The Stone Hills/Northern Belinswae. Winter...
Mira Reinholt the mage is sitting back against a tree, trying to keep out of the wind as he takes a nap. The once powerful mage didn't get much sleep during the night, as he was busy attacking the enemy forces of the justifiers of Belinswae.
The Vexilian mage in exile gets some much deserved rest, until mid morning, when he's woken up by the dwarven warrior Ompal.
"Spotted more of them have we?" asks a yawning Mira Reinholt the mage "Aye mage, that too" says the warrior Ompal who co-commands the war party that the Vexilian mage in exile leads.
The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster lifts a questioning eyebrow, and Ompal who crouches down beside him, says "The swordmaster and his party are coming back".
The mage from the city-state of Vexil in the Southlands, nods his head in understanding. Varl the swordmaster and his larger force is coming back from attacking the enemy earlier in the morning. They must of been successful to be coming back so soon.
One of the warriors by the camp fire brings over some bread and a wedge of cheese for the human spellcaster, who thanks him for it. And before the mage Reinholt starts eating, he quietly tells Ompal "They're in even more disarray than we thought" he then adds "Even with their superior numbers, we're giving them a good thrashing with every encounter we've had with them".
"Aye ain't that the truth lad" says Ompal as the once powerful mage starts eating his morning meal.
Ever since Mira Reinholt killed the two justifiers, the mage Kalsane, and the sorceress Paelau in the town of Navigrel in northern Belinswae, here near the coast. Their armies have been at a lost at what to do.
Some of the remaining officers have taken charge, but most of the commanders, especially in justifier Paelau's army. Were killed by the mage from south of the equator when he killed the two justifiers.
Now the two armies are disjointed, and spread out over northern Belinswae near the coast. And into the southern area of the Stone Hills that's part of the Galve clanhold.
They would be more successful if they joined together to attack the dwarven Galve clan. But they suffer the fate of all the justifiers armies. They're completely separate, unwilling to co-operate, as justifiers seldom work so closely together. They may have the same goals, like this war here in the Stone Hills. And their raids into the Nomad's Plains. But they rarely, if ever actually do such things closely together.
A hedge wizard in the army of justifier Kalsane tried to bring the two armies together, so that they would be a combined fighting force.
And the fact he saw the chance that he could be the next justifier in Belinswae if he had a combined army, and made headway into the Galve clanhold.
Unfortunately for him he was blown up five days ago by the mage Reinholt, when the war party led by both the Vexilian mage in exile, and the warrior Ompal. Attacked a force from the army that was once commanded by the mage Kalsane.
The hedge wizard* had no chance against a mageglobe created by Mira Reinholt. The spellcaster from the Southlands might not be as powerful as he once was. His living pieces of magic still pack a powerful punch, that can easily take care of a weak spellcaster such as a hedge wizard.
After eating, then taking a piss behind a nearby tree, the mage Reinholt asks Ompal "They coming in from the southwest?".
"Aye" replies the co-leader of the war party, who continues with "They were on the coast itself, seems some of the bastard guards were waiting for a ship from down south" Ompal then adds "Varl and the lads with him must of got them by surprise".
"Let's hope so" murmurs the highly skilled swordmaster, who then nods his head when Ompal quietly tells him "I'll give the order to break camp".
The exiled Vexilian mage knows that the only reason they've stayed here in this spot in the small forest, is because the dwarves have given him time to sleep.
They've learnt that he needs to rest to regain his magical power that he uses throughout the day. Or in this case during the night. Their own delvers don't talk about such things. So it came as a bit of a surprise to Ompal and the rest of the war party. That spellcasters need to rest to recuperate their power. And it's not an unlimited source at their disposal.
Though it was never always like this for Mira Reinholt, as he was like all mages, had almost unlimited magical power to use.
And he as the most powerful mage of his generation to be found in the Southlands. Had so much power at his disposal, he didn't have to bother recuperating it. The power was always there, and always on, so to speak.
The highly skilled swordmaster splashes water from a bucket over his face and head, enjoying it in the cold mid morning wind. Then he gathers his pack, as the camp is quickly broken down, and they're soon on the move. Heading south and west, in the direction of the coast, which isn't all that far away from the small forest, a dell really, that they camped in.
There's just over thirty of them in the war party, and with a couple of scouts out in front, and a pair roving behind the main group. It's not long before they run into something. Or more accurately, something runs into them.
"War party from the north" says one of the scouts who has been following them, he's slightly out of breath as he adds "Led by Tarong and old Kalend" the scout looks at the Southlander, and tells him "Mage, the brother is with them".
The once powerful mage nods his head, as he knows the dwarves refer to Shur Kee the monk, as brother, or brother Shur Kee.
"How many in that war party?" asks Ompal, who glances at Garkil, his second, who makes his way back to where he and the mage Reinholt are talking with the scout.
"I think about fifty from what i saw" says the scout "With our thirty" quietly says Ompal, who continues with "And the nearly a hundred with Varl, that's a pretty sizeable force we've got down here south of the clan's army". "Aye" murmurs the warrior Garkil, who along with Ompal, look up at near six foot tall human in the black, hooded cloak.
Early on, when Mira Reinholt and Shur Kee arrived in the Galve clanhold. The clan chieftain Lomi, and his senior warriors like his second, the swordmaster Varl, his now acting second Warkin, and Ompal and others.
Leant that though the mage from south of the equator is only around thirty years old. He's been in a vast number of battles and wars, ever since he was a teenager.
More so than any of them, even dwarves who have lived two and half centuries or more. For the clans of the Stone Hills, only have skirmishes with their rival clans that they are at war with.
There's been very few battles of late. And now all differences have been put aside, as the Stone Hills has been invaded by the armies of the justifiers of Belinswae.
It's because of this that Mira Reinholt has been put in command of a war party that's been harassing the enemy in southern areas of the Galve clanhold, and the northern part of Belinswae near the coast.
And it's because of this, that the dwarves of this particularly war party, look to what he says and does. For though he and Ompal are co-leaders, it's the decisions of the spellcaster from south of the equator that they follow.
"We'll wait for them" says the Vexilian mage in exile, who wonders why Shur Kee has left the relative safety north of the bay, in the heart of the Galve clanhold. The spellcaster who also happens to be a highly skilled swordmaster, suspects the acolyte in the order of Bru Li, has a reason for coming down here. Since he hasn't been here, since just after he and the mage Reinholt arrived a few weeks after the start of winter.
Garkil has a glass, and he takes it out of his pack as they wait beside a foresters track that heads towards the coast. Not even a quarter of the sand in the top half has dropped by the time the war party from further north comes upon them.
After they quietly greet the war party led by the old dwarven warrior Kalend, and Tarong, a relatively young dwarf given a position of responsibility in leading war parties. Mira Reinholt nods his hooded head for his traveling companion Shur Kee to follow him. The two humans walk away from the dwarves, and they stop beside a tree, which the swordmaster Reinholt stands back against, and he quietly says "Has something happened?".
"Yes friend Mira, a message" says Shur Kee the monk, who from under his cloak, takes an envelope from a pocket in his robe like top, the envelope is already open, and he hands it to the Southlander from the city-state of Vexil.
The once powerful mage takes a folded piece of parchment out of the envelope, he unfolds it and frowns as he goes to read it. The top half is in a language he doesn't understand, though it's vaguely familiar, as he's seen it a few times before.
"The language of Wah Lee?" asks the mage Reinholt, who in his travels as a younger man, lived in the nation to the south and west of Shur Kee's homeland on the very far east of the continent, basically on the otherside of the world.
"It is indeed" says the physical adept, who continues with "He only wanted us understanding it, incase it fell into the wrong hands" the spellcaster from south of the equator, who is exiled from his homeland Vexil, nods his hooded head as looks down to the bottom half of the piece of parchment.
And he reads what has been written in elven there, the mage Reinholt reads it in silence, then rereads it, before folding the piece of parchment up, and putting it back into the envelope.
"Did you inform chief Lomi?" quietly asks Mira Reinholt "Just the bit he needed to know" is the quiet reply of the acolyte in the order of Bru Li. The once powerful mage nods again, then he sets the envelope and the parchment folded up in it, on fire.
The highly skilled swordmaster drops it on the ground, where it quickly burns away to ashes, then he quietly says to the short statured monk in the conical shaped hat "Well looks like we're going to push further south".
They've been given orders by lord Farque, and the mage Reinholt intends to carry them out. The spellcaster from the Southlands knows it's part of a wider plan the undead warlord has devised against the justifiers of Belinswae.
He didn't go into detail there in the missive to the mage and the monk. But Mira Reinholt suspects the deathlord of Farque has worked something out that will hopefully end up in the defeat of the armies of Belinswae that have invaded the Stone Hills.
He might not of gone into detail of the wider plan. But he did go into detail what he wants the once powerful mage and the monk in the order of Bru Li to do as they head south into northern Belinswae.
"Good thing we're meeting up with Varl and his war party" quietly says the Vexilian mage in exile, who continues in a quiet tone with "We'll need as many warriors as possible as we head quickly south" Shur Kee nods in understanding.
The once powerful mage and the physical adept make their way back to the dwarves, there the highly skilled swordmaster says to Ompal, Garkil, Tarong and old Kalend "We'll meet up with Varl and the others". Mira Reinholt pauses for a moment as he looks around, looking past a knot of trees to the south, then after he glances at Shur Kee, he looks at the dwarves and says "Then we're going south" the spellcaster from south of the equator slightly smiles then adds "We're going to invade Belinswae" . . . . . .
*Authors Note - Someone self taught, and usually underpowered in magic.
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