"Just one more lap," Naka said.
"C'mon! That's the third time you say that!" Blue could barely feel her legs. She and Hera had been running around the city for almost five hours. At least Blue managed to increase her improved stamina to rank 4. Hera got really worried that her skill would do the same, but luckily it didn't.
"Let us… take a break… just for a few minutes," Hera spoke between breaths.
"I told you to wait for my permission to fight the Sky Ruler Spawn. You didn't, so you need to be punished. Be grateful I'm helping you train instead of something else. Honestly, I figured after three days, you already understood how this worked. Now keep running," Naka said.
Hera and Blue pushed themselves to keep running, but they were far from going at full speed even with all their strength. Their route was to do a lap around the guard and then head to the palace. For the past days, this had been their routine., a run around the city for hours, then muscle training and sparring against Naka during the rest of the day. The entire running course would take them to the farming district, the entrance gate, the lake, and finally back to the guard. The muscle training was basically doing push-ups and sit-ups non-stop for hours on end, and the sparring was just an excuse for the captain to smack them around. As they started to move around the guard headquarters, Ogryn and three other dwarves wearing long robes arrived. They were all mages who studied the arcane arts in the rune circle, that was the building created for the mages to develop new spells and improve their magic.
"I see you are putting them through the wringer," Ogryn said.
"They went against my orders. This is the bare minimum they should go through," Naka replied with a smirk.
"Fair enough. Just remember, when training a horse, you must use the carrot as well as the stick."
Naka stared at Ogryn with a confused expression, "What is a horse?"
"I have no idea. Weston said that, and Rutigan's father used the phrase as a base for his life. It means that we must punish mistakes but also praise success. You can't deny that defeated the Sky Ruler Spawn is an incredible accomplishment."
"It is. I have to admit. I wish I could do the same," Naka sighed. Blue and Hera had just reached the road and were heading to the farming district.
"Say, how long it will take for them to finish this lap?" Ogryn asked.
"At this pace? About 40 minutes."
"Any chance you could call them back? Not that we are under a time schedule or anything, we are just excited about the ideas that we have come up with," Ogryn explained.
"Sure, my strategies also depend on what you have to offer," Naka looked back to the humans, "Just give them a minute."
Ogryn chuckled, "Fair enough."
Naka waited for Hera and Blue to get a few meters away before they were out of earshot and only then called them back, "Blue… Herynin, come back. We have a change of plans."
Hera stopped running, "It's Hera!" she wanted to yell, but her voice came out a little louder than a whisper.
"She did that on purpose, didn't she?" Blue asked.
"Yeah, she always messes up my name but gets yours. I don't know why."
"I meant the calling us back thing, but yeah. That too," Blue started walking back, "Do you think it is because you threatened Rutigan?"
"Don't know," Hera replied. She wanted to keep talking, but she was too tired to do so.
Arriving back at the headquarters, Hera and Blue were led to a conference room. There, only the people who participated in the fight against the griffons were allowed to enter. This level of secrecy was out of worry. Naka believed that if the group's strategies ended up in the hands of other members of the guards, they could have ideas of trying to fight the monsters on their own. Even though it was known that the dwarves couldn't hit the griffons, this was only due to reports and stories passed down from earlier generations. Finding someone who actually saw their attacks being nullified was impossible.
Naka sent word to a few guards to join the meeting. Silah was among them. Hera and Blue knew how much she wanted to see new things, and the captain agreed that if the blacksmith knew the enemy, she could prepare better tools to counter them. After a few minutes, all ten members of the team were there.
"Now, Before we start, I believe introductions are in order," Ogryn spoke, "These are three of the best mages in the circle. Pyrrick, Totrak, and Lija. We had quite a few interested in the prospect of helping with this endeavor, but their ideas were the ones I thought to be the most promising."
Pyrrick wore long grey robes with a wall-like pattern. He had a long brown beard that almost camouflaged itself against his clothing. His eyes were sunken and nearly black, creating a contrast with his pale complexion. The man looked like he needed a month of sleep, and his frazzled hair supported that theory, but there was an odd glow in his eyes that gave a different impression.
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Totrak had golden flowing hair that was pulled back to reveal a cheerful face. His beady ember eyes set elegantly within their sockets, giving the man an almost regal look. He wore a large smile and seemed very excited to be there. Hera noticed some color on his hand that appeared to be from a tattoo, but she couldn't identify what it was.
Lija seemed to be the most laid back of the three. When they walked in, she even tried to rest her feet on the table, but a slap from Ogryn made her sit properly. She had grey hair pulled back in a short ponytail, dark makeup on her face with purple lipstick, and big wing-shaped earrings. If it wasn't for the wrinkles on her face, Hera could have sworn she was looking at an angst teenager.
On the guard's side, they would have Naka, Sevaris, and Ganek, one of the senior guards. Silah and Lerynn were also there, and Hera and Blue, completing the team of 10 that would be a part of the expeditions. The captain introduced everyone, leaving Silah and Lerynn, the support team, for last.
"Now, Lerynn, I asked you to be here since you already dealt with the wounds the Sky Ruler Spawn's can create. However, any report you make to Telanz needs to get my approval first. I don't want any unnecessary information to go out."
"Sure, captain, but why? I understand the need to avoid having others try to fight those creatures, but my master would never do such a thing."
"I know how much you care about him, but I know him better. Or, at least, I know a side of him that you don't. Just trust me. The less temptation in front of him, the better," Naka replied.
There was an odd moment of silence after her explanation, but Ogryn quickly changed the subject
"Very well. Now that we are all acquainted, let's begin. Hera, Blue, would you be so kind as to tell us how the griffons fight again?"
Blue nodded, "Sure, it's kind of obvious, but they are flying creatures."
"Ah, before I forget," Ogryn waved his hand. On the edge of the table, towards the empty side, a glowing white rectangle appeared. On top of it, there were the words 'Strategy meeting against the Sky Ruler Spawn."
"Ogryn, you don't have to do that. There is a blackboard right behind that illusion. We can just write it in chalk," Naka sighed.
"No need. This is easier, and no one needs to remember to erase the information. Isn't secrecy supposed to be a priority?" Ogryn replied with a smile.
Naka shrugged and looked towards the white form floating in the air. Hera stared at Ogryn for a moment. He always seemed quiet and reserved during the council meetings, but his personality might be very different. Hera and Blue explained for what seemed like the thousandth time how the griffons behaved and the types of attacks they used. Naka also added some knowledge that was passed down from previous generations. Ogryn made each of the behaviors appear on his illusory whiteboard. When they finally finished, there were about a dozen of attacks and movements to be wary of. From the simple 'talons and beaks are sharp' to the strategy of grabbing an enemy and flying it up into the sky before dropping it, leaving the damage to gravity. All the moves they had seen were there.
"Let's start with the easy ones, shall we?" Ogryn gestured to Totrak.
"Of course, Runemaster. These Sky Rulers are fast, right? Their beaks and talons only hurt that much because of the speed they come at you. So we can slow them down," Totrak said.
"So a slow spell? Yeah, that could work," Hera said.
"Not quite. You said that they come in large numbers. A slow spell, although effective, would cost too much mana, and it has a chance of failing, meaning we would have to use it again and waste more mana. Not to mention we don't know how to trigger an acceptable effect. What we can do, however, is make it harder for them to move."
"Go on," Naka perked up.
"Do you all know the concept of viscosity?" Totrak asked.
Everyone but Blue and Ganek nodded.
"Viscosity is like. How heavy something is, or in this case, I'm assuming how hard it is to move through something," Hera explained.
"Precisely. Think of water and mud. It's easier to move through water than mud because mud is more viscous. The spell I developed allows me to change the viscosity of an area," Totrak announced proudly.
"How much?" Naka asked.
Totrak made a motion with his hand, and a small pebble appeared, "Runemaster, could you create a cube in front of me?"
Ogryn nodded, and a transparent cube appeared in front of his student.
"Normally, this is what happens when something moves through the air," Totrak dropped the pebble on top of the illusory cube and caught it with his other hand, "Now, allow me to use the spell," he mumbled a few words and dropped the stone again. This time, as it hit the cube, the stone started to move much slower, almost like it was sinking in the water. When it reached the edge of the illusion, its speed went back to normal.
The mages all looked at the result with proud expressions. Hera also had to admit, this was an incredible feat. She would never consider creating a spell like that.
"How viscous can you make the area? And how do you expect someone to fight inside it?" Naka asked.
"Ah, yes. Let me increase the power of the spell," Totrak mumbled once more and dropped the pebble on the cube. This time, it was almost like it had hit a solid surface. The gravel was moving so slowly through the viscous air that it took 30 seconds to be entirely inside the illusion, "And as for your second question," Totrak showed a second pebble, this one with a small mark, and dropped it into the cube. The stone passed through without an issue, as if not affected by the viscous air.
"I can mark creatures that won't be affected by it. This mark takes 10 minutes to prepare and, after activating, lasts for half an hour. If I need to cast the spell once more, that won't be an issue. The mark itself lasts until removed. So I can refresh the effect as needed. Talking about range, I can make an area about 20 meters wide to be affected by this spell."
The spell seemed helpful, but again it all depended on the reaction of the griffons. The discussion about the issues that part of the idea could face lasted for another hour, with everyone pitching in scenarios and ideas. Hera couldn't help but chuckle at the situation.
"What's so funny?" Blue whispered.
"I was just thinking how much Bonnie would enjoy being a part of this," Hera had a sad smile on her face.
Blue held Hera's hand tightly. She could understand what she was feeling.
"Are we boring you?" Naka noticed the distraction.
Hera wiped away a tear that was starting to form in her eye, "Sorry, captain. I just remembered how we used to do things like this with our previous party."
After a pause, Ogryn turned to Hera, "Do you need a moment?"
"No, no, I'm fine. We can keep going," Hera turned her attention back to the illusory board.