The City Of Vexil.
"Cleric Beldane?" asks a street urchin who has sneaked his way into the establishment.
"Yes?" replies Beldane the cleric who looks down at the youngster who can't be more than eight or nine years old.
"Message from the warlord" quietly says the youngster, which causes the powerful cleric in the church of Glaine to quickly look around, before he tells the urchin "Outside".
The youngster nods in understanding, then hurries out of the tavern before he garners any attention.
The fighting cleric who hails from the kingdom of Nastell, follows after him, and makes his way outside into the cold night air.
Beldane spots the street urchin at one corner of the building, and he makes his way over to the youngster.
"The message?" quietly asks the powerful practitioner of magic, and the street urchin says a word in elven that he does not know. Beldane quickly and quietly responds with "Draugodrottin".
The street urchin nods, then says "That's the word he said" he follows that with "The message is that they're at the Graceful Steed in Galsom Crossing" he then adds "Both of them".
The fighting cleric faintly smiles, in relief more than anything, then he tells the street urchin "Thank you" and slips the youngster a small gold coin.
"Two of them now" says the street urchin, holding up two gold coins, one he was given earlier in the afternoon by Lord Farque.
The youngster then hurries away in the night, and Beldane the cleric heads the other way down the street.
Leaving the tavern frequented by the clergy from the various churches and temples from the large nearby square.
The fighting cleric whose mind is still protected by his extremely powerful magical mace. Casts a spell taught to him by Helbe the elven thief to make sure he's not being followed.
Finding that he's not, and after turning a corner into an empty alleyway. The member of the church of Glaine levitates up to a rooftop.
Beldane looks away to the south across the city once he's on the roof, and within his mind he pictures the town of Galsom Crossing.
One of the closer towns directly to the south of the capital city of Vexil. The fighting cleric who knows of a spot just outside of the town.
And after nodding to himself, the powerful practitioner of magic casts a gateway to that particular spot.
The gateway quickly forms infront of the fighting cleric as Galsom Crossing is less than ten miles away from the city.
Then the cleric in the church of Glaine steps through the magical doorway, and out the other side.
Beldane drops the spell behind him, then he starts heading into the town about three hundred yards away from the farmer's field he's just appeared in this cold winter's night.
Earlier in the day, when the group, well some of them at least. Who he, Lord Farque and Dorc da Orc had been searching for.
Turned back up in the large square where most of the city's churches and temples are located. Beldane was shocked that they informed those who they were with earlier in the day. That they had killed the large ork, but fled the undead being who showed up looking for them.
The fighting cleric couldn't believe it at first. As he knows exactly how difficult it is to kill Dorc da Orc can be. Incapacitating the large ork is difficult enough already, killing him is almost impossible.
And he didn't want to believe it at first. And was thinking of a way to find out if they were actually telling the truth.
The cleric commander Omarc of the church of Famal had no such qualms. And he cast a spell upon the wizard named Margin to see if they were telling the truth or not about Dorc da Orc.
And indeed the group had killed the large ork. With a number of them dying as a result of it. Or so they thought they killed the ork who it turns out they've been after for over twenty five years.
Beldane finds the Graceful Steed in the southern outskirts of town. It's a small, quiet inn. And especially quiet this cold winter's night. As they only have two customers when the fighting cleric enters.
Not that the innkeeper minds, considering one of the customers is eating and drinking pretty much everything that his establishment has for sale.
Beldane walks over to the only occupied table in the common room, and sits down opposite the large heavily armoured figure already seated there.
The powerful practitioner of magic faintly smiles as he looks at the large ork sitting on the floor next to the table, attempting to stuff an entire roast leg of lamb into his mouth.
As he does, the large ork is continually flexing his left arm, and repeatedly glancing at it as he chews to bits the leg of roast lamb he's shoved into his gob.
"Thought he was dead" says Beldane the cleric in the elven language with a nod of his head at the big burly ork from the southern polar region of the world.
The large heavily armoured figure sitting on the other side of the table just rolls his eyes in response to that, and the fighting cleric says "That's what we were told" he continues with "By that lot who turned up again".
"Oh?" says Lord Farque, who follows that with "Did they?". The member of the church of Glaine nods his head yes. And the undead warlord who is also speaking in elven says "Tell me what happened".
After Beldane orders a drink, and it arrives at the table, the powerful practitioner of magic from the kingdom of Nastell says "Well, after your, er, distraction". Referring to the dead person lord Farque made undead.
The fighting cleric wearing the half plate armour, explains to the lord and ruler of the Lands Farque, what happened.
Telling him how the group they've been after, turned up again in the city, at the large square where most of the churches and temples in the city of Vexil are located.
And how he learned of the apparent demise of Dorc da Orc. And how the group fled from their place of hiding because the lord of the death realm turned up.
Lord Farque or Draugodrottin which is his name that the people of his lands also know him by, listens in silence until the fighting cleric finishes explaining what happened in his and Dorc's absence.
"Find out anything new?" asks the undead warlord who has the elven name of Des'tier, which translates to The Destroyer.
"Names" says Beldane, who then nods at Dorc da Orc, who acknowledged his presence, with a grunt when he sat down at the table.
"And that Dorc killed at least half of their group" continues the Nastellian born practitioner of magic.
"Four of them" says the large heavily armoured deathlord of Farque, who continues on with "The big fucking idiot killed four of them" followed by "There's at least six of them left".
The fighting cleric in the church of Glaine nods at that, then he quietly says "Yeah six of them showed up".
He continues on from that with "A wizard named Margin who seemed to be in charge" followed by "Though I don't think he's their leader".
Beldane follows that with "Two men, Mercer and Marcus" he then adds "And a woman named Kynil, a blade master by the looks of things".
Draugodrottin shakes his full helmed head no, then says "A sword mistress more like" he gestures at Dorc as he adds "Not good enough to be a blade master according to the fat fucking lump".
The fighting cleric nods in understanding, and knows that the ork weaponsmith, who taught by Lord Farque. Is an expert on a person's capabilities with a weapon.
Then Beldane says "And two elves Jarkellé and Salinéll" followed by "Both seemed a little out of it" he continues with "My guess is that they were recently healed, and not that well".
"Makes sense" says the lord of the death realm, who then adds "The big idiot spat poison at them" followed by "They're lucky to be alive".
The cleric in the church of Glaine winces at that, as poisons are nasty business. And healing poison victims can be tricky at times.
The powerful practitioner of magic glances at Dorc da Orc, who has broached a small barrel of beer, and is drinking from it.
Though a lot of it is being spilled down his front, as the large ork is more focused on his left arm, that he keeps either flexing, or holding out to the side so he can stare at it.
With a frown upon his face, Beldane the cleric nods at the warleader of the ork race, and asks the lord of the death realm "Why does he keep doing that?".
After glancing at the large ork who is a general in his armies, Draugodrottin rolls his eyes, then dryly says to the fighting cleric "Don't ask".
Then the lord and ruler of the Lands Farque says something in orkish to Dorc da Orc that's totally incomprehensible to Beldane.
The big burly ork from the southern polar region of the world grunts, and after he glances at Des'tier, then a final look at his left arm, he concentrates more on drinking, trying not to spill any of it down the front of himself.
Going back to their conversation, Beldane the cleric says to the lord of the death realm "Can't tell if that elf Salinéll is a spellcaster" followed by "Only know she is because you said so".
The large heavily armoured deathlord nods his full helmed head, then says "She wears a ring, or an amulet similar to what Mira has" he continues with "Which hides her abilities from you spellcasters".
The fighting cleric nods at hearing that, then he quietly says "Odd thing about them" he follows that with "That Misa Geist isn't with them".
The member of the church of Glaine, who hails from the north of the kingdom of Nastell continues with "She wasn't with them in the morning when we were searching for them, nor this afternoon when they turned up again".
"I know" quietly says Draugodrottin, who continues on with "Odd indeed" and after a pause he adds "It's as though she doesn't exist".
The powerful practitioner of magic is silent for a few moments, then slowly nods his head, and quietly asks the lord and ruler of the Lands Farque "You suspect something?".
In response, the lord of the death realm nods his full helmed head, then Des'tier quietly tells the Nastellian born spellcaster "I do".
The two of them fall silent when Dorc da Orc calls out to the innkeeper for more booze, and more food as he munches on a side of pork ribs by the looks of things.
As the large ork opens a couple of bottles of wine that he has and starts drinking from one, the undead warlord quietly tells the fighting cleric "Since we've been after them, there's always been ten of them in their group".
Draugodrottin nods in the direction of the ork warleader as he continues with "Now the big fucking idiot has killed four of them, none of whom were a woman".
Seeing where the lord and ruler of the Lands Farque is going with this, Beldane quietly says "And out of the six who remain, none is this Misa Geist".
The large heavily armoured deathlord nods his full helmed head, then says "Exactly" he follows that with "It's as though she never existed, or if she did, she's no longer around".
The fighting cleric slightly nods, then he quietly says "Then what are they up to?" followed by "Trying to start a border war between Vexil and Girdane?".
"I think they've fooled those Geist cousins into doing exactly that" says the lord of the death realm, he continues with "Well my best guess, is that's what they want to happen".
The powerful practitioner of magic nods at that, then Des'tier tells him "I think it has something to do with the war".
It takes a moment for the member of the church of Glaine to realize what Lord Farque is referring to, and the spellcaster from the kingdom of Nastell, says "The Battle of Vexil?".
The undead warlord nods his full helmed head, then gesturing at himself and Dorc da Orc, the large heavily armoured deathlord says "It's also why they're so fucking hell bent on trying to kill me and Dorc"
Draugodrottin rolls his eyes when the powerful cleric cocks an eyebrow, then says "Kill?" followed by a brief pause, before he adds "You?".
"You know what I mean" dryly says the lord of the death realm, who then in a more normal tone of voice says "Apparently for what we did during the war".
The lord and ruler of the Lands Farque continues on with "Killed their loved ones or some such according to what some of them kept going on about to Dorc".
After glancing sideways at the big burly ork from the southern polar region of the world, the deathlord of Farque says in a slightly dry tone of voice to Beldane "Or so the fat lump says" he then adds "Trying to get him to remember anything of what they said to him was a bit of a fucking ordeal".
"I can imagine" murmurs the powerful cleric in the church of Glaine, who doesn't envy the lord of the death realm one bit, when it comes to trying to get any information out of the large ork, who is a general in the undead warlord's armies.
After the innkeeper and the serving woman bring over more food and alcohol for the large ork sitting on the floor next to the table.
Lord Farque quietly tells the fighting cleric "They think Dorc is dead, which will come in useful I'm sure".
The large heavily armoured deathlord continues with "And now you're in with those various churches and temples, as well as them because you fought me one on one and survived, not to mention you destroyed that poor unfortunate individual I rose from the dead".
Beldane the cleric nods at that, and does so again when Draugodrottin tells him "So find out as much as you can".
The lord and ruler of the Lands Farque who can sense the members of the group they're after, in the city of Vexil less than ten miles away, and says "Then this is what we'll do".
Undead warlord then goes on to explain what they'll do concerning the group they've been after, down here, in and around the city of Vexil. And up north in the hill country between the city-state of Vexil and the kingdom of Girdane . . . . . .
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