Wonderful 95.

The Principality Of Maladimbá...

"What's going on?" quietly asks Tamric Drubine after he returns from checking the horses "I'm not sure" replies Lisell Maera as they stand near the edge of the clearing, looking to the forest on the otherside of it, to the south, where a track can be seen.
A house guard in the service of lord Haldéilv has just ridden by on that particular track, heading quickly east. It's the third such house guard they've seen on that track, in that last little while since they've made their way to the village. The mounted house guards have all been riding eastwards through the forest.
The clearing isn't a clearing as such, it's just where there's less trees to be found in the forest that dominates the valley they're in. And in this clearer patch of forest is a small village, with about a dozen houses, with a few more buildings scattered about a bit further away from the clearing.
The nobleborn youngster from the kingdom of Sarcrin in the Southlands looks into the village, where he spots Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy and Riley Hait the mercenary ranger, standing outside one of the houses, talking to a couple of the inhabitants of the village.
Tam along with Lis are keeping out of sight, as they do, the former heir to castle Drubine in the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin south of the equator, looks back behind them to deeper in the forest.
Where sir Percavelle Lé Dic and Shur Kee the monk are with the horses. Tamric Drubine can't see them, which he's thankful for, as they've been told to stay hidden.
The nobleborn youngster is even more thankful that the heavily armoured knight can't be heard at the moment. As the earl of Lé Dic is often loud and talkative when he's supposed to be quiet. But for once the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic in the Southlands is pretty much silent. Which can only be described as a miracle in the opinion of Tamric Drubine.
"What's happening?" suddenly says a voice behind the two youngsters from south of the equator, Tam and Lis spin around and find Helbe the elven thief standing behind the two of them. After cleaning his throat, the former heir to castle Drubine informs the elven princeling what's been happening since he left them a little while ago, and that Dalinvardél Tanith and Riley Hait are chatting to some of the villagers.
"Are we being followed?" asks Lisell Maera "Not now" replies Helbenthril Raendril with a grin upon his face, the elven magic user continues with "They're off wandering in all directions through the forest trying to find us".
"Who are they?" asks Tamric Drubine "Guards in the service of lord Haldéilv" answers the young elven noble "We've seen a few of them riding east along that track over there on the otherside of the village" says the nobleborn adolescent.
The elven masterthief nods his nods his hooded head, and says "As are others on the road to the north" the elven prince from Laerel who is sensing in all directions as he continues to shield himself, says to the two youngsters, who like him is from the Southlands "Wait here".
The elven master assassin steps around the two of them, and the trees they've been waiting behind, and he walks towards the clearing and the village, the young elven noble vanishes after he takes a couple of steps forward.
Tamric Drubine and Lisell Maera share a look, then the former heir to castle Drubine in the kingdom of Sarcrin, and the orphaned teenager from the city-state of Brattonbury go back to watching the village just fifty yards away from them.
Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy thanks the two villagers they've been talking to, and he and Riley Hait the mercenary ranger make their way to the south side of the clearing, where a bit beyond that is a track that leads through the forest. A track on which they've seen a few house guards ride quickly by.
As the two from south of the equator walk, they suddenly hear a familiar voice quietly say to them "We've lost them". "That was fairly easy" murmurs Riley Hait the mercenary ranger "Why thank you" quietly says Helbe the elven thief as he walks beside the other two, blurred and unseen by everyone.
"Now what?" murmurs Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy "Seems something is happening between lord Haldéilv and his neighbour to the east which is causing a bit of turmoil" quietly says the young elven noble from the principality of Laerel, who then adds "And it seems we've been thrown into the turmoil thanks to her".
The elven masterthief informs the other two what he found out when he read the minds of the house guards and the elven noble who came through a rift to pursue them.
"By the tundra gods" mutters Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman who then adds "That bitch" after the elven magic user tells him and the spy Tanith that thanks to Kaldeàlil Haldéilv they've been blamed for the deaths of a number of lord Haldéilv's house guards further north in his lands.
"Indeed" quietly says the elven master archer when they stop near the track to the south of the village, then as they look both east and west along it, the ranger Hait quietly asks "Should we move out, or wait here for them".
The 'them' he's referring to, is lord Farque, Dorc da Orc and Mira Reinholt the mage, who Narladene the ground pixie has informed prince Helbenthril Raendril are coming down the mountains to the north that look down on the valley.
"If we can stay out of everyone's way, we should wait for them" quietly says the elven princeling "Do you know where they are?" asks the mercenary ranger who is infact a hordes outrider from the southern tundra "No i don't" is the response of Helbe the thief, who can't sense his fellow spellcaster from the Southlands, the mage Reinholt, who he figures is holding his power within himself.
And with Narladene the ground pixie elsewhere at the moment, he doesn't know the location of the other three at the moment, but he assumes they're coming down into the valley from the north as Narladene told him earlier this morning.
"But i guess they're still heading down this way from the mountains" says the elven master assassin, the ranger Hait nods his head, then he and the spy Tanith turn, and start to circle back around to the north side of the clearing, where the rest of the group waits.
As Riley and Dalinvardél walk behind a clump of trees, the young elven noble from Laerel appears beside them after he drops his blur spell, the three of them are silent as they walk. Until the elven magic user stops and looks up into the morning sky above the village, the mercenary ranger raised and trained in the elven principality of Envadarlen, and the spy from the elven principality of Alínlae stop too. A few moments later a griffon comes into view about five hundred feet above the clearing and village. It circles away to the north, before coming back around, then heads away to the south and east.
"Who was that?" quietly asks Dalinvardél Tanith "Her father i guess" replies Helbenthril Raendril who shielded, is unable to be sensed by other practitioners of magic. As they start walking again, the elven masterthief quietly adds "Damn powerful for a member of the minor nobility" he pauses for a moment, before continuing with "Speaking of powerful, there's a mage at that tower to the west".
"Someone from Belinswae?" asks the ranger Hait, who then adds "One of those justifiers?" the young elven noble who is the grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel, nods his hooded head, then says "That would be my guess".
The three of them fall silent again as the walk to the west of the clearing and village as they circle back to where the others are waiting, as they do, both the elven masterthief and the elven spy look away to the west through the trees.
"You hear that?" quietly says Dalinvardél Tanith "I did" is the murmured reply of Helbenthril Raendril, Riley Hait puts a hand on the hilt of his shortsword when he sees the elves have taken a hold of weapons. Then just as the elven magic user who is the nominal leader of the group is about to blur himself and shift away to investigate what he and the spy Tanith have heard. A familiar figure comes into view running through the trees towards them.
The trio from south of the equator take their hands off their weapons and relax as the large figure, in the dark blue, black suit of full heavy plate armour runs towards them.
"My lord" says Helbe the elven thief with a nod of his hooded head when lord Farque stops infront of the three of them. The undead warlord nods his full helmed head to the north, where the other four are waiting, the trio of Helbenthril Raendril, Riley Hait and Dalinvardél Tanith walk with him that way.
"Seems you've just started a war between two houses" says lord Farque with a look at the elven princeling from Laerel "I have?" says the young elven noble who blinks in surprise. "Well" says the heavily armoured deathlord, who briefly pauses before he adds "She has, so that she can corner you and kill you". "It warms my heart to feel so wanted" dryly says the elven masterthief, who then adds in a more normal tone of voice "I figured she was up to something like that when i found out we had been blamed for the death of some of her father's guards".
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque nods his full helmed head, then seeing that the three want to ask him a number of questions, he says to them "I'll tell you when you're all together" Draugadrottin as he's also known by to the people of his lands, points away to the right, and says to Riley Hait "Go and get Tam and Lis, and meet us where Shur Kee and that idiot Percy are waiting".
As the mercenary ranger hurries off, Helbenthril Raendril who refrains from wincing, says in the royal elven language so that spy Tanith doesn't understand him "My lord, there's something you should know about Li".
"Later" says the lord of the death realm, the elven masterthief feels like sighing, but he doesn't. He doesn't particularly want to inform the undead warlord about what happened to Lisell Maera during their time in the region of Belinswae when they were searching for lord Farque, Dorc da Orc and Mira Reinholt. But he knows the deathlord of Farque has to know, and the sooner the better.
Hoping that he doesn't face a backlash, the young elven noble says in the royal language of his race "My lord, it's important you know that".
"I said later" says the undead being as he interrupts the elven magic user, Helbe the elven thief does wince, then he says "No now, it's important".
The lord of the death realm stops, and there's a glowing flash of blue from his eyes for a moment as he looks down at the elven princeling from Laerel. The spy Tanith, who does not know what's being said between the other two, faintly winces, and steps away from Helbenthril Raendril.
The elven masterthief, who for the most part over the years he's known Des'tier, as he's known by those elves who know who he really is. Has escaped his fury, unlike say Dorc da Orc, and at times Mira Reinholt. Feels like gulping in fear, something he doesn't normally feel. As at heart he's a daredevil who enjoys both the thrill of danger, and mastering it.
The young elven noble clears his throat, then he says "There's something vitally important you need to know about young Lisell" lord Farque doesn't say anything, he just stares at the elven princeling, who takes the silence as permission to continue on, and he adds "The others don't know, but when we were in".
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque listens in silence as Helbe the elven thief talks to him about something he thinks is important that he should know.
The undead warlord doesn't say anything as the elven masterthief explains in the language of the elven royalty about an incident that took place in Belinswae.
As the young elven noble from the principality of Laerel finishes up, the lord of the death realm sees Riley Hait approaching, with him is Tamric Drubine, and Lisell Maera. The heavily armoured deathlord looks at the orphaned teenager from the city-state of Brattonbury as she walks beside Tamric Drubine, then lord Farque glances at the elven princeling, and asks "Is that all?".
"Yes my lord" quietly says Helbe the elven thief, Draugadrottin slightly nods his full helmed head, then he turns and walks away, heading to where Shur Kee the monk and sir Percavelle Lé Dic are waiting with the horses, forcing the others to follow him . . . . . .