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.

Next Chapter: A Feast Disturbed Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 34 Minutes