Wonderful 89.

The Principality Of Maladimbáh...

The mercenary guard Harrick and the elven magic user Kaldeàlil Haldéilv glance at one another, then the attractive elven maid shrugs her shoulders.
"Might as well be comfortable as we wait" says Kaldeàlil Haldéilv the elven magic user, and she sits down on a nearby divan. Harrick shrugs, and leans back against the table he's next to. The same table, just a couple of weeks ago, he used to sit at, drinking and eating with his fellow mercenary guard from Belinswae, Linden. Along with their prisoner, the mage Mira Reinholt.
Harrick stands there looking out the open doors to the balcony, where the mage would spend a lot of his time, looking south to the Nomads Plains.
While the elven magic user just sits there looking ahead at the closed main door of the suite as they wait.
After a short while, Kaldeàlil Haldéilv quietly says "That's him" the experienced mercenary guard from the coast of Belinswae nods his head, as even he can hear that there's quite a few footsteps out in the hallway heading this way.
The attractive elven maid takes the fine thread silver chain with the amulet on it, and puts it back around her neck, tucking the amulet out of sight beneath her bodice. An instant later the main door of the suite bangs open, and the lord of house Haldéilv storms in.
He stops a few paces in, and looks at his illegitimate daughter who is lounging back in one of the suite's divans, with a eyebrow raised as she looks at him. While one of her mercenary guards from the region of Belinswae, is leaning his ass against the main table in the suite, looking out the open balcony doors. The mercenary guard eventually turns his head and looks at the nobleborn elf who is the head of house Haldéilv.
"Is there a reason why i shouldn't kill the two of you right now?" quietly says lord Haldéilv as he looks at his daughter he's disowned, and her human guard from Belinswae. The head of house Haldéilv spoke in the common language as he remembered the mercenary from Belinswae doesn't speak elven.
"As i recalled, you were to be both killed if you ever returned to my lands" says the elven lord, who is one of the more powerful nobles, in both magic and wealth in southern Maladimbáh. Which makes him one of the most powerful nobles in the entire principality.
Kaldeàlil Haldéilv who senses her father building up to cast a spell that will kill both her and Harrick, which she knows she would be unable to stop with one of her wards, either barrier or protection spell.
Says to him in a slightly dry tone of voice "Well greetings to you too father" Harrick refrains from wincing, which he wants to do, after hearing that tone of voice from the elven magic user who hired him and his fellow mercenary guard on the south coast of Belinswae.
"Why you little bitch" growls the tall lean elven noble, who in the past tended to ignore the presence of his illegitimate daughter, but let her roam free, and unfettered in his lands, turning a blind eye to her life and actions. After all she is his daughter, even though she has no standing in the family, and isn't technically a noble, being the get of a maid he raped just over three hundred years ago.
"Oh please father" says Kaldeàlil Haldéilv in a scornful tone of voice, who continues in the same tone with "If you hadn't wanted us dead, you would of killed me the instant you sensed me here" she slightly shrugs her shoulders as she sits upon the divan, then she adds "You want to know why I'm here, that's why came in here all in a bluster".
"Bloody minx" mutters lord Haldéilv in the noble elven language which he knows his daughter doesn't understand. As it's a language that only nobleborn parents teach to their children, and he definitely wasn't going to teach her it. Not that he had any chance to anyway, as she was brought up with her mother's family in the northwest of his lands.
The nobleborn elf glances back behind him, where a pair of his personal guards, and one of his relations stand out in the hallway, looking in through the open door, he says to them in the elven language "Wait out there as i deal with this" then he closes the main door of the suite with a thought from his mind.
Turning back to look at his illegitimate daughter, not even bothering to look at her hired guard from Belinswae, lord Haldéilv says in demanding tone of voice "Well?".
Here goes, Kaldeàlil Haldéilv thinks to herself, hoping that her well laid out plan comes to fruition, and is even partially successful, for if they are, her goal of bringing about the death of prince Helbenthril Raendril will surely come about.
"Your lands are under attack from lord Walashàele's guards" says the illegitimate daughter of the local lord, the nobleborn elf who is in his seventh century of life stares at his by blow of rape, then says in a cold tone of voice "What?".
Speaking in elven, which her father just did there, Kaldeàlil Haldéilv says "Your lands are under attack from your neighbour, you know the troublesome one you're always going on about" then quickly guessing that her father thinks she's probably lying, she tells him "Check to see if I'm telling the truth or not" she nods to where Harrick is leaning against the large table here in the main room of the suite, and adds "Check my guard if you like too".
Not trusting his illegitimate daughter one little bit, especially since he knows she's a spellcaster, and apart from when he sensed her when she arrived a little earlier, he can no longer sense her again, due to something she has either cast upon her, or something she possesses.
The local lord looks at the mercenary guard from Belinswae, and says to the human in the common language "Is that right, my neighbour's guards have attacked my lands".
"Yes lord" says Harrick the mercenary guard, who knows exactly what to say, as Kaldeàlil Haldéilv told him what to say, so that her father knows he's telling the truth "We saw guards in the colours of lord Walashàele crossing over the river to the east not that long ago" which is infact true. They were infact mercenary guards hired by Kaldeàlil Haldéilv, but they were wearing the tarbards of house Walashàele. It's the way Harrick worded his response, that fools lord Haldéilv.
"Shit" mutters the elven lord in the noble language of elven kind when he senses the mercenary guard telling the truth, he then asks in common "How long ago?".
"Not that long ago my lord" answers Harrick who then adds "Less than quarter of a glass i guess" Kaldeàlil Haldéilv nods her head in agreement, then tells her father "We came here straight away when we saw it".
By the forest gods, fuck! That's all i need, the head of house Haldéilv thinks to himself as once again he senses that the mercenary guard is truthful.
The local lord is silent for a few moments as he thinks things through, then looking at the elven maid who is the daughter of a house servant he raped in his youth, he says to her "I know you wouldn't tell me this out of the kindness of your heart" lord Haldéilv continues with "What else are you up to?".
Sitting up on the divan, the attractive elven maid quietly says "Why father, i never knew you knew me so well" she says it a tone dripping with sarcasm, that it causes the nobleborn elf to sourly smile, then say in a demanding tone "Out with it Kalde, if you waste my time anymore, I'll waste your life".
Not wanting to push her luck any further, and because she can sense her father preparing to cast again, Kaldeàlil Haldéilv continues with "The person I'm after has been spotted in your lands, not too far from here to be exact".
The local lord slightly nods in understanding, as his illegitimate daughter informed him when she arrived the last time with her two guards and her prisoner, that she was after someone else who had done her wrong.
He didn't ask for details, even when he granted her permission to hold her prisoner here in his tower. Something he's regretted ever since because of what subsequently happened, where his seat of power was attacked by a lone individual who was impossible to stop, who freed Kaldeàlil's prisoner.
"And?" says the head of house Haldéilv "He's with a group of travelers, mercenaries from the far south" says the attractive elven maid who continues with "Mercenaries that from what I've gathered, have been attacking your house guards as they've traveled through your lands".
Lord Haldéilv goes still, he's heard and read the reports over the last three days of squads of his house guards being attacked. It got to a point that early yesterday morning, that he sent out two of his griffon riders, two of his younger relatives, to see what they could find out.
Neither one of them has returned.
"Are you certain about this?" asks the local lord "As certain as i can be" is the reply from Kaldeàlil Haldéilv, who after a slight pause adds "He's formidable, he killed a powerful spellcaster i was once acquainted with".
And that's why you want him dead, isn't it? the elven noble shrewdly thinks to himself, the head of house Haldéilv knows his illegitimate daughter probably isn't telling him everything, just what she wants him to know,
But he can't deny the facts that a number of his house guards have been killed or are missing. And that two of his cousin's children are now missing. And now that his lands have been infiltrated by guards of his rival and neighbour lord Walashàele.
Knowing he has to act on the information gained, lord Haldéilv looks back and opens the main door of the suite with a single thought.
He starts issuing orders to his two personal guards and his nephew who are in the hallway, looking in through the open door.
"Where are these mercenaries?" asks the local lord as he looks back at his illegitimate daughter after issuing a number of orders "On one of the peaks just north of here, they're coming down into the valley" says Kaldeàlil Haldéilv, who then tells her father exactly which mountain it is.
The head of house Haldéilv looks over at the mercenary guard, who has just nodded in agreement with what Kaldeàlil just said. The elven noble senses that the human from Belinswae knows that his illegitimate daughter is telling him the truth.
"Have the guard captain send two squads on horse there, as well as those you're taking with you there directly" says lord Haldéilv to his sister's son out in the hallway "Yes my lord" says the elven noble out in the hallway who then hurries away, as one of the local lord's personal guards has already done.
The head of house Haldéilv turns back to his illegitimate daughter and her mercenary guard and says "I suppose you want to get after this person with these mercenaries?".
"I do" says Kaldeàlil Haldéilv, her father looks at her for a few moments, then he says "Fine" the nobleborn elf then adds "But stay out of the way of my guards, and don't interfere with what they're doing" he pauses for a moment, then he says "If you do, your life and those of your mercenaries are over".
The attractive elven maid nods her head, and the local lord turns and walks away, and as he makes his way out through the open door, he says "Now get out of my tower". After he walks out into the hallway, the main door to the suite shuts with a bang.
The mercenary guard Harrick and the elven magic user Kaldeàlil Haldéilv share a look, then the illegitimate daughter of lord Haldéilv murmurs "That went better than i expected".
She always knew it would be fairly easy to manipulate her father. He is a rather impulsive individual even with his power and wealth. The rape of her mother when he was younger definitely proves that. And he hasn't changed much since.
Getting what she wanted, infact more so, Kaldeàlil Haldéilv gets up off the divan and says to Harrick "Let's get going" and as she goes to create a rift, the attractive elven maid silently adds, it's time to kill a prince . . . . . .