Wonderful 91.

The Principality Of Maladimbàh...

If he wasn't blurred, Helbe the elven thief would be seen when he shifts to be next to a pair of trees, that he sees a mercenary hurrying behind. The mercenary who he finds out from reading his mind, was hired by Kaldeàlil Haldéilv over in the lands of the Walashàele family. Dies with the spike puncher beneath the right wrist of the elven masterthief, stabbed into the base of his skull.
The young elven noble steps to the side of the trees, and blasts the mind of an elven mercenary riding by, who already has a crossbow bolt in his leg.
The mercenary falls dead from his horse, while behind the young elven noble, his fellow Southlander Riley Hait the mercenary ranger runs by, totally unaware that the elven princeling has turned up.
The elven master assassin shifts to where he sees another of the mercenaries hired by Kaldeàlil Haldéilv, who have attacked the rest of the group as they've been making their way down into the valley.
"Hmmmmm seems to be a lack of opponents for me to test my worth against?" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic after wiping the head of his hammer against a nearby tree trunk, the skin of most of the face of the mercenary lying nearby, comes off the hammer head as it's scrapped along the tree trunk.
"Slightly disappointing wot" says the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic with a shake of his full helmed head as he looks around for someone else to kill. The heavily armoured knight sighs, then he makes his way to the right, over to the dead elven mercenary on his knees.
After returning his hammer to the loop at the back of his belt, the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che, retrieves his broadsword out of the guts of the dead elf on his knees. The body falls over once the sword is free. Then sir Percavelle wanders over to where another dead mercenary lies, who has the pick of the former paladin through his face and head.
"That's the last one" quietly says Narladene the ground pixie, Helbenthril Raendril nods his hooded head as he stands over the elven maid he just killed. Then he shifts away, and when he reappears again, he's no longer blurred.
"Over here" calls out Helbe the elven thief to the others as he walks to where sir Percavelle has just been meet by Shur Kee the monk. Tamric Drubine and Lisell Maera turn up next from the track, the two youngest members of the group are leading their horses.
When the earl of Lé Dic who has lifted up the visor of his full helm sees this, he says "Looks like I'm in need of a new horse, mine seems to of got itself killed, the silly beast". Both Tamric Drubine and Lisell Maera roll their eyes at this, while Shur Kee just shakes his head. Because they all saw how the the knight's horse met it's end, sir Percavelle rode it at full speed into one of the attacker's mounts.
Riley Hait the mercenary ranger turns up next leading one of the dead attacker's mounts, while Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy is the last to arrive. The elf from the principality of Alínlae in the Southlands is on his horse, leading one of the mercenaries mounts.
"She hired them" says Helbe the elven thief gesturing at some of the dead mercenaries lying nearby, the young elven noble is about to say something else, when Narladene who is on his right shoulder, whispers into his ear "Magic".
The elven princeling who is the only one who can see the ground pixie, looks up the mountain in the direction that the tiny winged creature is pointing.
And not too faraway, back up the track that comes down into the forest, the elven magic user senses a rift forming. He glances at Narladene who whispers to him "It's not her" then she adds "But it's from that tower to the southwest".
"Pretty sure we're going to have some more company shortly if we don't get moving" prince Helbenthril Raendril tells the others "I say, anymore of the foul wenches hirelings?" asks sir Percavelle who continues with "If so, then i say bring them on, much better to kill them in battle than all this skulldugery".
"Not that simple" murmurs the elven master assassin, who then says "Get moving, head further down into the valley" as he can sense an elven noble has just come through the rift that has originated in the tower of lord Haldéilv.
What's going on now? the grandson of Prince Raendril of Laerel thinks to himself, the shielded elven magic user as he shifts away silently adds, or more precisely what's she up to?
On the north facing side of the mountains, lord Farque suddenly stops, and Dorc da Orc grunts when he nearly walks into the back of the undead warlord, who is just standing there looking up to the top of the peak.
"Fucken break time?" says Dorc da Orc, who then adds "Fucken good" as he doesn't bother to wait for a reply to his question, and he sits down on a large rock to the side of the trail they've been going up since well before dawn.
As the large ork looks with disgust up at the sun in the morning sky, Mira Reinholt the mage glances at the heavily armoured deathlord and quietly asks him in the elven language "What is it?" the once powerful mage continues with "Is it them?".
Lord Farque slightly nods his full helmed head, then he says to the Vexilian mage in exile "You up for another one?". With a wry look to where the ork warleader is sitting, the mage Reinholt says "Sure" the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster silently adds, by the shape of fire it would be a hell of lot easier if i didn't have to haul Dorc's fat ass along with us.
Draugadrottin as he's also known by to the people of his lands, snaps his fingers, which causes Dorkindle to grunt, get up off the rock and walk back to where the other two are.
Then as the mage Reinholt is about to cast teleport once again, the exiled Vexilian mage asks the lord and ruler of the lands Farque "Are they in trouble?". "When are they not?" replies the heavily armoured deathlord "Good point" murmurs the spellcaster who was once the most powerful mage of his generation to be found anywhere in the Southlands, who along with the other two disappear as he teleports all three of them.
They reappear near the saddle of this peak and the next one to the west, the quickest and easiest way over to the southern side of the mountain range here in the very south of the principality of Maladimbáh.
Dorc da Orc grunts in appreciation as there's a cool wind blowing up here near the top of the mountain. While Mira Reinholt who has just drained the rest of the power out of a spell gem of his, holds it out in a gloved hand, showing it to the deathlord of Farque, and tells him in the elven language "I've only got what's in me left".
The undead warlord nods in understanding, then he says to the other two "Hurry" Des'tier as he's known to any older generation of elven kind in the Southlands who may know him, continues with "She's up to something right now, what I'm not exactly sure".
"The fucking cow" mutters the swordmaster Reinholt who was held prisoner by the elven magic user Kaldeàlil Haldéilv for over a month and a half. During that time he was unable to touch his power due to a sporific that the elven maid force feed him. It's a time he'll never forget. And he'll never forgive her for doing that.
They hurry up the mountainside, with the lord of the death realm in the lead, followed by the once powerful mage, with the ork weaponsmith trailing behind the two of them.
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque is the first one up to the crest of the saddle between the two peaks, Draugadrottin stands there looking down the south side of the mountain, sensing as he does so.
A short while later he's joined by the Vexilian mage in exile, who takes a drink of water from his bottle, before he asks "Where are they?" the undead warlord points then says "Down there" followed by "Basically in the valley".
The mage Reinholt nods, then he looks further to the west and south, and spots in the distance, the tower of lord Haldéilv, where he was held prisoner just over two weeks ago.
"Where is she?" quietly asks the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster "She was there" says Des'tier who gestures to the palatial like tower on the tor that sticks up out of the forest "She's away to the east now" adds the deathlord of Farque, who continues with "Across that river".
"Odd" murmurs Mira Reinholt, who follows that with "Considering everything we've heard coming down this way, is that her father doesn't welcome her because of what happened" the highly skilled swordmaster gestures to the palatial like tower to the southwest, referring to when lord Farque freed him from there.
"I know" quietly says the large figure in the dark blue, black heavy plate armour, who continues with "I'm wondering if she's struck a bargain with her father?l". "More likely she's manipulated him" says the once powerful mage who got to know Kaldeàlil Haldéilv well when she held him as a prisoner. It's pretty much all he could do, watch, listen and observe her. Especially when he was so drugged on the sporific, he couldn't talk, and could barely move, until it started to lose effect. Then he would be dosed with it again.
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque glances at the mage Reinholt, and nods that he might just be right. Then the heavily armoured deathlord says "Someone's just turned up down by them" he continues with "By a rift from the tower, one of the spellcasters who was there when i broke you out" the undead warlord adds "A large squad as well".
The lord of the death realm who senses a number of dead not far from the rest of the group, who with the exception of Helbe the elven thief, are hurrying further down into the valley, looks back to behind him and the mage Reinholt, and sees Dorc da Orc, who is breathing heavily, almost up onto the crest of the saddle where he and the exiled Vexilian mage stand.
"Teleport you and Dorc down as far as you can without using up too much of your power" says the lord and ruler of the lands Farque, who continues with "Try and get to the others, get fatty to smell them out, it'll be easier than you trying to sense for Tam's sword or the idiot knight's shield and sword".
The spellcaster who was the youngest member ever of the mage council of Vexil nods his head, and waits for the ork warleader to join him. For the deathlord of Farque is already running down the mountain at what would be considered a break neck speed. Which isn't a problem at all for him.
The swordsmaster Reinholt watches as warlord becomes a blur of movement in the morning sunshine, which the Vexilian mage in exile can hardly see as he waits for the ork weaponsmith to reach him.
Huffing and puffing, Dorc da Orc stumbles the last few steps to where the mage Reinholt stands waiting for him, the weaponsmith from the wolf tribe of orks takes a swig from a wine bottle, then throws it away in disgust after emptying it, then he asks "Where's Farque?".
"Down there" replies Mira Reinholt who nods down the mountain, Dorkindle grunts, then looks down into the valley below "Fucken trees" mutters the large ork, who sniffs deeply a few times, then says "The other cunts are all down there" and he waves a hand down in the direction of the valley below.
"Lots a cunts about this morning" says the warleader of the ork race, who then grunts and looks at the Vexilian mage in exile who asks him "Can you smell her?". "Her who?" asks the ork weaponsmith "You know, the one who held you prisoner on that little boat" dryly says Mira Reinholt, which causes Dorc da Orc to scowl as he's been doing his best to forget all about that.
The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster gestures away to the east, to the lands of the Walashàele family that's across the river towards that end of the valley "She's over there, apparently" says the mage Reinholt.
The son of the former matriarch of the wolf tribe of orks looks that way as he sniffs deeply through his nose, after a while he starts to growl "That's a yes then?" asks the once powerful mage, the ork warleader grunts in the affirmative.
"Come on then, let's try and catch up to the others" says exiled Vexilian mage, who stops holding his power within himself, touches the left arm of the large ork, and teleports the two of them down the mountainside.
The two of them from south of the equator reappear about three thousand feet lower down, and as Mira holds his power within himself again, Dorkindle nods down the mountain and says "Farque". After a few moments, the highly skilled swordmaster spots the undead warlord further down the side of the mountain from them.
The heavily armoured deathlord is running at a full sprint down the face of the mountain, and after the mage Reinholt says to the large ork "We better hurry" they see the lord and ruler of the lands Farque turn into a blur of motion again, moving so quickly that it's almost impossible to follow him because he's moving so quickly.
The two of them, the once powerful mage and the warleader of the ork race start walking quickly down the mountain trail that leads down into the valley below . . . . . .