Mercenary Tales 13.

Northern Vexil. 

The twin masted brigantine owned by the Geist Trading Company gets in just before dawn, at what's essentially an army camp around a village. Nestled amongst the hills found in northern Vexil. 

The first to disembark are the hired mercenaries, and once they're off the airship. The cargo is then taken off. It'll be well into the morning before everything that's been brought up from the capital city of Vexil is unloaded. 

Meanwhile, on a hilltop four miles to the east. A small, single masted airship owned by the Reinholt Trading Company has settled down amongst some tall trees. Once on the ground, the vessel, a packet ship, is hidden from view. 

The group has disembarked. Infact a trio of them are already on the way to the village and the army camp that surrounds it. 

They left the airship a bit earlier, before the rest of the group disembarked. And they've quickly covered the ground to their destination. 

It helps that one of them is a spellcaster, and they don't have to walk all the way to the village and army camp, here in the hill country in northern Vexil. 

Lisell Maera the scout shares a look with Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy, and in the gloom of dawn, on what's another cold start to an early winter's day. 

The spy who hails from the elven principality of Alínlae, just shrugs his shoulders in reply to the look from the young woman beside him. 

"Hope he doesn't get it his mind to steal everything before the two of us get there" murmurs Lisell Maera the scout to the elven spy beside her. 

Dalinvardèl Tanith or Dalin as he's more commonly called by the others in the group, nods his hooded head in agreement with the scout in the Armies of Farque, who is originally from the coastal city-state of Brattonbury. 

Then the spy Tanith points, and he leads the way from the trees they're in, and heads up the next hill, as the sun slowly rises in the east. 

The two of them drop down to the ground once they get to the top of this hill, and in the distance. Beyond a smaller hill a few hundred yards away, they can see the village, and the camp around it. 

"Pretty busy, even for this time of the morning" quietly says Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy, the scout Maera nods in agreement with him. 

The two of them are silent for a few moments, then the elf who is a commander in the Armies of Farque, quietly says "A camp that size" quietly followed by "Between ten and twelve thousand I'd guess". 

"Same" quietly says Lisell Maera the scout who has come to the same conclusion as the elven spy who hails from the principality of Alínlae. 

They fall silent again as they watch the hive of activity in the distance, on what's a cold start to this winter's day. 

Then Lisell Maera or Lis as more often than not, as she's called by the others in the group quietly says "I will". In reply to Dalinvardèl Tanith quietly saying to her "Remember just act like you belong". 

After a few more moments of watching what's happening in the distance, as behind them the sun rises on this early winter morning. 

The elven spy and the young human scout get up, and hurry down off the top of the hill they're on. And continue on their way to the west, and the village and surrounding camp in the distance. 

In that village and army camp that surrounds it, one of the quartermasters rubs his chin as he looks at some of the goods in the back of the wagon, that have just been unloaded from the latest transporter that's arrived. 

He steps up to the back of the wagon, and is about reach in and see if he can open one of the long wooden boxes. When he suddenly shivers, and not because of the cold start to the morning. 

"Hell" mutters the quartermaster, who then calls out to the wagon driver "Get moving!". 

As the wagon moves off, he shakes his head and wonders where he got that feeling of what can only be described as terror, suddenly came from. Then he shouts out to those loading the wagons this morning, to hurry up and get a move on. 

On the roof of a nearby building, Narladene the ground pixie grins to herself as she watches the wagon head off. 

She wondered if the locked spell Helbe the elven thief had cast upon the long, almost coffin like boxes would act. 

Seeing it in action gives her confirmation that no one will open those boxes anytime soon. And that they'll just be moved about here and there, with this army that's been gathered, here in the northern hills of the city-state of Vexil. 

As for the elven magic user himself, he too is somewhere here in this village and camp. The young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel is searching for someone who will answer some questions, that he and Lord Farque want answered. 

Helbe the elven thief looks in through an open window, hoping to find someone of importance in the village. 

The elven masterthief who is blurred and shielded, shifts inside the building, that's an inn which those who are have gathered here, have taken over. 

The highly talented elven magic user who is reading minds of just about everyone he sees. 

Finally nods his hooded head after he reads the mind of a man, who is sitting at a table with two others, having breakfast on this cold winter's morning in this part of northern Vexil. 

The man is part of the Geist Trading Company, from the family itself. And he along with another member of the family. Is in charge of what's happening here in the village and surrounding camp. 

Now, who would of thought that's what they'd be doing, Helbe the elven thief thinks to himself after thoroughly reading the mind of the member of the Geist family. 

The blurred and shielded elven magic user, who is standing near the door to the kitchen of the inn, waits until the trio he's watching closely, finish breakfast, and get up. 

The young elf, young being a relative term here. As he's actually around two hundred and thirty years old. Which indeed is young for an elf. Especially an elven royal such as himself. Follows after the three as they exit the inn, which is located near the centre of the village. 

The grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel follows after them fairly closely. As he does, Narladene the ground pixie lands upon his right shoulder. 

And after the tiny winged creature informs him of how his spell upon the wooden boxes that he had inserted into the cargo of the twin masted brigantine that has recently arrived, is working. 

The elven master assassin quietly tells the naturally magical creature what he has just found out. 

And tells her to go and inform Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy and Lisell Maera the scout who are making their way here, and from what Helbe the elven thief guesses, should be here at the village and surrounding camp, fairly soon. 

The ground pixie who is originally from the Sunreach Mountains, takes off and heads east. Once she drops down into the ground, her natural habitat. She easily locates the spy Tanith and the scout Maera, who are approaching from the east. 

And it's not long before the naturally magical creature pops up out of the ground, and suddenly appears in front of the face of Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy, who is amongst some trees, a couple hundred yards from the edge of the army camp. 

"Mekilá". Fuck. Dalinvardèl Tanith mutters in surprise as he comes to a stop after Narladene the ground pixie suddenly appears right in front of his face. 

After sourly smiling, the elven spy still in his native language quietly says to the tiny winged creature who is hovering just a few inches in front of him "I guess his highness found something?". 

"He did" replies Narladene the ground pixie, who doesn't usually show herself in front of the others in the group, at least not that often. 

The naturally magical creature who knows that Lisell Maera the scout is nearby, who she won't show herself too, as she appears to humans far less than to any other race. 

Then tells the elven spy who hails from the principality of Alínlae what Helbe the elven thief has found out so far. 

After the ground pixie attached to prince Helbenthril Raendril tells him what the elven masterthief has discovered, the spy Tanith quietly says to her "Best if Lord Farque knows this". 

And before Narladene can say anything, Dalin quickly says to her "Why don't you go and tell him" followed by "You can get to him a hell of lot quicker than me". 

Hovering in the air, with her tiny, gossamer like wings moving so fast, you can barely see them, the naturally magical creature plants her hands on her hips, and twists her lips in a sardonic fashion as she looks at the spy Tanith. 

"Well, it's true" quietly says Dalin, who refrains from grinning at the tiny winged creature just hovers there, judging him no doubt. 

"I guess so" says Narladene the ground pixie, who then disappears from the spy Tanith's sight. Though he does briefly hear her muttering in what he assumes is her native language. 

Then when he can no longer hear the ground pixie who is already some distance away, as she heads to the hilltop further east, where the single masted airship in the Reinholt Trading Company's fleet is located. 

Dalinvardèl Tanith softly whistles, and a few moments later Lisell Maera quietly approaches through the trees from his right. 

"What is it?" murmurs the scout Maera after she and Dalin crouch down behind a fallen tree, and bushes. 

"The royal thief has found something out" is the quiet reply of the spy Tanith as they look towards the army camp that isn't all that far away. 

The commander in the Armies of Farque then informs Lis, what Helbe the elven thief has discovered this cold winter's morning in the hill country, here in the north of the city-state of Vexil . . . . . .