CHAPTER 41 One Dwarfess Held a Whip

Henrietta

A veritable symphony of screeching griffins descended upon us.

Nolin immediately activated his [Control: Size] skill and charged into battle. The aged dwarf, Chancellor Grimly, I presumed, had run over and was gripping his hair on both sides of his head as he wailed, "Not again!"

My first instinct was to draw my sword, but that would require dropping the veryimportant crate of eggs. Instead, I stood there awkwardly debating what to do as seven winged monsters attacked the now very upset outpost of some twenty dwarves.

For their part, the dwarven guards were impressive. They brought out forged-steel netting and all manner of excellently crafted weapons to stave off the monsters.

The griffins turned over roof shingles and carts, dodging the occasional thrown axe or spiked boot as they did so.

An expert-level crafted spear that glowed with a +1 Strength modifier went flying past my face. That was when I decided it was time to act.

I leaned over to get in Chancellor Grimly's face and told him, "Hold the eggs!" shoving the crate into his arms.

He took the crate with both hands and looked ready to faint.

"Excuse me." To help, I reached out and grabbed an armored dwarfess running past. She looked like some manner of authority figure and had been yelling, "Vanguard to me!" when I did so.

The look of pure insult at being dangled from my hand turned into menace as she activated [Control: Size]. I dropped her as the dwarfess promptly dwarfed me. "You DARE—"

"GRIFFIN EGGS!" I pointed at the crate, then back at her. "Keep them safe, please!"

Her expression dawned with realization, and she ran over to help.

I was already gone.

[You have attempted to use the Perk: Quick Step. You have succeeded.]

Three griffins were in combat with eight dwarven tankers who had weapons drawn and varying levels of [Shield] deployed. I jumped high and landed on a raised spear, a shocked dwarf holding it as I stood on the tip and stopped there.

"Hello," I said as I drew my sword and let my [Sword Aura] cover the two sides.

[You have activated the Skill: SwordAura.]

[Sword Aura field is currently Strength 67 + Perception 19 = 86 ft diameter. You are able to lock on to targets equal to your Strength within the Sword Aura field to evaluate their threat level. Information available to you is based on the level difference between you and your target. You may use Sword Perks on any locked-on target. Targets with Perception equal to or greater than yours or targets you choose will feel your Sword Aura.]

[You have chosen: All Targets.]

I ignored the usual skill pop-up and focused on my targets.

There weren't any especially dangerous numbers among those in combat. The dwarfess I had sent to guard the eggs was one of the most powerful at level thirty-one. Nolin was just behind at level twenty-eight.

And all of the rest were under level twenty-five and every one of them below thirty Strength.

The three griffins attacking the line of tankers focused on me. One swooped in and tried to rake me over the shoulder with its claws, but I simply reached out with my free hand and grabbed its taloned foot.

"Sorry about this!" I told it as I jumped to the ground, bringing the griffin with me and bashing it into the rocky earth as I did so. I tried to control my Strength so the monster was left with enough hit points to survive, and I was pleased to see it was mostly unbroken.

I dropped the talon and launched toward the next griffin.

A collection of cheers rang out from the dwarven fighters.

While I was busy subduing the second with a choke hold, a dwarf with golden armor ran forward to finish off the griffin I'd left on the ground. As the griffin was a member of the Nilheim populace and the dwarf was not, I acted accordingly.

[You have attempted to use the Perk: ForceThrust. You have succeeded.]

I thrust my pommel in his direction. My [Sword Aura] carried the force of the blow across the distance until it met golden armor and broke one of the ribs underneath it. The dwarf was sent flying into the line of tankers behind him.

The dwarves stopped cheering.

I finished choking the second griffin into submission and tossed him on top of the first that I'd just saved. The third griffin had climbed higher into the sky to try and avoid me.

The few dwarven tankers who hadn't fallen helped their comrades to their feet and all turned their weapons my way.

"No killing!" I chastised the dwarven tankers.

"Says who?" one yelled back.

"Princess Henrietta, that's who," I said, then turned my attention behind them. The vanguard had circled to the shops and were fending off two griffins trying to wreak havoc. Nolin was busy fist fighting another griffin, and the last griffin was awkwardly flying between fights trying to join in. It was younger than the others and had no sense for battle yet. My [Sword Aura] told me it was still only level eighteen, compared to its feathered friends who all had levels close to mid-twenty.

I flicked my sword at it from across the town.

[You have attempted to use the Perk: Bludgeoning Cut. You have succeeded.]

The young griffin was within my [Sword Aura], making it an easy target. A number of its primary flying wing feathers were severed, sending it pinwheeling through the air. It was thrown off so much so that it landed somewhere among the mountain rocks out of sight.

The third griffin was flapping desperately toward its newly fallen kin, searching the area outside of the dwarven outpost, so I left it and turned to the vanguard.

They were trying to mitigate shop damage.

"As one!" an older dwarf with red locks and a bushy moustache called. The group tossed a metal net at a griffin as it swooped down to try and destroy an overturned cart. The net found its target, and the monster was successfully detained. As one, the vanguard jumped onto it with sword and spear and axe and mace and dagger. One dwarfess held a whip and gave out a particularly fierce battle cry as she cracked it down toward the captured griffin.

"I'll just stop you there," I said, stepping in between the griffin and whip. I pulled it from her hands and tossed it casually aside. Then I turned to the monster and reached for the net. With a flick of my wrist, I lifted the metal and flipped it back where it came from, trapping the dwarves underneath.

They would be perfectly capable of escaping, but it gave pause to the combat. With the vanguard, the tankers, and most of the griffins now complaining and eyeing me warily, I finally had the chance I was looking for.

"EVERYONE STOP! I HAVE THE GRIFFIN EGGS!"