Falnic. Belinswae. Winter...
Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy briefly stops and looks down at the harbour to where the dock he burnt down at the beginning of last week, is finally being repaired.
Workers have been hard to find, as many of the day labourers have been pressed into service in the armies of the Justifiers who have invaded the Stone Hills.
Dalinvardél or Dalin as he's more commonly referred to by those who know him, faintly smiles as he sees that at least a couple of dozen goblins have been employed to help repair the dock.
The elven spy from south of the equator knows that unless there's a firm leader in charge of the goblins, someone that they actually respect and listen to. They'll be more of hindrance than help in the repairing of the destroyed dock.
As they're extremely accident prone who are likely to injure or even accidentally kill themselves if no one's around to keep them inline.
The elf from the principality of Alínlae in the Southlands gets underway again, not bothering to look at the large warehouse at the end of a pier, that he burnt down the same night he destroyed the dock.
He's already seen it a number of times since, and it is no where near looking like it's going to be fixed anytime soon. That site has basically been abandoned, with even the functioning part of the pier not being used at the moment.
Dalin is heading across a rooftop in the middle of the day, he looks back to a couple of streets behind him, and sees a squad of Justifier's guards spreading out as they search for him.
Well they're searching for the person who has just killed a fairly well off official in the household of one of the Justifiers of Falnic. That person being the elven spy who is a Southlander.
Dalinvardél Tanith jumps over to another roof, and drops down onto a balcony. He hurries along it, and jumps onto the rail at one end, then leaps over to the next balcony along, which is on the next building.
There he leaps up and grabs the edge of the roof, and pulls himself up. Once on the roof, he rolls on his back, and takes a quick respite to get his breath back.
Lying there in the fairly warm sunshine for a winter's day, Dalinvardél Tanith listens to the city around him. He closes his eyes as he does so. And listens to the conversations down on the streets and in the lanes below.
Like a lot of the chatter these days in the largest city in the region of Belinswae. Talk is of the Justifiers and their war against the dwarven clanholds in the Stone Hills to the north.
Word has finally reached the city of Falnic that three of the Justifiers. The sorcerer Marsille, the sorceress Paelau and the mage Kalsane have all been killed, all within the last few weeks infact.
When previously the invasion of the clanholds in the Stone Hills was going fairly smoothly since it began at the start of Winter.
Dalin who actually heard of the three Justifiers deaths earlier than the residents of the city. When one of the free folk messengers arrived in Falnic with a missive for him from lord Farque.
The elven spy knows that for all the ground that the Justifiers and their armies made at the beginning of the invasion.
They're now bogged down along much of the front, as it's approaching the middle of winter, and conditions are definitely against those from the region of Belinswae.
And that the dwarves of the Stone Hills, are now putting up more of a fight against the invaders led by the rulers of Belinswae.
The spy Tanith knows this is because lord Farque's plans have been taken up, and are now having an effect against the armies of the Justifiers. Who easily outnumber the dwarven warriors who are defending their clanholds.
And if recent events are anything to go by, are now attacking into the heart of Belinswae, here in the port city of Falnic. Well that's what the populace thinks. When it infact it's the elven spy and his contacts within the smuggler's community who have been attacking places and people here in Falnic.
Just as long as they think it's the dwarves of the Stone Hills attacking here in the city, then that's good enough, Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy thinks to himself, the elf from south of the equator knows that within the next two to three weeks that illusion will be broken.
For if he's read between the lines in the latest missive he got from lord Farque. Then Falnic itself will come under serious attack from what's probably likely to be an army.
Though not made up of dwarven warriors from the Stone Hills. Nor will it be coming down from the north. It will come from the east, from the Nomad's Plains is Dalinvardél's best guess.
That's if those two can organise things, Dalin dryly thinks to himself, referring to Dorc da Orc and Riley Hait the mercenary ranger who he knows have been in the east of Belinswae, near the Nomad's Plains.
The elf from the principality of Alínlae, who was once in service of one of the noble houses of his homeland. Has every confidence in the ranger Hait organising an army.
Not so much Dorc da Orc, who he knows can definitely command one in battle, but actually gathering and organising one, you can forget about it.
The Southlander gets up into a crouch when he hears a few of the nearby guards down below calling out to one another.
The elven spy who thought he heard something a little earlier, hears it again somewhere away to his left.
He goes that way across the rooftop, keeping low as he does so.
Dalinvardél Tanith gets over the peak in the middle of the roof, and he stops when he spots something a few buildings away. A large house by the looks of it, that has a rooftop courtyard, for lack of a better term.
Dalin gets up and runs down the roof he's on, and with a running leap, he clears the twenty feet to a roof across the narrow street below.
The elven spy lets out a deep breath, then ducks down, and keeps low as he heads across the flat rooftop he's on. He pushes through some linen that's drying on a line on the roof he's on.
Then he looks at the roof with the courtyard next door. The elf from south of the equator who has the hood of his cloak up on his head at the moment.
Briefly rubs his chin as he contemplates things. Then with a shrug of his shoulders, and a murmured "Might as well". The spy Tanith gets up and runs, and at the edge of the roof he's on, he leaps.
It feels like he's in the air for an exorbitant amount of time. And Dalin has to reach out and use all six foot three inches of his frame to grab the edge of the rooftop he's jumping to.
To stop himself falling the thirty feet to the small square below.
Dalinvardél Tanith softly groans as he hauls himself up and over on the roof with the courtyard on it. The elf from the principality of Alínlae rolls onto his back again as he breathes heavily whilst getting his composure back.
Fuck me, by the forest gods that was close, the spy Tanith thinks to himself, as he knows that was a close thing indeed. He doesn't have the aid of magic like prince Helbenthril Raendril and Mira Reinholt the mage , or the superhuman strength of the undead like lord Farque to achieve such feats.
He's just got naturally ability and skill, combined with a whole lot of luck to achieve things like that.
The Southlander who has his eyes closed as he breathes deeply, cracks an eyelid and turns his head to the left, to look into the courtyard rooftop, where four heads are watching him in curiosity as he's something they don't normally see on their rooftop sanctum.
They're wyverns, yearlings by the looks of it is what Dalinvardél guesses. They're no bigger than horses, the under one year old flying creatures who were busy snapping and shoving one another a few moments ago. Are now on their haunches staring at the elven spy from south of the equator.
Normally they only see their trainer, along with their owner upon the rooftop. So to have someone completely new up here is more than a bit of a novelty for them.
Since the invasion of the Stone Hills by the Justifiers of Belinswae with their armies. The skies above the city of Falnic have been drastically changed.
Normally wyverns are seen everywhere above and in the port city. But not now, as the vast majority of the tame wyverns found here in Falnic, have been drafted into the armies of the Justifiers.
Those that aren't normally in the armies of Belinswae, who are normally owned by merchants, traders, and even shopkeepers and normal residents who can afford to buy one.
Are now in service of the Justifiers, acting as messenger carriers to and from the frontlines. As well as troop and supply transports. Though they haven't been specifically trained to fight in battle like the one's originally in the armies of the Justifiers.
No one in their right mind would willingly attack the large, winged creatures.
Surprisingly wild wyverns can fight in battle, both in the air and on the ground basically after hatching from the egg. Unlike tame one's who instinctively know how to fight, but have to be trained in combat.
The eyebrows of the elven spy go up as he sees two smaller heads look around the bulk of a couple of the yearlings. They're very young wyverns, about the size of large dogs. Dalin figures those two were hatched fairly recently, either in late summer or early autumn.
Must be a breeders house, the spy Tanith thinks to himself, who didn't spot any adult wyverns down in the large yard to the side of the house. Though he knows the large, winged creatures aren't exactly glowing endorsements for parenthood.
The sires have nothing to do with the offspring at all. And the dames are only protective over her clutch of eggs. And once they're hatched, and are fine and healthy, within a day or two she couldn't care less about them.
Either tame or in the wild, wyverns are like that. Unlike the two other large winged creatures. Griffons and dragons. Who are very protective of their young. With both male and female griffons raising their hatchling for a number of years.
While much is not known about the breeding and raring of dragon kind. Apart from seeing smaller, younger dragons in the company of an adult for decades on end, even centuries.
This is believed to be a dame with her offspring when ever two such dragons are spotted. It's not until they're older that dragons become solitary figures.
Dalin hears something down below, he rolls to one side and looks down and back through the small square, and into a lane where he sees one of the Justifiers guards, calling out to any of the others, to keep an eye up on the surrounding rooftops.
"Shit" mutters the elven spy from the principality of Alínlae, who then turns the other way, and looks into the rooftop courtyard through one of the two archways in the four wall yard, where the six wyverns in total are hunkered down on all fours, watching him in interest.
Now how well trained are you lot? Dalinvardél Tanith thinks to himself, the Southlander who has been taught the command words in common for wyverns by lord Farque. Infact the whole group with the exception of Dorc da Orc has been taught them when the undead warlord decided to help out the dwarven clans of the Stone Hills, for a price of course.
The elven spy rolls away from the edge of the roof, then gets up into a crouch before standing and moving a few steps closer to the courtyard on the roof.
"To me" says Dalin in the common language, the four older wyverns lift their heads up and pay more attention to the elven spy, who then adds "Heel".
There's a moments pause, then the wyverns move forward, coming through the archway out of their walled courtyard. Though there's a lot of shoving and battering of wings.
The spy Tanith is just glad that they're not too vocal as they move in his direction.
After a few moments, the two smaller wyverns, not wanting to be left behind, waddle after the four yearlings, who have all stopped a few paces infront of the Southlander.
Seeing that the yearlings have at least been taught the basic commands that all tame wyverns learn. Dalinvardél Tanith glances down over the edge of the roof, and looks down, and sees a trio of Justifier's guards in the square below.
He looks back in the direction he has come from and spots a handful more heading this way.
"Sight" commands the elven spy, who gestures down and over the edge of the roof. The four wyverns shuffle forward, looking at Dalin before they look down off the roof.
One of the two smaller wyverns behind them has rolled onto it's back, and is scratching it's back on the slightly rougher surface of the roof outside it's courtyard.
While the other younger wyvern is crouching low, staring intently at the tail of the yearling infront of it, a tail that's sweeping from side to side.
Dalinvardél Tanith who has crouched down between two of the yearlings as he looks down into the square below, points then says "Strike down" hoping that the yearlings are one's that will be used by Justifiers, and that they've started to be taught the basic battle commands.
Seems that they are, and that they have. For after a slight pause as all four yearlings look quickly at the elven spy, they all look down into the square to where he's just pointed.
Then one, followed by a second, then the third and fourth yearling go over the side of the roof and drop down.
Dalin has to duck spread wings, then he looks to one side, and sees the younger wyvern that was watching the tail of one of the yearlings. Launch itself off the edge of the roof too, dropping down into the square, where shouts of alarm, followed by screams can be heard.
Not wanting to miss out, the last wyvern, that's been scratching it's back, scrambles forward, and after a brief squawk at Dalin, the large dog sized wyvern leaps off the roof too.
It takes a moment for that smaller wyvern to realise it can fly, before it spreads it's wings.
And as the yearlings attack the Justifiers guards below, and the other smaller wyvern has landed on a nearby balcony, and enticed by the smells coming from inside a kitchen, waddled through the balcony door. Eliciting a scream from someone inside the room it's just gone into.
The smaller wyvern that was last off the rooftop is gliding away down above the hillside neighbourhood, heading in the direction of the harbour below.
With a slight grin upon his face, Dalinvardél Tanith turns and moves off as the four yearlings attack the Justifiers guards who have been chasing him . . . . . .
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