Falnic. Belinswae. Winter...
They enter the city, there's not many of them, but they enter. Riley Hait the mercenary ranger looks back at them following him, and figures that none of them would ever of thought that this day would come.
"You sure you want to go there?" asks Riley Hait the mercenary ranger just after they come through the east gates of the city of Falnic.
It's the far hunter Saladén who answers for them with "We do" the far hunter who has traveled further and deeper into Belinswae than most other tribal nomads, until now, then adds "Show us it".
The ranger Hait nods as he looks at the nomads who have come into the city with him, then the mercenary ranger who was brought up and trained in the elven principality of Envadarlen in the Southlands, looks around and spots Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy near by with some of the others.
Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman calls over the spy Tanith, and once the elf from south of the equator joins his fellow Southlander, the two of them briefly talk in the elven language.
"This is Dalinvardél, he'll lead us there" says the ranger Hait to the eight or so nomads from the plains who have entered the city with him.
The spy Tanith nods his hooded head, and starts walking, the mercenary ranger and the nomads follow after the elf from the principality of Alínlae in the Southlands.
As they head northwards along the street that runs parallel with the east wall of Falnic. Riley Hait looks back down the street, and spots the others.
The mercenary ranger from the principality of Envadarlen who in actual fact is really a hordes outrider from the southern ranger. Spots lord Farque reach out and grab Dorc da Orc by the arm, and haul him back to his side.
The large ork was about to wander off and follow after some of the dwarven warriors from the Stone Hills who are in the city.
The ranger Hait wryly smiles as he sees the undead warlord admonish Dorkindle in the ork language. The warleader of the ork race stands there scowling as he listens to the lord of the death realm who keeps a tight hold on the large ork.
Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson shakes his head, and faces forward again, as he and the tribal nomads from the dry, arid plains to the east of Belinswae, follow after Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy who is leading them to a specific place in the city of Falnic.
"Where is he?" quietly asks Mira Reinholt the mage "At the inn, near the house we've taken over" is the reply of Helbe the elven thief as they two of them walk side by side "He's been there since yesterday" adds the young elven noble.
"I didn't sense him" murmurs the once powerful mage "Please" says the elven magic user in a slightly offended tone of voice, who then dryly adds "Give me some credit why don't you, i wouldn't be much of a spellcaster if i couldn't keep a prisoner hidden now would i".
"I guess not" says the Vexilian mage in exile with a slight grin upon his face, then the mage Reinholt looks back behind them, and spots the other prisoner, well he's been released now. Walking within the group following the once powerful mage and the elven masterthief.
The spellcaster from south of the equator who is also a highly skilled swordmaster sees the lost look upon the face of Justifier Sammacin.
The young wizard who is following behind Shur Kee the monk and some of the elves from Maladimbáh. Is putting one foot infront of the other, not really looking around at where they're going.
No wonder the Justifier is looking a little lost in the familiar streets of the city he rules, he's just made a decision that will forever change the course of history for the city of Falnic, and the region of Belinswae itself.
"Wonder what the other one will think when we tell him" quietly says the mage Reinholt in the elven language, who after a slight pause adds "Apart from being fucked off".
"Devastated" quietly says prince Helbenthril Raendril in the same language, the young elven noble from the principality of Laerel in the Southlands continues with "He'll be devastated, what with the way that they hate the nomads, he'll feel total devastation".
The human spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster nods his hooded head in agreement,then he quietly says "That he will" as they make their way to where the other important prisoner is being held.
As they walk through the east of the city, making their way northwards. They mainly encounter elven soldiers and mercenaries from the principality of Maladimbáh on the streets. The further north they go, they see more and more dwarven warriors from the Stone Hills.
They see very little townsmen on the streets, they occasionally glimpse them through open windows and open doors on what's a fairly cold winter's day for the city of Falnic.
When they do occasionally see a townsmen, the local resident usually stops and stares at the eight tribal nomads following behind the two Southlanders. Then they hurry away after seeing the nomads from the dry, arid plains to the east of Belinswae.
The only residents of Falnic who don't even look at them as they pass, and couldn't care less about them. Are a trio of goblins who have started cleaning up the debris of a building that was blown up in the battle a couple of nights ago.
The fact that the goblins are tripping over a lot of the time as they move about the ruins of the building they're in. Doesn't distract from the point that they don't really care about the small group of nomads who have entered the city.
Though just like the elves of the principality of Maladimbáh and the dwarves of the Stone Hills. They inherently know that the two peoples, the townsmen of Maladimbáh, and the nomads of the plains. The most bitter of enemies for millennia after millennia, are essentially the same people.
A fact that they don't know themselves, until early this morning when one townsmen. A Justifier of Falnic, was told the truth. Followed by a number of tribal nomads. Eight infact, the eight who have entered the city and are following Dalinvardél Tanith and Riley Hait.
They're mostly silent as they walk through the streets of Falnic on this clear and cold winter's day in the largest city in the region of Belinswae.
With only the ranger Hait and the spy Tanith occasionally discussing something in quiet voices in the elven language.
After moving further into the city, away from the east wall. They come to a brief stop towards the end of a lane they're in, and Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy quietly says to his fellow Southlander "It's just around the corner".
Riley Hait the mercenary ranger nods then he turns to plain's nomads behind him, he says in the hordes dialect of the southern tundra, which is the same language they speak "It's just around the corner here" as he gestures towards the end of the lane they're in.
The far hunter Saladén shares a look with his brother and tribe's leader Chanük, who nods and looks at the rest of the nomads. All of whom are leaders of tribes like himself.
One by one the tribal leaders from the Nomads Plains nod, then Chanük nods to his younger brother Saladén, who then says to the ranger Hait "Lead on".
The mercenary ranger from south of the equator quietly says to the spy Tanith "Let's go". The elf who was once in the service of one of the noble houses of his homeland of Alínlae in the Southlands. Slightly nods and leads the way to the end of the lane, then around the corner to the left.
They're in a square, and the two Southlanders move to one side, as the nomads from the plains to the east of Belinswae enter the square behind them.
The square, which is neither small or large in size for Falnic, is empty. Devoid of people, only a dog that briefly runs across it, is the only life in it apart from themselves.
Any doors or windows on the surrounding buildings that look onto the square, are firmly shut and closed up.
The eight tribal nomads, seven leaders of tribes and a far hunter. Don't really take notice of this, they just stand there, completely still, looking at what's grabbed their attention.
It's a long platform at the other end of the square, on which is a gibbet that almost runs along the length of it.
There's a noose here and there down the length of the gibbet, even though there hasn't been a public execution here since the autumn. The city had run out of victims then, as towards the end of autumn was the time of the last successful raids by the Justifiers and their guards into the Nomads Plains.
At the ends of the long gibbet on the platform, is a headsman block. Dark with old blood, as each one is centuries old, as is the execution platform itself.
Not a single townsmen, criminals and the like has ever been publicly executed here. They are put to death publicly elsewhere in the city.
This execution site is solely used for the hanging and beheadings of tribal nomads. Men, women and children who are taken captive by the Justifier's guards who raid into the Nomads Plains.
The spy Tanith and the ranger Hait sit down on one of the stone benches on the edge of the square as the nomads move slowly forward to look at the platform that over the centuries, has seen tens of thousands of their fellow nomads of the plains, executed upon.
"Imagine coming to the place where your mother or father, grandparents or siblings might of been put to death, just because of what they are" quietly says Riley Hait in the elven language as the two Southlanders watch the tribal nomads "Generation after generation of your kind, killed over the centuries because of who they are" adds the mercenary ranger, who after a slight pause, and a shake of his head, says "And they're the same bloody people".
Dalinvardél Tanith, or Dalin as he's referred to by those that know him, can only nod his hooded head as they watch the eight from the Nomads Plains, who are the first of their kind to enter the city of Falnic of their own freewill, and not as captives.
The tribal leaders and the far hunter for the most part just stand near the platform and look at it. Once and a while one of them will touch it, or reach up and touch one of the headsman's block at either end of the platform.
But mainly they stare at it in silence, and only after quite some time, does any of them talk. It's when the tribal leader Chanük quietly says something to his brother Saladén.
The far hunter climbs up onto the platform, going up the steps at one end. He uses one of the small wooden step ladders on it, to take down one of the ropes used as a noose on the gibbet.
He comes back down and hands it to his brother Chanük. The nomads gather around and quietly discuss something in their language. There's nods all round, then they turn and make their way to where the two Southlanders are.
Riley Hait and Dalinvardél Tanith stand as the tribal nomads approach, once the shorter figures of the nomads stand infront of the taller human, and the even taller elf. Chanük after looking down at the noose he's holding in his hands, looks at them and says in accented common "Take us to him".
Mira Reinholt follows Helbenthril Raendril into one of the second storey rooms of the inn that's just down the street from the merchants townhouse they're using as their headquarters, here in the east of the city of Falnic.
The rooms in the inn have been taken over by both elves from the principality of Maladimbáh, and dwarven warriors from the clanholds in the Stone Hills. But not this room, which is occupied by someone else.
"What's that spell you've got on him?" asks the mage Reinholt as he frowns and looks at the figure lying on the bed in the fairly large room.
"A deep sleep spell" replies Helbe the elven thief who has closed the door behind them, the once powerful mage lifts his eyebrows as he has never heard of such a spell, he's heard of and knows how to cast a sleep spell, but not a deep sleep one that the elven mage user has upon their prisoner.
The Vexilian mage in exile sees the young elven noble glance at his own right shoulder, and knows that the elven princeling must be looking at, and listening to Narladene the ground pixie.
The elven masterthief looks at the mage Reinholt and says "He's coming up" the swordsmaster from south of the equator nods. They don't have to wait long before they hear someone, well two people out in the hallway.
The door opens and lord Farque says "Stay" and points at the floor of the hallway right infront of the room, as if he's giving a command to a dog.
Dorc da Orc grumbles and he scowls, but he sits down on the floor where the undead warlord pointed.
The heavily armoured deathlord closes the door, then looks at his fellow Southlanders before looking at the prisoner on the bed who is in magically induced sleep.
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque then says to Helbe the elven thief "Wake him" . . . . . .
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