Wonderful 76.

The Principality Of Maladimbáh...

Riley Hait the mercenary ranger has the watch after taking over from sir Percavelle Lé Dic sometime after midnight. The heavily armoured knight went off in search of his bedroll in the darkness, muttering to himself, though loud enough for the mercenary ranger to hear him complaining about having to do a stretch of the night watch as they camp out in some woods.
The ranger Hait just shook his head as he listened to the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic, who didn't stop muttering until he took off some of his armour, and got into his bedroll, on what is the coolest night so far since being in the elven principality of Maladimbáh.
Though it's still the latter part of summer, so it isn't exactly cold here in a valley between some peaks in the lands of lord Haldéilv.
Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman sits down, and leans back against a tree trunk after circling out from the campsite, the mercenary ranger who doesn't mind at all having the watch in the middle of the night, looks away through the trees, glad that all three of the moons are in the night sky tonight, making things are little bit easier to see.
The ranger Hait after sharpening one throwing knife, then another, then slightly oiling them before returning them to his belt, after which he circles out from the site where the group has camped for the night, before returning to the tree, and sitting back down again.
Recalls when he was a dwarf, infact a couple of times, after he originally died, and the advantages he had being one of the dwarven folk. True there was disadvantages, like being short, and worst of all, Dorc da Orc trying to kill him all the time.
But the enhanced eyesight and hearing, as well as the assured steadiness upon his feet, not to mention the excellent endurance, far better than being a human, are still things he misses to this day.
The only advantage he's retained from being a dwarf, is the dwarven language, which he's kept, in subsequent bodies he's been in.
The mercenary ranger who was raised and trained in the elven principality of Envadarlen in the Southlands, but who in actual fact is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra, shakes his head, and faintly smiles at the memory of being a dwarf, before he goes back to looking through the trees.
A little while later, and as the ranger Hait is just contemplating getting up and stretching his legs, and going for another walk. Sees out of the corner of his eye, movement. It's Helbe the elven thief, who has woken, and is sitting up.
Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman watches as the young elven noble gets up, and makes his way over to where Shur Kee the monk is sleeping. The elven princeling wakes up the acolyte in the order of Bru Li, and quietly says something to him. What he says, the mercenary ranger can't tell, as the elven masterthief is talking too quietly.
Then Helbenthril Raendril makes his way over to where the ranger Hait has just stood up, and is watching him approach.
"What is it?" quietly asks Riley Hait the mercenary ranger "Something's happened" is the quiet reply of Helbe the elven thief, who then glances to his right, and the mercenary ranger hears him murmur in the elven language "How far?".
The ranger Hait slightly nods as he knows the elven prince from Laerel in the Southlands, is talking to Narladene the ground pixie. The elven master assassin nods his hooded head, then says to the human ranger, who like him and the rest of the group, is from south of the equator "Let's go and check it out" he nods back to the camp site and adds "Shur Kee is taking the watch".
The elven magic user takes hold of the left arm of the ranger Hait, and the two of them disappear as the young elven noble shifts them away.
They reappear, and shift again, so quickly that Riley Hait just gets a brief image of trees in the night, before they shift away again.
This happens a handful of times, a couple of times in mid air, which causes the mercenary ranger to involuntarily gasp, as both times he wasn't expecting it.
It doesn't help that they weren't floating or levitating while in mid air, they were briefly falling before disappearing as the elven princeling would shift them away.
They appear near a stream, somewhere to the southeast of where they've camped, the ranger Hait isn't exactly sure how far away, but he would hazard to guess, at least over two miles, closer to three.
"What is it?" asks the mercenary ranger in a voice no louder than a whisper as they crouch near some bushes "Elven guards, they've been attacked" is the quiet reply of Helbe the elven thief, who then stands, and nods for Riley Hait to follow him, and he quietly adds "No one can see you" as he's blurred himself and the ranger Hait.
The two of them move through the trees, with the elven masterthief walking far more quietly than the ranger Hait, who is hardly making a sound himself. Then the elven magic user abruptly stops, causing Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson to stop too, a moment later the elven princeling quietly says "No one's around" he pauses before adding "Well, no one alive is".
They continue onwards after the young elven noble drops the blur spell he has cast upon the two of them. They walk about fifty yards through the trees, slightly uphill, until they come across the first body.
"One of lord Haldéilv's guard?" quietly asks Riley Hait as the two of them crouch beside the dead elf, Helbenthril Raendril nods his head, then quietly says "Seems likely" they head uphill again, until coming to a small clearing, at one end of which, is a trail, which by the looks of it, heads down to the road that they've been traveling along as they head south.
In and around the clearing they find other dead elven house guards, five in all, along with a horse that's wandering around in the night, a night that isn't too dark thanks to all three moons, Ilnari, Aeviss and Ovean being in the night sky.
The rest of the elven guards mounts have scattered, both the ranger Hait, and the elven master assassin spot the tracks of them, heading into the trees, or down the trail.
"Over here" says Helbe the elven thief, the mercenary ranger joins him near a fallen tree, about twenty yards uphill, there lies a dead human with a yard long shaft, shot from an elven longbow through his upper chest.
"Mercenary" quietly says Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman who continues in a quiet voice with "Better equipped than the one's we've come across" the elven princeling nods his hooded head in agreement, then he quietly says "Must of been elves with them, no way humans alone could take a squad of house guards unawares at night".
The mercenary ranger agrees with that, then they move out and search for any other bodies. They find one, well Narladene the ground pixie finds it, and she tells the young elven noble she's attached to.
It's another human mercenary, about a hundred yards down the trail through the trees "Fell off his horse dead most like" quietly says the grandson of  Prince Raendril of Laerel as they look at the dead mercenary with a yard long arrow through his back, with the broadhead sticking out of his chest.
After searching the body as he's done the others, Helbe the elven thief quietly says "Nothing" though he did pocket the coin pouch of the dead mercenary, which causes the ranger Hait to wryly smile.
"Wonder what's going on?" quietly says the mercenary ranger who is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra, he continues with "Have we stumbled into some conflict against this lord Haldéilv?" he gestures at the dead mercenary then adds "Or is this lot with those others who she's hired to attack us?".
"Maybe" murmurs the elven magic user, who after a slight pause as he looks around, continues with "These seem better equipped and armed compared to those two groups who tried to ambush us" the elven master archer follows that up with "Those others were a rather a poor lot if you ask me".
Riley Hait nods in agreement, then he says "Still, it's too much of a coincidence that mercenaries seem pretty abundant here, compared to elsewhere we've been in the principality" he points at the dead body on the trail then he adds "A better class of merc or not, there's still a good chance they're working for her just like those others".
They're silent for a little while, then after the ranger Hait looks back up the trail to where the clearing is, where the dead house guards are, he quietly says "I wonder" prince Helbenthril Raendril has already come to the same conclusion, and the elven masterthief mutters "Shit".
The two of them look at one another, then the mercenary ranger from the principality of Envadarlen dryly says "Great, that's all we fucking need" the elven magic user lets out a breath that's more sigh than anything else, then he says "By the forest gods she's hell bent on making things difficult for us".
"Well you did kill her lover" dryly says the ranger Hait, who then adds "Of course she'll do anything to get us" followed by "The vindictive bitch" Helbe the elven thief shakes his hooded head, then he says "And now most likely we've got her father's house guards after us, thinking that we've been attacking and killing them".
"Smart" murmurs Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson, the young elven noble sourly grunts to that, then he dryly says "Well she's got another arrow in her quiver so to say" the elven prince from Laerel continues with "Considering the rumours we've heard, that her father doesn't exactly recognise her, this is a way for her to get his guards and others after us".
"Great" sourly says the mercenary ranger as they head back up the trail to the clearing, as they do, the ranger Hait says "Mira better well be here, or this is going to turn into a giant shit show real fast" the elven master assassin definitely agrees with that.
After reaching the clearing, the elven magic user shifts the two of them away, heading northwest, back to where the group from south of the equator have made camp for the night. Riley Hait is just glad that Helbenthril Raendril informs him this time when they're going to shift into the night sky. Still his guts lurch up into his throat as the young elven noble doesn't bother to levitate or float them when they're briefly in mid air.
Once back at the campsite, the ranger Hait quietly says "I'll take over the watch from Shur Kee, then wake Tam for the early watch before dawn" Helbe the elven thief nods his hooded head, then goes over to where the short statured monk is standing watch and tells him to get some sleep.
The mercenary ranger makes his way back to the tree he was sitting against earlier, there he sits down, and continues his watch, taking out one of his long daggers as he does so, a long dagger that he sharpens, then lightly oils . . . . . .