You Want A War? You've Got One! 19.

Navigrel. Northern Belinswae. Winter...

"Are you absolutely certain about this?" asks justifier Kalsane as he looks at the officer in his rival, justifier Paelau's army, who has been thrown down onto the floor infront of him.
"We are sir" says the junior officer Daekins, who like the others with him, are breathing heavily, not to mention are bloody and bruised.
The justifier, who is a fairly powerful mage, as all mages tend to be. Looks at the bloody and battered officer in his rival's army. Then he looks over at the two guards who are also in justifier Paelau's army, who are bruised and bloody, as they stand to one side, each held by a trio of his guards.
"Where's his body?" asks the mage from central Belinswae "We brought him back justifier" says the young officer Deakins, who then adds "He's in the stables behind the inn".
"Damn it" mutters the justifier, who then adds "Marls was one of my better commanders". The mage, who like all of his kind, is often volatile. Is surprised at well he's taking this. That one of his senior officers has been killed by an officer in his rival's war camp.
"Standing over him, with bloody sword still in hand you say?" asks the mage Kalsane who looks from Daekins, to the other officers and guards who were with him, when they found Marls dead in a quiet lane at the hands of an officer in justifier Paelau's army.
"Yes justifier" says Daekins, which is echoed in agreement by the others. The justifier walks around the desk in the room that he's using here in an inn near the west gate of Navigrel.
He leans down and grabs the bloody hair of the officer from his rival's army, picks his head up and says "What were your orders guard?".
The junior officer in the service of the sorceress Paelau mumbles something through a bloody mouth "What, kill him?" demands the justifier who thinks he vaguely understood what the officer bleeding to death on the floor is saying.
Not getting what he wants, the mage who is one of the rulers of Belinswae reads the mind of the officer in the army of justifier Paelau.
"That bitch" angrily mutters justifier Kalsane, who then looks over at the pair of bound and bloody guards in the service of his rival, who are being held by his men.
"Did your mistress order you to kill him?" asks the mage in a quiet voice, who then adds "Don't lie now, i can tell when you are". Both of the guards in the army of justifier Paelau, are a little incoherent after being in fight that's nearly killed them.
But they did understand that question, and one of them nods yes, while the other, who has a broken jaw, mumbles "Yes justifier".
The mage Kalsane just stands there for a while, then eventually he nods his head, and says to his men holding the two guards in the service of the sorceress Paelau "Take them out into the stables and hang them".
The two guards in question, start to struggle, even though they're already bloody and battered. They're beaten senseless, then dragged out of the room on the second storey of the inn that justifier Kalsane is using as his headquarters.
"As for this one" quietly says the mage from a riverside town in central Belinswae, who then waves away those who are standing close to the officer in the service of the sorceress Paelau, as he lies bleeding to death on the floor.
Mira Reinholt the mage drops the compulsion spell he has cast upon the dying officer lying on the floor. Who a moment later, goes up in bright blue, almost colourless looking flames when the mage Kalsane sets him on fire.
The burning body gives off no heat, nor does it burn anything else apart from the officer who serves the other justifier who is in residence here in the walled town of Navigrel.
The burning officer on the floor starts writhing as the flames consume him, his mouth opens and he screams, but no sound issues forth, as blue, almost colourless flames burst from his mouth.
It takes a bit of time for him to burn away, as the justifier who has just killed him, wants him to suffer.
All of those in the room, including Mira Reinholt, who is invisible, as he stands in a corner, watch in silence as the officer from justifier Paelau's army burns to death.
After the flames have gone out, and there's only a slight dusting of white ashes on the floor where the officer was lying. The mage Kalsane quietly says "That fucking bitch is going to pay for that".
"Sir, what would you have us do?" asks the senior commander Yarveck, a graying man, in his early forties, who though relatively short, even for someone from Belinswae, is bulky due to being muscular, beneath his armour and cloak.
"We're leaving, have the rest of our guards be prepared to leave after midday" says the mage Kalsane who has made up his mind to what he'll do, he then adds "We'll be joining up with the rest of our army, to attack the dwarves".
The senior commander nods his head, then after glancing down at the thin layer of white ash on the floor, he quietly asks "And the sorceress?" followed by "What should we do about that?". He along with the other officers, including young Daekins who caught the officer in justifier Paelau's army, red handed so to speak, standing with bloody sword in hand, over the body of Marls. Look expectantly at the mage who they serve.
"This is what we're going to do concerning that bitch" quietly says the justifier from central Belinswae, who then goes on in detail to explain what they'll do, in particular, what he'll do concerning his rival, the sorceress Paelau, who ordered one of his officers killed.
As he stands there in a corner of the large room, the invisible mage from the city-state of Vexil in the Southlands, lifts an eyebrow as he listens to what the justifier Kalsane is planning to do against his fellow ruler of Belinswae, who is here in Navigrel at the moment.
Well that's nothing if not direct, Mira Reinholt the mage thinks to himself, who can admire what the other mage is planning to do against the sorceress Paelau. Infact the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster, can use this to his advantage. As he has the opportunity here to take out, not just one of the justifiers here in the town of Navigrel, but both of them.
Later in the day, it's after midday, and on a hilltop to the northeast of the walled town of Navigrel. The leader of the dwarven war party who have been watching the town for the last three days. Has just made his way up from the burnt out village below, where he's had lunch with some of the other warriors.
Ompal joins those who are watching the walled town just over five miles away, the dwarven warrior sits down next to Garkil, and Ompal asks the older dwarf "Anything of interest?".
"Nay, nothing so far" replies the older dwarven warrior as he, Ompal and five other dwarves from clan Galve observe the town in the distance. Ompal, the leader of the war party, is just about to mention, the main topic of conversation they had throughout the morning. What the mage Reinholt is planning to do, ever since they saw him give his signal early in the morning when he stood upon the north wall of Navigrel.
When suddenly the north gate of the walled town, a gate that's been closed the entire three days they've been watching Navigrel. Opens up, and riders, and foot troops make their way out of it.
"They be the one's we've already been attacking" says Garkil who though two and half centuries old, still has sharp eyesight, who instantly recognises the colours of the tabards and surcoats of the guards leaving Navigrel from the north gate.
They watch in silence, and see about a hundred and fifty of the enemy heading out of the walled town, and start to make their way north, in the direction of the stone hills. They're on the dirt road that goes slightly towards the coast, as it goes northwards.
"That other army is staying put like" quietly says Ompal who like the other watchers, doesn't see any unusual activity in the war camp around Navigrel. "Aye" says Garkil, who then adds "They dunny make sense these justifiers, they'd have a better chance at defeating us if they combined their armies".
"Aye that's true" says Ompal the leader of the war party from clan Galve, who then adds "Maybe they canny do so for some reason" who follows that up with "By Thaxel and Dovarn i be glad they not doing that".
An echo of quiet aye's come from the other dwarven warriors on the hilltop who are watching the enemy from Belinswae who are invading the Stone Hills.
The dwarves watch both the enemy guards heading north towards the Stone Hills and their clanhold. As well as the town of Navigrel, as they do, Ompal quietly says "Wonder if this has something to do with what the mage fella Mira is planning to do?".
Garkil nods and says "Aye could be Omp" then as he's about to follow that up with something. They see the flash of explosion come from within the walled town just over five miles away to the southwest.
A few moments later they hear that explosion as they see a cloud of debris mushroom up into the early afternoon sky from somewhere within the walled town. From the looks of it, in the south quarter of Navigrel.
The dwarven watchers upon the hilltop look quickly to the enemy who are heading north. And they see the column of riders and foot troops moving quicker than what they were doing previously. As they continue to head north, without any of them looking back towards Navigrel.
"What the hell?" murmurs Ompal, and as there's a hive of activity from the justifier's war camp outside of the walls of Navigrel, the leader of the dwarven war party suddenly smiles, then says "Mira".
"Aye Omp" says Garkil, who then adds "Bet the overly clever mage has cooked up something between them two justifiers" Ompal nods to that as they continue to watch both the town of Navigrel and what's happening there. As well as the column of enemy guards who are moving quickly north in the direction of the Stone Hills.
It was a mageglobe, sent by justifier Kalsane, through a rift that he placed outside the headquarters of his fellow justifier, the sorceress Paelau.
The two storey building that the stern looking sorceress was using as her headquarters has basically been completely destroyed.
And though the justifier Paelau sensed her rival's rift just outside her headquarters. And she put up her wards to protect herself just incase the mage Kalsane did something untowards.
The mageglobe that came through the rift destroyed her wards as easily as the house that she was using as her headquarters. And though she survived the explosion.
She didn't survive, the second mageglobe which came up through the ground and exploded, after the rift had closed. A mageglobe created by a second mage, that neither her or her fellow justifier know has been in town for the last three days.
Justifier Kalsane comes through a rift, along with his senior commander Yarveck, and a handful of his guards. They're on the side of the dirt road, that the column of guards in the mage's army are riding along.
Mira Reinholt gets through the rift just before it closes and disappears. The once powerful mage winces at how close that was. Then the invisible spellcaster looks at the justifier, who with his senior commander and the guards with them. Are waiting for the column of his guards who are only a few hundred yards away, heading their way.
As justifier Kalsane says to his senior commander "I can't sense her at the moment, she should of survived that explosion, she's probably hiding from me". "Mayhap we got lucky, and she's dead" quietly says commander Yarveck, Mira Reinholt is walking quickly away, though he continues to watch them, waiting for an opportunity to do something.
"One of those magical portals you say?" asks Ompal as they see the small group of people standing to the side of the dirt road that heads north, who look like they're waiting for the column of justifier's guards heading their way.
"Aye a rift i think they call it" says Garkil, who nods his head towards the small group of humans on the side of the dirt road that goes slightly towards the coast as it goes northwards, and he says "That's more of them, same as that lot on the road heading their way".
"Something's definitely up" murmurs Ompal, when they suddenly see first one of the men at the side of the road drop to the ground, quickly followed by a second. They see the other justifier's guards at the side of the road draw their weapons and look around in a panic.
Mira Reinholt puts his glove back on his left hand, turns and walks away, heading east, towards a hill in the distance.
The exiled Vexilian mage, who knows the justifier Kalsane would of sensed a mageglobe coming his way if he had created one. And who would of put up wards, that would of easily protected him, as he's far more powerful than the spellcaster from south of the equator.
Decided to kill the justifier in a much simpler way. Shooting him instead, as well as his senior commander Yarveck. They had no idea at what hit them, as the invisible mage used the bolt shooter within his left automaton arm.
Their bodies lie on the ground to the side of the dirt road, with a steel bolt through the left eye of justifier Kalsane, and one through the back of the shattered skull of his senior commander.
The mage Reinholt heads towards the hill in the distance that he knows the dwarven warriors he's been attacking the justifiers armies alongside, are waiting for him . . . . . .