The Stone Hills. Winter...
They're within a tunnel in the redoubt above the trade road. The redoubt is normally the last wall of a fortification such as a castle or fort. But this one is a natural fortification, that looks like a rock wall, where the trade road ends. And a cart track begins, that goes up the last foothill to the mountainhold of the Kraelin clan.
The dwarven warriors in the long tunnel, part so that they're up against either wall in the tunnel to allow him to walk through. They nod their heads to him, as he passes by each one of them, as he walks slightly crouched down, as he stands two feet taller than most of the dwarves who make way for him.
He nods his full helmed head to the unit commanders, and those warriors he knows by name and sight. He like the dwarven warriors, are silent while they're in the tunnel.
At the end of the tunnel, where it's along side the trade road. Clan chieftain Baedin Kraelin, and those with him turn as they hear, then see him approach, the clan chief who has been looking through one of the spy holes in the rock wall, waits for the large, heavily armoured lord from a land faraway to the south of the equator, to join him at the end of the tunnel.
"My lord" quietly says Baedin Kraelin the clan chieftain when the large figure in the dark armour stops beside him "Chief Baedin" is the quiet greeting of lord Farque, who bends down and glances through the spy hole that the clan chieftain, who also happens to be a hammermaster, has just been looking through.
"Bit of a mist out there, that might come in handy" murmurs the undead warlord, who senses everything and everyone in the area, and knows what's happening. But still, the heavily armoured deathlord asks chief Baedin Kraelin "What's happening clan chief?".
"I've got some of the lads out watching them" quietly says the hammermaster Kraelin, who like the lord of the lands Farque, is conversing in the dwarven language, the clan chieftain continues with "Of course, they've yet to get going, even though it's nearly dawn". The hammermaster shakes his head at the inability of the justifier's army to get ready for a day's march by first light.
"All the units are either getting into position, or are already waiting in position" says Baedin Kraelin, who then gestures to his nephew Thane who is standing nearby, and tells the deathlord of Farque "Thane will lead the heavy spear on this side of the road".
The undead warlord nods his full helmed head, for that's one of the two remaining position of leadership that had yet to be decided. He can guess what the other one is, and he will forestall that one from happening.
"And i will go with" says the chieftain of clan Kraelin, who is interrupted by the heavily armoured deathlord, who continues to look out through the spy hole. "Chief Baedin, you'll lead the main force with Helnd as your second" says lord Farque, who then adds "Karne will lead those with me".
The clan chieftain falls silent, while his son Thane, along with old Axe Thrower Karne, Helnd and the others at the very end of the tunnel all look to their clan chief, who has told them that he intends to go with the human lord.
For a moment, the dwarven hammermaster doesn't know what to say. On one hand he's just be told what to do, and against what he is wanting to do. And on the other hand, he has put the lord and ruler of the lands Farque in command of his clan's army.
"Am i understood" prompts the undead warlord who is also known by the ancient name of Draugadrottin to the people of his lands, faraway to the south of the equator.
After a few more moments of silence as his fellow dwarves watch him, chief Baedin Kraelin says "Aye lord Farque". "Good" quietly says the heavily armoured deathlord, who bends up from looking through the spy hole, he looks down at the clan chieftain, and quietly tells him "Sometimes being a ruler isn't necessarily leading from the front" he follows that up with "It's to do what's right" the undead warlord then adds "Besides if the main force breaks them there, it will break this army from Falnic, and send them running of back to where they fucking belong".
Grins split the bearded faces of the dwarves when they hear that from the large human who absolutely towers over all of them, even as he stands slightly crouched over in the tunnel.
Then Baedin Kraelin asks "We wait?" the lord and ruler of the lands Farque nods his full helmed head, and says "We wait" the heavily armoured deathlord then adds "For the elven prince to get back here". "His highness is probably stealing something" dryly murmurs the hammermaster Kraelin, who like most of the dwarves of his clan, has learnt that his highness, prince Helbenthril Raendril is a bit of thief.
A bit of a thief is a bit of an understatement, he's a full on cleptomaniac, who'll steal anything of value that isn't nailed down.
"Probably" murmurs lord Farque with a slight smile on his face behind the visor of his full helm, as he senses the elven princeling coming back this way from the nearby camp of the justifier's army.
The young elven noble has been scouting around the camp and along the trade road, before dawn breaks. Lord Farque could of had the elven master assassin kill the justifier in command of the enemy army during the night.
But he wants the enemy army on the road and moving this morning, if his plan has any chance of success. He wants a decisive battle here on the frontdoor, so to speak, of the Kraelin mountainhold, if the clan is to force the enemy out. He can't have that if the overall commander of the enemy army is dead before the battle commences.
Besides it's easy enough to the kill the sorcerer who is the justifier in command of the enemy army during the battle. Indeed, that's what Helbe the elven thief is planning to do. Alongside killing other members of the leadership team of the enemy army that's pushing into the Kraelin clanhold.
Lord Farque glances over at Baedin Kraelin's cousin, the dwarven delver Barmil "Did you stir up this mist?" quietly asks the deathlord of Farque. "Aye my lord" replies Barmil the dwarven delver, he continues with "I was careful, that sorcerer nearby was asleep when i did it, so he canny no sense me casting" the spellcaster, who has blond hair that sticks up wildly in all directions, which is at odds with his finely plated beard that's in two braids, which has bits of gemstones weaved into it, then adds "Hight bought it up from the lake down by the abandoned village".
The undead warlord nods his full helmed head, then tells the delver "Keep holding your power within yourself, don't reveal yourself and only cast until the battle is well and truly underway" the dwarven spellcaster nods, then quietly says "Aye my lord" he then adds "I did tell his highness the sticky fingered thief, that very same thing earlier".
Des'tier as he's known to an older generation of elves in the Southlands, who might know who he is. Nods his full helmed head to that. Then he along with the dwarven warriors continue to wait. As they do, both the clan chieftain Baedin Kraelin, and his old friend, the warrior named the Axe Thrower, periodically look through the spy hole, watching the trade road below as it approaches dawn.
A short while later, and a cloaked and hooded figure suddenly appears in the tunnel, standing beside lord Farque. "Nice morning for a battle isn't it?" quietly says Helbe the elven thief in a cheerful tone, the young elven noble who is speaking common, continues in the same tone with "What with the mist across the lake, and up the end of the road here".
More than a few of the dwarven warriors at this end of the tunnel within the redoubt, grin at the appearance of the elf who they know to be of a royal family of a principality far to the south of the equator.
Though there's some long lasting animosity towards elven kind from some amongst the dwarven clans of the Stone Hills. That's directed at the elves of the principality of Maladimbáh, which is further to the east.
After all that's where the dwarves of the Stone Hills are originally from, until they were forced out about two thousand years ago during a war against those elves. Even then most of the dwarves of the Stone Hills couldn't care less about that part of their history when their grandfathers, grandfathers were still around.
They're more concerned about the here and now, and having an elf prince from some faraway land help them out with their war against their southern neighbours, is of more importance than something that happened when none of them were born.
Switching to the royal elven language, prince Helbenthril Raendril quietly says to the lord and ruler of the lands Farque "You sense that?" followed by "He's just taken off on his wyvern". The undead warlord nods his full helmed head, then quietly says in the same language "As is his usual routine first thing in the morning of late".
The justifier whose army is just a mile and a half away to the south, is up in the pre dawn sky, as are a couple of other wyverns and their riders, scouting out the surrounding area. With the sorcerer also sensing for any dwarven spellcasters or magical traps.
"And if things are the same as they have been, he'll quickly come back and land because his army hasn't got underway again" quietly says the elven magic user who is shielding himself so that other practitioners of magic are unable to sense him.
The elven masterthief whose hooded head is bent slightly down so that it doesn't hit the top of the tunnel here in the redoubt, glances at the large, heavily armoured figure beside him, and quietly tells him "They're just getting back some of their mounts that took off during the night when Narladene was annoying them".
Lord Farque nods his full helmed head, then after a few moments of silence, he says "He's heading back to camp" then switching to the common language, the lord of the death realm says to the dwarves who are looking at him in anticipation "You all know what to do" followed by "Time to move out" the undead warlord then quietly adds "Time for me to be a distraction".
As the clan chieftain Baedin Kraelin starts issuing orders, lord Farque heads back through the tunnel, followed by Helbe the elven thief, and the dwarven warrior Karne aka The Axe Thrower.
They get about fifty yards back along the tunnel, that curves up the hillside as the redoubt does. There they stop, and in the royal elven language, the heavily armoured deathlord tells the elven princeling "Check on Tam and Lis before things start" the lord of the death realm continues with "Tam has been given instructions of what to do when things change as often happens in battle".
The young elven noble nods his hooded head, then the lord and ruler of the lands Farque adds in a slightly dry tone "Check on Percy too, make sure the idiot stays where he's supposed to stay, and not cross to where the main force is" the undead warlord continues with "He's with the heavy spear at the moment as he should be, but you know how the fucking numpty can get at times".
Prince Helbenthril Raendril softly chuckles, then he quietly says "I'll make sure he stays where he's supposed to be" then the elven magic user disappears from everyone's sight, apart from the sight of the lord of the death realm, who for a few moments watches the elven masterthief continue back up through the tunnel.
Lord Farque is silent for a few moments as he thinks about something, then he turns to the old dwarven warrior Axe Thrower, and tells him in the language of the dwarves "Bring along a few of those long spears". "Aye my lord" says Karne, who then nods at a warrior to go off and get those weapons.
Then the undead warlord gestures to a couple of the warriors in the tunnel, and tells quietly them "Open it".
The warriors grasp an iron wheel that vaguely resembles a ships wheel, but smaller, that's on the tunnel wall. The two of them start turning it, and a section of the tunnel wall starts to open.
Lord Farque ducks down, and steps out of the redoubt through the open section, he's followed by Karne the Axe Thrower, and a number of the dwarven warriors who were silently waiting in the tunnel, all of whom are heavy axe and heavy hammer warriors.
They make their way silently down the hillside from the redoubt through the mist towards the trade road that's only forty yards away, as dawn breaks this cold winter's morning here in the Stone Hills . . . . . .
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