Mercenary Tales 6.

Vexil. 

"Hmmm I can't tell" quietly says Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy as he peers across the square to a lane beyond. 

"What do you mean, you can't tell?" quietly demands Lisell Maera the scout as she glances at the elven spy beside her. 

"You're supposed to be the spy remember" adds the young woman who is originally from the city-state of Brattonbury, she follows that with "And an elf". The spy Tanith just shrugs his shoulders in reply to that, as to say, what can I do? 

Lisell Maera or Lis as she's more commonly called by those who know her well, lets out a sigh of frustration. 

Then the scout who is a junior officer in the Armies of Farque, then quietly asks the elven spy "Well, what can you see?". 

"Oh they're definitely loading boxes of weapons" is the quiet reply of Dalinvardèl Tanith, or Dalin as more often than not he's called by those who know him well. 

The scout Maera grunts when she hears that, then she turns after the elven spy originally from the principality of Alínlae, quietly tells her "Someone coming" he briefly pauses before adding "It's Tam and Saanea". 

Tamric Drubine the field commander and Saanea the witch make their way through the alleyway, at the mouth of which, stands Lis and Dalin. 

"Anything?" quietly asks Tamric Drubine the field commander, who speaks in elven as the spy Tanith and the scout Maera have been doing. 

"Nothing much" is the reply of Dalinvardèl Tanith, who before joining the group, worked for one of the more prominent noble houses in his homeland, the principality of Alínlae. 

"Apart from them loading boxes of weapons into wagons" quietly adds the elven spy who is a commander in the Armies of Farque. 

Tamric Drubine or Tam as he's more commonly called by those who know him well, nods when he hears that. 

Then before he can ask what they're going to do, Lisell Maera quietly says "We were just discussing getting a closer look". 

"We were?" murmurs the spy Tanith who then sourly smiles after Lis adds "Dalin was just going to volunteer". 

Field commander Drubine glances at the elven spy, who just rolls his eyes, then the elf who is a commander in the Armies of Farque says "I'll get a closer look in there". 

Saanea the witch who has been silent until now, quietly says "They've got no guards" she continues with "Though I can't see inside, so I don't know about there". 

A moment later and a raven lands upon the right shoulder of the attractive witch, after returning from across the square, and the lane beyond it. 

Dalin nods his hooded head, then slightly shakes it and quietly says "No, it'll be fine". In reply to Tam quietly saying "You want to borrow my sword?". 

The elven spy originally from the principality of Alínlae then makes his way from the alleyway, and heads across the quiet square to the lane beyond. 

The Geist Trading Company has a number of warehouses across the city of Vexil, after all they're one of the largest, and most successful trading companies to be found not just in the city-state of Vexil, but right across the Southlands. 

Though like a number of trading companies, merchants and shippers, they have a number of anonymous warehouses that the public don't know about, or for that matter the authorities. 

And it's short while after crossing the quiet square, that Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy finds himself in such a warehouse. 

The elven spy who served in one of the more prominent noble houses of his homeland of Alínlae, entered the building via a trapdoor in the roof. 

Now he's up in the dark and gloomy rafters, looking down at what's happening below. What's happening is the loading of wagons, with wooden boxes. 

The spy Tanith sees a number of the boxes being closed up before they're packed up, and as heard from across the square. 

He sees weapons in the boxes. Predominantly swords and axes. But he sees quite a number of crossbows, with boxes of bolts too. 

Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem. But with the recent events in the war between the city-states of Tuledare and Phamal, and the involvement of the Geist Trading Company there. 

And the fact the loading of the wagons here, is taking place in an anonymous, nondescript looking building. And not one of the normal warehouses owned by the Geist Trading Company. Then that's a problem, though a problem that Dalin has been tasked to identify, and to see what's exactly going on. 

The elven spy who is a commander in the Armies of Farque listens to the conversations going on down below. 

There's nothing of importance being said. So he moves across the rafter he's on. Until he hears something, and he pauses. 

Looking across the dark and gloomy rafters, the spy Tanith spots movement. Dalin who can clearly see in the gloom, unlike a human. 

Relaxes when he sees a cat, not just an ordinary cat, but one he recognizes. It's Saanea's familiar, and it makes it's way over towards him. 

The commander in the Armies of Farque wryly smiles as the cat briefly rubs up against him, before it climbs over him, and goes onto a rafter off to the side. 

The cat looks back at Dalin, expecting him to follow it. That's exactly what the elven spy originally from the principality of Alínlae does. 

Dalinvardèl Tanith follows the witch's familiar to the side of the warehouse. 

There's a flimsy lattice work wall. And the elven spy quietly lowers it down on what's a ceiling of a large room, or office connected to the side of the warehouse. 

The cat scampers onto the internal ceiling, while the spy Tanith looks at it a little dubiously, wondering if it will hold his weight. 

After pressing down on it a few times, Dalin crawls onto it, in the small gap between the ceiling and the overhead roof that connects the office and the warehouse. 

Commander Tanith crawls to where Saanea's familiar has sat down near a corner, the elven spy who can hear a conversation down below in the office. 

Watches as the cat suddenly blurs, and a moment later the familiar changes form to the raven it's most often in. 

The familiar hops through a small hole in the outside wall just below the roof line, and it takes wing, no doubt heading back to Saanea. 

Meanwhile Dalin takes a small vial from a hidden pocket in his cloak. In the near darkness of what's essentially a crawlspace between the ceiling he's on, and the roof above. 

He looks at it carefully to make sure it's the correct one. You can never be certain concerning things given to you by Helbe the elven thief. 

The spy Tanith slightly nods to himself as it indeed is the correct one. And he starts pouring the contents of the vial in a thin line. 

He forms a square, not particularly large, just a couple of inches in length on each side of the square. 

The commander in the Armies of Farque waits a few moments, putting away the empty vial as he does so. 

Then taking his gloved right hand, he presses down with his fingers within the square. There's a slight pop only audible to him, as he pulls up. 

Creating a small, unobtrusive square in the corner of the ceiling he's lying on top of. The elven spy then looks down into the office below. 

Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy now sees the faces of the people whose conversation he's been listening to. 

Dalin lies there in complete silence, not moving, as he listens and watches the discussion taking place below him. 

"We'll have to check on their other hidden warehouses too" quietly says Tamric Drubine the field commander as they continue to wait in the alleyway for Dalinvardèl Tanith to return. 

"So far we've found out they have two others" continues the noble born young man who hails from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin. 

"They might have more" adds Tam who though is only in his early twenties, he's already a field commander in the Armies of Farque. 

Both Lisell Maera the scout and Saanea the witch nod in agreement with the young field commander, who until recently was in charge of the Fifth Army of Farque. 

"I suppose the royal thief will find out if they have any others" quietly says Lisell Maera as she looks across the square, to the lane that they know the Geist Trading Company has one of their nondescript warehouses. 

"More than likely" says Tamric Drubine who then glances at his lover Saanea the witch, who quietly says "He's coming back". 

The practitioner of magic who had her eyes closed, opens them and a looks up to where her familiar, in raven form is high above, circling the square and the surrounding area. 

A few moments later, and the three of them watch Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy walk from the lane on the other side of the square, then cross the square to the alleyway where they've been waiting for him. 

"Let's go" says the elven spy when he rejoins them, they head back down through the alley, and turn right onto the street there. 

The four of them head back through the part of the city they're in. Just to the south of the city center. 

"Well, that was interesting" quietly says Dalinvardèl Tanith as they walk the city streets on what's a cold late autumn, almost winter day here in the capital of the city-state of Vexil. 

The elven spy, who before he joined the group, served in one of the more prominent noble houses of his homeland, the principality of Alínlae. 

Quietly tells the others "They've been busy alright" followed by "And not just moving weapons, and armour too". 

As an airship passes overhead in this part of the city, the spy Tanith quietly continues with "They've been hiring mercenary bands as well" he then adds "Some are basically small armies". 

Eyebrows are raised in surprise at hearing that, then the elven spy who is a commander in the Armies of Farque then tells the others what else he found out when he secretly listened and watched a conversation between a couple of the more important members of the Geist Trading Company . . . . . .