Wonderful 93.

The Principality Of Maladimbáh...

Mira Reinholt the mage glances back behind him, and slows down as he sees that Dorc da Orc is following him fairly closely. The Vexilian mage in exile doesn't want the large ork tripping, and squashing him to death as they make their way down the mountainside.
The ork warleader grunts as they slow down, then after the once powerful mage looks away in the distance to the southwest to the tower where he was held prisoner just over two weeks ago, Mira Reinholt the mage asks the ork weaponsmith "Where is he?".
"Down in them fucken trees" replies Dorc da Orc who gestures down to the valley they're heading towards "Anyone else about?" asks the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster "Lots of fucken peoples, tree humpers, as well as the good meats, er you know, others, like you killer, humans".
The mage Reinholt wryly smiles and doesn't mention the fact that the large ork compared humans to "good meats" instead he asks the big ork who he has known for over a dozen years "And the others?" he then adds "Helbe and the rest?".
"Down in them fucken trees as well" answers Dorkindle, who then tells the swordmaster from the city-state of Vexil "Further not north" the once powerful mage nods his hooded head and figures that's further south in the valley where the rest of the group are.
As the two of them from south of the equator continue down the mountain, the spellcaster who was once more powerful than any other mage of his generation to be found in the Southlands, looks away to the east.
He can't see the riverside town at the moment, because they're too far down the mountain, and don't have a clear view of it. But the exiled Vexilian mage can see the far cliffs at the very eastern end of the long valley.
They're far too faraway for him to make out clearly with his eyesight, and as he's just thinking about taking out his cylindrical brass eyepiece to look in that direction, because he thinks he spots something in the morning sky there.
When Dorc da Orc says "A fucken birdy cat" Mira Reinholt stops, and looks at the large ork who also stops "Where?" asks the highly skilled swordsmaster "There" replies the ork warleader who waves a large meaty, frying pan sized hand to the east, in the direction of the far cliffs at the very eastern end of the valley below.
"Look" adds Dorkindle, who then says "A fucken n'other one" and he nods his large pail sized head to the west, the mage Reinholt looks that way, and about four and half miles away to the southwest, at the tower of lord Haldéilv, he sees something rise up into the air from the palace like tower on the tor that thrusts up out of the forest surrounding it.
The Vexilian mage in exile can't see it too clearly, but even he can tell it's a griffon rising into the morning sky from the tower where he was held a prisoner just over two weeks ago.
Something's happening, and I'm pretty sure it's got to do with her, Mira Reinholt the mage thinks to himself, the once powerful mage then nods his hooded head and says "Come on, we've got to catch up to the others" and he and the weaponsmith from the wolf tribe of orks get underway again, heading down to the forested valley below.
Lord Farque jumps a deadfall, then leaps over a shrub, he glances away to his left, in the direction of the forest track as he heads downhill. There he's just gone by the site where the rest of the group were attacked not all that long ago. The undead warlord who is sensing in all directions as he runs, spots a tall sentinel pine amongst some shorter normal pines, he angles towards it, and when he nears it, the heavily armoured deathlord jumps up fifty feet into the tall pine tree.
Grabbing a hold of some branches, the lord and ruler of the lands Farque jumps further up, nearly another forty feet, so he's near the top of the sentinel pine. Draugadrottin as he's also known by the people of his lands, grabs the tree trunk as the branch he's on sways from side to side under his weight.
The lord of the death realm who is above the rest of the canopy in this part of the forest, first looks south to where he can sense the rest of the group, who he senses Helbe the elven thief approaching. He can't see them due to the forest, but he senses that they're nearing a settlement, a small village most likely by the number of people that are there.
The heavily armoured deathlord who senses the two parties of elves, one heading east, and one west not that faraway. Who came through a rift, presumably to go after the group from south of the equator. Looks to the southwest, where he sees a griffon rising up into the morning sky from the palatial like tower that's the seat of power of the head of house Haldéilv.
Des'tier as he's known by to an older generation of elves in the Southlands who may know who he is, senses and sees that it's lord Haldéilv himself that's riding his griffon, which circles before it starts heading eastwards,
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque then looks to the east, at the very far end of the valley, to the cliffs there. He's too far down to see to the top of the cliffs and the plateau up there. But he can sense a fairly powerful elven noble there at the moment, who he figures is the neighbouring local lord, lord Walashàele.
"What's she fucking up to?" lord Farque murmurs to himself as he senses that Kaldeàlil Haldéilv is amongst other elven spellcasters in the company of the head of house Walashàele. The undead warlord narrows his eyelids as he looks eastwards and thinks, then he slowly nods his full helmed head after sensing some more. Not just spellcasters in the valley, but all life, though the movement of elves in particular. And finding a lot of them in groups, squad size and larger, heading to the river that's the natural border between the lands of the two noble houses. Coming from both the east and the west of the valley.
"Have you just started a war between your father and his neighbour?" Draugadrottin murmurs to himself, the deathlord of Farque isn't surprised really, as he knows Kaldeàlil Haldéilv will do just about anything to get what she wants.
And what she wants is Helbe the elven thief dead. And this likely impending conflict between the lord's Haldéilv and Walashàele, is just something she'll use to her advantage to get her ultimate goal, and that's the death of the elven princeling from Laerel.
The undead warlord after looking around some more, drops down through the near one hundred foot tall tree, the heavily armoured deathlord smashes through branches, which slows his descent to the ground. He lands on a thick branch thirty feet off the ground, he steps off and lands on the forest floor in mid stride as he takes off running.
Des'tier looks around through the trees, and angles away to his right as he hears and senses what's that way. It's not long, and he sees a forest road from the west. And after a deer and it's yearling run away from him, when he approaches a large tree, the lord of the death realm, stands behind the tree and waits.
He doesn't have to wait long, and horses and their riders can be heard coming from the west along the forest road. Draugadrottin is completely still as he stands behind the tree, with his back to it. The tree trunk is so thick, that no one on the road would be able to see behind it, unless they got off the road and rode around it.
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque hears and senses a trio of riders, on the road. They're foreriders, and they're soon gone by, and are continuing on their way eastwards. Not too long afterwards, a troop of riders go by, over forty of them, all heading east along the forest road.
As they ride by, Des'tier inches his way around to his left behind the tree, then waiting for the opportune time, the heavily armoured deathlord takes a few steps to his left, turns, and leaps.
The undead warlord leaps across the forest road, grabbing in mid air the trailing rider of the troop of house guards who have come from the tower of lord Haldéilv and are heading eastwards to the river that's the natural border between the lands of the neighbouring noble houses here in southern Maladimbáh.
The elven house guard is picked up out of his saddle, and goes flying through the air in the grasp of the lord of the death realm so quickly that he doesn't even know what's happening, as they land amongst the trees on the south side of the forest road.
The riders further infront of him don't even know that he's gone, as his horse is still running behind them, though slowly falling back as the road goes through the forest that covers most of the valley.
Holding the elven house guard up off the ground by one arm, and covering the mouth of the guard with a gauntleted hand. Lord Farque waits a few moments, then he quietly says in the elven language "Do you know who i am?".
The house guard nods his head, and after a few more moments, the lord of the death realm says "Call out and you're dead" then he takes his gauntleted hand from the face of the house guard, who gasps "I know who you are" followed by "I was at the tower when you attacked it the other week".
"Good, then you know you can't do anything to stop what i want" says Draugadrottin, who then asks "What's going on this morning?" he continues with "Where are you and squad heading off too?".
The elven house guard winces as the pressure on his left arm increases as he's held by it, with his booted feet a foot off the ground, then he says "East to the river, our lord's lands have been invaded by the Walashàele's".
The deathlord of Farque nods his full helmed head, and after a moments thought, he asks "How did you lot find out the Walashàele's had crossed the river?".
The house guard in the service of lord Haldéilv grimaces as it feels like his arm that's been held so he's off the ground, is going to snap at any moment now, hurriedly says "My lord found out, i wasn't there, but apparently his bastard daughter told him. Then we were quickly ordered to form up and ride out, and find out what's happening".
Interesting, lord Farque thinks to himself, who sensed Kaldeàlil Haldéilv earlier at her father's palace like tower. His theory that she has brought about this impending conflict between the neighbouring local lords seems to be true.
"What else?" says the undead warlord who gives the house guard a little shake as he holds him up off the ground, grimacing in pain, the elf says "We're to keep an eye out for a group of mercenaries who have been attacking my lord's forces further north in his lands, apparently they're nearby too".
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque slightly nods, then knowing he'll probably get no new information from the elven house guard, he throws the elf away from him.
The house guard smashes into a tree trunk twenty five feet away with such force that the branches above shake from the impact.
The elf hits the ground with blood spraying from his mouth, if he isn't dead already, he dies fairly quickly as the morning sunshine streams down through the canopy of the forest on this late summer's day.
Lord Farque is off and running again, running parallel to the forest road that he keeps to the north of him. Draugadrottin senses that the village the rest of the group are basically at, is south of the forest road too. It seems likely the mounted troop that's just gone by, won't turn that way off the forest road, they'll keep on the road as they head east to the river.
The heavily armoured deathlord senses northward, and locates Dorc da Orc and Mira Reinholt the mage. It feels like the two of them are now closer to the forest at the base of the mountain, and are almost down into the valley.
Then as lord Farque senses a griffon, on which is lord Haldéilv who is heading east, flying away to the south over the forest. He senses to the very eastern end of the valley, there the undead warlord senses a member of the group from south of equator.
The lord of the death realm as he senses Narladene the ground pixie, narrows his eyelids as he senses who else is not that far from the tiny winged creature, who isn't all that far from Kaldeàlil Haldéilv who is in the company of lord Walashàele.
As he runs at speed, the lord and ruler of the lands murmurs to himself "Two of them" . . . . . .