Chapter 96 – Venturing Out

"It was nice to have some company this morning, Princess. My wives don't see the point of getting up early and eating. They would rather have a few more minutes of sleep. Thank you for the stories last night and for coming out here to help us with the griffin. The castle has had some late nights due to them," Vankas says, finishing his little stack of pancakes.

"No problem. I will admit I'm normally like your wives, but I need something to help me with the headache. I'm glad my drunkenness brought some joy last night. I'll try to earn my mighty image over the next few days again."

"You never lost it, your Highness. The stories may have been slurred out, but they clearly showed your heart and willingness to fight for us," he said with a short bow and left me to finish my last few bites.

"Guess their writing does rub off into their words. Do tell the kitchen the pancakes were great. Is the healer here?" I ask the maid, who still standing behind me.

"I'll make sure the chefs know you enjoyed their cooking. The healer should be here. Would you like me to take you there, your Highness?" She asks.

"Yes."

"Right this way."

I really should remember the way back to my room, but the first time, I was drunk, and the second time hungover, so I follow the maid back through the simple stone halls. Reaching the bedroom, I walk right in.

"Alright, let's roll that sleeve up and see what is going on," a short cat woman says, her ears flicking towards me as I enter. The healer has striking red hair and a short tail dancing about behind her.

"Sorry to interrupt. Please continue; I just want to know how she is doing," I say, finding another chair to sit in.

"Of course, your Highness. Now I'm going to send some mana in; let it be," she says, turning back to my wife. A small grimace shows on her pretty face while the healer focuses on the arm. We sit in silence for a few minutes as the healer works her magic or skill around.

"Are you struggling to circulate your mana?"

"Yes," Inanos lets out, her head dropping. "Shortly after the fight."

"I can help you move your arm again. But you'll need someone stronger than in this city to heal the mana issue. You should be able to use some mana without circulating still. Give me a second, and I'll fix the muscle issue."

"Thanks," Inanos whispers out. A second later, she gives out a yelp.

"There we go. Whatever curse that wolf applied doesn't seem to spread. The curse is covering the muscle that was torn, likely eating the mana in the potion. It took a lot more mana than normal to heal the tear. You'll need someone with a lot more life mana to overwhelm it or a skill to clear it out. A healing temple may have what you need, or finding a healer that can siphon off others' mana would be the best bet if you can't get the royal healer to help you out," the healer says to the room.

"I'll keep that in mind, though I do know of one other girl who may be able to overwhelm it. Thank you for coming up here this early. I'm happy to hear it isn't spreading and you were able to fix some of the issues," I say.

"I'm always happy to help the royal family. Lady Liuva has asked me to join you all in the hunt, so we'll have a chance to talk a bit more. I can try to find some time to study the curse and see if I don't have a method to fix it myself. But I'll need to limit my mana usage to heal your group," she says, standing up.

"Happy to have you along. Miss?"

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you my name. Sorry, your Highness. I'm Chi," she says.

"Thank you for the help, Chi. I'll let Inanos decide if she wants you to keep looking at it. You two can decide on that arrangement on the way there. Right now, we need to get dressed and ready to go. I hope to get to the campsite before dark," I say, standing up.

"As you wish, your Highness. I'll see you both later," Chi says with a bow before walking out of the room.

"Does your arm feel better, at least? We have an easy path forward; Alzi should be able to flood you with mana the second we pick her up," I say, heading to her side. "You should've said something about the mana, though. I get it being hard to say, but I need to know if you're limited in fights like that. Ok, dear?"

"I'm sorry," she says to her breasts.

"You'll have your mana back; just give it a month," I say, walking over to her. A few maids walk in to help us get into our travel gear. "We'll pass a few temples on the way back we can check with. But it won't be long when we get back till Alzi gives birth to the Duchess's kids, and we can bring her home." I wrap the girl in a hug, pulling her into my soft mounds. "I won't let my wife lose something so important forever. Just a month, ok."

She gives me a little nod while I hold her while the maids pull out our traveling gear.

"Ready to get dressed?" I ask, stroking her black hair.

"Yes. Sorry for being mean."

"You're fine. I was smothering you in attention when you wanted to be alone. Come on, we need to hurry, or we'll be late."

We're the last pair to make it to the stables. Carriages load up with food, and another group of guards is around. Lady Liuva is giving instructions to a few servants as mine put the finishing touches on the horses and carriages.

"Is there anything left to do?" I ask, walking up behind the Baroness.

"No, just getting the last bits of foodstuff in now. You should be good to leave in just a couple of minutes," Lady Liuva says.

"Good. Has there been any sightings of them today?"

"If there has been, they haven't been reported to us today. Normally, they are at least awake at this hour, if not taking off already. You may run into one on the road. I've warned your wives about it, so they should be ready for it."

"I'll make sure we are prepared for a fight then."

"Princess everything is ready when you are," a servant says says.

"Ok," I say back. "Everyone! Let's get going! Be ready for an attack. If one offers themselves up, we need to take it!"

Vanya, Geta, and I hop on our horses. Elyne running with us. Shimmer decides to ride her own horse as well. The rest find a spot in a carriage. Liuva's guard joins us on horseback, and we head out.

Everyone clears the way for us as we move out of the city, but it's still slow going. Everyone is careful not to run a kid over. But we finally see the last gate and make it through to the open air, our speed picking up.

"Have you all fought Griffins before?" I ask the group of guards.

"We've scared them off a few times. Never lasted longer than a few minutes," a warrior of the group says.

"Guess that happened near the city, then?"

"Yes, I'm Yaleph, your Highness. I have a strength affinity," the warrior responds. Grey hair and fur cover her muscled body. Some mix of beastkin, her fur is spotted, striped, and plain all at once.

"Kydereia, Your Highness," another offers up. A green dog. Did she get some dryad in her or something? "Light mage."

"Geddes," the last gives out. The rare wood elf in a city farthest from any woods. "Nature mage."

"Nice to meet you all. Glad to have some help. You'll likely get the boring jobs, but I can use you, Yaleph, to watch the mages. Seems three warriors aren't enough yet for our coordination."

"We're here to serve you as you need us."

"Ok, if you know where we're going, check the front. We'll watch the back and sides."

"Yes, your Highness," Yaleph says, kicking her horse to move up, the other two joining her.

"Geta and Vanya get the sides. I'll bring up the rear. The Shimmer stays around the middle. We're small enough of a group we don't need a signal. Just shout out anything we all need to know."

"Yes, dear," they say as we all move into position.

We travel through the fields again. The beastkin tending to the rows of plants. Most look about ready to be harvested. I wonder if we'll be here long enough to catch the start of the harvest. It could be fun to participate in their harvest festival. Give an extra thanks to the Goddess for the food. But we can't stick around too long. Alzi should be popping out her latest batch soon, and I don't want to have Inanos waiting too long to get her magic back to full strength.

The farther out we went, the fewer people we saw. More and more plots were unkept, weeds taking over the normally pristine plants, and the food withered from the abandonment. We may need to make a feast for the poor. This many fields not getting any attention has to mean a lot of people are out of work and going hungry.

"I see one in the distance! Can't tell if they are heading this way or not yet," Yaleph yells out. I don't see it yet, likely hidden behind a carriage.

"It does seem to be coming this way. They have attempted attacks on some large groups before. If the group has some guards, they normally run quickly, so we'll need something to keep it here if we want to kill it," Geddes says.

"Elyne focuses on keeping the wind away from its wings. Do it as soon as you can and call it out. We have enough people here that we should kill it before it realizes it needs to run using its legs instead of wings," I call out. I stay in the back; the mages will do most of the fighting this time around. "Everyone else, just prepare to use a skill and bring it down fast. It'll have some resistance, but we have more than enough types and mana to blow through it! Attack once Elyne calls out her spell."

"Yes, dear," Elyne calls out. My wives in the carriages find a way to watch the griffin grow closer. We start to hear the wings pushing the air around as it flies at us, picking up speed.

This should be perfect. It seems the griffins have gotten used to being the dominant force around here.

"NOW!" Elyne calls out.

The Griffen drops in the air before the sky glows with all the mana usage. Reds for the fire, a spark of purple for the mind, gold for time with a streak of pink for the pixies.

The group really threw everything at the poor griffin. It kept falling, its wings torn off by some magic. It went down like a rock, crashing into a field.

"Geta, and I will check on it. Vanya will be behind us. Guards stay in front of the carriages. I doubt it survived that, but there is no need to lose our supplies being careless here," I order, directing my horse to the side. The caravan stops as I meet up with Geta and head into the destroyed field.

The beast isn't moving. Can't even see the rise and fall of its breath. Wings a few feet away from its body, blood pouring out of its torn sockets. Cuts, scrapes, gashes, and scorch marks riddle the body between the blood stains.

"I would say that's a dead griffin," Geta calls out, dismounting and bringing out her great sword. "I'll take off its head to be sure. Do we store the entire body or gut it here?"

"We have a few maids that can gut it for us in camp. Take its head, and I can store it."

A single swing has the head detached from the blood body. Coming down with a soft plop into the dirt. I swiftly move it into my ring, and we head back to the caravan.

"Dead. We've got the body. Let's head out to the camp."