Wonderful 39.

Belinswae. The City Of Falnic...

"What did you say?" demands the justifier Sammacin "I didn't mean" gets out the prostitute the justifier is strangling as he stands over her on his bed "Yes you did" quietly says the wizard Sammacin as he continues to squeeze the throat of the young prostitute who like him is naked.
The justifier takes one hand off the throat of the kneeling prostitute, who a few moments ago was pleasuring his manhood with her mouth. He holds out his free hand, and the prostitute is able to gasp in a bit of air.
A rope that's coiled up on a nearby bed stand, shoots across to the bed, and into the free hand of the wizard, who is one of the rulers of the city of Falnic. Sammacin quickly wraps some of the rope around dark haired prostitute's neck, and with a thought similar to the one that sent the rope to him, he sends it upwards to the ring in the ceiling he put in specifically for this purpose.
The young prostitute who can't be more than fifteen years old gasps in pain and fright as she realises what's happening. By spellcraft she's hauled up off her knees then off her feet as the rope through the ring in the ceiling, lifts her up in the air, and as she's hanged, the wizard Sammacin quietly says to her "Know one says that to me, especially not a nameless whore from the docks".
The city ruler holds out his right hand, and a long silver dagger on a nearby table flies into the palm of his open hand. Gripping the handle of the dagger, Sammacin with a dispassionate look upon his face, plunges the dagger into the stomach of the struggling prostitute whose legs are kicking about as she's hanged.
The justifier hops back out of the way so that blood doesn't get on him after he wrenches the dagger down, and rips it out of the belly of the young prostitute. The wizard looks at the dying prostitute for a moment, then smiles as he sees the look of despair and loss in her eyes as she's strangled to death by the rope around her neck, while her entrails slip from her stomach.
Justifier Sammacin drops the silver dagger then gets off his bed, the city ruler takes a robe from the back of a chair and puts it on, he then walks across his bed chamber and out the massive open balcony doors, he steps out onto the terraced balcony. And from his hilltop mansion, he looks down upon the harbour below of the city he helps to rule.
The wizard, a fairly young one at just twenty years old, who also happens to be one of the youngest justifiers not just in the city of Falnic, but all of the region of Belinswae. Shakes his head at having to kill another prostitute, as he didn't particularly want to kill this one, as he quite liked the look of her. That was until she opened her mouth and spoke to him, when he specifically told her not to say a single word, and the only thing she was to use her mouth for, was to pleasure him.
The Justifier Sammacin who has been in a sour mood since yesterday morning when he found out the squad of his guards who he had sent out to raid into the nomads plains last week. Came under attack when they returned to the city through the main east gate yesterday morning,
Five of his guards who were bringing in a group of nomad prisoners were killed. Four by an unknown assassin who was using a crossbow of some kind, and the fifth who fell from a rooftop when they were searching for said assassin, who escaped without being seen by any of his guards. Or by the guards of justifier Kaellin, who were on duty at that gate yesterday morning.
The young wizard sourly smiles to himself, then mutters "Damn nomads" as he can only think that there must be a nomad hiding in the city somewhere, as the chance of a nomad sympathizer amongst the local population is pretty much nill.
That leaves only one of the visitors to Falnic who could be responsible for what happened yesterday morning at the main east gate of the city. Justifier Sammacin has some of his guards looking into that, as they also search the city for any hidden nomad.
The young wizard, who didn't even get any pleasure or satisfaction in the public executions of the nomad prisoners yesterday afternoon, which he personally oversaw, which he normally doesn't do. Shakes his head again as he looks down at the harbour below, and all the activity on the water, and down in the docks.
The city ruler mutters "Damn nomads" again then after a moment's pause as he thinks about things, he murmurs "And where the hell is Kaellin?" for the justifier he's closest to, has yet to return from his trip to the elven principality of Maladimbáh.
The young wizard knows that his fellow justifier, the mage Kaellin has gone to Maladimbáh, to see if he can get permission to have some of his guards be stationed there, so that they can easily raid down into the nomads plains.
Hopes his colleague hasn't bitten off more than he can chew, and pissed off an elven lord or two, who would take it as an insult at such a suggestion from one of the rulers of Belinswae.
The wizard Sammacin knows that justifier Kaellin may be the most powerful justifier in terms of magic, for the simple fact he's a mage, the least common, and on average the most powerful of all the human spellcasters. But when it comes to the long lived elves, and their magic using nobles. How powerful one is, doesn't necessarily mean all that much, compared to the skill and experience of someone who has lived for centuries, or even a millennia. If there has been an altercation of some kind in justifier Kaellin's attempts to get permission for his plan.
The young wizard, who is one of the justifiers in Falnic who wants his colleague Kaellin to succeed, while others couldn't care less, while even others hope he fails. For the simple fact they didn't think to go ahead and try it, even though it's been talked about for generations here in the port city of Falnic.
Turns around and walks back into his bed chamber, and calls out "Guards!" the justifier has to call out again, this time augmenting his voice with a spell so that he can be heard, as the nearest of his guards are outside his large suite, that takes up a lot of the top floor of his mansion.
A short while later, and quartet of his guards enter the bed chamber, none of them are surprised at what they see, it's a fairly common occurrence, and they've all seen it before. "Get rid of her" orders the young wizard who waves a hand at the dead prostitute hanging there, slowly twisting around above the bed, with her entrails dangling out of her ripped guts. "And have the chambermaids clean up the mess the dead whore has made of my bed".
As the guards set about doing what he's told them to do, the wizard Sammacin goes into another room and gets dressed, once dressed and he makes his way back through his bed chamber, which is now minus the dead prostitute, who has been taken away, the city ruler heads out of his suite, and makes his way downstairs.
He breakfasts in the small dining hall next to the kitchens, he eats with his aunt Beralyn, he's spotted his mother Helmala out the dining hall windows, working in the back gardens. She doesn't have to, but the young wizard knows that his mother is happiest when she's potting about in the gardens on the mansion's grounds.
The justifier after eating, wishes his aunt Beralyn a pleasant day, then he heads outside, to a side courtyard, the one where the guards on duty here at his mansion, are garrisoned in the barracks. When their main barracks of the wizard Sammacin personal army is in the north of the city.
Waiting outside the barracks is the young wizards older cousin Galbin, who commands the army of the city ruler, there's a decade between the two cousins, but that means nothing when it comes to a justifier of Belinswae, who rule their part of the region, in this instance Falnic, with impunity.
Fortunately the two cousins are close, and have always got along, with the older Galbin teaching his cousin the wizard when he was younger, the way of warfare, in particular the type of warfare found here in Falnic and much of Belinswae, the raids into the nomad plains, against the mortal enemies of the townsmen of Belinswae.
"Any word on a hidden nomad in the city?" asks justifier Sammacin as they stand infront of the barracks in the morning sunshine on what promises to be a warm summer's day "Nothing during the night" replies commander Galbin who like his younger cousin, stands around five foot, nine inches tall. And while the young wizard is slim, the older cousin is more muscular, though both cousins have the same colouring. Dark hair and tan coloured skin, as the majority of the people here in Falnic have.
"Word has got out, and the other justifiers have their guards searching for a hidden nomad assassin too" says Galbin who then adds "They're also checking on the visitors to the city, to see if one of them was involved in what happened yesterday" the young wizard nods his head at that, then the justifier says "It's to be expected".
Sammacin knows that his fellow city rulers reveal in the fact when something goes wrong for one of them. But when it comes to any of their guards getting killed within the city walls, and that nomad prisoners were involved in any such incident. They will all want the culprit or culprits apprehended, and duly executed.
The two cousins briefly fall silent as they look away to their left, as a horse drawn wagon, in the back of which is the wrapped body of the dead prostitute that Sammacin killed earlier, leaves the courtyard.
Then commander Galbin who knows what happened in his cousins suite earlier, because it's happened before, often. And that the guards who are taking away the body, informed him of it. Says to his younger cousin "I find it hard to believe that there's a nomad hiding here in the city" the commander of justifier Sammacin's personal army continues with "I reckon even the damn half breeds in the city would rat out any gods forsaken nomad scum" Galbin then adds "My guess, is that a visitor, a foreigner did this".
So do i, the city ruler thinks to himself, for as much as the young wizard wants it to be a nomad assassin who was responsible for what happened yesterday at the main east gates of the city, it's extremely unlikely that a nomad, free within the city, was the one who did it.
Justifier Sammacin like his older cousin Galbin knows that the person most likely to be responsible for killing some of his guards as they brought in a group nomad prisoners yesterday morning, is a visitor to the city of Falnic. Which there are a number of them in the city at the moment, as is usual for the summer time in the port city.
"So" says the young wizard, who having made up his mind, makes s decision, and he tells his older cousin Galbin "I guess we check up on all the usual haunts of the foreigners" then as one of the wyverns in the far courtyard on the otherside of the large mansion's can be heard screeching about something, justifier Sammacin continues with "Gather a squad, and let's get going" . . . . . .