Wonderful 86.

The Principality Of Maladimbáh...

Narladene the ground pixie pops up through the floor of the forest. She heads up through the morning sunshine between the trees, before landing on an upper branch of a pine.
The naturally magical creature looks back behind her to the tor sticking out of the forest at this end of the valley. A tor on which the tower of the local lord, lord Haldéilv sits.
Then she looks away to the north, to the nearest mountains which are about four and half to five miles away. The tiny winged creature looks closely at one of the mountains, which are relatively free of trees compared to other mountain ranges in the principality of Maladimbáh.
The ground pixie spots the rest of the group, who are making their way down one of the peaks in the early light of dawn. They're on a little used trail, compared to the mountain further west of them, where people can be seen, even at this time of the morning, going up and down a mountain track.
Narladene senses, and she senses quite a few spellcasters in the long valley, and up the face of the mountains to the north of it. And as she looks eastwards, to that end of the valley, she's unable to sense who she's been specifically looking for.
"She must of high tailed it out of here" Narladene the ground pixie murmurs to herself, who then wryly smiles as a starling, followed by another, lands on the same branch that she's on, and start chirping at her. The birds, like all animal life, can see her no matter what. Compared to people, who she can allow to see her, if she reveals herself to them.
The ground pixie chirps back at the starlings, who have only offered morning greetings to her. Who wing away when she replies in kind. The tiny winged creature just hopes that every other bird in the vicinity, doesn't turn up and wish her good morning too. She's always found 'talking' in bird one of the more difficult type of communication to do, as she can talk to all animals who aren't magical.
The naturally magical creature who figures Kaldeàlil Haldéilv, who she sensed last night at the eastern end of the valley, in the lands of lord Walashàele. Must of took off through a rift during the night, looks back sharply to the mountains to the north. She frowns in concentration as she senses, then she drops down to the forest floor.
There she touches the ground with her bare hands, Narladene doesn't just sense magically this time, she also senses movement through the ground.
She senses away to the north, through the soft loom and soil of the earth, which soon gives way to the deep rock base of the mountains five miles away.
As she crouches there touching the earth with her eyes closed, she senses all the movement on the mountains, the last such peaks here in the south of the elven principality.
South of the valley, is rolling hills, where the trees and vegetarian get less and less, the further south you go. Beyond that the trees come to an end, and the land is fairly bare for a mile or two. Then that bare land comes to a sudden stop, as does the sparse grass in the bare land. For the arid, dry and dusty Nomads Palins then start. Stretching east to west, and south, as far as the eye can see, and even further.
But the ground pixie isn't sensing that way at the moment, she's sensing north into the mountains, to be specific, on the far side of the peaks, to where she thinks she sensed something, or to be precise, someone she thought she sensed magically.
After a while, the tiny winged creature starts to smile, then Narladene murmurs "Mira" she knew it was him she sensed away to the north side of the mountains, the once powerful mage is heading up one of the peaks early this morning.
She definitely knows it's him, when she sensed two others with him. The naturally magical creature slightly shakes her head, as those two are the most distinctive individuals, she's ever likely to sense the movement of.
One is so heavy, that even this far away, she can tell who it is, without really trying "Stinky" murmurs Narladene.
While the other is even more distinctive. The tiny winged creature, senses the ominous, and hollow like steps, that only one being she's ever encountered, produces. Not even others of his kind, are as ominous, and hollow, with every step he takes upon the surface of the world of Volunell.
"Little Kaiuss" murmurs the ground pixie, who opens her eyes and looks quickly around to make sure nothing heard her say that. You can never be too careful when using the actual first name of the undead being known as lord Farque, whose given name is Kaiuss.
How did those three meet up? Narladene thinks to herself who after taking her bare hands off the forest floor, takes wing and heads off through the early morning sunshine streaming down through the branches of the trees.
Heading north to the mountain the others are coming down, and to inform Helbe the elven thief and the rest of the group, that Kaldeàlil Haldéilv is no longer in this valley. And that the illegitimate daughter of lord Haldéilv, no longer has the mage Reinholt as a prisoner.
The tree cover is sparse as they head down the mountain they've spent the night on, it's only the further they get down the trail, that a few more clumps of trees start to appear on either side of the trail.
Even then there's not a lot of trees or bushes, until one gets near the valley floor, which is mostly forest, except where there's villages and towns, with roads and tracks leading to and from them. As well as the river, that's the natural border between the lands of the Haldéilv and Walashàele families. With lord Haldéilv's lands to the west of the river, while lord Walashàele's is to the east. With the head of the Haldéilv family, having more of the valley under his domain, than that of his neighbour and rival.
They're riding single file down the trail, with the elven spy Dalinvardél Tanith in the lead, while Shur Kee the monk is bringing up the rear, where he's leading the pack horses.
The elf from the principality of Alínlae in the Southlands hasn't spotted anyone on this particular trail, but he has on the mountain directly to the west. As well as down in the forest on the valley floor. The spy Tanith isn't too worried so far, due to the fact that Helbe the elven thief, who took off well before dawn, hasn't turned up again to warn of any imminent threat.
All the same, Dalinvardél or Dalin as most of the others call him, keeps a watchful eye on everything as he and the rest of the group from south of the equator make their way down the mountainside.
Helbe the elven thief watch the pair of young elves collecting dead wood from the forest floor. The youngsters are from the nearby village here in the lands of lord Haldéilv.
The young elven noble from the principality of Laerel in the Southlands looks between the trees to where he can see the village not that far away.
Finding no immediate threat here, he turns and looks north to the mountains, and after a few moments as he looks at particular peak, he spots the others making their way down to the valley that he's in.
The elven princeling from south of the equator, who is blurred and shielded is about to shift away, when Narladene the ground pixie suddenly appears infront of his face, there's a wide grin upon the face of the tiny winged creature.
"Take a guess what" quietly says the grinning ground pixie "What?" asks Helbe the elven thief as he watches the nearby elven youngsters making their way back to village, who then looks back at Narladene who tells him "She doesn't have Mira as a prisoner anymore".
"You sure?" asks the elven masterthief in surprise "Definitely" replies the naturally magical creature, who nods to the mountains to the north, and says "He's on the otherside of the mountains, heading south" she then adds "Take a guess who's with him?".
"Oh you're kidding" says the elven prince in disbelief as he has a fair idea who is with his fellow spellcaster the mage Reinholt, after shaking his hooded head, Helbenthril Raendril murmurs "By the forest gods, how did those three meet up?".
The ground pixie shrugs her shoulders, then says "Who knows" the tiny winged creature continues with "But they're heading this way".
Knowing that lord Farque would of definitely sensed him and the rest of the group, the elven master assassin quietly says "Well they know we're here" he then silently adds, does he know that she's in the area too?
"Probably" murmurs the young elven noble who is the grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel, he looks at Narladene who has landed on his right shoulder, and he asks the ground pixie who is 'attached' to him "Where is she?".
The tiny winged creature replies with "She's no longer in the valley" Narladene then adds "She obviously took off in the middle of the night" prince Helbenthril Raendril slightly nods, then he looks at the ground pixie who gestures to the west, and tells him "Something happened at that lord's towers recently" she continues with "I don't know exactly what, but even before dawn, there were those up and about complaining about what happened a couple of weeks ago, something about an attack".
I wonder? Helbe the elven thief thinks to himself as he looks to the mountains not that faraway to the north, on the otherside of which, are lord Farque, Dorc da Orc and Mira Reinholt the mage, who are making their way south to lord Haldéilv's lands.
"What are we going to do?" quietly asks Narladene as the elven magic user starts walking "Well first off, i better tell the others about those three coming this way" the ground pixie nods, then asks "Are we going to wait for them?". "Would be best" quietly says the elven master archer, who points to the mountain the rest of the group are coming down, and adds "Down here in the valley where it's safer, still too exposed up that slope".
The elven princeling from south of the equator says to the tiny winged creature "See if you can find out anything about her whereabouts, and what happened at lord Haldéilv's tower a couple of weeks ago while i inform the others about the three of them heading this way".
"Okay" says Narladene who then dives off his right shoulder, who disappears from sight before she enters the ground, the elven master assassin shifts away. He shifts quite a few times to get to the mountain the others are on, eventually appearing to the side of the trail thirty yards down from the rest of the group, he lifts a hand in greeting when Dalinvardél Tanith sees him.
"That's them" says the elven scout looking through a cylindrical eyepiece "Are you sure?" asks Harrick the mercenary guard as they stand upon the hilltop behind the river town just over the border in the lands of the Walashàele family.
"Definitely them" says the scout, who as he continues to look through the eyepiece, adds "The one she's after just showed up" Harrick nods, then looks at the glass hanging from a strap on his saddle, and sees that the sands are almost all in the bottom half of the glass.
"Good timing" murmurs the mercenary guard from the region of Belinswae, who then says "She's about to turn up again soon". The elven scout who was hired here in the lands of lord Walashàele, is looking at the mountains to the north of lord Haldéilv's lands across the river, and he says "It's confirmed, there's a raptor heading our way from the mountain directly to the west of the slope they're on".
Harrick nods his head in understanding, as that means one of their lookouts has also seen those they're after, and has sent a falcon here with a message cipher confirming it. The mercenary guard, looks at the rest of the squad with him, all with their mounts, here on the hilltop in the early morning sunshine on a late summer's day, and he says "Back down into town, she'll be back shortly" Harrick briefly pauses, then adds "And then it's all go" . . . . . .