Wonderful 82.

The Principality Of Maladimbáh...

"I don't know why, but I've got a feeling they're near" says Kaldeàlil Haldéilv the elven magic user not long after coming out through a rift into the lands of the Walashàele family "How near?" asks Harrick the mercenary guard as he looks down at the riverside town a half a mile away, then further west in the long valley, into the lands of Kaldeàlil's father, lord Haldéilv.
She looks that way too, looking more to the northwest, to the mountains, some of which are only five or six miles from her father's seat of power, which she can see in the distance, which the tor the palatial like tower sits upon, bursts out from the forest around it.
"Not far" quietly says the attractive elven maid, who continues with "Near" followed by a nod of her head to the mountains to the northwest of where they are, and she adds "In those mountains, I'm sure of it".
"Crossing over into your father's lands?" asks Linden the younger of the two mercenary guards from the south of the region of Belinswae "Yes,  more than likely" says Kaldeàlil Haldéilv who doesn't know for sure that those they're after are there, she just has a feeling that's where they're most likely to be.
"Well if they are, our men" says Harrick, who briefly pauses then adds "And elves, have a good chance of finding them" he pauses once more, before continuing with "Your father's guards too" he gestures away to the mountains that are predominantly on the Haldéilv side of the river, and he says "They're crawling all over the mountains since yesterday".
The elven magic user nods in agreement, then she briefly glances directly south to the dry, arid plains in the distance where the nomad tribes make their home. Then she looks down the hill road they're just off, and sees the small squad of hired mercenaries who came through the rift with them, are making their way down to the riverside town below.
The attractive elven maid who knows she can't be sensed by other spellcasters, quietly says to the two human mercenaries she hired on the coast of southern Belinswae "If they are in the mountains, i might have to make myself known to my father and others".
"You still going go ahead with that part?" asks Harrick, Kaldeàlil Haldéilv nods her head yes, then quietly says "I am" the mercenaries from Belinswae briefly share a look, then the older of the two quietly says "There's talk that justifier is still in residence at your father's, there's a good chance he'll get involved too, especially with what happened when we were last over there".
"I'm hoping he does" murmurs Kaldeàlil Haldéilv in the elven language knowing that the two human mercenaries only know a few basic words and greetings in the language of her people, the  attractive elven maid switches back to the common language as the three of them sit upon their horses just off to the side of the hill road, and says "If he does, it'll be to our benefit" she then adds "The more confusion the better for us, especially when it comes to dealing with that tricky princeling I'm after".
The elven magic user, who is too faraway from her father's seat of power to sense that he's actually there at the moment. Suspects the head of the Haldéilv family is there at this point in time. Just hopes that her father is more than angry when he discovers her, which she is planning on him to do.
Which she hopes will help her incapacitate or kill prince Helbenthril Raendril who she's been after for the past three years, ever since he killed her lover, Xanderlith Karlavilt the elven magic user in his homeland, the elven principality of Alínlae, in the Southlands.
"Well whatever happens, you can't do it until we know they're in the immediate area for certain" says Harrick, who along with his fellow mercenary guard from Belinswae, Linden, is privy to pretty much all of Kaldeàlil Haldéilv's plans. Though not all of it, as the illegitimate daughter of lord Haldéilv has held back some of her plans from Harrick and Linden.
With a clicking sound from her mouth, and a nudge from the heels of her boots, the elven magic user sets her horse into motion, the two mercenaries from southern Belinswae do likewise, and the three of them are quickly back onto the hillside road, which they then head down to the town on the banks of the river, here at the edge of the Walashàele family's lands.
As they ride downhill, Kaldeàlil Haldéilv looks back behind them, to the east, where she senses something approaching. Soon she sees a griffon fly over the cliff walls at the eastern end of the valley "One of lord Walashàele's offspring i think" quietly says the attractive elven maid as the two mercenaries look back to the east, and soon spot the griffon in the afternoon sky on the late summer's day.
"No doubt he's getting worried with everything going on here near the edge of his lands, and he's sent one of his kin to see what's happening" quietly says the astute Harrick, who was once a justifier's guard in southern Belinswae, until he quit and became a mercenary for hire.
"More than likely" says Kaldeàlil Haldéilv as they watch the griffon which looks like it's heading to the town down next to the river, the attractive elven maid looks at the two mercenaries who she hired to guard her former prisoner, the mage Mira Reinholt, and tells them "This might work to our advantage too" the elven magic user silently adds, nothing like a little cross border rivalry to add to the mix.
The illegitimate daughter of lord Haldéilv faintly smiles at the prospect of what could happen with elven nobles who are fierce rivals, basically enemies, though never publicly admitting it. Being in close proximity to one another. Even better if one or the other were to cross into one another's lands.
"You know who it is?" quietly asks Linden as they see the griffon is more to the north of them, and is approaching the river town from that direction, than due east like they are.
"One of the heirs" says Kaldeàlil Haldéilv who vaguely recognises who the griffon rider is "Heirs?" says Harrick with a frown upon his face "Lord Walashàele has three offspring, the first two are twins" she nods towards the griffon in the afternoon sky and adds "That's one of the twins".
"That's rare for you elves isn't it?" says the older of the two mercenaries from the southern coast of Belinswae, who then adds "Twins" the elven magic user nods her head, then says "Extremely rare" she continues with "Even more so amongst the nobility".
They watch as the griffon slowly circles in the air just to the east of the river, north of the town itself. It's obvious to all watching it from the ground, that the rider is looking and watching what's happening to the west of the river, in the lands of the Haldéilv family. Before the griffon eventually drifts down to the ground, and lands on the north side of the town bellow.
Not long afterwards and the three of them enter the town that sits on the east bank of the river. A town that sees a lot of cross river activity, with many going across the bridges from either noble lord's lands to another. Though never the nobility themselves, or their house guards. Well that's to say, not their guards in uniform.
Kaldeàlil and the two human mercenaries from Belinswae stable their mounts at the inn they stay at while in town. Then the three of them, without acknowledging any of the mercenaries the attractive elven maid has hired, who happen to be in town at the moment. Wander northwards through the riverside town.
As they do, the elven magic user quietly says to the two mercenaries "The daughter, Jalindílth i think her name is" the three of them make their way to a bakers, where they sit down at one of the small, round tables on the covered porch infront of the bakery.
They look down to a large stone building, near one of the bridges about fifty yards away. The building is a toll house, where one has to pay a toll if you're taking goods across to the Haldéilv lands. It's one of only a handful of places in the entire principality of Maladimbáh where tolls actually exist. Though those on foot or riding may cross without paying a toll if they're crossing over without any kind of goods.
After Linden goes into the bakery, and comes back out a short while later with some pastries, both savory and sweet. And one of the baker's assistant comes out and pours a rich sweet, red wine into small glass tumblers for them.
Kaldeàlil Haldéilv who is looking at the griffon asleep behind the toll house, who can sense the elven noble Jalindílth Walashàele within the building. Spots a Walashàele house guard, come out of the toll house, get on his mount, and head quickly north on the road that runs next to the river.
The attractive elven maid who has read the mind of the house guard, quietly says to the two mercenaries from the south of Belinswae "Seems we're going to see more house guards coming into town". "A build up of troops?" quietly asks Harrick, the elven magic user nods her head yes, then the older of the two mercenaries asks "Conflict between the two lords?".
"Could very well be" quietly says the illegitimate daughter of the local lord across the river, who then adds "There hasn't been any serious battles between the two families since i was very young" Kaldeàlil Haldéilv continues with "And from when we were staying over there with our prisoner" she nods to the otherside of the river before adding "I didn't hear of anything major happening between my father's and lord Walashàele's forces in the near seventy years I'd been away".
"Nor did we hear anything" says Linden as he and Harrick would often speak with the house guards in the palatial like tower that's lord Haldéilv's seat of power "Well nothing major that is, just the odd cross border skirmish, usually away from where people live" adds Linden.
The elven magic user who takes a sip of the sweet wine in her tumbler after finishing a pastry, continues to watch the toll house, where they see two other house guards, both mounted, ride away, one down the road that goes south before curving east. And the other through the town, to the hillroad that goes east, the road that the three of them came to town on. A short while later, two elves come out of the back of the toll house, make their way around it, and walk across the bridge to lord Haldéilv's lands.
"House guards" murmurs Kaldeàlil Haldéilv to the two mercenaries as she nods to the two elves, one looking like a forester, and the other a crafter of some kind, who have just gone over the stone bridge to her father's lands.
"Things are definitely getting more complicated" quietly says Harrick "Good" murmurs the attractive elven maid who then silently adds, the more complicated the better, especially if I'm to pull this off.
As the elven magic user continues to sense the elven noble in the toll house below, who has no idea that Kaldeàlil Haldéilv is about, thanks to the amulet she wears on a silver thread chain, around her neck, which shields her from other spellcasters.
Linden quietly says "One of ours" as he nods to the road that comes out of the trees on the otherside of the river.
There one of the human mercenaries Kaldeàlil has hired here in lord Walashàele's lands, can be seen riding to the bridge below, which he crosses into the lands of the Walashàele family.
Linden is already up, and walking down to the road that goes through town, which the rider soon comes up. The younger of the two mercenaries from Belinswae has a brief word with the rider who stops nearby. Harrick looks quickly at the elven magic user who he knows can read the mind of the mounted mercenary if she wants to. So he's not too surprised when Kaldeàlil Haldéilv murmurs "Shit".
As Linden hurries back to the bakery, and the rider heads further into town, the older of the two mercenary guards from Belinswae asks the attractive elven maid "Is it them?".
"No something else" says the illegitimate daughter of lord Haldéilv who gestures to the mountains to the northwest and adds "One of our lookouts up there" Harrick knows that would be one of the elven mercenaries, the attractive elven maid adds "Watched an aerial battle early this morning further north in my father's lands, about twenty miles north of the mountains".
"Griffons?" quietly asks Harrick as Linden rejoins them "Between nobles?" adds the older of the two mercenary guards "Between griffons and wyverns" says Kaldeàlil Haldéilv, Linden nods his head as he sits down, as that's what the mercenary rider told him.
"Wyverns?" says Harrick in surprise, who then murmurs "Who the hell could that be?" the elven magic user refrains from grimacing as she has a good idea who it could exactly be.
Great, that's all i need, that thing and that damn mage turning up and making a mess of everything I've planned, Kaldeàlil Haldéilv thinks to herself, who there and then decides to move forward with the rest of her plans . . . . . .