Wonderful 51.

The Nomads Plains...

They travel mostly at night, usually setting off late in the afternoon, around dusk. And stopping early in the morning just after dawn when they set up camp. Making sure that they rest and sleep during the day, when it's hottest on the dry, arid nomads plains.
And although Helbe the elven thief is the nominal leader of the group from the Southlands, it's Riley Hait the mercenary ranger who is in charge of their travel across the plains of the nomads.
For the mercenary ranger as he was originally Zubutai Timaginson, a hordesman of the southern tundra, he's accustomed to traveling across such barren and seemingly lifeless looking terrain.
True, the great southern tundra where Zubutai the barbarian hordesman hails from, is far more verdant and green than the nomads plains. But it does get extremely hot there for a couple of months during the summers. Where life and travel for the barbarian hordes can get very difficult, almost as bad as it during the harsh winters they face on the tundra towards the bottom of the world.
And though traveling across the nomads plains is difficult at the best of times, it's more difficult in the summertime as it is now, even it is the later half of the summer. But the group from south of the equator have an advantage, a few infact.
First of all the two elves, Helbenthril Raendril and Dalinvardél Tanith with their heightened senses can see and hear anything well before any of the others in the group that could be a threat to them.
Not to mention the spellcasting skills and talent of the elven prince from Laerel is a huge advantage for the group. But the main advantage they have compared to anyone else who may travel across the nomads plains who isn't flying over it, is Narladene the ground pixie.
The tiny winged creature first and foremost finds them a safe place to camp each day. Whether it be in caves, or the deep trench like cuttings in the ground that the nomads use for their camps.
And when she can't find any of them to camp in, the ground pixie will find a secure location, like an outcrop of rocks that they can camp in or next to during the hot days on the nomads plains.
But most importantly, the naturally magical creature finds water to go along with the water in the barrels that they've brought along with them on their pack horses.
Just before dawn, Helbe the elven thief appears out of thin air upon a small rise, in what otherwise is flat ground for miles all around, the elven magic user who has been out scouting as he does when they travel at night, heads down the rise, to the cuttings of an old nomads camp which it looks like it hasn't been used in years, where the others are setting up camp.
These cuttings are too narrow and shallow for the horses to be brought into, so the horses who are being hobbled on the lines that have been staked out for them. Go beneath the sand coloured, large canvas tents, basically lean to's that a couple of the pack horses carry.
The rise upon the elven masterthief is walking down, contains a small cave, to small for all of them and their horses to camp in, but it does have a small pool of water that's continually fed by an underground spring. It's why this location was chosen to be the camp site for the day after Narladene found it during the middle of the night, while the others were good ten miles behind her.
"Seems they haven't been using this one for quite some time" says Riley Hait the mercenary ranger when the elven princeling joins him in one of the cuttings, the ranger who was brought up and trained in the elven principality of Envadarlen in the Southlands, continues with "Probably still a bit too far to the west, too close to the raiders from Belinswae".
"More than likely" says Helbe the elven thief as he nods his hooded head in agreement with Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman, the elven master assassin takes off his cloak and helps the ranger Hait to put one of the canvas tent sides across the cutting they're in.
After going out and putting rocks on the dun coloured tent side to hold it down, the two get back into the cutting and have a meal that the mercenary ranger was preparing when the young elven noble turned up.
"I see someone finally persuaded Percavelle to take off his armour when we stop" says Helbe the elven thief who noticed the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic was out of his armour as the sun was rising in the east.
"Shur Kee finally did" says Riley Hait the mercenary ranger who continues with "He got sick of the loud mouth idiot clanking about as we were all trying to sleep" the human ranger who was trained by the elven warders of Envadarlen in the Southlands adds "Think the monk even swore when he asked the knight for the umpteenth time to take his armour off, i think Percy was so surprised at that, it's the reason he took it off this morning".
The elven magic user smiles in satisfaction at that, for the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che could often been heard moving about as he slept, making a bit of a racket as the rest of them tried to get some sleep.
After eating their meal, the two of them, taking an end of the cutting each, bed down for the day, when the heat at times can get oppressive here on the plains of the nomads.
They could travel during the day if they had too, but Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman deems it too much of a risk, besides they've got the advantage of the two elves in the group, along with the ground pixie Narladene, to make traveling at night a fairly easy task.
After the mercenary ranger who is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra falls asleep, Narladene the ground pixie turns up, and makes her way to where the young elven noble from the principality of Laerel is lying down.
"Nothing about" whispers Narladene the ground pixie as she sits upon the side of Helbenthril Raendril's face as he lies upon his side, the elven masterthief wrinkles his nose and lips hoping to dislodge the tiny winged creature, but she remains on his face.
"Saw some old tracks about twenty miles to the south" whispers the naturally magical creature, who continues with "Some of the nomads must of gone through the area four or five days ago, heading east".
"Getting away from any of the townsmen raiding into this part of the plains" murmurs the elven master assassin, the ground pixie nods her tiny head in agreement, then says in a whisper "Not since early yesterday evening, when i saw that lot on wyverns faraway to the south" in response to the elven princeling asking her in a murmur "Have you spotted any townsmen lately?".
The elven noble who is the youngest member of the ruling family of the principality of Laerel slightly nods, then yawns before he murmurs "Keep an eye on things" as he knows the tiny winged creature who does not sleep as she doesn't need to, will keep a watch on them and their camp throughout the day.
With a fond, soft smile upon her face, Narladene watches Helbe the elven thief fall asleep, once the elven magic user is asleep, the ground pixie takes off to check on everyone and everything as she keeps a watch on the group and their camp site.
The day is uneventful and passes by, and late in the afternoon, after having a fairly uninterrupted day's worth of sleep, the young elven noble is woken up by Narladene who tells him that it's soon approaching sunset.
"Anything happen?" quietly asks the elven master assassin as he gets up and dons his summer cloak, the ground pixie shakes her head, and quietly says "Nothing" she follows that by saying in a dry tone of voice "Apart from Percy snoring again".
"That can't be helped" wryly murmurs the elven prince who is just glad that there was enough cuttings in this particular site, for the earl of Lé Dic from the kingdom of Druvic to have one for himself, much to the relief of Shur Kee the monk who usually shares a cutting with the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che if there aren't enough cuttings to go around.
The young elven noble is up and about, and after rousing the ranger Hait and the others in the group, and after getting something to eat from their supplies, the elven masterthief is away, scouting to the east and north, the way they're heading, the way to the elven principality of Maladimbáh.
Riley Hait along with the others break down the camp after they have a light meal, by the time it's dusk, and the last light of the day is fading away towards early evening, the group is underway in the noticeably cooler temperatures at the end of the day.
The mercenary ranger slightly nods his head once he's mounted upon his horse when Narladene the ground pixie briefly appears to him, and points the way to the go.
The ranger Hait who pretty well knew which way to go, tells the others which way to ride, and follows out behind sir Percavelle Lé Dic who takes it upon himself to lead the way. The large paladin, who once again is in his armour, can't help himself, and has to always be in the front whenever they travel. Especially when they're upon horses, as they are now as they travel across the nomads plains.
With Shur Kee the monk and Tamric Drubine at the rear leading the pack horses, the group sets off to the northeast as the sun slips down under the horizon in the west.
After a while as first one of the moons of Volunell, then a second rises in the early evening sky, Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy spots prince Helbenthril Raendril a few miles away, and calls out to the ranger Hait to slightly change direction to the way the young elven noble is ponting in the distance.
Riley Hait tells sir Percavelle to go more to their left, to the north as they continue on their way across the nomads plains . . . . . .