my time looking at porn...I need help.

While I was busy gawking at the few passing females one of my captors looked back at me and chuckled at my staring before speaking up.

"Look, new dog like our breeders."

Wait, breeder? And lo and behold what this dog said was true, cause from what I know about people that have to many children, they get those wide breeding hips, their bust goes up, and it pretty much is throwing a hotdog down a hallway.

Why did I look at that website...now I need brain bleach!

"Ha! Like he got chance, he shaven, no breeder will rut him."

Ouch...my pride...wait...why am I hurt from that? Sorry boys humans only for me, I've seen enough shit on the internet to steer clear away from the freaky shit.

...

Okay maybe just one round.

Or two...

Damn it, I spent too much time on the internet and look at what it did to me...well...maybe just one time wouldn't hurt me...

"Doubt Alpha would let him breed, he been shaved! Most he useful is the mines!"

The mines? Oh hell no I am not being turned into forced labor! I am a man damn it! A man with a high school diploma and some college experience!

Eventually after being dragged around for five minutes we reached what must be the alpha dog's room, and how could I tell it was his room?

Cause it was being guarded by two even burlier, stronger looking guard dogs with even better looking armor and weapons that look like they have been maintained and cared for. And how else was this the alpha's room? Cause it smells like straight up dog and also because when one of the big guard dogs opened the door while the other pushed me in, the room itself looks like something only a bandit king could have.

Stolen treasures line the walls, ill gotten loot cover the floor near the obviously stolen queen-sized bed, portraits of random important beings hang from the walls with gemstones placed underneath them.

And sitting on top of a pile of gold coins and precious gemstones was the sacred griffon idol.

'Fucking shit, how the hell am I going to get that thing back now?'

Seeing me look at all of its stolen loot with wonder, the alpha of the dog pack lets out a barking laugh, making me face him and I watched as he sat on his throne, an expensive looking chair with an extended back, and by god...this dog truly is deserving of the title of Alpha.

This dog, if you can even call him that, is more wolf-like in appearance than he is a dog. This Alpha is tall, easily topping six feet tall and then some, his coat of fur is silver, not sure if that is its natural color or if he is just old. Looking into his eyes I can easily tell that they are blue-ish in color and that they carry the weight of an entire clan of idiots and determination to set them straight, but for the most part I can say that he has his work cut out for him. And from what I saw earlier, most diamond dogs were either wearing a vest of sorts and a collar, or plain metal armor but this guy is wearing what looks like chainmail with metal plates covering the torso, left shoulder and right forearm, and painted rather crudely on his chest was a white wolf head howling at something, probably the moon.

'Man, this guy is either a really successful raider or he has been around for a long while.'

"So, you must be the surface dog that my sentries have found by one of many entrances." The alpha dog said as he leaned back into the chair, relaxing a bit as his eyes looked at me, studying every detail on my person.

"Uhhhh yeah, I am." I said, technically I am from the surface so that isn't a lie.

Just a half truth...well 3/4 lie and 1/4 truth.

"From where on the surface do you hail from?" And that right there made me pause.

Where do I hail from? Well...they don't have California in the dream realm cause I didn't put it here so where else could I place as my hometown?

Well I got Griffonstone, and...well...that's it I guess, I didn't even bother to learn about other places so I guess I will just wing it.

"I call the city on the mountain my home." Please take the lie, please take the lie, please take the lie!

Crossing my fingers behind my back I repeated that little mantra over and over as the big wolf g thought it over before nodding sagely for a moment before speaking up.

"I see, and I see you have adopted their unique...customs to survive amongst them. Good, I have need of your services." The alpha said again but this time grabbing a small bag of what I can only guess is coins and threw it at me.

Catching the bag out from the air I pulled it towards me before opening it up, and what I saw made the inner greedy dwarf squeal out in joy.

Gold! Precious, precious gold! Sparkly, shiny, glittery gold coins!

And this sack is the equivalent size of a shopping bag from Stater Bros. with the exception that its made of burlap and it is heavy as a fifteen pound weight.

But totally worth whatever it is this guy wants me to do! Right?

"What is it that you need of me?" I asked as I once again looked at the coins before pulling one out to look at it.

The coin itself seemed real, it had the same weight of four quarters glued together, made of gold, and for some reason has the sun imprinted on it. Flipping the coin over I saw that it had a moon on it and without even thinking I bit down on the coin to see if it was real just like the cartoons and it did just like the show, it was real.

Thank god it wasn't made of wood.

"I need you..."

Oh god no

"To teach my son how to read."

Oh thank god...

Wait, what?

As I stood there and the alpha sat there I had enough to think of a proper response and to me I think this was the best answer that I can give at the time.

But sadly before I can utter those words the door to the room opens up suddenly yet slowly and stepping in is the cutest, most adorable thing I have ever seen.

It was a small grey puppy, and it was wearing a small vest and was holding a wooden sword in its paws. This little tyke had the same grey fur that a few diamond dogs have but his eyes matches his father.

In all he just looks absolutely adorable that it can make even the most hardened criminals soften up.

"Dada." The pup said with the most adorable eyes ever.

I felt my heart melt, not literally but still, it is just so damn cute! Why must it know one of my many weaknesses!

"I take it that this is one I am supposed to teach?" I said as I looked at the pup who looked up at me before gnawing on the handle of the wooden sword.

"Yes, that is my son, his name is Thane and do please take your time with your lessons. He is how you surfacers call, a slow learner."

OH boy...a slow learner, well I guess I will just be just like my math teacher then. That bastard drilled those examples into my head until all I could hear was how X plus Y would equal C along with another X plus Y would equal C, and then solve it by the elimination process.

I felt my brain melt itself as I relived those college moments, how could such a teacher do such a thing to his students I will never know.

But now I get to do the same thing to this kid! The cycle continues uninterrupted!

"Oh...OH...oh...well...shit." And oh shit indeed, the few times I gave advice was through a chat room but all I said was either for them to sink or swim, or actual advice on how to do things.

I guess this time I actually have to say helpful things and teach this pup how to read. Maybe while I am at it I can get my treasure back and book it.

"Now, take some time to construct your lesson plans or whatever it is you surface-dwellers do. Guard!" The alpha shouted and like magic one of the large burly dogs opened the door and stepped in.

"Take our friend here and show him to his room, it is the one that was just created. And do be gentle, surface-borns are not as hardy or durable as us." And with that said the dog gently poked me with his spear before directing me to my new home.

And by gently I mean it had the same strength when someone pokes your cheek with a finger, it was weak but I still felt it.

The pup looked at me with those big sparkly eyes as I left the room while the big alpha turned his attention to his son and as I left the room he started to talk but it was in a language that I couldn't understand.

In fact, how the hell did I even understand anything that they are saying in the first place? I mean different race of beings, all the ones I met so far all spoke perfectly understandable English, something that probably shouldn't be because I just met what is four new species and they all got a common language.

Either everyone developed the same culture and lived among one another, or this dream is just compensating. Either way I love it, if I can understand what they are saying and they can understand me then this is all good, good dreams!

But what isn't good about this dream was the room I was given.

You see, it was the fucking prison cell, minus the occupants, the rusty metal bars and most importantly, the evil bat horse that tried to take a bite out of me.

All I had was a stone slab that served as a bed, a small round area where a hole in the floor is located which must be the toilet, and that's it.

I am not pleased with this crap.

When I turned around to talk to the dog I saw that he was standing guard by my door, almost like he was trying to keep me safe although I am more than capable of keeping myself alive, after all one of the most decisive things to do when fighting someone is to either get the first, fast blows in, or pull out a handful of pocket sand and throw it in their face to make a tactical retreat.

'This place really needs to get with the times...these dogs act like god damn goblins, and not even the good kind.'

'They don't even have basic doors or a carpet! If this alpha only cares about himself and family then sooner or later one of these dogs who has more than two brain cells would try to rise up. That or if I threw a wrench into these parts and get these dogs to be smart for a change of pace...nah. I am not going to stick my nose into this business, just do this job, get it done, steal back my treasure and getting the hell out of here. I just gotta hope that it doesn't vanish behind my back.'

Looking back at the guard before walking over to my stony bed I laid down on it before shutting my eyes to rest, I had to use my arms as a pillow because apparently these dogs don't believe in them, or blanks for that matter. I can only contemplate as I earned myself a power nap as to what the hell am I going to do about this whole teacher situation.

'I am so boned...'

The morning sun rose over the horizon and the dawn made its appearance, to those on the surface it looks stunning but for those below ground and myself, all I had to see was nothing but stone walls and rocks.

Staring up at the ceiling I saw nothing but brown, cleanly cut stonework, my sleep for the most part was undisturbed but in all it was not good either. I kept waking up because of the constant clanking of metal-on-metal of the guard dog armor as they marched on their patrols, then there was the snoring and howling of the dogs in the caves that kept me up for most of the night.

I only had three hours of sleep before being rudely awoken by a guard dog. The bastard shook me awake and without even giving me the courtesy of apologizing.

All I could do was muster an angry glare and shoot it at the dog bothering me but all it did was make the dog pull me out of bed before pushing me out the door.

'Okay this already sucks...couldn't sleep, didn't take my morning shit-shower-shave, and now I am being rudely awoken by this asshole. I swear if this keeps up I am going to kill myself! I am going to stab myself in the gut, bleed all over the place and make these fuckers clean it up!'

Grumbling to myself I allowed myself to be led through the cave system, but this time I strained myself to memorize everything that I see in detail, if I am going to be stuck down here for however how long I need to be able to guide myself back. Also this has the added benefit of me being able to escape under my own power, and perhaps help those in the prison cell to escape.

We walked by what I think was a dining hall because I smelled what must have been cooked meat, and did I figure that out? Well when we walked by a larger-than-normal hole in the wall I saw several groups of dogs eating together and they each had their paws on a chunk of fire-cooked meat as I saw charred bits here and there, and it smelled good but I have a problem with this. I like my meat cooked, by cooked to the point where its lightly charred and not pink in the middle, color me surprised when I found out that Medium on the cooking scale has pink in the middle of my burger.

I was not pleased, at all.

Had to learn all the steps on the cooked meat scale to avoid that bullshit again, and now that I am in this dream I have to have my meat cooked on the fire longer than normal, probably have to do it myself.

But instead of getting breakfast meat like the others, I instead got pushed past the hole and was told to keep on walking.

'Wow, what a great first day on the job, they don't even let me eat! What kind of shitty place is this?'

While I thought up obscurities to say to myself on my forced walk to wherever it is that I am required to go to, I failed to see that the person that I am supposed to teach snuck up on us and was now following closely beside me. My Spot skill seems a bit rusty as I once again failed it when the young pup started to walk beside me, but after a while my Listen check came around and I succeeded this time.

"Good morning little Thane." I said while looking forward, the guard behind me straightened up when he realized that I wasn't talking to him and instead was talking to his boss's son. Strange how I was the only one to notice that there was a knee high dog walking...waddling beside me and managing to keep up.

When I looked down at him I saw that he stopped walking and raised his arms, his tiny paws opened before closing and opening once more.

This was the universal kid sign for 'uppies', and although I shouldn't lift him up and place him on my shoulders as he is someone else's kid, if I am to be in good favors with this kid's dad so I can get back my idol and leave this place behind, imma have to do it.

I won't like it, but it is better than the alternative of breaking and entering.

Seeing no other choice other than to ignore the pup and keep walking, I kneeled down and grabbed the pup under the arms and hoisted the young pup and placed him on my right shoulder which seems to excite him. I swear it seems that kids love climbing up on high places and being placed there without having to get hurt while climbing must have been a high point for the kid.

That or he just like uppies.

Now walking down the stone hallways with the alpha's pup on my shoulder and a guard dog walking closer behind me just in case the pup starts to fall backwards without me knowing.

After that it didn't take us long to arrive at the alpha's den and when we were led in it also began his son's lesson.

Teaching this dog would have been damn near impossible for me but luckily this alpha came prepared and gave me some 'acquired' books that look like they are meant for children that are in elementary school, clearly way above anything this pup is capable of understanding.

I just did what most people do in a situation like this.

I improvised.

"Alright Thane, now this is what we are going to do, I am going to say the letter, and you are going to repeat it back to me."

The young pup stared up at me with such a wide, expressive stare that I had to resist breaking down and showing love and affection to the pup but I pulled myself together and just had my cute overload inside my head while repeating what I just said to the kid.

His lesson was slow and I had to repeat myself several times, for a moment I thought I felt a blood vessel was about to pop on my forehead.

The alpha was watching us the entire time, a smirk on that muzzle of his as he watched me teach his son the ABC's. Although this first lesson was painful for me it sort of reminded me of the time I had to teach my nephew the exact same thing.

Repeating the alphabet, teaching him how to pronounce each letter, even going so far has to teach the pup how to say my name.

"Okay Thane, say Ian."

"Pfft." Thane blew a raspberry at me. This is one of the other things that he did during our lessons.

'I swear I am going to punt you if you do that again kid.'

"Now son, that is not nice and disrespectful to your instructor. Try it again." The alpha said before leaning forward and raising an eyebrow, somehow that worked on the pup and got him to say my name, but with a nervous undertone to it.

The pup seemed afraid of his father, and like children they are afraid of their parents when they are either disappointed in them or are mad and are directing said anger at them. Luckily this time it is just disappointment, and like disappointment it hurts like hell to be the target of it.

I don't know how long I have been at this but after a while the alpha said that we can stop for today, glad that we could stop because I am hungry and I swear if I see another guard munching on what I hope is beef jerky one more time I just might deck him just to get a bite of that sweet smoked and flavored meat.

That came out wrong, didn't it?

Eh fuck it.

Once the day for pup education was over with I was allowed to roam freely throughout this dog colony...home...pack...whatever the hell these dogs use to call themselves, but under a watchful eye of a guard dog.

At least this guard doubles as a guide as well, only there is one problem with the assigned dog.

"So whats like on the surface?"

"Do ponies really fly up there?"

"Does gryphons really sqwuak when surprised?"

"Are there any hot females up top?"

"You think I am fat?"

He does not know when to shut up!

I find the one diamond dog that is nice to me and is capable of a semi-higher thought process but he doesn't have a fucking off switch on his mouth!

"Do you think I have chance with a female?"

I could be a total asshole right now and say that he doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell, but instead I am going to be a bro and say exactly what he wants to hear so he gets a small boost to his ego.

"Sure man, you just got to be bold and be confident with yourself." That and probably have a big dick...that usually helps.

"You mean it?"

"Yeah, just make sure that you really mean everything that you say to this girl and just maybe she say yes to you. It's a 50/50 thing when it comes to ladies." That and girls really love money, a big home, tons of clothes that she might ot ever wear, too many damn shoes and purses, always fussing with their hair and complain about so much crap.

I just hope to god the women here aren't like the ones back home.

We once again walked in silence but this time the guard dog was walking beside me, a bit of pep in his step and his tail was wagging as if he just got a big juicy bone. Whatever makes him happy I guess, but its nice that I made a friend among the locals, now I just need to rethink my plan on how to get my treasure back, rescue the prisoners, and get the hell out of here.

And finally get myself some new clothes, I smell like shit.

Author's Note

Step 1: Get in good graces with the Alpha.
Step 1.5: Make some dog friends? Maybe? Side-objective?
Step 2: Steal back the Idol.
Step 2.5: Don't get caught stealing Idol!
Step 3: Rescue Prisoners.
Step 4: Escape Caves
Step 5: ???
Step 6: Profit

Making the Plan

Day 3
This is the third day of my stay here, I now know that this is no longer a dream. I realized that this wasn't a dream when I my dog friend gave me a dead arm this morning at the mess hall, that pain was real and it really bummed me out when it shattered my hope that everything here was all just a lucid dream. Although that this is no longer a dream, I saw plenty of ups and downs for all this crap going on.

Firstly, I can now live the dream that so many people back home can never truly accomplish, have sex with an alien. I can see it now 'Yeah, that's my boy Ian, met a strange new alien life-form...and fucked it. Our homeboy fucked a martian.' And I can say some shit from my world and not be judged too harshly for saying it, I can bring some ideas from home 'toilet paper and pens' and get rich, can give myself some outrageous title to prove my foreignness.

Downside is that there are no humans here so loneliness will settle in soon enough. I might go crazy without my internet, television or porn. No more pizza or noodles, I won't have a chance at starting my own family that is actually related to me by blood...man that just bummed me out even more.

Well, better not keep depressing myself, rather not be like my uncle who is a complete and utter Debby Downer, just have to find a way to turn my frown upside down. And now onto the plan on how to escape this cavern with my treasure and prisoners without losing any blood, limbs or dying!

Firstly I will need to find a way out of this place, it won't do me any good if I can't get out with the prisoners and idol if I can't find the surface in time. Next I will need to get those prisoners out of their cell, I don't know how much time I got to do that let alone if I could even get all of them out before the dogs find out what is going on...maybe a diversion is needed? Getting that idol back is going to be one of the hardest thing there is for me to do besides escaping with it and those that I rescue. Man this is going to suck...

Putting down the quill onto the makeshift table that my friend made for me by carving out a hunk of rock that he dragged in here (still stepping on rock chunks even after kicking most of them to the corners of my room) I leaned back a bit on my rock stool (from the same rock that made my desk) and looked at the wall in front of me I imagined a window to the outside world, imagining trees, rolling green hills, birds, sunlight, hell I even imagined a trainwreck to get a laugh out of me but sadly it wasn't enough.

I needed to get out of here before I lose my goddamn mind.

Moving both my hands through my hair I let out an explosive sigh, I know that if I tried to ask any of the guards here they might think that I am a traitor (which I am...I think?) and put my ass in a prison cell immediately and tell the alpha that I tried to escape. But on the other hand if I asked my buddy he just might be a real pal and lead me up top so I can get some fresh air, an idea of where I am, and also quite possibly be able to make a mad dash out of there if I couldn't do anything that I tried to do and come back with the gryphons if they believe me at all...which I doubt.

Scratching my head I thought of a few scenarios that might happen if I do start my plan to get the treasure, get the prisoners, and get the hell out of dodge.

Scenario 1: I fail epicly and get killed for my failure.
Scenario 2: I fail in an epic manner but instead get kicked out of the cave, and the prisoners get executed for my troubles.
Scenario 3: I manage to steal the idol but couldn't save the prisoners.
Scenario 4: I manage to save the prisoners but the idol is lost to the dogs.
Scenario 5: I somehow manage to steal the idol, save the prisoners, but I die in the process.
Scenario 6: I doubt this will happen but I save everyone, steal the idol, and we all make it out alive.

Man, I am so fucked aren't I? There is just no way in hell I can pull this off!

"Hey! Instructor!" And that is my name that these dogs have given me since they are completely stupid to the highest degree, with the exception of a few rare smarties, most of these dogs are big ol' dumb dumbs.

Rolling my eyes at the sudden disturbance I stood up and closed the journal that I 'acquired' from the dogs earlier today. Apparently they raided a traveling convey of wagons a while ago and they came back with some loot, I took an empty book, ink well and quill for myself and they didn't mind, apparently I get an early pick of the stuff for being close to the alpha. Works for me, now I just wish I get first dibs at food time...getting the crappy parts of the meat sucks.

"Yeah, yeah...I heard you Scrawny." I muttered as I picked myself off the chair and walked over to him, his tail was wagging in a happy manner so I know for a fact that something good happened. Maybe he took my advice yesterday and he finally got laid? Wouldn't that be a change of pace for a change, my advice finally gets someone that isn't me get some ass.

When I left my room and left the door open (still no door so eh) Scrawny (not his name but he is thin for a diamond dog) clasped me on the shoulder before pulling me into a bro-hug (no open palms, just closed fist style hug) before breaking out into a frenzied fast talk.

"Your advice worked!" Scrawny shouted and from the way he is acting he enjoyed himself quite a bit.

"Yes, I can smell that it worked." I said as I as I caught a whiff of something most dank. It confirmed my suspicion when I saw his tail to a lazy wag, an all too easy sign that he got some booty last night.

Apparently I was right about my guess...but come on he could have at the very least cleaned himself up before coming here!

"Dude, you smell, go take a bath." I said and with those words I watched my friend wince ever so slightly but I didn't care, he just hugged me with what is pretty much musky stank sweat and I now smell like him and whoever he had sex with.

God damn it, it is bad enough that my clothes were dirty and started to stink from my own body odor but now it smells like my stank and diamond dog sex sweat! Can my day get any worse than it already is?

Well, apparently it can.

"Sorry...but Alpha wants to see you!" Well that caught my attention, if I remember right then it should be early in the morning.

"For what reason?" I asked as I shuffled my clothes, letting them ruffle around before straightening em out.

"Don't know, he just wants you." Scrawny says, his ears still folded back but for the most part he looks fine.

Now I feel bad for pretty much telling my only friend that he smells bad.

"You know, if you got lucky this time with that girl you like, maybe it will happen again and who knows, maybe one day you will be a father to a litter of pups." Here is hoping my nice words will draw him out of his sad mood and be stuck in happy. Dogs are notorious for their love of being praised.

And naturally, it works, but the downside is that I was starting to imagine him as a father and oh boy do I feel bad for him. Taking care of a single child is hard enough but a litter of pups? He is going to have his work cut out for him.

We were both silent for the rest of our trip to the alpha's room, and when we got there the door was open and before I could step inside out came four diamond dogs. I immediately recognized one of the dogs as Thane but he was being led out of the alpha's room by the first diamond dog that left the room and I saw that it wasn't one of the usual dog guards that protect the room at all times.

No this was a straight up female, if the overly gifted curves, supple booty and breasts was anything to indicate otherwise. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this particular dog was Thane's mother, this dog looked like a Doberman and for a moment I thought she was going to bark at me cause that is what they do right? They are pretty scary when you are on the receiving end of them due to their sharp teeth and scary as hell growls.

The two accompanying dogs with big momma are two different species of dog, I think one is a poodle and the other a terrier...must be some sort of handmaidens or just assistants for Thane's mother.

Looking at the two smaller dogs I noticed that they appear to be the same size as I am, and seeing how almost every single diamond dog here are either a few inches taller or a head taller than me, these two must be teenagers or their size is based solely on their dog species.

The two dogs in turn looked at me, both moved close enough to each other to whisper something but from where I am I couldn't hear a word they were saying but it was no skin of my nose, not like I cared what they were saying behind my back.

Once those four were gone I walked right into the alpha's room and saw him standing beside a bookcase, and for a moment I thought that he had a fight with his mate or they just argued over something petty. Hopefully this doesn't lead to the termination of my job because I love my job, no matter how short it is. What? I love the fact that I get my own room and that I can get some moderately cooked meat for breakfast and dinner.

"Uh...excuse me? Sir? You okay there?" I asked my employer as I watched him bellow out a ragged sigh before turning around to face me.

"It is nothing Ian, nothing...my mate is simply going through her heat cycle and showed me her displeasure when I couldn't perform my duty when she requested it. Do not worry about it, just focus on teaching my son the ways of the surfacers so that when the time comes there can be peace between my clan and those living on top."

As he says that I pondered what he meant by heat cycle I then thought back to when I had dogs of my own and put two and two together before catching a whiff of something most foul.

You know that moment that you are standing in an elevator with at least six other people, and while it is quiet and all you can hear is breathing, the silence breaks when someone just lets a mean one just rip and after that you for some reason have to take a sniff and it just smells just plain awful. I mean it smells like something died and has been rotting in the sun for days bad.

But for this instance, it wasn't the smell of rotting death bad, no this was the smell of a horny bitch in heat bad. My mind is telling me not to even go there, but my body on the other hand, which shouldn't even be possible because of the species gap between us but there it is, that scent that rolled off her body is giving me mixed signals and my brain is telling me that this would go against the bro-code.

For those of you that doesn't know about the bro-code, simply put you never bang your best bud's girlfriend, never fuck your best friend's wife, and the list goes on and on but it plainly states to never go after another bro's girl. But from what this girl is emitting it is making it hard for me to mentally say no to.

"Well, it could have ended far worse than it did, but this is none of my business so I guess we shall move onto what I shall be doing today." I said as I looked the room over, I know I have seen everything in here, especially with my bloody gold idol just sitting there, staring and taunting at me, but for the moment I have nothing to do as his wife just took his child/ my student out of here.

So does this mean that my lessons for today is cancelled?

"Today friend, you do nothing but prepare yourself for tomorrows lesson." And with that said he excused me by waving me away, but when I barely took a step towards the door to leave his room I felt a strong paw grab me by the shoulder and held me in place.

Unable to move without feeling the alpha squeezing down on my shoulder I stood still and before long I felt him breathing on my right ear and I didn't have wait for a moment before he spoke quietly to me.

"Instructor Ian, if my mate ever approaches you and asks you to sleep with her for the night, do not take that offer. She may be in heat and may be my mate but between the two of us she is stronger than I am and if you are caught by her and I am not around to stop her..."

"I can take a hint, she will throw me to the ground and ride me till either she gets what she wants or until my dick breaks, right?" I said as I shuttered at the thought of being forced upon by my boss's wife. I don't know what is worse though, having my first sexual encounter with an alien under the tag of rape, or being kicked out of this hovel without my prize and prisoners...and get raped for the trouble of refusing her...

Looks like I have to update my objectives to include not getting raped...goody.

Shaking my head and agreeing to what the big dog told me he let me go and I went on my way back to my room for a moment before heading down to the prison cells to have a little chat with the prisoners. Better to know who I am rescuing then to accidentally set loose a serial killer or serial rapist. Can't let that live with my conscious if I set a crazy bastard loose on the local populous.

Walking through the cave is starting to become easier as I take the same routes over and over again, if I knew any better it would be that these dogs have made their home simple and easy to remember, seeing how these dogs aren't the sharpest tools in the tool box.

Entering the prison room I spotted the jailer sitting on a stool facing the prison bars, watching the prisoners inside either sitting there or sleeping on their pile of hay, I watched them for a while before walking toward the jailer.

"Hey, mind taking a break for a while? I'll watch over these ponies till you decide to come back." I said to the jailer who looked up at me and for a moment I thought that he was going to leave but when he snarled at me and took a lazy swing at me with a wooden club I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Grabbing the club by the fat end I yanked it out from the dog's grasp before whacking him across the muzzle with it, blood spurted out from his nose and with a snarl he lunged at me but I only had to step back as he was addled from the blow and fell over onto the floor. Stepping on his back I used my newly acquired wooden club and placed it against his neck as I lightly choked him out as I placed my head behind his and snarled into his ear.

"You listen to me runt, when I tell you to do something you do it. You don't talk back, you don't say no and above all else you don't even dare try and take a swing at me. The next time I tell you to do something you bloody well listen or else the next time to fall asleep you will wake up without your balls!" Snarling into his ear I held him down as I felt his body shiver and shake beneath me, showing this dog that I am above him in rank and station and with another snarl I hoisted him up onto his paws before kicking him in the ass towards the door.

"And if I hear one word of this passing around you will not wake up the next time you shut your eyes! Now go get yourself patched up and stop your whining and shaking!" And with that said and done I watched the quivering prison warden run out of the room on all fours, tail between his legs as he left me alone with the prisoners.

As soon as the dog left me alone I promptly walked over to the door and slammed it shut before sliding the lock in place and with that done I turned around and walked over to the overturned stool and placed it right back where it belongs before sitting down and staring at the prisoners within.

Cracking my knuckles and my neck I straightened myself out before looking at the prisoners, cleared my throat and started to talk to them.

"So, which one of you knows how to write?" I asked the prisoners behind the bars, none of them said a word nor did any of them move beside turning their heads to look at me.

"I guess all of you are illiterate with the exception of the griffon princess because she was taught how to read and write, the minotaur...probably learned but it all depends on his profession." That got their attention immediately as the bat horse that tried to eat me charged at the bars and slammed against them, a hoof poking out trying to claw at me.

It looked adorable cause hooves can't claw. They can be used as blunt weapons, but not sharp, slashy weapons.

The griffon hen looked at me with contempt for a moment before her expression shifted into curiosity as she looked at me, maybe she saw that I was smarter than the other dogs she met, or maybe just trying to find a way to play me like a fiddle so she can escape. For someone who is all prim and proper seemingly looks good for one being stuck in a dark, dank, dirty, all of her feathers are still clean for the most part, her body isn't thinning out or frail-looking...not that I can tell because of all those feathers and fur on her but for the most part she is healthy and fine.

But the minotaur though...looks like he has been stuck down here far longer then the others and I can plainly see that he is on the onset of starvation, might have to do something about that.

"Foolish mutt are you calling us ponies stupid?" The bat pony snapped at me all the while trying to claw at me with hooves.

"No, I am just seeing if any of you knows how to read or write. Apparently you got all butt hurt over me simply asking all of you a question."

Grumbling underneath his breath the bat pony stepped back as I asked again which if any of them could read and write.

"Aye, we can all read and write although for us guards it isn't really needed unless our battle commander issues new edicts by message board or if we need to write a letter to a friend or one of our family that is farther than a days worth of flying." One of the griffon guards said, a big pudgy looking black and white griffon who is currently resting on his side.

The minotaur resting against the far wall grunted a few words out, my guess that he either acknowledge my question or just doesn't give a damn, my money is riding on he just doesn't give a damn.

Before I could ask further I heard the little griffon princess stand up from her surrounding guards, leapt over the pudgy one that was laying between us and stepped up to the bars before stopping right before it.

"I take it you are here to interrogate us now, am I not correct dog?" The she griffon said with an air of dignity and superiority that I have only felt twice in my life, and both of those times was with my girlfriend who owned my ass cause she scared the crap out of me. A good kind of scare might I add, it was scary and arousing...scare-rousing? But this girl...I wouldn't bang her unless I was truly desperate or drunk off my ass, and there is no way in hell I am getting drunk in this land unless I have a drinking buddy that will act as my designated drunk driver or in this world's case, designated carry-my-drunk-ass-home-in-one-piece-and-my-pants-still-on.

"Interrogate? No. Talk to you about offering you a way out of here along with your entourage and the minotaur as well. Yes." I said with a smile slowly growing on my face as I clasped my hands together, fingers interlocking as I stare into her eyes.

"So I take it that you have a plan then?" The royal hen said as I tried to conceal my smile but didn't escape the ever vigilant eyes of the griffoness as her beak slightly curled into a smile, not sure how one can do that with a beak but it doesn't matter now because there is something more important at hand.

"You can say that, your majesty."

"Then let us hear it this so called plan then, dog." Seems like that bat pony still thinks I am one of these diamond dogs, that idiot is gonna have himself an accident if he keeps talking shit to me. Maybe I should piss on his meal next time its feeding time.

"Well, I am still working out the kinks for it, I need to find a tunnel leading out to the surface, make a good enough excuse that the alpha dog will listen to let you all leave your cell, and lastly ensure that I don't get killed in the process." I told the princess griffon my plan in progress, and true to my word those are the three main things that need to happen to ensure they all leave out of here alive and in one piece.

What I didn't tell them is that I need to retrieve the gold idol for the griffons and hopefully I can still get my reward for helping them with both problems at the same time.

I watched as the princess of the griffons moved away from the bars and hummed to herself for a few moments, obviously thinking of what next to say to me, hoping to get me to work for her but I know how royalty works...if my time playing videogames and history class is anything to go by these days.

"Help me with my curiosity if you are able to, dog. Why exactly are you trying to help us escape from this prison cell? You do know who I am, right?"

"Nope, don't know anything about you besides the fact that you are a griffon, you are a female, and that you're a princess. Anything else I should know about you is all up to you but for the time being let us not go too deep into your likes and dislikes, I am on a time table after all. And as to why I am helping you? Because I promised an old griffon up on the mountain that I would come back with something of importance that has gone missing, and your that missing important person." I am lying through my teeth right here, Grandpa Gruff never said anything about the missing griffons nor about the bat pony and minotaur, I just have to pray to whatever god that is willing to listen to my prayer and hope that it works.

The griffon looked away from me and for a moment thought to herself while I started to flip the wooden club around, somewhat juggling it for a few moments before dropping on the floor after it bonked me on the head.

"I have only been gone for a few weeks for my visit with the equestrian royalty and on the day I am to return I get captured...curious, oh so curious...seems like somegriffon within the court finally made their move against me. I wonder who it could have been that wanted me out of the picture...to take the black throne for themselves and reign as the next high king of the griffon kingdoms..." I watched the she-griffon mumble to herself but I clearly heard everything she said as she looked at her the floor.

Seemingly trying to ignore her words I stood up and walked over to the bars before crouching down before the griffon and for a moment I thought that just maybe that it was a bad idea because griffons have sharp claws for their front paws. But instead of having my face clawed or my throat ripped out, I instead had my shirt grabbed by the princess and had my face pressed against the bars as she let out a silent growl at me.

"Who do you serve? Where does your loyalty lie with? Why are you trying to help us when you are working with the same dogs that captured us? How can I trust you to keep your word and set us free?" I let those words tumble in my head and mulled them over.

Who do I truly serve? Well myself for starters because in the end the only one I can truly trust was myself. My loyalty? Well loyalty is such a hard thing to come by since someone's loyalty can easily tilt itself into somebody else's favor at any time.

But why am I helping them? Because I know that sooner or later the griffons up top of the mountain will come down here and come looking for her and her men, and I am doing this because I don't want to be at the end of a chopping block or worse when they get here.

No, I want to be the one to bring her back to her father and hopefully stay the hand of the executioners and also get something out of it on my end. Seeing how I am now stuck in this world of wonder, splendor, mythological creatures and other things that are now real...I am probably going to my mind but I might as well enjoy whatever I can before I go batshit crazy.

Grabbing her talons that are holding my collar, I let my hands grab hers but not in a threatening manner but in a way that they could easily be swept aside, I am submitting to the griffon princess in a gamble that she will see it as me being weak and impressionable.

But this is for my own good, can't live my life to the fullest if I am dead and buried six feet under with nary a tombstone to mark my grave.

"My loyalty lies with those that have earned my respect. You have yet to earn mine but in time, you will have my respect and my loyalty. But for the time being it belongs to the Alpha. Prepare yourself for in a few days my plan will go into motion." And with that said I pried her hands from my collar and stepped away from the bars and reassumed my position on the stool and waited a while before hearing a series of knocks on the heavy metal door.

Standing up from my stool and walking to the door I undid the lock on it to see that it was the guard dog I beaten into submission, his muzzle cleaned up and his ears splayed back, a sign of defeat.

"Good boy, return to your duty and make sure they don't try to escape, if they try to break out, do not stop them, come get me." I said and for a moment he let out a low growl but when I took a step forward he immediately shrunk down and his tail curled between his legs.

"Do you understand what I am telling you." I growled into the dogs ear and for a moment he shuddered before nodding and quickly scurrying around me and sat himself down on the stool.

His fear of me is great, and a useful tool for any future incursions on my behalf.

"Good boy, now resume your duties, do as you are told and you won't have to worry about me cutting your balls off while you sleep." And with that said I left the prison room and walked back to my room, hoping that my little plan is slowly coming to fruition without being found out.

I walked back to my room and found it to be occupied by my dog friend, sleeping on my bed with his armor still on.

This would probably be somewhat an adorable sight if it wasn't for the armor, the fact that he is drooling on my pillow, or the fact that he snores like a damn chainsaw.

Shaking my head in shame I sigh I move over to my table and pulled out my book of plan making and went over my plan to escape this shithole of a cavern lair.

Looking to my left then to my right I pulled open my journal and flipped to the very back page where I kept my plan to escape and looked it over.

1. Gather all of my belongings
2. Make sure the path to the surface is clear of guards
3. Secure the Griffon Gold Idol within my pack
4. Secure the key to the prison cells from the warden
5. Rescue the prisoners from the diamond dogs
5.5 Optional: Secure any and all weapons and give them to the prisoners to defend themselves
6. Lead myself and prisoners on an exodus to the surface
6.5 Optional: Make sure all of them survive
7. Once on the surface make for any cover and hide your scent from the dogs. Survive until first light
8. Get to Griffonstone with all possible speed
9. Survive at all costs

Once I was done looking over my list I quickly scrawled into the bottom one additional piece of vital information.

10. Don't let the griffon princess die!!!

With that said and down I closed the journal and made sure the leather loop is wrapped tightly around it before placing the journal behind the desk for safe keeping.

Tomorrow I will begin to implement my plan to get the hell out of here. I will not spend the rest of my life in a hole in the ground.

Author's Note

I have no excuse for releasing this chapter so late.

The plan never survives first contact

Staring down at my journal with my plan written in it I started to think that this escape will be harder than actually expected to happen in my dreams and in my head.

On paper this was a good idea, I mean sure when it is written out and put into order it seems like a flawless plan that can't possibly fail but when it is put into actual practice it might fall apart like a house of cards in an instant. I had to not only get all of my belongings together, find a means of stealing the key to the prison cell and escort all of them out onto the surface which will be harder than imagined. Not only that but I must also break into the alpha's chamber, find the damn idol and steal that before making my escape and knowing the alpha for however short of a time I know that he won't just relinquish that priceless artifact to just anyone.

I will need a trump card, a failsafe in the event something goes horribly wrong, but what?

Before I could think any further I heard movement to my right and I saw my dog friend turning over in my bed and lets out a rather cute yawn as he stretches on my bed before rolling over onto his stomach and goes back to sleeping.

Letting out a sigh of relief I go back to my journal, my quill tapping in irritation as I struggled to come up with a plan to escape this place and failing to even come up with a proper step one that can work without fail.

That is until I remembered that I have power here, I can ask or persuade some of these dogs to do the dirty work for me, I just need to find the runts of the litter if I am do get anything for our escape to the surface...sadly there are not many runts here for me to use. Tapping the quill on my head I thought long and hard on how I am going to go about this, I will need plenty of food and water if we are going to make it to the nearest spot of civilization.

Here is hoping the dogs don't immediately give chase to us once we make our escape.

Putting the quill down and hiding my journal I stood up and looked over at my sleeping friend for a moment before shaking my head, I rather not use him for my plan, they might kill him if they ever find out that he had a hand in my escape and I would never screw my friend over, even if it means that I am stuck down here for the rest of my life.

Stepping away from my desk I left my room and wandered around the caves, looking at the passing dogs, taking note of who was who and remembering the faces of the runts that I pass, there wasn't many but they could be of some use to me when the time comes.

Getting back my backpack that is holding my shit and also some other valuable loot that I had been hoarding for a while, where it might be located is a mystery to me. It is either located in the alpha's room because he hoards everything the dogs bring in, or it is in the treasure room where he just dumps everything.

Either one of the two I will have to break into a secure area and get out without getting caught or me having to bribe the guards.

'How the hell am I going to do this?'

Looking around to see if there was any dogs on patrol I let out a sigh of relief when I didn't hear the sounds of pads on stone and clanking metal, I can guess that I have to go to the treasure room and decided to ask the next dog that I bump into.

Walking down the cave I placed my hand on the wall, the smoothness of it was a bit a strange as the usual stonework is rough and uneven but for some reason this particular tunnel is smooth, polished even. I got a bad feeling about this particular tunnel but I know its probably just jitters, this is most likely the tunnel that leads to the treasure room. Gotta keep up appearances if the alpha is to be believed, if his room is full of treasure than the room that holds it all must be filled with gold, gems, statues and other priceless relics and artifacts.

As I kept on walking the tunnel suddenly grew cold and that with each passing step it grew colder and colder until it got to the point that I can see my own breath in the air, even the torches that were on the wall seemed to be suffering from this cold as the were all nearly put out.

"Why the hell is it so cold now? It used to be warm a while ago and now its like I am walking into a bloody freezer! What fresh bullshit is this?"

Shivering in a cave is not something I was prepared for, what I wasn't also prepared for was for my feet to slip out from underneath me as I fell on my ass before sliding down the tunnel. Apparently this cold tunnel had a slant to it and it was just enough for me to slide down it, steadily gaining speed and before I knew it I collided into a rock and was promptly knocked the fuck out when my head whacked against a wall.

I don't know how long I have been unconscious for but during that time I was out cold I found that when I had woken up it was in front of a large circular door at the end of the long tunnel.

Why there is a door like this down here is strange and why the hell is it so damn cold that it got to the point that frost and ice has started to line the floor and walls?

Scratching my head at the sight of the door I tried to look around and see if there is any means of opening it but when I couldn't find any I just about given up on cracking this now obvious vault open but instead of turning around leaving I instead heard a distant cracking sound. The cracking noise only got louder and when I turned to face the vault I saw that it was opening up, I guess I must have stepped on a pressure plate or something cause this thing is opening up as if I was meant to go in there.

When the door opened up it revealed to me the greatest sight in the world. A mountain of treasure, gold coins as far as the eye can see, gems as large as my fist and head, statues of what looks like minotaurs, winged horned horses, a strange abomination of nature, dragons and also a single diamond dog gold statue.

And lying at the base of the mountain was my backpack. These bastards threw my shit in here without a second thought! I swear if these fuckers broke my laptop I am going to stab someone!

Running to my backpack I grabbed it and unzipped it to find that my laptop was still inside and when I flipped it open I saw that everything was still intact, next was the most important step, seeing if it would turn on. Pressing the power button while crossing my fingers I waited a gracious ten seconds until the Windows symbol popped up and after twenty seconds I was at the login screen, a picture of dickbutt my background and after using my face as my password I saw that everything was still working fine but there was one tiny little detail that seemed to be out of order.

The battery power for my laptop, last time I looked at it, it said that it was at a measly 43% capacity but now it clearly reads it was fully charged 100% and that I should unplug to preserve the battery.

How does one unplug a laptop when it is already unplugged from a wall outlet?

Is there something in the air? Is this realm one massive wall outlet?

Am I god?

Nah, if I was god than I would have made a chili-dog dispenser appear right before me but sadly none appeared and it only mad me hungrier than I already am at this very moment.

Turning off my lap top for the time being I placed it back into my backpack before looking around and although I was tempted to steal some of this treasure, I didn't. It is easier to explain my backpack with its original contents than to explain where the extra gold, gems and other shit that I would have shoveled into my pockets.

Taking only my backpack I quickly left the vault, I don't know if it is rigged some kind of sensor or alarm but if I stay here any longer than necessary I might be put on a chopping block or just be thrown into the abyss-like cliff that I crawled into to get the idol. Leaving the vault behind I found that the coldness that was the hallway was gone and the ice and sleet that used to adorn the walls and floor was gone.

Was it my imagination or was it something else? A ghost perhaps?

Scratching my head at the mystery that is the now warm tunnel hall that I find myself in I just chalked it up to just my mind running wild when I am bored and left it at that, I got my backpack and now I just had to get the food, the idol, find an entrance to the surface than solidify the plan.

Turns out from where I was located at the time was deep in the earth, apparently this alpha thought it out pretty well to hide his treasure from any would be intruders and seeing how this thing was deep in the bowels of the planet I can say that if an earthquake happens...

Well let us just say that the treasure would be gone for good! A big ol' middle finger to the owners if that happens.

When I got back to my room I found that my dog buddy was gone but was only to be replaced by a burlap sack sitting on my table, right next to the other sack of gold coins. I wonder how rich I am now? Am I rich enough to buy my own home and retire till my ass dies from old age or is it just enough to get a house and work for a few years.

Putting my backpack underneath the desk and moving my gold out of sight I went back to working on my plan by leaving the room and hunting down what needs to be done.

Pondering on how I am going to pull off this heist and prison break I found myself walk into what appears to be a child's room, than I looked around and saw that it was Thane's room and I saw him sitting in the middle of the room playing with what looks like a non-denominational spinney top as his mother was there behind him, her eyes reading a book while her two assistances were playing with the young cub.

How did I not notice this room?

"I see that the tutor is dedicated to his job, good. Come here and sit down beside me, we have things to discuss." the mother said as she waved me over, I guess she wanted to have a few words with me, hopefully not the words 'You are fired!' cause if those are the words than I am going to cunt punt her.

Taking her desire to talk to heart I walked over to the diamond dog mother and sat down beside her, my eyes were looking at Thane as he spun the top with obvious glee on his face.

"So ma'am, you have something to discuss with me?"

"Yes, I am wondering how far along my son is with his education on the surface teachings."

"Well he is coming along quite nicely, for only spending a few days with him he is already learning his alphabet with some trouble but he is learning far faster than those on the top. With your diamond dog's photographic memory coming into play I can teach him the more advanced things at a much earlier time but in the meanwhile I will keep him on the language arts to help him speak in full sentences and with correct punctuation."

"Hmm...and has he been misbehaving?"

"No, he does get distracted rather easily but with a few taps on the training material that I leave in front of him it breaks him out of it."

"Good, now then comes the promises of payments." And that was when things started to get weird.

And by weird I mean that she pulled out a blanket and covered it around the both of us before hugging me and bringing my face into her chest just above her breasts. Even though she was wearing what akin to an extended leather vest that leaves not much to the imagination.

"I know that you are being paid in pony gold but I have something else to offer you. You may be the runt of the pack here but I can tell that you are far more intelligent than the rest of these mutts here. I will give you full breeding rights, we need more intelligent dogs here and with you here we can finally expand our caves and do it in a more efficient manner." The mother says as she traces a paw down my chest slowly, I can hear my own heart beating as my body reacts to what is going on and to the scent that is just coming off her body in boiling waves.

Shaking in the blanket the mother than stepped it up a notch by rubbing herself against me, I do not know how this could get any worse but with what she is doing right here, right now...it really did just get worse as her scent started to claw its way up my nose and soaked itself into my clothes.

To make it from worst to holy shit she started to hump me rather vigorously all the while whispering leaning next to my ear, gave it a long slow lick before whispering to me.

"And if you don't want that than I am more than willing to have you all to myself...maybe even let you enjoy my wet nurses. Would you like that little runt?"

My mind weighed the options laid out before me.

On one hand I can get laid by the sex dog girls...but on the other hand they are dog girls, not human, and I don't know if any of them have any kind of transferable disease...but than again we are completely different species...I wonder what Captain Kirk would do...

Oh right, he would fuck it like he did with that one Borg chick or all those other aliens in those movies he is in. What a manwhore.

But than again this is someone's wife, if I dare commit adultery with her than I run the risk of death, and I don't want to die just yet.

IF we can get away with it though...am I really that desperate for sex that I would sleep with another man's wife?

Shaking my head from the alluring scent I gently pushed the mother back but by then it was already over, she pulled herself away from me and gave me a sly smile before leaving the blanket bundle and I knew that if the alpha was to enter this room, and catch a whiff of me, I am a dead man.

The bitch just marked me...

Kill me now god please, she just made my plan to escape several times harder now.

With what has just happened is all said and done she wished me luck on my decision to accept her offer as she laughed at my tomato-red face and raging hard on. I hate my life right now but there is no way in hell this can get any worse than it already is. I have to get out of this place and get out in one piece, I just know that I can do this.

I immediately left the room and went looking for the food room, if the griffons and myself are to survive out there than we will need meat, and seeing how these dogs solely survive off of meat than the only logical conclusion is that I would need to make a deal with the butcher, I just hope the guy accepts the gold that I have been given by the alpha.

Soon after leaving Thane's room I found myself in front of what looks like the kitchen for the diamond dogs and I must say its...it looks like something out of a horror movie. It looked like a butcher shop but without any safety regulations, blood stains all over the floor and walls, meat hanging on what might be rusty hooks from the ceiling, and with a female diamond dog acting as the head butcher as her pups worked with her.

When I entered the bloody kitchen the head bitch holding a very sharp looking cleaver slams the blade down, cutting what looks like a hunk of meat with a bone inside of it cleanly in half, showing how strong she is and how effective she is with the cutting blade.

She turned her head and looked up at me when she heard me walk in and for a moment I tensed up in the event she decided to throw that cleaver at me but instead she slammed the blade back down into the hunk of meat she was working on and cleaned her hands of blood with a rust colored rag.

"What'chu want mutt? Can't you see I'm busy?" The female butcher said with a gruff tone, my guess is that all diamond dogs have that kind of tone, just in different variations with undertones as well to tell the genders apart. I must say for a diamond dog that is build like a brick house and stands roughly six and a half feet tall, if she were human she might be one of those body-builder types that doesn't take shit from anyone.

Staring at the heavyset dog woman I hesitated for the briefest of moments before dry swallowing my fear and made my demand heard.

"You's want food so you can go up top?"

"Yes."

"Sorry runt, but I ain't givin any of this away not unless you do me a favor."

"And what is this favor?"

"Depends, how good are you with that tongue of yours?" The female butcher said with a large grin on her muzzle just as my face flushed red, my body reacting to what was pretty much a request from a girl to give her a good time and well...what can I say but my body is being honest although my mind on the other hand is conflicting with said request.

"I...uhh..." I stuttered as my face burned red and as I backed up into a wall, I couldn't believe that just happened.

With my body locking up in fear and arousal, but mostly fear I watched as the heavyset female slam her knife down into the cutting board before tossing the bloody rag aside as she strutted toward me, a pep in her step and her body now on display as she tossed aside her bloody apron.

"So runt..." the butcher dog said as she strutted up to me and pressed her body against mine, pressing me into the wall as she looks down from her height to look me in the eyes as she smirks widely. "...you think you are big enough to handle all this?" And she emphasized the word 'this' by grabbing me by the head and pretty much smashed it into her breasts.

I was in marshmallow hell, it smelled of sweat, old blood and wet dog and I know that if I don't do this than I won't get the necessary food that I will need to feed both myself and those that are going to be traveling with me back to Griffonstone.

Looks like I am taking a bullet for the team...I sure hope this girl cleaned herself up or else I will be in for one horrible ride...

"You call me Rosha, now...earn your meal."

One Hour Later
Smut for this later...or whenever I feel like it.

I am utterly ashamed of myself, I mean really I am ashamed of myself. I never thought the day would ever come that I would have to whore myself out just to get something.

Now I know what those prostitutes feel whenever they have to spread their legs to feed their family...

Staggering out from the meat room I took a glance back and for a moment I thought I was in the clear until I felt a large hand grab me by the back of the head and turned me around until I felt a pair of lips mash into my own. I don't know what is worse, the fact that I am kissing a dog or the fact that I still have her...remnants in my mouth and she is kissing me.

Either way the butcher dog gave me a wink and a slap on the ass before saying that she will have my meat stripes ready for when I am going up to the surface. I am not sure if it was worth the mental trauma I just went through but if it means getting out of here with everyone alive than I can say that it is worth it.

I will have to drink myself stupid to get rid of the memory but I can say that it is worth it in the end.

Assuming we get out of here alive and in one piece.

Rubbing my face on my shirt to hopefully get rid of any smell or residue that was left on my face and hoped that no one would notice but unfortunately that isn't the case.

Everywhere I walked the diamond dogs that were male were either patting me on the back for getting laid, patting me on the back for surviving a sexual encounter with the butcher, a few even gave me looks of pity because they probably know what I just had to go through. And as for the female diamond dogs, they were either giggling at me, asking me if I had room for one more, or were asking on who the lucky bitch was.

Is it bad that I am both proud and ashamed of what I did?

Ignoring the feeling of shame that is building up in my gut I went back to what I was doing and checked off getting food rations for the great escape, next was getting the idol back.

Turns out the idol was still in the alpha's room. How did I know? Well when I was walking by I slowed down so I could try and scan the room, and when I was walking through it I saw that there was no guards outside of his door and when I poked my head into the room I saw that he wasn't in there and sitting behind a bunch of gold coins was the idol.

Sneaking into the room and as quickly and as quietly as I can I swiped the idol and seeing how the damn thing was pretty hard to hide I did what any man would do in a situation like this.

I shoved the fucking thing in my pants.

Totally discreet.

With idol in hand, food waiting to be picked up, prisoners ready to escape, now I just need to find a way out of here.

What can possibly go wrong?

Author's Note

DON'T JUDGE ME!

House of Cards

Finding a way out from these caverns has proven a daunting task for me.

I had searched for cavern for hours, I went up and down the stone hallways for so long that I had memorized the exact layout of the place. I knew how long it would take me to get from the feasting halls to the prison cells, how much time it would take to get from the armory to my room, from the alpha's room to the bathing river and yet I couldn't find one stupid exit.

Like seriously, did these dogs hide their entrance's and exits behind a bookcase or mead barrel or something? Because I am seriously starting to get really mad and at the rate I am getting steamed it might just boil over into me punching the nearest dog in the face.

Walking from room to room I searched high and low, inside rooms with dogs in them to poking my head into empty holds to find nothing of value nor a means of getting out of here. The only means of an exit that I could truly find was the river that acts as the only source of a bathing pool for the entire cave network, and by exit I mean I have no idea where it will end up taking us if we decide to use it. I don't know where the underground river begins or do I know where it ends but if all else fails and we can't find our way out than the only method to aid us in our escape would be for us to take the river out and hope it doesn't kill us or worse traps us down under.

After finding the only means of escape being a river, I turned toward the prison to have a talk with the princess of Griffonstone to get some insight and some advice for our soon-to-be-exodus from this place.

When I entered the room I saw the dog from before that I had beaten into submission and when he saw me here again he immediately left the room. Standing close to the bars I waited for the griffon princess to leave her circle of guards and when she did I began to tell her everything that has occurred.

Firstly I had to tell the princess in the cage that I had everything set up for our eventual escape and that I just needed to find a path leading up to the surface. Her response is that she is thankful for my assistance in helping her and her entourage to escape.

Secondly I told her that I had taken back the Idol of Boreas and that I had it hidden away somewhere safe. Her reaction to this was shock that the sacred griffon idol has been recovered and surprise when she realizes that her savior is also the one to have found something that has been deemed lost for thirty years in a pit that many thought was impossible to climb.

The response she made was surprising to say the least.

She walked up to the bars and for a moment I thought she was going to say 'thank you' or something along those lines and expect maybe a hug for my bravery or say some bullshit.

What I was not expecting was for her to grab me by both the collar of my shirt and the back of my head and slammed my face into the bars, my head was hurting as the metal bars press into my face but that wasn't the end of it. I soon felt a beak press against my lips and when that happened I couldn't but have my eyes open wide in shock as I was getting kissed by royalty.

Take that Andrew! You said I would never amount to anything and yet here I am getting kissed by a fucking griffon princess! You can suck my dick!

Soon enough the griffon princess broke the kiss and when she did a bridge of saliva connected the two of us before it snapped when she pulled back further, the feathers where her cheeks are located are turning a hue of red as she averts her eyes, her feathers and fur all over her body start to fluff up and get all puffy before she spoke to me.

"If you tell anygriffon about this than I will have you killed." the griffon princess said as she glared angrily at me all the while she was blushing up a storm.

Tsundere much my dear hen?

After all that was over with, besides her griffon guards snickering and talking amongst themselves, probably talking about how their princess just kissed a 'diamond dog' and was getting flustered while doing so. Who cares what those twats think, I just got kissed by a god damn princess and I am loving it! Now if only I can get laid by a princess than I am set for life!

While she was trying to calm herself down the bat pony nudged the princess with a leathery wing and motioned for her to speak up but I already was talking.

"Well I got some good news, bad news and worse news."

"Good news is that I got everything we need to get out of this place. Bad news is that I couldn't find a way up to the surface and the worst news is that the alpha is going to kill me if we don't get out of her soon because I stole the idol out from under his nose."

Her response was that I am running out of time to put my plan into motion, the bat pony behind her has managed to contact his princess and tell them where they are. She told me that the night princess was given a rough estimate area of where we are and that she would be here along with a large detachment of night guards to break them out and to capture every single diamond dog in the colony to be taken in as prisoners.

To think that I once thought I had an ample amount of time to formulate, create and enact my plan but hearing this now...

Now I have to leave several loose ends behind along with leaving a trail of evidence behind if I am to escape with both my prize and with the griffon princess herself in a timely manner before the night ponies arrive and take everything and everyone away.

With that in mind I bid the griffon princess farewell, but before I left I decided to do one last thing to really ruffle her feathers.

I reached into the cell and grabbed her by the back of the head and returned the kiss, yes I know so bold of me but I was also doing it to see if she would try to bite me or at the very least claw me with those sharp talons of hers but instead she just sort of melted into it before pulling herself away from me as she gave me a death glare.

"You are so dead when we get out of here."

"You can kill me when we get out of here love, in the mean time keep your murderous rage hidden until after we reach the surface."

With that said and done I took a few steps back and looked at the occupants and the cell and from the looks they are giving me it would seem that I just committed a grave sin or something. Fuck it, I deserved that kiss because I am pretty much saving the princess, recovered the sacred idol and releasing the hostages, I deserve a god damn medal and a fucking statue for this shit because this is going beyond the call of duty for a foreign country.

The griffon guards were just staring at me in shock and awe, the bat pony was still glaring at me and the minotaur was just having a grand time as he laughed to himself cause come on, the guards probably never even got acknowledged for their possible heroic deeds in keeping her safe but here comes an unknown creature and it gets a freaking kiss on the lips!

Twice!

With some tongue action to boot!

Leaving the prison room behind and telling the guard dog to get back to his post as I went back to searching for a means to escape and also to see if the idol's disappearance has anyone on edge.

Walking back to my room to pack everything up and to alert my dog buddy that I am leaving soon, and for a moment I thought that I should ask him to join us when we leave as he might get questioned and punished for probably knowing that I have escaped with a bunch of prisoners and some stolen gold and a relic.

Peddling my way around passing guard dogs and other random dogs I eventually made it back to my room, my friend was in there looking at my journal and for a moment I felt my heart stop but then it restarted as I realized that he can't read and that he was holding it upside and that he was reading the back of the book and saw nothing but empty pages. I am lucky he doesn't know how to read or he might have turned me in in the name of me being a traitor.

Sighing in relief I went about trying to steady my heartrate down as I was nearly having a panic attack and was about to shit my pants in fear but seeing how my fear was misplaced I let myself relax and settle down. Stepping into my room I let my presence known to him by grabbing him by the shoulders and waking him from his failed reading session.

"Wah!" Scrawny shouted as he leapt out of the stone chair in surprise as he dropped my journal onto the table.

I got a chuckle or two out of it, scaring my friend for not paying attention, dogs are supposed to be alert at all times, not being so easily caught off-guard.

"Hey Scrawny, I see you are trying to read my journal." I said with a smile on my face as I walked past the scared dog and toward my backpack to deposit the idol into it.

"Journal?" The diamond dog said with a tilt of his head, the one large orange spot around his left eye making it look like sun while his other eye was the moon and that they were about to eclipse.

"The book that was in your paws. It is pretty much me recording my days here along with any thoughts I might keep to myself and also my lesson plans for Thane." I explained to Scrawny as I placed the idol into the backpack and shoved it to the bottom of the pack, under my laptop and charging plug, my Calculus book, English IV and my Macro/Micro Economics book, just to make sure that isn't so easily found.

"Was I prying into something I shouldn't have?" My friend said with a sheepish grin as his ears slowly folded down in shame.

"Yes, but I forgive you seeing how you can't read." That and seeing how he more than likely doesn't know how to read than my secret of getting out of here is safe.

"I read!" And that right there is proof that you can't read, your English would have been better.

"You can't."

"I can!"

"Then read the first page for me." And with a smug grin on my face I told my dog friend to read the first page of my journal, and for those that can read German, it says 'Do not open, and if you do abandon all hope.' I think it makes a lovely message to those that read it and can understand what was written down.

And so he tried the first page, for him it was the last page of the journal and when he failed that I had to flip the book for him before flipping all the way to the front page.

He took it in stride by tossing the book onto the table while letting out a huff of defeat, crossing his arms while his tail was slightly curling inward between his legs.

"Scrawny, never try to read someone else's journal, sometimes there are things you would rather not find within those pages and just maybe you might be stepping into something you can't get yourself out of." And I know this because of experience, never read your brother's secret little black book and expect to get away with it, especially when he is standing right behind you while you read it.

"Sorry."

"It's okay, just don't do it again. Now come on, lets go to the feasting halls and get some food, it should be serving time right about now and I rather not be last in line." I said as I zipped up my backpack and got ready to leave the room but instead I invited my friend to come with me to get some grub.

I know that the idol was stuffed into my pants and that by putting it into an enclosed space that is my backpack, it will carry the smell of my funk and it will ferment in there until I take it out again. Here is hoping that the griffons won't mind that their idol smells like my balls...surely their nose isn't that powerful, right?

Anyways...

Moving to the feasting halls was an easy task now that I had memorized the dog colony's layout and that I started to smell like one too, the other dogs that I walked pass were giving me passing glances, a few said hello to me or as good of an hello one can get from a bunch of mutts whose brain power if it were dynamite is not enough to blow their nose. And as for the dogs themselves they seem awfully chipper and carefree at this very moment, seems like nobody knows about the grand heist I had just pulled on them, I am just glad that most of them are dumber than a bag of hammers.

Strutting past a pair of guard dogs that was standing near the feasting hall I saw that there was a crowd of dogs in a circle around what I can think must be two dogs in the center, a fighting ring. Two of the big boys must be fighting to see who is the most dominant of the pair.

Pushing my way through the crowd of dogs I gagged as I smelled the horrifying odor of over several dozen sweaty dogs, the smell of musk and arousal from every single dog in the room. These dogs were getting off to seeing both male and female dogs fight each other for dominance and to change their standing in the pecking order while also looking to find a suitable mate for the upcoming breeding season if what my dog friend saying is believable.

Forcing my way to the front of the circle I saw that it was the alpha of the dog clan fighting a burly looking pit bull for clan dominance, I am so glad that he was here instead of in his room when I took the idol right from under his nose.

The fight was at its end phase as the challenging dog lost due to injuries and exhaustion as he backed out and merged with the surrounding dogs before fading from view entirely, the alpha raising his arms in the air in a victory pose before letting out a winning howl. When he was busy doing that he stepped out of the ring and moved to his raised chair in the back of the room, smaller rings started to form up effectively turning the feasting halls into a fight club, dogs fighting dogs to test their mettle and attempts to improve their standing in the clan.

But before I could slink back into the crowd and get my things I felt a strong meaty hand grab me by the back of the neck before getting pushed into the middle of the ring. Smacking the hand from the back of my neck I opened my eyes to see that I am in the middle of a fighting circle and as soon as I tried to get out of the ring the dogs on the outside pushed me back in and I realized that I have been challenged by another dog.

And how do I know I have been challenged?

Well for starters I felt the hot wave of stank breath washing over the back of my head as it rolled around me, after that was the ground rumbling slightly as the diamond dog's big muscular arms slam down on both sides of my body as it takes a position behind me and lastly I felt all color drain from my face as I realize how fucked I am.

Turning around slowly I found that my opponent was the one guard dog that kept poking me in the back with the spear when I first got here, seems like he wants to put me in my place and seeing how I went from unknown outsider to instructor for the alpha's pup, I can guess he doesn't like me at all. Seeing how that I am about to die and in front of a large crowd of dogs, I might as well die swinging and with as much blood on my hands as physically possible, I will not go out like a little bitch.

Letting out a sigh of impending doom I looked the dog right in the eyes before letting my lips flap open to utter out my final words.

"So when do we start?" I asked only to receive a massive fist to the face, launching me back into the crowd of dogs, only for them to throw me back in and cheered for the dog who hit me.

'Oh I am seriously going to skull fuck you after this!'

Snorting out a glob of mucus and blood from my nose as it is now obviously fucked up from that punch to the face, I rushed the dog and as he raised a fist to try and slam into me again I kneeled down and sit under the slow moving fist in time to get him in what I hoped was the kidneys as I hit him in the abdomen as I slid past him. I thought I just gave him a sissy punch and that he didn't feel a thing but when I got back to my feet and turned around I saw that dog was holding onto his gut as he whimpered out in pain from the blow.

I am not taking that bullshit bait this dog is pulling, there is no way in hell that my ass did any kind of damage to a dog that looks like he can bench two-hundred pounds for days and can eat a bowl of nails for breakfast without any milk. There is simply no way that I did anything to this diamond dog but piss it off more and make it want to beat me to a pulp even more so than it already wanted to do.

Getting into a boxing stance that I saw from the Rocky franchise I kept my feet moving as the diamond dog stopped his faking and charged right at me, sweeping his arms into a clapping motion in hopes of grabbing me but he undershot the swings and clapped right in front of my face to which I spat on his paws before going around him to regain some ground and to have some distance between us. Turning around to face me the diamond dog this time slammed his meaty paw into the ground, the resulting thump to the ground made me stumble but in that instant I got bitch smacked by the dog's other armor, whipping across my face and that shit stung as I felt its nails claw my cheek.

Dragging my hand across my cheek I felt the sting of the clawing slap and pulled my hand back to see a red smear drip slowly from my left hand onto the floor.

Looking up at the dog I felt a few screws up inside my head come a tad bit loose, a select few nuts and bolts went and dislodged themselves and for the sake of the children in the crowd I hope their mothers cover their eyes from what I am about to do to this poor bastard.

Glaring at the diamond dog I ran right at him and when he took an overhead swing and missed I jumped in the air and proceeded to dropkick the fucker right in the chest and he went down like a sack of potatoes.

Apparently I hit like a freaking truck because not only did the dog go down but he also started to whimper in pain and was wheezing from having his chest kicked in.

Is this the world trying to compensate me for something? Do I have only so many days to stay here or something? Am I going to die cause my body can't withstand whatever this world is exhuming out from its core? OR maybe this world is giving me this compensation because there are things here that can easily kick my ass much like these diamond dogs and that it is trying to level out the playing field.

Whatever it is I don't care, I just dropkicked a diamond dog and made it cry like a little bitch.

Looking down at the dog I watched as he gets dragged out of the ring and for a moment I thought it was over but luckily I was pushed out of the ring when two big dogs came barreling in and stared to duke it out right then and there, I am so glad that they took the ring and allowed me to leave so I can get myself patched up.

Stumbling out of the feasting halls and away from the rough and tumble dogs fighting each other for standing I made my way to my room to use my drinking water to wash the blood off of my face. Wobbling down the hall in a slight daze as the loss of blood starts to toy around with my senses and as I hobbled my way to my room but I stumbled into a guard dog wearing heavy plate armor with three other dogs standing at a large thick wooden gate that is poorly painted to blend into the wall.

'I guess that is the exit...wow how did I not see this?'

Seeing how this leads to the outside world I made a mental note to remember where this is located before going back to my room, now all I needed was a distraction.

How the hell was I going to get a distraction that will manage to attract the attention of four beefy guard dogs?

That would take some kind of invasion force to do such a thing and I know I don't have that kind of thing up my sleeves so the front gate is out of the question unless we can bum rush them so they don't escape.

With myself standing here at the four-way intersection I decided that now was the time to tell the griffon princess that it was time for us to get ready and get the hell out of here now that I found us an exit, all that is left is for me to go get the dried meat pieces and book it.

Only downside to this is that leading a large group out of here without a distraction and out the front door is pretty much a suicide mission.

But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, even if you don't want to do it.

Doubling back to the kitchens to see if my meat strips was ready for pickup I made my way down and prayed that it was indeed ready for me.

It was when I was making my way to the kitchens did my battle with the diamond dog earlier start to affect me. Every time I passed a diamond dog be it a male or female, they would either congratulate me for actually beating a dog that was outside my weight class along with beating a dog that just so happened to have been a veteran of several surface raids, so something as weak and thin as me beating that dog in particular is nothing short of a miracle. That and the dog I utterly wrecked was a guard that worked at the front gate, so I pretty much pushed myself up several pegs in the dog ladder so I got more respect now than I did earlier.

Does this mean I can get laid for real this time?

Probably?

Yes?

No?

Well it doesn't matter right now because I was so close to saving everyone and getting out of here, maybe right now I could tell the dogs in the front gate to let me out? I wonder if I can convince them to let me through and they would accept it, would they let me walk out of here with my company of griffons, minotaur and bat pony.

The smell of raw meat soon hits my nose, I have arrived at my destination and too my surprise the butcher was not here and that I was all alone, perfect.

Taking calculated quiet steps I sneaked my way into butcher shop and found myself standing beside a rack of hanging chunks of meat, what beast this was from I don't know, but after deducing that this wasn't what I was looking for I went elsewhere searching for my food.

Snooping around the meat chop shop I found several buckets that were filled with bones from some kind of beast, probably the same beast that she took the meat from, and the bones were picked clean of muscle, sinew and flesh but was still bloody and were stained red with dried blood. Moving away from the bucket I went to the next rack of meat and this time I found what I was looking for, it was cut into strips of three inches wide, twelve inches long and two inches thick, cut into almost perfect blocks of raw meat. And to make it better it has been salted with what I can only assume is salt and that it was ready for me to take.

Now if only this place had a smoke house...could make myself some delicious beef jerky.

Maybe I should make one for myself when I get out of here.

Grabbing a few meat hooks from the table where the diamond dog butcher kept hers all the while grabbing some metal wire that she kept to hang multiple chunks of meat on a single hook and did the same thing to the meat that was meant for me. In all I had to take two meat hooks and hung up as meat as I could onto the hooks before beating a hasty retreat to the prison cells to get everyone.

My plan was ready, I had everything I needed, the prisoners were ready to escape just as much as I was ready to leave, and there was nothing that can stop me now!

Nothing short of an invasion can stop me from escaping this cavern of dogs.

It was on my jogging walk back to the prison cells I felt a slight rumble in the ground that was followed by the sounds of something crumbling but I ignored it as I thought it was the dogs in the mines that were digging away in their search for gems. I kept on walking but the rumble only grew louder along with the crumbling sounds and as usual I ignored it, thinking that they were digging upwards for their gemstones to hoard for themselves.

Only when the crumbling sound was nearby and that it was not from below me but to my right did I decide to investigate what could be the cause of it as it was well away from the mines.

Deciding that if this was a diamond dog just playing a prank on me then I was going to make sure that I wasn't going to be having any of this shit so I went and found a passing group of guard dogs and told them what I saw. For a moment I thought they were going to scoff and laugh at me before smacking me upside the head for wasting their time but when I told them that there was a hold in the wall and an eyeball was looking through it they decided it was worth their time, one of them muttering that it might be another bug infestation trying to take their home.

I don't know what kind of bug would want this place, it smells like dog and other foul odors...do bugs even have noses?

Anyways I led the dogs to the crack in the wall and for a moment they just looked at it until one of them tapped me on the shoulder and threw me a mining hammer aka a sledgehammer and told me to hit the wall with it. Basically he said if it falls apart than I am to run as fast as possible to alert the rest of the dogs while they killed the pests, and if it doesn't fall apart than the bugs have left and that we would have to seal the breach and work around this area.

Walking up to the crack in the wall I spin the sledgehammer in my hands, the blunt head spinning on its shaft as I stepped right up beside the crack, the diamond dog guards standing right behind me, their spears and thick wooden shields raised in the event these 'bugs' they talked about was on the other side.

Pulling my arms back I get myself ready to swing and as soon as I was ready to swing I let it loose and with full force and momentum I swung that sledgehammer at the crack in the wall.

But just as the head of the hammer was a few inches away from the wall I saw an eye appear in the crack and it widened in shock for a second just before the head slammed into the wall, destroying it as if it was wet tissue paper as the thin wall exploded outward, showering the intruder in broken bits of rocks along with being launched back from being hit by the industrial tool.

I was expecting to be facing these 'bugs' and to get some more street cred with these dogs by killing one or two of them.

What I was not expecting was to see a knocked out pony guard wearing dark blue armor on the ground with a dent in its helmet, and standing beside it was a large group of similar guard ponies wearing the same dark blue armor.

And standing in the back of the group was the largest guard pony I have ever seen! It had large feathery wings and even a horn that looks like it is a foot long of spiral death! If I look up the definition of the phrase 'you fucked up', you would find the pissed off glare this horse was giving me, because in all sense of reality, I done goofed.

"The dogs found us! Attack the cur and rescue the prisoners!" the large dark blue horse with wings and horn shouted as it pulled out a massive sword from out of nowhere.

I did the only thing I could do when there are twenty ponies wielding spears and swords are charging right at me, retreat and run like my ass is on fire.

Seems like this was the distraction I was waiting for...

...to bad it was at the worst fucking moment and that I was at its epicenter.

Run like hell

"The dogs found us! Attack the cur and rescue the prisoners!"

And I fucking ran like my ass was on fire.

I turned tail and beat it just as the diamond dogs did the same as well but they were moving backwards with their shields and spears raised, trying to protect each other from the pony guards.

It was go time, I had to get the fuck out of dodge and get the prisoners out at the exact same time.

Perfect.

Running down the cave hall as fast as my legs can carry me I heard behind me the sounds of battle but it was short lived as I heard the diamond dogs yelping behind me in pain before it grew silent.

Well that fucking sucks, my meatshields were easily dispatched by a bunch of halfpint ponies dressed up as guards.

Fucking lovely.

Putting my back into it I pushed myself as hard as I could as I didn't want to get captured or killed by those guard ponies. Right behind me was the sounds of armored hooves stomping on stone, they were galloping right at me and I knew that I couldn't outrun them.

But maybe I could distract them...

Slowing myself down to catch my breath I inhale as deeply as I could before cupping my hands near my mouth to act as a megaphone before shouting as loud as I can.

"INTRUDERS!" my shout echoed down the cave halls as it went deeper and deeper throughout the cavern, I know it was only a matter of time before every single dog in the colony will hear my shout and coming running to the source of the disturbance and check it out. I just have to pray to some sort of higher power that they get here in time.

With myself out of breath I had to jog just to keep some distance between myself and the equestrians.

And seeing how I just knocked one out cold with a sledgehammer to the dome...I think I got a target on my back.

It was when I took a few more steps did a bolt of blue energy go sailing right over my head and like an idiot I turned around to see who shot that at me and the sight of a snarling, pissed off pony guard with a horn as its horn started to glow again before spitting out another blue magic bolt at me.

Turning back around I continued to run or move as fast as I could as I felt my body starting to crap out on me, I wasn't the most physically fit in my group of friends or in my family, but this is just unfair. Running from another human is possible because we both are on two legs and it all depends on how long the chase has been going and how fit the two are, but this is a biped running from a quadruped, simply unfair.

"Get back here! You are under arrest for assaulting a lunar guard and for holding the princess of Griffonstone hostage!"

Before long I managed to reach an intersection in the halls and when I turned to see if anyone was coming I saw the all too familiar wooden sign on a wall that clearly read out 'Feasting Hall' and I made an abrupt turn and ran right to it.

With what little energy I had left in my legs I entered the food court and shouted as loud once more.

"INTRUDERS!"

And like magic, every single diamond dog in the hall turned to look at me as I pointed in the direction of the ponies, and it turned into a shit storm real fast.

The male diamond dogs grabbed their swords, spears, axes, whatever weapons they could find on such short notice along with their armor or whatever they could use as a shield and immediately stormed out of the halls while a few females did the exact same thing while the rest grabbed their pups and went in the other direction along with a handful of guard dogs to protect them. One diamond dog in particular was wearing exquisite armor and I immediately picked him out as the alpha of the clan and he was leading the charge against the equestrians.

I stood at the edge of the door when the dogs ran out but I was pushed into the group of female dogs with their pups by one of the guards and before I could question what was going on something was shoved into my arms and I looked at it to see that it was the sword that I left Griffonstone with and that it was still in its sheath seeing how I never touched it. Looking up I saw that it was the alpha's mate and that she was holding her son in her arms, her two helpers were right behind her, holding small daggers in their delicate paws.

The female belonging to the alpha pulled me close before whispering into my ear something important.

"Stay close to us." her muzzle brushed against my ear but I took heed to her

And stay close I did, I made sure that I was within spitting distance from the mother and her two helpers as I kept an eye on the young pup in her arms.

Jogging through the stone halls of the cavern the sounds of fighting can be heard everywhere we went, and a few times we went by a few scenes where the diamond dogs were barely holding the ponies in dark armor at bay. These dogs were so grossly undertrained to fight back against these skilled soldiers that it was only a miracle that we managed to squeeze by a few times so far.

It was when we crossed into another hall that we just arrived to an aftermath of a battle and there was no diamond dogs standing. All of them were on the ground writhing in pain as their attackers stood over them, tying them up with rope and dragging a few of them into a pile but they stopped what they were doing when they saw us enter that section of the hall.

'Oh balls...'

Normally I would have ran at the sight of a battle group of enemy soldiers that have the intent to inflict bodily harm to my person, but when my plan to break a bunch of people out of prison is on the line along with the lives of several diamond dogs...I guess I have to take my lumps.

But fortunately for me the diamond dog guards that was with us rushed forward and took up arms instead of making me do it instead. I watched fully knowing that those dogs don't even stand a ghost of a chance in facing those elite soldiers, but I know that they are simply buying us time to get out of here unharmed.

Moving past the ensuing fight between the d-dogs and bat ponies, the remaining d-dogs in my company are nothing more then women and children and myself. The next time we get into a fight they will be pushing me forward and I know that the only chance I have is if I manage to get the first strike on every single pony that we come across and that I hit them hard enough to knock them out.

Sadly though my sword isn't blunt, it is as sharp as a sword can ever get and it would more than likely lop off a limb instead of leave bruises behind unless I whack them with the flat side of the blade.

Luckily for me though it didn't have to come to that, we made it to the location where the diamond dogs were evacuating and it was in the open that I felt the first blast of fresh clean air in a long few days. Staring at the open space I noticed that this was the same crack in the ground that I climbed down to get the stupid idol. This was where the kidnapped me!

While I was busy having my little moment, the diamond dogs were busy crossing a rickety wood and rope bridge to the other side which had a matching cave entrance. Soon it was my turn to cross but that was when they were taking the bridge down, leaving me behind and on the wrong side of the chasm.

I shouted in anger at what they were doing, there is no way in hell that they are leaving me behind to get captured by a bunch of pissed off horses.

"What the flying fuck are you doing! You are not leaving me here to get fucking captured!"

"You'll be fine pup! Equestrians don't touch young pups like yourself unless they are into such things!" Wait...what?

No, there is no way a bunch of ponies would even be into that...right? There are laws and rules against raping captured enemy combatants, right?

Right!?

Before I could keep on thinking on whether or not that such things exist in this world (probably) but this just gave me the chance to quickly run back to the prison cell and break them out and escape from this shithole.

Only problem with that plan is that standing between me, the prisoners and freedom is the several dozen pony soldiers marching and fighting in the halls, the diamond dogs that will try to force me to fight with them to repel the attackers, and also probably the bat pony in the cell itself that will try and disarm me to get some brownie points even though he was captured.

Turning back away from the chasm's edge I ran back inside and although I don't know this particular section of the cave system but if I can find me a landmark or at the very least some knocked out dogs I can for the most part make an educated guess as to where I am at. As long as I can find a useable landmark and maybe know which area is safe and not safe I can reach the prisoners, break em out and run like goats on fire the fuck out of here.

Backtracking my way inside the sounds of fighting can still be heard but it is much more subdued now which only means that the diamond dogs are getting their asses kicked up and down the block and that they have no true means of winning against these ponies. Creeping through the dark halls I kept my head down, my sword out and my left hand on my backpack strap to make sure it is still on my back as I kept my eyes peeled for anything that is on four legs, has hooves and probably smells like hay and grass.

Stopping at an intersection I shuffled to the edge and peeked around the corner, I saw nothing but discarded weapons, some blood splatter and several dents in the ground. I don't know what those dents are but one can only guess as to what it could be and I can hazard a guess that they belong to those ponies, metal horseshoes can leave a dent in the ground when slammed down hard enough and they could kill a human being when struck in the right places.

With my head partially exposed I saw nothing hostile so I creeped on out and made my way down the left tunnel and with it came the ungodly creepy silence as I no longer heard the diamond dogs fighting so that left me only two options as to why this is happening.

The diamond dogs lost against the bat ponies and they were now hunting for any stragglers.

Or I am so far enough away from the fighting that I can no longer hear it.

I am hoping for the latter because if it is the former then I would have to harness my inner metal gear solid and sneak my way through the pony patrols and not get captured. And seeing how I don't have a lovely infinite ammo tranquilizer dart gun, and no actual skills to knock people out other then blunt force trauma to the head...I am fucked.

Taking cautious steps I hear the sounds of my shoes on dirt and rocks, my own heavy breathing, and the occasional organized marching of iron hooves on stone.

'You know this reminds me for some reason that Knots Berry Farm spooky maze thing they did on Halloween...now I just need to avoid the jumpscares of ponies and not get the shit beat out of me and take me away to be processed as a prisoner...way worse then pissing my pants in fear. That is for sure way worse...'

Stalking through the hall I heard nothing but myself or the marching bat ponies and as I kept on moving the sound of hooves only grew louder and louder as I got deeper into the colony until I finally bumped right into a passing bat pony patrol.

My first instinctive response was to let out a manly shriek of surprise while at the same time punching the nearest pony in the face.

The pony I struck went down like a sack of potatoes while the other four that was with him/her/it glared at me and immediately sprang into action, they pulled out from their sheaths blunted swords, the edges have been flattened out and I can tell that they are nothing more than iron paddles. Those swords may not be able to kill me so easily but they sure as shit will hurt like hell if and when they connect with me.

Just have to stay away from those swords and everything will be right as rain.

And just as I was thinking on not getting it, I felt a horrible stinging pain as one of the bat ponies whacked me in the shin and brought me to a knee, and I must say in all my life getting hit I the shin is the fourth most painful thing ever to happen to me. I responded back by back handing the pony in question which made him/her/it drop the sword it was holding in its mouth.

Strange how they managed to get on their armor and yet they manage to wield weapons meant for species that have hands/paws by wielding it with their mouth. I bet the taste of metal or whatever is used as the handle for the sword isn't so good unless they managed to get it to taste like sugar or a salt lick.

The pony I pretty much bitch slapped recoiled back from the pain and placed a hoof on its cheek, surprised that I actually slapped them instead of taking a swing with the lethal looking blade. But they didn't get to wonder for long as I punched them squarely in the muzzle, bringing them down while at the same time pissing off the other four ponies.

Why can't I ever get into a fair fight? It is always against something bigger than me or outright outnumbering me, its never fair!

With one bat pony down for the count the rest rushed at me with their iron paddle swords I blocked one blow but the other three swords cracked me in the ribs but instead of feeling the ungodly terrible pain of ribs cracking and breaking, I instead felt the pain of someone punching me in the ribs. I saw a diamond dog drop like a stone in the water when a pony whacked him in the face, this should have happened to me as well but it didn't.

Am I special or something?

Anyways with their swords still connected to my ribs I dropped my lethal sword in favor of grabbing two of the bat ponies by their heads and slammed them into the bat pony in the middle of the three with their helmeted heads. The end result was the three ponies being knocked out and collapsing onto the floor, I know that when I fought against the big dog earlier in the mess hall that when I dropkicked him that it should have done absolutely nothing to him but it instead knocked him the fuck out and then some. But these three ponies, I am not that strong to actually knock them out cold, give them an annoying headache yes, rendering them unconscious no.

With those four removed from the battlefield I looked around and I spotted the fifth bat pony that was in the patrol, a pair of leathery wings on its back and for a moment I thought it was going to rush me with its airborne attack but it instead slowly started to back away from me. Seems like it wasn't prepared to meet what it thought was a diamond dog that was much more durable and powerful then its weaker brothers.

Squatting down to grab one of the blunt swords these bat ponies had I noticed that these things were far lighter than the gryphon sword that I had dropped earlier, it probably has some sort of enchantment placed on it or maybe made with lighter metals. If they have unicorns, cause I saw one with wings and a horn and if my dungeons and dragons logic is trustworthy, then it should have access to magic and be able to enchant things. Unless that knowledge is bullshit then my guess of light metals would be true.

'Throwing your sword never works.' I thought as I looked at the blunt metal sword in my left hand before looking up at the last pony standing as it started to back away slowly just as it turned around and began to gallop away from me.

I threw the blunt sword at the retreating pony, the sound of galloping hooves echoing in the cave was loud and after a few moments I heard a loud clang sound that was followed by the weapon clattering on the floor and a body falling over.

'Throwing your sword does work!'

With the patrol knocked unconscious I decided that now was the time to get my ass in gear and to move it straight to the prison cell to rescue the princess, her guards, the minotaur and the lone Thestral bat pony. If I am going to be living the high life back in Griffonstone than this plan of mine cannot possibly fail!

No time to lose I started to run down the halls, my footsteps bouncing off the halls and I knew that by running in this place that those down the halls that the horses would hear it and come to the source of the disturbance, I just hope that it doesn't bring out the heavy hitters.

Sprint around a corner I nearly bumped into another pony squad but because I caught them off guard I managed to slap one of the guards on the ass with the flat end of the sword and kept on running but with my left handed sword I smacked one of the guards in the face, knocking him out in the process before I kept on running.

Turning yet another corner I bumped into yet another patrol of pony guards, but this time with a bunch of muzzled and bound diamond dogs in tow. This time I didn't even bother to stop them other than tripping the pony holding the chains in his mouth by smacking his forelegs with the thick edge of the sword. I heard a loud yelp of pain coming from the pony I hit and it was immediately followed by the sound of iron chains hitting the floor and after that the sounds of paws scrabbling on the floor as they tackled and charged the nearest pony in their bound forms.

Causing chaos in the pony ranks is good fun and all but I do have a mission to complete and although it pains me to leave the diamond dogs behind to fend for themselves in pony prison, there is no way in seven hells that I am going to waste away in a prison that was designed by a bunch of grass munching hippies that just so happens to be a much better fighting force than a bunch of flea-ridden mutts.

Wow, turns out that hippies in this world are much better than the meat-eating beasties that live here, what a twist!

Juking between another patrol I soon found myself in a familiar corridor that goes straight to the prison cell and the connecting armory...you know in hindsight these dogs should not put the place where weapons and armor is stored directly across from the prison cells where you are holding your prisoners.

'This is it! The home stretch! There is possibly nothing that fuck me over now!'

While I was cheering in my head and giving myself an imaginary pat on the back, I failed to notice that there was even more hooves galloping down the halls and they were coming in from all directions and as soon as I pulled my head out of my own ass and came back to reality I saw that I was surrounded on all sides by pissed off bat ponies.

And a mildly unamused horned winged horse in onyx black armor.

'Oh fuck me to tears...'

A Bargain Struck

Staring at the surrounding equine bat guards that have surrounded me I immediately started to think of a battle plan that would hopefully get me out of here in one piece and now with my ass on the chopping block or my ass in the stockades getting buttfucked by miniature horses. Either of those two options are not acceptable and there is no way in hell I will ever be allowed to let it down that I got ass-raped by a bunch of ponies.

My first instinct was to show my displeasure of the situation by shouting in my head my words of anger, but unfortunately for me I have a bad habit of verbally expressing my anger and without any kind of filter to censor my words.

"Oh come the fuck on! It is hard enough that I had to fight five of them alone and now there are...twenty...thirty...fuck I think I counted one of you twice!"

"We are surprised that you can even count let alone manage to defeat five of my guards all by your lonesome." The tall dark armored horned winged horse said as she slowly started to trot around me, eying me up or something. Probably gauging me to see if I am a threat or just a nuisance to swat to the side.

"Well when you learn how to swing a sword all it takes is a misstep or a moment of weakness and it is pretty much game over for the loser. That and I was pretty much reacting to being surprised by a bunch of pint-sized ponies in armor." I said as I grabbed two of the flat blades on the floor and looked at the large mass of bat ponies that has me surrounded me on all sides.

One such bat pony thought it was a smart idea to try and attack me from behind but the guard alerted me to their presence by galloping right at me and as a consequence got a beating of a lifetime. With the guard in question galloping right at me I sidestepped out from their path before cracking them in the back of the head and the center of their spine between their wings before resuming my battle stance. The guard tumbled down to the ground, its helmet had a fairly rectangular dent in it and as a result from that blow left them unconscious.

"Do you really think that you will be able to win this battle?" The tall mare said but this time she stopped moving when she was directly behind me, making me turn to the side so I can keep an eye on her.

Signaling with her wing three guards charged at me from the front, two of them galloped at me with all possible speed while the third one was slower and took his time to reach me. The guard on the right thrust out his spear and on instinct and also from remembering an episode of Avatar the Last Airbender (great fucking show) and deflected the spear by redirecting it above me before breaking it in half. Without his spear he kept on galloping at me but with nothing but a stump of a spear I cracking him between the eyes before stepping forward and used his body as a shield as the spear from the other guard glancing off his buddy's armor before I cracking him in the foreleg that was holding the spear.

The guard let out a yelp of pain, dropping his spear before tripping over it and landing on his back, his wings flailing wildly before stopping, realizing that he is stuck like that due to how heavy his armor is. The guard that I knocked out with that blow to the head stayed within my grip and for a moment I had a brilliant idea.

Dropping my swords to the ground I grab the unconscious guard and for a moment think that this is will never work, I grab the guard by his forelegs and heaved. Slowly but surely the guard was being lifted off the ground as I raised him above my head, the third guard who took his time to reach me was now wearing a worried expression before it immediately being turned into fear as I threw his out cold partner right at him. The end result is humorous because they were on the ground writhing in pain, well...one of them was, the other was snoring.

"Do I think I can win this? No, I know for a fact that I don't stand a chance in hell that I can win this particular fight. But I know that if I just surrender than there is a chance that when I am takin in to be processed that I would just be used as a sex slave or tortured to reveal everything that I know before being given to the females to be used as a toy for their sick pleasures." I grunted out as I turned my head to check my back and I saw a bat pony that tried to get behind me but it was hard for a pony to be stealthy when it is wearing metal horseshoes it pretty much gave its position away.

As soon as I saw the pony in question I immediately swung with my right sword and conked the pony on the head before whacking it in the jaw with the other sword, the force of the second hit actually lifted said pony off the ground and into the air for a few seconds before it landed on its back out cold.

"That is just revolting! We do not do such things to our prisoners! That hasn't happened ever since the unification war before Equestria's founding and even then we would never even allow such a despicable thing to happen!" The tall mare blanched back, apparently such a thing is a crime against humanity...against ponykind? Whatever it is apparently it is a big ol' fat illegal act, but it has happened before.

'So it has happened before? That does nothing to assure my spirit that I won't get raped to death by a bunch of horses...why does this feel like it has happened before in human history?'

"Uh huh, and I'll believe it when I see it, but since I refuse to just give in and surrender to you..." I heard more ironclad hooves coming closer as the circle around me slowly begins to shrink in size.

"You know that We can just force a surrender upon you right now." The tall mare said, a smirk on her muzzle as she stares at me with a victorious grin.

"Go ahead, try it." Not my smartest moment, ever.

And try it this giant pony did. As soon as I uttered those words out I watched as its horn started to glow a dark blue color and after a second I watched was a little too late as said blue glow was ejected out of its horn like a cannonball and said magic ball collided with my chest.

But it did nothing. It just hit me square in the chest and upon impact it acted like a water balloon and splashed itself all over my clothes with no effect other than leaving a stain behind.

"The hell did you just hit me with?" "What the buck just happened?"

The two of us stood there motionless for a moment as we process what just occurred, a unicorn with wings just shot a spell at me, and it did nothing but scuff my shirt with a dark blue smear of some sort of magical residue. I sure hope this comes off in the wash because there is no way in hell that I am just going to leave my shirt covered in magic splooge.

"Was that supposed to do something or was that just a way of you marking me?"

"Neither, it was supposed to stun you long enough for my guards to tie you up and drag you away with the others. How did it not affect you in any way possible besides that...residual stain." The mare said as I looked down at the stain on my shirt and for some reason I had a stupid moment where I picked at me shirt and took a sniff at the magic residue and for a moment all I smelled was myself until it finally hit me with a hint of ozone and a febreeze candle.

"Don't know, probably you used the wrong spell?" I asked as another set of hooves got closer but when I turned my head to look at the foolish pony that was getting closer I saw that it was another bat pony but this one had a mace raised over its head and when it noticed that I was looking right at him he gave me a sheepish smile before backing away slowly.

These damn ponies sure as hell want to knock me the fuck out.

"We are not some naïve in the art of magic that we would use the wrong spell on purpose! That is just a foolish notion and you should do well to disperse it from your mind lest it festers into another foolish thought."

"OH don't worry, I won't let it fester in my mind, I am just thinking on doing my job here but you are putting a bit of a damper on it by showing up at the worst moment possible." I said as I tried once more to think up a way for me to get out of this place alive and in one piece, along with my asshole intact and not butt fucked.

"And just what kind of job are you here for hmm? Raiding diplomatic caravans and traders?" I hate stupid people and these ponies obviously are using racist stereotypes on these diamond dogs, I mean not all of them are raiders. Some of them are miners, maybe a butcher, a nanny...probably even a blacksmith? I don't know I haven't been truly looking around here to see if they do anything else but raid the surface.

"Wow, I knew that some people here are dense but really? Do I look like one of those flea-bitten mongrels that you rounded up?" I said out loud, here I was hoping that a pony or two here had a brain of their own.

I was proven wrong.

"Yes." Every single pony said at the exact same time. Fucking hate bandwagoners.

Facepalming internally I instead opt to give her a flat blank stare before letting out an explosive sigh as I started to explain myself to the winged unicorn in armor...and is that a crown?

Double shit.

"Okay, lets start this all from the top shall we? I only look this way because of an illusion potion that I drank before coming down here to spy on these diamond dogs (total bullshit lie but it is the only lie I can think of at the moment and on the fly) and I was just about to slink off into the night and report to Grandpa Griff up in Griffonstone but you blew my cover and probably put a bounty on my head with these diamond dogs looking to collect on it." Please, please for the love of god eat up this bullshit lie I just made up on the spot!

Save my sorry ass my little lie! Save it!

"You are a griffon spy?" Not how I was expecting this to go but lets roll with it.

"No, I am more like a mercenary that just so happened to be doing a bit of spy work for payment and a temporary place to stay." I am just a man wanting to find either a way to go home or if that can't happen to just live my life here as comfortable as possible.

"Oh...well... then would you kindly tell me what you have learned from these diamond dogs and where they might be holding the prisoners and We will gladly let you go and be on your way to your employer for your reward." The dark blue horse said as she sat down on her rump and look at me, apparently she is trying to be diplomatic about this now. What would Gandhi do?

Other than fire nukes at every other player because the people at Firaxis decided to give him the agenda of 'Nuke Happy', why they would make the most peaceful man on the planet the agenda to nuke everything I will never know.

"That sounds like a mighty fine offer you have there, but I must say that I respectfully decline it." I said as I shuffled my grip on the two blunt swords in my hands.

I know that by saying 'no' to someone that has a posse the size of a standard college classroom normally would end with the one who said no will get their ass handed to them on a silver platter with a side of extreme pain, but instead the pony in question, or I should say mare in question as her voice was fairly feminine although I thought it was just an effeminate male at the time, simply laughed.

"We see you hold your conviction to stay loyal to your employer is strong and that you refuse to betray his trust. Do not worry, we know of this 'Grandpa Griff' of whom you speak of, you can finish your mission as long as you allow us to rescue the lone Thestral pony that was in her company at the time of her capture." the royal pony said and for a moment I was having a bit of a brain fart.

'Did she really just relent on her demand for me to tell her everything I know about these diamond dogs? I guess that she is getting something out of this scenario as she does get back the guard she lost, maybe also gets a good word in with their griffon neighbors...what else is she not telling me?'

While I was thinking about what this large pony said to me, I failed yet another series of listen and spot checks as the large dark blue horse/pony thing trotted up to me and was standing right in front of me.

"So, do you agree to these terms? We shall let you leave this dog colony with the gryphon princess and her entourage along with your life, as long as you tell the king that We have assisted you on the matter."

'Huh, those are some pretty sweet terms, I get to leave this place alive, finish my mission, and I still don't have to worry about being butt raped by a bunch of ponies of both genders. Why the hell not! With returns like that there is no way in hell this can possibly come back to bite me in the ass!'

Thinking this offer over I for the most part did not see any downsides to this and decided that this might be my only deal that this one will be willing to offer me so I went for it.

Slowly putting my right sword down while adjusting my grip on my left sword by grabbing its flat blade, thrusting out my right hand as I waited for the mare in question to accept my handshake.

'Ponies and horses do handshakes...right? I mean if they can put on armor and manage a sword with their mouth, I am more than positive that they can do handshakes.'

My answer was yes, ponies can do handshakes as the mare in question grabbed my hand with its hoof, which I think is impossible because hooves have no grip except when it is on the ground while trotting about, but here it is, shaking my hand while smiling.

(And so history will remember that on this day, whatever day it is on the calendar, that mankind made an agreement with an alien race. Too bad they will never hear about this stunning moment let alone know that it was with an alien horse while holding me at spear-point.)

"Okay, you got yourself a deal, just as soon as you can bring me Scrawny from your prisoner pile and then we will be on our way." I said quickly and for a moment I saw a flash of surprise in the pony's eyes but then it turned into a smirk on her muzzle as she realized that I added something to our little agreement.

The tall horse gave me a confused look as she tilted her head at me, apparently I confused her when I asked for my friend because she doesn't know who he is.

"Who?"

"Diamond Dog, thinner than most of them, about as tall as I am, talks way too much, always seems to be happy." I said as I recalled as many details about my friend as I could, not even forgetting to tell the tall mare about his fur color to better find him.

Nodding at me I watched silently as she signaled for one of her guards to come over, a young mare with bat wings, a Thestral Officer if I remember the feathered helmet correctly, trotted quickly up to her and saluted before being given instructions on who to find and bring over. I am hoping they grab the right dog and not just grab some random idiot from the pile of prisoners.

While we were waiting I kept my swords up and at the ready while the armed pony guards kept their spears pointed right at me, and although it would be suicidal to think that I can take them all on my own and not end up as a pincushion. The pony guards were all glaring at me, many of them were snorting hot air in anger that I am defying their leader by not surrendering but hey, she is letting me leave this miserable boil on the ass-end of the underground alive and with the gryphon entourage.

Now I only wish I can take a nice long hot shower, I smell freaking terrible and I am damn sure that these ponies know I smell an ungodly sort of foul.

After a few minutes of waiting the same Thestral guard that left came back with my dog buddy in tow, bound, gagged and also blindfolded to boot.

Walking over to my tied up friend I start to undo his bindings, leaving the gag and blindfold on for the moment as whispered to him that it was me and that I am getting him out of here, he immediately started to wag his tail and start to try and talk through his gag but all it did was make muffled sounds and that brought a small grin to my face.

'Seems like this dog needs a good, long learning session when this is over with, if a dog can learn tricks and manners back home than I am more than positive the same can happen here but with a much larger dog that can talk and think.'

As soon as I removed the gag from his mouth and the blindfold from around his head he immediately started to rapid fire out words as he tries to explain what happened to him but I immediately re-gagged him when he started to talk because I already knew what happened.

"Shush now friend, the battle is over, we lost but we are getting out of here. The big pony that led the raid is letting us leave along with the gryphon prisoners because she is kind enough to let the two of us get out of here alive. We will more than likely end up as gryphon prisoners but because we are the ones who 'rescued' the gryphon princess our prison cells might not be as bad as the ones here. Just keep calm, follow me and for the love of god don't talk. I will never forgive you if you blow our cover!"

Gagging my friend by covering his mouth with my hand I told him what was going to happen and where we are going and possibly where our future home will be.

"We are going to go grab the prisoners, go up to the surface, and when we return the gryphon princess we will ask for mercy and pray to god that we don't get skewered on the spot. Okay?" I asked my muffled friend and for a moment he stared at me confused but after a moment it sort of clicked in his head as he nodded at me.

"Good, now lets get going, the sooner we do this the better." And with that we were off.

Walking through the horde of Thestral guards the two of us made our way out through the throng of bat ponies and soon found ourselves on the other side and with it walked down the path to the prison room.

Pushing the rusty iron door open I spotted that the prisoners were still in here but they were attentively staring at the door. These guys and girls obviously heard the fighting that is going on out there and were afraid and unsure of who it might be that would enter through this door.

The prisoners all let out a collective sigh of relief as I grabbed the slightly rusty cell key from a hook on the wall and made my way over to the decrepit cell door. Inserting the key into the old tumbler lock I twisted the small handle and with a loud creaking shrill sound I pushed the door open and quietly ushered the captives out, telling them to keep it down if we are going to make it out of this place alive and in one piece.

"Keep calm, your voices quiet and your paws silent. If we get caught there isn't much we can do if they are heavily armed. These blunt swords won't do much but probably piss them off something fierce." I harshly whispered out to them all, the gryphon princess rolled her eyes but for the most part she accepted my advice and stayed close behind me while her guards flanked her on both sides, the minotaur I actually had to help because he was barely able to keep himself standing.

I am not sure if they tried to starve the poor bastard out or if he is suffering from some sort of internal injuries.

With my left arm barely being wrapped around the mino's waist to keep him from falling over, we made our way slowly through the caves, the Thestral guard that was captured left our group as soon as we left the prison ward. Guess he went to go back and get integrated back to his people.

But luckily for me we made it to the front gate and our only problem became apparent when we found that the gate was closed.

"So...how do we get this open?"

"Scrawny!"

"Yeah Ian? What is it?"

"Do you know how to get this open?"

"Uh...no?"

"Fuck..."

"Well it looks like we better start looking for a chain or lever then. You! Diamond Dog! Start looking for it over there! Talons! Start searching for a switch while I look over here with our guide." I looked at the princess and mouthed 'guide' at her in confusion and her response was to glare at me as her feathers wavered on her wings, my guess that she is trying to tell me to shut the fuck up.

While everyone was busy searching for the lever, switch, chain pulley or whatever these dogs use to open up the iron gate. We searched high and low, under rocks, behind torches and even tried tapping the walls to listen and hear for any hollow openings that might reveal a hidden entrance or a hidden switch to open the gate.

Looking for a device that will lift the iron gate took us some time, while the gryphoness was looking low near the ground for our freedom switch I was looking up on high because I had height to my advantage, but while I was looking for it I couldn't help it but give glimpses to the crouching gryphoness, and like all men around the world who spots a girl bending over to pick something up they have their ass in the air.

Fortunately for them they have pants or shorts on so we don't get to see everything, unfortunately for the princess however, is that she doesn't have anything on so with her tail swishing around it is pretty much showing off her goods.

My thoughts ran from 'Why the fuck am I staring at that?' to 'Huh...so that's what it looks like.' to finally 'I wonder it would feel like if I put my dick in it...probably nice...just as long as she doesn't claw my face off or rip my dick off.'

Before I could get caught with my impromptu perverted peaking I looked away and went back to searching for the switch but when I looked down I had found that I had a problem.

And that problem was a raging hardon that goes by the name Thorlax the Impaler.

'Oh god...please give me the strength to not have a boner...think unsexy thoughts, think very unsexy thoughts! Grandma in panties, my dad scratching himself with a salad fork, my brother naked on my bed in a 'draw-me-like-one-of-those-french-girls' poses, dead babies, the Twilight Saga.'

It didn't go down so easily or fast at all but it started to die down at the mere mention of that horrible accursed vampire romance movie and novel, honestly what kind of bullshit crap is that? Vampires don't sparkle in the sun, they spontaneously combust and burn into ashes while Werewolves turn into half-man half-wolf beastmen, not transform into a dire wolf!

With my gaze averted I thought that I was safe but when I took a few steps to the side to get away from her but instead I stepped onto a pressure-plate and for a moment I thought I was about to die by a falling rock crushing my body into a fine paste.

Instead it opened the gate we have been trying to get to open up.

Stepping off of the pressure-plate I watched as the gate that slowly began to open immediately came back down, almost skewering one of the gryphon guards.

'Huh, so its like one those switches from Legend of Zelda...gotta find a heavy ass block or statue or something to hold the weight down on this thing.'

That heavy object just so happened to be a rusty tower shield that was left behind leaning on a wall, the gryphon princess saw me step on and off the button and saw the gate open and close at the same time so she put two-and-two together and figured out a work around.

With the shield in place the gate slowly ratchetted its way back up the wall and vanishing into the ceiling, locking itself in place as the shield held its position with a steadfast purpose although its on the floor facing the ceiling in all its rusted glory.

"Okay lets get the hell out of here!" I shouted with glee and for the first time in days there is no way this will come back to fuck me in the ass!

Grabbing the weakened minotaur by the waist once more we all ran or at the very least power-walked our way out from the cave and soon enough we all were out in the sunlight. The glorious warmth of the sun basked us all into its holy aura of heat and safety, and just outside this cave was an used dirt road leading out and away from the cave and off in the distance, the mountain that had Griffonstone perched right on top of and around it.

"Home, so close yet so far away." The princess said as she let out a wistful sigh, at least she has a home, for all I know my home is fucked and long gone.

"I guess this is where we part ways your highness, you and your entourage can fly on home while me, Scrawny and this mino will hobble up the mountain to meet you all up there." I said as I adjusted my hold on the minotaur, the big dude let out a groan of pain before righting his hooved feet on the dirt road and tried to keep himself upright.

Man whatever is wrong with this guy, he needs aid fast or he is fucked eight ways to sunday.

"Hmm, that would be the most logical thing for me to do but leaving my rescuer to fend for themselves in hostile territory it would make me look like a terrible princess for not thanking or rewarding my savior. No, I do believe that I will stay alongside you for the time being until we return safely to Griffonstone." The gryphon princess said with a bit of a strange smile on her beak, her eyes were staring into my own as she size me up, her eyes crawling over every inch of my body as I did the same but it was for a moment before returning to those beautiful hazel-green eyes of hers.

Before I could ponder further on her beauty (if only she were human I would run a train on her) she punched me right in the arm for seemingly no reason what so ever and before I could recover and call her out on it she punched me again.

"Oww! What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

"I remember a certain diamond dog telling me to keep my murderous rage hidden until after we get out from the caves. And look where we are, outside of those caves." She said with a glint of evil in her eyes and before I could explain myself she punches me again but this time it was less painful than it was before and a lot more playful.

'A tsundere most powerful indeed...oh that is going to leave a mark for sure...'

Rubbing my shoulder where she punched me I watched as she walked off towards her guards who formed a loose formation around her and the rest of us, more than likely to keep themselves from getting caught off guard by any would-be attackers or wild beasts.

'I just hope I can survive the trip back to Griffonstone without getting killed...'

Thinking back on it now I came to the realization that during my time here in this new world I have yet to get laid. If I am to die here then I at least want to know the warm and sexy embrace from a female here, I will not die a virgin here.

Following the gryphons from behind, carrying our injured minotaur with the assistance of Scrawny the ten of us started to make our journey back to Griffonstone.

The journey may be perilous, dangerous, and above all else someone might die, but if I remember anything from my many dungeons and dragons campaigns throughout my childhood, one's chances of survival all depends on the roll of the dice.

And I am going to make sure my dice is loaded and rigged so that the scales of fate is tipped in my favor!

A jaunty walk through a dark forest

Griffonstone lies upon a mountain at its center and its outskirts lie upon its surrounding mountains and hills.

Between us and that gryphon-centric city is a forest that is filled with wild animals, dangerous plants, unknown terrain and possibly bandits and thieves.

I don't know what we will encounter but I can safely say that with the six gryphon guards that have armed themselves with discarded diamond dog weapons, a diamond dog with a serrated rusty saw-curved sword and myself with two blunt flatblades that we are fully capable of defending ourselves from harm that may come to us.

Our wounded comrade, a minotaur who goes by the name of Jorvious Will, was mumbling something about his son and that he is sorry, sorry for what I don't know but if he is a father and he is sorry about something than I can only speculate that this guy probably took a too hard of a stance on something and it caused a split between the two. That or maybe they are brothers and he is sorry for stealing his girlfriend or whatever, not like it applies to me anyways...or anymore for that matter.

'Fuck this forest, this has some serial killer shit written all over it. If we discover an abandoned shack in the middle of this stink hole than I am leaving as fast as my legs can carry me, with or without the gryphons and anyone else that is too slow to catch up.'

As we trudged through the foliage of the forest for the first hour we noticed how nice and peaceful it is, there was a few birds here and there and they were chirping happily, forest critters were running around and being wild animals doing whatever it is that they are supposed to do. I even saw a bear with a salmon in its mouth as it lumbered on by, either failing to notice us or just not giving two shits about our entourage it kept on going, I thank the gods it didn't think of me as a snack because I don't think I can live with myself if I ever got eaten by a bear.

It was the second hour of our walk back to Griffonstone that we decided to take a small break, well the break was more so for the gryphons as they haven't seen the light of day in however long they were stuck beneath the earth along with being denied access of clean air, actual food (meat from three squirrels, damn gryphons are efficient hunters) and also enough room to stretch their wings and legs.

While everyone else was stretching and getting used to being outside and free again, I was just trying to dust myself off all the while going behind a tree to take a piss, and seeing how there are countless trees let alone just as many bushes to hide behind I duck out of sight while doing my deed. While I was releasing the floodgates and draining the pipes I kept my ears open as I tried to hear over my semi-loud piss stream but as I strained to hear what was going on around me I started to go off-target and started to piss on the floor and it started to get on my shoes which forced me to get back on target all the while fuming at myself.

Soon after I was done taking my piss I shook myself off, looked around to make sure no one was around then proceeded to walk around the camp and see what exactly I might be dealing with to better grasp the situation we are in.

We had enough food to last one, maybe two days tops if we rationed it out to slim pickings, we got a wounded minotaur that is more than likely has a wound that is turning septic, and lastly we are in the middle of a forest with feral beasts around every corner.

In all the odds of us coming out alive is fairly low, but I am optimistic enough to believe we got a fifty-fifty chance of getting through alive.

During this moment respite from our march towards home base I was busy cracking my back by bending backwards just enough to feel my spine pop and boy does that feeling of relief feel so damn good! It is like the weight of the world has been lifted from shoulders for the barest of moments, sadly it all came back to me the moment I stared at everyone around me as reality sank in and I realized that life sucks and that it just kicked me in the balls full force.

Seriously, I had just moments ago back in the cave that I was no longer on Earth, Middle Earth (would have been sweet to be honest) nor was it even Eorzea (fuck yea cat people!) but as my mother once said 'life sucks, deal with the cards you are dealt and rise through the bullshit'. I took these words to heart and I made up my mind back there that if I am to be stuck in this world till the day I die, then I am going to alter it for the better in my own image or as close to my image as I can get it to. I got a laptop, it has games, I can take from those games to help these obvious savages by giving them the gift of knowledge.

How effective will this be? Well about as effective as a random number generator giving you the exact number you were thinking of on your first click. I know that most of my games stored on this piece of crap are either sci-fi themed or are fantasy-setting themed, either of the two probably won't work but if I can somehow get them to, then these gryphons (or whatever else out there if these birds fuck me over) will be steamrolling over everything in their path.

Assuming they don't abuse said gift cause after all, abusing the gift from what many will say is a gift from god (my laptop not me) will eventually be smacked down by said god and send to hell for all eternity.

I was eventually pulled from my thoughts when my dog friend poked me in the cheek with his finger and when I came out from my musing he pointed past me and when I looked it turned out to be the gryphon princess along with her entourage, all ready to go.

"I take it that you enjoyed your temporary reprieve." The gryphons all nodded at me and when I turned my attention to our passed out minotaur I saw that he was still out cold but he appeared to have gotten slightly better if his darkening fur color was of any clear indication.

Guess that old saying is true, clean fresh air can do wonders for everyone.

"Good, because I can't tell how far away we are from the base of the mountain Griffonstone is perched up on so we are gonna be walking for a long time. I hope all of you are either comfortable with walking cause this going to suck, you gryphons can fly or hover beside us to save yourself some aching paws. Just do whatever feels best and don't tire yourself out." I said as the guards all shook themselves free of any loose feathers as they get themselves back in proper order.

That and I rather not have to keep stopping and going because they keep tiring themselves out, it gets kinda annoying when the group has to take several unnecessary pit stops because they tucker themselves out.

And so we went back to walking, none of the guards bothered to test their wings to see if they are capable of flying but for the most part it wasn't necessary at the moment.

Our walking continued for the better part of the day until darkness fell and the moon was rising off in the distance. I set up camp along with three other gryphons as the rest set up a sentry pattern to make sure that we don't get ambushed by the local wildlife or any roughneck thieves that may be lingering outside our line of sight.

My diamond dog friend was busy starting a fire by striking two rocks together over a pile of sticks and dead leaves, and for the moment it looked like no progress was being made but after three minutes of failure it finally kicked in and a series of sparks left the rocks and ignited the dead foliage, granting life to the flames. The dog was happy at his achievement of making fire for what might be the first time that he sat right in front of it as it slowly consumed the sticks as the flames grew larger by the minute.

With no tents to sleep in and no bedrolls to lay on we were pretty much sleeping on dirt, rocks, grass and sticks but I was fine with it. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to be sleeping on but when your grandfather conscripts your ass into the boy scouts, you pretty much learn how to sleep on literally and virtually anything, hell you even learn how to sleep through anything, including earthquakes, loud snoring and even a rolling thunderstorm!

As we set up camp and I set down my backpack beside me as I took stock of what we got currently available to us in terms of food and water and it wasn't in the best of conditions. Even though I have received five pounds of chopped of sliced salted meat from the butcher back in the dog warrens, it won't be enough for all eight or nine of us (don't know if mino's can eat meat) and even if I rationed it in small amounts it still won't last us long and as for water...we have none. Whatever water skins I smuggled off from KO'd dogs they are empty as fuck and smell like shit, so these things need a thorough washing before they can grace one's lips with cool refreshing aqua cola without causing the drinker to face explosive diarrhea.

I am going to have to tell everyone our current food n water situation by tomorrow morning and hopefully we can find a nearby river for our skins and maybe some stupid wildlife for food (seeing how ponies are capable of talking, minotaur's and gryphons are real, I am not taking any chances that any or all animals are capable of speech and sentience).

Now that is out of the way I went and pulled out the ancient relic that the gryphons were out looking for and I must say now that I can see it a slightly more favorable light of a campfire, I can see why they wanted it back so badly.

This thing was made out of solid gold, pure gold I might add, and I must say this thing should be feeling as heavy as a dying sun but when I hold it, the bloody thing feels as light as a cheap cellphone missing its battery pack. I do not know when this happened or how it happened but when I first picked this thing up back in the abyss it was like I was trying to remove Excalibur from the rock with one hand and that hand was missing a few fingers and that it had suffered from muscular atrophy, and back when it was in the dog's room, it was lighter than it last was but still had some weight to it but now its unnaturally weightless. I don't know if there is some sort of ancient arcane magic at work on this artifact or maybe I am just blessed with awesome, or perhaps this artifact decided that it wanted to go home and it wasn't going to be getting their anytime soon if it weighed like an anvil.

As I look at this relic my eyes saw what must be runes carved into the gold base, both inside of the hollowed-out area and on the outside as well, and both sides seemed to be absolutely riddled with the stuff as it seemed to blend in together as I couldn't find or make heads or tails of where it begins and ends. All I know is that this thing is ancient, its important, made of gold, and it will make me a very rich man if I give it back to the gryphons.

I traced a finger along one of the runes, wondering what it says because I can't read gryphon let alone ancient gryphon, but whatever this thing has to say about this thing I sure hope it is about its creation or its history, otherwise if its about some curse some other unholy thing than I am letting someone else carry this back.

Following no particular line in general I just followed it around, bored out of my mind and also wondering as to why someone thought it would be a good idea to carve some words on the inside of this relic when it is going to be hard to read when there is a strange orb and more gold on top of it? I mean really, who's bright idea was it for this thing to even be made? A guy fresh off the boat at crafting school or something?

Seriously.

With my eyes tracing the runes I noticed out from the corner of my eye the gryphon princess making her way over to me, two of her guards were staring in my general direction but were for the most part staying put and are just looking at me. Fine by me, I don't want to be near them anyways let alone be near them while they sharpen their talons on rocks and bark, I am not gonna be their cutting board.

"It's beautiful, isn't it." The princess of gryphons said as she stares at the idol in my hands.

"Yeah, it is, expertly crafted, strange archaic runes carved into it, and it radiates some sort of energy or power from its core. Whatever this thing really is, it is safe to say that this thing needs to be contained and studied because there is no way in hell this thing should be this light as it currently is or was so heavy when I first lifted it from the abyss." I said back as I rotated it around, my eyes scanning the well-detailed surface.

"What do you mean?" Tilting her head to the side, confused by what I said.

"Look, when I first found this thing it was at the bottom the damn chasm that it was dropped in and when I bent down to pick it up it weighed nearly as heavy as that minotaur over there. And back there in the dog warrens in the alpha's room, when I nicked this while he was away it weighed about as much as a five pound weight, now it weight about as heavy as an apple, and that shouldn't be possible." I said as I rolled the relic around between my hands, the gold gryphon skull gleamed in the dull light of the campfire but for the most part it was gleaming with an odd shine that shouldn't be there.

Perhaps this thing really is magical in nature, or is just really, really well polished with secret oils n shit.

"And then there is the whole 'with this thing lost your kingdom started to fall apart' thing, how does losing this thing cause all of that to happen? Why not just make a replica and put it on the pedestal while people look for the real one?" I mean that is what I would have done, make a fake and put it where the real one was last seen.

That was when I felt a feathery wing wrap itself around my shoulders as I felt the princess of gryphons sit beside me and for a moment I thought that something awesome was about to happen but instead all I get is a lecturing.

"Well my gryphon friend in disguise, let me regale you as to why we are downtrodden without the idol. When we gryphons first established ourselves our very first kingdom, this idol was at the seat of our power at all times, resting atop the throne and it granted the kings of old the ability to cast magic without the use of a focused medium or an enchanted crystal. Because of this we gryphons have been keeping the idol safe for countless centuries, ensuring that the next line for the throne will have the power to defend their kingdom from outside forces along with those that come from within be it domestic or feral. Eventually the idol was moved away from the throne because all it would take was some ambitious assassin to slay the king and queen before swiping the idol from the throne, so we had it moved to a vault that rests above the throne room, hidden from prying eyes...or so we thought."

"And you already know of the gods-damned beast that lay waste to our home and stole the idol right from the vault and then it fled from Griffonstone before being trapped and killed at the abyss. Sadly we weren't fast enough to catch the idol before it fell out of reach and was gone from our sight. That is until now, you retrieved the idol and it would seem that you are leeching some of its power for yourself. I do not know how this is happening or why it is letting it happen but all I can say is that it has either chosen you to be next in line, or that it is just giving you a gift for rescuing it from the abyss."

"What do you mean it has chosen me? Are you saying that this hunk of metal and stone is alive?" I asked in a doubting manner, cause I mean there is no way a hunk of metal is alive, this isn't Lord of the Rings and this relic is not the evil ring of power.

"Yes, it is. It contains the souls of past kings and queens and each time a new one is crowned, they commune with the idol to seek their blessings and grant them their advice and assistance whenever they need it. But you my friend...I do not know why they are helping you but it must be a sign of something greater at work here." I stand corrected as the gryphon princess says in a haughty tone, apparently not liking it that I doubted her words.

"Yeah, probably...that or they just saw me as their only way out from that dump and needed me to get them out of there." I muttered quietly as I mulled over what she said, if this thing was truly trying to help me then it is doing a shit job.

"You are strangely pessimistic about this, any other gryphon would be ecstatic, hells they would even be honored to be blessed by the rulers of old even if it just for a little bit to carry them home."

"So I am just a glorified parcel carrier then?" A glorified parcel carrier who has a chance of getting rich!

"Don't put it like that, you should feel honored that they even gave you their gift of power when you touched it the first time."

"Oh I do feel honored, I just wish it doesn't feel like I am nothing more than a mailman delivering a package from point A to point B."

"You are not a mailhen, you are...whatever you say you are, but I sure as seven hells know that you are not a gryphon." And she sees right through my bullshit cover.

"How can you be so sure about that? For all you know the transfiguration potion I drank is lasting a week." And I try to keep up my bullshit cover story.

Sadly it doesn't work so well.

The princess of gryphons chuckled at what I said, I guess she finally saw through my bullshit and figured out the truth of it all.

"Please, you thought that little ploy back in the dog warrens was going to work on me? I played this game far longer than you ever have and let me tell you something." The princess said as she leaned closer to me before whispering into me ear as a puff of hot breath cascaded over the side of my face.

"I know you are not a gryphon as I would have smelled your scent by now, and you are definitely not a diamond dog as you lack their simple-mindedness along with their pungent odor, nor a minotaur as you lack their strength, speech pattern and also their clan insignia on your belt. And I know for sure that you are not a pony because those skittish creatures would never take on an assignment like this unless they are born outside of Equestria and are living on the borders of civilization. And as for being a zebra, that is a longshot seeing how they stick to their own boarders or their exiles stay close to something that is familiar to them...which just leaves the dragons but sadly they hate pretty much everything." Oh shit.

"Which leaves me with nothing." Ouch...she just singled me out so easily and to top it off she pretty much said that I match none of the other races be it in terms of scent, behavior, mannerisms and or even intelligence.

She saw right through my disguise and is now going for the kill.

"No, it leaves you as an anomaly, an anomaly that I want to know more of and what it is to better understand it." ...what?

"And what do you plan on doing about this anomaly?" Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill me.

Scooting even closer to me to the point that she was pressing herself against me, I could feel her body heat and to top it off she nipped me in the neck before whispering to me again.

"I plan on knowing everything about this strange being and learning what he knows to better protect my kingdom when it is my turn to rule but for the time being I think I will just get comfortable with him and make this male my loyal friend so I can understand what the common folk think of both myself and how to improve the realm for the betterment of the common gryphons instead of the nobles." I don't know how to feel about this.

"You confuse me to no end sometimes." I think this is an elaborate and well made trap just waiting for me to spring it.

"I know, but be a good little pup and tell me all that I want to know when we get back to Griffonstone, I will make sure that father treats you well and not have you thrown into the dungeons for looking like a diamond dog. Now, do tell me who and what you are to make this deal possible." Hmm...I think I fucked up.

And in that moment, I thought that this was all an elaborate trap, and that this princess was just luring me into it with the possible promise of sex with royalty and also being set for life with possible diplomatic immunity.

And by god did I go for it! When will the chance of me getting to have sex with royalty ever come up for me ever again!

"Well if you want to get to know me better than you better start taking this seriously and stop with the chain yanking and teasing. If you want to truly know me then just be truthful and just maybe this one-of-a-kind being will grace you with the gift of knowledge and his very presence if you are not being a deceptive hen to him."

I looked down at the gryphoness and at that moment I realized that I fucked up.

How exactly did I fuck up you may ask?

She was staring right back at me, her feathers on her face were red from either anger or embarrassment for being caught, but it was also at that moment that I found that we were in the perfect sitting cuddling position and that I was one arm away from completing it. I reached around with my left arm, grabbed her by the meaty part of her rear leg and pulled her into my side which pressed her further into me as her beak barely dodged my throat and slid under my chin.

I nearly killed myself and it would have been the most unmanliness way for me to die, death by accidental throat slicing while cuddling.

The gryphoness made a squawking sound that easily reached the guards and they just stood and sat their staring at me, and instead of killing me on the spot, they just continued to stare at us and not doing a damn thing.

Is this my lucky day or were they told to not interfere with this...mating dance or whatever the fuck she is actually trying to accomplish?

And then I realized something else that day.

This is the second time I gave myself blue balls.

First it was with that butcher dog, I could have gotten laid there but with the thought of her being the one in charge and possibly breaking my pelvis and my dick...and now this princess is being the world's biggest tease.

At this rate my balls are going to explode.

The royal hen looked at me for a second before pulling back and stared me right in the eyes, her beak twitching slightly before speaking up again.

"Hmm, I was hoping my persistent teasing and leading would have you bending over backwards for me and make you come at my beck and call but it would seem you are much more resistant to my flirting and teasing than I thought. No matter, you will kneel to me in time and just maybe you might be worthy of laying your right to claim me, if you can prove yourself to my father which I doubt."

"Good to know that this was all a bloody tease-and-release for you, now I can direct my attention to other matters on hand." and with that said I pulled away from the cock teasing princess and made my way to the fire to warm myself up. As it turns out wearing nothing but a pants, shirt and hoodie does almost nothing to deter the cold weather that is this current season (my guess either Fall or Winter, both are cold seasons and neither of them are nice) and if we are to survive the night we will need more firewood.

Muttering to myself about how all of the hot girls are either bloody cock teasers, cheaters or outright taken, I thought that the only way I may ever find a girl that is both hot and loyal is astronomically low, I mean it is not even a whole percentage number, like maybe half a percentage if I am being honest. And seeing how I am stuck in this world then it means that I must choose one of the natives...and that spine shuddering tingle seems to be coming back again.

Thankfully before anything else can happen my dog friend decided to make his presence known to us when he returned to camp, and with the largest looking catfish I have ever seen. This catfish must be at least three feet long, a foot tall, and roughly a foot wide, and boy that thing looks god damn delicious.

I know my fishes and I must say that if I can carve that thing up right, it will be more than enough to feed all of us for the night.

Tonight we won't starve! Now if only we can solve our water situation.

After feasting on the catfish which just barely fed all of us, the minotaur ate his portion with gusto while the rest of us savored it, me more than the rest because I love fish, it is amazing and when prepared right it is a godsend and a blessing all in one. Only downside of this is that my breath now smells like fish and I don't have mouthwash nor toothpaste.

Oh well, I'll try and figure something out by tomorrow morning.

THE NEXT MORNING

I did not figure out a way to get rid of my case of fish breath and morning ass mouth.

My eyes cracked open to see that I was staring up at an open patch of forest, the daylight from the morning sun was breaching through the cracks and was shining right on my face, forcing me to sit up to avoid going blind.

With my body now waking up and my eyes wide open I saw that the gryphons were still asleep along with their princess who seemed to have passed out near my backpack and I am glad that she didn't open it because the zippers on it was still in the same position that I left them in.

Standing up and dusting myself off I walked over to the princess and relieved her of my backpack before strapping it onto my back and went around to make sure we are still secure in our surroundings.

The trees were still, the birds silent and the wind was gone, which left us all with a quiet forest and that usually means a scant number of things.

All of the wildlife is gone, there is a raging forest fire going on, a zombie plague is happening on or...

Before I could ponder further as to why the forest has suddenly gone quiet and empty, I heard a near silent thunk sound that was almost immediately followed by something landing in the ground right in front of my right foot.

Looking down I saw that an arrow has embedded itself into the dirt and that it was sticking in at a good forty-five degree angle two inches from my big toe. Kneeling down I removed it from the ground to inspect it and I saw that this was something I was dreading when it came to archery in this world.

The arrow was not a flat head, it was triangular and it was jagged, meaning that if it were to embed itself into my body, it would not only hurt like hell going in but if I were to remove it than it would be pain on a whole other level coming out. This thing was meant to maim and injure its target in the worst way possible, and I just so happened to be that target.

Looking back up I saw nothing out of the ordinary nor did I see a person holding a bow pointed at me, but when I stood up and to beat a hasty retreat back to camp I saw the very person who tried to off me.

It was a gryphon, I mean of course it was a gryphon, this is their land after all and I can guess that I am encroaching onto this one's land and they don't like it one bit.

"Look'it here boys! We got ourselves a stray dog!"

Author's Note

Good News and Bad News!

Good News: Still alive and writing but at a slower pace due to Resident Evil 7 and Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward

Bad News: Seems like I won't be going to college this season due to money being tight for me, better pray I get more work hours or else my ass might not get that degree in programming.

Bandits in the Wild

"Look'it here boys! We got ourselves a stray dog!"

Looking up at the gryphon who said that I saw that it was a near splitting image of Robin Hood but with the exception that it was a gryphon instead of a human, he looked ragged and war-torn, scars that can be visibly seen from where I am standing and also he smells like a god damn brewery. He was wearing a red pointed cap with a silver feather sticking out from the back and strewn across his chest was a leather strap holding a sword close to his side along with a quiver full of sharpened arrows.

Glancing around I saw more gryphons steadily appearing from out of the woodwork and I realized that not only was he not alone but this guy brought with him enough friends to overpower and overwhelm our little party.

Each gryphon had a red feathered cap on their heads but their feathers were brown instead of silver, my guess is that it signifies their rank or just that they are mere bandits compared to their leader. I spotted a few more slender and fragile looking gryphons among the lot that showed up but for the most part, most of them looked burly and thick, strong enough to possibly overwhelm me and hold me down while the rest flooded the camp and captured the rest of our little group.

Raising my arms up and my hands open in a sign of surrender I gazed at each individual member of the bandit raiding party and each one had a bow in their talons and some form of melee weapon attached to their side, a few had hatchets and hand-axes, others had daggers and small curved blades, I even saw one with a mace attached to a slender hen's hip.

"So what brings a furless pup like you to our neck o' the woods?" The large bandit leader said as he puts another arrow on the line and aims it right at me, more than likely going to skewer me if I say the wrong thing.

"I am guiding a group of griffins through the woods to Griffonstone."

"Griffonstone eh, and a group you say? Well, then I guess me boys n girls gotta help ye escort dem happy travelers out, right gang?" The head bandit said as he crew cheered out loud, signaling my group that they are not alone and that they are mere seconds away from being ambushed and captured.

Again.

Shaking my head and my hands to try and tell him no that we needed no help I watched as twelve griffins take off from the trees they were standing in and flew past me, heading straight for the camp behind me.

"Now wait for a second! We don't need any-" I attempted to call them off but sadly it did nothing for my cause.

As soon as the first batch of gryphons left their trees and flew behind me I tried to speak out against this course of action but one of the gryphons that flew behind me came back and bashed me in the back of the head with something. I don't know what hit me but all I felt was a flat sharp pain to the back of my head that was quickly followed by me blacking out.

Times Captured: ~~1~~ 2

Some time later

Throbbing pain was the first thing to greet me when I crawled back to consciousness, darkness was a close second that was immediately followed by even more darkness but this was due to the feeling of a blindfold wrapped around my eyes.

Trying to push myself up I was unable to because I was stuck on my side and that my wrists and ankles were bound and that I was underneath several griffins that were on top of me.

I was expecting those bandits to have me gagged as well but luckily for me, they didn't.

Too damn bad that it doesn't matter because I am under a mountain of disgruntled and angry griffins.

'I swear to god if these fat fucks don't get off of me I am going to fucking kill them all! Lose some weight you overgrown turkeys!'

Grunting in anger I struggled to move underneath the collective weight of at least five griffins and after what feels like an hour of struggling and wiggling I eventually managed to worm my way out from under the princess's honor guards.

Only to alert the bandit on guard duty to my struggling to my presence.

"I see the princess's little guide is awake, good. Bring him to the boss, he would love a word with our friend." I heard a feminine voice from my front before being poked in the forehead with her talon as I heard the sound of shuffling paws and talons clicking on what appears to be a wooden floor just as a pair of thick talons grab me by the shoulders and hoisted me up onto my feet.

Once I was back up I was then dragged out from the pile of captured gryphons before being dragged out of the room and down a hall that was also made of wood, wherever I am currently being held it surely isn't underground, or if it is they sure as shit did their best to make it feel more like home.

Being dragged through several hallways I kept my mouth shut as to not agitate or anger my captors, I rather not get shanked in the gut and be left to die or worse tortured to death by a band of bandits.

"So why do ya think te boss would want to do with hairless runt? Poor bastard already lost his fur an tail, what use is he to us?" The male bandit said as he poked my hairless neck with a talon.

"Boss said he found that shiny golden treasure in this one's bag along with a myriad of other nice things. My guess he wants him to tell the boss where the stash of treasure or else he will cut off his balls." The female said and for that moment I crossed my legs, the mere mention and now thought of my balls being lopped off made me cringe in fear.

"Hehe he, yeah, neuter him as well as humiliate him if he doesn't talk! If he keeps being stupid then we will just feed him to the manticore!"

With the threat of losing my balls and quite possibly my manhood before getting killed, I tried my best to not show any signs of fear...

...but I caved in like a bitch and whimpered.

If I ever lost my balls then there is no point for me to live.

Plain and simple.

If I can't ever have children and continue my legacy, then there is simply no reason to exist. Sure if I ever have any children here it might either be well...well I know it sure as hell won't be human, that much I know. But then again if it is just a full-bred of the mother then I guess I can live with that, I just will be learning to deal with whatever species they are and what they are like as a little infant.

Or I can just go celibate and never have sex ever again...

...fuck that.

But the two carrying me heard my whimper of fear and stopped to look at me or more importantly to laugh at my fear.

"Seems like the dog understands what will happen if he fails to tell us where the loot is! Better be a good little runt or else we will just discard you like what your parents did with ya!" Ouch, my parents did not abandon me! They just merely did a piss poor job paying me any attention, thank the gods that my grandparents were so good at spoiling me with affection and attention.

The pair started to laugh as they went back to dragging me through the halls, eventually, they stopped just as a pair of wooden doors opened up and before I could think about what I am about to witness, I get thrown in just as the gryphons closed the doors.

Assuming that I was alone I quickly rolled over and sat up, my wrists were in front of me and I immediately began to nibble and gnaw on the rope, loosening it up until finally, it got loose enough for me to wriggle my hands out from the rope.

With that out of the way I then proceeded to undo the knot around my ankles before quickly taking off the blindfold that was tied a little too tightly around my eyes, but as soon as I did I came to regret it.

Sitting and lounging all around me was seven griffins, five of them were the same bandits that flew by me, the griffin princess here as well but she had a collar around her neck and she was chained to a desk while the seventh griffin was the head honcho himself.

This motherfucker is big, and I mean really big, he easily is the biggest fucking gryphon I have ever seen or ever will see, he easily tops at least six feet tall, when standing on his four legs, taller if it was his hind ones, and just sitting down he would come up to my chin if he sat on his ass. This griffin had deep brown feathers adorning his body, I would say that he looks this color because he slipped into a septic tank full of shit but I would never say that out of risk for my life and also my balls being chopped off with a rusty fish scaling knife. From the brown feathers covering him from neck to tail, the ones on his head are silvery in color with some white portions sprouting out, the color combinations are strange, to say the least, but I am keeping my mouth shut on this one.

And to top it off this guy was wearing some fancy ass clothes, a first for me cause everyone here besides the occasional bandolier from the bandits earlier, the vests that diamond dogs wear, the gryphon princess and her dirty and possibly ruined dress and myself, everyone else is stark naked...why am I just noticing this just now?

But back to the current topic, this gryphon's clothing, or fancy vest for that matter, is puffy looking like something out of a Shakespeare play and boy does this thing look like it has been embroidered all to hell, I can see the gold colored thread from where I am standing and it is shiny as fuck. He also appears to be wearing gloves but that seems a bit...useless? Wouldn't his talons just tear right through that fancy fabric and leave them ruined, or does he just keep a bunch of them stockpiled in that desk of his so in the event he ruins a pair he can just pull out some new one's.

When I finally noticed that he was waiting for me to stop appraising his appearance he clapped his gloved talons together as he sat straighter before starting off by opening his beak and talking in an eloquent and well-educated tone.

"I am terribly sorry for the way my employees have treated you but it is sadly necessary to bring you before me and in a timely manner no less. I hope they haven't injured you too badly when they found you let alone injured your companions upon retrieval." Placing his talons on top of the table, each individual talon interlocking with its opposite I watched as he stares at me with a trained eye, reading my every detail and taking it all in, as if I was some piece of meat.

Stretching before my captor and his henchmen I felt my spine pop in quite a few places and as that happened I saw out from the cracks of my eyes that the head honcho winced ever so slightly from each pop and when I was done I can see that he does not like that at all.

Good to know.

"Other than a mildly annoying headache and throbbing pain in the back of my head, nothing to truly complain about. But was the ambush and kidnapping truly necessary?" I asked as I rubbed at the soreness around my wrists, my eyes not leaving the big bird for even a moment.

"Unfortunately it was necessary my boy, cause you see somegriffon in Griffonstone needs our little princess out of the picture for a while and I couldn't rightfully fail my friend so I took the necessary actions to stall her progress back home and seeing how you were guiding her back home I had to stop you as well." The head honcho said as he reached under the table and grabbed a bottle of what looks to be red wine and placed it on the table before reaching back down to grab two silver chalices.

Removing the cork from the wine bottle he let it breathe for a few seconds before pouring it into both chalices, and almost on queue he placed one on the opposite side of the table before grasping his own and raised it half way to his beak.

Giving me a stare that just shouts 'take the chalice' I did as I was silently instructed and walked up to the table and grabbed the chalice and I must say I am thoroughly surprised by the recent turn of events. A classy noble from Griffonstone staying out here in the middle of the forest at the bottom of the mountain city, surrounded by his hired bandits, and that he is offering me a glass of red wine.

What can possibly go wrong with this situation?

"Can I make an educated guess as to why you had to stop us?" I said as gave the chalice a whiff, praying to the gods old and new that this wasn't poisoned beforehand but to my fortune, it wasn't so I took a sip. Just a sip to make him feel better along with me getting a bit of liquid courage inside of me.

"You may Mr...?" The griffin said as he rolled his right talon at me, his left balancing the chalice as he takes another sip.

"Wilkinson."

"Odd sire name but I am not one to judge, Mr. Wilkinson, you may begin to guess."

"You are stopping us from returning to Griffonstone within the allotted timetable because if the princess does not return home soon then the nobles up there will call for a vote to remove the king from power and either install someone else to be their figurehead and puppet or that the top wealthy nobles will be put in charge of the entire nation?" I said as I took another sip from the chalice, the fruity flavor of it caught my attention but for the time being, I was watching the gryphons to see what their reactions are.

And to say that they are caught off guard is something I was completely expecting. I played enough Civilization games to know what to expect from sneaky backstabbing nobles, especially those that employ the scum of the planet to do their dirty work.

"Hmm...you are smarter than you look for a diamond dog. Tell me, which clan do you hail from?" The gryphon said after glancing at the goons around the room, apparently, he doesn't like it that I am smart enough to figure out his plans.

"I come from no clan nor do I hail from any of their shitty shanties they call warrens," I said as I tell the gryphon lord that I am not from any clan or anything originating from the diamond dog race.

"So you are clanless...interesting. Were you guiding them because of a promise of payment?" I only had to nod as he brought a talon to his beak as he rubbed it slowly, contemplating something.

"Yes, although they didn't specify how much I would receive at the end of all this." And I sure as hell hope that I do get paid for my services.

"Hmm, I do believe fair compensation should be given to you for delaying your duty. Undertalon, give our friend here his fair pay, he deserves it after all for leading them half way to their destination, and if from what our little princess said is true, also rescued them from a diamond dog clan while a batch of Equestria's finest laid siege to the same warrens you were fleeing from." The head honcho said as he raised a hand to the one griffin called 'Undertalon', don't know why that is their name but eh, bandits probably needed codename to conceal their true identities.

But anyways the one designated as 'Undertalon' was actually the only female bandit in the room and when she got up she grumbled about being disturbed during her relaxation break but when she glanced back towards her boss she received a chilling questioning stare that quickly straightened her out as she walked over to the table and grabbed an innocuous sack off of it before walking over to me and threw it right at my chest.

Glaring at the hen I look at the sack in my hands and ever so cautiously I undo the weak rope knot holding it closed and as soon as I opened it all I saw was the glittery goodness that was a bag full of gold coins.

Is this truly the world's currency? Gold coins? Cause shit man if that is the case then this fucking planet is just filled with gold, if not then my ass is just getting lucky on these jobs. First Diamond Dog Alpha Thane paying me handsomely to tutor his son, now this? At this rate, I can live the American Dream and be a lazy fucker for the rest of my life!

"Now onto much more pressing matters."

"And that would be...what exactly Mr...?"

"All you need to know is that my name is Tazul and that is where the matter drops for my name. But back to what I was saying, the more pressing matter is that for several years the griffins of Griffonstone has been making several attempts to retrieve the Idol of Boreas and all of them ended in complete and utter failure at the cost of several dozen griffin lives. And yet sitting before me is the very idol that our ancestors treasured with their very lives because it granted their kingdom the power and pride it needed to keep it running." And that was when Tazul looked right into my eyes before smiling with that chipped beak of his.

"And it is all thanks to an outsider like you. Time and time again I have tried to tell others that outsiders have their uses within gryphon society, everyone has a place somewhere within the status quo be it working for the wealthy, for the public or for whoever has the coin for it, outsiders can be a great boon unto us all and yet those arrogant bastards had the gall to dismiss my claim and remove me from the senate! They said that outsiders are nothing but trouble, vagabonds, and liars, whores, and thieves the lot of you, but even without outsiders involved our own people became those very things they feared. Yet today it proves that you are not those terrible things, no you did the one thing that no griffin was ever capable of doing."

"You had the balls to actually climb down into the abyss instead of flying in and you saved the idol from falling any deeper and being lost forever to the darkness below. You did the one thing everyone on the planet thought was impossible and for that, you have my thanks and my gratitude." Tazul said while giving me an overly exaggerated bow, to the rest of his companions this was new to them and they just watched as to what he will do next but when he was done bowing he sat up straight before nodding to Undertalon again but this time she was holding what looks like a rod with a chunk of glowing blue crystal the size of my fist and it was glowing dully at the moment.

Without any hesitation the hen thrust the wand right at me, or more specifically at my leg and when it didn't glow at all she started to wave it around my legs, my torso and when she couldn't reach my head and arms she flapped her wings to do so and when the same result came up she just looked over at her boss and shrugged before landing.

"Strange...normally the magic detector would be glowing a brown hue if you were a diamond dog or an emerald hue for a changeling, yet you glowed neither and nothing at all...who are you and what are you for that matter?" Tazul stutters out as the rest of the griffins in the room, princess excluded, recoiled away from me as I just stood there with my gold in my hands.

Turns out in this world the only things that should have no magic inside them whatsoever are the dead, rocks and water. That's it, nothing else should be magicless, all things living have magic inside them due to their magical core aka their heart or spirit or something, while the undead is just saturated in magic so if that was drained then it will just be a corpse all over again.

But for me? Turns out that I have no magic core, which also means that I can not cast magic nor can magic be used on me. So that explains why the pony princess's spell didn't do jack shit to me but make my shit blue and smell like blueberries.

And I guess that also somewhat proves that one theory of mine, with me having no magic to call upon, the world is granting me a mulligan by making my body steadily stronger than it should be. Now if only it granted me eternal youth, immortality, and a big dick...can't really go wrong with having a bigger dick, unless of course, the universe fucks me over by making it so large that just getting an erection will kill me.

Now that is an ironic way to die, wishing to have a larger schlong only to have said schlong be your cause of death. I don't want that to be on my tombstone 'Death by Erection', the dead will never let me forget it.

"Well Mr. Tazul, I am not from this plane of existence for starters, I came here against my free will by some sort of higher power and as to what I am, I am human and I still got a job to finish," I said as I shifted my weight onto my right foot as I tied the gold sack around my belt on my pants.

I would be really pissed if I lost my belt or my sack of gold...not both because without my belt my pants will most likely drop and without my gold I will be slightly poorer than I already am.

"Ah! Yes, that job...from our illustrious princess she said that you were supposed to find the Idol of Boreas and deliver it back into the hands of our king...I will allow you to complete your job without delay."

"And what about the princess? I took her request because it was convenient at the time and that we were both heading in the same direction."

"Sorry, Mr. Wilkinson but she must stay with me for a little bit longer. She and I have a few things to discuss and you must be going to deliver the idol back to the king. I bet he would be most thrilled to see his precious relic back in his talons again." And just like that the same griffin who scanned me not even a minute ago walked over to the table, grabbed the idol that was sitting there and put it in my hands before going back to her spot on the sofa and laid back down.

I looked down at the bag of gold in my left hand and the sacred relic in my right and all I could think about was...

"Just like that?"

"Yes, just like that. You were hired by a griffin to get that artifact back to its rightful owner, and you did the impossible to retrieve it so I firmly think that you should be the one to do it. And besides, I am more than positive that the citizens up there would just love to see the hero come back triumphantly after taking a dive into what they all thought was a suicidal mission." Mr. Tazul said as he finished the last of his wine as he placed the empty chalice onto the table, with me still having well over half still in mine.

Swirling the chalice a few times before downing what was left in my cup and with a shiver as the overpowering taste was forced down, I placed the cup on the table before looking the idol over to make sure it wasn't damaged or scratched during the ambush.

Turns out this thing is in perfect condition but now it is as light as it can possibly get, at least half a pound to me but in actuality, it must be at least several dozen pounds of gold.

"So if I am allowed to leave, can I take my dog friend with me? I rather leave this place...wherever this place is, with a friend so I don't make the journey back alone."

"You would rather leave with someone instead of being alone? Afraid that one of my trusted employees will follow you out and as soon as you let your guard down they will just swoop down and take back the gold and idol from your grasp?"

"Yes."

"Oh, your words wound me!"

"It is not that I don't trust you, its that I don't trust your employees. Bandits tend to care more about gold and their own wellbeing over the wellbeing of those around them or those that hire them."

"Hmm, I see what you mean...although I cannot guarantee that they won't bother you as soon s you leave, I can assure you that they won't be any hindrance to you as you leave my compound. And as for you leaving with your friend...you may, but do know that I am only going to leave you with what you came here with, so do be a good sport and not tell any of the griffins up the mountain of our little business deal hmm? And I shall call us even, wouldn't you agree?"

"Agreed," I said, shaking his hand as he signaled one of the gryphons, Undertalon again, to lead me back to my friend and to get my belongings from their loot room or wherever they threw my crap.

Following the bandit hen out from the office I heard faint whispers coming from Mr. Tazul and some of his cronies, and I can only suspect that they are going to rob me right after I leave. I better get the hell out of here as fast as I can with both my acquired loot and with my buddy in crime Scrawny.

Walking down the hall I followed somewhat behind the hen, my eyes being lured not to the female in front of me but to the surrounding halls, trying to remember anything to off in the event if I ever get dragged back here again. I rather remember my surroundings then get stuck in a corner because my eyes were glued to a sweet piece of ass.

I learned that lesson not too long ago from the griffin princess, no way in hell am I going to fall for that ever again!

"*cough*" Undertalon coughed for my attention and as I looked back at her I saw that she was standing beside the door to some room and as I returned my gaze to hers, all she could do was shake her head at me before muttering 'males' while I muttered 'women' loud enough for her to hear. I swear it's like I either get yelled at for having my mind wander off to Gutterville cause my spank bank is there or I get yelled at just for glancing in their general direction. I just can't win when it comes to the opposite sex, what do I have to do? Slay a dragon? Give a demon lord the middle finger? Set fire to a child's birthday present before their very eyes? Play chess with Death and Satan at the same time while having an arm-wrestling contest with Jesus?

Play Chutes and Ladders with Hitler?

Whatever I have to do to get into a girl's good graces, it will forever elude me and it will never happen, I very well may be forever alone on an alien world where the thing that closely resembles a human is a bipedal dog that doesn't know the concept of a bath nor good hygiene.

Opening the door to the room before her I peered inside to see that there was my backpack again, but this time there was three griffins fighting over it, almost ripping the damn thing to pieces as I heard the stitching in the arms start to come undone.

Rushing into the room I immediately cracked the gryphon that was holding onto the right arm strap upside the head with the idol, the resulting clang that reverberated from the metal object along with it ringing off his skull can be clearly heard by everyone in the room as the gryphon holding onto the left immediately let his side go out of fear of getting clocked next while the one holding onto the middle strap on top of the backpack pulled himself away from the other two, with my backpack in tow.

Watching the third gryphon retreat I climbed over the table they were fighting at and immediately pounced on top of him, with the idol raised over my head I brought it down with a hard enough force that it broke the helmet the gryphon was wearing and rendered the poor bastard unconscious as he dropped my backpack onto the floor with all of my belongings still inside of it.

"What the flying fuck are ye doing you daft bastard!"

"Getting my shit back, what does it look like I am doing you petty purse cutter."

"It looks like you just attacked two of me friends for no reason!"

"Well your 'friends' almost ruined my backpack and you should be glad that only two of them are unconscious instead of all three and that they still are breathing. Back home we either lock up our thieves, cut off their hands or execute them, so be happy that I don't employ those methods against them." I said as I checked the stitching on the arms and I saw that they are damaged but if I could find a tailor or a seamstress back in Griffonstone then possibly they could repair the damages that have been made.

"You're an arsehole, you know that right?"

"Oh yeah, I do know. And I don't give a fuck about what you think about me." I grinned at the angry looking bandit hen as her still conscious friend is just staring at me, unsure of what to do and unsure if he should try to fight me for the backpack or to stay the hell away from me.

With my backpack back in my possession I checked its contents to see if anyone had dared to remove anything and to my surprise, nothing was gone. I would have figured that these griffins being bandits that they would have dumped everything out onto the table and fight over it as if they are the last scraps of food.

"Now then, Undertalon, I do believe that we have a certain diamond dog to release from your holding cells if I am not correct?" I asked as I walked out of the room with my backpack hanging off from my left shoulder as I held onto the idol with my right hand.

"Yeah, yeah, keep yer breeches on...bloody two-legged walker..." Jesus, did someone piss in her cornflakes this morning? Why the fuck is she such a god damn grouch?

Grumbling angry obscurities to herself, I waited for my obviously pissed off guide to get us back on track and the moment we re-entered the hall we immediately went straight to the holding cells, which just so happen to be a lovely five-minute walk from our last stop.

Turns out the holding cells that Mr. Tazul owns are a hell of a lot better and cleaner than the holding cells that the diamond dogs have. Other than being cleaner, nicer looking and also has a nice view of the outside world through iron bars, its only downside is that it still doesn't have any beds for people to sleep in.

I guess beds are considered a luxury here in this world, and if so then fuck that noise.

The angry hen knocked on the door to the cells and for a moment it was quiet but that was broken when a small window on the door slid open to reveal a pair of beady eyes for a good two seconds before it closed itself and the door opened up, a better security system than the ones the dogs have.

A solid door vs a door with a private sliding window to see who is on the other side, genius.

"Undertalon, escorting the shaved mutt back to his cell I take it?" The griffin that was on guard duty, an average looking one if I can be perfectly honest with myself, he had greyish-white fur on his head and neck and for the rest of his body was a chestnut brown. Fairly typical gryphon colors if my brief time in Griffonstone was anything to go by.

"No, the boss said to let this pup go along with the other one," Undertalon said as she walks by the gryphon, said gryphon just shrugs his shoulders and goes back to watching the royal guards who are still sitting where they were when I left. Seems like they haven't tried to escape or even formulate a plan to get out from their bonds.

"Lemme guess, he decided to hire these two as goons?"

"Nope, he is lettin' em go free."

"What! Why the hell would he do that? Has he finally gone senile-" The griffin was going on a tirade but before he could go any further the hen pulled a knife out from under her wing and pressed it against his throat and held it there as she glared harshly at him. I just stood there watching the spectacle unfold and I must say that I am impressed with how quickly that girl went to defend her boss's honor.

The two must be hitting it off when no one is around to witness their escapades.

As I stood there and watched the two griffons yell at each other while one was holding a sharp knife to the other's throat, I was busy wondering if one of them is going to get shanked right before my eyes.

I mean it wouldn't bother me anyways but I sort of need to get my friend out from the prison cell and also get us back home to Griffonstone.

"I swear if you ever talk about Mr. Tazul like that ever again, I'll personally make sure that your corpse is fed to the manticores! Do I make myself clear Twiddly?" Undertalon snarled out while moving the knife steadily away from the scared griffon's throat, the griffon in question slid down the wall, his right talon clutching at his throat in fear, now clearly afraid of his own comrade and afraid that he might have gotten himself into deep trouble with the boss.

"Now, get off your fat ass and open the prison cell, that diamond dog is free to go." The hen said as she sheathed her knife back into its small holster and as she did so I watched the one named Twiddly scurry over to the iron-barred door and opened it, grabbing my scared friend in the process before coming back out and pushing him into my direction.

"There, happy now Undertalon? Can I now go back to doing nothing or are you going to pester me some more?" Twiddly said and to his relief the hen gave him a nod before leading both myself and Scrawny out the door and back into the hal before leading us to the main doors leading out into the forest.

When we arrived to the front doors there was no one waiting for us nor was their anyone on the outside when the grumpy hen opened the doors and pushed us outside. I do now know where we are nor do I know where exactly we have been taken, but from where we are standing it is at the bottom of the mountain where Griffonstone is located. We were moved closer to home then I had expected and for that I count my blessings.

Signalling Scrawny to follow me I led him around the mountain, crossing the forest that just so happened to be on the west side of the mountain and as we kept on walking we saw that we were making progress on our journey back home, the trees were starting to thin out and the grass was now appearing either dead, dying or was no longer existent and is just a patch of sunbaked dirt.

As we kept on walking I started to remember pieces of the scenery, a field of yellow dead grass, gnarled dead trees that have fallen to the ground, cracked dirt that have been baked by the sun.

We have found where I have first entered this world.

Walking further we foud the exact spot where I woke up, hell I even apparently left an indent on the dead grass.

Getting closer to the spot I saw that there was a black bar on the grass and as I reach down to grab it I recognize its shape long before I could pick it up off the ground. It was my old scouting knife that I used to cut open boxes and whittle wood down during long hours of boredom. Flipping the blade open I saw that it was still sharp and it didn't have any knicks or cuts on it, seems odd because I never bothered to fix it with a whetstone before.

Holding the pocket knife once more I gave it a good once over before placing it in my right pocket before getting back to my feet and went back to walking through the field of dead grass and eventually, I found the broken cobblestone road leading to Griffonstone.

"We are almost there Scrawny, just this one final walk up the mountainside and we are finally home free." I said as I wipe my brow of sweat, my hair is matted to my forehead as the sun finally decides to crank up the heat.

Looking over at Scrawny I can see his inner dog being let out as he starts to pant and let out a happy bark before going back to letting his tongue flop out the side of his mouth, his tail wagging in joy and the two of us started our hike up the mountain, for me once more but for him it was his first time.

The walk up the mountain was just as brutal as it was the first time, and with the boiling sun now overhead it was even more unforgiving. Putting one foot in front of the other the two of us kept on trudging up along the path, crossing passing griffons that are either getting on with their day or are just coming home from their jobs, whatever that may be.

But as we kept on walking we started to hear whispers and loud chatter from the passing griffons and for a moment I thought it was that it was Scrawny following me or maybe they thought it was two diamond dogs coming into town, later did I realize it was because I was carrying the Idol of Boreas in the open.

The griffons were pointing at me and were speaking to one another in a hushed tone, trying hard not to let me hear them but I heard bits and pieces of their conversations and I must say that being the center of their gossip isn't really what I would call nice nor would I call it good, who the hell knows if they are saying that I am a hero for rescuing the idol or a thief for stealing it.

Walking up the road we slowly made our way upwards and eventually we reached the front gate of Griffonstone and much to my surprise and Scrawny's as well, there was a mob of griffons waiting for us at the gates, and they were talking loudly between each other until they caught sight of us both.

Then they started to cheer.

I guess news does travel fast from the base of the mountain to the top, I can only hope this is good cheering and not the type of cheering that becomes an angry mob with pitchforks and torches.

Looking at Scrawny I can tell that this is disturbing him as his ears have folded to the back of his head and his tail went between his legs so I do the only thing I can possibly think of in a situation like this.

I raised the Idol of Boreas over my head and the griffons all broke out into a thundering applause of cheering.

Everything was going great for me that day.

That is...

...until I got tackled into the fucking ground by twelve pissed off royal guards.

Times Captured: ~~2~~ 3

Author's Note

Bad News: I am sick with the flu and my body feels like shit and my throat is ragged.

Royal Welcome My Ass

Getting tackled into the ground by twelve fully armored, heavy-weight griffons is one thing, but to have twelve of them tackle you into the fucking ground the same way a NFL Linebacker grinds the one dude carrying the football into the dirt, it really leaves a mark on you that you can't quite wash out with hot water and a squirt of Oxy-Clean.

With my face being pushed into the cobblestone road I felt several spears poking my neck, back, arms and legs while the griffons that were on top of me slowly getting up, making sure that I am not going anywhere and with an angry glare I stare deep into the soul of one such guard and he just snorted before reaching down and grabbing the Idol of Boreas from the floor and placed it into a burlap sack before moving onto my backpack that was stripped from me.

Seeing my neck being pressed on by a heavily-armored talon, I dared not to move unless I wanted to invite pain from the royal guards and I didn't so I did what I was told and not moved a single muscle. If I know my police like I think I do, as long as I don't do anything too stupid or unreasonable then the ass-whooping that I will receive will be reduced tremendously...so as long as these are lawful law enforcement guards, otherwise my ass is fucked and I am on my way to Pound Town.

I didn't do anything as I let the royal griffon guards poke and prod me with their spears and talons and as soon as they were satisfied they pulled me off the ground, placed heavy-iron wrist-clamps and led my disgruntled ass along with Scrawny, who has been muzzled, had his wrists bound and was being led behind me.

"Can't fucking believe this shit..." I muttered to myself but to the griffon in iron platemail heard my muttering and stopped the entire column just to hit me in the gut with the pole of his spear.

"Be quiet you stupid mutt! You will only talk when spoken to! Do you understand maggot!" The royal guard shouted in my face, spittle flew and splattered everywhere and for the record, I did not shout 'Fuck the Police' before head-butting the bastard, I instead nodded slowly to the bastard before I resumed going forward.

There are times and places for such thing but when I am already captured and placed into a position where I can't even defend myself, it isn't in my best interest to anger the special police force and get killed.

I may have just rescued the idol from certain doom of being lost to the darkness of the abyss for the foreseeable future, and I may have just left their princess in the hands of a corrupt politician, but for the time being I rescued the idol and that is all that should matter to these griffons.

Sheesh they should be giving me a god damn hero's welcome! Yet here I am being led away in chains, my stomach is sore from that spear and my body is aching from the tackle.

Today is not a good day for me.

As I am being led away I can see griffons actually trying to get my attention, almost all of them trying to reach out to me but for what purpose? I don't know and I can only hope that they want to shake my hand for retrieving the idol and not to claw my eyes out for being a thief who 'stole' the idol.

Shuffling my foot in front of the other I slowly yet steadily made my way down the main road towards what I can only assume is the royal castle that the griffon king resides in, but as I shuffled my sad ass what must be my way off this mortal coil, there was a commotion to my right that catches my attention, along with the attention of my would-be executors.

Looking at the source of the commotion I saw a few griffons push and shove the ones in the front out of the way and as I saw the griffons doing the pushing I immediately recognized the two who cleared a path for the third griffon.

"Just what in the hell do you think you are doing!" The elderly griffon said as he slowly made his way up to the royal guard that was in front of him, I was busy trying to signal him to not do anything stupid but due to my current state of being chained up, it had little to no effect.

"Get back behind the line you old fool!" The royal guard said and for a moment I thought he was going to strike the old griffon down but when he didn't I could only let a sigh of relief out before being pushed by a guard from behind to keep on walking.

"I would watch your tone if I was you sonny, if you talk to me like that again I will put you in your place." The old griffon said and for a moment I couldn't help but mentally face palm at the bold audacity of talking in a such a manner to a royal guard.

I mean seriously, if you are an old fart, would you be talking shit to a guard who is armored enough to not even feel a shriveled up and hitting you? And to top it off said guard is armed and is more than likely to kill you if you so much as step out of line?

The royal guard that was to my right, finally had enough of the elderly griffon and immediately went to knock some sense into him but as I was expecting the old man to get his world rocked by a spear upside the head, I instead witnessed the old fart do something incredible.

I watched as he ducked under the wide swing from the guard, he moved forward fast enough to knock the guard off-balance and before that same guard could recover I saw the old griffon grab the spear that was in his talons and removed it from his grip. With the spear now being held by the old griffon I waited patiently for him to either impale the guard with it or to bring it to his throat as a warning to not mock his age, or he could just be sagely and give it back as a warning.

No, instead I watched this old griffon sweep the legs out from underneath the royal guard, whack him upside the helmet before hitting him in the balls with the other end of the spear to further humiliate him.

Now that is one badass grandpa, has wisdom and can kick a royal guard's ass in mere seconds.

"Now then, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, let the two pups go. They are in my employment." The old griffon said with a thin smile on his beak, it took me a while to figure out and piece it together to know who was talking, but as soon as my brain stopped getting clogged with confusion blobs, it spun into high gear as a face and a name came together for the old griffon that saved my ass.

"Grandpa Gruff?" I muttered out, I was astounded that he was here let alone coming to my defense.

"Aye, it is me youngling. I see you got yourself into a bit of a pickle here." Grandpa Gruff said as he eyed the guards with his one good eye.

"You could say that, I mean all I did was return the Idol of Boreas back to Griffonstone and in return I get tackled by these assholes. I mean is this what griffons do to people that go out of their way to retrieve their long lost relic from a bottomless pit? We do something good for you and we get roughed up for our troubles?" I said as I tugged at the bindings, it was starting to chaff and it was beginning to annoy the hell out of me.

"Wait...did you really retrieve the idol?" Grandpa Gruff gasped out loud, apparently he was ready to believe that I had failed in my quest.

Jokes on him, I succeeded.

"Yeah, I did, but the dickhead up front leading this shame parade has it now." I grunted as I tried to get my hands out of the shackles but all it did was rattle the chains, the royal guard on my left was about to smack me upside the head with a spear but he thought against it when he saw what happened to the guard that was on my right and withheld on giving me a whack.

Grandpa Gruff put a talon to his beak, rubbing it in a thoughtful motion for a moment before grinning widely at me before slowly walking with a bit of a hobble towards the leader of the shame train. I know that he is a retired badass but even I have to worry that he might pull something and get himself killed along with myself and his two grandsons in the process.

Turning my head to look at the guard on my left, I can see that under that armored beaked helmet of his I can clearly see that he is bored out of his mind, either that is because he had something better to do, or that he was off-duty and was called in to apprehend me, or that he was already bored to begin with because he was standing watch over a hallway or something.

Nudging him in the wing with an elbow I waited for him to say something or to even acknowledge my attempt at communicating with him and when I thought he wasn't interested he nudged me back, an eye was looking at me in a bored manner, guess I was right about him being bored at this moment.

"What do you want mutt? Can't you see I am trying to not fall asleep here?" The royal guard said in a bored tone, his voice says it all, he is young, probably his first real bit of action since joining the royal guards and much to his dismay it wasn't even called for and that it was just a false alarm. It may have even been his first day on the job to begin with, which would make it even more demoralizing to him.

"I'm just checking to see if you were still alive, I can't imagine this is very entertaining for you, right?"

"Yup, just wish I was called in to escort the princess to the palace, but sadly that isn't the case." The griffon said before letting out a yawn, my guess that he is bored out of his mind is correct.

"First day on the job?"

"You can say that...just wish I wasn't given the post of the eastern halls. Nothing ever happens there."

"I can imagine, I was just an adventurer who was wandering around until I pulled a job from that old griffon over there. I thought it would be another easy job and easy coin but...I guess nothing is easy when it comes to ancient relics and backstabbing nobles is there?"

"Eeyup...wait...what do you mean by backstabbing nobles?" The griffon guard asked me as I went back to watching the griffons up front squabble even more.

"Well you know how it is, all the nobles are only out for themselves, they can care less about the common griffon and those that they employee into their service. If a noble can come out ahead and hurt another's reputation, they would do it." That and I have an inkling of memories about European history, that shit is violent when it came to nobility and royalty.

"Yeah I know that much, but what do you mean backstabbing? Ever since the damn beast came in and stole the idol, the nobles have been quiet and have been keeping to themselves, even more violent houses have been silent."

"You do know that it is only a matter of time before they go back to it, they always do." I said as shifted my weight to my left foot, trying to keep my legs from crapping out on me so I decided to put my weight on one foot before shifting it to the other.

"You can say that again..." The griffon guard said again but this time he started to lean against his spear, clearly bored and is now trying to get some shuteye.

As he was doing that I was watching Grandpa Gruff talk it out with the leader and from here all I can hear is mad squawking and angry gestures being made but from what I can tell from here, he is doing either a really good job in getting me out from these shackles, or is about to get himself put into a pair.

The mad squawking and angry gestures soon enough died down, the two griffons eventually reached an agreement of sorts as I watched the two shake talons and for the moment I thought I was about to be released.

But when the leader of the shame parade came back he said that I am to be presented before the king, not in chains but under constant watch by the guards surrounding both myself and Scrawny.

At least I will not be in chains anymore...right?

Turns out I was only partially true, I won't be led away in chains, but Scrawny will still remain in chains but only until after his name is cleared of the crime of stealing from the Griffon Kingdom. I guess being part of the clan that has been robbing the griffons for lord knows how long still leaves a mark against you, sure hope I can fix that.

Feeling the chains and shackles being removed from my neck, wrists and ankles was a great feeling, as if a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders, but the same cannot be said for Scrawny, he was still chained up like a common criminal.

Stalling myself as the rest of the royal griffon guards marched on I stopped beside Scrawny and reassured him that when this is over he will be free from those shackles and be free like I currently am, after all if I am to learn anything about the diamond dogs then I might as well learn it from a source, such as the very person who is one. My reassurance seemed to have the desired effect on him as he brightened up a bit, not as much as I would have liked but it was still enough for him to not be so sad and have a slight pep in his step.

Our escorted walk back to the griffon castle was at least a ten minute stroll, we walked by several large yet slightly ruined manors and mansions that lined the inner section of Griffonstone, my guess is that these must be the noble houses that tend to fuck one another over with their schemes and plots. As I look at each individual building I can tell that they are almost all remotely the same in design and color, the only clear differences that I can tell that separates them are their banners, their sigils on said banners, and also the griffons protecting their homes.

The griffons protecting the noble houses are wearing what looks like chainmail armor with a chainmail mesh protecting their heads, only leaving their face and beaks unshielded from any blows that might come their way, their wings are exposed as well and I could guess that the only reason why they aren't protected is so that they can fly and pursue their prey if they are to spot an enemy of the house approaching or fleeing their estate. Almost all of these guards are either holding a halberd in their talons or had their talons on the hilt of their swords, as if they are expecting a fight to break out at any minute.

Walking past the noble houses I saw that past those was what looks like a church of some sorts, my guess they worship either a god of war or one of flight or something, I don't really know griffons all that well but if I am going on what I have seen so far, they almost remind me of Ishgard from final fantasy xiv, I am just happy that they aren't racist against me and Scrawny, they just seem a tad bit suspicious.

Soon enough we arrived at the main gate to the griffon's royal castle and I must say the brick wall surrounding it makes me feel that if I had to escape for whatever reason, I would either have to find a way to get past the main gate or to jump over the side and risk breaking both of my ankles, but I know I did nothing wrong so I should have nothing to worry about. I mean honestly, who would punish the very person who risked his life to retrieve an ancient artifact from a deep canyon and returned it to its rightful owners? Only an asshole would, and I am praying that this king isn't an asshole.

Because if he is, then I can say that I had a good run and that I should have let myself get captured by those ponies back in the dog warrens.

Going up the steps leading into the main foyer of the griffon castle/palace I looked around at everything that I could see while remaining within the escort's perimeter and I must say that for a bunch of griffons that lost their ancient ass relic that kept everything together for them, this place still looks pretty much intact. Sure everything in here is either covered in dust, cobwebs or both, but it is still intact and not falling over on itself, well maybe some of the things here are falling on themselves such as the old chandelier that is lying in the middle of the foyer.

This being the main foyer it was partially well lit by the numerous torches that are placed along the walls at fair distances from one another, the banner of the royal line is hanging far above them and are displayed in such a manner that the light of the torch illuminates the banner to proudly show off the sigil of the royal house that has been stitched into the purple fabric.

Casting my gaze elsewhere I saw that the royal red carpet that leads straight from the main entrance and probably straight to the throne room at the very end, but seeing how badly things have deteriorated over the past decade or two, or three or more, it looks a bit moth-eaten and mangy to the point where you no amount of washing will get this cleaned up in time for any kind of royal meeting or get-together.

And as for the royal guards that would normally be placed within the foyer to act as the first line of defense? Many of them look like they are just itching for an excuse to impale me as I can both see and feel their glares scanning my body as we walked by them. I guess the thought and then act of a foreign being coming into their city and robbing them blind all the while causing reckless destruction has damaged whatever reputation we had beyond repair and now they are just looking at me and Scrawny with barely held-back contempt and anger.

'Just keep walking, don't stare at the guards, just remember that it was you who recovered the Idol of Boreas from its resting place within the deep abyss that was next to the city, and it was me who went through a lot of bullshit just to get it back up here.'

I had to reassure myself at several points throughout the journey towards the castle and even more times within it as I saw several guards that dot the place stiffen up and get into a slightly threatening stance, their spears leaning in our direction and I know that without a doubt that if I did something or made the wrong move, my life would be over in an instant. I am the outsider here, they hate outsiders because one of them turned out to be a savage beast who robbed them of their priceless relic that made the griffons who they are, and yet here I am, an outsider who just so happened to be returning said relic although they are wary as hell about my mere presence.

Stopping at a set of large double doors, printed into the wood was the royal griffon symbol and for a moment I thought that this was it, that this was going to be my last moment on this planet alive and with my head still attached to my body.

But to my surprise it wasn't my last moment.

Oh no, instead it was how I got even deeper into this crazy mess and how I was pushed even deeper down the proverbial rabbit hole that is this world.

As soon as we stopped at the front doors they were pulled open by the two elite looking guards that was standing by them and out came the most decked out royal I have ever seen besides the Queen of England, long live the queen, but this griffon really takes the cake when it comes to making a royal appearance.

This griffon was completely covered in arctic blueish- dark grey fur and feathers with piercing amber eyes staring right at me, he was wearing his royal crown and was wearing what looks like two different scarfs, one was a darker than his fur color while the other was golden and that it held the same symbol that was planted into the doors and banners. Just looking at the guy makes me realize that not only is this the current king of Griffonstone and quite possibly the entire griffon kingdom, but also is probably the same guy that lost the Idol of Boreas in the first place to the beast that took it.

I bet he must be either happy that the Idol is back in griffon hands, or is just happy that somebody around here had the balls to go spelunking into the chasm that has claimed a couple of lives and left even more ruined because they got hurt in the recovery process.

He stared at me and I returned it with a gaze of my own, and I must say having a standoff with royalty is what few people would ever want, but seeing how that if I am about to die I might as well stare down a king and then get executed, maybe God will then put me in a world that isn't as crazy as this one and actually have women that I wouldn't mind sleeping with, the ones here are either crazy, controlling, or are just plain strange.

"So..." the griffon king said as he took calculated, even steps towards me, his eyes not once leaving mine as I did the same. "You are the diamond dog who retrieved the Idol from the abyss...a diamond dog that was hired by my old advisor Gruff...an outsider by all standards or as standards goes for what the citizenry calls it these days."

"But what confuses me the most is not that he would hire help to retrieve the Idol for the sake of Griffonstone, but that he would hire outside help and a diamond dog no less and that it would be the first outsider that Griffonstone has seen since the Arimaspi arrived and stole it from us. Why would my old advisor do something so bold and so brash without first telling me of his plan to find us help, but knowing him as long as I do, he would more than likely tell me it is for the greater good of Griffonstone and that I should mind my manners and not bother an old codger while he naps."

"And yet there is you, the outsider, the diamond dog who not only brazenly walked into my city, interacted with my citizens as if they were your friends, and even managed to get my old friend to relinquish unto you a weapon and supplies for a trip down the abyss without nary a second thought or of any consequences that might occur. A diamond dog who went out of his way to recover what we hold sacred that we thought was lost for all eternity, and here it is, in your paws, our past, our future, everything that made Griffonstone what it was and it will be till the end of time."

"But I can't help but wonder something...why?"

"Why what? Why did I help you? Why did I take the job that Grandpa Gruff was trying to hand to me?"

"Yes, I want to know why an outsider like you would risk life and limb for the griffons who at the time and from what I can tell from those that I have picked to be in my elite guard, still hate your kind along with those that are not griffons?"

"Well if I am going to be honest, I was doing it for the money and possibly a place to stay."

It got deathly quiet in that moment when I said that, apparently that was something he was not expecting, or if he was then he wasn't expecting me to say it so bluntly and to the point. I mean who in their right mind would be so straight forward and direct when speaking with royalty? Well, apparently me because I give zero fucks and to me I think that the monarchy is a failed system because they always care about themselves instead of actually caring about their citizens because if it wasn't for them then they would have no food to eat and have nobody to protect them from would-be raiders and thieves.

The griffon king straightened himself out before talking again, seems like it took him a few seconds to get over the shock of my bluntness.

"I see, so you are just a wandering mercenary and you managed to find a job here...now tell me though, why did you take the job even when Gruff has told you of the inherent risks of climbing down the abyss to retrieve the Idol?" The king asked me as he started to circle me, looking me over because apparently he doesn't believe that I was able to climb down a mountain to ring back their sacred idol.

"Like I said, I was doing it for the money and a place to stay. Living on the road is bad enough but when the opportunity to get some money and the chance to sleep in a bed for a change." That and if I know anything about dungeons and dragons, living on the road sucks balls due to bandits, wild animals, bad weather, your equipment crapping out on you and quite possibly an angry god throwing lightning around.

"I see..." He does not believe me, typical.

"When I was told that I was going to be climbing down an abyss to retrieve your lost relic, I thought it was just going to be a short journey down into the chasm, I didn't think that it would be so far down into the earth that the ground and walls would be weak and be unable to support me weight let alone that there would be a diamond dog clan taking up residence beside it." That and I still hate how they not once cleaned up the prison cells since I was there, honestly people, dysentery is a terrible to go and I will not have it on my good mind that the griffons that I rescued get killed from that.

I know dysentery sucks ass because I lost a few people to it on the Oregon Trail, may they rest in digital peace.

"There is a diamond dog clan next to my city?" I couldn't help but give him a stare that just screams 'Are you serious?' because what the fuck, how does someone not know that their is an entire clan living pretty much underneath your city? How does it not explain the raids happening all around you?

"Not anymore." I said emotionlessly, I mean I could have but some spirit into it but I just watch a bunch of people that I could have improved and helped to be better than they once were, but now about half of them are imprisoned and the rest have gone into hiding god knows where.

Probably on the other side of the abyss. Maybe.

"What happened?" The king asked me as I looked at his crown, I wonder if I could put that on my head for a day.

"A pony princess and her guards showed up." I said nonchalantly but apparently that was the wrong answer.

And how did I know it was the wrong answer?

Because the griffon king's eyes widened in shock before glaring at me with the burning intensity of a thousand suns.

"WHAT!" The king shouted with anger and rage that I have only seen in a parent who just found out that his kid just got arrested for committing a crime.

The guards that was standing beside him and all around me sprung into action and in mere seconds I was surrounded with spears pointed at me from all directions. I was one step away from becoming a human pincushion.

"You will tell me everything that happened with you starting the moment you spoke to my old advisor, now!"

Meeting the Griffon King

And so I began from the beginning.

"Well then, do you want the short and sweet version or would you prefer it if I told you the long version that might as well be a part of my memoires?"

"Give me the short version first, if I do not find it satisfactory than I shall ask you for the longer version." The griffon king said as he relaxed a bit and sat down where he was standing, I guess he is like me and would rather be relaxed and giving his legs a break from standing.

Too bad I don't get that same reprieve.

"Very well." I said as I straightened out my clothes and began to recount my somewhat exciting time in this world.

"I climbed down a deep hole and grabbed your precious idol from the edge of a hunk of fragile rock."

"I then got stolen by a bunch of diamond dogs and then was pressed into serving the alpha because I was the smartest one out of their entire warren so I was forced to teach his son how to read and write."

"Then I rescued your griffons that apparently were slaves and stole a few pounds of gold from the alpha before escaping from the warrens."

"I climbed back up the mountain with the idol in my hands only to get swarmed and beaten by your chickens dressed in guards attire."

"And now I am here." I said while rotating the Idol of Boreas in my left hand, the dickhead leader of the shame parade handed it back to me while we were marching up here and I must say I am happy to have this back into my possession. Don't know why but for some reason that the mere thought of it being removed from my grasp sends a pang of pain to my heart and I just don't know why.

The king was standing there in front of me, thinking it over what I said and for a second I thought that he was going to believe me.

But I know that bullshit wasn't very convincing and that he is going to make me tell him everything from start to finish, I just might be able to omit a thing or two from him to save my own skin.

"So many details missing, I need to know more..." And that was when I knew that my short version should of had some details thrown into it, looks like I fucked up this time.

"Start over from the beginning, but this time give me details, I don't care how asinine it may be, just do it." Asinine? Oh boy.

And so I began...

I told the king of my encounter with Grandpa Gruff and those that were working with him. I told him about the offer that Grandpa Gruff made to me, the price of my job to retrieve the Idol of Boreas from the Abysmal Abyss and my request of supplies to get the job done.

I told the king that I made the climb after finding and hiring a local griffon to guide me to the abyss who asked me for a favor seeing how I didn't have any coin on me at the moment. He asked me what the favor was but I told him that I didn't know, only that in the coming months that I should expect her to cash in the favor. The king only shook his head at me and muttered 'fool' before pressing me to resume.

I recalled upon my time during the climb down into the abyss, on how it was easy to get down to reach the Idol of Boreas, but when I had tried to climb back up it was next to impossible as the wind was picking up and the idol was for some reason unreasonably heavy for its size.

I said that I had to stop and take a breather because the climb had took a lot out of me so I climbed into a small alcove within the abyss's wall and laid down for a rest, but I was woken up when I felt something cover my mouth and grabbed me from behind before being yanked into the darkness that was right behind me. Consciousness returned to me later as I had woken up in a rusty prison cell that had several griffons laying around and a single aged minotaur as my cellmates along with a single bat pony.

When the bat pony witnessed my awakening it attacked me but I defended myself and put it in its place before watching the pony and griffons argue over the bat pony's goddess who supposedly almost destroyed the world by drowning it in never-ending darkness.

The griffon king let out a snort as he grumbled about the lunar pony goddess for being a fool and also for being so bold as to enter his kingdom without warning and with an entourage of a large escort of armed guards. Apparently at the time he could have easily said that Princess Luna was invading the griffon kingdom because she had entered his lands, unannounced and with such a large force, something that apparently no sane ruler should ever do but this one did it anyways.

After that he told me to continue but his tone was no longer that of anger or borderline 'royally pissed', it was now more along the line of simmering anger and was trying to calm himself down so he can analyze my journey and find if I am some sort of threat to him and his or rule or his city.

I proceeded to talk about my time I spent in the rusting cell, I told him about its occupants, I started with the minotaur who apparently was traveling to Griffonstone to stop there to meet his son, the bat pony was working as an escort for the griffons to lead them back to their lands.

But when I started to talk about the griffons that was in the cell his eyes widened and his beak dropped as he recognized the ones I was talking about.

"You found my daughter!?" The king shouted in surprise, apparently I wasn't specific enough when it concerned the griffons that I rescued.

"Yeah I di-wait, she's your daughter?" I actually thought that griffon hen I rescued was just saying she was a princess when she was actually a daughter of some wealthy high-standing noble.

"Yes! My little Eraclea! Where is she! Where is my daughter!" The king shouted at me as he grabbed me by the shoulders and started to shake me around.

I know that in cartoons its supposed to be somewhat funny to see someone do that to someone else, but when its done to me, I can feel my brain being smooshed around and that my head is hurting because of it. And also that I am starting to get dizzy and I would really hate it if I were to puke right now, cause not only would I be puking on a king, but I would also be puking on the one person who would not hesitate to kill me on the spot.

Shaking myself out from the king's grip I stood back up and dusted myself off before staring down at the king, I know that the ponies stood up at about three-four feet in height, these griffons sort of are taller by a few more inches but I still towered over them by at least a good foot and a half.

"Well last time I saw her it was after I rescued her from the diamond dogs, I saved her and her entourage of guards and we went our separate ways." And by separate ways I mean one of your noble cronies is holding her hostage.

"You abandoned my daughter!" And like that any brownie points I might have earned just went up in flames.

And by flames I mean in a pyre used to burn witches.

"No, your daughter was in the company of her fellow guards, if anything she should have been here way before me because she can fly and I can't. Hell when we went our separate ways I told her to not wait for me and to go straight home, I guess she either didn't listen to me or she stayed behind to talk to the pony princess for whatever reason." And its not like I totally left her at the mercy of a traitorous backstabbing cunt of a noble who pretty much bribed me.

And I still haven't counted all of that coin on my hip or in my backpack...I better be rich or I am turning this car around and ramming my sword into Tazel's face...

...that sounded better in my head...now it just sounds like I want to shove my dick in his beak...nope.

He might bite it off and think its a worm...hell no.

"Hmm...and after you left my daughter behind, what did you do?"

"I took my buddy and made our way back up here, after all I did what Grandpa Gruff asked me to do and got the idol and I did." I said while brushing my left arm, there was some dirt on it and I just had to get it off of me.

"And where is this idol?" The king asked me inquisitively, apparently he thought that I was talking a load of horse shit about the idol.

Too bad I got it right here in my hand.

"Right here." I said as I raised it up, the golden object not once getting dirty nor did it get scuffed during the tackle.

The shiny, slightly glowing object in my hand was raised up into the air as I raised it above my head, for a moment I thought I heard the angelic chorus of a holy hymn and I could only crack a small smile as I can see the light gleam off of it bounce off its reflective surface into my eyes.

"You...you actually have it..." The griffon king uttered in shock, his beak quivering and his eyes starting to water and it wasn't just him that was doing this, his guards was doing this as well.

They were standing all around me, their spears were no longer pointing at me but they were instead on the ground, either as a sign that they are no longer hostile towards me or that they are clearly overcome with a sense of euphoric joy that they have their idol back.

Or that they are just responding the same way the king is and are trying to make me feel better.

Probably both, maybe a little bit more from the latter.

Lowering the idol I extended my arm out to him as I presented the idol to his face, and ever so slowly I watched the king sit on his rear legs while reaching out with both of his talons and gently grasped the idol from me and from his shock I can tell that he is ecstatic with joy but he is just too shocked to show it.

"Y-y-you...but...you had no obligation to this nation to return this to us...you could have just left with it and sold it to some merchant for a pretty bit...but you didn't...why? You told me yourself that you don't live here and that you are not a citizen of the kingdom and yet you still came back and returned it to us...I just don't understand you." Why understand the strange stranger?

"It's okay big guy, no one understands me anyways. I have accepted that fact a long time ago and I got used to it, I don't need other people to like me or even know me, as long as I can get what I need to survive and thrive and not have to worry about being dragged down by those around me, than I can accept it and move on." I am a loner by default, but sometimes I get some friends or traveling companions that I just can't seem to get rid of, and besides a few of them are worth keeping around.

If just barely for the moment before they leave me.

"But..., you would rather live the rest of your life alone and on the move instead of settling down with a nice...girl? A hen or mare perhaps? I don't know what you like or your preferences but surely you must have some other reason as to why you won't settle down?" Me? Settle down? Do I look like my brother? That poor dumb bastard fell head over heels for some chick that was a few years younger than him and even after I told him to at least wait a few years to have enough money to act as a security net to fall on when things go south, he didn't listen and now he has two kids and his ass is working two jobs.

Way to go dumbass, ignore the dude with the plan, that always works out so well for you.

"Other than not having any money on me because I live on the road, no place to call my own, no job to keep myself alive and to maintain a home if I were to ever have one and also I am sure that there are no girls out there that have an inkling of affection for a guy like me." I said with confidence but that shit cracked faster than an egg being dropped on the floor.

For all of my boldness and other shit that I do to keep myself sane and happy, being alone was the biggest fear that I have along with my reasonable fear of spiders and bees.

"I know how you feel, I was the same thing when I was a hatchling, except I had to deal with countless hens that said that they loved me but deep down I know that they were only trying to become royalty and never have to lift a single talon for the rest of their lives. Naturally this put me off of ever finding a mate for as long as I live but eventually there was one hen that actually did care about me and didn't even care that I was the crown prince, and so here we are, happily married and with a daughter who will go through the same thing I did all those years ago, but this time trying to find a griffon that won't use her for his own ends."

"Bet you that almost every single noble out there that has a son or two would just love to try to ask your daughter's talon."

"You have no idea outsider, you have no idea." I bet I do know, that is how this shit usually works. Hope this guy has a baseball bat or a mace to scare the suitors away. Or bash their heads in.

"I pretty sure think I do know, almost all nobles are selfish, greedy, gluttonous bastards who only care about their own House and are not afraid to do anything to get what they want."

"Seems like you know your nobility..." The king says as he regards his own nobles in a slight disdainful light. And I mean who wouldn't do the exact same thing?

"I dealt with my fair share of noble bastards in the past, all of them are total ass clowns with the exception of a few." And by deal with I mean from my many games I have played where the nobles I have worked for always ends up betraying me some point in time in the quest.

"Yes, they are...but anyways back to my daughter. Why did you leave her?"

"I didn't leave her, I told her that we should go our separate ways. If they diamond dogs was going to chase us than they would have a hard time capturing her again if she were to take to the sky and fly straight up while we led them off their trail by taking the long way to Griffonstone by going here by foot. I mean it was the smartest thing I could think of at the moment, after all its not like diamond dogs can secretly fly right?"

"No, they can't fly, unless you count jumping off a cliff as flying. But I can see your point, my daughter wouldn't have been captured again by those mutts if she took to the air and flew home, but she hasn't so something else must have interfered with her flight path." Flight path? I doubt that girl needs a series of blinking lights to guide her home.

She's a griffon not an airplane or a blimp, she doesn't need someone to hold her talons and guide her back home.

"Probably the weather and she stopped and had to land?" I made an educated guess and yet the king gives me the look that screams 'Are you stupid or something?' and I must say I think it stings my pride.

"I guess, but we will know soon enough once she gets home." If she gets home.

"Sir, the pony princess." One of the guards asked the king and that lit a small fire under his ass he went back to questioning me.

"Ah...yes...Princess Luna. Tell me, why was she here? Why was the co-ruler of Equestria in my lands and why was she inside a diamond dog warrens with you?" Other than rescuing that one shithead of a bat pony? No idea.

"I honestly don't know your highness, but what I do know is that the bat pony that was with your daughter apparently called her through some sort of magical means, probably left a message before they were captured or used a magic device to sent a signal. I honestly don't know but when she came here, she was all piss and vinegar, that girl was madder than a rabid wolf that just found a den of rabbits and they were all asleep."

For all I know that girl was only there for her bat pony and that's it.

Or she was trying to secretly invade the griffon kingdoms, hell if I know but from her mere excursion into a foreign neighbors lands, she upset the king and I can smell in the future some diplomatic crisis is going to unfold.

Whatever the cause for her entering the griffon lands is, I don't care and I don't want to know. All that I do know is that she attacked me along with her guards so they are on my shit list.

And nobody, ever gets off the shit list...

Unless they do me a solid. A really good solid.

"So you don't know why the equestrian princess entered my lands and invaded a dog warren other than to retrieve her precious pony...I no doubt in my mind that she interrogated you when she had you cornered."

"Not really."

"What do you mean 'not really'? An alicorn, no matter if they have been gone for a thousand years or not would have either forced their will upon you by making you submit with their magic or use their royal guards to make you submit. Well, it doesn't matter now, she for the most part just simply took what she wanted from your mind without your permission anyways, she is the sister after all that tried to condemn the entire world to an eternal night that would have frozen half of us while boiling the rest." The king said before scoffing at my 'inability' to give him a full answer, and I mean come on, its not my fault that I am not too good on the details, eat a snickers big guy.

"Actually, she couldn't get into my head, her magic seemed to just...fizzle on contact with me." And by fizzle I mean leave a fucking splurge stain on my shirt that won't wash out.

"...what? Are you serious?"

"Yeah, see?" I said before taking off my hoodie to reveal on my shirt the dark blue stain that is smeared all over my chest.

And to my astonishment the king could only nod at me before speaking up again.

"It would seem you are full of surprises outsider...I mean...I...I don't even know your name." The king finally said and it was about time too, I was starting to hate being called outsider.

"It's Ian, your highness." I actually had to think this one out on how to address the king while giving him my name so I went with the direct route, after all it hasn't failed me yet.

"Ian...strange name for a diamond dog, but then again stranger things have been happening in this world and you are most certainly not up there in the top strangest things of all time. That title currently belongs to Discord, the God of Chaos."

"Discord?" I said while rolling the world around in my head. How does someone end up with that name? Isn't discord just you know, a thing that happens when shit goes down and everyone is at each others throat?

"Yes, Discord, that amalgamation of mismatched species ruled the world for countless centuries, and it has only been a little over a thousand years since his defeat but the world still feels his reign to this day." So he is like a walking world-destroying hazard?

Good to know, now I know who to avoid and who to not invite to New Year's Eve.

"Really? How so?" I asked as I tilted my head a bit, I mean its not like he is such a huge threat to the world that his mere presence manages to alter the very fabric of reality as we know it. Right? Right!?

"Well other than the rogue weather that comes from affected patches of land that are permanently tainted by Discord's influence there are the occasional abomination that comes into being when the beasts of the wild enter these infected areas and are exposed to the chaos within those zones."

"Ouch, must be painful when anything fuses together." Cause it better be damn painful, fusing two living beings together just has to be. Snapping bones together, melting flesh and muscles to form one solid mass, converging nerves together...man fuck that shit just kill me.

"I can assure you, a painful melding of bodies would be the least thing you would be concerned with, your minds will be fractured and scattered to the four winds and your body will no longer be yours to control. You would just become another mindless beast but one with the enhanced power of Discord behind you." Well fuck that noise, I am avoiding those places like the plague.

"Well if I ever run into these beasts or accidentally enter one of these zones, either tell me to run like hell or give me a clean death."

"Noted, although I think you would know to run if you saw such a beast." And probably piss/shit myself.

"Right."

"And now we should get back on topic." The king addressed me as he simply looked at the bag of gold on my hip and my backpack that is positively filled to the brim with stolen dog loot.

"Go ahead." I said while making the gesture to do so, I must say having so much gold on me is starting to be a bit of a pain.

Gold is heavy man.

"Why did the princess not interrogate you while she had you cornered?"

"Because her magic seemed to have failed to have any kind of effect on me besides staining my shirt." That and it did make me feel a bit strange, not 'Haha' strange nor was it a 'Why Boner' strange. Just a normal bit of 'The fuck?' strange.

"Her magic failed? That is impossible! She can control the moon with her very mind and yet she was unable to touch you?"

Now that got my attention. No one should be able to control a moon unless they have a heavily reinforced bunker on the planet with an equally powerful satellite dish on top of it to do gravity n shit to it.

"Wait, what the fuck? Are you telling me that fat ass of a princess can move the moon? I thought you were just joking!?"

The king was a gasp when I called the lunar princess a fat ass, and come on when I saw her that girl got a bell bottom. Not that I am complaining because I am more of an ass-man than a tit-man, although than again...it all depends on the mood I am in and sadly at the time I was leaning towards dem maternal mufflers.

"No! Why would you think that I was trying to deceive you about an equestrian princess's power?"

"Because some people have the tendencies to make up stories when there isn't any definitive proof to prove it."

"Well let me assure you Ian, Princess Luna and her sister Princess Celestia are fully capable of controlling the celestial bodies that encircles us and they have absolute power over the sun and moon! Something that us mere mortals have no means of doing ourselves let alone have the methods of even daring to wrestle control for." Well, shit. Who knew that this world would have two goddesses that are actually capable of moving the celestial bodies with their very thoughts.

I'm fucked.

"I wouldn't doubt that, but if a princess was to lead a task force to infiltrate a neighboring nation to retrieve one of their own, that means she is either very confident that nobody was going to find out, or that she is very bold that if she was even caught in the act that she can get away with it."

"Seeing how this is Princess Luna we are dealing with...she was always the bold one of the two...always wanting to fight, to solve a problem if it were to ever arrive with a show of force. She was the feisty one of the two and because of it she has created her fair share of trouble for Equestria in the past..."

"Not much trouble, more like create a diplomatic incident that may or may not start a war or two. But seeing how she went through all that trouble for just one pony, she must either be rusty to the game of diplomacy and words, or that she just doesn't give two shits about any consequences that will come from this little incursion."

"No doubt in my mind that she knows that there will be political consequences for her incursion with an armed military force so very close to your capital. But then again she did tell me not to tell you about this but seeing how she oh so lovingly attacked me with magic, all bets were off the bargaining table."

"I bet, if she were to attack me because I was not telling her something than there would be either a war on their hooves or a great deal of wealth to be given to my kingdom as compensation for her actions."

"Hehe, I doubt she would be that stupid to attack a foreign ruler without thinking it through. Although then again a thousand years might have made her forget a few things..." I chuckled as I thought on how that would play out, someone that is disconnected due to time displacement and they accidentally start a war because of something they did, oh man that would suck some major amount of balls.

"That is a possibility but for the time being I shall table this line of thought for a later time. Let us return to what we were talking about which was why didn't the princess interrogate you?" The king asks as he rolls one of his talons at me, the simple gesture of 'Do please continue' was not lost on me as I had used it several times before back home, mostly on my parents and friends who had a habit of stalling for time or were looking for the right word to use.

"Because I told her at the time that I was hired by a griffon from Griffonstone to retrieve an object that was in the abyss and when she tried to ask me who was my employer I told her that I will not divulge that bit of information. She took it in stride and didn't press any further and decided that seeing that I was an agent of Griffonstone and that I was on a mission that I was to be released and to continue on my merry way but I made a request and said request was for my diamond dog friend to be released into my custody." I said as I turned around to look at my friend who was looking a bit down but he perked up when I mentioned his rescue.

I guess even here diamond dogs are a man's best friend.

All it takes is to be nice to them and also to be their friend.

That and also maybe offer them a bone or biscuit every now and then.

"And what did you do after that?" He said, inquiring further into my story as one of the guards shuffles from paw to paw, I guess it was about that time for them to be doing that.

After all standing in one place for long periods of time does warrant a displacement of weight from leg to leg to ease the leg cramps.

"I left the alicorn princess and her guards while Scrawny and I, the diamond dog behind me, left their company and proceeded to rescue your daughter from the prison cell she was sitting in. Afterwards we left the warrens through the front door and went our separate ways."

"Is that it?" The king says while arching an eyebrow, apparently he thought we would then go some sort grandiose adventure and we would be bringing back chests filled to the brim with loot.

"Well we did stay together for a while longer after leaving the warrens, turns out they hadn't had much room to stretch their wings and get their strength back into their bodies so we stayed together long enough for them to return to full strength. As soon as they got their strength back and was able to move under their own power we went our own separate ways and that was the last time I saw her." I said as went back to staring at the griffon king and to my credit he accepted my words without any questioning because the only ones who can determine if what I am saying is utter bullshit or the honest truth have yet to show up yet.

Nodding his head slowly he turned to the side and started to walk past me as he motioned for his guards to stand down.

"Come walk with me Ian, I wish to discuss this further but I am sure that you are in need of nourishment. I am unsure if you had a sustaining meal during your stay with your captors beneath the earth and it would be terribly rude of me as a host to Griffonstone's hero to let him starve. Also your friend may come as well, seeing how he is your friend and also your guide during your temporary stay with his kind." The griffon king asks me before resuming his walk and to our credit the guards stopped being utter dicks to us as they laid down their guard and let us follow their king without the need of having their weapons trained on us at all times.

Walking down the hall behind the king and his elite guards with an escort of the city guards around me and Scrawny, the three of us soon came upon the royal dining hall and I must say this place sorta looks like something one would expect from Vikings or well the Nords of Skyrim...hehe Viking birds, awesome.

And as it turns out it turns out to be somewhat true.

The griffons are a proud race of warriors who hold honor above all else, and that includes showing hospitality to those that are staying with them at the time, and at that time it turns out to be me and my friend. The dining hall held a large, long wooden table with several seats on both sides of the table with a throne-like seat at the far end with two smaller thrones next to it. My guess is that spot over yonder is reserved for the king, the queen and the missing princess, yet I am wondering where the seat is for the conquering hero?

Anyways other than the table there are four fire pits that are near the corners of the room and for the time being the flames within them are not particular strong or roaring, just enough to keep the room adequately warm and to stop it from being cold and uncomfortable.

If that particular seat is on the other end than that would just suck, cause the king seems like an alright guy and I bet he has tons of stories that could garner my interest along with anything else I should know about Griffonstone as a whole.

Sitting to the right of the king, (not the queen's seat but the one next to it), Scrawny sat on my right as the guards all stood at attention along the edge of the room, assuming their usual duty as a guard for the king.

"So...Ian...now that you have fulfilled your end of the bargain with Gruff, what are your plans for your stay within Griffonstone?" The king inquires as he gets himself comfortable in his smaller throne, and luckily for him his seat has a plumper cushion than the one I am sitting on because my ass is already starting to set a groove into it.

That question actually made me stop thinking about what I was going to do while in the palace, I mean I was gonna try to sneak around and hopefully sneak into the kitchen to eh, 'Liberate' some food from the pantry but now though...

"I actually haven't really thought that far ahead your highness."

"Really now? For one who stood against an alicorn and lived to tell the tale, you never planned for the future?"

"Uh...yeah? I just go with the flow of things and I just improvise as I go along with it. I mean I did that when I used to work as a cashier at the store I worked at."

"A cashier? Pray tell me Ian, what is that?" The King said in interest, apparently they either don't know what a cashier is or he doesn't know what one does while at the cash-register, both options are viable at this point in time.

Probably both, I doubt this world even has a working microwave oven or even elevators. Hopefully they got working toilets cause I am not shitting into a bucket for the rest of my life!

"Well a cashier is a person who pretty much scans, bags and takes the money of the customer who comes to the store seeking food or some other miscellaneous object to purchase."

"...so you handled money?" Well when you put it that way....yeah? Pretty much actually, that and coupons and food.

"You can say that, but in simpler terms I was a trader for the most part then I was a secretary, and now a mercenary. A bit of a diversity when it comes to me as I couldn't really decide on what I wanted to be."

"Interesting, but it doesn't really explain if you have anything planned for the future, because after all even if you do amass a fortune by slaying feral beasts or rescuing civilians from bandits it would amount to nothing if you were to die from old age or from injuries and you had no one to pass your legacy onto."

"I am working on that part...the legacy part, I would firstly need to find somebody that likes me for me and not my vast amount of wealth that I have from the diamond dogs and from my jobs as a merc, but also would need to find the one that loves me back. And even then I would have to do the deed, hope to god that it actually works and then ensure that nothing bad happens to my family. The plan is a work in progress and I'll get back to you on it when all plays out flawlessly."

"And as for my plans for Griffonstone, well I think I will be staying here for a while since I don't have a map of the continent or of the kingdom and I would rather not just wander around aimlessly and eventually die of starvation in the wilderness. Maybe I should open up a flower shop or something."

The king just gave me a look of 'Really?' and he wasn't alone on it either, about every other guard in the room was giving me the same stare.

"Are you being serious or are you joking?" The king's brow was raised a few inches, apparently he was thinking that I was joking because I doubt even a griffon would want to tend to flowers as their carrier in life. Maybe if they were farmers then it would be a different story entirely and then it would be seen as a good thing.

"Joking, I don't even know how to run a flower shop, but I do know how to take care of flowers." Just add water, not too much or too little, pull the weeds from the garden, kill the zombies that show up, rinse and repeat.

"I am glad that you are joking, a flower shop is not something that a champion should work at unless it is for a favor...or your mate works there and you are offering her some assistance." Pah, yeah right, like I will ever have a wife that works in a flower shop...

I think I just cursed myself with that little mental outburst.

Shit.

"Eh, only reason why I know how to tend to the flowers is because my mother taught me how to maintain her garden while she was busy taking a nap."

"..."

"And I can care less about her garden but it did teach me about responsibility and something else...maybe it was how to take care of plants or was it how to be committed to a cause...eh can't remember." I said as I leaned back a bit in my seat, my back was killing me and it needs a good long rest, the same with me cause I am tired as all hell.

And as time went on a servant or waiter came into the dining hall and took our orders, I just wanted some cooked meat and bread, Scrawny wanted meat with a bone attached to it (I wonder why) and the king wanted a roasted fish. Just the fish, nothing else, seems like the king is reasonable enough to not ask for an extravagant dinner when the rest of the city is in the gutter, but now with the idol's return I can already bet that everything will go back to normal.

We eventually came back to our conversation and it somehow ended up to how much gold I was expecting to be paid with for taking on the job from the elderly griffon and I had this to say.

"Well at least I can safely say that even if I didn't get paid from this job from Grandpa Gruff I can still live a comfortable life from all of the gold that I stole from the diamond dog alpha when I was in his vault." I said as I grabbed my backpack, opened the first zipper and dumped onto the table the entirety of contents onto the table for everyone to see.

What was supposed to be the sounds of ten pounds of gold coins and a laptop landing haphazardly onto the table turned out to be the sounds of something a hell of a lot rougher and infinitely cheaper than gold and a now one-of-a-kind laptop landing on the table.

Fearing of what I will find on the table I slowly opened my eyes and even slower I looked down to see not the ten pounds of gold coins laying on the table, spinning in place or rolling over the edge of the table onto the floor, nor did I see my laptop laying on top of the pile of ill gotten but rightfully owed loot.

Instead sitting on the table was a pile of rocks of varying sizes and a single note on top of it all.

Grabbing the note from the pile of rubble I slowly brought it to my face before reading it and as I do I can feel my blood begin to boil and my inner rage start to bang and clash against its cage as it detects my inner most desire to end some assholes life.

"Greetings Mr. Wilkinson, I am sure that by now that you are back in Griffonstone handing the Idol of Boreas to our good king and are now resting in a room given to you by our most royal and loyal of kings. And just now you must be thinking as to what has happened to all of your gold that you have earned from your job and also that ancient magical tablet that you were carrying with you inside your improvised saddlebags. I am sorry to say this but I just robbed you of everything you own and also that you are carrying a fake idol. Looks like you are about to be executed for bringing a fake idol to the king, so sorry for this friend.
With Warm Regards, A Friend."

Looking up to face the king I can only stare dead at his crown, I fear that if I looked into his eyes he would think that I was about to do something that I would come to regret to him, instead it was something completely different.

I was sitting in my seat, shaking in it to the point that if I had a soda can in my hands it would explode violently when opened and at this point it would also be scalding hot.

"Sir Ian? Are you alright, what did the message say?" The king asked me as I felt my blood begin to boil over, my left eye twitching violently and a small amount of frothy foam was escaping from my lips as I felt my brain snap.

Without missing a beat I stood up, turned to face the exit and with also the one guard standing at attention. Once I was next to the guard I decked him right in the face, relieved him of his sword and continued on my way. The guard I knocked out only had a second to defend himself but he couldn't because he saw on my face the unbridled promise of death as he saw a skull and crossbones appear on my eyes for a moment before being knocked out cold on the ground.

The other guards in the room immediately rushed to his aid while the rest ran in pursuit of me but they were stopped when their king told them to not do so.

They returned to their posts while two of the guards picked up their unconscious friend and carried him to the infirmary, leaving the lone diamond dog and the king in the dining hall.

The two stared at the note on the table for a second before the king picked it up and began to read it, muttering everything that was written on it softly before reading the small addendum that was attached to the note before he too started to shake in his seat.

"And remember to not tell the king about me, or else I may just decide to send the princess back to him in a far worse condition than she was in when she left the warrens.

Author's Note

There, chapter finish, my god why did it take me this long to finish this one? Why!

Oh right, Stellaris: Utopia, thats why.

First Blood

I was furious.

No, I was beyond furious.

I was thermonuclear pissed off.

And why exactly am I pissed off at this exact moment?

Because some motherfucker robbed me of my gold, my laptop and worst of all gave me a fake ass golden idol when he let me go to return it to the king.

This bastard, no, this lowlife piece of shit, is going to have himself the worst day of his life and he will remember this day as his last normal day on this waking world.

I stormed out of the griffon palace and out the front gates, a gleam, sharpened iron sword was firmly in my right hand and not a single griffon guard bothered to stop me to take it away from me. They all saw how angry I was and they knew that if they tried that they might be ending up losing a talon or two or even a pair of wings in the process.

If people can see my mood then they can see a pitch-black storm cloud was raging over my head, thunder and lightning coming down hard and that would normally be a clear enough indicator to stay the fuck out of my way.

But instead they got out of my way because they can see me storming down the streets, sword in hand, knuckles roughed up, my face red enough that some might think that it will explode violently, and that quite a few of them can hear my teeth grinding.

My plan was to go back to the griffon hideout and to kill everything in my way until I get to Tazul's room and gut him like a fish before tossing his still-breathing body out the window to let him get eaten alive by the feral beasts that wander the forest he calls home.

Power walking through the streets of Griffonstone I saw several dozen griffons out and about, all of them celebrating that the idol is back, and they knew it was back because they saw me carrying it back but they don't know that it was a fake the entire time. While they were all out celebrating by dancing, drinking whatever alcohol they can get their grubby talons on at that moment, and most of all, all of them are cheering me on because they think of me as a hero.

They shouldn't be cheering for me right now because if they know what I am planning to do then they might try to stop me and throw me in chains. I don't think griffons will normally condone murder of one of their own so easily, unless they know what this asshole did, of course.

Several griffons came up to me and tried to congratulate me on getting the idol back but when they saw me with a sword in my hands and my none-to-pleased look on my face so they kept a fair distance away from me, a few on the other hand instead hugged me from the sides or patted me on the shoulder on a job well done but one look from me, a death glare of the highest order, set them right as they immediately left me alone.

I did not have time for their happiness nor their cheerfulness.

I am a man on a mission, and that mission is to skin that bastard and use his skull as an athletic cup.

Thinking on it now though I had to reorganize my thought process on I am going to go about doing that.

1: Get down mountain.
2: Go into the forest.
3: Find the griffon's compound in the forest.
4: Kill everything that has a pulse.
5: Get back stolen shit.
6: Profit.

Maybe have to add 'Rescue the captured griffons, again' to my list somewhere...maybe after 4 and before 5...maybe after 5 and before 6? I don't know but I am going to have to rescue them again and this time I will not fall that honey trap of a princess again.

Soon enough from exiting the griffon's royal palace I was halfway through the city when I came across a few sets of familiar faces that was standing in my way.

Well by standing in my way I sorta mean that they are standing at a food cart trying to get their meal from the hen standing behind it.

Grandpa Gruff, his two bodyguards, and even Greta were standing in front of the food cart while the hen on the other side, who I can now tell is Gilda, are talking back and forth about something but as soon as Greta saw me she waved a talon to try and bring me over without alerting the others.

Normally I would have accepted Greta's request for me to come over but I was currently blinded by blind fury and rage to accept her request so I ignored her for the most part until I was right in front of her before making my current intentions clear.

"Not now Greta, I have a griffon to murder and a princess to save." I said with a grunt before walking past her, and for a moment I thought she was going to just accept my answer as it is and now question it but it would seem that she has something else in mind for me.

As soon as I walked past Greta she grabbed me by the arm and yanked me hard enough to almost cause me to lose my footing and eat shit and fall, but I managed to reassert myself and maintain my balance before turning around to face my griffon friend.

Who also seemed to be giving me a questioning and also fearful stare.

"Dude, you can't just go and kill somebody! That is illegal you know and that won't get you out of our deal so don't even think about it!" my griffon acquaintance said as she tried to talk me out of killing Tazul, well she doesn't know who exactly I am out to kill, only that I am going to go out and waste someone.

"Wasn't planning on getting out of it, and besides Greta, it isn't illegal when you are going to kill a traitor to the country!" I said with a bit of a deranged cheer to my voice as I twirled the sword in my hands before yanking my hand free from Greta's talons which at the time seemed like a good idea but instead it wasn't.

Turns out that it wasn't a good idea at all.

Did you know that griffon talons are sharp enough to cut into flesh with ease if they have been sharpened recently?

I didn't.

Greta's talons dug into my left arm and just like a cat's paw with their sharp claws, these griffons have the same thing but their talons are sharper and longer than the average house cats by at least a factor of two or three, depending on the griffon.

Dropping my stolen sword on the ground to grab at the wounded area, I tightened my hold on my left arm as I started to bleed from the three claw marks on the back side of my forearm while the thumb talon just barely cut my wrist. If she was holding just a little bit tighter than I would be in a life-or-death situation and bleed out.

Lucky me.

"What the fuck Greta! Why the hell are your talons so sharp! They weren't the last time you grabbed onto me like that!" I shouted as I held my wounded forearm to staunch the flow of blood as Gilda rolled her eyes from behind her food stand and flew over to where Greta and I were standing with a roll of bandages in her talons.

"Really Greta? The first time I get to meet your friend and you already cut him up?" The griffon said as she landed beside Greta and handed her the roll without so much as asking a price.

I guess she might be one of those nice griffons that I heard about.

"Shut up Gilda, how was I supposed to know that he doesn't have a tough hide?" Greta says as she wrapped my arm with the bandages that her friend offered to her.

Or not...at least she offered me some bandages.

"Gee I don't know, maybe just be seeing how thin looking he is? Sure I see some muscle on him but not enough to dull the pain." Gilda said as she went back to cooking fish on her mobile stove.

While the two hens were talking about me as if I wasn't even there, I was busy tightly wrapping the bandage wrap around my forearm and with a small metal pin I stitched the bandages together so they don't fall apart when I am moving.

With my injury taken care of and the girls talking about some sort of heat wave that is supposedly coming in three months, I kneelt down and grabbed my stolen sword before taking just a single step towards the main entrance into Griffonstone when I was stopped by a pair of talons grabbing onto my left arm.

"Woah there buddy, where do you think you are going?" I heard Gilda say that as Greta grabs me by the left shoulder, trying her best not to cut me up again.

"Yeah, you are not going anywhere until you tell me why you have to kill somegriffon!"

Letting out an exasperated sigh I turned around to face the griffons standing behind me, Grandpa Gruff was nibbling on a slightly charred cod fish on a stick, his two bodyguards doing the same thing but with what looks like a trout and a bass on a stick. Greta and Gilda were both staring at me, expecting me to give them a good enough of an answer and seeing how that I easily got clawed by Greta without her even trying I might as well make it easier on myself.

"I am off to kill some griffon who robbed me of at least ten pounds of gold and a very valuable personal object of mine. And also that he is leading a group of bandits that also just so happens to have kidnapped the griffon princess." I said while eyeing the fish cooking on the stove, the smell of it was making my mouth water very badly as I hadn't had anything to eat in a long while.

The purple-tipped griffon saw that I was hungry and then tapped the jar that was on her stand, a clear indicator of 'one fish for X amount of gold coins', and seeing how I was so damn hungry at the moment, I thought that any price is worth the savory taste of a cooked fish on a stick, as long as there is no tarter sauce n relish.

Reaching for my gold pouch I pulled out gold coins and dropped it in the jar and as soon as the coins hit the rest that was in there, the hen grabbed one of the fish-on-a-stick and passed it to me. I don't know what fish I am holding right now, maybe a trout or cod, or maybe even pike, but what I do know is that this juicy baby is gonna be nothing more than fuel for my murderous rage against a certain griffon and his motley crew of thieves.

I utterly destroyed that fish-on-a-stick, leaving nothing but small bits of fish meat on the stick before tossing it aside and buying a second one which then went onto a third until finally ending at my fourth fish-on-a-stick and uttering out a belch worthy of praise and song.

"Gross...but do we know this griffon your about to kill?" Gilda said as she flips over a salmon over the grill, not really looking up at me as she focuses on her fish.

"Nope, just some asshole who is about to look great hanging from my mantelpiece over the fireplace." That and I wonder if I can get that griffon's dead corpse stuffed and placed into a sitting position in the dining room of my home when I get one.

"Sick." Gilda says as she turns over a fish, Greta on the other hand is looking a bit green around the gills...err...head feathers.

"Well then don't mess with me, plain and simple. Don't want to get brutally murdered and have your remains used as a piece of furniture by me then don't do something to warrant me wanting your head." I said as I flicked the fourth empty stick onto the floor before wiping my mouth of any remaining crumbs and was about to leave but someone else had to say something.

Turns out it was Grandpa Gruff and it would seem that he has some wisdom to pass onto me.

"Ian, I don't know who this griffon is, but if they are willing to kidnap somegriffon and rob you, then they are not to be trifled with. Take every caution that you can, I would hate to see the Hero of Griffonstone get injured, maimed or worse, killed. Stay safe out there." And with that said the elderly griffon turned back to Gilda's food stand and ordered another fish-on-a-stick, leaving me to swallow his advice.

Nodding at my griffon friend who started me on this road I turned back to face my other two griffon friends to see that they too are nodding at me and with their acceptance that I am about to commit a justifiable murder, or that they are just doing it so I don't turn the sword on them (which I won't), they let me leave.

As I started to get out of earshot I heard Greta shout something at me just as I reached the arch leading out of the city.

"Ian! Don't get yourself killed now! You still owe me a favor!" Great, now I have another reason for not dying.

This favor better not be something stupid, like moving shit out of your home and putting it in another building.

I can only hope that I don't get killed, it would really suck if I was slain by a bunch of thieves.

Walking out of the city I made my way back down the mountain, this being my second time climbing down and I must say there has to be a faster way of doing this without getting myself killed or breaking an ankle in the process. They should probably put into an elevator system or maybe even some sort of sliding lift that goes up and down. Hell I would even take a trolley if they had one here.

Putting one foot in front of the other while thinking of what I am actually going to do when I get to Tazul's manor.

Maybe set it on fire and burn it down to the ground...but that would kill the griffon princess and her entourage.

Or I could set it on fire after I save everyone? But then that would mean I would have to have knocked out or killed quite a few of the griffons in there to get to them so that is also out.

Shit I didn't really think this through now did I?

Please, just leave the royal palace with a stolen royal guard's sword and kill them all? Like hell that is going to work! They will fucking eviscerate me in seconds with their talons! Hell they have swords as well so they will just dice me up and probably serve me as dinner!

As soon as I realized that I was pretty much putting myself one foot in the grave and foot on a banana peel I was about to turn myself around and ask the king for assistance but something stopped me from doing so.

When I turned around to start heading back up, I saw that coming down the mountain in hot pursuit of me was a scrawny-looking diamond dog and he was running at me full sprint before tripping over his own paws and landing face first right at me feet. Kneeling down I helped my somewhat clumsy friend up off the floor before asking him what is he doing all the way out here, let alone why is he even following me.

"What are you doing here Scrawny? Go back to the palace and stay there, I'll be right back." I was wondering why he was following me because I know that this dog can't fight his way out of a paper bag let alone fight a griffon and expect to survive.

Huffing from exhaustion the diamond dog was holding his knees as he tried to catch his breath and the moment he did I saw that he was carrying a mace on his hip with the exception that this mace was nothing more than a single hunk of iron with a smooth ball at the end of it the size of an orange.

"I am here to help you." Yeah, I can see that! But seriously though, where the hell did he get that weapon and why the hell is he even out here? I thought I left his ass back at the palace so that he would be safe!

"Why?" I just have to know now.

"Was told to never leave my alpha's side." Never leave my side...wait...

Alpha?

That threw me through a loop as I play back those words in my head countless times, rolling it around as I tried to come up with a reason as to why my friend would say that.

"Who told you to never leave my side? And why am I your alpha now?" I can give myself three guesses as to who told him to follow me, but what is really grinding my gears is my friend here telling me that I am now his boss.

Why?

"The bird king, he said I can't leave your side, and you're my alpha because you saved me. Old Alpha kept me around cause I'm runt, you kept me around because you care about me. You are my new alpha now!" And with that said Scrawny stood up to his full height but this time he was now standing by my side and waiting for me to tell him what to do.

Achievement Unlocked! Got your first party member!
Achievement Unlocked! Friend of the Deep: Recruited a diamond dog!

Sighing to myself I shook my head as I come to understand that my friend is now going to be stuck with me for the foreseeable future of forever. Now it wouldn't be so bad assuming he won't be trying to sneak into my bedroom when I am getting laid or worse, try to go into the bathroom while I am still in it and using it.

"There is nothing I can say that will get you to go back up the mountain and wait in the palace is there." I said with my eyes closed and when I heard nothing I guess that was him silently saying 'Nope' to me.

Pinching the bridge of my nose I sighed in displeased anger but for the time being I was just going to let it go, after all if I am going to be walking to my death than I would at least have someone to send back to tell how I died to those few who knew me. Although thinking about it now, there are only like...four...maybe five ~~people~~ griffons that know me, and one diamond dog, so the list of people that will miss me when I get killed is abysmally short.

I know that I won't be able to tell him to go home and leave me be, I decided that it might be for the best that he joins me on my quest for revenge. He might even be able to help me get pay back on these assholes!

"Fine you can follow me, just don't get hurt." And with that said I sealed his fate by binding his to mine.

Accepting the fact that my friend also just called me alpha, it is making me wonder what exactly this would entail for me to do...

"So Scrawny, ready to head out and bag us a lying bastard?"

"Yes alpha! He lied to you and almost got us in trouble! Punish him!" My dog friend said with a happy bark before raising a fist into the air, obviously this guy is just being a yes man since I am his alpha. At least I now have a yes man, usually those only exist in the corporate ladder.

With that said and done, and with my friend in tow now, the two of us headed down the mountain towards the outskirts where the forest meets the dead grass just at the base of the mountain. It was when we were coming down from Griffonstone did the weather start to take a turn for the worst as I saw a few griffons moving grey clouds around in the sky, I thought weather controlling was impossible but then I remembered what world I am on and that normal Earth physics have been thrown out the window and into a well-placed shredder at the bottom of the building. This would be something else I would have to ask a griffon or someone else who has knowledge on weather manipulation whenever I get back from scalping and skinning a backstabbing griffon in his own home.

As we arrived at where I had first landed in this strange new world, the weather above me started to churn and change as quickly as it appeared and that was when I felt a strange tingling sensation climb through my body, like getting statically shocked after rubbing my socks on the carpet to build up a charge but this was all over my body and it wasn't going away anytime soon. I thought it was just goosebumps acting up on me like any other time they show up but this time it feels more like I am being statically charged and that the next thing I touch might explode.

I could have walked through where I landed in this world but instead I walked around it, I don't know why but something inside me was telling me to avoid the area at all costs, so I listened to it. Walking around the patch of dead grass I steadily made my way to the edge of the forest and when I have arrived at its boundaries the weather kept on churning for the worst and it finally decided that now was the time to turn into a downpour of rain.

The strange sensation died as quickly as it arrived, shaking off the goosebumps and my paranoid fear that I am being watched by otherworldly beings, my companion and I arrived at the forest's edge and gazed at the innumerable trees that lay before us.

Pulling my hood over my head I cross the threshold into the forest and started to make my way deeper into its folds to find the lair of the treacherous backstabber who robbed me.

With the sun still up it would normally make it outright impossibly for me to be concealed from sight, but due to this forest thick foliage and stormy weather that is already hiding the sun from everyone, I am now hard to spot and I am already thinking of a plan to get back my precious gold and belongings.

Normally finding ones way back to a location they have only been to once would either be impossibly or highly improbable, but for me I got very lucky. That and I also went only in a straight line so if I could replicate its effects then I could easily return to the griffon's compound.

And after several hours of walking in a straight line and with Lady Luck on my side I managed to find the building hidden in the forest and now that I can look at it from here, I think I am going to take back that errant thought of burning it to the ground. Instead I am thinking of taking it for myself, after cleaning out the dead bodies and cleaning the bloodstains from the wood and carpets.

'This would make an excellent vacation home...so as long as no wild beasts break into it when I am gone, or another band of thieves invades it and claim it for themselves.'

Nodding to myself I steadily yet slowly crouched down and made my way to the compound, doing everything within my power to keep out of sight from the few windows that I can see, and I can see that there is no one standing by them as far as I can tell. With the inside of the rooms with the windows being laminated by lanterns or torches, I can see rays of light pouring through the open spots and from my vantage point of being outside and crouching near a bush I spot nothing to worry about.

That is until I hear the faint sound of somebody opening the heavy wooden doors leading into the building and as I readjust my position behind the bush I spot a lone griffon stepping out, holding a hammer in one talon and underneath a wing was a small wooden barrel.

I can't tell from here what it is but I can safely bet that it is either booze or some form of oil to be used as a lubricate for whatever the hammer is going to be used for.

Spying on the lone griffon I watch as the door is closed behind him and to my luck the griffon was moving near the door before putting down the hammer and small wooden barrel on the ground to stand on his hind legs to get some height to grab the lantern attached to the wall.

Seeing that he is distracted and currently cannot hear me approaching, I moved as quickly and as quietly as I possibly could and attacked the unsuspecting griffon. With his back facing me and his head looking at the barrel as he poured in oil into the lantern I grabbed him by the beak to silence him and stabbed him in the spine to kill him.

The griffon tried to scream out in pain but with me standing virtually on top of him and the fact that my sword came out through his chest and has also severed his spine he dropped like a rock onto the ground all the while letting out a muffled screech before finally going silent as I yank the sword upward. My sword tore through his spine as it was pulled upward, the blade sliced through more of the griffons spine before coming out through the base of his skull and flung blood up onto the wall and into the air before coming back down with the rain.

Staring down at the corpse that now lay at my feet, the rain was doing its best to hide any evidence that he was killed by washing away the blood that is on the ground and the wall, and as for me? I was gasping for air as I just stare at the dead griffon and it doesn't sink in yet that I had just killed a sentient being who possibly might have a family somewhere.

'I...I did it...didn't I? I killed him...he's dead...holy shit...'

Achievement Unlocked! First Blood: Kill your first enemy!

The sound of gravel being stepped on from behind alerted me to my friend's presence and as soon as I turned around I saw that he was mortified and was shaking in fear at the sight of me standing over a dead body with a bloodied sword still in my hands.

As it turns out I would also later learn that diamond dogs hardly ever kill anyone unless it is absolutely necessary, I guess this is because that they obviously capture and enslave everyone they come across that can't escape from them.

"Is he...is he dead?"

"Yes, and he won't be the last one to die tonight Scrawny." I said as I laid my sword down beside the corpse before searching it for anything of value and/or a set of keys for the building.

Looting a corpse in a game makes it look so much easier than it does in real life, and right now I had to roll the corpse over three times before I finally found a set of bronze keys on a rope key-ring that was around his neck.

Relieving the key-ring from the dead griffon I took my sword and cut the rope to make it smaller and tied the now smaller ends with a square knot and placed the smaller bundle into my right front pocket before grabbing the hammer on the floor and stood up back to my full height and headed toward the door.

"But...why?" Scrawny said with his voice full of fear. He is obviously old enough to have sex and yet he isn't mature enough to handle the death of some griffon. Strange but I guess not everyone is used to death like I am. I feel bad for the griffon but I am not getting too bent out of shape over it.

Maybe there is something wrong with me.

"Because Scrawny, if we are going to get back the idol and rescue the griffon princess, and also recover my gold and laptop that was stolen... we will have to go through every single griffon that gets in our way. They will not spare us a second time and will try to kill us if they catch us."

"Remember this my friend, it is either us or them, there is no grey spot in between this. These griffons chose to follow a man that is willing to betray his king and imprison his daughter all for a seat of power to rule a nation. If he is willing to commit treason than he is also willing to do other unspeakable horrors onto his own people." And with that said I slowly made my way to the front door and with the door ever so slightly open, I pulled the handle back and as soon as it was open enough I took a gentle step into the foyer of the griffon manor.

Today is the day that I can no longer go back to what my old life was, or ever will be normal.

Today, I am innocent no longer.

Blooded Feathers

The griffon manor foyer.

It was a spacious room the last time I was here and even then I didn't really get a good look at it due to being in a rush and being pushed out by our host's rude as fuck employee.

And now that I am back I can say that this place looks pretty good, it has a nice thick padded red carpet covering the wooden floorboards, there are scones at regular intervals that hang from the halls burning with a low flame giving the room a warm feeling. Hell, they even have a snack tray with a silver plate filled with all sorts of snacks that would tickle the palette of any griffon who would come to dine on said tasty delicacies. Another thing I noticed about this foyer is that it was quiet and that I couldn't hear any griffon that might be nearby other than the breathing of my diamond dog friend and myself along with the subtle drips of water landing on the carpet. It was just the two of us and we have the element of surprise on our side.

Looking around the foyer I saw that there were six doors and a staircase leading up to the second floor in the back of the room that splits in two leading to the upper left or upper right section of the manor, where the other doors lead I don't know and even though I was here not even a full day ago, I couldn't remember which door we came out of to get here.

Time to make the best of it before we get caught.

Picking a door that was closest to us I signaled my dog friend to follow closely behind me and to be as quiet as much as he possibly could and to my relief he did just that by shuffling his padded feet paws on the carpet.

Getting close to the door I pressed an ear to it in hope of hearing anything on the side of it but sadly the door was either too thick for me to properly hear what was on the other side or that there was no one there to begin with. Either way I had to make sure that it was truly empty so we don't get ambushed on our way to the next room. Placing my hand on the doorknob I gave it a gentle twist and seeing if it pulled inward into the forward I gave it a light tug but when it refused to budge I figured out that this door along with all the others must be pushed outward and I did so and to my luck it was also unlocked and on the other side was a simple sitting room with no one present.

Peering into the door I let my eyes scan every single inch of it and from what I saw that it was darker in here than it is in the foyer and that is due to the scones and lantern within the room are not lit and are simply sitting there waiting to be used. Gently shutting the door and leaving it the way I found it I then motioned my friend to the next door and just like the first one it too was also empty but this room was a bare of any furniture with the exception of scones on the wall near the door. I started to think that this manor is either recently built within a few years or that this place has been here a while but it had a new owner who was still moving shit in and settling into its new home.

Either way, this asshole is about to get evicted either in chains or in a body bag...or in a pile of cinders and burnt lumber.

Moving towards the door beneath the upper right stairs I gave the knob a jingle to see if it was locked and to my surprise, it was locked, a first of many surprises within this building but for the time being I had to move onto the other three doors to make sure that they were empty.

The fourth door turned out to be also locked as well as I guessed that it and the third door led deeper into the manor and when I checked the fifth and sixth room I found them to be empty as well, my guess is that they left the first floor rooms empty to give the false illusion that the place is desolate and empty but if an unwelcomed guest were to find themselves here...they will simply find themselves at the mercy of their captors as they get captured in the middle of the night.

As I returned to the foyer to begin my climb up one of the stairs to get to the second floor I sniffed something most foul and terrible to my nasal senses and when I followed my nose like Toucan Sam, I found the source to be none other than Scrawny who was giving me a confused stare as he tilted his head to the side to further accent his confusion.

"Dude, you stink...like holy shit dude. I am not even joking man, you smell like you haven't got a proper bath in years." I said as I suppressed the urge to gag and even then that is a feat of sheer force of will.

"What? I did take a bath!"

"When was this so called supposed bath taken?"

"Last year...I think."

"Fucking gross..." I said as I took a few steps away from him to get away from both the wet dog smell along with the scent of unbathed hound, the air was tinged with the stench but it didn't hit me until just this moment that this was not going to work out as I had originally planned it.

I don't know anything about griffons, but if I remember anything from my time being a huge Dungeons and Dragons nerd is that griffons are predators, they eat meat, they hunt from the sky and come screeching to the ground to capture their prey before tearing it to shreds, which means they have excellent eyesight and possibly hearing. Another thing is that they are part bird, so they might have an excellent sense of smell.

Once I got to the next door I jiggled the knob for a moment to see if it was locked and with my current luck streak it wasn't, but when I popped it open just a crack I saw through the opening on the other side a griffon looking away from the door and was talking to another griffon that was out of sight for me at the moment.

"So Eddin what are ya gonna do once we get paid for holdin this princess hostage?"

"I'm gonna head back home to my village an finally tell that bastard of a father of mine that he is a piece of shite for bein' a drunkard all my life before giving him a good gutting and leavin to go find a new home elsewhere beyond the Fringe."

"You planning on going beyond the Fringe? That's minotaur territory ya daft fool!"

"Ah know that but what choice do I got? Can't stay here cause I would get a bounty on me head, can't go to Equestria cause the bounty hunters would get paid double there by those damn princesses, and the Badlands is a death wish! At least those dumb mino's won't question the reason why I am there unless they hear about me that is."

And as it turns out these griffons don't have much of a sense of smell, it is very weak as it is clearly evident that the smell of my dog friend would have alerted them if they was either a human or another dog or perhaps even a pony. But seeing how these griffons haven't even picked up on Scrawny's offending stench I can clearly see that their sense of smell of shit and that they rely on sight and possibly sound.

Pushing the door slowly until I had enough space to easily kick it in, I placed my foot on the door and counting to myself I forced the door wide open which knocked the griffon whose back was facing the door to be caught completely off-guard which sealed his fate as I took a few steps in to close the distance between the three of us.

With the griffon closest to the door turning his entire body to face me, by the time his large frame was about half way to facing me I have already brought my recently-acquired axe down upon his neck, cleaving into the meat and severing his spine in the process, killing him almost immediately from the blow and as for his friend, he was fumbling for his sword within its scabbard but as he gets a grip on the handle it was his turn. Still moving forward from my momentum of kicking the door in and stepping over the falling headless griffon corpse I brought my right arm down, the sword within my grasp coming down to split the other griffon's skull in two but I was out of reach and instead sliced maybe a centimeter of beak before he manages to back step away from me.

Seeing me bent over after making a too-wide of a downward arc with my sword the griffon pulled his sword out from its scabbard and before he could plunge it into me, Scrawny was already by my side, swinging that club of his over my head and like a professional baseball player he grand-slammed the griffon's head, breaking his beak into pieces in the process before finally grabbing his head by the broken remains of his beak and slamming him into the wall.

Pinning him to the wall I watched as Scrawny easily held the griffon there by his head and with him pinned I recover my lost balance and stand back up only to give the bandit the finishing touch by stabbing him in the heart with my sword. I had to wait a while for the griffon to die as he struggled a bit after I plunged my sword into his chest and only then did he stop fighting back and stopped breathing did Scrawny and I step away from the two fresh corpses to look upon our handy work.

And by look upon I mean I threw up onto both corpses just as a bolt of lightning strikes far above our heads, illuminating the room briefly with a flash of white from the window.

The first death I was able to ignore it because I didn't think of him as a criminal, but the second and third deaths...they had lives outside of this place, maybe even a family and loved ones...

I knew what I did was wrong, I know that I will be burning in hell for this, but I did it anyways and for what? Revenge because I was outsmarted by an older man who was playing the political game far longer than I have? A fool who only wanted his stolen gold, laptop and idol back? Or maybe even a wanna-be hero who thought he can single-handedly save a princess and get a reward for it.

But I know that there is no going back now, if I am going to hell then I might as well get an all-paid express ticket there because I am going to ride this train till the wheels snap off and we all crash into a ravine.

Wiping the bile from my mouth and spitting on the floor I smeared the removed spew onto the wall before retrieving my axe and sword from the two corpses and put them back by my side before going about looting the dead.

In all I found on the two deceased griffons a few small pouches the size of marble bags filled with silver and copper coins, a small piece of paper with a list of things to do on a daily basis here at the manor, and also a murder list for here at the manor as well. I even found a small brass key on a rope loop that was wrapped around the griffon who I nearly decapitated with my axe.

'Seems like someone here has a few issues with his fellow griffons.' I thought to myself as I stepped away from the corpses and left the room before closing it behind me, making sure that it looked undisturbed so no one will notice that it is occupied by two dead bodies.

Robbing the dead may seem bad but they won't be needing it where they are going, after all they are or were in the same boat I am in so I bet that I will be seeing them in hell sooner or later.

As soon as we both stepped out I immediately went back to checking doors to see if they were locked and to my utter glee that I was proven right, the door leading deeper into the manor that just so happened to be the one I was standing next to was locked. With the brass key in hand I put it into the keyhole and with a slow twist I heard the small tumblers within the locking mechanism click and clack as the metal scrapped against the pins until finally I heard the all-too-familiar sound of a lock being undone.

Tugging the key out from the lock I grab the knob and with a weak-ass twist and a tug the door opened to reveal the glowing warmth of a lit hallway and the sounds of padded feet and claws off in the distance.

'Okay...we made it to the actual bandit lair...now how to go about finding the princess, rescue her guards, finding my shit and bringing back a severed griffon head on a silver platter to the king...eh I'll figure it out as I go along.' I thought to myself as I slowly closed the door but left it slightly askew so I could easily push it open when I come back to it, I still had to check the rest of the second floor rooms of this particular section of the manor.

From what I saw from the outside that it looked small, but now that I am in it and actually on the second floor it is actually quite large, I bet this is only like...a third or fourth of the actual manor.

How the hell did something this large even escape the gaze of the griffon king when its sitting near the base of the mountain? Does he not notice a massive ass building that is literally surrounded by trees on all sides? Or does the griffon lord I have the roof covered in tree foliage n shit to camouflage it from nosey little birds that try to spy on him?

It was during this moment that when I went see what was going on in the rest of the manor I have failed to realize that I could have just used my memory of this place to backtrack myself to where I was held hostage and where I went to pick up my things and my meeting with the big cheese himself.

I am such an idiot sometimes...

Facepalming myself for my moment of a critical failure I decided that now would be the time to retrace my steps and get back into the inner sanctum of the lair and rescue the hostage, recover my loot and defeat the boss. I know that this wouldn't be easy because I have almost no real combat training and these griffons do, I don't know the layout of the area yet they do, at this point it might be better to actually go room-to-room and make sure I don't get backstabbed by a ruthless bandit.

The other five rooms on the second floor I searched with all possible haste, checking each and every single one of them for anything of possible value or better yet if there was a griffon waiting inside for either an intruder or are just sitting in there relaxing.

Turns out this entire section of the manor was empty with the exception of that one room, because there is only one entrance (that I know of) for this building and that an intruder was to come upon this building, they would be stuck to this portion only and if they stayed they would probably get captured and if these bastards are evil enough, they would be sold as slaves.

With that in mind and that I now have the means of going deeper into the lair I went back to the bottom floor and tried to open both of the locked door with the looted key but for some reason it wasn't working so it would seem that I am either being retarded or that I need a different key...so Resident Evil 1 of this guy...to need a bunch of keys for his manor...

Fucking going to strangle him for making me find another random ass key just to find him.

Up on the second floor again at the slightly-askew door I saw that it was still empty with the only exception being the sounds of marching patrols of griffons and that was when I saw just how many are on patrol. It was a pair of griffons with one being male and the other female. The pair seems to be wearing what looks like leather armor that has been expertly sewn together, I can see the stitch-work from here and I must say that I am impressed with the level of craftsmanship that has been employed for this particular set of armor. They were wearing what looks like metal bowl attached to their heads that included their upper beak with two eye-holes for the all important eyes to see out of. I also saw that they had a pair of swords attached to their sides, no shield at all to act as an additional means of safety.

Where this armor came from I don't know, but I want to know where it came from so I can get myself a suit of it as well but with some modifications that is best suited to my body and my knowledge of medieval armor. Installing some chainmail above the armor with a bit of cloth on top of it would remind me of a crusader during the shit ages of humanity, but it would offer more protection from certain death against the dangers of this world.

Normal everyday clothing from Earth isn't very protective against sharp metal objects and claws belonging to mythical creatures let alone against beasts of the wild and possibly things I have never even seen before.

With this information now on hand from the wandering patrol of griffon bandits I waved Scrawny over to me and told him what the new game plan is.

"Okay, it seems that the griffons here have access to some good armor if the leather I saw on those two are anything to go by. Thick hides sewn together can easily soften a blunt blow such as your club but it wouldn't truly stop a sword from cutting through them. These griffons are either richer than they appear to be or that they only have so much gold in stockpile to afford well-maintained arms and armor seeing how they are outside the law. They have the advantages of knowing the layout of this manor, superior numbers, better weapons and probably actual martial training but we got an advantage they don't." I said as I whispered to my friend who was busy trying to keep himself from moving in his giddiness to do some good in his eyes.

I still think that I am doing a bad thing by killing these griffons even though the king on the mountain could have and possibly did assembled and sent a team of highly trained griffon soldiers to come here and rescue his daughter.

But its already too late now since I have already killed three of them and that I am already inside the manor and I am not leaving my laptop behind for these griffons on either side of the law to have in their talons.

"But what advantage we got?" Scrawny said as he scratched his head, almost bonking himself on the head with his club when he forgot that he was about to scratch an itch with the big meaty paw that was holding the blunt object.

I smiled to myself as I thought on all of the stealth-based games that I have played and in a moment of silence I prayed to whoever is listening at the moment that the two of us get out of this alive and in one piece.

"We have the element of surprise. They obviously can't smell us so that is a plus, the ongoing storm that is happening outside will be muffling our footsteps and the carpet on the floor beneath us is already doing just that. What we really only have to worry about is getting caught by the griffons out in the open, making loud noises because they can still hear us if we are louder than the storm, and most importantly not leaving everything as we came here." The last one caught Scrawny's attention but when I clarified what I meant he made an understanding nod at me. As we finished talking about our predicament a bolt of lightning flashed by the window again, this time it was louder and that the raining was getting heavier, the storm was picking up something fierce.

If we enter a room, ransack it and then leave it as it is, and a griffon patrol were to come along and go in and see it...I bet my left nut that they will sound the alarm and our little stealth mission will be over and we will be up shit creek without a paddle and the canoe is sinking fast.

With this in mind we pushed the open door and slowly stepped across the threshold and closed it behind us and locked it to give it the air of untouched to the untrained eye. Now standing in the lavish hallway I took the lead and slowly walked down the hall, keeping my eyes open for anything out of the ordinary or better yet, more rooms to search in the event there are griffons inside them.

Slowly walking down the hall I saw no other patrols nor did I hear them over the sounds of the storm, its easier to hear the heavy footfalls of padded paws and talons on a carpet then it is to hear two bipedal beings moving as slowly as possible. As it turns out as we get to the middle of the hall it opens up to reveal an intersection and that was where the griffons was currently at, they were moving in a slow even march but even then I can tell that any minute now they might turn around and march right back to us so we had to move fast so I decided to duck across to the other side and my friend almost stumbled after me.

So now there are two griffons at the other end of the three-way hallway we both went across to see If the door on that end led anywhere but when we got to that end it was locked so pulling out my brass key I pushed it into the lock and gave it a twist and to my surprise it worked so with a twist and a push I soon found myself back in the foyer of the manor.

'Fuck a duck...'

This was where we started and it would seem that the only way forward is through those two guards...this isn't going to end well for us.

No where to go but forward to reach my prize I decided that if I am going to hell then I might as well go feet first into it.

Going back into the three-way hallway I grabbed my sword and axe and clenched down on them tightly as I heard the sound of the leather grips being crushed beneath my grip but as I tried to put myself at ease and be as calm as I physically can. I started to think happy thoughts of kittens rolling around on grass, puppies chewing on a stuffed toy, me looking at a scale to see that I lost ten pounds, all of those did nothing to steady my nerves but in the end it did one thing right and that was stop my hands my shaking and leveled out my breathing.

I soon heard the steady footfalls of padded feet and talons on the carpet coming back to us and I knew that our time was up, we had to act fast and we had to be the first ones to act or otherwise we will end up captured again or killed.

Down the hall the footfalls grew louder and louder as they got closer and closer and before I knew it they were right at the three-way intersection about to make their glances down both ends of the hall and when they did they saw me and Scrawny waiting for them.

The one nearest to me let out a loud squawk of surprise but I am not sure if I am lucky or just a random act of weather, a thunderclap went off outside, a roar of thunder muffled the griffon's squawk from being heard by the others in the manor besides the four of us and we all knew it.

With our cover blown I reacted by bringing my axe down onto the nearest griffon's shoulder but the griffon in question saw it coming and took a quick step back and let my swing collide with the carpet before pouncing on top of me, his wings flared open as he took flight to gain the height advantage before coming down on top of me, knocking me to the ground in the process as well as knocking my weapons out from my hands. Scrawny on the other hand took his swing with that club of his and his swing actually made contact with its intended target by banging against the she-griffon on the head making her fall down from the blow, leaving a noticeable dent on the helmet but it clearly wasn't enough to knock her out as she got back up and bull-charged at the diamond dog.

The two of us made our first strike but it wasn't enough to completely incapacitate or kill these griffons which gave them the two the opportunity to attack us in kind. With male griffon that I attacked was now on top of me, his talons went straight for my throat as I chocked and gasped for air as my own hands went for his wrists to try and pry them off but then he reared his head back and suddenly snapped forward, his beak striking the carpet as I managed to move my head out of the way by angling it to the right and as soon as it connected with the floor I returned fire with an evil trick.

I kneed the bastard in the balls.

Kneeing him in the balls I watched as he immediately let go of his grip on my throat before falling to the side, his talons going for the family jewels to hold them to help soothe the pain but I never game him the chance to fully recover. With him now to my left I rolled over and stood up before grabbing my sword that I dropped when I was tackled, reaching for my sword I grabbed it uncontested and with it in hand I rolled my shoulder and with a swing in a wide high arc I watched as the blade found purchase by cutting clean through the griffons torso, cleaving him in half the short way. For a moment I thought I only hacked his spine in half which would render him a cripple due to no longer behind able to use his hind legs but for me to actually cut someone in half, hell that actually scares me a little bit, I have to be a bit more careful with my strength if I actually want to fight someone and not kill them from now on.

Gasping for air as I coughed up a storm as I slowly struggled to regain my breath in time to see Scrawny get thrown into the wall and was about to take a swipe at him with her talons but she got the chance because I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and threw her to the wall behind me and kicked her in the ribcage. The kick to the ribs has forced the air out from her lungs and before I could run her through with my sword, Scrawny came from behind me and puncher her square in the face, denting the helmet she is wearing even further to the point that it might have just killed her from having her skull caved in.

The she-griffon slumped to the floor in a heap, falling over as her head bounced off the carpet once before coming to a complete stop which left me and Scrawny trying to catch our breath with me leaning on a wall while my buddy had his paws on his knees.

I looked down the hall to see if there was anyone coming and when I saw nothing but the scones on the wall burning brightly and the storm outside raging on still I let out a shuddering sigh of relief that nothing was coming our way. Between the two of us we had killed so far five griffons, three of them were caught unaware and had no time to retaliate but the last two, they managed to put up a fight no matter how quick it was still a fight that could have gotten us killed.

Shaking the thought that we were almost killed I decided that if we are going to survive this mess, then we are going to have be smarter then this.

As soon as we got our breath back and the shaking from our hands have faded away, we went back to creeping down the hallway, the carpet and the storm doing its best to muffle our approach and with each step we take the more I felt that an impending sense of doom coming my way.

Getting to the halfway point of the long hallway, Scrawny and I saw that there was a door in the middle of each wall and I knew that if there was any griffons within these rooms than I am sure that the one that Scrawny was slammed into would be on alert because there would be no reason as to why the guards that was on patrol would have slammed on the wall that hard a short while ago. And if these griffons were smart they would be waiting for us to open the door before attacking us in an ambush.

And without missing a beat the doors were thrown open the moment we got to them and from within those rooms pairs of talons came out, grabbed us and dragged us into our own rooms.

The moment I was grabbed was also that same moment where I decided to loosen my grip on my recently acquired hatchet and due to my loose hold I lost my weapon. In the future I will not make that same mistake twice.

I don't know who would be stupid enough to try that but the first griffon that I saw who also seemed to be the one that was grabbing me by the shoulders was also the first one to die. How I killed him is relatively simple, as soon as I was dragged into the room they let me go because they failed to have their weapons drawn or laying around when they needed them but with them at the moment disarmed I thrust my sword arm forward and skewered griffon Uno in the chest, the blade piercing through a ribcage to get to the juicy blood heart in the middle. The three other griffons in the room saw this and in a flurry of movement they drew their short swords and hatchets, enraged that one of their own was killed before their very eyes.

The other three griffons saw this as their chance to end me and they took it as the one closest to me took a swing with that hatchet of his, but instead of burying it in my right shoulder as it was meant to, I instead took a step back while dragging the freshly slain griffon with me. End result was the hatchet biting deep into griffon shoulder meat and clipping the tip of its right wing.

Meanwhile the other two griffons took their swings, one went with a chopping motion that actually chopped into my side, the blade cutting not too deep into my ribcage as I found that the blade wasn't even that sharp to begin with, it left a cut that was surely causing some blood loss but not enough to be a fatality.

And as for griffon number three, his dagger found its place in my thigh and boy did that fucking hurt like hell. Imagine the pain of getting poked very hard, and have that pain amplified several times because its deep and that it was wiggled a few times to make it hurt even more.

With the griffon that was holding the dagger that was currently buried in my left thigh staring up at me as if he just struck a killing blow, I reminded him that such callous actions will not go unrewarded. Glaring down at the griffon who thought it was a bright idea to stand between me and my quest for reclamation and revenge I backhand him across the beak with my left hand which disorientated the little bastard while his buddy was stupefied that he missed his mark and chopped his buddy in the back.

I don't know what is worse, in my opinion, the fact that you missed your possibly only swing, or the fact that your missed swing whacked your buddy in the back and possibly crippled or killed him.

As it turns out the weapons these bandits are wielding are either in such poor condition that they might just fall apart in a single swing, haven't been sharpened in years, or are in the talons of those that have never held a weapon before in their lives. But it doesn't matter to me, they decided to go for a life of crime instead of earning an honest living.

Food for thought.

Pulling out my bloodied sword from the deceased hybrid of lion and eagle I gave it a twirl which threw most of the blood on its blade onto the griffon who was bitch-slapped by me while his friend was busy wiggling the axe blade from his now obviously dead friend's shoulder/back. With my bit of swordplay done I turned my attention to the griffon who was trying his hardest to yank the axe from decreased griffon number...six I think?

Anyways this ass gasket was about to give up the ghost but the moment he manages to finally yank the axe out from his friend's shoulder I took a swing and cleaved through both of his talons at the forearm.

Now I know what many people would think of me for doing this but let me tell you this. I don't give a fuck.

This bandit just tried to whack me with an object that is used to cut wood in half, I am not a piece of lumber goddamn it!

With the now armless griffon screeching in agony for the loss of his arms, I silenced him by running him through an pushed his corpse off and to the side as I as focused on the griffon who stabbed me in the thigh.

This particular griffon is going to die an agonizing death.

Moving within grabbing distance I slammed my weapons on the floor as soon as I have taken notice that it was just me and him left in this room.

Gouging out the griffon's eyes I then kicked him out the second story window, his body landing with a thud outside as he screamed and screeched his lungs out as he was now rendered blind and was bleeding profusely from his now ruined eye-sockets and the numerous cuts that litter his body from the shards of glass that slashed him up. Turning away from the window I returned my attention to the other griffons in the room before jumping over a telegraphed swing from a griffon's sword before burying my sword into his skull, the blade easily going all the way to the shaft which left it irretrievable for me at the moment so I had to rely on much more practical tools for the job, my hands.

Bobbing and weaving between angry griffons and their sloppy swordplay I only ended up getting nicks and small cuts but nothing too life-threatening to worry about, but when an over-eager griffon that looked a little too young to even be here rushed me I decided that this one was not worth killing. Missing me by what might as well be a mile I ran up to him before kicking the young griffon in the ribs, cracking and possibly breaking at least three of them in one go and as soon as my foot was back on the floor I reached down and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck before tossing him into the room that I walked out of and left him in there to stew among the dead bodies that I left behind.

Gripping the dagger that was embedded in my thigh I clenched my teeth and with a howl of pain I pulled it out to see that my blood has stained the short stubby blade red. Dropping the small weapon on the floor I looked around for something to cover up my fresh bleeding injury, I spotted that one of the deceased griffons had a scarf wrapped around his neck and with him no longer being alive he doesn't need it anymore.

Ripping the scarf from the dead bird's neck and remembering from my Boy Scout education on mediocre medical training, I wrapped the length of scarf as tightly as I could around my thigh to staunch the blood loss. As it turns out the mediocre training paid off because the bleeding has stopped and also that I could still feel my left leg hasn't gone numb yet.

I just I don't have to amputate my left leg, I sort of like it where it is at the moment.

Looking down at the young griffon cub writhing in pain I wiped my hands of the mess that has been made only to hear a loud yelp of pain come from my outside the room I was in and when I went out to find the source of it, what I saw made my blood boil.

A griffon was stabbing my friend in the gut with the short spike on his battle axe, the large blade on the opposite side was coated in blood and the spike that was embedded in Scrawny's chest was deep and the wound was leaking blood. My best friend was hurt and he needed my help.

My vision turned red and all I saw was a dead griffon walking.

Without thinking or even releasing that I even moved I was already upon the griffon that was hurting my friend with my hands firmly clamped on his shoulders. Ripping him of my friend I threw him into a wall, tilting a scone that was above his head as hot ashes landed on his head as he let out a squawk of pain from being burned but it was short lived as I reenacted a rather famous scene from Game of Thrones but with my own twist on the bastard.

Grabbing the screaming griffon by the head I put pressure on his skull and I put all of my strength into it as I heard his skull begin to crack and creak under my fingers.

"You made a terrible mistake little bird. You hurt my only friend, you made him bleed in my presence." I whispered to him as I brought my face close to his, just above his beak as I firmly held him in place as the pinned griffon tried to claw my arms but all it did was make me exert more pressure on his skull until he finally let go of my arms and just hung their limp as he continued to scream out in pain.

"Now, embrace death!" I shouted before giving it my all and with all of my muscles working overtime I heard the creaking and cracking of bone come full tilt as the griffon's skull finally gave in as his head popped like a grape.

The griffon's head exploded, sending bits of brain, bone, eyeballs, and most importantly copious amounts of blood all over my hands but I didn't care as I flicked my hands of the mess and immediately went to aid my friend.

He was sitting on the opposite side of the griffon I just brutally executed and was holding the battle axe in place as to not agitate the wound further but he was whimpering in pain and he looked like hell if the bloody nose and weeping cuts are of any indications. I wasn't a doctor or even a trained nurse but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Scrawny was in a world of hurt and that I had both get that spike out of his chest and also stop him from bleeding out.

Kneeling down beside him I placed one hand on his chest and the other on the shaft under the blade before glancing up at him and told him to brace for it.

"This is going to hurt, you will probably want to rip my head off after this but it as to be done." I said in a low calm tone, Scrawny was looking at me but he couldn't say anything due to how much pain he was in as all he could do was whimper sadly as he grit his teeth and placed a meaty paw on my left shoulder to help him brace for what was about to happen next.

On the count to three I told him that I would take the spike out from his chest and that I would apply pressure on the wound to help staunch the flow of blood but what I didn't tell him was that I was going to make this quick.

"Three." I skipped one and two and went straight for the end as I yanked the spike from Scrawny's chest and the reaction was instant.

Scrawny's meaty paw gripped my shoulder tightly to the point that I thought I heard the bones there creaking from the pressure being forced onto it while I dropped the axe onto his lap while my hands was now on the quarter-sized puncture hole to stop any blood from leaking out. With my hands on the wound and the amount of blood leaking out appearing to be a small amount, either the spike didn't hit anything important as it missed all vital organs or that the spike was slowed down and barely penetrated his chest due to his fur and him trying to stop the griffon from outright killing him.

Either way I got him to stop bleeding by using my shirt that I was wearing as a blood rag and I am sad to say this but I think I can never wear that shirt ever again even if I somehow manage to get rid of the bloodstains and the smell.

With my shirt now working as a bandage and a plug to the wound in Scrawny's chest I was now helping him get back up onto his paws so we can get out of this hallway but as I got him up I kneeled down and grabbed the battle axe off the floor and used it as a walking stick to help us get out. The axe itself weighed about twenty pounds and for me it for some strange reason felt right in my hands.

I don't know why but this weapon feels like it belongs to me, like some sort of calling between me and this weapon...it is almost like this weapon is just begging for me to use it, to own it.

Maybe I should stop overthinking this shit, I highly doubt that type of thing is even real.

Giving the ax an experimental swing with just one hand I found it to be easier than it should be but when I gave it another swing but with both hands, it felt as if I could easily cut a tree down in one fell swoop.

Yes, I do think I will be keeping this axe, maybe this will serve me well as a wood-chopping axe. Paul Bunyan would be proud of me...I think.

Scrawny now standing behind me and me leading the way back to the foyer so he can hide in one of the lower rooms to wait for me to finish my mission so I can tend to his injuries along with help him back to town.

Steadily walking down the hall with my friend in tow, a paw resting heavily on my right shoulder as I guided him to safety that is the previous chamber, our walk was cut short when I heard the sound of claws and paws rapidly moving in our direction from behind us.

It would seem that there was at least one griffon that was being a complete and utter coward who hid the entire time during the fighting and just now decided to take a swing at me as soon as they thought that we were too tired to fight back.

All I wanted to do was just swing my axe at the little fucker and scare him when the axe head would be right in front of his face just a few inches away. What I wasn't expecting was for me to have my grip on the weapon to loosen up to let the shaft slide further from my hand to the point where it was at its farthest and the axe blade actually cleaved the poor bastard's head in half. Like I wasn't even expecting that to happen let alone why my hand suddenly felt like it wanted to loosen its grip just to chop the poor bird in half.

Looking down at the dead griffon I saw that the axe had chopped right into his head, the top part of the griffons head, plus the top half of the beak, was resting on top of the axe while the bottom half of his head, beak and the rest of the body, dropped to the ground with blood pooling around the missing section of skull.

Hell, even a portion of his brain was exposed due to the cleaving that just happened.

Just looking down at the resulting mess made me feel queasy and it wasn't before long that I just heaved all over the floor, splashing the ground in bile and melted fish meat. Unfortunately for one griffon corpse it got splattered with my vomit so whoever gets the terrible duty of cleaning this place out will have to eventually take out the dead body that have been puked on.

As soon as we got to the end of the hall and back to the door we came from, I pushed it open and led him down the stairs to an empty room. The room in question that I sat him down in was one of the furnished chambers that had a sofa on it and put him down so he can stop moving and helping the blood flow move faster.

"Okay Scrawny, I need you to stay here and stay out of trouble. I will be back soon with my prize and the griffon princess and her goons, just keep pressure on that bandage and try to get anything underneath the wrappings. I do not want you to die from an infection because you decided to go poking something you shouldn't be." I said to my friend as I calmly talked to him, I did everything I could to make him comfortable while he stays here for what might be a long night.

The moment I made him sit down and stay there on the sofa I grabbed my battle axe and made my way back to the door. If I am to find the griffon princess in this manor than I better hurry up, these bastards for the most part probably heard what happened upstairs and are now getting themselves ready for me.

Cracking my neck and rolling my shoulders I brace myself for yet another foray into the manor.

Author's Note

I am terribly sorry for the long leave of absense, between me still hunting for a job, finishing another round of college, and also a bout of me hitting a wall of writers blockage.

Cleaning House

Taking a glance out from the room to see if any of the hostile griffons have entered the foyer and to my fortune, they haven't.

With there being no presence of my enemies I decided that now would be a good time to go through the locked doors beneath the stairs. Moving to the nearest door I kept my ax ready in the event of an ambush of talons and blades, but it wasn't necessary because there wasn't anyone to stop me.

The first door I went to was the one that was closest to me and once I reached it I grabbed the key that I snagged off one of the dead griffon bastards and pushed it into the lock and with a gentle and slow twist I heard the tumbler unlocking and the door opening up.

Pushing the door in a slow, methodical manner I took a peek through the crack to see that the door I picked led down below the earth, my guess that it was a basement or worse a torture chamber. Seeing where this particular door led I then went to the other door, unlocked it with my key and took a peek through it to see that it led to the rest of the first floor.

'I wonder if the other bandits heard what was going on the second floor, I mean I was pretty fucking loud with the killings and yelling n shit. There is no fucking way that they didn't hear any of this crap.'

Thinking to myself that waiting on the other side of this door is a group of pissed off bandits wielding swords and axes n spears and whatever else griffons can use with their talons, and with a quick prayer to the big J man upstairs who might or might not be looking down at me to keep my ass safe from harm and butt rape, I rushed through the door and raised my axe in preparation to chop some unlucky bastard in half.

Turns out it wasn't called for.

On the other side of that door was an empty hallway with windows being pelted by rain, and one dead griffon that was impaled on the wooden barricade surrounding manor. Huh, I guess if some griffon saw this while I was killing up there then they must have alerted everyone else they could get their talons on and told them that shit is going down on the second floor.

The bandits must be either holed up somewhere on this floor or somewhere in the basement, waiting for me and Scrawny or whoever they believe to be coming after them. Well, they are right to be afraid, because if I am not the one that kills them then it will be the royal guards that came to rescue their princess from their evil clutches.

That or that they kill each other to spare themselves the brutality that is coming their way.

Either way, it works for me, but for the moment I am going to go through this door and clear out the first floor to make sure nothing stabs me in the back.

Taking my first few attentive steps into the unknown I kept my gaze on the dead griffon that lay outside the windows, the poor bastards blood was already seeping down the wooden barricade, its now glassy eyes staring back at me was a little unnerving but seeing how that the griffon was dead I don't have to worry about the fucker coming back from the grave to haunt my ass. Not like this world has zombies and other undead shit wandering around here.

The weather outside was steadily being cranked up a few notches as I saw the branches from the trees outside starting to sway and shake in the wind, it was almost as if the weather itself has a mind of its own and was picking up with what was going on inside this manor and was reacting accordingly. That or the griffons are capable of managing the weather with some sort of voodoo hoodoo magic bullshit.

Or a wind spirit was just fucking around during a storm.

Either way, I am sure that this isn't some sort of ominous sign or something, but for the time being I best be going back to walking, staring at a corpse that is being drained of its blood is starting to make me think of my own mortality.

Going back to creeping down the hall I stopped at the first door that I came across and with a jiggle of the doorknob to test it if it was locked and with my current mixed luck streak going on, the knob jiggled plenty and I know that it was unlocked and was perfectly fine for me to go in. Deciding to go in that particular room for the moment I brushed past it and continued on my merry way to check if there are any other rooms in this hallway.

Slinking on by the first door I came upon a corner that bends to the left and it revealed yet another door but this one seems to go to the same room that the other door was connected to. Going past that door to the one that was a little farther down the hall, I soon came upon it along with the end of the hall, I guess this particular section is under lock and key because it must have some sort of high value to these bandits.

Looking at the locked door I mulled it over in my head on whether or not I should either chop the door down with my ax or if I should kick it open with my strangely newly acquired strength that came from seemingly nowhere.

If I went with my ax then there is the possibility that it might get stuck in the door or worse, the head would get stuck or snap off the shaft and leave me with a useless stick. But if it works than the blade may end up a bit dull but still be usable enough to chop into some fleshy griffons to kill.

And then there is my new found strength, if I use it then there is the chance that I might accidentally break my leg on the wooden door and wall, or if it works than the door would break inward and reveal what is laying on the other side but my foot and possibly my leg would be sore.

Debating with myself on what I should do I decided that I might as well leave this to chance. Reaching into my left pocket I fished around in there and fished out my wallet and opened it up. Behind my ID card and driver's license was a lonely silver dollar coin, something that Two-Face would use whenever he couldn't decide on how to screw someone over.

Grabbing the coin I rolled it between my fingers, watching the silver coin tumble end over end before coming to a stop within my palm. Gazing at the silver head staring up at me I decided that heads would be kicking it down and tails would be chopping it down like in The Shining, just minus me saying 'Here's Johnny!'.

Flicking the coin into the air I watched as the low light from a nearby scone glance off the silver edges, giving it a nearly majestic look to it and as it twirled into the air before finally coming back down into my open palm.

With it in my palm, I glanced down and saw what my choice was.

Taking a step back away from the door I looked down at my foot, my shoes were still whole and not falling apart so I guess that this plan will work, I think it will work anyways.

With some distance between me and the door, I gave myself a silent pep-talk and willed myself to go through with my horribly thought-up plan.

Rushing towards the door I lifted my left leg up to my chest and thrust my leg forward, my shoe hitting the area beneath the doorknob and broke the lock. With the lock no longer holding me back I kept on pushing through the door with my foot and on the other side was something I was not expecting.

Through the broken door, I rushed through and saw that it was not an armory or even a loaded treasury.

It was a fairly large kitchen that was filled with an array of knives, pots and pans, even some kettles sitting on what looks like a stove. This kitchen looks like it is stocked with every single kitchen appliance that is currently available to this land and for the times.

Looking around I saw hanging metal circles with what looks like herbs and assorted spices. For a bunch of bandits, it would seem that they are able to afford the finer things in life such as good food and possibly a chef to cook it for them. Glancing around the kitchen I saw a door that was to the left of the door I kicked in and I can fairly guess that specific room is the dining hall, and the room on the right side of the room must either be the larder or some sort of food storage chamber.

On the other side of the door was a fully stocked and packed larder, the shelves are packed to the brim with salted meats and fish of varying species and sizes. I don't know what types of meats are here but if I were to guess I can safely bet that it is from around here so it must be safe to eat.

Well, safe to eat for the locals, I am not sure if it is safe for me to consume but it is better to be safe than sorry so I avoided taking a nibble from any of the shelved and hanging food.

Closing the door to the larder I turned around and as I was about to leave I heard the sound of pots and pans clanking against each other.

Something was in here with me.

And it would seem that they have a death wish.

Walking around the room slowly I raised my ax above my head, getting it into chopping position. As I took careful, calculated steps around the kitchen I kept my eyes moving, scrutinizing everything in here, making sure everything in here was where I last saw them.

My eyes scanned every single inch of the room and it was when my eyes roved over the pans that I saw that one of them was missing.

'So this is how you want to play it little griffon, well then, let the games begin.'

Taking heavy steps around the kitchen I looked for the obvious hiding places such as the cabinets. Opening cabinet after cabinet, including the drawers that are large enough to hold a fully-grown griffon in it and to my dismay there was nothing to find.

That is until I saw a griffon tail that was hanging out of a cabinet and as I walked closer it was quickly pulled in.

'So cute, this one thinks that they will escape my sight? I will give this one griffon the benefit of doubt and give them a chance to live. IF they attack me then I will just cut them down.'

Walking towards the cabinet I gazed down at the slightly askew wooden door and with a firm tug, I yanked it open and saw a griffon hiding within. Forgetting my strength I accidentally ripped the small cabinet door off from its hinges and without paying it much attention flung it behind me directly into the hanging pans, the resulting clanging of pans on pans on wooden countertop made me look back to see what was the cause of it but that was enough for the griffon that was hiding to make a run for it.

Sadly that griffon was a bit on the clumsy side because as soon as it started to run towards the exit, its talons and paws scurried across the wooden planks that made up the kitchen floors and tripped over its own footing and crashed beak-first into the wall next to the exit.

Looking at what just transpired I could only slowly bring my free hand to my face and drag it downwards as I could only watch the dazed, confused and at the moment concussed griffon wobble to its feet.

'Now just who am I dealing with...is this one of the bandits that work in Tazul's employment, or is this one of the chefs that work here to feed these bastards? Hell I am even willing to guess that this might be a thief who broke in here before I even arrived and heard the fighting upstairs...eh fuck it, I'll get my answers one way or another'

Storming over to the dizzy griffon I grabbed it by the back of its neck and held it down as I placed the head of the ax to the base of its neck and leaned down and started to talk directly to the side of its head, I don't entirely know where its ears are located so I am just going with the side of its head for the moment.

"So what do we have here? A cook? A bandit? Or just a thief who managed to slip past Tazul's cronies and blundered into the kitchens to get a quick bite before plundering the rest of the manor?" I growled this into the griffon's hearing receptacle and as I uttered out those words I watched the dazed griffon immediately tuck its tail between its legs and let out a whimpered that signified that it has been forced into submission, that or it is enjoying being dominated and is trying to hide its arousal...

I hope to god it is the former and not the latter.

The young griffon that I was holding down let out another whimper before finally speaking up, this time I was able to understand what gender it was as it sounded fairly masculine but it was still young, so my guess this one was a teenager.

"Hey! L-l-let me go!" the youngling shouted as I grabbed him by the cuff of his neck as he flailed around, his talons trying to pry my fingers off of his throat as his lion paws tried to kick me away.

"And why should I do that? You probably work for the asshole who owns this shady manor and I am not willing to take a knife in the back the moment I let you go. So give me an excuse to bury this in your back or a reason to let you go." I said as I dragged the ax head slowly up and down the base of the young male griffon's neck, further instilling fear into him.

By doing this the griffon started to squirm under my grasp but all I had to do to make him stop was to press the sharp edge at the base of his skull and that made his attempts at escape come to a grinding halt as he realized that trying to get out from my steely grip might cost him his life he tried to be forceful.

Realizing this the griffon instead gave in and answered my question.

"I...I just want to go home! I only joined these jerks because I was promised a bigger paycheck if I joined him instead of joining the local militia!"

Raising an eyebrow at the sudden compliance this griffon was giving me I eased the ax away from his skull but I still kept it hovering near it just in case he decides to try to make a run for it. But what really made me raise my eyebrow in wonder was that this kid was once part of the local militia of a possibly nearby village, and he was doing this for a bigger pay?

So it this how this backstabbing asshole was getting his recruits? By pretty much bribing local guards to be his lackeys and break the law and try to cause a rebellion from within? Damn dude, this is some cloak n dagger shit right here.

"A bigger pay? You left your home behind for more money!? You greedy fucker, you willfully abandoned your home just so you can have more money, you're a piece of shit!" I shouted at the young griffon even though that I took Tazul's bribe and was willing to lie to the king about his daughter's location...

Pot, meet kettle.

Great, now I feel like shit...fuck!

But of course, I turned myself around when I found out that the bastard robbed me blind and tried to trick me by replacing all of the gold I stole from the diamond dogs with rocks and took my laptop from me. So I guess a bit of hypocrisy is going on here, but meh.

Releasing the griffon's neck and taking a step back I go out of my hostile stance and took a more passive one by putting the ax by my side to give him a chance to get back to his paws/talons and to get ready to hear what I am about to tell him.

"Well little griffon here is a choice for you, you can either go back to hiding in the cabinets and waiting for either a chance to make a run for it or to surrender when the royal guards arrive to arrest anyone who is still alive, or you can redeem yourself by telling me everything you know about this place and surrender yourself to the guards and receive a lighter punishment. The choice is yours and yours alone to make." I said as I stood back and waited for the young griffon's answer.

The young griffon looked up at me for a moment, hearing my words and for the moment he wondered if what I was saying was the honest truth or a straight up lie but he then looked down and away from my eyes when he saw that I was letting him decide his fate.

He looked up at me than to the door before looking back to me and in that moment I waited patiently for him to make up his mind.

Dropping the pan on the floor the young griffon immediately turned tail and ran out the open door as fast as he legs can let him.

"I didn't sign up to die here!" the young griffon shouted as he ran down the hall and out of sight.

With the griffon now gone my purpose here in the kitchens now fulfilled, I left the room and went back to the foyer to go down into the basement.

The trip back to the central room was uneventful, the dead griffon that was outside that I kicked out the upstairs window was still impaled on the wooden spiked wall. I don't know if he died immediately from the impact or if he was still alive as he bled out, but what I do know is that he tried to kill me so I killed him in kind.

Did I make the right choice by letting that young griffon go? I don't know, probably, I won't really know until after it comes back to bite me in the ass.

Looking back out the window I saw my own reflection and I must say that I look like a wreck.

My clothes were a bit cut up from the griffon talons, the blunt swords didn't penetrate my clothes but they sure as hell left some bruises underneath it all. There was blood from at least six different griffons all over me, my face, arms, and chest are just splattered with the stuff. Hell, I know some of that blood got into my wounds so that is just a disease nest just waiting to act up and fuck me over, so I am just three sheets to the wind when the Grim Reaper comes by for me.

'Well, at least I can tell Death himself that I was doing this for the greater good.' but we both know that shit doesn't fly anymore so I am fucked six ways to Sunday.

At least I gave it my best shot.

Steeling myself for what might be waiting for me on the other side I braced myself and grabbed the doorknob and pushed on through.

The group that was waiting for me in the foyer was not who I was expecting to see.

Author's Note

Just found out that I got a sinous migraine and that its being a bitch to get rid of!

A House Falls

Grabbing the doorknob leading back into the foyer, I walked through the opening to come face-to-face with a group of kinda well-armed and sorta well-armored griffons.

Welp, my day seems to have gone from a slight uphill climb to a treacherous mountain climb while an utter shitstorm was going on.

Standing in the middle of the foyer was Grandpa Gruff, wearing what looks like a suit of antiquated armor with an equally old as hell helmet sitting on his head, his two workers standing beside him, wearing what looks like hobbled together metal plates on a leather chassis of sorts.

On their right it was Greta wearing leather armor and what looks like two metal plates on her body, one covering chest where her heart is located and the other is on her back where her wings are located. Beside her was a griffoness I haven't met yet, her coloring is almost like Greta's but it a darker shade and that she was a tad bit bigger, my guess her big sister or something. This griffoness was wearing the same thing Greta was but her wings or well the front of her wings had a metal covering on it, I don't know what that does but I can guess that they can act like a set of spare blades if the talons are occupied with holding someone down.

And lastly on their left it was Gilda, she was wearing the same thing Greta and the other griffoness are wearing but she also had a helmet on that was a bit formfitting for her head and that she had a bow in her talons, with her right talons being in some sort of glove.

Looking at this motley crew of griffons I could only wonder what the hell were they doing here but I immediately came to the conclusion that when they saw me all piss and vinegar when I left Griffonstone that they knew that something was up so they got themselves a crew, got geared up and tailed me up until we got to Tazul's manor.

"Sooo......what brings you all down here?" I said as I looked them all over, and after a moment Gilda stepped towards me before stopping just shy of bumping into me.

"I don't know, Gramps over there told me that you were going after some griffon who stole something from you. Now normally I wouldn't give two flying shits if somegriffon stole something from some other griffon, but you did the impossible and gave us hope when you retrieved the idol from the canyon. Tartarus, the griffs up top are calling you a hero and that is tweaking the beaks of every single noble and big wig seeing how none of them came even close to doing what you did."

"Wait, really? They are calling me, an outsider, a hero?"

"Yeah bud, you got the Idol of Boreas back from the abyss! Do you know how many griffons tried and failed to get it back!"

"Umm, lots?"

"Yeah! Lots! And plenty of them died when the abyss messed with their flight by altering the wind currents and sent them crashing into the walls and stopped them from recovering. But here you are, with nothing more than some climbing rope and balls of steel, you climbed down and got it back! Those featherheads kept trying the same methods and they failed each time, but you did something different and you succeeded, they don't like how it took an outsider to get something done let alone something that a griffon could have accomplished."

"So now the griffons that aren't nobles or have their heads up their own ass are calling me a hero or something?"

"Yup! And quite a few griffons are even trying to decide on how to reward you for doing what those idiots up top couldn't do."

"I heard that a few hens are thinking of giving you their thanks in a little more personal way."

"I don't think my pelvis can handle that many griffons..." I said as I thought of that one Futurama episode with the giant Amazonian women, death by snu-snu is not something I want on my tombstone, no matter how awesome it might be.

'Here lies Ian, his last words was 'Yahoooo!', may he rest in piece.'

Rolling their eyes, Gilda, Greta, and the unnamed hen just shook their heads at me, Greta even muttered 'pussy' and sure that made me want to clock her in the face but I restrained myself, it wouldn't do me any favors by hitting someone I consider a good griffon for voicing their opinions.

"Out of all of the griffons out there, even though you aren't one, you would turn down sex for being a hero?"

"No, its not that, I just don't want to be run ragged by hen after hen after hen without a break. Hell, I am more afraid that I might get somebody pregnant on accident! I don't know if my little soldiers can breach that fort!" And as I said that I watched as both Gilda and Greta start to snicker as the two bodyguards that follows Grandpa Gruff around chuckled as well, I don't know if it was because they thought what I said was funny or if they think that I can't knock up hens.

Hopefully it was that they think it was funny.

"Whatever makes you happy, but enough chitchat! We are burning time and we don't want to be here when the captain gets here!" Grandpa Gruff says as he coughed into his talons and made his way to the stairs leading to the second floor.

Leading the group up the stairs was Greta as she pulled out her short sword that she kept hidden from my sight with her wings, and as she braced herself against the door leading to the second floor I waited patiently for them to find what lies on the other side.

I wonder what their expressions will be when they go through those doors to find nothing but dead griffons that have been eviscerated. Probably a few might puke all over the floor and on the corpse, I bet one of them will faint at the sight of such carnage. Hopefully, they don't immediately come at me for brutally killing all those griffons, worst case scenario they kill me for being a brutal killing machine, best case they tackle my ass and restrain me or let me go.

Watching the armored griffons move up the stairways and stack up on both doors, I quietly went to the basement door and quietly as I could I steadily twisted the small handle until I and I alone heard the satisfying click that comes with unlocking a door.

With the royal guards no longer a threat to my existence and the bandits now trapped underground, let's just hope that they don't start executing prisoners because they want to deny us our utter victory.

As it turns out the guards weren't gone for long because the moment they saw the number of corpses upstairs that I left behind and the child griffon that I punted they all came back down, the child in the unnamed hen's arms and a bunch of shocked stares at the carnage that I left for them to discover.

"Do you want to explain why there are a bunch of dead griffons lying up there?" Gilda asked me as she had a talon on her gut, trying very hard not to puke all over the floor.

"Uh, would you believe that they all attacked me and my friend and we killed them all in self-defense?" I said while looking a bit sheepish, I mean really would else could I have said at that moment? Not like they will completely believe me.

"I would, but it would seem that you are missing a diamond dog. Where is he?" And this is bad, do I get killed here?

The correct answer is no, I don't die here, instead, when I told her that he was in the room over there, staunching the blood flow to the injury in his chest, the two bodyguards went in and gently pulled him out and began to administer first-aid to the best of their abilities seeing how they never treated a wounded d-dog before.

With that said and done, I looked at Scrawny before looking back at the elderly griffon and started to talk about what we are going to do next.

"Well for starters we are going to be heading downstairs, we know you have already checked the upper floor if your ragged and bloody appearance is of anything to tell by. We will be sticking together to better raise the odds of us staying alive and also find our princess and bring Tazul in to face justice." the old bird said and although I would have told him that I could do this on my own, I would rather not unnecessarily risk my life when I have a group of griffons that are willing to come help me even though they didn't have to.

If this is the power of friendship with griffons that I think I am going to like it here.

That and I bet I can get this done a whole lot faster with them to assist me!

Nodding my head with Grandpa Gruff I let him lead the way to the basement door but when we got there I stopped him and took the lead by opening the door before moving back into formation between four griffons who look like they are just itching to get into a fight.

With the griffons shuffling down the wide stairs into the dark abyss that is the basement I kept my eyes peeled to see if there was anything down here that might try to kill us, but lucky for us the stairs wasn't trying to kill me or the griffons I was marching with.

Step by step the six of us made our way down, eventually we made it to the bottom unharmed.

"Back here again...wasn't really expecting to be walking down these halls a second time...and so soon for that matter."

"Close your beak, hero, we don't know how many of those traitors are down here and I will not lose the element of surprise while we still have it!"

"Greta, the element of surprise was lost when I butchered those griffons on the top floor, I am more than positive that these bandits had someone go top side to check on those that were up there." That and I highly doubt that they don't have a traitor in the guard's ranks and managed to send a message back here that they were coming.

Before the captain had a chance to say something back to me, the sound of something whistling came flying by my head and before I could shit myself that i was almost hit, the object in question impaled itself into the stairs behind me. The nine of us turned to see what it was only to see that it was an arrow, and it was leveled with my head.

Turning my head back down the hall that we were about to walk down I heard another arrow being fired but instead of being aimed at me, it instead pinged off a griffon guard's helmet and bounced off the wall before clattering onto the floor.

We all immediately tried to duck for cover but as it turns out this was the one hallway that had no doors leading into rooms or even small columns on the walls that could be used to get out of harms way. This hall was a deathtrap and we walked right into it.

"Well, well, well! Look who it is, the shaved mutt who was allowed to flee with his tail between 'is legs!" I recognized that voice, it was the same asshat who kidnapped me, Scrawny and the griffons I was traveling with!

And this bastard just took a shot at me! Oh he is so dead!

Hiding behind an armored griffon I shouted over the armored meatshield while giving the bastard who shot me the middle finger.

"I swear to god I am going to fucking scalp your ass the moment I get my hands on you!"

And by scalp I mean chop off the top of his head because axes are not that reliable when it comes to shaving skulls of head meat.

The well-protected bodyguards were having a hard time moving up, trying their best to dodge the arrows being shot at them by the one archers the bandits had with them.

Until I was shot in the shoulder when I tried to make my way to a wooden beam that was ahead of me.

You see I was never one to take a hit lying down, but the pain of a sharp and possibly rusty metal arrow in my left shoulder blade was something I have never felt before. It was almost like I was kicked in the balls, but instead of my balls being bruised and needing an icepack to make it feel better, it was my left arm and it was hurting like a motherfucker. And that made me mad, like 'Redneck running out of beer during NASCAR' mad.

I was only this level of mad two times, once when my brother ate all of the dinner that I made for myself when I went to walk my dog, and when I was in the BoyScouts when some idiot shot me in the ass with a pellet gun when I was going down range to replace all of the targets for the next group of kids to shoot. My brother got away with a sore forehead and a bruised sack, the bastard who shot me in the ass got shot in the ass with an entire clip of metal pellets.

We can say that they got what they deserved for their stupidity.

But this griffon though...I hope they do closed-casket burials here.

Releasing my inner Braveheart battle cry I pushed the old griffon that was standing beside me, trying to calm me down out of my way along with the griffons that was in front of me as I charged at the bandits with my ax raised and spittle flying out of my mouth.

Now I know what you may be thinking, that what I did can be seen as the most suicidal thing that I can possibly do in a situation like this, but hear me out. You see, when you see a crazed person running at you with a battle ax raised over their head and yelling, and behind said person was a group of pissed off griffons being led by the old captain of the guard...in short it means that you have just painted a target on your face and that ax is determined to bury itself in that target.

The wall of rusting spears and swords wavered and started to break up as the griffons that was holding them either dropped them to run faster or took their weapons with them as they fled but it had the desired result, an opening in their ranks for me to bust through without getting impaled and being in a dire need of a doctor and a shot.

Griffon after griffon saw me getting closer and closer decided that now wasn't a good time to be working for a noble who was willing to betray his king was a good idea so they decided to flee. With the line broken I leapt through a fresh opening while the griffons behind me clashed and collided with the bandits that held their ground. The bandit who shot me with the arrow was getting another arrow ready but by the time the arrow was nocked and ready to be fired again I was already in front of him swinging my ax downward at him.

Letting out a squawk of fear he dropped the loaded bow which misfired and grazed my check on the right side of my face, earning him another bellowing roar of pain and anger and as my ax came down it just barely missed the bastard but it did manage to cleave his bow in half, rendering it useless and burying itself into the wooden floorboards as the bastard stumbled back and pulled out his slightly dinged longsword from its scabbard.

Yanking my ax from the floorboards I kept my eyes on the bandit leader all the while the bandits that were around me was at the moment too busy to deal with me as they were busy dealing with the royal guards that followed after me and used the hole I made to split the hostile group in half.

The royal guards began to easily pick off the bandits that stayed behind while the bandits that were trying to flee for their lives went deeper into the underground.

Taking a swing at my head the lead bandit missed but his sword managed to slice off a few strands of my hair, sending it fluttering to the ground as I silently thanked the big J man in the sky for not letting this asshole cut my head off. With the bastard recovering from his failed swing I returned the favor in kind, the ax arcing downward at an angle but it missed as he quickly took a step back, his wings flapping to give him some lift to make the retreat faster but it also gave me more space to work with.

"You daft bastard! You just couldn't keep your trap shut could you, just had 'ta flap your lips and tell the king about us!"

Rushing towards the griffon to close the gap I took another swing with my ax, this time clipping his leather armor and leaving a gash through the finely-made material and a warning to the griffon that I was coming for his head.

"Hey man, it wasn't my fault that your boss robbed me of my gold that I had in my backpack and also stole my laptop! That piece of shit lied to my face about not touching anything of mine so he is gonna get what is coming to him!" And I would have kept my mouth shut if he hadn't betrayed me like that, but hey, more loot for me and I get back some good karma for helping these griffons out.

Swinging again I tried to knock the sword out of his talons but he kept moving and dodging my attacks, this one must have been a guard or a soldier at some point his in life because it would appear that he had some form of formal training. That and I probably suck at aiming with this damn thing.

The griffon that I was fighting against saw an opening and took it when he took a jab at me, the sword biting into my other shoulder but it was just for a second before he pulled the blade and tried to gut me but I blocked his strike and deflected it off to the side before kicking him in the gut, my shoe leaving a fairly nice imprint in the leather. I must say that when this is over I am going to have to take that armor off of him and try to get it fitted to fit my body.

A quick step back I watched the griffon tried to gauge my stance and see if he could get the upper hand against me but I know what I am doing, I've seen Troy, 300, and Deadliest Warrior several times so I can handle a griffon that is roughly half my size and weight.

Before I could close in on my opponent, I heard something shuffle close to me and in that moment I felt a pair of talons grab me by the left shoulder as a bandit griffon stabbed me in the back, primarily in the area near my liver. Turning my head to see who just stabbed me I then watched the griffon in question take an arrow to the head as his corpse drops to the side and so I returned to the head bandit griffon.

The bandit leader grinned at my situation, knowing that I had to end this quickly before I bleed out to death. Glaring at the bastard I give him the middle finger, hoping he doesn't know what it means but to my misfortune he does as I watch him start seething in anger that was immediately followed by screeching at me before lunging at me.

With the gap between us made I waited for the royal guards to mop up with the bandits who had the guts to stay behind and try to kill them but as I glanced back to see what the progress was I grinned at the sight of several dead bandits with a few that was still trying to fight back but was losing their ground. With the fight between the two forces decided in my favor I returned my attention to the bandit leader and saw that he was charging right at me, this time using his wings to rapidly close the distance and with the momentum that was created hit me square in the chest with his head.

The impact of the charge knocked me on my back with the griffon on top of me, the sword in his talons was raised but as he was about to impale me I smacked him upside the head with the blunt part of my ax, I wasn't going to kill him just yet.

Dazed and momentarily confused the griffon on top of me tried to make a second attempt at impaling me but as he tried to get his arms raised again I saw my opening by moving my leg into position and kneed him right in the ass. The blow from down below forced the surprised griffon to go sailing over me, dropping his sword in the progress as I quickly rolled over and stood up as my opponent grabbed his sore ass. With my rival at the moment incapacitated I took it a step further and punted him right in the balls to permanently disarm him and render him unable to keep fighting.

A dick move yes, but as they say fighting with no honor means that you have a higher chances of survival.

I think I got the saying right, well at least I think I got it right.

Staring down at the suddenly high-pitched squawking griffon I happily grabbed his sword and looked it over before grabbing his scabbard off of his pained-form and sheathed it before placing it on my pants through a belt loop and my belt.

Looking up to see that my friends have finished dealing with the bandits who stayed behind I was happy to see that none of them were injured let alone dead, their armor had some nicks and cuts from the faulty weapons that was used against them, I saw that Gilda was holding her right shoulder, Greta was nursing her head and the unnamed hen was holding her right foreleg close to her body.

Glancing over to the old griffon I saw that he was wiping his face/beak clean of some blood that splattered on his face and when he looked to see me I then made a motion to the incapacitated griffon beneath me and he knew what I was trying to imply by telling one of his bodyguards to tie him up and to leave him behind for pickup.

Looking at the end of the hall I saw that the double doors were at the end and I realized exactly was waiting for me at the other end.

"Gramps, you go rescue your princess, I'll deal with the traitor."

"Are you sure that would be wise? You are injured, you are bleeding from a wound that looks like it has impaled an organ and that the griffon you are going after might still have some guards waiting for him." And he also might be armed, but fuck it, that asshole is mine!

"Yes Grandpa, I am sure, he stole from me something of great importance along with your sacred idol. He made it personal for the both of us but your princess is a higher priority. You go rescue her, I'll take Tazul on and if I still hadn't dealt with him then you can deal with him." I said as I walked down the hall, holding onto my side and wincing in pain.

As I made it to the door I waited to see if they would burst open and on the other side would be another group of bandits but instead when I grabbed the doorknob and pushed it open to reveal nothing more than a single older griffon noble sitting alone at his table.

Staring at me with a frown I watched the griffon stay in his seat, his gaze never leaving my own as I walked in and closed the door behind me. With the doors closed his attention then turned to my ax, the blood dripping from it was clearly what caught his eye as droplets of the crimson life essence dribbled onto the carpet along with the bits of feathers still clinging to the head of the blade.

Finally returning his gaze to me he saw that I was caked in the blood of his slain employees, my clothes were shredded and ruined, I was leaning to the right a bit as to cover my stab wound and that I was shaking ever so slightly.

"So...you came back." Tazul's voice sounded displeased, but he can go fuck himself, nobody steals from me and gets to try and talk sass with me!

"Yeah, I did." I am also here to rip your dick off and beat you to death with it! And also get my laptop back...can't forget about that. And the idol. And my gold...pretty much I am here to take everything back.

"You betrayed me by telling the king about my little operation." Is he really trying to say that I went against my word? Really now? I would have kept it if you hadn't robbed me blind!

"No, no I did not betray you. You betrayed me by stealing my laptop from me, stole all my gold, and gave me a fake idol while you kept the real one. You are the one who betrayed our little deal, and those that worked for you are paying the price for it." And by paying the price I mean they are either already dead, are about to be dead, or are about to be led away in chains.

Placing his talons on the table I watched as he stood up and started to walk around the table, coming to a stop in front of it before staring at me with the intensity that if I were a weaker willed man I would be shaking in my shoes in fear.

"So this is how it ends." Tazul said with a hint of finality to it, and as he says this I watched as both of his wings start to move in an awkward position that made me pause to wonder what he was doing.

"Yeah, it is. The captain will bring you and whatever cronies that are still alive for questioning, you will be hung along with those that are...less than cooperative." And possibly it means that all of them will be hung for being a traitor.

"I see..." and as he says this I watched as his wings flipped out, two daggers dropping from the feathers before caught them with his talons as he took a swipe at me.

'Shit!'

Stepping back from the sudden swipe at my throat I saw that the bastard was glaring at me, righteous anger roiling within his frame as he lunged at me for another flurry of slashes but I ended up jumping to the side his daggers cutting into the doors as I tried to collect myself.

Bracing myself against the wall I watched as Tazul twirled his daggers around and sliced at me again but this time I reacted too slowly and felt one of the blades slice into my gut, not cutting too deep but deep enough for me to shout in pain as I felt my precious life essence start to seep out of the weeping wound. The bastard gave my belly button the Glasgow Smile, and I am not happy with it one bit.

The stitching I will be needing will suck ass, the pain of even getting those stitches will be worse, but the thing that sucks most of all is that whenever I take my shirt off, I will see the scar of my slowness in the mirror laughing at me.

I'm gonna get even with this motherfucker.

Pressing my hand against my sliced gut I glared at the treacherous noble and sneered at him as he returned the expression before resuming his attacks. Slicing at me in a whirlwind of strikes I kept on backing up until I finally couldn't go backwards any further and instead went on the offensive, right into Tazul's blades.

The griffon wasn't expecting me to go on the offensive so soon after getting gutted but he took it in stride and instead resumed the attack, his knives nicking me in the arms and legs but when I took a swing at his head he ducked, leaving him open to my shoe. Kicking him right in the head with my right foot I sent him sprawling to the floor but he still kept a firm grip on this daggers.

Raising my ax over my head I was about to bring the thick metal blunt portion of it onto his back to leave him in a world of hurt, but as I reached the zenith of ax height, Tazul rapidly turned to face me as soon he got his senses back and threw both of his knives at me.

His left dagger missed me by inches to my face, but his right dagger on the other hand, it impaled itself into my left shoulder and god damn did it hurt. In the movies it showed that someone getting stabbed there and it didn't really phase them much, they would let out a pained grunt and punch the bastard in the face.

The movies were fucking wrong.

I was howling in pain as I nearly dropped my ax and with my right hand I gripped the handle of the dagger and after a few botched tugs to dislodge the weapon but as I did so the bastard noble tackled me to the floor.

Landing on my back I felt my head smack against the hardwood flooring as stars swam in my vision, the pain was very real but what made it even more real was Tazul clawing at my face and everything else he can reach with his talons.

Every slash, every cut against my face, every single fucking talon that raked against my body was like someone was just dumping fresh lemon juice and salt onto my wounds. This shit hurts like hell and for a moment I actually thought that I was going to die here, and in fact I think I did die down here.

In that moment I felt nothing as my mind drifted off into the endless abyss that is death, I saw my life flash before my eyes, all the shit I have done, my 'accomplishments', and I must say I was a bit of a right prick for a good chunk of my life. Hell if this is my review with the Grim Reaper before he shuffles my ass over to heaven or hell then this sucks and I want my money back.

Looking out into the pitch blackness that is the afterlife I could only think that from what people say when they die for a bit and come back that it was supposed to be some sort of paradise. They are fucking liars because all I see is an inky black sea of absolute nothingness.

"If this is the afterlife then I have been lied to! This is nothing like the paradise I was promised!" I shouted to nobody in particular as I looked around, wondering what exactly is my fate going to be since I haven't been the most patron of saints out there.

When nothing responded to me I sort of just stared blankly at the void that was in front of me and did what anyone would have done in this situation.

"Pffft....well this sucks." muttering to myself I looked at the space between the lands of the living and the dead, thinking that I am either in my own version of hell, to be bored out of my mind for all eternity, or that I am in purgatory to await actual judgement.

And it was at that moment of my boredom was about to reach its zenith and I was on the verge of being pissed off because Death was taking its sweet time to get to me, a voice spoke out from the darkness.

"Oh ho ho! What is this! My little pet project shuffling off this mortal coil so soon? After all of the hard work I went through just to bring you here? Oh no no no! That will not do at all!"

Looking for the source of the mysterious voice a bit of a revelation came upon me, this voice just said that I was its pet project, that it went through trouble just to bring me here? What the fucking fuck? I loved my life back home you fucking prick, sure it was a bit boring at times but it was still my life!

"Oh don't be like that now my little mortal friend! Yes I may have took you away from that pathetic life you were so used to living by doing the same thing day after day! So boring! So simple! You always had these thoughts of wanting to make a difference in the world just in those little things you played all day long! And now is your chance!"

And this fucker can read my thoughts, great...just great...wait a minute, if it can read my thoughts then...

"Do try not to strain your poor simple mind on trying to confuse me. Those images and thoughts have nothing on me, but if you insist on trying to resist your fate than by all means, resist away! But it must be easy to fight your destiny when your dead, am I right?"

Stopping my thought process I slumped my shoulders in the abyss as I realized that even if I fought back against my godly kidnapper it would be all for naught. I can't escape this hell and find a way back home if I am dead, well can't really escape now because I am already dead...

"Oh don't be so gloom now! Do you really think I would just let my little project die so easily and in such a pathetic manner might I add? No no no, that will not do at all! Now let me see here...how does this go again..."

This voice was muttering to itself as it tried to mess around with my life force, I felt a series of pokes, prods and even a few stabs all over my body but what did the trick was my heart getting zapped by a bolt of lightning.

Normally that would have made my heart and my chest explode due to the laws of physics n nature joining forces to kill me, but in this instance it did no such thing.

Instead it kept me off of Death's doorstep and was bringing back to the world of the living.

"Now my little minion in crime, remember that this is your one freebie so don't be getting yourself killed now!"

"How the hell am I supposed to get another one in the event I do screw up?"

"Don't worry about that my little agent! I'll let you know when I want you to know!"

And as the mysterious voice said that, everything started to get all blurry and distorted, its voice turning demonic and evil to the point that I thought it was Satan himself that was talking to me, but that would mean that he sent a soul back up instead of torturing the fuck out of it...

I can't tell if what just happened was real or not but I do know one thing is certain.

Some asshole sent me to this magical land of rainbows and bullshit for a purpose and it didn't even have the god damn decency to tell me what my purpose is.

Way to go A-hole!

Anyways...

With Death no longer having any hold over my corpse and that I was given the green light to return to the land of the living, the mortal coil within me restarted itself and as my soul returned to my slashed-to-fucking-hell body I let out a loud gasp before a ragged cough escaped my lips as I immediately felt pain course through my limbs as everything rebooted itself.

Slowly moving my body I felt everything shudder and pop as my body was being reinvigorated with life once more.

Rolling onto my left shoulder I let out a pained-filled groan as I tried to look around to see if the bastard of a griffon fled the room but instead I found him trying to scurry to his table, his body obviously showing signs of damage from what I have done to him and that it was somewhat hampering his escape effort.

Watching the limping griffon noble hobble over to his table to grab my stolen loot for himself I slowly pulled myself up from the floor where he left me and to my surprise he left the dagger that was in my shoulder. Grabbing the dagger by the handle I gave it a tug and with ease it popped out, no pain came from the tug nor did any come from it being removed from my body.

"Remember this is your one freebie! Don't squander it!"

The mysterious voice said as I looked around to try and find out where it came from but it seemed to have came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Whoever this godly being is, they sure love to play games with their peons.

Looking over at the dagger in my right hand before looking at my shoulder to see that the wound that the dagger has made was no longer there, just an ugly scar was in its place. If that was this god's freebie then I dread to see what my face looks like when this is all over.

'I am going to look like a fucking abomination of nature, that's what I am going to be looking at in a mirror!' I thought to myself as I had a bit of a reaction to the scar and putting that piece of information to what my face would look like...well...

I sort of flew into a rage.

Going on autopilot I myself hobbled over to Tazul and as he was too busy putting my gold coins into a sack he failed his Listen check and was met with my left fist colliding into the side of his head. And instead of letting my fist leave his head I forced it to stay connected to his skull as I forced his head to collide with the table.

The griffon let out a screech of shock from the punch and of surprise to see me standing back up and alive again.

Removing my fist from his head I reached out to grab him but the griffon turned around with lightning-like reflexes and took a swipe at me with his right talons but he was stopped in mid-strike when my left hand grabbed him by the wrist.

Staring down at the helpless griffon he led out a squawk of fear as he gazed into my eyes, now soulless and empty as he realized that he has royally fucked up.

Twirling the dagger in my right hand I then brought the blade down onto his left talon that was still on the table, impaling it to the wooden furniture piece as he shrieked out in pain.

Looking down to his left talon I slowly forced his right talon back, putting my reinvigorated strength into it and with it I watched as the griffon start to struggle to try and break free but was unable to due to the amount of pain coursing through his system and that his left talon was impaled to the table.

With his left talon inoperable at the moment I moved his right arm onto the table, aligning it with the corner before driving the heel of my shoe onto the center of his right forearm. The resulting crack sound that was followed by a hawkish screech told anybody with a pair of working ears that someone's arm just became broken.

"You bastard! I swear upon the All-Father that when I get my talons on you I will-" I silenced his tirade by clamping his beak shut with the burlap sack he was filling up with my gold coins. I wrapped the coarse bag around his beak, wrapping it around tightly before using the rope that went with the back to restrain his wings to the point that he was having a hard time breathing due to the tightness of the rope.

"You'll swear nothing. All of this could have been avoided if you haven't had robbed me blind. We had a deal and you broke it, what is happening now is karma coming back to bite you in the ass." I said as finished tying him up before yanking the dagger from his left talon and brought it up to his right talon and wrapped it up with another length of rope that was attached to another burlap sack where his talons were now placed in.

Looking over my handy work I gave it a nod before I grabbed him by the lion paws of his rear legs and dragged him out of his room before dropping him off outside of his office.

Turning around I went back in to grab my gold and my laptop, the great mechanical device was relatively untouched aside from a few scratches on its casing but other than that it was still in perfect condition. Placing the laptop into the sack I started to look through the drawers to find the Idol of Boreas and to my dismay and possibly delayed fate of execution, the gold statue of power was not in the drawer.

'Where the hell is it? It has to be here somewhere!'

Digging through all of the drawers I found nothing but old letters, spare parchment, quills and inkwells, empty burlap sacks, gold coins, a few spare daggers resting on hooks, but no idol. Ripping the drawers out from their housing I thoroughly raided that desk to the point where it had no more secrets to give up until finally I came upon something that caught my eye.

The floorboards that was underneath the left side of the desk was not patterned the same way as the rest of the wooden boards. This was a dead giveaway that something wasn't right about this particular spot and with gusto and fear I wiggled the wooden panel loose by using the blood-coated dagger from the table and lifted up the board to reveal a closed wooden coffer.

Lifting the unopened box out from the enclosed space I gave the box a once over, looking it over to make sure that it wasn't booby trapped, and once I found that it wasn't I lifted the lid off and saw the idol resting within. Smiling weakly to myself I grabbed the Idol of Boreas and started to hobble back to Tazul before grabbing him by the rope and started to drag him off but I barely made it pass the double doors before keeling over and blacking out once more.

I am not getting paid enough for this shit.

Times passed out: ~~3~~ 4

Author's Note

Today my peeps is the day that the college season starts for me, wish me luck.

Hello darkness my old friend

The last thing I remember was that I beat the shit out of that asshole griffon, nearly died, got my shit back and then passed out.

"And now I am here...in the middle of bum fuck nowhere...god fucking damn it."

Now now, don't be mad my little peon. You are still among the land of the living so turn that frown upside down!

Looking around the black recesses of space I didn't find the voice's creator, instead all I found was empty pitch black shadows drowning everything out as I floated in the void.

"So are you going to show yourself or are you just going to be speaking to me from beyond the veil?"

The silence that came after my question was the answer from the void being.

"I guess I shall take that as a no then?"

You can take it however you like it, but just know that I am always watching you.

Hearing the disembodied voice tell me that it has been watching me is a little disconcerting...and a tad bit creepy.

"Wait you've been watching me?"

Yes, I have. Ever since you got here and a bit before and I must say that with the way you think I am more than positive that you will alter the course of this world's history. Your mere presence alone has already changed Fate's designed path and she is now in a hurry to keep it from falling apart at the seams.

And before you even ask me, Fate is real and she is not pleased that you have upset her plans for this world. I have been trying to get that stick out of her ass for eons and it seems that all I had to do was introduce someone that she can't influence with her power!

'So happy to know that I am a wedge in some god's plan, I am just filled to the brim with joy!'

I heard and felt that sarcasm mortal, be happy that I am giving you enough flexibility when it comes to being independent from my power! Other peon's under a god's connection normally would be unable to even question the orders given to them let alone even talk back so the next time you decide to talk back, think back to what I have told you.

Grimacing at the thought of being a mindless slave to a god made me rethink my strategy on how to deal with the being who brought me here. I'd rather not be turned into a puppet dancing to an unheard tune against my will, I would rather be moving to the tune begrudgingly and in control.

Now that is a good boy, you finally realized just how deep you are in and just how important to me you are. Normally I would have just put a Geist hex upon you to force your cooperation but I thought against it because it would have restricted your creative juices when it comes to solving problems and figuring out how to change the river of history! And besides, a brainless slave is not what I need at this moment.

Oh no, what I need right now is an agent who can be independent from my power and still get the job done in such a way that the other gods will never be able to detect until its too late! A genius moment on my part and for you my loyal minion...

At least this god thinks of me as a loyal minion, could be worse to be honest.

"And what exactly do you need me to do? You haven't really been forthcoming with your plans let alone told me what I should be doing. I rather not be walking into this blind, messing with politicians, world leaders and mythical beings isn't really my forte let alone will guarantee that I survive any of it." And to be honest I really don't want to die, I almost bit the bullet when I was fighting with Tazul.

The voice let out a hum of thought, actually thinking to figure out how to keep me safe and alive while I carried out its mission for global fuck-uppery.

As I floated in the abyss wondering just where in my life did everything go wrong and I really had to look back into my subconscious to find what I was looking for. Unfortunately I couldn't find shit as I can only guess that it had to be somewhere in my middle school era when I went to shit and became who I am today.

Hmm, well my little mortal minion I guess I will have to bend the cosmic rules a little bit for you. I know by doing this I will be upsetting the natural balance of things and quite possibly piss off the pantheon...

Pantheon? Just how many fucking gods are there in this world?

But fuck them, if they kept up their end of the bargain all those millennia ago than I wouldn't be taking such drastic measures now would I?

I don't know what this god's problem is but I don't want anything to do with it, I'll just play the role of the loyal minion, do my job and when its done I'll get the fuck out of dodge.

Anyways my precious little agent of change, if you serve me well enough and do your job, I may just reward you something extra special! So work hard, alter the flow of history, and stick to those ignorant pony princesses for going back on their word!

Now that caught my interest, a reward for pretty much being forced into another dimension with magical fantasy creatures against my will? At this point I can't return home cause I will more than likely be questioned by the government about where I went, why am I all fucked up and most importantly where the hell did I get all this foreign gold?

Before I could try to ponder just what my reward could be for helping a god upset the global establishment to the point where it might cause a planetary shitstorm of epic proportions and its apparent deep seated grudge against the pony moon princess and apparently another pony princess, I felt something brush against my neck and it didn't feel like something that I would enjoy brushing against my skin.

It felt like I was having a close encounter with a being that I should have no contact with due to how dangerous and deceitful that being is, but then again...maybe having a god on my side when shit goes sideways may be a good thing.

Looking for the thing that touched me I saw nothing but as I kept on looking I eventually found the thing that rubbed against me.

It was a tuft of silver fur or hair, it was like a puffball the size of a football and that it was floating in the abyss before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Whatever it is connected to I can only assume that it isn't even human, possibly it belongs to one of the races that inhabits this world.

As I tried to ponder what species the god is that touched me I stopped in my tracks when I saw a pair of glowing red eyes floating in front of me, they appeared to be small but they only grew in size the longer I stared at them until they stopped when they were bigger than me.

"What big eyes you have." I said as I tried so very hard not to stutter and shit myself at the same time, when the eyes of god are looking directly at you, it makes you feel like a mote of dust in the breeze.

It is so I can better see you my precious little friend. Now it is time to greet the day and embrace the feeling of being bedridden for three weeks!

"Wait...three weeks!" was all I could say before being flung out of the abyss by a giant white gloved hand.

My body felt like absolute shit.

The first thing I saw was a ceiling made up of white tiles that glowed dully in the low light of the room.

Turning my head to the left to see more of the room I saw that beside me was a low nightstand with an oil lamp on it, a glass of water and what looks like a bunch of paper with an ink well and a quill on top of it and beyond it was a white curtain blocking off the rest of the room. Looking to my right was another white curtain and a female griffon wearing a white nurse cap with an equally white nurse shirt-uniform.

The griffon in question was brown in fur and feather colors with the exception that the feathers on her head were a lighter shade of brown and her eyes were of a emerald color, and I knew the color because when I turned my head she was looking at a clipboard but turned her attention to me when I was looking around.

As our eyes met there was a moment of silence before she let out a squawk of surprise before leaving my side but I stopped her when I asked for where my friend was.

"Who?" Guess I gotta be a tad bit specific.

"Scrawny, a diamond dog, got an ax wound that I poorly bandaged. Is he here?" He better be alive cause if he isn't than shit is about to hit the fan real fast.

"No, he isn't. That diamond dog is waiting outside cause visiting hours are over." Oh thank god he is alive! Now I have a guy friend that isn't old and wrinkly!

"OH...good...thanks for telling me"

"No problem there big guy."

And like that the hen nurse left the infirmary, probably to tell the king that I was awake.

'At least I am alive...for now.'

I may have been out cold for three weeks, but I don't know what awaits me out there.

Has the griffon princess told her father about our time together as traveling companions?

Has the griffons that traveled with their princess told their commanding officer and the king about what happened in the woods?

Did Scrawny tell the king anything?

Well, I guess I will find out when he gets here...

And I didn't have to wait long as the sounds of multiple talons clicking against tile soon reached my ears and when I turned my head in the direction of the disturbance to see not only the griffon king standing at the edge of my bed, but his daughter as well along with four guards, the captain of the guard, and Grandpa Gruff all in attendance.

Then tension in the air was thick and I would be sweating bullets if I could at the moment because I was too scared to even perspire.

Eventually it was the king who spoke first and it was clear that he was a bit upset with me.

"So Ian, would you care to explain to me why this letter was with you?" The griffon king said as he held up the letter that Tazul gave to me when we met, the letter that told me to keep our deal quiet until the coup happened and the king was no longer in power.

"I guess you want me to explain why I have it and everything that transpired at the manor I take it?" I already knew what the king was going to say but I just had to say it.

"Of course, after all you lied to not only me but to the citizens of Griffonstone as well. You let a traitor keep my daughter hostage just so he and his friends could lead a coup against me."

"I didn't really have a choice on the matter, I was unarmed, trapped and imprisoned like your daughter and that I was going to tell you anyways, regardless if the bastard stole from me or not." And that was the truth, even if I agreed with Tazul to keep his presence and his plan a secret, I was going to tell the king in private so Tazul's goons wouldn't find out.

"And why should I believe you? You lied to me before so obviously you are capable of lying to me again." Ah, the question of trust and that I have broken it by lying on our first meeting.

"Believe me or don't, accept what I am saying as the truth or it as a lie is entirely up to you. We both know that everyone in this room has lied at least once in their life, sometimes it was to shield someone else from knowing the painful truth or to get out of trouble for something they have done in the past. Either way you and I know that you will believe that I was partially right in doing what I have done. In my situation it was accept the deal and leave, or deny it and be trapped with your daughter in the same prison cell for an indeterminable amount of time." And I rather not be trapped with her, she is a cunt.

The infirmary grew silent as the king absorbed and processed what I told him, he knew that I knew that I was right, and that he shouldn't get mad at me for doing what I needed to do to survive and escape.

But then again his daughter was being held by a traitor and who knows if he was truly going to keep his part of the deal and let her go when the coup was done with. For all I know he could have killed her as soon as her father was no longer in power and he had no use for her other than as a slave.

The griffon king continued to stare at me with that piercing gaze of his, and for a moment I thought that I was well and truly fucked and was going to be meeting the gallows, but instead he let out a sigh before shaking his head.

"What I should do is let you recover only to have you beaten until you can't move for abandoning my daughter and for lying to me, but you did uncover a plot that was set on uprooting my family line and sending this nation into chaos and you also recovered the Idol of Boreas which was something that no griffon, dragon or pegasus has been able to do since it was lost." Does this mean that I am scot free of punishment?

Hoping against hope I was about to raise my voice to ask him if I am free to go, but he crushed that dream as quickly as it was conjured from my mind.

"Your punishment was originally going to be that you were to be scrubbing the garrison's bathrooms with nothing more than a toothbrush, but the way you acted around my daughter from her perspective brought me another method of punishment to deliver onto you." The griffon king said as I saw a smile slowly form on that beak of his.

Oh no...no no no!

"I, King Guto the Seventh, hereby sentence you to serve as my daughter's assistant and your sentence will be however long I see fit."

God...fucking...damn it!

"And if I see you try to flee Griffonstone than I will simply have you chained to her room to serve her as her butler till the day you are old and senile."

Well fuck you too asshole!

The griffon princess was trying hard not to snicker behind the royal captain but she was utterly failing at it as she watched my face morph into that of despair and agony.

'So this is my life now...serving a royal cunt for what might be a decade or two...well fuck my life.'

'How will the god I am working for will react to this?'

And as if to answer my thought the voice from the void spoke directly into my head.

The god you are working for will be very pleased, do try to keep your hands to yourself though. I rather not mess with the king's memories because he caught you and his daughter having some special fun in bed out of wedlock.

'I fucking hate my life now.'

Slamming my head against the pillow I was resting on I just prayed for a quick death but sadly god wasn't listening to my prayers.

At least I will get some reprieve from her presence until after I healed up, happy to know that I got one positive going for me in my life.

'I wonder just how royally fucked I am when I get out of here?'

Rest n Recovery with Royalty

It has been a day since I woke up from my three week coma.

Three weeks since I got my ass handed to me by a bunch of griffons who barely reach up to my chest.

Three weeks on an infirmary bed while the griffons working here were poking and prodding my body, doing god knows what to it and I had no means of stopping them. I don't know what they were doing to me in my time of unconsciousness but for all I could hope for that they were just cleaning my wounds and keeping me from dying from my injuries.

As I laid there staring up at the ceiling I began to think of ways I can go about doing what my slave handler wants me to do about fucking with Fate's plans for the world and I am supposed to go about doing that.

'I could always just introduce human technology and methodology to the griffons to give them a dramatic boost over their rivals, but in the wrong hands or in the hands of those that are in the pockets of foreign leaders it will just come back to bite me in the ass...assassinating the other world leaders is out of the question because that is the fastest way to die and also have a mountain of shit brought down upon the griffons seeing how I am pretty much one of them now.'

'Now that I am stuck in this world for what will be the rest of my life, however long that is if it hasn't been shortened or extended by the god I am working for.'

Looking to my right I saw that I was the only person in the infirmary other than the two griffon guards standing by the doorway, both of them wearing a form of segmented plate-mail and wielding a halberd in their talons. The two weren't looking at me at the moment but I can tell that they are staring at me from their peripherals and were watching my every move.

'Okay, lets go over what I am capable of doing at the moment because presently I can't do shit.'

'I am apparently either highly resistant or straight up immune to magic.'
'I am stronger than normal because I normally wouldn't even be able to dropkick a diamond dog.'
'My body is tougher than normal, if it can endure through all that shit and still recover quickly. Only exception is that I had my throat slit by griffon talons and my face was chopped up by said talons.'
'Got my human persistence and determination to see shit through to the end, even though sometimes I wish I didn't have that quality because half the time the end result just wasn't worth it.'
'Also got my laptop, that baby is holding enough information and data on a bunch of games that hold plausible technology and methods that these griffons can use.'

'If I am going to be helping these griffons out then I got to figure just what they are capable of doing, what their military strength is, the map of the world, the layout of their realm, their sphere of influence, their imports and exports, who is their allies and who is their enemy...so much shit to sift through.'

Turning my attention to the ceiling I began to count the tiles out of boredom, I don't know how much longer I must lay here for my body to fully recover but I know that staying in one spot is going to suck ass.

As I was staring up at the ceiling, the door to the infirmary opened up and I lowered my gaze to see who it could be and to my amazement it was Gilda and Greta, the two griffon girls that I met on my first day in Griffonstone. The two of them seem to be alright even though they got a bit hurt when they fought with those bandits in the manor, I guess three weeks is long enough time for those injuries to heal up as if nothing happened.

Waving at the pair I watched as they padded over to me and when they got to the foot of my bed did they start to look over my body, noticing all of the cuts, scratches and stitches that went into fixing me up.

Gilda was the first to say anything by whistling at what she saw.

"Dang, looks like that flankhole of a griffon did a real number on you."

"Nah, not all of this was from him, some of this was from that asshole that I knocked out in the hallway before Tazul's office, the rest was from the brawl on the second floor of the manor." I said as I idly traced one of the scars that was on my chest.

Griffon claws are freaking sharp when they want to be.

As I was tracing one of the scars I saw Greta move around the bed and came to my side before leaning close to whisper into my ear.

"Hey, that favor you owe me? I'll be cashing that favor in a few weeks, you better be ready by the time I need you." The young hen whispered to me as I strained myself a bit to hear what she had to say.

When Greta was done she backed away from me and went back by Gilda's side before the normally disgruntled hen went back to talking to me.

"So big guy, how long till you are out of here?"

"Out of the infirmary? A few days tops at best. But out of the castle? Not very often."

This got a confused head-tilt from Gilda and Greta as they wondered why I wouldn't be leaving the castle all the time.

"Okay, what the flying fuck did you do to piss off the king?" Gilda asked me as I scratched the back of my head as I thought on whether or not I should tell these two the truth.

'On one hand if I tell them the truth than they will know that I lied to them about what my purpose was the other day, but if I lie to them then that will only dig the hole I am in a bit deeper...'

After a few seconds of internal debating and thinking it through I decided that I should tell them the truth. Hell, they nearly got themselves killed for helping me clear out the manor of those bandits and they did it for no reward or recognition for their actions, they deserve to hear the truth from me.

"It wasn't what I said that pissed him off, it was what I withheld from him that angered him. You see, I-" and so I told them what transpired in Tazul's manor three weeks ago, what happened when my group got captured and the terms I agreed to just so I can get out and try to live a normal life.

I knew that I might be damaging my reputation with them for this but it is the right thing to do.

The two stared at me as I finished up my little story, neither of them were blinking and both seemed like that they might be pissed at me although I couldn't tell because I don't know griffon body language nor any of their silent ticks.

Eventually, however, the two shrugged their shoulders and accepted it as it was, apparently to them what I did was in the right either because they didn't like the princess or that they were just trying to make me feel better.

When I pressed them into telling me why they have a bit of hatred for Princess Eraclea I watched as Gilda shrugged her shoulders while Greta's fur bristled a bit. I don't know what got her panties in a bunch but whatever it is, it sure as hell isn't something good.

"Well Ian, word from the grapevine around Griffonstone is that Eraclea is a cold and calculating hen. During several royal gatherings and parties within the palace, Eraclea managed to persuade or tricked foreign dignitaries and House Lords into agreeing to a deal that would benefit Griffonstone more so than it would benefit those not from here."

I had to think on what was said for a bit cause I thought that is what nobles, royalty and dignitaries usually do when they are at those sort of things, using either underhanded tactics to get the upper hand in negotiations, some form of bribery or even special deals and bargains...so how is this a bad thing again?

"You know Greta, shit like that almost always happens at those types of events, so tell me how that is cold and calculating for a princess like her?" I bet there is something that either these two aren't telling me or if there is something that about the griffon princess that shouldn't be known.

"Oh, right, I forgot that you aren't from around these parts or know anything about griffon culture...gods above give me the strength to tell this simple cock what he needs to know." wait...did she just call me simple?

'Hey!'

Haha ha ha! Even that little chick knows that you are a simpleton!

'Oh eat a dick.'

I swear it is almost like this universe is out to shit on me at every chance it can get.

"Alright then, you see Ian, here in Griffonstone and in the other provinces and states of the griffon-held lands it is customary that the hen's of noble houses and that of royalty to stay quiet and only talk to the other hens while the you cocks go on and talk about the boring shite that normally happens at those sorts of meetings." Greta explained it a bit to me as I thought of something that would help me connect this to human society.

'Hmm, so it would be something like humanity's medieval era, human nobles and their decadent court...fuck me to tears...'

"I don't know what goes on at those parties but when I get hired by some lord to eavesdrop I hear all sorts of bits and pieces of intrigue that can go for a pretty bit or two."

Now this I took interest in, seems like my friend Greta does a bit of spy work on the side...I wonder what she has heard whenever she is on duty.

"So is there any chance of you to divulge that information to me?"

"Nope, rather not get my wings clipped and that is all I am willing to tell you." Well fuck.

With that out the window I laid back down from my sitting-up position and let my head hit the pillow with a loud *pomf*

"Anyways, the reason why Princess Eraclea is different from past princess is that she takes a proactive role in her father's rule and that she is doing everything within her power to make sure that it doesn't fall apart. Now, normally this would be done by the prince but since she is an only child she has to take on the duties that a prince would do along with her own duties." Ah, so she is actually just a cranky bitch cause she got double duty.

"Huh...maybe doing twice the workload and still be expected to remain quiet would probably get her feathers ruffled. She is expected to keep her beak shut and just listen but she also wants to make a difference and help her father in keeping the kingdom from falling apart. Hell, if I was in her place I would be pretty uptight, cranky and bitter if I was told that I must be silent and not voice my opinion and thoughts when it might be necessary."

The three of us talked liked this for a few more minutes and the only reason why it didn't go on any longer is that the princess showed up and Greta immediately clamped her beak shut as Gilda went silent and took a few steps away from the both of us.

Princess Eraclea stood before the three of us, no longer did she look dirty or dingy, her fur was immaculately clean, shining brightly as if it has been brushed over a thousand times and the feathers on her head and wings, those were preened and shined to a high mirror finish. I must say that this girl cleans up pretty good for someone who was in a decrepit prison cell for lord knows how long.

Bowing my head to the princess seeing how I was still bedridden while the other two bowed their heads down while doing some form of a curtsy, seeing how they are quadruped.

Staring at me with eyes that just scream 'filthy peasant' and that stare was more akin to a glare but eh, she can go fuck herself if she even thinks that I will tell her anything.

"So I see that our hero is finally awake from his slumber."

"Aye, although the sleep was nice I would rather be doing something productive than wasting away in a bed."

"Hmm, I see...well than, I heard from father that you are to be working for me as my newest retainer."

"What happened to the old one?"

"That harpy was in Tazul's pocket and was the reason why my entourage and I were captured in the first place. I should have known that she wasn't loyal to the crown, she was spending far in excess of what she was earning and I traced gold trail all the way to one of Tazul's holdings."

"I take it you had her stripped of lands, titles, possessions, whatever gold she still had and thrown her in the dungeon?"

"Naturally, anygriffon that isn't loyal to the kingdom is a threat to its very existence as we have seen what Tazul was doing along with the cronies that work for him and those that are willing to work with him. I don't know who else is working with him nor do I know if they are still planning a coup to usurp the throne and cast our kingdom into total anarchy."

That makes a little sense, but that is sort of sounding like a tyrant to me. You are either completely loyal to your nation and if you are not loyal than you are not necessary to have the right to being alive.

"Now right there, that sounds like something a tyrant would say. The people of a nation is allowed their own opinions and thoughts even though that is exactly that, their opinions. You see Eraclea, a kingdom's subjects only follow you because they are kept safe from harm, they are fed, housed and are employed, and if you can manage to keep them happy and occupied then you don't have to worry about anything with the exception of the nobles who always want more land, more gold and more power and they seemed to be willing to go to extreme lengths to get it."

"To properly understand your people you have to know about them. Looking at Griffonstone I can tell that a lot of the griffons here are in impoverished conditions due to the Idol of Boreas being missing and that the attack left many homes destroyed and damaged. From what I understand so far, you griffons hold honor, pride, independency and family above all else, but with the lose of your idol and the destruction wrought by the cyclops, it made almost every single griffon here a penny-pinching whores. I overheard and actually saw quite a few griffons saying that they are willing to do anything for bits or gold and that is rock bottom for everyone."

"What needs to be done right now to help the griffons out there and in the outlaying landscape across your kingdom is to fix the problems they are facing, keep them occupied with jobs, rebuild your military if it has been dismantled because having bandits roaming the countryside is a sign of lawlessness that needs to be stamped out, and most importantly a distribution of wealth and food so the populace don't think that you are ignoring their plight."

The griffons in the room were speechless, their beaks were open and they were staring at me as if I just preached to them from some sort of holy scripture.

Silence reigned in the infirmary to the point that I had to snap my fingers in the princess's face to get her to break out of her stupor along with the rest of the griffons in the room as well.

"How do you know what it takes to run a kingdom? That is something that my father and his retainers have been trying to teach me and even I am still trying to get a firm grasp on it!"

I simply shrugged my shoulders and relaxed in my bed as the griffon princess continued to stare at me flabbergasted.

"I spent a lot of my spare time playing simulation games." Ahh Sid Meier's Civilization five and six, oh how I detest you, especially you Gandhi...nuke happy prick. Also can't forget Age of Empires, the Endless series, Galactic Civ III, and my guilty pleasure of a game, Long Live the Queen.

Apparently they didn't quite understand what I said and meant because they just tilted their heads at me in utter confusion. Well, Eraclea wasn't as confused by what I said but she is giving me that look that I am still holding out something and that she was going to do everything within her power to get me to spill the beans.

"So you, a mercenary from some far-off land, not only knows how to fight, read, possibly knows how to write, first-aid, but you also know how to rule?" Just the way the griffon princess is saying this makes me feel like I should be dumber than I actually am.

I gave a nod and that only made her say this in response.

"Are you sure you are not some lost prince or something?" Pfft fat fucking chance. I was born in America, royalty doesn't exist here unless its in the form of a video game or a tv series.

"Princess, if I was some prince then I have been fucked over in the royalty department so far because living on the road and eating hand to mouth sucks balls." I said as I recalled my time playing MMO's when my character was dirt fucking poor and that I had to play smart cause potions and food was either expensive or hard to craft and the only to way to make money in those was to either grind it out for days/weeks or drop real cash into it and sell cosmetics for gold.

"I don't know, are you sure you didn't just run away from the royal life and wandered the land for years until you got here?" Eraclea said but this time with the faintest of smirks forming on her beak that I missed because I wasn't paying any attention to her at the moment.

"Trust me on this one princess but I am as common as commoners get."

"And yet you know how to read and write, that is something that most griffons don't know how to do unless they can afford the lessons or are high born."

"Well back home reading and writing is a requirement in daily life and that we are also taught how to read and write at an early age...I think it was when we are four or five?"

"Hmm...interesting, an educated population...that is something only the Equestrians and Saddle Arabians have." Wait, what? Saddle Arabians? There are middle eastern ponies in this world? Are they just ponies with the whole Aladdin-style clothing and whatnot, or are they something else entirely?

A few questions for another time perhaps, or maybe I will travel their myself one of these days.

With a brief lull of silence in the room as the griffon princess thought quietly to herself, Gilda and Greta were on my right side poking my body, watching in slight amusement as I absentmindedly swatted their talons off of me only for them to poke my legs again.

Breaking out from her silence the griffon princess made her way to my side and before I could try and squirm away she stopped and placed a talon on my shoulder and gave me a look that made me worried for my safety as I silently prayed for an adult.

But Ian, I am an adult!

'Not the one I am looking for though! You brought me into this world and wait...if you brought me into this world alive does this make you my parent?'

The resulting deafening silence was amazing.

I just made a god question itself whether or not if it was my parent or not since it did 'transferred/re-created' me from one dimension/reality to another one. Now I hope they don't say yes because then I fear for my safety even more because I know that parent's make it their life's goal to embarrass and humiliate their offspring at every chance they get.

Back to the griffon resting a talon on my shoulder I shuddered as I braced myself for what might be royalty about to lay claim to me but instead it was something unexpected.

"Get some rest Ian, in a few days father will be holding a ceremony in your honor. Don't be late and don't try to embarrass us in front of the kingdom." Eraclea said that as she took a step away from me before leaving the infirmary with her guards, leaving me alone with the two stooges by the door, Greta and Gilda.

Sighing to myself I started to wonder how I am going to be doing my job that an anonymous god gave me all the while still adhering to what the king told me to do.

'Just fucking perfect, I can't leave Griffonstone or risk imprisonment, I am now forced to work for that cunt of a hen, and now I got a quest from a god to do...why can't my life be simple for once?'

Sadly, a certain god was listening to my thoughts and offered a response that I didn't really want to hear.

Because little lamb, you never liked boring and simple, you always went out of your way to find something exciting or entertaining to do. You wanted a new and exciting life, now you are regretting it? So picky you are mortal, but don't worry I know that soon enough something fun and exciting will be coming your way soon! Just try not to get an early meeting with the gallows!

I wonder if I can kill myself with my own pillow? Will this get me out of god's plan and also out from the king's order?

Contemplating suicide isn't the answer, and if you try it again than I will give you something to occupy your time.

I do not like the sound of that...maybe I'll just take a nap, deal with this shit some other time.

Good boy.

Looking at Gilda and Greta I told them that I'll be sleeping now and that we can talk later, the two looked at each other before shrugging and told me that they'll be back sometime later but they will be seeing me at the ceremony. Most likely the pair will be by the food and drinks if its a party after the ceremony otherwise I will see them somewhere in the crowd.

Now that I am alone with nothing but my thoughts for company, I began to think and plan out what I am going to do to survive the coming months that I am stuck here. If I am going to be stuck in this world for what might be the rest of my life than I might as well make it easier on me by giving these griffons some upgrades, but what I give them will have consequences for both myself and the griffon people as a whole.

Just imagine this, an alien from some far off land/planet/dimension is living in a country with several different nations also populate the planet of varying species. Now imagine that this alien gives to the country it is staying in the means to manufacture a new metal alloy, better armor designs, a new/better means of transportation, uniting the people together under a new leader, or giving them a new weapon. With that in mind now try to imagine the reactions that the other nations will have when they find out that an unknown being is giving and supplying their neighbor with far superior gifts of technology, they would either demand that they surrender everything that they were given along with the individual who gave said gifts to them or if they were stupid, declare war on them out of fear.

I don't know enough of the world I am now stuck in along with who lives here, what the nations are, and as much information about them to make an educated analysis on what I can give to the griffons without tipping of the rest of the governments around the world.

'Well...shit, I got my work cut out for me it seems.'

I don't get paid enough to deal with this shit.

Some therapy with a side of surprise

There comes a time in a person's life that they look deep inside themselves and wonder about some things that they question and wonder what they could have done better.

For me it came in the form of a dream.

And just what was in that dream you ask?

Well, you see, I was standing in what looks like a cathedral and I was wearing a rather fancy looking suit of clothes with what looks like a longsword attached to my hip.

I don't know what is going on but it sure as hell doesn't look good to me.

Looking around I saw Scrawny standing beside me, wearing a suit that was somewhat made specially for him and sitting on the front row bench was another diamond dog but one I couldn't recognize, Gilda, Greta and old man Grandpa Gruff with several other griffons and what looks like ponies sitting there as well.

Beyond the front row on my side of the isle seemed to be even more griffons and ponies and even further I saw what looks like a couple of minotaurs and even a dragon or two with what looks like some sort of buffalo-thing. Sitting on the other side of the isle was a shitload of griffons from numerous noble houses, and sitting in the front row, was the griffon king himself.

I was thinking 'what the fuck is going on here?' but before I could even give an honest-to-god guess the griffon sitting behind the organ pipes started to play and the music coming out of it was all too familiar.

It was a wedding song, and I was standing by the altar, I had what looks like a best man beside me...oh fuck me.

This was my wedding!

'Why am I having this dream? Was I poisoned?'

But before I could think any further the doors opened up and walking down the isle was someone in a wedding dress and she was being escorted down the isle by a bunch of armored figures walking on their hind legs.

'Who the fuck did I agree to marry? Is this a political marriage and I was shanghaied into it against my will? Or did I willingly agree to get married to someone...but who?'

Just as my mysterious wife-to-be gets to the altar and her escort moves back to the isles the dream comes crashing down as I was woken up from an outside force.

And by outside force I mean someone was shaking me awake.

With bleary eyes and a distorted vision I looked around to see what was going on only to be met with a griffon hen nurse shaking me to full wakefulness.

"The fuck is going on?" I mumbled out as I tried to sit up but the nurse was having none of it as she forced me back down.

"Sorry to have disturbed you sir but we have been told to get you used to walking again after the comatose state you were in." the hen nurse said as she started to move some of the things around my bed out of the way, I guess this is part of my physical therapy that I heard about.

As the nurse finished getting everything ready she very gently and very slowly helped me sit up as I heard my spine pop from being still for so long.

'So this is what those people undergoing physical therapy feels like...man I hope I never have to deal with this shit again. This fucking sucks...my ass is sore, my body feels like lead and my body probably smells like unwashed ass, when this therapy is done I am going to take the longest shower I have ever taken.'

Once I am sitting up the nurse helped me shift directions and the moment my legs touched the hard, cold stone floor, the feeling of pins and needles that has been set to the highest setting but I pushed on through the pain as I tried to put some power into getting myself out of bed.

Here is a fun fact for those of you who have never been immobilized for a month without moving an inch.

Don't ever try to stand up without any kind of assistance or a means of keeping your balance because you are going to fall over and eat shit.

The moment I pulled myself up out of bed my legs went all wobbly and weak and I fell forward face first and I almost ate shit.

Luckily for me the nurse managed to catch me before I fell over but god damn does it feel bad to require help do to the most basic of things. One thing I did notice however is the fact that when she went to catch me, the nurse actually had to put in some herculean effort to keep me standing which was odd because seeing how I suffered some minor weight lose during my coma.

Relearning how to balance myself fucking sucks balls, I mean honestly I was only in a coma for a month, I shouldn't be having any kind of trouble moving around like this!

Getting back onto my bed I tried to stand up again but this time the nurse was supporting me by letting me place my left hand on her back for my second attempt but the moment my hand touched her back I watched as she started to strain underneath my weight.

I don't know if it is me or something but...am I that heavy or is there something else going on with me?

Three Hours Later

"You are doing good Ian, if you need to take another break to rest than we can stop for now." my nurse, who told me her name is Natalia, and apparently here in griffon land, last names are sorta something only noble houses and royalty have them cause they believe that those who have done a great service to the kingdom deserve to have such an honor.

Eh, whatever floats their boat but they are not taking away my last name cause they can go fuck themselves if they think they can just leave me with only a first name.

Sitting back down on my bed I let out a shuddering sigh as my legs become nothing more than lead weights, who knew that being in a coma would result in a slight case of muscle atrophy? I sure as hell didn't know but now I do, even the rest of my body feels like it has suffered from a bit of muscle loss, which sucks cause I got a few days until the ceremony where I hopefully get recognized for my bravery n shit and also for retrieving the idol.

But I swear to god that if that ceremony is just to give me a pat on the back than I am chucking that fucking idol back into the abyss.

Taking a bit of a breather on my infirmary bed I let myself relax after what felt like a stressful workout session at the 24/7 fitness gym by my house, normally I hardly ever work out but this...this is some shit I never want to do unless I absolutely have to.

Gazing down at myself I saw that while I have recovered from my injuries and that I wasn't going to be dying anytime soon, my body lost quite a bit of muscle mass and that will have to be remedied soon enough.

Which means I have to start working out again.

Now working out isn't so bad, I enjoyed it when I took PE classes in college, but what I don't like is the fact that I am in a new world where I am the only human and I fear that the griffons here, both female and the few males that might want to try their talons at me, will be staring at me like some sort of steak.

I don't know about what is or isn't seen as taboo here, but I really don't want to be stepping on any toes and also not accidentally get into a relationship because I said or done something that greatly appeals to them.

Looking to the nurse I formulated how I was going to ask her a particular question something that I have been wondering about for quite a while. Just what do are the griffons views when it comes to sexual relationships with other species and themselves?

And instead of using what I thought was a well-made thought out phrased question I used the most bluntest of routes.

"So what are the griffon views when it comes to sex?" And like that I watched the nurse sputter and stutter as she nearly dropped what looks like small glass vial and a syringe.

Recomposing herself all the while grumbling obscenities under her breath, it took her a few minutes to collect herself before addressing my question.

Coughing into her right talon I waited with baited breath as she composed herself before giving me the answer.

"Well...you see Ian, us lowborn griffons firmly believe in sexual freedom, for us it is simply a pleasurable activity that both genders are free to engage in as low as both parties are consenting."

"And I guess that the highborn griffons are so uptight that they rarely if ever have sex with anyone but their spouse and that everything has to be perfectly arranged or else nothing happens? I bet that they don't even know what love is cause everything for them is always political and power plays, hell I can even guess that they wed off their children to another house to extend their power into someone else's sphere of influence."

That actually got the nurse to laugh as she sat herself down on the bed opposite of me, I guess she shares the same opinion I do when it concerns those that are born with a silver spoon in their mouth.

"I see that you share no love for the nobles I take it. What have they done to earn your ire?"

"Other than one of them using me as a pawn to deliver a message that would hopefully get me sent to the dungeons just in time for him and his cronies to pull a coup and overthrow the griffon king while another tried to seduce me so I would divulge the secrets of my people."

"Ahh...that would taint one's view of the nobility here in Griffonstone and throughout the realm, but the nobility here do have their uses."

"Yeah, I can name a few uses, like hiring us commoners to do their jobs for them, cook their food, do their laundry, protect them in their sleep, do everything they are too lazy to do themselves. Sure they may have done something to earn their lands, titles and status as a noble, but that was probably in the past and their offspring have only inherited it."

"Mhm, but I have to ask though, why did you ask me about what are griffon views on sex are? You planning to attract yourself a hen...or a cock, I don't know what your preferences are so I won't judge who you sleep with."

"Well I just want to keep my options open, coming to a new land where there are no other humans in sight means that my choices are a bit slim." That and the only sexual thing I did so far was eat a diamond dog just to get the necessary food supplies for our escape...I was still picking out hair from my mouth and I know for a fact that I won't forget the taste of 'Bitch-in-Heat' till the day I die.

I watched as the hen looked me over, even with my case of slight muscle loss and that I was in nothing but my underwear at the time, she was taking in the sights and if the tiny grin forming on her beak was of any indication than she is liking what she is seeing.

"I don't know, with how you look and that you have earned favor with our king and his daughter...and that you are exotic for an outlander, I can say that you might have quite a few griffons willing to take a run at you." Natalia says as she pulls back the plunger on the syringe, an odd-looking orange liquid gets sucked into it as it filled the syringe to its maximum capacity.

Looking at the orange serum-filled syringe I raised an eyebrow at my nurse who rolled her eyes and walked over to me before grabbing my left arm and immediately had a bit of trouble keeping my arm raised until I took over and held it up for her which she thanked me before jabbing me with the bloody thing and gave me a heaping injection of mystery juice.

At first I felt nothing, no burning sensation, no itching, and definitely no pins and needles.

That only lasted for a good minute before my body felt like some put me in a sauna and left me in there for a good few hours and cranked up the heat.

Turns out the thing that Natalia injected me with is known as a Blood-Petal Decoction, and that it was an experimental medicine that was given to her by one of the doctors that was in charge of the infirmary.

What exactly was in that injection I don't know and neither did Natalia, but what she did know was that she was told that the serum that was now coursing through my veins will heal any damage that my body has sustained during my siege on Tazul's bandit manor, and by heal she meant it will speed up my healing factor concerning my puncture wounds, fucked up nose, cuts and bruises.

The only downside to this serum is that it will make me very hungry when it is done doing its job in fixing me up.

Not really a bad trade-off to me, faster recovery rate at the expense of needing to eat a bigger meal when its done. Of course I didn't realize just how much of a hunger it was until after the orange juice of healing did its duty and fixed me up because as soon as it was done making me stop feeling like my body was in pain from the fighting I did, it suddenly dawned upon me that I was starving, my body felt like it was gnawing itself just for proper sustenance.

The moment Natalia noticed that the serum has finished fixing my body and also noticed that my body looked like that I have been starving for weeks, she immediately left my side and went to fetch me something to stop my body from cannibalizing itself to fulfil its need for nutrition.

I immediately take it back on how great the serum is, its great if your injuries are minor and you have some food on hand or are about to head to a restaurant or some dining hall, but the shit I am going through right now is utter hell.

By the time my nurse came back with a cart filled with trays filled with food I was already praying for death to come claim my soul because this gnawing hunger fucking sucks major balls.

Moving the cart to my side of the bed and lifting up the trays to reveal plates covered with cooked n diced fish, meat (hopefully not from a pony), and what looks like bread rolls.

I was salivating something fierce as I stared at the food and the moment my nurse said that I can eat it I immediately began to devour everything in sight as if it was my last meal on this planet. There was food bits flying everywhere and I couldn't care about the way look at the moment because I was not only starving from being in a coma for a month, but I was also starving because of that damnable injection that fixed me up.

As soon as I was done licking the plates clean and my fingers of any residual meat juices I felt my stomach gurgle happily that it wasn't starving anymore and that my body was now more or less back to what it was before the coma with the only exception to this was that I still had a hard time standing up and walking on my own power.

I let my body rest long enough to fully digest my meal and the moment I was fully relaxed and no longer feeling like shit, my nurse told me to resume our exercises and I immediately let out a groan.

Fuck my life.

Day 1 of Recovery

"Okay, now try to get up without any help." My nurse said as she sat down on the bed next to mine, watching me like a hawk as I tried to pull my happy ass out of bed and into the standing position.

I really wanted to tell the nurse to fuck off and let me go at my own pace, but seeing how the both of us are on a time table of me being fit and ready for the ceremony in four days I kept my mouth shut and did what I was told.

Now, I bet you are thinking that I should at least be able to stand up on my own now...right?

Well, I am getting there but my body still feels like shit.

That injection that Nurse Ratchet over there on the bed next to me gave me did its job in healing me, but that is all that it did, it did nothing to restore my strength back to my body, it did not instantly restore me to working order, all it did was make most of the pain in my body go away, fix up the cuts, stabs and clawings I received and that's it.

But at least I no longer look like I got thrown into a blender and came out looking like roast beef, right? I mean I haven't really seen myself in a mirror lately so I am just going off of what the few griffons I have seen tell me.

Turning my body from the bed I planted my feet down on the cold floor yet again, but this time I had a bit more stability than I did the other day so I took it with a grain of salt and started to pull myself up.

"Okay... this isn't so bad, I think I got it." I said as I tugged myself up with the assistance of the bed railings, and to my surprise I got myself up and I was standing.

For about ten seconds before my legs began to grow tired and started to wobble as if I was scared shitless.

"Oh fuck!" I shouted as my legs gave way, but my nurse was one step ahead of me and moved behind me by jumping to my bed and was keeping me slightly upright by pressing against my back.

This time I could tell that there is something wrong because from what I have seen, griffons had the strength of a normal human being, just in slightly smaller frames, and that certain diamond dogs were like those weightlifters that can easily lift up to three hundred pounds of dead weight. Hell, I bet that minotaur I saved could haul at least five hundred pounds if he puts his mind to it!

But now though... I don't know what is going on but it seems like my very touch is more than enough to either drain the strength from somebody or that it negates the magicalness that is these mythical beings that reside in this world.

Whichever of the two it could be, all I know is that if I were to grab someone now, it would render them helpless and if the situation calls for it, me a trump card against those unicorns and unicorns with wings.

Magic is nice and all but it sucks balls when it is being used against you.

With my nurse struggling to keep me upright I grab the bed railing and kept myself level long enough for the nurse to finally help me into a proper sitting pose before getting out from behind me and moved herself over to my left.

I guess my nurse picked up on my thoughts on my newfound power because it would seem that she too is testing it out on herself. By placing her talons on my left harm I watched that she went from alright to looking like she just ate a piece of bad shellfish and was about to spew all over the place.

Reversing the roles for the moment I caught my nurse from falling over the side of the bed and eating shit, I placed her back beside me but I stopped our bodies from coming into contact by using my pillow as a buffer between us.

The two of us exchanged looks before coming to the same conclusion.

"I got super powers!"
"Your a null zone!"

Well, sort of the same conclusion.

"When were you capable of draining the magic from a griffon's body like that?"

"I don't know...just yesterday I think? When I almost fell face first to the floor and you caught me?"

"Is that type of ability normal among your kind?" Unless you are radioactive and make people weak with radiation poisoning then I doubt any normal human has this power.

"What, being able to nullify magic with a touch?"

"Yes! There are only two things in this world that is capable of doing such a feat, the Null Zones that Discord left behind during his reign, and the anti-magic rings that those equestrians use on unicorns that get unruly and dangerous." Huh, the more you know, I guess.

I didn't really know much about this Discord fella or the shit storm he brewed when he was in charge but seeing how it left a bunch of pockets of 'Fuck You magic' zones all over the place, my guess is that he hates magic. Also didn't know that to cripple a unicorn temporary all you had to do was slip a ring on their horn to turn their magic off for a bit, best to keep that in mind for a future problem.

"Well Natalia, it looks like there are now three things in this world that can cripple a magic user." Oh man, this is going to suck if I get on a boat that is powered by magic...damn thing is going to sink like a rock!

I can see it now...me being on an airship that hasn't taken flight yet, and the moment it does it will crash and burn.

Can anyone say Hindenburg 2.0?

"Did you come into contact with anything that might have given you this gift?" Does meeting an aberration of Death count? If so than yes, if not then nope.

"Does touching the Idol of Boreas count or maybe walking through a null zone at the base of Griffonstone?" I said as I recalled the two times I did anything that might be remotely magical or power-inducing.

Shaking her head no I watched as she tried to recount something in her head before muttering something to herself.

"Well, at least this got a bit more interesting for me, wouldn't you agree? Went from being a normal human being, now I am a walking 'Fuck-you-magic' field." I said with a bit of a chipper tone as I smiled to myself.

And then it hit me like a brick to the dome.

'Does this mean no more magic healing?'

Meh, maybe.

Nodding in agreement with what I said, I watched my nurse get off of my bed before circling around and grabbing the clipboard that was on my bed and quickly writing something down before putting it back and leaving me alone in the room. Probably is heading to someone that might know what the hell is going on with me.

An hour later and my nurse came back but this time with another griffon but this one looks more...religious looking if that is even a correct term to use, probably a priest or something.

This griffon was pretty much all white with their head being a slight shade of grey, their eyes was as blue as the sky, and they were wearing what looks like a priest's robes and in their right talons was a staff of sorts, a gold rod the length of give-or-take three-to-four feet in length and it had an emerald the size of my fist at the end of it with gold surrounding it in the shape of a gust of wing.

'Okay...this is bad...I need an adult!'

Nah, this time your good. This priestess wouldn't lay a finger on you out of fear of invoking the fury of the king and from her patron goddess.

'Oh goody...I won't get molested by a priest...joy...'

Do you want to get touched inappropriately by a priest?

'Hell no! That shit is scary as hell! I heard stories of what those depraved fuckers do to little boys, no way in hell am I gonna let that happen to me!'

Then Stop worrying so much, griffons like her take their vow of chastity very seriously so the only way you are going to be touched inappropriately is if they ask you to turn your head and cough.

Looking me over the griffon priestess before waving that staff of hers near me for a few seconds and when nothing happened I thought it was just a bunch of hocus pocus bullshit but I kept that to myself as I am nothing more than an uneducated savage to the priestess before me. Once she was done doing whatever it is that she was doing, the hen in question walked by my side and placed a talon upon my forehead and left there as she started to chant in a mutter-level of sound as my eyes crossed to see where she placed her finger.

When nothing happened I thought she was just messing around but when she opened her eyes I saw a swirl of purple, red, and green moving around in a vortex before she blinked and it was gone. I could guess that was my otherworldly goddess watching over me and had to intervene on my behalf.

For what purpose was there to intervene I don't know, but what I do know is that whatever this priestess was doing it would have discovered that I had some help from someone that wanted to throw a wrench into the equestrian's plans.

It wasn't long before she took her finger off of my head and took a step back before shaking her head clear and mumbled something under her breath that sounded pretty close to 'not a slave' as she left my side of the bed and went back to the nurse before whispering something into her ear and taking her leave.

Turning my attention now to my nurse I watched as she gave me a shrug before resuming her duties as my nurse by giving me lunch and giving me time to rest before resuming my exercise routine.

Day 2 of Recovery

Same shit different day.

Morning came, I woke up, ate breakfast, barely managed to go to the bathroom unassisted, which is safe to say that the griffons almost have a similar bathroom system like ours except that their toilets are made of stone, and there is no water, just a straight drop down into the abyss. I don't know where the shit n piss goes but all I can say that it better have been in that river that was in those caves.

Just the sheer thought that I was swimming in someone else's piss n shit is enough to make me turn a shade of green.

My workout for the day was different from the previous two days, this time they wanted me to try walking with a crutch to support my weight. Normally this would be a tad bit insulting but seeing how I am roughly three sheets to the window and that my body hasn't fully recovered from its ordeal, I swallowed what was left of my pride and manhood and accepted it.

The crutch was recently made seeing how the griffons were smaller than me and that they had to make it in a bit of a hurry as I could see that they haven't fully smoothed out all of the edges or even sand it down, but for the most part it works like a charm.

By works like a charm I mean I had to deal with some splinters and the occasional prick to the armpit from a bit of wood.

But hey, these little fuckers are working with what they got and seeing how it was made in a hurry and it works as intended I am planning on not insulting the woodcarver who made this.

With crutch under pit I took my first nurse unassisted steps and for the most part I was doing alright, my body still felt like crap but I didn't feel wobbly nor did I feel like I was going to fall over so that is a plus!

Day 3 of Recovery

Same old, same old.

Wake up, go to bathroom, eat food, practice moving around assisted, unassisted with the crutch, and moving on my own power.

This order of the day was relatively normal until the captain of the royal guard came in with three additional griffons who I have never seen before. Two of the three griffons were wearing what looks like stiff colors around their neck that one would find on a work shirt, while the third was wearing a powder blue beret and wearing an equally blue dress shirt.

These griffons brought with them what looks like several rolls of thick cloth that possibly might be canvas, another looks like a big hunk of uncarved leather...

Why is the king sending a team of artisans down here? My clothes are still alright, right? I mean they can be sowed back together and be back to normal right?

Wrong, turns out my clothes were trashed, my shorts were mostly salvageable in the way of knowing what material it is made out of before being scrapped, my shirt was straight up shredded so it was scrapped, hoodie was fine and that it just needed a good washing. Socks were scrapped as well and it got a few snickers from one of the artisans cause apparently socks here mean something else.

And by something else I mean the equestrians, griffons and even the zebras see it as a piece of sexy wear.

God damn this planet.

With that in mind I had to spend the entire day being poked, prodded, laughed at, moved around to get a better angle, and somewhat molested by three different griffons who I think are incredibly flamboyant.

Plus side I got new clothes, all of it fits, and they even gave me a belt to go with my pants and shorts. My shirt is made of cotton, cause they didn't think I was worthy of silk or any other type of fancy fabrics (fuck you griffon artisans), my pants is made of hemp and it apparently was woven in such a way that it was heavy for a pair of pants and yet it was airy enough that I was able to enjoy the wind cooling my legs when I had them on. My shorts were canvas as they were modeled after the pair I came to this world with and for the most part it was great, only problem is that it lacked some pockets but I could get that fixed at a later date and time.

For the time being I was for the most part dressed for meeting the king and the public for this ceremony, I was able to move a bit on my own even though I had the fear of eating shit in public, and I found out that I had the power to not be affected by magic which is pretty much a blessing and a curse rolled into one!

But tomorrow is another day, and hopefully one that wont bite me in the ass!

Right?

Day 4 of Recovery

That strange griffon priestess came by again today, this time doing some sort of magical scan on me that ended in failure due to my somewhat anti-magical nature so she had to do the checkup the old fashioned way.

Holding up a rather dull looking chunk of crystal to my face I looked at it then turned my attention to the priestess who had her eyes closed and were concentrating on something because the moment I tried to lean back away from her she opened her eyes and told me not to move.

Deciding to go along with whatever bullshit magic voodoo she was doing I laid still and waited for her to finish up whatever it is she is trying to do.

I didn't have to wait long however, the crystal chunk she was holding in her talons started to glow an ominous black as a cloud of purple started to radiate from the crystal and for a moment I immediately thought that this might end poorly for me. Not a moment after I thought that I was about to be fucked over for my anti-magical properties, pale rays of light started to shine through the swirling vortex of what I believe to be concentrated evil and I let out a sigh of relief.

'Looks like that crystal is saying I am both good and evil? So I am neutral or something?'

More like you are Chaotic Neutral if the crystal is anything to go by, but I see you more as a pragmatic True Neutral if I do say so myself.

The griffon priestess took a step back away from me before looking me in the eyes, what she had to say was clearly important enough to address me directly as the last encounter she just ignored me before leaving.

"There is a darkness inside of you, outsider, a corrupting influence has latched onto you and it will slowly drain you of your life essence until you are nothing more than a husk of your former self. I do not know what has caused this corruption to take root inside of you, but what I do know is that if it isn't removed soon, we will have no choice but to kill you to prevent from bringing Discord back." There is that talk of Discord again, what is this guy, the fucking devil himself or something?

Is Discord the Anti-Christ of this world? Cause if so he must done some seriously fucked up shit or something to earn that title!

I wouldn't say the devil, somebody else already got that title and he is currently locked up in Tartarus for the stunt he pulled a few centuries ago. From what I heard, he is still rotting in his prison cell at the lowest levels and his only visitor is that annoying solar princess.

Huh...I wonder what she is trying to do...trying to get him to change the error of his ways? Or something more...sexual? Nah, no way in hell that could happen, this isn't the ancient times where prisoners with a strong body and good genes were used as sex toys by those with the coin to buy their time...right?

Looking at the ceiling I let out a groan as I went through likely scenarios involving this corruption that is brewing within me and what the local populous will do to me if it ever gets out of control.

None of the scenarios are good, all of them always seem to end with my head being put on a pike.

Casting my gaze back down to the priestess, I gave her the one question that I bet that she was waiting for me to say.

"Is there any way to get rid of this corruption? I rather not be sucked dry and have my head mounted on a spike on the city gates for all to see." And honestly, I rather not die this soon, there is still so much I need to do!

The griffon priestess placed a talon under her beak and thought on it for a few seconds before muttering something under her breath before addressing me.

"There are a few means of removing corruption from ones body, most of them result in the griffon...or whatever you are, to undertake a geas that more often than not they never come back from. The only method of curing your corruption without undertaking a geas is to beg your patron deity to remove it for you."

"So I must either undertake a quest from my god to get rid of the corruption or beg for his help...neither of those two options sounds good to me seeing how the latter is impossible while the former is dangerous to the point of it being a suicide mission."

"In that case, the only other way to be purified is to have the one who placed the corruption within you to remove it. But never have I heard of or even read of a demon taking back the corruption they cursed someone with back before." And there it was, the one method that no one ever does or tries to go for because of how impossible and stupid it is.

Mulling over her words I thought for a while on what this means to me and what it will do to my goals and plans for this world I am stuck in. If that evil shit within me goes critical than I am fucked, and the only means to cure it is to either go on a suicide mission for a god that I don't follow, or to have the asshole who cursed me in the first place to remove it.

Well, it looks like I am up shit creek without a paddle...for what, the fifth time this year? First it was getting stuck here, then getting captured by the diamond dogs, captured and blackmailed by Tazul, getting somewhat killed by Tazul and his cronies and now getting stuck here to be Eraclea's retainer...why couldn't I just have taken that job with the diamond dogs and stayed with them...maybe I could have found a life down there with them...

Maybe even love?

Pah, I doubt it. The fact that they are all a bunch of scavengers and raiders, sooner or later they would have been found out by either the griffons up top or have been attacked by a much stronger and larger group of diamond dogs and I doubt that I would have been spared. Hell, the fact that none of them seemed to know about proper bathing, hygiene, or even structural maintenance they would have gotten themselves killed, it was only a matter of time.

Returning my attention to the priestess I thanked her for her time and for explaining to me my current situation and what I am dealing with within me.

Safe to say that my life now officially sucks even more than it did before.

Day Five of Recovery

My last day spent in the infirmary, cant say that I am going to miss this place.

But then again, seeing how I keep ending up in these situations so I can guess that I might end up back here sometime down the road.

Sitting up in the bed I was given I was able to move around more under my own power but it was slow and lethargic. Most of the time I needed that damn crutch just to move around, and there was the few moments where my body couldn't handle it anymore and demanded that I take a breather.

These training sessions are exactly what I needed, but they wouldn't have been necessary if I hadn't been so foolish with my fight with Tazul.

I should have fought smarter, dodged his attacks and broke his legs, instead I got cocky and for it I died and I am now stuck in a debt to a god that wants me to fuck over an entire nation.

Can't do anything about it now, I am stuck with this curse and this mission until the job is done, but I wonder what will happen to me once it is all over?

Heh, guess we will see what becomes of me when Equestria is fucked over cause of one pissed off god.

Sitting up in my bed, my nurse now standing beside the bed post, as I stood up under my own power this time, and with the crutch in hand and positioned under my left armpit, I slowly got off of my bed with a wobble, but this time, not falling over and eating shit.

With my own strength now slowly but steadily returning to me, I gave myself a breather before moving around under my own power, getting my body to adjust to moving around again and to my surprise it actually listened to me this time.

'Huh, seems that strange serum is finally doing its damn job, I still feel weak but no longer do I look and feel like a skeleton.'

Gritting my teeth I started to push myself, testing the waters to see just how much I can do before my body says it had enough and makes me sit my ass down before it decides that it wants to take a nap.

Doing a rather brief circuit around the infirmary I felt like I was steadily becoming like my old self again, but my body was still a bit on the frail side for the time being. Going back to my bed I told the nurse how I was currently feeling when she asked me if there has been any improvements since yesterday, and I can safely say that there has been improvements.

Tomorrow is going to be a grand day for me and those that are involved with me.

I can feel it in your bones!

No, that's not what you are feeling in your bones, that is you trying not to piss yourself in fear is what it is.

'Fuck off who invited you!'

Hahahahaha!

'God damn you suck...'

Tomorrow is going to suck.

A New House

The time has come.

We were all in the courtyard at the royal castle and I was standing off to the side of the king beside his daughter and his wife, who seems to be trying to stay awake and is being held upright with the assistance from a royal guard. I don't know if she finds this boring or had a rough night and didn't get much sleep.

Either way, she is here and is at least making the attempt to stay awake while the king drones on about honor and other crap that I am too nervous to properly remember.

The griffon king was standing on a raised platform as he gave a rousing speech on how I, an Outlander that had nothing to gain from this but a contract from an aging griffon to retrieve the Idol of Boreas from the Abysmal Abyss. He talked about how I risked my life and that of my diamond dog friend to rescue his daughter from her diamond dog captors, and afterward when she was captured by Tazul and his crew of bandits. He also talked about how I brought Tazul to justice for trying to overthrow him and that those that assisted him in capturing his daughter and stalling her return from Equestria will be brought to justice.

My ceremony for kicking ass and taking names, saving a princess and retrieving an ancient relic from the depths of an abyss that nobody else could have done all in a nutshell.

Now normally I would be ecstatic that I was receiving such an honor but seeing how I have to stand in front of a massive crowd of griffons, both high born noble and commoner alike standing in front of me, watching my every move all the while listening intently to their king talking about me. I am not one for being in front of a crowd because I hate being the center of attention, it makes my legs turn to jelly and the fact that so many people are paying attention to me means that if I fuck up, they will probably remember this for the rest of their life.

So, no pressure on my part.

I was being held up by a crudely made crutch and that I was slightly wobbling in place due to my legs still being pieces of shit but for the moment I can endure the hot garbage and suck it up until this is over.

"And now, Ian Wilkinson, come forward." The griffon king said and for a moment I thought he said something else, but when my nurse nudged my left leg I realized that he was actually calling for me to step forward and present myself to him.

There is literally no way I could fuck this up for all eternity.

You would be surprised what the masses will remember these days little mortal.

'Oh fuck off, will you! I do not need you trying to fuck me over mentally! I am already stressed the fuck out on the inside!'

And now soon you will be stressed out on the outside too! Just imagine all of those lovely noble hens out there vying for your attention! An outsider, made into a noble no less who was also blessed by the king himself! All of them will be trying to get your undivided attention along with throwing themselves at you to sire your child! Oh, this is so exciting!

That grabbed my attention instantly, why the hell would they be throwing themselves at me? Aren't griffon nobles normally prideful and wouldn't ever go outside the species, even if that outsider has a high position in griffon society? Maybe those that aren't nobles and highborn would be coming after my ass cause they want a piece of the exotic, but the nobles?

Isn't it grand! Now not only are you working pretty much as a slave to that nag of a hen who you rescued but are now also have to do with the deadly decadent court that is the Griffon Nobility AND you have to deal with a bunch of hens and a few cocks that want a piece of your meat!

'Stop enjoying my misery and pain!'

Never!

Feeling another nudge from my left side, I exhaled quietly to myself and slowly made my way forward towards the king, my crutch creaking along the way as I put my weight onto it.

I was about halfway to the king when that piece of shit crutch cracked in half and I nearly toppled over and ate shit in front of well over three hundred griffons, but by the grace of god, Morgan Freeman, or that cunt of a god/goddess that brought me here I caught myself from falling completely over and landing face first.

Catching myself from falling I landed on my left knee, my right foot still maintaining a firm hold on the stonework as my nurse and a pair of royal guards came up from behind me to try and assist me up but I waved them off.

'I will not let my crap body fail on me now! I did not kill a bunch of griffons, beat up a couple of diamond dogs, and whooped a bat horse's ass just to fuck up and embarrass the human race in front of a bunch of fucking griffons!'

Good luck with that.

Clenching my teeth at the wobbly numbness that my legs are currently going through, I forced myself to stand up as I tried my best to ignore the burning sensation that was now climbing up my legs as I made steady progress to the king who was giving me a look that mixed with admiration and curiosity. Bet he is curious why my crutch broke on me in front of the locals.

The moment I got to the king he spoke again but this time he was stone-faced and was speaking with a loud, clear authoritative tone in his voice.

"Ian Wilkinson, Outlander from beyond Griffonia, you have been deemed worthy for this high estate by the Lords and Ladies of Griffonstone and beyond, and have indicated your willingness to accept this honor from Our talons."

'Wait, did these people really discuss this with each other to see if I should be a freaking noble or not?'

It appears so, I never did understand the way these griffons run things here...it is so much better to let the natural order of things dictate everything!

"Do you now swear by all that you hold sacred, true, and holy that you will honor and defend the Crown and Kingdom of Griffonia?"

'Is he making me a noble or a knight? This shit sounds like something the king n queen of England would say before knighting some poor bastard.'

Seems like it, but I wonder which will bother you more?

'Don't know, but I really want to know which is a higher step on the social ladder of the two.'

Fuck if I know, I hardly pay attention to what these griffons do with their time, but I bet you will be getting love letters soon after this is over with! So go get em, tiger!

'Oh go fuck yourself.'

I would if I could! I'm so hot that I would gladly fuck myself!

'So petty...'

Don't be trying to talk to shit to me mortal, I am quick with the shade today so take a step back bitch.

'Damn girl you spicy.'

Don't you forget it, boy, I can easily turn you into a pile of shit with the snap of my paw if I wanted to!

Hesitating a bit from what the unidentified deity said to me and from what the griffon king said aloud, I took a deep breath, nutted up, and said what I hope was to be expected of me to say.

"I will."

Next to speak up was the queen herself, and I must say, if she was a tavern worker I would probably try to get a roll in the hay with her...if she was human that is...definitely not going native...

"Outlander, will you honor, defend, and protect all who come before you and those that are weaker than you in their time of need?"

"I will." Not that I have much of a choice, people tend to ask the bigger, stronger person to save their skin when shit goes downhill.

It went back to the king as he took a step forward.

"Outlander, will you always conduct yourself proper and just, to honor your peers and to Noble and Commoner alike?"

"I will." Well, not always, I am pretty sure I will be blunt with anyone who talks to me, but I can pass it off to them that is just how I am. That and I can honestly give two shits if someone snitches on me, I rescued your princess and got your gold trophy back, so go fuck yourself I did the impossible twice!

"Outlander, will you conduct yourself in all matters as befits a knight, drawing your sword only for a just cause? That you will secure in your heart the noble ideals of chivalry to the benefit of your own name and the greater glory of Griffonia?"

"I shall." So I can't take my sword out and bitch slap someone with the flat part of my sword if someone is being an asshole? Eh, I am sure I can do it if it was someone that was deserving it.

Probably.

The crowd behind me start to rumble and mumble, what is happening is clearly getting them all antsy in the pantsy, but that isn't bothering me. What is bothering me besides my numb legs is that the king just drew his sword and was holding it high above his head.

'Motherfucker you better not cut me down in front of everyone! I still didn't get to fuck one of you!'

Really now? Is that going to be your last thought on this planet? That you didn't get to fuck a griffon? If I knew how to properly motivate you into doing your job I would have manipulated quite a number of lonely hens to come after you as if they were in heat and you were their only source of relief.

'Shut up!'

With the gilded sword now in his talons, the king looked at me long and hard as he slowly lowered the blade towards me, not in a killing blow but more like a love tap.

"Then having sworn these solemn oaths, know now that We, Guto and Victoria, by right of arms, King and Queen of Griffonia, do dub you with Our sword, Sky Render, and by all that you hold sacred, true, and holy..."

"Once for honor..." I felt a tap on my left shoulder, the elation that I was feeling right now...

I am just praying now that I don't shit myself, oh the humiliation that would be.

"Twice for duty..." A tap on my right shoulder.

"Thrice for chivalry..." And lastly a tap on my head.

"Now arise, Sir Ian of House Wilkinson-" I think I just shit myself...there is no way he just said the one thing I was hoping he was going to say.

Standing up slowly as to not get my legs to betray me by toppling out from underneath me, I rose to my full height

Welcome to knighthood, now you get to escort little old ladies cross the street, stop purse-snatchers and rescue the princess stuck in a tall tower from a nasty dragon. Good for you!

'Wait, but if I am a knight, where the hell am I going to be staying? I know my tenure with the griffon princess isn't going to be forever, and usually, knights either have their own chunk of land to rule over or a house/manor/castle to call their own.'

Oh, you are going to love your new home.

'I already got a feeling of dread and regret...'

Coming up beside the king, the queen had what looked like a sash made of some sort of leather, if the odd coloration and thickness was any clue. I don't really know my medieval stuff but if this is part of the whole knighting process than I am all for it. The leather sash has been dyed a sky blue color, probably matching the griffons affinity for flying, imprinted in the middle of the sash was the symbol that the griffons were using probably for their flag, it was a three-headed griffon, or probably three griffons just closely packed together as it had six arms and each one was holding something different.

I saw a bundle of arrows wrapped around a sword, a sack of coins, a hammer, a bundle of scrolls, a sickle, and a staff of some kind. Don't know what it means but if its anything like the eagle on the dollar bill and some other government shit than it is probably important.

Assuming that this sash isn't some kind of mark for death kind of thing.

"Sir Wilkinson, accept this sash, symbolizing your honor, the sign of the Order of Talons, and of your knightly rank." Queen Victoria says as she hands the sash to the captain of the guard, the veteran accepts it from his queen before walking over to me, flaps his wings and with a few wing beats was in the air and the sash was placed around my waist.

This thing was more akin to a belt for me but eh, guess they had to make due to me being a big ass alien to them.

Taking a step back and away from both the king and myself, the queen moved back beside her daughter as another griffon steps forward, this time carrying with them a rather large case.

I didn't have to be a genius or a history buff to know what was supposed to be inside.

This new griffon that was stepping forward I have never seen before, but I can bet whatever money I got that this guy right here must be the castle's blacksmith or master forger or something related to the title of creating weapons and armor for the royal guards. Said griffon approaching looks like he is covered in soot and smoke, unless that is his fur and feather color cause this would be the first all-black griffon I have ever seen...not being racist now, its just all of the other griffons I've seen so far have at least two to three different colors of fur, feathers and fluff on them.

Anyways...this griffon was wearing a fancy looking blacksmith apron, it was thick-looking leather, an even thicker-looking glove on his left talon, and what looks like a sweat-rag of sorts tied around his forehead.

Taking the sword out from the case, it was sheathed in a scabbard appears to be made out of some sort of metal or scales, if the segments that line the thing is of any indication. Another thing about this sword is that it appears to be one hell of a blade, fuck the damn thing looks like it almost belongs in an anime show...not saying that I watch anime, the blade on the sword just looks both unwieldy and unnecessary.

"Accept this sword which shall symbolize your duty and your bond as a Liege-Lord in fealty to the Crown of Griffonia. Never forget the burden that now bears its weight upon your shoulders. With this sword, you now act in our stead when you are beyond our reach, your actions and judgment will reflect upon Us both and upon all griffon-kind."

Before the king could hand the sword over to me, he held it out before my gaze, the sword truly looked beautiful but for a moment I thought he was going to say something but when the queen kneeled close enough to me to whisper into my ear, I heard what I had to do next.

Swear fealty to the crown.

I was expecting this, to pretty much give my loyalty to the monarchy even though I am an outsider to their nation, hell, I wasn't even expecting them to make me a knight or a noble, just someone to be called an upstanding citizen so that the rest of the griffons would look up to me.

But to be made into a noble or a knight...well I guess I should have seen this coming, I did save the king's daughter and retrieve their holy idol so yeah...go me.

Taking a deep breath I thought up of something to say, anything that came to mind and uttered out loud enough for all to hear me.

"I swear upon this day that I render fealty to my Sovereign Lord and Lady, the King and Queen of Griffonia and all of their domain, who shall forth from this day be my Liege Lord and Lady. I will remain true in all of my ways, serving crown and country faithfully until my dying breath. Upon this oath I swear, by sash and blade, by honor and faith, I shall carry out your will on this day and for all days to come."

Looking down at me as I stared into the king's eyes, I saw for a brief moment a hint of something in his eyes, possibly acceptance of my fealty, or maybe acknowledging that I am now one of his own citizens. Whatever the case may be I saw the faintest hints of a smile upon that beak of his before he went back to his stony expression.

Sheathing the sword away, the king placed it back where he got it before the royal captain took the sheathed blade away from him and passed it on to me. Taking the knightly weapon from the royal captain I strapped the weapon to my belt and made sure it was secured to my waist with a tight yank on the leather strap, almost making me wheeze just from how I tight I accidentally made it.

"Sir Wilkinson, let this be the last blow you receive unanswered." and before I could ponder what he meant by it, he raised his right talon at me and brought it down across my face.

I was not truly expecting to be smacked in front of an audience of well over a few hundred griffons, but what made me more caught off guard was the fact that this was a part of the knighting ceremony.

Now thankfully, his talons were closed into a fist so instead of slashing my face up some more, I instead got decked in the face. And to make this worse for me, he was wearing some large fucking rings, and those fucking things hurt! They might as well be god damn brass knuckles with how large and heavy those things are!

Getting clocked in the face I was knocked off my already wobbly legs as I fell to my face, the pain from getting hit and the resulting stinging sensation from the blow was keeping me from getting back up.

While he wasn't using his talons to strike me down, those rings of his did a bit of damage to me. And by damage I mean he cracked a tooth that was already fucked up, so that blow finished the job and popped that fucker out. Rotating my jaw a bit when I felt something inside my jaw rattle around so I spat it out and sitting there in a small puddle of spit and blood was a molar, or well...the cracked half remains of a molar.

Looking back up to the king I saw that he grimaced ever so slightly, I guess that he wasn't expecting that to happen but then again I take it that his knights are all griffons so they wouldn't be losing teeth when cracked in the face with those heavy ass rings of his seeing how griffons don't have teeth.

Steadily getting back onto my knee to kneel before the king as he continued to talk.

"Now rise, Sir Wilkinson, a Knight of the Endless Sky! Go now, and may the winds of fate lift you ever higher in the eyes of the gods!" The king helped me stand up and spun me around, facing the massive gathering of griffons as he proclaims me a knight of his kingdom.

The griffons of the lower class, aka the ones I have talked to and ate with, were cheering the loudest while many of the nobles were cheering, sadly there were a few that kept silent and were glaring up at me.

It would seem that the nobles that are not too happy to see that an outsider has suddenly risen up to knighthood before any of them. While they were glaring at me, a few of them were already plotting to remove me from my position as a knight. How could I tell they were trying to get rid of me? The fact that they were giving me the stink eye and that they looked agitated at just the sight of me.

Ignoring the uptight snob fucks in the front row I turned my attention to the rest of the crowd, my eyes scanning the crowd to try and find those I called friends and to my surprise, they were standing just behind the nobles. The few friends I do have were waving at me, I saw Scrawny was standing beside Grandpa Gruff, the diamond dog was still bandaged up but he looks like he is getting better. Grandpa Gruff was standing beside his two bodyguards and he was wearing what amounts to a fancy shirt for griffons, it was a semi-high collar vest with a sash around his neck and to top it off he had a belt with a sword sheathed to his right side.

Gilda and Greta were present as well and the two were just wearing what looks like half of a shirt with a partial high collar and a long dress skirt. From here I see that Gilda does not approve of what she is wearing and is trying her hardest not to rip the damn things off while Greta on the other hand, she looks like she has done this before and is simply bearing through it with a smile on her face while internally she is thinking on setting her clothes on fire the first chance she gets.

With it all said and done I was allowed to walk among the masses and talk to them although all I wanted to do at that moment was to get some salt water to wash out my mouth and to get an icepack for my jaw cause it was hurting like a motherfucker.

Hobbling off of the stage I made my way towards the crowd of griffons and I must say that for the most part, I was expecting only for about half of the griffons here to even acknowledge the fact that their king made an outsider a knight but it would seem that every single commoner is in attendance here and that they all approve of my elevation in station. The wealthy and the highborn on the other hand, it was a split choice on the matter, half of them seem to be accepting of me while the other half is glaring daggers at me.

Walking into the crowd of griffons I shook talons, hugged commoners who wanted to hug the one who recovered their sacred idol and rescued their princess from a bunch of rogues.

Next came the questions from both commoner and noble alike.

"Where did you come from?"
"What are you? You don't look like the typical diamond dog or minotaur?"
"How old are you? You look a little young to be traveling the world."
"How did you get into the abyss! None of us could fly in there and you don't have any wings!"
"Can you tell us why Lord Tazul tried to usurp the throne from our king?"
"Are you single?"
"Why were you knighted when the rest of us nobles have yet to receive such an honor!"
Are you looking for a flock yet?"
"Are you a grass-muncher or a meat-eater!"
"Why are you crippled? Are you sick or were those from an honorable battle?"

Now, normally I would answer all of these questions in the most asinine or dickish manner, but seeing how I have been knighted by the highest authority in the land and that he was standing right behind me on stage, it would make him look bad for making the worlds biggest asshole a person with power and authority.

Seeing how I cant answer these griffons in my normal manner, I had to do it in my most unused manner.

I had to be nice.

Just being nice makes my skin crawl, and for good reason.

I got into trouble for being nice, so I stopped being nice and went full neutral just to stay out of trouble.

"Alright calm down everybody, calm down. Now I know that all of you want your questions answered, so I will try to do it to the best of my abilities." And by answer I mean try not to get flustered or awkward while I say that I am single to a crowd of griffons in which about half of them are female.

And what do single female griffons do when there is a single male knight who just said that he is single? Try to get his attention by flaunting their body, being seductive, bribing me for a good time, trying to get me drunk for a one-nighter, actually asking me out on a date or outright forcing themselves upon me.

Two of those things are bad and they don't belong there, but sadly I know that some of these lonely hens out there will try one, some or all of these methods to try to get into my pants for an easy way into nobility.

I ain't having any of it...alright maybe a little bit of griffon, I will not be carrying a virgin card in this world, I will do what Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise has done in his time, sleep with all of the alien species out there.

Regardless if it is possible or not!

"Alright, so what was your question again?" I said as I pointed to some random griffon in the crowd.

The griffon I pointed at was chestnut brown in body fur color with beige head feathers and deep blue eyes. This griffon was wearing an aquamarine and white striped headband with a matching aquamarine collar that had what looked like rubies embedded in it. Seeing that I was pointing at them, the griffon in question stepped up towards me and stopped about three feet away from me.

Straightening out the collar they were wearing the griffon in question opened their beak and the voice that came out was feminine and refined, obviously a hen of either high class or was educated and was taught some manners.

"Yes, my question is that where did you come from? You do not look like any Minotaur from the Andersite Mountains nor do you look like any Diamond Dog from any of the clans, so from where do you call home?" Ah, just like with the princess and the diamond dogs, always gotta be someone who asks me of my origins.

Rolling my eyes at the basic question I answered her the same way I did the princess. I told her that I am from anther continent and that it is hard to reach. And as for the griffon that asked me about what I am, well...

"I am a human, what we lack in size and strength of the minotaurs and diamond dogs, we make up for our industriousness, our persistence and also our immunity to magic." And seeing how that I have the means to pretty much give these people the great advancements of human ingenuity and creation, I could make myself into a billionaire if I sold the means to the right people.

And as for the rest of the questions they had to ask me, I answered them in rapid succession.

"My age is not of your concern, just know that I am young, spry and still in relatively good condition."

"I climbed into the abyss by anchoring myself to the ground with some rope and steadily made my way down until I got the idol, sadly that was also the same time that I got captured by diamond dogs that was living nearby cause they were watching me the entire time."

"I dont know why he tried to take the throne, but if its like any other power play, Tazul probably thought that he could do better than the current guy on the throne. Most times those people are not worthy of the throne and their rule ends in an uprising that either restores the old rule or instates some bright-eyed idealist."

"Yes I am single, and what the hell is a flock? Is that some sort of harem or something?" It was oddly quiet from the griffons when I asked what a flock is, just from the context clues I bet its more of a family unit thing or something related to family.

"No I am not a pure grass-muncher nor am I a pure meat-eater, I can eat both fruit and vegetables along with meat, but I prefer my meat and fish cooked, not raw."

"And the reason why I am crippled is that it pertains to my knighting, I went down into the Abysmal Abyss and retrieved the idol only to be captured by diamond dogs and it was during my brief captivity that I met your princess behind bars along with her entourage of royal guards. I was released from the prison cell because the d-dogs thought I was one of them so they had me work for them brief amount of time and with it I thought of a way to escape. The moment I saw my chance I took it, broke out the princess and her guards and got out of there."

"Another reason as to why I was knighted is that when we away from the diamond dogs, Tazul's goons were upon us and we were captured, he let me go along with my diamond dog companion because he thought that he could buy my silence about his plan but it didn't work because I was going to tell the king regardless if he paid me or not, but his plan was going to fail because he made an enemy out of me by giving me a fake idol and handing me a bag of fake gold. The moment the king and I found out that the gold and idol were both fakes I went back to where Tazul was hiding out and laid siege to it while the king's own task force of loyal knights were making sure that no one else was hiding."

"My injures came from the numerous bandits that were under Tazul's employment along with Tazul himself. While I may be immune to magic it didn't mean that talons and metal weapons don't work against me. I nearly died from my injuries but it only makes me stronger, so the next time Tazul or any of his cronies that wanted to rebel against the king comes along, I will be more than ready to take them on!" I shouted to the masses, letting them know that I couldn't be bought off and that I will relentlessly pursue someone if they try something they shouldn't be.

After a while the questions from the griffons started to die down and soon enough we were allowed to retire for the day so every single griffon that was in the crowd went back home.

Meanwhile the royal griffons, the guards and myself headed back to the castle as a group but when I opened my mouth regarding my punishment to serve Princess Eraclea came up...well it ended as well as one can expect.

"So...I take it I am still your daughter's retainer?" there was hope in my voice but like all things it was dashed aside like a fart in the breeze.

"Of course you still are Sir Wilkinson, this is your punishment after all so don't try finding a way to wiggle out of it." The king said with a bit of a grin to his beak as he looked back at me. At least lie to me you old bastard!

"Damn it, I was hoping that by being a knight that it would except me from this punishment." And like all things, hope is a lie!

"Ha! Don't worry, in five years time I am sure that you will have worked off your assignment and be able to live your life no longer being chained to my daughter's side. Just take your punishment like a cock and be happy that you are able to be by my beloved daughter's side where so many other highborn have only dreamed of having!"

Looking at the king before turning my attention to his daughter, I could only roll my eyes and discreetly cough into my hand.

Oh stop being such a sourpuss! Maybe someday you two can get used to each other's presence long enough to actually enjoy one another! I can hear the wedding bells now!

'I hate you so much right now that I bet you can just feel the hatred radiating from me from here.'

"Now then, my newest knight, accompany us back to the castle and escort my family to their rooms before going to your own. One of the maids will guide you to your new home for the time being." And with that said the four of us were off, heading back to the royal castle with a contingent of royal guards in tow.

While most people would say that being near the royal family back home would be something you could remember for the rest of your life, but for me it is starting to feel like it might actually be the death of me.

Dropping off the king and queen in their quarters, which happened to be in a tower that was connected to the castle by a short stone bridge. The path leading up to their quarters was heavily guarded and it was only because I was a knight and that I was escorting the royal family that I was even allowed to be in that particular section of the castle. And as for the princess that I rescued twice now, well she seemed to be keeping a fair distance away from me but she was still within reaching distance in the event we get ambushed by would-be assassins.

Following the young griffon princess to her room I hobbled steadily beside her, it turns out her room is across from her parents in the sense that it was within the main castle itself, it was just in the same hall as the one that leads to the tower.

And as for where my room is located...

It is right next to the princess's on its right, it is connected by a hidden door that she showed me while I was in her room briefly. This hidden door was only to be used in the absolute of emergencies such as a coup happening, an invasion from a foreign kingdom, or a full-scale dragon attack.

I dont know when any of those would ever happen but it is better safe than sorry.

When I entered my room I saw that it was bare of anything, it was spartan to such a degree that all it had was a bed and a single cabinet with a small closet and bathroom. It wasn't the best looking of rooms but it sure as hell was way better than the prison cells I was thrown in and the shitty stone one I was given when I was with the diamond dogs.

'Well, it is better than nothing...guess this is all I have to work with until I either get my own place to live in or get more furniture for my room. Either way I am getting more things to fill this empty ass space up.'

I wonder what my life has in store for me now that I am working as somebody's retainer.

Probably going to be boring as fuck lectures and some other bullshit educational dribble I am also expected to learn.

Fuck me! Its going to be like high school all over again!

Intermission: Canterlot News

It was early morning in Equestria while our certain human was getting his knighthood, addressing the general griffon public in Griffonstone, across the border and an ocean. Equestria was just barely getting up from their comfy beds to greet the day.

With the exception of one mare in particular that is.

Waking up far earlier than any day-walking pony in existence at the unholy hour of four in the morning, Celestia Dawnbringer, Princess of the Sun, Ruler of the Day, Devourer of Cakes and Slayer of Donuts, was sitting on the balcony in her room, waiting for her sister to lower the moon so she can assume control over the day once more.

While she was sitting and waiting, the princess of the sun started to think of all that has transpired recently, notably with what has been happing to their neighbor far in the east.

'To think that after so many years, somepony was brave enough to dive into the abyss to reclaim their sacred relic...such bravery must be commended for a race that holds honor and pride above all else.' the aged monarch thought to herself as she felt the celestial body in the sky lower towards the horizon and saw the tiny specks of orange and yellow in front of her.

'It is such a travesty to see a nation fall on such hard times, even harder to see when they have refused any and all aid that we have offered them. Their stubborn pride won't allow them to accept any form of help as they always saw it as a form of charity. I know I had to try to help them but time and time again they refused to accept my help...to see them starving and fighting amongst themselves over scrapes...'

'But it seems that isn't the matter anymore, to think that the old griffon I knew so long ago was the one to swallow his pride and hired outside help. Outside help that turned out to be somepony that looks like a mix of a diamond dog and a minotaur...not the most likely of heritage but it is all that I have at the moment.'

The solar princess was in deep thought but the moment she felt her sister ease her control over the moon she saw that it was now her turn to take over the sky and usher in the new day. Reaching out over the horizon with her magic, the solar diarch grabbed hold of the colossal ball of plasma and radiation and gently pushed it over the horizon along a set path that she and her sister have designed over a thousand years ago.

As soon as the sun began to gently make its way across the sky, the morning light began to shine through the windows of the castle before cascading down onto the rest of Equestria.

Stepping away from the balcony the solar princess went about her daily routine of cleaning herself up and making herself presentable to the public she donned her golden regalia and stepped out of her room.

Upon exiting her room she saw that her escort of guards were already assembled and waiting for her, and with a nod from their princess that got into formation around her and began to follow her towards the royal dining hall.

To the royal guards they feel it is a huge honor to be their princess's side, to be the one to protect her should anything try to do her harm. An honor to be in her presence for many but to be hoofpicked by their captain, to be thought that they have excelled above all others and to be worthy enough to be the ones to safeguard her life.

But for the alicorn of the sun, it was nothing more than a burden, to be the one that the entire country looks upon for guidance and as the perfect shining example to look up to. For Princess Celestia, holding the lives of the thousands upon thousands of ponies and other non-pony species in her hooves to protect and lead, sometimes it is too much for her to handle and that she wished to just leave it all behind.

Deep down though, she knew that she couldn't simply abandon her crown and her ponies, she had to grin and bear it all, to endure it to keep her precious little ponies safe. She always thought that there would come a day where her ponies would finally be strong enough and smart enough to be able to guide themselves, to no longer need her presence only to raise and lower the sun, to give her the break that she clearly needs, but sadly that day isn't today nor would it arrive for the foreseeable future.

With a withering internal sigh the princess of the sun raised her head high and with an unbreakable conviction she trotted to towards breakfast, knowing that as long as she had her sister, her beloved student and her friends, that nothing in this world could break her!

Entering the dining hall the solar princess sat in her favorite seat and saw that today's newspaper was already there waiting for her along with a cup of tea and a small plate with golden brown toast beside it.

Smiling to herself the ruler of the day sat down and with the flick of her horn, she levitated the newspaper into the air and opened it up, already reading the first line when she saw a picture beneath the first article and read its title.

Griffon Royalty welcomes a new Knight into their ranks!!!
"Earlier this month all of Griffonstone was in uproar when they had heard that a mercenary hired by a local griffon has retrieved their sacred relic, the Idol of Boreas, and returned it back to where it belongs. We do not know who this mysterious savior is but what we do know is that this lone being has done what no other griffon could in nearly thirty years of their holy relic being lost. The Idol of Boreas, a solid gold sacred relic that predates the beginning of Griffonia and her outlying colonies, what we know of the Idol is that it contains a power that only works when its people are united and with their unity it unlocks their true potential, whatever that could be."

"We tried to get a word with the mysterious mercenary but we were unable to due to them receiving grievous injuries when they attempted to rescue Princess Eraclea from a rogue griffon baron who tried to usurp the throne earlier this month. The suspect in question, one Tazul Brune of House Argos, is the mastermind behind the attempted usurpation of the griffon throne, most of his accomplices have been apprehended by griffon authorities but a few are still at large. From what we were told by the griffon authorities, the traitor in question has kept his beak shut and isn't willing to tell anypony or anygriffon any thing regarding what he was trying to do nor would he tell us the names of those that have escaped capture and arrest."

"The griffon princess, Eraclea, has come out from this horrible ordeal unscathed and is sound of mind thanks to the efforts of the mysterious mercenary and his assistant, a diamond dog by the name of Scrawny. Princess Eraclea has spoken to us and she has told us that she is eternally grateful for her mercenary who not only saved her from traitorous noble and his band of unsavory bandits, but also for retrieving the Idol of Boreas from the Abysmal Abyss."

"For rescuing both the griffon princess from harm and for retrieving their lost relic, King Guto of the Griffon Kingdom has declared for his service towards the griffon nation and for rescuing his daughter and stopping Tazul Brune from taking his throne, the mysterious mercenary will be given a knighting ceremony and be welcomed amongst their ranks!"

The knighting ceremony is said to be taking place this week and that almost all of Griffonstone will be attendance to bless this rare occasion. More on this story on Page 02 --

Putting down the newspaper the celestial princess of the sun closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nerves as her eyes had caught the name of the second title on the newspaper, something that made her wings twitch in agitation and her spine quiver in fear.

Equestrian Princess leads legion of thestrals into Griffonia!
"Earlier this month, Princess Luna took the second legion of thestrals and marched under the cover of night along with the false story that it was a training exercise but from the an inside scope we learned that it was not a training exercise that our princess of the night was leading us to believe. Instead it being a training exercise, we found out that Princess Luna led one thousand lunar guards into Griffonia to rescue a single thestral guard that was seen in the company of Princess Eraclea of Griffonia."

"We do not know why the our beloved princess of the night took a thousand ponies into Griffonia for the rescue of a single pony, but what she did was entirely overkill in the sense that the griffon king could have seen this as a sign of invasion and declared war on all of Equestria over this act. Now we all know here at The Canterlot Times that Princess Luna is still getting used to the modern times but what she has done has put Equestria in a precarious position that might led to thousands of ponies and griffons dying. We here know that we couldn't leave one pony behind to be a prisoner to a bunch of diamond dogs, but to take so many ponies and without receiving the permission from both Princess Celestia to authorize the use of that many ponies for a rescue operation and King Guto of Griffonia to allow military access."

"Will this sour our relationship with the griffons because of this poorly thought-out plan of action and result in all of Equestria going to war due to one of our beloved princess's outdated diplomacy tactics, or will this be overlooked by our western neighbors and that harmony will prevail? More Info on Page 3--"

Slowly putting a hoof to her forehead, Princess Celestia ever so gently rubbed her head as she fought her hardest against a rising headache as what she read just sank in.

Her little sister, loved with all her heart and then some, took one thousand of her ponies and marched them eastward and that action might have sparked a war with a nation that is on the verge of rebuilding itself and might be more than willing to revert to savagery due to their dire situation.

Closing her eyes and counting to ten, the older sister waited until the ten seconds have passed until finally allowing herself to blow off the built up anger that has just recently been created by reading the newspaper by shouting to the heavens in absolute unbridled rage.

And it was from that day forth did the city of Canterlot feel the very foundations of their homes quake to the point of everyone thinking in fear that their beloved city was going to collapse and fall into the lake and forest below them.

"LUNA SELENE DUSKBRINGER! WHAT DID YOU DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And it was also in that moment did Luna find out, that she fucked up.

Practice Lessons

Two weeks have passed since I have been knighted by King Guto and has been elevated to the pristine rank of Knight instead of a dirty outsider and unwanted vagabond.

Now I know that most people would probably think that being a knight and working in the employ of the king, specifically his only daughter and that your room is right next to hers, you would think that would be pretty swell. Working for the king's daughter would make most guys start to think naughty thoughts about how to get into her pants and find a way to get wed to royalty to live the easy life.

But for me, there is a catch...

Seeing how that I have 'abandoned' her and left her in Tazul's care, the king decided that instead of punishing me by breaking my legs for leaving her behind, he decided that instead, I will be cleansing this sin from my chest by working as Eraclea's retainer and to do whatever she needs to be done and to guard her with my life.

Now, normally I would have told him to fuck off and let me be, but seeing how I did leave his daughter behind with a guy that wanted to take his throne even though I worked hard to get back the Idol of Boreas and fought even harder to retrieve it back from the bastard who stole it. I could have kindly told him that I decline, but I thought against it because I don't think my ass would survive in prison, let alone medieval prison so I swallowed my pride, relented and gave in.

Now with that in agreement, and that my body has more or less recovered completely after my knighting ceremony, the king has requested that I learn how to properly fight in order to defend his precious daughter in the event the royal guards fall and that her life is in mortal peril. This meant that I was going to get my ass stomped all up and down the training yard by a four foot tall griffon with what should hopefully be a wooden sword all the while not getting my ass kicked so badly that I would have to spend even more time in the infirmary.

Another thing I was told was that I would also be taking lessons in regards to the griffon culture, proper mannerisms, griffon history, the arts, and also how to play a selection of instruments...

Well, I would have to do those but when I told the king that if I am going to be watching over his daughter and ensure she stays alive, how the hell is learning how to play an instrument or knowing which griffon made what painting or statue of is going to help her keep her blood and guts inside her body? He tried to talk me down on the matter and say that if I am going to be a proper knight in his employ that I am to do as I am told, my response however one can say is reckless and priceless all at the exact same time.

"Look, you and I both know that you don't truly need me here, you have all the guards you could ever need watching over your daughter, making sure she is safe from harm and from those that would use her for their own ends. You don't want me to watch her over like a common guard, no, you want me to watch over her cause you know that I am one of the few people out there that will outright refuse to follow orders when I need to and that I am willing to get my hands dirty while others wouldn't because it would stain their honor and pride."

"The only reason why you roped me into being a knight is that you know that I am pretty much your best bet in keeping your daughter safe from the nobles who see her as a juicy prize and also to keep her safe from anyone that will try to harm her. You know that your knights will always obey you and your family and keep their beaks shut while I will do what needs to be done regardless of orders and I will speak my mind whether you want to hear it or not."

"You wanted me here because you know that I can operate outside of your chain of command and do whatever that needs to be done to get the job done. If you don't like it then you shouldn't have made me a knight then, I will watch your daughter but I will do my job my way, not how you want it to get done."

The king was not pleased with what I said, but after a while he relented and gave in, admitting to me that while I am right, I am not to repeat what I just said and that any matter concerning his daughter, I am to do anything and everything to ensure that she lives, even if it means sacrificing someone's life to make sure hers continues.

And that is what brings us all to where we currently are.

The royal guards training yard.

Built on the cliffside where the royal castle is built upon, this area has numerous training dummies set up, some of them meant for target practice for those using bows while the rest were made for melee practice. A few rings were also built into the yard so those that want to spar have a proper place to do so, in all it looks pretty normal.

Sadly for me, I didn't get to enjoy it for long because I was busy getting beaten into the sand and dirt by a four-foot tall griffon hen wearing a leather jerkin and holding a fairly large wooden sword in her talons.

Picking myself up off the floor while rubbing my sore chest I glared down at the hen as she laughed at my discomfort and pain, I don't know which is worse though, the fact I am getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter or the fact that I am getting my ass kicked by a four-foot tall griffon.

Wiping the dust and dirt from my training uniform, (how they managed to these I will never know, nor will I ever want to know how they got my exact measurements for everything), the dull brown gamberson and equally dull brown pants will need to be repaired when this training session is over, this hen isn't going easy on me and I can already tell that I will be covered in bruises by the end of the day.

Wiping the dirt from my face I gripped my wooden sword tightly once more and charged towards my opponent with reckless abandon, which in turn resulted in me getting knocked on my ass once more.

Turns out even though I am taller and perhaps even stronger than the average griffon, but due to my lack of combat experience with anything remotely in the shape of a weapon besides a pocket knife and a bow. My instructor made it all the more apparent that my lack of skills is the reason why I am getting beaten by such a short stocky hen and also the reason why I was in the infirmary when Tazul nearly killed me.

"How in the world did you survive for this long Sir Knight? I was told that you were once a mercenary and yet you appear to be highly unskilled in even the most basic of fighting arts!" my instructor shouted at me as she twirled the wooden sword in her talons, her face is obviously unamused with my display and I must say that she has every right to be.

Getting back up I charged at my instructor, keeping the blade leveled until I raised it above my head for an overhead strike, but I was stopped when she sidestepped my attack and hit me in the gut with the flat of her sword, knocking the wind out of me and forcing me to my knees. Getting a gut check sucks, getting hit with a wooden sword hard enough to almost make me spew my breakfast is another matter entirely.

Before I even had a chance to stand up I got whacked in the back and I fell face first into the floor.

This. Sucks.

Rolling myself over to get back onto my feet, I swore under my breath and glared at my teacher, oh how much I already hate her but to speak the truth on the matter, she is right. The only reason I am still alive right is that the god/goddess that is looking out for me is making sure that I don't die (again) too soon so I could fulfill their orders and spread chaos and change the fate of the world to a much more chaotic nature.

I still don't know how I am supposed to be doing that but hey, at least they stopped me from dying the first time.

Grumbling some more I decided that instead of rushing in head first and hope for the best, I thought to actually employ some things I saw on tv.

Widening my stance and loosening my limbs I stood a fair distance away from my instructor who raised an eyebrow at me, obviously, she was unprepared for me to actually put in some effort into this training session. With my stance wider and my limbs much looser than they last were, which just so happened to be stiff.

Turns out by changing my stance and posture I managed to do better than last time by actually managing to hit my instructor in the side of the head with the flat edge of my wooden sword. Now in the real world, getting hit in the side of the head with a sword would have probably resulted in said head being lopped off and be rolling on the floor while spurting blood everywhere, but seeing how this was a practice session, all it did was make my instructor go even harder on me for actually landing a hit on her.

Smirking under her helmet I watched the hen stare at me with a calculated glare before grinning even wider. Launching herself at me full tilt, the instructor and I connected swords, the pieces of wood were scraping against one another and before I could try to push back against my smaller opponent, she took the initiative and used her wings to her advantage. With those wings of hers, I watched as she got the extra push that she needed to push me onto my back once more but this time she landed on top of me and has the tip of her practice sword pressed against my throat with a victorious grin plastered across her beak.

"Do you yield or shall I keep on hitting you till your all black and blue?"

Laying on the ground with my teacher on top of me I thought of what I could possibly do to get her off of me, but nothing came to mind until one errant thought raced across my brain.

'Why not just use our height to our advantage? She may have our upper half pinned down but not our legs.'

Briefly looking down I saw that yes, my legs were indeed free as they were obscured by my trainer's lower body. From where I was laying, I saw that yes, griffons do have nipples on their person but I should have seen this coming because they are part feline after all since the bottom half is the lion part of them.

With that image now filed away under 'Spank Bank' I returned to what I was planning on doing, which was getting my instructor off of me.

"Sorry ma'am, but today isn't going to be a victory for you," I said as I very slowly moved my right leg into position, angling it to be in line with her backside all the while keeping her attention fixated on me.

"Oh really? Well Sir Knight, I don't see any means of you getting out of this unless you are about to try begging." the hen said as she pressed the wooden point a bit harder on my throat, making it hurt ever so slightly but it was enough to tell me that if it was a real blade it would have punctured my throat and that I would have started to choke on my own blood.

"Nope, I play to win." And as soon as I said that I slammed my knee into the fattest part of her ass, pushing her off and over me as she let out a squawk of surprise as she went over my head and landed in a heap.

Tilting my head up to see her from behind I rolled over and got up, and just in time I caught an eyeful of what a griffon's naughty bits looked like and I must say, I am relieved that it isn't a bird's but disappointed that its a cat's, and I must say I don't think that I would fit in there unless she has been stretched out by a few dicks. On the plus side I got some more jerk material to add to the 'Spank Bank' vault, can never have too much for the wax-on wax-off hour.

The downside is that my instructor was looking right at me, blushing up a storm while shaking in anger that I was ogling her fun pieces like a drooling monkey before flying right at me, talons raised and screeching like a falcon.

Staring down a screeching pissed off eagle, I decided to wait for the perfect moment to do something about it, and that moment came when she was just a few seconds away from clawing my face. Moving to the side I watched as the enraged griffon miss me completely only to see her snap her wings out and change course, turning around almost instantly as she made for another attempt to beat the ever-loving shit out of me.

'Huh...forgot about that. Okay, new plan, seeing how that griffons are not only slighter faster than ponies running on land and they are much agiler in the air...crap. How the hell can I beat a predator that pretty much has the best of both an eagle and a lion? Throw meat and fish at it and hope for the best?'

Ducking under her swing I turned around in time to catch another glimpse of the forbidden fruit and I must say, I better get used to it because seeing how I haven't seen another human being in all of the time I have been here. The odds of finding another human, let alone said human being female is sitting on a lovely negative 100%.

Impossible to get a negative percentage? I doubt it since I somehow managed to reach it.

'Hmm, prideful, easily agitated when insulted...a temper to almost match a dragon.'

I can trick her, pull her in close before striking her down!

With that in mind I waited for my instructor to turn around, I watched her rise high into the sky before coming back down directly on top of me. Watching her come down on top of me I waited for her to get closer but instead, she opted to open up her wings, immediately killing her speed as she ground to a halt in the air above me, opening herself up.

Taking my wooden sword I raised it above my head and before she could let out a squawk I brought it down upon her head and with a loud *clunk* I watched my instructor tumble to the ground in a heap. Staring down at the unconscious hen that I totally just knocked out with ease and wasn't bobbing and weaving like a little puss, I saw that she was, for the most part, not that bad looking.

Now I know that I shouldn't be hitting on my teachers and instructors, but when your the only human on the planet and that said human hasn't had a quiet moment to bust that nut with the exception of before falling asleep or just after waking up to go eat. With that in mind I could only imagine what she must be like when she isn't screeching at me and wasn't trying to beat the ever-loving crap out of me, but that train of thought was shot down when Eraclea told me that she pretty much has always been a ballbuster for as long as she has been alive.

She is very harsh on all of the guards she trains and she is magnifying the harshness on me because she thinks that I am just like the nobles who are trying to marry the princess so they could rule the nation when her father dies.

Do I want to marry the griffon princess? Not really, no, she isn't even on my top five griffons to bone due to her being royalty, she doesn't see me like that, and also she is a total cunt waffle.

Looking down at the unconscious hen I poked her a few times with more sword just to make sure that she was still alive, and when I saw her chest moving ever so slightly I knew that she was still alive.

Wiping my brow with the back of my hand I put away my wooden sword by sheathing it in the leather loop that was affixed to my pants. Reaching down I picked up my instructor by her armpits and hoisted her up, placing her in my arms as I held her as if she were my bride, but I know and if she were awake at this moment she too would know that this would never happen in a million years.

As I walked into the royal castle and made my way towards the infirmary, I began to hum mostly to myself a jaunty tune that I heard in a movie a few times.

When I started my martial training to learn how to actually fight with a wide array of weapons, I kept getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter so often that I have memorized the path to the infirmary to the point where I can get there with my eyes closed.

Out of two weeks of getting beaten to a bloody pulp by someone smaller than me, I have only won two times.

The first time I won, I kicked her so hard in the asshole that I thought my shoe was going to get shoved up there but thank god it didn't. My reward for that victory was to get bashed upside the head with a shield than beaten to a pulp.

Shuffling the griffon in my arms as I had to readjust her due to my hands were steadily slipping due to how smooth her fur is, I really don't want my hands to be touching they shouldn't be touching and risk losing some fingers. I was about halfway towards the infirmary when my instructor started to squirm in my arms and before I could try to set her down and give her some space, my instructor opened her eyes only to see me holding her bridal-style.

The blush on her face was evidence enough of what she thought of the situation she found herself to be in.

The fist imprint that she left on my left cheek was also what she thought of the situation.

Never again will I carry my instructor to the infirmary whenever I kick her ass, she can nurse her injuries herself if this is the thanks I get for being nice.

"Alright boy, show me what you got." A gruff male griffon shouts as I line up my arrow with the stationary target and with a bit of a huff, I let loose the shaft, the arrow sailed through the air and with a weak sounding tak it hit its target near the center of the target.

Looking at where my arrow has landed, my archery instructor gave it a judging glance before returning his attention to me and gave me an approving smile on his beak.

"Very good, most of those that I teach how to use the bow seem to either pull too tightly on the string and snap it or don't pull on it enough and the arrow lands right at their paws. You on the other claw are very good at this, very good indeed. It is almost like that you have been trained in this art of war before." Scratching the back of my head I confirmed with him that yes, I have been trained to use this before.

It would seem that the Boyscouts has finally found its use after all. I just that I never have to ever put my First-Aid merit badge training to use, I don't think I can handle having to set someone's broken arm or leg in a splint. I can handle blood, I just can't handle someone else being in an enormous amount of pain.

Maybe it is just hearing them moaning and screaming in pain, or the possibility of me seeing their guts hanging out of their body when it shouldn't be falling out, but seeing someone in pain just makes me want to make it either stop for the better or to just end it for them.

"Seeing how you know the basics of archery and that you are learning proper swordsmanship from Ms. Harper, I can see that in due time you will be a formidable opponent that even the minotaurs and dragons will properly fear!" I looked at the archery instructor for a moment and wondered if he was on any kind of drugs because the only minotaur I have seen, he may have been weak from the onset of starvation and also being beaten to a bloody pulp, but I saw that he was a veritable wall of muscle and vitality. There was no way in hell I could beat him if he was in peak physical condition.

And as for being able to beat a dragon...

I am not the god damn dragonborn! There is no way in hell that I can beat one aside from maybe a hatchling, dragons are protected with their tough scales, strong hide, and that they are the picture definition of destruction. The sheer fact that they can breathe fire, fly, and eat meat is all the things I need to know to never fuck with one.

Ever.

"Sir, I doubt I will ever be able to go toe-to-toe with a minotaur let alone a freaking dragon! Both of those two things are way above my skill level to the point where it would just be a joke to them! Hell, I bet they would just mess with me during the fight before finally growing bored with my attempts to beat them before finally turning me into a pile of ash or chopped-up mincemeat." I said as I loaded another arrow and fired it at the target, scoring a bulls-eye.

Rolling his eyes at what I said he went back to saying that with enough practice I can easily beat two absurdly powerful mythical creatures.

Yeah, right, like that will ever happen.

Soon enough the day was done and that I was allowed to finally take a break from all of the training for the rest of the day, and god damn do I need a drink. Shuffling to my quarters I stopped to take my clothes off, give myself a half-assed bath (a wet wash rag and cleaned myself off) put on some clothes that were for the most part comfortable, and picked up Scrawny from his own training session, but this time his teacher is just that, a teacher.

You see, Scrawny, along with so many other diamond dogs from the warren he was from, are vastly uneducated and for the most part are well, stupid. Turns out that for diamond dogs the only ones who get educated are the ones that show signs of intelligence and the children that belong to the pack alpha.

When Scrawny told me that he was the runt of his litter from his family, he said that pretty much all diamond dogs are told the basics of fighting, to always obey the alpha, and to not trust other races for they are the reason why they are living like a bunch of criminals.

Swinging on by to the castle library I saw Scrawny muzzle-deep in a book, his teacher being none other than my charge, Princess Eraclea, who was for some reason taking delight in doing this job. I guess she is trying to educate/indoctrinate Scrawny into being something that all diamond dogs should strive to become.

Knocking twice on the bookshelf next to the griffon princess I watched with a grin as she rapidly turned her head to face me and I must say, she looks kinda cute with glasses on.

I must never let anyone ever find out that I thought that she looks cute with those glasses on. She will probably rip my dick off and then proceed to beat me to death with it.

Taking off her glasses, the griffon princess placed them upon the table before telling Scrawny that they are done for today and that they will continue with his education tomorrow. Getting up from his seat I watched my dog friend pitter-patter over to me before we disembarked ourselves from the library and went to the closets bar that I could find.

Turns out there wasn't a bar near the castle, instead, it was more like a type of quiet parlor where the wealthy and nobility would gather and socialize and drink tea. I worked hard today, I smell of sweat and BO, I need cheap liquor and equally cheap nibbles to lift my spirits before they get crushed into the brickwork tomorrow morning by my combat instructor yet again.

Eventually, we found ourselves a tavern to relax in. We had to go down to the outer district to find one and I must say that this tavern really feels homely.

Walking to the front counter I tapped my knuckles on the wooden top and a barmaid came from the far side of the bar and came my way.

Something I noticed about griffons is that other than their differing colorations in their feathers, eye-color, fur and other little bits that make them different, but another thing that separates them from one another is that their bird features are also based on other bird species. The barmaid standing in front of me, she has owl-features, mainly the owl-like head and fluffy feathers, but for the most part, she looks cuddly and adorable.

Knowing what I wanted as I have been in here a few times during the two weeks of training to drink away the pain of the severe cases of ass-beating I went through, this hen has been here to make sure the pain has been dulled with cheap beer and salty pretzels.

Noticing my slightly asswhooped expression and griffon-fist dent on my cheek, the barmaid could only shake her head, go to the back of the tavern to return with a small burlap sack that has been chilled and placed it before me.

"Long day at the castle?" the barmaid asked as she placed the chilled sack on the table just as I sort of slammed my head into the table, crushing some ice in the process but oh man does it feel good on my aching head.

"You have no idea." I muttered out as I let myself relax and go boneless, letting all of the stress and pain of the day go as I drift off to relaxation and in a few moments the barmaid came back with a mug full of ale, something to help me ease the pain even further.

And so this is my life at the moment, getting beaten up by griffons half my size, learning how to fight with medieval weapons and at the end of the day getting mildly drunk with Scrawny to ease the pain. There is no way that something or someone can fuck this all up for me.

Bar Fight

Another week has passed since I got decked by my martial weapon instructor for trying to be helpful and take her to the infirmary after knocking her out. And another week of me nursing my injuries with good company and cheap, bad tasting ale but for the most part it isn't as bad as it used to be. Another week of me fighting a pint-sized hybrid in the training arena that always ends with me getting bruised and bloody but with each asskicking I was on the receiving end of, I began to get better and better with the sword and shield although I am still considered mediocre by my instructors standards.

And now here I am, back in the tavern after yet another long day of getting smacked with a wooden sword and beaten to the point that I want to die from embarrassment. And sitting across from me was Greta who took it upon herself to be my drinking buddy as Scrawny was sleeping back at the castle, as it turns out you can get a mental overload on education.

Drinking with Greta isn't so bad, sure she laughs at me whenever she see's my bruised face but she makes it better by draping a wing over my shoulder, telling me that it could always be worse (such as my face being split in half by a real sword or being ran through) and for the most part I agree with her.

But when I told her about what happened a week ago...

Well...

"You should have known that she doesn't like to be touched." Greta, my griffon friend for the past few weeks, says to me as I nurse a mug of ale and as she is laughing rather loudly. The brown colored drink lay motionless in my hands as I gazed deeply into its murky depths.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that? All we ever did was beat the ever loving fuck out of each other with wooden swords and our fists! It's not like we ever took the time to tell one another what we hate! Hell, if I knew that she doesn't like to be held by a guy then I would have left her out-cold ass in the yard and got the infirmary nurses to take her!" I said as I looked up at my drinking buddy, the young hen was busy chugging down her beer while listening to what I had to say.

Putting down her now empty mug, my friend belched loudly which got a few cheers from a couple of griffons that were sitting around us. I even gave her a thumbs up for that belch as I took a sip from my mug.

"So..., how goes the training?" Greta finally asks me as she waves over for the barmaid to give her mug a refill.

The barmaid came around to our table after a few moments, this griffon looked almost like Gilda, but the exception was that this hen had red feathers and highlights in her fur and that she also had a little cherry red bow tied to the end of tail tuft and was wearing the stereotypical barmaid attire, just minus the big tits that usually match the job.

While I was watching her walk away I couldn't help but stare at her ass as she walks by. I know that I shouldn't be doing this, but come on now this girl got a nice ass and I wasn't going to be forgetting it anytime soon.

"Well it could be better, getting beaten black and blue from sun up to sun down for the past few weeks is just lovely. Its been going so well that the nurses in the infirmary even went so far as to put my name on a bed in the event I come in." pulling my gaze away from the barmaid I turned it back on Greta who was trying not to snicker under her beak, seeing that I got caught ogling I decided to get back on track to cover my tracks.

I would rather not have the barmaid find out I was catching a peek and get a mug full of ale or worse, piss, dunked on my head the moment I wasn't paying any attention to her.

"It could be worse, it isn't like she was trying to break any bones, right?"

"Oh she was trying alright, every time I went back to the infirmary to get checked for any injuries they would always find new bruises on my body. I am just waiting for the day where she actually manages to break my leg or dislocate my arm."

After a while of drinking this weak booze eventually Gilda showed up, she was a bit sooty this time around and it looks like she is in a 'Bother me and I'll gut you' mood. Waving over the agitated hen buddy over I saw that she noticed me and Greta and made her way over, flying over a table to get to us and when she landed she did so by landing on top of me.

Leaning to the right to look around Gilda's head I can see that Greta is glaring at her and that her talons are tightly clenching on her wooden mug and that it looks like those talons are digging into the wood.

Is there something about griffon females that I am missing? I know that Gilda and Greta see me as a friend, but why must they rub themselves against me as if I am some sort of rubbing post? Sure we shared drinks, some laughs, and even asked if I could help them with their wings which I find strange since I know next to nothing on birds other than they eat seeds, worms, and that they fly and tweet all the time and also shit on my car that I just washed.

Turns out when they asked for wing help they meant that they wanted me to help them take out the feathers in them that are loose and are on the verge of falling off. Seeing how that they are my friends and drinking buddies, I agreed to do it as soon as they teach me how to properly do it, I would rather not be yanking out feathers left, right and center only to get clawed in the face for causing them pain.

Looking at Gilda I can see that not only is she not in a good mood and covered in soot, but it would appear that quite a few of her feathers are burnt. Don't know what she was doing but I can take a stab in the dark and say her little scone making business has literally caught on fire and she had to put it out.

Extending her wings fully out I watched as Gilda turned her head to look at me, and before I could question her as to why she is sitting right on my crotch and why she has her wings spread open, she tells me to get to fixing her wings.

Now, normally I would have told her to get off of me and to explain to me who pissed in her cornflakes, but seeing her current mood and that angry stare made me withhold that question for the moment until she is in a slightly better mood.

Starting from the left wing I methodically went through each row of feathers, yanking out the broken/damaged feathers along with the ones that have been burnt. This went on for about fifteen, maybe twenty minutes of me going through every single row of feathers on her wings until finally I was done and that the griffon sitting on me was purring ever so slightly while her tail was whipping around, occasionally bopping me in the face with the little tail tuft.

"Seriously Gilda? Can't control your tail whenever I do this?" I asked my blonde-tipped friend and the look she gave me... oh my god it was so adorable.

It's like catching your niece/nephew with their hand in the cookie jar even though you told them they can't have any until after they finish the greens on their dinner plate.

Silly Gilda, you can't distract me with those adorably puffed-up cheeks, puffy body fluff and blushing cheeks!

Laughter can be heard and switching my attention to Greta I saw that it was coming from her as she was pounding her fist into the table while holding her gut, apparently what the griffon on my lap was doing was considered funny to her.

"Shut up!" At this point it just dissolved into a shouting match and I was in the middle of it, well, being sat on behind it, but it was still all the same for me.

The reason as to why they are fighting now?

Well it turns out that the so called favor that Greta asked for me to do for her when I first came to Griffonstone was to be called in soon and when I asked her what it was, Gilda just so happened to be walking behind us when I was told what it was.

I had to be Greta's 'boyfriend'.

The reason for this favor?

Apparently Greta's parents have been getting on her case to go get herself a boyfriend and to show her that she isn't some lonely hen that will grow old without grace and single. You see, Greta's family is fairly large by human standards, she is one of six children, her being the second oldest of the bunch and everyone but her and the youngest one are happily married or at the very least are dating someone.

Greta on the other hand, is still single, still lonely, and seeing this her parents decided that if she couldn't find someone on her own then they would go out to find someone for her. When I was told of this I just couldn't stop laughing that it got to the point where Greta had to slug me in the shoulder a few times, right where some bruises are, until I stopped laughing my ass off.

Now you may be wondering as to why they are fighting over me, or about this particular favor that Greta asked of me?

I had no idea, I didn't learn much about griffon culture or anything about griffons in general so I had to ask for some assistance on this matter by asking the nearest male griffon around.

Said male griffon was a large, burly old codger that looks like he has seen some shit in his life, he was perfect for the job.

Poking him in the wing I watched as said wing twitched before the burly griffon turned on his stool and looked at me, raising an eyebrow as he wondered why the hell I was disturbing him while he drank his liquor?

"Te hell do you want boy?" I can tell that this guy is going to be a riveting conversationalist in the future.

Mentally rolling my eyes I leaned back as to get away from Gilda for a bit to hopefully talk to this griffon without her hearing about what I have to say.

"Yeah I got a question, why the hell do you griffons get all cuddly and fluffy whenever you get your wings sorted out?" The exact moment those words left my lips, the griffons sitting at the table with the one I was talking to went silent as the graveyard. Whatever revelry was going on was now dead as they looked at me as if I said something very racist.

Looking at each other the male griffons who were enjoying their mugs of ale and mead turned to me and all was silent at that table for exactly five seconds, just five seconds, and when that time was up they all broke into hysterical laughter.

I didn't know why they were laughing at me for asking this question, thinking that I knew what was going on and just wanted to see their reaction perhaps, but I truly had no idea why helping my friends preen their wings was worthy of being laughed at.

"What? What's so funny?"

When they stopped laughing, the one I was talking to had to wipe a tear from his beak before addressing my question.

"Lad, do you even know what you were doing to yer henfriends over there?"

"Uhh… cleaning their wings of broken and fucked up feathers?"

"And do you know why they let you do it?"

"Cause I got hands? Its a bit more accurate than talons I take it."

"Boy, you are missin' the point here."

"And the point is...what exactly? I am just helping them fix their wings, whats wrong with that?"

"I see you know nothin' 'bout us griffons boy, so I'll clue in on what you 'ere doin' to 'em."

"You see, we griffons and most pegasi only let those that are in our family or our mates to touch. What you were doin' is something far more fun than doin' a feather checkin'."

It didn't take a genius for me to put two and two together to figure out what he was getting at.

"I was feeling them up...wasn't I?"

"Oh you were gettin' a right good feel alright! With the way that hen be lookin' now I am surprised that she hasn't turned 'round and pounced on you yet for us all to see!" When the male griffon cackled that out, I immediately began to think back to all of the times that Gilda and Greta asked me to preen their wings.

I probably should have seen this coming a mile or two away, but I didn't know griffon mating habits nor anything about what they considered to be flirting or showing interest in another griffon/human.

All I could do was look back at the two hens sitting at my small table, most importantly the one sitting on me, before staring back at the griffon who was busy trying to nurse his drink all the while wiping a tear from his eye.

'Huh...when did they develop such a keen interest in me?'

With that out of the way I slowly pushed myself back up, my chest soon coming into contact with Gilda's back, the top of my head now resting on the griffon's and I must say this actually feels nice.

Well, it would feel nice if it also didn't leave me confused and a bit worried.

Why should I be worried about falling in love with a griffon?

First off, I have to make sure that Rod A fits into Hole B, secondly how would this affect their lives cause from what I have seen so far, most griffons are not into the whole 'Griffon's hate interspecies couplings' even though they themselves are two different animals put together.

Another matter that worries me is that if I choose one what will the other do? In this situation I think there is only one thing I can say that just about sums it up.

"Well...shit."

Two Hours Later

"Okay Gilda, what was the strangest thing you have ever eaten?" I asked my griffon buddy as I took another sip from my sixth mug of ale, my body was just now telling me that I should have stopped after mug #4. My body was starting to feel just a tad bit sluggish and my vision was now going to shit but by god was I enjoying every minute of it.

My griffon buddy, Gilda, who was still sitting on top of me and was currently on mug #9 was drunk. She was swaying back and forth on top of me and was having a hard time staying there, her speech was slurred, her emotions were now out in the open and that she was rubbing herself against to the point that I was now sporting a half-chub from all of the rubbing.

It was like I was getting a lap dance of sorts, just that it sucked, the person doing it was drunk, and I am afraid that this griffon is one sway away from soiling themselves on top of me.

Greta on the other hand was strangely still sober as she was on mug #5 although she looked a tad bit tipsy and that she was leaning towards me with a talon under her head and was staring at me with heart-shaped beer goggles.

"Well the strangepst thing yi had eatean *hic* would haqve to bre Ranbow Dasjh" Gilda slurred out after several attempts of trying and failing, and I must say I even then I could still barely understand what the hell she was saying.

"I am sorry but what was that?" I asked the drunk griffon on top of me as I reached around and put my mug back down onto the table.

"I shaid *hic* Rainbow Dash!" Gilda shouted as loud as she could and for a moment all was silent not only between the three of us but also everyone in the bar was quiet.

Well, it was quiet for about ten seconds before a griffon behind me snickered and said something he shouldn't have said.

"Hehehe, looks we got ourselves a pony lover!" and that got a few of the griffogns from other tables to join in on the laughing and jeering, said action earned the immediate ire and hatred from the drunk griffon that is currently sitting on top of me.

Turning around on me to face the griffon in question I watched as Gilda was glaring rather intensely at the idiot that called her out and I must say that the way she turned around and planted herself down wasn't doing me any favors whatsoever.

"Wha'ja just sah?" Gilda slurred out as she tried to get closer to the idiot in question but seeing how I was in the way and holding her back, my face was pressed into her chest fur and fluff as I catch a whiff of soot, ale, her own somewhat pleasing scent and strangely enough something that lightly resembles sugar...

Sugar? I thought scones was just a biscuit? Is that why she was slightly burnt, she tried to make something with sugar?

Not gonna lie, I think that is sweet that she is trying to make something sweet but it would seem that it wasn't meant to be. Maybe she should just stick to baking loafs of bread and scones until she finds herself a baking teacher or something.

"I shiad that yousa pony lover!" the drunk griffon shouted but this time the idiot went as far as giving her the middle finger or talon in this case.

At that moment a few things happened.

Firstly, Gilda went ballistic, she leapt over me to attack the drunk idiot that insulted her.

Secondly, the guy that insulted her, one of his friends was dumb enough to splash her with his mug of ale, and by splashing her that idiot also got me covered in the stuff so now I am pissed. I sobered up almost immediately after getting splashed so this guy is already on my shit list.

Thirdly, with idiot #2 joining in the harassment, this prompted Greta to join in as well by climbing over the table and launching herself at idiot #2.

And lastly, when Gilda climbed over me to claw idiot #1, I got a face full of griffon pussy and ass and I am unsure on how I should feel about it.

On one hand I should be thrilled that I am finally getting my head between a pair of griffon thighs and enjoying myself, but on the other she isn't human and the downstairs is all animal...I really don't know how to think and feel about it. But on the plus side of things I managed to get a good seven seconds of having my face between smushed down there and I must say that I would make Captain Kirk proud if he could see me.

The negative side of things is that Gilda will probably kill me later when she finds out.

With Gilda no longer on me or climbing over my face and Greta now clawing the hell out of idiot #2, all I could do was stand up from my seat, turned around to face the growing brawl and shout at the top of my lungs.

"What in the absolute fuck is your problem!"

The tavern went silent as the griffons fighting it out and those that are cheering them on go quiet as the grave. They know that fighting like this is illegal and that if you want to fight it out to go straight to the fighting pit, but all of the griffons that weren't drunk recognized me as the newest Knight of Griffonstone, but also the savior of the princess and the retriever of the Idol, so they kept their beaks shut and their heads down. The drunken griffons on the other hand sort of stopped fighting, they were still shaking or punching each other but when they saw that I was glaring down at them with the intensity of a thousand suns and that I was not in the mood for their shit, they started to slow themselves down.

Right up until one of the drunk idiots came up to me and punched me right in the face.

Reeling back from the blow and taking a few steps away, I placed my left hand on the spot where I was struck before fixing my gaze on the fool who would dare do something so stupid as to attack me.

Said griffon in question realized a little too late that by attacking a griffon knight, he made his life forfeit and he immediately moved back a few paces before getting down and begging for me to spare his life.

As it turns out from the griffon laws and other things I have been reading and hearing from Eraclea, that by attacking a griffon knight, you have set yourself up for your own execution alongside with everything you possess to be forfeited over to the knight that you attacked.

Now, normally I would have not pressed for his head or his belongings, but I am a bit drunk so I am not so sound of mind.

Walking over to the begging griffon I picked up the little shit by the scruff of his neck, and then proceeded to beat the ever living shit out of him before throwing him over the table he was sitting at. The other griffons that were at the table who were not fighting Greta or Gilda looked to me and in their drunken state, thought it was wise to attack the guy who just beat the shit and threw their friend.

Gilda was clawing and punching her idiot and was winning while Greta was either trying to strangle or keep occupied her idiot, but the two that came off from them and towards me, I dispatched with somewhat equal distribution of pain.

The first fool that charged at me leapt over the table and spread her wings open only for me to duck underneath her, grab her by her hind legs and swing her around to idiot #4 who was knocked over from being smacked with a fully grown hen-shaped baseball bat. With the fourth griffon temporarily down for the count, the one in my hands that I am holding by the hindlegs, I decided for her that she will get a very special treat.

Throwing her into the air I watched as she tried to correct herself with how low the ceiling was her body bounced off the top before coming back down I grabbed her by the waist and slammed her top half down onto the table, knocking the wind out of her. The hen looked up at me, wheezing from the impact tried to get back up but I proceeded to give her a good kick to the ribs and she was out for the count.

Griffon #4 picked himself up at the time I kicked his friend in the ribs, he looked at me and decided that now would be a good time to bail so he did. Thinking that he was able to get away he failed to notice that standing behind him was the barmaid and she did not look very happy to see this guy or me for that matter.

With the griffon distracted I came up behind him and before he had a chance to react I donkey-punched him and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. Turning my attention to Gilda and Greta I saw that their respective opponent was also out cold, Gilda's was all cut up and scratched while Greta's was out cold from being choked out.

Wiping the sweat from my forehead I turned to look at the griffon that I was talking to earlier who was also sitting at the table with the idiots we just trashed, he raised his hands and said he just works with them and has nothing against us.

Letting out a sigh of somewhat relief I looked down to the four incapacitated griffons and shook my head at the mess we made.

'Man, this was not the way today was supposed to end! Now I have to drag these four idiots to the dungeons and let them cool off and get over the pain while I have to go upstairs and write a report on what happened, they made my day way worse than it already was, thanks assholes!'

Turning my attention to Gilda and Greta I told them to go get cleaned up and to go home, I will deal with the mess, I just hope they listen and not cause any more trouble than they already started!

Returning my attention to the four idiots I once again shook my head before going to the front door to look for some guards and just my luck, a group looked like they were coming in for a break and when they saw me flagging them down by waving, I told one of them to go find another group of guards to drag the four drunkards away so I can get a leap on the paperwork, and to my amazement the guard actually agreed to it and flew off towards the castle while I walked.

My clothes was a bit scuffed up in the fight and that I smelled of ale, just what I have always wanted in my life, to smell like my uncle, fucking great.

Upon my return to the castle I soon found the four idiots being dragged down to the dungeons as the guards I sent for saluted me and reported that they had no problems with them to which I nodded and thanked them for the assistance before returning to my room to write up and file the paperwork.

This was totally not how I imagined my day off would be.

Planning the Griffon Renewal

I hate mornings.

The blinding light from the sun once again is shining on my face, heating it up in the process along with forcing me to awaken from my peaceful slumber to once again to greet the day.

Groaning and moaning I sluggishly pulled myself out of bed, sat up, scratched my ass before muttering about the sun being an annoying asshole for ruining my deeply cherished sleep. Throwing myself out of bed I did my mourning ritual of taking a piss, shaving my half-ass beard and moustache off, cleaning myself up and lastly brushing my teeth with their weird paste-like substance before finally leaving the bathroom to cloth myself and start the day properly.

With myself ready for the day I grabbed my backpack (laptop back where it belongs) and my sword from its place against the wall and left my room in a somewhat tidy condition so the poor maid doesn't have to work too hard to keep my room clean.

Closing the door behind me I gave a nod to a passing patrol of guards as one of them returned it with a nod of their own, their armor clanking all the way down the hall as I went to the princess's room to get to work on renovating and improving the griffon nation's crumbling infrastructure and technological shortfalls. In all honesty I don't even know if this plan I am coming up with will even work but if there is one thing that I am certain of is that if this does work, than not only will the griffons reacquire the means to not only manufacture everything they can ever need for themselves without having to indebt themselves to a foreign power but also be to further themselves and reclaim everything that was lost over the years.

Hell, I still can't believe that the griffons were nothing more than a bunch of tribals with barely a sapient thought floating through their minds before their goddess uplifted them, but then again seeing how I have a literal godly being watching over me to make sure I do my job so a world of magic and gods isn't really too far fetched. Well that and seeing how humans are non-existent here as far as I can tell and that there are talking ponies, griffons, diamond dogs and a minotaur so the theory of this being a new world is less theory and more fact at this point.

Walking down the hall towards the Eraclea's chambers I saw outside the windows to the garden and training yards below, the griffon soldiers and guards all training together, an exercise I suggested and I must say, seeing the two groups training together to better be coherent in the event of an emergency.

Returning my attention to the hall, I narrowly avoided colliding with a maid, the hen was pushing a cart that was loaded with freshly washed sheets of what I can only assume to be bedspreads and/or curtains that are neatly stacked upon it. The maid in question didn't even notice that I was there until after we have passed each other in the hallway, and if I were just some griffon noble I would be chewing her out for nearly bumping into me but seeing how I am not a noble that would just be both a waste of time to talk down on her and also unnecessary as she did not know that I was there.

Eventually I arrived at her royal pain-in-the-ass's chambers and I must say that this will either go one of two ways.

It can go either A: The innovations and improvements that I will show her will make her much easier to deal with in the future and realize that I am indispensable and important for the betterment of all griffonkind. Or B: She likes what I show her but thinks that she can access this information without me so she has me thrown in the dungeons for no reason whatsoever only to realize that she can't log into the laptop and comes back down to beg me for help.

But seeing how she somewhat owes me for saving her ass and also me being a national hero, I doubt she would be so childish as to imprison me but I would never know that.

Last night I went over everything that the princess gave me, numerous scrolls and letters detailing the many prototypes and half-finished ideas of the dozens of griffon scientists, engineers and alchemists over the past thirty years. What my eyes saw made me reel back in amazement that the griffons managed to come up with these many ideas and absolute disgust that none of these have even been implemented yet due to a failing economy and a destabilized country.

The first things they were on the verge of discovering a breakthrough was the design and creation of aerodynamic armor plating for both their airships and their soldiers. This discovery would have made the griffons into a literal flying missile and with the wingblades that they were designing to match the armor, they would just slice through anything that gets in their flight path and as for their airships, they are still blimps but the armor would make them move faster in water if they ever have to land and be better protected from impacts from below.

The next thing I learned was that they have discovered a rather sizeable vein of a strange bluish metal deposit and that they couldn't remove from the mine through traditional methods of pickaxe and shovel so they requested assistance but they never got it due to the collapse of griffon society. If I know anything from my years of playing videogames, blue ore usually means it is either the lightweight but incredibly durable Mythril, or it could be the heavy and dense Durim, so either way the griffons really hit the jackpot there, too bad they couldn't uproot it and ship it out to be smelted down and tested. I can already just imagine what I would do if I had a sizeable stockpile of the stuff, other than giving the guards better suits of armor and weapons to protect the civilian population but also have them given to the hunters that chase off and exterminate any of the wild beasts with much greater ease.

Thirdly, if I wasn't seeing it for myself then I wouldn't believe it because the griffons have somehow accidentally discovered gunpowder when a griffon alchemist accidentally blew a talon off when his hand was coated in the black powder and he went and lit a candle. They couldn't reattach the talon but they did discover the correct measurements for recreating gunpowder and they were set on finding out what else it could be used for. Now that I know that they have found out about the greatness that is gunpowder I can now instruct them on its uses and how to properly get the most out of it such as the creation of explosives for laying siege to an enemy stronghold and the creation and use of rifles to replace standard weapons in due time after extensive training and education.

Another thing about the gunpowder is that I am thinking of requesting a sizeable portion of it for myself. If I can get enough gunpowder and secretly commission the creation of a firearm then I can more easily defend myself and the princess if things ever go tits up.

And lastly as I poured over the old texts that lay on the table before me is that they were developing better construction methods, trying to create the mixture for concrete for foundation laying, new designs for the airships as they will remove the overly bulky gas bag that sits on top of it and replace it with enchanted fins, fans and sails, crossbows, blacksmith techniques, and more than I could have thought they were even capable of thinking of.

And to think that of all of the scrolls and documents that I went over that I would learn that the griffon kingdom's technological discoveries were scattered all over the place. They learned how to forge steel and create airships and yet they copy books and other documents by hand, don't even know about irrigation, lumber mills, civil engineer and aqueducts, apprenticeships, machinery and printing, metal casting and sanitation and so much more!

If I am going to be the one to bring them the light of civilization and push them towards enlightenment than I will do it even if I have to drag them kicking and screaming into the future.

Standing guard by the door was four imperial guards, their armor polished to a high mirror shine and their halberds pointing to the ceiling as their eyes all snap to me for a few seconds before resuming their vigilance. Upon my approach to the door the two closest to it crossed blades and asked me what is my purpose for being here, my response was that the princess wanted to see me to discuss a project idea she had in mind for the betterment of the griffon people. They uncrossed their halberds and allowed me to enter the princess's chambers.

Pushing open the door I see that Princess Eraclea is laying on her bed, looking at her talons in slight interest but the moment I entered the room she immediately gained interest and greeted me before requesting that I find a seat before we begin with our little planning of Griffonstone's betterment.

The griffon princess looked at me with interest only grew further as she watched me work my laptop as I opened up my documents folder and started to look through the files to find my medieval related content.

"So, this strange device of yours...and only you can make it work?" Eraclea says to me as she looks at my laptop with wonder since she knows that this is a foreign otherworldly object and has no clue on how it even remotely operates.

"Unless you know how to read the letters on this machine and figure out the password then yeah, only I can make this laptop work without any issues." I said as I found the folder I was looking for and opened it, revealing several dozen documents that has the capability to revolutionize and improve the griffon society as a whole.

Moving the mouse over to the folder I read the name of the file and for a moment I thought that they might have this device already but it never hurts to show it to them anyway, who knows, they might not have even invented it yet.

"Okay Eraclea, the first thing I am going to show you is something called the Printing Press. This machine was invented by my people roughly six-hundred years ago and it has been constantly updated and upgraded throughout the centuries to be more efficient and work faster than its original counterparts." and after scrolling down a bit after moving past some history I stopped at a picture of the device.

"This machine was invented for the sole purpose for creation and distribution of books, posters, letters, documents, anything made of parchment to be read by the masses. The purpose of the printing press was to make writing and copying books by hand or talon obsolete as it was too slow and clumsy to be done properly so we had this machine created to do most of the work for us that also allowed us to spread ideas and knowledge far faster than by word-of-mouth would have ever done." I said as I pulled up rough schematics of an old-fashioned printing press/wood press from my documents folder along with a brief history of it.

As I recited this information to the griffon princess I put the machine schematics to the side for later copying onto paper so it can be sent to whoever the griffons trust to prototype and manufacture this marvelous machine. This is just one step onto pushing the griffons back onto the world stage and sowing a bit of chaos into the world.

With this piece of information now out of the way I moved onto the next piece of knowledge to pass down onto the budding griffon princess.

"Alright, now this isn't some fancy weapon or a means to fortify your homes in the traditional sense, but what they can do is fortify the food supply so that you do not have to rely on trading with those outside the kingdom at ludicrous prices. I know that griffons eat meat and fish along with bread but you should be able to eat fruits and vegetables as well so through the introductory of terrace farming can we even turn steep hills and mountainsides into veritable farms to feed the masses and keep our larders full. Now as to the griffon's dietary satisfaction for fish products, by creating and maintaining a proper fishery can we keep up not only the local fish population so that they can be harvested for what can be hopefully an indefinite period of time but with a surplus we can trade the excess." Showing pictures of the varying types of terrace farming and fishery designs, I was hoping that this would at least catch her attention so the kingdom doesn't become a warmongering state because she was only interested in the weapons and tools of war.

As I showed her pictures of what the two agricultural improvements are and for a moment I saw disinterest in her eyes for the terrace farming but a brief sparkle for the fishery, I guess she doesn't agree with farming in its basic form, predators don't have time to plow and maintain the fields when they can just hunt down a beast, gut it, skin it before bringing it back to cook it and eat it.

Scrolling through another file I brought it up to the screen I then brought up a series of armored suits and weapons, showing her human ingenuity at its finest in the olden times, I know this would interest her because if the griffons were armed with stronger and better weapons and armor than the griffons can throw their weight around even though they are smaller and weaker at the moment. A smaller, much more experienced and better equipped army may be stronger than a larger unorganized and poorly equipped one, but in the end it also depends on the commander in charge.

Folded steel, chainmail, scalemail, plated armor, defensive military tactics and maneuvers that I immediately followed it by showing Eraclea all of the various weapons and tools that was invented in the medieval era and I must say that she seems to in them, especially the forging process of how the raw metal is broken down and made into arms and armor.

By showing the griffon princess the heights of human engineering of the past that by the time I am done showing her what we have achieved and went beyond in creating, that when the griffon kingdom finally rebuilds itself that I will then show her the power that is gunpowder.

Just imagining the world leaders being confused and quite possibly scared as hell that the griffons that they have kicked around and abused for all these years is now back into fighting tip-top shape and are now more technologically advanced nation in the world with superior arms and armor, battle tactics, economy and most importantly culturally strong. The looks on their faces as they see us coming to meet them for the yearly international leader meeting, with me standing beside the princess and king and behind us is an airship of unparalleled power and design, our royal guards wearing armor of the finest caliber and defensive quality with a weapon to match it.

The eyes of the foreign royalty will be wide when they see us coming and with this sight they will retain the knowledge that the griffon kingdom will no longer be pushed around by its neighbors and be forced to pay tribute and offerings to those around them just to survive another day. No, no, no, instead it will be the other way around for we will be the ones who will demand tribute from those who kicked us while we were down.

And when those fools dare declare war on us because they thought that we were nothing but tin soldiers, our cannons will rain death from the heavens while our rifles will shatter their soldiers resolve, and when the smoke has cleared and the dust has settled, our soldiers will be marching over their ruined corpses as we march onward towards conquering everything those fools have ever known until all of them are under our banner.

Glancing at my laptop and the numerous files that had details on ways to improve the griffon kingdom I watched as the princess was busy writing down everything she has seen, putting her thoughts onto each subject matter with an almost religious zeal that I have never seen before. Just watching her write everything down, talking to herself under her breath trying to find all of the possible methods to both implement them into the lands themselves and get the proper funding and lands to do it all on.

I just gotta say that to see this girl do all this even with the barest of glimpses at the things I just showed her just proves to me just how much of a clusterfuck situation we find ourselves to be in and just how desperate we both are to climb out of that pit.

Lifting her head up I watched as the griffon princess stretches out her arms and legs out a yawn and to me I found it amusing because all griffons stretch just like a common household cat. But the moment when she was done stretching and saw me grinning at her I watched as the young princess got all flustered and told me to stop looking at her so I heeded her wish and turned my attention to the window.

As time rolled on by and the princess was burning through paper and ink as if they were going out of style to try and formulate I went back to finding things to give to the griffon people and for the time being I too started to copy the images on the screen on a few spare sheets of paper although copying it is harder than it looks with a quill and ink well.

Hours began to pass the both of us by as we went back and forth on how to help the griffon people with humanity's advancements and during those hours we spent at most half of that time arguing over what was more important for the griffons in general alongside with what was to be focused on first but eventually we came to an agreement of sorts.

"Alright Eraclea, we are going with the fishery project will be an experiment to see where it is a viable means of long-term benefit towards a local area. Now we just need to find a suitable location for it along with the necessary funds and supplies to build it all." I said as I looked over a regional survey map around Griffonstone, and so far I saw quite a number of rivers to choose from but I needed to know which ones had fish swimming through them alongside with the ones that are spawning grounds for these fish.

From where I was standing, the river closest to Griffonstone would appear to be the best choice as it would help feed Griffonstone alongside any nearby villages and towns, but that same river is also running through a discorded zone so whatever goes through there doesn't always come back out the same as they go in. The next river that might be a good choice is the one near Feather Peak, a town of roughly two hundred griffons that is built into the side of a cliffside overlooking a large swathe of griffon territory. And then there is the village of Talon's End, a frontier village that sits near the Equestrian border with the river originating on our side and enters theirs, so if we build the fishery there we can assume control over it and if the equines complain about it then well, tough shit.

"And for the terrace farming project, although I loathe to think that we would ever need to eat what those grass eaters do, the farm can be used for the farming of wheat and barley for the creation of bread. While a normal farm is a bit harder to be done around these parts thanks to the forests, cliffs and mountains that dot our surroundings, those same mountains can be turned into a literal breadbasket if we put our backs into it and make it work." my princess said as she placed a talon on the map, leaving a slight dent in the spot where she thinks it will be a good idea to start the terrace farm.

I have no idea if that was a mountain or just a hill but if that is where she wanted to put that project then I can't really tell her no, and it is not like that she will listen to me anyways seeing how she is rather stubborn.

"And as for the new forges, they will be done here so we can keep an eye on them and see if there are any spies amongst our numbers. I know that bastard has several griffons and other species under his employ when I last saw him, and although we have imprisoned most if not all of them, a few were let off easy because all they did was act as messengers and spies, but the ones that were higher up in the pecking order are currently rotting in a cell along with their master. We don't know if Tazul had any outside influence with the minotaur or diamond dog clans, and gods help us all if it was the equestrians was the one behind this travesty." the griffon princess says this as we resumed our planning, and for now we came to an agreement regarding the payments towards our neighbors as tribute.

"We will continue to pay them, but the moment we have the means to properly defend ourselves and feel like we have finished paying our debts to them then we will stop paying them."

"And if they get uppity because we stopped paying tribute?" I said as I crossed my arms, wondering what her answer will be but I could already guess to what it will be.

"Then we will do what we have always done when a foreign power tries to take what is ours in the past. We will fight beak and talon to protect our home and keep safe what is properly ours, we won't let a foreign power dictate to us what we can and cannot do anymore." and with that satisfying answer we returned to working out what we can do to help the nation get back on its feet and rise above the ashes of its past.

All of this is simply the first step towards a brighter future for the griffons, an experimental steelworks, terrace farm and fishery will both set them up to manufacture their own steel and the beginnings of an unlimited food source. After that it will be the long uphill battle of modernizing their industrial methods, modernize the agriculture sector, literacy campaigns to educate the masses, build railroads throughout the kingdom to connect everyone together, rebuild and restructure the military, revitalize the army, rebuild and refit the navy, and lastly and possibly the most important part, create the air force and establish our superiority of the skies.

We just need more time.

More time and resources, five years at the earliest, maybe even ten or twenty years to get ahead of everyone else.

Sadly I fear that time is the one thing we may not have and we may have to cut corners or outright not even attempt some of the changes that is desperately needed.

But mark my words on this matter, I will make sure that the griffon kingdom is a force not to be fucked with, no matter who comes knocking on our door. They will have come to the wrong neighborhood, knocked on the wrong door, and was greeted by the wrong person, and by the time they realize their mistake, it will already be too late for them to possibly unfuck themselves from this situation.

With the plans created and approved by the griffon princess, it is now time to present them to the king and hope he approves them.

I sure hope to whatever god that is listening to me right now, that the king gives them the green light, otherwise I think this nation is doomed to go up its own asshole and fall apart completely.

The Forge Master

The brainstorming that Eraclea and I have done the previous day has borne some fruit that for the time being is all that I can hope for and grasped onto for now.

High King Guto, long may he reign, has looked over the ideas and proposals that the two of us have created and out of all of them, he gave three of them an immediate green light of approval while the others would have to wait for the moment as the griffons didn't have the means of creating and/or replicating humanities accomplishments, didn't have the funding to get it all off the ground, or that he just couldn't gamble with it to get the nobles on his side for it to be let through.

Apparently while the Guto is the High King and can easily rule the country with an iron claw and do whatever the fuck he wants to do, the things that we were trying to do was placed on nobility property and lands which needs their approval and supervision, some of which were the very same griffons that hate me with a fiery passion with the intensity of a thousand suns. While he could have easily forced the nobles to bow to his will and enact whatever edicts and proposals his heart and mind desires, but they would never forget the act of tyranny he has done so whenever they see that he is slipping from grace they could use that as an excuse to remove him from power, as Tazul tried to do when he found out his daughter was out of state and that the kingdom was almost one step away from internal annihilation.

So with a heavy heart and a slight flurry of heated words about how some nobles should go fuck themselves or get that barbed stick out of their backsides, Eraclea and I was allowed only three proposals to move forward so we had to pick carefully on what would best help the griffons population the most.

I went with the fishery and the sawmill, while it may take several months or even a year for it to truly bear fruit for all to dine on it holds the most promise in my eyes that it will help the local population not only be able to have enough food to then be able to sell to other neighboring villages and towns along with being able to supply themselves with their own lumber, but also give them something to be proud of. And as for the sawmill, it will need to be powered by a river or a windmill for it to function. I wasn't really expecting the princess to pass on this one but from what she told me that by giving the griffons a means of suppling themselves with their own lumber and other wood products, we wouldn't need to purchase our lumber from the equestrians or from the minotaurs. By being able to produce and refine our own lumber into precious planks, boards, and other wood materials, we can become a powerful competitor as the forests in the kingdom are mighty and old so the wood is better if not superior to the four-legged grass munchers wood or the stubborn bulls up north.

For Eraclea, her picked proposal was a rather large one, she grabbed several blueprints that I had freshly recreated and told me that her choice was to modernize the griffons budding industry. With those Industrial-Revolution Era blueprints and schematics in her talons, she will not only jumpstart the empire's economics but also with those plans she will also start the process of creating industrial-grade equipment for agriculture, lumberyards and mining quarries.

Then we got ourselves the third proposal, the king picked this one himself as he saw it as the most important over all the others.

The invention and production of quality folded steel.

Although I loathed as to what this can be used for I sort of had to give it to the king, I saw the iron weapons that the guards are using alongside with their armor and it is poor quality and in barely-managed conditions. When I went down to the armory to check on the weapons and armor to see just how bad they are and what I have to work with, many of the weapons have spots of rust on them and the suits of segmented armor had dents and scratches on them that haven't been mended and hammered out. This was just the stuff that was made here, the weapons and armor that came from Minotauria on the other hand is top-tier quality, it is like the blacksmiths and armorsmiths take pride and shower their projects with love until the very end, I really have to applaud them because this is something that I actually envy because if we had some of those smiths over here, teaching the griffons their ways and methods then we wouldn't have to spend a dime on buying their quality goods.

But sadly since that isn't the case, I have to improvise and recreate the methods that humanity used in the past and I am currently debating between using the European methods or the Japanese methods.

Looking over several documents about the multiple forging process and about the forges themselves, I was looking over the pro's and con's of which forging process to pick for the griffons and so far it looks like the European medieval is winning me over. While I would love to see the griffons running around with katanas, they already have the undertones of the europeans with their nobility and life styles.

Grabbing all of the relevant files I began to copy them down piece by piece which took me roughly at least five hours to do, copying the words down was easy but recreating the pictures and trying to properly scale them was what took me the longest to do but in the end I safely say that I did not do a mediocre job of recreating this important piece of human knowledge for the griffons.

With human knowledge in hand and no time to lose I briskly walked toward the armory to present it the one in charge.

I never met the master that was in charge of the armory nor have I even heard of them up until now so the race and gender is completely unknown but it feels me with excitement that I get to meet someone new who hopefully doesn't hate my guts just for being a knight and a foreigner. Climbing down two flight of stairs and a hallway that looked like it hasn't been dusted in months I soon heard the tall tell sounds of hammer on metal and the occasional break in the tink tink tinking for a reprieve before getting back into it and resuming their work..

Walking past a quartet of guards, all of them marching in unison but a bit faster than normal, almost as if they are afraid of whoever is down there and probably for a good reason but for me I could care less if they are rude as hell, if they can get the job done in a decent timeframe and not fuck up then they are okay in my book.

But seeing how that their current work is shoddy at best and that I wouldn't trust them to make me a knife that cant even cut through bread if their current creations are of any indication.

Upon entering what I can only assume is the castle's forge chamber I instead found a lone griffon slaving away at a piece of metal, hammering away at it, trying to get it to the perfect shape but from here it looks like it is in vain because not even after a few swings the blade snaps in half. In a display of pure anger and rage I watched as the forge master took the broken half still being held in the tongs in their grip and threw the piece back into the furnace to be melted down before turning their attention to the other piece that lies sitting on the ground all the while grumbling under their breath.

"Bloody hunk of shite, why wont it stay together...what am I doing wrong that even those damnable grass-munchers can do right? Those little shits haven't been in a war in over half a century and yet their blades are far sharper and better then ours and their armor...how in the seven hells is it so much better than ours!"

Waiting for the griffon to simmer down I gave them a good minute before stepping into the room and cleared my throat loud enough for them to hear it.

"I see that you are having trouble keeping your blades together." I said as I step further into the room, my eyes inspecting everything it can, mainly eyeing the swords that are completed and are hanging on the racks, the pieces of armor that are whole and intact, these pieces must be before the curse hit them all because they have yet to show any signs of rust or decay amongst them all.

Staring up at me and glaring with all of their might, the griffon forge master simply stares at me before putting down their hammer before walking over to me and finally away from the shadow of the furnace and into the light of a torch I saw exactly who this forge master was.

It was a fairly normal sized griffon, nothing out of the ordinary about them with the exception that they are coated in dust from what might be coal and that are also coated in sweat because I can smell them from here. From the chestnut brown fur and reddish feathers, this griffon was as normal-looking as some of the griffons I have seen wandering around Griffonstone.

"What brings the dog knight to my forge? Got bored of clashing with wooden swords with that old withered cunt of a hen and wanted to see just how shite our situation is? Well tough news runt, we are up shite creek in a leaky canoe and our only paddle just got eaten by a cragodile." the griffon said and boy, this guy is as salty and rough around the edges as a sailor or someone that has a hard life.

"Not a diamond dog and I am off duty at the moment so I dont have to worry about her beating me upside the head with that hunk of wood that she likes to call her discipline stick." I said as I continued to observe the griffon pull out what looks like a flask of sorts out from his blacksmithing apron and took a swig from it before putting it away.

"Uh huh, not a dog and I do not care, what brings you down here to my foundry? Here to see just how bad everything is, to criticize my work and mock me like the other brownbeaked nobles?"

"No, in fact I was instructed by the king to deliver upon you the secrets of human blacksmithing and how to forge better metal that far exceeds that of the minotaurs and ponies." I said as I picked up the hammer that was left on the anvil and felt the heavy weight of it and I must say it matches the descripted weight for it.

Taking another swig from his flask the griffon walked right up to me and took the hammer from my hands before eyeing me again, this time taking measure of my height, posture and stance.

"Better metal huh, I doubt anything can beat minotaur steel or pony magicked iron unless you can find us a vein of mythril to use but even then it would just be a waste." The griffon said in a defeated tone, almost completely resigned to being cursed to forge inferior and inadequate iron until the end of time.

Putting my hand to my mouth in an almost question fashion, I give the forge one last lookover before finalizing my thoughts on the matter.

'My king gave me the order to improve the royal forge's production through the knowledge of humanity, and with what I am seeing he wasn't kidding that it is direly needed. And to think that my job in upsetting the world's balance was going be a monumental task was an understatement, it is almost downright impossible.'

Staring at the somewhat drunkard of a forge master I take the flask from his talons and snapped it shut before putting it in my pants pocket, all the while glaring down at the little griffon that was almost two sheets to the wind who returned the gesture with a glare of his own.

'But if I can pull this off, reverse the griffon's fortune and make them a world power again, who knows what else I can accomplish with these birds indebted to me?

"Well Forge Master, it is time for you to stop being a drunkard and to lay down that hammer to properly learn how humanity has evolved its production of metal into an industry that rivals that of the minotaurs and equestrians!" I said as I went to the one table in this entire room that wasn't covered in shoddy blades and soot and placed the several dozen scrolls that I have written and drawn on, all of them in fine details on how us humans have forged, produced, refined and designed our tools of war and peace throughout the years.

"With this gift and the time it will take to teach you, you and your fellow forge masters will make blades sharper and far more durable than your minotaur counterparts, and as for those equestrian weapons, why we might even find a way to surpass them in magical arms given enough time and resources." I declared with a fist bumping against my chest, humanity prided itself on its industrious nature and its ability to never give up against the odds, and if humanity was stuck on this world, we would have eventually come up with the means to produce magitek to even the playing fields against our more magically adapted enemies.

Wobbling now on his paws n claws, the griffon hobbled over to the table and grabbed one of the scrolls and unfurled it, his tipsy eyes looking at the details on the page and for a moment I actually thought he was going to puke all over it and make me rewrite the whole thing, but instead I was surprised when he seemingly nodded at it put it down.

The smell of booze was strong as it finally hit me as the griffon hobbled over to me and placed a talon on my forearm, seemingly trying to either catch his balance or to give me some sort of brotherly trust or whatever the hell he is trying to do but for now it would seem he is trying to get my attention which he fully has as I am praying he doesn't spew all over my pants.

Forcing down what I think is his pride and his stomach, the forge master gave what I think is a griffon smile as he speaks up and for the time being, it is kept between just the two of us.

Over the next five hours the both of us discuss about the new furnace and smelter design, the two of us pointing out the changes and the vastly superiority over the griffon design and as we were about to finalize the design so it can be constructed, the forge master made the modification to a blank scroll that for the basin at the bottom of the furnace to be wider and deeper. I at first thought that it would compromise the structural integrity of the design but when I saw that the changes he made would be partially be underground, the crank on the side of the container that will be holding all of the molten metal will be used to pour the metal down a funnel once it is ready for pouring.

Looking over the new design and seeing if there was any flaws in its creation, I was actually amazed that there wasn't any to find and with that being said and done I gave the forge master my approval of it and by tomorrow morning the stoneworkers will be hard at creating Griffonstone's first blast furnace.

Now I just pray that my other projects can all go as smoothly as this one.

The Next Day

The lower portion of the castle has been busy over the past twenty-four hours, as it turns out when the forge master is drunk off his ass, some of his finest works are accomplished and it was to my shock and somewhat amazement that the sword I got from my knighting ceremony came from this griffon while he was nearly blackout drunk.

I first thought that him being a better blacksmith while drunk was bullshit and full of lies but when I saw him pouring over the scrolls I left behind for him and I was amazed that there wasn't any puke on them nor was there any booze splotches on the parchments as well. When I made my way back down to the forging chambers I saw that a bunch of workers was moving things out from one room, clearing It away of old crates, rusted weapons and armor, and other pieces of junk that no longer had any use.

Peering into the nearly empty room I saw the forge master leaning over a wooden table, several scrolls laying on it, all of the scrolls are open and the one on top was the one he was pointing at while instructing the stone masons that were near the back of the room were working, busy putting together what looks like a new furnace and smelter, there was pipes leading into the room and they were located on top of the stone masons. Turns out those pipes were there so the smoke has a place to go and exit the castle so it doesn't suffocate whoever is in the chamber working.

Noticing me staring at him and the new forge and smelter being made he waved me over and I accepted his request for me to go over and when I did I saw that he made some modifications to it. One of the changes I saw that he made to it was what looks like a set of bellows that seem to work in tandem with each other, from what I can see that when one bellow goes down and blows air into the furnace and smelter, the other one fills up with air and vice versa. Another change that I see is that the smelter was given thicker walls.

Looking over the changes I can only smile as I see a spark of clarity and ingenuity in the forge master's eyes, although the idol made them forget everything they once knew, the knowledge I am giving them is replacing what was lost and I hope that this time that nothing takes it away from them.

"My friend, I see you are looking at the changes I have made to your kin's design for the furnace and smelter, I must say this closely resembles ours but yours is much more efficient and it also looks like it also can contain much more liquid metal than ours ever can. With this vast improvement I do believe that my apprentices and I can produce quality metal with this and as soon as you can teach me the means of producing a stronger metal than we too can start producing this stuff in vast quantities!" the rough-around-the-edges griffon said with a wide grin on that beak of his, I still don't know how the hell beaks can bend like that but I am not going to be questioning seemingly mythical creature biology right now, I am going to say that they can bend their beaks because of magic or some shit.

Casting my gaze back to the furnace and smelter I can only imagine that those outside these borders will be watching us as the production of steel comes pouring out of here and be wondering and quite possibly questioning how such a strong alloy is being made. Spies and bribes will surely be coming our way and for those with big enough balls they even try to either kidnap me for that knowledge or even kill me off so that the griffons lose all access to human knowledge and technological advances.

Returning my attention to the forge master, I see that he is waiting for a response and when he saw that I was too busy looking his shoulders sagged a bit as he thinks that I disapprove of the changes that he made but I return my attention to him and placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled a bit.

"I approve of these changes, the double bellows will certainly keep the fires stoked far longer than a single bellow. I also approve of the larger basin, now I just hope that your workers make sure that not a drop of metal is wasted and we will see from there if you are worthy of being taught the power of steel and the strength of folded metal." I say this as I move over to the table and looked over the scrolls I left over for him to review and go over, I saw that two of them were missing from the pile...

'Already we got a spy amongst us...just my fucking luck that someone here has been bought by a foreign power.'

As I was thinking to myself, my mysterious benefactor and resurrector decided that now would be an appropriate time to pop up and give me their two cents on the matter.

Oh yes indeed, one of the griffon's in this room has been paid off by a very interested person that wants what you have and is willing to pay a pretty penny to get it, even if it means stealing it directly from you and those you give this knowledge to.

'So would it be bad if I hold everyone in this room hostage and search them one by one until I find the one with the stolen documents?'

Nope! Go right ahead, I'll be watching it all unfold and relish in the chaos that will unfold as the fool tries to find a way to get out of this situation with the prize in hand. It is within your power to detain griffons that are acting suspicious or have already committed a crime and are on the run, don't you even read your new position of power before even trying to use its gift of authority?

'I doubt being a knight comes with an instruction manual or a book detailing on how to be a knight.'

You would be surprised on what the races on this planet have created to tell others on how to be certain professions or how to do certain hobbies.

'Uh huh...well then...let's get this show on the road then, the sooner I catch the traitor, the sooner I can get back to what I was doing.'

You mean going back to your room and jerking it?

'Oh piss off! It was one time that I tried to blow some steam and you just had to be watching me and saw into my mind to see who I was using as inspiration.'

I must say, those human females you are interested in all seem to have a hefty backside and large teats, is that your preference in a mate or were those humans just eye candy to you?

'I feel as if this is a loaded question and that whatever I answer will come back to bite me in the ass so I will instead refuse to answer it out of saving my own skin.'

I will get an answer of you eventually little human, your discomfort is most enjoyable!

And like that my mysterious benefactor faded from my mind and left me back with the seven griffons in the room, all of them was now looking at me, a few with concern written clearly on their face while others were indifferent.

When I came back to reality after having a mental talk with my benefactor and slave driver, I was holding my head with my left hand and was leaning back at the doorway into the foundry, blocking the only way out of the room in the process.

"You okay there boy?" the forge master said as he walked over to me, I do not know if that look is of concern for me at this moment or is wondering why I was holding my head because I was seemingly disapproving of the changes that he made to the schematics.

Releasing my head and standing up straight I looked the forge master in the eye before muttering quietly enough so that only he can hear me.

"No, not really, seems like one or more of your workers have stolen from the me."

"What do you mean 'stolen' from you? All of the scrolls are there!"

"No, they are not all there. I left fifteen scrolls detailing the construction of the furnace, smelter and the construction of the tools needed to work them alongside the construction plans for the work table and I count three of them missing."

"Which ones were taken?"

"The plans for the blast furnace, that thing is superior to the one you have been using for whoever knows how long alongside those before you and those outside of Griffonstone. The way you and your predecessors were smelting down raw ore and sand took days to do and sometimes even then the end result was shoddy. With the blast furnace and the extreme temperatures it can achieve thanks to its design and use of layering charcoal and limestone mixture will easily melt down the raw materials for the production of quality metal ingots."

"Now imagine that getting into the hands of the minotaurs, the equestrians, or even the diamond dogs, the minotaurs already produce a strong metal for their weapons and armor but with the blast furnace they will be able to achieve an even higher quality of metal that will make them even harder to beat and will raise the prices on what they sell to us. If the equestrians get it then with their magic and whatever else they use to enhance their equipment, if we get into a war with them for whatever reason then we will be up shit creek without a paddle. And if the diamond dogs get their hands on it...they can already burrow underground and ambush anyone on the ground with impunity, do you really want to see them armored up in top quality iron? Or someone much worse that we don't know about..."

The forge master gave me a look of 'who could possibly be worse then those three?' and raised an eyebrow to further accent on that unspoken question. Looking up from the griffon before me I see that the workers have all completely stopped what they were doing and was now watching me.

Rolling my eyes that the cat is about to get out of the bag I just mutter to the forge master just what I was thinking of.

"We never got all of Tazul's accomplices, there are still those that have tried to usurp the king that are still on the loose and if they get their talons on these blueprints then the moment we let our guard down then they will pull another coup but this time they might just succeed." and that was all that was needed to light a fire under his ass because he immediately went into action.

Maneuvering behind me I heard the heavy iron door get slammed shut and as I turn to gaze at the seven workers who are now startled and are quite possibly wondering what the hell is going on, I take a step forward to address them all.

"One of you here is an enemy of the state sent forth from either a foreign power or are in accord with the traitor Tazul. Now I do not know which of you is the traitor among us, but what I do know right now is that the traitor in this room is carrying the evidence of his treasonous act with them." I stalked slowly through the room, never once letting my eyes off of any of the griffons standing in the center of the room.

"May I remind you all committing an act of treason against the crown is punishable by death, and if you have a family, they too will be punished as well if we believe them to be an accomplice to your crimes. While I loathe to use my authority as a knight of the realm I will do so in its defense and to ensure that nothing foal befalls it." I said as walked over to the table and picked up a crowsbeak hammer before turning my head away from the door to wait for anyone to make a run for it.

I didn't have to wait long for the culprit to make a run for the door because the moment I left my gaze from the door, the third griffon in the line made a break for it. Pushing his fellows out of the way and running towards the open door with the ripped scroll stuffed into his work vest.

Turning around and seeing the griffon about to breach the threshold of the door, I reeled back and threw the crowsbeak hammer, the pointed beak-like end facing forward, and as it sailed through the air towards its intended target, the griffon got through the door only to let out a squawk of pain as the pointy part of the hammer embedded itself between the would-be thief's wing sockets.

One thing I later learned that day is that striking a griffon, pegasus or even a hippogriff between the wing joints is not only enough to cause them extreme pain but also leave them temporarily unable to fly as there is a nerve cluster located there and striking that spot can also paralyze them for a few minutes.

With the thief down for the count I strolled over to his twitching, writhing body and kneeled down and flipped the worthless bird over and removed the parchment from his vest before placing it back on the desk.

"To think that you would risk execution for not only yourself but also your family if you have one at all, for money." I said as I grabbed the griffon by the back of his neck and started to drag him off towards the dungeons. Looking over my shoulder towards the forge master I shouted that we can finish our talk another time and the burly drunkard of a griffon nodded at me before returning his attention to the rest of the workers and had them all back to work.

Casting my gaze down at the griffon I had just beaned in the spine with a sharp hammer I could only shake my head in disappointment that someone would be so stupid and try to steal one of my ideas then my disappointment turned into anger, to think that Tazul would still be trying to get the throne with underhanded tactics and political maneuvers even when he is imprisoned and set to be executed by the end of the week.

He must be planning something or have others waiting to get him out of prison before his date with the executioner's blade if he is still pulling strings in the darkness.

Soon enough I reached the dungeons I entered the room to find the head warden was at the front desk talking to the desk jockey and when they saw me with a squirming griffon in my left hand. The four guards in the room turned their attention to me then to my prisoner before returning back to their passive stance.

"Any reason as to why you are holding one of the stonemason's in your left paw?" The head warden asked me as he walked over to me, the warden himself was wearing a uniform consisting of a purple and grey vest with a dark grey cloak covering his wings, emblazoned on his vest was a house sigil, one of House Goldstone, one of many noble houses that did not like me being knighted.

"I caught this bastard trying to steal one of the forge master's blueprints, a gift from the king no less." I said as I walked up to the desk and slammed the griffon onto it, making the little shit squawk again.

The pair turned to look at the slightly resisting griffon for a moment before turning their gaze to me, they know that I am an anointed knight and that I have the authority to detain and arrest anybody if I have any proof or evidence to go through with the arrest and seeing how I and eight other griffons, one of those griffons being the royal forge master himself, there is no way in the seven hells that this griffon is going to get off scot free.

"Trying to steal from the royal family eh? You must be the unluckiest runt of the flock to even think that was a brilliant idea let alone a viable one! Don't worry sir knight, we will take it over from here, Kluas, take our newest resident to his new home." The warden said as the desk jockey gave a half-assed salute to his boss before getting up and picking up their newest prisoner and disappeared through the heavy iron door leading into the dungeons.

With the prisoner and the desk jockey gone, the warden gave me a nod before going back to his office which just so happened to be next to the prison itself, leaving me alone in the room besides the four armed guards whom of which was now eyeballing me as if I was a common criminal.

Not even going to bother with asking them if something is wrong I turned around and left the prison before returning back to the forge master for we have much to discuss and perhaps with not a lot of time to do it in.

The ensuing discussion I had with the forge master detailed what I have planned for the workshop and it entailed an overhaul of the likes these griffons have never seen before. With the installment of the coke ovens to the coal they have stored away into a much more powerful fuel for the blast furnaces, coke. Coke is a grey, porous, high carbon content used as fuel furnaces, and as a fuel for stoves since most if not all of the smoke-producing products in the coke has been burned/melted away.

You see, these griffons for the most part use charcoal for their smelting processes because they have so much of the stuff due to living in a land that is predominately a thick forest so they have enough to be made into charcoal, and as for coal itself they have a large stockpile of it but ever since the diamond dogs have moved into various areas, primarily where iron and coal deposits are located alongside gemstone mines, coal is becoming a high priced commodity until the dogs are either forced into retreat or eliminated.

And seeing how these griffons burn through coal due to not having the proper knowledge, by teaching them how to make coke and how much to use in the smelting process, I am hoping that they will soon be able to maintain and sustain themselves on low amounts to get the job done.

"So Master Wilkinson, with these two different ovens and furnaces we will finally be able to produce our own steel which if your words are to be believed, it will be superior to that of the minotaurs and equestrians and that we will no longer need to purchase it as such an inflated price from either of them, am I correct on that assumption?" the forge master, whose name is Gerolt after finally telling me when he eventually became sober enough to be truly coherent enough to be understood, said that as he looked over the stonemason's work on the coke ovens that are currently being constructed.

I gave the man a nod before pointing out what needs to happen next in the coke-production process.

"When the coke is finished you shovel it out, let it cool off then when it is time for the blast furnace to be put into use, you use this instead of coal or charcoal for a hotter flame and a harder metal." I said as I went over the layout plans for the refurbished smeltery chambers with the forge master, the layout itself had us empty out several unused storage rooms that held rusting pieces of metal and rotting crates to make way for the coke ovens and blasting furnaces.

The smeltery itself will occupy two rooms instead of one, when the liquid metal is transferred here through the channels leading from the blast furnaces it can then be fitted into a shaped mold and be poured into them for a faster production of metal shapes. With the molds properly shaped and the metal poured into it we will be able to crate metal plates and blades of all shapes and sizes, making it easier on us in the long run.

"And this coke of yours, you say it is far better than the coal we have been burning?"

"Yes, several times better and as an added bonus, it doesn't produce the choking clouds and fumes that coal produces when it burns. A ventilation system is still needed but you don't have to worry about your lungs getting corroded from the inside out from coal inhalation." the head griffon raised an eyebrow at the mere mention of 'lungs getting corroded' but he didn't stop me in the middle of my talk so I can guess he either knows this or has no clue on the matter.

"With the coke oven and blast furnace working in tandem you will be able to produce steel at a fairly fast pace and when it is time to test our steel against theirs we might be able to see just whose is stronger." Now if only we had samples of the weapons and armor of the other nations to test our steel on, if ours is stronger than we best not let them know about it, but if ours is weaker than I may have to delve back into my laptop to figure out what I did wrong.

Looking at the numerous ovens and furnaces that are in mid-construction the forge master gave me a nod and thanked me for my assistance in both the gift of the steel designs and for capturing the treacherous thief.

With that I gave the nod to the burly drunkard of a griffon before leaving the forge chambers and left, returning back to the princess's room to check up on her and when I got there it turned out that she wasn't there and that I was told that she has left the castle earlier this day and went to the hills that she was assigned to transform into a cluster of terrace farms. Acknowledging the guard and thanking him for telling me this news I instead returned back to my room, changed my clothes to my outing attire and went to the local bar to get drunk and have fun with my two griffon friends.

Thinking back to what Greta said on her favor, I am wondering exactly when she is going to call it in because in about two weeks I am going to be heading off to the province of Shadhlvail, a region that borders against Equestria and is also the place where there are several rivers that connect to the ocean, the main one being the Guto River.

With the princess staying close to Griffonstone to do her little project while I am roughly going to the other side of the kingdom, I am wondering how my friends here will deal with me being absent, I guess Scrawny will be occupied with an instructor or two teaching him how to read, how to talk properly and maybe even also how to fight properly, Gilda and Greta will most likely be bored out of their minds and will be doing their jobs, Gilda will cook her scones and whatever else she bakes for a living and Greta...I honestly have no fucking idea what Greta does to pay the bills so I am guessing fuck all.

Exiting the palace grounds and walking towards the Leaky Taphouse, my mind is busy planning on what to do, on what to show the griffons, how to show it to them, how to construct the fishery and how to ensure that the griffons at Guto River don't just eat every single fish that falls into the fishery and ruin my plans.

I just hope they haven't started drinking without me, and if they have then I hope they haven't drunk too much and are on the verge of either starting a bar fight or they start puking all over the floor.

The Council of Griffonstone

Have you ever had that feeling of being the odd man out? Just being the one person in a crowd of people who all fit in while you are just there because they needed someone of 'different ethnicity' so they don't get in trouble with the law for not being inclusive or that they needed someone that is outside the social circle so they have a different opinion.

Well, today I get to know that feeling as I found myself walking to the meeting between the various leaders of the kingdom's vassals and outlying territories. Coming to this meeting are the few dukes, duchess's, lords, counts and countess's, all of these important griffons from across the kingdom coming here, dressed for the occasion and to discuss with the king their various problems, successes, trivial matters and sharing of news with one another before calling it a day and continuing the same discussions for an entire week before returning back to their homes.

And why am I there you may be asking? Well normally I would be told to stand outside like any other guard because I had to accompany either the princess or the king, but today I was inside the room standing behind the king, the queen and the princess like a stalwart defender. Another reason why I am here is to also be shown off to the rest of the nobility that is in attendance, a one-of-a-kind guard that no one else will ever be able to get their talons on.

Looking at the other griffons that I do not recognize, the princess beside me whispers to me who each of these griffons are, which province they are from, and if they are truly important or if they are just blowing smoke up someone's ass to make themselves look and feel important.

"He is Lord Goldstone, a noble from the province of Goldstone, and if you guessed what he does for a living involves counting coin and accumulating it then you are correct. He is a greedy, loathsome griffon and he is an annoyance at best when he isn't trying to further line his coffers with more gold but his shrewd nature does make him a useful tool to the kingdom when we need somegriff to do the numbers when we trade with Equestria, Stalliongrad, Nova Griffonia or the other nations that come to trade. From what I have heard lately he is rather upset that one of his business ventures has been ruined because a shady individual has failed to follow through with their end of the bargain..." Eraclea says to me as I lean close, the king smiling faintly to himself as I guess he already knows this and is happy to know that his daughter is taking after him in the political game.

And the griffon in question, Lord Goldstone, his body and fur pattern is that of a typical cheetah which also extends to his wings feathers, slicked-back head feathers and the dullest of brown eyes, in all this griffon seems more likely to make a shady deal with you and leave you holding the bag when the plot falls through and you end up spending several years or decades in a gulag.

"And right there is Duchess Regina de' Flowena, she is the proud owner of the Central Bank of Griffonia and out of the griffons in this room and possibly even my father, she is the wealthiest griffon on the continent. While she may be the wealthiest griffon in the room, she is also the most annoying due to how she tries to turn everything into a business transaction and potential future trade agreements."

The duchess that my princess has pointed out is not only probably the wealthiest griffon in this room, but also probably one of the prettiest one by griffon standards. This lovely hen has the most luxuriously soft fur I have ever seen besides the princess herself, and with that beautiful chocolate fur coloring, crème-colored feathers and just the way she walks, she knows that she is beautiful and not only does she know it but I bet she also uses it to her advantage. In all honesty, I really couldn't keep my eyes off that ass of hers as she walked by me and headed towards her seat.

'Dat ass...please sit on my face and tell me that you love me.' I thought to myself as I watched it bounce right by me, and I swear that if I had a coin on me I sure as shit bet that I can bounce that fucker off it.

'Hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave.'

I must say that if I was single and she was offering, I don't think I would be able to say no with a straight face let alone without giving a reaction of any kind.

"I see that he has decided to show up...perfect.." Eraclea says as I watch her shoulders slump and her wings sag ever so slightly, turning my head to see who she was talking about.

"Who?" I asked as the seemingly old griffon was escorted to his seat which just so happened to be next to the queen's. Looking over this old griffon I saw that he was indeed a near splitting image of Grandpa Gruff himself with the exception that he didn't have a fez cap on, both eyes are functioning and not blind, no scars, is wearing what looks like the robes of a holy priest with a matching octagonal cap to go with it.

"That griffon is Eros VII, he is the Archon of Boreas and is one of the few griffons in this room whose loyalty to father is unmatched."

"And the reason you dislike him?"

"Well...you see, when I was younger I may have said something that he didn't like cause it sounded heretical to him and ever since then we haven't seen eye-to-eye on a few matters."

"Ah, I see...well maybe you should try apologizing to him? Maybe that will start the forgiveness process and smooth things out between the two of you?" I said as I gave a nod to the holy griffon who seemed to nod back at me as he slowly sat down, his age clearly showing as I thought I heard the sounds of bones popping.

After that it was the industry giant, Leron Irontalon, proud owner of the Talon Ironworks and several iron mines in the country, this charcoal feathered griffon lives up to his name as he is sitting opposite of the king, a fat cigar in his beak, lit and emitting the acrid odor of high quality smokeleaf in the room but thankfully one of the enchantments in the room is keeping the worst of it at bay.

Next to come in was the royal archivist, an important job seeing how his assistances and himself are responsible for recording of the nation's history, retainer of every single deal ever made that has been written down and sealed in enchanted frames to prevent the parchment from being altered or damaged. This griffon's name was Felix Kaine, not from a noble family line like half of the griffons in this room, but just a normal commoner family that was steadily making their way through the world and has been loyal to the kingdom for quite a few generations.

Then came in the griffons in charge of the few provinces that remain within the empire.

Duchess Cecania Marshtail of the Frostmourne province, an wintery mountain range that lies near the minotaur lands and while it her lands wouldn't be my first choice of a vacation home, the boreal forests that inhabit her land do offer some of the best lumber in the land due to how thick and tall the trunks are. This province provides the empire with exceptional quality wood for construction purposes alongside decent furniture and also provides most of the lumber used for housing and business.

Duke Bogart Benito of the Sullen Hills province, this land consists almost entirely of rolling hills and fields of grain, the only breadbasket land left in the empire and the duke is making a substantial earning from this due to everyone having to buy their flour and other grains from him at a higher price. Aside from being the primary agriculture province it is also where griffons go to receive their military training for those that are seeking entrance into the imperial army.

Count Ferdinand Bluebeak of the Aditrus province, a bit of a strange land of sorts as its been plagued with more discorded zones than any other province in the empire and in the outlaying lands on the continent due to that land being where Discord supposed had a battle against the pony princesses well over several centuries in the past. The land itself is almost always shifting due to the discordant magic wrecking havoc with the environment but due to the amount of enchantments and incantations that the griffons are using to keep what land they managed to save from the chaos, the province has been a good source of enchanting and invocation training.

Duke Winfield Irontalon of the Dwarftail province, despite its name sounding like that it belongs to a bunny or deer it is actually farther from the truth as its the primary source of iron for the empire and over the past six hundred years or so give or take a few decades, its deep veins have yet to run dry or show any signs of depletion. The ironworks in this region are scattered throughout the hills and a large majority of them are owned by the duke's brother to ensure that they stay loyal to him and the crown, but primarily him.

Countess Rita Windwing of the Nordheim province, nice rolling hills and forests with sparse mountains dotting its landscape, a major provider of coal and minor provider of lumber and iron and so far the countess is doing well for herself but she seems to be getting ready to expand her operations to include lumber yards and an ironworks. This expansion has been said that it may or may not threaten the other provinces as a form of competition but only time will tell if it bears fruit or comes crashing down in flames.

Duke Greg Fallow of the World's Edge province, despite the name for it the province isn't really the edge of the world although at the time for the griffons it might as well be, this large province consists of a large coastal regional with several islands dotting it and serves as a massive fishing and minor trading region for the empire.

And the last griffon to enter the room was a sky blue feathered aging griffon who went by the name of Gunther Skyfeather, and he is the leader of the trade syndicate that forms the veins and life's blood for the empire. The three times I have met this man have been under the cover of night within this very room with the king, and each meeting was about the same thing.

'Large amounts of goods are being stolen right underneath their beaks and that certain councilmembers are starting to become quiet and reclusive.'

And it would seem that Gunther was right, quite a few members of the council seemed rather quiet and withdrawn, and if they are traitors in league with Tazul then I fear that sooner or later they will make their move against the crown.

"Are all in attendance?" The royal archivist said as all of the griffons in the room take a seat, the guards surrounding the room take their positions in the back of the circular chamber and stood silent as the councilmembers remained quiet.

"Good, then I hereby declare the 16,656th Griffonstone Council meeting to begin, King Guto the VII has the floor." and with that said the royal archivist sits down in his seat, picks up his quill and tips it into the nearby inkwell as he patiently waits for the talking to begin.

The king stands up from his seat and for a moment doesn't say a word before finally beginning his grand speech.

"My fellow griffons, it has been three months since the return of the Idol of Boreas, three months since the traitor Tazul Gildedclaw has been rooted out and arrested, his treasonous nature exposed for all to see and for his followers to scatter to the four winds and from those same cowards we have captured enough of them to know more about his plans."

"We have learned that by keeping my daughter away from Griffonstone and with our situation deteriorating to the point that our collapse would have been imminent and that civil war would have torn this land asunder and the amount of griffons that would have died in the ensuing conflict would have been catastrophic, this was his plan all along, to have us at each others throats and killing one another off until there was nogriffon left to stand in his way before he would simply brush aside whoever is still alive and rule over the ashes that remains as the self-proclaimed emperor."

"But because of our friend here, that act of high treason was stopped and returned to us our idol and my daughter from his clutches after stealing the idol from our human friend and kidnapped my daughter after her diplomatic trip to Equestria."

"With the idol back in our talons and its placement back in the Temple of the Tempestuous Fury we have all noticed that with its return that it has rekindled the spark within each griffon that has been previously snuffed out from its absence, and it was that spark that allowed us griffons to emerge from our hovels in the past to create the empire we we have now."

"The news about the return of our idol has already spread outside the empire which means that all of our neighbors now know that we are returning to who we once were before the loss of our precious relic. With our resurgence of who we once were, the other nations know that it will only be a matter of time before we return to our full strength and with the knowledge and assistance from our human friend, he will catapult us beyond anything the minotaurs, diamond dogs or even what the ponies have created in the time we were reduced to nothing more than squabbling birds!"

"But for now, we rebuild, we plan, we prepare, we wait and see what the other nations do, and then we act when all is set and ready for us to push forward. When we are finally to truly announce ourselves to the world that the Griffonian Empire has returned to the world stage as a global power, only then will we have returned to our rightful place in the world."

And with that said I watched as the griffon king sit down, his wife and daughter already talking in hushed tones to him as I then returned my gaze to the other high rank nobles in the room, making sure none of them are planning anything shifty.

"If that is all our royal highness has to say, than Duchess Regina de' Flowena has the floor." the archivist said as continued to write down everything as the wealthiest griffon in the empire and quite possibly the continent stood up from her seat and gave a curtsy to the king before beginning her own little speech.

"Thank you, now, before I begin in earnest I just have to say that I have seized all of Tazul's monetary assets that he has left within all imperial banks and what was found in his private vaults have cause for concern." the good duchess says as she motions for one of her guards as said guard steps forward and in one of his talons is a briefcase. Placing the briefcase on the massive table the guard then bowed to the duchess before returning to his place against the wall as the duchess than clicked it open and revealed to everyone its contents.

"These are documents from an outside party 'politely' requesting Tazul to abduct the princess and to keep her locked up until after the coup has taken place and all of the royal family to be executed and then proceed to eliminate every single noble house and imprison anygriffon associating with those houses. The promise of payment for doing this has already been paid for but I sadly do not recognize the insignia that has been burned into the letter." the duchess says as she passes around the documents for all to see, leaning over the princess's shoulder to see what it is, even I don't know what it could possibly be.

Staring down at the table with the letters, burned into the lower righthand corner is what looks like a black thorn-encrusted crown with a pair of what looks like wings of some sort.

"I will be looking into what this symbol means with the assistance from the archivists to find out whose house this symbol belongs to, but in the mean time it I would suggest everygriff to keep their eyes peeled for any foreign saboteurs. For an outside party to pay a low noble whose main strategy was skullduggery and undertaloned tactics to wipe out the entirety of the noble and royal caste of our society such a large amount of gold means that they must not only believe that it would have succeeded, but also that in the end that they would be killed off as well to reclaim what they have paid." Duchess Flowena says as she sits back down as she cools herself off with an ornate paper fan, I take it saying such things wasn't easy for her since she and the entire upper crust of society just had a hit placed on all of them and that it was going to be executed by someone that they looked down upon.

In all honesty I am even more surprised than the rest of the griffons sitting at this table because I met the griffon who was hired to perform this act of regicide and complete destruction of the upper class, and I must say that I think his plan was to not only replace everyone above him with himself and his lackeys, but also to avoid getting killed as well from the person who hired him.

"The crown appreciates your assistance on the matter Duchess Flowena. Next on the docket is Duke Greg Fallow, you now have the floor."

And thus began the monumental boredom for me as I had to stand there and listen to these griffons talk for hours on end about various things happening in their kingdom.

A shortfall of food because the harvests were ruined by insects and other pests.

A shortfall of iron ore because their tools are shoddy and need replacement but due to poor tool production nothing will change unless outside help is received.

Trade is barely staying afloat as other nations are finding alternatives to what the griffons can provide.

But all of that was in the past, because of my interference in the world order by retrieving the idol when all others thought it was lost for good.

With the idols return to its sacred pedestal within the Cathedral of Boreas, it has revitalized the griffon people, knowledge that was once lost is now returning to the masses as ancient griffon techniques of ages past is being remembered and used to enhance all fields of employment. It was almost akin to a racial buff from a videogame after completing that one quest that is annoying as all hell but is totally worth it in the end.

Several griffons have already remembered how to do things that have been once lost and that the technique to make griffon steel has been rediscovered and that an attempt is already underway to combine both griffon and human steel to see what comes out of it, the combat efficiency of the guards and royal knights has started to go up as their unit cohesion started, ancient griffonian medicine is now being relearned and made, the nations scientists and alchemists are working together to understand the nature of the world around them through the power of science and logic with sprinkles of magic thrown in as their race can only work their magic through enchantments, the peasantry are working harder and are also happier that their object of worship is back where it belongs.

The Talon Ironworks in the Dwarftail Province has finally started to produce quality iron and that their production of steel is now underway.

Sullen Hills Province is repeating that their crops are finally free of pests and that this years harvest will be bountiful.

In the Aditrus Province, the scientists and mages there have finally started to get their act together and began working on a project that has been eluding the for years, the use of enchantments on tools to make them more durable and to make labour easier and faster while also placing enchantments on industrial machines to run more smoothly and faster than conventional unenchanted machines. Another project the Aditrus Science Committee have begun to work on is attempting to find a means of shrinking down the discorded zones to reclaim lands that have been lost to the cursed creature and possibly even find a means of weaponizing it as well.

And to think that I once thought that gods didn't exist, but to see their work first hand and also the fact that one is somewhat residing in my head would have made me a devout believer if I already didn't believe in the philosophy that the only people that should decide their fate is mortals themselves.

While we do love seeing our creations living their lives to their fullest, we still have to on occasion give them a guiding hand...or talon or hoof, paw, whatever they use to help themselves. And you, my most favorite of pawns, you are doing exactly what I told you to do and it is delicious!

I actually had to stop myself from moving head to find the source of my semi-benevolent benefactor as I remembered that she resides in my head.

'You know it would make my job easier if you can at least give me a bit of a guiding hand to speed things along. Just because I have a laptop with a seemingly endless battery doesn't mean that I can just tip the scales of society and the world with ease, even with all the ideas I have written down or stuff that I copied from the videogames I played. You can't just look at the end result of a long chain of trial-and-error and go 'oh boy I sure like this greatest thing, lemme just skip all this other shit before it!', it takes experiments, time, resources, dedicated manpower or in this case griffonpower, somewhere to do these projects at in safety, and above all else you have to start at the very bottom before you can work your way up.'

But my lovely little pawn that is so boring! Why should I wait for a flower to blossom when I can just make it so?

'Because if you are impatient and get what you want immediately, you will find no joy in what you have done as it will be empty and meaningless. That is the reason why we mortals do things the hard way, because we know that when it is finished we will be able to look back and see all of the struggle and toil we went through to complete it and smile knowing that it was worth it in the end.'

The voice in my head was quiet for all of about five seconds before it spoke again, but this time it sounded more mellow.

Fine, have it your way, but just know that if you take too long or those that you give your knowledge to drag their paws cause something is troubling them, I will give them a helping paw to speed things along.

I actually had to pause and think on that for a few moments, this is the first time my benefactor actually is going out of their way to help others. My guess is that the only reason as to why she is even doing such a thing is that by helping them complete the revolutionary ideas I have given them, then they are by proxy helping me achieve my goal of changing the world to upset the balance and probable stagnation that it is currently in.

Don't you dare think that I am helping these mortals to make you happy and your life easier, I am simply doing this on my own accord because I want to watch the chaos spread from these ideas of yours. Nothing more!

And with that the voice in my head was gone and that everyone sitting at the table was still talking about the amount of progress that has been made ever since the Idol of Boreas was placed back within the sacred cathedral.

The meeting went like this for several more hours and it was when I started to doze off and began thinking about whether or not if I could excuse myself, the archivist knocked on the table with a gavel and said that the meeting is now adjourned for the day.

With it finally over I was allowed to leave the chambers and was dismissed from my duties for the day, I was happy for that because I really needed a drink after standing roughly almost all day staring at masonry and tapestries while old griffons spoke at lengths about topics that went over my head.

And to the bar I went, a stiff drinking waiting for me and my friends waiting to hear my day as I hear about theirs.

After all this is said and done I will be leaving Griffonstone for quite some time, my project being approved and resources being diverted for said project. I must say that I am nervous beyond belief because if this fails than not only will I be a laughing stock to the entire griffon council, but also the king will be insulted that I wasted his time and resources on such frivolous things instead of directly aiding his fellow countrymen.

I just hope I don't fuck this up beyond belief.

Griffonsplaining Griffon Relationship Culture

Upon arriving at the Leaky Taphouse where Gilda and Greta agreed to meet up, the moment I entered the establishment ready to inhale at least four mugs of cheap ale, I see that my two bird friends are in the middle of yet another argument and when they hear me walk up to them (because how often do two-legged walkers live and work in this city let alone know these two?) they stopped bickering and turned to look at me and I immediately realized that I have walked into a hornets nest and said hornets are agitated as fuck.

"What are you two bickering about this time?" I asked as I sat down and the barmaid who recognizes me as a frequent customer came by and placed the usual before me and gave me a sly wink before going back making her rounds and putting down mugs of ale on tables and replacing empty ones with full ones.

The moment those two saw me sit down beside them they move over and resume where they left off.

"Ian, we are just arguing over whether or not we are in a flock or not."

It took me a several long seconds to grasp what Greta said to me and even longer for my brain to process it fully as I mentally began to sweat bullets while at the same time on the outside I was sweating buckets.

'Ah what the fuck why are they asking me this shit now? I am up to my neck in work shit and espionage from foreigner, I am too busy to be dealing with crap like this, especially after finding out that one of the griffons working on the new smelters and blast furnaces was caught stealing from both myself and the forge master. I don't know what the punishment is for this level of theft or treason but I can only assume that it will be an execution and I will most likely be forced to preside over his death or be the one to dole it out. Why couldn't they have this conversation a week from now when I am not busy?'

Looking at me expectantly and waiting for an answer the hens sitting before me are gazing at me with eyes filled with dreaded patience at what my answer may be but I have no fucking clue on how to answer this without someone getting hurt in the process.

So I went with an obvious response that is to be expected of me.

"Uh...the fuck is a flock?" I said as I took a sip from my mug, I can already tell that this is going to be a long night as I wave the barmaid over to order some scones to help absorb this ale, maybe I should get some water as well.

While Greta and Gilda were trying to come up with what I think would be an acceptable answer, the barmaid came over and answered it for them in what I think was the simplest way possible.

"Love, a flock is a group of griffons in a relationship together such as a bunch of hens, like your two friends here, with a stud muffin like yourself. That would be the most basic of flocks but it has been known to be at least five or more griffons in a flock." the barmaid said as she took my order and placed down a mug of water, seeing how she knows my drinking routine by heart since that is all I ever get here.

The moment she was gone the other two partially revealed their faces to show that they are still scarlet and embarrassed that they had to get someone else to say it for them.

All I could do was look into my tankard of cheap ale, mull over the words before finally speaking up.

"I didn't even know that we were even dating at all? I thought the three of us was just friends?"

The two hens sitting before me looked at each other and tried to motion the other to start explaining, it wasn't before long that Gilda finally grew the bigger pair of teats and wiggled closer to me to start talking.

"Well, we thought that we were already in the beginning stages of us being in a flock since we've been spending plenty of time together...… and all the times you've been preening our wings..." the purple-tipped hen said as she tried to put on a brave face but was failing spectacularly. Oh Gilda, you may act tough but when you get embarrassed it burns oh so brightly for all to see and it is beautiful.

Raising an eyebrow at that, I could only wonder as to how easy it to enter a relationship with a griffon if that was all I had to do was spend some time with them, hang out at a local bar/tavern, and fix up their wings of faulty/loose feathers. The more you know I guess.

"So you automatically assumed that we three were in a relationship because I helped you preen your wings?" I said and in response the two hens nodded at me.

Slowly facepalming and sighing in a longwinded manner, I waved the barmaid over and ordered a few drinks to keep coming my way whenever my mug is empty to be replaced. The barmaid gave a nod, seemingly understanding the situation I am in or that she has sensed that I am in for a long explaining session that may end with me being plastered.

"I thought that to enter a relationship I had to go on a few dates with one of you, meet your parents, a few dinners, a gift or two, you know, the usual things when one wishes to partake in a relationship?" I said as I thought back to the few dating experiences I had back home, hell, one of them girls I dated was a real ballbuster and I am glad I dodged that bullet when I found out that she was cheating on me with three different people.

Upon hearing everything that I said, the two hens shook their head and proceeded to enlighten me on griffon culture, exclusively the part on relationships because I have no fucking idea on how that shit works here.

"You see Ian, while what you said is what the nobles do here in Griffonstone and the ponies of Equestria, in the outlying provinces and outside nations, us common griffons just talk and if we have an interest with each other we hang out and at the end we see if want to keep spending time together and that is pretty much it. After that it pretty much is like what friends do except we preen each others wings, we sleep in the same bed and when the time eventually comes..." Gilda says as she started to lose steam at the end, Greta on the other hand picked up exactly where her friend left off.

"We fuck each others brains out." Greta says as she smiles slyly for a moment before getting her head whacked by one of Gilda's wings while her face is burning a reddish hue.

'Oh my god this is too adorable, my heart can't handle it.'

So it would seem that the talk of sex here is just like that from back home, can easily talk about it in private, when in public it is sort of a big no-no unless your a commoner than its more okay, what with my two friends blushing up a storm while quite a few bar patrons are looking our way. Quite a few of them are laughing under their breath while a few others are shaking their head, probably wondering why they are having that particular talk here of all places, and with somebody not of their species.

"So in laymen terms, griffon culture on relationships is roughly divided like this, we got the noble-griffon method who do all of the fancy shit, no sex till marriage, and only marry those of their class, the common-griffon method which is being friends until you want to take that step to a higher relationship and then marriage, and lastly we got the method where its just friends with benefits. Am I far off in any way?" I said as I drained the last of my mug of ale as I spied another coming my way.

The two griffons at the table gave a nod along with quite a few nods from the other patrons and barmaids.

"Yeah pretty much, but the question is where do you see yourself with us at this moment?" Greta asks me as I am busy trying to process this new information.

Where do I see my standing with these two? I see them as friends sure, I mean who wouldn't want to be friends with these two? Sure they are both a bit abrasive, almost all griffons are naturally like that, but they both are nice and kind-hearted (when they want to be) and also that they had my back when I returned with the damn holy griffon relic.

Relationship wise, where do I see myself with them, well I see us as friends but...could I even imagine myself fucking them? I mean, sure I fucked that diamond dog bitch back in the warrens, but I had to do it to get supplies for myself and the group I was going to rescue to get the hell out of dodge. Sure the diamond dog is somewhat human-like seeing how they are bipedal, has tits (not sure how I was supposed to play with six of them but I will figure that out at a later date), and also is bipedal, but the griffon form is...well, feral is a word I wouldn't use to their face cause I would like mine to remain attached to my head and all of my blood to stay in my body along with my dick to remain attached.

Having sex with a griffon will provide me with hurtles to overcome such as differences in body shape and compatibility and many other things I can't think of at the moment.

'If I can fuck a diamond dog into submission and not feel like I just fucked a dog, then I am more than sure that I can safely assume that I can fuck a griffon not feel like I just fucked a lion...eagle...bird cat thing. I may need more liquid courage to even cross that bridge if the time comes for it.'

Looking at the two hens and after mulling it over for a bit, I picked my words carefully because I would rather not loose them as friends.

"As we currently are, we are close friends. I am all for preening your wings when you ask me to but anything else and I have to think on it." and with that said I at first thought they were going to be sad or disappointed, but the gleam in their eyes says otherwise.

The two hens heard what I said, and when they didn't hear a 'no' on any future sex with them, the two of them started to smile and I realized that I had just sealed my fate with them.

Looks like in the future I just may be sleeping with my two best friends...I am sure that nothing bad will come of it, I am sure that nobody in the noble community will see this as an opportunity to sling mud on my name for being friends and sleeping with commoners. And if they do then they can go fuck themselves cause they can't control who I stick my dick in.

Unless they are the king and they are trying to groom me to marry their daughter, but that shit isn't happening, right? I mean the king wouldn't let me touch his daughter in such a way and let me live, hell his daughter doesn't even fucking like me like that so I think I may be safe...god I hope I am safe from that harpy.

To me, I believe in being romantically involved with one person, but me and my partner are free to sleep with whoever you choose. Love and sex are two separate things in my eyes, and probably the eyes of other people as well. I think this line of thinking may come back to bite me in the ass later down the road but eh, fuck 'em, if they don't like my morals, philosophies, standards and other shit than they can all go get bent.

Gilda was the first to speak up and she had this twinkle in her eyes that is quite possibly carnal lust...or the onset of a desire to make me hers and hers alone...I have no fucking clue, I am just grasping at straws cause I know barely anything on griffons aside from the fact that they like it when I preen their wings because I do a better job than talons can ever do, they like it when I pet their heads, also that they are loyal to their friends and family to a fault, and that they are a bit of honor before reason type of people.

"So you aren't against the idea?" Greta asked as she cradled her mug of cheap ale, only partially drunk and was just begging to be emptied.

"Nope, I mean with me this far from home and that I don't really see you all as any different from a human aside from physical appearance, so yeah I am willing to deal with that when the time comes." I said as I polish off mug number two and ate a scone to help chase it down.

The two hens looked at each other for a moment, coming to a silent agreement before Greta spoke up.

"Ian, Gilda and I are wondering if you would like to be in a flock with us."

Looking at the two, I reached into my pocket, made a 50/50 mental call and flipped the coin before letting it land on the table as it spun on the wooden surface.

Are you seriously flipping a coin to decide on whether or not you hook up with those two? What the actual fuck!? my mysterious benefactor shouted at me inside my head and it nearly scared the shit out of me from how sudden it was and that it came out of nowhere.

'Hey, I don't know if there will be any negative repercussions for doing this let alone if those two will get into any trouble from either their peers or someone in a position of power. I am just trying to look out for them is all.'

Uh huh...whatever you say 'player', just be careful with their beak and talons, it would be a real pain if you were to lose the master of ceremonies because they accidentally nipped it at the root or sliced it off.

'Please don't remind me of the dangers of having sex with a griffon, I pretty much already know the dangers involved because it makes basic sense, that beak and those talons are dangerous enough as is, it makes me shudder to think what it could do to me if they aren't careful.'

Whatever you say stud muffin, just try not to end up being neutered. and with that my mysterious benefactor began to cackle like a madman before leaving me alone once more to my thoughts.

Mentally rolling my eyes hard enough that imaginary stone grinding against stone sounds can be heard as the slowly fading sounds of cackling laughter begin to fade away into nothingness.

Looking down at the table I saw that the coin I flipped has landed on tails and my mind immediately went places, and I must say that I am sort of liking it. I mean if I am going to be fucking my two good friends who are clearly not human, but hey, I may be the only human in human history that has fucked an alien and will soon be marking down a second alien race to the tally board, unless Area 51 is real then I am only 1 for 1.

"Sooo......Gilda, Greta...how would this flock thing work for the three of us?" And like fucking magic the two of them become heat-seeking missiles and leapt over the table and tackled me to the floor, forcing a yelp of surprise from my lips as I get forced to the wooden floor as my mug of ale spills over and my half-eaten scone rolls off the table onto the floor.

The two griffons were hugging me from both sides, I heard what I can assume is purring that is coming from both of my friends and that they are nuzzling into the crook of my neck with such ferocity that I worry that it may get nipped any second now. Looking downward at the two hens laying atop of me I am wondering which one of them is going to make their move first and lay claim to me and declare themselves alpha hen if that is a thing.

Glancing at Gilda I saw that she was in no condition to make such a move cause I can smell that she must of had at least five mugs of cheap liquor flowing in her veins while her opposite had roughly three or less, Gilda was also the heavy drinker of the two so she may already be out of the running.

So this is my life now, being a knight to a foreign nation on a completely different planet in a different dimension or reality and my two best friends are now something more that I have no idea on how to describe it. I have no fucking idea how this happened or if this is even a good thing, but fuck it, I deserve a little happiness in my life even though my life is probably is in greater risk here than it ever was back home because I no longer have access to decent medicine and doctors so if I get seriously injured here than I am fucked.

Looking back at the two griffons currently laying on top of me who were a little too far gone as they were hugging the shit out of me, purring and nuzzling my neck like actual cats, I wrapped my arms around them as I wiggled around ever so slightly to give myself enough leverage with my legs still on the bench I was last sitting on to and tried to pull myself up but alas I am not that strong enough to do such a thing. Even with griffons not being that heavy to pick up I still couldn't hoist my two friends up and pull myself back onto the bench, now if it was just one griffon in my arms I am sure that I could have done such a feat of strength.

"So uhh, guys, is there anything else I should know about you griffons or is this pretty much it?" I asked my two new ~~girlfriends~~ I mean henfriends...this will take me a while to get used to thinking and possibly saying but anyways.

Gilda was the first to stop with the nuzzles and purrs as she looked up at me, face redder than a tomato as if she just got caught buying porn by her mother. She just looked so cute as her fur and feathers fluffed up, trying to make herself look bigger but all it did was make me want to hug her more, its like when my pet bird fluffed up when it got cold or when it fell asleep.

Greta on the other hand kept on going but she spoke as she continued with the neck nuzzling and purring.

"Aside from what you already know from what we have told you, well firstly our tails displays to others our emotions to other griffons as outsiders tend to think that our tails just tells them that we are feeling agitated. Another thing is that when you see us griffons puff up like this is for a number of reasons, one of them is if we are feeling threatened we will puff up to make ourselves appear larger and try to scare off the threat and another is if we are extremely embarrassed, and if very rarely after a round of sex that is amazing beyond belief." Greta said as I tried to hold back a laugh at that last bit, to be so fluffed up after getting fucked silly, I would actually love to see that.

"Then there is tail touching, that is forbidden unless you are family or are mates, and between the griffons who are mates they will sometimes let their tails wrap around one another to show others that they are mates. Tail yanking is the fastest way to get your face clawed off because it sets us off that another predator has us in their grasp and that we will blindly swing at whatever it is, also that it hurts like hell when somebody yanks on it." And for a moment I actually wondered if I should pull on a griffons tail but thought against it because if its anything like pulling a cats tail then that is a express ticket to missing face and fingers junction.

"Anything else?"

"Aside from don't pull our tails, we puff up and that we hens get a tad bit territorial when other hens try to take our rooster away from us. That is just about it, also that when our heat season comes you may need to either stay away from us or you will probably be tied to the bed for the next two weeks till it passes."

That last bit sent a shiver of fear down my spine, I don't know if I can survive two weeks of sexually charged and needy lion-eagle hybrids, I think I will be either run ragged and be in dire need of water and food, or that I will be hiding in my room at the castle for two weeks with the door locked.

"And just when is this heat season exactly?" I asked, afraid that her answer would be 'tomorrow' and that this was pretty much the only warning that I am going to be getting.

"Oh in about a two months, summer is almost over and when fall comes..." Gilda says as she keeps purring.

Two months...two months till doomsday, I hope the castle staff will keep me hidden for those two weeks.

"So what do we do now?" I ask as the three of us are still laying on the floor with many of the tavern patrons are either looking at us as if we are about to fuck there and now or are back to drinking and minding their own business.

And it was the barmaid that explained to me what a flock is that gave us our options in a blunt manner.

"Well if you three are going to be rutting like rabbits than you can either take yourselves back home or go rent a room for the night cause you three can't be fucking here. Cause I sure as the seven hells ain't gonna be cleaning up that mess." the hen barmaid said as she placed down another mug of ale for me along with my beer biscuits before taking my old mug away and went back to work.

The three of us looked at one another before we untangled ourselves and sat back down on the bench but this time my two friends are sitting rather close to me, like pressing themselves into me close. Not like I see anything wrong with this but the problem is that it is making me a tad bit uncomfortable because of how hot it has been lately.

It was a bit awkward for us for a while as we sat there, drinking our cheap ale and eating our scones before we decided to call it quits before we become too inebriated to even walk. Between the three of us, Gilda and Greta know where each other live and know that I live in the palace of royalty but I have no idea where these two live so Gilda had the first honor of showing me where she calls home. Our slightly sluggish walk to Gilda's abode took almost thirty minutes since I can't fly and that it would have been faster if I could but alas I am lacking in the wing department, but anyways we eventually make it to Gilda's home and I must say that it isn't much of a surprise as it was actually one of the houses that is built at the end of a trees in Griffonstone.

I don't know how those homes are even capable of staying where they are without snapping the tree in half but hey, they managed it just fine so I guess that it may involve some sort of magic. Gilda fumbles a bit with the front door, pulling a key out from underneath the small welcome mat before inserting it into the lock and turning the knob, the three of us bumbling inside and I can say that while it is a bit messy it still has that homey feeling to it.

Gilda proceeded to point around and say where everything is at before leading us upstairs and showed us her room.

The room itself reminds me of my own back home, typical college room with things everywhere, bedsheets partially off the bed and on the floor next to the bed is a pair of silky-looking socks and panty's.

Gilda's face was red to the point that I thought her head going to explode out of sheer embarrassment while Greta was snickering to herself while also her cheeks were flushed scarlet. All I could do was tilt my head at the sight because this was something I wasn't honestly expecting to see in this world for a variety of reasons, most of them logical with a few being illogical and outright outrageous.

'...uh, huh, looks something like that does exist in the world...but why? They barely even wear clothes so why in every hell out there do they need stuff like this? Oi! Mysterious voice! I got some questions for you!'

And like magic the voice came although it was cackling like a madman because it must have seen what I just saw unless my mysterious benefactor is normally batshit crazy.

Oh sweet Celestia's teats! I didn't think that this griffon would have such raunchy clothes! Oh delicious chaos this is a feast for the eyes! My favored acolyte of chaos is about to bed his two best friends and he invites me over to watch! To think that you are into voyeurism! What a naughty boy you are! Gahahahahaha!

Of course I should have known that they would do this but meh, can't really anticipate a crazy godly being, I mean can you anticipate Sheogorath from the Elder Scrolls series? I don't think so.

'I only called upon you because if I tried talking I would probably be slurring and would more than likely trip on either them or fall on them, so please just listen to me for a moment before you fuck off to do whatever it is you chaos beings do for fun!'

For a moment I thought I saw something moving in the shadows in the room but I think it was just a trick of the light but for a split second I could have sworn it was something snake-like and it had a pair of wings and limbs that obvious didn't match anything on it.

Oh you are such a sourpuss! You need to learn to relax! Take a load off or maybe in this case, blow a load! Gahaha! Get it? Cause you are finally get to bust that nut after so long that I am surprised they haven't blew out yet!

I am wondering that if I roll my eyes any harder that would they pop out of my head or simply sound like stone grinding against stone from how hard they are rolling.

'Oh for fucks sake, I just called on you because you are old enough to probably know these things so I am wondering why the hell do griffons even have sexy lingerie in the first place?'

Because even griffons need to look sexy for their spouse every once in a while and what better way then to dress up and be like a Hearth's Warming Eve present!

'How is a clothed griffon sexier than a naked one?' I asked this because to me this confused the hell out of me, I am so used to the human standard because come on, we all know that the internet is for porn, everything else is just a free bonus.

How should I know? I don't think any of them are attractive as I!

'Some help you are buddy.' I thought to myself as I continued to stare at the lone panty on the floor.

"So uhh...Gilda, any reason why you got that just laying around?" I asked as I walked over and picked up with a single finger, this was almost like the time I walked into my ex-girlfriend's room with the exception that it was slightly less messy, an empty box of chicken nuggets on the floor, and also a dildo sitting on her nightstand.

At first when I saw the dildo I had thought that she was just a Marvel fan because it was the Infinity Gauntlet, turns out it was the joke dildo called the Infinity Fist. Up until I got here to this world I would tease her for it, that is until she threatened to beat me to death with it and I don't know what hole that fist was inserted into last time.

The blushing griffon could only stutter as she stumbled toward the underwear and when she leaned down to pick them up she fell face first into the floor and when I went to go check up on her I heard the all telling sound of snoring.

I turned to look at Greta who looked like she was also well on her way to falling face first as well so I picked up the half-awake griffon by wrapping an arm around her middle and placed her on the bed before grabbing Gilda as well and placed her next to her friend and after a moment of thinking if I should do this or not I thought 'why not, not like they will remember any of this in the morning' and crawled in as well.

The next morning came a little too soon than I was expecting. I couldn't get a single wink of sleep last night as I felt both griffons lying next to me were nuzzling, hugging and grinding against me the entire night. The amount of purring that is happening around me is immense, it is loud, and I am afraid that if I try to move away that I may get clawed by sleeping griffons who is using me as a source of warmth and as a pillow.

When the dynamic duo finally do wake up and notice what they are doing to me let alone smell me, they quickly scoot away while I am still staring at the ceiling, thinking to myself 'how did I get here'.

Eventually the pair apologized and they just looked so sad at what they did even though it was probably their instincts to try and coat me in their scent so others don't try to take me away. That and with how drunk and horny they were last night I am surprised that was all that they have done to me.

Rolling my eyes and sighing I sit up and grab the two before pulling them in for a hug, my head resting above theirs as I nuzzled the top of their feathers. The reaction I got from the two was a squawk and their bodies entering full fluff mode.

"You know you two shouldn't be embarrassed by what you did, I was somewhat expecting that to happen. I am just happy to know that you two like me that way." I said as I began to stroke their wings, causing them to slightly twitch as I began to hear purring emanate from the two.

"So...ladies, uh...I guess I'll go make breakfast?" I said as I sat up and scooted myself out of bed, releasing a loud yawn as I stretched and popped my back before exiting the room with a pair of hens in tow.

Apparently they weren't expecting me to forgive them that easily let alone cook them breakfast, I guess it must be a griffon thing or something. After breakfast I should take a bath, I must smell like cheap ale, scent of horny griffons, sweat and shame, and from the little tour guide I was given of Gilda's home, her bathroom is rather small and I think that I can have a bit of privacy when I clean myself off. I just have to hope that I don't get a pair of peeping hens spying on me while I cleanse myself of the stench of yesterday.

What a way to end a week, my friends admitted that they like/love me, I am now no longer single, my projects have been approved by the king and a majority of the griffon council approve of it, and most importantly, my secret side project is nearing completion.

The next day was the date of which I was going to be sent to the designated town to construct the fishery and the sawmill, and while normally I would be thrilled to be out and about instead of either being stuck in the training yard getting better acquainted with the floor or one-upping my instructor, or talking to the forge master to check on his progress or even enjoying the time with my friends, but to be gone for what may very well be months at a time...

I would rather get someone else to do the job but I fear that they might fuck it up in some way or be another traitor just waiting to steal what little knowledge that I hand out. So here I am, leaving in a caravan train heading north to Talon's End and establishing a fishery and sawmill to better the lives of the griffons living there all the while maintaining a good relationship with the noble who owns that land. To think that this is how I am going to be spending the last portion of the year, well things could be worse.

Some asshole can see this as an opportunity to steal from the town I am helping because they just got a fresh shipment of raw materials, tools and food.

But nobody is that brazen and bold that far up north, right?

Putting Concept into Practice

Talon's End

This town was called Talon's End because it is where the Griffonian Empire ends and the Minotaur and Bugbear territory begins, this was the last stop merchants and travelers would make before either heading north towards one of the numerous minotaur walled towns and villages or heading east towards the coast to the griffon port city of Shepherds Port for a boat to Equestria.

While some may say that this town is a dirt ball that should be torn down and built over for a lord's vacation home, I say that this town simply needs is some improvements here and there and soon it will be back to its old thriving self. While some of the homes here look like they may fall apart at any moment, these homes have been standing here for the past one hundred years, give or take a few homes being refurbished with new lumber and brick, but there is history here that shouldn't be destroyed because it simply doesn't make enough money for the residing lord to reap for himself.

When we arrived at Talon's End many of its inhabitants were weary of us, thinking at first we were a demolition crew that was hired by their lord to remove them from the land and force them to find a home elsewhere, it took myself and the captain of the construction crew to ease their fears and for us to get to work on what we have been hired to do.

My first impressions of this town is that it strangely reminded me of Riverwood from Skyrim with the exception of any and all humanoids, bestial dogs, chickens, sawmill and evil world-ending dragons hellbent on enslaving the entire world, instead replace them all with griffons and ponies. Oddly enough this town does look a hell of a lot like Riverwood, it has the stone walls on both sides with the river being wide open because honestly, how often do bandits or raiders go hunting towns by boat? Especially when the only raiders here can either fly or burrow through the ground.

Finding a spot to offload the heavy stone bricks, lumber, tools and assorted supplies we will be using for this project was a tad bit hard seeing how large these projects will be and also how much land is available to put these down without having to worry about someone in town making off with something that isn't theirs.

When nightfall came the construction crew and myself had to pitch tents as there wasn't any room in the one tavern this town owns as it was being rented out by a group of minotaurs that had stopped here for the night as they were on their way to Griffonstone for a meeting of sorts. While I could have tried to ask them the reason for their trip and who they were meeting by then I was already too exhausted to even make the attempt due to me assisting the crew offload cargo.

The next day we split the crew into two teams, half of them for the fishery and the other half on the sawmill, the construction captain made sure that each team had their professionals to make the job go faster and smoother as to not take longer than it necessary to get the task done. Digging a massive trench to serve as a second riverbed for water to flow into the new fishery and to power the waterwheel for the sawmill would have been a monumental task for our small crew as we had to create a wall of thickly padded wood and mud to prevent water from moving into the trench as we placed down the foundation for both projects so they don't get washed away in the event a flash flood happens. Luckily for us the trench team had a pair of diamond dogs to assist us and they made the task less monumental and more manageable in the end although a few times we had to rein them in as they were trying to dig the trench either too deep or were trying to outright dig a hole straight down to look for gems.

Day after day and week after week we made progress on the two projects, there was a few accidents that occurred but it was nothing that couldn't be handled with some bandages and booze.

Another thing that happened while we were busy constructing, sawing, hammering and hauling was that the local lord came into town to see what we were doing. The look on the noble griffons beak was that of disapproval and resentment but he could do nothing as it was approved by the king himself and he only begrudgingly acquiesced when he heard that it will help the town make more money in the long run.

I swear its like the word 'noble' doesn't even apply to most nobles these days, to think that their ancestors would be rolling in their graves if they knew just how horrible their descendants are, to only care about themselves, how much coin they can collect, and what they can get away with because of their position of privilege.

And to top it off the noblegriff came to check up on our work each week, lowering the morale of the construction crew with belittling remarks, scathing comments, or outright arguing with either the construction captain or myself.

One of these days I swear I will punch this blueblooded bastard right in the beak and knock him the fuck out, he clearly isn't a noble worthy of his title and lands, if anything it should go to me since I am the one doing his damn job.

And I have several more weeks or months of putting up with his crap.

Oh joy for me.

Nine Weeks Later

It has been nine weeks since I have been ordered to go this town to begin the construction project of the fishery alongside my secret projects of the windmill and sawmill, and if it is successful, then the beginning of several more for years to come to help the river towns and villages help themselves.

Now while I have been here for quite a while the town here have strangely enough been kind to me, well, kind wouldn't be a word I would use as they are more along the lines of tolerating my existence and aren't entirely trusting me and that they take everything I say with a couple grains of salt.

The villagers here are actually not all griffons because when I was told that this was a griffon village I expected it to be exclusively to be occupied by nothing but my feathered friends, nope, instead there are several ponies and one lonely minotaur that all live within this town. I am just happy to see some diversity because a town full of griffons and it is just me as the only outsider there, made me feel a bit uneasy with all of their eyes watching my every move.

And so here I am, watching several carpenter griffons and ponies are putting the finishing touches on the fishery with specially treated wood that won't rot or be ruined by the water it will be submerged in nor would it crack from the cold and frost that prevails this area, then we got the nets with varying sizes of holes for the fishes, and lastly the bait to get the fish to enter the fishery and stay there. With all of these supplies that we have brought with us, we were able to construct four fisheries along the river.

As I stood beside the fisheries, watching the workers go about their business as they put up the walls just as one of the locals came up to me and asked if we are close to finishing up. Turning to see who was talking to me I looked around for a moment before realizing that of course it was a young pony child who was staring up at me all wide-eyed and in wonder as to what I am.

"Did you need something?" I said as I put away the schematic I made for the aquaculture fishery and looked down at the little pony, making out the details for the little one.

The foal in question had cornflower-yellow fur with a reddish-orange mane, green eyes, a pair of small wings, no ass-tattoo that I could see at the moment and based on the voice I think it is a he.

"My friends and I was wonderin' just what are you? You don't look like a diamond dog or a minotaur like my friends say that you are." the little pony said as he stood there, somewhat straining his neck to look up at me as several more young griffons and ponies started to make their way towards me.

Turning my attention to the gathering of younglings that are now surrounding my feet I must say that this is melting my heart but sadly at the moment I do not have time for them.

"I am a human, little pony, and if you can excuse me I am overseeing the construction projects here to improve both the quality of life of those living here, increase the amount of food this village has and also help improve the economy. And if all is successful and nobody tries to destroy what I have created then this prosperous change will spread to the other villages and towns that are along the river so many more can enjoy this gracious gift as well." I said as I turned my attention to a different small pony, and I must say that while I may not like ponies in general thanks to the few that I encountered but these children, they sure can find ways to melt someone's icy heart with those sad eyes, the quivering lip and overall sad puppy look.

Is it wrong that I want to hug these children? I mean, they just look so sad, almost like when your puppy is giving you the sad eyes because they absolutely destroyed yet another flipflop cause they mistook it for a chew toy and I am just a sucker for sad puppies so these little ponies and griffons are the equivalent to them.

"Ya kinda look like a diamond dog, but you are missing your furs, and dem big arms and ya tail!" One of the young griffon children said as he flapped his wings and barely got off a foot from the ground before landing with a *plop*.

"He sort of looks like a minotaur but he is lacking those big horns they got, and the huge muscles! Oh! Are you sure your not a minotaur in disguise and that you are here as a spy?"

I shake my head and laugh a little, to think that these young griffons and ponies think that I am a spy.

Me? A spy? The only one of my kind, a guy that sticks out like a god damn sore thumb in a crowd. If I was in a crowd I would not only be spotted immediately, but I would probably be seen coming a mile away.

"No little one, I am not a spy for the minotaurs, you and I both know that because the minotaur people don't seem like the people to be all for the cloak-and-dagger approach to anything, they are too big, too loud, and way too noticeable to really be a spy. They seem more like the type of folk that meets their problems head on and solves their challenges with a physical approach with little care for diplomacy unless it comes after an honorable duel." I said as I made up some things on the spot cause honestly I have next-to-no-idea on minotaur culture or their way of life, I am just hoping that I am right on what I just said.

But I wouldn't be caught dead getting in a duel with a minotaur, they'd cleave me in half and I would rather keep on living.

As I started to get into my own thoughts, I felt a small hoof poke me in the shin and when I looked down I saw that it was a little unicorn filly, it looks like she has some questions for me.

"Mister, are you a knight?"

"Yes little filly, I am a knight." I said with a hint of a smile, I do love being reminded that I am a knight by children, lets them know that I am a reasonable authority figure and an adult to look up to.

"You don't look like a knight mister, where's your shiny armor?"

"And your squire!"

"And your band of minstrels that play mostly annoying and terrible songs!"

That last one actually made me laugh cause it immediately reminded me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the scene with Sir Robin and his gaggle of bards who either praise or insult him whenever something happens.

Kneeling down to get closer to their height, I simply shake my head and told them the truth of the matter.

"Not all knights wear shiny armor as it does get dirty when worn, when in battle, or simply from the weather and the environment, and those that do wear it mostly wear during ceremonies, fancy parties where they stand around all day, or when they are on a mission given to them by their liege lord."

"I do not have a squire as I think I am not ready for one nor are they required anymore since those times have changed. But if I were to have a squire they would be more akin to an assistant helping me with my tasks at hand."

"And lastly the band of minstrels is mostly for those snobby and idiotic knights that only care about themselves and their image instead of caring about the realm and the people within it. Those knights will always seek to get away from having to do their duties to aid their fellow countrygriffs in their time of need and will do everything within their power to avoid having to fight or risk their own life in the event of a bandit attack or wild beasts invading a town. It is those knights you little ones should avoid, they are not to be looked up to, not to be put on a pedestal and praised but they should be shunned and avoided, it is those that work hard to make your lives easier and safe that should be followed and praised." I said as I patted each of the children on the head as they seemed to like my little chat with them as they soon ran off to continue whatever game they were playing before they came over to talk to me about knights.

'Such good children, I hope they grow up to become good productive members of society instead of horrible little shits that need to be beaten down and thrown into the nearest gulag because they are threat to everyone and themselves.'

With them gone and me being once again alone I returned my attention to the budding fishery and sawmill and could only smile to myself as they neared completion.

The moment both get up and running and start doing what they were made for, the people living in this village will have their lives improved and made easier to refocus on other jobs and tasks that needs to be done. A working sawmill to give to give them freshly sawed wood that can be re-cut to fit the size they require instead of wasting numerous trees to get the same result and a fishery to begin an alternative food source and fish cycle so that the fish can safely traverse the river without having to worry about being overfished and being depleted.

When nightfall came the construction crew and myself were finishing up the fishery as we finally got to putting in the netting for each section of the fishes life cycle so that they don't get eaten by their bigger cousins in the next net over and the last of the heavy iron cogs for the sawmill for the saw to move efficiently and for easy repairs if something were to happen to it. With the sawmill and fishery completed, the construction crew removed the divider in the river and watched as the river was released and its waters rushed into the new path that was created for it, rapidly filling in the fishery with fresh water before moving through and pushing the waterwheel as it turned the gears of the future for the entire village to see.

The watermill is working as intended as the gearboxes connecting the axel to it and the sawmill are now rotating smoothly with little effort and so far from here it looks like nothing is cracked or splintering under pressure.

And now the moment of truth.

Hauling the recently felled large oak tree was a mixture of twelve griffons and ponies, the effort would have truly been herculean if it wasn't for the minotaur that lives here to assist them pushing it up the ramp. With the log now in position I looked at the lumber crew and they all gave me a thumbs up from the griffons and minotaur and a nod from the ponies and with their acknowledgement I pulled the lever and watched as the four metal clamps attach themselves to the log to prevent it from rolling around or damaging the saw, and with a further pull down on the level the inner mechanical engineering of the sawmill sprung to life as it slowly began to dragon the log towards the sawblade as it moved up and down in a slow methodical pace and soon enough the log was sawed in half with no issues.

The sawmill is a success, but now only time will tell if the fishery will be a success story as well, but for now this village now has access to good lumber whenever it needs it instead of having to rely on purchasing it from across the country at an outrageous price.

With the entire town assembled watching the two new additions to their town work as designed, the fishery will now collect a portion of the river trout as they swim by, trapping them within the net and provide a near endless amount as they go through their life cycle in isolation while the sawmill will now provide the sawn logs that the town needs instead of having to pay a high price for the same thing that could be acquired now within their own town. Just looking at the townspeople giving their approval and contentment that their home has been granted a gift of another source of renewable food supply and a steadily supply of wooden logs, they all crowded around me and was cheering my name, a few even lifted me up to throw me in the air.

'So this is what it is like to be recognized and treated like a hero. It feels good, but sadly this isn't my land nor are these my people to look after, I simply went over the presiding lord's head and did a project on his land with the approval of the king and I can bet that the lord won't appreciate what I have just done even if it makes his people's lives easier in the long run.'

While I was expecting to be stuck in this village for at least three to four months to get this project completed in a timely manner, we managed to it in a little less than under two months thanks to the assistance of several townsgriffs, ponies and minotaur for contributing manpower and time to help us. I wrote down the names of those that helped us along with the names of the construction crew and had them carved onto an oak plaque so that all who look upon will know the names of the people who poured their heart and soul into these arts of civil engineering.

The day after the completion of the twin projects, the town of Talon's End put together a small feast in our honor for helping their town in making it more self-sufficient.

As the town was busy getting the feast underway I isolated myself away from the town and was sitting underneath an oak tree, reviewing my other blueprints I had for my other pet projects, one of them I left in the hands of a very capable griffon who knows how to keep secrets and is doing everything within his power to see to it that I get the necessary parts and components delivered to my quarters while I am away. The project that I had in mind will give me an edge in combat and also a means of silencing those that would dare question my authority by speaking up in a foolish manner.

All it would take is a single squeeze of the trigger, and the balance of the world will topple like a deck of cards.

A Feast Disturbed

The feast.

To say it was shoddy would be an insult to the people who made it.

There was a bit of everything from fish and meats for the griffons, salads, breads, fruits and vegetables for the ponies and bits of everything in between for the diamond dog and minotaur. The townspeople were throwing us a celebration for creating them a means to survive in this part of the world and with the amount of surplus supplies of wood and stone, these people will also be able to restore parts of their town as the tools we have brought with us will be donated as well per the king's orders.

While I would have enjoyed this more if my friends were here I guess the construction crew will have to do as suitable replacements to spend some time with cause after all it doesn't hurt to make a few friends at the workplace.

Socializing with the work crew and some of the townspeople wasn't that hard to do since they all saw me as someone that they can depend upon to lead them and help them, a natural leader in their eyes. To the work crew I am a capable foreman that kept them ahead of schedule and made sure that none of them didn't work too hard or get dehydrated from working in the sun for too long. And as for the civilian population, they saw me as a natural leader because I was taking steps to improve the town and make it a better place, far more than their noble lord has ever done for them in the past thirty-six years that he has been reigning for.

Many members from the construction crew and the town had questions for me, most were simple questions of where I am from, if I am a noble from my homeland, how did I get the idea to create such things, if it is true that I am the one responsible for retrieving the Idol of Boreas from the abyss, so many questions regarding their home and if it is my ideas and projects that will be the one to restore the nation to its former glory.

While I couldn't tell them for sure that if my projects will save their nation or not because even I didn't know if it was going to work in the long run, but I sure as shit couldn't tell them that and make them feel like that my assistance is just a bandage on a wound far too large for it to fix. While I would love to hope and believe that my work will help resurrect the griffon empire of old and restore it back to its full former glory, but even I know that to put all of ones eggs into a single basket is almost always asking for failure to drop upon their head for simply thinking that nothing can go wrong cause after all there is that one famous saying.

'What can go wrong, will go wrong.'

So that is why I am laying down the groundworks for numerous projects, spreading my ideas to those that I trust and know that even if the project ends in failure the blowback from it won't be too large to truly set us back and prevent any future steps forward upon the path of modernization and innovation.

It was during the feast did I start to look at the people who I have helped through this project, griffonian citizens who try to make an honest living even during these turbulent times, hired contractors who live by the honor of doing hard work for good pay, never skimping out on quality just to quickly get the job done, citizens whose gods actually play a part in their lives even if they think that they were just cursed with bad luck, these people I am helping are worth the struggles and ass beating that I have received over the past few months. Every single one of these people all have their own hopes and dreams, these dreams are being propped up by their king and by those that they put their trust in and it took me a while to figure this one out but I am now one of those people that is being looked up to, someone to look up to as an example, someone to go to for assistance, someone they aspire to become.

To these people, they are starting to see me as someone to follow, their savior in their time of crisis that they thought that it wouldn't end, a hero to follow and praise for saving them.

But I know that I am no hero, not in the traditional sense at least as I don't rush into burning buildings to save people or climb trees to rescue kittens. No, I am a planner and a schemer, its just that my plans and schemes also end up helping people make their lives easier all the while advancing my own plans to ensure my own survival and to pave the road for my own ambitions.

While everyone and myself was busy eating, drinking, talking and challenging each other to contests of strength and who can drink who under the table, I was busy keeping myself sober as to not be caught off-guard by an assassin or someone that would like to 'acquire' my knowledge for their own people.

But it was during this feast with everyone's guard being lowered and nobody on watch to make sure that nothing sneaks up on them, that in the middle of the night far past the walls keeping the town of Talon's End safe did several approaching figures from the north, staggering, wounded, and far from home.

By the time most of the townsfolk and construction crew were deep into their well deserved revelry, I was busy watching everyone enjoy themselves until I started to hear shouting and simply thought it was some griffons and ponies getting rowdy because of the alcohol flowing between tables but as I strained my hearing to try and pinpoint the general direction of the shouting did it hit me that it wasn't coming from the tables around me but to the north.

Putting down my mug of ale and excusing myself from the partygoers I headed towards the northern gate where the shouting only grew louder until I finally got to the wooden gate and the hollering and shouting was at its loudest. Once I arrived at the gate I didn't even have to wonder if they were friend or foe as I was told that to our north was the minotaur lands and that bugbears don't knock cause if they wanted to come in they would either fly over the wall or break it down with their overweight bulk, so that only left the only option if it being the minotaurs.

Lifting up and removing the heavy wooden block on the gate I didn't get the chance to open the gate as it was pushed in as several minotaurs in varying states of injury rushed and closed the gate behind them and as soon as they got to safety they all collapsed from exhaustion and from their wounds. Rushing over to the least injured of the minotaurs I saw that his wounded consisted of a few arrows protruding from his unarmored left arm, my guess is that he held it up to protect his head from becoming a pincushion.

"What happened to you?" I asked as I tried to asses the situation, I have seven injured minotaurs, one of them with minor puncture wounds while the rest appear to be more serious and quite possibly grievous.

"We were out hunting a bugbear that has been terrorizing one of our towns, but when we stopped to rest after finding it dead we were ambushed...we couldn't see who are attackers were, but they knew how to attack us, they waited till most of us were asleep, than they came out of nowhere and started pelting us with arrows...we lost five of our friends before we had a chance to know what was going on and we ran as fast as we could here. I fear our attackers are still on our trail and that they may be heading this way right now." the minotaur said as he started to yank out the arrows from his arm but after smacking him on the bicep he stopped and looked at me as if I was some kind of stupid.

"Unless you are a trained medic or know how to take care of your injuries, preemptively removing the arrowhead without any antiseptics and bandages is ill-advised. If you keep tugging and pulling on the arrow like that you will simply make the injury worse, especially if it struck near an artery or if it punctured bone." I said as I turned my back to the minotaur and put two fingers to my mouth before letting out a sharp and shrill whistle, hoping to get the attention of some of the partygoers to assist me attend to the injured.

I didn't have to wait long as several tipsy griffons and ponies came out way, many of who was wondering who in the seven hells was the one responsible for that shrill sound but when they saw the injured minotaur and me standing beside them did they partially sober up and rushed towards us.

One of the griffons that came to the sound of the whistle was none other than the head foreman of the construction crew and this guy smells like he just puked not even a few seconds ago cause my god his breath reeks to high heaven.

"Whad'ja doin' all da' ways ou' her' for? An' da' fook ish that?" the blatantly drunk griffon foreman said as he stumbled his way over to me, breathing that foul stench all over me as I had to grab his beak and pointed it away from my head so I could breath mostly clean air.

"These are injured minotaurs you daft fool, very obviously injured and from what their group leader said, they were ambushed before they could pack it in for the night." I said before turning my attention to the others who are helping the minotaurs stand up.

"Take it easy with them, do not agitate their injuries, if the town surgeon or medic is asleep then wake them the fuck up and tell them to get ready cause a whole lot of injured is heading their way."

With the townsfolk and construction crew that showed up started to help move the injured and quite possibly dying minotaur group to wherever this town's medic lives and works, I helped up the lead minotaur and started to escort him after everyone else all the talking to him to try and get some information out of him.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what brings a bunch of you minotaurs all the way down south from your homelands to the empire?" I asked as the minotaur let out a grunt of pain as I 'accidentally' nudged an arrow lodged in his left arm.

The minotaur that is using me as a crutch let out a pained snort before gazing me over, seemingly wondering how something smaller than himself is for the most part managing to shoulder some of his weight.

"For something so small, you are far stronger than you look." the minotaur said as I repositioned him a bit, my grip was slipping and I didn't want to accidentally drop a several hundred pound bull and accidentally make the arrows lodged in his arm go deeper or snap in half.

"I'll take that as a compliment, but that still doesn't answer my question of what you lot is doing all the way down here."

"We...we were hunting a bugbear that came too close to one of the villages belonging to Clan Irons, we thought the thirteen of us could easily handle such a monster on our own. We tracked it down for six days and on the seventh we found it, but it was already dead, pelted with enough arrows to make us almost mistake it for a very large porcupine. When we found out it was dead we cut off its head to bring back as proof of its death although we won't get much from the bounty for not being the ones to kill it, but it was when we camped by its corpse for the night to rest after traveling so far for so many days, we were unprepared when the bugbear's slayers came back to collect its corpse."

"They left its body behind after killing it only to come back to it however many hours later? That seems very wasteful to me, they should have skinned it and took whatever meat it had before leaving the body, not leaving it behind to rot first." I said as we saw the rest of the minotaurs get placed gently on the ground in front of a building, my guess its the town's medic.

"Yeah, it made no sense to me at the time, but when they came back and saw what we did, they must have taken offense and they started shooting at us, Rayne and Aria were the first to fall in the opening salvo...none of us had our armor on and our weapons weren't close enough to help block some of the arrows. When we got up to grab our shields and our swords they came from the bushes and rushed us, we didn't know what was going on as our fire was snuffed out immediately, we couldn't even tell what was trying to kill us, so I made the call to retreat. Our attackers must have planned for that as our way back was cut off...Tayev and Jadzia were cut down by a swarm of those bastards and we knew we couldn't save them as their cries were cut short before we could even get to 'em."

"Those of us that were still alive all ran south, hoping to get here before they could truly get us all but then we lost Livia, she fell into a pit and when we went back to get her she was already dead and was being dragged off to lords knows where. It was after her death that we arrived here as we currently are." The minotaur on my shoulder said as I helped him down to the bench to sit on and while it creaked under the immense weight of thick muscles and his bulk, the bench held together as a griffon wearing what looks like an apron with some blood on it steps out and looks at the two of us.

The griffon question was the town's medic and surgeon and he looks like he has seen better days, what with the slightly sunken eyes, scars that run on his head that look like it was from a close shave, and that his wings look like they were broken once and haven't properly healed. Turning his head to look at me for a moment I pointed a thumb to the big blue-grey minotaur beside me and he gave a nod before going back in.

"Don't worry big guy, the medic will take care of you and make sure you wounds are treated and disinfected. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check and see if any uninvited hostile guests are heading our way." I said as I stood up to follow the griffon in but I was stopped by a fairly large, meaty blue and hairy-knuckled hand clamping down on my right shoulder.

"You...Thank you for helping us, I feared that with our approach and the banging on the palisade would make all within the town to think that we were invading, but you knew that we meant no harm and let us in...how?"

"Well seeing how I was told by the people living here that the only ones that show up at their doorstep are either the minotaurs to the north for their trade routes and the occasional ambassadorial visit, a random bugbear that buzzes around before getting shoo'd away with spears and swords, the rare diamond dog trade caravan that asks for tools in exchange for metal ores and gems, and lastly other griffons that come to do some trade. Seeing how I didn't hear any barking and howling coming through the cracks it sure wasn't the diamond dogs, I would have heard the buzzing of the wings before the palisade getting knocked down, and everyone was already inside so no griffons." I said as the griffon medic came back out and handed me several rolls of bandages, what looks like a bottle of some sort of liquid, and a pair of forceps and pliers.

I had to look at what was given to me for a few seconds before realizing that the griffon wanted me to tend to the minotaur beside me. Bandages to dress the wounds, forceps and pliers for the removal of the arrows, and a mystery bottle filled with an unknown liquid...nevermind, it says on the side of the glass bottle that it is a disinfectant.

While I may not be a fully certified nor fully trained medic, I still know the basics of medical treatment for injuries along with what was taught to me from my training from my instructor so I guess I can attend to the arrow wounds and let the medic do a better job when I am done.

Turning back to the minotaur I give him the sad news that the griffon medic was not going to be tending to his wounds, and instead of him, it will be me.

The minotaur gave me a quizzical look for a scant moment before recovering and immediately questioned me if I have any training or skill in tending to injuries and my response was a simple 'yes'.

"Well, you should probably bite down on this rag and refrain yourself from hitting me when it starts to hurt." I said as I sat beside the minotaur as he took the rag from me and chomped on it all the while giving me a look of unease.

Now, normally I'd be sweat bullets and praying to every single god out there to make sure I don't fuck this up but ever since I underwent training to become a knight all those weeks ago, my nerves are more calm and that I have gained some confidence to handle such situations. Another thing my training taught me aside from knowing what the ground tastes like, is knowing how to treat a variety of injuries that are common that griffons receive which just happen to be puncture and stab wounds of all shapes and sizes along with the occasional broken wing. So here I am, treating a minotaur for puncture wounds from multiple arrows to the shoulder, forearm and bicep with the possibility of infection.

The removal of the arrows was a long process, mostly because I am not used to tending to a minotaur as the few injuries I have worked on were all from griffons who somehow injured themselves either in their training sessions or from their sparring matches.

One by one I tested each arrow to see if they have struck bone and to my relief none of them did, although each slight twist of the arrow made the bull-man glare at me alongside with a snort of pain, next came the gentle removal as I slowly pulled them out one at a time as to not let the arrowhead get loose and fall off the shaft of the arrow as I didn't want to go spelunking for missing arrowheads inside a minotaur's arm and shoulder.

With the slow, methodical and careful removal of each individual arrow I applied the disinfectant at the site of the puncture wound before wrapping the bandage around the wound, tying it up just tight enough that it doesn't cut off blood circulation to the rest of the arm. Removing an arrow wasn't as easy as one would normally think as you can't just rip it out if its not all the way through, if its lodged in a bone, or if it hit something vital, but lucky for me the arrows only hit tightly corded muscle and arm meat.

Of the five arrows that have penetrated his person, I noticed that three of the arrows are of griffon-make as I recognized them as the ones that the royal guards use when they are at the training grounds for target practice or on their perimeter patrols, due to the leaf-shaped arrowhead it has. The other two arrows on the other hand are different, I don't know if they are from the ponies or from the minotaur but they are both of the armor piercing variety, one looks like a thin needle meant to penetrate through chainmail armor since the thin metal only simply needs to bypass a single ring to inflict damage to the wearer while the second arrow is more stubby and is four faced like a square which means it was meant to penetrate plate armor, the same armor that the royal guards wear back at the palace.

Whoever supplied the minotaur's attacks seemed to be giving them a variety of arrows to use but haven't taught them the correct types to use for either attacking predators or killing people.

"Hmm...griffon arrows and two unknown manufactured arrowheads...I wonder who made these two." I said as I examined the five arrows I pulled from the minotaur, wiping the blood from the arrowheads to get a better look as the minotaur does as well, it would seem that he is interested what his attackers used as well.

"Armor killers? Why would our attackers use armor killer arrows when we weren't even wearing metal armor?"

"No idea, maybe whoever your attackers are weren't taught on what different arrowheads can do to certain targets, they just grabbed as many arrows as they can carry and used whatever they picked." I said as I finished wrapping the bandages, taking care not to agitate the injuries before tying it off and standing back to examine my handiwork.

In all its not the best nor neatly done medical aid that I have ever done for someone else but its a start to say the least.

"There we go, that should hold you over until you get a proper medic or doctor to look at your injuries when you return home. Now, I have to make sure that whatever that attacked you didn't follow you here, if they can easily cripple a fighting force meant to hunt a bugbear down then they can probably take over and wipe out an entire town that isn't fully equipped to fight back." and cause honestly, these are minotaurs, in every single game that I played that had them they were always either a miniboss or an elite mook, and if an ambush with a large amount of attackers can cripple a squad of thirteen of them with relative ease, then I fear what they will do to this town if they manage to follow the trail here.

Leaving the minotaur to rest on the bench I went back to the wooden palisade as I inspected where they fell over once they got inside and I noticed that aside from the small blotches of blood they left in the dirt and the hoofprints, the paw and hoofprints from the townsfolk of Talon's End also litter the area, but there wasn't a single dropped weapon or piece of armor for me to 'collect'.

With the gatehouse clear of anything to investigate and collect I climbed up the wooden ladder to the top for a better vantage point to survey the surrounding area and try to find anything that may serve as a sign that either the minotaur's ambushers are coming or for any sign of life that may have been attracted to the scent of the minotaur's blood.

Scanning the horizon and the nearby tree line for anything out of the ordinary resulted in nothing being seen or out of place for the most part.

That is until I heard the sound of an animal howling into the night sky which I thought it was just a timberwolf calling out to its pack, but when I heard what felt like a hundred more howls all at varying distances apart from one another, coming from all directions and that they are growing louder.

There was only one race of people that I know of that howls like that and in such numbers.

Before I could reach for the alarm bell that built into the upper part of the gatehouse along the palisade, something whistling came at me and when I turned to face the direction it came from I felt something whizz by my face and slice across my cheek before I heard it embed itself within the wooden railing behind me. For a moment I did nothing before moving a hand to my cheek to see what touched it, but when my hand met cheek I felt a sting of pain as I recoiled back only to see a blood smear on my fingers as I turned to where the object that sliced me landed and I saw that it was an arrow. The arrow itself was only partially embedded in the wood but I can see the shape of the arrowhead and it made me wince even more when I began to think of what it could have done to me if it struck something more center mass.

"A barbed arrow...well fuck me." I said before grabbing the rope attached to the alarm bell and started to ring the shit out of it with everything I got just as another arrow whizzed by and planted itself into the floor next to the my right foot.

"Everyone wake the fuck up! We are under attack! Diamond dogs have surrounded the town!" I shouted from the upper floor of the gatehouse as a few more arrows came my way, embedding themselves into the railing in front of me or into the roof, one arrow in particular nicked me in the leg as it went between the railings and landed in the dirt floor far behind me.

Another arrow flew at me, this time it pierced the bell I was ringing and broke when the clapper swung back and shattered the shaft into pieces.

"To arms everyone! To arms!"

The Night Raid

I wasn't expecting this to happen on our last day in Talon's End.

One moment the entire town was reveling in the completion of its fishery and sawmill and everyone was having a good time, and the next war came to the town on swift legs and endless cacophony of howls and arrows.

Hell, I don't think anyone in the town was expecting an attack of such size and scale, let alone with such ferocity in the opening seconds of the siege. The diamond dogs only warning that they were about to attack was that howl that echoed from all sides of the town, signaling that we were cutoff from the rest of the world and that help wasn't going to save us in a timely manner.

I thought that I would be somewhat safe up in the gatehouse ringing the bell to alert the town that we were being attacked, but with the hail of arrows coming my way all but told me that no, I was not safe, in fact by ringing the bell and alerting everyone that the diamond dogs are here it simply painted a big fat fucking target on me. In all honesty I didn't think the diamond dogs were that smart to target the person raising the alarm since most of the time they didn't have two braincells to rub together because of how often they do stupid things, but then again they are god damn geniuses when it comes to their warrens and mines, their construction and aesthetics for their warrens differs depending on the clan. So either these dogs are smarter than their cousins that I have met or that their leaders for this raid are smarter than those they are leading.

Another series of arrows came my way, the mixed ammunition denting and breaking against the iron bell as well as sticking into the wooden railing and roof with many others going into the guardhouse I was in. Some of the arrows came close to hitting me while two of them actually nicked my right shoulder and I made the decision that staying up here would eventually get me killed if I stayed in this tower any longer than necessary.

Moving to the ladder I slid down the smooth wood and jumped to the ground below but the mud was thicker than I was expecting as when I made contact I sunk a good two inches into the earth and feared that my shoes would get sucked in and get removed from my feet or worse I twist an ankle at what amounts to the worst possible time in the history of worst timings but luckily for me the gods were being merciful to me this cursed evening and didn't cripple me.

"Fucking shite!" I shouted as I nearly ate shit from jumping to the ground as arrows continued to rain from all sides as griffons and ponies galloped and ran towards anything that can constitute as cover, screaming and shouting in fear.

An unfortunate few were not so lucky as they were hit by a few arrows, not enough to kill them but more than enough to take them out of defending the town for the time being. With ponies and gryphons alike getting hit with arrows and myself getting nicked by a few, I did the only sensible thing a man can do in a situation like this.

"Everyone get to cover! Get under some tables or back into your homes or a nearby building to hide in! Stay away from the windows and whatever you do don't go outside unless you have a shield and are moving to try and save someone!" I shouted as loud as I could from where I was as moved away from the safety of the wall and pressed myself against the nearby guard station as another wave of arrows comes sailing over the walls.

The arrows kept raining down all around me and quite possibly throughout the entire town for what felt like several minutes, and when the impact sounds of arrows finally came to an end I looked around and I saw that the ground was littered with arrows a lot of them are broken while little less than a fourth were reusable, perfect for us to return to the dogs and see how they like being pelted with a random assortment of arrows. Looking around the open roads of the town and seeing that there are a few injured civilians now being herded into homes, I am thinking that the dogs weren't aiming to harm anyone quite possibly to scare them into hunkering down so they can get closer to the town without getting shot at or have a rock dropped on them.

With a calm moment to myself I gave myself a quick check down to see how badly I was injured from those arrows and after a fast scan of where I am feeling pain I let out a sigh of relief that there was no true penetration, just cuts that sting like hell.

"If any of you are part of the town guard, get your collective asses to the gates and shut them tightly! We don't have much time before they slam against the walls and we can't let them breach the gates! All civilians make your way to the town hall and stay there, it is the most defensible structure here and it will keep you safe till reinforcements arrive to assist us in driving off these dogs! Whoever is the fastest flyer in this town get over here, now!" I shouted as I scanned the area and saw a couple of gryphons and ponies that have been hit with arrows are trying to crawl to safety all the while howling and wailing in pain, a few weren't moving at all.

'Why is this happening? The guard station a day south from here said that the diamond dogs in the area actively avoid our side of the border because they are too busy fighting the minotaurs after a deal gone south. So why the hell are they here?'

My mind was racing to try to find out why these dogs were here but at the moment it was only grasping at straws as I heard another wave of arrows impact with the walls and floor around me.

'Is it because we took in those minotaurs? Are they attacking us because we are harboring enemy combatants in their little skirmishes? If so then they should know that once word gets back to the king that the diamond dogs of the Ruby Mountain Range have attacked a griffon settlement than war will be declared on them. They should be smarter than this to risk opening a second front over a bunch of bulls that was traveling south.'

After that wave of arrows ended a griffon quickly divebombed next to me and stood at attention, my guess this was one of the town guards that was off-duty at the time.

"You wanted to see me sir?" the griffon in question asked me as I gave him the quickest of look overs, light brown fur and feathers, green eyes, a lithe build, well-built wings, a good flyer. Perfect.

"Yes, when there is a pause between the volleys I need you to fly as high as possible and make your way towards the nearest guard outpost and tell them we need aid, and keep on flying to ever other nearby outpost until you can't fly anymore. A single outpost won't be able to scare these dogs off but at least five of them will, tell them to circle overhead like a murder of crows and to rain arrows down upon them until they start fleeing to the hills in panic."

"A-are you sure sir? The moment those d-diamond dogs see me, I will become a pincushion for sure!"

"What is your name?"

"It's Pippin, sir?" The griffon said in a confused manner, wondering why I wanted to know his name and his question will have its answer.

"Pippin, this is very important, I need you to fly to the nearest military outposts and to bring whatever aid you can because I fear that Talon's End in all likely hood will not survive to see the next sunrise." I said this with a grim tone to my voice, cause in the history books back home whenever there was a siege in the early days of humanity, an attack on a small village by a larger force always ended with the village being burned to the ground and all within it lost.

"B-but sir you're a-" Pippin stuttered out those words but I cut him off, knowing exactly what he was going to say.

"Yes I know I am a knight, but being a knight doesn't make me invincible nor does it mean that victory is guaranteed. It just means that I have been properly trained to fight with honor and integrity but all of that training doesn't really amount to much when the enemy doesn't fight with honor. This is a fight of life and death, those diamond dogs will kill those that resist and enslave the rest, are you afraid of doing your duty of bringing aid to your home against those that will take everything away from you?"

From what I learned about the diamond dogs from the history books these griffons have available to them and what is true, most dog clans enslave not only their own race from conquered clans and tribes, but also that they enslave the races of those around them if they think that they can get away with it. The books also state that they tend to treat their slaves poorly due to either not knowing about their slaves dietary needs or simply not caring because they think that they can easily get more slaves by raiding more nearby settlements, sadly for the few clans that don't practice slavery they get lumped in with the rest of the dogs and when those demanding justice for the crimes of the majority, often times they instead attack the minority only to find out after the bloodshed that they attacked the wrong clan.

"No sir I am not afraid of doing my duty! I am just afraid of dying..." Pippin says with a bit of fear in his tone and if I was in his shoes, if my commanding officer told me to make a run for it through heavy enemy fire to make it to friendly forces fall away to get them to help their group, I would probably tell them to go fuck themselves but then again if I didn't go for help then I would die with the rest of them.

"Boy, we are all afraid of dying but it comes for us all eventually. It doesn't matter when we die, but how we lived up to that point for when we make our destined rendezvous with death itself we can look back and hopefully be proud of what we have accomplished before we shuffle off this mortal coil." I said with a bit of grim look on my face cause I know that my clock is ticking and that I have at most maybe fifty or sixty years before it is my time to take a dirt nap and I feel like that isn't enough for what I have planned for this country. If there was a way for me to live forever or at the least a little longer, I'd take it just as long as the price for it isn't too high.

In truth I may be putting on a brave face in front of this frightened griffon but I am actually afraid of what is going to happen when they either run out of arrows or decide to rush the walls cause at that moment we are all royally fucked and that we are all going to die. Well, most of us will die, those that don't will be enslaved to work in the mines till they die or are too weak to work and are released or killed.

"So hear me Pippin, as soon as there is a lull in the volleys raining down, I need you to take flight and fly as fast and as hard as you possibly can before heading straight for the nearest outpost. Don't stop for anything and whatever you do, do not look back. Your one and only job right now is to ensure that help gets here in time, and if it doesn't then ensure that outpost avenge us."

Patting him on the shoulder and giving him a nod before looking around the clearing I saw that the griffons and ponies of the town are using tables as shields as they scuttle across the ground to retrieve the injured and dead.

The arrow rain continued to fall on Talon's End for another two minutes before it eventually came to an end and when it did I gave Pippin a pat on the back and like a bolt from a crossbow the lad took off with all possible haste as he rocketed towards the sky before heading southwest to what is hopefully the nearest griffon base. Turning to look at the village I saw that the hail of arrows did plenty of damage to the buildings what with the broken windows and damaged wooden walls, but the true damage that was done was from those that have been caught outside when the arrows came down full force.

From where I am standing, I count thirteen bodies that aren't moving, thirteen griffons and ponies dead on my watch and who knows how many more in the other parts of the village and that is not even counting those that have been injured over there and here.

I can hear the shouts, the crying, the wailing widows and whimpering young, the sounds of those that have lost someone dear to them.

These dogs will pay for this...I don't know how I will go about this, I don't even think I even know where the dog clan is holding up so I can ask the king if we can lay siege and decimate them for this but sadly I don't think he would agree to this request let alone what with everything he has on his plate at the moment. But if I can show him what has happened here, show him the ones responsible for this attack, I think I can get him to change his mind, if I can survive that long to get to him and tell him this.

"Sir Knight! Are you okay?" A voice called out from the discordant atmosphere and as I tried to locate where the voice came from I soon enough saw that it was from one of the royal guards that came with me as an escort for this mission.

Waving at the guard I watched as he flew over and land beside me before giving a bit of a salute then returns to a standing posture, his appearance at first looked that of any other griffon of brown fur and feathers but when he removed his helmet I saw that he was of a subtype of griffon.

Back in Griffonstone I thought that there was only the one type of griffon and it was the typical griffon with the bird head, bird front forearms, bird wings on a lions body, but during my time in the tavern and while training with the guards I saw that there was actually more than the typical griffon as I saw those with more feline features like cat-like ears, feathered tails, lion front paws and bird hind legs, then there is the grounded griffon with no wings but they are built like a brick shithouse, demigryphs the locals call 'em, pretty much griffons that laid with ponies of the land variety and was more griffon than pony.

This guard griffon, one Tychus Gerflie, was somewhat dirty and had what looked like blood on his armor, gave me a salute before starting to talk.

"Sir, we are surrounded by all sides and there is no way out from the ground. While those of us that can fly can easily pick you up along with those that can't fly but we will tire out before long and those dogs can simply wait for us to come back down before grabbing all of us. I wasn't expecting diamond dogs to be this smart to encircle the town and to get enough arrows to let loose on us for several minutes, at least they weren't smart enough to set their arrows on fire to burn the town down, so lucky us I guess." Tychus said as he put his helmet back on, his ears fitting in the small ear slots so he can still hear without it being muffled.

"Yeah, lucky us, but they still have us surrounded and we can't fly nor use the river to escape, all we can do now is hold out and hope that reinforcements get here in time to break the encirclement or else we are all royally fucked." I sniped back at Tychus, at the moment my mood was fouled and that I wasn't really in the mood for any smartass remarks or comments.

A plan was needed to stall for time, and one had just came to mind...

"Get out there and tell all of the guards to arm themselves with any bows and crossbows they can find get their hands on along with as much ammunition they can carry, take to the sky and start strafing those dogs with bolts and arrows till you run out. And as for the others, spread the word to all those that can still act to collect the wounded and dead, the young, old, infirm and those that can't fight, send them to town hall as it is the most structurally sound and well-built building in this village, it can handle an attack as long as they dont try to burn it down. Tell them to go there and hold out while we hold them off for as long as possible, hopefully our help will get here in time before we are all dead or marching underground in chains." I said to the guard griffon as I mentally went over the plan in my head, it sounded stable and sound to me, have them do flyovers and fire the same arrows that came our way back at them and hope that our arrows slows them down or at the very least, kill some of their officers to disorganize them.

"So that is the plan then sir? Pelt them with fast attacks and hold the line till reinforcements arrive from Fort Daggerpoint and push the dogs out of here? I don't think the griffs and ponies here can hold out for that long against such a large force."

"I know that Tychus, I know...but we have to hold out for as long as possible cause if we don't we all know what will happen to this town, so lets not let that happen. Just tell them what needs to be done and pray to the gods to watch over us." in all I really don't think that we will last long against such a large horde of dogs, let alone all or most of us getting out of this alive or in one piece.

"I see, sir, I'll get it done." and with that said I watched as the young private spread his wings and took off, flying low to each and every single group of civilians while I tried to steady my nerves for what is to come.

I was hoping that the peace and calm that I managed to dig out for myself in this little alcove would last long enough to finally steel my nerves and harden my resolve to come up with some sort of defense plan to save as much of this village as possible, but what I got instead was an untimely guest.

Oh don't look so glum my favorite little helper! You know I won't let anything bad happen to you so turn that frown upside down!

"Ma'am, I am looking so 'glum' right now because this village I was changing for the betterment of it and as a part of your 'plan' to fuck with Fate's plans, is currently surrounded by diamond dogs who decided to pelt said village with arrows, so excuse me if I am not radiating happiness and joy at the moment." I said to my patron in the most annoyed tone I could dredge up as I gave this area of the village another once over, seeing ponies and griffons scurrying about trying to help each other while others started to gather arrows for the defense plan.

Now don't get snippy with me boy.

"Well maybe if you showed that you cared about your only servant maybe I would be a little happier, I got nicked with arrows and I just witnessed a lot of innocent griffons and ponies get killed, so excuse me if I am not in a more cordial mood at the moment." I snapped back at my patron, I was not in the mood for any of her bullshit at the moment.

Nicked? Who would be so bold as to attack my favorite peon?

"The diamond dogs outside this village. I don't know what they want or who they are after but they killed plenty of innocent people tonight and that won't end here cause I know that even more are going to die if they get in."

Why don't you just leave this village to its fate? I won't let my favorite peon get killed protecting a bunch of flying feather-dusters that foolishly believe in a bunch of old gods that lost their grip on their faithful masses when their objects of faith disappeared over the years.

"Wow, you really expect me to abandon these people to slavery or death? It's gonna be hard to set change upon the world when the place where change is happening becomes a ghost town and no one commits to the change."

Yes, because if you die I have to find someone else to replace you and this world is lacking in chaotic beings that can handle the power of chaos without it corrupting their body and mind in the process. You should be thanking me for saving you twice now and its hard to be showing me your gratitude if your dead.

"Wait...what do you mean you saved me twice? Don't you mean to say you saved me once with Tazul?"

That...is something I have to discuss with father about but I do believe you are due for some answers...but anyways I still strongly advise that you skip town and leave this place to its fate, but you won't, will you? Nah, I can see into your mind, you are planning on defending this town and making these dogs pay for their insolence...returning their arrows to the dogs in rapid skirmishes in the skies while ushering the commoners to a safe location before waiting on help to arrive. Clever, but will the dogs willingly wait long enough for you to complete your plan I wonder?

"I don't know, but its better than rolling over and waiting for death."

Indeed...fine, I don't approve of your plan but you are so dead-set on seeing it through to the end, something that I love about you and the reason why I picked you to be my agent. Good luck out there space cowboy, don't get killed again now cause there is only so much I can work with.

"Wow, your vote of confidence just fills me with what I need to see through the day." I said with so much sarcasm that one could probably get slapped in the face with it. Honestly, it annoys me that this goddess that I am slaving away for is so uncaring about those that I have to work with, at least fake it when talking to me.

And like that I didn't hear anymore from my not-so-benevolent-and-caring benefactor, leaving me to my own devices as I watched another griffon approach me, this time with two of the town guards walking closely behind him.

The griffon in question was the very definition of old, older than Grandpa Gruff by at least a decade or two, his feathers are all grey and silvered out as the original deep brown color has faded almost entirely away. My guess he is either the village elder or the mayor, but either way he must be the one in charge if he has an armed escort with him.

The old and haggard griffon looked at me with tired eyes and regarded me as if I was some sort of hero as he motioned for his two guards to stay back as he came towards me and stopped a few feet away.

"So, you are the knight our king has sent to our home...you look less like a dog and even less like a minotaur, and you are definitely no griffon nor pony, but whatever you are you have my thanks for helping the village in its time of need, far more than anything than that highborn griffon that owns this land. I would have talked to you when you first arrived to our little village, but I fear that my age is starting to creep up on me and I was bedridden during your stay here." the aged griffon said before coughing into a talon, his age really has hit him like a sledgehammer, just how old is this codger anyways?

"Sir Knight, those feral dogs out there are attacking my home, I sure hope you have a plan to get us out of this." the elder griffin asks me as tell him the plan that I came up with even though it is more along the lines of stalling them for as long as possible.

The village elder nods his head as he hears my plan and for the most part he agrees with it until he spoke up about what to do if more arrows come raining down.

"Is there somewhere for everyone to hold up in and have to worry about getting shot?"

"Yes...yes there is, the town hall. It was built with granite from the local quarry with slate stone roofing, its pretty fireproof from what I was told when it was first built over thirty years ago but I could be wrong."

"Is there another way out of the village that won't get seen by the diamond dogs?"

"Yeah, the emergency tunnel that was made underneath town hall in the event the village gets surrounded. We never used it cause we never had to...never thought that we would be attacked by bandits or bugbears, let alone an entire clan of dogs looking for easy prey.

"How far out does it go?" this had my interest as this was a bit strange, griffons building an underground tunnel? What next, diamond dogs building blimps to fly?

"It goes into the forest, deep enough to the south into the forest, that it's at least one...maybe two days to the nearest outpost." the elder said before coughing into a talon, his age clearly showing, I am just waiting for a cane to be placed in his talons or a walker.

"Get everyone into the town hall, if the dogs breach the walls and surround us I will need you to lead them to safety while those of us that stay behind will try to get you as much time as possible." I told the elder, his armed escorts bristled slightly at my demand but they relented when they elder nodded his head.

"So you plan to have a last stand while the rest of us escapes? Very brave of you, but also foolish, you should know that we griffons always fight to defend our home, we always have for generations so don't think we won't fight to keep our homes safe from these vile dogs grubby mittens." the elder griffon said as shook a fist at me, I guess he didn't like that I told him to take everyone and flee through the tunnel.

I forgot that griffons are notoriously known for violently defending their homes just like how a mother griffon will violently protect her cub from anyone that would try to harm their little bundle of joy. From the few documents I have read, griffons will fight beak and talon to keep their homes safe from feral predators and from those that they deem a threat, proof of this was when the minotaurs tried to steal this region from the empire during its early inception, the end result was that the griffons kept the land while the minotaurs had their nose bloodied.

Pinching the bridge of my nose and letting out a sigh, I realized that this old fucker wasn't going to budge on the matter and that this village is about to lose a whole lot more people when the time comes to defend it. I swear its like these griffons are intentionally trying to make my job harder in trying to keep them alive!

"Fine...fine, just, tell the villagers to head straight for town hall, from there we will hold off the dogs till reinforcements arrive. With the dogs stuck between whatever help arrives and ourselves they will either try to surrender for their own lives and safety, fight harder to win or retreat back to their warrens. Just do me a favor, try not to get killed out there, and also that if the fighting is looking bleak and victory is impossible, get everyone out of here and head to safety." I said with a groan, somewhat knowing that the elder will ignore my orders when the time comes but here I was hoping that he would at least tell those that want to live to make a run for it.

The elder eventually left me alone to carry out my plan and after a few minutes of waiting Tychus came back with several griffons carrying longbows and quivers filled with assorted arrows they have recovered throughout Talon's End.

I looked over the several griffons that Tychus brought back with him, several are sporting minor injuries ranging from cuts and bruises, thankfully none of them been punctured by arrows. The griffons that have been brought before me are all giddy and antsy, probably from what they have been told that they will get their chance at revenge, that and probably payback for ruining a rather enjoyable party.

"I take it that this is all that can be spared?" I asked, already knowing the answer was going to be a 'yes', but I had to ask anyways because I was hoping that I would be getting at least up to two or maybe even three dozen, but not this time.

"Aye, these are the only ones that volunteered, the rest are aiding the wounded and are busy helping the citizens evacuate to town hall." Tychus said as he turned to look at the 'volunteers', most of them look like they haven't been in a fight nor a small skirmish in their entire lives.

"Well, I guess this will have to do for now, hopefully we don't lose anyone else to those dogs tonight." I said as I ran the plan one more time in my head before I announced it to those that have assembled before me. While I was busy doing that, Tychus came over to me and handed me a bow and a quiver filled with assorted arrows, some of arrows still had mud stains on them.

Here is hoping that it doesn't go in one ear and out the other, cause if it does then we are all royally fucked, with no lube.

"Alright, here is the plan, all of you will be broken up into teams of three, each of you will strafe all along the diamond dog lines and fire arrows at any of them that looks like they are wearing fancy armor or just looks better off, those would be the officers and by taking them out you will start a power struggle as they fight over who gets the armor and the now vacant station. With the dogs fighting one another for supremacy over one another it will buy us a little more time but eventually they will sort themselves out and then they will be back to attacking us which leaves us with holding out for as long as possible to reinforcements arrive to save our asses."

"Any questions?" There was none from the gathered griffons, they all know what is at stake.

"Good, now get to it, we don't know if they have any more arrows left or when they are about to attack us in earnest so now is the best and perhaps the only time we will get to throw them off balance! So fly! Rain death upon those that brought ruin to your homes!" And with that said I watched as the griffons took flight, Tychus being one of them as he led two other guards into the sky and headed north while the others broke up into their own small teams and went it separate directions to attack their own targets.

While the griffons flew off to do what needed to be done, I gave the bow that was given to me a once over, testing it out to see how durable it was before grabbing the quiver and headed back to the guard post above the gate I was at before it became a juicy target for the diamond dogs. The climb back up was easy and the view remained the same, a large open area around the village with the trees just beyond it, and partially sticking out from the tree line was the diamond dog horde, I don't know what they are waiting for nor why they are here, but what I do know is that they attacked first.

With a sea of dogs to the right and an equally large sea of dogs to my left, and yet here I am, stuck in the middle of this shithole with everyone else trapped inside this despair sandwich.

Taking out an arrow from the quiver I gave it a once over to see what I have drawn and saw that it was an armor-killer, perfect for taking down an armored target, but I don't know how far these will fly so I will put this one aside for now and pulled out what might as well be irony to me. Pulling my hand away from the quiver I turned the arrow around to see what it is and I couldn't help but frown a bit as it was a barbed arrow, the same one that cut my cheek, in fact I think this is the same arrow that cut my cheek.

'Out of all the flavor of arrows out there, why did it have to be you? Well, time to return the favor.'

Placing the arrow on the bowstring I assumed the archer stance and aimed down the arrow before lifting the bow until it was a good enough of an angle before letting the string loose, launching the arrow towards the sea of dogs. I didn't have to wait long for the arrow to land as I heard a single solitary yelp of pain that soon after several more yelps of pain rang out throughout around the village as the griffons began their retaliatory attack as they let loose their own arrows at anything that looked like an officer in the dog army.

Thankfully for us that the dogs are using torches to illuminate themselves to grant us sight on their current positions, at least it saves us the time to try and find them before attacking, I just hope that those that are carrying the torches drop them and light themselves and those around them on fire.

This exchange of arrows lasted longer than the dogs did due to me telling the griffons to specifically target those that look important and not to my surprise the dogs began fighting one another as the power gap has been created for their groups and that they are now seeing who is the new top dog. I don't know how long this little strategy of mine will last but for every minute the dogs are stalled means that we are a minute closer for reinforcements to arrive to save us all. I also don't know if this will get me in trouble for killing officers in what amounts to a warzone but desperate times calls for desperate measures to ensure that as many griffon and pony in this town comes out alive.

With myself being unable to fly and get a much more clear shot at those that can be identified as officers, I have regaled myself to the duty of simply shooting arrows into the army of dogs to injure or kill as many of them as I can. I didn't even have to wait long for myself to run out arrows to let loose upon the horde but when I did I simply went back down the ladder and saw that the ponies and griffons have done as instructed but I also saw a few faces peeking out from their windows from their homes.

'Why are they staying in their homes? Don't they know that when the dogs breach these walls that those that stayed behind will be the first to be killed or captured? And what of their children if they have any? Are they really gonna think that the diamond dogs are gonna spare them and leave 'em behind when they haul their parents away? How stupid are these people to think that the dogs won't scour every inch of that building to make sure that nothing of value is left behind? And also that they are dogs! They can easily sniff out anyone that is hiding! I swear its like some of these bumpkins have forgotten what is waiting for them outside these walls!'

Shaking my head and letting out an annoyed and angry sigh, I walked my unhappy ass to townhall and saw that the last of the reasonable and smart ponies and griffons are now walking inside and while it may be cramp inside, at least they will be safe from any more attacks from the diamond dogs for the time being.

Waiting outside the townhall was a few of the town guards, all of them on alert and as I approached them they bristled and was about to point their weapons at me until they saw my face relaxed their guard, happy to see that I wasn't a diamond dog that somehow snuck into the town. When I got to the front doors I asked them how bad is it inside, their response was mixed but for the most part the citizenry are accepting of what is going on and that they dead have been moved to one room while the wounded another room with the town healer was doing the best that he can to tend to the wounded.

Before I could enter the building, one of the griffons gets in my way and in a hushed tone asked me a question that so many of the people inside have right now.

"How bad is it out there?"

"We are surrounded on all sides, I don't know what those dogs are waiting for but for the moment it seems that they are content with standing in the tree line." And in truth I don't know just how many dogs are out there, just by the amount of torches and howling I can somewhat safely assume that there are a shitload out there, maybe a thousand, maybe more, I sure as shit don't know until morning comes.

'If we survive that long...'

"Is this a blessing in disguise or a curse in waiting?" The guard on the opposite side of the door asked as I shook my head.

"I don't know, but here is hoping that whoever is leading these dogs are inexperienced in the ways of warfare."

'And here is hoping that the dogs soon enough get the hint that help is coming and that many of them will die if they don't get the hell out of here now.'

With the two guards returning to their post I push open the doors and see that inside is absolute chaos.

Mothers trying to calm their children down, fathers staying close to their families to try and keep them safe, guards posted by the windows keeping both an eye out for any diamond dogs and an eye on the civilians to make sure that they don't get too rowdy and start a fight and injure themselves or anyone else cause right now we don't need any infighting.

Giving a nod to the guards on duty I made my way to the elder's office on the second floor and with a few raps of my knuckle on the oak door I heard a muffled voice before a much louder 'come in' from beyond the wooden barrier. Taking a deep breath before exhaling to calm my fraying nerves I grabbed the doorknob and gave it a twist before pushing the door and stepping in and closing it behind me, the elderly griffon lifted his head as I saw that he was holding a picture frame in his talons, a picture of what exactly, I don't know but it must be important enough for him to have it framed and in his office.

"Ah, Sir Knight of Griffonstone, was there something else that you would need from me?"

Taking a brief look around the room I saw that it was somewhat a mixture of an office and a bedroom, a bed laying in the corner, the desk and chairs in the middle, a small table for eating in another corner, not much but eh, its his office not mine.

"No, I am here just to let you know that our retaliation strike is underway. The griffons I gathered together are targeting any officers that they can see with the end result being the dogs fighting one another to fill in that power vacuum as I have seen this happen several times before during my time in the warrens beneath Griffonstone. With the dogs fighting and killing each other to see who becomes the next top dog of the group we are buying ourselves more time to hold out, and here is hopefully that it lasts till dawn so we can get a better view of what we are dealing with." I said and in truth I know how long it takes for a group of dogs to firmly cement who is the top dog when it comes to groups that are normally up to ten dogs that lasts for at least a few hours, but with how large this army appears to be I am guessing and hoping it takes a day or two to get themselves reorganized.

"That is good...very good...but I do hope that flyer you sent off makes it back in time, too many lives hang in the balance for them to be goofing off, or worse, be fleeing for their lives and have abandoned us to our fate." the elder says as I think back to the griffon I sent to get help, myself now wondering if he is doing the task that has been given to him or if he has ditched us to save his own skin.

"Don't be having those thoughts elder, have some faith in your people. I know that Pippin will be back soon, maybe he will be back tomorrow with an army at his back?" I said as I too am wondering if he is doing his job or fucked off and left us to hang.

"Here is hoping that case will be true...I am truly getting too old for this shit."

And with that I left his office and townhall before going back to my assigned room at the tavern to grab my armor and my sword, I'd rather not be caught off guard and be without a proper weapon nor my armor to defend myself.

Putting on the armor didn't take me long as one of griffons that is under my command helped me put it on and with it worn I went back to the old hunting ground the gatehouse to work the nightshift as a guard to see if anything would dare try to come my way.

'This is gonna be a long night...I wish I had my music with me.'

A Few Hours Later

It is now midnight, the dogs are still snarling and howling outside but they have gotten closer to the walls. They are close enough that within a minute they will be knocking on the gates and trying to get in but far away enough that it is still hard for me to tell apart those that are officers from the foot soldiers.

From the few torches that are at or near the front of sea of dogs, a wall of shields line up before them, keeping the forward dogs safe from any attack but with the village severely lacking with the means to properly defend itself the shield wall has been made unnecessary.

Just looking at the sea of puppers is making me a little worried for my health and safety but I pushed those thoughts aside as I stared to formulate a plan of sorts on how to deal with this mess that I have found myself to be in.

'Whoever is leading these dogs is smarter than the rest of them as they are holding back their forces from simply attacking the village enmasse since they have the numbers to pull it off without a hitch. What are they waiting for? Who are they waiting for? Who are they after and if after nobody, why attack this village at all? Are they trying to piss off the griffon empire cause attacking one of its villages is a great way to attract that sort of attention.'

As I was thinking to myself, a pair of griffons land behind me and without turning around I asked if they needed anything from me.

"No sir, we were just making our rounds and seeing if you were about to head off to rest."

"I can't rest knowing that the enemy is out there watching our walls for any sign of weakness. I will stay up here till dawn, tell the guards that are on duty that when four hours pass to alert the next group of guards to take their shift, we must appear that we are always vigil and alert at all times. See to it that they know, we cannot allow these curs to know just how understaffed we are." I said as I suppressed a yawn, fully knowing by now that I would be asleep in a somewhat nice bed.

"Your will be done sir, we will not fail you!" and with that the griffons took off, flying around the village alerting the guards and the citizens what the new plan is.

Now alone once more I squint my eyes in the distance, trying to make out individual dogs but sadly my eyes are not those of an elf or griffon so all I see is a unorganized mess.

'And now we play the waiting game.'

Even More Hours Later

When the dawn finally came I saw that the dogs haven't moved from their positions, in fact...I think they didn't get a wink of sleep as well cause from here I can see plenty of them yawning and nudging one another to stay awake.

'I have pulled all-nighters before, this is nothing new to me and I am used to running on empty, these dogs however, have never pulled all-nighters nor are they used to being awake for far longer than they should be. Too bad that I will need some sleep soon, I don't want to fight them when I can barely stand let alone focus on who is swinging at me.'

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long for my vigil to end as a small team of griffons landed behind me

Slightly turning my head to see who arrived I saw that it was Tychus and another guard that came with me on this trip.

"Anything to report?" I asked as I suppressed the urge to yawn, I really wish these griffons had coffee or even an energy drink cause I can sure go for one of those right about now.

"No sir, from the compiled words of those on duty last night, the dogs haven't move an inch and many of them look like they are about to fall over on themselves from exhaustion and lack of sleep."

"Good, with nothing changed then we can resume keeping them at bay and harassing them until reinforcements arrive. Keep me alerted to any new development." I said as I returned my attention to the dog wall.

I didn't have to wait long for something to happen.

As the griffons took flight and went to tell the others to keep a watchful eye, the deep bellowing rumble of a war horn blares from the diamond dog lines, and with that horn all of the dogs started to one by one howl in tune with the horn.

The griffons and ponies in the village began to scramble to their positions, grabbing swords, axes and spears and steeling themselves for what is to come. To the griffons and ponies that reside within the walls of their village, many of them thought that this day would never come, but for myself and many others, they knew that this was an eventuality.

"Griffons and ponies of Talon's End, get to your posts! These dogs dare to think that they can take everything from you, prove them wrong and force them back from whence they came! For the empire!"

The Siege of Talon's End

Dawn has come and with it a fresh new batch of hell is approaching.

The war horn of the diamond dog army is being blown and the dogs are responding to its call with howls and barks while the defenders of Talon's End are scrambling over themselves as they move into defensive positions, ready to give their lives to protect their families and home.

From my vantage point in the guardhouse I can see that the diamond dog army that is here is actually smaller than what I had originally thought it was. From the thousands I was expecting that had this village at its absolute mercy, it turns out that it was nothing more than maybe a little less than two thousand dogs that are now closely surrounding the village.

When the bellowing from the horn pitters out and comes to an end, the dogs standing behind the massive shield wall immediately break rank and lose cohesion as several of their new officers give the order to charge at the walls while the few original leaders struggle to bring the rabble to heel.

"And so it begins."

The great fuckening of our time...no wait that's not it, I mean the greatest battle of our lives.

The horde of disorganized dogs rushed toward the walls, many of them moving on all fours and abandoning their weapon to move faster due to forgetting that they had sheaths and belts for their weapons while the rest were running on their hind legs and waving their weapons in the air like they just don't care. The sight of the dogs still not being a completely coherent army gives me a spark of hope that they won't be able to properly coordinate their forces and allow us to pick and pry their squads apart.

'The damage we have done to the dogs last night by killing their officers appears to be more substantial than I was lead to believe, the new top dogs haven't sworn loyalty to their top alpha so these d-dogs are probably considered rogue elements by the larger army and they may just leave these ones out to dry.'

"Here they come! Get ready and hold fast!" I shouted as I drew my longsword and held my ground as those behind and below me by the gates drew their own weapons of spears and swords as they held their ground and waited for the dogs to attack the gates.

Fortunately for this village that its walls are built thick and sturdy with the poles being buried deep to prevent them from being so easily moved and being three poles thick so they can't be easily breached. Watching the wave of dogs collide with the walls and gates with less organized intensity brought a thin smile to my face as they struggled to break down the walls and gates with their bodies alone.

Some of the diamond dogs were apparently smart enough to try and climb over their brethren and jumped onto the walls to try and climb over while two jumped onto the gatehouse I was standing in, but they have made a grave error.

"Griffons! Dogs are trying to climb the walls! Repel the invaders!" I shouted before quickly slashing downward on the diamond dog on my right, the blade biting into the paw that was holding onto the side of the gatehouse, forcing the little bastard off and to fall back into the large gathering of diamond dogs on the ground while the dog on my right received a stab to the stomach as I plunged my blade into its gut, either killing it or condemning it to a painful death.

The griffons of the village that was ready for the dogs to climb the walls flew into the air and thrusting their spears into the faces, chests and shoulders of any dog that managed to make it to the top of the wall as the sound of whimpers and yelps of pain echoed around the village. One of the dogs managed to completely scale the wall far from my gatehouse and leapt at an approaching griffon as the two collided and fell to the ground in a heap, but luckily for the griffon two other griffons were nearby and skewered the dogs before he could even raise a weapon to harm a feather off that bird's head.

As the dogs kept hammering themselves against the walls and gates, I gave the order to open the gates to allow the dogs in, to funnel them inside to more easily kill them and also to prevent them from eventually forming a body ramp to scale the walls. Turning to the gate below me I slid down the ladder and joined the griffons and ponies standing by the gate and raised my sword with the others and waited as a griffon undid the last lock and quickly flew back to our line just at the diamond dog horde swarmed through the new opening.

Watching the doors open within the safety of the guards and villagers, the gates surprised the dogs that were directly at the gates as they were trampled underneath their battle brothers with some of them getting crushed to death while the rest rushed at our line with teeth bared and weapons raised just as our own were ready for them.

Bodies clashed and weapons drew blood for both sides as neither group yielded to the other.

The struggle was real for both ourselves and the diamond dogs but we held the homefield advantage for the previous night as had used a few tables and removed one set of legs and had them pushed into the mud at an angle just for this particular part of the battle. With the guards standing in the front with their shields raised and their spears angled above their heads, the butt end of the spear would rest against the table, never moving backwards while the villagers behind them had their own spears to form a porcupine defensive wall, the end result being dogs getting impaled with those that survived or didn't get skewered thrashing against the shields but being unable to get over due to the threat of death of pointy sticks.

As soon as the fighting at our gate came to a standstill I gave the signal for the reprisal, the griffonian shield wall pushed forward with all of their might and raised their shields as a group of ponies and griffons moved between the wall and thrust their spears into the forward dogs, impaling and skewering several of them before retreating back as the shields reformed the wall as the dogs stepped over their dead and dying as we slowly started to move forward, repeating the process over and over as more died to our spears. The dogs that survived the attack were put down as griffons and ponies finished off any dog that so much as twitched or moved a muscle, making sure that none of them are playing dead to get up behind us as we kept advancing towards the gatehouse.

'To think that a movie would inspire me for this part of the defensive strategy, as long as I can keep as many people alive, I can be happy with the outcome.'

POV: Private Tychus
Southern Gatehouse

My commanding officer assigned me to the southern gate to protect our flank from the diamond dogs. I thought at first that it was because that there aren't that many dogs down here than there are at the other gates, but when I took a peek over the walls my tune changed immediately as the amount of dogs seemed to be the same amount all around us. While I wanted to be serving alongside our newest knight as I had heard stories from the other guards that this 'diamond dog' goes against the grain of his kind's actions, I have sadly been assigned as far away from him as possible.

I guess I will never find out if he shoots fire from his eyes or lightning from his arse as the rumors say that he can.

But back to the matter at talon, these diamond dogs are pounding on the gates and we just got word from our knight to open the gate and let the dogs come in. I thought the officer must have lost his damn mind but when I remembered what our plan was I kept my beak shut and did as I was told as I gave the poor sap of a griffon standing by the gate to undo the latch to fly like hell back to our line.

I saw the fear in my fellow griffon's eyes and I thought that he was gonna not do his one duty and retreat back to our line and make somegriffon else do it, but in the end the frightened griffon yanked on the latch and bolted back to us just as the dogs gave a particularly hard shove on the door, making said doors bounce off the brickwork that made up the base of the gatehouse and caused quite a few dogs to crash into the doors as they bounced back resulting in a number falling over and being trampled.

Watching the diamond dogs rush us made my feathers puff up and stand on end as fear gripped me as the spear in my talons started to shake and I wanted to do nothing more than to flee and go back to guarding the quiet hallways of the castle. Luckily for me however was that one of my senior guards was standing beside me and with a reassuring nod and pat on the shoulder I steeled my resolve and held my ground as the diamond dogs dashed themselves against the shield wall.

'I can't believe this plan of his is working... I thought that there was no way that these dogs are this stupid, but Boreas above they are this dumb!'

The dogs rammed into our shield walls and when we got the signal we pushed the dogs back and started to impale and cut them down to size.

'I guess I owe that petty officer fifty gold for being right about our new knight...damn it now it will take me even longer to purchase that new food cooler I have been saving up for!'

POV: Ian
Northern Gate

The sounds of combat continue on for less than hour as the dogs kept throwing themselves at our defenses, refusing to stop and retreat with their leaders being the first ones to die as the led the attack, the end result being the dogs being too dumb to figure out that this plan wasn't working and that they suffered massive casualties as a result of it. When the fighting finally died down I gave the order for the removal the enemy dead by dumping them outside the walls, retrieve any weapons from the dead, and to reclaim any of our fallen and move them to townhall while I returned to the gatehouse to keep watch on the dogs to see what their response is, if any, come our way.

Once the din of battle was no longer present in the air and a relative peace returned to the village, the few griffon leaders in charge of defending their respective gate or river entrance came back and told me how their fight went.

"Sire, your plan worked flawlessly and our group hasn't suffered a single injury! The dogs are retreating from the southern gate and have left behind their dead and wounded."
"Aye, I can say the same thing from the eastern river gate as well. The dogs couldn't breach the shield wall and they suffered heavy casualties but they managed to retreat when one of them suddenly got smart enough to realize that it was a suicide run and barked the retreat order."
"The western river gate had only one casualty and that was cause a pony slipped in the mud and bonked her head on the shields. They are alright but they got a bruise and if they get struck there then they may go down for good with a concussion or worse."

With that status report now tucked away in my mental folder I wiped away the sweat that has accumulated from the morning skirmish and flicked it away.

'Thank the gods that we nobody got seriously injured, if we can keep this up then we can surely win the day!'

"Good, very good, just keep doing this battle plan and the dogs will be forced to think smarter and try to circumvent our homefield advantage but by then they would have lost plenty of soldiers and their morale will have dropped to the point where insubordination and desertion will start happening. We just got to keep this up, don't do anything overtly risky or dangerous and we will let the enemy destroy themselves, hopefully they will soon get the message that we are not to be fucked with and that they should run while they still can." I said this as the officers in charge of their respective gatehouse nodded at my words, seemingly encouraged by the fact that while the dogs of done minimal damage in their attacks and have only truly hurt us last night with their surprise attack, now all that they seem to be able to do is just send wave after wave of sloppy attacks that end in failure.

Thank the gods we took out most of their officers and disciplinary soldiers with that retaliation strike cause otherwise these attacks they have sent our way would probably be far more devastating to us due to having competent leaders directing their men.

After that the actions that happened in the morning repeated itself at an almost hourly interval the dogs would send several large groups at the gates and sending several dogs over the walls to try and attack us from behind, but each attack we thwarted and put down all those that came our way.

'Is this the best that they can put together? It would appear that whoever those minotaurs pissed off when they messed with that bugbear must be very territorial are came here to exact revenge for probably ruining their hunted meal.'

By the end of the first day of the siege the diamond dogs have suffered the most in terms of casualties and loss of manpower while we only had minor damage to both the village and those that were defending it, luckily for us no one has died so far during all of the fighting. It would seem that my plan to kill the officers has truly paid off and that we are reaping the benefits from it.

If only I knew just how much this pissed off the leader of the raiding army, to have his forces thwarted multiple times by a single person that many still considered to be a race traitor to the canine-people race for even helping the griffons. The collection of injuries that I have sustained so far was only going to grow as this conflict waged on, I just hope I don't lose an arm or a leg cause I don't think there are any magic prosthetics in this world so I better watch out.

The Next Day

When the next dawn came I had thought that the dogs were going to once again send small prodding forces to test and try to find a chink in the defenses, but no, today they went all out.

As the sun rose over the horizon the alarm bells started to be rung, rousing me from my slumber as I was jolted awake from the loud gong sounds ringing throughout the village. With the bells being rung I quickly rolled up from the bedroll I was using as I have given my bed to an injured pony that had received a concussion when he ran head first at galloping speed into a wall, he was lucky that was all he had received as a few inches behind his tail as he laid on the ground was several arrows, some of which were barbed. The pony was this close to meeting his ancestors in the afterlife and we would of had to tell his wife and two foals that their father wasn't coming home.

The bells continued to ring as I raced towards the nearest guard tower to see what was going on as griffons and ponies moved as fast as possible towards their designated positions, myself was busy climbing the town hall to see what was going on and what I saw made me dryly swallow.

Coming from all sides and clumping near the four gates was the diamond dogs, many of whom were carrying long and heavy objects with them as they approached the gates. My only guess as to what those objects could be was the only logical option that one would bring or create when laying siege on a fortified target, a battering ram.

Cupping my hands to my mouth I shouted out my next order to the brave defenders of Talon's End, knowing that this order will make or break their resolve to continue the fight.

"Man the gates and hold fast! Put extra bars on the gates and make sure not a single dog gets through any of you! Watchers of the Sky, drop rocks from above to try to maim or kill the dogs manning the battering ram, anything to slow them down but don't dive bomb them or they may take you out if you get too low! If those mongrels breach those gates then they will take everything you hold precious and the lives of those you love will be lost forever! I have seen the conditions they kept their slaves and the work they put them through, do not let that be their fate! Drive them back and keep them out of Talon's End no matter what!" The order was given and the griffons and ponies all moved towards their gatehouse, the dogs were moving together as one and were using what looked like poorly made tower shields made from stripped tree bark for cover while the dogs heading straight for the gatehouse were carrying between what may be twelve of them, was a chopped down tree-turned-battering ram.

'Looks like they have a smart dog amongst the surviving officers, damn it all, I just hope that this dog isn't smart enough to realize that we are starting to run on fumes and that it will be only a matter of time before we start falling apart.'

As we manned the gates and held our positions we all heard the sound of a multitude of footsteps on the other side of the gates, but when we heard and then saw the get slightly buckle from the impact of the tree we all knew that it was only a matter of time before they breach the gates. We expected the dogs just throw themselves and the ram at the gate until it fell with reckless abandon but no, these dogs are taking their time with the gate, hitting it in six-second intervals and with each impact we held our breath as we waited for our enemy to come to us.

"Hold fast everyone! Keep in your hearts and minds those you wish to keep safe from these dogs and those thoughts will keep you on the path! We fight together and we shall prevail together!"

Thunk

The gates buckled slightly as dust and dirt fell from the roof as the first impact from the impromptu battering ram, the griffons and ponies around me held firm as we all reformed the shield wall and placed the spears into position.

Thunk

Another impact came and the gates held, but we all knew that it wouldn't hold for long.
Thunk
Thunk
Thunk
Thunk
Thunk
This time we heard the sound of wood creaking and cracking, the wooden beam holding the gate closed lurched back a bit before going back to its resting position but this time with a crack running down the middle of it.
Thunk
Thunk
Thunk
It took the dogs eleven minutes to finally breach the wall and when they did they we all watched as the dogs filed in with their bark shields in front of them, slowly moving in instead of their reckless charging that they did last time. This was a different tactic they are using and it is was unusual until I realized what it could be a part of.

"Get back! Get back!"

Just as I shouted the order to fall back the dogs behind the shield wall turned around and used their shields as a ramp as the dogs behind them ran on the shield ramp and leapt over our shield wall. The dogs caught us by surprise with this maneuver and although a few of the dogs got skewered on the spears that were pointed at them a few managed to break through it from there hell broke loose.

For those of us in the back of the shield wall we managed to react the fastest as we all tried to kill the first dogs that leapt over the wall but when the next wave came we couldn't retrieve our spears from the wounded or dead dogs, so I gave the judgment call.

"Forget the spears! Swords and axes now! We can use the spears later after we deal with those that came over!"

While the dogs already had their weapons drawn and were ready for battle, they had to deal with landing in slick mud and unlike their quadruped targets, their bipedal configuration caused many of them to slip and fall in the mud with many of them dropping their weapons in the process as they tried to catch themselves. The few dogs that managed to land alright and not eat shit weren't even bothering to help their comrades, instead they set their eyes on the ponies and griffons that surrounded them and started to attack with reckless abandon, hacking and slashing at anything that wasn't one of them.

The cries of ponies, griffons and diamond dogs rang out throughout the village as battles waged from the gatehouses, and among those battle cries was one from myself as I raised my longsword high before bringing it down upon the head of a diamond dog. Cleaving through a skull to reveal what lies within it would have normally made me spew all over the floor and possibly on those nearby, but I guess with this being a 'Us or them' situation, me having already killed other sentient beings before and that as a human my brain can just switch 'off' the part that makes me care about them being another living being.

My comrades on the other hand, quite a few villagers aren't so used to the idea of killing people, especially the ponies as I have noticed that quite a number of them after each little skirmish go somewhere to throw up or cry to themselves. Even though it seems that the ponies are peace-loving creatures they are still willing to defend their home, but I guess they are only expected to fight them off till the thing threatening them either runs away or is incapacitated and is dragged off, but killing is apparently a little too much for them, how the hell do their guards on their mainland deal with threats?

The moment I cleaved that skull in two I yanked my sword back before thrusting the blade forward, impaling the already dead dog on it as I forced the blade deeper to the hilt to get to the dog standing behind him. Stabbing a creature through another would normally be hard with a sword due to the lack of velocity for impalement, but I am using griffonian steel and that metal was known to pierce through armor made from weaker materials with ease, so cutting through multiple people in a row if they were properly lined up isn't outside the realm of possibility for this weapon.

I watched as my fellow griffons and ponies dropped or tossed their spears to the side as they drew their swords and axes from their sheaths and beltloops and all joined in the chaotic melee.

Shouts and cries rang out from the northern gatehouse as dogs kept on pouring through the ruined entryway although it has slowed down considerably as they had trouble climbing over their own brethren due to the shields being not the most stable of footing nor were those holding them up trying to keep them balanced so they don't fall over. I saw this happen before me as the rabble of dogs had trouble climbing up and over their comrades that an idea came into my head, and I thought it was a bloody good one.

Hacking and slashing my way through the dogs that made it over and into the waiting blades of the griffons and ponies behind me I got to our shield wall and told them the plan.

"I need you two to make a gap for me to move into so that I can break through their line and destroy their shield wall and their ramp, once both are gone we can repeat what we have done and slowly push them back out and kill any that stand in our way."

The griffons gave me a nod and on the count of three they parted ways, but as they did so the diamond dog with the tree bark shield saw this as an opportune moment to press forward but he has failed to realize that none of his brothers have moved with him and as a result was all alone with an angry human in front of him and two pissed off griffons on both sides of him. As soon as the diamond dog realized what he had done it was already too late, the griffons at his sides pressed in on him with their shields squeezing down on his arms and in a moment of clumsy mistake he dropped his shield in front of me, rendering himself defenseless as I simply thrust my right arm forward, impaling the poor bastard and killing him.

'What a spot of bad luck for that guy.'

Once the dog was confirmed to be dead the two griffons backed up and let the body hit the bloody mud and with that I moved past them and was now in the dog half of the battlefield.

The first thing to hit me when I entered their lines was just how god damn awful it smelled, its like they took the smell of unwashed dogs, dialed it to eleven, and then multiplied it by the factor of sun, bodies and shit. After that it was just how many dogs that are here attacking this gate and although I don't know the situation at the other gates it feels like that there are way more of them here then at the other three.

'Well obviously they would have more dogs at the area that is from the direction they arrived in, but I thought that they would have the southern gate more heavily populated to prevent a breakthrough from happening unless they firmly believe that they can hold the town and not let any of us leave.'

With longsword in hand I ran my sword through the ribcage of the diamond dog on my left before twirling around, blade extended outward as I sliced through the dogs around me with their backsides exposed to me. As the dogs fell to the ground with their spines severed and parts of their torso being split open with the most unfortunate of dogs being the one in the middle of the group being cleaved in half. The gap that formed as the dogs fell to the ground dead was immediately seized by both sides as the battle became a maelstrom of confusion and carnage as blood splashes the ground and walls.

I was in the middle of that confined battlefield as the reforged minotaurian steel armor I was wearing for the most part did its job in turning away hostile blades from my vital organs and squishy body, the dull and chipped blades snapping and breaking against the hardened metal plates that covered my torso, upper legs and shins, shoulders and forearms, while a few glancing blows from a few bladed weapons that hit the exposed areas drew blood and created a new scar for me to show off. The few times I got injured in that melee I returned the favor in kind to the perpetrator by either cutting them down or by slicing off the appendage that held the weapon but in the end it was all the same to me as the dead started to litter the ground around me as I had the blood from several people covering me and my god I must look horrifying to anyone that is looking at me. With me now standing among the diamond dogs and cutting down all of those that drew close to me, our line started to creep forward as the dogs started to lose ground and momentum from their sudden new tactic and we didn't have to wait long before we were back at the gatehouse and soon enough we pushed them out.

"Hold the line! Hold the line! We have them routed and now they are desperate to get back in or else they will feel their master's fury!" I shouted over the discord of battle as the griffons and ponies behind and beside me all gave their own confirmation that they heard me.

Soon enough we all heard the loud angry barking of a diamond dog in the back, I don’t know what he said but it clearly wasn’t enough to whip the dogs back into fighting order so there was only one thing he could do to force us dogs to fight harder.

Pushing through his own people to get to the front I watched a fairly large dog in what amounts to leather armor with some metal plates riveted to it, a skullcap and a broadsword that looks like it has seen better days what with all the knicks and chips in it. This diamond dog was easily a head taller than the average dog and was thicker in either terms of muscle, fat, fur or some combination of the three, and from the way he is barking commands and belting out orders that he is the commanding officer for this little cadre of scamps.

As I watched this intimidating brute push his way through his men to get to the frontlines and when he arrived his first action was to try and cleave me in half with an overhead chop. I was expecting this attack and blocked accordingly to keep myself from being sloppily bisected, what I was not expecting was just how much strength there was behind such a swing as I was immediately brought to my knee as I had to use both swords to catch the blade to slow it down enough as the thoroughly-used blade came within an inch of splitting my face open.

Putting some strength into my movement I slowly stood back up before pushing the menacingly close blade from my face, making the bulky dog take a few steps back before taking another swing at me again but this time I deflect it off to the right as I recovered from the first attack. I had expected that for the diamond dogs either to try to charge in and put me off balance so their leader can try and finish the job, but they didn't as they backed away from the officer as they are scared to take his kill and in turn get cut down for it. When the dog officer came back at me with another swing with just as much weight as the other two attacks I noticed that the dogs that were attacking our shield wall have backed off and have formed a semi-circle at the entrance of the gatehouse while those behind me locked their shields together effectively trapping me in the fight circle.

Seeing that I am now trapped in the arena with him, the bulky dog let out a rumbling chuckle at the sight of the lone, smaller human fight a larger foe as he raised his sword and charged at me. Now in the past something like this would instill fear in me and I would be shaking in my shoes, but now though it doesn't because of one griffon who since becoming my instructor, has taught me everything she knew about close quarters combat, and one of those lessons was how to deal with a much larger opponent.

'Ian, someday out there you will find yourself an opponent much larger than yourself be it a minotaur, a teenage dragon, certain subtypes of diamond dogs, and whatever else is out there in the desert sands of Zebrica. When you are facing such a foe you need to always remember to keep an ever watchful eye on how they move as you can use their body weight to your advantage to trip them or tire them out to bring a swift end to the fight. Now then, you see that minotaur over there? He was hired to kick your ass from here to kingdom come, now show me what you learned and don't disappoint me cause I swear to Boreas that if he bests you then you can surely expect to be cleaning the barracks with a tiny scrub brush for the next year!'

Seeing the large dog-man charge at me I deftly sidestepped his attacked and deflected the blade off to the side with ease which only served to infuriate the dog.

"Hold still!"

I didn't bother to say anything to the dog as I was avoiding unnecessary battle banter as it serves as nothing more than a distraction and can result in ones own death if they are not paying attention to the battlefield.

Bobbing and weaving between too-wide slashes and punches I did everything within my power to prolong this little fight of ours and with each evasive maneuver I take against my opponent the more I hear growling and snarling rising up from my rival. With each dodge I take I further add insult to injury by smacking him with the flat edge of my swords against his backside and each yelp he made only served to add further humiliation to his name.

I didn't have to wait long for the diamond dog officer to reach his limit as he finally began to gasp and wheeze for air as he struggled to move in a coordinate himself. As soon as he began to struggle I decided that I had more than enough fun with him and that it was time to end this little fight of ours as I waited for him to make another move against me.

The wait wasn't that long as soon as he collected himself long enough to get some air into his lungs before charging at me one final time, his moves was so telegraphed that I easily deflected his sword off to the side with my sword before spinning myself around in a flurry of movement and impaling him through the chest with my sword as the blade pierces through his armor, through his heart and out the other side.

"Sloppy, you left yourself open countless times and in the end you have failed to kill one person with all of that strength at your command. Sadly you lack the wits and wisdom to use that brawn properly so now you are dead." I whispered this to the dying dog as he let out a few weakened whimpers of pain as I then placed my left hand on his chest and pushed him backwards as it released my sword from its fleshy sheath as the body hits the ground with an armored meaty thud.

The diamond dogs that had surrounded the gate entrance took a few steps back when they saw their commanding officer fall over dead, a few even turned tail and ran back towards the safety of the trees. Turning to look at the surrounding dogs I slowly walked towards the middle of their line, sword in hand, and walked at a slow pace from one side to the other, a silent challenge to them before finally speaking up.

"Your battle group leader lies dead, just like so many of your battle brothers lie dead inside our walls and outside of them, and for what? A cause that none of you truly know about? You will die here and they will not take your bodies back to be buried alongside your ancestors and your family, they will leave you behind to rot under the sun to become food for the crows and beasts of the forest. You have two choices to make right now, you can either continue to fight us and you will die and become compost for the trees, or you can flee and live to see another day. What is your choice going to be?"

The choice was easy for so many of the diamond dogs as quite a few of them dropped their weapons, turned tail and fled, smart move for a bunch of dogs that lack the brain power for more 'complex' thinking but they are smart enough to know that they can't be with their families (if they have any) if they are dead, and as for the rest of those that remained, they fought to the bitter end as the griffons and ponies surged out from the gatehouse the moment the dogs tried to resume their attack.

With shattered morale, depleted numbers and exhaustion taking its toll on the dogs they fell to our attack with the survivors retreating back to their lines, leaving their dead and dying behind.

Cleaning up after the skirmish was an arduous task as many of the griffons and ponies were sporting injuries and that I myself was starting to feel the stinging claws of fatigue and my own injuries burning from sweat getting into them, I am going to have to disinfect them the first chance I get else I wish to risk infection.

POV: Ferra, Talon's End Infirmary Nurse

'Another stitch here and the wound shall be sealed, Boreas willing that it stays closed this time.'
With practiced ease I thread the needle through a griffons right shoulder, a lucky sword swing managed to give the poor bastard a deep enough cut to draw blood but not deep enough to permanently damage the limb nor sever it. One last tug on the thread and tying it off I clean up the injured area before dabbing it with a rag that has been dipped in a bowl of boiling wine, we have ran out of the local antiseptics when the diamond dogs first attacked us during our feast.

'Another bandage wrap for pony in the second to last bedroll near the back of the building, that laceration injury has done a number on his back, he may never fully regain the use of his rear legs.'
I can still hear that pony groaning and moaning in pain, even from the other side of town hall. To think that a diamond dog would go for such an injury when we know that they need healthy slaves to last a long enough time to do their dirty work.

'Boreas guide my talons and grant me the strength to make it through the night without having to tell another family that their young has passed, I don't think I have it in me to tell them anymore.'
To think that from day to day I usually patch up scratches, broken bones, cuts, burns and typical illnesses and now here I am in the middle of a warzone doing the best that I can to make sure as many of these injured griffons and ponies survive their injuries. I had thought that I had left behind that life when I retired from the legion, but I guess what I was hoping for was a little too much.

'Maal take these thrice damned heathens to the pits of the seven hells! How dare they lay a paw on my precious Tychus! He is mine and I will not let them take him away from me!'

Two Hours Later
POV Ian

It was midday when the dogs pulled back, the northern gate has been breached but we managed to hold the line and slowly pushed them back but that gate is damaged and we can't repair it in time for the next wave, it was a complete loss and now I will have to have bodies at that entrance to make sure that nobody tries to sneak in. We have been fighting since the sun rose at what I could only estimate as seven in the morning and up until now it has been nothing but bloodshed and casualties for both sides of this conflict, but what is happening now is making me wonder if this particular moment is a trap.

Standing in the open between the village and the tree line was a small entourage of diamond dogs, two of them are holding up banners, one is the banner of the clan that the dog belongs to while the other is a white banner, a banner of peace.

I highly doubt that this will end peacefully, but if this leader is smart enough to realize that this battle is unwinnable and desires to retreat, I will allow it. Otherwise I will simply hold out as long as possible until help arrives.

"You know that it is probably a trap, right?"

"Yep."

"Yet you still plan on going down there to talk to them?"

"Mhm."

"But they could kill you and cut off your head to show it to the village! Do you think that we really wanna see our friend get beheaded and shown off like some sort of perverse trophy?"

"If they do murder me in such a fashion then the empire will never let them have a moment of peace or rest. The death of a knight by dishonorable means on top of the destruction of an imperial village will draw the hatred and ire from the empire, an imperial legion will scour the area to find the ones responsible and bring divine retribution upon their heads. For in the end if we die in the village or out there during a peace talks, the empire will avenge our deaths when they arrive."

"But-"

"There is nothing left to discuss about this Tychus. I am going down there with the village elder and his guards and I will hear what they have to say but in no circumstances will we surrender to the diamond dogs."

And with that said I gave Tychus one last pat on the shoulder before leaving him behind at the northern gate as I joined the elder and his four militia guards as the six of us slowly walked to the meeting point.

The walk between us was quiet with the exception of my boots crunching through the dirt and sounds of soft pads and clinking armor from the griffons, than the village elder in a hushed tone started to talk to me.

"I know how these talks go with the mutts. They will demand our surrender and a portion of our people to go and work in their mines...along with whatever pricey possessions we may have. I can care less for whatever pitiful possessions they take from us for we have always endured and survived with less during the harsh months, but I will never sacrifice my people to slave away in the bowels of the land. We will fight on till the very end for this is our land and I will be damned if these disgusting beasts dare to take from us!"

I didn't even need to say anything because I agreed with him on the matter for the most part. From my brief stay with Clan Fel Brass, even if I didn't have access to most areas, from the small talks I had with the alpha dog the clan didn't employ slaves to work the mines as the answer was a simple one. They were lacking the numbers to properly hold slaves and feed them, so they did everything themselves and as a result they are more dependable and reliable when it comes getting things done in a timely manner. That dog clan along with however many out there that don't employ slaves are few and far between those that do use slaves which unfortunately paints their race in a bad light.

Eventually we got to the destined meeting point and from here I can see several diamond dogs all clustered together and I can see just how armored these ones are compared to the ones I've been fighting all morning.

Standing in a line was nine armored diamond dogs of various canine races, their armor mainly composed of a breastplate, arm guards, greaves, and a helmet, while their weapons was that of a long spear and a short sword. The banner holders were wearing less armor then their more intimidating brethren as they were only wearing leathern jerkins and a skullcap to keep their heads safe, and they were holding no weapons aside from using the pointy tip of the banner as a makeshift spear.

And then we got the leader of the diamond dog group standing in the middle of them all, a diamond dog that is slightly larger than the others in the group steps forward, my guess the leader for either this clan or just the one the actual leader sent up to talk with us.

Before either myself or the elder have a chance to start this off, the dog leader spoke first.

"Huh, we being kept out of our new home by a dog from a different clan? Why you keeping us out?" The bigger dog said and to my disappointment this one isn't as smart as the alpha I have once spoke to before.

"If you had proper eyes to see, you would clearly know that we are not of kin nor born of the same mother so don't even try to use that weak excuse with me. You would have been allowed to enter to trade or resupply if you lot was peaceful and didn't rain arrows upon this entire village and followed up by laying siege! Anyone can come to Talon's End if they do not hold any hostilities to it, but your actions here proved otherwise. So tell me now, what is the point of this raid if there is any at all?" I asked the large dog as I took a few steps forward as well, leaving behind the militia guards and the elder as I soon came face to face with the alpha.

The bulldog glared down at me as he was just a head taller than me before taking a few sniffs at me and after a while recoiled a bit as if shocked by finding a lack of dog scent on me.

"Strange, you walk and move like us but you are not...and you are no minotaur. You are no pony nor griffon... you a freak." The dog said as he slowly to walk around me as I did the same, the two of us going in circles as we studied the other.

While this diamond dog may be larger than me by just a whole head and looked naturally stronger and faster, but he is also dumber and can more than likely be easily fooled. While he may be a well-armored, giant of a diamond dog, a dangerous opponent for sure and I don't know just how good he is at fighting but from what I have seen with the tactics his dogs used on this village then I can easily turn this into a victory for me.

'If the fighting starts between us I just have to keep bobbing and weaving, tire him out first and strike him down when he finally drops his guard from exhaustion, I just have to make sure I don't tired myself out first.

"It doesn't matter what I am to you, for I am only going to be telling you this once only. What I want to know is why are you attacking Talon's End?" I growled out as I moved a hand to the pommel of my sword, I know that I couldn't show any weakness to the dogs now as they would see it that I am a weakling and that anything I say will have no weight to them. Showing weakness in diamond dog culture was a big no-no, submissiveness is okay because each the hierarchy is about who is submissive to who and at this moment I am trying not to show any kind of weakness as this may signal the dogs that now is the most opportune time to strike.

The diamond dog alpha snorted at my demand for an answer as well as the dogs behind him started to laugh and chuckle.

"Why, we are here to take your stuff, your shinnies, maybe ask some of the griffons and ponies here to work for us, and maybe take those minotaurs that you took in last night." the bulldog said as several of the dogs behind him nodded their heads, a few even said some things mainly how they will treat their new 'workers' nicely.

It was with those words that came bumbling out from those flappy lips did my blood begin to boil.

To think that they would have the gall to demand that we surrender ourselves and everything we have when they think that they have the upper hand. The sheer balls on this diamond dog, to simply ask me to tell the elder their demands and to let them in, as if the griffons living here will just roll over and give up without a fight.

"I have a counter-offer for you. Take your clan and stay away from Talon's End and leave Griffonia." The dogs stopped their little revelry as they thought that I was just going to bend over backwards for them and give in immediately was just thrown right back in their face.

"And what if we don't leave? What are you going to do if we decide to just no leave? You think you have the strength to move us from your lands? Ha! Fat chance!" spittle flew through the air as the bulldog barked out a laugh, throwing his head back as the dogs behind him all nodded their heads in agreement with their alpha as they too also started to laugh at my request.

And like that the challenge has been issued, he thinks that I can simply be pushed aside and that our defense will not hold even though we have easily repelled their first attack and held back their second attack, but I fear that their third and quite possibly final assault will break through our defenses, but I must hold out as long as possible.

'As long as possible...I hope they get here in time cause at this rate we are taking casualties we will definitely not be able to hold the gates for long let alone stop any intrusions that come over the walls. I fear I may have to give the order to abandon the gates as soon as it looks like we cannot hold them and fall back to town hall and make a final stand there.'

"Then none of you will be leaving this place alive!" I shouted my threat at the diamond dogs and with it they stopped laughing as they all stared at me with a credulous look, as if I am mad.

I threw my own challenge at the alpha dog, the response I was waiting for was a typical one from a brute like him.

"Ha! Some spine in this one, I accept your threat of death for tonight I will drink from your skull!" the large dog said this as a grin starts to form on its muzzle as it thumps a fist onto his chest.

"This village will be your grave, win or lose all of you will fall and our pyres will burn brightly for days." I said with finality as I waited for the final response from the dog, knowing that after this the battle will resume.

"We shall see little beastie, I will kill you last so see burning remains of pathetic village before I put you down and claim your skull." And with that our group parted ways but I hurried over to the elder and his guards before quickly telling him that we need to move now and prepare ourselves for a battle of our lives.

At first the griffons weren't sure as to what was going on but when word got around as to what the diamond dogs wanted from the village and what they were going to do to those living here caused quite a commotion. Many of the families went back to their home and tried to barricade themselves within the safety of their homes while the rest of the civilians went straight to the townhall and were trying to nail shut the windows.

The elder hobbled over to me as we arrived back at the townhall, concern on his beak as he waved me over as he tried to speak quietly to me but with how worried he is it ended up turning into almost a shout.

"Knight, those dogs never have the intentions to leave us alone, did they?"

"No, they came here with a raiding mentality, and even if we put up a fight they will take whatever isn't nailed down, enslave those that are still alive and burn the village to the ground before leaving." I said as I noticed that several griffons and ponies stopped what they were doing and were standing there, listening to what I had to say.

"We either drive them off here and now and wait for reinforcements to relieve us or we all die. There is no two ways around this one, we either fight and hold our ground and pray to the gods that Pippin made it to the fort, or we get overrun and the diamond dogs take everything you hold dear and burn it to ashes."

From there the griffons and ponies got back to working on trying to fortify as much of the village as they can with most of them setting up tables with one side's leg removed as to provide angled covered while others were simply retreating back to their home to protect themselves and their family. While I don't blame those particular ponies and griffons for making that particular choice, I am disappointed in them that they are only thinking about themselves but hey, they do them and when the gates fall they can only rely on themselves cause I will be too busy trying to direct the militia and volunteers to try and save the masses instead of the individuals.

So many of them are going to die today, and yet they are not afraid. In fact they have welcomed it...you mortals sure are a strange lot. Normally I watch and see you mortals doing everything within your power to avoid things that can cause death and here it seems that you are doing everything in your power to cause it for those that wish you harm.

Hearing the voice of my benefactor startled me as I was too deep into my own thoughts at the moment, but when I heard the words I found it odd that they were puzzled by the things we do.

'Well we want to die on our own terms, not on the terms of those that try to force it on us.'

Well, just know that while I can't stop death from happening for that is not in my domain to interfere with without pissing off Death something fierce, (which I did but that old bag of bones doesn't need to know about that), I can at least delay it a bit for you by making the dogs have a bit of bad luck when they try to attack you. A clumsy strike here, a lucky deflection there, but don't you dare try to rely on that cause there is only so much I can do to interact with the physical world while I am still in my weakened condition!

That little tidbit of information caught me off-guard as I wasn't prepared to hear that. I knew that there had to be gods out there cause one doesn't simply go from one world to another overnight for no reason, but to think that my benefactor may very well be a god as well is startling to say the least. Now if only I can figure out what gender they are cause I really need to know so I can properly thank them for saving my ass who knows how many times now.

Don't worry little knight, I'll tell you who and what I am later, for now just do your best to survive cause I am not done with you just yet!

When our conversation ended I failed to realize that I was standing in the middle of the street with my head down and my eyes closed talking to myself, the griffons and ponies were both wondering if I was planning something and worried that I may be starting to crack under the pressure of command. As a few ponies and griffons came over to see what was wrong with me I mentally came too and waved them off, telling them that I was mentally checking things over to ensure our continued survival.

The sound of clanking glass and ceramic caught my attention as I turned around and saw a griffon flying overhead carrying a small wooden crate with what looked like bottles and that they were filled with some sort of sloshing liquid. It took me a second to realize that the bottles all had rag clothes shoved in them and it clicked for me, these griffons had firebombs and it looked like they were placing them in strategic locations.

The flurry of movement that surrounded the townhall came to an end when the bell rang, the dogs have resumed their attack and barely any of us were in position to adequately defend this village.

'To think they would attack so soon...ah to have vast reserves to throw into the meat grinder, it must be a nice thing to have when one doesn't give two shits about the lives of their soldiers. The gates will fall soon but maybe we can keep them out long enough if we set fire to them and have them fall in on themselves? But wait, they are diamond dogs, they can just dig a tunnel under the rubble and still get in, what I am wondering is why haven't they done that yet?'

A question I had on my mind since this raid started but for the time being it will go unanswered as the militia and volunteers all rushed to their designated positions but as quickly as I had hoped. With battle fatigue and exhaustion started to take its toil on everyone they all started to slowly react and move slower, myself included as a few of my injuries from fighting at the gates and getting nicked by arrows starting to make themselves apparent with how much they burn and sting like hell.

'How much longer can I go on before my body finally decides that it can't handle anymore punishment.'

With aches and pains running all over my body I made my way to the re-barricaded northern gate noticing that the battering ram that was once used to break it down was now keeping them shut.

I didn't have to wait long for those still able to fight unimpeded to join me at the gates with a few of them carrying what looks like the unlit firebombs I saw earlier with one of the griffons holding a torch to ignite them. Giving the ponies and griffons one last inspection and nod before returning my attention to the gates I readied myself for what will be yet another siege with a battering ram and perhaps a shield wall and ramp maneuver.

Soon enough the sound of a mass congregation of bodies was outside the walls that was then followed by something large and heavy hitting the gates, a second battering ram to replace the one that was lost, was now ramming the gates to try and get it open to let in the horde of dogs. What I have been expecting was a battering ram and a host of dogs attending it to be the thing to attack our gate to break it down, what I was not expecting was for the diamond dogs to actually use their brains and their natural talent for digging to get around an obstacle that has been a pain in their ass.

One moment me and several others were standing in front of the gate, weapons at the ready, the next we all felt the ground rumble for a second before watching it cave in beneath our very feet as those with wings managed to take flight just as the dirt beneath us all suddenly became a gaping maw.

For a moment I thought that the dogs had dug a true pitfall trap with sharpened stakes or spears lining the bottom of it and that I was gonna find myself turned into a pincushion and then a corpse but luck would have it that it wasn't the case this time, instead it was a tunnel that led directly under the gates and right underneath our position.

Clever puppies.

The fall down wasn't as painful as I was expecting it to be but it was still painful nonetheless as I and several others that fell all let out collective groans of pain and as we tried to pick ourselves back up we barely had the time to see what was going on let alone get ourselves in order as the sound of numerous paws immediately came our way. Barely having the time to look up I saw an armored diamond dog with a mace in hand and tried to swing at me but as I watched the mace rise up above his head it scrapped against the tunnel roof, slowing it down enough for me to get my bearings and quickly stand up to avoid being made into mashed potatoes.

Once I was back on my feet and no longer in danger of becoming a bloody pounded meatstain on the floor, I stepped on the head of the mace the dog was holding before running him through as the rest of the diamond dogs started to rush forward after letting the dust settle just in time for the griffons and ponies who fell with me to also get their bearings and stand up.

As those of us who fell fought down below, the many that are still up top held themselves together at the gates as the ram began to batter at the damaged gates.

Turning my head to the side I saw that the others were already helping each other to get out of the hole that we have found ourselves in.

"Everyone help each other get out of this tunnel now, the gatehouse is now considered lost as they now have a means of getting through! Tell any that is topside to bring wood and to prepare the firebombs for use!" I shouted the order just as a second diamond dog approached me, spear in hand.

I was lucky to have even seen this dog as the dust was still somewhat settling down here and that the light from the opening was the only real reason as to why I could have even seen it coming with enough time for myself to get into a defensive stance. Deflecting the spear off to the side I grabbed the haft of it with my left hand as I kicked him in the gut, sending him backwards into the rest of his pack before twirling the spear around to face its previous owner and rammed it into his right shoulder, the dog letting out a yelp of pain before a gurgle of blood and drool as I forced my longsword through its throat and out the back.

With the pike dog dead I was given a second to prepare myself so I decided to shorten the spear I was so graciously given by the diamond dog on the floor by swinging my sword at the spear's shaft, cutting through the shoddy wood rendering it into nothing more than a knife on a stick but its more than enough for me at the moment. As soon as I ran my sword through the spear the two diamond dogs that was pushed back by the corpse of their fallen ally ran towards me with shortswords in paw, perfect weapons for this enclosed environment but they forgot one critical detail as the blade of one dog collided with my chest and shattered as the brittle and rusty metal gave up the ghost while the other was brushed off to the side.

These dogs forgot what actual armor looked like and now they are paying the price for it with their lives.

Ramming the broken spear into the shoulder of the diamond dog on the left I then pushed them back into the dogs behind him before delivering a horizontal slash to the dog on my right, slicing him across the chest as he recoils back in pain, not a fatal injury but a painful one nonetheless. With two dogs injured and in front of the pack behind them, I kept them back as the rest of the people behind me helped each other climb out of the pit.

Hearing the sounds of hooves and talons scraping against dirt and rocks I chanced a peek behind myself to see that the griffons and ponies were helping each other to get out of the pit while I dealt with the slowly approaching wave of dogs, I just hope they move their asses faster cause I don't know what is happening up top aside from the battering ram arriving.

Returning my attention to the dogs I watched as the two I have injured were pushed back by those behind them and these dogs had on some leather vestments and wooden round shields with rusted shortswords and they were bidding their time in approaching me as they know that they are clearly outmatched by both my fighting prowess and that my armor can easily damage or destroy their inferior weapons. Watching the pair slowly step towards me I tried faking them out, tricking them into thinking that I was about to approach and attack them so that they would try to attack first to catch me off-guard but they didn't take the bait, instead they buckled down and clumped together to better defend one another.

Seeing this little defensive formation I simply kept them back by occasionally stabbing at their shields to keep them buttoned up but for the most part they kept creeping closer until finally the pair and those behind them were almost right on top of us until finally our skirmish finally kicked off.

One of the shield bearers moved to shove me with their shield and as they did so I rammed the spear into the shield and rotated a bit to get the diamond dog off-balance before stabbing downward at them with their chest exposed before drawing the blade back. The dog on the other side saw his brother fall dead and as he tried to swing at me I ducked under the blade before rearing up with an impaling strike as I actually lifted the dog off the ground before dropping him to the ground as the large group behind him started to move forward, hoping to strike me down.

Shoulder ramming the closest dog back into the others I spun in place before cutting them down, the blade cleaving cleanly through them from right shoulder to their left side of the pelvis as their insides falls everywhere as they collapse on themselves. The next dog that stepped forward slipped on the spilled guts and fell forward before meeting his unfortunate demise by the end of my blade as he fell right on it, the most inglorious of deaths. Rushing towards me with a saw-toothed sword I felt the teeth grind against my torso with all of them breaking and luckily nothing breaching the armor but the blunt impact from getting hit with a hunk of iron to the stomach.

As I got bluntly cleaved from one dog across the chest, another came up to me and punched me in the face, putting me off-balance and took a step back before I raised an arm to block another strike from the blunt blade before another sword thrust at my chest, the chipped edge barely scratching the surface of my armor before being deflected upwards to my face forcing me to start falling backwards but the blade found its mark.

I let out a shout of pain as I felt the chipped sword cut across my face from my chin to my right eyebrow, leaving a straight line of flesh to be sundered as I felt warmth blossom forth and sting like all hell but I held back my scream as I fell backwards and hit the rocky floor for a second time but this time with two diamond dogs on top of me.

"Get the fuck off of me you mangy mutts!" I shouted as I struggled to push them back, the pair

With two dogs on top of me, snapping and snarling while trying to punch and stab me, I am holding them both back with my left arm while trying to swing at them with my right arm but before I could get a swing in I felt something step on my sword hand and as I looked up I saw a third diamond dog, spear in hand and raised high ready to impale me and all I could think of at that moment was 'Well, this sucks ass...'.

Just as I was about to meet my maker I watched as the dog above me was mere moments about to stab me in the face before he stopped when an axe suddenly found itself buried in its chest. Looking down at the axe before looking towards the source of the mysterious axe, both myself and the diamond dogs saw that it was a pony who did the tossing, said pony in question was a unicorn who was holding several weapons in their magical aura surrounding their horn as the dog then fell over dead, finally realizing that having an axe buried in ones chest and splitting their heard can give someone a serious case of dead. As the dog falls over dead the pony then tossed the broken hilt of the shortsword that broke against me earlier as it flew and smacked the dog pressing on my left shoulder in the head the broken part of the blade sinking a good inch into the dogs head forcing it off of me as it yelps in pain.

With two dogs dead and the third one still snapping and snarling at me but with less weight and pressure on my left arm I rotated my arm till my hand then was within reach to grab their leather vestments and with a yank I brought their head to mine, my forehead smacking into their muzzle as it was closed and blooded their nose with a headbutt before rolling over with the dog with me now on top. Looking down at the dog beneath me I made it quick as I angled my sword and slowly began to impale the dog as I watched the blade pull a vanishing act and the dog himself slowing down and whimpering before going still. Once the diamond dog was no longer a problem to me I stood back up and looked down the tunnel to see as best that I can now that my right eye is now dealing with a blood issue and from what I can tell that there weren't that we are now alone for the most part as I don't hear anything coming in the tunnel.

"Guess this was just a digging group with some guards in case the tunnel they were digging collapsed early or as a means of distracting us while they ram the gate." I said as I slowly retreated back towards the open pit and looked up to see the pony being hauled upwards by a griffon holding them from behind, the pair happy to no longer to be underground, the griffon especially as they naturally hate being underground due to having wings and loving the open sky.

With the pair now back on the surface I made my way back to where we all fell in and saw that it wasn't deep of a fall that we took as I simply ran towards the wall, jumped up and grabbed the ledge before hoisting myself up and just in time too as I heard something get tossed over me followed by several more things being tossed before finally a sudden wall of heat.

Looking to the pit I had just climbed out of I saw that the griffons and ponies that were already up top and from those that just climbed out they had found spare wood and threw it into the open pit and as soon as I got up and out, the unicorn that was lifted out of the pit by griffon used their magic to grab a firebomb, lit it on fire with a nearby torch before throwing it fairly hard back down and ignited the wood to keep it from being used against us. Peering past the steadily rising flames I saw what looked like another group of diamond dogs but all they could do was glare at me and those around me as they simply stood there and are waiting for the fire to go out.

"A slight reprieve from those below, but no such rest from those above. Keep a watchful eye on the pit for any dogs thinking that they are brave enough to go through the fire. Two of you who can carry firebombs, bring three of them up top to the gatehouse, we got a pyre to make." I said as I marched towards the gatehouse and following behind me was a pair of griffons, one of them holding two firebombs while the other only just one.

Glancing to the pair I made a motion for one of the firebombs and the griffon that had two handed me one and with a nod to him I turned back to the ladder but I stopped myself as I instead knelt down to the water bucket placed there in the event a fire breaks out nearby and with my left hand I dipped it into the bucket and cupped a small handful of water before splashing myself in the face with it to try and clean up the blood and dirt on my face before shaking my head and turned back to the ladder and climbed up with the pair flying behind me. Climbing to the top of the gatehouse the three of us went to the edge and peered over it and saw a fairly large amount of diamond dogs down below but what truly caught my attention though was the battering ram being used this time.

No longer were these dogs using a chopped down thick-barreled tree as an improvised battering ram, now these dogs are using an actual battering ram that has been placed on wheels and that there are ten dogs manning the siege weapon.

Seeing the exposed dogs and their battering ram in such a perfection position I gave a nod to the griffons as we all lit our bombs and then we leaned over the side and threw them down on top of those below us and watched as the bottles crashed on top of the heads of the diamond dogs and the resulting mixture of oil on matted fur with fire blossomed into an inferno of cooking flesh and burning hair.

Backing away from the edge of the platform I turn to the griffons and gave them a thumbs up before addressing them.

"Go tell the other garrisons at the other gates to use their firebombs on any battering rams that appear at their gates, it should slow them down enough for us to get a bit of a reprieve from their assaults." and with that I watched the two give me a nod before taking off towards the other gates, flapping their wings with all that they have for maximum speed to alert the other groups of what has transpired here.

After the three of us had dropped our payload on top of the dogs manning the ram, the dogs made several attempts to try and retrieve the ram but with it on fire from end to end, their attempts ended in failure until they finally gave up on it and let it simply burn till it was nothing more than charcoal with metal bits on it. Once that battering ram has been destroyed and the dogs pulled back to what we thought was an end to their attacks for the moment, they soon enough came back with yet another battering ram very much like the one we just destroyed with the firebombs but it was missing the metal-tipped head that the old one had. As the group of dogs got close to the gates they grabbed the burnt ram and threw it aside along with dragging the burnt corpses of their fallen and moved them back for retrieval before finally they all backed off for the time being.

The fighting continued to rage on in ever changing intervals throughout the village as the dogs tried to breach the gatehouses with their improved battering rams but those attempts all going up in flames when the other groups used their firebombs on them and with each destroyed ram the dogs returned to move the ram aside and to retrieve their fallen.

When the fighting died down enough for me to finally retreat back to townhall to get patched up I was given quick reports of what has occurred at the other gates and what was odd about them was that none of them had a digging team breach the walls, only at the northern gate where I was at. Putting the reports mentally aside I entered townhall after giving a nod to the four guards standing outside and with a salute back I walked through the crowded entryway towards the makeshift infirmary and waited for my turn to be tended to. Luckily for me the wait wasn't too long as one of the assistants noticed my condition and who I am they alerted one of the two true infirmary workers and the youngest of the two came over to me, a griffon hen who looks just about as tired as I do if not more so what with the bags under her eyes and the stare she is giving me while tending to my injured face.

Getting my face stitched up by the careful talons of the infirmary worker I sucked in my breath through my teeth and clenched my fists as they plied their trade and after a few minutes of getting stabbed and sewn together my face for the most part was good as new, or as good as it was going to get out here.

I was hoping that they would finally get the message that they are dealing with someone with some brains on siege warfare and that they would turn around and leave, but instead they decided to double down and go all in with their final push.

It was at around the time that the sun was setting with the sun just barely on the horizon now with the sky giving off an orangish glow when we all felt the ground shudder and rumble. At first I thought it was just an earthquake and that a lot of windows are about to crack and shatter but it all came to a sudden stop when I felt the ground beneath me began to shake with such sudden ferocity and strength that I grabbed the rope for the bell and began to ring it as loud and as fast as I could as to alert everyone that we are under attack once more but my ringing was cut short when the ground past the gatehouse ruptured and exploded outward sending rock and dirt everywhere. The force of the explosion knocked me off my feet as I scrambled to get back up and as I looked over the edge I saw what has happened and to see what happened to the people that I was leading.

What I saw made me grimace as I saw several bodies thrown all over the place, many of them injured from being hit by rocks from below, I suspect broken ribs and damaged organs for those who were directly hit while those that were further away simply got thrown backwards like I was. The diamond dogs had continued to dig in the tunnel we had firebombed and they have drastically widened the tunnel to the point where they then dug up and collapsed the roof above them to form a ramp.

They no longer needed the battering rams as they have finally given up on making it look like a typical raiding party, they have made their true presence known now and that they are going all in to take whatever they desire.

As the dust settled and the ground was no longer rumbling I knew what was coming and I immediately cupped my hands close to my mouth and shouted with all that I had in me to try my best to send a warning to those that can still make a true effort to slow them down.

"The northern gate has been breached! Anyone and everyone that can fight, grab a weapon and keep them from getting inside townhall!

The Fall of Talon's End

"The northern gate has been breached! Anyone and everyone that can fight, grab a weapon and keep them from getting inside townhall!"

Quickly scrambling down the ladder I ran towards the fallen and helped them up before moving those too injured to fight into the barracks with the assistance from those who weren't too injured before quickly rushing towards the gaping tunnel and held my ground as I knew that it will take a minute or two for any nearby help to get here to make a difference. With longsword in hand and the determination to delay the enemy as long as possible to keep those I have been put in charge safe from harm, I gave those who could still fight to defend the barracks and to not let any diamond dog in no matter what.

The first couple dozens of diamond dogs to pour out of the tunnel were just like the rest that I have killed, leather vestments with rusted and chipped weapons and the occasional wooden shields. When they all came rushing out of the tunnel, I was expecting them to overwhelm me with sheer numbers and have me trampled to death but instead most of them climbed over the sides and ran in all directions while a few kept me busy and distracted.

Cutting down a dog that kept its sword arm in the air for far longer than it should have before grabbing the dead dog and pushing him in the path of another dog's axe swing as the corpse took the hit for me as I angled my sword and stabbed through the gap in corpse's arm and impaled the dog behind it. Pushing the dead pair back I ducked in time underneath the swing of a dog on my left and as I did so receive a face full of foot from the dog beside him who was running up the ramp, making me spin around from the impact and fell to my knee, my vision filled with stars and blurred figures but with a shake of my head and a quick rebound and swing I lopped off the leg from the dog whose blade I ducked under.

The diamond dogs continued to pour out from the invasion tunnel they dug and for the most part I was being ignored by the majority of them as they were dead set on raiding and pillaging everything around them as I saw many of them kicking in doors or jumping through windows that broke from when the ground exploded or from the arrow volley. Cleaving a dog in half I watched as three dogs come waddling out with what looks like armfuls of random assorted food and objects as they marched over to the gate entrance as another group of diamond dogs dislodge the tree from the gate itself as the doors shudder and fall over onto the floor, nearly crushing one of the dogs as they all let out howls of victory as those with loot scurry off towards the forest while those that broke down the gate went back to the pack.

Bobbing and weaving between dogs and cutting down those that crossed my path I did all that I could to slow them down but I am just one person against what felt like a never-ending wave of canines until I heard the sounds of battle happening further down the street as I saw Tychus leading his group of guards and militia towards me but they have stopped as they couldn't advance anymore forward due to the number of dogs clogging the path. Keeping my back facing friendly forces I had to slowly inch my way to them as I didn't want to get bonked on the back of the head by a dog and be captured for yet a fourth time this year.

Cutting down more dogs along the way I started shouting as loud as I could to try and alert as many people as possible that might still be holding up in their homes hoping that they won't be found.

"Everyone that is a non-combatant get to townhall at once! Your homes and businesses can be rebuilt and any belongings can be replaced but your very lives can't! Don't throw your lives away thinking that the diamond dogs won't find you because they will! Just get your collective asses to townhall and we will keep you safe! Don't even bother taking anything with you that isn't a weapon or some form of shield as everything else won't save you!"

But nobody who stayed behind in their homes made a move, this was the hill that they were willing to die on, to stay in their house thinking that the dogs won't check their home and find them before dragging them off to a fate worse than death.

Eventually after cutting down several more dogs, I reached Tychus and saw that he was just as tired and worn down as I was as were the rest of the griffons and ponies who stood beside him, the young griffon guard looked at me and tried to look around me to see where the rest of my group was with a look of worry on his beak.

"Where are the others? Are they...?"

"They are still alive but a few are in critical condition, they were at ground zero when the ground ruptured and they will need medical attention as soon as possible with those that barely got hurt are holding the barracks to prevent any dogs from getting in. We have to drive find a way to get through to them but with how many there are and the fact that they keep pouring out and that the gatehouse has fallen to their control so they are coming in from two entrances."

As I said this, I watched the emotions on his face flashed before settling to that of defeat.

"Sir, we can't win this...can we?"

Shaking my head at him was all I could do as I focused back on the fight as another diamond dog took a stab at me but he failed as I deflected the strike to the side before kneeing said dog in the gut and swung down cutting his head off.

"Without some sort of divine intervention making the nearby legion fly faster than they possibly can or that they were already flying our way when we sent the Pippin out to get help? Then no, we are fucked as fucked can get for we are on our own now Tychus."

As the fighting kept going, we started to take casualties and we kept backing up and moving towards townhall as a griffon had to help the wounded get back to safety before finally on got to the point where we were now surrounding townhall as the other groups were arriving as well with their own diamond dogs chasing after them. With each group that arrives the defensive line surrounding the entrance of townhall grew deeper with each additional griffon and ponies holding the line with those getting injured being hurriedly brought in along with those who quickly left their homes that were led by the groups returning.

Eventually the fighting grew to a fever pitch when all of townhall was surrounded and that the dogs were now trying to force their way inside by trying to break through the windows but with all of them locked and barred from the other side they soon enough resorted to rushing the entrance we were defending and it became a bloodbath with casualties rising on both sides. With each griffon and pony that falls and succumbs to their injuries and have to be rescued the smaller our defensive perimeter becomes until finally there was only fourteen of us left.

Tired, injured, sweaty, bloody, covered in the gore of those I have killed or helped get to the safety of townhall, I was exhausted as I stared down the same diamond dog that had come to demand our surrender, the look of smugness on his face as he crossed his arms and simply barked at his dogs to stand back and away from us as a large circle formed around our last safe refuge.

Taking a step toward us I watched as the diamond dog in intricate golden-bronze metal armor stopped half way before us, looked at us all individually before settling his eyes on me before giving a nod. The armor this dog wore was a combination of scale mail and splint, the scales covering the riveted metal strips offered more protection than either of the two different armor suits when separate, the helmet on his head covered his head almost completely with the exception of his face as it covered his neck to prevent any easy decapitations. On his waist was a thick looking belt that kept his armored trousers on was a pair of swords in ornate scabbards, one of them strangely enough looks like it is made from bone.

"Such brave fighters you all are, fighting to the very last one standing, it is such a shame it has come to this but alas it has because your leader and his knight refused to bend the knee and surrender. I would have treated you well for your services rendered to the rising kingdom my master has created, but you spat on our offer of peace so now you must get the lash." the diamond dog leader said as he waved a hand at us, seemingly secure in his position that there is nothing that we can do to stop him from simply steamrolling over us with his army at his back.

Tychus was having none of it as he tried to approach the diamond dog but was stopped by me when I grabbed him by the collar of his armor and held him back but not without him snapping out some words in anger.

"Hah yeah right! I have seen what your 'peace' offers have done to those that we have rescued from your warrens! Starved-thin bodies, hollow empty eyes, broken spirits and minds and griffons who no longer wish to live anymore! Your peace is nothing more than a lie that you peddle to those that foolishly want to believe in it only to realize that they have been tricked into slavery with no way out other than their own death!"

This got the diamond dog's attention as he turned his head to look at Tychus before letting out a gruff snort and shook his head at the angry bird.

"For one who thinks that slavery is wrong, one must only look at their own history to see the hypocrisy. Ancient Griffonia had its fair share of slaves throughout its empire and even today you have indentured servants who will never know true freedom because of their debts continue to grow and never shrink no matter how much or how hard they work. At least with the rising of our new kingdom those who work will earn what they are owed, and those who are conquered or absorbed into the fold will earn their freedom when they have worked to earn it." the diamond dog said as he spoke about Griffonia's past as if he truly knows it which only served to anger Tychus further.

"Slavery by another name is still slavery, you may think you are liberating them but you are just putting a tighter yoke around their necks in which to control them." I snapped at the diamond dog, clearly knowing that this was probably just a ploy to buy the dogs enough time to either burrow their way under townhall to breach through the hidden tunnel or to break down the windows to get inside to the vulnerable innocents within.

Still staring at us with that smug grin the leader of this raiding party barked out another order, this time the dogs lowered their weapons and took a few steps back, enlarging the distance between us and them.

"You have one hour to collectively surrender yourself to the new order rising in these lands and if you do so than all shall be forgiven and your pain will not be so great, refuse to do so then there we will be burning this village to the ground and all of you will be dragged away in chains. This village will be the first of many to fall and bow before the good graces of our King of the Undermountain, and soon all shall be right with the world when we make our presence known to our oppressors of ages past and I, Rubrico the Second, Alpha of Clan Halistro will be the one to deliver the first blow against the decrepit griffon empire!"

And with those words said the dog leader took a few steps back and watched us as at first, we did not move an inch but after a minute of nothing happening, I realized that he was actually going to give us an hour to either get everyone to agree to surrender or to prepare ourselves to resume hostilities and get our collective anal cavities stomped.

"Before you part ways and tell your village elder my gracious offer, I have words for the diamond dog in armor that stands with you, a hound that came from Clan Fel Brass am I not correct? You and I will talk as the information cannot be shared within earshot of our oppressors."

This raised an eyebrow from me as I am once again mistaken for a diamond dog but also that he knows about the diamond dog clan that I was with when I taught that young pup how to somewhat read, write and the basics of math, but what I am wondering is how does he know about that?

Standing my ground I gave a nod to the others to go back inside as I kept my longsword out but at the side, a clear sign that I still do not trust him and that if things turned ugly that I would be ready for it.

"Now then, let us get down to business, yes? I know that you are harboring a group of minotaurs that we have ambushed within the safety of this village. You and I both know that they told you some story about how they were hunting a creature that was harassing their home and that they were hired to take care of it? That little tale they spun to fool those that question them is nothing more than a lie for I know the true reason as to why they came all the way down from their mountain fortresses." The alpha dog said as his posture relaxed a bit, thinking that he can speak more openly with a fellow dog that he can flip to join his side.

The surprise in store for him is going to be a big one when he realizes what I really am.

"And how would you know if what they said is a lie?" I said to the alpha as I maintained my defensive posture, I was not willing to let these dogs get the drop on me so easily.

"And how would you know if what they said was the truth?" The alpha shot back and it was here we came at an impasse.

"We both weren't there and we both don't know all the facts, so either of us could be right or wrong."

"Ah that my dear lost hound, is where you are wrong. You see while we have indeed attacked them on their journey south into the griffon territories, they were looking for a particular being who has caught their attention in such a way that they were willing to cross our lands and those belonging to the griffons to find and acquire this individual for their own ends." The alpha said and it was with those words that caught my attention.

"What do you mean they were looking for one individual?" I said as I raised an eyebrow, my curiosity peaked as they said 'individual' instead of 'griffon' or 'diamond dog', so they clearly were looking for someone that wasn't a native to these lands.

Which could only mean one thing.

"It means as exactly as it sounds poor hound, they were sent by their king to find the one person who has discovered the means of recreating griffonian steel and were told to find them, bribe them with everything their king has given them, and to bring them back to the minotaurian capital of Minos Prime."

These minotaurs were sent here to look for me, and to take me back with them.

"And how would you know about this little plan of theirs? Unless you were secretly spying on them when this deal was made then you are simply turning on your master then this is nothing more than a lie you have fabricated to get me to be swayed to your side." I said and snarled a bit, trying to use words to twist and weave lies to allure me to join him had failed, and for the moment it looked like I was in the clear. Until...

"That is where you wrong once more little lost hound, for here with me is the proof of their deed." and with that I watched the leader clap his paws together twice and within a few seconds a pair of diamond dogs wearing chainmail waddled behind their leader and in their paws was a fairly large and heavy looking footlocker-shaped lockbox before placing it down in front of their leader.

I knew what was inside that lockbox if the sound of metal bars clanking against one another was of any indication, but to think that the knowledge that I knew how to create steel would quickly spread to our neighbors let alone to the primary sellers of the stuff that the empire buys it from. They wanted to buy my silence and quite possibly purchase me to prevent the griffons from ever recreating their lost art of steelmaking and their superior version of the metal alloy that would put a massive hit to the minotaur's steel trade monopoly. There is a leak within the royal palace and there are few people who know about my assistance on the matter and now I have to tell the king that there is someone within the walls that is selling us out for minotaurian coin.

"So, you bring me a lockbox of your own design to try and persuade me to think it belongs to the minotaur's?"

"No, this is of minotaur design as we have tried to force it open with hammer and spike but the locking mechanism has destroyed our attempts of brute force, only the minotaur leader who survived the attack has the key to open it up, and he is residing within that very building behind you. I will wait for you to go back inside and claim the key to see the truth for yourself and for all those that are watching to know that they were pulled into this mess to begin with."

"Wait...you mean all of this death, all of this destruction, was because we were harboring your enemies?"

"In a way, yes. We were originally going to be conquering and reclaiming our lands from the minotaurs first but they crossed into their borders and we couldn't let them warn the griffons ahead of time. But now here I am offering you, little lost hound, a chance to not die here and to not be led away in chains."

"I am offering you the choice, you can remain fighting for those griffons, our oppressors, and become a slave that has aided our enemies, or you can join Clan Halistro and never have to fear the wrath of our king." and with that said I watched as the alpha raised a paw to me and extended it out to me.

An offer of peace, an offer made only for me as he thinks that I am a diamond dog that is nothing more than a lost hound looking for a place to belong to. But he is wrong on so many levels and he is about to find out why.

Backing away from Rubrico I made my way back to the entrance of townhall before turning to look at the alpha one last time as I sheathed my sword.

"I will discuss this with the elder, we will have your reply."

And with that said I entered the building as four guards took up positions by the door, waiting for anyone to make a move.

Once I was back inside, I made my way to thirteen that was left and told them to assemble by the door before making my way to the elder to give him the same words that the alpha said to me and the expressions that crossed his face made me take a step back as he hobbled over to the door in a hurry. As soon as he got to the door he angrily muttered to his personal guards and with some angry pointing and even more angry words that grew in volume I watched as his four guards gave him a salute before running off towards where the minotaurs are staying.

"When we survive this madness, I will make sure their heads will roll and decorate the gates leading to their lands! I knew their story wasn't adding up when I heard it myself as I know it only takes three minotaurs in the same battle gear they were talking about to handle a bugbear, and for them to send such a large team it means that they were escorting something more of value and importance!"

"Aye, they deserve to die for dragging us into their war but now isn't the time for such things, right now we need to start sending people through the hidden emergency exit and to get as many people out of here as fast as possible all the while doing it as quietly as possible so they don't hear any of you escaping underground. The fourteen of us will stay behind and we will fight as long as we can and do everything, we can to ensure that they do not get inside." I said and as I turned around to leave, I thought to myself on the few lessons I myself received from the alpha's wife, certain rites and challenges a diamond dog can throw at another, ways to climb the ranks aside from working for it... and ways to challenge those in another clan for expansion.

But for now, that can wait, I have a certain minotaur to talk to, or if possibly, pinch a certain key that is hopefully still on his person.

As I walked towards the section of the townhall where the minotaurs were staying in, I bumped into one of the few medically trained people in this town and this hen looked a bit peeved at me at the moment. The griffon standing in front of me in a bloodstained dirty white apron with beige fur and blackish blue feathers, this hen was giving me a withering glare as she stood on her hindlegs and poked me in the chest, her talon making a tink sound as it bumps into my breastplate.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here after you sent my precious Tychus out there and he came back with an injured wing and an arrow in his backside!" the hen said as she poked my chest again, this time putting more force into it as I slightly took a step back.

"Yes, I do have a lot of nerve because I know that he can handle himself and that I had trust in him to lead his group effectively and efficiently unlike some griffons and ponies that would have made mistakes and gotten others and themselves killed." I said in a flat tone as I looked this griffon in the beak, clearly not amused with her already.

"You! Hah! This is why I left the legion in the first place! Knights and Captains who don't even remotely care about those beneath them, only caring about themselves and their little toadies that say yes to every command they say!"

That struck a nerve as I glared down at the griffon and started to bare some teeth at the now fuming hen.

"You may think of me however you want but I do not sacrifice people. I am trying my best to lead these people and to keep them alive while we are under siege, you should do well to remember that simple fact that if it wasn't for me making the plans and having them carried out, those dogs would already be in these walls and carrying everyone off and your pretty little beak being carried off as well, but with your combative attitude and hostile nature, they will probably just run you through and leave your corpse on the wayside."

My tone of voice and the words I said made the insufferable hen back off as I straightened out my armor and calmed myself down and gave one last look down at the hen.

"Now if you can excuse me, I have a job to do and that is to find out the truth as to why these diamond dogs are here and that means finding out whether or not the minotaur's had a key on them."

With that said I started to walk past the nurse but as I barely got around her, I felt a talon grab my right hand I turned to look at the hen and I saw that she just looked tired and a bit remorseful, seems like she has some regrets with what she has said.

The hen was looking away from me and for the most part only looked more tired as she let out a sigh before turning head to look me in the eye as she tried to apologize to me but couldn't up with the words so instead, I watched as she reached into her bloodstained apron and pulled out an ornate hexagonal key and handed it to me.

"This was on the minotaur leader you dragged to my mentor's residence, I thought it was odd to be carrying a house key so I relieved it from him so he wouldn't sleep on it and then complain about something prodding him in the back."

Taking the key in hand I gave it a quick look over before pocketing it and finished up any and all last-minute things that needed to get done before heading to the door one last time to have a date with destiny.

Walking to the entryway of townhall I rejoined the other thirteen griffons and ponies standing barely inside, getting their injuries tended to and whatever armor they have available being strapped onto them. All of them have a grim expression on their collective faces, all of them knowing that tonight will be their last night alive and that they have all accepted this as fact while others have gone to their families and told them that they loved them very much before returning back to us.

"This is it everyone, this is our final stand and I know that none of us had ever thought that this day would come but here it is. I know that many of you would rather not be here right now and be with your families to wait for oblivion together but I refuse to sit here with a thumb up my ass and wait for enslavement to come place its chains on me. I am going to go out there and carve out that bastard's guts and show it to him and the rest of his fucking clan that this lost hound is not to be fucked with! We are citizens of the empire and we will not be bullied or enslaved by those that think that we are weak and undeserving of freedom and life! To arms my friends, tonight we dine in Elysium!"

As I gave this speech the griffons and ponies around me started to thump their hooves in an applause with the griffons clapping their talons together and cheered. I knew that this was all nothing more than a cover to hide how actually scared I am at what lies just outside those doors and what they are going to do to us should I fail, but I know that if I do nothing than I would have failed my friends and send them to a fate worse than death.

Since I have been adopted by Clan Fel Brass, a mentor to them, it has granted me certain...perks, perks that will give me one chance to tip the balance in our favor this night.

Walking towards the entryway I pushed the double doors opened and marched towards the halfway point between myself and the Clan Halistro Alpha as I drew my sword and pointed it at him.

"Rubrico the Second of Clan Halistro, I, Ian Wilkinson of House Wilkinson of the Griffonian Empire and Mentor of Clan Fel Brass, challenge you to the Rite of Authority for control of Clan Halistro!" I shouted this as I approached my opponent, the look of shock and surprise on his muzzle was clearly visible for all to see but the wave of shock spread throughout his ranks as the diamond dogs around him all began to speak and grumble, hell some even barked in anger that an opposing dog is bold enough to even declare such a challenge.

The alpha dog himself stared at me as if I grew a second head and simply started to laugh as if what I said was a joke and that it was nothing more than a diversionary tactic.

"You lie, I know that Clan Fel Brass has fallen on hard times and cannot afford the fee to hire a mentor let alone have one called upon from the Undermountain! You are no mentor, you are nothing more than a lost hound that has found refuge with those that have oppressed our people for centuries!" the dog said and with it the crowd around him all started to nod and agree with him, some even saying that Fel Brass is no more and that it will never recover.

It is time to show them wrong.

"You want proof of my station Rubrico? Then here is your proof!" and with practiced motion of reaching into the neck area of my armor I pulled out the necklace of small bronze chains with the symbol of Fel Brass, a brass cogwheel with twin pickaxes and a hammer in-between the two, this was discreetly given to me by the alpha as he didn't want the others in his clan to know that he made me a mentor without doing the proper protocols.

In essence he gave me a promotion without even doing all the paperwork or getting approval from his boss.

The resounding number of gasps and barks of surprise and anger surrounded me on all sides as every single diamond dog started to heckle me and a few were growling and barking for my head but their alpha raised a paw and they all quieted down before he took a few steps forward.

"How did you...but they have fallen on hard times and lack the funds to even hire a mentor! How did you come upon this most precious of positions!?" spittle flew from his mouth as barked out his words, clearly he isn't pleased to know that from my position that I was technically fourth in line to take over Fel Brass in the event the Alpha and his family ever suddenly died.

Tutting at the diamond dog I put the necklace back on and gave my sword a brief twirl before resetting my posture to the diamond dog so that I would be ready for him. "That is for me to know and for you to find out on your own, but you still haven't answered my challenge, do you accept it or do you deny it and be known as a coward?"

All of the diamond dogs in attendance became silent as they all turned their heads to look at their alpha, waiting to hear his answer to the challenge as they know that if he refuses, whoever is his second-in-command at the time assuming the one big dog I killed earlier in the day was it than his third-in-command, would be taking his place and seeing how many of these dogs are dumb as bricks I fear that they would just burn this entire town to the ground and enslave or kill everyone just because no one with a functioning brain is in charge.

For a few moments I honestly thought he was going to back off and just send every single dog in to silence us but after showing proof of my station within diamond dog hierarchy he couldn't do that anymore, which left him in between a rock and a hard place.

"Bah, fine, I accept your challenge Fel Brassian Mentor, but know this that when you fall, your rights of mentorship will be stripped from you and I shall cast you into the darkest depths for you to toil in for daring to make a mockery of my name." and with that said I watched as the Alpha hefted a shield from a nearby diamond dog and unsheathed his sword from his belt.

Being drawn from its bony sheath was a long-bladed weapon that held an ominous glow to it for a few moments before fading away, I think it was just a trick of the light as the metal that the blade is made from isn't that of copper, bronze, iron or steel as it was black in appearance yet it wasn't glassy and chipped looking like obsidian, I'll be keeping an eye on that blade for the time being.

With the two of us ready we waited for the other to make a move.

The rules for a Rite of Authority were simple, two diamond dogs enter a fighting ring with their weapons and armor if they have any and they fight till either dog is dead by the others blade or paws or either dog surrenders. Surrendering to diamond dogs is seen as the better option as it gives them a chance to redeem themselves in the future when they go to challenge the dog who took their position from them or in some cases, a chance to escape and regroup, while death is seen more as getting rid of a rival that they would rather not have to deal with in the future.

But if during the rite that a diamond dog wishes to surrender and their opponent refuses to honor that request? Well, I hope that dog who just died didn't have any friends because then they have just made an enemy of all those that dog was associated with.

But right now, for me, I am going to kill this dog regardless if he asks to surrender, he is directly responsible for the sacking of Talon's End and for the lives that have been claimed by him and his forces.

"Tonight, I shall shame Fel Brass by defeating you and send them further into obscurity, within the generation they will be forgotten by our scribes and none will even utter their name ever again." Rubrico said as he gave his blades a flourish and charged at me, and just like his dumb brick of an officer that I killed he was bigger than me and had a hard time coming to a stop but what caught me off-guard was that he knew about this inherent weakness and slowed himself down just enough that when he got to me, he was ready and swung at me in an overhead chop that I managed to block but was forced backwards from the force of the blow.

Recovering from the chop I gripped my sword with both hands and swung at him as the dog parried it off to the side but wasn't expecting the fist that followed after it as I delivered a sucker punch to the jaw and with the momentum from the punch I spun in place and kicked him in the stomach before taking a step back to realign myself as Rubrico recovered from getting clocked in the jaw and the boot to the guts.

With the alpha staggering back a few steps I reach with my left hand and unsheathed the parrying dagger from my belt and twirled it around as I got into a proper dueling stance as I knew that this beast of a diamond dog will throw everything he has at me to make sure that the humiliation I have delivered upon him dies with me.

The both of us went back and forth trading blows and parrying strikes as neither one of us were going for damaging or killing blows as it became rapidly apparent that this was going to become a war of attrition.

Charging at the alpha I swung my longsword in an overhead arc that was telegraphed well enough that I watched as the alpha blocked it with ease with his shield but he wasn't expecting me too immediately twirl around his left side and when he was once more in view again I dragged my dagger across his left shoulder and my longsword across his back, the dagger only left a scratch on his armor while the sword actually managed to cut into his back if only to draw a small amount of blood as the alpha let out a yelp of pain before spinning around to face me with a snarl.

"Grrr, you will pay for that!"

Grinning at the diamond dog all I could do was blow a raspberry at the bastard as I ducked under a swing before quickly backstepping away as a foot almost clocked me in the jaw as I nearly stumble and fall on my ass but I caught myself at the last second and stood back up to face my foe.

The two of us circled the arena, trying to gauge the others intent and then the moment came when we both moved as one to the center of the circle, both of us swinging at the same time as our blades smash into each other as sparks briefly flew from the impact.

When our blades collide once more the both of us were trying to force the other to move back, putting our backs into the attack as we both struggled to gain any ground.

"You should have left this village alone and simply waited for the minotaur's to leave on their own accord, now you will pay the price for your actions!"

"And you should have taken my offer! Now you and every single griffon and pony here will die!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

With our swords connected with all of my strength I forced our blades upwards but he saw this coming as I felt an armored knee hit my gut which knocked the wind out of me as I felt something within crack then I felt his shield smash across my face as I tumbled to the ground and dropped my dagger and nearly my sword as well.

Gasping for air I quickly scrambled back onto my feet in time to see his blackened sword slice across my face, and if I was a little too slow when I was getting up that would have gone through my head as if it were nothing.

'Jesus Christ that was close! A second too slow and I would be dead as shit and I doubt my benefactor would be able to pull my ass out of the grave with that injury!'

The slight pain from my cheek getting cut was nothing but it was only a moment after receiving the flesh wound did, I finally figure out what the black metal blade did to flesh, it froze it. After a hot second from backing away the injury immediately felt like someone had dabbed it with liquid nitrogen and by the gods was it beyond fucking cold.

An enchanted blade? Here I thought that the enchanting arts were lost when the griffons lost their empire two centuries ago, but then again that art has been resurfacing here and there over the past decade but it's always been in a weak format since the griffons, minotaur's and ponies don't know how to actually apply a correct series of runes.

'That's an enchanted blade!? But I didn't see any runes on the surface of the blade?'

Its enchanted alright, but the runes aren't on the blade itself. No sir, those runes are placed directly on that sapphire that is embedded in the pommel and I must say that is one sneaky way of doing it so nobody knows whether or not its enchanted or absurdly sharp.

'Well, thanks for the heads-up, at least now I know that I am fighting against someone that isn't fighting fair.'

Then level the playing field ya big dummy! Fight down and dirty!

With what my benefactor said in mind I decided that now was a good time to put aside the noble griffon fighting style and to go for some good-ole fashioned beat down the human way, and what better way to start it off with...

Stabbing the tip of my sword into the ground I dragged it across its surface before quickly swiping upwards, flinging dirt, rocks and a cloud of dust into the air in front of the alpha as waves his shield arm to try and displace the cloud but when he managed to waft it away, I was already on his left side as I stabbed him right in the left leg before kicking it out from beneath him. As the alpha fell to the ground, I then proceeded to impale him in the left shoulder blade, forcing him to let go of his shield as he let out a howl of pain while I then proceeded to then kick him in the head, his helmet saving him from the worst of the kick.

With the alpha in a brief daze, I removed my sword from his shoulder and allowed him to stand back up which gave me time to study and analyze my target and I must say that I am happy to know that the damage I have done to him has already started to take its toll on his overall wellbeing.

While none of his injuries are fatal or staggeringly potent enough to render him combat-ineffective, it has left him barely able to stand without being in pain or being able to raise his shield arm without significant suffering on his part. So, in all I can safely say that I now have the advantage in this little duel, and I plan on fully taking advantage of it.

Striding towards my wounded opponent I took a swing at him and as expected the alpha blocked it but instead of taking it head-on as he did before, he instead deflected it off to the side away from his body before another swing results in our swords again colliding into one another in a standoff.

Our blades once more clinch together, this time I can see that he is struggling to keep himself standing let alone keeping his blade from being deflected away once more.

"You have killed many innocent people, and put many more in chains, Rubrico. But here... you will die."

"When I am through with you, I am going to take my army and I will cut a bloody swathe through your precious griffons all the way up to Griffonstone itself, and when I get there, I will drag your broken body through its bloodstained streets and force you to watch as I butcher every last hen, cock and hatchling before your very eyes before I cut you down myself!"

"No, you won't."

Withdrawing our blades I went on the offensive, hacking and slashing at the brute of a dog with everything I had as I watched as he started to collect several cuts and knicks as his armor started to fail him, no longer being able to take the blows any longer as I finally started to see blood drip from the gaps and gashes.

Glaring down at Rubrico as he tried to fight on despite his steadily growing number of injuries, but hearing the steadily rising amount of dogs trying to join the fight but is being held back by other dogs, I realized that I have to end this fight quickly or else I will get swarmed by those that could care less for traditions and will do anything to keep their alpha safe.

Renewing my assault on the alpha I deflected a slash from his sword and as I moved in far closer than normal, I brought my right knee into his gut knocking some wind from his sails as I grabbed his right arm with my other hand before punching him in the face with my right hand that still held my longsword. As he started to recoil back from the onslaught to his body I finished it all off by disarming him of his only weapon by smacking it out of his hand with my left armored forearm from his weakened grip and quickly grabbed it in a reverse grip hold before slashing the blade across his muzzle and pulled myself back to take in my handy work.

The Alpha of Clan Halistro stood before me, bloodied, battered, weakened, and was barely managing to stay standing after all that I have done to him in front of his entire clan, the sounds of his struggling gasps for air, whines and whimpers of pain are all that I need to know that he is one paw in the grave and one paw on a banana peel. With growls and whimpers I watched the alpha try to walk back to his clan to be safe from me, but I wasn't going to let him have that mercy of being tended to by his friends and mates...

No.

I have offered him and his clan mercy from the long talons of the empire if he left these lands and to never return.

He spat on the offer and retorted that he was going to burn every single griffon town and village until he reaches Griffonstone before putting it to the sword and kill every single man, women and child.

Today, he dies here.

Gripping both swords tightly I approached the staggering alpha dog from behind and as he turned around to see what I was going to do to him, but that was the last mistake he was ever going to make on this mortal coil.

With both blades in hand, I thrust my arms forward impaling the dog in the chest as the enchanted diamond dog blade piercing through his ribcage, severing three ribs, puncturing his right lung and coming out the back while my griffonian knight's sword went between the gaps in the ribs and pierced through his heart and left lung. At the angle the blades went in, it went out the center of his back, severing his spine in two rending his legs forever useless. Looking the diamond dog in the eye I watched as he reached out to try and push me away to spare himself a cruel death, but instead all he saw was an enraged man staring back at him, my lips curled back in a snarl as my eyes stare into his own with unbridled anger and hate as he saw that his fate was sealed.

Twisting the blades inside his chest I let out a grunt as I heaved him into the air, his body sliding down my swords as his hands weakly grab at my shoulders to try and push himself off but all that does is make me twist the blades even more, forcing him to cry out in pain and whimper as he started to beg for mercy, begging that fell on deaf ears.

'Show you mercy? No, mercy would have been shown if you had simply fled and waited for the minotaurs to leave this village, instead you sacked it and killed several innocent griffons and ponies all in an attempt to smoke them out. Oh no, there will be no mercy for you Rubrico, there will only be death for you.'

Rubrico showed no mercy to this town and its people all because we took in a group of minotaurs that they had a dispute with.

I will show him no mercy in return, for it is only kind to pay evil unto evil.

Slowly pulling my left arm back until the enchanted blade was fully removed from the alpha's body only for me to drive right back in at a different spot, stabbing through meat and intestines before repeating this motion three more times before switching to my griffon sword and relocated it into the alpha's stomach and left it there before giving him one last snarl.

With a bit of a heave, I forced the diamond dog off of my blades and into the air long enough to get some distance away from me before I reeled my arms back and swung forward. Both swords glided past each other as they sliced through flesh, sinew and bone, cleaving the diamond dog in half at the waist as he let out a wail of pain before my arms doubled back and cut off his head at the base of his neck.

Everyone that was watching this duel was silent as the grave.

The ponies, griffons and minotaur's that are hiding in the meeting hall and are looking out through the front doors and the windows are in awe, to witness a small diamond dog runt beating an alpha in combat is something out of myths and stories in the diamond dog clans to try and motivate the runts into working harder to get on par with the rest of their clan.

To the diamond dogs that was watching the fighting, they are a mixed reaction of sorts, some of them are in awe that a runt has slain their Alpha right before them in an honorable duel for supremacy over their clan and even though said runt is not of their clan, but of a rival clan that has gone into hiding. Others are frothing at the mouth in anger that a runt has killed their Alpha in such a disgraceful way even though their leader agreed to the duel of supremacy and that they are one step away from avenging their leader and utterly tearing the runt apart, while a few are afraid with their tails between their legs and are starting to back away from their new Alpha, afraid that this runt will now take his anger out on his new clan for who knows how many years he has been subjected to mockery, insults, random punishments and mistreatments.

Both sides were simply looking at me as I stood there covered in the blood of both myself and the ex-Alpha with his ruined remains on the floor before me as I took a couple of staggered steps towards the overwhelmingly colossal crowd of diamond dogs that are watching me.

"Dogs of the Ruby Mountains! Look at your old alpha! By the Rite of Challenge, I claim victory over your alpha! By your very laws I am your alpha!"

None of the dogs moved a muscle and simply stood there looking at me in disbelief for several minutes, none of them made a move until one took a few steps towards me, before kneeling before me, broadsword stabbed into the muddy earth as other dogs started doing the same thing with others backing away.

"Now hear me! Hear me and obey! Leave this griffon village, leave behind all that you have looted from their homes, release those you have captured and return back to the warrens!"

At first nobody moved an inch but after a while some of the dogs started to shuffle and move through the crowd, the more easily cowed and frightened dogs started to move through the crowd, doing as I have instructed while the rest simple stood there, staring at me. My guess is that the think that I will fall over and make myself an easy target for the next dog to claim the title of Alpha with the current one being exhausted and badly injured.

Soon more dogs began to turn around and leave, many of them were running through the gathered crowd of dogs as they beat a hasty retreat from the town as per their new alpha's orders along with telling their dogs to drop everything they stole and releasing their new prisoners before racing out of the town gates back towards their mountains. I don't know exactly how long I stood their trying to keep up the façade that my injuries weren't as bad as they appeared but with each passing second it was getting harder to remain standing.

Then when I fell to my knees from the pain, I heard the dogs all calling for my head, many of them making their way towards me with weapons raised and all of them going for the kill until I heard something pierce through the air that raised my spirits and brought hope to all of the townsfolks and absolute fear and dread to the dogs that remained within the town limits.

It was a loud, blaring war horn and what followed was from the sky a cacophony of griffon war cries as they divebombed from above as several griffons crashed straight into the diamond dogs, killing the poor bastards on impact. While the dive-bombers crashed and killed their intended targets the archers above rained arrows down around me, picking off those that got close while forcing the others to flee as I watched my saviors land around me, keeping me covered as they forced the diamond dogs into a retreat.

My saviors have finally come just as when I had finally accepted my fate, it was a griffonian legion came just in time to pull my ass out of the fire, I just wish they had got here a whole lot sooner.

The diamond dogs had little choice on what to do to survive this night, they could either surrender immediately to the sudden appearance of the griffonian military, retreat back to their warrens as I have instructed, or scatter themselves to the four winds, otherwise they could stay, fight, and die. Many of them dropped to their knees and surrendered immediately as they were quickly tackled to the ground and had manacles slapped on them, others just turned tail and ran towards the gates to try and escape imperial justice, while many others did indeed stay behind to try and fight and pillage while they still could.

I don't know how many dogs were captured or how many were killed, but all I heard around me was the screeching of griffons and the howls of pain and whimpers of the diamond dogs as I watched everything unfold around me.

Coming down beside me from behind I heard the lighter pitter-patter of paws and talons and I knew it was the griffon I sent out to get help.

"Sir! The dogs are retreating! We did it! We won!" Pippin shouted with glee as he quickly came over to me as I felt his talons clap me on the shoulder but that clap was all that was needed for me to finally give in to my injuries as I fell to my knees and let out a pained groan as I just let darkness take over my vision.

'Heh, it looks like I did it. I held out for as long as possible for them to get here just in the knick of time.'

'I can finally rest now...'

The last thing I hear is Pippin crying out for a medic as darkness laid claim to me once more.

Boy you honestly have got to stop passing out every time you lose a little too much blood!

Author's Note

Sorry it has been so long since a chapter has rolled out, between getting a job at Walmart and the shit hours they have given me I hadn't had much time to put words to screen but now that I got a more concrete schedule I can hopefully write more often.

A Truth Revealed

Here I am yet again, floating in the abyss that is my own unconscious mind as I have once more have suffered grievous injuries, but at last I am still alive.

I didn't have to wait long for my benefactor to make an appearance this time as I simply felt their presence as I willed my astral form to spin around to face them. When we last spoke to one another they had said that we will tell me who they are later, and later has just come so they better start talking or this working relationship we got is about to become strained real fast.

When my eyes looked upon the form of my benefactor, I was expecting for them to be a griffon deity since I landed right next to their race's capital on this continent or hell even a pony deity since ponies live amongst the griffons in peace or some other race's god or goddess that reside in this world, but what floated before was anything but them.

Floating before me was the strangest creature I have ever seen, and I must say that I have seen some strange shit on the internet, but this really takes the cake for me as it looks like a long brown chocolate pool noodle with limbs and a tail but that is where the normality of it ends. Each limb was different from the rest of them, my benefactor's left arm was that of an eagle's while the right arm was a meaty lion's paw, and for their legs the left one was that of a bovine's or a horse while the right leg was that of a dragon's or a lizard. At first, I thought that was it until I saw a pair of wings steadily stretch out from its back, one wing was purple and resembled a bat while the other was a blue feathered wing, and then I saw the horns and they too were mismatched like the rest of its body, one like a deer's and the other...I have no idea what animal that came from.

As this figure approached and moved out from the shadows, I saw that this figure was female as I those strangely deliciously thick thighs, and breasts that are actually in the right spot on a human but odd on...whatever this being is.

The two of us simply stared at one another for a good long while before the silence was broken when the amalgam creature snapped its talons and the area around us explosively changes into what looks like a therapist's room, right down to the plain creme wallpaper, sofa and chair, it even had the corny 'Hang in there' poster with the cat hanging on the tree branch and that little toy chicken dipping its head into a cup of water.

"There, now we can talk in a much more comfortable environment instead of just us two floating in darkness." my benefactor said in an airy female voice that caught me completely off-guard as she lazily floated over to the sofa and laid across it as with her head hanging off of one side while most of her tail went over the other side and was now laying on the floor, occasionally moving every now and then like a cat's would.

I simply stood there in the middle of the room staring at my benefactor for a good long while and for the most part she didn't seem to care that I was looking her over, inspecting her form as I couldn't help but be somewhat in awe as her body is made up of several different creatures and it doesn't look like that she is some sort of Frankenstein monster. For the people who inhabit this world, something like this must be normal for them to see but for me who has explored the internet and seen some shit but this female being, she really takes the cake when it comes to her appearance.

This went on for a few minutes until finally my benefactor snapped her fingers again but this time my head moved against my will as it slowly moved in the direction of my benefactor's head before being locked in that position.

"Now I know I am rather beautiful to behold but do keep your gaze from going too lecherous while we have our little talk."

Immediately averting my gaze and muttering a near-silent 'sorry' as silence reigns between us for all of two seconds before my benefactor starts snickering to herself before it evolves into full-blown hysterical laughter that goes on for a full minute before it petters down to her snickering at my confused expression. Once her giggling and snickering ends, she snaps her talons again but this time I am teleported to the chair in the sitting position but upside down with my head on the floor and my feet on the headrest.

"There we go, now we can have a proper talk! So, here we are, inside your head once more but this time we have some...bleh, important and serious things to talk about, so let us get this over with and out of the way. So then ask your questions my little peon, and I promise that I will answer them truthfully to the best of my abilities."

"Uh...yeah, I got a few, the first one should be painfully obvious. What the hell are you?" I said as I continued to look at the creature before me, my mind still struggling to try and figure out what this thing is and how did it even come into existence.

My benefactor didn't even look offended or insulted by my words, in she just gave me a raised eyebrow before chuckling to herself before snapping her eagle talons as a green chalkboard appears out of nowhere with what looks like two crude drawings of what looks like two more of her kind, but they are in the missionary position...and what made it even more confusing to me that it was all animated. I didn't know how she was even doing that but then I realized that this was nothing more than my subconscious mind creating all of this so naturally in the impossible can be done.

"Well, you see, when a mommy draconequus and a daddy draconequus love each other very much-"

"I get it, they start fucking and eventually you show up. I know what procreation and sexual intercourse is, I learned this shit in school and from the copious amounts of porn I saw back home. This is nothing new to me." I said as I drew my eyes away from the chalkboard just as the two were finishing up, and by finishing up I mean finishing up as the two fucking chalk figures looks like they have reached their climatic end as the green chalkboard turned white.

All I could do was inch myself away from the chalkboard before returning my attention to my benefactor who was busy laughing to herself at the sight of my apparent disgust at the sight of her animated chalk drawings getting it on like horny beasts in season.

"Oh, goodie then, I guess we won't be needing the flash cards and projector slides, but anyways I am a Draconequus, and while most races on Equus will say that we are simply nothing more than 'abominations of nature and harmony' we are in fact creatures of chaos and change, no two draconequus are alike nor do they appear similar, our forms take after our connection to chaos so that is why we are what we are."

"And your name?"

"Ah, that thing that you mortals love to wave around in the faces of others. While the others in the pantheon have names that they go by and those that are their true names and by extension to me as I am somewhat a part of it...I guess you can call me Eris, just don't say my name out loud for others to hear, I would rather my existence be kept a secret to the rest of the mortal realm until it is the proper time for my grand reveal." my now named benefactor said as she crosses her arms and gives an adorable pout, seemingly acting like a child to get what they want.

Shrugging my shoulders at her attitude I began to recall back the few times that we have talked and remembered certain topics that I have wanted to get the truth from.

"And your father's name, the one you have me trying to break out of his prison?"

"Oh, his name is Discord, Lord of Chaos, Ruler of Chaosville, King of all cheese, and most importantly, is the primary source of Chaos magic on Equus, with me being second." King of Cheese? You can't be a king over food, that is just being ridiculous and if I were to ever meet him than I think I may have some choice words for him.

"Can you tell me the exact reason as to why you want me to uproot the established order with the changes that I have caused to this world along with the changes that will come from my presence and ideas?"

"I wanted you to uproot order and spread chaos because that is what my father and I live off of! We are the opposite of Order, everything neat and tidy and clean is our anathema and we simply could not stand it for so long, so we did what needed to be done. With chaos in the world, we can draw upon it to not only keep us alive but to also make us stronger and with enough chaos in the world we can even do what the rest of the pantheon won't do." Eris says as she snaps her talons and slithers up from her resting position on the sofa as she is now floating in the air with what looks like several arcane circles floating around her, sigils and runes floating within magical disks as she simply snaps her talon and the magic show comes to an end as quickly as they began.

I am honestly wondering now if she is free along with her father and that I am just doing this to further empower them so that they could take over the world, but then again, they could actually be the good guys, or I could be making a huge mistake, its 50/50 that I am right or wrong.

"So why are you and your father imprisoned...wherever it is where you are behind lock and key?"

"Oh, that one is an easy one, you see kiddo a long time ago my father and I were locked away because we simply went against the natural order of everything on this world. While the others in the pantheon were happy with how ungainly slow the world was developing, it has gotten to the point where stagnation has settled in for every race on the planet and you and I both what happens when stagnation settles in."

"Aye, nothing changes, everyone becomes happy with their lot in life and never strives to better themselves to the point where boredom and disappointment settles in, with no goals nor achievements to head for they all fall apart. Hell, if an outside force such as disease, catastrophic weather accidents, or even war were to show up, they would be unprepared and pay the price for it before stagnation either kills them off or they endure and survive." I said this as I walked over to the other chair in the room and sat down in it, relaxing in the fake leather seat as I felt myself sink into it as I let out a sigh of contentment.

"Yup! And that is exactly what dear old daddy and I did to the world! Together we weaved a spell that would cause problems such as the above and then some more thrown in for added measure that would prevent stagnation from laying claim to this world and well, it went about as well as one can expect from the community. The other gods were most displeased with what we have done and so we fought, and we obviously lost but we got the last laugh as they couldn't undo what has been set in motion!" Eris says all of this with a large, face-splitting grin, apparently happy that they lost in their fight against the other gods in the world.

"And what exactly did you set in motion?" I asked as I tried to figure out what could possibly make her so happy about this, but I have a suspicious feeling that she will tell me whether I ask her or not.

"Why my dear little friend, it is the most important thing of all! Perpetual Chaos!"

"I take it that is the best possible outcome for you?" I said, eyebrow raised a tiny bit as I started to realize that what Eris and her father have done may be the equivalent of the apocalypse if everyone is so adverse against the generation of chaos.

"Yuppers! With chaos being in constant motion be it from the weather, the natural chaos of people's lives and the disharmony that comes with it, us draconequus will be empowered by it and I must say it will be great for everyone!"

That raised my eyebrow a little higher from me, something that was immediately picked up on by my benefactor who then quickly explained herself.

"Well, everyone will benefit if they adapt themselves to the changes instead of simply remaining the same after the great waves of change comes crashing around them."

"And if they don't adapt to the changes, you and your father made, I take it they simply suffer more from it, is that what I am getting from all this?"

"Yup! And besides, life is not all about sunshine and rainbows! It's also about the suffering and overcoming adversity to grow and become better than one previously was! And yet, those damnable harmony-loving ponies managed to persuade and coerce all of the other races on Equus and turned them against us, I guess nobody wanted a challenge in their lives and wanted everything handed to them on a silver platter."

"I take it that they then tried to undo what you have done and failed?"

"Oh yeah, they failed alright, when Discord and I created and casted that spell, we made sure to place them at each and every single leyline node on the planet so that even if they tried to break one of the enchantment circles it would simply reconstruct itself and go back to working. And since we hit every single node and made sure that the spell couldn't be undone, we have successfully created a means of never-ending chaos!"

"But how did you end up losing?"

"We kinda...maybe sorta...forgot to add the most crucial part of the spell." Eris says as she somewhat laughs to herself, rubbing the back of her head as she slowly floats down to the floor, her tail coiling up to form a makeshift seat.

"What did you forget?"

"Discord forgot to add the chaos siphon to the spell that whenever and wherever chaos is happening it would immediately absorb it, while I forgot to add the directional siphoning part to the spell so that the collected chaos would go straight to us, and we wouldn't have to do anything ever again." Eris says this as she relaxes on top of her tail, looking somewhat sheepish at her failure alongside with her father's failure as well.

"So let me get this straight, you both made the perfect means of being powerful at all times, but you forgot to set it to only target the two of you?"

"You got it in one." Eris says again, sinking further into her tail while trying to hide her shame, I didn't notice it at all as I was too busy dragging my hand over my face as my brain was busy trying not to commit suicide over how badly they fucked up their world domination plan.

"Okay, I got one more question for you for the moment."

"Lay it on me."

"How the hell did I get to this world? Last time I checked I was back on Earth enjoying myself, now I am on what amounts to Middle Earth without the weed smoking wizard and evil as fuck goblins."

It was at that moment when I asked that question did Eris stop looking sheepish and instead looked a little sad, I don't know if that was the right question to ask her but since it was just the two of us, I may as well bite the bullet and ask the most important question of them all.

"I can't really answer that question, that is something you have to ask my dad because it was his magic that snagged you before you...well, he is the one you have to ask. My only role in bringing you here was giving him enough juice to yank you across time and space...and through a loophole."

"What was that last part?" I said as I leaned in, straining myself a bit to hear what was said by the suddenly now shy and demure draconequus.

"Time and space, you have no idea how insanely difficult it is to so let alone with a body, now if it was a corpse or an object than it can be done so with ease, but a living body? Oh boy you better be ready to either end up as a red stain on the ground from the changes in the rules of physics and reality or be mentally prepared to have your body morphed to match the new world." Eris says this as she bursts out from her coils, trying to rein herself in as she blurts out that knowledge, apparently this sort of thing is either common for the gods to do or just those crazy enough to do it.

"Oh, so what you are saying is that you two went through all that trouble just to yank me across reality? Why?" I said as I crossed my arms over my chest, clearly not amused with this new information nor was I particularly happy that I got yanked by two chaos gods for their own plans.

"Because out of all the worlds out there, your world had the most chaos on it and well you, you were just at the right spot at the right moment. So, kinda sorry that we took you away from your home but also not sorry since you are helping us be free from our imprisonment." Eris says once again her face going sheepish as she scratches the back of her head with that damnable adorable sheepish grin, I swear it's like she is just trying to get me to not hate her.

Pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes I gave my mind one last bit of brain racking before asking Eris my last question for the time being.

"I am wondering, when am I going to be meeting your father, the grand architect of this entire chaos scheme that you both dragged me into?" And it was with this question that brought Eris out from her short-lived funk and once again got a grin on that face of hers.

"Oh, my Ian, wanting to meet my father already and so soon at that! Are you going to ask him if you could ask me out on a date! So forward and bold of you!" Eris says all this while she slithers around me, coiling herself around me before bringing her face close to mind and rubs against while I try to put distance between myself and her, but sadly my attempt ends in total and absolute failure.

"God damn it Eris! No that was not what I was going to ask him, I swear to god you remind me of my shit-posting friends back home." I said as dragged yet another hand across my face, now I am fearing that I may be getting an aneurysm of pure stupidity from this conversation.

This of course gets an insane cackle from the she-draconequus as she then pulls out an old-fashioned camera, you know the one with the big ass lightbulb on it, makes her arm detach from her body, float off a few feet away from us before taking a picture, my vision going white as I lose my sight due to the ungodly blinding light.

I hear the sound of a photo being waved and as color starts returning to my vision as the dots rapidly fade away, I see the photo and all I could is cringe at the sight of it.

The photo was of Eris and myself, the girl wrapped around me like a snake about to devour its next meal with the exception that she was nuzzling against me with the biggest shit-eating grin I have ever seen while I was doing my best to get away from her. After letting me see the photo for a few seconds her floating arm throws the camera behind itself as it explodes in a cacophony of belches as she giggles and uncoils herself from me as she floats over to the wall and slaps the picture to the surface and writes underneath it with that snaggletooth of hers as if it were a pen.

'Best friends forever!'

"Now then my little adorable scamp, it's time for you to wake up! Those griffon medics should have you patched up by now and if not, then well I hope they are ready for you cause it's time to greet the morning!" Eris says this as she pulls from behind her back a massive halibut fish, googles eyes and covered in glitter.

"Eris wait!" I shouted this as I raised my arms up to defend myself, but I knew that I didn't stand a chance in hell.

"Toodles!" Was the last thing I hear before I got crushed underneath the colossal fish and was thrusted back into the conscious world of Equus, with new information in hand but back into the waking world in a world of pain.

Author's Note

Here is your Christmas release, even though its not holiday related!

Ashes and Echos

Opening my eyes slowly I was greeted by the sight of a low-burning candle with griffons and ponies beyond the candle's light moving back and forth, their voices loud but their words muddled as I struggled to understand what they were saying.

"The patient known as Knight Wilkinson and from his medical records he has...somehow survived getting his throat slashed open, multiple cuts and puncture wounds, fractured bones, torn muscles, a concussion, a fractured skull and a mild case of malnutrition. By the gods how is he still alive?"

Letting out a groan I looked over at the griffon standing closest to me who was looking over a scroll as he recited my previous list of injuries.

As I tried to sit up, I realized that I couldn't as I was securely wrapped up in blankets and that it was hard to move in let alone hard to even get into the sitting position. It was when I struggled to move from within my blanket cocoon did, I get noticed by the passing medics and surgeons two broke off from the group they were traveling in and came over to me.

"Easy their sir, relax, your injuries have already been tended to but if you struggle you may reopen them. It was a bit of touch-n-go when we were patching you up, but it appears that you are making an excellent recovery. Sadly, the same can't be said for the many others that were injured during the attack." The griffon on my left said as he checked over my bandaged and blanket-wrapped form, making sure that nothing was reopened and that I wasn't going to be bleeding out any time soon while the griffon on my right was checking a scroll that was placed beside me.

"Another thing, sir, how are you still alive? With this number of injuries, along with the ones you have previously sustained, you should be dead at least three times over."

"I am simply built different." I may not be Toyota tough, but I am tough.

"Indeed." The griffon said before returning to his scroll, giving it one final look over.

"Is it over?" I croaked out, my throat dry as a bone in a scorching desert, my guess is that I have been out for quite some time, hopefully not for a number of days but a few hours at best.

"Yes sir, it is over. The diamond dog siege on Talon's End is done." The griffon on my right said, putting the scroll down before taking out a quill and a tiny bottle of ink before writing something down, blew on the ink to quickly dry it out before rolling it back up.

"How many..." I started to speak but coughed violently as I raised an arm to try and cover my mouth.

"By our last county, it was forty-four dead and nearly a hundred wounded in some capacity."

"And the minotaur's?"

"They are being tended to but are under watch."

"Good...good..." I said before laying my head back down on the floor, letting out a groan as I let everything sink in.

The battle was over.

Talon's End survived the siege.

But at what cost?

Nearly fifty griffons and ponies are lying in the great hall covered in sheets, their eyes closed with a pair of coins covering their eyes while those of equestrian descent has a few items pertaining to their cutie-mark placed next to them.

Those who knew the honored fallen defenders were kneeling beside their kin and friends, mourning the loss of someone that made a difference in their daily lives, mourning the loss of a lover, a friend, a parent, a child, a sibling, a rival, cursing the world for its cruelness in taking someone away from them too soon.

Many of those that fell were some I had befriended during the feast and while we were working on the improvement projects for the town, I grew to care for them. To think that their candle would be snuffed out so suddenly, and the ones responsible were the ones we took in thinking that they were the innocent party that was being attacked for no reason by a pack of dogs.

But soon enough the scales will be balanced, by my sword or another's.

And there I was, laying down against the back of the great hall staring at everyone and everything in the chamber, my injuries have been tended to and the ones responsible for this attack are sitting in the town's jail cell, chained to the walls so they cannot escape judgement when the king arrives.

Now though, when the king arrives in a few days, I am hoping he gives me the honor of beheading these bastards or at the very least, allows me to remove their horns as they have lost all honor in my eyes for their actions.

As I laid there resting by the wall as the griffon doctor finished checking my injuries to see if they have worsened or got infected, I watched as a pair of griffons brought in another body from the outside, covered in heavy canvas, lifeless.

Another victim.

Undoing the bedding that kept me from sitting up I looked around myself to see where my belongings were, and I saw that they were all neatly placed beside my head. Pushing my hands into my pile of clothes and armor I found the key that was still within the pants pocket before weakly smiling to myself before I started to redress myself carefully and slowly as to not agitate my injuries any further than they already have been.

Pushing myself off the limestone tiles I slowly limped my way past the griffons bringing in another unfortunate victim of the minotaur's crimes, I soon left the great hall to find myself at what was left of Talon's End.

The fires were put out during the night when it started to rain which was a small blessing disguised as a curse as it turned the dirt into mud and made everyone move cautiously as to not trip but it also slowed down in the search-and-rescue efforts for those that are still unaccounted for. Many griffons and ponies are still missing from last night's siege even though I gave the command to release any and all prisoners that the diamond dogs have captured but I still think that those that are not present are either trapped in their homes because their homes were damaged or are simply refusing to leave because they fear that the dogs will come back to finish us all off.

And I wouldn't blame them for not wanting to leave their homes.

The town didn't stand a chance against the mongrel horde that was the Ruby Mountains Clan and that they would have completely annihilated this town if it wasn't for my stalling tactics to whittle them down and me fighting their alpha in a one-on-one fight to the death. That battle gave us enough time to secretly evacuate the citizens with the underground passage hidden in the town hall, just in time too because I feared that after I killed the alpha that they would resume their attack and destroy us all.

I didn't know if it was luck or providence but when the alpha was killed and the dogs had me surrounded, with me injured to the point that I would only be able to put up a weak defense before getting torn apart like a parmesan pull-apart sandwich I was spared such a grisly end when they retreated at the sound of the griffonian war horn being blown. They knew that they ran out of time to enact their vengeance against the minotaur's and that they are now firmly in the crosshairs of the highly trained griffon army that is now bearing down on them.

When I saw the banner-griffons flying into the village, crashing and killing any diamond dog they can get their talons on, I knew I was safe and that the rest of the village was safe as well. After seeing the sight of the griffon army coming to the rescue, I finally gave up the ghost and decided to take a little nap right then and there, only to wake up a few hours later in the town hall laying against a wall surrounded by the injured and infirm.

The village of Talon's End can and will be repaired to what it was before the siege, but its people, their very lives will never be the same again. Those that lost someone will be grieving and asking the gods why this happened to them while others will be asking the army if they can join for a chance of revenge, but me, I have learned that even these diamond dogs can be of use to me and the empire.

When we march on the Ruby Mountains, finding the warren will be hard and laying siege and claiming it will be nearly impossible due to how they are structured but if I were to do some...unorthodox and quite possibly unethical tactics, we can get them to surrender and have them become a tributary for the empire. They can pay off their crime by 'giving' monthly tithes to the empire till the day we decide that they have paid off their crimes but knowing how these things work that will be never, and in time we will take the wild dogs and make them loyal to us.

With a bit of a hiss I took my first few steps out of townhall, two legionnaires that are standing by the door immediately snapped to attention and slamming the butts of their halberds into the ground, I guess word of either my deeds or my rank has reached their ears and they are simply going by protocol.

Turning to one of the guards I asked them if anyone from the legion has seen or moved a fairly large chest of minotaurian design recently and their response was simple.

"No sir knight, the chest remains where it lies in the middle of the street. We have tried to open it but neither crowbar nor arcane might could pry it open so we left it there for the time being until a key could be found, forged or a stronger arcanist arrives."

"There will be no need for a forger nor an arcanist, I know how to open this minotaurian chest for I have its corresponding key." I said as I limped my way over to the metallic chest resting in the mud-covered streets of Talon's End, many of the town's guards that survived the night were giving salutes and nods of acknowledgement along with several of the citizens that are out and about trying to fix their homes.

As I approached the chest I suddenly felt a sense of dark foreboding wash over me, as if what I was about to find may very well be some foul, occult, unholy relic of old, and when I knelt down and placed the key within its square hole, I watched as the mechanism within latched onto the key and spun it a few times before series of small clicks go off that is then followed by several rectangular locks displace themselves from the chest as dust is ejected out. Placing my hands on the lid I gingerly tried to lift it up and at first thought that it wasn't going to budge an inch but strangely enough I was able to open it with barely much effort put into it as the hinges were well-maintained as the lid rose.

What laid within the metal chest was oddly enough a second chest, rectangular in shape and looked more akin to a lockbox than a treasure chest. The lockbox itself was ornate in design with what looks like minotaurian beings of lore having been molded or shaped onto the metal itself, some of which reminds me of the myths and legends that originated from Greece, the minotaur and the labyrinth, medusa, harpies, that sort of shit. Another thing that sets this lockbox apart from others is that after a seconds after I have opened the chest, the lockbox itself rose up on a small platform before the lid seemingly opens itself, splitting in half from the middle before opening up to reveal its contents.

What laid inside made my eyes glitter and sparkle with greed and avarice.

Lying in neat little rows was solid gold bars and a letter, each bar being the size of a standard concrete brick, each of them stamped with the minotaur royal treasure symbol which was a pair of crossed keys behind a stack of coins in the shape of a minotaur's head. As I pulled one out I saw that there was more underneath it and as I started digging into the lockbox as I pulled out a column of gold bars and found that there are a total of 280 gold bricks laying within.

Pulling out the letter I saw that it was sealed with a wax that has stamped in it the royal minotaur sigil, a beige bull's head resting in the middle of a scale with a stack of coins on one balance and what looks like a gear wheel in the other balance.

Breaking the wax seal, I yank the letter open and removed the folded parchment within as I began to read the fairly well written script that I could understand, something I probably should have asked Eris when we met, but nonetheless

"Greetings Mr. Ian of House Wilkinson, noble knight of the Griffon Kingdom

On behalf of the proud bulls of Minos, we would like to extend an invitation to you to join our great nation for your contribution for the recreation and fabrication of the lost art of Griffonian Steel along with the creation of a new type of forge and smelter that can quickly produce fresh, pure metal in times far faster than any forge and smelter in all of Minos.

We are inviting you alongside those that have bonded with you to join the Kingdom of Minos for your innovative creations and unorthodox way of thinking that has never been seen in a millennium since the fall of Chaos. We would love to have you here with us as we are paving the way for new innovative ideas that will change the world for the better as we have a path to a brighter tomorrow. To show my trust in you I have enclosed within the lockbox a 'generous' donation to help you set yourself up within Minos to further our cause and help bring this lawless land to heel. I know that as a diamond dog your loyalty is to those that have placed themselves at the top and yet your new king has yet to give upon you a home to call your own nor land for you to preside over, but if you were to join me at Minos, that will change for I can give you anything your heart desires all in return for your cooperation in helping us in creating a new world. My nephew and his associates will be there to assist you in grabbing whatever belongings you and yours have and taking them back to Minos where your new life will begin and together, we shall shape the world where all are equal in the eyes of the pantheon.

I hope to see you in Minos soon, my new friend.

From the desk of his royal highness, King Janark, Fourth of his name, King of the lands of Minos, ruler of northern Griffonia, slayer of the elder dragon Chrysophylax, and Descendent of Rhadamanthus the thirdborn of Asterion of the Pantheon."

Lifting my head to look back at the chest on the ground and the absurd amount of gold that lays within its confines, I gave the letter one final read over as it hits me.

The minotaur's has a spy that has access to the king's inner circle of leaders and assistants, or at the very least has spies that can listen in to their conversations. Not many griffons knew about the plans that I had placed forward and those few that do know sworn to secrecy and that the punishment for breaking such an oath would be stripped of their ranks and titles before being banished to the frontier. Or the most likely of culprits, those that assist the king's assistants, cause after all even the tightest of beaks can be pried open with a large enough 'donation' of gold and silver.

'So this at least confirms that we got traitors who has access to the inner circle, how all that is needed to be done to be rid of them is to set a trap and capture them. And should they resist then we can employ much more...devious methods of obtaining information from them.'

Casting a sparing glance towards the chest filled with gold I began to think to myself as I started to pace back and forth while looking at the town around me.

'These minotaur's were sent by their king to come find me, offer me wealth beyond my wildest dreams to come work for them in Minos far to the north...that far up north will be freezing cold, even more so when winter hits in three months and my ass isn't equipped to handle that degree of cold. That is gonna be a hard pass from me bro, no way in hell am I ditching these griffons to go up north to help a bunch of bulls who already seem well off and don't need any brand of assistance from me, hell I should be asking them if they can help us.'

Rotating the key to the 'locked' position I watched as the lids closed on themselves and sealed up tightly before slightly pushing the key out and with a bit of a yank, I retrieved what is now rightfully mine before standing back up with a bit of effort as my injuries started to make themselves known.

As I stand back up, I immediately felt the eyes of well over a dozen ponies and griffons that are around me, I don't know how many know just what lies inside this chest, but I do know that I am now ungodly wealthy at this very moment.

"So, sir, what was inside of that chest?" one of the legionaries said as they crept closer, trying to see what was inside just as the lids closed themselves.

"Apparently a bribe, to get me to betray the kingdom to go work for the minotaur's." I said as I pocketed the key and kept my hand on it lest someone with sticky talons tries to take it from me.

"Why would they try to bribe you? Do they not have any honor at all?"
"I thought that they didn't do such things anymore?"
"Aye, I thought that they were all about strength and honor? Where is that honor with a bribe?"

As the various griffons and ponies talk about the minotaur's trying to bribe me, I walk back to the townhall with a bit of a limp to have a chat with the minotaur's about this deal that they wish to have with me.

'To think that the other kingdoms would suddenly know about my part in recreating griffonian steel let alone try to remove me from the griffons so that they would remain crippled and weakened...I think there is more going on than what the king is letting on, or Eris for that matter.'

Well of course they are trying their best to keep the griffons weak, how else do you expect the surrounding leeches to get their fill of griffon loot? The Griffonian Empire is massive in size but because it is currently broken up into smaller pieces with many of them focusing on certain industries that it is easier to keep them knocked down and demanding tribute from the weakened individual groups. Now if the Empire was whole again and not separated into provinces with their own leadership, then the other nations would be backing off from their demands and then the griffons can spin the table on them in turn. But sadly, only a true ruler can get these greedy griffons to put aside their avaricious nature to unite under a single true banner, and that king on the throne isn't it.

'I take it that corruption of the leaders is the reason why they aren't truly united under a single banner and is just farting around a thumb up their collective asses, collecting taxes and not doing a damn thing to help their own people! I mean that is what the government is for! We pay them taxes or tithes, they use that money to then build or fix roads, improve any crumbling infrastructure, build and maintain critical emergency services like the medical and police forces, I swear it's like this place is going to hell in a handbasket!'

Well that and also each of the district leaders are using their own ways on how to run their region instead of simply yielding their authority to their rightful ruler and king. At least for the most part that many of the governors and mayors use their collected taxes to actually build and improve the roads that lead in and out of their controlled areas and that their guards are always equipped for the job, other leaders on the other paw...well let's just say that you need to start doing your job to get them out of theirs.

It only took me a few minutes later to realize what Eris has said, that the king on the throne isn't a true ruler even though he has been keeping the empire together for gods knows how long since the last king 'n queen ruled. And if he isn't the true ruler, who is? It sure as fucking hell it isn't my goofy ass, no way I can lead a nation to prosperity and the future, I can lead a small group of people for sure cause its easier that way, but a nation? Nah man you have to be pulling my strings for that to happen and I am definitely not ruler material, more like squad leader material, but not ruler.

Letting out a mental sigh I hobbled back to townhall to check in with both the head foreman griffon who was in charge of the construction efforts of the sawmill and the fisheries, and on Tychus since he was in charge of guards that accompanied the construction crew for this little adventure of mine. Besides, I got to check in on my drinking buddy to make sure the injuries he has acquired from the battle have been tended to and that he hasn't died on me.

Making my way back inside the townhall and towards the temporary medical area of the building I spotted many more griffons and ponies lying on makeshift beds with most of their injuries tended to as I saw that the minotaur's were now being looked over and their already existing wounds being taken cared for. Moving closer to the minotaur group I noticed that the injuries that I have tended to when they first arrived has been replaced and done better by those whose job it is to do so.

"Sir we are not done yet, sit back down so I can replace these bandages with fresh ones!" A voice cut through the chaos that was happening to the group of minotaur's as a few griffon medics try to convince their leader to sit down so that they can finish giving him his checkup, but it would appear that he was having none of it right now.

"I am well enough to stand so I do not need your assistance any further, my group and I must be leaving now if we are to reach Griffonstone in time." the minotaur leader said and as he was talking to the medics that was surrounding him, a letter fell from his armor as he hastily tried putting it on while the rest of the minotaur's all try to do the same.

"In time for what?" one of the medics asked just as a young griffon recruit was walking by, he noticed a letter on the ground and picked it up before pocketing it in his uniform and scurried off, probably to either deliver it to someone or to deliver to his commanding officer.

"Nothing for you to worry about, this business is reserved myself, my clan, and the dog knight in Griffonstone." The minotaur leader said as he stood up, finally free from the medics, I watched as he and his group slowly shuffled and made their way to the main doors leading outside, a few of the minotaur's grumping about the medics being a little too touchy-feely for their position while the griffons and ponies were grumbling about ungrateful bullpeople.

I moved out of the way as the thundering herd of bulls marched by, none of them sparing me a single glance as they made their way out of the building and as soon as the last one was by me, I went to the mayor's office and residing within the room was both the mayor himself and the commanding officer of the legion that saved all of our lives last night. The griffon officer was wearing what amounts to a modified US military uniform, there was no pants, the left sleeve held his rank as a Major, and that he had a few combat ribbons on his lapel as he gave me a short salute before walking over to the window overlooking the central area of the village.

"Ah, Ian my boy, good of you to be a part of the waking world once more." The mayor said as he came over to me and grabbed my hands and started to shake them, a few tears of joy falling down his beak.

"Indeed, I see that your injuries have been tended to by our medics as best as they can do in such short order, we can't have the king's first diamond dog knight die on us on his first public relations duty now, can we?"

"Uh...no, I guess not." I said as the major gave me a nod as the mayor kept shaking my hands before eventually letting go and goes back to his seat, dabbing his beak with a handkerchief.

"Anyways, the reason we were about to call for you here is to both congratulate you for doing your best on defending this village against what amounted to an overwhelming hostile force and also eliminating the alpha of a known hostile diamond dog clan. The other reason we called you in is to tell you that due to you being the one who eliminated the alpha of the diamond dog clan, in a trial-by-combat no less, you are now considered the alpha due to their laws. While we can certainly keep them restrained and within an ever-watchful gaze, soon we will be moving on and we cannot take all of them with us back to Fort Daggerpoint as we do not have enough cells for them to be placed in, let alone prison cells that they can't dig their way out of."

"In the past there has been a few griffons that had the stones to challenge a diamond dog the Rite of Supremacy and won but their rule never lasted long as they couldn't stand being underground for so long nor would the diamond dogs, they were in charge of ever truly listen and subject themselves to a surfacer's rule. But seeing that you just like them and that you were apparently a part of another clan when you initiated the Rite, they will obey you begrudgingly at first but will come around and obey you." The Major said as he walked around the desk and approached the window and looked outside, and from the spot I am standing in I saw that just outside all of the diamond dogs that surrendered the previous night have all been rounded up, bound at the wrists with chains, and are sitting on the floor completely surrounded by the legion.

"Just because I have slain their alpha in ritual combat does not mean that they will just obey me immediately. You and I both know that to be true as half of them tried to attack me right after the duel ended and the rest became submissive and obeyed me. Hell, even if they do obey me, where the hell am I going to be putting them all, their warren is probably far outside of the kingdom or somewhere else entirely." I said as I tried to be the reasonable one in the room, we all know that I don't have the funding, resources, manpower nor the time to even house all of these diamond dogs and yet they want me to take care and lead them.

How the hell would I even be able to explain this to Gilda and Greta?

Shaking my head, I go over to the window and stand next to the major and as I look out the window, one of the diamond dogs outside noticed me and started to nudge and bark at one another before being told to be quiet by the griffons guarding them.

"Well then Sir Knight, we just got proof that they are willing to obey you if the mere sight of you talking to me through a window was enough to garner a response from your new underlings." the major said as he walked away from the window and went back to his seat, pulling out a cigar from his coat and lights it with a match, taking a large puff and letting out an exhale as he relaxes in his chair.

"That doesn't prove a thing." I said as I tried to come up with a way to try and wiggle my way out of this new overwhelming responsibility and station in life, but just like my knighting ceremony this is unavoidable with the exception of death.

"It does my boy, that it does, the only downside to this is that you seem to be unwilling to accept your new position, but don't worry, not all of us were ready when we rose up through the ranks of life. In time you will be able to accept your new position and all of the responsibilities and power that comes wi-" The major was saying but is interrupted as the doors to the office was opened up to reveal the small griffon from before walked in, in uniform and wearing a leather cap with goggles on his head.

Both the major and I turn to face the young griffon as he steps into the office and gives a salute to the major before walking up to him and reaches into his pocket and pulled out a letter, part of its upper left corner is stained a dark red.

"Is there a problem Private Pochinki?" the major says this, cigar still in mouth as he couldn't be bothered to remove it to speak to his underling.

"Uh sir, you might want to read this."

"What is it?"

"A missive that dropped from the minotaur's before they left, I saw it as it hit the ground, so I picked it up and gave it to our communications officer to translate it. When he was done translating it, he was frothing at the mouth in anger, I didn't know what it could be to anger him so much, but it must be bad." the private says this, still unsure of the situation he has found himself in but is lucky to be ignorant of what is about to happen.

"Let me see what it is, maybe he is just overreacting at something he doesn't understand." the major says in a jovial tone which does not last as he takes the letter and starts to read it, his facial expression gradually shifts from a smirk to that of shock than a sudden shift to anger before going into full blown frothing at the mouth enraged.

As I stand there, arms crossed wondering what has the major's panties in a bunch since he is getting pissed just by reading a letter that the minotaur's had, I thought it was maybe the minotaur's wrote something insulting about the griffons or were just being assholes in general.

Watching the major get mad at reading a letter does bring a bit of a smile to my face but that comes to a quick end as he slams the letter on the table, reaches at his waist and grabs what looked like a war horn and opens the window.

"Those fucking cows think that they can get away with this? Not on my watch!" the major says as he climbs out the window and unfurls his wings as he takes to the sky and once he is a fair distance up in the sky I watch as he takes the horn, places it to his beak and blows on it as a loud blaring sound comes out the other end.

Immediately everything stops in the village as the townsfolk look up to see the major in the sky blowing on the horn before quickly making their way back to townhall seeking shelter, the town guards retreat back to townhall to defend it and the legion that is scattered around the village assemble before the major in the air and on the ground as the griffon quickly looks around for the minotaur's before spotting them heading towards the southern gate.

Pointing a talon at the minotaur and drawing a miniature crossbow from his belt, I hear the griffon officer shout out a single order as he raced towards the minotaur's.

"Legion! Do not let those minotaur's escape! They are ones responsible for assault on Talon's End! Apprehend them now!"

Turning away from the window I quickly walked over to the table and picked up the letter, and strangely enough I was able to read both the minotaur scripture along with the translated version in griffon. And as I too read this my own feelings started to peek through as anger started to rise within my very core.

"My dearest nephew, keep this letter close to your heart and heed it contents well for they are of utmost importance to the continuation of our nation. There is a peculiar individual that has made the Griffonian Empire his home, a diamond dog of great heightened intelligence and creative mindedness that will prove absolutely beneficial to our people, a diamond dog that we must convince to come work for us by any means necessary. Within that lockbox I am sending with you contains a fair amount of pure minotaurian gold bars that should be more than enough to convince the dog to work for us, and if that is not enough, persuade him with whatever he wants as this one time I will bestow upon you, my authority. I do not care what his heart desires just do whatever it is you must to get him to return to Minos with all possible haste, Prometheus is nearing completion and we cannot let it be postponed any more than it already has been.

On your way to Griffonstone you must lure the diamond dogs to Talon's End and have them ransack and burn it to the ground, our artificers and engineers will salvage whatever is left and begin setting up the gold harvesting nets, that river is full of gold, and it will do us good to have it returned to Minos where it belongs. We have already conquered several minor dog warrens on our way to the mountains that is rightfully ours, the griffons are nothing more than a steppingstone on our path to greatness and we will be damned if those featherbrained fools will rise above us with that dog helping them! We cannot allow the griffons to reclaim their former glory and might nor can we allow that diamond dog to help them further, recruit him to our cause by whatever means necessary and if he refuses, kill him and any witnesses that are nearby.

Remember, this mission is critical for the continuation of our people, failure is absolutely unacceptable.

Glory be to Minos, my nephew."

Author's Note

I am still alive, bad news is though I have contracted Covid from some ass hat at work.

Capital Punishment

"Glory be to Minos, my nephew."

As I read this letter I stop and back away from the table to give myself a breather as I hear the sounds of mass flapping of wings and the clanking of metal before going back to the table to give the letter a second but more thorough read.

"What is it boy?"

Turning to look at the mayor I can only give him a grim shake of my head as I fold the letter and pocket it next to the other letter I found and started to hobble towards to the door to make my way towards the minotaur's and griffons outside.

"It looks like these minotaur's has just made themselves public enemy number one of the Griffon Empire, and they did it in the most overt way possible." I said this as I hobbled out of the office and asked one of the guards for my sword and I didn't even have to wait long for one of them to come back with my longsword in their talons.

Thanking the guard for retrieving my weapon I take it from his talons before making my way outside townhall and towards the major as he lands in front of the minotaur's just as several squads of griffons' land around them, swords, spears and halberds at the ready as the bull-people make their displeasure quite known with the encroaching military forces.

"Oye! What gives!" "Yeah! We did nothing wrong so move out of our way!" "How dare you draw your weapons against us! Do you know who we are!?"

With his saber drawn he rattles it a bit at the minotaur's as he flies over closer to them as his elite guards wearing much better armor with slight hints of gold lining the edges around the shoulders, spine and waist and clearly better weapons.

"I know exactly who you lot are! Your sorry excuse of flesh and blood have brought war to Talon's End in the search of a certain diamond dog who is aiding the empire. Before my eyes you lot are nothing more than vagrants who have just earned a one-way trip to the executioners block and there is nothing you lot can say about it!"

"Loyal soldiers of the Empire! Seize them! Bind them in irons so that they can pay for their crimes with their heads!" the major shouted and in unison the griffons all charged at the minotaurs as several of them attacked the bullmen's legs by using rope to knock them onto their backs while another group pounced on them from above and grabbed their arms and bound them in chains.

Watching the griffons attack the minotaur's I feel a grin slowly grow as they start to get their just desserts even though they struggle in vain to resist. One minotaur managed to throw a pair of griffons of his back before being tackled to the ground by another group as they wrench his arms behind his back and slapped a pair of iron clasps around his wrists and forearms as another pair of griffons quickly slap on bindings around his ankles. The rest of the minotaur's all met a similar fate as they get tackled and wrestled to the ground and restrained.

The minotaur's didn't even stand a chance as they were quickly taken down in a matter of seconds and as soon as I get to the assembled masses, they had the situation well in hand as the bulls were now bound and chained.

"You have no right to do this to us! Release us at once or face the wrath and fury of Minos!"

The major comes walking up to the head bull, sheathing his saber and as he stops right in front of him, I watched as he raised a talon and just slaps the bull across the face. Pulling back his talons I see that he didn't do it backhanded but actually left claw marks across his face as small blood droplets started to collect at where the claw marks cut deep enough.

"I have every right, bull, as you are now an enemy of the state who have done grievous harm to both the innocent citizens of this village and to the diamond dogs you have enslaved or killed for your expansions into their territory! I have seen the missive your 'uncle' has written for you, and the only minotaur with that amount of authority and access to that much pure gold is the current king of Minos. To think that the king of the minotaur's would do something so dishonorable and shameful as this, I am sure he will get the message across that his plan failed when we send you back to him in pieces."

After saying this many of the griffon and pony soldiers and citizens that are now surrounding start cheering at the major's words while others are throwing globs of mud and rocks at the minotaur's, all of them jeering and throwing insults at the bulls as the bulls take it, being unable to defend themselves with their arms behind their backs.

"Such barbarism! We would not have done the same to you if our positions where exchanged!" the lead minotaur said as he struggled against his bindings, finding it impossible to even move his arms as the bindings holding him in place are far stronger than he was expecting.

"Yes, you would have done the same if the positions were switched." I said as I stepped up beside the major, the grizzled griffon giving me a nod as he stepped back, my guess is that he was giving me the floor to speak.

"In fact, you would have done worse. We have read the missive your king has sent you, how he gave you the order to lure the diamond dogs of the Ruby Mountains Clan to destroy Talon's End so that you can then claim it for yourselves. By invading the Ruby Mountains and conquering the warrens within its territory you have declare war on the High Alpha of the Diamond Dogs and all of his clans, and as of last night, declared war on both myself and the Griffon Empire."

"And just who do you think you are or have the right to do this? You are nothing more than a mangey pup who stuck his nose in a business that doesn't concern it!" the bull shouted as his cronies behind him all nod and agree with him.

"That is where you are wrong, I am Sir Ian Wilkinson, knight of the Griffon Empire, Mentor for Clan Fel Brass, Alpha of Clan Halistro, and I am the architect who designed and helped build the water mill and the fisheries within this village. But you, you good sir, are nothing more than a mulling little blue-blooded cow who has never accomplished anything in his life, a mewling calf that has never contributed anything to society and lived a lavish lifestyle never knowing what hard work is as you had everything was handed to you on a silver platter. Unlike you I have put blood, sweat, tears and time into getting to where I am today, so yes, I have earned the right to judge you." I said with a hint of a sneer as I looked at the bullman, clear disdain for the beast visible in my eyes as the griffons surrounding us keep their weapons pointing at the minotaurs.

"You, bull, are charged with the crimes of Conspiracy to commit Mass Murder, Mass Murder, Bribery, Bribery of a Knight, Illegal Poaching, Inciting War between two foreign powers, False Identification, Espionage, Plot to Assassinate a Knight, multiple accounts of Attempt of Enslavement, Slavery, and Instigating a War for personal gain." I said with finality as I stepped before the lead minotaur and placed a hand on the pommel of my sword.

"And by the power invested in me by his imperial majesty, King Guto of Griffonstone, I hereby sentence you to death. May the gods have mercy upon your soul for I shall show you none. Now, normally it would be an executioner who would be doing this but as my father always said, 'Those who make the sentence should swing the sword', and I am a man of my word." And as I said this I turned around and walked towards a pair of griffons that were standing off to the side.

"You two, go find something that shall serve as the executioners block, many of these bulls are about to find themselves an express ticket to meet their god far earlier than their scheduled arrival." and with that given order the two griffon soldiers gave me a salute before flying off in search of a suitable slab of wood that will serve the desired purpose.

From behind me I heard several of the minotaur's begin to struggle with their metal bindings, doing all that they can to try and free themselves from what awaits them but to no avail. Several of the guards holding the minotaur's in place had to resort to beating the minotaur's with the blunt part of their weapons just to get them to stop resisting with many of them being lifted off the ground and slammed into the dirt to force a measure of compliance upon them.

After a few minutes the griffons came back carrying a cut section of log that was from the watermill, the first tree to be tested to see if it was working properly and with a bit of a heave the two dropped the heavy circular slab of wood onto the dirt road and landed next to it, gasping for breath as it was a little too heavy for the pair to handle on their own.

"Now before we get started, there is one thing I want to know from each of you..."

"We will never betray our nation!"

"I was not going to ask you stab your country in the back to spare your lives. I was going to ask what your station is back home? Were you a noble's child? A commoner like the rest of us who saw this as a means for quick cash? A merchant who saw the opportunity to expand his trade? Or are you simply a soldier sent to protect that one minotaur right there?"

"For what? So you can blackmail our families to get them to betray our homeland for our safety or to ransom us back? We minotaur's are a proud race and we will never succumb to such underhanded tactics!"

"No, so that I can properly write this in my report back to King Guto back in Griffonstone. He does love reading these whenever I send the finalized reports to him, even more so when it is of interesting stock."

"A bureaucratic knight, you really are the worst combination of all that is sacred upon this world." one of the minotaur's said as a few snickered, even a couple of griffon knights snickered as well as I turned my head a bit to look back at the kneeling bulls.

Glancing at those who were snickering the griffons silenced themselves while the bulls kept on going, I guess they know now that their fates have been sealed and are now just enjoying the ride.

"Since you are taking this as a joke then I will simply say this, which among you is of the lowest station? Which among you is part of the lower stratum of your society?" I said as I kept glancing back at the kneeling bulls, none of them said a word nor made a move, only shuffling a bit in the dirt, that is until one of them spoke up.

"I am of the lowest rank amongst the group!" the minotaur in the back of the group shouted as, a vain attempt to raise his hands up so that he can be spotted was cut short when a minotaur beside him elbowed him in the ribs, forcing a pained yelp to escape from his lips as he curls in from the sudden impact.

I motioned for the guards to bring forward the minotaur who spoke up and after a few seconds I heard the rattling of chains and the cloven hoof steps behind me before I heard the bull fall back to his knees.

Looking down at the minotaur brought before me I realize that I have seen particular bull before.

"You're the one who was carrying their belongings when you all first arrived here. A porter, I believe your occupation to be, am I not correct?" I said as I raised an eyebrow at the minotaur as he began to shake where he is kneeling, fear creeping up his spine.

"Yes mi-lord." the young minotaur said as I loomed over him, and it was just now that I realize that he was the shortest one of the group and yet he was the one who had to haul all of their shit around for gods knows how long it took them to get here on hoof.

"Your job is to carry their belongings, make sure none of it is lost or damaged while in transit, and I am also going to assume that you had to do other menial tasks that the rest of the group saw as beneath them?" I said as I helped lift him up and brought him to the side, nowhere near the chopping block as he looked confused yet relieved that he wasn't going to get executed.

Yet.

"Y-yes, mi-lord."

"Good, what is your name?" I asked the young minotaur just as I spied a glance towards the rest kneeling, all of them are giving both the minotaur with me and myself a seething death glare, their eyes trying to bore holes through our heads.

"My name is Horace, porter for Lord Blackwall of the Stonehammers." the young bull said as he quivered a bit as we walked away from the rest of the minotaur's, with many of them being riled up knowing that one of theirs decided to save their own skin than to cover for their boss.

"Then that means that you get to deliver a message for me to your king." I said as I gave him a pat on the head as I motioned for the guards to take him away. The two guards that brought him before me picked him back up and started to take him to the village's jail house for his own safety.

As the guards took away the young minotaur to the jail house, the minotaur's began to yell and try to break free from their metal bindings to try and get to the young bull who was given a mercy, to silence him before he can tell me everything I need to know. The struggling went on for a few seconds until finally one of the bulls behind me let out a loud roar of anger and rage as he managed to break free from the griffons holding him down and broke out from his restraints before making a rush towards me.

My only warning that he was coming towards me was the thundering hoofsteps approaching from behind, and those steps was all that I needed when I recalled the training I underwent, more specifically the information regarding minotaur's.

'Minotaurs, when charging at their enemy with their horns lowered and posture dropped, they cannot stop quite so easily, and they will have a hard time turning themselves in the case their intended target moves out of the way. The best way to counter this is to dodge to the side and to attack the back of their legs to cripple them than move in for the kill.'

With a deep breath and an exhale, I steeled myself for the bull to get a little closer as I rested my right hand on the grip of my sword and held it firmly and just as I felt the bull was close enough, I reacted.

Taking a step to the right I spun around as I unsheathed my sword and gripped it with both hands as I brought it over my head and brought it down right behind the bull's head and cleaved right through his neck. I watched the thick, corded muscles that were bulging out as he was glaring at me with rage, that immediately turned to angry surprise as the blade went through fur, flesh, muscle and bone before finishing my step around and sheathed my sword as quickly as I unsheathed it.

The minotaur took several more steps forward before slowing down and finally comes to a halt as his body falls to the ground and his head fell off a few seconds after.

As soon as the dust settled and the silence in the air began to rise, I made the first move and let out a wet cough as blood came from my mouth and dripped onto the road before being promptly wiped away as I hobbled to the now-dead minotaur and picked up its head and brought it over to the rest of the group.

"Hobbled and injured as I am, I am still a threat not to be messed with, as shown by this idiot's passing. Now..." I said as I walked over to the stump and placed the bloody head onto its unmarred surface.

"Shall we begin?" I said as I turned to face the group of minotaur's and griffons, their eyes all on me.

And like that, the magic was broken.

The minotaur's once again tried to escape from their restraints, struggling in vain as the griffons were ready this time and proceeded to beat them with wooden batons to suppress them and with a few griffons even having to resort to using maces on the back of their legs. A few of the minotaur's ended up with either bruised or broken legs and had to be dragged to the stump for their execution.

"Oh no, not you, you are going last. You get to see what your hubris and scheming has wrought upon you." I said with a grin upon my face as the leader of the minotaur's, Blackwall of the Stonehammers, started to struggle in his bindings even more just as more griffons came in to drag him away and secured him in place, forcing him to watch the parade of death.

"Now, before we get started, do any of you have any final words?" I asked the first minotaur on his knees on the chopping block, the bull glaring at me the entire time with concentrated hatred.

"No? None at all?" I said with solemn look as I slowly pulled the sword from its sheath and began to raise it high above my head.

"You won't get away with this!" Blackwall shouted from his place away from the minotaur's as the rest of his kin looked on.

"Oh really? From where I am standing, I already have." And with a cheeky grin I raised the sword to its zenith and looked down at the minotaur kneeling before me.

"When our king gets word of what you have done, all of Minos will rally behind his banner and invade Griffonia!" Blackwall shouted as he once again struggled in his chains and for his efforts his reward is a blunt sword to the back to drop him back down to his knees.

I simply stopped what I was doing and turned to face Blackwall, a bored look on my face before it slowly began to shift and change to that of a shit-eating grin.

"Why are you smiling like that? Nothing you say or do now can stop what is about to happen!" Blackwall shouted as I kept on smiling at him.

"You really don't see the bigger picture here? Fine. Let me paint you a pretty picture so you can see what is about to befall you, your people, and your nation from this action alone." I said as I lowered my sword and made my way over to the beleaguered bull.

"When word gets out that a clan of diamond dogs has attacked a griffon settlement and nearly destroyed it the griffons will want blood for what was done to them, and naturally the king will order a legion or two to snuff out the diamond dogs to avenge his slain and captured citizens. But when he finds out what was the true instigating force behind this attack his gaze shall instead turn to the true enemy that lies in the shadows just north of him, instead of the mountain range to his northeast. Naturally talks between kings will be happening while forces will march to the borders and be rattling sabers and spears at one another, peace talks will break down than the war will begin, and a vast quantity of lives will be lost on both sides of the conflict."

"That is what you are expecting to happen, an eventuality that is all too crystal clear and one that you know will happen should nothing else get in the way of that particular path of destiny." And with each step I take I begin to slowly circle around the minotaur, passing him as I lay before him every single step of what is to come from this turn of events that have befallen the village and the nation without missing a beat before stopping right in front of him.

"But...you forgot one little thing."

"And that is?" the minotaur said with a snarl, and with a grin from me I slowly pull out two letters from my pocket.

Lord Blackwall's eyes widen at the sight of the two letters, the wax seals on them broken and contents within exposed for all to see.

"This, was written by your uncle's hand, your King of Minos, was it not?" I said as my shit-eating grin only grew wider to the point of bordering on becoming just like the Joker's.

I didn't even wait for him to reply as I pressed forward.

"This, this right here is damning evidence against both your king and your kingdom, and we now have you, the hostage lynchpin, the center piece to everything happening here! That is why I need you alive at this moment, so that you can damn yourself in front an audience of those infinitely your greater!" I exclaimed with excitement and zeal that nearly bordered on fanatical, but before I could lose myself to excitement that was destroying someone's hopes and dreams right before their very eyes.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have an execution to commence." and with that said I returned to the chopping block and waved a hand to the guards to bring forward the first to be executed.

And like that it was a slow process of dragging a minotaur to the wood stump, forcing them down so their head rests upon it, ask them if they have any final words to say, and with muted silence from them for a minute I then unsheathed my sword, raised it up high, and with perfect form I brought it down at the middle portion of their neck, cleaving through it and embedding itself a bit into the wood.

Every single minotaur execution was the same, silence, no last words, just an angry glare towards me and a snort before my sword finds purchase in the stump beneath them.

It was the same process over and over again.

Loud cloven hoof stomps to the stump.

Thick, muscled knees collapsing into the mud.

A pair of talons forcing his head down and keeping him in place.

A period of silence and heavy breathing.

Then a low sound of meat being parted from meat and bone.

And then silence.

Several heads collectedly lie on the bloodied chopping block, one minotaur bound in irons to watch it all while another is sitting in a cell away from the grisly sight of his executed comrades.

Wiping the blood from my sword I walk over to a griffon and as soon as the blade is sufficiently clean, I sheath it before taking out a saw-toothed dagger and handed over to the griffon soldier. He looked for a moment before noticing me jerking my thumb back to the severed heads.

"Go remove their horns, their actions were dishonorable and brought death to those that have been taken too soon. Once you are done, put the horns in a sack, they will be going with our young minotaur porter when we send him home." I said as I walked past the griffon who gave me a look of puzzlement and confusion before finally shrugging his shoulders and got to work sawing the horns off the heads of the minotaur's as I made my way over to Blackwall.

To say he was angry beyond belief would be an understatement.

His head was so red that it looked like that it would explode at any moment, he was snorting so hard that steam was coming out with each exhale, shaking with barely restrained rage and fury, in all he was the very definition of anger.

"YOU! You will pay for this!" Blackwall shouted at me as several griffons held him down, so he doesn't get up and attempt to strike me down and kill me.

Shaking my head at him I just grin and smile down at him.

"No, I won't be paying for this, and do you know why?" and with a smile on my face I lay it out for him.

"Because all of this that has just happened? It will be tied around your neck, and you will be the one to bear the weight of it all when it is time for you to meet your maker." I said with a grin before turning to the griffons holding him in place.

"Take him away, make sure he is watched at all times and that he is kept alive and fed. We cannot allow him to die just yet, he will be answering for his crimes before the Council of Nations next month and we must ensure he stays alive until then." I said this with a shite-eating grin on my face as I look down at the defeated bullman as realization sinks in for him.

The cold, horrible realization that he has just brought true, monumental dishonor not on just himself, but upon his very nation and his uncle.

With that the guards saluted me as six griffons formed up around the quiet minotaur as they hoist him up and dragged him away to put him in a cage as I turned around and began heading towards where the diamond dogs are being held.

'I guess it is time to face the music and see what awaits me.'

Author's Note

I am finally back to writing, aside from catching Covid and dealing with the shitstorm that is a badly understaffed Walmart I am now trying to devote my days off to writing so I can get this story back on its tracks.

Intermission: Final Report

It was midday in Equestria while our favorite human was busy leading an exodus of diamond dogs through the northern griffonian forest, commonly referenced as The Frosted Emerald Sea by the locals, to a new home that will hopefully be the last time this group of diamond dogs will ever have to leave their home again. The griffons were busy repairing their nearly ruined village and the minotaurs were at the moment trying to figure out where one of the crowned princes has gone off too, to bad neither of the two groups know just what is about to happen in the future.

Equestria on the otherhoof was busy going about their daily businesses of a brisk Spring midday, purchasing wares, talking about the latest happenings in their homeland and the current juicy gossip that seems to be spreading between friends and family alike all the while wearing scarfs and sweaters due to the chill of the steadily rising temperature as Spring has finally come to Equestria. In about a week or two the scarves and sweaters will be replaced with sun-hats, sunglasses and glasses of lemonade to combat the future heat of summer and late spring.

All was enjoying the first day of Spring, all but two ponies in particular.

Sitting in one of the Canterlot Royal Palace's many waiting rooms was none other than the rulers of Equestria and protectors of ponykind, Princesses Celestia Dawnbringer and Luna Duskbringer, alicorns of the day and night, and right now they were busy playing a game of chess.

For the alicorn of the sun her mind is far away, thinking on the events happening in Griffonia and how things have changed for the griffon kingdom as a whole. A few months ago, it looked like that it was on its last legs and that it would implode upon itself, and all of its fragmented kingdoms would go to war over the scraps before falling into anarchy themselves, but now?

Now the griffins are helping one another, rebuilding their homes and their lands that has been on the brink of total collapse, and most importantly, their sacred relic has been returned to them by the most unlikely of heroes. A single diamond dog whose heritage she cannot recall having ever seen nor remember ever existing, and it was this diamond dog that delved into the depths of the Abyssal Abyss, climbed down and came back up and returned the relic back to its proper owners and asked for nothing in return.

This was a quality that was never seen before in a diamond dog as they were seen as a greedy lot, mining for gemstones for an unknown purpose, enslaving one another and crippling their culture to the point where most clans can't even remember their purpose nor the reason why they hunt for gems in the first place.

Almost every encounter she has had with the diamond dogs is to lay siege and invade their warrens that appear in her lands to retrieve the ponies that get captured or ponynaped, and from every pony she has rescued they all said the same thing, that the diamond dogs were savages and forced them to labor away in their mines looking for gems, ignoring any ore they found and to work to the point of collapse and total exhaustion. This infuriates her to no end but the solar diarch calmed herself down with a sip of tea and resumed her chess match with her sister all the while thinking of about this one lone outlier of a diamond dog.

'Who was this diamond dog? Which clan did he come from? How did he resist my sister's magic as if it was nothing? And why did he help the griffons retrieve their ancestral artifact and continue to help them afterwards? What is he thinking? I thought he was just a simple mercenary who was hired by a retired griffon senator, what does this dog hope to gain?'

And as for the alicorn of the moon, her mind was abuzz with how so much has changed during her thousand-year absence as the kingdom she once helped rule. From the politics and policies that now dictate how things are run down to mannerisms, language, and the laws that have been passed in her absence. In the past she could do whatever she wanted within reason, and she had clearly thought that taking a task force to rescue a captured soldier in a foreign land was reasonable enough. What she did not know however, that in the past she could do that and nopony would bat an eye at their leader for wanting to rescue one of their own, but now in the modern world there was an extreme amount of bureaucracy, politics, favors and in some cases, underhoofed acts of skullduggery.

Now here she is, dealing with the fallout of her actions. Equestria has to pay a rather hefty price tag for the 'unauthorized rescue operation' and for the 'unauthorized and entirely unnecessary invasion of griffon lands' which is to say putting a rather large dent in the royal coffers but also has placed a target on her back from the nobility. Several noble houses have now made it their mission to constantly block any changes she attempts to make be it laws, reforms, new regulations that she thinks that will be helpful for her ponies, or anything in general it gets clogged in litigation and red tape to the point where her sister has to step in to get things passed.

On many occasions this has angered the lunar princess, angered her in such ways that it bought about dark thoughts that nearly had her relapse into her old self, something that she truly wishes to never repeat ever again.

Also, Luna was thinking what will be served for dinner tonight, she was hoping it was the prench onion soup as she was now taking a liking to it.

"So, Luna, you gonna make a move or is this your way of telling me that you concede?" Celestia says as she looks at her sister, smugly looking at her all the while taking a sip from her teacup.

"Nay, sister, We will make our move against you, we were just thinking on how to proceed without giving thee an edge to hold over us to use at thy leisure." Luna says as she studies the chessboard again, trying to find a way to turn this losing game around but so far cannot find a means to do so for the time being.

"Luna, you're slipping again." and with a casual push of a hoof Celestia moves a pawn and lays claim to Luna's rook that she foolishly placed into its path.

"...sorry." the lunar sister said as she scowls at the bored and moves a pawn of her own on the board, hoping that her sister won't claim this one as well.

"It is okay, you are still getting used to the new ponish language, it will take you some time before you get used to it. And besides you only really slip into old ponish when it is just me you are talking to instead of to everypony that comes to see us." and like magic the solar alicorn moves her bishop and takes the dark pawn to her side of the board, claiming yet another piece from Luna.

"But still sister, we... I only wish to be accepted by everypony and yet it would seem that no matter I try it never seems to be enough." Luna says as she slothfully levitates a knight and knocks over the alabaster bishop, claiming the piece and places it at her side.

"That is because you are moving too fast, Luna, your policies are still the same from a thousand years ago when we could do things that none of the ponies could object to, but now we are a system of checks and balances. You have to take things slowly, make connections with the nobility and get them to see things your way, and if necessary, make compromises with what you want to get done and with what can be done." Celestia counters her sister by sliding her queen diagonally from its position and captures the knight, adding one more to her steadily growing collection of obsidian pieces.

"Is that how you did things while I was...away?" Luna says quietly, not taking her turn as her head lowers ever so slightly, mind lost in thought.

"Sadly, yes, after you were banished to the moon the nobility made their move and created a series of laws to bind me down to prevent me from having absolute power over everypony even though I only want what was best for our little ponies. Alas it wasn't meant to be, they passed their laws and edicts and as a result most of our power has been stripped from us, although I have managed to get most of those laws repealed there are a few that cannot be undone because the ponies who had those particular laws signed are no longer with us and their line has come to an end." Celestia said as Luna moved a pawn over, away from her sister's pieces that can reach it as her sister takes her turn and moves her rook to claim a different pawn on the other side of the board.

"Could you not just get it vetoed and put an end to it?" Luna says in a questioning manner as she moves her queen to the side, keeping it away from Celestia's as her sister smirked and simply moved her bishop to claim another pawn.

"I cannot, when those particular laws were originally signed, they were signed in blood and bound by magic. The only way for those documents to be undone is if the heirs of those households all agree to unbind themselves from it, but sadly those same heirs are no longer with us." Lunar Queen to solar bishop.

"You mean that-" Solar Queen to Lunar Queen, the end draws near on the board as Luna begins to make mistake after mistake.

"Yes, they have moved on to Elysium, Luna, and unless you wish to practice forbidden magic to raise them from their graves to repel those laws than we are forever bound to them until such a time that Equestria no longer has need of us." Lunar Rook to the solar knight, another piece falls and another piece claimed as the solar queen is pushed across the board and knocks over the rook.

"I see...well then, I guess there is nothing that we can do about it." Solar Queen to the bottom row, forming the final nail in the coffin to the lunar forces.

"Indeed, also, it looks like I win again." Celestia says as she smugly slides her rook into position, earning herself a checkmate as Luna stares at the board for a few seconds before her horn glows a pale blue for a moment and in an instant the chess board is reduced to ashes as she crosses her hooves.

"I hate this game." Luna says as her horn glows for a moment and the pile of ashes disappears in a flash of light, leaving the table clean and missing the scorch marks from the instantaneous magical disintegration.

The solar alicorn lets out a sigh and shakes her head at her sister's actions before her own horn flares to life and reconstitutes the boardgame and its pieces.

"You were getting the hang of it, maybe with some more practice you will be able to beat me someday." Celestia says with a smile as her sister frowns at her before blowing a raspberry, one that gets interrupted when the doors are pulled open and an armored pony trots into the chamber.

"Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. A message has arrived for you from the griffon lands." the armored stallion said as he trots closer to the two celestial alicorns before giving the two a salute.

Normally the ponies can be told apart due to their wildly different color schemes and their cutie-marks giving away their names due to their marks being what their names are, but due to working for the diarchy and to protect their identities from those that are corrupt or from foreign power trying to get them to spy for them, the armor they are wearing has been enchanted to make them all look alike. The same goes for the maids, the chefs, groundskeepers, really anypony that works for the diarchy are given enchanted workwear so that they appear the same colors, but what nopony knows is that the clothes and armor they are given are given a secondary enchantment to where only the owner can wear the armor and have their colors and voice changed to be clones of one another. Those that try to wear said attachments find out the hard way that not only doesn't their fur and mane not change color, but they also get zapped with enough volts to be rendered unconscious. Funny enough, when the proper pony is wearing the proper gear, they themselves are still the same as the enchantments made to them are only an illusion, they still see the other workers as they are as it only affects those that are not a part of the royal workforce or guards.

And as for Celestia and Luna, they have learned to see through the illusion so that they can quickly identify those that are approaching them and give them their proper names instead of trying to guess who approaches them like so many noble guests and foreign ambassadors.

"Ah, thank you for the message Private Cold Front, you are dismissed." the solar alicorn said as her horn glowed as a pale golden aura enveloped it and the envelop levitated its way towards her before being dropped on the table.

The letter itself was basic in shape, rectangular and folded as neatly as one can do with hooves, but what set it apart from the usual equestrian letters is that this one is a faded beige in color and that it smelled musty and partially of soot with the smallest tinges of iron.

"Well sister? From whose hoof penned this letter to you?" Luna said as she grabbed one of the many bananas that Celestia has left on the snack table, peeling it with ease before chomping it in half.

"It is one of my agents in Griffonia...and from this letter's appearance, something has happened..." Celestia said as she opened the letter, carefully peeling off the wax seal on it but stopped when she noticed that the seal was somewhat lopsided and partially cracked.

Humming to herself at this she opened the letter and began to read it but as she got closer to the end she frowned, and that frown only grew deeper all the way till the end until that was when she noticed that the scent of iron was coming from the letter she was levitating and that the bottom portion was stained a faded brown splotch.

"Sister, what does the report say?" Luna says with impatience in her voice, clearly frowning and isn't happy that her sister is taking too long to read the message.

"It's not from my agent...it's from his wife." Celestia finally says as she reads the report a second time, this time trying to gleam anything that may be hidden within the ink but to no avail did she find anything.

"The wife? Why did she send the letter?" Luna says, confused as to why the wife of a spy would be the one to send the letter instead of the spy themselves.

"Because...because her husband is dead..." And the truth is dropped like a mallet on an egg.

"WHAT? How?"

"She says that the village they were stationed in was attacked by a veritable horde of diamond dogs that came to Talon's End because of a group of minotaurs came to their village seeking shelter." The solar monarch says as she passes the letter to her sister who quickly took it into her own hooves and started to read it.

"Why did diamond dogs attack the village?" All she got from her sister was a shrug, not even the ruler of the sun knows everything that transpires beneath its rays.

"I don't know, Luna, the letter doesn't go into detail as to why they attacked or why the minotaurs were there, only that the dog knight of Griffonia was there to oversee a construction project that the king had ordered and roughly three months later it was done, and they were throwing a feast for it being a resounding success." At the mention of 'dog knight' Luna's ears perked up immediately as she knows who that person is.

The one being who actively resister her magic and fought her guards to a standstill with blunted weapons.

A person that she wants to have an exchange of words and actions with.

"I see...anything else?"

"Yes, Mrs. Honey Bale and her foal are returning to Equestria, she has already sent her resignation letter..." At the mention of return, both mares knew exactly why that is happening. To retire and try to forget the horror and pain they had witnessed in Griffonia, to grieve the loss of a husband, the loss of a father.

The loss of an irreplaceable spy that knew more about Griffonia than anypony in Equestria.

"Shall we send another to replace her?" Luna says this she puts the letter down along with the bananas skin, no longer wishing to keep eating as her appetite has faded away.

"No, I don't think sending another group of ponies to Griffonia will do us any good." Celestia says as she takes out an empty parchment and an inkwell, a letter of condolences had to be written.

"And why is that?"

"Because they stick out like a sorehoof and we cannot hire any griffons because they are becoming wary of us. We may have to engage in more...underhoofed tactics to get an inside view of what is happening behind that iron curtain of theirs."

And the two were silent for a few moments, neither wanting to be the one to speak up until Luna sighed and stood up from her seat.

"...I shall make the arrangements." the lunar alicorn said as she left the room, leaving her sister to write the letter for the grieving widow.

Now alone in the waiting room, the solar monarch lifts her head and looks out the window, her eyes hardening as they gaze to the east towards the horizon, a new resolve in her eyes as small wisps of smoke begin to emit from her body.

'Whoever is responsible for taking the life of my precious ponies...I will have their heads for this!'

Rise of a new Alpha

The walk to where the diamond dogs are being held was a quiet one, the citizens were busy with trying to repair their damaged homes, trying to figure out just how much was stolen from them when the dogs ransacked their businesses and houses, or were busy mourning the dead.

Many of the guards were still dragging the deceased dog bodies to the outskirts of town to the few piles they have made to be burned to prevent any possible disease they may have from spreading and to give them a pyre funeral so that they may rest in some sort of peace. By their last count from both the guards and the legion the number of slain diamond dogs was around roughly five hundred and eighty-six.

'Almost a six hundred diamond dogs died during all of this...and for what? The minotaur king's expansionistic desire for more land and resources? Now even more lives are about to be lost in the grand game of nations against nations.'

Welcome to Equis! That right there is what happens on a daily basis all around the world, mainly in regions such as Griffonia and the lands beyond the mountain range that cuts the continent in half, a whole lot of it in Zebrica because it is just a melting kettle of ideological differences and races of predators and prey living too close to one another, and lastly a little bit on the continent that Equestria resides on because some ponies are planning behind the princesses back.

'It looks like this world is taking plenty of notes from what happens on Earth, I was totally expecting to be somewhere on this planet that was peaceful and can serve as a place for me to retire when I had enough of this shit.'

Not really taking notes, it is just that this world is nearly parallel with Earth across the dimensional barriers and that there are similarities and ideas that cross over from your world to this one. One thing you should take notice though is the fact that you starting to become quite the popular one.

'What do you mean?'

Come on now, don't be modest! You should know why cause after all you just saved a village from being wiped off the map and the many lives within it, you bested an alpha in single combat, and you also dished out some justice to a bunch of stupid bulls that tried to spin a 300IQ move and instead ruined themselves for decades to come! You have also rescued the griffon king's only daughter and befriended her, and you also sent a traitor to the dungeons!

The nobility might not like you, well most of them are feeling neutral towards you since you have done much for their nation while the rest only see you as an obstacle or a threat to their home, but the citizenry? They love you! You went where countless griffons have gone before and succeeded where they have failed and got back that which they have been begging and praying for somebody to retrieve for decades! The king recognized this popularity and jumped on it the first chance he got and here you are now! A Bonafide knight and now the leader of a pack of diamond dogs! Things are looking up mighty good for you!

Truth be told, things were looking up for me, but at what cost? The lives of those around me? No, I won't accept that reality, I will not make my success on a mountain of bodies of my friends and those that work alongside me.

Soon enough the walk to where the diamond dogs are being kept came to an end as I came upon the makeshift prison that is holding nearly two-hundred dogs in captivity.

The prison itself was simple in design, just a bunch of wooden stakes in the ground with a simple wood gate keeping them in for their own safety, standing guard was a complimentary group of griffons with a few of them flying lazily overhead since the dogs are apparently not fighting nor trying to escape, almost as if they have given up hope and have accepted their fate.

As I approached the gate the five guards on duty saluted me but did not step aside as I requested entry into the holding pen, one griffon in particular placing a talon up to stop me from going forward.

"Guardsmen, do we know how many we have captured?" I said as I looked at the guards standing at the improvised prison, the five of them looked like they are bored out of their minds with standing watch over the mass of dogs who aren't moving.

"Roughly three hundred of 'em, we got them all crammed in there and we have expected them to escape or fight each other for more space but strangely enough they haven't done a thing all day." the guard said as he smoothed his head feathers, trying to straighten them out as a few damaged feathers fall out.

'Poor bastard is gonna be molting after this, that gotta hurt like hell.'

"That many? I see...well then I am going to head inside and speak with them, and since I am their new alpha than they should hopefully listen to me without questioning me at all." I said as I tried to walk to the gate but the guard in charged stopped me with a raised talon.

"Are you sure sir? They may be docile now, but they go into a frenzy when they see you and most of the guards are out on patrols looking for stragglers or are busy helping the village with search-and-rescue or on repair duty. If they get into a frenzy now than there will be nothing we can do to stop them, so I will say this again sir, are you sure you want to go in there?" The guard said to me, but I can see what he isn't saying to me.

'If I go in there now with the guards so spread out, they can easily breach the walls when they go into a frenzy and there will be nothing the guards here will be able to do to stop them all.'

But here is the thing, they can easily burrow their way out of that prison, and yet they are all still accounted for and that none of them have even tried to escape...so why haven't they tried to escape?

"I understand your fears private, but if they haven't made an escape attempt till now when they had every single opportunity to let alone have the numbers to do it with ease, then it means they are waiting for something or someone and I believe that someone they are waiting for is me." I said as I took a step towards the gate but was stopped by the same griffon that stopped me before.

"Sir, are you sure this course of action is wise? What if they enter a frenzy upon seeing you? We are not equipped to deal with a mob of dogs let alone a frenzied mob!" The private said with a bit of panic and fear in his voice, he still thinks that the moment I open that gate that it will spell doom for the village a second time.

"Private, I know what I am getting myself into, I have bested their alpha in single combat and with it the right to lead them. If you knew anything about diamond dogs and their culture than you would know that by besting their leader in a trial-by-combat it makes me their new alpha, and as their new alpha I will have their loyalty and their obedience by not being like the tyrants they are used to. I will show them a different path, one that doesn't force compliance and have them tearing at each other's throats." I knew that if I treated the diamond dogs right instead of the way that almost all alphas treat their underlings, then I can guarantee that their loyalty to me will be genuine and that they won't flip sides at the drop of a hat the moment they sense a weakness.

After all they are still dogs, loyalty should come naturally to them and if I play my cards right and give them the equivalent of treats and belly rubs in the form of more freedoms, better education and better treatment, then they will never betray me in the face of a different clan alpha or try to challenge me for the right to be alpha.

"Now, open the gate and let me through." I said with a hint of annoyance, even though I outrank this griffon he shouldn't be stopping me in the first place, but it would appear that he isn't listening to me out of fear for the safety of the others.

"I... yes sir." the griffon guard said with defeat in his voice, shoulders sagging as he nods to the others guarding the gate before moving away from it and grabbing his halberd and pointing it towards the gate as the other three did the same while the fifth one grabbed the rope leading to the gate mechanism started to pull it open with deliberate slowness.

As the gate slowly opened up, I saw fleeting glances of the diamond dogs within all huddled up together in small groups, my guess sticking to their tiny packs of friends or battle brothers while others were alone. My guess as to this formation of groups is that they all may be from different clans or tribes of dogs and when they got together and then separated from the main horde that they are sticking with who they know and shunning those they don't. But with the wooden gate opening up slowly and the squealing of wood rubbing wood and rope, the ears on the assembled diamond dogs perked up and all of them turned their heads towards the source and saw the gate opening but before they could wonder why they saw a particular figure standing there.

A figure that bested their leader in a trial by combat, somedog that should not have been able to due to its thinner and smaller stature and yet, he still did.

It was their new alpha, and he was looking at them all not in anger or disappointment, but in wonder.

I simply stood there looking at the huddled dogs and after a scant few seconds one of them made something akin to a low woof and like magic every single dog in the prison turned their heads towards the gate and they all began to talk over one another to the point where none of us standing at the gate could even decipher the words being said. It was like when you're sitting in a high school or college cafeteria and everyone is talking at the exact same time and all you can pick out are the odd words here or there, it's like that but now throw in some dog barks and woofs into it and it becomes entirely undecipherable and confusing as hell to hear.

Looking at the assembly of dogs I saw that they truly did reflect most of the dogs from Earth with just an anthropomorphic twist to them, I saw so many different species of dogs among the diamond dogs that I nearly had a heart attack of cuteness when I saw a diamond corgi dog standing there by themselves with their little tail wagging rapidly. And while my inner me wants to hug and pet these dogs because I am a dog lover since dogs are man's best friend and will never betray me, I had to tell mentally tell myself that they are not like the dogs back home and that they will more than likely rip my arm out of the socket for even daring to treat them like pets. A part of me so badly wants to pet the ever-living hell out of these diamond dogs but sadly that may seem either racist or speciest to them and I would like to keep all the blood inside my body at the moment.

Raising my left hand, I watched as the dogs all began to quiet down and those few who continued to talk were silenced by those near them by either an elbow to the gut or a bonk upside their head, all of them now watching me in silent awe and awaiting my command.

"Your old alphas have turned their backs on you, left you behind in a land that fears and hates you for the actions of those that cling to power. Is that just?" I said as I walked towards the diamond dogs, my steps measured to not only make it seem like I am important but also to not overstress my body due to the injures that are currently hurting like a motherfucker.

"Every single last one of you only wanted to live in peace deep underground where nobody would ever dare to threaten you and your family, to know peace unending, to be free from fear and worry, that was what the alphas promised you all, but in the end, they left you all to rot on the surface." Many of the diamond dogs nodded their heads and barked their affirmation that they just wanted to live in peace away from the surface world and the bullshit that happens up here.

"You all lived your lives in your warrens, working hard for your alphas, providing for your families, toiling away in the mines, protecting the warrens from feral beasts above and below ground, crafting wares to trade between kin and clan, and in turn you all expected them to be there for you when you needed them most only to find that they have turned their backs on you. All of you have spent your lives honing the craft that you all thought that would benefit your clan, working hard to be the best at what you do and yet your alphas casually tossed you all into the fire and left you all to die for their troubles." Even more dogs nodded and started to murmur amongst themselves as they started to gather at the entrance to the gate to get closer to me.

"Is that fair?" And like a firestorm of words and angry barking the diamond dogs exploded into a frenzy as they all shouted no and began to growl in anger.

Raising my hand again the dogs began to quiet down once more before I started to talk to them once more.

"My fellow diamond dogs, for the longest time we have been mistreated by those that was supposed to be our alpha, the one who was supposed to be taking care of us and in return we give them fruit of our labors, the profits we make, our admiration, and about all else our undying loyalty. But look where that has gotten us? For me I was abandoned along with the rest of the lower members of Clan Fel Brass when our warren was attacked by Equestrians, and for the lot of you, you all were abandoned by your alphas when the tide turned against you all. Our leaders have abandoned us all to terrible fates and instead of coming back to rescue us or try to ransom us back, they leave us high and dry."

"I say this, my people, sons and daughters of the earth, for many centuries now we have been a broken people. We have been scattered by Discord during his chaotic reign centuries ago, conquered by our neighbors and brought low into servitude and slavery, and our history is nothing more than a patchwork of what has been rediscovered, but no more. I come before all of you not as the new alpha of Clan Halistro, but as a fellow diamond dog who wants to see a better tomorrow where we never have to go hungry ever again, where we have a roof over our heads and a warm hearth to keep us safe from the elements, and a warren where we can keep each other safe from outside harm."

"So, who among you wants to see a better tomorrow? To never worry about being left behind by your alpha. To never have to worry about the cold or sting of hunger? To have an alpha that actually cares about you and wouldn't sacrifice you to cover his own hide? To have a clan that you can be proud to a part of and know that they will be there for you?"

The entirety of the prison was silent as the dogs looked at me with many of them turning to look at one another, doubt and fear in their eyes as they thought about my offer. I didn't know if they would take it or if they would use this chance to make a break for it and simply run for their lives or head back to their respective clans.

But then I heard it.

A single thump of flesh against flesh. Looking at the source I saw that it was a runt, placing their meaty hand upon their chest before letting out a small bark before repeating the process again.

Slowly, one by one the diamond dogs started to thump their chests with their paws, barking in unison with the others as this began to spread to those around them. The thumping of fists soon spread to every single diamond dog in the prison, all of them stomping the yard and barking as one before they all began to chant my title.

"Alpha! Alpha! Alpha! Alpha! Alpha!"

The griffons beside me still had their spears raised out of fear of a riot starting but I gave the griffons a nod and with great hesitation they lowered their weapons but still kept an eye on the dogs, none of them were happy with this situation nor were they getting paid enough to properly deal with it.

The sound of wings flapping behind me followed by landing of talons on dirt and cobblestone I heard the voice of the major.

"Are you sure this is a wise course of action to take sir knight? The king will definitely want to know about this along with the fact that you are taking the prisoners under your metaphorical wings." the major said as he lands close behind me, and for a moment I thought that this couldn't get any worse than it already is.

"It is Major, these diamond dogs have been abandoned by their alphas or were a part of the clan that I have inherited from the trial by combat. From all that I have gathered during my time with Fel Brass I have learned much about their culture, their history and that for the longest time they have been struggling against one another as their leadership was always shifting and changing hands. But no longer." I said as I explained myself to the military officer who was staring at me passively while occasionally flicking his gaze to the open prison gate.

"And you believe that you can be the king of the dogs?"

"That is a colossal goal to put on my shoulders there major, but it isn't something that I want. Too many lives in my hands and I know that power will corrupt me as easily as it corrupts those already in power. I can easily lead a clan as its always less than a thousand dogs, but an entire nation of dogs of differing opinions, ideologies, goals, dreams, aspirations and demands. I'd sooner drink myself into a stupor than try my hand at statecraft of that magnitude." and truth be told I am absolutely scared shitless of leading this many people, being in charge of about thirty people from a classroom for an activity has me nervous, but several hundred or even several hundred thousand? I will fall apart and probably need to resort to drugs or alcohol to deal with it in possible manner.

"Well...just remember that you are a knight of the Griffonian Empire first, and a diamond dog alpha second. Remember your duties and the oath you swore before king and country." the major said as he turns around and starts to walk back to his soldiers all the while snapping his tail against my leg, my guess that was his way of showing disapproval of my actions.

"I know what my duties are, I am just adding more to an already large list of duties that are now my problem to deal with."

And boy oh boy do I have a laundry list of problems to deal with now, but hopefully in the future they will sort themselves out.

To think your duties used to be simply protecting the king, obeying the king, protect the realm and offer assistance to griffon citizens. Now you get to play caretaker and leader to a bunch of smelly dogs who don't know anything aside from digging and fighting. Good luck rebuilding their society with soldiers and diggers!

"Well, this brings us to another issue." the major said as he took out a wooden pipe and lit a match at the end of it and began to smoke from it, the scent coming out of it was acrid and reminded me of the days when my uncle would inhale cigarettes like they were nothing.

"And that would be?"

"Since these dogs are now yours, you are going to have to get them out of here because they are no longer welcome in Talon's End and more than likely in the Empire until we can sort this mess out." and there it was, the beginning of all my troubles as the new alpha.

Find them a home or reclaim their old home from the remnants of the old alpha.

"Ah, yeah, that would be an issue...the problem now is that I don't have a place for them, I can maybe house one or two of them at my place in Griffonstone, but these many dogs right here? Yeah, we need to reclaim that warren now before things go pear shaped really fast." and truth be told I doubt that Gilda n Greta would be happy seeing some random dog sleeping on the sofa let alone all over the house.

"Well, figure something out and fast, I have a report to write up and this is definitely going in it. Just remember that these dogs need to be outside of Talon’s End by the end of the day, they can be outside the village limits for all I care, just get them out of here.” and like that the major left me to my own devices, hoping that I can figure out what I am going to do with nearly three hundred diamond dogs.

Standing in front of the open prison gate with the diamond dogs now standing behind me with quite a few of them poking me, trying to get my attention or to see if I am still alive, one of the two, while the rest are milling about. Sighing to myself at the development that has occurred I decided that now is the time to move on, and that means getting these guys a home to stay in.

Which means finding them either an abandoned warren to put them in or reclaim their old one.

Turning to my diamond dog entourage of three hundred I address them in the only way I know how to.

"Oi! Does any of you know if there are any abandoned warrens nearby?" I said with a hint of wariness in my voice as I know that if there was an abandoned one nearby the griffons would have reported that and it would be known by those in the village as a place to avoid.

To my absolute surprise, a couple of diamond dogs actually came forward and told me that there is an abandoned one nearby, and the reason for why its been abandoned?

"Old clan warren left behind cause of moaning sounds that come from inside it at strange times."

"Moaning sounds."

"Yes Alpha."

"What kind of moaning sounds?"

"Erf...strange ones."

"Like...are the moaning sounds one makes when they are fucking...is it when you're taking a massive shit and it won't come out...lifting a heavy object, come on now which is it?"

"Um...errrrrr...we think it was the first one?"
"No no no, it was the third one! Big dogs in mine pushing heavy cart full of gems up big hill!"
"You dumb, it was the second one, cook made bad meat and gave everyone the shits!"
"Who you calling dumb you flea-bitten pup!"
"And whose you calling a pup? Im bigger than you!"
"Bigger no mean older dumb dumb!"
"Imma hit you!"

After hearing the dogs go back and forth like this for a minute before I partially turned to face my dogs and told them all to sit down and shut up.

I was totally expecting them to be quiet at the command of their alpha, but I was not expecting them all to actually sit down on the floor and whimper as if they disappointed their owner.

And so here I am, standing here with three hundred sitting diamond dogs with their tails tucked between their legs and a small group of griffons watching this all unfold with confused looks on their beaks.

How the hell am I going to explain this little expedition to both the king and to my flock? Well, I can tell them at a later time, the king will get it both by letter and from me directly when I return home, and my flock will more than likely drag me back to the tavern for a drink and a story about what I did.

I just hope that the warrens aren't haunted and it's just someone that was fucking too loudly in the deepest parts, and it just scared ever loving shit out of everyone.

Griffons to the right of me, diamond dogs to the left, yet here I am stuck in this shithole with you!

I hate my life.

Author's Note

First chapter of the new month and during my day off, after an hour of posting its on the featured page, nice!

Finding a new home

The abandoned warren that my dogs was talking about sounded like it was haunted from their description and when I asked the mayor about any nearby mines or old dog warrens, he pointed to me in the same direction that the diamond dogs gave me. As it turns out it was indeed a former griffon silver mine, all of the silver veins having been long since plucked out leaving behind nothing but rocks and pebbles and old mining equipment.

And as for the moaning sounds that is originating from the ditched mine, the griffons say it's because of the wind that gets blown into it and the way it reverberates on the stones within its depths.

So now I have a bunch of theories as to why it is making the strange noises but the main one that sticks out to me is why would the dogs leave because of the moaning? Now if it was zombie moaning that would be understandable, I'd leave immediately as well if my home was infested with zombies or something akin to the undead and was making that much noise all the time. Hell, I'd probably also burn the place down if I could just to make sure nothing follows me outside nor come after me.

Getting to the abandoned mine will be the easy part, finding the source of the disturbance in a mine that has been left alone for about a decade and some change is going to be difficult even without the assistance of the diamond dogs. Seeing how they are afraid of the source of the disturbance even though they are at home in the depths of the earth, I was hoping they would put aside that fear to reclaim their home, but it would appear not so. And since the mine has been abandoned for so long that whatever supplies of torches that may have been left behind or forgotten about would have either been taken by looters or deteriorated over time so we will have to get some from the village who still hates these dogs with a fiery passion.

Turning to the five guardsgriffons standing to the side of the prison I asked where they were keeping the weapons, armor and the equipment that the diamond dogs brought with them during the attack. The head griffon in charge of the group didn't even look away from me as he used his right talon with the spear and pointed off to the side and as I turned my head to follow the spear I saw a fairly massive pile of weapons, discarded armor and other miscellaneous items in a heap.

"Uh...how did I not see that on the way here?" I said mostly to myself but one of the griffons heard it as she let out a small yawn before addressing the pile.

"Don't know, half the time we forget it is even there as well until the direction of the wind changes and the smell of wet dog hits us. At least know we don't have to worry about it since you are taking it with you along with these dogs to their new home. And they better stay there this time instead of coming here to start a fight." one of the guards said just as she opens her beak a little too wide and yawns before shaking herself to stay awake.

Walking up to the pile I waved at the dogs and told them to grab their belongings and get ready to head out to the abandoned mine.

"Alright everyone, grab your junk and make sure it is actually yours, there will be no stealing from one another. We are heading out to the mine, and I want all of you to be equipped and ready for whatever that may be lingering in the mine, assuming it is still empty and not occupied with a new host." I said as I addressed the assembled dogs, a lot of them nodding their heads in agreement while a few gave worried looks at the prospect of heading to a haunted place.

Once my mob of dogs got their gear (and with a few of them starting fights over whose sword or club was whose) and sorting out the mess when some dogs got uppity, we all started to make our way to the eastern gate to head towards the mine, but I told my dogs to go to the gate and stay there till I get back as I had something important to do.

Walking to town hall with a bit of a hobble took a little longer than expected but eventually I made it to the building and walked inside, the guards already knowing who I am and that they have greeted me before I left to conduct the executions on the minotaur's. Making my way to the mayor's office I knocked on the door and waited for a few seconds before pushing the door open, the old griffon still sitting in his seat writing something on a piece of parchment before looking up at me with a bit of a grin on his beak.

"Ah, Sir Wilkinson, what can this old bird do for you?"

"I just need some parchment to write on and a quill n ink to write with, I have two letters to write."

"I see, well here you go, just make sure you don't put any ink on my table. Removing ink stains is a pain in the neck to do at my age you know." the mayor said and with that I gave him a nod before taking the provided parchment and writing utensils and started to write the paired letters, one for the king and one to my girls, here is hoping that they are delivered properly instead of how being delivered to the wrong building like the way Uber Eats sometimes did to my orders.

Writing a letter for Gilda and Greta to read was easy as they know that when I write to them it is usually about either me being late because work is keeping me at my post, I am not in town because of my duty, or that there is something we need to talk about in the privacy of our own home, and sadly this letter will be having all three. I know that they will understand what I am writing and hopefully will not be upset or at the very least be only a little upset instead of pissed off beyond all reason, and if so than I know a few things that can calm them down, mainly it being me preening their wings or giving them tummy rubs.

While griffons are predators and try to act like it most of the time there are in fact quite a few rare moments when you can get them to act like a common house cat, or in my case, very often. You see Gilda seems to like the cat toy with the feather at the end of the stick when she is alone, but whenever any form of company is over, she ignores it to the best of her abilities, but one can tell that she is agitated that her playtime was cut short when you see her tail just flipping about in a rapid manner. And as for Greta, she loves tummy rubs and she does not deny that fact as she has grabbed my hands on multiple occasions and made me rub that tum-tum of hers till she is a sleepy mess of feathers.

And as for the letter to my king, I tend to keep those straight and to the point with as much details as possible all the while keeping it straightforward and no nonsense in it. Normally these reports are short and sweet because placing flowery words that offer nothing is pointless to me and I'd rather let my king know what is happening with facts than use words that may mislead or confuse him. Attached to this letter will be the two letters that the minotaur's had left in my tender care along with a written confession from the porter that has agreed to assist us in this matter, in all honesty just writing this letter will be draining on me as I have to include as much information as possible before handing it off to the legion before they leave to return to their designated fort.

With careful thoughts, shaking hands and a few crossed out words I managed to get the letters written and sealed, with the letter to the king sealed thrice over, before returning the ink and quill to the mayor and wishing him a good day before exiting his office and town hall. Letters in hand I made my way over to where the legion has set up camp and when I asked for a courier, they directed me towards the communications tent. Finding a griffon that was willing to take the letters back to Griffonstone wasn't that hard since they had a few coming back and forth on a regular basis to keep themselves still connected to the empire all the while still going about their business.

Nailing down a griffon wasn't that hard, telling them to who the correspondence was going to was so easy, telling them what was at stake was a little harder.

"So, what you are telling me is that what I am holding is the equivalent of the royal family jewels?"

"In a manner of speaking yes, but these jewels are incredibly important and that if they are lost than the attack here would be all for nothing. This information is critical that the royal family receives this package at all costs, for if you lose it there will be far reaching consequences that will cause ramifications beyond mortal comprehension."

"I see..."

"Yeah, it is paramount that they get this package at all costs."

"It will be done you can bet on it, sir!"

"Good, see to it that it does." and with that said I left the communications tent and went back to my dogs to get things underway.

The diamond dogs perked up at my approach and when I was thoroughly amongst them, they all started to bark and speak to me, asking what is going on, what is taking so long, and when are we going. I had to raise a hand and clear my throat to get their undivided attention with a few outliers still barking and yapping before they too were silenced by those standing near them.

With our destination determined, our supplies secured, all of the dogs in attendance and only moderately paying any remote attention to what I am saying, I began to tell them the game plan.

"Alright boys and girls, we will be heading out now to the abandoned warren and I want no funny business from any of you, which means no shenanigans, no pranks or gags, no tricking your fellow dogs, because we will never everybody at their best and if we face something I will not be happy to know that my dogs got injured because someone decided to do the typical 'pull my finger' joke and the jokester got decked for their troubles."

"Now let's move out, we are burning daylight and we best get there before nightfall. If we have to stop for the night than we will make sure that any wild beasts that lurk amongst the trees don't pick off any stragglers or those wandering off to take a shit in the middle of the night. Am I clear?"

Most of the diamond dogs nodded with a few voicing their approval with a few throwing in their two bits about what we should do.

And so begins our collective walking simulator.

There was a time where I wondered what it would be like to have a moment just like they do like Lord of the Rings, to think that it wouldn’t be boring or at the very least mildly entertaining. Walking to our destination would have been a breeze if I had my music to listen to our if we had a bard to play us some jaunty tunes to invigorate us all, unfortunately dogs are notoriously bad at playing string instruments.

I was wrong, not only was the journey to the ditched mine a long and boring one but also that apparently diamond dogs can actually play string instruments with only minor difficulty.

The first problem arose three hours after we left Talons End, while we were all marching in a somewhat coherent formation, we were stopped by a passing patrol of griffons who stopped to ask what our business was for being here. The diamond dogs weren't too happy to be stopped by a bunch of turkeys in chainmail so they called me to the front to deal with said problem birbs.

After that it was a food problem. What little food we had was not going to be enough for the trip let alone be enough to sustain the diamond dogs long enough for them to make themselves self-sufficient. Which means that whatever food we can get is what we find both from hunting the local wildlife, what we trade for from what the dogs mine up, and from what they can grow in the mines which means mushrooms, lots and lots of mushrooms.

Then the third problem came to light when night began to fall upon us. We didn't have much in the way of tents and that most of the dogs grumbled when they had to sleep on the floor with the exception of those still injured, old or pregnant (yes they actually sent pregnant dogs to fight, my guess is that they were being thrown to the slaughter to be removed from the colony) so we had to make do but the grumbling didn't stop there.

And lastly we get to the final problem, our injured. Almost seventy percent of the dogs with me are injured with most of them bandaged up and/or in splints and since we no longer have access to the infirmary in Talon's End we will have to make do with reusing the ones we have after boiling them in hot water, sadly that may result in infections or the spread of disease between dogs if the bandages are shared or passed around.

Handicapped from the start I was starting to think that I was in way over my head.

'What the hell was I thinking? I should have kept my mouth shut and let the guards keep a handle on the prisoners and let them handle it. I am a knight first and foremost and I am loyal to the king...'

Casting my glance to the dogs in my company I found that many of them cast their gaze away from when our eyes meet, a few stared back but either in respect or fear I could not tell. Many of the dogs I saw would whimper every now and then from their injuries or from the onset of hunger or were already hungry to begin with when they attacked the griffon village, many of the female dogs were mothers, cradling their pregnant bellies and whispering to them that everything will be okay.

It didn't take a genius to figure out why they were so quick to pledge themselves to me.

They saw someone that not only wasn't a griffon in the employment of said griffons but was also of a higher rank than a mere guard or slave, but someone that is respected and held in high regard.

'But these diamond dogs deserve a better life, everyone does, they just have to work towards it instead of stealing it from others. I will make sure that these pups find a new home, a new way of life, new friends and family to safeguard and protect them from those that will try and take it from them.'

Turning my head back to the front I kept up the pace with the rest of the diamond dogs, making sure that my presence was known, letting everyone know that I am here and that I will lead them to safety.

When nightfall came, we stopped and made camp as several dogs spread out and started to make the area more comfortable by removing rocks, cutting down fledgling trees, chopping up bushes to be used as kindling for fires, finding small game to briefly feed those that need it, and while they were doing that, I was busy directing some of the uninjured dogs for guard duty and the rotations for them.

"We will camp here for the night, in the morning once the sun has risen, we shall move out and head towards the mine. Hopefully we will arrive before nightfall, and nothing gets in our way or delays us further." and truth be told I really didn't want to be delayed any more than we already are.

...

Dawn came earlier than expected.

The sound of dogs barking and howling woke me from my peaceful slumber, kicking off the heavy quilted blanket I rolled out of my tent after putting on some of my armor, leaving behind the gauntlets and the greaves and only putting on my breastplate and boots before exiting the tent to see what the commotion was about.

Grabbing my longsword and exiting the tent I made my way to the cause of the commotion and after pushing my way past several diamond dogs I saw what was causing my dogs to be in an uproar.

Kneeling in the center of the crowd of angry dogs was naturally a diamond dog that looks like they had the shit beat out of them, and standing off to the side was several diamond dogs going through what looks like a backpack, taking things out and from the looks of it all it appears to be alot of food and bandages.

"Alpha! My Alpha!"

"Fido, what is the meaning of this?"

"Alpha, we caught thief trying to steal supplies!" and lo and behold the 'thief' in question is a diamond dog wearing rags, no blood stains on them but it was filthy with mud, dirt and the usual stains one would acquire from life on the road and as I look over this diamond dog, this one in particular looked like akin to a Dobermann with the usual exception to it being bipedal. It was tall, slender, black fur on its body with brown patches on their legs, arms, snout and ears, and it looked like it hasn't eaten in days.

Walking towards the thief I placed a hand on the pommel of my sword, to act as a reminder that if there is any funny business it can and probably will become serious business real fast if necessary. Stopping in front of the thief I squat down to be at their eye level and started talking to them.

"Do you know who I am?" I said as I started with something basic, to address to the thief who they were robbing.

The diamond dog slowly raised its head and looked at me for a moment before shaking their head no.

"So, you don't know who I am... shame. You see, what you did was nearly succeed in stealing from Clan Halistro, and the alpha you tried robbing is squatting right before you." I said as I finally get a reaction from the thief as it let out a startled yelp as they fell on their ass and attempted to squirm away but was stopped when one of the guard dogs stepped on their chest and placed some of their weight and stopped them in their wiggly motions.

Standing up from my spot I made my way over to the thief, advancing slowly as I moved my hands behind my back, looking down at the thief before squatting once more.

"You know, I really think you are not getting the whole picture here. It is very simple, you tried to steal from me, you got caught, and now you get to pay the penalty for committing a crime. Very simple, wouldn't you agree?"

"So, here is what is going to happen. You are going to be clapped in irons, you will be marched along with the rest of us, and when we get situated in our new home, you will be working off your crime until one year has passed. And before you ask a year from now, no, it will be one year the moment you start working in the warren." I said as I looked down at the frightened diamond dog, and with a bit of a huff I stand up and motion for the dogs to do their job.

Leaving the thief in my dogs' capable paws to their task I went back to leading the masses from the front, and on the third day at midday we finally arrive at our destination. The thief tried to escape a few times with varying degrees of success, the first attempt was simply the thief asking to be let free and one of the dogs almost listened to him but thankfully another dog was nearby and bopped the pair upside the head, the second attempt he tried to make a run for it when he had to take a piss, third attempt he waited for the guards to be distracted but I dropped the bastard by clotheslining him, and the last attempt he tried to bribe one of the dogs with the things he stole and in turn got a gut punch for his troubles.

And just as the griffon elder has said, it is truly an abandoned mine with all of the fixings of one.

There were several decaying wooden shacks that looked like that they will fall apart at any moment, a pair of rusty cart tracks leading in and out of the mines that had a pair of wooden doors covered in moss blocking the way into our new home. The shacks themselves will need to be torn down and replaced with fresh materials, the rails might need to be replaced but it really depends on how rusted they are and if any parts of it are missing and naturally, we will need a pair of new doors for the entrance to the mine itself since those have clearly fallen off their hinges and have rotted to such a point that moss is now growing on them.

"Alright, lets setup camp here at the entrance and begin stripping these buildings down to their bare bones and see what can be salvaged. Rover, get some dogs and start cutting down the surrounding trees for wood, we are going to be needing a lot of it for firewood and also for building materials. Pokey, get some scouts and go into the mine but tell your dogs to stay within eyesight distance of one another, I don't want to be losing anyone to accidents or any creatures that might have turned the mines into their nest. Maggey, take stock of what we have and report back if we need anything else, we will have to take note on what we got and what we don't got so that when we get this mine back in working order as soon as possible. Panny, I am going to need you to keep the pups together and keep 'em happy because after all a happy puppy is a good puppy and out of the way of the adults so they don't get trampled under paws."

So, in all I have my work cut out for me.

The exterior needs a total overhaul and redesign and the interior...I don't even want to think about how bad it is in there, but I sadly don't have a choice on the matter as the nights are getting colder and that sooner or later winter will arrive.

Better get to work.

The Abandoned Mine

Here we are, anonymous abandoned mine shaft number...whatever number its currently at since I have no clue how many of these damn things are dotting the landscape.

It only took my dogs an hour to strip the outside of the mine shaft of everything of value, going so far as to even to strip the surrounding trees and rocks of their homes to create a makeshift stockpile of wood and stone for us to use.

After an hour has passed the scouts that I had sent into the mine earlier came back and all of them have returned unharmed, but a few seemed spooked as their tails were between their legs and were shaking in fear. I don't know what is causing my dogs to be so scared but whatever it is I am sure that it can be solved by either a good application of force to the head if its monsters or squatters or an exceptional application of logic and reasoning if its people that can be reasoned with.

Once the dogs have situated themselves with those that were spooked calmed down by their friends and their loved ones I had them debriefed and they all said the same thing about what had them so scared.

There were voices in the mines, and they were coming from deep within its stone-carved recesses. Another thing of note was that there were not a single sight of bones belonging to any animals or people nor long since mummified corpses of the previous owners or occupants but there were still plenty of old mining equipment that has been left behind in the form of minecarts, pickaxes and shovels.

This left me with some wondering what exactly it could be or whom it could be.

"Well, it definitely isn't Old Man Jenkins, that is for bloody sure since that old fucker is back home and is about as mobile as a brick shithouse cemented into the ground, so that leaves him out of the question. It can't be a diamond dog clan because they would have stayed here and continued to expand outwards all the while claiming the surrounding surface area as their own and we would have seen their banners by now...and bandits would have claimed this place as an excellent hideout." I said mostly to myself as few dogs stayed close to me to keep guard as I stood outside the mine entrance, a hand stroking my beard as I tried to think of probable reasons as to why this is happening.

'So what the hell is causing this disturbance? Old moaning sounds and whispers in the halls, maybe this place is actually haunted and that ghosts are real in this world because it was all fake bullshit back home.'

For a time, I stood there trying to think of reasons for this mine to be abandoned other than it simply ran out of resources to dig up and send off. At first, I thought it simply was that it ran dry and everyone left which was the most logical reason for it to be abandoned, then came the idea that maybe diamond dogs showed up and scared everyone away before realizing that this place was dead and retreated as well and left the mine to its current fate, after that it was naturally went to something stupid like it being haunted by ghosts of the miners who probably died while on duty. After a while my mind started to drift and started pulling reasons out of my ass that made no sense whatsoever.

'Maybe it was kobolds or goblins? No, wait, wrong fantasy setting...unless they actually do exist in this world, but then again, I would have heard of them by now from the griffons and ponies that lived here. Or perhaps a dragon? It is a deep, expansive mine, maybe there is another entrance that it could fly in and out of and leave us none the wiser? Nah, that is also stupid because we would have definitely seen a dragon flying around during the three months I have been here. So, what in the flying fuck is this mess!? I need answers damn it!'

I was like this for a while until one of the male diamond dog scouts came up to me and tugged on my shirt, signaling to me that they wanted to say something.

"Alpha, we found griffon alpha's room, but door is locked." the diamond dog said as he scratched his head with a meaty paw, the damn thing looked like it can easily fling a pumpkin without needing much in the way of assistance.

"Has anyone tried breaking it down?" I asked as I began to wonder what could possibly still be in the room, hopefully a bed with an actual mattress and a nice fluffy pillow and blanket. In fact, I think I would be even happier if they had a fireplace and a wool blanket just waiting for me in there.

"No, we don't want to break your new room." the dog said and with that I knew that whatever was inside is still undisturbed and that it should still be in whatever condition they were in when the original owner all left in a big damn hurry.

Dragging my hands through my hair I tell the dog to take me to the room they found, turns out it was near the entrance to the mind, they just didn't notice it because the handle for the door fell off and that cobwebs was covering up where the hole was.

When we arrived at the lead foreman's room I finally noticed just how concealed it was from the rest of the tunnel we are in and why the dogs had a hard time finding it, the door itself is the same color as the stone around it and that it was perfectly placed to match the natural curvature of the stonework, there wasn't even a sign stating it's the foreman's office.

'I am sensing that someone either didn't want to be bothered while working or someone was skimming off the top of this little business.'

Placing my hand on the door I gave it a gentle push at first to see both how heavy the door is and if its stuck, and I would like to say yes to both of those because the door is not only stuck but that it is also really fucking heavy.

"What the hell is that door made out of?" I asked nobody in particular as the diamond dogs behind me all shrugged, apparently none of them knew the answer and I wasn't expecting them to since they too didn't know that this door existed until this very moment.

Giving the door another push, this time I was putting all of my strength into it to the point that I thought I was about to pop a blood vessel with how heavy the door was and when it finally budged an inch did I realize what it was that I was pushing.

It was a solid stone door. Not a wooden door, not a wooden door that was unnaturally heavy for how thick it was or if it was bound in iron to make it more durable, no it was a solid as fuck stone door on some really fucking strong hinges. If this place had dwarves than they would most definitely approve of this since they love everything that is rock and stone.

After about a minute of pushing on the door and another minute of getting one of the larger diamond dogs to push the door with me, the door finally opened up much to our surprise instead of it falling off the hinges it was placed on. As the door slowly slid open with a loud, ear-piercing squeal of metal on metal it got to the point that the dog helping me pushed stopped pushing and covered his ears alongside his fellow brothers in paws, me on the other hand kept pushing till the gap was wide enough for me to go through.

The room's interior was dark as all hell aside from the numerous cobwebs that I could see and after ducking out of the room for a hot minute to get a torch to both see in the darkened chamber and to burn away any cobwebs that got a little too friendly with my face, I saw what was hiding in plain sight.

This was indeed the head foreman's room but what makes it stand out so much more than that is the fact that this room was also a vault. In all I can roughly say that the room itself was about fifteen feet by twenty-five feet in width and length and as for height I can say its maybe ten feet high so sadly for me I can't touch the roof even if I tried jumping.

On one side of the room was a single bed, the sheets are for the most part still in pristine condition despite being here for god knows how long, a wooden desk and chair off to one side with no hint of rot or mildew on them and lastly there was a small bookshelf that was partially filled with books and papers, something for me to look through at a later time. That was all on the right side of the room, the left side though, that thing was the vault half as it was sealed off by iron bars that showed no signs of rust or grime, the gate on it was still in one piece and that it too had no hint of rust on it, but what truly got my attention was what was behind the gate.

Sitting within the safety of the vault was small rectangular crates, easily the size of a suitcase each, and every single one of them was stacked high enough to almost reach the ceiling of the room which was impressive onto its own but what has my absolute attention, however, is the crates themselves as I don't know what exactly is inside each of those crates. Walking up to the vault I tested the gate out to see if it was locked, and indeed it was, the lock on it was made into the gate itself and the damn thing looked like it will either take a crew of dogs to break it down with mallets and a spike or the key that was made to fit in the lock.

Taking a step back from the vault I gave the room a once over again, going to the bookshelf and grabbing the books that laid within its wooden confines and gave them all a good shake, trying to see if one of them was hollow and was holding the key with its carved pages but alas it wasn't that easy. Nothing ever was so easy for me it would seem.

'Can't live on easy mode forever, if only the people back home would get off their ass and do something with their lives instead of wasting it away on stupid shit.'

"Well boys, we got some good news, this looks like some sort of secret vault for the mines and that they left behind something valuable behind some bars, the bad news is that the gate is locked. If we have any mallets and a large enough metal spike to break the lock off, we can try that, otherwise we will have to try to find the key, if it's still here anyways since this place looks like it has been left to rot for ages. If you find any keys just bring them to this room and place it on the table so we can figure out which key goes where to what lock and to what door or chest and do, try to be gentle with these keys because I don't know how fragile or how rusty they are." I said this as I showed my dog crew what I found and even went far as to rattle the gate to show them that it is indeed locked and not just closed.

The assembled dogs all gave the collective head nods with a few barks of approval before letting the other dogs in the scouting group know about the new plan, to find keys and to stick together, can't be too hard to do unless they somehow think that the keys are food eat them.

While the dogs went their separate ways to diffuse the information to the scouting parties, I went over to where all of the books were and placed them on the desk and got to leafing through them, hoping that one of them was a ledger of sorts to tell me what this place is and what they were mining. As I started to go through the books a thought came to me and I added one more thing to my search list, the name of the mining company that previously owned this place as I really didn't want them coming back poking their beaks where it doesn't belong or worse demand the mine back after we fixed it up.

Going through the books and pushing several of them off to the side after discovering that they were merely just books about stories, things to read while bored and to pass the time with only one of them, strangely enough, was a booked called 'Griffon selfcare for Dummies' and I couldn't help but laugh at the title before realizing that this book could help me with my own griffons at home.

Looking around the room to make sure that I was alone, once that I was securely alone in this room I began to divine the secrets of this book, hoping that the knowledge within its pages can help me when it comes to assisting Gilda and Greta with their wings and talons, after all a happy griffon is a good griffon, and one that isn't going to claw me in my sleep because they were upset at me for nearly dying on them a second time. There were several pages that were illustrated with some rather well-drawn artwork of griffons in various poses in regard to what the page was talking about. Griffons in posses with their wings fully extended with arrows drawn around the wings pointing at certain points to detail on what should be touched and what shouldn't, how to properly remove dead or old feathers, proper wing care in general.

"Hmm...so that's how you take care of their wings...really? Thats it? Just go through the wings and take out the dead feathers one at a time? Gods above that will take forever, but if it's how these griffons do it for their mates or friends then I guess I got to do it like that as well...too bad there isn't a vacuum cleaner or something for this task yet." I said mostly to myself as I kept leafing through the pages, getting to talon care it was easier than expected, just get a nail filer and just shape, grind and smooth out the talons until they are nice, shapely and uniform.

But as I got deeper into the book did things start to get a bit spicy and that was when I realized that this book was meant to be for the male readers due to it constantly trying to hammer in ways for us to please our spouse, namely because we are dense motherfuckers who miss signals constantly being thrown our way. I am no exception to this rule because I know for a fact that I have missed several of these signals when Gilda and Greta were trying to attract my attention the many times we went out drinking at the local pubs back in Griffonstone.

As I continued to read the saucy book on griffon care, I got to the point where I was starting to feel hot and bothered until I went to flip through to the next page, several of them went together as if stuck together.

Stuck.

Together.

I immediately threw the book away from myself as I realized what it was that was making the pages glued together and it sure as hell wasn't glue, more like organic nut butter and it's been like this for ages.

"Oh come the fuck on! Really? The bastard couldn't fucking aim elsewhere when he nuts? He couldn't fucking point it downwards under the table? Fucking dirty bastard I am glad he is probably dead, ruined a perfectly good smutty book."

Standing up from the desk that has been defiled with someone else's seed, I started to read standing up the remaining books and found that none of them were ledgers for the mine nor was there a journal or diary detailing what happened to render the place inoperative. Looking at the bed I started to think that it too has been ruined and my guess is that since working in this easily sealed room the guy can just rub them out and not have to worry about someone easily barging in unless they have herculean strength.

Leaving the room behind I looked around and saw that my guards were still waiting for me, all of them sitting on the floor, three of them asleep while the other two were talking about something, probably about food, and when they saw me one of the two pushed the sleeping dogs away and stood up. The three sleeping dogs had some trouble standing up as they were caught in a tangle of limbs and bodies since they were on top of one another, probably didn't help that they were pushed and made the tangle worse, but after a few seconds they pulled themselves together and got back in formation, slightly embarrassed that they were caught like that.

"Alright pups, time to inspect the rest of the mine. Here is hoping that the griffons that previously owned this place left some things behind for us." I said with a tone that sparked no confidence as it was all drained from me when I found out the self-help book was defiled by someone's baby batter.

Traversing the halls was a boring affair but an easy one thanks to how smooth the floor is, the light from our torches also was going far so we did not trip over our feet so that is a blessing n a half.

As we moved through the tunnels, stopping at each intersection to chisel in a marker and sign of what level we are on. As it turns out there are five levels of depth for the mine and that first level was living quarters, kitchen, barracks and storage chambers alongside the latrine system of all things.

Turns out that the latrine system is just four latrines with four large buckets underneath them, and when it's time to clean them out they are dragged onto a lift then brought to the surface to then be dumped into a pit to be burned. Ingenious for the griffons who thought up and implemented this idea, and even better for us because it still seems to be in working order.

Looking at the chains lining the walls and the system it is a part of I saw little signs of rust and that none of the chains are broken, the lift itself appears to be not rotten aside from the pile of leaves and sticks that have dropped from above. Giving a few chains a good yank to see if they were still intact, I then told one of the dogs the order to start cranking as I moved over and stood on the lift, and it took a solid minute of cranking before the lift began to move and thankfully it didn't fall apart with me on it. After about a minute of waiting the lift stopped and I looked around to see that I was in a shed of sorts, the door or doors that was supposed to be here have long since fallen over and looking out of the shed a small dug out stone pit that has charred marks all over it.

'Huh, they took their shit out here and burned it, and since everyone is below ground, they won't smell the scent of burning shit, nice. Gotta give it to these griffons they know how to make their mining operations comfortable.'

Getting up was the hard part, getting back down was easy as all hell. Turns out when the griffons built this place back when they owned it, they wanted this place to be as efficient as possible all the while being easy to maintain as well. To get down I had to pull a lever and the chains that were being held taut at the bottom of the lift were released as they went in reverse, lowering the lift back down safely in half the time it took to reach the top.

When I got back down the dogs were sitting again, but this time they looked more relieved than they last were when I was gone for a minute, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

"So, boys, took a load off? Do they still work as intended?" I asked my dogs as they all quickly back up, trying to act like they weren't all caught with their metaphorical pants down.

My dogs gave me thumbs up and extremely satisfied nods, knowing what I was asking and figuring out that I wasn't reprimanding them for doing what they did,

"Well good, because we got several more areas of this mine to explore and this might be the only bathroom break you are going to get unless there are more of these placed deeper in the mines for the sake of convenience." and truth be told I am seriously hoping that the griffons were smart enough to build more bathrooms in this place because I really doubt the workers are fast enough to make it from the bottom of the mine to the top to take a shit in time before they shit n piss themselves silly.

Exploring the upper level of the mine took us the better part of an hour of mapping it all out, it was all one massive square with miniature squares at evenly spaced sections of it. From the entrance of the mine the tunnel went forward for about 100 feet at a gentle twenty-five-degree slope before opening up to the left and right and fifteen feet in either direction there was two new tunnels going down at the same twenty-five-degree slope and this repeated four more times till it gets to the bottom.

Exploring the entirety of the mines took the better part of a few hours, finding all that it had to offer me, and this is what I had found and documented.

First level of the mine had it all, kitchens, guard barracks, the vault combined with the head foreman office, the main storage of processed goods and materials, bathroom, and strangely enough a mail room. The second level was general sleeping quarters for the workers and rooms for either guests or children, I couldn't tell if I was correct, but they seemed a bit more personal and smaller when compared to the larger rooms with dozens of beds that lined the walls, and most importantly a general bathroom and bathing chamber. Then the third level and fourth level were considered processing as all of the rooms was filled with large chunks of granite and marble stone with parts of the third level being packaging as they had several dozen empty crates waiting to be filled up.

As we were about to come back up to tell the rest of the dogs that our home is secure and safe to start entering, one of the scout dogs came running up to me, panting and placing his paws on their knees before speaking up about finding something strange at the end of the mines. I really wanted to tell this dog that he must be seeing things that he needs to rest because we are all tired, but when someone says that there is an issue it is most of the time an actual issue and not someone being lazy, cause if they were being lazy then I get to introduce them to potato peeling detail.

With a sigh and sagging shoulders, I followed the scout to where this 'disturbance' is located, best to nip this in the bud now before it blows out of proportion and becomes an annoyance in the future.

At the bottom of a mineshaft was a wall of a strange obsidian like material, almost akin to the walls that one would find in a xenomorph lair, and it was making my skin crawl to the point that it was starting to unnerve me.

As I started to turn around to walk back and order my dogs to place rocks against the wall so that whatever made it doesn't try to come in through this way so easily. I stopped in my tracks as the light from the torch illuminated something on the floor partially embedded in the wall, something that walls normally shouldn't have.

Taking tentative steps towards the obsidian black wall I crouched low to see what was being lit up and my eyes widened at the sight that lay before me.

Reflecting partially from the low glowing gloom of the torch was a skeletal hand of what could only be a diamond dog or a griffon, since both have three fingers and a thumb, a hand that looked like it had either punched or dug its way through the wall, and in its hand was a rolled-up parchment.

The dogs that came with me that discovered this wall were growling at the wall, their spears pointed at it as a few took up defensive positions near me as I reached down and gently pried the parchment from the mummified hand and very carefully unrolled it to see what was written on it.

I am positive the dogs around me started to whimper as they saw just how pale I have become as I read the single word that was printed on the piece of paper, the letters were forged in blood and faded emerald splotches was covering the letters.

"Run."

Author's Note

New chapter for the new year! Lets go 2023! Be better than the previous year!

Ichourous Tomb

The ancient city of...well, for the time being ill just leave it nameless until I can come up with something cool.

For all of its grandeur appearance and gilded roads, it's a literal graveyard what with all of the hollow bodies lining the streets.

A miasma of depression and despair hung heavy in the air, and everyone here can feel it.

I don't want to be here any longer than I have to.

"What you see boss?" One of the dogs far behind me asks as I survey the dead streets.

Turning my head down to look at one side of the street before slowly sweeping my gaze to the other side and doing it two more times as I looked at the other street to see the exact same thing.

Bodies. Lots and lots of bodies.

Like holy shit that is a lot of bodies. So many torn to shreds and fucking annihilated bodies that it's making me sick to my stomach.

"I see a shit load of corpses as far as the eye can see." I said as I glanced to my left and right, all I saw was fields of the dead.

"Nothing alive?"

"Nothing at the moment. For all I know they could be alive and are simply hiding away to avoid their conquerors and now us." I am praying that there is someone still alive out there, I do not want to live here if it is truly a ghost town.

"Orders?"

"Same as before with the storage rooms. Go slow and check everywhere. Do not damage anything because if my hunch is right, this may be our new home for the foreseeable future." and I really hope that there is someone alive here, I don't care if they are these strange bug ponies, griffons in hiding or diamond dog slaves, at this point some life sprouting from a dark corner will be better than an empty city.

'Not the mines?"

"No, not the mines. This city is far more deserving for you guys because of what you all have went through to get here. No more squatting in the muck and fighting over scraps. No more senseless suffering, here you all will be free." I said as bent down and started to move a small insect pony body.

This was someone's child; I can only hope it was a quick death.

"And be careful with the bodies, we have to bury them or at the least burn them in a pyre as a funeral rite for them. I'd rather not anger whatever God they have by being an absolute savage to their corpses." I said with a hint of fear, now thinking back that maybe stepping on that one corpse was a bad idea.

While most of my dogs spent their time clearing the bodies from the road, a small retinue stayed with me as we started to map out the surrounding area and what can be said about this unknown city?

It is divided.

From where we are currently standing the district, we are in appears to be in the lower-middle class as there are no personal housing, it all looks like apartments and family run stores as far as the eye can see and torchlight can reach. Going through the streets after carefully removing the dead to the side and from there it only got worse as we continued to find more and more bodies to the point that that all of us were starting to get depressed and saddened at the sheer amount of death we are finding.

The bodies that are lining the street count in the hundreds, my guess, the entire population of this dead city.

"Alpha...why is this home dead?" One of the dogs asked me as they gently laid down a small body, a child perhaps or just a shorty.

"I don't know. I don't know why they are all dead, but that isn't what has me unnerved." I said as I placed another body to the side, this one had its head cracked but the inside was empty, it was unnerving to say the least.

"It's that we don't know what killed them all or if it was natural." And from there it was quiet aside from our breathing and our footsteps.

The dead had their bodies brutalized, as if some sort of beast or wrathful invaders tore them asunder with so many bodies missing limbs, chunks of their body, and their insides. Whatever did this to them I am now warry that they still might be around looking for a fresh meal.

I observed in silence that the rest of the dogs are starting to show signs of demoralized behavior, they are working slower, sighing in sadness, showing looks of fear because this could have at some point happened to a diamond dog warren if it was ever attacked by a rival clan that wanted to completely annihilate its rival instead of subjugating them.

'This could have been them if I have not shown them mercy back in Talons End. If I had not held back and let the griffon army continue with their attack, they would have killed every single diamond dog, surrender or not, and I doubt they would have stopped there since they were the victim of this raid, they would have pressed the king for a retaliation strike campaign and burned down every single warren they will come across, regardless if they took part in the raid or not.'

Pick up a body, move to the side, gently place it back down, rinse and repeat and on and on it went. With each meter we went we looked up at the apartment constructs, all of the windows were in varying signs of open with quite a number of them appearing damaged from the inside or outside. Going through each apartment, room by room, housing unit by housing unit, what we found made us regret our decision, but we pressed on because we must, even if we have to all go see a therapist for an extensive period of time.

This continued on for almost an hour until we finally cleared a path through the streets until we came upon another wall, this one a little taller than the one we just crossed, and it looked a little bit fancy what with the tapestries on the walls and that there are gemstones at regular intervals on the uppermost brickwork.

Turning back to my dogs I signaled for them to assemble at the gate and as we did before we checked to see if it was locked and strangely enough it wasn’t. Looking at how much better designed this wall was when compared to the previous one I must say that we are probably approaching the middle-class district or the industrial district for this underground city but what is making my hair stand on end and setting my nerves on edge is that we have only been finding the dead and I dread when we find anyone alive.

The conditions for those still alive must be horrendous and their mental state the same, hell, they even have turned to cannibalism to survive because I didn’t see any farmlands on the way here.

Ordering my dogs to lineup against the gate i gave the command to open it and waited for whatever is on the other side to fall out in a heap of bones.

But it never came, instead all we heard was the near silent creaking of hinges as the gate opened up and revealed an empty gatehouse and streets on the other side.

Raising a brow, I slowly stepped through the gateway and through the gatehouse, expecting a corpse or two to fall on top of me, but none did, only dust and echoes befell me.

Stepping cautiously deeper inside the gatehouse I kept my head on a swivel and my eyes peeled for any signs of life, but I found none. Raising my torch higher into the air as the shadows around me fled as it revealed the first signs of death, but this time what I found was different.

Lying near the winch that controls the inner portcullis was two bodies in a pool of mixed dried green and orange blood.

What is making my hair stand on end is that this kill was fresh, and recent to cause the smell of rot has started to make itself known.

The first body was of the insect pony, or well, what is left of it anyway, I don't what this poor bastard did to deserve to die like they did but to see the thing lying on top of it made me start questioning living underground. Looking at the beast lying on top of the poor bug pony I can only guess that it died fighting said bug pony.

For such a large beast, it sure is one ugly fucker, it looks to be bipedal if the strangely clawed feet are of any indication aside from the odd leg configuration, its body covered in chitin and few strands of stiff hair-like quills with a beige-yellow coloration. Its head was that of an ant except the large bulbous eyes are just chitin plating and replaced by two tiny rubies for eyes or it would be two if the other wasn't destroyed because an arrow is sticking out of the socket, and its mandibles appear to be like two serrated scimitars instead of bug teeth. And lastly are its arm, left one missing at the shoulder and it looks like it was melted off if the cauterization wasn't proof, those thick gorilla-like buggy limbs ending in orange sausage links tipped in sharp claws.

Gazing at this abomination's appearance for a while I started to realize that this thing looks familiar to me. After about a minute or two of staring and admiring this insect behemoth did the rusted gears in my brain start to squeal and rattle before spinning as it finally clicks.

Rearing back and taking a few steps away from the beast, I draw my sword and immediately without any hesitation I stepped to the large corpse and ran my blade through the creature's head and gave it a bit of a scrambling before pulling it back out.

"Why in the fucking hell in all that is holy is a god damn Umber Hulk doing here? This isn't Dungeons and Dragons™ and I sure as hell do not count this as the Underdark™. God fucking damn it all to hell, now I have to worry about monsters from that game? I don't have time for shit right now." I squealed out loud as I rapidly took several steps back and away from the dead hulking beast. And truth be told I really wasn't expecting to find monsters from that tabletop game here in this world, and yes while this is indeed a world of fantasy because of the things I have seen and encountered, I really wasn't expecting to encounter something of this variety.

After giving the Umber Hulk a good brain scrambling, I stepped back and let out a long sigh, now knowing that my ventures in this world is far from over and now even further from being even remotely normal.

Looking at the insectoid beast I walked over to its right side, lifted its arm and struggled for a bit as I tried to turn it over to get a better look at the poor bastard it pretty much mutilated. The lower half of this bug pony is just fucked beyond any recognition, the legs are simply just gone as from what I can guess from the guts area down has been chomped off as I peeked at several strands if muscle and meat hanging on the floor with its intestines falling out.

As I examined this dead bug pony, I noticed that it had some differences to the previous bodies I have handled with the biggest difference being this one was larger by at least half and had thicker looking chitin armor plating on its torso, back and legs along with a wider spade-looking horn. To me this bug pony looks more like a beetle than its predecessors does, my educated guess is that these people are not related to the equines on the surface in any real way aside from physical configuration.

One thing that did catch my attention was that the hulk did have going for it, or in this case, through it, was a ragged looking trident going through what might be its heart. I don't know if that is what killed it, or the severe trauma done to its body before helped with its parting.

Looking around the gatehouse one last time for anything out of the ordinary or possibly misplaced, I saw that the winch was broken, the chain it was supposed to be tugging on or loosening has snapped and that it was no longer attached to the portcullis above it.

'Sabotage perhaps, but from who? Umber Hulks are not that smart to know how one works...unless these ones are smarter. God I hope these ones are not smarter than the tabletop version.'

Shivering at the thought of a smart hulk and what that could mean for the dogs. I turned back around and left the gatehouse and let my dogs know that I am still alive and that everything is fine.

The squad leader for my group, a pudgy little thing named Brakka, he was terrier of the beige variety and was anxiously walking back and forth, waiting for my return and when I did make it back did, he come running up to me to hear the news.

"More bones?" Brakka asked me as I walked back and let out a sigh and a shake of the head.

"Not bones, these two have been killed, dead for some time." And this tells me that there are survivors here, or maybe this one bug pony was a scout.

Signaling my dogs to press forward they all fell in line and moved through the gatehouse, going around the deceased and noting that the dead are indeed fresh.

The next section of the ringed city is what I was expecting to find when we found all those luxurious gifts and trinkets, we found in those crates yesterday. Stepping on the gilded sidewalk of gold and obsidian I can tell that this is the wealthy, elite district and from the sidewalk alone I can tell that these fuckers are rich and aren't sharing a cent of it with the lower class.

As we walked down the streets, I saw shops and stores displaying only the most expensive and ornate of jewelry and clothes, I saw manors and mansions with actual lawns and trees, opulence and imperial is what I can only describe this place.

Going through building to building we all saw each room was full of decadence and hedonistic wealth of the highest order.

Gold, gems, oil paintings and marble statues galore and I am already wondering how much further we have to go before we find the palace made of solid gold and diamonds.

Soon enough we made it to the last wall, instead of it being made of solid gold, this wall appears to be heavily reinforced with metal and granite, murder holes and fall traps line the edges and the main gate in is sealed shut with a heavy metal portcullis and the thick iron gate behind it.

Now this is what I am talking about, a challenge for me and the boys to take a stab at to find out what goodies lie inside.

Tilting my head to the side I grin at my dogs as the assemble behind me, “We got ourselves a locked gate which means that there may be survivors on the other side. Get out your ropes and get the hooks ready, we are climbing up and over.”

“Why not the gate?” Brakka asks as he tilts his head to the side, sometimes I swear that these dogs are being cute on accident cause eventually I’m going to pet the shit out of one of 'em.

“Because Brakka, we don’t know if there any more Umber Hulks out there or if they are sleeping in the other side. We go up and over so we can see if there is anything worth exploring and saving, and besides, it’s good practice for when we have break into someone’s home or fortress to rescue someone.” I said as I grabbed one of the grappling hooked ropes and started to give it a twirl.

“I see, very smart.”

“It sure is, now stand back, don’t want to accidentally bonk you in the jaw with a hook.” With a few more twirls the dog took the hint and backpedaled a couple of steps and with another twirl I yeeted that bitch as hard as I can and watched as it sailed in the air before dropping on the other side.

Waiting for the rope to go slack to signify that it has reached its destination I started to slowly roll it back up, hoping to hear a clanking sound of metal on metal or it suddenly stopping to let me know that it snagged onto something. After about a few seconds of winding the rope back up I felt the rope grow taut and after a few tugs on the braided rope I knew that it grabbed onto something and putting some weight on it alerted to me that it got a good hold onto whatever it snagged.

Turning my attention to the rest of my dogs and seeing their progress with wall scaling, almost of them managed to throw their hooks over the wall with ease, others had to rewind their ropes and try again. Poor Brakka somehow threw his hook behind himself, and we all watched as it goes sailing in the air before clattering loudly against the street as the sound echoes throughout the dead city.

We all stood in silence as we waited for anything to happen and for a moment, I was expecting either some umbers to come crawling through the ground to get to us or for one that is on the other side of the gate to smash it down to fight us but to my surprise nothing can of it. With bated breath we all exhaled and laughed it off before the small dog attempted to try again but that all came to a halt when we all felt the ground rumble ever so slightly and we all had different t thoughts as to what that rumbling could mean.

You see, to me that rumbling could mean anything from earthquakes, earth plates shifting, unstable ground, or an Umber Hulk coming my way to tear my face off with sadistic glee, but for a diamond dog? They think it’s either a cave-in and they are about to lose some dogs, an earthquake and they are going to lose a chunk of the warren and some dogs, or the ground is about to collapse, and they are about to lose some dogs. In all a rumbling ground spells death for diamond dogs.

It didn’t take long for the rumbling to cease and what little aftershocks that were present to die off but with nothing breaching the surface nor the sound of its screech alerting us to its presence we all let out a sigh of relief.

A relief that became short lived when the ground beneath where the hook slammed into the ground exploded outward sending rocks, broken bricks and gravel everywhere as a familiar head breaches the surface as it let out an ear-piercing shriek of animalistic aggression.

“It’s an Umber Hulk! Don’t look it in the eyes, focus on its arms and legs instead!” I shouted as I dropped my rope and drew m sword from its scabbard as the rest of my dogs dropped their rope as well and did the same.

Pulling itself out of the ground with its arms the hulking monstrosity gazed its beady eyes our way as it let out another shriek and charged at us.

"Form up!" I shouted, bracing myself in the middle of the street with my sword positioned in a defensive stance as my diamond dogs surrounded me, weapons drawn, snarling and barking at the somewhat eldritch beast as it continued to charge at us all.

The hulk rushed at us and as we readied ourselves for impact, we felt the ground begin to rumble again and with each thunderous step it took so too did the rumbling earth until it exploded beneath us.

Every single one of us was launched away from one another with me landing on my back but my grip on my sword was lost as I turned to see that it had flew and impaled itself into the gate behind me.

‘Oh, you got to be shitting me.’ With a frown from me that quickly turned into an ‘Oh Crap!’ expression when I remembered that there was a dead hulk in the next chamber and that they usually hunted in packs, these two are obviously the pack that was with it and is now hunting us because they think we killed the other one.

Scrambling to my feet I quickly ran to where my sword landed without looking back as I did not want to see if I was being chased by a roided-out insect abomination to only see its claws raised or it’s mandibles chomping down on me. I didn’t have to wait long to hear the sounds of painful howls as one of my diamond dogs received a slash across their chest, the hulks claw easily tearing through flesh and bone alike as if it were stone before that dog dropped to the ground in a heap and unmoving.

Grabbing the hilt of my sword I gave it a good yank but to my dismay it did not budge an inch, the griffonian steel blade remained in the metal gate as an unyielding middle finger to me.

“Oh you got to be fucking shitting me! Fucking let go you stupid fucking junk of metal!” I shouted as I kept on tugging and yanking on the hilt, repositioning my hands several times and even trying to wiggle it out when I heard an all too familiar laugh echo in my head.

Oh my, I didn’t know that you were capable of working your sword so well! Look at those strokes! The perfect grip and measured twists! My oh my you are certainly going to make me blush!

“Not now Eros! Can’t you see I am a little busy at the moment?”

I can see that, you certainly do know how to work the shaft. How long have you been practicing I wonder…

“Oh my sweet lord, for all that is holy, Eris, can you please.” I shouted as I felt the sword wiggle ever so slightly in the metallic gate it was embedded in just as I heard the sound of menacingly slow heavy footfalls behind me.

“Shut” another heavy footstep and the sounds of mandibles clacking loudly as they start clicking in anticipation of a fresh meal.

“the fuck” another hard tug on the sword, the blade coming looser as I feel the hulk stop right behind me, thinking it has its prey trapped.

“UP!” and with one last tug I yanked my sword out from the gate and right on time as the hulk lunged at me and as the two acts collide with one another all I heard was a howling shriek of pain coming out from the hulk's mandible.

Opening my eyes to see where I had struck and looking at the hulking bug, I saw that my blade has found purchase once more into yet another thing, but this time it was in the head of the abomination that was trying to eat me. I watched as its mandibles twitched and clacked as it shrieked in pain, and it only grew in intensity when I twisted the steel ever so slightly.

As the shriek tapered off into a series of unintelligible clicking, I soon felt an ungodly weight fall on top of me as it fell forward and I found myself trapped underneath it.

“Well, isn’t this a bitch, I’m trapped between a bug and a hard place…” i muttered darkly to myself as I struggled to free myself from this undesirable predicament.

“Pimp down, pimp in distress…playa needs help badly! …hello? Can anyone hear me?” I said as I wiggled helplessly under the deceased beast.

I didn’t have to wait long for someone to arrive on the scene as I heard multiple paw steps approach and as I looked up from underneath the right armpit of the hulk I saw Brakka standing above me holding a blooded spear and covered in green blood.

“Are you okay?” The dog squad leader said as I rolled my eyes at him.

“Look at me Brakka, I am buried under a massive fucking dead bug, and it stinks as bad as Clungo, so can you please get this damn thing off of me?” I said with a hint of annoyance in my tone as I rolled my eyes so hard that one can probably hear the sound of eyeballs rolling.

Luckily for me the Umber Hulk died in a heap around me so that its immense weight wasn't crushing me of breath and life, and with a heave and a ho my diamond dogs rolled the corpse off of me. Standing up with a bit of a stumble I dusted myself off and gave the hulk one last stab to the back of the head before cutting its head off by sawing through its neck plates, I had to make sure that it was dead cause I don't want this thing standing back up when we have our backs turned to it.

Turning my attention back to Brakka I noticed that he had a sullen look on his muzzle, and it didn't take a genius or an idiot to figure out the reason why for the lowered mood.

Moving past the assembled dogs I walked over to where a smaller group was clustered together and what I saw made a pit in my stomach.

On the floor with a small leather sheet covering their face was a diamond dog, killed during the brief battle between my dogs and the Umber Hulks. Looking at their chest I saw the claw marks that roughly gutted them in one fell swoop, his death was quick as I saw two of those claw marks going through the rib cage, right where his heart is.

Lowering my head, I placed my left hand over my own heart while my right was a scant few centimeters away in a prayer posture as I prayed that this brave dog finds peace and eternal rest, his duty is now over.

“Did he have any family.” I said in a muted tone, a little numb inside that he died on my watch.

“Yeah, a mate and two pups.” Brakka said as he and the other dogs assembled around.

“We are leaving this place, now. Go into the house and find a large enough sheet, we are not leaving him here to become food for any more of these beasts that may be lurking nearby.” I said as kneeled down and placed a hand on the deceased’s shoulder.

“I will tell his family what happened, how he died protecting us.” I said as gave the dog one last pat on the shoulder before standing up, a brave dog died today, I hope that it will be the last time it happens on this journey.

A few quiet, solemn minutes pass before a pair of diamond dogs approached us carrying what looks like an embroidered tablecloth in their paws.

“That will do, now spread it out and lay it on the ground, we will lift him on top of it. On the count of three.” I said as five dogs gathered behind me as the pair unfold the cloth and laid it out for us.

“One. Two. Three!” And with a grunt the six of us lift the fallen hero onto the sheet before folding it over him gently.

“Alright, gently lift him up and if any of you let go or drop him there will be hell to pay.” I said as I grabbed a portion of the cloth on the upper right and got ready for the rest of the dogs to grab their sides.

With a brief pause we slowly lifted our fallen comrade and began our slow march back to the entrance to the mines, our heads hung low and although we have proven victorious over the Umber Hulks we were found defeated when one of our own fell in battle.

It was during our steady march back to the safety of the mine did I start to notice that the eerie silence that once filled this tomb and the monotonous steps leave our wake that there was something else here with us. I don't know what it could possibly be, but I heard movement off in the distance and it only got worse as I started to hear multiple sources of disturbances echoing around us.

The disturbance started off with bits of rock and roof tiles falling to the ground from up above and when we all turned our heads to look at the source of it there was nothing there. Then came the sound of something buzzing in the distance like a swarm of mosquitos but when I scanned around the roads and checked the roofs for anyone, I saw nobody, but I can't shake the feeling that we are now being watched by a force beyond our understanding.

By the time we made it back to the entrance did we find the rest of our dogs, all of them having moved the corpses to the side and have finished hauling all of the treasure into our storage rooms, and when they saw us approaching with a fallen dog being carried by us they all stopped cheering at our approach and instead all lowered their heads with a few letting out howls of sadness as it rung through the caverns both behind us and ahead of us.

We took the body to a side chamber near the surface and set him down as one of the dogs broke off from the group to find his family, when they arrived and saw who was under the sheet the family broke down, their howls of pain will haunt me till the end of my days and I only knew that this won't be the last time this happens on my watch. I knew the pain they felt, the loss of a family member before their time, the grieving, the suffering, the pain of it all, I feel for them for I know what it is like.

The funeral happened at night; every dog was in attendance as we created a funeral pyre for him. Their howls echoed throughout the night, their cries of pain and anguish ignited a spark within me that I didn't know I had laid dormant within my core.

While we may have been enemies in just a scant few days earlier during the siege of Talon's End, he became my ward when I became his Alpha and as such he was my responsibility, with his death it made me all too aware of the weight of the chains of command that are slowly becoming heavier on my shoulders and the few chains tightening around my throat, that they are all my responsibility now, and I must take care of them as if they are my own children.

As a leader of a group of soldiers I only had to make sure that they followed orders and that I got them back safe and sound to their families at the end of the day. But as a leader of an entire group of people, the weight is far heavier, and the consequence of failure is several magnitudes worse than before.

When the dawn came, we collected his ashes and placed them within a small urn and had it placed within the mine, the first of our clan to die, and the first of many to come in the coming years. Those that were with him yesterday and his family were in attendance as they placed the urn within a carved-out hole in the wall, and beneath the urn a small carving of his name.

'Here lies Maximus, a loving father and a wonderful husband. May peace guide him to our lord's sacred halls and kinship amongst our honorable dead.'

I soon returned to my chambers and parked myself at my desk before dropping my head on the table itself, a loud thunk could be heard but I could not care for it as I simply wanted to try and deal with the pain of losing a dog to a bug.

Yet in a cruel twist of fate and irony, I heard something skuttle behind me, and as I slowly turn to face my intruder I grabbed my dagger and slowly drew it from its sheath before sheathing it when I saw what it was.

Standing behind the door after I came in was a black pony, ebon head frill and charcoal colored seaweed tail, a curved horn on its forehead and two small fangs, chitinous armor plating on its chest and back and staring me in the eyes was a pair of pupilless amber eyes.

"We have been waiting for you to be alone."

'Oh...shit.'

The Amber Swarm

The two of us stood in the room staring at the other, a stand-off of glances was being made and we both were inspecting the other, our bodies tense as neither side knew if the other was hostile or not. While I stared at the bug pony standing before me I spared fleeting glances around my room, seeing if this intruder hadn't stolen anything, moved anything or went snooping while I was occupied with the funeral.

At a glance nothing looked out of place or out of the ordinary, although the only thing that didn't look right was that there was a slight indentation on my bed as if someone had recently laid down on top of it.

And as for the bug pony, it saw that I was in a defensive stance, hand on the dagger’s handle, ready to strike or throw at a moment's notice, but I was holding back for now. It also knew that I was a leader of sorts since I had my own room seeing how the others all slept in barracks and that I had nicer clothes and didn’t smell as bad as the rest of the pack of savage beasts.

“Who are you and how did you get passed the guards?” I said as I kept a firm grip on my weapon, not wanting to be overpowered by an insect pony so easily.

The bug pony looked at my stance then turning their gaze to the dagger before returning to look at my face, “Our name is not so easily rehearsed but for the sake of speaking in this common tongue of you surface-dwellers, you may call this mouthpiece Lichen, and as for how we got passed your ‘guards’, we simply walked passed them.”, the now named insect pony said as it blinked owlishly at me, the pupil less eyes staring into my soul.

It was a tad unnerving to be perfectly honest.

“My guards would have stopped you, so you didn’t just simply ‘walk’ past them. Did you camouflage yourself to blend into the rocks or were you invisible and simply strode by without any issues?” I asked as I kept a hand on my blade, there was fear evident in my eyes because if this was an assassin coming to try their luck then I am now worried that someone wants me dead and has the balls to hire a killer to do the deed.

“No, we simply walked on the ceiling.” And to prove their point they placed their charcoal hooves on the wall and after a second, they climbed up and over before stopping right above me.

“Your dogs never looked up.” The tried-and-true question of the ages back home, dogs can't look up.

I let out a sigh before facepalming, I can already tell that this breach of security will be brought up in the coming future.

If I survive this.

“Now that we have answered your question, you shall be answering our own.” Lichen said as they climbed off the wall and stopped right before me, the tip of their own was at eye level and I can tell now that this one has wings, just cleverly concealed under their natural body armor.

“I would suggest that we trade questions, you ask a question, I will answer it possibly, then I will ask you a question, you will answer it possibly, and we go on from there until both parties are satisfied.” I said as I took a step away from the bug pony, as they landed in front of me.

"That is acceptable, you started with your twin questions than we shall ask our own pair." the bug pony said as they sat down on the floor and motioned for me to have a seat as well.

"Then ask your questions." I said as I sat down, keeping my guard up still in case this is just a ruse for me to lower my guard.

“To whom are we addressing?” Lich said as they gave the motion to begin the questioning of a lifetime.

“I am Ian, alpha of Halistro.” I answered in return, taking some pride that I am now head honcho of a group of people.

Grandpa would have been so proud of me, probably would have bought me a burger for that achievement.

“We see, we’ll then, Ian, it is a pleasure to meet you. As we have said before we are Lichen, now we may begin in earnest.”

"Why are you diamond dogs here this deep in griffon territory?" Lichen asked me they used a hoof to point at me.

"My diamond dogs are here within the northern frontier because I have asked permission from the mayor of Talon's End for locations to give these dogs a new home and this was one such location." I said with honesty cause after all, honesty is the best policy, and I would rather have some more friends than enemies.

Friends means more people to get together and share jokes and memes...or in this case share stories and juicy tales.

And also can serve as meat shields or witnesses to certain war crimes.

"We see, but why is this clan so far from its mountain range? The diamond dogs have never ventured this far west in nearly seven hundred years since their last great king, so why are you all here?"

"I am here because I am in service to the King Guto of Griffonia, honorable knight and agent of the griffonian crown. I was sent to Talon's End to complete a task for the crown. The diamond dogs are here because they were chasing down a cadre of minotaurs who were encroaching and stealing their lands out from under their noses with false documents and lies, and unfortunately for Talon's End those taurs thought that they could hide in safety in a griffon village and think that the diamond dogs wouldn't attack it. The bulls were wrong and soon the dogs laid siege to the griffon village, the end result being several dead griffonian citizens, a multitude of dead diamond dogs."

"And the minotaurs?"

"I do believe it is my turn to ask you a question." I said as the bug pony as they lifted an eyebrow ever so slightly before conceding with a nod.

"What exactly are you? I have seen ponies before from the humble and easygoing earth ponies, honorable yet brash pegasi, and the patient yet arrogant unicorns, along with apparently the ever-elusive thestrals that serve under Princess Luna of Equestria. But you? You look like a pony and yet you are far from being a relative of them if the insectoid appearance is of any indication." I said as I gestured at Lichen who kept that raised eyebrow before letting out a sigh as they did the pony-equivalent of a facepalm.

The bug pony before stood up and started to trot around the room, almost starting to form a rut in the stonework as I heard them mumble to themselves for a minute before finally coming to a stop before me as they sat back down. Their face as a flat expression as I heard their wings buzz ever so slightly and saw them twitch a bit before glancing further back and saw that their tail was twitching as well.

"Ian, normally we would have enforced the Masquerade Protocol on not only you but on the diamond dogs that have entered our hive and have seen where it is located, but because of...numerous circumstances, we are suspending such protocol until we have come to the conclusion of this intellectual engagement and determine whether or not your clan is a threat to our continued existence. What we say here will never leave this chamber, am I understood." I gave a nod and Lichen continued where they left off.

"We are changelings, we are masters of deception and infiltration, and we have the combined essence of the three pony tribes but in diminished capacity. Our appearance is because of what was done to us in the past several millennia ago and there is nothing that can be done to rectify it and our new 'diet' doesn't help either in regard to those we come into contact with. It is because of our 'unnatural' appearance that has made it almost impossible for us to have relations with those on the surface world thus rendering our race into permanent exile beneath it." Lichen said as I listened to with absolute quietness, my attention is undivided and is resetting solely on the bug pony sitting before me.

"I see... well, that is very... enlightening to say the least. But now I must ask what is your diet? It surely isn't the flesh and blood of others, right? Cause that is the only thing that I can think of that will spurn relations with foreign nations. That and eating babies." I said as I rubbed my chin after giving it some thought.

"As you have said earlier, it is my turn to ask. Now, back to my question before you interrupted us, what was done to the minotaurs that you have in your captivity?"

"I executed all but two of them. One of them was a porter that I sent back to Minos with a sack full of horns." I said as I glanced over at the door, noticing that it is now cracked open just a tad before returning my gaze to the bug pony in front of me.

"And the other?"

"The other minotaur is someone of importance, you do not need to know their name or who they are. Just know that in the coming months when the world conference happens that you may or may not see them." I said, blocking that question as I was not about to lay out top information to a random bug pony, this secret will die with me until it gets revealed in the coming months.

"We see..." the bug pony said as they rubbed their chin with a holey hoof, I was staring at said hoof before my eyes started to look them over, noticing that there were more holes all over their legs along with a few holes in their head frill. I didn't cast my gaze lower than necessary because I really didn't need to see bug horse junk, I get enough sight of schlong and snatch from the dogs, griffons and ponies anyway, don't really need to add bug horse dong to that list.

"What is a changeling's diet?" The moment I asked this I watched as the changeling before me twitched ever so slightly, clearly wasn't expecting or ready for this question to be asked by me.

Another thing I started to notice that I was hearing other sounds happening within the room, the barest hints of breathing from the corners in the room and from the direction of my bed, the sounds of extra pairs of insectoid wings twitching and finally the barest creaking of a wooden frame having to deal with weight distribution.

The two of us aren't the only people in this room.

"It... it is the emotions of those that are not us." Lichen said in a flat tone, clearly not happy that they have to be divulging this information. They straightened themselves out as they coughed into a holey hoof, which by the way made some rather raunchy thoughts cross my mind as I started to think of how many dicks have probably gone through those holes.

"How did you get the diamond dogs to follow you? Last we recall they only follow orders from their alpha and you do not smell like one of them, your scent is off." the bug pony asked as I once again get ready to dodge that question.

"They are following me because they see me as one of their own, I fought their previous alpha and I won."

"How do obtain these emotions? Do you hold them against their will and drain it out of them like a leech on a living body or do you just be near them and absorb it passively?" This earned another sigh from Lichen as I watched them brought a hoof to their muzzle, clearly not liking my line of questions at all since I am forcing them to divulge crucial information about their race, this may end with me having to kill them if they try to attack me.

"We obtain the emotions we need to survive by selecting an individual among the population that has friends, family or a mate and we then watch them carefully to find out what their routine is. Once we have learned enough about our target, we then come in at the dead of night to pacify and capture before replacing them with a harvester to continue what the target normally does. While the harvester is collecting the emotions and love around them, we take our captured prey and place them within a pod to then extract as much emotion as we can without causing permanent harm." Lichen calmly said as they revealed more and more about their whole operation. My guess is that they are starting to not see me as a threat or are so sure of themselves that they can easily take me on to ensure that this never gets out.

Probably the latter and not the former.

I wonder what it's like being podded, is it like being put on ice and you don't know how long it's been since going in, or is the occupant aware of what is happening around them and knows that days or weeks are passing by?

"So, if I were to defeat you, they would your clan follow me?" the bug pony asked, tilting their head with a somewhat confused look on their face.

"No, they only follow their own, and they see me as of their own." And like that the changeling attempt at usurping my clan for themselves was put down before it can even take off. That or just delayed for the time being.

"Okay, back to the harvesting question, once you are done harvesting them are they alright or are they nothing more than a shell of their former selves?" A question that needs answering cause depending on the answer this may or may not go into my report to the king regarding our apparently hidden neighbors.

"For most we simply harvest enough love and other emotions to remove the memory that they have noticed us just by being near them, but for others who have actively hunted us down or are a credible threat we intern them into a pod until they die." Lichen casually said this as they looked me in the eyes. Wow, not even a shred of remorse is in those orange eyes of theirs, looks like they take their secrecy very serious.

Apparently talking about death is something that is so easily and readily done, makes me wonder how often they have to either deal with being caught or how often they have to kill to remain hidden.

"Hmm, at least you return those that only accidentally notice you, and as for those that hurt or kill you for being what you are, I'd say that they deserve their fate."

"You agree with our methods?" Lichen said this with surprise in their voice, caught completely off-guard by my agreement with their actions.

I guess I am the first non-changeling to ever agree with them on anything while not being coerced or threatened.

"Yeah, I do. I cannot blame you for having to do what you have to do to survive. You have to act like a parasite just to see the next day and it would be unfair and also uncalled for me to judge you in such a fashion. But I am wondering if there is not another way to get emotions? Can you not just... I don't know, just simply acquire it just by being in proximity to others?" I asked as I just thought of this idea and in all honesty, I don't even know if it would even work in the long term or the short term.

"What do you mean by passive harvesting?" Lichen simply tilted their head ever so slightly, apparently never even thinking that they can do this passively without exposing themselves or harming their food source.

"What I mean is that you just send your harvesters out and have them hang out and around the griffons, ponies, diamond dogs and whatever race is near and just be near them. Get them to be friends with the locals, be nice, show kindness, and just absorb what is freely given because they think you are one of them." And here is hoping that it even remotely works because I have no true idea on how their emotion harvesting methods work or function on a biological scale.

Cause come on, how often does one find an emotionvore out there in the wild?

"We see... we shall attempt this approach in the future. Now back to our topic at hoof." Lichen said after lowering his gaze and stared at the ground for a few seconds and returned to looking at me, my guess is that because they are more akin to bugs than ponies so they probably have a hive-mind of sorts or are just telepathic with their kin who may or may not be nearby.

Now I am starting to get paranoid with these changelings, first they sneak by my guards by walking on the roof, they can easily capture people and place them in pods before replacing them, my guess is that since they have horns and are like the ponies that they have access to magic. Access to magic means they can use illusions; illusions means that more are hiding and if they are hiding... than there are more in this very room, and I just haven't noticed them yet.

I am not going to be sleeping very good tonight... or any other night for that matter while here.

"This question comes from a consensus from the hive, how did you find us? We made sure to bury all entrances in and out of the hive city when the cataclysm happened and yet you somehow managed to find us. Was it a defector that told you of our location? Or was it a rival hive in disguise that hired your clan to exterminate us?" The bug pony got up from the floor and started to walk towards me, with their small statue and slightly unintimidating form I wasn't very phased as they slowly trotted up to me as Lichen started to poke my leg with a hoof.

Catching the hoof poking my leg with my left hand I lean down and look them into the eyes, “We didn’t even know any of even you existed until we found your dead all amassed at the first gatehouse. We were simply exploring the abandoned mine that the griffons gave to us when we found a mummified hand with a note clutched tightly in its hand that simply said ‘run’, after that we simply went spelunking.” And what spelunking it was, discovered a dead city, found heaps of dead bodies, found riches beyond compare, was attacked by beasts out of a tabletop game and lost a dog to them, I swear this shit is gonna be the death of me some day.

It took the bug pony a few moments to process the information that I dumped on them and once they had finished processing it, they looked down at my hand then at me.

"So, you weren't sent by another hive to kill us?" Lichen said as they tilted their head, confusion clearly written on their face.

"No, it is as exactly what I just said, we didn't even know any of you existed until we found your dead lying in the streets. Hell, we arrived at this mine not even a few days ago because we had to leave Talon's End to avoid potential civil unrest." I said as the changeling just blinked at me, clearly wasn't expecting that answer as they looked up at us and tilted their head, making them look like an adorable dog looking up at their owner.

Looking down at this absolutely adorable display I couldn't help but snicker at it all.

It's like watching your kids put on your clothes and watching them act out being adults and you just can't help but be amused by their actions.

Watching Lichen's ear flicker at the sound of my barely concealed snicker, I watched as the little bug pony tilt their head again, "Please do tell us how you find us to be amusing?"

"Well," I started as I kept trying to reign in the laughter, but I was never good at it, "First off, it's your size. Because you are smaller than me, I immediately find you adorable, it's like talking to a pet but the pet can talk back. Secondly there is your eyes, those large, glossy eyes that remind of me stuffed toys from back home when I was younger when I was afraid of the dark. And lastly there is you trying to be intimidating but failing because of how cute and adorable you look." I said as the bug pony stood up and approached me.

"You find us adorable?"

"Uh...yeah?" I said all the while smirking at the little changeling, truth be told that one of the reasons I find changelings, and by proxy ponies and griffons so adorable is that they all roughly three feet tall at the withers or shoulders, unicorns only being slightly taller by an extra three-to-five inches cause of the horn, and because of that height difference they are akin to large dogs so I just wanna hug the shit out of them and give them head pats.

"Why? Why are you not afraid of us? Almost every single race on the planet is afraid of us." Lichen said, confusion clearly evident on their face as they say this.

"And why would I be afraid of you? You guys look adorable, almost as adorable as the ponies and griffons themselves and while they got the cuddly softness to them, you got that 'please hug me' look going for you." and that was the truth of it, during the many days I spent in Talon's End, I have interacted with the few ponies that lived within the village, including the foals, and when they came to give me a hug cause I was working hard (still don't know why they must always be so touchy-feelie) I learned firsthand that they are ungodly soft and cuddly, like hugging a massive fucking teddy bear, but a pony, with wings, or horns, or neither but still fold me like an omelet, but that is beside the point.

Ponies are soft and probably make the best pillows if in a sleeping pile, and as for the bug pony before me, they are the same and while they don't look as soft nor as cuddly, they still look adorable in my eyes. Like a pleather stuffed toy with glass eyes that you sometimes get from the claw machine in stores.

The bug pony stood there for a hot minute, mulling this information all the while giving me a scrutinizing stare before finally giving me a nod.

"You find us adorable?" Lichen finally said in a low tone, seemingly unsure on how to proceed for the first time since we started this conversation.

"Yeah." Wow, this conversation just got sad and depressing all of a sudden. To see a changeling feel sad cause their entire existence is to be a parasite to those around them and to finally find someone that isn't afraid of them, that's pretty fucked to be honest.

"Then... can we have a hug?" the changeling asked as they gave me a sheepish smile, trying to not look creepy or needy while asking that request.

"Uhh sure? I guess? A bit out of nowhere but okay. Just no biting or clawing." I said and as soon as Lichen nodded at me I leaned down and grabbed the changeling under their front legs and brought them onto my lap, and luckily for me I didn't see anything 'male' on this changeling so I didn't have to worry about pony balls resting on my lap as I brought the bug pony closer for a hug.

Once they were situated on my lap I then proceeded to wrap my arms around them, making sure not to accidentally crush their wings since they looked brittle and as I hugged them I felt their head rest beside mine and for a moment all was calm until I then felt them start to snuggle closer just as their head started to rub against my own but I ignored it since it was probably how equines did their hugs.

While we sat their hugging I kept quiet in the event that Liche doesn't want me speaking during this hug so I simply kept my mouth shut and listened to the world around me, primarily the sounds of us two breathing and the occasional sounds of their bug wings twitching or their tail flicking back and forth in a happy tail wag.

After about a minute of hugging I felt the changeling twitch for a second before letting out one of the sickest belches I have ever heard in my life before they recoiled from it and was blushing an orangish hue on their cheeks in embarrassment.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the belch that Lichen unleashed but that only made the changeling blush even more and in turn more adorable.

"Stop laughing! It isn't funny!" Lichen shouted as they hit me with their hooves, but I barely felt the impacts as I was snickering to myself before finally stopping to look down at the thoroughly embarrassed bug pony on my lap.

"Why are you embarrassed? It's just a loud burp, not like you shat yourself in front of parents after bringing home a date." I said as I eyed the changeling, wondering why they got all upset over a mouth fart.

"But you don't do that in polite company!" Lichen somewhat shouted at me in pointblank range, making me wince a bit as my ears started to ring ever so slightly.

"Polite company? You do know that it is just you and me in the room right now, right?"

Lichen didn't say a word as they pouted and looked away from me, crossing their legs over their chest as they became silent and didn't elaborate further on what they just said.

"Lichen, is there something you wish to share with me?" I asked the changeling on my lap as I started to notice things in the room that wasn't matching up to how I left it. The bed having a weight on it, the gate leading to the storage room was slightly ajar, three pairs of black hooves sticking out slightly from underneath my bed and lastly the lamp that is resting on my table is a different color than from what it originally was.

"No..." the changeling on my lap said in a low tone, clearly not wanting to answer me as I knew something was wrong.

"Lichen, don't play coy or dumb with me. I know that we aren't the only ones in here at this moment." and as soon as I said that the changeling in my lap got stiff and didn't move a muscle nor breath as they just realized that the jig was up and that they are in a rather precarious position at the moment.

A moment passed.

Then another moment passed.

Finally, after realizing that their cover was blown I watched as three changelings come crawling out from under my bed, one of them had my underwear on their horn that was acting like a flag of sorts and was trying to remove it by shaking their head but it was stuck there, a changeling jumping off the table as they were disguised as a lamp, a fairly large hulking changeling comes stomping out of the treasury room and a flash of brilliant amber light a fairly tall, slender, and majestic changeling revealed themself laying on my bed.

Staring at the motley crew of changelings that have assembled themselves within my bedchamber I can only sit in the chair and stare at them all as they stood their ground and stared at me with their unblinking eyes.

It was like a mexican standoff except there are no mexicans and neither of us have a gun nor a sombrero.

The first one to speak was the tall changeling laying on my bed, not even bothering to get up as those around them did when they revealed themselves, my guess is that this one is a leader of sorts, perhaps an officer or high ranking official.

"I do believe congratulations are in order. You are the first non-changeling to notice us and not react in a violent manner in over five hundred years, you have my gratitude and I do believe an applause is in order, except you Bulwark, you would alert the warren if you showed any appreciation." the tall changeling said as a smile graced their face, looking at them now I can tell that there is a feminine shape to it what with the slender muzzle, dainty pouty lips, actual eyelashes, a royal crown that looks like it is made of solidified honey or amber, and the fact that I can see teats as they are laying on their side.

The assembled changelings all started to clap quietly and slowly by stamping their hooves on the floor, my guess is that this is their version of the applause which just so happens to be the exact opposite of the loud and rambunctious applause that ponies do, and not a single changeling was smiling or saying anything, they were simply giving me an expressionless stare of cold indifference.

"And what kind of host would I be for intruding upon one's home and not introduce myself." I watched as the tall changeling slowly rolled over and stood up, making a surefire effort to show off her body to me as I noticed the numerous holes lining her legs, wings and horn and before long the changeling mare was standing tall and proud on my bed before walking off and slowly trots over to me, subtly shaking her hips as she approached me.

"It has been so long since I last graced my divine presence to an outsider, let alone an outsider that has discovered my home and has made themselves known as one who is not afraid of our very nature and our presence."

"I." The tall changeling started as their horn glowed a transparent orange color as they lifted Lichen from my lap and placed them next to the rest of the changelings beside her.

"Am." the rest of the changelings all fanned out and surrounded me, not in a threatening manner mind you but one that says 'there is no escape' so I was a tad nervous about this.

"Ambrosia, Queen of the Amber Swarm." the now titled changeling monarch said with glee in her voice as her wings spread out to their fullest extension as she stood on her hind legs and standing tall and proud over me and her minions.

"And you kind sir, are coming with me!" and with her horn still glowing I watched as the air around us all started to vibrate and hum before everything snapped to blackness for the fraction of a second before my eyes finally regained purchase of what just happened.

I was no longer sitting in safety of my room as I fell on my ass and landed on polished stone tile as the buzzing of an infinite swarm of insects buzz around me.

I was in the heart of the changeling swarm, and my dogs don't even know that I am gone.

"Oh...shit."

"Oh shit indeed, my tall bipedal friend."

The Amber Swarm Part 2

All around me are unfamiliar faces.

Worn out places.

Worn out faces.

And I kind of almost shit my pants at the sight of hundreds or even a thousand changelings surrounding me on all sides as I saw them on the walls, ceiling and in the air hovering in place. But what really made me nearly shit so many bricks it can put Home Depot out of business is the fact that she managed to hit me with a spell of sorts and it actually worked, instead of fizzling out and leaving a stain on my clothes just like when that large blue pony with horns n wings hit me with a blast all those months ago. The stain is gone but it still smells of blueberry and Gilda has tried to burn it several times already even after Greta and I told her to knock it off.

I knew that I was fucked to the point of no return if I made a single wrong mistake in front of this queen and her entire entourage of guards, so I guess 'Operation: Don't fuck this up for the love of god' is a go, now if only I stop getting into these kinds of situations.

“So, now that we are in a more familiar place, let us get down to business.” The changeling queen said in a high and mighty tone as she clapped her hooves together.

“Drones! Fetch our guest a seat and myself my cushions, we will be here for some time and I would hate for my guest to be tired.” And like that I watched, heard and felt as the swarm moved as one, their buzzing wings bearing into my very soul as they flew through the air in hypnotizing patterns that I cannot comprehend.

Several drones lifted me off the ground before placing me back down on what felt like the softest pillow I have ever had the pleasure of sitting on while the changeling queen was also lifted off the ground and placed upon what amounted to a massive sofa with grandiose cushions that looked like it was threaded with gold and made out of the richest purple velvet.

I was fucking amazed at how quickly that was done and my mouth was agape in awe, it was so open in fact a changeling flew up to me, placed a hood under my jaw and moved it upward till my teeth clicked together before flying off.

“There we go, my lovey little morsel, all seated and properly taken care of. Now we can begin our little chat in comfort.” Ambrosia said with a charming lilt and a smile as she stretched out her legs and let out a low moan that got an eyebrow raise from me.

Noticing the look I am giving her, I watched as Ambrosia continue to stretch but then started to angle her body at me as I watched the changeling mare rotated her hind legs as I once again see her small handful-sized teats to try and possibly gauge my reaction. While I do appreciate a nice pair of tits and teats, I am happy with the pair on my hens so I will simply ignore what is lying before me as I will not take the bait.

Seeing that I am not taking the bait of ogling at a pair of sweet teats, the changeling matriarch shifted her position again, once more covering the pair up with her tail to try and see if that will get my gander, but it doesn't.

"So, your majesty, may I ask why you plucked me from my room right after a funeral?" I asked as I concentrated on her face and not on her teats. The true test of a man, to not stare at another women's tits while married or with your girlfriend or wife, or already have a girlfriend.

Rolling her eyes at my question she sits up and stares me in the eyes as they started to glow a faint amber hue.

"Well, you see I just so happened to be in the neighborhood inspecting the halls and I noticed a rather tall and lanky diamond dog surrounded by much more fearsome and stronger dogs and I just had to know what they were doing in my city, unannounced and stealing from my material storage units. I first thought that it was just a group of diamond dogs that just so happened to be here after digging through the ground long enough to find us, but instead I discover that it was because of a drone's sloppy patchwork on a wall that revealed an opening just begging to be found." Ambrosia said all the while maintaining her stare, the glow steadily growing in intensity.

"Then as I ordered my drones to keep an eye on you and your dogs, I was then told that the group that you were leading was entering my fair city despite its current state of being. While I am thankful for you being respectful of our dead who have met a terrible fate, I am surprised that you were about to attempt to breach the imperial district by scaling the wall instead of digging underneath it since you diamond dogs are known for being exceptional diggers." The buzzing of the swarm starts to intensify as a few flew closely by my head, one even snapped their jaws at me as they did a fly-by.

"And just when I thought you were going to breach the last wall before entering my sanctuary and discovering us for real, one of your dogs had the grave misfortune to miscalculate their toss and attracted a mated pair of Stone Crawlers. For a moment I feared that we were going to have to leave your remains on our streets as we feared that the miasma was still sifting through the streets, but my fears were unwarranted as your presence proved that it has faded away and it was safe to leave." At the mention of 'Stone Crawlers' I realize that they are talking about the Umber Hulks and that they obviously have encountered them before.

"Then I watched your small group fight and successfully kill both crawlers at the cost of one of your own and you have my condolences, and with your departure I have sent my very best to follow you, study you and lastly prepare our arrival while you were occupied tending to the deceased's funeral rites." At least she was considerate enough to not interrupt such an event, would have considered attacking her on sight for being so bold as to interrupt a funeral.

"And then you showed up back to your bedchamber where we were lying in patient silence." Ambrosia finished as she flicked her tail and shook her head, making her mane flow freely.

"I take it that you wanted to kidnap me right then and there instead of allowing us to talk, right?" I asked as I glanced over at Lichen who was busy talking quietly to a nearby changeling, my guess is relaying all that was said.

"Actually, I instructed Lichen to allow the two of you to exchange words, it was he who wanted to capture you immediately to be processed for harvesting along with the rest of your clan. I knew that you were special the moment I laid my eyes on you, and I am glad to see that my instincts about you were correct." Ambrosia said with a smile while I snapped my gaze to the changeling matriarch with wide eyes before quickly shooting a glare at Lichen.

I thought we were cool, guess not. No more hugs for you, asshole.

"Those instincts of yours being...?" I said with a minor hint of hesitance, not entirely sure if I am going to like what I am gonna hear.

"That you will be more of an open-minded individual than your predecessors ever were. For countless centuries we have remained hidden because of leaders of ages past who would not look at us as possible friends and allies, instead they only saw us as monsters or abominations that needed to be put down because of what we need to survive, and our appearance frightens them." Ambrosia began as she stood up from her seat and started to walk around me, I can feel her eyes looking me over as if I am a slab of meat.

"But you, when you saw our dead, you did not think of us as mere beasts who were led to slaughter. You instead saw us as beings who have met a cruel fate and you did what you could to not disturb their remains and even moved them aside to be properly interned for burial. When you spoke to Lichen, you did not have any fear in your heart nor showed any hatred towards us. Yes, there was distrust and unease at first for we have come into your home uninvited, and we did ambush you in your own room but after talking for some time you eased on your fear and began to show genuine interest and kindness towards us.” She continued to speak as she got closer to me as I felt her tail brush against me a few times, my face twitching ever so slightly from this unwanted brush but I hold it back as I am almost positive that she is doing this on purpose for some reason or another.

"For all that act of kindness that hasn't been seen or afforded to us in almost a millennium, I would like to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart." The monarch of bug ponies said as she smiled at me, the same type of smile a mother would make for when their children accomplish a monumental task all on their own. A warm smile, one filled with maternal happiness and warmth that can warm up even the most frozen of hearts.

After a moment of brief silence and some more sips of tea, even if it is rather disgusting to drink, we eventually returned to our little talk as she sat back down on her seat.

"Earlier you have given us information on a different method on how to harvest emotions without the need to capture nor pod a being in which for us to do our job, are there any further steps to this process or is it really that simple and easy to accomplish that even the most basic of drones can do?" The orange matriarch asked me as I started to notice that the vast amount of changelings that were in the chamber with us has long since silently filtered out while we were having our little talk, I am surprised that I didn't even notice them leave.

These little buggies are quiet motherfuckers aren't they.

"Yes, all you simply need to do for this passive feeding is to just place your harvester in a sufficiently large enough crowd of people and collect the residual emotions and love in the air. While it won't yield as much as sucking someone dry normally does it does not give you away like leaving a husk behind would." I said all the while mulling over my thoughts regarding just how much help could I provide for them, I don't even know if my ideas would even remotely work for them since I have no idea how their biology works.

Hell, I don't even know if harvesting love is the same as harvesting food from farmyards or slaughterhouses.

"I see, we can work with this, do you have any more ideas in that head of yours that can prove beneficial for my precious changelings?"

"As of now, no not really, have you tried sharing your love with your changelings? Like give it to one than give it back, like a circular recycling system of emotions and love?" I asked as I scratched the back of my head, I wonder how the rest of Griffonia is gonna feel when they realized that I may or may not have released a swarm of emotion-eaters on them just because I thought what I was doing was the right thing.

"I...I...I don't think we have actually tried that method, although from what my mother and her mother before her have said, that recycling love is possible but after enough times it will not be enough and can actually prove to be toxic to those doing it. It is more meant for short-term survival when love is scarce, but we may be able to refine the process if we can introduce new emotions into the mix at periodic intervals. We will have to study this theory in great detail before we make any decrees on such methods being the norm." Ambrosia said with a slight hint of trepidation, apparently even she doesn't really know if that one idea is going to work, but hey, if it does it means I have given them a means of not starving to death by staving it off a little longer.

"I am sorry, but I have to ask, what is this tea made out of?" I said as I take another sip, my face once again morphing into disgust as the flavor is just appalling.

Imagine if you will, you are drinking the usual medicine for flu such as NyQuil/DayQuil, Dimetapp, all that nasty ass tasting medicine that straight up lies about what flavor they are on the bottle. Now imagine that, but worse, and in tea format.

Yeah, pretty fucking gross if I am being honest with you, but the only reason I can stomach this stuff at the moment is that it doesn't thankfully have an aftertaste, so I only got to deal with it the one time when it's in my mouth whenever I sip.

"Oh, the tea is made out of a native mushroom that grows in abundance down here. Normally we don't touch the stuff because it barely provides no nutritional value to us but when brewed properly it can make for a soothing and calming drink, I mostly partake in it when the day has been proven to be stressful or annoying." Ambrosia said with a faint shrug as she watched me cringe after taking yet another sip, a smirk forming as she takes joy in my pain.

A part of me fucking hates this drink with a fiery passion, while another part wants to find a way to mix this with a truth serum and see just how effective it would be.

"Ah, I see, well I am sad to say that the flavor leaves much to be desired, but I am feeling rather mellowed out." and in truth I am feeling a tad mellow, like eating a very low-grade pot brownie, gotta eat at least a dozen of those things to really feel it.

"Hmm, I would say that I can agree with you but alas, all food and drink are the same to us changelings. While we can indeed and drink like the rest of the races and digest them just fine, everything tastes like ashes to us, but we only eat so that can blend in." New information acquired, changelings can eat but it does jack shit for em', gotta remember this and write it down for future usage.

"Well, that is a shame."

"For you perhaps, but for us it is simply a flavorless calming drink and that is what makes it perfect. I am happy that while it may not be like those fancy and decadent drinks that your surface nobility consumes." Ambrosia says as she takes yet another sip, this time with a grin on her muzzle as she chuckles at my slowly forming frown, having been backhandedly insulted by the matriarch.

Soon after we are once again, we were sitting in silence as the conversation died down. The silence between us didn't last for longer however, as the orange matriarch of bug ponies stood up from her sofa and was smiling at me in a way that has me just a tad bit nervous.

"Before we continue on and get into the true matter at hoof, there is one thing I would like to present to you." Ambrosia purred out that last part as looked at me with a half-lidded gaze, licking her lips as I saw her wings flutter ever so subtly.

'Why can't I ever find girls that aren't always trying to seduce me. Why can't they be more like Gilda and Greta and just be chill and down for a drink or two?'

"On behalf of the Amber Hive for the service of granting us potential knowledge that can assist the hive in its future endeavors, and for showing kindness and compassion in your heart to my children, I would like to bestow upon you a reward." Sweat started to form on my brow as I started to get worried about the direction where this is heading in.

As she came up to me with that warm maternal aura radiating from her very being, it made me feel like a child standing before their mother as they waited for a hug to be given to them. But instead of receiving a hug that I was expecting since that was what most people give out these days, instead she brought her face closer to mine and as I closed my eyes for what was going to be an inevitable lip lock session against my will, I felt her somewhere else instead.

Slowly opening my eyes, I saw that her muzzle was a scant two inches higher than I was expecting them to be as I felt her lips kissing my forehead. As I see her head resting above mine, her leathery lips on my forehead as I sat there both confused by the fact that my reward was a kiss but also that she was so willing to do such an act.

It must be a royalty thing or something.

That or she just passes this stuff around like candy to those that get her approval so it really isn't as special as one might think.

Pulling away from me I watched the amber queen smile warmly at me, that same warmth now suffusing my very being with a slight tingly feeling that reminds me of the times whenever my own mother would congratulate and hug me for doing an excellent job when I was younger.

I was not expecting the changeling matriarch to kiss my forehead.

At least she didn't try to get into my pants, I think my hens would find out just by being near me and sensing something most foul and put the pieces together before screeching into the sky and locating the offender before tearing them limb from limb.

“Now you may be wondering why I have taken you from your chambers and clan and have given you such a sweet reward that only the bravest and most loyal of my changelings can ever hope to receive. The answer to that is a simple one.” Ambrosia said as her horn flickered to life as she refills both of our cups of that horrifyingly god awful mushroom tea, I think a part of my very being died this day whenever I had to take a sip of it.

Staring at the cup I thought I saw a laughing skull and crossbones appear in the liquid before disappearing into the murky blackness. I shudder to think how this flavor can get any worse than it already is.

“I have need of you and your service to your crown.” Ambrosia said with a cheshire smile as her horn kept glowing a faint amber hue, a teaspoon floating towards her as it drops in two tiny cubes of sugar into her cup before taking a sip.

“You can refuse if you want, but just know that by refusing this offer you will leave me with little choice but leaving me to give the order to my changelings to attack your warren to capture them all and have them placed within pods to siphon off their emotions.” The amber monarch said with a grin before taking a sip from her cup. "You have to understand that since they now know of our location and that of our existence that they have become a threat to our very survival. Can't have them roaming free and speaking to those that will seek our deaths."

Grimacing ever so slightly I brought the cup to my lips and took a careful sip and immediately almost recoiled at the taste of it. It has in fact, gotten worse.

It tasted like someone, somehow, found and took my gym socks back from my high school days, drained them of all their worth and diluted the shit out of it and made it into drink form.

Safe to say I think I can feel my taste buds all committing suicide and withering away.

“Okay, I will hear your offer.” I said with a stern tone, not that I had much choice on the matter since refusal means enslavement and/or death for my clan and myself. I don't know how bad getting podded is, but if it is anything like the Aliens movies that I have seen than it is probably just as bad if not worse since getting drained doesn't end in death not unlike getting a Xeno popping out of one's chest.

Clapping her hooves together again I watched as the changeling queen let out a happy squeal of delight before flying right at me and hugging me.

Again.

Tightly.

I think I can hear my spine splintering and cracking.

Is this how I die? For real this time? I always knew that a girl would be the death of me, just wasn't thinking that it would be like this, always sort of thought that it would happen by some hot muscular chick by crushing my head like sparrows' egg between thighs.

“Excellent! Oh, this is going to be fantastic! My swarm! Fetch me the parchment and ink! We have work to do and not much time to do it in!” Ambrosia cheerfully shouted as the guards in the room gave each other a raised eyebrow before shrugging, thinking that this is above their paygrade from their queen to deal with.

Trying to pry her off my body I struggled against her strength which I found to be absurd for something that is suffering from cheeseleg syndrome and should be lacking in physical strength. Grabbing her legs I struggled in vain to remove the clingy parasite from my person but alas it wasn't meant to be as Ambrosia seemingly clung even tighter with every attempt I made until I finally gave up and let the changeling queen hug me all while hearing the matriarch purr right against my head.

“The terms are quite simple, every fourth month of the year, you are to return here so that my love harvesters and I can collect your bottomless well of emotions, and in return we will cease all harvesting operations of griffons within your king’s borders and return those we have captured. How does that sound to you?” The fact that she was saying this in a happy and cheery tone even though she is putting hundreds of lives in danger, both her own changelings and my diamond dogs and probably my griffons as well for this deal if it were to go south is just sending me the wrong signals.

By the time the drones return with parchment and ink I was laying on my side as I eventually fell over from the changeling hugging me, the uneven weight causing the fall and left me with a flat expression on my face that clearly was reading ‘I guess this is my life now’, the drones didn’t comment nor showed any emotion on their faces that their queen was hugging a complete stranger so tightly and probably so intimately.

I don't know what is going on in their heads, for all I know hugs are the ultimate sign of intimacy right next to blow jobs and full-on fucking.

After a few moments of waiting for the queen to stop hugging me on her own, one of the drones flew closer to us and coughed into a hoof before prostrating themselves before their monarch, “My queen, we have returned with the items that you have requested.”

Peeling her head off of my neck the matriarch looked over at her drone before reaching out and patted them on the head, a thin wisp of pink mist flew down from her horn and into the patient drone’s mouth. Almost like magic I watched the changeling start to fill out ever so slightly, the holes in their legs shrinking a bit and the hollowness of their eyes and cheeks fade partially.

“So this is what you mean by feeding on emotions…” I said in a hushed whisper, I didn’t really know how it was done nor what it does but now I do know for a fact that they do indeed eat emotions if the pink mist is what I think it is. That or if it is just emotions made manifest by magic.

Feasting on emotions wasn’t a play on words or some funny metaphor for food, these changelings literally have to eat the emotions of others, in this case, mine, in order to survive another day. Those holes in their bodies and their hollow faces are a response for when they are starving. I simply thought it was just an evolutionary response to look intimidating and frightening to their enemies, but I was wrong.

Oh so fucking wrong.

If legs full of holes and hollow faces is them starving, I can only assume that when they are full that they are more whole and plump looking. Or maybe they are just whole and slightly thicker to indicate they are not twigs on legs? Fucking hell I just don't know but man is this all sorts of fucked.

Looking past the changeling queen’s horn and at the assembled swarm of changeling I saw that pretty much all of them are filled with holes and sunken faces, some of them look like they are on the verge of falling apart.

This is no way to live, this is akin to living in squalid conditions, and if they ever seek to escape from such conditions and become whole again, they will need to drain who knows how many people of their emotions. The consequences of such actions if they were discovered can spark a war at best or an extermination crusade at worst from all that know of them.

"Yes, from one being to another the transfer of emotions or love can feed a changeling for a few days, but from my heart holds the love that feeds my hive and yet sadly... it is not enough, it can only delay the inevitable."

"This is why we must go out and harvest emotions from those on the surface, only they can naturally produce what we need to live, and I know that eventually the surfacers will finally reach a breaking point from our actions and seek our deaths." Ambrosia said in a sad, broken tone, the weight of her words bearing the pressure of lord knows how long she has seen her people suffering from this fate.

“Now you see our suffering, what we must deal with every single day in the name of survival. Every day I have to determine who lives to see tomorrow and who must sacrifice their energy just to keep their fellow brothers and sisters alive for a little longer. I feel each and every single death, their passing a constant sting that will never leave me, each changeling I lose is a failure that I could have prevented if I had the power to save them.” With each word she says I can't help but look at her changelings that entered the room providing the things we are enjoying for this little talk, almost all of them are looking better thanks to the spreading of my emotions to them from their queen, but I can easily tell that this was just a preventative measure, they will need a lot more love and emotions just to bring them back to normal and even then I don't know how long that will take and if I could even provide that.

"So, what do you want from me? An audience with the king? A request for foreign aid?" I asked as I ceased trying to remove the changeling queen from my body, allowing her to continue harvesting my emotions as I watched a seemingly unending pink mist get drawn from my being and is directed to her horn. If positive emotions are what they need to survive, then I can only assume and say that negative emotions are like a poison to them or one hell of a bug repellent.

I wonder if emotions can be stored inside of objects or solidified for transportation, if it can be stored within objects than giving them old toys and dolls that the youth of griffonia no longer need may serve as a temporary measure to help feed these changelings. And if it can't, then Ambrosia and her brood can try researching whether or not if emotions can be solidified for easy transport or perhaps placed within crystals and gemstones as portable food sources or in their case, possibly as a battery to recharge from.

Sensing that I want out from the extremely prolonged hug, Ambrosia released me before returning to her seat. The changeling she fed was buzzing right beside her and landed next to the cushion, parchment in one hoof and an inkwell in the other and now I am wondering how they are going to write on this parchment when there is no pen or quill to write with.

"You see my tasty little morsel, while foreign aid does sound ideal and noble for that we as a nation that have fallen on hard times would normally require, but we are not like them. What we need is something different, something special that only you non-changelings can provide for us." Ambrosia said as the changeling beside her dipped the very tip of their hoof into the ink and started to scribble something down.

"You need people to harvest emotions from." I said as I retrieved my teacup from the floor, it didn't get damaged from the fall and that it was refilled when I wasn't looking.

In truth I knew that she was going to ask for this seeing how people have emotions and that I just witnessed emotions being transferred from changeling to changeling and that I was harvested twice so far, and I didn't feel a tinge of negative bodily functions nor any perceived weakness coming from me.

Maybe I am just built different.

Or built stupid.

One of the two, probably.

Or both.

"Exactly." Ambrosia said as I rolled my eyes at the expected answer.

Trade: You get peace and in return we get slaves. Not sure how this will go down with the general population when word gets out about this deal.

"And you know that no ruler in their right mind would just give up their own people to serve as food for another." I said while taking my nth sip from my teacup, the taste is now starting to become tolerable although I really, really wish I had water or something to serve as a palette cleanser.

I am praying my breath isn't going to smell like I was sucking on a shit log after this.

"True, but that is why I am going to ask you to take this letter to your griffon king to request that he sends me criminals, those that he deems irredeemable and those he would not miss if they were to be sent away and never be seen again. And while yes criminals will do, I will also take any political dissidents, rivals, loathed family members, you know, griffons he hates with a fiery passion that burns with an intensity of a thousand suns." Ambrosia says this all the while raising a hoof to her face and is seemingly inspecting it, looking at the holes in her hoof that have shrunk ever so slightly as my mind started to go places.

'I wonder how many dicks have gone in those holes of hers...'

"Alright... that seems agreeable, but you do know that he will want something in return, no trade agreement can exist without both sides gaining something out of it. So, what do you have to offer the good king that would be of equal or greater value to match the lives you want to claim for your hive. Or at least, something akin to matching value since these will be those he can live without." I said as I slowly looked around the chamber, the changelings buzzing and hovering around me got a little closer and its starting to feel like that I am about to get dogpiled by them.

"True." Ambrosia remarked as she gave a nod to her changelings as a few came skittering up to me, a few nosing and nudging me as I looked at them in confusion. "But I do have things that your griffon king may agree is worth this trade, and although your dogs have picked clean from my main stores, I still have auxiliary supplies beneath the palace in the event they are needed, and if you are feeling generous then maybe perhaps you can share some of what you took and give them to the griffon king to make this trade possible?"

"Hmm, fair. My dogs don't really know what to do with what we took, most of it is useless to us so I think I can spare some of it for this to work." I said as I finished my cup, and a drone flew quietly from behind me and refilled it before flying away.

"I agree to these terms, we surrender those that are criminals or are willing to be sent here and in return you cease your harvesting operations and we become allies." As I said this, I watched the amber queen clap her hooves together in joy before rapidly fluttering her wings in glee.

"So let us have a toast! For the future of both my hive and your lord's kingdom! Prosperity between our two grand houses that shall endure for an eternity!"

"Uh... while I do appreciate what you are trying to give me... I am already a taken man. I don't think my girls would approve of this let alone give me the green light to canoodle with others." I said as I waved my hands frantically trying to wave them off, I know for a fact that having a pissed-off lover can lead to either getting your balls kicked or straight up stabbed to death by a jealous/angry lover, but after reading a few books on griffons and their behaviors, and more recently a book left behind in the mine manager room, a jealous hen is not something to be trifled with.

I like my limbs where they are and all my blood within my body thank you very much.

I am also not looking forward to getting castrated by a pissed-off Gilda or Greta.

That earned an eyebrow from the changeling monarch as she wordlessly called off the drones surrounding me, a few even let out whines of disappointment and a couple even moaned in defeat, one even went as far and muttered 'just one lick' before returning to the horde of changelings.

"While we celebrate on this deal, even if it falls through, I am sure you would be working tirelessly to get it approved or at the very least, subtly done behind your king's back, but I am certain he would approve of this trade."

“I am sure he will agree to this deal if you also agree on stopping any current harvest missions within his kingdom and return those you may have illegally acquired.”

“Yes yes, I will return any and all griffons my changelings have returned with as long as your king holds up his end of the bargain.”

“Then, we are of an accord.”

“That we are.”

Clapping her hooves together in joyous elation as her changelings all give their mono-sounded cheer as well, I myself was smiling as it was well earned cause after all how often does one broker peace between two different races and not have it end in war?

As we all began to celebrate this brokered peace deal, we started to have idle chit-chat about random things, and it wasn't before long that she started to ask me questions about my personal life, and it was starting to get into topics that I don't want to answer and for her to know.

"So, my little morsel, how is it that you have two mates and yet have not sown your seed deep within their fertile fields? Are they not worthy of it or are you just playing hard to catch?" Ambrosia said this with the casualness of a lazy Friday but with the absolute subtly and tact of a fragmentation grenade in a glass house. "Their scent on you is thin at best and it amazes me that they have not found to take care of their base needs since you have not."

Spitting out my tea for what I think was the eighth time during this friendly talk, coughing and wheezing as I struggled to find my breath as one of the changelings was quick on the draw and was patting my back and offering kind words for support. I think I want to hug this one for helping me, but I don't know if overfeeding can happen, nor do I know if doing that can result in an exploded bug pony or just one big fat bean bag of an immobile changeling.

Once I managed to suck I enough air to clear my throat and not choke to death, I gave Ambrosia a hard glare all while she gave me a head tilt, confused by my explosive reaction.

"Ambrosia! You ca- *ghak hak hak* you can't ask people that sort of question out of nowhere like that!"

Still tilting her head at my displayed anger, the queen simply is looking at me as if the question she asked is something that is common to ask others as if there was nothing wrong with asking it.

"And why not? Is it not something that is discussed about on the surface?" Ambrosia said this calmly and casually, clearly unaware or uncaring about the problem.

"Yes! Topics of such matter are not openly talked about, especially with strangers!”

"Really? For us changeling such talks are common because we, including myself, believe that sex and love are two entirely separate things that are clearly distinguishable from one another."

"That may be true for changelings but for almost all of us surfacers not everyone needs to know who is fucking who and how often they are fucking!"

“Well maybe you surfacers should start talking about such things more openly, maybe then you will be able to get that stick out of your plothole.”

“Well that may be true for most of the nobility but for me I don’t know you well enough to talk about such things.” I said as I frowned at the big queen who was looking at me like the cat that caught the canary.

After that debacle came and went things smoothed out and before long another shitshow made its appearance, but this time I am the one who started it.

"I just have to ask you this your majesty, but how exactly did your kingdom fall? From what I have seen while traveling through your city it looks like it was the very definition of opulence and imperial grace, what caused it to fall apart?" I said as I placed my cup down, giving the changeling queen my full attention as this was one of the few questions that was bothering me to no end, alongside why the seduction act, what happened to the griffon miners that was previously here and why a severed griffon hand with a note that was saying 'run'?

As I asked this question, the air in the room suddenly felt like it dropped a couple dozen degrees as I felt a cold nip in the air for several seconds before it just as mysteriously went back to its lukewarm clammy temperature it was at when we arrived.

Ambrosia was peering into her teacup, no expression on her muzzle as she gazes deeply into her cup for a minute, and it was in that minute that every single changeling in the area grew quiet and they all had their gaze fixed upon me, glaring deeply as their wings buzzed with intense fury. Just as I thought that I had made a major error and before I could apologize to the matriarch, she raises her head, and the entire swarm of bug ponies calms down.

"Are you sure you wish to know of our fate?"

"Only if you wish to talk about it. I can tell that as soon as I asked that the entire room felt dead set against me for even speaking of such a topic, and for that I apologize." I said with a bit of urgency in my tone, I should have known better than to ask such a thing, especially since it was a recent event and an ungodly sore matter.

Ian's Dungoofed Counter: 1

'Oh fuck you.'

There was a moment of silence between us as the changelings that returned to the chamber were chittering to one another, wondering how their queen will respond to the outsiders crude question while I was pondering if I am about to be podded and drained like a tube of toothpaste.

After about six seconds came and went, the changeling queen raised her head and looked at me, her bright orange eyes staring at me, searching for something that I can’t quite put my finger on and when she was done searching for that something that gaze softened a bit as she let out a sigh.

“Very well, little morsel, but if you are to understand this story than we must start from the beginning.”

“You see, it all began…”

Author's Note

I am releasing this one at work and I am too busy to go thru it, here is hoping it is good enough for y’all

Letters homebound

Two Weeks since Ian left for Talon's End
??? POV
Date: November 3rd, 1000 of Our Heavenly Lord Boreas. (Or November 3rd, 1000 ALB, After Luna’s Banishment for you pony lovers)

It has been two weeks since human knight left the city of Griffonstone to accomplish the king’s goals with his retinue of guards and construction workers to the northern frontier. Two weeks with no communication from the human nor the lieutenant who left with him, until today that is.

Clutched in the talons of a young hen with blueish-grey feathers and fur and wearing a massager bag, was a batch letters addressed to the resident human. The young hen flies towards her destination with a smile on her beak and a pep in her wings, happy that she has a job in which she gets to talk to those she meets. Her target now in her sight the young hen angles to the left before diving down and reaching high speed that would make a lesser griffon black out, but not this hen.

Gilda the Griffon was having a rough day.

First she had to work later than normal because of the sudden boost to her business thanks to her boyfriend who suggested to the guards to try her baking and to Gilda’s amazement the guards actually liked her cooking. It was a good idea that the human had, but the increased business resulted in an overly tired older hen carrying a sack full of gold coins along with aching talons and back. The second bit of annoyance is that she now actually had to work and do her job properly since she is now having regular visitations from the guards and that means that she needs to keep up her appearance of an honest baker, and not a slouch.

Letting out another sigh of exhaustion, Gilda started to fish out the key to her home from her scarf but stopped when she heard the sound of feathers rippling in the wind at high speed and the tall tell sign of a certain happy young hen rapidly approaching her. With a withering sigh and a roll of her eyes, Gilda took a step to the left just as the young hen in the sky lands right next to her, filled with an ungodly amount of excitement and energy that borders on the extreme as she hugs the older hen.

“Gilda!”

“Gabby, I’m tired…please let me go.”

“No! Today is a beautiful day and I have letters for you!”

“If it’s junk mail just burn it.”

Laughing at her best friends usual unamused nature and lack of care, the young hen reached into her bag and pulled out a small stack of letters, a few of the bland vanilla type which is definitely bulls and junk mail, with only a scant two off colored letters that caught her eye.

“Mostly junk! But one of these is from your boyfriend!” Gabby said with a smile on her beak and a talon full of letters.

Almost in an instant, Gilda found herself filled with vitality and life as she wheeled around and pried the letters out from the young hens talons before rushing into her home all the while shouting at her.

“KAYI’LLSEEYOULATERBYE!”

Slamming the door to her home shut and herself against the door, Gilda was gitty with excitement as she finally got something from her mate and lover after two weeks of silence. Peeking through the foyer of her shared home, refusing to calm herself down and that she wanted to be the first one to read the letter before Greta comes home.

While Gilda may have been injected with a surge of energy after being told that Ian has sent her a letter, the trials and tribulations of the day made itself known and almost like magic sucked the life right out of the hen.

And why was Gilda so tired you may be asking?

Why it is because her business of scone-baking has actually had a day where it was a hit and the fair griffons of Griffonstone all wanted a piece of what she had to sell. Instead of the normally small number of customers that just barely keeps her hobby/business afloat, today she had enough money to take the ever so rare and highly coveted week off, or in her case a day off so that she, like everygriff else, to make more money to enjoy the finer things in life.

So that is why our lovely hen is currently feeling like death incarnate at this very moment, and as she makes her way towards the living room she notices a distinct lack of Greta’s voice nor see any of her feathers on the floor.

With not a speck of Greta in sight and not a peep from her friend outside, Gilda looked through the stack of letters she took from Gabby and began to sift through them before stopping at the one she was looking for.

It was a letter from her lover and mate, Ian.

Leaving the rest of the letters behind on the floor, Gilda excitedly took off and flew into the living room before dive-bombing onto the sofa and tore the letter open before retrieving its contents and began to read what was inside.

To my dearest hens, Gilda and Greta

The journey to Talon’s End was brief and I will be beginning the construction project by tomorrow morning, and it will be complete within at least five months, less if the crew isn’t lazy or something stupid happening. Gilda, I left my hoodie on the sofa so you can wear that when it’s lazy day and as for Greta, let her know that my jacket is still in the closet next to your collection of trophies from that strange world pony flight camp in Equestria.

I’ll try to bring back a souvenir or two for you both and maybe one for Scrawny if I can find something that fits him. Also tell Grandpa Gruff that I won't be able to make it to poker night till I get back.

With warm regards, your handsome stud muffin.
Ian the Great.

PS, please for the love of Boreas do not set the house on fire again while I’m gone, I am still paying off the deposit from last time.

Gilda set the letter down and started to snicker to herself after reading the last bit of the letter a second time. She knew she was right when she picked that tall, strange biped as her flockmate, someone to anchor her down and mellow her out, someone brave and bold enough to do something incredibly stupid and come out of it just fine.

Now if only Greta could get that massive stick out of her backside, and everything would be coming up Gilda.

With not a Griffon in sight and not a Greta in the house, Gilda scampered and looked around for it, the excited hen soon saw it, laying there on the headrest of the middle loveseat, a single solitary sweater, grey in color and covered in light beige and light scarlet fur strands from the numerous snuggle and cuddle sessions they would have after the numerous rough days at work.

Putting on the sweater and reveling in its softness and the fact that it smells of me sends the lone griffon into heaven, hugging herself as she rolls on the sofa all the while giggling like a little chick who just fell in love.

That all came to an abrupt halt when she hears the front door slamming open as an all too familiar tired voice rings through the building.

“Gilda! You home yet?”

Letting out a quiet sigh she sits up and makes herself comfortable on the sofa before calling back to her friend.

“Yeah, I’m here, I’m in the living room enjoying todays newspaper comics.” Gilda says as she looks at the newspaper on the coffee table, a miniature comic of a male griffon wearing a tacky tie that is curved upwards pointing at his heel sitting behind a desk complaining about his job.

Dragging herself through the doorway was a very tired looking Greta, and looked like she was just thrown through a hurricane.

“Anything come in today?” Greta asks as she slumps into the room before throwing herself onto the loveseat, not even bothering to lift her head up to look at her friend.

“Yeah, some junk mail, bills, today's newspaper and a letter from Ian.” As soon as Gilda said that a very excited griffon torpedoes into her, knocking her off her feet as the two roll around before coming to a halt, Greta on top of a dazed and dizzy Gilda as the upper hen smiles triumphantly before launching herself into the air and flies straight to her room.

Picking herself up and standing in her wobbly legs, Gilda grumbles and mumbles about how inconsiderate her flockmate is before going back to laying on the sofa with her prize.

At least Gilda got her sweater, and she is loving every second of it.

Now to work on figuring out how to get that stick out of her friend's ass.

Ian of House Wilkinson
Knight of House Wilkinson
Third Day of Winter, November, year 1000 of Our Heavenly Lord Boreas.

To King Guto, High King of Griffonia and the ruler of our great nation.

I have arrived at Talon’s End and have met with the mayor of the village, opening our discussion with the reason for our group’s arrival and received approval for the construction projects within his lands. At first, I was skeptical that he would interfere with my plans and even try to usurp the operation, but alas my reasons were unfounded as he wants what is best for his people and the village as a whole.

The construction crew has already begun to lay out the plans for what is being created and what will be scrapped from the old mill, much of it is salvageable which means much can be saved for later use or spare parts should the mill suffer any damage during its usage. And as for the locals, they appear to be skeptical of our presence, but I do believe in time that they will see us as friends and that we are only here to help them.

With utmost loyalty and devotion,

Sir Ian Wilkinson
Knight of Griffonia

Reclining in the deep purple satin seat, letting out a deep relaxing sigh as soft material helped him unwind after a long day of bureaucracy and nobles who think that they can go over his plumage.

Rolling up the scroll and passing it off to his attendant, the old griffon king smiles faintly at the report as yet another brick has been laid down and set. His plan to revive the populations hope in their nation and their king has begun in earnest as his daughter also sent a letter saying that the manufacture companies she spoke to have begun to shift their forges in favor of the better and newer ones their intrepid friend has designed and delivered to them.

From an outsider's view looking inside the griffon kingdom, it is a sickly bird that looks like it will never get better, but it is with that partial inspection of the whole that it will be their downfall. The bird is sick yes, but it has finally been given proper medicine and treatment and is well on its well to bring alive and well.

And if he plays his cards right, he will even surpass his ancestors and elevate his people as the sole inheritors of this continent with all the other nations serving as their vassals and tributaries.

Now if only his newest knight would stop being so stubborn and marry his daughter.

Sure, his beloved daughter will forever hate his guts and scorn his name till her dying breath for marrying her off to a non-griffon but sometimes the ends justify the means.

Having access to knowledge beyond anything his griffon scholars, minotaur warrior priests, and diamond dog remembrancers can ever come up with. Hells, probably even what the equestrian arcs it’s and enchanters could never come up with these inventions is the best reason why his daughter should marry the tall biped.

If Eraclea can understand his reasoning, that sometimes one must sacrifice one’s own happiness for the greater good of the people.

A lesson that she would learn when the time comes, just like how he had to.

For the greater good of the realm.

If only she can understand.

Two Months and three days since Ian left for Talon's End
January 6th, 1001 HLB or ALB

To my lovely hens, Greta and Gilda
It has been two months since I left for this township, and I am already missing you both so dearly. The long nights without you two have proven to be harsh and I already miss having you both beside me.

The griffons that are living out here in the frontier are starkly different from those living in Griffonstone, hell there are even ponies living out here! I didn’t even know that there were any ponies out here in Griffonia, let alone be willing to live so far away from their so-called goddesses.

The locals here so far have been treating me as if I was just like any other person instead of with obvious scrutiny and wariness that the griffons of Griffonstone gave me when I first arrived. A few of them even came up to me and asked who I am and what I am and didn’t automatically assume I was a diamond dog or a minotaur, so that is a plus. Also, the local children have started playing the game of ‘who can approach the strange tall being before running away game.’ And it is so funny to see so many of them make the attempt before running away with a smile on their faces, only one was brave enough to poke me in the leg and that earned her some admiration from her friends.

I hope to be back home soon within the coming months so that we can celebrate Yuletide together. (Christmas knockoff holiday)

With hugs and kisses and so much more, your loving stud muffin.

Ian the Awesome.

Laying upside down on the sofa by the fireplace, Greta read the letter while Gilda snores next to her, her day off from work has finally arrived to give her a much-needed reprieve.

Winter has finally started to settle in the region and Griffonstone is no different with snow starting to rain upon its occupants in light waves of fluffy goodness. Griffons are out shoveling snow off of their walkways and windowsills, guards wearing thicker scarfs and body wraps, even a few ponies and minotaurs are out going about their business in a hurry to get out of the early cold before it gets colder.

“Hey! Gilda!” Greta shouted as she rolled onto her side and placed the opened letter onto the coffee table, beside it was an earthen mug filled with a steaming drink resting on a thin plate, just begging for the hen to take a sip.

“What?!” Her friend shouted from upstairs, coming out a bit muffled as a door was blocking out her response before being kicked open.

Stumbling and bumping into everything in her path before landing in front of Greta in a soaking wet heap of fur and feathers, was Gilda, wrapped in three towels and looked like she just flew a marathon to the frontier and back.

“Ian sent us another letter!” Greta said with excitement in her voice as she grabbed the letter and waved it at her moist flockmate.

“Really? What does it say?” Gilda asked as she hurriedly started to dry herself off as to not ruin the letter, mood immediately perked up from the surprise news.

Lazily wiggling on the sofa, the lounging hen stretches from her roost, “He says that the locals are treating him decently enough and that the local young took interest and are now trying to see who the bigger hawk is.” Greta says as she rolls back over and grabs at the blanket she threw over earlier and put it back on her.

Ponies always said that griffons can easily stand the cold, that is true for the normal weather of the region, but when winter comes and one’s winter coat hasn’t fully grown in then a blanket or sweater is necessary. Greta, being a southern griffon, could only tolerate the cold on most days but when winter comes…

Waiting for her winter coat to grow is such a pain in the ass.

“And how is that going for them?” Gilda asks as she started to dab her wings, trying her best not to mess up the feather pattern that would force her to work on them again.

“Only one had the stones to poke him.” Greta says as she snuggles into her blanket, the thickly quilted covering the slightly shivering hen doing its job as Gilda flexes her wings and inspected them to see how well of a job she did on them.

“Ha! Just a poke and not a flank slap? Those chicks must be scared that he’ll eat them!” Letting out a hearty laugh as she gives a curt nod at job well done, she then turned attention to her flockmate who has turned herself into a burrito.

“Most likely, but hey at least they aren’t scared n wary of him like the idiots here when he first came here.” The burrito said as it wiggled itself into the sofa, trying to become even more comfortable than she previously was.

Sometimes one must embody the essence of the sofa burrito if they want to stay warm during the harsh winters of Griffonia. That, or purchase the expensive heating elemental crystals from Equestria along with installing the expensive and convoluted temperature system that only the nobility of Canterlot can afford.

For all of Griffonia, the only means of staying warm during its winter season is to go out and get some wood, coal or charcoal and keep the fireplace burning all the while bundling up in blankets, sweaters, scarfs or snuggling with your partner.

“True, most chicks have more courage than most their parents do, until something stupid happens.” Gilda says with a chuckle as she remembers all of the stupid and insane things she has done over the years, most recently was her own attempt at trying to retrieve the idol from the abyss.

“Did he mention when he is coming home?” Gilda asks as she finishes drying herself off, her fur fuzzing out and making her look like a fairly large puffball with legs.

Ignoring the snickering that is coming out of the sofa burrito, the tomboyish hen hops onto the sofa and starts going through the rest of the mail, immediately throwing all of the junk mail into the fireplace across from her.

“He said he’ll come home when they are done. But he is praying to come back by Yuletide.” Greta says and with a dreamy sigh she lets herself be subsumed by the quilt and sofa, becoming one with them for maximum laziness.

“He better! I wanna show him off to my parents!” Gilda says as she throws away a letter marked for Ian, the sender being from Equestria and it was marked with the royal seal.

“Not before I show him off first!” Greta says as she pokes out her beak from the quilt, a hint of anger in her tone as Gilda scoffed at her.

“I already called dibs!” And like that the peace and quiet was broken.

“My ass you called it first!”

While the two began to bicker and argue over who gets to take their mate to their parents, the equestrian letter begins to fizzle and spark, the magic placed on the letter protecting it from the fire holding strong as the letters surrounding it meet their grim fate of become ash.

As the day goes on and the pair of hen's bickers and argue who gets to do what with their human mate, and more wood is added on top of the burnt-out husks of wood and paper, the equestrian letter endures on through the fire and flames before being buried underneath fresh logs to disappear and be hidden from view.

If the pair of griffons had spent a little more time looking over the letters, they would have noticed that this letter was addressed to Ian. Marked with the royal equestrian seal of the two sisters emblazoned in gold wax, something that is only sent as a missive of absolute importance that the recipient receives the letter and read it in its entirety. What could have been so important that the hoof written letter from the desk of both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna be sent to this lone human living in the continent of Griffonia?

Who's to say, but only this.

Now it is lost and buried beneath ash and soot, it’s message unread and forgotten about and only when a great deal of time has come and went, will it be found again, and its unseen words read.

The consequences of such a letter being found so late from its destined arrival?

Who's to say?

Ian of House Wilkinson
Knight of House Wilkinson
Sixty-First Day of Winter, January 3rd, year 1001 of HLB or ALB

Progress on the construction progress is going smoothly and faster than anticipated. The locals have pitched in and joined the work force to assist the construction crew and have been deemed a boon for us that we may be finished earlier than predicted and depending maybe within three to four months instead of the six I have estimated. Many of the locals have managed to befriend several of the workers, myself included as I have made an ally with the mayor over a game of devil’s dice (I think the old bird is cheating).

There is however, been one complication that has arisen time and time again. The current lord of the region, I have forgotten his name, but he so far has been an annoying thorn in my side since I set foot within the village. He appears every three-to-four days and all he does is belittle the project and my crew, citing that we should not be here and that they should be busy doing something productive like tending to his manor that is ‘need’ of repairs. Even when showing your seal of approval and your mark the fledgling lord continues to be a source of discord, I fear that someday a worker or civilian may decide to shut him up.

But nevertheless we proceed as planned, nothing short of war or plague can stop this project and neither was seen within and around the village.

With utmost loyalty and devotion,

Sir Ian Wilkinson
Knight of Griffonia

Placing the scroll down onto the ancestral oak table and rubbing his beak, the good king grumbles about the young lord interfering with his life’s great work.

It is one thing to stick one's beak where it doesn’t belong, it is another matter entirely to try and fuck it up when your presence isn't requested or required.

“Riki, get an Outrider and tell them to come to my office.” The old king said as he rolled up the scroll and placed it next to an old tome that looked as fragile as its age.

“I take it somegriff went over your beak, sir?” Riki the Head Butler said as he bowed to his king, even for a griffon well into their 90s he was still spry enough to move without complaining about back or knee pain.

“Indeed.” That one word was all that was needed.

Indeed. For the king, he knew that this grand plan of his requires everygriff to do their part, to not question their role in the grand scheme of things, and for everything to slide into place. And for one noble lord to stick their beak where it doesn't belong and try to stop his plan on revitalizing the empire and breath life back into it so that it can return to its former glory.

All of Griffonia was once under the imperial banner of the griffons and all who stood beneath it benefited from their presence.

Because if it wasn't for them then the many highways and roads would not exist, they would simply be lost and never find their way home or know where they are going.

If it wasn't for the griffons then the basic infrastructure that they laid out wouldn't exist, their towns would be falling apart and still be made of inferior materials that wouldn't survive the temulent weather that hammers away at their lands.

If it wasn't for their king and their laws that govern them and guide them from the old ways of barbarism, they would still be nothing but warring clans fighting for scraps while those around them pick them off one by one till none of them are left.

It is because of the griffons that Griffonia became a united land mass during The First Age, or from those across the mountains and seas, The Age of Discord, and stood together when the world was falling apart into discordant fractured existence because of one god's desire for everything to never be 'boring' and 'orderly'. It was during this age that the griffon clans came together and united under a single banner, a single ruler, their emperor, and it was from this griffon did they spread their reign from western side of the Ruby Mountains to the eastern side of the Celestial Ocean.

But like all great things, it came to an end because those around them feared them.

“It will be done.” And his Will was carried out, it wasn’t long before one of his few Outriders entered his chambers and salutes the old king.

The griffon in question looked about as ordinary and plain as any other central griffon, brown fur and white feathers, his only feature that makes him stand out like a sore talon is his perpetual resting bitch face.

“You called for me your eminence.” The grizzled griffon said with a voice that sounded like he has been gargling frogs, a heavy smoker of pipeweed as he smelled like smoke and unwashed fur that hasn't seen water in weeks.

“There is an upstart lord in Brantbeak Hollow who is disrupting the resurgence.” Guto said as he looked at the lone griffon, authority in his voice and power in his eyes.

Already knowing what his job is the veteran griffon gave a salute before speaking, “Your will be done.”

“Do not kill him nor those in his employ, just a scare will do. But warn him that any future interference will be met with punishment of the highest order.” Guto said with a hint of finality in his voice, he knew that his plan for the resurgence hinged on this success.

For if the burgeoning township sees an uptick in growth and revenue because of the new additions, then he shows the entire council that his idea to use the knowledge of an outsider to better their kingdom was the right choice to make, further increasing his power over those he saw as scavengers and talon-lickers that somehow managed to burrow their way into power.

The Outrider saluted one last time before turning and leaving the room, neither the king more his loyal butler said a word.

"Make sure we tell our friend that his little friend is doing well, I owe it to him after all his years of service." Guto said in a tired tone, knowing exactly what his old friend is going to say when he hears the news.

"It will be done, your grace." And with those words, Riki left the room, leaving the king alone as the only sounds that can be heard is the crackling of fire and the ticking of the clock.

His grand plan for the empire's resurgence is at risk and he will be damned if anyone gets in his way, be they pony, griffon, minotaur or diamond dog, none will stop him from reviving his kingdom and saving his people from internal turmoil.

Gazing at the fireplace, the dancing flames flickering before him as he recalls what happened all those years ago.

His old spymaster will tell him the same words that still haunt him till this very day.

“I told you that they are coming.”

"I told you so."

Date: January Twenty-fifth, 1001 AD

To my pretty birdies, Gilda and Greta
Hey, I got you ladies some matching scarfs that we can all wear including one really long one that the three of us can wear together and it matches your feathers so it won't look too bad. Also tell Scrawny that I got him a new jacket since his old one is falling apart.

Also tell Grandpa Gruff that he was right about that bet we made before I left.

I’ll be back within the next two months as progress is moving fast so I’ll be ready for hugs before the first day of Spring.

With sappy love just the way you like it, your macho, macho man.

Giggling at the ending bit of the letter before placing it down Greta curled herself up into a pancake and resumed her restful rest as she went through the newspaper and scanned the pages, hoping to spy anything entertaining within its pages.

The weather outside has taken a rather frightful turn as it started to snow harder with high winds, resulting in Gilda and Greta being snowed into their own house and trapped for all of a few seconds as one hen was resourceful enough to have kept a shovel inside their home just for such an event to happen. After much shoveling and swearing at how freaking cold it is, Gilda opened up a path for them to take and with luck being on her side she didn’t have to worry about it caving in and having to make it a second time.

With the weather turning foul and having to deal with it for another two months, the hens decided that they were going to pass the time by getting to know each other even more and quite possibly see if they can get a letter out to their stud muffin out in the frontier with something to keep him happy while away.

So far neither of the two could properly put their thoughts to paper and just laid there on the sofa, grumbling loudly.

“Gods above, everything we came up with is either too sappy and mushy that it feels like a love-stuck filly would write or it’s too formal that he may think it’s some lonely noble hen trying to court him.” Greta says as she crumpled another letter before tossing it into the fireplace.

Gilda let’s out a grunt as she too tosses a letter into the flames, not even bothering to give her friend a verbal response.

“I swear, just how hard is it to write a letter to our mate? We both know that he is denser than a brick at the best of times and yet he understands us when we least expect it? So how is it that writing to him as almost as impossible as trying to fly in the abyss?” Gilda exasperatedly says as she places her talons in her beak and sighs explosively, her frustrations starting to get the best of her.

“No idea Gilda, but all I can say is that he wrote three letters to us, and we haven’t sent him one, so get busy brainstorming.” Gilda replies as she too is starting to feel her friends' anger within herself as her tail begins to thrash back and forth, clearly showing off her anger while she herself isn’t facially showing it.

After several hours of brainstorming, groaning, yelling at the paper to stop being a colossal dick, and sleeping on the sofa, the pair finally came up with a ‘good enough’ letter to send to Ian. The pair looked like they got into a fight with a manticore and almost lost, but that was from overworking their brains to try and come up with something to write.

Giving the letter one last look over, Greta nods her head with a faint smile before looking over to Gilda who is snoring on the sofa, laying on her back with legs giving the smallest of kicks. Shaking her head at her friends' apparent defeat at the talons of parchment and ink, Greta quickly skips to the mailbox outside and places the letter within its wooden confines before rushing back inside before the cold could grip her body.

Slamming the door shut with a huff and a sigh the hen can finally relax and finish her book, a charming little thing that she found in Grandpa Gruff’s store the other day.

How to woo your partner when they are being dense.
By Lady Amore

Ian of House Wilkinson
Knight of House Wilkinson
One Hundred and Thirty-Fifth Day of Winter, March 19th, 1001 HLB

The mission to provide Talon's End with the experimental Sawmill and Fisheries has been completed within the allotted timeframe that you have provided to me alongside with some of the leftover materials being given to the village for them to use as they see fit. The Saw Mill will work as intended and provided an increase in lumber production in the area which will see an increase in wealth for the village while the Fishery will provide an increase in food for both the village and any nearby villages as well that come to trade, thus further increasing the wealth value of the village and provide more gold and food for Talon's End in the short and long term.

A celebration of sorts is being thrown for us this evening, and normally I would be wearing formal attire for such outings but seeing what they are preparing for us I think that forgoing such formalities will prove to be necessary. I know that I will miss some of the ponies and griffons that reside within the village as I have befriended a number of the locals, getting to know them and seeing them all happy with their children brings a smile to my face, alas I will miss them when it is our time to leave tomorrow. Once the celebration is complete and the workers and guards sleep off any hangover or overeating, we will commence in returning back to Griffonstone posthaste with a full report ready for you upon our arrival.

With utmost loyalty and devotion,

Sir Ian Wilkinson
Knight of Griffonia

March Twenty-fourth, 1001 HLB

Sorry loves but shit hit the fan over here.
It’s not my fault this time, honest! Apparently some minotaurs from Minos wanted to hire me or bribe me to come back with them and were willing to sacrifice a village of griffons to get me but everything is calming down here on the frontier.
Sorry but it looks like I am going to be late coming home.
And if I don’t make it back in time to meet your parents, just know that I am now the Alpha of a clan of diamond dogs so expect me to stink of wet dog.
With love eternal, Ian

“With love eternal, Ian.” Gilda says as she puts the letter down, her eyes downcast and a frown on her beak as her wings sag to her sides and tail curl inward.

A cough from her side and Gilda knew the unspoken question was unsaid as she leaned over to where she keeps her coin purse and pulls out fifteen gold coins and hands them over to Greta.

The pair would routinely make bets of things that happen within and around Griffonstone, and with Greta having an ear or two in the upper class from her merchant dealings and Gilda the ears of the commoners, the pair would always place bets on who does what or what does whom.

And the latest bet; Whether or not Ian gets into trouble while out on the frontier.

"I see...I guess I will tell my parents that we are going to have to reschedule our date to a latter time but that can wait." Greta says as she lets out a disappointed sigh before walking over to the unlit fireplace and noticed a strange white tipped object poking out from the ashes within the basin.

"I'll say, I hope that bastard is alright, last time he was in an incident he ended up in the castle infirmary with injuries that should have killed him. I cannot imagine what has hit him this time let alone wonder what it even means for him to be an Alpha for a pack of diamond dogs when he is a griffonian knight." Gilda says as she picks herself up and goes over to the window and looks out to see Gabby flying by, dropping off a a few letters in somegriffs mailbox before continuing on her route.

Spring has came in force and it swept away the snow and the resulting slush for the most part is gone into puddles and new growth from weeds and grass in the streets.

"How did he even become an Alpha? I thought that was something only diamond dogs could be since its all... you know, tied to their packs and clans? I know he was captured by the group that made their home in the abyss before they fled when the equestrian princess of the night secretly invaded our home to rescue one of her precious ponies, but it doesn't answer the unspoken question of how he became an alpha." Greta says this as she leans down and pushes a talon through the ashes, stirring and sifting through the remnants before coming into contact with a flat papery surface.

"Maybe he beat the shit out of one and took his title? They probably go by the rules of you keep what you kill." Gilda replies back as she watches a group of young griffons fly by, laughing to each other as the school day has come to an end for the day.

"Probably, but I am wondering how that will come into play with his role as a knight. He is sworn to protect the empire and its people, but as a clan alpha he is beholden to the clan.” Greta grumbles a bit as she pulls out the unmarred envelope from the cold fireplace and looks it over, noticing that it is still in pristine condition despite having been placed in the fireplace for who knows how long.

"Ugh... this is confusing me." Gilda groans out as she flops onto the sofa, clearly out of her element as she was not expecting Ian to return home so late let alone suddenly get a self-promotion from an outside force.

"It is confusing me as well Gilda, all we can hope for is that Ian returns to us safe and sound and no worse for wear." Greta says this but her tone is lower than normal as she continued to inspect the strange envelope, aside from its pristine condition and the fact that it is now glowing faintly a golden and navy blue hue, it is also that it bears a golden seal on it.

"Yeah, and when he gets home, we can snuggle together and just sleep it off." Gilda says and lets out a dreamy sigh, long has she missed their routine cuddle-n-snuggle sessions they all would have. The feeling of hands combing through feathers and fur is something that she will not allow anygriff to have or ever feel.

Not unless they pay a nominal fee of a few dozen gold coins that is.

"True, but I bet five gold that our king will send him off on another mission as soon as he gets home." And like that the pair were already starting the next betting pool, the previous one being if anything stupid was to happen during Ian’s trip.

"Five gold says he gets the week off to rest and recover." And there is the counter offer.

"Deal. Now that is out of the way, Gilda." Greta says as she walks over to her flockmate, letter in hand and a question on her mind that lies just on the tip of her beak.

"Yeah Greta?" The tomboy hen says as she stretches and lets the newspaper she was reading fall over, the funnies section on full display as that is the only thing that Gilda ever looks at since she thinks the rest of it is boring or stupid, especially the crossword puzzle section.

Crossword puzzles are for nerds.

"I was cleaning out the fireplace just now and I found the most peculiar thing in there." Greta walks over to her tired flockmate and waits for her to get done stretching, after having been lazy all day and is trying to get back into a more functional form as pins-n-needles makes itself present in her limbs as she then flops over at the sudden prickling sensation with a squeak.

"Was it a bone from that steak I had last week? Sorry about that." Gilda says as she flaps her wings, granting her lift and the strength to get into a sitting position as Greta stops in her tracks at what was said.

"Steak? Wha? No, it wasn't that, but it does explain why I keep smelling something delicious whenever the fireplace was lit. No, I am talking about this letter I found in there." Finally pulling herself out of that mental fog that hit her like a loaded wagon and finally putting the final piece of the puzzle together as to why the entire house smelled like cooked steak for the past week, it was just a lazy Gilda throwing the bone with meat bits still on it into the fire.

And with that out of the way Greta flashes Gilda the letter before bopping her on the beak with it.

"Letter? How did a junk letter survive being in the fireplace for so long?" Tilting her head to the side in her trademark sign of confusion or not knowing what is happening, Greta lets out a sigh, clearly not having enough to drink to deal with this.

"If it was a normal letter, it would be nothing but ashes in the basin, but this is no ordinary letter." Greta says as she starts to spell out what is so different about the letter being held in her talons.

"This letter bears the enchanted seal of the equestrian diarchy, signed personally by both equestrian princesses." Greta says as she holds the letter up for Gilda to see, especially the equestrian seal on the golden wax.

"Huh...uhh... I have no idea how it got in there?" Gilda very sheepishly says as she tries to act like she didn't know or didn't see it when she casually threw it into the fire.

"Gilda, did you just throw this in there with the rest of the junk mail we usually get?" Greta says as Gilda just sits there looking away from her with a scrunched look on her beak.

The scant few seconds of silence was all that was needed for Greta to put the two pieces together and shake her head with a sigh.

"Well you found it in there so yeah I guess so. Why? What is the big deal about it?" Gilda says as Greta shoves the seal in her face and makes her get a real good look at it to see what she is missing.

"Other than that Ian got a letter from equestrian royalty? It's a pretty big frackin' deal!" Greta says with an exasperated sigh, upset that her friend thought that a letter from the equestrian monarchy is considered junk and should be junked.

With that out of the way Greta puts her talons to the seal and tries to peel it open but it is stopped when it zaps her with a spark of electricity.

“Yeeeouch! What in Boreas’s name was that?!” Greta shouted as she dropped the letter and held her left talons to her chest, the right ring talon itself is slightly burnt and is still smoking.

“No idea but that looked like that hurt.” Gilda says as she takes the log poker from the fireplace and gives the letter a few pokes to see if it is safe.

“Oh yeah, it sure as plucking hell hurts. It’s as if my talon was struck by raw lightning! That could’ve killed me!”

“Yeeesh, you’d think those pony princesses would have only used a sleep spell or something else to stop somegriff from prying, not outright murder!” Gilda says as she keeps on poking the letter on the floor, slowly moving it back towards the fireplace where it came from.

“Maybe they were assuming that Ian has their magical resistances? I mean he did tell us that Princess Luna shot him in the chest with a magic bolt and all it did was leave a blue-purple stain on his shirt.”

"Doesn't matter if he has magic resistance or not, what if somegriff simply touched the wax seal and got zapped and was a younger or older griffon? They could have died! Ooooooh I am going to write a strongly worded letter to those two idiots!" Greta says as she leaves the room for a few moments only to return with an unmarked envelope, a fresh sheet of paper and an ink well with quill ready for writing as she sat herself down and started to hastily write with anger-fueled words.

“Wait... is that the reason why that one shirt of his smells like blueberries? Cause that lunar princess shot him with magic?” Gilda says in disbelief, clearly not wanting to believe that the lunar diarch of equestria straight up blasted him with an arcane bolt of energy that resulted in a sweet-smelling stain.

“Yeah.” Greta says with little enthusiasm in her singular word, her mind clearly being put into its all for her rage-letter she was putting together.

“Did she bloody mark him?”

"I sure as Maar hope not, Ian is ours, not that whorse across the ocean." Greta says through clenched beak, still angrily writing.

"Well, clearly he didn't take her up on her offer because he is with us, but it is making me wonder if that is what the letter is about, if that is some weird equestrian courtship from back in her time." Gilda says as she leaves to the kitchen to grab herself a snack, all the while Greta is still writing but then her quill snaps in half.

"Damn it...well this is good enough, can't wait to send this so they can read it and have a piece of my mind!" Greta says as she takes the envelope and slides the letter in it before sealing it up and flies out of her house and slams it in the mailbox before coming back inside.

Back in Equestria, a certain lunar pony suddenly sneezes and looks around, thinking that someone was sending her hateful energy for no reason before shrugging her shoulders and goes on about her night, thinking nothing of it.

Ian of House Wilkinson
Third Day of Spring, March 22nd, 1001 HLB

I am sorry for the delay, there has been incident. A grave incident that will have far reaching consequences for all.

Two days ago Talon's End was attacked by several clans-worth of diamond dogs that have originated from the Ruby Mountains and at first I have thought that they were raiding Talon's End for both its stockpile of resources and its citizens to enslave, but it was only after some time has passed during the raid that I was able to enter a state of temporary truce and communicate with the commanding officer who was in charge of the assault on the village. From the brief discussion I had it turns out that the commanding officer wasn't of a military sort but was instead the Alpha of Clan Halistro and he was here at Talon's End because of a troupe of minotaur's that was passing through their lands that have been illegally acquiring their territory through falsehoods and deception.

The Minotaur King has committed several appalling amounts of crimes that pale in comparison to what that traitor has done ranging from false documents, illegal land grabbing and enslavement all the way up to mass murder and genocide. Contained within this letter is undeniable proof of his actions and his crimes cannot go unpunished.

To further use this against him I am sending with you a prisoner of extreme diplomatic value, his nephew who led the attacks on the diamond dog clans and who led their retaliation force to our doorstep. The bulls that were following him have been executed with the exception of a porter who is returning to Minos to deliver a message to their king, a very clear message.

I know that I have overstepped my boundaries by taking such drastic actions, but I fear that they are necessary for the coming storm, if we are to weather through it, we must everything at our disposal to see the coming dawn.

I and I alone am responsible for the actions that have been conducted during this conflict and I will take any and all punishment, even those that may rest upon the shoulders of those under my command and those that now follow me.

With regards,
Sir Ian of House Wilkinson
Knight of Griffonia and Alpha of Clan Halistro

“With regards, Sir Ian Wilkinson, Knight of Griffonia and Alpha of Clan Halistro…” A tired voice said as the aged griffon king placed the bloodstained letter on a silver tray beside his throne, the royal parcel carrier bowing his head before stepping back away from his king.

The throne room is deathly quiet as the assembled nobles who were waiting in line to have their grievances and complaints heard by their heavenly king were silent as they listened to everything their noble king uttered out.

Every single noble lord and lady in the grand chamber had their fur and feathers bristling in an anger almost none of them have ever felt or heard of before but were displaying it, nonetheless. Even the guards were barely holding back their indignation at what was spoken, and the eyes of every single griffon were looking at the lone minotaur in the room who was on their knees, body bloodied and bruised from the beating he received on that fateful day.

“Of all of my years as the High King of Griffonia, I have never, ever, heard of such atrocities be committed by your kind, not even from the stories from my father and his father before him. But with the proof lying before me and from your correspondence between your uncle and yourself I can say that there will be Tartarus to pay for your appalling crimes.” The king said as he stood up from his throne and slowly walked over to the kneeling bull, studying his prey as his eyes burned with the fury of a thousand suns.

“Time and time again I were told that the Minotaur are an honorable lot who deeply respect strength and honor above all else. My father often spoke kindly about you, often would he say that the pride of Minos was in its architecture and craftsmanship of metal and stone, on and on he would speak of your people's grand achievements.” High King Guto said as he started to circle the bull, hatred shining brightly in his eyes as his talons clacked loudly against the tiles of his throne room.

“But now I can see how you acquired the means of producing such works of art and what happens to those that stood in your way to get such materials.” Many of the nobles in the room started to voice their discontent and dissatisfaction, even a couple of guards and knights joined in and started to rattle their swords and spears.

Coming to a halt before the kneeling wounded Minotaur, the lord of lords of all griffonkind, the high king sneers at the defeated brute before clearing his throat.

“As High King of Griffonia, I, Guto the Eighth, hereby declare cessation of all communications and trade with Minos effective immediately!" The highest of lords said this he pressed on as the crowd began to speak in hushed tones, "We no longer have need of your trade goods nor of your false steel! We have finally taken the steps needed to reclaim our past glory!” Guto spoke boldly and loud enough for the entire chamber to hear him, his wife was quiet, his oldest daughter speechless while his youngest son stares at him with wide eyes.

Their greatest and most closely guarded secret, a secret since their human knight has bestowed the knowledge upon them and after three months of forging, testing and studying it with what little of the original steel they have left their faith has been tested and proven true.

Human steel and griffonian sky steel are one and the same, their methods of creations differed greatly but the end result is the same, a powerful forged alloy that can carve through inferior metals as easily as it can cut through flesh and bone.

The nobility in the chamber was quiet for a length of time before they began to cheer and screech in agreement, wings flaring as many stood on their hind legs and started to chant their king’s name.

“What!?” The fallen Minotaur lord shouted as the king looked down at him, knowing what he will say next.

“That’s right, Blackstone, we have finally succeeded where we have failed so many times before.” Guto said as he slowly smiles at the minotaur, a smug grin worming its way onto his beak as the minotaur started to realize what was said and what it means for him and his people.

“No, that cannot be! Griffonian steel has been lost for centuries and you lack the means to produce it!” Blackstone shouted as he struggled in his bindings, he didn't want to hear what the griffons were saying for he knows that it spells doom for all on this continent if the Griffon Empire is resurrected from its grave.

“You must be getting steel from Equestria! We have told you and your father and his father before him that kingdoms of Griffonia shall never again acquire steel under the penalty and punishment of war!” the chained minotaur shouted again as he kept struggling within the steel chains and manacles holding him in place.

Looking down at the wiggling worm that is the minotaur, King Guto can only laugh at his feeble attempts as he keeps on grinning at him.

“Ha! Like we would use that pathetic gold and steel alloy they use, that frail yet heavy lump of failure is no match for what is wrought from the heavens!” One of the nobles shouted as several around him all voiced their agreement.

“In the past it was our steel that has brought together our kin under a single banner before spreading our wings and talons to the rest of this great continent. We may have fallen by the wayside when Discord brought us low and broke our bodies with his madness and centuries later did our spirit break when the cyclops killed my ancestor and stole the Idol of Boreas.” An aged griffon said as he stepped forward, flanked by two Papal Guards adorned in silvered steel armor, gripping tightly their gilded halberds.

Stepping closer to the steel-bound minotaur was an aged griffon adorned in gilded red and white robes, a red cap laying atop his balding head with a gold necklace with the symbol of Boreas resting across his chest, his eyes filled with the weight of countless decades as he gazes deep into the minotaur kneeling before him.

“But now in our darkest hour, our savior came from beyond our lands, and although he is no griffon and was not beholden to give back our idol, he did so because he said it was the right thing to do. A non-griffon did what so many could not or would not do and he refused payment or any reward that would be befitting such a deed. It was because of this being did our spirit return to us and our perseverance has rewarded us with our resurgence back onto the world stage!” The elderly griffon said as if he was giving a sermon to the faithful within the cathedral of the gods, all within the royal chambers are looking at him with their undivided sole attention.

Archon Eros the Seventh, the Herald of Boreas and the leader of the Three Archons, was standing tall with his wings flared out to make himself larger than he truly is and even with his advanced age he still was a threat to any who would dare.

“That mutt is nothing more than a fool! We know what he is doing for you, and it won’t be enough to stop us! He is simply delaying the inevitable!” Blackstone said as he snarled at the old griffon before him, thinking that he can scare the wizened bird to his death, but he is proven wrong when Eros slaps him across the face, claws not extended as to not leave a mark.

“You mean Prometheus?” The king said as an eyebrow raises, questioning the bull on his threat.

“…” Blackstone became silent and bit his tongue to stop himself from accidentally revealing anything else to the griffons, doing his best to retain what little honor and dignity he has left.

“So, you are giving us the silent treatment? No thinly veiled threats nor promises of suffering?” Eros says as he weakly laughs at Blackstone before stepping up to Guto and moves to his left side as his wife moves to his right.

“It does not matter; we will deal with you and your king in time but for now we have more pressing matters.” Queen Victoria says as she scoffs at Blackstone, dismissing him as if he was far beneath her gaze.

“Lords and Ladies of Griffonstone! Tonight, we cast off our old trappings and embrace who we are!”

“We are warriors!” Eros shouts as the gathering of nobles and commoners alike voice their agreement in a shouting chorus.

“We are knights!” Knight Commander Harper shouted as both guard and knights alike cry out in unison.

“We are Pride!” Victoria shouted as the crowd roared their approval the loudest.

“We are griffons who have been blessed by Boreas, Arcturius and Eyr! We have been chosen by the gods themselves to carry out their will and we will unite Griffonia under a single banner once more! We have stumbled off of the path for too long, now is the time for us to unfurl our wings and fly once more!” the assembled crowd was all in an uproar of approvals and cheers as their king stood in bis hindpaws and spread his wings, letting out an ear-piercing screech of a war call as all within the room joined with him.

“Tonight, our resurgence begins!”

And it was on that night that the orders were given and sent to every corner of the empire and to its territories.

The plans have been laid out, the templates shared with every single industrialist, buisnessgriff, religious leader and lord enchanter in the empire and the order was a simple one.

Revitalize the empire and bring it into the modern age.

No matter the cost.

Author's Note

I am terribly sorry it has taken me this long to release a chapter, between the long hours n shifts at Walmart wearing me down and causing me to lose on writing time along with losing the will to write because of work exhaustion, I will push through and give all of you the best you all deserve. There are three more chapters in the pipes in varying stages of completion.

A Tale of the Amber Hive

The Changeling Queen of the Amber Hive and Matriarch of the Changelings of Griffonia, Ambrosia made herself comfortable on her sofa as several changelings flew by to fluff her pillows, get her more tea and to swap out the now empty snack tray with a fresh one.

Meanwhile I reclined a bit on my cushion, relaxing a bit ever so slightly as a changeling came by to refill my cup. I said thanks to the little bug pony, and they gave me only a single nod before taking flight once more, I guess they were told to not speak to me or maybe they don't know how to talk.

Food for thought.

Once the two of us were more comfortable and relaxed, the queen of bug ponies cleared her throat before she began her tale of her peoples past.

"Once upon a time, many centuries ago in the hive kingdom of Greneclyf that has long since lost to time, there was once a young filly who once dreamed of being a queen. To lead her precious changelings to a new era of peace and prosperity much like her mother did when she became a queen." Ambrosia began as she spoke in a warm, soft voice, drawing me in as a few of her changelings buzzed closer and landed around us.

"With eyes full of wanderlust and joy did the young filly explore her home, taking in the sights and speaking to the citizens of her fair city. As she grew older to the tender age of ten summers did the young filly see her first caravan of colonists, daring and bold to explore the uncharted tunnels and caves to expand their kingdom, and it is from these brave explorers did she wish to join and lead them and become just like her mother and rule beside them in the far reaches of the underground."

"Day in and day out she prayed before the alter of the Weave, begging her ancestors to grant her the chance to make them proud.”

“Soon though she would get her chance, bestowed upon her when her mother gave the order to expand her hive by creating a new city upon the Weaves edge." Ambrosia’s face slowly turned to one of confidence and pride, her voice following in tune.

"But before she can lead her changelings to a new era of peace and prosperity, first she must be taught, and tested, and prepared for the journey ahead."

"Following in her mother's hoofsteps she learned how to lead, how to care for her lings, to show the power of words in peace and the force of the blade in times of war, and how to guide her changelings to a brighter tomorrow. From her teachings did this young princess set herself on her path to be just like her mother whom everyling worshipped and loved, both who ruled through kindness and appreciation of their citizens instead absolute control and fear like her mother's sister." As Ambrosia spoke and merely mentioned about her mother’s sister, I saw the faintest hint of cringe and discomfort emote from the changeling queen before she returned to her happy self.

I think there is some bad blood that is running in the family, or perhaps a dark family secret that they don’t want to come to light.

More food for thought.

"On the eve of the fifth century after the fall of the Chaos Lord, the young filly was given grace by the queen to guide a small swarm of to the outer cavelands far of her mother’s kingdom and to take root and thrive." Pride once more took center stage on Ambrosia’s face, this was her moment to make her mother proud and she wasn’t going to drop the ball on this one.

"The journey through the underground was a long and perilous experience for the young queen-to-be, as there were numerous beasts that assailed her and her entourage of changelings along with the ever-constant threat of poisonous gasses that are exhumed forth from breaching vents."

"As dangerous and perilous as this expedition was for the young filly and those left in her care, she did all that she could to salve their wounds and ease their fears and for this did her changelings thank her for being there for them."

"The journey was long and the dangers numerous, but the young filly group made it to their destination and from that underground chasm did they make their home. To the young princess she thought she had found the perfect spot to settle down for herself and her changelings, it little did she know just what bountiful secrets lie buried around them and the cornucopia of love that is sitting above them.” Ambrosia let out a sigh, not sure if it is a good one or a bad one but from the look on her muzzle I can hazard a guess that it’s a good one? Maybe?

"This little princess wanted to be so much like her mother, to be loved and worshipped like her and for those she will soon rule over to prosper under tender care. And it was from this township that this young queen-to-be dreamed to rule. Just like her mother, and like her mother before her, did parent to child share similar aspects and philosophy, and it was from there would this town thrive and grow under its new protectors' wings of protection." The changeling monarch said with a steady rise of pride in her voice as she looks off in the distance, thinking back to a past that can never be.

“From the humblest beginnings this town grew forth from nothing but the hopes and dreams of its settlers, hoping for a better life and to expand their land in the name of their queen and princess. The local cave mushrooms provided both lumber and sustenance for the early days and only in time when their numbers grew did, they turn to the bountiful earth around them for stone and metal to enrich their lives. Years came and went and with the time ever marching forward the small hive grew in size, problems and difficulties came up but were overcome with the guidance of their young princess, deals and agreements were made with the close villages and towns to help the fledgling town survive on the farthest edge of the kingdom’s territory.”

"As time passed by this once small town grew into a bustling city that only grew with the passage of time. Her mother would come to visit her dearest child and she was proud beyond anything she could ever hope for. Her changelings cheered her name, they cried out praises in her honor, shouted till their throat rang hoarse as they gave adulations to their ruler, and the young queen had earned it all and more for she was the splitting image of their queen and knew that they were in safe hooves."

"And soon enough, the day came that would go down in history as my shining moment for all of the Weave to witness."

"Her day of ascension came and with it her metamorphosis into a queen, her mother was so proud of her..." a single tear trailed down her cheek, a memory that she treasured and loved more than anything,

"This was the moment the little princess was waiting for and with it her dream came true." I watched as she slowly lowered her head just as her mane starts to cover her face with her obsidian crown only slightly tilts from the shift in direction and gravity.

"But like all tales, my sweet little morsel, that what once grew beautiful would soon turn into a festering, rotting nightmare." Ambrosia’s voice slowly changes from its normal soft and sultry tone to one that is dry and emotionless.

"Decades came and went, the hive city slowly yet steadily grew in size and wealth, the region I picked was rich in natural resources and easily accessible. Decadence of an unseen sort flowed through my home as even the drones were being showered with bountiful wealth as their homes were lined with precious gemstones just as the elites of society had their mansions remade with the purest marble inlaid with gold and silver filigree. Opulence at its finest and I was proud of how far we came from our past roots, from struggling with our love reserves and living akin to savages all the way to where not a single changeling would go to bed hungry and that the homes of all who reside within the capital from the lowest worker to the highest noble live in wealth and glory.” That dry tone she spoke on started to feel like the very moisture in the room was being sucked out, the steadily growing of dread was making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I feared how her tale went from idyllic fairytale to one of abject horror.

“Even our love harvesters out on the surface were bringing back so much Love that we had to keep an eye on them out of fear of discovery. If our harvesters were being overly zealous in their extraction then they might inadvertently reveal us to the world and result in our extermination.”

“And as the time came and went, the young queen grew in size and power, matching her mother in every way imaginable, all except for one part.” Ambrosia slowly lost steam as she spoke till her was nothing more than a whisper as she looked down at the floor, finding something interesting about it as she refused to look at me or at any of the other changelings in the room.

“Her ability to see what her actions lead to and what consequences they become.” And there it is, the source of her pain.

A failure that haunts her and will continue to haunt her till she sheds its pain by confronting it.

"What happened Ambrosia?" I asked with the tiniest hint of an inquisitive tone as I leaned a little toward her, hoping she doesn’t speak quietly again.

“You see my sweet little morsel, traditionally we changelings rarely ever use metal and gemstones in our construction of our homes and furniture because we can naturally create our own materials. But as I was growing up and harvested the love from the griffons and minotaurs that lived above us, I saw into their memories and saw things that made me envious of our surface neighbors. Of how they lived in luxury and grace while we lived in what amounts to ascetic minimalism and squalor.” Ambrosia said as I begin to see what was the start of her kingdoms fall or at the very least a sign of something’s to come that causes it.

By seeing into the minds of those they captured and saw what the griffons and minotaurs had and what they did not, Ambrosia became afflicted with avarice, gluttony, and envy, all the same things those up top have but in spades.

“We were at the height of our power, my kingdom was the envy of all hives, and no changeling ever went to sleep hungry nor had their bodies failing them. My mother couldn’t be happier with me than she could ever possibly be, but…”

"A series of most unfortunate events had been set in motion that would turn our world upside-down."

"The first domino to fall was our food supply being cut in half when the Griffonian Empire collapsed on itself when their holy relic was stolen by a cyclops in 1771 AD, After Discord if you are unfamiliar with how we changelings kept track of the ages. From what I managed to gather from my spy drones is that a cyclops invaded the capital and stole their sacred relic before escaping with it, and after that was when everything went to total chaos for them." If I am remembering the time period right and that their times match the griffons, then their 1771 would be the year 771 of Our Heavenly Lord Boreas or 771 After Luna's Banishment, I am guessing these changelings do not know about the equestrian monarchy or how one got banished and became a part of the changing of an era for pony society.

“First was the mad panic that their relic was stolen from the heart of their empire, then came the infighting as they pointed talons at one another for failure or lack of faith to prevent its theft, and lastly came total anarchy as all have lost faith in either their gods or their leaders and many began to fend for themselves.”

"With their fall from grace came our own downfall as well as our harvesters were being killed indiscriminately during the ensuing riots. Losing our harvesters forced me to start rationing our love reserves, giving less to everyling so that we can outlast whatever predicament has befallen the griffons and when they have stabilized themselves than we too will be stabilized. It was an easy decision to make at the time but it was harder to enforce as many of my children thought that they were above such things as rationing love.”

"Who could've thought that the fall of the griffon empire was all connected to an ancient artifact being stolen from them. The foolishness of their gods to connect such an artifact to their people and bind their souls and essence to it, it baffles me to no end! At least the Weave wasn't foolish in its creation eons ago to manifest an object of reverence and bind it to us!" Ambrosia said in mock disbelief, apparently, she finds it amusing and baffling that a group of gods would even do something like that and not expect it to backfire horribly.

"As we lost our steady supply of love from the griffons and minotaur's from our surface harvesters being killed by accident or from roaming bands of angry griffons and bulls, and our passive harvesters began to slow down due to the lack of positive emotions and love in the air to collect, we slowly began to deal with love shortages. This was never a thing for me to deal with while I was ruling from Lachelein Amore, but after living a life of luxury and my children living without having to ever go to bed hungry or cold since my kingdom's creation, they all had to deal with the cold, harsh reality that hunger is very real, and limits have to be placed on us if we are to survive the raging storm.” Ambrosia looked off to the side as she said this, her gaze going out the window to the silence that was outside her palace.

"And so began the Era of Sadness for my hive, our once thriving way of life that was the envy of all hives is now back in the same lowly circumstances that they are in, hungry, starving for love, wondering which changeling will die so that other changeling can live. It was a dark time for all of us, a vast majority of my babies had to cut back on their love intake along with myself included to show that not even royalty is above the rationing process. I tried to persuade the nobility to refrain from taking more than they needed, but sadly they refused my request in favor of their own greed." The amber hued monarch once more started to pitter off at end, not happy with what happened and what she had to do next.

"I am sure you have noticed as you traveled within my home that the noble district was empty and that their homes were deserted. That was my doing, those that refused to ration their love and even had the gall to bribe or steal from the city's reserves, so I had them imprisoned for those bribed while those who outright stole from me were put to death. They dared to try and circumvent my rule and the law I put down to ensure that all of us can survive on the rationing process and yet they were foolish enough to go behind my back and think that I would be oblivious to the sudden disappearance of our love stores." Her anger was punctuated when she slammed a hoof onto the tiled floor, cracking the tile in a spiderweb of shards.

"For the next two centuries we have suffered through love shortages and rioting from said love shortages, I did my best to try and keep us all together and to stop my kingdom from splintering into infighting factions over what little was left. I thought I could stop the fighting by calling on a ceasefire and hopefully bind us together in peaceful coexistence instead of fighting and stealing from one another..." There was pain in her voice, a mother hurt by her own children who would dare steal from her and the punishment she had to administer.

Two centuries of constant hunger and trying to keep your people alive all the while trying to stop them from splintering off and further hurting you. And if I am doing my calendar translation right that would set us in 1971 or 971 HLB, right at the same time when that cyclops came back to Griffonstone to try and raid it again but was defeated and slain by the current king. The cyclops's body fell off the mountain and went right into the abysmal abyss where its skeleton currently rests to this day, and it reminds me that I still need to carve 'Ian was here' on its skull as a display of dominance and also to show any future abyss divers that I got to it first.

“But then it came.” Slowly that tone of pain started to phase into something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“That Hive-damned plague came into my hive when it was brought in by one of my drones who was mapping out the depths of the tunnels returned to us unwell and clearly showing signs of a sickness.” Ambrosia lowly snarled as her wings buzzed in anger and vengeful fury as several changelings around us shared in her sentiment.

“At first as we looked over the sick drone, we have noticed minor signs of fungal infection in the damaged cracks of his chitin. So minor did it look that we ignored it as we thought nothing of it which allowed it to spread because our ignorance of what it really had blinded us until it was far too late. It looked like any other fungal infection that can happen to us, be it from an injury being unclean or a changeling refusing to bathe themselves and fungal moss started to grow on them." Her anger and fury that she was displaying just a moment ago is immediately snuffed out as it is drowned in an ocean of anguish and failure, her voice dropping back to its somber pitch and tone.

As I watched and listened to everything that Ambrosia was saying I have been taking internal notes on her behavior and her constant switching back and forth between emotions and states of mind that all boiled down to one conclusion.

Ambrosia is ruled by her emotions, instead of ruling over them she lets them hold the reins and I am seeing where it has led her.

"If we had taken the time to isolate and quarantine the infected drone, all of this could have been avoided…but we didn’t.” the queen lowered her head in shame and failure, the consequences of her inactions.

“It changed them, at first it made them irrational, irritable and they avoided speaking to anyling with the fungal mold slowly spreading from the infection site. After a month has passed since first infection, they begin eating anything that they can get their hooves on, even things we can’t process such as trash or junk, if they can put it in their mouth, they will still eat it anyways. During this transition they began to cough violently, but instead of spittle it was spores and bits of wet mold as the fungal growth at this point will be more visibly seen with it now at this point encompassing at least a quarter of one's leg or section of the torso."

"Then… they become violent, increasingly violent to the point that they start attacking anyone not infected, tearing one another apart before consuming them. This plague made my changelings hunger for the flesh of their fellow changelings, and it turned them feral. At this point in their infection the fungus has grown and covered much of their body with fungal mushrooms starting to grow from them.” Disgust and revilement made itself evident on her muzzle, her voice one of sickness as she recalled the steps of the infection, and I can say that this is sounding closer to a zombie outbreak then a typical fungal epidemic.

"The infected drone was left to his own devices for far too long and in response he rapidly spread his sickness to those around him, and like a surface plague it spread and branched out until it consumed all within its path. From the village of Petalburg where it originated to all the way to the capital… so many of my precious babies…they became monsters…” her voice once more became that of a heartbroken mother, beaten down and unable to bear what she has witnessed.

My guess is after whatever amount of time has passed from the outbreak ending that she and whatever was left went out with her to look for survivors only to see ruins and death. That must’ve been a colossal blow to her mentality.

“When word finally came to us about the plague, I sent out my guards out to face them, thinking they were simply a rival hive or one of the rogue lords that broke away was trying to raid our love stores, but I was wrong. They were my own children, driven mad by the plague and they killed almost the entire battle group I had sent out before consuming them. Those few who returned told us of what happened, but within those few survivors was even fewer who’ve been infected, and we had to quarantine them as we did not know what we’re dealing with at the time.”

“After that all future encounters we had with the infected was from distance through magic bolts and ranged weapons of war.” As the monarch says this I took another mental note regarding this infection, I do not know if it can spread to griffons or diamond dogs, or god forbid be able to infect me, but as of this moment I will assume that it can and will create a rule to have any fungus to be burned on sight and those showing signs of infection to be put down then burned.

“Day by day, week by week, and month by month more and more reports came in throughout my kingdom and each report was worse than the previous one. Villages and towns being destroyed from internal chaos and the infestation before becoming desolate husks, roaming swarms of infected changelings slowly shuffling down tunnels to their next destination, that is until a sound is made in which they enter a frenzy and swarm toward the source of the disturbance and destroy it along with several of their own in the process. This plague is the stuff of nightmares that even that mad mare Nightmare Moon would dream of conjuring forth and unleash it upon her enemies.” As Ambrosia continued with her tale, I can only nod my head to her words, the events she witnessed is history and I must remember all that I can so that I can put this to paper, after all as the human saying goes, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, and I sure as fuck so do not want this happening again.

I’ve played The Last of Us 1 and 2, fuck that noise cause that world straight up sucks.

“No matter what I tried to do to slow down the fractured swarm it would only result in delaying them temporarily in the short term but at the cost of my precious changelings. I even went as far as giving the order to cave-in all entrances and exits into the capital and prayed to the Weave to forgive me for my failure as a queen. I couldn’t save my kingdom from my slow reaction, nor could I save my babies from their infected kin.” Ambrosia looked out the window and winced ever so slightly, remembering that pivotal moment and the implications it had for her people and the city she blocked off.

“After thoroughly inspecting the capital for any and all tunnels and ensuring that we had enough love to be made into rations I gave the order to collapse all the tunnels and seal us in. Twelve tunnels were collapsed and sealed by melting the rocks until they were one solid mass, and it would have been our safe haven until we could formulate a plan on how to reclaim our old homes, even possibly develop a cure for this outbreak." Ambrosia’s sadness in her voice shifted and switched to one of hope, that their suffering is coming to an end and that they might be able to save their people given enough time.

"I thought we could wait it out." Her hoping was building in her eyes, a raging inferno of hope that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

"I was wrong.” And like that her tone full of hope was snuffed out, like a candle in a raging storm.

“After twelve years of hiding and waiting, thinking that we were safe within the capital, the infected finally managed to burrow through one of the smaller smuggling tunnels that wasn't properly sealed off and flooded into the city. I gave the order through the Weave for all changelings to hide in their homes, to hide in the palace, to hide anywhere they can and to not make a sound.”

“I had a plan of sorts, to either have one of my praetorian guards or myself distract and lead them back out from the hole they crawled in from before sealing it off for good once they have been led away. But when I began to think on the merits of that idea, I saw how flawed it was. I wouldn’t be dealing with the situation, I would simply be delaying it unless I wait for a great deal of time to pass but that would mean that whoever is still out there will be at risk, so I needed another way of dealing with this Tartarus of a problem.”

"They swarmed through my city and flooded the outer districts within the first hour, breaking into homes that were poorly secured and devoured any they found. I can still hear the screams and cries of my precious babies that could not escape in time...and it only got worse as they surged into the artisan and industrial districts." Her tone of sadness and pain didn’t waver as she recalled what happened during the flood of infection surging into her home.

"I watched from the palace the diseased swarm move from house to house as a sea of chitin and fungus, breaking down doors and jumping through windows that are low enough for them to climb through as they sought out those that have not been infected, but when they started to enter the industrial district and the buildings that stored chemicals and arcane ingredients, they broke open containers in their search. The jars and crates they broke into created a series of chain reactions that resulted in fires to break out along with explosions that rocked the cavern to the point that stalactites started to fall from the ceiling and killed many of them."

"Naturally this got a reaction from the infected swarm and made them go into a frenzy and with those being burned from being splashed by chemicals or killed by the explosion, it was apparent that they were responding to external stimuli and that they can be directed." A spark ignited in Ambrosia’s eye as she slowly started to sit up, her recollection of that day making her react to it as if it were happening once more.

"This reaction from the swarm gave me an idea, one that I loathed to even enact but with the situation that my hive found itself in and that we were on the brink of annihilation, I said a prayer to my mother and to the Weave to forgive me as I was about to break one of the tenants that my mother laid out to me when I ascended to the throne.” The amber hued monarch placed a hoof to her chest as she spoke, I do not know what those tenets could possibly be but if she had to beg for forgiveness just breaking one then it must be one hell of a taboo to break.

“I asked for a single volunteer from those who were taking refuge within the palace." It was a plan of sacrifice, one life for one world, a fair price for sure, but who would be brave enough or willing enough to pay it?

"Two changelings stepped forward and I asked them their names, Mandele Corax and Thorak Bliff, one was a baker from the lower district while the other was a lord's only son, both were ready to give up their lives to keep the Hive safe and to live another day." I watched as she placed her hoof back down and the sounds of buzzing from above and beside me alerted me that those two either didn’t make it back or they did but are resting from the traumatizing things they must’ve seen while carrying out their orders.

"Their only orders were a simple one, to fly over the swarm and lead them back to the outskirts and to keep them there for as long as possible. Both of them bowed before me as I gave them one last token, a heartstone fragment anchored to a gold chain and infused with enough love to ensure that they have the energy to complete their final duty." A final duty I am hoping that they survived, these changelings need as much help and good news that they can get their hooves on.

“I watched as they flew off into the city, several times the infected tried to catch them by throwing themselves out of windows and off the roofs of the buildings they were on, but neither of the two were caught. For several hours they flew through our home and corralled every single infected and made them swarm into the outer districts before finally stopping in the western half of the worker drone habitation ring.”

“I couldn’t help those that have turned into those fungal abominations… all I could do for them was give them one final mercy and pray that they forgive me for being a terrible mother. It was from there did I give my lost children their final rites and prayed unto the Weave to take their souls and give them the peace they rightfully deserve.” She lowered her head down once more as a few more tears came down and landed on the cushion beneath her.

“What did you do?” I asked the matriarch, but I already knew the answer because my dogs and I waded through them on our way into the city but did not know how they came to being there.

“I made them die." Ambrosia said as she began to softly cry, the memory of it forever fresh in her mind and a constant reminder of her failure as a leader.

"By isolating myself from my hive and breaching into the infected synapse of the blighted swarm, I forced my will upon the hivemind, and I made every single infected changeling to burn through all of their love reserves by expelling it via magic purging."

"Normally all this would do is make us hungry once more, but magic in a gaseous form is highly volatile, especially around magical flames. And when we use magic on ourselves it takes the form of ephemeral emerald flames. For a changeling to do this it turns them into a living torch as it burns them from the inside out, but for those with even more love stored within them it turns them into an arcane explosion of chitin and blood.”

“With my mind connected to the infected swarm I heard their voices all whispering at me, calling for me to join them, to become as one and to expand beyond these caves. I shuddered as their poisoned existence made my body quake and reverberate with their overwhelming presence as I struggled to force my will upon them. Naturally their hivemind fought back against this intrusion but they could not resist my strength of will nor could they stop a mother that was protecting her children from danger, even if it's from themselves.”

“As soon as I managed to connect with the entirety of the swarm, I forced them to vent all of their remaining love stores within their bodies and to shift into another of their kin. The resulting firestorm of love-fueled arcane conflagration scorched the entire districts western half and killed them all.” Ambrosia's voice was quiet and filled with sorrow with what she had to do to save what remained of her kingdom.

“In one moment I heard their shrieks of anger and fury at what I was about to do to them, and in the next it was a cacophony of pained-filled screams as they all died in the flames of their own creation.”

"After I granted mercy to my children I lost consciousness and was in a coma for the greater part of a year, if my children are to be believed in their panicking state of mind. When I later awoke in my bedchamber with my apothecarian standing at my side with a love transfusion being administered." Ambrosia placed a hoof to her left leg and subconsciously rubbed at the spot where I am assuming a needle was placed, and whatever a love infused shot is I am assuming it’s bleh.

"I tried to get out of bed, but I was pushed back down by the apothecarian as she told me that I was in a coma for seven months and that I am still suffering from the backlash of having one's mind nearly rend asunder by forcing the Weave to act in such a manner and that I should count my blessings that I even survived such an undertaking. When I asked her what happened while I was in my coma, she said that there has been no further sign of the infected coming into the city and that all who were hiding outside the palace came in with whatever they could carry to hide here." Ambrosia lowered her head once more, no more tears fell from her muzzle this time, just deafening silence.

"For the first time in twelve years I felt relief that no more of my children have died or turned, but it was short-lived as I realized that those that are within the palace are all that are left of my kingdom. I do not remember how long I cried for, nor do I remember hearing the door being opened and being hugged by my guards and servants, but when I finally collected myself, I realized that I was being embraced by my children, all of them saying that if it wasn't for me that they would be dead or worse." She said what her children told her but Ambrosia knew that it was only to try and make her happy, to appease her broken heart.

“Nearly a quarter of a million of my children had to be put down and there was no other means of sparing them.” Just hearing her say that made my heart ache out to her and her loss. I fell apart when my grandfather passed away, I think I would have probably killed myself if I heard that my family was all died in an accident or were murdered by some psychotic asshole.

“And you felt it all…” I said in a quiet, somber tone, unable to even believe what she had to go through to keep her people safe from further annihilation.

“Yes… I did. Each death, a knife to my heart, a piece of my soul torn from me, but I had to be strong for those of my young who yet lives, for they are all I have left.” Her tone felt lifeless as she stared at the floor, unable or unwilling to meet my gaze.

“It wasn’t an easy decision for you, was it?”

“No, no it wasn’t. To watch my children go mad from a disease that we had no means of curing other than death, I gave them the only peace that I as a mother could do for them.”

"And the rest of your kingdom?" I asked but I feared that the answer she would tell me would be along the lines of devastated.

"They too fell to the plague, all I found from them were burnt out husks and ruins, there was only those infected by the plague and the smoldering ruins they came from." And I was right.

"Have you ever found out where this plague originally came from?" I questioned, hoping that the source of this plague was found, for if it is still at large than I may need to forgo my plans of having my diamond dogs stay here out of fear for Thor safety.

"Yes, during the height of the outbreak I sent out several drones to scout through the tunnels to try and locate the cause of our misery, all but one returned to me. Peering into the drone’s memories and correlating path it took with the maps of the tunnel systems I found a previously sealed cave system far, far to the north that was housing a forest of mushrooms the likes I have never seen before. It was from these mushrooms did the blight originate from and continued to emit from.”

"Gathering whatever alchemist fire barrels and mire accelerants that survived the destruction of the industrial sector, I assembled an expeditionary task group to locate and exterminate the source of the blight once and for all." Ambrosia partially lifted her head up, her voice regained a fraction of its life.

“Knowing what we are up against and seeing what it did to my children, we had constructed rudimentary breathing apparatuses that one on the surface would call a fishbowl with a hose connecting to a fresh air far from the spores. We had to bring several upon several heaps of sealed tubes just to ensure we can locate and eradicate the source of the plague without worrying about our air supply being tainted with the spores.”

"And so we traveled north, being careful to not alert the roaming swarms of infected or the beasts that still inhabit the tunnels that may have moved in due to our absence. There were several times that we came close to being caught and attacked by my infected children but we were fortunate that they moved out and away from us long enough for me to reach out with my magic to give them a merciful end."

"It took us two months of sneaking around and doubling back through tunnels when we found them collapsed or overrun with the infected. Soon enough we eventually we found ourselves at what was once Petalburg and we found that it has been completely destroyed. Not a single building was left standing, all that was left was old bloodstains, cracked chitin pieces and ruined remains. We stayed in the remains of the town hall to rest and prepare ourselves for tomorrow’s journey into what we now call the Blighted Lands."

‘What an aptly named place, I bet it’s just full of cheer and butterflies.’ I thought to myself as I recalled every single diseased-riddled places and realms from all real, fictional and fantasy settings that I have read, watched or played and I can hazard a guess to how shitty it must be.

"Travel through the Blighted Lands felt like a monumental task, the air was thick with the smell of decay and oppression, our every hoofstep echoed down the tunnels and it made our ears twitch out of fear of a swarm hearing us. The reason for its name was that not just for its creation of the plague but also because that when we entered that region, we all began to feel like something was draining us of our life force, inflicting us with a pall of depression as a cloud of fear latched onto us all for every single step we took within that cursed cave network.” Ambrosia cast her gaze towards one of her guards, their armor dented and scratched from some manner of beast. Here I am hoping they weren’t infected or that the symptoms aren’t in hiding.

"Another reason for its name is that the stone itself cracked and crumbled beneath our hooves, as if the stone itself has been drained of whatever life is within its natural form and was on the verge of falling apart at the slightest sign of touch. As we marched through the tunnels we saw that there was no sign of life, be it from any cave moss, bats or insects both large and small, nor were there any signs of the infected as we were well past the edge of the kingdom and Petalburg was the closest frontier village." That drew my attention back to the queen, an area that seemingly prevented any life from being there? That reminded me of the discorded area at the base of the mountain at Griffonstone.

"It was only after two weeks of trotting through the Blighted Lands did we come across our first sign of life and it was from that sign did we have to setup our rebreather helmets and air-circulation pump system. Lying in the center of the tunnel was a twitching corpse of a changeling, deep in its fungal infection as it was now rooted into the floor with several stalks of mushrooms emitting spores with each twitch it made." As Ambrosia said this, it reminded me of the enemies and meatmoss from Dead Space, I am praying to any god out there that this isn’t a prelude to hell on this planet because I may have to ask for assistance and resources to create a flamethrower and a *lot* of fuel.

“Seeing one of my children being so twisted and changed into such a horrific monstrosity was yet another knife to my heart, to see them being made into an abomination… all I could do was give them my mercy.” I didn’t have to guess what her mercy was, she already did it once before.

“I tried to reach out to it within the Weave, but I found that I couldn’t as if it no longer had a mind of its own. My guess was that at this point in its infestation that it is no longer a changeling but a mushroom wearing its corpse as a protective cocoon. Igniting my horn I set the remains ablaze and watched as it tried to uproot itself but it lacked the strength to do so, and in its death throes it wiggled and writhed before going still. Looking down at what was left of my child I saw that it was barely even recognizable but they were still mine, and I couldn’t leave them out here.”

“Marking the walls for later retrieval and telling my children that we are coming back to retrieve the body and bury it with the others in Petalburg. Our mission into the Blighted Lands only grew more important as we slowly started to come across more and more rotted changelings and other cave creatures covered in mushroom stalks and emitting spores, it was spreading itself out from its colony.” This was a strangely smart fungal colony, I don’t know if I should seek out some scientists to study it or call for the creation of an order of flame soldiers to burn it out root and stem.

“Moving towards our destination has been slowed down as we had to slowly burn out the infected that laid out before us and ensure that our air tubes are not getting clogged or damaged, something that we cannot afford to happen for if we lose the tubes, we will run the risk of being infected by the spores or suffocating to death. Putting any and all infected to the torch and constantly making sure our air tubes are still functioning properly made our progress grind down to a crawl and there was several times that we had to double back just to move our equipment forward as we have ran out of tubes to connect and we also had to deal with the occasional infected changeling, diamond dog or tunneler.”

“After much setback, problems and dealing with our rationing, we finally found it.” She became silent and looked past me and her guards towards her throne, the source of her authority, her responsibilities, and of her problems and woes.

“It was from this cave of fungal damnation did I discover the root of the infection and the one who unleashed it, be it accidental or on purpose. Lying partially buried beneath several outgrowths of mushrooms was a diamond dog and further from it was several more buried and overgrown hounds, all with pickaxes and hammers in their paws. The only guess I could make is that the diamond dogs had dug into our tunnels and not knowing where they are or what they have discovered started to survey the area before coming into contact with the fungal forest and succumbing to the spores.” Shaking her head in disbelief that a group of dogs was the cause of the outbreak, whether on accident or on purpose neither of us will ever know.

“This chasm was filled with towering stalks of mushrooms and other fungal structures, the air was a fog of spores and it was so humid that we had to keep wiping our helmets just to see clearly. Moss and lichen covered the floors and walls, there was not one square inch of empty space that wasn’t filled with some sort of fungal object to the point that it was a small wonder that this thing even managed to spread onto us. Several minutes into wondering in this cavern was several dozen rough shapes of what looked like either ponies or changelings, I could not tell as they were both the same shape and size, but surrounding the fungal bodies were a multitude of skeletons with look what looked like decrepit equipment and tools strapped to their forms.”

“Looking at this unexpected crew of the deceased I noticed that while there were multiple equine-like bodies covered in stalks and mushrooms, they were the only ones to have them while the skeletons didn’t have a single iota of mold on them. If they were part of the same group than why were they unaffected by the pestilence that surrounded us? At first, I thought that they were simply immune to the fungal spores and died there from starvation next to their friends, but upon closer examination I saw that it wasn’t the case. The skeletons had runes carved in their bones, and the only beings that use runic magic are the minotaurs and equestrians who prefer to use the old methods of the arcane which only fueled more questions, but time was short, so I have shelved that line of thought for a different day when this fungal threat is put down.” Ambrosia said as I narrowed my eyes and entered Big-Brain Mode and figured it out because of all of my time playing Skyrim and Dungeons n Dragons.

Necromancy, black magic to raise and shackle the dead to your will and turn either fresh or ancient corpses into new zombies and skeleton warriors. From the many books and games I have gone through I know that the art of necromancy is either done by extensive rituals with blood sacrifices or by just breaching the veil between life and death and commanding it however one sees fit. Although necromancy is frowned upon in most theaters of productions and is almost always hunted down and destroyed for its reviled nature, I do see some good in it buts very slim so it’s a no go for me unless I go full evil.

"With magic I sealed off the mushroom forest to prevent any more spores from leaking out and with numerous casks of volatile reagents and a single spark did I ignite the mushroom forest. With anger in my heart and sadness and despair in my soul I burnt it all down until there was nothing left but cinders and ashes before completely sealing off the cave by melting the rocks sealing it in until it was nothing more than another part of the tunnel." Her shoulders sag ever so slightly as she lowers her head once more, exhaustion and pain coursing through her as she finishes retelling of her fall.

"Our journey back home was a quiet one, the burnt husks of my kingdom were all around me, a permanent reminder that I couldn't save my children from my own failure of inaction and ignorance. I should have had done something when I first saw the signs of the plague spreading, when I felt the slightest twinge of pain from the Weave, but I ignored it because I thought it was just my imagination and thought nothing of it." The shoulders sag even more as I watched the amber-hued matriarch started to crack and break down, the weight of retelling of her dynasty's downfall finally hitting its critical point.

“With each ruin we passed by us we have tried to scavenge and salvage whatever we can and tried to find any wayward survivor who managed to escape from the swarm. It is by the grace of the Weave that we managed to secure more love rations and a heartstone along with several changelings from the numerous villages and townships we passed through, a small twinge of hope grew for us, perhaps all was not lost after all.”

“As soon as we have returned to the capital, I instated a harsher rationing system and mandated hibernation for us all, a rotation for all citizens and the military. Very few scouts would remain awake to keep an eye on the palace walls and myself to keep feeding everyling, and to make myself remember my failure as penance.” Head completely lowered and obscured by her mane, tears resumed their race down her muzzle as I simply sat there, digesting it all.

"For the next seven decades I have kept what little of my hive that is still alive here within the palace, going out on harvesting missions to help keep our rationing to a minimum but it has been hard on us what with the griffons still fighting and screaming at one another throughout the continent into anarchy and depression. With our main food sources dealing with infighting and our own issues… everything just came apart.” Ambrosia broke down and started to cry into her pillow, her wings flitting wildly as her own drones buzzed weakly, sharing in her pain and sadness.

“I was afraid we were going to run out of our love rations within the decade, afraid that my children would die before my eyes one last time before I too would join them. I wondered if this was how my family line would end, by starvation and far from home, and not a soul to tell my mother of what happened here.” She continued to cry into her pillow as her tears flowed freely, her nose runny and drippy, her eyes reddened, and her face just looked like a hot mess of tears and snot.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with grave news that Ambrosia, Matriarch and Queen of the Amber Hive...

...is an ugly crier.

“But then you came, our savior.” Ambrosia said weakly as she wiped away the snot from her muzzle onto a floating handkerchief that was being offered to her by one of her hoofmaidens that was standing off to the side, her head lowered and in reverence to their queen although from where I am sitting I can tell that changeling maid looked a bit offput by their queen's not-so-queenly appearance at the moment.

"An agent of a sovereign power who did not judge us on our appearance and instead of reacting to us with violence or disgust, you treated us with cordial gestures and treated us with kindness and respect. When you found out about our dietary needs you did not react with hatred and vitriol, but with understanding and care, you even fed us without asking for anything in compensation or trade. In our eyes you are our hero, our savior, we will always remember this moment to be etched into the Weave as the first surface dweller who accepted us with open hooves and with grace.” The queen's face still looked like a mess, but it was no longer snotty, just wet from tears and looks like a wreck of emotions.

Getting up from my seat I made my way over to Ambrosia and kneeled down and wrapped my arms around her barrel and hugged her. Letting her rest her head on my right shoulder I began to pat her back as she began to cry in earnest as two centuries of locked up emotions come tumbling out from her as I felt her hooves wrapped themselves around my waist as her cries only grew in intensity.

“It wasn’t your fault Ambrosia, you need to stop blaming yourself over this. This was outside your control, and you know it. Nobody could’ve known what that fungal disease could’ve done to your people let alone how fast it could spread. If anything it was both that mining crew who opened the path for anyone to stumble through and that lone changeling who started it all is to blame. They knew they were injured and had an unknown infection coursing through their veins, but instead of seeking medical attention to deal with it they simply ignored it and let it fester and spread.” I said as I continued to pat the changeling queen on the back, doing my best to consul and alleviate her pain and anguish even though I knew for a fact that I was no consoler nor an emotional assistant.

“You did all that you could do with what little information and time that you had! You had to deal with a literal zombie apocalypse and you a food shortage to the point that there was always going to be someone dying from starvation for fucks sake! You were in a no-win scenario and you tried to make it work as best as you possible could with whatever you had available!” I said as felt Ambrosia tighten her grip on me as I heard and felt her whimper, I am hoping that my words are having a positive effect on her instead of a negative one because I don't think I will survive if I anger her and her swarm.

Keeping her in the hug I let her pour out all of her sadness and despair onto my shoulder as I brushed her back, taking care to avoid the wings. The sounds of hiccups and crying continue on for several minutes, Ambrosia’s hooves remain wrapped around my waist as I kept on petting her mane and speaking to her in a hushed tone that everything will be alright. I don’t know if that is true, if everything will be fine cause after all a literal zombie apocalypse happened right on her doorstep and took away everything she worked hard to achieve and killed god knows how many of her people.

This went on for almost an hour until Ambrosia started to calm down as she was now nothing more than sniffles and whimpers, her hug strength lessened as she muttered out under her mane.

“Am I a bad changeling? …for failing my children and failing my mother?” Ambrosia said in a hushed whisper, her words tickling my ear as I tried my best to think of the best thing to say to her without sounding rude or outright like an asshole.

Turning my head slightly to look at her, I saw nothing but a sea of mane blocking my vision of her and her strange organic looking crown that is resting still on her head.

“Ambrosia, you are not a bad changeling. You did all that you could and that is much more than what anyone could ever ask of you.” I said as I kept on petting her mane, being her emotional support human and I was wondering if this is going to be my life now.

This went on for who knows how long but all I know is that my left shoulder is moister than an oyster and that Ambrosia was slowly quieting down until she was only sniffling and the occasional whimper of sadness escaping from her.

Patting her a few more times to keep her from crying again I heard movement in my left and right as I saw both Lichen and the hoofmaiden approached us and wrapped us in hugs of their own.

Soon enough the rest of the hive came down from their spot in the ceiling and walls and joined in on the hugging and I was then covered in chitin and hooves.

It was during this hugging bonanza that I noticed that the changelings who were in on the pile were ever so slowly looking healthier and less holey than they did earlier before my brain rolled back the memory reel and replayed the fact that my emotions serve as food for them and that I’ve been expressing a heap of happy n caring feels this entire time. And because of said feelings the changelings are treating this as a feast, and I am the meal.

‘This is my life now I guess, being the emotional support human to a changeling queen… and now my nose itches.’

I can't recall how long this lasted but all I do know is that once it came to an end the changelings that fed backed off before sharing their meal with those that did not get a chance to feed on my positive emotions of encouragement and soothing calm, while Ambrosia herself was purring softly and murmuring that she is a good changeling.

Letting the queen rest where she is on my shoulder, I allowed myself to think on all that was said and how this will affect me going forward.

'Strange fungal colony that may or may not be completely destroyed deep in the depths of the earth and a mysterious cabal of necromancers that are somewhere out there in the world. Just who do they work for, how many necromancers are actually out there and whom do they serve. And then there is the group of diamond dog miners that opened the tunnel, are they from the Ruby Mountain clans or are they just a bunch of rogue dogs who are living on their own?'

'Whatever it is this is going to make my time here much more annoying. Oh joy.'

Author's Note

Was originally scheduled to be released before Thanksgiving day but due to my work schedule making me work the week leading up to Thanksgiving I didn't have the physical energy to type it out nor the mental energy to think on what to put down along with the hell that is December Christmas shopping but thankfully it is now done, sorry for the huge delay.

Happy New Years folks!

Coming home

Well, todays the day.

Everyone’s gotta go home eventually and it just so happens that for me it is today.

Saying goodbye to my pack of dogs wasn't easy, especially when they all started to huddle and howl in my face. I was in a literal dogpile and they were all hugging me, begging me not to leave them.

I had to reassure them several times that I will be back and that I am not abandoning them. They act just like my dogs back home, sad when I leave and happy when I come home.

Packing up my things into my standard issue carry pack (slightly modified so that I can carry it since it was meant for griffons), I did a slow sweep of my room to make sure that nothing was amiss, aside from the diamond dog guarding the corner and a changeling lazing about on the ceiling.

While Ambrosia and I came to an agreement of sorts regarding the deal we made three days ago, she is making sure that I uphold my side of the bargain by sending me one of her changelings to serve as both a reminder of the deal and also as a means of communication to the hive should I ever go back on my word. This changeling, they go by the name Moss, he says to head home, present the letter of the terms to my king, make a statement and pray to the gods that the king listens and follows through. On the upside these changelings are still adorable and huggable, but they are kinda creepy when they don’t blink for very long periods of time.

Or blink one eye at a time.

Or not blinking at all.

Bug ponies are weird.

Taking one last look around and finding everything to be satisfactory I motioned to my two bodyguards as they straightened themselves out and followed me. With one on the floor and the other on the ceiling, neither of the two said a word to each other since they were assigned to me and I can only hazard a guess as to why.

The dog I left in charge temporarily, Barka, he thinks that I am going to talk to the griffon king as leader to leader to settle for land rights, while in reality I am just returning to him to deliver a full detailed report of the journey and lastly to deliver upon him the trade deal and peace treaty from Ambrosia.

Here is hoping that my trip isn't too annoying or tiring, hiking was never my forte but having to hike dozens upon dozens of miles with just myself and a few bodyguards who don't seem to like each other... yeah this is going to suck something awful.

Our trip back to Griffonstone is going to be a bit of a long trip since we didn't have any fliers aside from Moss and he wasn't strong enough to carry all of us nor was he willing to do so. So now we have to travel all the way back to the capital on foot, through thick forests and bubbly swamps, rolling hills and sweeping winds, we marched on and through it all with a dour expression and mild annoyance. But our first stop is Talon's End for one reason and one reason only.

Walking back into the slowly yet steadily healing town I gave a nod to the stationed guards on duty and to the passing citizens, many of whom wave at me with many more stopping to hug me and thank me for saving them during the siege all the while giving a wide berth away from the diamond dogs, their eyes looking at them in suspicion and hatred. I don't know how long it will take for that wound to heal but I am hoping that someday that griffons, ponies and diamond dogs can one day live together in peace and harmony without fear.

Eventually I found the legion camp on the other side of the town and before long I found the tent I was looking for.

Upon lifting up the tent flap and walking in I saw a light blue feathered griffon, their slightly hooked beak was open slightly as they whistled to themselves a rather jaunty tune and as I stepped in they stopped their jolly time and looked at me before quickly standing up and breaking into a salute.

“Greetings Sir Wilkinson, I am Requisition Officer Corporal Driuss and this is the legion’s temporary supply depot. How may I assist you today my lord?” The light blue griffin said as I returned his salute and gave permission for the officer to sit down.

"Yes I would to like to requisition a few large tents, some cooking utensils, some metal pots, a few proper spears, and flint-n-steel." The requisition officer sitting behind their temporary table simply stared at me with confusion as I told him my list of things that I will be needing for my journey back to the capital as my two traveling companions are standing behind me, trying their best not to look too out of place.

Seeing that nobody has seen a changeling at all since their self-imposed exile and that their whole shtick is being unnoticed while doing their business, Moss has turned himself into a dark green earth pony stallion with a charcoal black mane and tail, and for his butt-tattoo it is a hunk of coal with a pickaxe in it. And as for my doggy guard, he is Rocky the Basset Hound, and by the gods does he look so adorable when he is giving me a normal stare, he just looks so cuddly with that pouty face even though he seems none too pleased with my antics.

Clearing his throat with a bit of a cough and a brief flutter from his wings, the supply officer looked back at me with a bit of confusion and some trepidation in his voice.

"Uh... sir? Who are these... friends of yours? I believe that I do not recognize either of them when you were last in town." The officer said as he went into the back area of his tent to retrieve the items that I requested.

Looking back at Rocky and Moss, both of whom were busy trying to not look bored and not touching anything in the room before turning back to face the officer.

"The diamond dogs are my bodyguards, and the pony is someone we have picked up on our trip here who wanted to come with us to Griffonstone to visit a relative." I said what amounts to a half-truth and a half-lie since Moss does need to get to Griffonstone to fulfill a portion of the peace deal.

Looking at my retinue of guards and the lone pony with a scrutinizing gaze that lasted a little longer than I felt was necessary, especially when it was directed at the disguised changeling because why would an equine be out in the inhospitable forest by themselves, especially with-it being Bugbear Season.

"Well, may I suggest that you hold off on leave town until we are done here? I am not doubting the skills of your guards, but I am worried that you are underestimating the dangers of the wild beasts in the region. I would suggest you take with you some bugbear repellant." The officer said as he handed me a stick with a hunk of charcoal attached to it.

I looked at the stick and just raised an eyebrow at it.

"A stick?" I said as I grabbed it and looked it over, and lo and behold it was a simple stick with a chunk of charcoal on it. If I shave the stick down and made the charcoal thinner, I bet I could make a pencil out of this and then sell it to an academic for the big bucks...that is if pencils are not a thing here.

"Yes, bugbears hate circles apparently and it has saved quite a few lives, so if you see a bugbear just draw a circle on the ground and step into it." The officer said as he went back into the back of the tent that was then followed by a squawk of surprise or annoyance and a loud clattering of metal on metal before finally coming back to the table with my requested items.

Sitting on the table in a tightly stacked pile held together by a thin veil of braided rope was my pots with utensils resting within the uppermost pot along with the flint-n-steel sitting beside it. And as for the tents and spears, well the tents were harder to come by so I was instead given some rather shoddy tents that may or may not look like they have some holes in them, and as for the spears? Turns out they had some decent spears to spare so they were laid down on the table with a bit of a rattle and clanging of the spearheads.

Looking at what was presented to me and liking what I was seeing I returned my gaze to the requisition officer and gave him a nod, one that he returned before grabbing a clipboard that was hanging off the side of the table and looked it over for a moment. Snatching a quill and an inkwell I watched the officer scribble down what I am assuming is the items I had requested before placing the quill down and put back the clipboard.

"Is that everything you need sir or is there something else that I can help with?" The officer said as I picked up my goods and passed them off to Rocky and his kin. Moss leaned forward and chomped on the handle for one of the tents and lifted it off the table, a look of surprise on his face as he was caught off-guard, not expecting it to be heavy for something of its size.

Must be made of heavy canvas or some other thick material to keep the elements and the cold out while keeping the warmth in.

“No, I think that is everything we will be needing for our return trip to Griffonstone. Thank you, Officer Driuss for the assistance.” I said before giving the young corporal a salute, one in which he returned immediately and stood straighter, probably a military thing regarding rank or something.

With our new gear acquired and being stowed in our packs, my diamond dogs yapping at one another over who gets what while Moss simply shook their head and mumbled about barbarians.

Leaving Talon’s End and the sounds of carpentry and shouts behind us for the foreseeable future, the twelve of us began our journey to the griffon capital.

This sort of reminded me of Frodo and his gang of hobbits when they made their epic adventure to Mordor, but without the crackhead following me or the deadly wraith kings of ages past hunting me down.

Really wish I had a pot smoking wizard with me, would make this long ass trek through bumblefuck nowhere tolerable.

And so we marched through the emerald sea of pine and oak trees, passing rivers and bushes and occasionally seeing the local wildlife move to and fro from their hiding places as we stepped on twigs and kicked rocks. The birds were chirping and the local squirrel gangs running between tree branches, the air was peaceful and for a moment all was right with the world.

‘Ahh, the great outdoors in all of its glory. No electronics to distract us and no pollution to stifle the air with its toxic payload, grandpa would love this so much.’

When we set up camp for the first night all was quiet and nothing of note happened.

On day three however…

As we trudged our way through the woods a most annoying rock somehow how founds its way into my boot, the anger I felt when a particularly large pebble got stuck between my big toe and the end of the shoe can only be described as ‘frothing disdain’. With the unwanted passenger resting between my toes and the rubbing and grinding, causing it to chafe and rub the skin raw throughout the day was starting to peak my anger at nature.

I think I could rival Ed with how enraged I was on that day and my dogs were standing a little further back than normal and Moss was starting to walk with a wobble while groaning.

“Stop! Stop!” I said loudly as I hobbled over to a nearby fallen log and sat on it before struggling to remove my left boot.

“Gotta get this fuckin’ hitchhiker out of my damn boot! Fucker been hiding in there for too long!” And with a grunt and a heave I flung my boot off as it goes flying into a bush. With a sigh of relief I wiggle my toes I smiled with joy as the coarse and rough object was no longer plaguing my foot with its foul presence.

With the source of my discomfort removed from my boot and with it my foul mood, my diamond dogs visibly looked happier as they came to the conclusion that my anger was not towards them and that Moss was no longer looking like he was on the verge of keeling over.

“Alright, this spot looks good enough to make camp for the night, we’ll pick back up right where we left off in the morning.” I said as my dogs let out sighs of relief and immediately began setting up camp.

Putting together the campfire was an easy affair as there was plentiful amount of tinder and small bits of scrap wood laying around along with small rocks to be used to make a circle to keep the fire within. One of the dogs took out the large pot meant for stews and immediately went looking for a nearby water source to serve as the main ingredient of what may very well be stew. Three other dogs went off to hunt for some meat, here is hoping that they are smart enough to not pick a fight with something bigger and stronger than them.

After about three hours have passed my dogs came back to me with a boar being held up by one of the big dogs while the other had a bunch of fish being held up by a rope with the third dog was holding the other twos spears.

We are good tonight with enough to soare for tomorrow’s breakfast and quite possibly for dinner as well.

For the diamond dogs they dug out holes in the ground and had the mounds raised above ground level, my guess is that if it were to rain that they wouldn’t be flooded out of their little dens. And as for Moss?

“You want to do what?” I said as I took off my armor for the night with Moss standing there in the tent entrance, staring at me with those soulless orange eyes.

Blinking at my question in confusion and tilting his head ever so slightly, Moss repeated his request to me.

“I said can I sleep with you tonight.” And once more Moss says this with his soulless eyes looking up at me.

“That’s what I thought you said.” I replied back as I unfolded my sleeping cot and placed my sleeping bag on top of it. I learned from past experiences that sleeping on the ground in a sleepy bag sucks ass since the ground is never smooth and soft, half the time it is lumpy, hard, covered in rocks or is a rattlesnake den entrance.

As I continued to set up my tent Moss kept looking at me, waiting for an answer as I went back and forth around the cot.

“And your answer is…?”

Letting out a sigh and shaking my head as I placed my pillow down I turn to look at Moss who is now staring up at me while giving me the saddest pair of puppy eyes while his tail is curled in on itself.

“Oh come on now! That is just unfair! You know I am already called for so why do you want to fuck me that badly!” I said as I tucked away my pack under the cot before diverting all of my attention in the sad changeling sitting by the edge of my cot.

Upon hearing that he wants to fuck me I watched as Moss shook his head before raising his hooves and started to wave me off furiously.

“What?! No! Weave forbid no!”

“Then why are you so adamant on wanting to sleep with me?”

“Because you are both a source of warmth and a source of love, if you have forgotten that I need to subsist off of your emotions and that the weather is still cold at this time of year and I would rather not accidentally slip into an endothermic hibernation on accident.” Moss said as he explained to me what he meant and for a moment I let out a sigh of great relief.

“Oh thank god it was that! I thought you were hitting on me like your queen was!”

“Hitting you? Why would my queen strike you? You are our primary hope of keeping our hive alive and fed and our queen would never do something that would jeopardize our future!” Moss said in shock, his muzzle clearly in open in a gawping manner, unable to process mentally on why his queen would even think of hitting me.

Slapping a hand on my face only to drag it down slowly I let out an exasperated sigh before sitting down in my cot.

‘It’s like I am explaining the birds n the bees to someone who’s been homeschooled.’

“Look. Clearly there has been a fumble in the translation of my words into yours, and the fact that the lexicon and meaning of words has changed over the years while you’ve been entombed underground so I guess I have to explain some things to you.” I said as I tried my best not to sound too annoyed at the little changeling.

And thus this was how I spent my third night in the great outdoors, explaining modern lingo to a changeling who he thought I said his queen was going to hit me when instead is that his queen was trying to seduce me to her bedchambers.

Naturally, this line of thought for the changeling made him go from confused for wanting to inflict pain on me to tilted head confusion as to why she would want to bed me.

“Umm, I am sorry to be the one to tell you this but the act of coitus is considered one of the least effective means of extracting emotions. While yes it is one of the ways our harvesters have collected emotions on you surface dwellers but it also causes the emotions to become mixed and infused with various other emotions as well be it either positive or negative, especially if this harvesting was done during an orgy. With so many participants engaged in the process it will heavily mix and dilute whatever love is in there to the point of it becoming the equivalent of drinking water.”

“You see, for us changelings the emotions we are always on the hunt for is love, be it from one’s spouse or familial love as it is the most powerful positive emotion there is as so many creatures have gone far and beyond for their mate or mates to the point of self-inflicted injury. Then there is the happiness, joy, awe, gratitude, and hope, which is naturally abundant from ponies or griffons who’ve been doing well for their business, and then laughter, compassion, contentment and serenity which mostly serve as light meals or snacks because of how naturally thinned out they are due to how abundant they are.”

“With engagement of breeding it isn’t really much when it comes to much in the emotions department unless it is somebeings wedding night, than it is a banquet of emotions.” Moss says this as he jumps onto the cot and lays down at the foot of the bed without even waiting for me to even allow him to lay there.

Rolling my eyes at his display of boldness I simply cross my arms and look down at the seemingly uncaring changeling.

“You aren’t even going to ask if you can sleep there?” I said as the smaller changeling let out a groan before sitting up.

“May I sleep here tonight? And the following nights to come?” Moss looked up at me with the sad eyes again and I caved in.

I have an extreme weakness for the sad puppy look, no matter who is making it. I just hope that nobody else learns of this strategic weakness.

“Fine, but if I wake up in the middle of the night with you inside my sleeping bag going to town on the master of ceremonies then you will find yourself sleeping outside.” With a small squeal of delight the changeling circled on his little spot on the cot before laying down.

Letting out a sigh of defeat and shaking my head at the strange display the changeling made, I finish taking off the last of my armor before putting on an extra shirt and slid myself into my sleeping bag for the night.

I didn’t have to wait long for Moss to move himself the foot of my cot and repositioned himself right next to me and snuggled into my arm before resting his head on my chest.

Before I even had a chance to tell him to get off of me and to sleep at the edge of the cot, Moss beat me to the punch.

“This is the warmest spot and you are not my type, just go to sleep so I can enjoy the heat you are radiating.” And like magic I just let it slide because I was tired and his logic was sound.

With a final grumbled complaint dying in my throat before it ever had a chance to be uttered I shut my eyes and start thinking of what I am going to say to my hens when I get home. Here is hoping that they don’t think that I was cheating on them with a brief fling on the frontier.

Sometime during the night I felt Moss moving in his sleep, the changeling was wiggling and shifting around until he found a much more comfortable spot on the cot before laying back down and resumed his slumber.

Unfortunately for me, that comfortable spot was right beside me as I had moved a little bit in my sleep and now Moss was cuddled right by my chest with his head resting on my throat. I can literally feel him breathing and the slight chirping squeaks every time he exhales, and here I am laying underneath him trying my best to restrain my thoughts of committing murder because he broke the one rule I placed for him.

‘Don’t kill him we still need him. Don’t kill him we still need him. Don’t kill him we still need him. Okay just a little killing him, I am sure he can live without his wings or horn.’

As my mind normalized itself and evened out I felt myself drift off back to Sleepytime Junction and was having a good dream.

And it was ruined when the same rose over the horizon and shined a concentrated beam of fuck you energy right at my face through a crack in the tent flap.

Moss and I refused to speak of the night he slept on top of me, instead we focused that energy and drive on staying alive as we trekked through the forest, although there was a few times he trotted closer to me for a brief emotional snack before trotting away. I guess this is what they meant by passive feeding, just hang out with someone emitting emotions and take a nibble or two before fucking off to do whatever they assignment they have.

At one point in our trip I was thinking I caught dysentery when I got sick and had to shit bricks in the bushes. When I came down with the sickness, Moss wanted to try some changeling home remedies although we both knew that none of it would work cause you know, I'm not a changeling and that we don't have the proper shrooms to do it with. Didn’t hurt to try but I doubt a herbal remedy of powdered mushrooms was gonna do anything to me but get me high.

Also doesn't help that Moss was indifferent to my plight.

"Get up, you are wasting our time. At this rate we will reach Griffonstone by the end of the year instead of at the end of the week." Moss says as he looks down at me while I am busy projectile spewing last nights stew.

"Blaaaaaaahk......fuck you." I said weakly as I slowly got back onto my feet, spitting out globs of leftover ex-dinner and this mornings breakfast into a bush.

As soon I was done eating lunch in reverse, a squirrel comes running out of the bush, covered in chunky food bits, and sped off into the forest.

"Oh shit...there was a squirrel in the bush...sorry buddy." I said weakly as I tried to reach out a hand to said squirrel in a way to give an apology to it.

Said squirrel turned around and looked at me before raising a paw and shook a fist at me all the while chittering in the tongue of ancient squirrel “I lay a pox upon you tall one! Wherever thee go thee shall soil thy self until thee seekers penance at the grand oak tree that has seen a thousand and one seasons!” Before scurrying away to never be seen again.

The three of us simply looked at the fleeing squirrel, wondering what it was chittering about, but whatever it was I am sure it was simply yelling at me for giving it a fresh coating of El Stew of de Fish.

"Poor tiny meal, you made it stinky." Rocky said as he nibbled on a piece of turkey jerky, not sure where he got it but he is nibbling on it.

Rolling his eyes at the diamond dogs antics and the fact that my chosen guard is one with stubby arms and legs, Moss chomps down on a dried out cave mushroom and cringes ever so slightly.

Turns out the cave mushrooms when dried out taste like absolute ass.

And not even good ass either.

"Whenever you are done expelling your last meal on the floor and feeling fit to move under your own power, let us be off lest a manticore or bugbear finds us." Moss says before devouring a second dried mushroom cap, cringing and gagging before whimpering about its freshness.

Once my body has stopped being such a punk bitch I picked myself up and rejoined with the others after they took apart our campsite father journey ahead. Our next stop was the next large hill over the horizon and I am praying that my asshole has the strength to stay shut lest I soil my trousers without a spare to swap into.

“All done?” Rocky said as he patted my back as gently as he could since he had massive salad tossing hands, but with a shaky thumbs up and me spitting leftover bile onto the soiled soil was he he received of my current status.

After that it was every hour or so of me grumbling about stomach pains and needing water, but for the most part that day and the next three were relatively calm.

Until…

Well, you’ll see.

THE NEXT DAY

Finally, I am home.

It may have taken us a month to return to Griffinstone from the frontiers edge on foot, but at the very least I am home.

Upon seeing the mountain with the colossal ancient tree off in the distance I let out a quiet squee of joy that my journey is nearly over and that I get to jump into a snuggle pile with my hens the moment I get home.

And maybe get a drink or two.

But alas we had to camp one last time as nightfall came upon us with unseen speed.

Setting up the tent with Rocky while Moss get the campfire started was our normal affair of things, but tonight was different.

Moss was setting up the tent with ease, no thanks to their access to magic from their horn which makes everything easier.

While I must admit that I may just been a teeny tiny little bit jealous that he can do magic while I can't, he has been a great help on this journey of ours and not from his speedy completion of tasks. He helped me learn more about this magic immunity of mine and see what works and what doesn't.

As it turns out I can be affected by magic, just it depends on what type of magic it is. That combat spell that Princess Luna of Equestria blasted me with simply left a blueberry stain on me, and then there was the teleportation magic that Ambrosia used on me two weeks ago. Moss used a small variety of spells to see what works and what doesn't and I found out what may be the limits of my nature.

Direct impact spells are a no-sale as Moss blasted me with a beam of green energy with no warning and the resulting shot left behind a small green stain on my shirt and it smelled like grass. Telekinesis somewhat works in a sense that I can be grabbed but it's like catching the greased up deaf guy, you can get a grip but I’d just slip right out of it. The we moved onto mental manipulation magic, that is an actual thing and it is just like how Dracula gets people, the whole ‘Look into my eyes’ shtick, but luckily for me I am not that stupid to fall for it… I think. And lastly illusion magic is hit-or-miss, like if it’s painstakingly obvious I can see through it cause of how shoddy it was made, but if it's been worked on for some time then I would have a hard time seeing through it or for what it really is.

And as for the other types of magic in the world? Well I have no idea since Moss doesn’t know those fields of the arcane but if I were to go out or hired someone who can, than it would be a boon to know what can or cannot affect me.

Rocky was starting the campfire and it just looked so comically silly because of his little arms and legs, it's almost like watching a T-Rex in action.

And as for me, I was food detail this time.

Hunting for small game was made easy thanks to the bow that was built specifically for me as the griffon ones are smaller and after breaking four of them I had to get one built just for my size. The broadhead arrows I was given are the standard for the griffon army and the thirty I have means I can lose a few and not worry too much about it.

I searched around the area near our campsite as I did not want to be ambushed and not have backup be too far away, I managed to get a snake, two rabbits, and a single beaver that was lazily floating in the river next to us. I would have gotten us fish but after the blowout of the previous week I am a tad but wary of river fish.

Returning back to camp with my prize meats I begin the ardorious process of skinning, gutting and cleaning the meats before readying it for consumption.

But to prevent me from ending this journey on a high note, the gods thought it would be hilarious as all hell to throw in one last curve ball of a fuck you at me by sending my way a parting gift of the large, scary, furry and fuzzy variety.

Upon descaling the last of the fish a roar of horrifying proportions reverberate throughout the camp, my diamond dogs wake up from their nap and hurriedly grabbed their weapons and formed a half circle around me while Moss quickly took to the air and latched onto a branch and immediately started to survey the surrounding area for the source of that roar. It didn’t take him long to identify the source as it came dive bombing through the branches and nearly crushed him if it wasn’t for his last second detaching of the branch and flew towards a neighboring tree.

When the creature slammed down into the ground it cracked the ground beneath its bulk and threw the resulting dust and dirt into the air to create a brief obscuring cloud before revealing itself in a mighty roar of dominance and power.

To my eyes it looked just like a fairly larger than average brown bear, but that was where similarities ended and the strange began. As it stood up to its full height I saw that it had an extra pair of arms ending in rather sharp-looking claws, yellow bands of fuzzy fur ringing its arms and legs along with a few stripes on its underside, a pair of insectoid antennas, wasp wings and a vicious looking stinger. I thought that this was a trick that a nearby wizard or unicorn was playing on us but I threw that errant thought away because of how stupid it sounded, but then I remembered about the discordant zones and what they can do to the local life that enters their sphere of influence. Looking closer at the beast I saw that its buggy limbs are not naturally occurring pieces of its anatomy, instead it looked more like a passing wasp was traveling with or near the bear and the two became fused together in the ensuing chaos of the zone.

Rising to its full height and extending its arms out in a display of dominance and strength, the bugbear let out another ear piercing roar before leaping into the air once more and flew right at us.

Immediately ducking down and squat running towards my tent I immediately went for the stupid fucking stick I was given by the requisitions officer.

“There is no fucking way this thing is gonna fucking work as he described it would.” I said to myself as I quickly rummaged through my pack until my hand came into contact with a thin wooden pole and immediately pulled it out.

The beastly bugbear let out another roar as I gave the pole a quick appraisal to verify that it is the charcoal stick that I was looking for, and sure enough it had the lump of burnt wood at the end of it, and just as I smiled at my lucky find my dogs let out a whimper as a body flies through my tent and lands on my cot, breaking it under his immense bulk.

“That is coming out of your paycheck.” I said as I looked at the ruined state of my cot, the wood is unsalvageable other than being used as kindling, and the sleeping bag itself has some tips and tears in it so sleeping in it is gonna suck as it won’t keep the cold out.

In total my sleeping is going to be ruined for today but at least by tomorrow I will be home and sleeping in an actual bed.

The dog in question who was yeeted from the battle and used my bed as a landing pad picked himself up and grumbled about the beast in question before looking at me in confusion.

“What’s a paycheck?” The dog said as he readjusted his bowl helmet before charging back out of the tent and let out a loud bark as a challenge to the bugbear.

“Don’t worry about it, just focus on the bear.” I said as looked at the charcoal stick and wondered how in the seven hells this little thing is supposed to work.

Coming back out of the tent I saw that the campsite is now a battlefield, the cauldron holding our stew has spilled over and is ruined, the campfire itself has been stomped out as there is a large bear foot standing in the middle of it, and there are several dogs all stabbing and poking the beast but it would appear that the spears are doing nothing to it at all.

Quickly pointing the charcoal end downward I ran towards the nearest dog and quickly drew a circle large enough around him so that he would t stumble out on accident before moving to the next one. The dogs looked down at me as if I went crazy but when one tried to step out of their safety circle I yelled at them to stay out. They did so but only begrudgingly because they were fearing for my life because I was the only one not in a circle and was now the unobstructed tie of the bugbear.

With another earsplitting roar the bugbear rose in the air before dive bombing right at me, stinger pointed right at me but I fell face first to avoid getting Fry’d. Scrambling to my knees I quickly took my stick and made a really shitty looking circle around me as both adrenaline and pants-shitting fear was coursing through my veins and as soon as I finished connecting the line the bugbear stopped flying at me and was now confused as all hell.

Hovering in place the monstrous bear started to look around the campsite, wondering where its grounded prey went, it began poking its head into the ruined tents and the overturned cauldron before letting out a roar of anger that its walking food escaped its fury.

With us gone and the area depleted of food, the bugbear let out a snort of anger and a final roar before taking to the air once more and flew off to parts unknown. Will I ever see it again? Probably, but will it remember me?

Absolutely it will, I am now considered escaped food and will make me a priority target in its future hints but that is a future Ian problem now.

As soon as we can no longer hear the bugbear buzzing wings and even longer after that to make sure that it isn’t around to start round two, we all let out a sigh of elating relief.

One of my dogs simply falls onto his back and whines that the stew was ruined and that they won’t be able to eat tonight. Naturally this causes the rest of the dogs to whimper and whine as well because it now means they have to eat the terrible trail rations they have and it’s entirely bland and flavorless meal sucks something awful. But while they were all complaining about their food situation, I was busy just staring at the circles that saved our lives and how it was even possible in the first place.

A little stick with a hunk of charcoal tied to the end of it. How it had the power to repel a vicious beast like the bugbear is beyond all comprehension.

“You have got to be fucking shitting me…”

“It would appear that the charcoal stick actually worked as intended. Who would’ve thought?”

“Shut the fuck up Moss.”

“But sir, you said it was a stupid stock that wasn’t going to do anything.”

“I said shit up.”

“But sir it clearly looks like it has done its job precisely as it was instructed to.”

“Oh my god please shut the hell up!”

“But sir! The stick worked!”

“I fucking hate you right now.”

“I know sir, but we both know that you are really just upset that a simple stick with a piece of burnt wood at the end of it was able to halt and subdue a massive apex predator of the forest when normal conventional weapons could not.”

“I fucking hate this place.”

“The ways of you surface dwellers both amaze and terrify me sir.”

“It terrifies me as well Moss, it terrifies me as well.”

And like that we let out collective sighs of relief that we are not bear chow and that home is just a few hours away. Walking with purpose in our strides and the slightest hint of emergency as we still don’t know if the bugbear is following us after we left the safety circles, but we pushed that feeling aside as the colossal oak tree is getting closer by the minute.

Our arrival at the base of the mountain tree was met with no fanfare or any fancy gathering, but when one of the guards saw us approaching and was reaching for his war horn as he thought we were an incredibly bold and stupid raiding party, but when one of my dogs pulled out the empires banner and waved it around it stalled the griffon for a brief moment. In that moment it took said griffon to squint his eyes, identify the banner my dog was waving around as one of theirs before scanning over the dogs and the pony beside me before stopping his gaze on my person.

With their leader identified as me and seeing that I was not being held hostage nor being held against my will, the griffons manning the once abandoned gatehouse ring the bell at the top, signaling those below to open the gate.

“Finally home, can’t wait to take a hot bath, a cold ale, and a bed to pass out on.” I said to nobody in particular although Rocky gave me a tilted head while Moss nudged me in the hip with a hoof.

“Hey, remember your duty. You can relax after you have delivered my queen’s letter and her terms to your king, and not a second later.” Moss said before poking me again, this time in the thigh.

Rolling my eyes at the little love eaters annoyance I simply walked right by him and marched towards the gate, knowing that the end is near.

‘Just a few more steps now, just gotta cross the threshold and I’ll never have to worry about being attacked until I get sent elsewhere.’

And it was true, as soon as I crossed the gate with my entourage of dogs and disguised changeling a weight was lifted off my shoulders and I was able to let out a sigh of relief as the fear of being mauled to death was stripped from my being. The same could be said for my cadre of pups n bug as they all visibly relaxed, Moss more-so than the others as I watched him let out a sigh of pure relief as I watched him begin to passively feed on the emotions in the air.

The disguised changeling looked elated to be back in civilization once more but with the added bonus of being able to feed without anyone knowing what he is doing. Casting a glance at the faux pony and waving at him to come on over as he was just standing in the middle of the road, he stopped feeding before hurried galloping over to me before coming to a complete stop and a weak burp.

“Sorry, was getting a little peckish and I just had to see if it was safe to feed here.” Moss said quietly as I gave him a pat on the head before walking up the overly massive spiral ramp up the mountain to the capital.

“Just don’t make it too obvious that you’re doing something you shouldn’t be able to. Now hurry up, I have two hens to reunite with and a meeting with my king.” I said as I can already start imagining what Gilda and Greta are going to say to me as soon as I open that front door.

Moss, much to my surprise cantered beside me and maneuvered his head under my hand and was trying to get me to pat him again which earned an eyebrow raise from me.

“What?”

“Just a single pat? I distracted that bee bear while your dogs were busy trying to stab it. I think I deserve more than a singular pat on the head for a job well done.” Moss said as he raised his head high while trying to look like he did some herculean task.

All he did was distract a giant bug bear from killing us all…and served as a blanket for me during the cold nights…totally no homo, he was just sleeping on top of me a bit and the warmth he was generating helped keep me warm and I fed him. It was a simple exchange of services that benefited the both of us.

Oh you can keep telling yourself that lover boy, but we all know you wanna know what it would be like to take one of them to poundtown!

‘Damn it Eris, I do not want to fuck a bug! What is wrong with you? Go back to horny jail!’

I swear one of these days that girl is gonna give me an aneurism and it she will have nobody to blame but herself.

With that errant thought purged from my brain I can now focus on the current daunting task at hand, walking up the mountain.

The walk up the mountain was a slow one but each step was filled with peace of mind and serenity as I knew that I was safe n sound, it was also filled with aches and pain because walking on a ten degree angle for the greater part of four hours while carrying a loaded backpack and wearing armor is one way to get exhausted and blisters on your feet. There was one part of me pondering if I should invoke my authority as alpha to have my dogs carry me up the mountain, but I am not that level of douche to order such a thing.

I may be an asshole but I have not got that degree of asshole to warrant such laziness.

“Hey look who it is!” A loud scratchy voice shouted from up high and before I could even look up to see who it was, a furry comet slammed into me and immediately buried me into the ground with an ‘oomph’.

Now, normally I would’ve been prepared to be talked by any of my fuzzy feline bird companions and friends as more than often they would yeet themselves at me because of how nice of a person I am to them, but only two of them go up and beyond in the yeeting department.

The first one is Gilda when she is in one of her needy moods.

The other…

“Gabby! What have I told you about turning yourself into a fluffy missile and shooting yourself at me like that?” I asked the little blueish-gray chick laying on top of me and nuzzling under my neck as she purrs ungodly loud for all to hear.

The reason why she is so friendly and touchy-feely with me?

It is because that when I first started my training as a knight all those months ago, I was on my way to the castle for yet another round of getting my ass thoroughly handed to me by my instructor when I came across the young chick delivering mail. I was heading towards the castle, she was heading towards a noble's manor which also just so happened to be in the same direction I was walking in, and from there the two of us were talking about each other. Normally it would have taken me a couple of minutes to reach the castle from Gilda's home but when we started talking, we started to talk longer routes to our destination and even went off course from the castle and instead finished her delivery route before realizing what we have done. We simply talked about our lives, how things have been going on, how life been treating us, you know just shooting the shit.

Naturally this resulted in me getting my shit pushed in hard by my instructor for being three hours late, but I would like to say that it was worth it. Making a new friend is always worth it, especially when it allows you to slack off and relax-n-unwind after a shitshow of a day.

After that its been a somewhat normal routine for me, I go to the castle, talk to Gabby as we walk there, we split after reaching said castle, and repeat when I leave the castle covered in fresh bruises and she leaving the post office with a smile on her beak and some pep in her step. Seriously, Gabby must be perpetually high on life or just can never be in a foul mood cause this girl is always happy.

Like, ALWAYS happy.

Anyways...

"But it is so fun! Everygriff loves my flying tackle hugs! And you will too!" Gabby says as she sits up and is smiling at me while I just roll my eyes at her. I think I felt my spine crack this time around.

One of these days this hen is gonna be the death of me by purely accidental means.

"Um, sir? Is this hen bothering you?" Moss said as he between me and Gabby, wondering if he should do something or to just stand there and be a passive bystander.

"It's alright Moss, this little hen is Gabby, she is the local mail delivery griffon, and she does a damn fine job at it. She is also Griffonstone's local gossip collector so if you ever need to hear whatever is juicy in the city, you go to her for it." I said as I still laid there on the ground, waiting for Gabby to get off of me, but she refused to budge as she was beaming at my compliments.

"And don't you forget it mister! Oh I got so much to tell you while you were off to Boreas knows where! So much has been going on within the city after you left!" Gabby said as she finally decided to get off of me and took back to the sky and was now hovering beside me and my group.

"I would love to listen to all of it Gabby, but right now I just want to go home, snuggle with Gilda and Greta, and pass the hell out and wake up a day or two later. I am so exhausted that I fear that I just may fall asleep right here right now." I said as I tried to convey the message to Gabby that I was not in the mood for juicy gossip columns and silly griffon shenanigans.

Sensing that I did not want to hear the latest in griffon gab, the young hen relented and landed near me.

"Well, just know that I am happy that you are back! I am sure that Grandpa Gruff is also gonna be happy as well to know that his favorite customer is still alive and well is probably has another adventure lined up! I bet he has just the thing you will need for your future trip!" Gabby said with excitement lined in her words, she is the very definition of manic pixie girl if I have ever seen one.

"I bet he is Gabby, just let him know that I am back and if he still available for poker night?"

"Can do! And should I tell the two G's that your home?"

"Nope, I can do that myself." I said this with a hint of mirth in my voice, I wanted this to be a surprise and I did not want Gabby to spoil it.

"Okay, well, I will see you later!" And like that the young hen took to the skies before darting towards Grandpa's little adventurer emporium.

Turning to my group I first led my dogs to the nearby tavern that I used to stay in and when I got there I rented out four rooms for my dogs and I gave them the explicit instruction to not ruin nor destroy the room, and to be nice to the proprietors of said tavern. They took the instructions in stride although they were confused as to why they couldn't make a mess of the room, how else were they going to make themselves comfortable on the bed by not tearing up the bedding and sheets into a nice little circular bed basket?

And as for Moss, well...

He had to follow me back home before heading to the castle so he got to see first-hand experience of me showing my hens some affection and lovies. I Just hope he doesn't try and overindulge his hunger and become a corpulent fat roly-poly for his troubles and blow his cover.

The jaunt towards Casa Griffon was a brisk one, my home hasn't changed one bit over the months and I am happy that it didn't because I would be a tad worried if it did.

What did have me worried however was how quiet it was.

And something else I can't quite put my finger on.

Walking up to my front door I took out my house key and inserted it into the lock, and with a quick turn and a slight push the front door gently slid open and revealed to me an empty foyer and a silent house.

'Are they out at the moment?'

Taking a tentative step into the foyer I noticed something, or in this case, a few somethings.

Firstly that there was a stack of letters on the table, my guess addressed to either me or Greta and neither of us opened them, so that is odd that Greta would have opened hers before taking them to her room.

Secondly is that the house smells...a little off, like as if someone has thrown some sugary cinnamon mixed with ginger spice into the air and it just hung there, and it never faded after who knows how long.

And thirdly, the house is quiet and it makes me nervous like hell.

"Hello!? Is anyone home?" I shouted for all to hear, hoping that one of them was home.

What came next will forever scar my soul, haunt my dreams and shatter my nightmares.

First came the happy hawk screeches coming from the upper floor of the house before the sound of rapidly flapping wings coming my way that was immediately followed by me being slammed into the ground by two griffons.

And the smell from when I first stepped into my home was magnified by a factor of ten.

Standing above me with pin-pricked eyes and very fluffy fur and feathers, their beaks incredibly flustered and I can see sweat on their fur. Hell, even their wings were on full display and I can hear their tails flicking back and forth.

Wait...I think I read this somewhere in a book that I have found.

Dilated eyes, sweaty bodies, incredibly powerful scent, fully extended wings and flicking tails...

Oh no...

Oh god help me.

"Uh...hi? Gilda...Greta...do you wanna...maybe get off of me?" I asked my hens with trepidation in my voice as I realized that my hens are deep into their heat cycle and that I am now at their mercy.

A mercy that they will not grant me any reprieve from.

The two heard my words and looked at each other for the briefest of moments, grinned widely, and with matching deep-throated chuckles that sent shivers down my spine and my skin to pale, they both turned to look at me and I saw the true faces of terror.

"Oh Ian, we have been waiting for you and we have a surprise for you!" Greta and Gilda said at the exact same time, both of them tracing little circles on my chest as my brain put all the pieces together and too little too late that I was a doomed man.

A dead man but one that will die happy.

Happy and completely drained of all fluids.

"No please!" I said with my hands raised as I quickly turned around and tried to crawl away from the pair of ungodly horny and needy hens as they giggled at my rather pathetic attempts to flee before grabbing me by the ankles right when I got to the doorway and fell down on top of the doormat.

Moss stood there, unsure of what was going on until he took a whiff and took a step back, knowing what was about to transpire within my household.

"I want to live!" I shouted from the door way as I reached out a hand at Moss, hoping my changeling companion would be the hero I needed at this most pivotal and dire hour.

Instead he stood there, horror and shame on his face as he knew what was about to happen, and was allowing it to happen to feed himself.

Little fucking traitor, hope you get love diabetes.

"I WANT TO LIVE!" I shouted one last time as the front door slams shut, sealing my fate and damning me to a fate worse than death itself.

Death...by Snu-Snu!

Author's Note

I am stuck in Walmart Hell, send help.

Omake: The Bloom

Author's Note

Accidentally released it too early, but now I have fixed it up.

ENJOY

Omake: The Bloom

I am Scarab and I am not feeling too good right this moment. My left hindleg has been feeling a little itchy ever since I left that tunnel with that scratch to my hide.

I was just mappin out the caves around the northern bit of the Bleak Hollow, nasty place to explore what with all the tunnelers roaming it and they are real nasty pieces o work. That place feels... wrong, like there is this weird fog that makes me feel hopeless. Noling has ever fully mapped this place cause they are scared of what lurks here but not I!

I will succeed where otherlings have failed!

And so I looked and searched every single nook and cranny that I came across and mapped it to the best of my ability. I looked high and low for days, and when my rations were starting to run low I came upon it, a strange mushroom forest that seemingly made the gloom here easier to deal with.

I trotted around the mycelium roots and took note of its odd greyish coloration and texture, it was almost akin to touching supple hide. Poking and prodding the various textured stalks, I even plucked one of the smaller mushrooms and placed it inside one of my empty ration satchels before closing it up tightly to try and preserve it.

With my prize tucked away for safekeeping and my gateway to extra love secure I resumed my hunt for all that is new within this cave.

To say that this place was massive would be an understatement, it is almost as big if not just as big as the capital! There was mushrooms as fat ad the eye can see and I can see pretty far, but this is an amazing find! Maybe they will name it after me, Scarab! Scarab Mushroom Forest, has a nice ring to it and it will mean that I have made my momma proud!

‘Oh Scarab! My favorite son! You make me so proud!’

‘Take that Stinger! I was moms favorite all along!’

‘What a day that’ll be… me getting my medal for the discovery and quite possibly a token of favor from queen herself no less!’

But while I was off in with my head in the fog, my hooves bump and stumble into something that wasn’t a mushroom or a rock and I nearly fall over from the misstep. Catching myself by a burst of flight I correct my course and turned around to see what exactly I have stumbled on.

Looking down at the fungal floor and resting in between a cluster of wide brimmed mushrooms was a single brownish red lump of something that I couldn’t quite identify. Buzzing closer to it I brought a hoof to it and gave it a firm poke and as it moved with my hoof I felt that it was hard yet soft at the same time, hard from a portion of it but the rest of it was soft and squishy to the touch that I couldn’t help myself and poked it again.

As I kept on poking the strange object I heard something moving in the fungal growth I was hovering above and as I backed away from it I heard the low hollow groan of threads and vines being moved and snapping before a low gust of fetid wind exited the strange growth.

Rising from the mushrooms was a monster that I could not identify even if my life were to depend on it, and for this occasion I think it did as I watched in abject horror as I saw chunks of flesh missing from its body, its jaw was hanging loosely from its skull as it was only hanging on my a few strands of rotten flesh and muscle as it stood up to its full height and gazed at me with a single milky dull eye as it let out a low, rumbling moan that grew in sound and pitch.

As it let out this moan I heard several more began to rise up from around me as I saw even more of these shambling corpses pull themselves out from underneath the mushrooms and joined in the decayed chorus of the first corpses moan as spores of some claims start seeping out of their open mouths and exposed insides.

Sensing that this is something that I shouldn’t be here for to witness or even stay for, I turned around and quickly buzzed it to the exit.

When I saw the gaping hole that was the entrance that I came from I felt something land on my back, and I felt the scrapping of what must have been teeth trying to dig into my carapace. I panicked and immediately flew upwards into the ceiling and slammed it into whatever jagged rock was up there and hoped it would stop trying to eat me.

The moment I collided with the ceiling I winced as I felt something nick my left rear leg and I was hoping it was a cave rock.

I think it worked cause when I stopped buzzing my wings, I felt something heavy slide off my back and fell into the mushrooms below me in a splattered heap.

When I looked back down, I saw a veritable mass of those... things looking up at me, and the mere sight of them made my stomach curdle and the feeling of intense nausea washed over me.

I saw diamond dogs and griffons with ponies and minotaurs standing beneath me, all of them just looking at me with blank, dead eyes... some of them didn't even have eyes! Their bodies were in various states of decomposition with a few of them being nothing, but bones held together by vines and threads! So many of them were just staring at me with open mouths and they were expelling some sort of lime green fog.

But dead things can't move, right? I was hallucinating those things, right?

Right when I saw a chance to escape without those...things...chasing me I took it. I bolted for the gaping hole that I came in from and flew right for it, keeping my legs held tightly to my body to avoid any of those monsters from grabbing me so easily and pull me down. With a bit of luck and a prayer to the Weave I bobbed and weaved through the rocks and mushroom canopies, avoiding the worst of the mob of creatures and their rotting grippers before finally zooming through the opening and not once looking back at it.

I didn't stop flying until I felt my lungs burning and my wings aching, and only then did I slow down and stop at a junction of tunnels to let myself collapse into a heap on the floor and laugh at my success of both getting out of that situation alive and finding something valuable in the Hollow.

Only when I have spent enough time recuperating from exhaustion did I take out my journal and write down in it all of my experiences in that cave did I notice the scratch on my rear left leg and thought it was from a stalagmite that I crashed into when one of those things was on my back.

And now I can add sharp rocks to it along with bad mushroom creatures to the area info for Bleak Hollow.

'Note to self, avoid the ground while in Bleak Hollow, nasty mushroom creatures in there. Maybe bring fire to burn them out.'

With that written down I began the long trek home, I have a discovery to share with my friends and my boss, and maybe, just maybe, my boss will give me that commendation I have been trying to get for so long.

Here is hoping that it happens, I really want that commendation. It would look great on my resume and it would make my momma proud.

...

Its been about a week since I got home and I think that scratch got infected with some nasty bacteria from that mushroom cave.

'unno why but my leg is burning and I ain't feeling too good and my head is spinnin' like somethin fierce.

I know that infected wounds can cause dizziness and make the wounded area hurt a lot because of it being swollen and sensitive to the touch, but why is it making my head hurt so much?

Ugh why is my room spinning and why do I hear humming? Why is my head buzzing with so much sound when there is noling around to make it?

Make the humming stop!

...
...

A month has passed since I explored Bleak Hollow, I now know why it was called that.

The infection in my leg has gotten worse, the local doctor said that the infection in my leg would heal in time and that I need to take the medication that they prescribed to me until it heals.

But the herbal medicine did nothing.

The pain is still there.

The fungus growing on it has spread so much that it has completely overtaken my leg.

To make matters worse I can't breath right anymore.

It feels like something is inside me and scratching at my throat that it hurts so much whenever I cough and that breathing is harder.

Sometimes when I cough I think I am seeing strange lumps of fuzzy green mass, but its not the resin we spit up.

And my mood... when did I get so angry at everyling? And why did I punch Stinger in the muzzle for no reason? Usually, he would have to say that I am worthless or a waste of love to get me to hit him, but today I just hit him out of nowhere.

I don't think this infection is gonna be cured with this herbal medicine...

And I am so hungry right now and I don't know why.

...
...
...

Hunger.

I am so hungry.

I don't know how long since I last ate.

All I know of that love alone is not enough.

I tried to suppress this gnawing pit in my gut but it's not enough.

My old chitin shedding and oatmeal powder was the first to be shoveled into my gullet, then the gravel and glowshroom in the jar in the kitchen.

But I am still hungry...

Hmm...?

That changeling standing in the doorway... they look... familiar...

Like...family...

But they also look so... delicious.

Just one bite won't hurt... right?

Just...

...one...

...bite...

JUST ONE BITE!

DON'T RUN FROM ME!

COME HERE!

STAY STILL!

FOOD!

FEED!

YES!

SO FRESH!

MEAT!

THE HUNGER WILL BE FED!

...
...
...
...

I need to spread this gift to my friends.

They will understand this feeling of oneness if they just let me bite them.

We can all be friends again.

No need to run...

NO RUNNING!

TAKE THE BITE!

SPREAD THE BLOOM!

FEED THE HUNGER!

...
...
...
...
...

I don't know how long it has been since I last ate something...

I am so hungry...

At least I have my family with me...

My brother and mother...or what's left of her...

Oh... look... one of my sisters fell over... fresh food...

And there is nothing left... not even a nibble for me...

If I don't feed soon... I think I will be next to be eaten...

Oh...? What is this? A crack in a wall?

I hear sounds behind it...

Maybe I can push on it... there may be food behind it...

Come on now... just a little more...

I can hear the stone cracking... or is that me finally coming apart...

Maybe... but then I can eat what doesn't work anymore...

The wall is giving way...

I hear more sounds... voices... food...

I HUNGER

The wall has given way.

I can see food.

The food is fleeing from me.

FOOD! FEED! SATE THE HUNGER!

I don't even remember letting out a screech that echoed through the tunnels, all I know is that I have found food and that I must tell the others that it is here for us to feed on.

There are so much food bags fleeing from us. Running and flying deeper into this new cave.

We must spread out. Find the food. Take the food. Eat the food.

FEED THE HUNGER!

SPREAD OUR GIFT!

Running into the cave ahead of my brothers and sisters I chased down our prey, running them down and tackling one into a strange reflective surface that broke apart into numerous smaller pieces but it wasn't enough to stop me from clamping down my jaws onto the food sack's meaty neck piece and tore it apart.

I heard it scream for a moment, but that isn't right.

Food doesn't scream, my mind must be playing tricks on me again...

Oh look... another food bag, it thinks it can hide.

I chased after it along with my brothers and sisters, turning and weaving through this strange cave system of tall oddly flat and shaped rocks before entering a smaller cave that went upwards and into even smaller chamber before ending in me slamming into the food bag into a wall before we all started to tear it apart.

Biting, ripping, tearing, shearing and chomping onto this screaming food, I was sprayed in the face with green ichor as I heard the sounds of my prey screaming out, maybe for help to bring us more food.

Looking down at the faltering food sack for a moment I saw a sliver of something in its reflective pool on its head, it was looking back at me.

I don't like that.

Snarling I bit down on the area by the reflection and started to shake and tear at my food before feeling something give on its end as I come back up with a sizeable piece before gulping it down, nothing even bothering to chew as there was still more for me to consume.

It wasn't before long that the sounds it was making stopped and we can now eat in peace.

I am still hungry, but this meat will sustain me...for now...

A noise brought our attention away from our meal for a moment before we all then quickly scrambled and left the soggy food sack on the floor to investigate what it was, well except for me, I was still hungry, and the other siblings can enjoy that other meal outside.

But this one.

This one is mine.

Omake: The Disease

I am Para, I work as one of many assistants for the Grand Mender of Wounds in the capital, and as of this moment she has sent me and five other assistants to the outlying township of Petalburg, there was word of a strange fungal infection that is currently inhabiting the body of a Wayfinder.

This Wayfinder, goes by the name Scarab, a flighty little changeling who was born slightly different from others of his brood in Petalburg, and from what the paperwork that was given to us, he is touched in the head and is generally has his thoughts lost up in the cave moss. Looking deeper into this changelings report it is said that he was told to explore and report on any findings he may or may not discover in the Blighted Lands far from our borders and that he actually went into the Bleak Hollow, from there it is said that he was injured and brought it back here.

Now, I am no expert in the field on biology or pathology, but I would think that by bringing back an unknown disease that we have no means of curing or treating was a smart idea or let alone not be placed in isolation to be studied and kept safe from spreading to others was a smart move on their part.

Alas here we are, the six of us and a small cadre of guards to keep us and the patient safe from both harm and if need be termination if it turns out to be far more dangerous than expected.

The township seemed fine on our approach, it was not on fire nor were their changelings rioting in the streets, so all was well and the diseased patient hasn’t spread their contagion to anyone else.

Yet.

The first order of business was to locate the patient and place within an isolation chamber and study the effects that this disease has on his body. If we are lucky we can figure out its symptoms and see if it matches any other disease we know of to begin working on a cure if at the very least lessen the symptoms of the disease to make it manageable to recover from. The six of us spread out with an accompanying guard to handle the patient if they started acting out or have become aggressive.

Searching high and low of the town we spent the better part of an hour until one of the other assistants found Scarab curled up in a ball complaining about a humming noise that only he can hear. Giving Scarab a look over we all noted the infected hind leg and the growing severity of the infection, most notably the seemingly odd fungal growth that has almost started taking over the limb. Another thing that we have noticed is that his eyes appear to be partially bloodshot and agitated, I wonder what else is happening in his body.

But for now we will confine him to his home, we will keep a watchful eye on the patient and hopefully we will learn more about this disease and find a means of a cure for him before it consumes him.

So far it only appears to be a fungal infection with a minor attachment of headaches, maybe a constant usage of anti-fungal medication can cure him?

…
…

Two weeks have passed since our arrival and the locals are feeling somewhat at ease with our presence. I take it that when the capital sends a team of medical elite (to their eyes) to their town to deal with a strange new pathogen it means that they will have it under control.

So far it sure as the bleakest tartarus hole we have this under control. Our patient is so far complying with our commands and is taking the medication we have given him, but so far his illness is not lessening nor is the medicine showing any signs of actually working. He is still complaining about his leg injury and the chronic headaches, but one thing we have learned is that the fungus on his leg does indeed react to magic.

From what we have seen so far, just using magic in its vicinity causes it to react by trying to reach out toward the source of and absorb whatever it can siphon off. I personally watched Assistant Krabb stand next to the fungus and use his magic right on his hind leg and the result was the fungus reached out small tendrils towards Krabb and the moment it touches his magical aura it began to drain it and grew rapidly from the absorbed arcane power. Pulling Krabb away from Scarab and checking him out to see if he was suffering from magical exhaustion or infection from being drained but so far we saw no signs of the disease on the assistant.

Scarab on the other hoof… he looked worse than we started this experiment. He appeared to be more drained and agitated, the fungal growth in his leg grew twice in size and that it was encompassing the entire lower half of the limb along with almost the rest of the upper portion as well.

I can tell that by now that magic must not be used in the patient or else it will cause the disease to grow rapidly and spread across the infected area. If magic makes it grow, what would happen if emotion was used?

My assistants are scared of that line of questioning, and for good reason. The Academiae Intellectus back in the capital strictly forbid the use of emotions to exacerbate or accelerate the growth of any living or non-living entity’s for the consequences of such actions are unforeseen and unintended. We are told time and time again that the few times that emotions were used in the name of science resulted in both abominations of the flesh and uncontrollable arcane aberrations that have killed and injured several dozen changelings and destroyed priceless relics and artifacts alongside with expensive equipment and buildings in the lower reaches of the academy.

For now all we can do is pray, and wait for the results of our attempts to bear fruit.

…
…

A month has passed since we arrived at Petalburg, our subject so far has only gotten worse since our arrival and it would appear that they are a lost cause.

One of the town doctors has prescribed to Scarab a low dosage of antibiotic herbal medicine to deal with his disease but I know that pathetic garbage will not aid him in the slightest. His hind leg is lost, completely overwhelmed by fungal growth and that his body is reacting negatively to our own medicine. We have also taken note and notice that whenever Scarab coughs he would sometimes eject fungal-laced phlegm and it has the same consistency of mold.

One of the assistants delicately placed it within a glass jar for safe transport and study back at our camp. I fear that it may be another means of spreading the infection to others and we have all started to wear full muzzle masks whenever we interact with Scarab.

Another thing to take notice that Scarab’s aggression levels has risen considerably over the month, to the point that he struck his own brother the moment he entered the room.

We have since long placed him into a tavern room for isolation to see if he has been infected from both the physical assault and from being coughed on.

Here is hoping that the Weave is watching over us and that this ends here.

I am starting to fear that this may be worse than anything we have ever seen or will ever see.

…
…

This is far worse than we can possibly imagine! We thought we can contain Scarab and limit his interactions with other changelings would prevent the disease from spreading but we were wrong! When we discovered that his brother was infected with the fungal disease we immediately sealed him in the tavern room and used magic to deliver food and inspect him from a distance but that was also when we discovered that Para, Echo, and Taurig along with their guards were infected.

The three were infected via the lungs, filled with fungal growths as they had continual exposure to the plague whenever they entered his room without wearing the full proper protective attire, and now they are laying the price for it. And as for their guards, they were infected when Scarab’s aggressive actions injured them via scratches and bites. For the time being they are sealed up within their tents, magic filters allowing them to breath still but now they are on a doom clock and have to record all that they can before the aggression phase kicks in.

And as for myself, Krabb, Toxi, and Etan, our workload grew and was stacked against us and we feared that there is no hope of curing this disease as we still have no clue on how to combat it.

Medicine and magic have proven to be ineffective, emotions are still a no-go, and as far as we can tell, performing a vivisection will only put us at risk of infection if we make a mistake.

The four of us came to an unanimous agreement that we will have to set fire to our infected friends, the guards and the two brothers to prevent it from spreading.

Toxi went to go gather the necessary reagents to create the liquid pyro fuel while Etan and I went to move the infected to a single building so that they can all be burned together. It was during this process that as we have moved our infected friends and associates into the building to contain them, Krabb and I went to the home of Scarab and Stinger to carefully give them one final examination before escorting them to their final destination, but when we opened the front door to their home did we see the true horror of this plague.

Standing in the center of the living room was Scarab and Stinger, blood coating their faces, frontal portions of their body and hooves, and laying between them the still twitching and twisted remains of their mother. The eviscerated body of the poor mare reached out a hoof to us as she gurgled out sounds that failed to formulate into words before said hoof dropping as the light leaves her eyes just when her children stop ripping into her carcass to look at us.

The moment I saw those soulless eyes stare at us, blood dripping off their muzzles as we stood there in silence, I gave the the order to barricade the door and set fire to the house. My guards pulled me back before slamming the door shut just in time as two loud thuds collided with the door that was followed by scratching and clicking sounds and the feral clicking and hissing of the infected occupants within. Krabb and his guards began to shoot flames from their horns, low-level fire cantrips as neither of my friend nor the guards were true practitioners of the arcane arts.

Flames crackled and flickered as it slowly spread across the roof and walls of the home, several onlookers were confused as to what was happening and when they came towards us to inquire what is happening to the Wayfinder’s home, the sounds of glass shattering alerted us all that our containment has failed.

Screaming.

That was what happened next.

The two brothers broke through two different windows on the other side of the house and they began to attack anyling that they could get their hooves and fangs on.

It was madness, madness all around us as the order and peace we tried to keep together fell apart as the two brothers fell upon those unfortunate souls who could not get away from them, leaving us no choice to put them down as we have failed to find a means of a cure.

We gave one final order to our guards, to put down as many infected as they can. And should they become one of them, to self terminate for the good of the hive.

As Krabb and I ran away from the residence we headed toward our commandeered house and quickly grabbed all that we can shove into our saddle bags, whatever we can’t carry must be protected should another group find whatever will remain of this village and try their own hooves at finding a cure or means of vaccination to this horrible blight. Placing the runestone onto the table next to the research papers we are leaving behind I activated the magical device as it created a shield around the table and itself, protecting all within it from aging and any external effects.

“That is all we can do, now my friend, we must evacuate all that we can, those infected won’t leave us quietly and those uninfected will say that those that are diseased are safe. We just saw firsthoof that is not the case.”

“Yes Para, I guess that leaves us no choice then.”

“Indeed, we must commence the rite of purgation immediately if we are to stop this madness from spreading out and infecting the outlying communities.”

“May the queen forgive us, and may the townsfolk have mercy on our souls.”

The two of us brought our horns together as we levitated out from within its sealed confines an obsidian box, runes wrenched across its surface as magic radiated from the cracks in its casing.

Only in the most dire of circumstances was relics like this ever used in the Underhive, from the few plagues and pestilences we have had to deal with and the Umber Hulk colony that appeared within our tunnels, and now we must use it on yet another plague.

‘Oh Sacred Weave, guide your faithful to paradise, for these souls are innocent of all crimes and pure of heart and spirit.’

With the relic placed upon the floor and our horns crossed we began to chant the words for this most sacred and perilous of rites bestowed upon changelingkind, for even the most minor of mistakes, the most minute of incorrect incantations, can either spell disaster for the casters, or for the entire region, depending if it was intentional or not.

But for us we must get this right, we will be giving this town a few minutes to evacuate with all post haste or else they risk absolute obliteration of both body and soul.

We spoke in the ancient tongue of our kin before we have ascended from feral beasts writhing in the mud, our chant was felt first before it was heard, and with it all within the town knew that something powerful and beyond their comprehension was happening.

But it also alerted those that were infected that we were attempting to stop them.

Like a reaction from the body dealing with a sickness, the infected rushed towards us from all directions. The two brothers came at us from the front door covered in more blood and gore, our friends crashed through the windows in a mixed haze of blood and confusion, not entirely sure why they just did that, and the guards came in through the back door in shower of splinters and dust.

All of the infected were looking at us, the two brothers glaring at us in rage barely held back, my friends kept shifting between hatred and fear, and the guards were flat, unable to emote as they knew what were trying to do.

When they lunged at us we stopped the ritual to put up a protective shield around us to keep us safe, but when we both turned away from the relic to do this, we have made the terrible mistake of not appointing the anchor for the relic and who would supply the mana to activate it.

The obsidian relic wobbled and shuddered as the stream of mana that we were giving to it has stopped flowing and it started to destabilize and begin to unravel. For all of my knowledge on the relic shuddering before us I have forgotten just how dangerous this artifact was and what it means to fail the ritual when it begins or near its end. Even though we have only gave it a little bit of our combined mana to activate it, it was still more than enough to allow it to cause a chain reaction from within its depths.

But there was still time for one last gamble.

“Para, we are out of time.”

“I know.”

“We must go our separate ways. I will take the relic and lure them away, you must take all you can carry and any anyling who will follow you to safety.”

“But you die.”

“Yea, yeah I will die. But you will live and carry with you the knowledge our queen will need to fight this plague.”

“But I can’t leave-“

“You can and you will. For the hive.”

Those were the last words he said to me before he dropped the shield that was protecting us both and transitioned into a teleportation spell and sent me away, leaving himself at behind to contend with the full fury of the infected.

…
…

One moment I was standing beside my best friend, and the next I was laying down on top of a bunch of moss and lichen on the outskirts of the town.

I saw plumes of smoke as the buildings burned brightly, the screams and cries of my fellow changelings as they fled their home en masse, but what made it worse was that my friends were still in there.

Upon getting up and just as I was about to take off and fly back to the town, a bright flash of emerald light illuminated the caverns around me and bathed all in it’s baleful ephemeral glow before fading out of existence.

My eyes were filled with blinking dots and rendered my vision useless while my body wobbled and bowed from the concussive sensation that tore through the air, and when it all ended I was rendered speechless at the sight left before me.

Petalburg, gone, annihilated, destroyed, it was simply no more. From its outskirts were a few scattered houses and fences untouched from the blast, but past them there was only smoking and smoldering ruins, falling apart as they can no longer support the weight they once were able to. At its epicenter there was a thin crater, maybe a meter deep but its radius was larger, the size of the house it was trapped within when it detonated.

Getting my bearings together I pushed myself to take flight and once in the air I got a full bearing as to what has occurred and the consequences of our failure.

There was no life remaining in Petalburg, the relic’s cataclysmic destruction ensured that nothing will remain when it went off. This town is now nothing more than dilapidated buildings and smoldering bricks and wood, anyling that wasn’t fast enough to get out in time has been reduced to dust and echoes as I saw their afterimage forever etched onto the floor and walls. Going further into the town I only saw more ruins and images of changelings, and when I finally got to its epicenter there I was correct in my assumption, that my friend was no longer here along with any of our friends who turned against us.

All that remained was the barrier surrounding some of our research notes and his supplies he placed in the dome.

“Farewell, my dearest friend. I will see you again soon, and hopefully see you with good news.”

Grabbing what little wood and stone that remained nearby I created a grave marker for my friend, and etched into the stone his name, it was all I can give him for now.

…
…

I am Para, the last surviving member of the medical expedition relief squad that was sent to Petalburg.

All of my friends have either died from their injuries brought about from the infected, or stayed behind to stall the inevitable for as long as possible. My guards are also all dead, they gave their lives to save as many civilians as they can when they tried to stop the infected from spreading their plague. The civilians of the town are scattered, they all ran or flew in every direction possible but I know that over half of them flew towards the Hollow, the rest in the direction of the capital.

I do not know just how many infected are still alive or if they managed to escape the unstable relic’s detonation.

But what I do know…

Is that if this plague manages to reach the capital and my warning is not received…

Then all life as I know it will end.

The underground will fall first as all paths lead to either the other hives or directly into the dog warrens.

And when those fall, they will rush towards the surface and the surfacers will not know what is coming until it is far too late.

Weave have mercy on us all.

Author's Note

Sorry for the massive delay

The Morning After

Author's Note

This may be rushed but enjoy.

The Morning After

The first thing that returned to me was my hearing as I heard the sweet, sweet, sweet sounds of snoring on my left and gentle breathing on my right and I immediately knew who was laying where on the bed...or whets left of the bed.

Gathering up what little energy is left in this sucked-dry body of mine I lifted up my head to survey the room and see just how badly we damaged it in our little romp we had yesterday.

Now truth be told I was expecting the bed to be replaced what with the legs breaking and the bedsheets needing to be washed and cleaned before being reused, but the amount of claw marks, broken furniture, cum stains from both species living in this house, minor amounts of bloodstains from where they scratched and bit me along with me biting them in turn... and oh wow, there are so many feathers strewn about the room. And let's not forget about the myriad of stains that are just marking the bedsheets, the walls, the pillow that Gilda was laying on, all three of us, and the ceiling...

How the hell did it get on the ceiling?!

...no matter, I will figure it out eventually, but for the time being I am just gonna assume that I nutted so hard that it flew up and hit the ceiling with such velocity that it managed to reach that height.

And as I laid there on the bed, observing my room of the prior night's spectacular showcase of carnal lust and held-back desires, I can safely say that it was worth it.

'Punched out my V-card to my girlfriends and made an absolute mess of the room in the process... I bet my family would be proud that I am no longer legible into becoming the 40-year-old virgin and a wizard.'

With a slothful laziness I attempted to lift my arms up to try and pull myself into an upright position, but I found that both of my arms are currently pinned beneath both Greta and Gilda, one of which is using it as a pillow while the other is hugging it tightly to her chest while snoring softly into it. While I could be an asshole and tug 'em both free from my feathery jailers' grasps, I decided against it and let my hens hold my arms for the time being cause after all, I have nothing to do today but unwind and relax.

I have earned it after all.

I did my job, I fixed up Talon's End with the added unexpected bonus of saving it from destruction, became an Alpha for a Diamond Dog Clan and relocated them to an abandoned mine for their new home, discovered a new species that turned out to have been living there for centuries and was just barely surviving off of rations that was running out, befriended said species and their queen although I am worried that they might be doing it for ulterior motives and reasons.

I did all of that and came home to deliver a report to my king along with a trade request from the changeling queen herself, but in the current condition that I am in I am pretty sure that the king will understand that I postpone the talks until after I have cleaned myself up and made myself presentable.

And so, I laid there, staring up at the ceiling, looking at the splatter of baby batter that made it up there along with a few feathers that are also stuck up there somehow, the smell of sex clung heavy to the air and although I am spent and unable to continue, my body decided against what my brain wants and decided to once more rise to the occasion as I let out a groan of disbelief.

'Body...please...give it a break already. I fear that if we try to continue on anymore that I fear that it will fall off from overuse! I have been firing blanks after hour three! For the love of god if I go any longer, I fear my body will shut down all non-essential organs and functions just to keep going to appease these two! At least let me revitalize myself with water and some food before throwing us back into the pit!'

My body refused to listen to my mental requests of recouperation and revitalization, instead it did its own thing and rose proudly into the cool morning air, demanding attention and satisfaction post haste.

'I fucking hate you dick... where the fuck were you at when I needed you back home?'

And now I am talking to my cock as if it were a person, truly I must have lost my mind now.

Oh but Ian, you haven't lost your marbles! They are right there! Still in your noggin! And well...two still danglin' below the waist in their pouch just begging for rest after what they went through last night!

Every inch of my body went cold as I heard and felt that voice ripple through the air.

'You...you saw that?'

I could just feel that cheshire grin of hers slowly spread across that muzzle as she haughtily laughs from the aether.

Well of course I saw it! I saw it all and I must say that I am impressed with that little show of yours! I knew you had the stamina for a marathon what with seeing you back in Talon's End, but to see you go round after round after round with two hens, all the while trying to satisfy them both? By the chaos lords you are perfect! And who would've guessed that little hen hanging onto your left arm was such a screamer? With how reserved and demure she acts when in public or with you and Gilda, but when in the bedroom? I am surprised that the guard hasn't come knocking on your door yet to check and see if everything is alright. After all that scream was almost akin to one brought up with the onset of bloody murder or horrifying torture of the most heinous sorts!

But then again you did murder her with your dick.

'Oh my god Eris, what do you want?! I am busy right now just bathing in the afterglow of sex, why don't you go watch someone else fuck?'

What I want, my little human love-making machine, is to watch you fuck these two hens until they are unintelligible puddles of feathers who can't even remember their names! Cause when my father and I get out of our little stony prison, the first thing I am going to do aside from tilting every portrait in Celestia's castle is find you, take you to the nearest bedchamber, and ride you till my eyes fall out! And besides, I would watch someone else but one can only watch the maids and guards fuck each other so many times before it grows boring since they keep going to the same supply closet or unused guest room. It's not like ol' Celly and Lulu are going to be getting pipped any time soon.

I felt a part of me wilt at the idea of being ridden again so soon after what Gilda and Greta rode me through, but another part of me, the part that is still standing tall, proud, and possibly the last of the blood in my body, is at attention and begging for something or someone to touch it.

Eris must have noticed this because an apparition of her appeared before me, floating just above the bed and was looking at me with a pair of smoldering eyes as I see the chaos noodle lick her lips with barely contained hunger as she sensually drags a stubby bear finger across my cheek, caressing it as she looks at me with longing in her eyes.

When I get out of here Ian and when the world has been set free from its stagnation... and when I can finally be away from the responsibilities of my station, you and I can finally be together and rut like there is no tomorrow, for there will be no tomorrow for when we are done with this world. and with a saucy grin the female draconequus above me lowered herself down until her form was draped over me, her tail hanging off the side of the bed, her lion paw tracing my jawline as her body finally settled on me, her weight was nonexistent and her scent was faintly of candyfloss and chocolate.

'E-e-e-Eris? What are you-' I started to say something but I was immediately silenced when she placed a bear finger on my mouth and shushed me as she pressed her face into mine.

This is all just a dream you silly billy but it looks like it's time to wakeup lover boy. But don't worry for when we finally meet, this room will just be an example of what we are going to do together!

Tootaloo! and with a snap of her bear fingers the world explodes into a flash of brilliant white light and confetti and airhorns that assaulted my senses before everything faded to black for a second and returned just as quickly.

Looking around I saw that I was still laying in the ruined remains of my bed with Gilda and Greta still holding onto my arms, what with Gilda now laying on top of me and purring while Greta is still holding my arm to her chest but was nuzzling my hand with a smile on her beak.

With a sigh of relief, I let my head hit the pillow with a soft pomf before letting my eyes shut close again, letting blissful oblivion of sleep take me once more...

That is until it was that specific selected movement on the pillow that alerted by bedmates that I was awake allowed them to also finally wake up from their restful slumber.

Greta was the first one to act as she snuggled even closer to me by placing her head under my chin while Gilda remained asleep and let out a snort of sleepiness before resumed her snoring and snuggled a little more onto me.

“Mornin’ love, I hope we didn’t rough you up too badly last night.” Greta says as she stays under my chin as her purring vibrates throughout my body which felt great as an impromptu massage.

My body feels like it went through a marathon that took place in a storm as I felt every single sting from the claw and bite marks that lined my body like a perverse art piece. I guess this is that one thing the book warned me about when it comes to mating with griffons, that they put those claws to work and for those that are more into it, their beaks to bite and latch onto their mates.

Letting out a sigh of my own I let myself just deflate as my hens snuggled into my exhausted bulk, taking advantage of me by putting themselves in the best positions for warmth and closeness.

We stayed like this for a good while, the pair cooing at the contact while I was stroking their matted fur and feathers, loving their softness as I dreamed of what our future would be like.

Our family, the three of us with little ones of our own, doesn’t matter if they are biologically mine or adopted, don’t have an exact number of how many children I want but I want 'em, all of us sitting by the fireplace, enjoying one another’s company. Them growing up with families of their own, me being a grandfather to such an extended family, Greta and Gilda and I growing old together, me walking my daughters down the aisle, me holding my great grandchildren and seeing how large my family has become before finally being lowered into the ground, life over after having spent it in service to my new home.

A life fulfilled; a purpose completed.

That is the life I want…

But I don’t think I will be having that dream.

I remember what Eris said to me, that I am her champion, her ‘chosen’ one, that I am pressed into her service when I am done working for the king. If I remember all the games that had such things of gods having chosen champions and other such things, it will mean that my life is no longer up to me to decide. That my life in general is just an extension of their will, and that my life is no longer short and mundane…

But long and eternal.

‘Is this the life I wanted? To be bound to a god and be their tool to be used as they see fit? I was pulled from my home and cast into this one just because of what I am and what I can do? At least let me live my life the way I want to before pressing me into eternity!’

Greta must’ve picked up on my internal turmoil because she pulled her head back and kissed me on the cheek (which is hard to do with beaks) and bumped her head into my neck before speaking up.

“Is something wrong Ian? You have that look on your face like you are deeply lost in thought?” Greta said as she nuzzled into my neck again, hoping to garner a reaction or response from me, which worked.

Stroking her neck and rubbing my chin on the top of her head, I let out a rumbling sound of acknowledgement to let her know that I was listening.

"Yeah Greta, something is wrong... but it is just something that I can't help but worry about since this concerns me, and by consequence, concerns you as well." I said as my mind continues to roll through those select thoughts over and over again.

'I want a family, I want to live the rest of my life with these two hens, I want to see my friends happy, I want my home to be safe and prosperous.'

"What is it? Maybe I can help? And if I can't than with a few words here and a favor there I can find someone that can help you? Whatever is the problem Ian?" Oh Greta, my lovely, beautiful, sweet, sweet hen, whatever have I done to deserve your kindness and love?

I turned my head to look down at Greta, her eyes looking up at me, expecting to hear whatever woes I have to tell her.

"I want a family, Greta. I want a family and I am afraid that I am unable to have one." I said with a tad bit of hesitation in my voice, not entirely sure if she will understand what I am going through or what I am about to tell her.

"Whatever do you mean? During this particular season, and with what you did to poor Gilda over there, I am pretty sure that she is thanks to your 'generous donation' that you gave her. And if that donation of love wasn't enough, we can always try again later tonight." Greta says the last part with a purr, smiling deviously as I realize the intent of her words.

'Oh my god these girls are gonna kill me.'

"I am simply afraid that we are not compatible for children. I mean look at how different we are!" I said in a slightly raised tone, trying my best not to wake up Gilda as I did not want a repeat of last night's sexcapade happening so soon after the first one.

Greta, much to my shame, gave me a deadpan look as if I said something stupid and downright wrong that she had the urge to correct me on the matter.

"Ian, sweety, honeybuns, love, you do know that hippogriffs and kirins exist, right? If ponies can breed with dragons and griffons, and we the same to them and dragons, I am pretty sure that you and I can have chicks." Greta says as she baps me on the forehead with a taloned hand, clearly thinking that I was being stupid and that I didn't know such basic knowledge.

The look on my face tells her otherwise. I did not have that level of basic knowledge of this world. Hell, I am still missing a lot of basic knowledge of this world because I sure as shit wasn't born on it so half of the time spent at the castle is spent reading the basics from old tomes that are probably wrong on the topic.

And the look she was giving me in response was anything but positive, it was one of disappointment and annoyance.

"Oh, gods above Ian, are you serious? You mean you didn't know?" Greta asks me in a credulous tone, clearly wasn’t expecting me to not know something that was so basic and universal that one learns about this from either their parents or from school.

Pulling herself upright into her usual ‘proper’ sitting posture as she looks down at me.

“Ian, I am going to assume that from your homeland, wherever that is, that because of your lack of magic and quite possibly a lack of anyone else that lives there that isn’t your kin, that you thought that you aren’t compatible with other races? Am I correct on that assumption?” Greta says as I can only nod at her.

This naturally earns me a sigh of disappointment as my lead hen shakes her head at me.

“Well then, I guess we will have to remedy this problem by heading to the hospital in the upper district later today and speak with the doctors there with Gilda and see if that dream of yours is possible or not.” and with that said my precious Greta nuzzled me again before standing up on the bed and stretched, the sounds of her back and muscles popping from last night's fun time before shaking her head and ruffling her feathers into a more manageable state.

Gilda was still snoring like a lumberjack and was dead to the world. I forgot that she was a heavy sleeper and that only either the smell of food, the word 'coffee' being said out loud, or the sounds of someone dropping a armful of pans could wake this griffon from her beauty sleep.

Turning to look at me before looking at the sleeping loaf that is Gilda, Greta lets out a snort at her out-cold friend and shakes her head and walks out of the room lazily all the while still talking, "I swear, she can sleep through the end of the world but the moment something she loves is mentioned she wakes right up."

And then there was silence once more as I watched Greta leave our room, her backside shaking ever so slightly as I watched her tail slowly wave back and forth before disappearing past the doorframe and down the hall. Once she was gone, I let myself sag and melt into the bed, trying to merge and become one with it as allowed myself to deflate and unwind alongside Gilda, who is still snoring and only cuddles closer to me as I feel her tail wrap around my leg and starts to rub it sensually.

Casting my gaze around the room I can tell that we have done quite a bit of damage to it. Firstly, are the numerous myriad amounts of love stains that is just speckled all over the room, be it on the walls, the bed, bedsheets, our bodies, and the floor and ceiling, that last one I am still unsure of how it got there.

'Wow, I really did a number on Gilda and Greta...a bit odd that Greta wasn't as crazy as Gilda was with the baby rabies, maybe her time isn't here yet? A question for her for later I guess...'

Mentally shrugging to myself about Gilda and Greta being horny yet different levels of horny I went back to being a loaf in bed with Gilda purring against my side and the cool breeze of the early morning wash over us and try to clear the room of the funk we have created last night. While the two of us laid here and I let my mind turn off, a part of me did start wondering if what Greta said was right, that I didn't need to worry about having kids since it appears that hybridization between species was a common thing on this world.

Although I have never seen a hippogriff nor a kirin, I can only assume that ponies fuck even more than humans do if there really are hybrids running around without me knowing.

Then again, I have only been to Talon's End and Griffonstone, I bet the hybrids are more likely to be in towns that are either roughly more populated by ponies and griffons or ponies and dragons, if what Greta said is true, and who knows what other hybrids that are out there either she doesn't know or haven't been found yet.

An indeterminate amount of time has passed before I heard Greta shout loudly in the house, "Oi! Ian! Gilda! Breakfast is just about ready! Go wash yourselves before coming down here! I swear to the gods if either of you come down here and leave a mess behind expecting me to clean it up you have another thing coming for ya!"

At the mere mention of 'food' and 'ready', I watched as Gilda's head moved ever so slightly to the left towards the door, gave a few small sniffs at the air and let out a small mewl of happiness before snuggling into me more as her wings draped over my chest. It was cute that she made that sound and even cuter that she was using her wing as a blanket for me, but that cuteness ended when her eyes snapped open after her brain finished booting up and registered that 'breakfast is ready' and immediately bolted upright into sitting position as the two of us realized that we were both still connected at the hip.

The sudden sharp spike of pleasure rocketed up both of our spines, me more than her perhaps because I also felt the underlining layer of pain from being ridden hard and put away wet.

It would appear that after last night's marathon of pleasure that Gilda passed out on top of me as I am just now realizing why she was so close to me when I woke up. Feeling her clench tightly after moving the barest amount forced a grunt out of me and a moan from her, the two of us just looked at one another, me with the look of a drained man begging for mercy, and her, looking at me like a cougar who just found a lone hiker on a mountain trail who isn't paying attention to their surroundings.

"Gilda...please...I have nothing left to give. I need food and water, we can continue this some other time." I said as I tried to sit up, but Gilda had other plans as she pushed me back down with a hint of a grin on her beak.

At first I thought she was going to continue where we ended last night, but instead I watched as she struggled to stand up, her legs shaking as if they were made of gelatin and was barely holding herself together before finally standing up with a lewd squelching sound as I felt my dick flop onto my thigh and felt multiple wet blobs drizzle onto my stomach as Gilda falls to the side onto my right arm and lets out a groan of exhausted pleasure as she leaks last night payload all over the bedsheets and me.

"Ah gods...Ian, you are awesome! But next time...maybe ease up on the pounding? I can't feel my legs...or my anything for that matter..." Gilda says weakly as I just roll my eyes and start petting her neck which earned a coo of comfort from the exhausted hen.

"And whose exact fault is that hmm? Ms. 'I can handle that cock no problem!'? Ms. ‘Fuck me as hard as you can’ or ‘Don’t stop till there is nothing left’? You wanted me to be hard and rough with you and now you get to reap what you sown.” I said as I recalled the prior nights events, focusing on Gilda shouting for me to be rough with her and to go all out.

And truth be told I did, when your pent up from a prolonged dry spell and also being around such plump rumps for a year. It gets a guy thinking and fantasizing about what he will do when that first chance comes along and presents itself.

Let’s just say that karma came down hard, and in, Gilda last night and I have no regrets on such matters.

I may have gone overboard though.

Gilda, on the other hand… she is showing so much regret for her request.

Looking up at me with the saddest pair of eyes she can muster she mewed out a plea for help.

“Can you carry me to the bathroom? I don’t think I’ll manage to get there with my legs not wanting to move.” The normally bold, brash and tomboyish hen said with a massive hint of embarrassment as she hid behind her wings, which are barely covering her face as they were too busy fidgeting.

It was one thing to hear Gilda ask me for help with anything, but to see her at her most vulnerable?

I couldn’t help myself and coo at the display and sat up to scoop her up into my arms, bridal-carry style, and slowly stand up at a sluggish speed as my body was still reeling from being overworked and exhausted from the expenditure of energy from last night.

Naturally, Gilda did not like this one bit as it made her look weak, but in her current state she did not have the strength nor the energy to stop me from doing it, so she simply batted at me weakly all the while complaining on how it made her look weak.

I silenced her my kissing her on the forehead and nuzzled her scalp as I whispered to her that she can be weak in front of me, that I won’t judge her for her moments of weakness or femininity. Her flushed and flustered expression and demeanor was all it took to get me to shower her with kisses and for her to keep on weakly hitting me as I carried her to the bathroom so that we can get cleaned up for our morning meal.

Gently dumping Gilda into the bathtub, the large wooden barrel was already filled with warm water (I guess it used to be hot but since we were just lying in bed it cooled down enough to no longer be hot and scalding) and allowed her the first go to clean herself up while I went up to the mirror and inspect myself to see just how much I got clawed up from the two.

The ensuing silence was thick enough that one could cut it with a knife was all the information one needs to know as I saw the resulting night of passion one has when they are dealing with griffons. There are claw marks all over my back, arms, hips and legs, I saw multiple bite marks as well that seemed to line my neck, arms and face, a few even on my hands and there was one on my left butt cheek. I don't even want to know who did that, but apparently, one of them thought my ass was delicious looking enough to take a bite out of it.

My money is on Gilda that did that to me, no way in hell that Greta would do such a thing.

In all, I can safely say this without a shadow of a doubt that the moment I step out of this house, every single griffon, pony, dragon, diamond dog and whatever else is out there in the world will instantly know that I slept with a griffon and that I am not ashamed of it.

As I gazed longingly into the mirror to inspect the damage done to my body, a wet floppy object smacks me in the back of the head before plopping on the ground at my feet and getting them wet and soapy. Turning around and looking down I saw that the thing that smacked me was small wash cloth that we used to clean ourselves whenever its bathtime, the bar of soap currently resting in Gilda's talons as she rests along the back of the tub, her legs spread wide and her wings lazily resting over the sides.

"Well dweeb, you done admiring yourself or are ya gonna climb in and help me wash my back and wings?" Gilda asked in a playful manner as she wiggled her toes at me just as her tail poked out of the water and waved at me in a lazy manner.

Letting a snort of amusement at Gilda’s antics I made my way over to the tub before hopping in.

It was a bit of a tight fit, normally our tub would either fit my large ass or both griffons, but with me and Gilda in here it’s a tighter than a miser's purse.

With a bit of a grunt and some colorful expletives from both of us trying to clean one another while dealing with how small this tub is before eventually finding the best means of getting ourselves clean.

Plopping Gilda into my lap I focused on her back and wings while she scrubbed her front and my legs, neither one of us trying to arouse the other cause we both know that our food is done and that Greta would be super pissed if she found out that we were fucking in here instead of eating downstairs.

Well, let’s just say that we got done but not in a timely manner.

I can, with all confidence and honor in my name, firmly blame Gilda for the reason we are ten minutes late.

Greta was sitting at the table, fork in talons, with three plates full scrambled eggs (yes, griffons can and on routine eat eggs, they come from chickens, no it is not cannibalism or something of the related sort, just because they come from a bird does not make it so), some pancakes (waffles are better, fight me) and some toast, and when we arrived they were only slightly steamy instead of fresh off the pan and ready to burn the roof of your mouth.

As soon as the two of us walked through the doorway we saw Greta lightly tapping her mug of tea while giving us both a flat stare that clearly tells us that she knows what we did up there. Gilda looked sheepish and scratched the back of her head while I tried my damnedest to look innocent.

I failed.

Very hard.

Greta, to her infinite patience for dealing with our collective bullshit, said nothing on the matter other than that our food was getting cold and that she was wondering if one of us slipped on the soap.

Thankfully she doesn’t know that I nearly lost the soap when I was holding it, and it launched out of my hands and hit the ceiling before coming back down and hit me in the head.

The three of us are our food in silence, occasionally asking one another if someone could pass the butter or the pepper, but other than that it was a quiet affair.

Eventually the silence between the three of us ends when Greta taps the ceramic mug she was sipping out of with a talon and gets our attention.

“So!" Greta claps her talons together to gather our attention, "Gilda. Ian. We are an official flock now, what with the consummation of our union last night and that we all agreed to be in a flock together, let us lay out what is expected from one another.” Greta speaks up with some regal authority in her voice, grabbing our attention for the time being.

“Firstly, we all have a job or occupation of sorts that provides income for our little nest here, which is good as there may come a time when we will need it in the event of an emergency. Secondly, I know that sometime in the future we will be expecting or wishing to start a family. Gilda is already beating me to that particular race with her efforts from last night and this morning, if the creaking from upstairs was of any implications.” The Gilda and I blush faintly and look away from Greta, trying to act as if we weren’t just caught with our proverbial hand in the cookie jar again.

“Now, Gilda, I must ask you this question because your mind wasn’t all there during your heat, but now it is back, and we can all assume why that is.” Greta says with a bit of a smile as Gilda’s tail is flicking back and forth, her body language telling me that she is either nervous or worried about something.

Something very important that if I didn’t know better was something that I heckled my brother for doing without planning ahead.

The room immediately descended into silence as we all had our own thoughts while I was starting to get nervous as all hell because of what was implied.

And the consequences of said implications.

"Well...I am feeling better now and no longer feeling like I am burning up and have the need to ride the nearest male into the ground. Why do you ask?” Gilda replied back and it took her a moment for her bird brain to out the pieces together.

The moment she finally does figure it out her wings sagged to the floor and her tail thumped against the chair in stunned silence.

“W-wait… y-y-y-mean to say that I am… t-that he…” Gilda stuttered out while I was gripping the edge of the table tightly enough that my knuckles were starting to turn white from the pressure being exerted on.

With a safely nod from Greta I watched as the normally brash and tomboyish hen sitting on my right immediately explode out of her seat and fly into the air, all the while screaming in jubilant laughter and joy as I looked at her in confusion, not sure she was this happy or excited.

“YES! FUCK YES! Take that Gianna you pretentious cuntbag! I fucking told you that I’d start a family before you and find a mate that actually loves me! Suck my teats ya bitch!” Gilda shouted with unrestrained happiness and excitement as she pumped her fists as she came back down onto the table.

I was completely lost at the moment as I looked to Greta for answers or even a crumb of assistance on what is going on.

Luckily for me, my ever wise and smarter-than-me hen easily saw that I was lost and guided me through this explosion of emotions.

“Gianna is Gilda’s older sister, a bit of a cunt, rude, highly flirtatious and an overall lazy hen who is currently slumming it at some minor lords estate.” Greta says as she shakes her head in disdain for the harpy of a griffon.

“I see.” And really, what else could I say? Other than that this hen sounds like a classic gold digger and probably had her life handed to her on a silver platter if she is getting by this easily while her sister is working herself to the bone just to support herself.

Once Gilda came back down from her explosion of happiness and glee, she flew over and hugged us both tightly while nuzzling into my neck with a rapturous purring.

“Oh this is gonna be great! I can’t wait to tell my parents the good news and to rub it in to that stupid bitches face! Ho yeah!” Gilda kept shouting in excitement while me and Greta were happy for the excited hen but there was still one glaring flaw in all this.

Greta was the first to point it out to her while I served as the positive reinforcement.

“Gilda, love, you do know that you could not be pregnant, right? Just because our darling stud here released his seed inside you does not mean it was a guarantee success. Sure it may have calmed you down but for all we know he could have just cooked you down. We will have to go to the hospital in the upper district to get any conclusive results on the matter.” Greta says this as she pats Gilda on the back, calmly explaining to her while I was being supportive by massaging her sides.

This brought Gilda back to earth as she let out a sheepish laugh while sagging into our combined hug.

“Hehe hehe… yeah, right, that could be it too.”

“But you really want it to be so, huh?” I asked as Gilda nodded and let out a quiet mmhmm.

“Well then that settles it, you and Greta can go to the clinic or hospital or whatever it is called her today and see if your guess is correct, I have to check on my diamond dogs and hope they haven’t caused too much trouble for me last night. I kinda sort of left them alone when you two dragged me into the house.” I said as I remembered that I have to do more than just check in with my pups but also with my changeling companion and give my king a letter and some words.

Well, this is gonna be an exciting day.

The Afternoon After

Giving my hens a kiss on the beak and wishing Gilda the best at the clinic because I have no idea what goes on at those places since it's not an Urgent Care center or a hospital, and as I made my way to the front door, I saw that sitting on the table was a series of letters, most of which have been already ripped open and crump up, except for a single letter.

It was a pristine white letter emblazoned with a gold wax seal marked with the equestrian diarchy symbol, it was fairly large in size when compared to a normal letter, my guess is that they have to write with larger letters due to having hooves. Must be fucking hard to write with hooves or with your mouth, unless you are a unicorn then that magic is just the ultimate cheat code when it comes to doing tasks.

Picking up the envelope I give it a once over to make sure that it wasn't tampered with or opened, and with a satisfied smile I give it a nod before putting it back down.

'I'll give it a read once I am done checking on my pups and the ambassador and checking in with my king. I am sure it's just an apology letter from the lunar princess for blasting me when we first met.'

With a final checkup of my person by patting myself down and seeing if I am missing anything, other than my emergency dagger for any unsuspecting miscreants that may try their luck and robbing a minor lord, my symbol of my station is hanging securely on my side and my clothes are lavender fresh and ready to greet the day.

The walk to the Winking Badger Tavern didn't take me long to get there, the citizens of the capital greeted me kindly with a few being gruff about it, a few even thanked me for saving their relatives that were at Talon's End at the time. I bumped into Grandpa Gruff on the way to the tavern, he had a few choice words to say to me and most of it concerned with me keeping my eyes out for some of the griffon nobility around here.

Apparently, the nobles are planning something, and it may very well be targeting me specifically.

Good to know that there are still a few assholes out there that hate others for being different.

Upon entering the tavern, I saw that my diamond dogs have apparently taken up residence within it as I see them all gathered near the back of the building surrounding one of the long tables and they were all eating together. I guess they had some form of currency on them, and it was acceptable enough for them to afford a couple of rooms to use for their stay here.

Seeing my doggy entourage in the back I made my way over to them to inquire as to the location of our missing changeling friend as I did not see him at the table eating anything to blend in.

“Where is Moss?” I asked my diamond dog entourage as they were all busy enjoying their brunch of cooked manticore meat and bread chunks. Most of my dogs were happy with their room and that they were sleeping indoors instead of the cold ground or outside and that they were being treated nicely instead of with hatred or suspicion.

I guess it depends on their clan or if word hasn't arrived in the capital with what has happened in Talon's End, but seeing how several griffons greeted me and thanked me for my deeds then I can say for certain that word reached the capital. Or at the very least much of its citizens caught wind of it.

Rocky, much to my surprise, was the only dog who was able to put their food down and talk to me instead of talking to me with a mouth full of eviscerated meat and bread bits. After swallowing what he had in his mouth and a few gulps of something from his mug that he brought with him, the big dog spoke with a bit of a slowness to it.

“We left ‘em on the bed upstairs, room in the back of hall.” Rocky said as he went back and took another bite from his stick of manticore meat.

“Is he asleep?” I asked, eyebrow raised that he was left in a room without any supervision or checking in to see if he was still in the room.

“I think so? He became very fat last night when he came here. Looked like he ate small boulder.” Rocky said as he looked to his dogs, all of them now drinking their water, several of them nearly drowning themselves in the process with the other half having to smack them on the back to save them a dumb way to die.

“I see…” was all I could say as looked passed my dogs towards the stairs before returning my gaze to the team lead and gave him a nod. “Keep enjoying your rest, we’ll be here for now until the king sends me out or something else comes up.”

The burly beast gave me a happy nod and a bark of approval before returning to his pack, their happy barks and growls emanating from them fills the tavern alongside the din of griffons and few ponies chatter. With that all said and done I headed towards the staircase and went up with some haste in my sails, soon enough I arrived at room seven and knocked on the door with my knuckles.

“Hey, Moss, it’s Ian, you okay in there?” I asked as I wondered if he was feeling ill from over feeding on emotions or if he actually got sick from something he encountered while we were in the forest.

All I heard in response to my knocking and question was a low groan and a belch.

And by belch I mean it was something out of an all-you-can-eat contest followed by a soda chaser, that shit was horrifying and loud, and I was impressed by it. And disturbed cause now I am honestly wondering if he ate someone and was now working hard to destroy the evidence.

“Now Moss-“ I started as I jiggled the doorknob and found it to be unlocked, so I took a few steps back and away from the door as I cracked my neck and looked at the door.

It looks like I get to say the one line from an old tv show I used to watch when I was a kid.

“I am respecting your privacy by knocking but by asserting my authority as your friend by coming in anyway!” I shouted as rushed the door and opened it and saw a grisly sight.

It was Moss, bloated like a morbidly obese fat man at a Walmart riding a mobility cart, laying on the bed, groaning and belching up puddles of pink ooze that is dripping onto the floor in an even larger pool of pink slime. And to top it all off, he was not in his disguise anymore.

Behold! Moss! The fattest changeling on the planet and quite possibly the most fed changeling in existence! This massive bulk of black, bloated chitin and bugmeat was immobilized and was currently unable to do anything but make sounds and spew pink ooze.

I don't know if I should be proud of him reaching this state or disgusted by him for being so gods damned fat

Like seriously man, eat a salad.

As I stood there at the door looking at my chonky friend lay there in a comatose-like state, I watch as I see him just wiggling his hooves trying to signal me something l quickly hurry in and shut the door behind me before moving in front of his face.

Just like the rest of his body his face is also bloated but not as badly as the rest of him, and his eyes, my god, his eyes have a pinkish hue almost akin to the yellow eyes of someone with jaundice and there is pink slime coming out of his mouth with two smaller streams from his nose, just what the fuck is going in with him?

“Hey, buddy talk to me. Are you okay?” I said while I placed a hand on his face, giving it a bit of a rub while my other snapped my fingers to try and get his attention.

The finger snapping did little as he just gurgled and weakly turned his gaze to look at me, his expression slowly morphed from its glazed-over look to a smile as he let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” Moss said as he leaned his head into my hand as I kept rubbing his cheek, my thumbs moving along in small circles along the jawline.

Raising an eyebrow in confusion for the ‘thanks’ I just look down at the bloated drone not really knowing why I am being thanked. If it was thanks for the petting, then none is needed since griffons and ponies seemingly enjoy it and I guess changelings as well now.

“Uh, not to be rude but why are you thanking me?”

“For feeding me all of yesterday…I have never been fed such a banquet in such a long time.” The bloated changeling gurgled out as he let out a groan of contentment before letting out a whine of discomfort.

Looking over his bloated bulk I can only shake my head. If this was a human than they’d be starring on ‘My 600-pound life’ and be dead within the same episode because they refused to change themselves for the better.

“Yeah, well, no problem man, happy to help.” I said as I reached out and poked the pudgy bug in the belly and watched it ripple and wobble before settling down. A part of me really, really, really wanted to just mash my face into that pudge and motorboat it and watch the ripples move outward.

‘It’s like a god damn waterbed but without the water or the bed.’

“Hey…I need you to do me a huge favor.” Moss said as he struggled to move, even more so when he tried to lift his head to look at me.

“I am not feeding you nor jerking you off.” I said without any sign of hesitation on my behalf, this was straight up something only two guy friends would ever say to each other whenever the words 'I need you to do me a favor'.

“Not that kind of favor!” And like that a wave of relief washed over me that it wasn't something that would have broken the bro-code between us.

“Oh…oh thank god.” I said as let out a sigh of relief, “What'cha need?”

“Can you get me a couple of jars and maybe a bucket?” Moss said weakly as I watched him struggle to roll over onto his stomach as he wobbled back and forth almost like a pillbug lying on its back.

“Why do you need jars and a bucket?!” I asked as I was now taking an interest in his request, but if it was for something... unpleasant then I am just gonna leave him hanging.

“I need them so I can expel the *eerp* excess emotions I fed on so that they can be stored away and so that I can return to a more agreeable form that isn’t restricted to this bed!” Moss snapped at me before burping again as a few scant droplets of pink flew out of his mouth and onto the floor.

“By the Weave why is your mind always leaning towards sexual acts and carnal thoughts?” Moss said in an angry and exasperated tone, I guess I was starting to get on his nerves with my responses.

“Dude I just got laid last night to two extremely horny hens who rode me till I felt like a dried-up raisin. I am lucky that my pelvis is still intact and not a shattered mess.” I said as I patted my junk with my left hand, wincing ever so slightly as it still sort of stings from being the abuse they went through. Maybe there is some lingering damage there that needs to be addressed.

Rolling his eyes as what I said he just makes the hoof motions for me to give him something and with my own eye roll I searched through his room for anything he can use as a jar or a bucket.

Lucky for him that this room actually did have a bucket and several empty jars labeled grape and strawberry jelly and a lone peanut butter jar. I didn’t even know that this world even had this stuff, but now knowing that it does it now means I can have a normal lunch once more!

Just as soon as I can find out where the stores are that sells some jelly and peanut butter.

Wrapping my arms around the jars I proceeded to dump them into the bucket before grabbing said wooden object and dumped it in front of Moss.

“There you go, now I’ll you leave you to it.” I said as took a step back to leave but a dark grey hoof rose up to stop me.

“Thank you, but can you stay for a moment? I may need some help sitting up and getting a grasp on these jars.” Moss said with a bit of embarrassment in his tone, I guess he is now regretting his feasting from last night.

“Ugh, fine, I’ll help you out, but just this one time! Got it Moss.” I said with a hint of a shudder, not knowing what this ‘help’ will entail on my behalf.

“Oh thank the Weave! I was worried that I would have had to coerce or bribe you to assist me with this.”

“Don’t push your luck Moss, just… tell me what I need to do.” My face was turning a slight shade of green as I feared what I had to do.

“Oh, yeah, that, all you will to do is hold me upright and steady while I discharge the excess emotions into the jars.” Moss said as he covered his mouth as another burp ripped through him.

My god it’s like someone that drank way too much soda and is now just one mentos away from exploding.

‘Now there is a thought for future use… I’ll just store that thought for later.’

With a bit of a tired sigh on my end and an excited smile on his and, I climbed onto the bed, got behind the big chungus of a changeling and helped him get into a sitting position as he grabbed one of the jars.

“All set back here…do your…thing.” I really hope that this isn’t a sexual thing for changelings.

"Alright, just keep me upright while I carefully discharge the excess emotions into these jars. Now, normally I would need a second changeling for this or be a trained harvester to do it myself, but since I have neither then you will do for now." Moss said as he then placed his muzzle on the jar held between his hooves and immediately started to disgorge pink slime into it.

The process I am watching unfold before me is a bit unsettling and disgusting to be perfectly honest with everyone.

It's like...how do I compare this exactly? Imagine this if you will, there is Moss, sitting in front of me while I am holding him up so he doesn't topple over because of his bloated mass, and Moss is muzzle deep into the jar, and he starts making that sound that cats make when they are about to cough up a hairball, but instead of a hairball it is at least a quart or two of pink slime that smells strangely of strawberries being blasted out like a firehose.

There you go, you have more information than necessary and is now cursed with that knowledge for the rest of your lives or until you force yourself to forget by drowning yourself in liquid stupid.

For the better part of two hours and some change I simply sat there holding a fat changeling while he unloaded his gooey pink cargo into several glass jars and a bucket, and for the most part it could have been a lot worse. Gazing at these jars filled with what Moss calls 'unrefined love gel' and it really does look like strawberry jam and I am afraid that it might taste like it as well.

“So…this love goo…I take it back at your home there is someone that processes this stuff so it’s actually edible?” I asked Moss as I looked at the jars that are currently filled to the brim with gelatinous ooze of the pink variety.

“Uh yeah? I mean this stuff can be consumed as it currently is but since it is mixed with several different emotions of varying degrees of potency it will for the most part be more akin to a meal with little nutritional value for a surface like yourself.” Moss said as he placed another jar beside the others, his horn glowing an ethereal green as he levitated the jar.

“I see, and I take it that the separation process is a lengthy one since it’s all mixed up?”

“It sure is, usually there would be a team of changelings who would go after specific emotions in the batch and pull it away before storing it off in a different room. Back in the capital we had an entire wing of the palace sectioned off just for emotion storage alone!”

Looking at the numerous filled jars I saw that while pink was the dominant color present, I did see little flecks of green, red, blue, orange, yellow and numerous other colors I could barely recognize.

“I take it for the negative emotions you just flush them away?” I asked my little bug friend as I was curious about what they do with what I considered to be something bad and wasteful.

“Oh no, those have an actual use.” Moss said immediately as he turned to look at me for a moment before returning to his jars.

“Such as?”

“Interrogation of a foreign changeling or a snooping griffon or minotaur.” That brought an eyebrow raise from me, was not expecting that for an answer.

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. You see, when you feed negative emotions to someling it will naturally make them experience that emotion, but if you give them just enough it will also drain them of their love reserves as the new emotion is taking over that supply and replacing it with itself.”

“That sounds like it could backfire horribly.” I said as I started to think on a few possible ways this could end in disaster.

“Oh, it can backfire, that is why we always have an expert on emotional connection to keep the subject under constant scrutiny and control, can’t have the subject expire or try to harm themselves or the interrogators.”

As soon as Moss filled up the bucket with his disgorged raw love he was for the most part back to his old self with the exception that he now had the pony equivalent of a beer gut, and it shows. Moss looks a bit like a roly-poly if he was on his side and curled up, and I couldn't help but laugh at that thought and naturally Moss gave me a look of indignation and embarrassment as he was still being held by me and my hands were playing with his fat as if they were bongo drums.

"You know you can stop holding me still, I am not going to fall over now." Moss said with a grumble as I kept playing his gut like a drumset.

"Yeah, I know, but this is fun and a way of getting even with you." I said with a bit of a grin as he just looks away from me with a huff.

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"How do you know?"

"I know you don't hate me cause if you did you would have gotten up and left the room already."

I heard Moss grumble under his breath as he simply sat there in my arms, letting me play with that fat potbelly of his. Now, I know what you are all thinking, a little too close and comfortable for a bromance, right?

I am not gonna do anything with him, just having my bit of fun as the favor for helping a bro like their guts out while holding their hair back.

Except instead of regurgitated assorted liquor and tasty snacks, it was emotions of a wide variety but mainly love.

But seeing it all still doesn’t sit well with me and it was still pretty gross to behold as I wasn’t expecting it to take two hours to discharge what amounts to several jars and a bucket full of booger-like vomit.

After what felt like another couple of minutes pass with me playing Moss’s pot belly like a drum and said changeling grumbling and slightly buzzing in mixed annoyance and contentment, we both finally had enough as he belched and looked away in embarrassment as he was passively feeding on me and the friendship we have.

“I think I am done for now, and that we should return downstairs so that your hounds do not worry that I have done something to you.” Moss says as he wiggles out from my grip and hobbles off the bed and onto the wooden floor.

The floorboards creek a bit from his pudgy weight as he flares his horn an ethereal green as his disguise appears once more.

“Yeah, you’re right, and besides we still have some business to take care of later.” I said as I hopped off the bed, the floor creaked and protested at me for my heavier weight bearing down on it.

“Later? But you are here now, and we can easily approach your king and deliver the letter you are carrying to him and inform him of the agreement between my queen and you. Why is there a need to delay such a trip?” Moss said with a look of confusion on his face.

With a sigh on my behalf and the shake of the head from me again, I had to explain my reasons to the chunky changeling.

“Moss, buddy, pal, friend, do you recall what we went through on our journey here?” I asked the bug pony this question because I want him to recall everything and put the pieces together himself, for him to put on the metaphorical big boy pants and grow a braincell or two.

“Yes Ian, I remember. It was a boring trip that ended with us dealing with you being somewhat sick and a random bugbear attack.” Moss says this as he started to move the filled jars to his travel pack and ever so gently inserted them inside, making sure that they are securely put away and not going to break in the event the pack is violently struck or slammed against something.

"And you remember what happened last night?" Cause I sure as hell do, and still do, and will forever do remember last night for the rest of my life.

"Yes, you mated with your two wives while I was watching through the keyhole to your bedchambers and the resulting mating spree has fed me to maximum capacity."

"Yeah, I did... wait... you were watching me!?" I nearly shouted in both a mixture of indignant anger and shock, as I did not know that my friend was watching me lay some pipe and apparently was feeding him the entire time. If looks could kill than the glare I was sending his way would have definitely reduced him to atoms.

I honestly thought he was just skulking around the capital feeding off of whatever emotions were lingering in the area.

"Well, yes, but not immediately!" Moss said as he started to panic, clearly was not expecting my sudden shift from being bored and droll to righteous indignation and fury!

"I had to tell your pack to go to the tavern to wait for you and once they were gone, I simply followed after you into your abode and locked the front door behind me as I did not want anyone interfering in the mating process between you and your wives and my feeding procedure didn't need to be known by anyling poking their noses where it doesn't belong." Moss said as he finished packing away his jars, giving a nod to them all the while I was still glaring a hole through the back of his head.

Pinching the bridge of my nose in exasperation and disbelief at Moss’s behavior and action I simply shake my head before walking up to him and whack him upside the head.

The changeling recoiled back and away from me as he let out a startled cry of shock from the hit and a whimper from being hit by his friend as he quickly scuttled away from me.

“What was that for!?” Moss shouted as he rubbed the soot where I struck him.

“For watching me fuck Gilda and Greta! We don’t do that shit here Moss! You don’t watch other people fuck in their homes ever! Unless they give you permission to do so, and that is a colossal if because I highly doubt there are any voyers in this city.” I said this while still pinching my nose, I swear it’s like basic common sense and common courtesy doesn’t exist to changelings.

Or maybe such things are viewed differently to them, whatever it is he should have at least went with my dogs to keep an eye on them! He saw briefly the state of my friends before they dragged me inside my house, that should’ve been a dead giveaway that we were going to need some privacy.

With a sigh I head to the door before turning to look at Moss who was still standing away from me and was hovering over his pack, protecting it from me.

“I am sorry if I have overstepped your boundaries, Ian, but what you did is considered a bountiful harvest for me and I could not help myself.” Moss said with a bit of a whimper, rising ever so slightly from his pack after seeing and sensing that I wasn’t going to do anything aggressive towards him.

“I know Moss, I know, and I am sorry that I hit you but from now on don’t do that anymore.” I said as I grabbed the doorknob and unlocked it.

“For now just stay up here, when I calm down and unwind we will be going over some ground rules on what you can and cannot do up here on the surface. I don’t know how long you lot have been stuck underground or what ideas you have but the surface has changed immensely since you all last saw it.” And with that said I stepped out and closed the door behind me before heading down the hallway and made my way downstairs and headed straight for the bar.

I want this memory as blurry and as unrecognizable by the time he is done cause if I have to remember this somewhere down the future I may just punch him for making me remember.

“Give me the hardest drink you got.” I asked the bartender at the counter, an older griffon who looked like he hadn’t seen a good comb n brush in a long time, and he was busy cleaning out a wooden tankard and watching the diamond dogs in their corner of the tavern.

“But sir it’s only early midday? Why so soon with the hard drinking?” The bartender said as he finished cleaning the tankard in his talons before reaching out for another one underneath the bar.

“Hardest. Drink.” I growled out as I really wanted something that can make me forget what I saw, heard and what has happened upstairs.

“Yes sir, sorry sir.” The bartender said with raised talons in a placating manner, realizing that the noble before him wasn’t in a good mood if he was asking for the good stuff this early.

And it was true, I wanted the good shit cause I wanted to forget and focus on the good stuff that happened yesterday and this morning.

I didn’t have to wait long for my driving to arrive, as soon as it was placed before me I grabbed it and took a hearty gulp from it before following it up with draining it as if I was dying from dehydration.

Drinking the good stuff this early? Whatever the bug did must’ve really crawled under your skin to get you this worked up.

Once I heard Eris whispering into my ears I let out a sigh knowing that my wayward benefactor is sitting right beside me, and although she is nothing more than an illusion that she is putting out for me to see so that our interactions are more natural would appease me.

That and everyone else can’t see her and that whenever I talk to her nobody else would notice my mouth moving or hear my voice.

It works but today isn’t one of those days that it does.

“What do you want Eris?”

Sheesh what crawled up your butt today?

“A literal love bug did. He said that he was watching me, Gilda and Greta last night through the door while we were bumping uglies.”

Ah, a voeyer bug, haven’t seen one of those in a long time. He must’ve seen something spicy that he liked if he stayed to watch the whole thing!

Letting out a sigh I just shake my head at what the chaos spirit said before taking a gulp from my tankard.

Not a fan of having an audience watch you act?

“Not one bit.”

Bah! You’re no fun!

“I am not supposed to be fun, I am supposed to be me and right now, current me wants to unwind and relax and try to forget the things I have seen and done over the past month, and heard within the hour.” I said just as I took another mighty gulp from the tankard, draining it to its halfway point.

…I think I see where this is going.

You are dealing with the stress of your station, the actions that you went through with at Talons End, and the choices you made during the battle that resulted in the lives lost on both the dogs side and yours.

Dealing with the fact that you have ended lives, hostile though those dogs were, you still didn’t want to do it because you saw within them your own dog staring you in the face. And then there are those you killed back in that manor all those months ago, griffons whom you butchered because they stole something precious to you.

Taking lives is never easy Ian, for both mortals and gods alike because we all believe that we can change them for the better and live peacefully together.

Except for Maar, that bastard just wants everyone and everything to die.

“That we can agree on…” I mumbled out as I looked deep into my tankard, seeing a brownish reflection of myself within it looking right back at me.

Heavy is the responsibility that sits upon your brow, young human. A knight of the griffon realms is a major responsibility, even in the old times when they were at their peak they had the responsibility of protecting their lands and their charges. Not much has changed over the millennia other than there are even less knights now and that being one sets you on the path of nobility but that is an entirely different can of worms.

And to be in charge of an entire colony of diamond dogs who are barely literate will not be an easy thing to change for the better and also have little grasp on foreign concepts and rules. They will not be happy with any changes you make for them but if you want them to live better lives you will have to be their hate-sink for a while until they can see that your changes are making their lives easier in the long run.

You want to be able to live your life as you see fit, but you are unable to because of the mounting tasks and responsibilities that have been assigned to you. The only path forward is to endure through these trials and persevere through them. That or go crazy from it and be put out of your misery.

“Ain’t that the truth…”

Ian, what you need is someone to talk to. Someone to vent all this out, cause if you don’t you may snap at the wrong person or moment and it may end very badly for you.

“Yeah, but who? I don’t think Gilda or Greta would be able to handle it let alone my pups, they may think I am a weak alpha and try to take over.” I asked my spectral friend as I finished my ale off before signaling for another.

Maybe try that one archon you met at your knighting ceremony? What was his name again… eh I bet you can figure it out. That is what those in the priestly business do right, confess your sins or troubles and they try to help you through them?

Well, that is all for now, try not to beat yourself up over this. It isn’t your fault and nobody is blaming you for it. You just need to learn on how to let things go and just go with the flow of things, that is how I deal with my problems.

“Until the problem becomes glaring impossible to ignore.” I rebutted back and Eris immediately went silent.

Yeah…until it does…

And then it was quiet, it was just me alone with my thoughts and it was just the way I liked it.

That is, that is the way it should be when I am deep in thought and I tune out the world, but now though, it is a different type of quiet.

Lifting my head up I looked around and I saw that everyone was looking at me. The tavern was silent as a graveyard, and every single occupant was looking in my direction, a few were outright staring at me while the rest were just shooting glances my way all the while whispering in hushed tones.

The bartender of the tavern came over to me and placed another mug before me and leaned forward a bit.

“Not to be rude or anything my lord, but I think the hard stuff was a little too strong for you.” He said as he took the tankard from me and put it aside before placing a smaller cup filled with water in its place.

I looked down at the water given to me and took a swig from it before looking back at the bartender, confusion on my face.

"What do you mean? I only drank half of it, and I don't feel all that bad, a little tingly and buzzed for my efforts but not shitfaced drunk or slurring my speech to the point that you will need a drunk translator." Sure, I was buzzed at the moment but come on now, I am not that drunk! Well, not yet at least.

The bartender shook his head negatively once more before leaning a little closer to me, my guess he had something secretive to say to me and that I best heed it, which I did because I want to know just what exactly he had to say that he couldn't say aloud for all to hear.

"My lord, I don't mean to be poking my beak where it doesn't belong, but you were talking to yourself, and it wasn't in any griffon tongue nor gryphon aspect...let alone any known language in the world." He said as he kept his voice low as to not alert those still in the building, which of course earned us even more attention as quite a few slightly scooted closer to listen in on what was being said by both of us.

"What do you mean?"

"Sir, it sounded like you were speaking in a low, guttural tongues of long forgotten beings, even now it feels like you were trying to cast some damnable invocation or curse upon someone who has wronged you deeply." The uneased look on the bartender showed that he wasn't fibbing nor lying to get a rise out of me, apparently, I was indeed speaking in what amounts to the black tongue of Mordor, and it scared the crap out of everyone in the tavern.

Which means that word of this event will spread far and wide here in the capital along with to whatever rural hamlet or township that any travelers will go towards to share rumors be they real or fake.

And that also means that the king will hear about this and demand answers...

Ah fuck me.

With a heavy sigh of annoyance in that I may have created more problems for me to deal with in the future and that my apparent chats with Eris may have been heard by others may also bring about unwanted questions from those who have authority over me and demand answers that I cannot give away.

Here is hoping that they accept my response that it is just me speaking in curses and swears in a different dialect of the human language so as to not out Eris. I highly doubt that my king would be happy to know that I am helping and getting assistance from a being that is currently in prison.

Paying my tab and telling my diamond dogs to stay at the tavern and to not cause any trouble, I head out and started to walk through the capital, my head downcast and gaze on the street, mind deep in thought.

I need a quiet place to think this through, somewhere where nobody would bother a lone man who needed some time for himself.

As I walked through the capital from the lower districts of the working class and the merchant quarters, I eventually found myself in the Cloud District where the nobles lived alongside the church and its clergy of holy birds and lions, and from within this district I found myself in the most unlikely of places that I was expecting to find on this colossal mountain tree city.

'A pleasure garden? A place to just...stroll through without a care in the world? How the hell have I never noticed this whenever I had to walk to the castle? It's got marble brickwork and gilded silver fences! And is that a fucking water fountain in the center of it!?'

It is safe to say that I have found my new place to zen out when things are getting bad for me.

I just hope that now I can find someone to talk to lest my darker thoughts and memories eat me from the inside out.

Author's Note

Been working and tweaking this one for a while, here ya go and have at it.

The Evening After

The Griffonstone Serenity Gardens is a place where the nobles of griffon society go to have a leisurely safe and not have a care in the world nor have to worry about their troubles. That and from what I have seen it is also a place where nobility have their little chats with double speak and underlying threats all the while looking like happy friends to the public.

Designed and built by the first griffon king after his reign has been secured, this garden district was a sign of the prosperity and future he sought for his kingdom, a symbolic symbol that all within his domain will enjoy peace and harmony with their fellow griffons and that all will share in the bounty of the kingdom's coffers and treasures. Now, it is still a symbol that the first king designed, but now it has a second meaning, a place for the nobility to frolic and enjoy themselves. Sure, the peasantry also come here on occasion, but it is mostly the nobles and their families.

The paths were made out of marble bricks tightly packed together in place with the most minimal amount of grout or cement to hold it all together to make it appear seamless, flowers of rich and beautiful hues intermixed with one another for beauty factor, hell, they even had specially designed and crafted hedges to look like griffons from the heroic age and fountains of marble and gold filigree!

Walking through the park I soon found an empty bench well away from the other benches and griffons so I can think in peace.

‘Serenity now. Peace of mind, just think of happy thoughts and let the stress fall from my shoulders.’

Sitting on a bench in the park in the noble district I let out a sigh of middling relief as I looked at the passing griffon lords and ladies walking by, some of them with their children as I waved and nodded at them, a few of them even returned the gesture which raised my hopes that these nobles can learn to treat those beneath their station as equals instead of rabble to be tread upon. Even though I am now considered a ‘noble’, I am considered a low-born noble who was elevated to the position by the king, which naturally means I am 'New Money' while the rest of these griffons are 'Old Money', if I am translating medieval lingo to modern lingo correctly.

It has been barely a day since I returned to Griffonstone after leaving it months ago to fulfill my king’s request, and in that time, it was apparently all it took for both Gilda and Greta to figure themselves out and agree to consummate our love for each other by waiting to ambush me at the height of their heat cycle. Now don’t get me wrong I loved every second of it, but now I am somewhat worried that I may or may not be biologically compatible with them and that I may or may not have just knocked them up to kingdom come.

And while a part of me has been yearning to finally have a family, have a kid or two, and raise them right and proper so they don’t end up like a little hellion that winds up getting killed by some punk who they pissed off or by some higher ranked noble who they slighted, another part of me is ungodly worried that they will either be a stillborn because of the sheer difference in our biological makeup or that when they are born that they may be a horrifying twisted amalgamation that is begging for death. Or even worse than that, it turns out that me being human results in creating some sort of 'super griffon' that is far better than the baseline griffons are in every way possible, and someone finds out about this and has me captured and strapped to a bed and be extracted of my seed for the end of my days for their super soldier army.

As these thoughts and worries ring and bounce within my head, the somewhat loud din of happy griffon families and political intrigue of the nobility slowly fades away into the background as it gets replaced with the hustle and bustle of griffon squawks and words of the citizenry.

That is not even stating the fact that I am a knight of the realm, I very may well be sent out on a task that can probably end in my death and leave them without me. There are times where I fear that my random chances of dodging death may run dry and the next fight I get in will result in me being ran through and left bleeding to death on the ground or my head being caved in to a pulpy mess.

And don’t even get me started on the fact that by taking into account the repercussions of bringing the knowledge and technology of humanity onto this world. Small and minor things like techniques and methods of improving yields for agricultural and industrial production may just get me asked on how it’s done by foreigners, but if I were to introduce far more sophisticated weaponry and machinery… other nations may seek to silence me to ensure that Griffonia stays weakened and vulnerable. I may have had some thoughts on introducing the ideas on either airships (which is just a boat with a hot-air balloon lifting it up and propellers by the rudder to give it thrust), cars (I have no idea how to make one nor got any files nor blueprints on those, just pictures of cars that I wished I would one day own), and tanks (same thing as cars so that is a no go), but what I can say that since this world has magic I am sure there is a workaround or an alternative means of producing and creating humanities greatest ideas.

'I would fucking love a god damn toaster right about now, so tired of cooking my bread on a skillet to toast it. Or waffles, waffles would be so awesome right about now.'

So, as I sit upon this bench with my thoughts running rampant with worry and fear of the future for both myself, I realize that I was no longer in the park nor was I even outside.

Instead, I found myself to be sitting on a wooden bench alone in the very front row of what looked like three statues, beautifully carved from solid slabs of marble and designed by master artisans, almost lifelike in nature and surrounded by burning and burnt-out candles. The low tones of words being chanted caught my attention as I saw several griffons on my left, all of them wearing white-ish beige robes, kneeling in prayer at an alter depicting a griffon wearing what looked like chainmail and wielding a warhammer in their talons. Turning to my right I saw even more rows of empty pews, a few more alters depicting brave griffon warriors in various poses and stances, all of them armed with some weapon or with just their claws out, my guess they were important knights and warriors of the realm that have been idolized by the people. And then finally I looked up and saw the griffon-equivalent of the Sistine Chapel and nearly fell over in surprise at what my eyes were seeing.

Row upon row of beautifully painted works of art dot the ceiling, history of the griffon people was laid out before me in mosaic patterns and swirls of color that I could never hope to comprehend, I had originally thought that all of their history was lost to time and from what I was told when Discord was unleashed upon the world and made books either fly away or had the letters on them disappear. But it would seem that I was wrong, the griffons do know their own history and that their past was preserved at least in some fashion, but how much of it is true and not embellished though is another matter.

“Excuse me my wayward child, but may I sit here for a moment?” The voice said in a low, elderly, yet kind and caring tone, a voice I did not recognize as I lifted my head to look up at them.

I was expecting some noble's grandparent to be standing there to ask me for the bench so that they and their spouse can rest here, or even better, a young couple asking me to relocate so that they can commune and pray to their gods to see if their relationship will work out in their favor.

What I was not expecting to see out here was the Archon of Boreas himself to be standing in front of me with a warm, gentle smile on his beak.

Giving a startled gasp of surprise I scooted over to the right I nodded at the elderly griffon. “Of course, Archon Eros, you can sit here. I’d just be on my wa- “I said and as I was about to leave and say my goodbye to the head of the holy order, but he raised a talon to stop me.

“There is no need for that my child, nor is there any need to leave. I wish to share some words with you, if that is alright with you.” Eros says this as he slowly sits himself down onto the bench, his advanced age clearly showing as I hear the sounds of muscles lightly popping over the sounds of feathers being ruffled.

“No, no, it’s no trouble at all.” I said as the old griffon continued to smile as his two papal guards moved into position on either side of the bench.

Watching the elderly griffon walk over and sit down I noticed that he was moving a bit slower since I last saw him. My guess is that his age is catching up with him or that his old bones is just aching from moving a little more than normal. Or it’s just the weather forcing him to be more careful as to not agitate his muscles and bones.

“So, my child, what thoughts and ruminations ails you?” Eros said as I sat up a little straighter, the old bird seemingly knowing that I was in deep thought, or at the very least knew that something was troubling me.

“How did you-“ I started to ask him how he knew but he cut me off by raising a talon at me.

“My child, I’ve been alive on this earthly plane for far longer than most griffons have been around. You have been in a contemplative state when I first cast my gaze upon you from the other side of the cathedral. Something deep is troubling you, something that has you afraid and unsure of your life. Whatever that is ailing you, I wish to hear it, maybe this old saint can lend assistance to this matter?” Eros said as he spread out his wings a bit and flapped them before rebalancing himself on the bench and turned himself to face me.

Letting out a sigh before slowly lowering my head to gaze at the ground beneath us I simply stared at the bricked pathway beneath my boots and started to wonder just what exactly had been eating at my soul as of late.

‘Why am I sad? I have two wonderful hens who love me, my best dog friend who is almost akin to my brothers, a well-paying job that has its risks but is just as rewarding, I have the ear of the king and queen along with a tentatively perilous friendship with their daughter, a lot of friends both here and in Talons End, friends with a changeling queen, and buddies with my diamond dog clan. So why am I so unbalanced and troubled?’

‘Oh…right…that thing.’

The piles of bodies I left behind back in Talon's End and in Tazul's forest manor.

Lifting my head up I stared at the statues and paintings away from the archon before opening my mouth.

"I thought I could handle it, your holiness," I said as the words started to tumble out, my voice trembling slightly. "I told myself it was my duty, that I was protecting the innocent. But when those raiders came to the town... to Talons End… when I had to draw my sword, I saw the fear in their eyes, just like my own. They were men, desperate, broken. And I... I had to kill them."

Truth be told I was hoping that they would have kindly fucked off after seeing that the town was moderately defended and within griffon territory, and that the only ones I would have to kill were those griffon bandits who were holding the princess hostage.

Oh how wrong I was.

The old archon seated beside me, rested a gentle talon on my shoulder. His face was lined with age, his eyes deep pools of sympathy. "My son, such is the burden of a knight. To hold your blade when others need your strength, but to feel the weight of each life you take—it means you still have your soul.”

I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. "How do I hold on to it? How do I stay... me, when every day I feel a little more of myself slipping away? I have some people waiting for me here. Two hens. They smiled at me when I got home, even after knowing what I did and the blood on my hands. And I-I fear for them, for what it means if they wait for me."

The archon gave a slow nod, understanding dawning in his eyes. "You fear that they might become another part of the cost of your duty. That the life you lead might one day bring them sorrow instead of joy." The elderly griffon said, his words carrying notes of sagely wisdom in them.

I looked up at him, my eyes pleading, desperate for answers, any answers that he could give me to ease my fears. "How can I ask them to wait? How can I build a future, knowing that any day, I might be taken from them or worse, that I might return to them as someone unrecognizable, hardened or disfigured by what I must do?"

The old griffon sighed deeply, his gaze moving towards the grand altar and its wooden dais holding the sacred idol on its bark. "Love is a brave choice, perhaps braver than wielding a sword. But it is a choice nonetheless, young hawk. The fears you carry are a sign that you value them, that you cherish the life you might share. You cannot shield them from pain, nor yourself from loss. But if you love them, and they love you, then perhaps that love is worth every risk, every doubt."

I closed my eyes as my shoulders sagged, the weight of my fears is eased just ever so a fraction. "But what if I can never forgive myself for what I do in the name of my king? How do I live with the choices I have made... the lives I have taken? The griffons I have failed?"

I couldn’t save everyone in Talon’s End, I still see their faces haunting my dreams whenever I lay my head down to rest sometimes. I still see that angry nurse hen glaring at me for nearly getting her lover killed in the last skirmish that day.

His eyes lowered as he spoke. "You find peace by remembering why you do what you do, and by seeking forgiveness—not just from Boreas, Eyr or Arcturius, but from yourself. You fight not because you desire conflict, but because you wish to protect. That is a noble thing, even if it does not always feel that way. Remember, young knight, we are all but mortal beings, flawed and fragile. To live is to struggle, and to love amidst that struggle is the holiest act of all."

Dragging a hand over my face, my fingers trembling slightly as I looked away from the altar and towards the ceiling. "It's not just the fighting, your holiness. It's everything that comes with it. The expectations, the endless demands, the sense that I'm never enough. I was trained to wield a sword, but no one ever told me what to do with the doubts that come after. How to carry the weight of being more than just myself—being a symbol, a knight of the realm. I am expected to be fearless, yet I am afraid of almost everything."

The archon listened intently, his eyes filled with a deep empathy that spoke of his own struggles in days long past. He leaned back slightly, his voice steady. "The weight of your station is a burden only those who carry it can truly understand. They see your armor, your title, and they expect certainty, unwavering resolve. But beneath that armor, there is still a hawk, fragile and finite. It is not the lack of fear that makes a knight, but their courage in the face of it. The strength to keep going, even when doubt gnaws at the edges of your heart."

I nodded slowly, but my face twisted with another wave of frustration. "But where does that leave me? My duty demands so much. I’m meant to be a protector, a leader, and even a husband one day. But how can I protect my family when I can barely protect myself from these fears? How can I be a good husband when my heart is constantly torn between the battlefield and home? The first time I left Griffonstone to carry out my orders it nearly ended with me getting killed by an alpha dog. Now I fear that every time I leave, I will wonder if it will be the last time I see their faces. And if we have children… how could I put them through the uncertainty of waiting for a father who may never return?" I said as I threw my gaze to the ground as I remembered all those times when my own father was constantly gone at sea, his career in the navy nearly consuming his life away from his own family.

‘Will I become just like him? Rarely home and a different person entirely?’

Sighing deeply, his gaze distant for a moment, as if remembering a lifetime of similar doubts. "The fear of losing those we love is as ancient as love itself. It is the cost of caring deeply. You wonder if you can be the husband and father they deserve, but that question is not yours to answer alone. It is for them as well, to choose if they are willing to share in your journey, wherever it may lead. The bonds we forge are not meant to be free of risk, my son. Love itself is a promise to stand beside each other, come what may. Your fears are valid, but do not let them blind you to the joy that love brings, however fleeting it might sometimes seem."

I felt my shoulders slumped further, as if the weight of everything I carried pressed harder with each word. "I fear I am becoming numb, Eros. With every fight, every life I end, I feel a part of myself fade. I used to believe in my cause without question, but now… I fear I am standing on the precipice of the abyss. On one side all the assistance that I have done will upset the balance on this continent and it will lead to war on a scale never seen before, and the other is that I stop trying to bring my peoples creations to this land to save it from destruction." I said to the old bird, my fears coming out for the archon and his guards to see.

The archon’s expression softened further, his voice almost a whisper now. "It is true, the shadows we gather along the way do try to consume us. And it is easier, so much easier, to close your heart, to turn away from the warmth of others in the belief that it will protect them, and yourself, from pain. But that numbness you feel, that distance—is only an illusion of safety. True strength is in allowing yourself to feel the pain, the joy, the hope, and the love. It is what keeps the darkness at bay."

He paused, allowing his words to settle in my heart before continuing, placing a wrinkly talon on top of my knee, "The world is not divided simply into right and wrong, good and evil. Often, you will find yourself walking in the spaces between, doing what must be done, even if it tears at your soul. But what will save you from losing yourself is the reminder of what you fight for—not for glory, nor even for the crown, but for the people. The ones you love, the innocent faces that look to you for protection. Let them be your light."

My eyes glistened as I looked away, trying to hide the emotion that threatened to break free that I have kept locked up for so long. "I want to believe that, Eros. I want to believe that love is enough, that I can still be worthy of it. But some days, I look at myself and see only the blade, a weapon, a tool for knowledge, something that only knows how to take and be used until discarded for serving its purpose."

And I fear that I may be right, that once I have given enough human ingenuity and our creations that the king will just have me executed so that nobody else can have it.

Eros moved closer, his voice almost fatherly now. "You are more than the sword you wield, the gifts you give, and much more than the title you bear. You are a creature who questions, who feels, who fears— and that makes you worthy of love, worthy of a future. If you were truly nothing but the weapon you fear, you would not be here now, pouring your heart out. Trust in those who love you to help remind you of who you truly are. They see what you struggle to see—your goodness, your soul, even when you cannot."

Letting out a shaky breath that I didn’t realize I was holding in, I felt my heart feeling both heavy and lighter all at once, a conundrum for the ages. I closed my eyes and nodded, a small, tentative smile touching my lips. "Thank you, Eros. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring me, but perhaps… perhaps I can find the strength to face it. For them."

I watched Eros slowly smiled warmly, his eyes filled with a mix of pride and compassion. "That is all any of us can do, my son. Take each day as it comes, and when the burden grows too heavy, let others help carry it. You are not alone—never alone. Let that truth guide you through whatever darkness may come."

I nodded once more, a sense of resolution forming within me. The fears would not vanish overnight, but perhaps, for now, I had enough to keep going, to keep loving, and to keep hoping that the future won’t be as dull and grey as I had feared.

"Thank you, Eros. I think... I think I needed to hear that."

The archon squeezed my shoulder, his voice kind and warm. "You are not alone in this burden, my son. Come to me when the weight is too much, and I will help you carry it. As long as you have love in your heart, there is hope. And as long as there is hope, the darkness cannot claim you entirely. Now go, and let Boreas's light guide your path, let Eyr's love fill your heart, and Arcturius shield your soul, my child."

And with that said I stood up from the pew and turned to bow to the archon, the old bird giving me a sagely nod before I walked away from him and the twin guards standing beside the pew, not even giving them a glance as I did not want to accidentally earn their ire for looking at them.

‘He reminds me so much like my grandfather.’

My boots echo loudly across the marble tile-work, clacking loudly with each step but they grow quieter as I approached the main doors leading out of the cathedral and headed back home.

‘Maybe… just maybe… I can make everything work out. For me and for my family.’

For a while my thoughts and dreams have been plagued by my actions I have committed since coming to this world.

The taking of not one but several lives back in Tazul’s manor in the forest, while warranted and most likely necessary it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Then there is the battlefield that is Talon’s End, the many, many bodies that I left behind on that day along with those who fought alongside me and the innocent who couldn’t escape it in time…

So many faces haunted me at night, making me suffer for what I have done, but now…

Now, now I can finally move past it, to accept it and move on with my life. I know from my dad still has his monsters in his mind when he was overseas during the early 2000s, I guess that the only difference between us is that his was at a distance while mine is up close and personal.

Now I can finally sleep at right and not wake up screaming or gasping for breath from reliving the battle at Talon’s End.

Looking up at the evening sky, the orange hue on the horizon signaling that it is nearly nightfall and that it was time to stop stalling and to get it over with.

Returning to the tavern I waved at my dogs and told them that it was time. When they asked me time for what, I simply hinted at them that it was time for them to meet my alpha.

Naturally they started to shake in fear, thinking that they were somehow in trouble for something that they did, I had to tell them that they aren’t in any kind of trouble and that it was a meeting of sorts.

Still didn’t do much to help them but it did get them to stop shaking in fear for themselves for a bit but are now worried about me.

Lovable pups, just wish they didn’t show their fear about my king. Maybe in time they would be happy to see him as they are to see me. Going upstairs I knocked on Moss’s door and told him that it was time. When pressed time for what, I reminded him about our task granted to me by his queen.

The sound of scrabbling hooves, clinking glass jars and hushed whispers tells me all that I need to know as I stand back and wait for the door to open.

Within seconds Moss opened the door as I watched three more glass jars, held in a green glow, get pushed aside behind the bed as the little disguised changeling smiled sheepishly up at me.

All I could do was smirk, chuckle and shake my head before I wave at him to follow me.

“So you got some more jars to offload your cargo?”

“No. I do not know what you are talking about.” Moss said as his muzzle scrunched up and his eyes shifted back and forth in an adorable manner.

Tussling Moss's mane and laughing at his snort of a response, we both walked downstairs and signaled for my dogs to follow us out. The sounds ofa multitude of dog paws tiptaping across the wood flooring brought a smile to my face as it reminded me of home with my pups.

"Come on pups, let's get a move on. We have royalty to greet."

It was time to meet the king.

Author's Note

Forgive me if there any errors or oddities, running in vapors.

The Night After

“You don’t come to the Cloud District very often so you?” A roving guard officer said as he walked beside me and my group of puppers and disguised changeling while his own group of assembled guard griffons moved with us.

"Only whenever I have to go to the royal castle for a request." I said as I glanced at the passing manors and high-end parlors and other fancy establishments as we walked by them.

"I see, well, it's nice to see one of our knights are out on duty instead of wasting their time talking their days away in the parlors about their past glories." One of the guards on duty said as he passed a small bag of clinking metal to one of the others in his patrol group.

My guess was that they were betting on whether or not they would meet someone important today.

Happy to help someone win some money.

Our arrival to the royal castle was with no fanfare or notice as the centurions standing at the front gate waved us in and nodded as for the reason why I was going in with my escorts of armored dogs and seemingly random pony.

"Sir Wilkinson, the king is waiting for you in the throne room, you may proceed but do take care that your... escort doesn't do anything to be an affront to our king and queen." And with that said the centurion moved aside and signaled for the castle gate to be opened and soon we were let in.

I can tell that this is going to be a long night.

The heavy double doors of the throne room creaked open, their ornate golden carvings shimmering in the torchlight. I stepped forward, my boots sinking slightly into the plush red carpet that stretched the length of the vast hall. The throne room was a masterpiece of opulence: marble pillars etched with silver filigree lined the chamber, and murals of the kingdom’s victories adorned the walls. At the end of the carpet, elevated on a dais, was the king’s throne—a majestic construct of polished marble and gilded gold, its backrest carved into the form of a soaring phoenix.

The room was crowded with nobles, their silk and velvet garments as vibrant as the stained glass windows above. Tension thickened the air, palpable in the narrowed eyes and hushed whispers as I approached. The lords and ladies of the court regarded me with disdain, some openly sneering, others murmuring behind jeweled fans and raised talons.

I kept my expression neutral, my posture straight, though I felt their gazes as sharply as if they were daggers. I had prepared himself for this as I knew that something like this would naturally attract every single noble in the city to hear what I have done. The archon's words still echoed in my mind as our little heart-to-heart came back to me “You are more than the sword you wield, the gifts you give, and much more than the title you bear.”, and I now know that these words will carry me through this little... meeting.

At the foot of the dais stood the king’s inner circle—advisors clad in robes of authority. Two of them glared at me as if I were an intruder rather than a knight. Beside them, Major Griesche Braxton of the 8th Legion stood rigid in his uniform, his expression unreadable but his presence commanding respect as he gave me a slight nod, it sure if it was out of respect for what I have done or because I am a knight.

Beside me was my troupe of diamond dogs, while they were unwashed and not entirely clean, they at least knew how to follow orders as they kneeled behind me and bowed their heads before my king. So happy that they know how to follow orders even if it doesn't make them happy, maybe my next order when we get to the tavern is for them to take a bath and have them not throw a fit while doing so.

And then there was the emissary on my left. Moss, the insectoid pony envoy from the Amber Hive stood slightly apart, their alien form is a stark contrast to the griffon assembly and diamond dog entourage. He bore the air of regal dignity, as best as he could given the circumstances and severe lack of chitin polish. His chitinous exoskeleton gleaming faintly, but the flick of their eyes suggested unease at the overwhelming hostility and unease emanating from the nobles. Before we entered the throne room, I told Moss to shed his disguise and to not mention that he can shapeshift his appearance as it may either unsettle or scare the griffons in the room and ruin any chance, we have at creating this alliance now or in the future.

I came to a stop a few paces from the throne, bowing deeply. “Your Majesty,” I said, my voice steady. “I have returned to report on the events at Talon’s End.”

My king, Guto the VII is an imposing figure even in grand repose, leaned forward slightly, his golden crown catching the light of the lit candelabras. “Speak, Sir Wilkinson. Even though we have the report from the major and the confessions from the captured Minotaurs, please do tell us what has transpired at our borders.”

I straightened myself out and stood straighter, my gaze meeting the king’s. “The town of Talon’s End has been fortified and its industry improved as per your orders. However, we faced an unexpected attack by a warband from the Ruby Mountain Range. The assault was led by the alpha from Clan Halistro, claiming information about Kal’Minos envoys were within the town.”

A murmur rippled through the room, and I continued, my voice unwavering. “The siege lasted several days. The town’s walls were breached, and I engaged the alpha in an honor duel, emerging victorious. With the timely arrival of the 8th Legion, we repelled the invaders and secured Talon’s End from the diamond dogs .”

“Secured?” One of the king’s advisors, Duke Winfield Irontalon, a wiry male griffon with a sharp and cracked beak, interrupted me. “Half the town was razed! Homes lost, lives shattered, and yet you stand here claiming victory?”

The murmurs grew louder as I inclined my head slightly, acknowledging the outburst. “The losses were grievous, my lord, and not a moment passes where I do not reflect on what more I could have done to prevent it. But the town stands, its people live, and those responsible for this assault are in chains.”

The silence following my last words was broken by a sharp, derisive laugh from a heavyset noble dressed in emerald robes embroidered with the insignia of House Velmar. Lord Edric Velmar stepped forward, his gilded cane tapping on the marble floor.

“A standstill, you say?” he sneered, his voice dripping with condescension. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I fail to see how a knight who allowed a border town to burn and its walls to crumble under his watch deserves anything but censure.” He turned his hawk-like gaze on me. “You speak of victory, Sir Wilkinson, but all I see is failure wrapped in excuses.”

Murmurs of agreement spread among the court, bolstering Velmar’s confidence. A noblehen in an elaborate sapphire velvet gown nodded. “If you had been more competent, fewer lives would have been lost. How can we trust this… this upstart to defend the crown’s interests when he couldn’t even hold a single town?”

I felt my jaw tightened as I clenched my hands into fists, the knuckles becoming more pronounced as a few of them popped, but I kept my voice calm, “I had sixty town guards and my security escort of thirty legionaries from the capital, my lady, and a handful of volunteers to defend Talon’s End against a colossal warband of over five hundred diamond dogs. We held the town for several days, despite their use of battering rams and overwhelming numbers. Tell me, my lady, how would your son have fared under such odds?”

The noblehen recoiled, her cheek feathers flushing red as her tail snapped back and forth in great agitation. “You dare—”

“I do dare,” I interrupted, my tone sharper now. “Because I was there. I fought in the mud and the blood. I saw the faces of farmers and craftsmen, terrified but willing to die for their home, and I stood with them. If you think you could have done better, my lady, or you, Lord Velmar, perhaps you should have led the reconstruction initiative for Talon's End yourself? Or are your titles and fine clothes all you have to show for your loyalty to the crown in which it prevents you from leaving the capital?”

Gasps rippled through the room, and several nobles bristled at my boldness. Lord Velmar’s face turned a blotchy red as he sputtered and his feather and fur bristled, “You insolent piece of—”

“Enough,” Guto’s voice boomed, cutting through the noise like a blade. The court fell silent immediately, all eyes turning to the monarch. He leaned forward on his throne, his piercing gaze fixed on Velmar. “You seemed so eager to criticize, Lord Velmar, but I don’t recall you volunteering your forces or your gold to strengthen the frontier. Tell me, were you too preoccupied with your hunting lodges to notice such a threat on our borders?”

Velmar’s beak opened, then closed, his words faltering and failing him.

The king’s eyes then shifted to me. “Sir Wilkinson speaks with the conviction of one who has earned his place. The defense of Talon's End was a monumental task that came out of nowhere, and while it was not without cost, the town remains under my banner. For that, you have my gratitude, Sir Wilkinson.”

Feeling a weight get released from my shoulders I bowed deeply. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I only regret that I could not do more.” I said with a touch of sincerity in my voice.

“Regret is the burden of command,” Guto replied, his voice softer. “You will carry it, as we all do who have come to lead and guide those beside them.”

Before the room could settle, another voice chimed in, one of the king’s inner circle, a wiry hawk with a shrewd glint in his eyes. “Your Majesty, while the knight’s defense of Talon's End is commendable, there is still the matter of his…companions.” His gaze slid toward Moss, the changeling emissary. “Should we not question the wisdom of allowing such a creature into our court? We know nothing of their intentions nor of their abilities.”

The griffon in question who spoke was none other than Cereon Greytalon, a shrewd industrialist who has made it his goal to mass produce my introduced steel and other industrial-grade inventions I have shown to the king, he is still a sack of shit for trying to cut-corners and shave off resources to save himself a pretty coin.

Sensing it was his time to shine Moss stepped forward, his teeth clicking softly before speaking in a clear tone of authority. “I am Moss, envoy of the Hive Queen Ambrosia of the Amber Hive. My kin have long remained hidden beneath your lands, and we come forth seeking an alliance and trade with your kingdom and kin.”

The assembled nobility was taken aback when Moss spoke, nearly all of them were not expecting him to speak in a language they can understand let alone know that they were talking about him at all. To the collective of griffons he looked just like a pony that has been mutated into an insectoid version of their equine kin, but to me he was just a little buggy...

And a little bit pervy when he is peeking through a window.

I straightened up once more, my voice steadily calming down but is resolute. “The emissary is here at my request, as a gesture of trust. The hive queen seeks peace and an alliance, not conquest. After what I saw in the mines near Talon's End, I believe their word can be trusted. They have been isolated down there for centuries and know nothing that has transpired over the long years, but now they wish to contribute to the surface world. If we dismiss them out of fear or ignorance, we may lose an ally who could strengthen the kingdom against those who are trying to undermine us.”

Looking to the nobility I saw that several of them were slightly nodding at me, understanding my actions and why I have taken them, but the rest are still giving me glares of skepticism and distrust.

Graytalon raised an eyebrow, “And what of the warband you now lead? Are we to welcome barbaric diamond dogs as well? Or perhaps you intend to play warlord yourself, Sir Wilkinson?”

The insinuation drew sharp murmurs from the court, but I met the hawk's gaze without flinching. “I lead them because I defeated their clan alpha in an honor duel. They follow me not out of loyalty to their cause, but out of respect for my strength and the fact that I promised them a better life under a fair leader and not out of fear of reprisal for any failure on their part. And I lead them not for personal gain, but to prevent them from becoming a threat to our lands again under a different clan alpha. They are no longer raiders; they are people who can be shaped into something greater, if we give them the chance and the time to do so.” And it also helps that they are dogs because there is one thing that I know as a human is that dogs are a man's best friend, and that they are friend-shaped so that they can be tamed and taught to be friendly.

And it wouldn’t hurt to have a diamond dog companion to serve as a security blanket…

The king slowly raised a talon, silencing the collective murmurings once again. His expression was thoughtful as he regarded me with a look of quiet approval. “You’ve taken great risks, Sir Wilkinson, some would say that would have cost you everything. Yet, you’ve brought us new allies, new opportunities, and evidence of the minotaur's warmongering actions. Time will tell if your choices were wise, but for now, you have my thanks.”

Bowing once again, the growing weight of the room’s judgment still heavy but my resolve remained unshaken as I felt the weight get pulled from my shoulders by my king's approval. I knew this was only the beginning of my trials in the capital and in the kingdom as a whole, but for now, I had done all that I could to defend my honor and my integrity.

The nobles’ outrage erupted into open whispers and squawks, accusations flying left, right and center as several talons were pointed my way.

Clearly, a hefty chunk of the nobility still does not approve of their king's approval of my actions and were now being vocal about it, and before the king could raise his talon again to silence them, one bird had the audacity to speak louder than their station allows them to.

"If this is what it looks like when he protects a frontier town... I dread to see what it will look like when he defends one of the cities within the heart of the empire?" One of the noble hens said in a low yet loud enough tone, her beak hidden behind a fan to conceal her face and to hide the fact that she said it.

I clenched my fists as the murmurs of disapproval grew louder. My pulse quickened at the accusations, but I held my tongue in check for the time being, fixing Lord Velmar and the other dissenting nobles with a piercing glare that could melt steel beams. Their sneering faces starting to blur in my mind, replaced by the bloodied faces of the fallen in Talon's End. The weight of their accusations pressing down, the cries for help and screams of the dying playing in my head until finally something within me snapped.

They know nothing!

“You weren’t there,” I said, my voice low but sharp, cutting through the court’s incessant noise. The nobles all turned their attention to me, some bristling at the audacity in my tone.

“What did you say?” Lord Velmar demanded, his face reddening as his feathers and fur started to bristle once more.

I took a step forward, my voice rising as I pointed a finger at the little bastard. “I said, You. Weren’t. There! You didn’t see what I saw. You didn’t fight where I fought.”

Velmar opened his mouth to retort, but I silenced him with a glare, my anger bubbling to the surface. “Do you want to know what Talon's End was like?" my glare slowly intensifying as my lip started to twitch, "So let me paint you a pretty picture. Imagine if you will, you are watching a gate you just barely managed to repair crumble under a makeshift battering ram made from a fallen tree. Imagine seeing raiders pour through the breach, cutting down anyone in their path. Men and women, farmers and millers, innocent griffons and ponies I had fought and bled besides, slaughtered like animals!”

The murmurs died, the weight of my words settling over the room like a storm cloud. My voice rose further, shaking with raw emotion. “I watched as townsfolk I called friends were dragged from their homes and butchered in the streets. I saw children being dragged off as they called for their mothers and fathers to save them. Do you know what it’s like to hear their screams, knowing you can’t save them all? Of course you don’t!”

“Do you know what it’s like to see all that you have worked hard to build and protect burn and crumble around you? Do you know what it’s like to watch your friends die at your feet knowing that you could’ve saved them if you were just a little bit faster, or just a little bit stronger to save them? To live with the guilt of knowing that they died while you didn’t? I still wake up at night, sometimes even screaming awake as I hear the voices of those I failed to save and those that I have killed clawing at me begging me to k ow why did they die!”

“You. Simply. Weren’t. There.” I said with finality in my voice as I stared down the impetus noble for his words.

Some of the nobles flinched, others shifted uncomfortably. Guto remained still, his expression unreadable, but his eyes never left me.

“And when the alpha came for me,” I continued, my voice cold as steel, “I nearly died. He broke three of my ribs, cracked my jaw, and left me bleeding in the dirt. But I stood up. I stood up, and I killed him because there was no one else who could. The people of Talon’s End looked to me to protect them, and I did more for them in those days than any of you have done for this kingdom in your entire lives!”

The last words rang through the hall, echoing off the marble walls. The silence that followed was absolute, the nobles stunned into speechlessness. My chest heaved, lungs burning in anger as I felt myself still simmering, but I refused to lower my gaze at the impetus noble who dared to speak against me.

After a long pause, Major Braxton cleared his throat and stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. “What Sir Wilkinson says is true. I was there when we arrived with the 8th Legion. I saw the aftermath of the siege. If not for his leadership and resilience, there wouldn’t be a Talon’s End left to defend. The town owes him its survival, and so do we.” The major then saluted to me before standing back at attention close to the king.

I gave a slight nod of gratitude to Braxton but didn’t take my eyes off of Velmer. “You stand here in your silks and jewels, passing judgment on me as if you could have done better. But you couldn’t. You wouldn’t have lasted a single day.”

One of the inner circle, a hen with sharp features and an ornate chain of office, Lady Cecania Marshtail glared at me. “You forget yourself, Sir Wilkinson. You speak to your betters.”

I let out a bark of a laugh that was bitter and broken. “Betters? The people of Talon’s End would disagree. They’d call me a knight. A protector. A hero. What would they call you if they heard you now?”

Several low gasps rippled through the court, and the hen’s face darkened in fury.

But before she could even speak, she was stopped.

“Enough,” Guto commanded again, his voice like thunder. His gaze bore into me, but it was not one of anger. “You have made your point, Sir Wilkinson.”

I stepped back, my breathing slowing down to bring myself back under control, lowering my head to defer to the king. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. My tongue ran ahead of my respect for the crown.”

My king’s eyes softened slightly. “There is no need. You spoke from the heart, and the court would do well to listen. The defense of Talon’s End was no easy feat, and you have suffered for it. While your passion is admirable, you would do well to temper it. A knight must command respect not just with his blade, but with his words.”

I bowed deeply before kneeling down before the throne. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

King Guto turned his gaze to the nobles. “Let it be known that Sir Wilkinson defended Talon’s End with valor and determination. We do not judge a hawk by where he was born but by the strength and valor of his deeds. If any here wish to challenge his worthiness, speak now or hold your peace forever.”

None dared to speak, their resentment now buried beneath the weight of my testimony and the king’s authority.

The king leaned back in his throne, his voice carrying the finality of a granite gavel. “Sir Wilkinson, you have my thanks. This court is adjourned. You and your companions will remain in the city while we deliberate further on these matters.”

As the nobles began to file out and leave the grand chamber, some casting lingering glares at me, I stood up and I stood tall. My words had been spoken, my heart laid bare. For better or worse, the court now knew exactly who I was…

…and what I had endured in their names and interests.

But just as the last of the nobles filed out, I was stopped by the entrance to the throne room by the centurions on duty when they crossed their halberds, barring my path as I had an inkling of a guess as to what is about to happen.

“So, my little human, I take it that there isn’t anything else you wish to share with us or the council before you leave? Something of importance perhaps?” A mature feminine voice said from behind me as I slowly turned around and saw that the king and queen are still sitting there waiting for me to answer them.

The earlier noise of the court’s murmurs and whispers was replaced with a tense, oppressive silence.

King Guto rose from his throne, his expression unreadable as he gestured for me to stand. “Sir Wilkinson,” the king began, his tone heavy with authority, “before you return to your home, there are matters of grave importance we must discuss.”

The queen, seated beside him, leaned forward slightly, her gaze both stern and curious. “You spoke of mines and discoveries beneath the earth. Tell us, what exactly did you find?”

Clearing my throat and straightening out my collar, I prepped myself for the coming grilling, “Your Majesties, within the depths of the abandoned mine and from the journal of the previous owner, we discovered previously untapped veins of gold and silver. It is a treasure trove, untouched and hidden for decades, if not centuries since it was abandoned.”

Murmurs rippled through the council. Lord Geldric, the spymaster, stroked his chin thoughtfully as he stepped out from behind the throne, keeping to the shadows of the chamber. “If what you say is true, those mines could fund the kingdom’s coffers for generations. But such a prize will not go unnoticed. Minos, or even the diamond dog clans from the Ruby Mountains, might see it as worth fighting for control over.”

“That is not all, my lord,” I interjected. “Deeper within the mine, we uncovered a hidden passage leading to the kingdom of the changeling race. Their matriarch, Queen Ambrosia, has sent with me the emissary to seek peace and alliances with the surface. They wish to trade knowledge and resources. I believe they may be willing to help us secure the mines, should we honor their trust.”

The queen exchanged a glance with the king, her beak pressing into a thoughtful line. “An alliance with such beings is… unorthodox. But it may also be an advantage we cannot ignore let alone let slip pass us.”

King Guto nodded, then turned to Major Braxton. “Ensure the 8th Legion reinforces Talon's End and fortifies the mines. We cannot allow Minos or anyone else to claim this discovery.”

Major Braxton saluted. “It will be done, Your Majesty.”

The spymaster cleared his throat. “Speaking of Minos… we must address the letter found on the captured lord.”

At a nod from the king, a scribe stepped forward and unfurled the parchment. “The correspondence,” the scribe began, “after thoroughly examining and with our mages scrying it for any further details that have been hidden between the lettering, it reveals a small detailed plan for the next stage of Minos’s invasion route. They aim to use the Ruby Mountains as a staging ground, bypassing our defenses on the plains beneath it. Their ultimate goal appears to be a full-scale conquest of the kingdom.”

The room fell into a stunned silence. The queen’s talons gripped the arms of her chair, her knuckles white. “How close are they to carrying out these plans?” Major Braxton asks this in a terse tone, as he did not know of this when his junior officer deciphered the letter.

I spoke up, my voice firm but held a hint of a crack to it. “Your Majesty, based on the letter we have and the forces they’ve already deployed to the conquered warrens as said in the letter, they are nearly ready. The siege of Talon's End was likely a test of our defenses, testing the waters, a precursor to a greater assault in the making.”

"A prelude to war."

The king’s expression darkened. “Then we must act swiftly. Sir Wilkinson, you have seen their methods firsthand. What would you recommend?”

Stepping forth from his fellow archons, the Archon of Arcturius, Franz Proteus, made himself known as he planted his warhammer into the marble tile. Naturally this drew the attention of everyone in the room as we all turned to look at the imposing archon. Of course Eros is shaking is head in disapproval in his fellow archon while Erion is watching this with a thin grin of amusement.

“Your Highmess, may I intrude and ask why you are requesting military insight from a knight who has only been in one minor conflict when you have those under your command who have been in countless battles, skirmishes and conflicts in your name?”

Guto gave the archon a cursory glance and for a moment he was silent before letting out a short laugh.

"Archon Proteus, while I will always listen and hear what my military commanders and generals will have to say, I am interested to hear what our friend has to say on the matter. After all we know that the minotaurs will simply bulk up their defenses whenever one of their outposts or forts is attacked, we know that the diamond dogs barricades their warrens and sends out raiding parties from easily sealable tunnels, and as for us we reinforce and scout the area for any lingering threats. We know nothing of what a...human, would do if their territory is ever attacked. Maybe their insight and strategies can further our own and improve ours so that when the time comes we can sweep aside those that threaten us."

Franz's eyes widen a bit at that, he was not expecting his king to say such things, let alone be that wise when it came to military matters, but maybe that is why he is the king and why is family line has lived for so long.

With a barely contained or concealed grunt of acquiescence, the warrior priest of an archon steps back and lets me have my say.

I hesitated for only a moment before responding to my king, “Strengthen the frontier, Your Majesty. Send reinforcements to Talon's End and keep an eye on the Ruby Mountains with scouts and outposts. And…” I paused for a brief moment, casting a glancing gaze at Moss, who stood silently at the edge of the room looking at the tapestries with awe. “...consider forging an alliance with the Amber Hive. Her people’s knowledge of the underground could give us an advantage, both in defending the mines and perhaps in allowing us to move underground away from any prying eyes from both any minotaur and diamond dog scouts.”

Now if they had human technology such as airplanes or armored vehicles then it would be a steamroll over the bulls, but as of now I could only tell them of what they are capable of doing at this moment.

The griffon queen studied me carefully, trying to find any crack or falsehood to what I was proposing, “You would stake the kingdom’s future on the word of these… insectoids?” Victoria said, cocking her head to the side, questioning me intently.

“Changelings, and yes, I would, Your Majesty,” I said without hesitation. “They have as much to lose as we do. And in truth, they offered peace and aid before we even knew they existed. That speaks volumes about their intentions.”

Guto rose from his throne and started to approach me, his decision clear in his voice. “Then we will consider this alliance, though it will require further deliberation. Sir Wilkinson, you have once again proven your worth to this realm. Prepare yourself, your role in the days ahead will not be an easy one nor will it be a short tenure.”

I knelt down one last time, my head bowed. “I am ever at your service, Your Majesty.”

Victoria too got up and approached me as she spoke but in a softer tone as she placed a talon on my shoulder, “And Sir Wilkinson… thank you. For all you have done.”

Once the royal pair left the chamber with their royal guards in tow, the inner council close behind them leaving me with Moss and my diamond dogs alone in the throne room. Standing up I looked out the window and let out a sigh of relief as I have dodged a bullet, I do not know if failure would've been well received here but if I am to hazard a guess I can see being posted to a terrible position in some barren wasteland or to Griffon Siberia.

And with the weight of the now taken off my back, the weight of the future bore down on me like a ten-ton brick. The mines, the overhanging threat of Minos, the trust of the changeling queen, everything hung precariously on the decisions made in this room. And once again, I would stand at the center of it all.

I need a friggin drink.

Maybe two...

With permission to leave the castle granted I told my dogs to return to the inn with Moss, and told them that we may be here for a while longer, a week or two tops but I can easily cover their stay at the inn.

The walk through the Cloud District at night was a slow one, there wasn’t a noble in sight and only the soft putter patter of paw pads and the crunch of snow from my boots are our only symphony of sounds as the night began.

Winter, or early spring nights are cold as hell here in the griffonian heartlands, and since I didn’t bring a sweater or had some hearty stew, I am freezing my nips off out here.

The last of the winter snow is almost all slush now as we all walked back to the middle districts, I waved farewell to my companions before stepping up to my home, the lights were on which could only mean one thing.

With a relieved sigh I opened the door to my house and saw the letter from the equestrian monarchy was still there where I left it and seeing that I have sorted out my business for the day, and quite possibly the rest of the week, I think it was high time that I cut this one open and see what lies within.

Grabbing the letter opener resting within the drawer of the table I slid the blade onto the wax seal and cut it open and for a moment I felt a brief tingling sensation course through me for a few seconds before fading away. With that slight moment of strangeness over with I opened the envelope and pulled out the letter and started to read it.

First thing I noticed about the letter is that the ink used was silver. It was honest to god silver ink, it wasn't ink that was just colored silver or silver tinted, but actual, genuine silver that was liquidated and made into ink. I don't know how rich someone has to be to request they turn a precious metal into writable ink but god damn that is a serious sign of wealth.

Like... carve your name into the planet so that it can be seen from orbit level of wealthy.

Naturally I couldn't help myself as I was reading it in a stuffy, pompous voice that one can only assume was from an upper crust of society mare.

To the Most Esteemed and Noble Lord Ian of House Wilkinson, Knight of Griffonia,

May this missive find thee in good health and spirits,

The Grand Royal Highnesses, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia of Equestria, are pleased to announce that you are invited to partake in the Grand Galloping Gala, a grand feast and merrymaking, to celebrate the bountiful harvest and the many blessings we have received from the benevolent hooves of Harmony. The time hath come to gather in goodly company, to partake of the finest victuals, and to revel in the joyous sounds of music, song, and dance.

The occasion, most august and splendid, shall take place within the walls of my humble abode, nestled on the verdant mountainside of Canterlot, on the eve of twenty-first of June, when the silvery orb of the moon shall bathe the land in its gentle light, and the stars shall keep their silent vigil over the festivities.

Upon thy arrival, thou shalt be greeted by a retinue of servants, garbed in their finest livery, who shall lead thee to the Great Hall, where tables laden with the choicest deserts, fruits, and sweetmeats await the pleasure of thy discerning palate. The finest wines, aged to perfection in the deepest cellars of our estate, shall flow freely, filling thy cup with the nectar of the gods.

As the night doth progress, thou shalt be entertained by the most skilled minstrels and troubadours in all the land, whose melodies shall transport thee to realms of enchantment and delight. The air shall be filled with the sweet strains of the lute and the harp, and the rhythmic cords of the cello.

And yet, dearest Lord Ian, the true joy of the evening shall be found in the company of friends, both old and new, whose laughter and mirth shall echo through the halls, lifting the spirits and warming the heart. For what greater pleasure is there in this life, than to share in the fellowship of kindred souls, united in celebration and cheer?

Thus, I entreat thee, with all the fervor of my heart, to honor me with thy presence at this most joyous occasion. Let not the cares of the world keep thee from this night of merriment, but instead, cast aside all worries and join in the revelry, as we give thanks for the blessings we have received, and make merry in the company of those we hold most dear.

In closing, I do send thee my warmest regards and most heartfelt wishes for thy continued health and prosperity. May Harmony watch over thee and thine, and may we meet again under the most favorable of stars.

With all the grace and humility of a true friend,

Princess Luna Duskbringer, Lunar Diarch of Equestria

As I finished reading the letter I had to set it down as I felt like I was just flash banged with an avalanche of flowery words and even flowerier scent of perfume that was laced with the letter itself. I had to stop myself from sneezing several times throughout the letter as I was reading it and even now, I am fighting back the urge to let loose the nose goblins residing within.

Once I had gotten my nose troubles under control and no longer pose an issue, I read the letter again and after picking through the ye-olde english writing and decrypted what was written into something far more manageable for the human eye to comprehend.

What the fuck is the Grand Galloping Gala?

But after thinking back to what my mother would say about her old English and French history books she would enjoy reading while I was out at school or work, it clicked for me.

It pretty much boiled down to 'As one of the princesses of Equestria, I am inviting you to the fanciest party at our nation's capital and this may or may not be a means of me trying to apologize for blasting you in the chest when we first met.'

But to me? It sounded like the world's fanciest, gaudiest, most pompous party on the planet and that I have been invited to it by a foreign ruler which means I cannot say no to it without making me look like a colossal prick for doing so.

That and it will more than likely that to the pony princess that I am slighting her and will possibly take it as a grievous insult as well.

Looking into the envelope I saw that there were three tickets inside, which I found to be odd...normally invites to a party is just you plus one other, be it a spouse, girlfriend/boyfriend, or just someone to hang out with as a friend.

But this letter came with the usual two tickets, and one extra.

'How do they know that I am in a flock with Gilda and Greta? Are they spying on me? How long have they been spying on me and who is doing the spying?'

Questions for later, and answers probably at an even further time, but nonetheless it would seem that there is a spy or spies from the equestrian throne here in Griffonstone.

As I sat there on the sofa, letter in hand and three golden tickets resting on the coffee table, I heard the front door open up for a few moments before slamming shut soon after, as a pair of griffons in girl-talk mode walked in stopped in the doorway.

Gilda and Greta, my precious beloved flock mates, both of them shaking with giddiness with one being giddier than the other, I’ll let you take a guess who that was.

“So, how was the trip to the clinic? Everything go alright?” I asked the excited pair and before I could inquire further, Gilda launched herself at me while Greta stayed by the doorway with a grin on her beak.

Gilda was smothering me in her fur and feathers all the while nuzzling me with her beak while giggling loudly to herself, I thought that this was how I was going to die but fortunately for me it wasn’t as she stopped and leaned back to get a good look at me.

“Well?” I asked again, this time a little eyebrow raise and slight questioning in my tone.

Gilda, much to her delight that she has me right where she wants me while Greta tip taps over to us and sits beside me before her intrepid friend voices what she is holding back.

“We went to the clinic, and they said that the results will become clear in about one to two weeks’ time, but from what the head physician said, they are seeing that the results are running the range of yes and very much yes.” Greta says as she calmly snuggles beside me, letting me know all that I needed to hear.

“If what we witnessed this morning is if any indication that her heat dying down completely after our escapades, then it leaves only the solid conclusion that she is with young.” She finishes as I feel two pairs of wings wrap around me as they both begin to purr in happy satisfaction that they have me trapped and cocooned with them.

It takes me a few seconds to let the words sink in and for their actions to ring home as a lightbulb flashed within my mind.

Turning my head to look at Greta, then to Gilda, and back and forth this went until my head started to hurt from slow whiplash and I had to stop myself as emotions and feelings that I thought that would never rise up again manifested itself into being.

Grabbing onto both Greta and Gilda I rose from the sofa, and I started to twirl around with them I tow.

“I am going to be a father!” I shouted in absolute jubilation as I felt my hens hold onto me tightly as they repeated what I said and what they said only made me happier.

For the longest time I thought that I would never be able to have a family, even after my brother started his own and that one ended in failure due to outside circumstances.

But I will make my family proud of me, wherever they are, and I will not let my new family down.

I will provide for them every single thing that they need, and I will always be there to support them.

Author's Note

End of Arc One

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and that 2025 is not a shitshow that 2024 was!

Arc Intermission: Consequences

It has been three days since I have returned home from the frontier, and the day before I went to the hospital for proper medical treatment and care for my injuries I have sustained out on the empire's edge.

They have looked me over and with the assistance from a unicorn mage, they gave me a thorough scan and the diagnosis wasn't very pretty. Two broken ribs (very minor that they weren't bothering me so I can guess it's more like bruised ribs), cracked left humerus (upper arm bone), and a fucked up knee (which is also already doing better but they still told me to take it easy with getting up, sitting down and using stairs) but, at the very least it wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

And after returning home for a brief stint of resting on the sofa doing nothing, a knocking at my door obtained my attention and when I went over to see exactly who was disturbing my rightfully earned rest, it was a squad of centurions waiting outside my home.

'A meeting with the council', the centurions said, 'It is imperative that I attend immediately', they said, apparently letting an injured knight rest and recover from his injuries with his family is not important enough, so with a minor hint of reluctance I agreed and put on some proper outing clothes before leaving with the centurions.

The council chamber was stifling, the air thick with the scent of oil lamps and tension despite the early spring chill that clung to the capital. I was shifting uncomfortably in my chair at the long mahogany table, my posture stiff not from protocol but from the bandages constraining my chest. The bandages wrapped tightly around my torso tugging at my bruised ribs whenever I moved a centimeter in any direction, forcing a grunt or a barely audible grimace out of me. My left arm rested in a sling, and boy did my body ache with each and every movement I made. The battle at Talon’s End had left me battered in body and spirit, but duty demanded my presence here, at the king’s inner circle meeting on how to move forward and possibly, digging for more of my insight and possibly knowledge and technology of humanity for these situations.

Yet, my discomfort was a shadow compared to the weight of the decision being made in the room right now.

The king’s voice, steady and commanding, cut through the murmurs of the filled chamber. “The treachery of Minos cannot go unanswered."

My gaze flickered from the archons sitting across the table then toward the king. The griffon's presence was magnetic, his light fur streaked with gray giving him an air of wisdom hard-earned through years of leading a fractured kingdom. My respect for the older griffon ran deeply, but today, today that respect warred with a rising dread for the words that he will utter out that will change everything for us all.

“Minos didn’t just betray us,” one general argued, High Lord Ironclaw of the First Legion, leaned forward as he slammed his fists onto the table. “They used the diamond dogs as a weapon! There has been several raids along our borders with the Ruby Mountains for weeks and those raids have cost us lives, resources, and the trust with the Ruby Mountains! And now they’ll move to capitalize on our weakened borders along with our distrust of our eastern neighbors.”

"Their attempt to pit us against the diamond dogs and weaken our frontier has failed, but the cost was great. Innocent blood was spilled, and several towns and villages are in shambles. Their plans are now laid bare, and their intentions to claim our lands for their so-called 'Project Prometheus' is loud and clear. I will not sit idly by while my griffons are threatened and targeted by their acts of aggression.” Guto said as he sat a little taller than the rest of the council, his fur standing on end as he glared with unseen intensity at the general.

I felt my jaw tighten as I replayed the siege in my mind as it would seem that only the mere mentioned of what happened at Talon's End is enough to send me down PTSD junction. The desperate cries of the militia, the thunderous crash of the breached gates, the grim duel with the diamond dog clan alpha, a duel that I just barely survived. I felt the weight of every life lost, every home destroyed, and yet the king’s words held a grim inevitability that was now unavoidable.

War was coming.

And it was coming sooner rather than later.

Another voice interjected, this time it was the Archon of Eyr, his tone cautious. “But a war with Minos... the kingdom is still recovering. Our armies—”

“Will be ready,” the king interrupted, steel in his voice. “We have no alternative. Peace cannot be maintained with those bulls at our doorstep!”

The room fell silent, save for the faint crackle of the hearths and our collective breathing. I shifted slightly in my seat, the bandages were still too tight, and it was making me uncomfortable, but unfortunately for me the movement drew the king’s gaze towards me.

“Sir Wilkinson,” the king addressed me directly, “Your bravery at Talon’s End has not gone unnoticed. You held the line and uncovered the truth of the minotaur treacherous actions. You were there. You’ve seen what we’re facing. What do you make of this?”

All eyes turned to me, some of them with amusement as they wanted to see me flounder and stutter over my words, while others were giving me genuine looks of wonder as they were unsure of what I would say to the king, and for a moment, I felt the pressure of all their stares more acutely than the pain in my ribs. I straightened up, sucking in air as I ignored the sharp protest of my body for the quick motion.

“Your Majesty, the people of the frontier have endured much. If we go to war, we must ensure their safety and rebuild their trust in our protection. Victory will mean nothing if we lose their faith and their lives.” I said as I swallowed hard, my throat drier than California during the summer drought time.

I continued to talk, my voice measured as my ribs made their protest known with stunted words and the occasional sucked gasp for air, “The situation at Talon’s End was... grim. The diamond dogs were relentless. They were convinced they were acting in self-defense, manipulated into believing we were the aggressors and were protecting the minotaurs that came into town. But their desperation... it was matched by our own. If not for their alpha's sense of honor and fear of being called a coward by his own clan and losing his position, the town would have fallen, and its citizenry enslaved or worse.”

I paused, letting the weight of my words settle over everyone. “And now, the diamond dogs of the Ruby Mountains have been humiliated. They’ll be wary of us, perhaps even hostile. Minos aimed to destroy our alliances, and the peace deal we have made with them along with our defenses in our northern frontier. They have nearly succeeded on all fronts.”

The king’s expression tightened, but I had pressed on while the iron was still hot.

“But war, Your Majesty... It will cost us dearly. Our armies are not nearly as strong as we once were if the history books I have read are of any indications, and the frontier is critically vulnerable as of this very moment. Minos has been preparing for this for gods knows how long. We risk playing into their hands if we are not overly prepared and overly cautious.”

A murmur rippled through the room. The king’s eyes narrowed, but not in anger—it was the look of a man weighing every word with the truth and consequences of each and every available action that can be produced.

“And what would you propose, Sir Wilkinson?” that was not something I was prepared to hear from him, nor was it something the rest of the council was wanting to hear as well.

The room was quiet aside from the crackling hearths, for a moment I thought I could hear the tapping of the window from a sparrow sitting outside, but it must've been my imagination as all eyes were on me.

I was hesitating. What could I propose? The bloodshed at Talon’s End was still fresh in my mind. I had fought tooth and nail to protect the townsfolk, had faced the diamond dog clan alpha in single combat and barely survived. Yet here I was, back in the capital, alive while so many others lay dead and the lives of so many are shattered and in ruins.

“I don’t have an easy answer, Your Majesty,” I admitted, tone heavy. “But if war is the only path that we must walk, then we must prepare for a long, bitter fight. And we must ensure that the people we defend understand the cost we are about to place upon them all.”

The king studied me for a good long moment before nodding his head slowly. “Your words carry weight, Sir Wilkinson. And I do not take this decision lightly.”

The council murmured their agreement, but Ian’s thoughts lingered on the faces of those he could not save. As the meeting continued, he resolved to see this war through—not for glory, but for the lives that still hung in the balance as the voices of the advisors blending into a haze as my thoughts drifted. I saw the faces of the militia and guards I had commanded, their grim determination as they fought to defend their homes. I saw the townsfolk huddled in the ruins of their homes, their hope fragile but unbroken as they fully believed that I was going to save them all.

And I saw the shadows of what was to come: a war that would stretch far beyond the borders of Griffonia, its ripples touching every corner of the continent and beyond them.

The sounds of metal clashing against metal, blades biting deep into flesh and bone, the screams and cries of the old and young, the dead and dying, the tongues of flames licking all within their paths as the ground itself swallowed everything whole and was unyielding and uncaring of who it devourers. I saw the gravestones of thousands upon thousands of lost souls, both innocent and damned lining the hills and valleys, whole families and their lines forever broken, scattered and ended, bloodlines cut short, the griffons and ponies weeping and howling in sorrow as all that they have worked for was uprooted and scattered to the four winds never to return to what they once were. The lines on the map will be redrawn, but in what shape and whose side wins I do not know, only that there will only be one true 'winner' and several 'losers' in this war, and I can only hope that it is our side that wins.

Looking up from the table I could only chuckle weakly to myself as the councilors, advisors and generals are talking amongst themselves, trying to create battle plans and stratagems to combat the minotaur threat, but when they head me laughing, they all stopped and looked at me with curiosity and intrigue.

"What has come over you to be laughing so mirthfully at this hour?"

"All of this... it reminds me of a saying from back home... 'O la vittoria, o tutti accoppati!'" I said as did it in my best Italian voice that I could, knowing that none of the griffons here would understand a word I said or what the accent was.

But one griffon among the council, their eyes lit up as they looked at me.

"That language... I believe one of the territories to our southern border speaks that language. I have heard it a few times, but I do believe one of the legions down south is stationed there and speaks fluently in that tone. But what does those words mean, if I may be so bold to ask sir knight?"

Taking a long sigh as I rubbed my aching ribs I gave the older hawk a tired look. "It means, We either win, or we all die."

When the meeting finally adjourned, I remained seated, my head bowed low as my body was crying out for rest. A hand rested gently on his shoulder. He looked up to see the king, his expression softened with gratitude and concern.

“Rest, Sir Wilkinson,” the king said. “You’ve done more than your share. The kingdom owes you a debt it can never repay.”

I slowly nodded, but the words did little to ease the storm within me. As I left the chamber, limping slightly on my injured leg, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my battles were far from over.

In fact, they were only now just beginning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the grand capital of Minos, deep within the imperial palace, the minotaurian emperor sat brooding on his obsidian throne as he stared angrily ahead of him. Maps and documents littered the central table, their meticulously drawn lines now mocking him with their failure.

“How could this have happened?” he growled, his voice a low rumble that sent his advisors cowering. “How could a plan so carefully laid come to this?”

One of the aides stammered as the minotaur generals kept quiet and were looking away to keep their heads. “M-My Emperor, your nephew’s capture was unforeseen. He was simply supposed to travel to Griffonstone and purchase the services of the diamond dog outcast that the griffons have recruited. The Griffonian military must've intercepted the letter before it could be destroyed. Their defenses of the one frontier town held longer than anticipated, and Sir Wilkinson—”

The emperor slammed his fist against the armrest of his throne, the sound echoing through the chamber. “Enough! I know who Wilkinson is. A single knight… and he has cost us everything.” He rose, pacing before the massive map of the continent spread across the chamber wall. His eyes burned as he traced the borders of Griffonia with a stubby finger.

His nephew’s face flashed in his mind, the younger bull proud and eager to prove himself. And now, captured. The shame alone was enough to boil the king’s blood, but the implications were far worse. The Griffonians knew everything, about Project Prometheus, his plans for the frontier. Decades of meticulous preparation and scheming, all undone in a single stroke.

“We will adapt,” he said, more to himself than his aide. “They will declare war soon, and so war they shall have. Mobilize the northern armies. Prepare the iron legions." The bull emperor stood up and looked at his generals, his massive frame casting a long shadow over the table. “Double the forges. Every weapon, every piece of armor, I want it ready within the month. And summon the clans. If they refuse to fight, remind them of their oaths to the crown. Project Prometheus will not be delayed.”

The aide hesitated. “But, sire, with the Griffonians aware of our plans…”

The emperor turned sharply, his gaze cutting like a blade. “They are weak. Broken. Their frontier is in shambles, and their armies scattered. Let them come. They will break themselves against our walls, and when they do, we will claim what is rightfully ours.”

One of his advisors stepped forward hesitantly. “My lord, the Griffonians are resourceful, but their kingdom is still fractured and divided. This war may still give us the advantage if—”

“If we act decisively,” the king finished, his tone sharp. He turned to the map, his finger tracing the borders of the Griffonian Empire. “They’ll think themselves strong now, emboldened by their so-called hero knight. But they’re fools if they believe we’ll stand idly by and let them prepare themselves and get a strong footing against us.”

The advisors nodded quickly, but one hesitated. “And what of your nephew, my lord? They may use him as a bargaining chip.”

The king’s expression darkened. “They can keep him. He was a fool to fail me.”

The advisor flinched, but the king’s gaze remained fixed on the map. His mind was already moving beyond the immediate crisis, calculating the next steps.

“This war will be a trial by fire,” he declared. “And when the flames die down, it is Minos that will stand tall among the ashes and the griffons will be the cinders that will break beneath our hooves. You are all dismissed.”

The aides bowed deeply, and the generals saluted, all of them retreating from the hall as the emperor returned to his throne. Alone, the emperor’s expression hardened into cold resolve. The war had not gone as planned as he had hoped, but he would turn the tide. He always did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The golden light of dawn spilled across the alabaster spires of Equestria’s royal palace, painting the city below in hues of amber and rose. In the serene halls of the Royal Palace in Canterlot, Princess Celestia sat in her private study her, quill poised over parchment as her eyes lingered on the morning’s report as the morning light casting a golden glow across the marble floor and satin red carpet.

Across from her kneeled one of her most trusted agents, a lithe figure with the telltale signs of long travels etched onto her face and posture. She waited patiently, the silence punctuated only by the scratching of the quill as Celestia finished her final note.

“Your Highness, it is as we feared." the agent said but before he can continue, Celestia cut the mare off and picked up where she left off.

"Griffonia has declared hostilities against Minos and is on the cusp of declaring war on them as well. The first skirmishes will soon be underway all along the northern frontier just as you have predicted.” Celestia's hooves folded in her lap, her expression serene yet tinged with sadness. “War is a poison that spreads swiftly,” she said softly. “And once unleashed, it spares no one.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the agent replied, her voice calm despite the weight of the news. “The minotaurs were exposed before they could execute their plans. The knight, Ian Wilkinson, appeared to have been instrumental in uncovering their schemes.”

Celestia’s gaze shifted over to the agent, her expression inscrutable. “Ian Wilkinson,” she repeated, her tone laced with curiosity. “Tell me more of him.”

The agent hesitated. “Sir Ian Wilkinson, the young knight who exposed the minotaurs’ plot, has brought new techniques to Griffonia from wherever his homeland is located. Forged steel, advanced irrigation, printing presses that are almost the same as ours, proper railroad designs and what looked like a new train design that I have not seen before, and lastly what looked like designs for a new ranged weapon. A young knight that has newly risen to prominence as he led the defense of Talon’s End against a diamond dog siege, then uncovered evidence of minotaur treachery. Injured in the process, but alive. This is a being we must keep a very close eye on as they may very well be an agent of change.”

Celestia leaned back in her chair, her hooves lightly drumming against the desk as her mind races on what to do next, on what pieces on the board to move, on how to proceed with this new information. “Remarkable,” she murmured. “One being shifts the course of nations. And now Griffonia stirs, its king rallying his people for war.”

"Their kingdom will rebuild quickly, Your Highness. This war may reshape the balance of power on the continent.”

Her gaze turned toward the window, where the city of Canterlot bustled below, its ponies blissfully unaware of the turmoil brewing across the ocean. Celestia’s kingdom had remained untouched by war for centuries, a beacon of peace and prosperity. But peace was fragile, and the flames of conflict often spread farther than their origin.

“Your assessment, then,” Celestia said, her tone sharpening. “How far will this war reach?”

The agent hesitated for a moment before speaking. “The minotaurs are strong, but Griffonia is rebuilding. If they gain momentum, they could tip the balance of power on the continent. And if the diamond dogs or the other factions are drawn into the conflict...”

Celestia nodded, her expression distant. She had seen this pattern before: ambition giving rise to war, war leading to ruin, and ruin leaving nations vulnerable to exploitation. Equestria had remained neutral through countless conflicts, its shores untouched. But neutrality was not the same as passivity.

Celestia’s gaze lingered on the map before her, marked with delicate symbols indicating the movements of armies and the whispers of spies. “Then we must act swiftly. Double the number of agents in Gryphonia and Minos,” she ordered. “I want eyes in every court, ears in every council. And send envoys to both nations. We will offer our assistance in mediating peace, though I suspect neither side will take it. Offer aid to the innocents displaced by the conflict. And…” her voice grew colder, “ensure that Griffonia’s recovery does not come at our expense. Peace is a delicate balance; one I will maintain at any cost.”

Her agent bowed, departing with a whispered, “As you command.”

As the agent departed, Celestia rose from her chair, slowly moving to the window. The sun has fully risen now, its light casting long shadows across the palace gardens. Her reflection in the glass showed a serene visage, but beneath that calm exterior lay a mind constantly calculating, adjusting, preparing.

She ruffled her wings behind her back, her voice soft but resolute. “Peace is not simply the absence of war. It is a garden that must be tended, nurtured, and defended. If Griffonia and Minos wish to burn their fields, so be it. But I will not let their flames consume this kingdom.”

Her thoughts turned back to Ian Wilkinson, the knight whose actions had ignited the war. She felt a pang of admiration and a touch of sorrow. Stallions like him often found themselves caught in the gears of history, their lives shaped by forces far beyond their control and understanding.

Alone, Celestia's mask of composure faltered for a moment. “Let us hope,” she murmured to the empty room, “that peace does not demand a price too steep to bear. Let us hope,” she murmured to herself, “that he is as resilient as the dawn.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Griffonian palace dungeons were a world apart from the splendor above. The air was damp and cold, carrying the faint stench of mildew and decay. Torchlight flickered along the rough stone walls, casting long, shifting shadows.

In the deepest cell, a griffon sat on a crude wooden bench, his back against the wall and his talons resting loosely on his knees. The prisoner’s face was hidden in the dim light, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp, calculating intelligence. He listened intently as footsteps approached, each step measured and deliberate.

A guard appeared at the cell door, his helmet tucked under one arm. Without a word, he slipped a folded scrap of parchment through the bars before retreating back into the shadows.

The prisoner unfolded the note, his lips curling into a faint smile as he read its contents. The news was exactly as he had expected.

“So, the king will declare war within the coming months,” he said aloud, his voice low and smooth. “How predictable. And young Ian... hailed as a hero.”

He leaned back, letting the parchment drop to the floor. The guards who brought him news—and the occasional luxury—were not loyal to the king. They were loyal to him. Even in chains, his influence extended far beyond the walls of his cell.

Closing his eyes, the prisoner allowed his mind to wander. He saw the Griffonian court, the proud king seated on his throne, oblivious to the webs of intrigue woven around him. He saw Ian Wilkinson, the upstart knight who had thwarted his plans with the young princess and dared to challenge his authority within his own home.

“Foolish boy,” the prisoner murmured, his voice tinged with amusement. “You think you’ve won. But all you’ve done is delay the inevitable.”

His talons traced the scars on his wrists, a reminder of the price he had paid for his ambitions. But pain was a teacher, and revenge was a powerful motivator. The king would pay for his betrayal, and Ian... he would learn what it meant to cross the wrong hawk.

Another set of footsteps echoed down the corridor, and the prisoner straightened. This time, it was a different guard, one who lingered just long enough to mutter, “The first strikes will begin by the beginning of summer.”

The prisoner nodded, dismissing the man with a wave of his hand. Alone once more, he allowed a chuckle to escape his lips.

“Let them fight their war,” he said to the empty cell. “Let them bleed each other dry. When the time is right, I will remind them all why they should have killed me when they had the chance.”

He leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with cold determination. The flames of war were rising, and in their shadows, he would find his opportunity.

“Soon,” he whispered, a promise to himself and to the world above. “Very soon.”

Not what I was expecting

Griffons, a race of predators that have the top half of an eagle with the bottom half of a lion. They are violent, territorial, moderately greedy, and most importantly they value honor and family above all things. Well, the last two don't technically count, especially with what has been happening to them when I first met them.

When I first met the griffons, I was sort of thinking that everything was just a dream and that I would just wake up some time later. I sort of woke up in the dream in the middle of a sun-scorched field, grass was almost nonexistent here as the land seemed to have been bled dry of nutrients and water and when I looked up I saw a mountain range and in the middle of the range was a city built on top of a short mountain, but what really caught my eye was that there was a colossal tree growing on top of it with a castle at the very top.

At first, I thought that I was just seeing things that I just chalked it up to my imagination shaping it as such because why the hell not, not like this is real or anything.

Looking myself over I saw that it I hadn't really changed at all. I was still wearing the jeans that I fell asleep in, the same Game of Thrones shirt that I use as my sleeping attire, same stank black dress socks, and same DC hoodie. What I don't get is why am I wearing my ratty shoes and have my backpack for college with me along with my wallet, car and house keys and my cellphone? Did I die or something with all this on or is this just a really fucked up and strange dream?

Shrugging at the sight of the strange city on top of the mountain I decided to go to it and see what it holds, it might be like those things one might find while playing a video game or reading a fantasy novel. The hike up the mountain, on the other hand, was not fun, it felt like my lungs on fire and that I was gonna crap out my heart because my body really wanted to die.

Walking up the mountain is something that I should be used to because I used to be part of the boy scouts but seeing how I haven't back to those people in like three years and I also haven't been taking a real good care of myself in those years, sorta drifted to laziness and gained a few pounds cause of that. The way up the mountain wasn't that hard, it is a gentle slope upwards while curving in unto itself like a zigzag instead of going all the way around in a circular fashion. The only downside to this is that if someone wanted to be an asshole they could just cause a landslide and kill me and anyone else that might be going up or down at this moment.

When I was scaling the mountain I saw several trees growing off the side of the road and to my surprise carved into the bark of the tree from the roots connecting to the mountain all the way to top was stairs was a small house. At first, I thought I was just seeing some crazy shit but as I got closer while walking up the path I saw that it was indeed a house although it looked pretty rundown.

It is sad really, a tree house that looks like that it can fully function as a normal residential building only for it to fall apart.

By the time I reached the end of the road I was met with a strange archway, not sure what it might represent but whatever it does mean I have no idea, for all I know it is just a gate welcoming people or it could be a proverbial middle finger.

Walking through the archway I saw several more tree buildings beyond it but they were all in the same condition and if not in even worse condition than the previous one. I don't know what lives here but if I know my dungeons and dragons like I know them than it could either be elves or gnomes, can't be dwarves cause they live in the mountain unless they got the boot for being an evil bastard or did something dishonorable.

It was as I walked further down the road did I start to see what looked like concealed figures gazing at me through their ruined windows and shutters, gazing at me with what I can only guess is either contempt or uneasy dismay that a stranger is seeing their precious home in such a ruined state of existence. And I wouldn't blame them if someone came to my home and it was a completely ruined and utter mess than of course, I would be either mad that they came over while it was like that or be sad that I couldn't do anything to fix it.

Several thoughts ran through my head as I continued to make my way into this strange city, some of them was that why am I even dreaming of something so sad like this, why was I even dreaming of this when I could be dreaming of that new Avengers movie that will come out soon where shit goes down real hard, real fast. Then there was that one thought of where the hell is everyone at? The city might as well be empty because I haven't seen hide, nor hair nor whisper of breath from anything living here.

I swear if this place is actually a literal ghost town than I am just gonna nope my way out of here post haste, and by post haste I mean wake up and try to fall asleep again to hopefully get a better dream.

But unfortunately, that wasn't the case, when I got to what must be the town square for what is the lower portion of this city I finally got my first sight of the people who live here. And by people, I mean animals, lots and lots of animals.

Now, I know that this is a dream and all but when I saw this place I was expecting people to be living here but what my eyes are seeing says otherwise. There are griffons walking about, some are flying but for the most part, there are griffons here, no humans, no elves or gnomes and sure as shit no dwarves.

When I first stepped foot in the town square I wasn't even noticed but after taking one step into the square proper did one of the griffons spot me and almost immediately it spread like a wave as every single griffon in the immediate area stopped whatever they were doing and turned their heads to look right at me. Every single griffon was staring at me and all of them had mixed expressions strewn about their beaks. Many of them didn't really seem to care that I was there, a few seemed to be happy to see a new face, others seemed angry or upset, and some...they looked like they just found the love of their life.

Awkwardly waving at them I watched as several of them went back to what they were doing while a few remained looking at me through the corners of their eyes. As soon as they returned to what they were doing I decided that if I am going to figure out where I am then I might as well go talk to one of the griffons, assuming they can even speak English or even Spanish and if all else fails then I am rightfully fucked six ways to Sunday.

Walking to the nearest griffon I noticed that he, assuming that he is a he, is rather elderly if the balding and liver spots are of any clear indications. The elderly griffon has a greying black coat of fur, his head has balded to the point where there are barely any feathers on his head with just a few stragglers on the rear of his head, his left eye also had a scar running through it and that it was also grey, quite possibly meaning that he is blind in that eye.

Tapping the elderly griffon on the shoulder I watched with a bit of an amused grin as he got spooked and jumped into the air in surprise.

As soon as he came down from his fright he looked at me and at first he recoiled in fear or shock but immediately settled down when he saw how harmless I am, I mean seriously, I didn't even have a weapon with me unless you count a set of keys as a weapon.

"Ah, a youngster from the outside world coming to see the beauty that once was Griffonstone. I am sorry to say this sonny but this place has seen better days and this ain't one of em." I am surprised I could even understand that I was expecting it to be nothing but squawks or chirps or roars, not perfectly understandable human words.

Staring at the old griffon in surprise for a moment before shaking the stupor off, I then proceeded to introduce myself to him.

"Uh...hi there. I am just wondering where I currently am. I am sadly lost at the moment." I said in a rather sheepish manner, but in all honesty, I am correct, I am lost and I have no idea where I am.

Was this some location in a video game that I have played but just forgotten about? Something from a novel or a movie? A comic book perhaps? Something from the internet?

"I can see that sonny, you are like a fish outta water here and around these parts, somegriffon will see that and try to take advantage of ya. Don't let em cause who knows what they could do to ya if they get their claws on you, and from the looks ya you look like an easy target what with no scales, no claws or talons, not even a horn to cast some magic on ya."

"Yeah...I know, but when it comes to me I always have a trick or two up my sleeves." I said while moving one of my hands to the pockets on my jeans and the other moved to my hoodie pocket.

Watching his eyes go to where my hands went he kept his eyes there for a moment before seeing me smile widely, showing my teeth to him and when he saw that I had some good chompers did he relent with me being a weak target.

"Some mighty fine teeth you got there, sharp lookin' fangs as well, good to know that I wasn't talking to some grass muncher who is naive to the dangers of the world." Seems like the griffons here are the predators and whatever is out there is prey, isn't that just dandy.

I wonder if there are any...erm...couples out there that are predator and prey? Nah, I highly doubt that would never work.

Before I could try to get the conversation back on course to where I am, the elderly looking griffon waved his talons off before rambling on. Assuming he was going to speak again I stopped listening when I heard something shuffling behind me and when I turned my head to see what it was I saw two griffons wearing what look like scarfs or some sort of high-rise collar but what really caught my eye was that they were wearing belts and they each and a talon gripping the hilt of a sword.

"Were you expecting trouble with me or something?" I asked as the two griffons took their talons off of their sword hilts and backed down, seemingly at the command of the elderly griffon.

"You can probably say that... too many times have a few certain ambitious griffons tried to rob me blind when I wasn't paying attention to what I have to sell. Well, what little I have left to sell anyways." The old griffon said but this time his voice going down a bit, sad that such things have happened to him due to his advanced age.

"Well don't worry, I won't cause trouble, kinda hard to when there are two experienced guards watching my every move who are also armed with swords. And besides, I was taught never to steal from someone else, unless they are bandits than it is alright." I said while laughing a little bit, the elderly griffon joined as well before going into a coughing fit for a moment.

When I tried to apologize to him for causing him to nearly cough up a lung he just waved me off, seemingly happy that I at least cared to see to his well-being. Apparently, most would either just ignore his current condition or try to rob him blind.

"It is nice to see that at least there is somegriffon that isn't a selfish prick or a thief here." The old griffon chuckled again but this time avoided his coughing fit by a margin.

"Is everyone here really a selfish prick or a thief?" I asked, afraid that he would say yes and confirm my fears.

"Aye, sadly that is the case but it always wasn't like this...oh no this city used to look a lot better and every single griffon here used to be much nicer and friendlier. Ah...those were the good old days......" I watched as the elderly griffon let out a wistful sigh as he longed for the past, going over what was lost as I watched a single tear was shed from his blind eye.

Seeing him cry plucked one of my heart strings, something that rarely happens anymore these days, and in that moment I just had to ask the big question.

"Not to rude or anything but, what happened to this place? And I am not talking about this town square but the entire city? It looks like a wild tornado tore through this place like a bull in a fine china shop." And to my surprise he didn't look anger or upset at my question at all, in fact, I think it has actually sparked something within him, possible something good? Hopefully, something good cause I really don't want to get killed by something that doesn't wear pants.

"It is alright sonny, and at least there is somebody out there that is interested in what happened to us instead of just ignoring us or our calls for help." He said before waving me inside a building, probably his shop or his home, probably both seeing how this place feels very fantasy-like.

"This all started...I think it was at least thirty years ago, our kingdom was prosperous and it extended almost as far as the eye can see from the top of the tallest spire of the castle. We had it all, the wealth, the prestige and honor, and most importantly we had our dignity! But all of that was taken away in an instant when that...monster attacked us. I don't know where it came from but we only know that it was called an Arimaspi, some kind of giant one-eyed goat monster whose greed can be matched with that of a dragon."

"Anyways because of that beast it stole our sacred idol that means the world to us griffons and because it was stolen it sent us all into misery. When we tried to get it back the beast fell into the Abysmal Abyss and along with our idol. Several brave griffons tried to dive into the abyss to get back our idol but only one returned with empty talons. We mourned the loss of those that didn't make it but what we mourned more was the sheer fact we will never return to what we once were without our idol."

"Over the years we slowly started to fall apart and then came the fighting, the stealing, the robbing, eventually we sort of just gave up hope on everything. Now we are nothing more than a broken people, our king still sits upon his throne but even he can't do anything to help uplift our spirits let alone find those brave enough to go get back our idol."

And with that said the elderly griffon settled down and sat in a rocking chair before grabbing a worn cane and used it to help him stay upright.

"This idol, is it still in the abyss?" I asked as I started to look around the store, noticing how bare it seems to be.

Looking up at me the griffon's eye twinkled a bit, almost sensing what I am about to ask next.

"Yeah, it is. What? You want to try your paw at finding it?" The old griffon said as he leaned forward a bit, waiting for my answer.

I nodded my head yes, that I did want to try finding it. Cause I mean why not? This is a dream, right? I don't have to worry about dying for real and besides if I do this than I would get good karma and not worry about going to hell if I do die in this dream.

"Well, if you are going to be doing this then I expect that you will be needing a map on how to get there, some supplies to make it there and maybe a weapon to fend off anything you might find there." The elderly griffon said before he waved one of the guards over and immediately he started to bring to the counter in front of me the things I would need to go on this quest.

"Yes." In all honesty, I don't even know if they will accept my money cause I mean, its paper and mixed metal coins.

"Well, then I will give you everything that you will need for your journey to the abyss. All that I ask in return is that you make it back in one piece, too many griffons have already lost their lives in their hunt to retrieve the idol back and I don't want a death on my mind when it could have been avoided in the first place." That surprised me, I was expecting that I would have to pay for my provisions but I am glad that I didn't have to, no way in hell he was going to accept my money.

Taking what was on the counter and putting them into my backpack after making space for them, tossing out the useless binders and textbooks and replacing them with dried bread, dried meat slices, some rope, an anchor for the rope and lastly a small metal sword to defend myself in case the worst happens and a monster attacks me.

Once everything was put away I shifted the backpack where it belongs and looked at the elderly griffon, a smile on his beak is a strange sight but a welcomed one at that, but there was something on my mind that I just couldn't shake off.

"You never told me your name when we met," I asked, moving the sheath for the sword to my own belt, making sure it is secure so it doesn't just fall off at any point on my way to the destination.

With a wrinkly smile, the elderly griffon spoke but this time keeping his smile.

"My name is Grandpa Gruff." he said, and for an old griffon he seemed to have aged well...well I think he aged well, not sure if that is what they are supposed to look like when they are old.

"My name is Ian," I said as I shook hands er...talons with the grandpa griffon.

"Strange name, but good luck Ian the Outsider. May your journey be swift and trouble free." Grandpa Gruff said before waving me off, seemingly trying to act like he had a customer but we both know that he just means well. Or so I hope for.

Walking to the entrance to the shop I looked back one last time at Grandpa Gruff and then to his two guards, the one on his right gave me a thumbs up before the other one bumped him in the shoulder. Seems like he doesn't like me that much if he doesn't want his friend to do my best.

What is the worst that can happen?

I don't get paid enough for this...

You ever get that feeling when you wake up and you have a numb arm or leg, and when you try to move it, it tingles and stings like hell?

Well, when I woke up I found my whole body to be tingling and stinging, and let me tell you.

It fucking sucks balls.

I mean really, this feels a whole lot worse than that one time I fell off the roof of my house when I was putting up Christmas lights. Sure it hurt like hell for an hour at best but god damn did it feel like the worst thing on the planet.

Peeling myself off the ground I felt pain lance through my body, something which shouldn't be there because this is just me sleeping in my bed back home, maybe this is a lucid dream? Anyways when the pain came and went I looked at my surroundings to find that I am still in the Abysmal Abyss, but instead of only being near the top of the abyss, I was now at what must be the bottom of the abyss, my gold idol sitting right at my feet but I now feel a rather idol shaped lump on my head where it used me as a cushion.

Groaning at the pain that decided to stay behind and remind me that this hunk of gold that the griffons love more than anything else used me to soften its landing, I looked down and saw that the idol was still intact, or as intact as it can be since I don't know if any part of it is missing. Grabbing the idol I looked it over, finally noticing that I must have only been knocked out for a few moments because the sun is shining directly down the abyss, providing me with the necessary light that I will need to escape this hole in the ground and see my treasure.

The griffon idol, made out of pure gold due to how heavy it is, has a unique shape.

Its appearance is at first that of a gold chalice, a thick flat base to stand on, and within the cup shape itself is a seemingly out of place brightly glowing red orb, and what looks like a gold featureless griffon skull.

This thing would really go great on my mantle, it might even be a great conversation piece!

Anyways, when I picked up the gold idol I realized that I am going to be having a hard time lugging this thing all the way back up what might be a mile of rough and quite possibly slippery rock.

Fuck. My. Life.

"This damn thing better be worth a bloody fortune cause there is no way in hell I am going to be happy if I only get a pat on the back and a thumbs up for returning this thing. And I swear to god if my reward surmounts to a thank you then I will just chuck this thing back into the abyss." I muttered darkly to myself as I tried to figure out how I am going to get back up the abyss wall.

I didn't have enough rope to make the climb back up, I didn't have any rock climbing shoes nor did I have any rock picks to climb with. In all I can say that this is surely a pickle that I am caught in.

'Okay...a heavy idol, no real means of climbing back up...no friends to call upon...how am I going to do this.'

Calling upon my inner reserves of intelligence and cunning, my mind came up with a brilliant plan that can not possibly fail.

I am going to climb the rock wall, without wearing any shoes or socks. If I can catch my underwear with just my feet after taking them off and flinging them in the air, then I am sure I can scale a rock wall with no problems.

'Come on monkey feet don't fail me now!'

Placing one foot in front of the other I grabbed my idol and stuffed that little golden bastard into my backpack before making my first and probably not my last attempt at climbing to freedom.

One foot in front of the other I slowly made my way upwards, slow as molasses in winter I went up and up, nearly slipping and eating shit in the process but I made my way upwards.

At the progress of a snail I scaled the rock wall, I muttered curses and swears because honestly, this sucks for a beginner quest. Honestly if a game ever did this to me I would either fail it on purpose or just abort it upon receiving it cause this is bullshit to the highest degree. Oh go to this massive crack in the ground and retrieve our lost sacred idol! Just make sure you don't mess up on the way down or else you will spend the rest of your life climbing back up! They should have slapped a warning sticker on this thing cause damn this sucks major ass.

I had to keep stopping on my way up to rest and recover, my hands and feet are hurting something fierce along with my back aching from having to carry what must be a several pound/possibly a hundred pound gold idol, for so many minutes, probably an hour or two already. Not only do I have no idea on how to properly climb a mountain but I have no idea if what I am doing is a good idea, I mean I got a gold idol, probably has the density of a dying star and if I fell and landed on it, it would more than likely break my spine and kill me.

So no real pressure in not fucking up and falling to my death.

Grabbing a small ledge I hoisted myself up, making sure that I have a firm footing and a strong grip on the handhold I got before moving ever upwards, I do not want to be stuck down here like that one guy...forgot his name but he was stuck in the middle of bum fuck nowhere and his arm was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

No way in hell am I going to cut my arm off if I get stuck, how the hell will I masturbate with just one arm?

'Just keep climbing, don't look down, and for the love of god don't panic!'

That was my mantra for the past hour and let me tell you something, it is hard as hell to climb a rock wall with no harness, rope or tools. I nearly fell five times and that was all in the exact same spot so I had to pause, move a few feet to the left and climb back up cause if I am almost falling to my early demise in that spot then it means that it can't be trusted.

I do not know how long it has been since I fell down this hole or even how much time has passed since I started to climb but I can already feel my body trying desperately to shut down to recharge because I am feeling like I did a single round with a boxing champion and got my ass savagely handed to me. Before my body decided to do a forced shutdown I finally gave in and with the small crawlspace that I had managed to find before I would plummet do my death I crawled into it and stopped to rest.

Now normally this would be about the right time for a swarm of bats to wake up and ruin my day by flying right at me to dislodge me from their home, but instead I was greeted by nothing and was allowed to sleep off the exhaustion that has crept up upon me during this vigorous workout session.

My recovery rest would have been a complete success if it weren't for one little problem...

You see, while I had my eyes closed and my back facing the small crawlspace that I was using, it apparently was a secret entrance used by a race of beasts that I was told about and to avoid meeting but I was unfortunately unable to do anything about it because when one is asleep, snoring loudly and is not paying any attention then one can say that you are rightfully fucked.

With my eyes closed and back facing the darkness, I failed my Listen check and while I was off in La-La Land, I was met with a terrible fate.

The pitter patter of padded feet silently snuck up on me during my trip to Snoozeville, and in that silence I was rudely awoken by the rough handling that I received. Big meaty hands covered my mouth and throat along with another pair of big meaty hands grabbed me by the ankles before dragging me into the darkness.

All I could do at that point was angrily shout at myself for secretly failing my Spot Check earlier before being once again conked on the back of the head.

You ever get that feeling, you know the one I am talking about.

That feeling where you are in a huge heap of trouble and there is possibly no way that you can get out of it without paying some sort of price in the end? Well, I am about to have that moment and I can say that I am not going to like the price I am going to pay to get out of it.

Groaning in pain from having my head whacked once more and from being roughly manhandled I wake up to see that I am no longer in the abyss but now in a proper cave.

A cave that just so happened to have some crude torches, rusty metal bars and smells like shit.

Wrinkling my nose at the atrocious smell I shook the sleepiness from my eyes and as soon as they adjusted to the low amount of light I looked around and I saw what looks like a dozen of griffons, all of them wearing shackles on their back legs and on their wings, something that looks like a minotaur and something else. Something that I know that shouldn't exist in my dreams.

Not even sure what part of the quest I am on but this is the first strangest thing to happen to me.

Sitting amongst the griffons and lone minotaur was a horse and yet it isn't entirely. It's color is off from the normal colors that it normally should be, its hella dark, like dark as night dark. It had bat wings which I know for a fact that horses don't have, so it isn't a horse and last time I checked my mythological crap, a Pegasus is a horse with feathery bird wings, not leathery, fleshy wings. This thing also had fuzzy little ears instead of the normal little almond shaped ears that a normal horse has. And also this horse had fangs.

Let that sink in a bit.

Fucking. Fangs.

You know, fangs, the things that all meat eaters have or should have. The sharp teeth that is used to rip and tear into tasty, cooked flesh with ease before shredding it into even smaller bits to swallow down without choking on it.

Well, this horse has fangs, has dark fur and a set of bat wings. I don't know about you but that is usually something evil and can't be trusted to not do something devious behind your back. That horse has evil demon written all over it.

And the first thing it did was get up from its resting spot and rushed me before jumping into the air with its wings spread out and a pissed off look in its eyes.

And my first reaction to it was to punch it right in the muzzle.

I know that isn't the nicest of things to do when you first meet someone, but I am not going to get killed off on my first quest by a demon bat horse. That is a low way to die, even for someone like me. And besides it was a just punch to the muzzle and not say, its balls if its a guy. I sure as hell can't tell its gender cause I didn't have enough time to check the plumbing when I first saw it.

Now this is the second strangest thing to happen to me.

It talked.

"I am going to kill that stupid mutt!" Yeah, first time meeting this thing and it calls me a mutt. You know what, sorry mom but being nice to someone you meet shouldn't always happen.

The bat horse tried to take a second swing at me but like before I punched it in the muzzle but this time I grabbed it by the hair on the back of its head, slammed its four foot tall body into the rusty bars before tossing it on the ground and sitting on top of it.

"Get off of me you mangy mutt!"

"Are you going to calm down and be civilized or are you going to continue to be an asshole?" I said as I kept one hand on its head and the other on its rear, ready to give it a punch or a tail pull if it tries to get all uppity with me.

I found this to be amusing, the demon bat horse tried to get up but when I pulled on its tail and hair at the same time it stopped immediately and let out a whimper of defeat, or annoyance, I don't really know but I find this to be pleasing because every attempt it made to escape from underneath me I would only need to give a tug to make it stop.

"So are you done being an asshole or do I have to keep on tugging?" I asked as I gave another tug but this time it was weaker.

'The message I was giving was clear as day, stop being rude and I will get off of you and stop tugging your hairs.'

It didn't take long for the bat horse to get the message and as soon as it did it surrendered to me, lowering its head and let out a snort of defeat.

Achievement Unlocked: Defeat the Demon Bat Horse

As soon as it submitted itself to me in defeat I slowly got off of its back before backing away from it, I rather not get bitten by it let alone have it kick me. Being too close to something that clearly hates me is a sure fire way to get hurt or worse killed.

"Ha! See what happens when you try to fight something smarter than you, you get your flanked kicked!" One of the griffons said to the bat horse, mocking it as it turned around and went back to the griffon pile.

"Oh shut up you twat muffin, how was I supposed to know that dog is smarter than the ones holding us down here?" The bat horse said, clearly speaking with a masculine voice. At least I did a beat down on a guy and not a chick, would make me feel like shit for harming a lady...erm...mare?

Would it still be considered animal cruelty since I was harming this horse demon?

"I don't know, maybe ask him before rushing in head first. That's how you got yourself stuck down here with the rest of us." Another griffon said, this time this particular griffon was female as I could tell by the softer tones that was used.

"Yeah! Because of you and your big mouth all of us are now stuck down here until either my father finds out that I have been kidnapped by a bunch of Diamond Dogs or until that princess of yours gets off her fat flank and sends out a contingent of guards to rescue us." The same female griffon said but this time with a clear hint of annoyance and anger in her voice.

"Hey! Don't you dare say such things about Princess Luna! If it wasn't for her then you griffons would be-"

"Really? Are you seriously trying to pull that card out of your flank? What about what your princess did a thousand years ago. Because of her the entire world was almost frozen over cause of her stupid jealousy over her sister's sun, and what did she get for her troubles? A thousand years on the very same moon she tried to kill us all with." Wow, so a bat horse has a princess bat horse that tried to kill the planet with the moon? God damn that is straight up evil, why was she not executed? That would have been global extinction if she managed to make it work!

As those griffons and bat horse argued I walked to the minotaur who was ignoring me and was watching them fight it out with words, squabbling like a bunch of children fighting for a shiny stone.

When I stopped beside the minotaur I found that I am shorter then him, and I know its a male because of the loincloth he was wearing. That and was muscular as hell, had a goatee, big ass bull horns, and he looked like he was not giving a single fuck.

Sliding up to him I waited for him to notice me but when he didn't I let out a cough and when he turned his head to look at me I saw him let out a snort before acknowledging my presence.

"So......what are those two fighting about?" I asked as I watched the squabble slowly get louder.

The large mass of grey-blue muscle nudged his head over at the group before speaking up, pointing at one then the other.

"The thestral over there is trying to defend his princess's honor although she pretty much is hated by many for what she did over a thousand years ago and the griffon he is shouting at is the current griffon king's only heir and daughter. She is yelling at him because his princess is pulling in a favor that she got from the griffon king before her banishment and she is now using said favor, but seeing how the griffons are currently in dire straights because of some sacred relic going missing. In all tensions are high between the griffons and the ponies and seeing how the princess is demanding that the griffons help her with something while the griffons are pretty much stuck between saying piss off and yes while they try to find their lost treasure." The minotaur says while shifting his weight to his right cloven hoof, one of his meaty hands stroking his goatee while watching the petty argument unfold.

"Wow, that sucks." I said, my eyes looking at the female griffon and just now I can see why the minotaur would say that this particular griffon is a princess. Her feathers and fur looks well taken care of than those around her, and although they are slightly dirty from being in this obvious prison cell she still looks like she has only been outside for at most an hour, her talons are sharp and well manicured if that is a thing here, and she does not look like she has been messed with by the dogs so they are treating her as a high class hostage.

If I was a griffon and had a chance I would probably take a run at her if you know what I mean.

"Aye, it does."

As we both watched the group squabble and argue, we were eventually pulled away from it when the door to this rust bucket was pushed open and stepped in was a group of armed and armored dogs.

These must be the Diamond Dogs that Greta was talking about. From what I can see, these dogs are just as tall as I am, some of them are taller and others are smaller so at least I know they are somewhat like humans. Their fur color ranges from the colors of the dogs back home and their heads also vary just like dog species. Bipedal dogs wearing slightly rusty metal armor, holding metal spears, and their arms are huge compared to their legs, must be an evolutionary response or something.

While these dogs were trying to break them up one of the large ones looked at me before barking something at the dogs heading towards the griffons and demon bat pony.

"You! New Dog! Alpha wants see you!" And before I could try to say that I am not a dog two of the armored d-dogs pulled themselves from the squabble and came right at me before grabbing my shoulders and dragged me out of the prison cell.

For some reason I felt a chill run down my spine as I get dragged off to parts unknown within the cave, I don't know why but I got an inkling of a feeling that something bad is going to happen to either me or one of the people in the prison cell.

'Well...this can't be good. Does this mean I failed my quest to retrieve the sacred idol?'

Understanding the Political Problem

The dawn came earlier than I had wished for it too.

Rolling out of my bed I fell face first into the hardwood floor and with a grumble that would make the devil himself back away from me out of fear of getting the shit beat out of him. Slowly picking myself up off the floor I shuffled to my bathroom and looked in the mirror, the sight itself was enough to even make my spine tingle.

My eyes were bloodshot, my hair was a mess, it even looks like there was vomit on me and I don't think its mine.

Taking off my ale and vomit stained shirt I threw it on the floor along with the rest of my clothes, I looked at myself and noticed that the bruises from the numerous training sessions are in full bloom as there are purple bruises all over my torso, shoulders, legs, and back. Someday these bruises will heal but for the time being, they are reminders that I still suck at fighting and that in an actual fight I would be dead several times over.

Standing in my bathroom with nothing but my underwear on I let out a sigh before stripping those off as well and flinging them out as well before stepping into the crude bathtub that these griffons have and let out a shuddering exhale as the cold water nearly chilled me to the bone.

'That is one way to wake me up fully.'

I don't know if a cold bath was necessary to get myself into a fully awake state of mind, but it did its job as I started to clean myself up, today was more lessons with the princess to learn about the political landscape and how to help her when needed. Scrubbing myself clean of filth, sweat and what is possibly dried vomit, I made myself as clean as I possibly could in this day and age before hopping out of the tub, dried myself off and step back into my room.

Upon exiting my bathroom with the towel wrapped around my neck I stepped out to see that while I was busy cleaning myself up, one of the castle maids was in my room trying to clean it up but as soon as I opened the door, the maid turned her head and saw my naked body.

The two of us simply stood there like deer caught in headlights, we stared at one another for what might have been a few minutes and over the course of those minutes the griffon maid started to look me over and before this could go any further I told her that she could leave. By speaking up the griffon gave a startled squawk and quickly scrambled out of my room, letting out several apologies before shutting the door behind her and leaving me alone in my room once again.

"I need to lock that damn thing next time, I swear it is almost like these griffons enjoy walking in on me coming out of the bathroom." I said to myself as I got myself ready for the day.

With that out of the way I went to the only drawer in the room and pulled out today's clothes and with a bit of a struggle with the pants (the damn strings will be the death of me one of these days) and with a brief snarl at the color of my new shirt (periwinkle, kill me) I was ready to greet the day.

Eating breakfast with the guards was alright, the food wasn't bland or terrible but it could use a bit more something to make it taste better. After that, it was lessons with the princess, something I was not looking forward to but seeing how I am her retainer and that in the future when she is the queen I will have to be by her side giving her advise and whatever else she needs from me.

Wasn't really expecting my life to go in that direction, a servant to someone half my size and a completely different species.

And so here the two of us are, me sitting in her room, the princess sitting on what might as well be a sofa cushion and me sitting on a small wooden chair that can barely support my weight. I was trying my best to be comfortable on the damn thing while she was busy enjoying her tea, I never really took her for a tea-drinker but then again I never took myself being stuck in a world where shit like this was even remotely possible so eh, things could always be much worse.

"So, Ian, do you know anything about the minotaurs?" Eraclea asks me as I struggled not to grunt at the annoyance of the uncomfortable chair.

"Other than they are taller, more muscular and that they got horns and bull-like features than me? Nope." I said as I finally found a position that didn't result with me sitting right on my tailbone.

Taking a sip from her little cup I watched her mull over my words for like a second before she opened her beak to say something.

"Well you are not wrong with their physical description, so I am guessing you don't know anything about them?"

"You are correct on that assumption, your highness." I said again but this time noticing that she was trying to find out more about what I know.

'Trying to glean more from me now? Alright I'll play along to your little games.'

"Alright then, for starters, the minotaurs are our neighbors to the northwest and that they inhabit the numerous mountain ranges and steppes that make up their homeland. Their people, for the most part, are almost like us when it comes to placing honor up high in priorities but instead of bringing honor to the family, it is about bringing honor and glory to their clan. The minotaurs have numerous clans and each clan rules a city that has served as their ancestral home for centuries."

"For the most part, the minotaurs are an insolated lot who stick to their lands and hardly ever venture out unless they have been banished for committing a grievous crime or are part of the merchant caste. We have known them for a few centuries after the truce we made during the only war we had with them, I can't exactly recall many details about it but from what I can remember I know that the war was destructive for both races and that it nearly led to both of our extinctions."

Huh, I never knew that little tidbit of information.

"So how did peace come between the two of you nations?" I asked, even though I have been here for at least two and a half months, I still wasn't up-to-date on the world history and knowledge of the griffons let alone their neighbors.

"I...I can't exactly say how it happened, the only scroll that we have that had the details on that event has sadly deteriorated because we didn't have an effective means of preserving at the time." Well, that sucks ass.

"I see."

"Now then, do you know anything about the Yaks?"

"Umm, covered in thick fur, have horns, don't like people?" Thank you animal planet for this one! I knew watching you wasn't a complete and utter waste of time when I was bored!

"Wow, you are actually spot on, have you met them before?"

"Sorta, I have seen a few in the past but I never really interacted with them."

"Well, to put it bluntly, the yaks are loud, obnoxious, aggressive at the drop of a hat, stubborn to a fault, and above all else, they throw tantrums when things don't go their way." Oh my god, so they are this world's version of children who never got their ass beat by their parents for misbehaving and acting like little shits. I can already see how my future interactions with them will be going...fuck my life.

"Huh, nice to know what to expect from them." I may need to stay the fuck away from them because I might not be able to stop myself from getting into a shouting match with one.

"Our dealings with the yaks always ends with furniture being ruined and the tiles being destroyed, a war almost being declared and lastly if not the most important part, my father wanting to desperately claw the yak representatives face off." Eraclea says as she takes another sip from her teacup.

With a nod we then moved onto the next subject of discussion.

"You already know about the diamond dogs but whatever you can tell me about them will be helpful."

"Besides the time I dealt with them in the warrens, I don't really know much about them." I said as I recalled some of the things I saw and heard while I was down there but for the most part it wasn't really much to remember and focus on.

"Well, besides them fighting each other to change their standing in the pack, the females taking care of the pups, tending to the cooking and healing of the wounded dogs while the males did all the digging, hunting, fighting, looting. In all the diamond dogs felt more tribal and uncivilized even though the alpha at the time was smarter than the rest of them."

Maybe that was a rare thing for their race.

After that we moved onto dragons and I immediately perked up. Why? Because everything is better with dragons, that's why!

The hunt for a dangerous beast is taking too long? Add a dragon into the mix by having it capture the beast that is being hunted and is in the process of eating it!

Caravans being attacked and destroyed by an unknown group of people? Turns out it was a young dragon that moved into the area and is carving it up as its territory!

Beautiful princess gets kidnapped? Probably a dragon so said princess can be bribed so the dragon can add more gold to its stash of loot!

Princess Eraclea was somewhat takin aback by my fountain of knowledge that I am spewing out, apparently outside of most aged scholars and those that tried to hunt dragons in the past, not much was known about the dragons with the exception of that they are greedy by nature, they horde gold and anything of monetary value, and they eat meat.

Eventually after our talks of knowing what the other nations of the world produce, what they export and import, the varying trade agreements and of course, the ever-growing debt that the griffons somehow managed to accumulate within the past ten years, we eventually got to the hot topic of the previous day between me and a griffon hen who has a burning hatred for me.

"So what did we learn last week Ian?" Eraclea says as she takes a dainty sip from her teacup, trying her hardest not to laugh.

"Never help Instructor Harper to the infirmary ever again?" I said with a blunt tone, my left hand subconsciously rubbing the bruise that damnable hen left behind on me.

"Not entirely wrong nor is it correct." the griffon princess says as she takes another sip, this time letting out the smallest of giggles out, apparently she thought this shit was funny.

It sure as fuck wasn't funny to me.

"Then I got nothing."

"You were supposed to send a guard to the infirmary to fetch the nurses so they could address her injuries at the training yard before having her sent to the infirmary."

"Well, she didn't tell me that due to being unconscious. Hell, I thought I was doing a good deed for her and yet she fucking clocks me in the face just for being nice! What the hell is her problem?" I said as I nearly stand up and knocked the chair over in the process.

"Her problem is that she hates you." wow, not even going to sugar coat it.

"The fuck did I do to her to deserve this hate?" I shouted as I threw my arms in the air, clearly upset that this cunt of a griffon hates me for some reason. I did nothing wrong to her when we first met and yet she bears a major grudge against me.

"You were made into a knight and was given the sword that she wanted." the griffon princess says as she takes a sip from her teacup, she was very calm about this while I was raging and howling at the moon like a feral dog.

Immediately all steam was stolen from my sails as I was told the reason for the instructor's hatred for me.

"Really? Because I became a knight and was given a sword for it to match my rank? That's her reason for being such a freaking cunt to me this entire time!?"

"Yes, although she isn't the only one that hates you for being a knight. There are actually several more griffons that work within this castle that hold a firm hatred towards you for receiving a knighthood."

"Are you serious?"

"Mmhmm, many of the griffons working here are clinging to the past because that is all that they know of, but you and I both know that times are changing and that if they don't change with it then they will be swept away and be forgotten. By making you a knight, my father is showing to the griffons here and throughout the kingdom that there are those that are not born a griffon that they got the soul of one and that they can help and defend this country just like any natural-born citizen can. My father is trying to show the nation that it doesn't have to be all about us griffons, no, he wants to show everyone that we don't need to be afraid of outsiders, in fact, we should be welcoming them!"

"It is because of outsiders that we got back the Idol of Boreas and that the plot for the throne has been stopped! The vast majority of the nobility and upper crust of the commoners believe that outsiders are a plague upon this kingdom and that they must be thrown out at any cost, but they have to know that if it wasn't for those from the outside world than we wouldn't have the metallurgy knowledge we have now, nor would have the means of creating the watermills that line the numerous rivers that go throughout the lands, and we cannot even forget about that if it wasn't for people like you than we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"The fools that think that outsiders are nothing but bad news are stuck sitting in the past, with you now on our side we can show them that you and those that are not citizens of this great nation are what is needed. What you bring with you is the knowledge that we don't have and the means of improving everything around us."

"And what does this have to do with me?" I asked as I took a bite from an apple that was sitting in the dainty food basket, it gave a satisfying crunch and it was juicy. Just the way I like em, not tart, not sour, just nice, sweet and juicy.

"Other than that mystical knowledge that you have stored away within that strange closed tablet of yours, you also bring to the table the knowledge of your people and your pragmatic attitude of yours has served you well so far," Eraclea says as she sets her teacup down onto the little plate it came with, I gave her an eyebrow raise, there is no way in hell that she thinks that she can try and get me to divulge any information just because she asks me to.

"You still haven't given me any reason as to give you any kind of information that will help you and your people. To me, it seems that they are fine so far, maybe a few improvements here and there are what they need but the things I got stored away? No, you are not ready for any of that yet nor will you be ready for it for the foreseeable future."

This seemed to be the thing that sets off the princess because immediately upon me telling her that the griffon race isn't ready for the leaps and bounds I could be giving them, she pounces right on top of me from the front and is holding me by the collar of my gamberson and held me in place as she let out a loud as hell hawk screech right in my face.

I think my ears exploded from that screech...

Nope, hearing is just fine, just the sounds of ringing and an angry griffon.

When she was done doing her screech of the damned, she still held onto my shirt and stayed on top of me as she glared down at my prone form.

"Not ready? Not READY! We are so far behind everyone around us in terms of technology and military might that the only reason as to why they haven't conquered us yet is because we don't have anything of value to take! All of our villages and towns are scattered to the four winds, our metalwork is shit so we have to import and order all of our weapons and armor from the minotaurs! Many of the tools we use along with the textiles and fabrics we get from the equestrians and yaks, we have nothing to offer the world because we lost the means to produce what we need!"

'Huh...that seems like a curse or a lack of education...or both.'

Oh, its a curse alright but being taught on how to do the task at hand also can't be done when they can't even remember how to do it in the first place doesn't help either.

'Really? Who the hell is powerful enough to curse an entire race of people to make them forget that much knowledge?'

Well, when I say curse its more along the lines of a sacred relic that was once connected to every single griffon in Griffonia that made them united and powerful. That relic also was the reason why the griffons were the strongest military power on the planet, right next to the dragons in the Burning Wastes of their homeland.

'How does that relic even do all that?'

It was created by the god that made the griffons, which they worship although they now call their god she and that she is an honor-bound goddess of war.

'Huh, the more you know.'

Yup, but anyways, that relic you found, the Idol of Boreas, it connects to the griffons the same way like insects connect to one another, a hivemind if you will, and with it working like that for the griffons it made them a fighting force not the be messed with. It also helped them retain that craftsman knowledge with perfect clarity that they were lacking because they were once nothing more than roaming tribes of hunter-gatherers.

'So their god uplifted them cause she was tired of them living like savages?'

Pretty much.

'I am starting to regret this life of mine now.'

"So let me get this straight Eraclea, you are telling me that everything I saw has been imported from foreign lands because you griffons are lacking in the know-how to make it yourselves."

"Yes, from the weapons and armor that the royal guards are using and wearing to the griffons that work every day out in the fields, in the mines or in their homes. We are in a debt so massive that whenever the equestrians, minotaurs or even the yaks come asking for something, we have no choice but to give them whatever they want from us under fear of that if we fail to uphold our end of the deal then the minotaurs or yaks will invade us!"

"Wouldn't the equestrians just safeguard you all since you have a debt with them?"

"You would think that, but sadly no. If we were to ever fail to uphold our side of the bargain then they will simply stop sending medicinal herbs and food to us until we can pay them back. They have done this before and even though their princesses have tried to keep the supply of needed goods our way, that prince of theirs and his gaggle of crony nobles keep managing to overturn their ruling due to that damnable council of nobles of theirs."

"To simply put it, we can't march forward and we can't march backward because no matter what we do we will always be stuck in this debt unless you help us be more self-sufficient with the knowledge that you have!" Eraclea says as she presses her beak to my nose, the glare she is giving me is a little too harsh but it is understandable.

I can understand the situation that this hen is currently in, to be the daughter of a king whose kingdom is in decline due to not only their sacred idol being gone for several long years but also because of the debts they got into due to said idol being lost. It is almost as if someone or something has either been trying to keep the griffons in a weak state so they can either prepare themselves for what might be their call to war on whoever did this to them, or something far more nefarious.

Whatever the case may be, I think that this was a prelude to something far more sinister. I need to know more about the world I am in and the situations happening around me. It feels like I am only looking at the smallest piece of the picture to the grander scheme of things.

Shutting my eyes I did a mental search on what I could possibly give them and what the possible consequences could be and after a mental eternity of weighing the pros and cons of this action, I decided that if I am going to be stuck in this world for the foreseeable future, I may as well make the nation I am living in better than what it used to be. Hell, improving their plumbing system would be a start, their current toilets fucking suck balls, it is just a hole in the ground leading to somewhere.

"So you are stuck and no matter what you try to do, your country will be stuck in debt because of circumstances placed upon you."

"In laymen's terms...yes."

Pushing myself up with my right hand I kept Eraclea from falling backward by holding onto her back with my left hand, the quiet chirp she made when my hand pressed against her back was adorable but the softened glare, blushing cheek feathers and the fact that her talons are digging into my arms is telling me that I am doing something wrong.

I bet I did something I wasn't supposed to, but fuck it, I got work to do.

"My life just can never be simple and easy can it..." I said as I let out an explosive sigh before picking up the griffon princess and placed her back on her seat cushion before going back to my chair, set it back up and sat down in it before continuing on with what I had to say.

"I do not know the full situation with the idol being lost and the entire griffon population here in the nation losing everything nor do I do know just how bad everything is in general. So what I need you to do is to tell me everything, leave nothing out and I will need to know what techniques are being used in the creation of the iron and steel here along with any other metals that are being melted down. I may not have been born here nor am I a full-fledged citizen but I will be damned if my home will go down the shitter because of unfavorable circumstances."

The look on her face when she heard me agree to help her was priceless, her eyes were all sparkly, beak agape, and her wings were outstretched. Don't know what this means since I don't know griffon body language but I can guess that she is happy that I am giving in a bit and am willing to help her nation out of the gutter.

What happened next was a bit of a blur for me, the princess got up and flew to the door, she poked her head out of the door and started to tell the guards a series of orders, telling them to gather various pieces of information on various topics, anything and everything was brought to her room and as more and more scrolls came in I realized just how badly screwed over these griffons were. From what I saw just by the stacking of the scrolls, books and other pieces of parchment, I saw that it not only ranged from their metalworking and farming but also their textile, fishing, and so many of their industries they once had under their control was now nothing more than a shadow of its former self.

I got my work cut out for me this time.

Seems like my simple life of being nothing more than a retainer for a princess is about to expand to being the forerunner for all future technological advancements that this world will ever see. I can just see it now that the world's balance is about to tip out of favor of those that have been kicking the griffons down for all these years will find themselves on the receiving end of the beat down.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, was in both a bout of depression and writers block hit me like a brick shit house but now I am back and will be trying to shell these out sooner rather than later.

Underground Expedition

"Run." I said as I held up the aged blood-stained letter to read, I looked it over one more time, noting the bloodstains that adorned the parchment that I noticed that the green stains are blood as well after giving it the cursory taste test.

And yup, the green stains did indeed taste like blood although instead of the usual tinge of iron that us red-blooded beings have, this had the distinct lack of iron and was thicker almost like jelly. Gazing at the parchment one last time before shifting my gaze towards the fossilized paw on the ground and the wall it was buried in, I started to take notice of the wall and the material it is made out of.

While it does indeed remind me of the xenomorph hives in every single Alien movie, comic and videogame that I have ever laid my eyes upon, now that I am looking closer at it, I have to rescind that comment and instead change it to that of a more hive-like, obsidian hexagonal panels line the walls and floor with thin lines of gold filigree separating the panels. Taking a closer look at the panels I have noticed that the back of these panels is wavy and have chunks of rock still on them, which can only mean one thing to me.

"This was here before the mine came into being." I said as I took a step back from the obsidian wall and look to my guards as they all looked at me in stark confusion.

"What you mean?" One of the dogs said as the rest looked at the wall, still scared and unsure of my words.

"Do you see the wall? See how they all have a wavy pattern and that there are chunks of rock embedded into them?"

"Yes? But still don't understand?"

Pinching the bridge of my nose I let out a sigh before clapping my hands together to garner their attention.

"For us surface dwellers, those that have vast wealth and power have their homes designed in such a way that the inside wall of their home is styled in either stylized wood or stones, and it looks like whoever owned this must have been really wealthy to have gold filigree in their designs." I said as I showed them the wall and the ancient adhesive residue on the reverse side of the obsidian tiles.

It took the dogs a while to figure it out and even more to realize that I had said the word 'gold' which got them all excited at the prospect of tearing down this wall for gold.

Such simple-minded creatures, but so easily to guide and lead with proper words and actions.

Pointing to one of the dogs I relayed my order to him, and it was a simple order, "Go back to the others and get three groups of scouts and half of the guards along with some diggers. We have an unexplored section of the mine to search through and I do not want any stone left unturned and no mystery left unsolved." and in truth I want to know more about what is behind the mysterious wall.

Maybe it is a hidden vault of even more nameless riches and wealth beyond mere mortals and my wildest dreams.

Or it could be a gateway to hell like in Dwarf Fortress. Never did like the fact that I can somehow dig all the way to hell and cause everything to fall apart in seconds.

Either way it's a solid 50/50 of it being something good or something bad.

After about thirty minutes of waiting for my dogs to arrive I simply walk up to the wall and started knocking on it, trying to find any structural weakness to it to bring it down. Pocketing the parchment after folding it up nicely I started tapping on the wall, testing its strength and durability for a few seconds I found them to be quite hardy and surprisingly enough have a noiseless quality to them.

"Interesting...not a single echo of sound. I wonder if it would react to a hammer or a sword striking against its surface?" I said to myself, alone with my thoughts for the time being before another thought came to mind.

'Just how thick is the wall?'

Kneeling down to the floor I reached down and grabbed the mummified paw and gently tugged on it to see if it was still connected to a body, but as soon as I felt how there was no opposing force being dragged my way, I knew that this paw must have been severed at the wrist. Removing the paw from the hole I instead reached in to check how thick the wall is and to my surprise it was actually pretty thick, at least a good three or four inches of obsidian paneling give or take an inch. With the estimate out of the way I turned my arm to allow my gloved hand to touch the surface and somewhat felt how smooth it was before hearing how smooth it was.

Have you ever rubbed your hand on a smooth pane of glass after it has been washed, that strange sound it makes when it's rubbing together? That is the sound my gloved hand was making as I was rubbing the surface from the other side.

'Huh, wasn't expecting that. Smooth, glassy panels on one side rough, sandpaper texture on the other.'

It wasn't soon after I made my lonesome observation on the wall did my dogs arrive on the scene, all of them waiting for my next command.

Looking at my dogs I can tell that most of them are a little uneasy, a few were growling at the wall for whatever strange reason they can come up with.

Signaling for my dogs to approach they gather around me as I lay out for them my plan.

"Okay, first things first, we need to break down this wall. Which among you are demolition experts or are very good at breaking walls and doors?" And as soon as I said those words every single dog raised their paws and they all looked like that they wanted to smash something to itty bitty pieces.

Looking at the crowd of dogs before me I started to look for a pair of dogs with the beefiest of arms I have ever seen, and my search didn't take long as my gaze came upon two dogs that were standing out like a pair of sore thumbs.

The first was one hell of a giant, this Saint Bernard was big, easily standing at least nine feet tall and I can say that he is one hell of a chunky boi. For a dog that big I must think he gets to the kibble first and eats all of it before the others get a chance to get some and my god does it show. Giving the dog a brief look over I took stock of the being with its beige-brown and white fur, a leather collar and vestments, and hanging from his collar was a small barrel. This dog is thick in every sense of the word and resting in his meaty paws is a fairly large wooden club wrapped in iron bands, a weapon for bludgeoning heads and knocking out fools that get too close. And he is drooling a bit...I sure hope he isn't thick in the head as well.

And as for the second dog, they were a rather husky-looking Pitbull, standing roughly at six feet and possibly around five inches, a good deal taller than me by at least half a foot or so. This diamond dog was nearly pure white in fur color if it wasn't for the splotch of black fur on his left eye, said splotch almost looks like something from an acme cartoon due to how large it is. Resting in this dog's hands was a rather massive hammer, not really a mallet in shape but not exactly a sledgehammer either because the head of the hammer was almost like a child curled up into a ball.

"Hey! You two in the back! The big dogs with the massive club and barrel collar and the guy with the hammer! Yes, you two, step forward and break this wall down!"

I didn't have to wait long for the dogs to do their job as they pushed their smaller people aside and walked up to the wall and gave it a good once over before nodding at it. The dog with the hammer stepped up to the wall while the other motioned for the dogs to step back and give him some space to swing, and after a scant few seconds of paws backpedaling and a pitbull getting excited to cause some homely destruction, he reared back and swung with all he had in him.

Now, normally a dog of such prestigious size and pedigree wielding a weapon meant for wreckage of objects and structures should have easily turned this wall into itty bitty pieces of rubble and ruin, but instead all it did was create a cacophonous clap of metal on polished stonework and introduced to us all a small spiderwebbing of cracks on the once-immaculate obsidian tiles.

All of us simply stood there dumbfounded, we were all expecting a shower of black chunks and dust to be showering the other side of the wall, hell I was expecting an earthshattering kaboom, but instead all I got was ringing ears and a wall still standing.

Looking at the wall for a moment I turned to look at the pitbull who looked like he was in shock because the thing he smacked is not only still standing but is also barely showing any sign of breakage or damage. The dog next to him was snickering uncontrollably as the rolls of blubber and lard jiggled wildly for all to see and when the hammer-wielding mutt turned to face his laughing assistant, the dog went quiet and tried to act all innocent and cute. Sorry big boi but you are not acting cute to get out of this mess you made.

"Alright, try again, I see some damage on the wall. Whatever this wall is made out of is sure as fucking hell durable as all hell. Give it another swing in the same area, if we need to, we can get a spike to put it in the center and use that to force some more damage out of it." I said as I watched the iron-wrapped club-bearing dog step up to the proverbial plate to give it a go, and just like the first attempt it ended as expected.

Rearing back for a mighty swing I watched as the chunky Saint Bernard made a wide swing, missed the center mass of the spiderwebbed cracks and instead made a similar-yet-smaller pattern a few inches away from the first attempt. And just like the first attempt the dogs and I now have ringing ears, utter disappointment that nothing was destroyed, and the other big dog laughing at the one who just took a swing.

The two started to go back and forth with the wall, and with each attempt that ended in failure resulted in the dogs belittling and mocking each other to the point where we all started to think that they were secretly harboring a hidden relationship that they did not want to let out. After about twenty minutes of shitty insults, terrible dog-related puns and all of us probably going deaf in one or both ears from the constant beating on the obsidian tiles until finally both dogs took a turn swinging at the same time and the impact finally broke the nearly indestructible tile to pieces.

With the destruction of the one tile that was holding us all back, the big dogs started to forcibly yank and tug on the surrounding tiles which surprisingly was just as resistant to being dislodged as it was to being destroyed by brute force.

'Whatever these tiles and grout is made out of, I have got to get the recipe and technique for their creation written down on paper, and if I can't get the means of producing them then I hope I can find whoever can create these so that I can purchase them for my dogs and maybe for the griffons to study.'

We had to wait for the dogs to tear the wall apart and while it didn't take as long as it did when they were swinging at the wall, it still took enough time that I could have made a sandwich, ate it, cleaned up and be back here ready to continue onward.

'It took them roughly twenty minutes to smash a single tile and about ten more minutes to yank the tiles out of place and cast them aside...you know for a race that prides itself on demolition and digging they sure take their sweet time. Was expecting them to break this wall down in under a minute, maybe I should invest in giving them some proper tools for the job...and maybe some clothes, all I see from here are vests, collars, an occasional ratty jacket or coat, and maybe a hat.'

And I can see everything is on display from these dogs.

I think I am starting to see a pattern here with all this blatant nudity.

'Note to self, send in a request or purchase collars, vests, shirts, skirts, kilts, shorts and pants for these dogs to wear. I am getting tired of seeing canine dong, tits n puss every time I turn to look at my dogs.'

With that little note filed away for future usage I turned my attention back to the fresh new hole in the wall.

Stepping towards the crumbled opening in the wall I peered through to see that the chamber we have entered appeared to be that of a storage room of sorts as there was hexagonal crates lining the walls and throughout the interior. Taking a few tentative steps through the wall I looked around where there was light and after hearing nothing moving in the darkness nor hearing anything moving aside from that being paw steps from my diamond dogs behind me, I waved at my accompaniment of dogs to follow me through the hole. Dogs holding lanterns were the first to go in, brightening the interior of the chamber with a warm orange glow and behind the lightbearers was the guards who fanned out and kept their spears and clubs at the ready for any sign of danger, and the last to come in were the porters, dogs whose only duty is to carry and haul things around and seeing numerous crates of unmarked goods has rendered their eyes aglow with avarice and wonder.

"Okay, first things first, secure the room, we don't know if there is anybody in here or if anybody heard us breaking down that wall. I want to make sure that we are alone here and not about to step into an ambush. Guards check every nook and cranny of this room, keep the lightbearers safe as they are our only means of seeing in the darkness, porters get ready to loot-n-pillage this room to your hearts content." I said with the voice of high authority and watched as my dogs scampered about in the vast chamber, bumping into one another before forming effective groupings and started to do their jobs.

The porters got to work in a heartbeat, prying open the crates and going through their contents as if they weren't there all the while shouting out loud what they found.

"I found those black tiles in here!"
"Found same thing!"
"More tiles here boss!"
"I got myself some sort of bag full of grey mush. It don't taste so good."
"Oi! I founds some tools! Lotsa hammers, shovels and those things to open boxes up with!"
"Got dem tiles here too!"
"Yup I got tiles here as well."

This went on for a while, each group of porters cracking the hexagonal crates open to reveal tons and tons of the obsidian tiles and the grout needed to cement them all together, a few crates had tools for excavation but there was nothing of true economic value within these storage units unless we want to sell tools and building materials.

On the upside we got a shitload of materials to either reinforce the new warren from sudden breaches or to give the warrens some style.

Downside is that I sure as hell am not trading any of these materials to anyone since we need it to fix our place up. Here is hoping that there are more storage rooms in this...whatever this place is we just broke into.

"Alright boys, porters start hauling this stuff to our storage dens for sorting and processing, the rest of us will continue on and explore this new area. Remember pups, this is unexplored territory we are walking into and that means we need to be able to keep an eye on one another so that nobody goes missing or gets ambushed. Guards in the front and in a fan formation, lightbearers behind them and keep the lanterns high to create the most light so you can all see."

"I want this operation quick and clean; you all hear me. Quick and clean. I don't want to be telling someone's mate that their love or their pup got smashed to bits by some big mean motherfucker or killed on accident because they triggered a trap or saw something shiny. Now move out and remember, this is the only way in and out until we find another exit." I said as I looked at the assembly of dogs around me, all of them giving nods and barks, accepting my command and yet I get the feeling that they didn't quite catch it all and are simply nodding their heads like everyone else is doing.

Watching my dogs slowly exit the storage chamber I soon followed after them after they made sure the front door was clear of threats and as soon as I stepped outside, I saw that it was indeed clear of any hostile activity, along with sign of life aside from myself and my dogs but what truly caught my attention was the sheer scale of the outdoors that I find myself to be in.

At first, I simply thought that we were simply going to be walking through more tunnels and possibly an isolated cave network that was covered up, but now that I am standing here, I can say with full confidence that I am wrong. This is no mere simple cave network that we find ourselves to be in.

As we stepped out of the storage building and with the assistance from the dogs holding the lanterns, we got a better view of our surroundings, and it brought us all to a halt. The floor outside the chamber was made of the same obsidian-like material but instead of it being hexagonal tiles that we saw in the storage room behind us, these were all square tiles and not a single one was out of place nor in a state of disrepair, and leading up to the doors was a rail system and further away from the building was a rail switching station that then split off in two directions. Looking to our left and right I saw additional storage buildings with the rail system going up them as well before fading off into the darkness past from our lanterns but at the very least we now know what we have so far.

'Looks like we may be in the industrial district of this underground region, is this a city we are in I don't know. But is it a discovery of great importance? Yes, it is and if this is truly a city then I may just move my dogs here instead of having them live in an abandoned mine.'

"Alright, we will split into three groups, Alpha group will explore the right path, Beta group will explore the left path, and Charlie group will remain here to secure our exit in the event that there is something hostile here. Each group will have three group of guards and within each group of guards will be three lightbearers and a group of porters to haul whatever goods are found. We will meet back here in one hour unless you encounter something hostile then do your best to fight it off but do not be a hero and kill it, simply fight it off and retreat back to the storage hall. If it retreats than good for us but if it becomes persistent and tries to slay us, then hold nothing back and kill it. If someone becomes lost because they thought to explore without alerting their group then we will conduct a search-and-rescue the moment we secure the area, we cannot risk our lives if you decide to be stupid and abandon your group. Any questions?" I said and, in all honesty, I was expecting a bunch of dogs to raise their paws to say something mostly dumb but instead they all nodded their heads and said that they got the gist of it.

At least these dogs are being honest with me, but who knows if they are truly being honest with me and are simply bidding their time to kill me when my back is turned, and my guard is lowered and not expecting a betrayal.

I went with Alpha group for the obvious reason of it being alpha and I am one, so off I went with the best dogs put together and went down the right path and just like the left path there were several storage buildings, each of them with extra levels to them that can only be accessed by either elevator, flight or magic, and we had none of them so we ignored the higher levels and only explored the ground floor.

And just like with the storage hall we exited out of, the ones we searched all had obsidian-like materials, but this wasn't tiles or grout, instead it was grey and brown wooden planks neatly stacked and rope tied together to prevent any accidents from making them fall over. The rope that was keeping the numerous lumber piles tied together is slightly off-white in color and they were soft to the touch, so my guess these people used expensive silk and had it formed into rope to keep things together.

'Interesting find, lumber stockpiles and silk rope bundles...is this the industrial sector or is this just a hidden stockpile that the griffons forgot about or does this belong to the me and my diamond dogs?'

Scratching my head at our find I slip that note aside for later investigation and pressed on with the expedition into the darkened depths.

Three more storage buildings later and even more construction materials discovered, documented and ready to be looted, we then across the incredibly wide road to the other side and we found even more storage buildings. I didn't have to wait long to find out what was inside as our porters immediately went into loot-goblin mode and pillaged the shit out of those poor buildings.

These storage halls were two stories taller than the ones we just raided, and these had cranes on the side of them so we now theoretically had access to the upper floors, if we could figure out how to operate them. Within the ground floor unit of the first building, we found even more crates, but these were of the gilded and fancy variety that made several dogs howl with delight. Laying within these gilded crates was looked like several dozen pounds worth of gemstones aplenty of every color, clarity, hue, and size. When I saw the first crate get popped open and saw the dazzling lights of an aurora appear on the ceiling when a lightbearer flashed their lantern over the crate I could have sworn I saw their eyes light up with unchecked avarice and greed.

'I should probably get these quickly sorted and moved out of here before the dogs get any funny ideas in that head of theirs.'

Cracking open a few more crates came to the same result as the first one, untold treasures that have been left behind by the previous owners of this fine establishment which is bugging me beyond belief and is making me wonder where the hell did they all go, and if they were killed off, what did the killing and if it is still alive and waiting for more prey to show their faces for an easy meal? Putting the covers back on the crates I moved back outside and inspected the crane before walking up inside it and looked at its operating mechanisms and at that point I realized that I had no ungodly idea how to operate this thing.

The crane itself looked like the ones back home, a small box with a series of interlacing girders for structural support and a grasping claw at the end of it attached to a rope on a winch to lower or raise things it has grabbed. Another thing I have noticed is the lattice work also looks like it can extend and retract which as well is good cause that means it can reach the upper levels, but it still leaves the question of how the hell do the people that once lived here reach the upper floors?

Laying before me was four levers and three crystal buttons and as I stare at the operation panel on this crane I at first reached out to pull a lever but upon giving it a firm yank, nothing happened. Frowning a bit I pulled another lever, then another, then another, then the last one before pushing them all forward and to my dismay and disappointment, nothing happened at all. Grumbling to myself I reset the levers before moving onto the three crystal buttons and looked them over to see what I am working with.

The first crystal was the stereotypical big red button, but instead it looks like it might be a ruby or a spinel or maybe even a blood diamond, but in the end, it is still a big red button that is just crying out for someone to slam down on hard. While it might be fun to press the button that may or may not cause the crane to explode in a violent manner, I restrained my curiosity for the time being and went on to the next stone in line that just so happened to be placed below the big shiny red button of doom, a square emerald that is almost similar in size to the red gemstone of doom, and yet I am a betting man and I am thinking that it does the exact opposite of the red gem, that or probably turn the lights on this thing...assuming it has any lights to begin with. And lastly there is the last gemstone, a triangular amythest that rests at the top of the control panel, I have no idea what it could possibly be, and I am somewhat not wanting to know.

'Alright alright alright...I got a bunch of levers and buttons to fuck around with, time to find out what these all do.'

With excitement and dread I slowly moved my hand to the red button and after muttering a prayer to my home boi in the sky to not blow my ass up to kingdom come, I pushed the ruby button and shut my eyes tightly as I waited for what could possibly have been a rather untimely and violently explosive demise.

After waiting five seconds and nothing happened, I opened my eyes to see that nothing has happened and that I was standing there like an idiot and that nobody was looking at me, so my reputation as fearless leader has been preserved for the time being.

Gazing back down at the console and seeing how the red button did nothing and the levers did nothing, now it was the green button's turn and with a gentle press and shutting my eyes for any impending death only to be greeted by the sound of a soft humming and whirling sound of a machine coming to life.

'I should of fucking knew that it was the green button that turns things on, no one is that fucking evil to make the green safe button the self-destruct button, only an asshole or a very devious person would do that.'

With the machine stirring to life and that it was now functional, not entirely sure just how much functional it is since I have no clue how long it's been down here before we all showed up, so it could be ancient as fuck, and it is just one fart away from falling apart or exploding violently. Fiddling around with the controls in a careful manner I started to test the other buttons and with childish glee I smiled to myself as I started to move the crane around, lowering, raising, extending and retracting the machine along with learning how to operate the claw attachment.

After about five minutes of me playing with the industrial crane as if it was a coin-operated claw machine, I turned it off and disembarked from the safe confines of the metal and wood chassis and reunited with my dogs who were waiting for me at the entrance of the first luxury storage building. Looking at my dogs I can tell that all of them are happy as clams, maybe it was because they found what amounts to the holy grail of loot and that it was ours for the taking.

"All happy with what we found?" I asked my dogs who all gave a unanimous nod and many of them barked happily, tails wagging and glee in their eyes, while we may be deep underground and that we are in an unknown region of said underground since none of us was expecting to find any of this, I think today is a good day as long as nothing bad happens.

"Good, then let us check on the others and start getting this treasure to our storage chambers, tomorrow we will explore the rest of the area." And with that said we headed back to our forced-made entrance and called back all of the dogs in the area to regroup.

A couple of minutes of waiting, roughly about an hour due to several of the dogs carrying crates filled with loot-n-swag of various worth and importance but in all they all came back safe and sound with all of them happy as hell with the haul they are returning with. Returning back to the storage chambers in the griffon mines and sifting through the cargo crates we have found quite the haul that I had to rush back to my chambers to retrieve the logistics book, ink and quill so that I could record all that we brought back with us, and I must say it is an impressive haul.

The sound of a quill scribbling wildly and madly across old parchment could be heard in the halls for the greater part of the day as I had to count, recount and triple count each and every single crate and tag each of them with what they had to ensure that that everything is right they are. Meanwhile my dogs were busy unwinding and relaxing in their new assigned lodgings and the happy and gleeful barking and yippings from the dogs, regaling each other with what they saw and what they found while they were away, and with such words being swapped between one another the morale of the pack rose to heights they haven't seen before since...ever.

In all I can say that today was a good day, a good haul, no injuries or deaths, everyone made it back safe and sound, nothing can go wrong now!

THE NEXT DAY

We went back down into the unknown city at first light, our packs empty save for food and whatever medical supplies we can spare, our hearts filled with excitement at what new treasures we will find down there.

Our first obstacle we encountered was a wall. Slanted in design meant to annoy invaders in a few ways, mostly to make the use of siege engines harder because of the slant will just deflect it upward and have it strike with less force, and that whoever is on top of the wall can just drop rocks or jars that will shatter at the base and spread shrapnel to all who are near the bottom.

Luckily for us there was a gate nearby and it was closed but not locked.

Walking up to the wall I inspected it to check for any damage that may have been done to it but when I saw no such dents or scratches other than the sign of weathering down from time it made me worry that something isn't right about this place. Who would abandon this place when it is so fully stocked with construction materials and luxury goods?

Was there an invasion that the griffons didn’t hear about or knew of? We’re the griffons the invading force than sealed this place off because of something they did? Is this place cursed and I just ducked it all up for both me and my diamond dogs or is there something else here that is still alive that killed the city’s inhabitants.

Pushing the doors open was a hard prospect for me as I felt weight on the door, but it wasn’t from a bar locking us out, it felt more akin that someone placed something against the doors as an attempt to keep it shut. Taking a step back I whistled at my dogs to assemble and once they had gathered around me, I told them to open the gate but slowly, I don’t know what lies on the other side and I don’t want it rushed as it may be a trap.

“Push!” “I am pushing, you push harder!” “Don’t feel like pushing!” “If you no push I’ll tug ear!” “You tug nothing, I pushing more!” “Stop yapping more pushing!”

Watching my dogs yell at each other brought a faint smile to my face, reminding me of an earlier time in my life back in middle school from our tug-of-war games during gym class, we rarely won but boy did I love hearing the banter between our teams. The shit talking, threats and promises of an ass beating was all I ever heard during those moments, but they are ones that I will cherish, my friends never let me down no matter how many times we lost, we always came back for more.

“Door opening!” “Heavy thing blocking eyes!” “What that smell?” “It’s you.” “I no smell bad!” “Lie.” “Hey, what that?” “Look dead body!”

“Dead body?”

“Yup! Dead body!”

“How many?”

“Ugh…me thinks lots.”

“Why lots?”

“Smell.”

“You sure?”

"Maybe it Clungo."

"Hey!"

"Could be bodies, rotting food that was left by the gate, someone probably farted after eating a piece of bad fish."

"Or Clungo."

"That it!"

And with that all I heard was the sound of a short-lived scuffle and a thud, and when I turned to see what was causing the commotion, I saw a fairly large diamond dog sitting on top of another diamond dog. The large one had a smug grin on his face while the one he was sitting on was trying, and failing, to get out from underneath the large boi.

“And that is why you do not insult someone when they are right next to you. Unless you have the strength to back up your claims then I’d advise you to keep your mouth shut.” I said as I made my way over to the small crack in the door and with a nod to the others, they all pushed again with the exception of Clungo and the dog he is sitting on.

With a lot of grunting, snarling, barking and heaving the heavy door soon enough yielded to our combined strength and gave way for us only to unleash a horrifying volley of corpses that strangely enough did not smell at all.

Backing away from the mountain of corpses I drew my sword which in turn made all of the dogs take out their own tools of destruction only to stop when they realize that they weren't moving and that the smell wasn't coming from them.

Stepping slowly with hesitation towards the corpse pile I gave one a poke to see if it was an undead, and to my joy it was just a skeleton. Putting my sword away seeing that there were no problems I turned back to others to ask what the source of that atrocious smell was coming from, but I didn't need to ask said question when we all turned to Clungo and the poor dog he was sitting on.

"I knew it was you, my god when this is over you are going to take a bath and we will go over your eating habits."

"But boss-"

"No buts, you smell like shit and it's either your not bathing properly or whatever your eating is rotting." I said as I fought back a gag as I kneeled down and started to investigate the skeletons before me.

Firstly, it's no griffon skeleton. The dead giveaway was that it had no beak, no feathers were near the body and nor did the skeleton even match that of a griffons so this being all of the griffons that worked in the mine was out of the question.

Secondly, it was absolutely not a diamond dog nor a minotaur as it wasn't event remotely close to the configuration of a biped.

Taking a closer look at it I notes that it looked equine in nature, well...most of the body was equine in nature because of the shape but that was where any and all similarities end.

From what I have read from the many books that were available to me in the royal palace, while this may look like a unicorn skull there are quite a few discrepancies between the two. Unicorn horns are long and pointy like a spear, or a dagger depending on said pony, but this skulls horn was curved, short and that it was complete in shape minus the lips, eyelids and ears. Another thing is that unicorns don't have fangs, nor do they have fins on their scalp, and upon their back I saw wings but they are lacking in feathers, instead they are thin, nearly translucent if it wasn't for the layers of dust on them. In fact, these bodies are somewhat intact minus the signs of battle damage in them from weapons or claws, I would say that they have been mummified but when I rolled a body over I didn't hear any sloshing of liquidated organs, in fact the body felt lighter than it should be.

Pressing my foot upon the strange unicorns torso I watched as the stomach region started to crack before finally giving way as my foot went inside the cavity with a distinct lack of squishing.

'Bug ponies? What the ever loving fuck did I find? An underground city, a shitload of bodies of strange insectoid ponies, is this an ancient civilization that the griffons dug up but got cursed? Am I experiencing The Mummy right now? Cause if so than fuck that noise.'

Pulling my foot out of the things torso I started moving through the bodies to see just go far this goes on and what I saw made me immediately regret my decision.

From standing at the other side of the gate i saw a sea of emaciated bodies for as far as the eye can see, or as far as the light from the torch can go but seeing how there are so many bodies that go beyond light is making my hair stand on end and my nerves are screaming at me to run.

But I couldn't.

"Move the bodies to the side, be careful with them, we dont know who or what they are or if there is any more of them still alive. I'd rather not anger them for disrespecting the dead...except for the one I stepped on, my bad for that one." I said as continued to go forward, my eyes taking in the swarm of corpses around me.

Taking careful steps through the dead all I can hear was my boots on paved stone bricks, my dogs breathing and barking behind me and nothing more than stillness in the air.

"Eris, I have a question for you."

Ask and i may answer.

"What did I just find?"

Something old, something sad, something buzzing and something wronged.

"Doesn't really answer my question, Eris."

Too bad, it's more fun watching you figure it out on your own.

"You suck sometimes, you know that right?"

You say that now but you'll change your tune soon enough.

Huffing at her answer, or rather her nonsensical response to my question, I continue to go forward until I stopped myself as I realize that I am not going to be making much progress with how many bodies are littering the streets that I find myself in.

'An entire city of dead insect ponies, this is creating more questions than answers and I am sure that my dogs know nothing about this let alone the griffons as well. And their bodies are for the most part entirely intact with minimum damage.'

Which just begs the question.

What killed them?

And is it still here with us all?

Author's Note

Sorry for the ungodly long delay of the chapter release, shitty shifts at my job combined with things happening in my life pretty much sucked the wind out of my sails but I am now slowly getting back to writing again.

Estrus Season is a terrifying thing

Author's Note

WARNING!

There will be the sex in this chapter!

But also know that I have no idea what I am putting down so it could be good smut or it could be bad smut! Who knows cause I sure as hell don't know!

If you are uncomfortable with a human taking two griffons to pound town and in turn be ridden until he is a dried out prune in the desert, please skip most of this chapter and proceed with Crtl+F ‘Sexy Time is over’ and proceed with the fluff of the chapter!

You have been warned!

Also I have written alot of this while high, so if it looks like a mess, then there is your reason. Happy 4/20!

Enjoy the show.

Estrus Season is a terrifying thing

“I WANT TO LIVE!!!” I shouted as I was dragged upstairs to our shared bedroom, my fate has been sealed the moment I stepped through the front door and announced myself.

I thought that I would be welcomed by my hens and we would all engage in an intense hugs-n-kisses pile then we would settle down and calm ourselves before talking about what happened between us all.

I was totally expecting to be glomped by Greta and Gilda and being looked at by all of my neighbors and the guards walking by before retreating back inside our abode in embarrassment all the while peppering me with kisses and asking me questions of what happened, why did it take so long to come home, and why was I being followed by diamond dogs.

I was not expecting to be tackled then dragged into my home by two ungodly horny and lust-fueled griffons who are now demanding the one thing I was hesitant on giving them because I was worried that we wouldn't be compatible or if they were willing to go that far just yet.

But it would look like that I have little to no choice on the matter.

The three of us knew that this was going to happen eventually. It was only a matter of time before this question was broached by either one of us, either from Gilda being the group's horny pervy hen, Greta being the posh, sophisticated, and gentle hen, and be being the guy tying it all together with his devotion and love with sprinkles of uncertainty for the future.

Yet it looks like mother nature had decided to step in and make the move for us with the most overt action possible.

Fuck you Mother Nature, always a bitch.

As I was dragged back into to our little love nest of a home before rushed upwards towards the bedroom and then unceremoniously thrown onto the bed with a soft 'fwump', I feel a pair of velvety soft yet heavy weights settle on my chest, not even given a chance to get up as I am immediately assaulted with nuzzles and kisses on the neck and ears by a pair of beaks.

Now, normally I would be all for this and then some cause I mean, who wouldn’t? Having your girl just break out into a fierce slobbery, needy, face-sucking session is awesome, doubly so when it’s two girls who agreed to share with each other, but when they are in a sex-crazed state of mind?

It is ungodly arousing and horrifyingly scary at the same time.

I really wanted to resist, I really, really wanted to.

But man... come on now.

I haven’t been laid in over four years, this dry spell had to fucking end sometime and I am ending it in a blaze of glory!

That and also punching my interspecies v-card, so yeah me.

Giving in to the carnal demands from my hens I let myself go and lose myself into their lustful advances.

"So here you are, trapped in a room with beautiful hens." Greta says with feline purr that ends with a chirp, "Two, sexy, hungry, heated, hens. You better not disappoint us...or who knows what we'll do." The implied threat of the unknown made an icy spike pierce my heart as I began to compute what it could possibly be, the worst is being pegged by them, the best being them just using me to their hearts content.

Turning to face Gilda I placed my left hand on her neck and brought her in for a kiss, turning my head slightly as to not bump completely into her beak. In my mind I was expecting to feel the soft and supple lips of a woman but instead it was the hard yet oddly soft and flexible keratin of a griffon's beak.

Having to twist our heads so she doesn’t stab me with her beak and for me to be able to properly kiss her, our tongues gliding and caressing one another as Greta went with giving my neck love-nibbles and cooing as I pet and stroked her neck and back.

With Gilda’s tongue aggressively trying to tangle with mine as she was on the warpath to conquer my mouth. I was surprised that the inside of her beak actually had tiny teeth that line the edges, the more you know I guess.

The two of us feel the other’s heart hammering in our chests as our bodies began to heat up, theirs more than mine, and our faces blooming scarlet with need. Soon the two of us separate to catch our breath as a single string of saliva connected us for a scant second before breaking off. While Gilda was staring down at me with an ungodly amount of carnal lust that can possibly make a succubus run for her money as she tried to come in for a second round, my head was turned to the right as Greta took her turn immediately and I was once more kissing my griffon paramour.

While Gilda was aggressive and rough with her kiss, Greta was softer, gentler, more romantic with it as she guided my tongue inside her beak, showing me every nook and cranny along with the gentle brushing of her teeth which sent a shiver down my spine. During our kiss I felt on my right side a pair of talons dragging over my chest, feeling the contours of my body and tracing every bit of muscle and skin that she could get her talons on.

Our kiss wasn’t as long as it was with Gilda as I didn’t get enough air in my lungs but it was just as enduring as we separated to refill our lungs with life-giving air.

I didn’t have to wait long for one of them to make their move as I felt a pair of talons slowly drag themselves downward, feeling my body while the other pair of talons was busy massaging my muscles, enjoying their feeling and thickness, cooing in delight at their appearance. Gilda wasted little time in trailing her talons downward all the while giving me loving nips until she finally reached her destination, the clothed prison that contained her throbbing prize.

Greta on the other hand slowly shuffled on top of me, firmly securing her spot on my stomach as she began to rub back and forth slowly, grinding her hips as I felt the building heat between her legs as she resumed kissing me. I felt her talons slowly move before latching onto my shoulders as my own hands found their way to her rear and squeezed their target, her twin, large, plush targets might I add.

While Gilda was lean and muscular due her time being a flyer and also traveling around the continent and to the lands of Equestria, Greta was more on the plush side. Softer in both her well-maintained feathers and fur but also the layer of plush fat that lines her body, something that I have come to love whenever we hug, or at this moment with the twin globes of her ass filling out my hands. Firmly grasping onto Greta’s ass I started to knead and massage it as if I were playing with dough, this brings out a surprised chirp from my hen as she was not expecting me to go happy-feely with her hindquarters but hummed in pleasure as she knew that I was now no longer afraid to get handsy with her and resumed kissing me with renewed hunger.

Distracted with my tonsil hockey session with Greta, Gilda took the initiative and gripped the edges of my pants and yanked hard on it, but much to her annoyance and frustration they did not move an inch thanks to the belt holding them up and tight. Flexing her talons and glaring at my belt, she let out a frustrated snarl and clawed at my belt and pants, tearing them apart at the loops before pulling them down on the second attempt. With my pants out of the way she looked at my cotton-covered package with greed as she drooled a little before grabbing the hem of my underwear and yanked down hard as she released the beast from its cage.

No warning was given as my rod was sprung free from its fabric prison and its first act of freedom was to club its liberator in the face with a meaty ’thwack’, exposing it to the cool air and surprising the hell out of Gilda for a second before acting immediately on carnal instinct as she shoved her beak right into my crotch and breathed in deep. To Gilda's heat-addled mind this was most wonderful thing in the world, all the sweat, all the musk, all the smell of fuck and aroma of need was going straight to her brain as it was intoxicating to her as she held her spot and continued to huff and inhale that sweet, sweet ambrosia of lust that is clouding her mind before finally getting a taste from the object of her desire. Slowly dragging her tongue from the base all the way to the tip, catching a bead of pre on her tongue as a thrilled trill of a coo escapes from her beak before she goes in for another taste, and another, and another, before finally swallowing my rod whole and started to hum.

My mind goes blank from the dual assault from Gilda and Greta as the two tag-teamed me into submission and I was a slave to their wanton desires, but they wanted more. Much more.

Breaking away from the kiss and the attention to my shaft, Greta and Greta get up from their respective spots and began the next step of their carnal plan as Greta looked down at me with those beautiful turquoise blue eyes of hers as she smiles sweetly at me before getting up from my chest before turning around as I watch her plant her hide paws on both sides of my head as I gaze up and see the sight of Greta standing above me.

There has been many moments where I had admired Greta's body while the three of us all slept together in the same bed, but now that I am up close and personal and seeing her in a new light and angle I can say with all the confidence in my being that I am loving this new side of her.

From where I am laying down I can see her nipples poking through her faded-scarlet fur, the little buds of bright pink making themselves known as I spot six of them just begging to be touched and played with. Casting my gaze slowly upwards my eyes travel upward, glistening above my head as the fur surrounding it thins out to reveal her pussy as a bead of pearlescence drips onto my forehead to further show just how needy she is. While I was expecting to see the same feline genitalia that I accidentally saw when I was fighting my instructor, Greta's outer lips are nice, large and puffy while her inner labia are small enough that I can barely see them through her mound. I guess griffons are all different when it comes to their bodies, maybe need to read that book I found to confirm this...

If I survive this that is.

"Like what you see lover boy? Take a deep breath, you are gonna need it." Greta asks me as I see her slowly lower herself down, prolonging the display as much as she can and just as I was about to say yes, she plops herself down and securely seats herself on my face as she lets out a throaty moan as my muffled words vibrate through her loins.

'I can die a happy man now. My face is now a hot chick's seat.'

I gave Greta's pussy a long, slow lick from bottom to top, sliding my tongue all over her plump lips, starting off slow and getting used to her taste as I heard muffled moans from above. Flicking my tongue between her lips before wiggling it inside her, loosening her up bit by bit as her wetness started to flow freely.

"Thats it Ian, go deeper, lick harder, make me scream!" was all I heard in a low volume as I ate her out, my tongue occasionally returning to my mouth to only lash out and flick at her clit, her little pleasure nub that called out for attention and attention did I give it as I felt her thighs squeeze and tighten around my head with each passing touch.

Gilda on the other hand, released my cock from the moist embrace that was her beak as it throbbed in the cool air, begging to be once more entombed within a hen's warm embrace once more. I got my wish when she repositioned herself above me as I felt her taloned hand reach down and grabbed hold of my shaft, holding it place as she slowly lowered herself down on top of it and normally, I would be watching the whole show with rapt attention, but alas there is a feathery hen's plush ass using my face as a seat cushion as I clasped my hands on them to spread them apart before securing them on my face.

With my head buried within one hen's backside and loving it, Gilda eased herself down onto me, the head of my shaft brushing against her puckered star a few times before changing course southward and finally found its mark. Feeling my tip run against her wet folds brought a rush of shivers up my spine as Gilda felt the same, and while hers certainly felt smaller than a humans, it was a hell of a lot warmer and tighter, and as the tip poked and prodded at her entrance I felt the griffon on top shiver before rocking her hips back and forth to try and get it in.

Now, I am no King Kohona of Cock nor am I so small that would result in being called 'baby dick', cause god damn that would shatter my pride in an instant, I’d say that I am of slightly bigger than average, a nice 4.5 incher (yes I measured it with a ruler, call me whatever you want I had to find out how big I am), and while I haven’t got deep into that book I found back in the mine about the national griffon average, just seeing Gilda struggle to get me inside her means that I am far bigger than them and it brings a spark of pride within my chest.

That and I can finally hear a girl tell me that I am huge, that is a huge ego boost to my soul.

"Gods above...Just. Get. IN. THERE!" I heard Gilda growled out but before I could offer her some assistance on the matter of initial penetration, the horny hen tightened her grip on my dick and with either blind luck or finally finding her aim to be true, Gilda finally impales herself on my cock with a loud squelch of juices and a loud hawkish cry of delight that would've nearly blows out my eardrums if it wasn't for these griffon-thick earmuffs covering my head. I was buried halfway into Gilda and by the gods she was tighter than I had ever imagined, a snug fit and I bet that Gilda is currently on cloud nine right about now.

While I could not see whatever Gilda's expression was at the moment, the sheer fact that I can feel her talons resting on my waist as she twitched in place on top of me as she tried to adjust to my girth stretching her out and for a briefest of moments, I thought I was too big for her and that I would never be able to be fully sheathed inside her. That thought was immediately kicked aside as I felt her weight slowly ease up off of me for a scant second before immediately slamming back down, taking me to the base as I felt my balls slap against her pert ass and the tip of my shaft ground against a wall of firm yet spongy flesh and I knew exactly what I rammed into as the hen riding me let out an ear-piercing screech of ecstasy that to me only sounded like a muffled moan of delight as I felt a gush of hot fluids wash over my groin as Gilda had the best orgasm of her life.

I was not expecting Gilda to be a flash in the pan or a quick squirter, but when she took a moment to collect herself and rethink things through I soon felt her slowly begin to pull herself up and stopped right when all that was left was the tip still inside her before reversing course and slide back down. A shuddering wave reverberates throughout my shaft as the tomboy hen riding me begins to purr with delight with me moaning in tandem alongside Greta as she too is getting off to me eating her out while being ridden.

"Oh...oh gods above... this is gonna take getting used to. Compared to what the schmucks have here and the toys I use, this is leagues above them all!" Gilda said with glee as she slowly began to move up and down, still getting used to the beast she forced herself on and the fact that it was unlike any griffon, pony or toy she had used in the past. To Gilda it was the startling lack of barbs that made this the best sex she ever had, what with comparing to a barbed cock of a male griffon that made it painful yet strangely pleasurable, or the long n wide shafts of a pony but that only lasted a minute at best, but with her human lover...there was no mistaking it that she had won the lottery.

"It's a good thing that we got this opportunity to make up for lost time, right?" and without further ado, Gilda steadied herself by planting her talons on my chest and started to ride me like a beast possessed by a sex demon. And considering that she was in heat, she very well may have been possessed.

With Greta using my face as if it were a royal seat cushion and Gilda riding me as if it was her last day on the planet, all I could do was attempt to thrust and buck in tandem with Gilda's own frantic movement. Bucking and thrusting like a rutting beast even as my hen's insides squeeze and pull on my shaft, trying to wring me of all that I am worth, but I am not a quick shot and that she is going to have to earn that nut. Pulling out I felt her tighten around my shaft as her inner walls cling tightly to me, drawing out a low moan with each rise before reaching a crescendo when she plunges back down. After a few more ins and outs alongside a couple more gasps and moans of delight, Gilda loosened up enough to go full speed.

And full speed did she go.

Rising up to the zenith with just the tip being held within her snug confines before slamming back down akin to a meteor crashing into the earth, Gilda continued to ride me like a mechanical bull at a southern bar, earning nothing more than grunts from me and musical moans from Greta as my mouth was perfectly sealed to her mound and whatever sound I made would vibrate through her and make my girl squawk in delight.

With Gilda riding me and Greta resting herself on my face, I moved my hands from the plump handholds that are Greta's heavenly rump to Gilda's waist as she continued to power fuck me into the mattress. the sound of her ass clapping against my thighs was akin to a heavenly choir as we fucked long and hard that the sounds of their cries of excitement and joy was heard by all of our neighbors and even the local guards that are on patrol.

I am sure that we are going to get a sound violation for sure from all this but fuck them.

Braced against the bed and flexing everything I got to work with, I begin to thrust and move as much as I can with Gilda's own bouncing, fucking lustful moans and squawks of ecstasy from the needy griffoness above every time I go deep inside her. Her tight-n-toned ass start to lift off the bed entirely as I clap against her hard just as the headboard on the bed starts slamming against the wall with each thrust as her moaning start to reach a fever pitch. Pretty sure that is going to leave a bit of a dent against it, but I can worry about that later.

"Ah! Ah! Oh, gods above!" Greta managed to gasp out as she hit her limit as her thighs clenched tightly around my head, signaling to me that she just popped her cork as I felt my face get washed in a wave of female delight. While breathing at the moment was hard what with Greta's ass currently engulfing my head, I managed to get a few gulps of air as she shifts ever so slightly off of my head before she crashes back down, securely trapping me in fluffy marshmallow heaven.

With one hen currently on cloud nine, the other continues her assault on my pelvis, vigorously grinding her hips into the base of my crotch even as she feels herself nearing her limit again even as her body instinctively seeks out further pleasure from her mates. Her tail flicking back and forth wildly, shacking just like the rest of her as her body is currently incapable of dishonesty and betraying just how much she loves having me so deep inside her. Retaking the initiative away from Gilda I grabbed onto her ass and firmly squeezed them, ensuring my hold on her was secured and that she knew that she was going to be in for a wild ride as I lifted her up, sliding my cock almost completely out of her before slamming her down and her reaction was immediate as she sags onto my chest in a submissive heap as I pump into her with wild abandon.

"Ian! Ah! Ah! Gods!" Gilda pants out as I hammer into her with each long, deep thrust, tightening her grip on my shoulders as her talons dig into them until finally, she can no longer bear it and cums again through a grit beak while I kept sliding in and out of her ridiculously-tight cunt. The way it grips and sucks at me almost makes me think that she has control over it but seeing how much larger I am compared to the average griffon, I just know that she is using what little pelvic muscle control she has to keep me trapped inside her.

Soon enough I felt the pair above me shudder in delight as they both reached their peak and popped, both harmonizing their cries of love while I am finally reaching my own after being ridden and thrusting in turn with reckless abandon. While the two hens above me are bathing me in their effluvial essence, I am gripping tightly to Gilda’s ass as I hammer into her harder before finally letting out a muffled snarl as months of pent up release finally comes crashing down, or in this case, up, into Gilda as the mother of all celestial nut busts happens and I am praying that Gilda isn’t gonna be mad at me for making a mess out of her.

Seizing Gilda by her waist I give a primal, almost feral snarl as I slam her down to the hilt, my balls tightening in advance as I felt my cock throb once, twice, thrice and several more bursts of thick human seed poured into Gilda’s tight love nest as warmth radiates outwards from her core. Although I couldn’t see just what kind of damage I have done to Gilda, I can only assume that she is on cloud nine and was having the time of her life.

After a minute or two has passed the three of us came down from our high as Greta slowly slide off my face with her thighs still clamp around my head, now rendering me deaf but I can now see once more, and the sight laying on top of me was a glorious one.

Gilda, eyes rolled to the back of her head, her tongue sticking out while she is panting, out of breath and still holding onto my shoulders tightly as her talons are digging into them. I can still feel her clamped down around me, still trying to milk me dry as a raisin and quite possibly suck out my soul as well.

"Oh, Boreas" Gilda whispered out as her brain starts the long process of rebooting itself after having it fucked out of her, her body twitching and spasming out as her nerves keep firing off from the overwhelming amount of pleasure still coursing through her body.

"Hoohhhhh...Eyr above..." Gilda breathes out, arching her back as she slowly brings her body into an upright sitting position as she gazes down at me, still huffing for air as I am also gasping for breath as it was nearly snuffed from me from Greta's hefty backside.

The three of us lay there for gods knows how long, I didn't have to wait long though for my shaft to slowly get released from Gilda's tight snatch, her inner muscles finally relenting and released its hold on me and as soon as the tip of my cock leaves her with a lewd schlurp. Alabaster cub starts to slowly and rhythmically dribble and plop out of her, staining her fur as the rest of my seed is crammed in her womb, stuffed full with my jizz as I can see the barest hint of a pudge in her stomach.

'Nice...'

As I laid there, exhausted, spent, and thoroughly pleased, I stare up at the ceiling with a smile on my face as I slowly let sleep take me away to dreamland...

That is...

...until I felt a pair of talons grab my shoulders as I feel movement above my head along with motion on my chest.

I only had to open my eyes to see Gilda and Greta staring at me with unfettered hunger in their eyes, their eyes wide and dilated with need as their wings are fully extended and talons on full display.

"Gilda...Greta...please...the spirit is willing...but the body is spongy and bruised." I said in between gasps of air as I struggled to regain some manner of stability back into my body after the marathon of fuck we three just went through. And yet these two are still at the peak of their power all the while I am a sweaty, gasping, ruined heap on the bed begging to be spared another round of carnal delights.

My two hens looked at me long and hard, their gaze unnerving as they both smirked as they started snickering to themselves as Gilda pounced on me while Greta stayed behind.

"I've been waiting a long time to finally have someone to quell this burning heat inside me and I am not gonna stop till it's gone! So gimme that dick!" Gilda said and that was all that I heard as she took command of the situation and began the marathon all over again with Greta watching from the sidelines.

If this is how I die, I just want to let Eris know that this was oh so worth it!

Sexy Time is over!

The three of us were sprawled out all over the bed in a sweaty, fluid covered heap, all of us gasping for breath as we have ran a marathon on one another till exhaustion claimed us all.

Staring at the ceiling as the afterglow of fuck courses through our veins, I couldn’t stop and think to myself.

‘WOW…that was awesome.’

But it wasn’t before long as I started to drift off to sleep that post-nut clarity began to worm its way into my head just as my eyes were nearly shut.

And when post-nut clarity hits.

It hits fucking hard.

My eyes popped open as I realized that I had just fucked my two closest friends until they were rendered a puddle of thoroughly pleasured feather cushions who are clinging to me like purring kittens.

But the most important thing?

I left Moss outside, with my diamond dogs, and over half of the neighborhood who witnessed me getting dragged into my home before the sounds of loud and rough sex echoed out from our house for most of the day.

Looking at the ceiling I glanced down at my hens, and for a moment I thought about getting out of bed to check up on Moss and my dogs, but when Gilda nuzzled into my neck and purred happily while Greta cooed in delight, I just mentally shrugged and closed my eyes again.

‘Eg, Moss can wait till tomorrow morning, I am sure he will be fine.’