The Stone Hills. Winter...
Tamric Drubine looks back when he hears the shouting behind him. The nobleborn youngster from the kingdom of Sarcrin in the Southlands joins in with the shouting when he sees what's happened.
"Cut it!" yells Tamric Drubine as he adds to the chorus of shouts and yells from the others on the back of the wyvern with him.
Two of the dwarven warriors are furiously sawing away with their knives at one of the straps that hasn't released. Tam who is wincing, stops himself from yelling once more, and instead breathes a sigh of relief as the strap is finally cut through, and the barrel of blast powder falls away to the ground below.
"From now on, we only light them if the straps are completely undone!" shouts Tamric Drubine to Jarka Mard who is sitting directly behind him.
The son of the Mard clan chieftain nods whole heartedly in agreement. As he would hate to of seen what would of happened if the strap hadn't been cut in time.
They're high in the clear morning sky above the Stone Hills. And they're all looking down at the barrel that's falling towards the sky.
Below on a hillside, is part of the remnants of Justifier Maxime's army. They've already dropped two barrels of blast powder down on them. The two large craters in the side of the hill, and the bodies scattered everywhere, are evidence of that.
Now the third barrel is tumbling towards the Justifier's guards who are fleeing for their lives across the the side of the hill.
Then just as Jarka Mard shouts to be heard over the strong winds "I wonder if it'll actually land amongst them?". The barrel of blast powder explodes, in the air, just thirty feet above the heads of some of the fleeing guards from Belinswae.
There's a moment of silence, then Tam says "Fucking hell, would you look at that!" while the youngest son of the Mard clan chief says "Fuck me, by Dovarn, look at that!".
The explosion by the third barrel of blast powder has had a far greater impact on the enemy below than the two previous barrels. Even though it didn't hit the ground before exploding, and there was no impact as such.
Instead the explosion in the air above the side of the hill, has killed, wounded, and knocked down far more Justifier's guards than the two earlier explosions.
Over a wider area too, as the guards were fleeing in every direction except north, where they've come from.
Tam figures at least forty of them were either killed or badly injured in that latest explosion. And almost that many were knocked down off their feet. With most of those guards struggling to get up, and continue on their way, away from the north, and the Omban clanhold.
"Maybe we should hold onto them for a few moments after lighting them, before letting them go!" says Jarka Mard, behind him, the mute warrior Omick from clan Mard, vigorously nods his head to this.
"By Thaxel's beard that was hell of a lot more devastating that it normally is!" adds the son of the chieftain of clan Mard "Maybe we should!" says Tamric Drubine who has to shout to be heard over the wind that they're flying through.
The son of the former knight of castle Drubine in the Southland kingdom of Sarcrin has the wyvern drop down in altitude to get a better look at the fleeing enemy below. Just the latest of whom, they've harassed and attacked in the week since the death of Justifier Maxime at the hands of Helbe the elven thief, and the defeat of the wizard's army.
The remnants of the Justifier's army, the bulk of which was in camp with him when he was killed. Is divided and scattered, who for the past week, have mostly been fleeing south through the Stone Hills back to their homeland of Belinswae.
Or east, to try and join up with Justifier Kaellin's army. The mage whose idea it was to originally invade the Stone Hills. Whose army is the largest by far to come north from Belinswae.
The wizard Maxime did have the second largest army, and had pushed far into the Omban clanhold, one of the largest if not the largest clanhold in the entire Stone Hills.
Until the wizard met his untimely demise, and his army was defeated in battle.
Tam who has helped to lead the attack on the fleeing army for the last week, has the wyvern land upon the hillside they've just bombed with barrels of blast powder.
The dwarven warriors get off the large winged creature, and begin the grisly work of dispatching the wounded enemy to the afterlife. And scavenging any equipment and tools, as well as food supplies they could use.
They don't bother to continue chasing on foot those of the enemy who have survived this airborne attack. They'll deal to them in their own time, and from the air where they have a clear advantage.
For now, gathering up what they can use for themselves, and killing the enemy wounded is more important.
"See any officers amongst them?" asks Tamric Drubine as he and Jarka, along with Omick, stay near the wyvern, that's let out a loud squawk in the direction of the surviving Justifier's guards who are running down the hill to the relatively flat ground below.
"They were pretty well organized compared to some of them we've found" adds the nobleborn youngster from south of the equator as the wyvern settles down, and covers it's head with one of it's wings as the wind buffets the side of the hill they're on.
"If there is, and they're not dead, they won't be in uniform" says Jarka Mard, as they've learnt that any officers in a defeated Justifier's army, tend to rip off their tunics, and wear one of a regular guard.
The dwarven warriors have been told to look out for anyone in better quality armour, who has better made weapons than those guards around them. As that tends to be the only way to identify an officer amongst the defeated enemy.
Tam looks at Omick, as the silent warrior points up into the sky to the west. There in the distance, Tam spots another wyvern, he asks the two dwarven warriors from clan Mard "One of ours?" as they're more to the southeast of the Omban clanhold, than directly south of it.
"Aye one of ours" is the reply of Jarka Mard, continues with "It be the lass and those with her".
The nobleborn youngster nods his head, and just as he's about to say something, one of the warriors going amongst the enemy wounded, calls out "Got one!".
Tam, Jarka and Omick share a look, then the three of them hurry over to where the warrior who called out, is standing.
Pointing with his axe, the warrior, who is from clan Omban, points at a Justifier's guard on the ground infront of him, and says "He be alive" followed by "Just a little knocked around is all".
"Definitely looks like one" says Jarka Mard, who takes his water skin, and pours some of its contents over the face and head of the guard from Belinswae, whose mix of leather and chainmail armour, is of far superior quality than the other guards around him.
As the Omban warrior moves off, and slams his axe into the head of a nearby Justifier's guard who is badly burnt and trying to crawl away.
Omick shakes the guard who Jarka has just poured water over. The quard in question groans and lifts a hand to wipe his wet face.
The first thing he hears before opening his eyes, is Jarka Mard telling him in the common language "Tell the truth now fella, if not this could go bad for you".
"What?" says the Justifier's guard, who after opening his eyes, and sees who it is that's standing over him, blinks in confusion, before saying in surprise "Hey, you're human" as he looks up at Tam.
"We know you're an officer, so no use hiding it" says the nobleborn youngster from south of the equator who ignores what the enemy guard just said "Where were you and your men going?" asks the Southlander, who continues with "You aren't exactly taking the direct route south to Belinswae".
The Justifier's guard turns his head to the right as he lays there on his back. At the fortune, or in his case, unfortunate time of seeing one of the dwarven warriors. Slam his hammer into the head of an injured guard from Belinswae just a dozen yards away.
"Answer the laddie's question now fella" says Jarka Mard, who continues with "Or your head will pop like a dropped pumpkin just like that chap's head over there has".
The Justifier's guard gulps, and looks up at the two dwarves and the fairly tall youngster standing over him, then he says "East, we were heading east" he grimaces, then adds "We've been trying to join up with Justifier Kaellin's army".
Both Tam and Jarka nod, as they suspected as such. As this lot from the remnants of Justifier Maxime's army, are the one's they've found, furtherest east than any of the others.
"Have any from your wizard's army made it to the mage Kaellin's army?" asks the former heir to the knight of castle Drubine in the kingdom of Sarcrin.
The guard, an officer in Justifier Maxime's army doesn't answer immediately. He only does so when the silent Omick takes a hammer from the loop on his belt, and slaps the head of it into the open palm of his other hand.
"Yes" says the Justifier's guard, that comes out more like a squeak than anything else, something he's trying to avoid doing as he lies there on the cold ground on the side of the hill, scared out of his wits.
"Damn" mutters Tam in the dwarven language, the Southlander continues in the same language with "Oh well, we knew there was a possibility of that" Jarka Mard nods in agreement to that.
Switching back to the common language, Tamric Drubine says to the officer in the army of Justifier Maxime "Tell us what you know about Justifier Kaellin's army".
As they listen to the Justifier's guard divulge what little information he knows about the mage Kaellin's army, as the Justifiers of Belinswae don't exactly work closely together. The other wyvern that Lisell Maera is flying, lands near the one that Tam is the lead rider of.
The two wyverns squawk and hiss at one another, which is pretty much normal for two fully grown tame wyverns when they greet one another. They're soon settled down, both covering their heads with a wing as the wind continues to blow hard along the hillside they're on.
"Officer?" asks Lisell Maera in the dwarven language when she and a couple of the dwarven warriors who have been flying with her, make their way to where the nobleborn youngster and the two clan Mard dwarves are standing.
"He is" says Tam to his fellow Southlander, who nods as she listens to what the enemy guard is saying.
"He's just repeating himself now" quietly says the youngest son of the clan Mard chieftain. Tamric Drubine nods to him, and Jarka slightly gestures to the silent Omick.
Jarka Mard moves to stand closer to the two young humans, the Justifier's guard eyes follow him, and he doesn't even see the swing of Omick's hammer that ends his life when it slams into the side of his skull.
"So, some of them have made it to Justifier Kaellin's army" quietly says Lisell Maera as they walk back to where the two wyverns are "It was bound to happen" says Tamric Drubine, who after a slight pause adds "As the lord mentioned, this might work in our advantage".
"That the mage Kaellin knows that his ally to his immediate west has been taken out?" says Lis "Yes exactly" says Tam "I hope so" murmurs the orphaned teenager from the city-state of Brattonbury in the Southlands.
"We'll soon find out" says the nobleborn youngster from south of the equator as they all look away to the east. While behind them, the rest of the dwarven warriors kill off the rest of the dying and injured Justifier's guards who have been bombed with barrels of blast powder this morning . . . . . .
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