Summoner 20, page 20
“Hey, Erin, can you open up the door?” I called out to the mimic as loud as I could manage.
After a moment or two, she did just that, and the craft opened its back door to reveal a gust of cold wind.
“Let’s do this,” Cyra declared.
As my wife commanded Kalon to stretch out into a larger form, I reached into my bandolier and retrieved an ice-blue, wing-shaped essence crystal and threw it to the ground. My vingehund manifested in the airship, and the canine-like monster let out a yip of delight when I approached her.
“Hey, girl.” I reached out and scratched her favorite spot behind her ears. “I’m gonna need you to take me down to the island.”
The vingehund let out a small grunt as she stretched out her pale-blue wings and bowed forward on her long legs. The monster tilted her head to the side, let out another bark, and then lowered herself down so I could mount her. Beside me, Cyra had taken her place on Kalon’s back, and once we were both situated, we shared a brief smile, and our summons pumped their wings and carried us out of the airship.
“Be safe!” Freya called out before the airship’s door closed.
A shiver ran down my spine as we left the warmth of the ship. My winter attire kept me from freezing completely, but the contrasting temperatures still made my skin break out in goosebumps.
My vingehund seemed to sense my discomfort and let out a chirp of concern, but I gave her an affectionate pat as we soared through the air.
The mountain’s peak loomed high above us, and I peered around for a decent access point. I needed somewhere easy to land that would allow Cyra and me adequate enough space to do what we needed to do. There was really no large beach to speak of, only mountainside, so I definitely had my work cut out for me.
“What about there?” Cyra called out to me as she pointed to a small cliff just shy of the entrance to Hawk Clan.
“Take us down, girl,” I commanded the vingehund.
My summons let out another yip and then descended. The chilling breeze nipped at my face, and I wanted to laugh at my earlier thought of wanting fresh air.
The vingehund landed carefully on one of the jagged cliffs, and once we were on the ground, I scanned the area and tried to come up with a plan.
Out of any of the ideas in my head, building a landing platform for Erin seemed to be the most simple and semi-permanent one. Chief Fenrir and the rest of Hawk Clan probably wouldn’t be too pleased with my reconstruction of their island, but I would do my best to keep it as non-invasive and supplemental as possible.
I studied the area below us and tried to decide the best way to proceed. I couldn’t exactly plop a platform onto the water without issue, so I needed to find a way to either build off the island or send the water away so I could give the landing pad a base.
“So, what’s the plan?” Cyra wondered as she studied the uneven terrain around us. Her eyebrows furrowed when she peered over the cliff, and she bit down on her lower lip.
“I think our cementrolls would be of the most use,” I replied to her. “They can create a smooth surface for Erin to land on, and if we’re both using them, it shouldn’t take us too long to make a landing pad. My only concern is finding a place to build off. We can’t exactly plop cement down on the ocean.”
“There’s a small section of beach down there,” Cyra pointed out to me. “It isn’t much, but maybe it’s a good enough starting point? It at least gives us some flat land to work off.”
I followed the direction of her finger and noticed a small amount of beach just below us. It really wasn’t much to work with, but my wife was correct. Flat land was going to be the most ideal for us to build off, and beggars couldn’t be choosers.
“I just wish we had more sand or something,” I murmured to myself, and then I turned to look at Cyra. “But you’re right. Let’s start there and see if there’s anything. If anything, we might be able to knock out some of the trees with a couple of axe goblins. I just hope Hawk Clan will be okay with these renovations.”
“I guess that’s something we’re just going to have to worry about later,” Cyra sighed. “I suppose we could’ve sent Freya ahead beforehand…”
“If we work fast, it shouldn’t be a problem,” I decided. Hawk Clan and I had fought beside one another, and marrying the daughter of their chief had to come with at least a couple of perks. I had a feeling Chief Fenrir would be fine with it, but if it was really an issue, we could find another solution and destroy the landing pad later.
“Then let’s head down,” my curly-haired wife said.
Collectively, we gave our monsters the command, and the vingehund and Kalon flew us down to the dark sand beach.
The deep blue ocean crashed and seized around us, and I admired the swell of the waves as they touched the sand. While Hawk Clan’s actual dwelling was carved and elaborately constructed, standing on the edge of the beach made me realize we really weren’t in Mistral anymore. The Southern Continent was so different from my home and had a wildness about it that was both rugged and beautiful. It reminded me of my childhood and adolescence spent in the Wilds with Maelor and brought me a familiar comfort.
“Gryff?” Cyra prompted me. “Did you hear what I said?”
“No, sorry,” I apologized as heat spread through my cheeks. “I was zoning out a bit.”
“The ocean has that effect.” My wife smiled at me, and she gave the dark water an appreciative glance. “Anyways, I was asking where you wanted to start with this. Cementrolls, right?”
“Right,” I confirmed. “However many you have, bring them out. I’m going to send out a couple of axe goblins, too, and maybe something else. I have to think about what would be best in this scenario.”
“While you’re thinking, I’ll summon what I have,” Cyra agreed with me.
As she retrieved her crystals from her thick bandolier, I tapped my finger to my chin as I considered each of the monsters at my disposal. Who would be the most helpful monsters to pair with my cementrolls? I looked around at the sandy area around me and tried to think of a monster that could give us some more space to work with, and suddenly, I had an idea.
I reached into the far corners of my mind until I came to Miralea’s prison.
“Miralea,” I addressed the jaguar goddess. “I’m going to need you and one of your monsters.”
Of course, my master. How may I serve you?
“I need you to summon your hissenae.”
The hissenae? the Archon repeated back to me, and her voice pitched up an octave. Not to question your plans, Gryff, but that monster does best in a jungle climate, not a freezing tundra.
“I’m in need of its sandstorm-creating abilities,” I explained to the goddess. “There’s a decent amount here on this beach, but we could use some more to make a base for the landing pad. Is that something the hissenae could accomplish?
My creature is a manipulator of sand, Miralea mused. It is perhaps a little unorthodox, but it’s not as if we’ve ever attempted to move sand beneath the water. Call me forward, my master, and let’s see what we can do.
I reached into my consciousness and released the bindings that kept Miralea locked away. My hand tingled in the spot where her paw-shaped tattoo rested, and a stream of essence streamed off my skin. It swirled in a small tornado, and when it disappeared, the jaguar goddess stood before me. Her beautifully unnerving orange eyes glowed brightly as they trailed over my body, and the only word I could use to describe her expression was hungry.
“You look cold, master,” the Archon assessed with a coy smile on her lips. “Shall I warm you up?”
“I’m wearing more clothing than you are,” I pointed out.
The cat-like goddess wore only a scant amount of strategically-placed vines that left little to the imagination. Her taut golden skin and warm features glowed against the muted backdrop of the island, and I had to admit she looked fucking sexy. I felt a stir in my lower half as I drank her delicious figure in, but I shoved away the sensation.
“I’m warm-blooded,” Miralea purred, and she raised her chin up and peered at me with heavy-lidded eyes. “If you’d like, I can help you get some of yours pumping…”
“I just need the hissenae,” I interrupted her before she could continue on any further. “I’ll let you know if I require anything else.”
“Okay.” Miralea shrugged.
With a snap of her clawed fingers, the Archon summoned her monster forward. The creature was like a walking sand sculpture of a jaguar: large, with lightly outlined features, and an impressively big tail. The creature had the ability to change itself into granules, create sandstorms, and equip itself with cacti as a defense.
“What’s the plan?” Cyra wondered as she studied the hissenae with a scrutinizing gaze.
“I’m thinking the water imps can use their magic to help pull the water further back, and while it does that, the hissenae can use its sandstorm powers to help evenly distribute the newly exposed sand,” I proposed to her, and I was fully aware the plan was a little strange. “We’ll need a way to drain the water out of the sand, but I’m thinking once we have a larger space to work with, we can have the axe trolls chop down some of those trees and lay down some wood to make a base for the cement.”
“Maelor would be proud,” Cyra laughed, and she placed her hands on her hips. “You can take the boy out of the Wilds, but can’t take the Wilds out of the boy.”
“I figure I should be able to use all those years of working construction to my advantage,” I chuckled, and I scratched behind the vingehund’s ear. “What do you think? Is it too out there?”
“That’s definitely a little out there, but I think it’s worth trying,” Cyra replied in a thoughtful tone.
“Let me know when you want me, master,” Miralea called out as she examined her pointy nails in a bored way. “The hissenae and I await your command.”
“Give me just a moment,” I instructed the jaguar goddess, and it took all my restraint to keep my voice from sounding too annoyed. I needed to strengthen the relationships between Miralea and Utuni eventually, though I was still hesitant with them. The snake and cat goddesses were beautiful, but too often all they cared to mention was how much they wanted me to fuck them.
“Yes, sir,” Miralea whispered as she gently nudged a pile of sand, and the hissenae wagged its thick sandy tail and turned its head in its mistress’ direction as it awaited her orders.
Without further ado, I reached into my bandolier and retrieved a few of my essence crystals. I summoned them in rapid succession, and when the familiar smoke cleared, I was surrounded by my cementrolls, box trolls, water imps, and axe goblins.
The creatures were all smaller than the rest of my summons, and with the exception of my water imps, they were good for little more than construction, but I didn’t need them for anything but that.
Now that all of our creatures were summoned, we got straight to work.
I commanded the water imps to help shift the tide away from the sand as much as they could. Miralea wasn’t certain the hissenae was capable of what I had in mind, but I had to try anything I could to make it work. If our ventures proved unsuccessful, I could find a way to make the scant amount of beach work, but I really preferred the idea of a larger area for the landing pad’s base.
The water imps seemed to struggle a bit at first, but soon, I noticed the shore was extending out as the tide was pushed back.
I looked to Miralea’s hissenae, and the sand jaguar gave me a blank expression. Granted, the creature didn’t really have eyes or normal features, but I could sense the monster was confused.
“While the imps are holding the tide back, I need you to kick up some of this sand,” I instructed the Archon’s summons. “I just need it packed in and raised up so we have more of a beach to work with.”
The hissenae let out a sound of response, and with a flick of its head, the ground beneath us began to move. I’d never thought to manipulate the earth with the creature’s magic, and I hoped this was going to work.
With the water cast aside, we suddenly had a lot more sand to work with. I commanded the water imps to suck up whatever they could and redirect the water away from the surface, and when paired with a speed slug, the monsters were able to get the area dried pretty quickly. Then I commanded the hissenae to assist them with the endeavor and concentrate its sandstorm abilities in small areas to help shake out the water and whatever sea creatures had decided to linger within the tiny grains.
Soon, we were all set, and Cyra and I commanded our axe goblins to go chop down some of the trees past the shoreline. As the goblins used their razored limbs to slash and hack at the thick trunks of the trees, I summoned a few box trolls to bring the wood over to the building site.
The trolls got to work straight away, and soon, we had an assembly line going. Within maybe twenty minutes or so, we had a log-rimmed base sturdy enough for the cementrolls to fill in, and Cyra and I wasted no time in summoning the Grade-E monsters to the site.
The cementrolls oozed out their gray goop and began to form bricks of the stuff. I commanded them to line the bricks up, and once rows began to form, the cementrolls smoothed out the top so they could make one smooth surface. It spanned a good amount of the beach, and while they were at it, I made a dock just off the side for boat access. Once the ship landed, Freya would likely have to fly into Hawk Clan to retrieve a vessel for us, but that was a future problem for us to deal with.
“Wow, I think this is actually gonna work,” Cyra proclaimed with a raised eyebrow, and she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“Is your mana doing alright?” I asked my wife. “Be completely honest with me.”
“I’m okay,” Cyra assured me. “Little tired, but this is nothing I can’t handle.”
“Let me know if that changes,” I responded, and I reached out and gently grasped her shoulder. “I can’t have you getting ill on me.”
“Hey, I helped you take on the quartzriel, remember?” the curly-haired summoner reminded me. “I’m not that feeble.”
“Fair enough,” I chuckled.
After we took a moment of pause, we got right back after it, and before long, we had a roughly-constructed but still decent landing pad large enough for Erin’s ship to touch down on. It was a little crude, but Erin would have a safe place to park her ship, and we would be able to safely enter Hawk Clan’s dwelling.
“Thank you.” I smiled at the jaguar goddess. “The hissenae was very helpful.”
“I am pleased to help.” Miralea smiled back at me, and the Archon twirled a strand of dark hair around her finger as she gave me her usual heavy-lidded stare. “Should you need any more help, you know where to find me, master.”
“Noted.” I smirked, and with a wave of my will, I recalled the goddess back to my consciousness. My hand tingled as Miralea’s mark returned to it, and the hissenae faded away with its mistress.
Once the Archon was back in my mind, I recalled the rest of my summons until only the vingehund remained. Cyra did the same with her creatures, and soon, it was only the four of us on the beach.
“Not a bad creation,” Cyra noted with a raised eyebrow. “It won’t win awards for aesthetic design, but it suits the purpose.”
“As long as it’s functional, I don’t mind its appearance,” I laughed. “This should be good enough for Erin to park on.”
“Shall we head back, then?” Cyra wondered as she looked up at the airship above us.
“Let’s go,” I agreed with her. I remounted my vingehund, and once Cyra was atop Kalon, we took back off into the air. I admired our handiwork as we soared, and I said a quick prayer that it would be big enough for the airship to safely land.
Erin opened the bay for us once we reached the craft, and I let out a sigh of relief as I felt the warm air touch my chilled skin.
“You have returned!” Freya exclaimed as Cyra and I stepped back into the cabin. “I take it your mission was successful?”
“I would say so.” Cyra grinned at her best friend. “And it was all because of Gryff’s brilliance.”
“Thanks,” I laughed. “But I can’t take all of the credit. Erin gave me the idea in the first place, and I wouldn’t have executed it if it weren’t for you.”
“Gryff and I constructed a dock and landing pad for the ship,” Cyra explained to Freya, and the blonde shapeshifter nodded her head thoughtfully as Cyra launched into a quick retelling of what we’d done.
“Freya, will Hawk Clan be okay with the addition of a landing pad?” I asked her, and I rubbed the back of my neck. “I guess I should have asked you if it was okay first…”
“I don’t think they’ll mind.” The warrior princess shrugged. “They will have peace of mind knowing the airship that holds their grandchild was able to land safely.”
“That’s good enough for me,” I decided.
Suddenly, the intercom crackled, and I heard Erin’s excited squeal ring out.
“Fuck, yeah, guys, that's perfect!” she exclaimed. “Everyone buckle up, I’m gonna land this thing and finally get us to Hawk Clan.”
Cyra commanded Kalon to shrink down, and once I stashed away the vingehund’s wing-shaped essence crystal, I reclaimed my seat and buckled my harness tightly around myself.
As Erin brought the airship down, and the rest of us braced ourselves once more, I said a quick prayer to the Maker and hoped the structure was stable enough to hold the airship. My summons had yet to let me down, but I was still worried about my construction job.
The babies started to fuss as we descended, and my wives and I gave them reassuring noises to help soothe them.
Erin managed to touch the airship down as gently as possible, and if the landing was any indication, the landing pad had come out perfectly.
We waited a few minutes for the ship to settle, and once it stopped making as much noise, my wives and I unbuckled our harnesses and attended to the children.
“Perhaps we should greet my parents and Vahla without the children at first,” Freya proposed as she tugged on a strand of her dark-blonde hair. “I don’t think introducing them before we take a moment would be advisable. My parents are not fond of surprises, so I’d like for them to be in the best mood possible.”
