Falnic. Belinswae. Winter...
"What the hell?" mutters Justifier Sammacin after he and his guards appear on the east wall of the city of Falnic.
"Down!" shouts a sharp eyed guard who grabs the young wizard and pulls him down. Just in time too, as an arrow passes overhead. One of the other guards isn't as lucky, as he's skewered by a yard long shaft that's shot from outside the city.
"Elves!" shouts another of the guards, who lying there on top of the wall, is looking down at the street below. Where he sees other Justifier's guards fighting elven soldiers who have entered the city.
Justifier Sammacin who has a fair idea whose elven soldiers they are, mutters "Damn you Kaellin, what have you done?" as he looks down at the street below.
And in the flickering light of a nearby building that's been blown up, and is burning, he sees the shorter figures of the human guards, fighting the taller figures of the elves from Maladimbáh, who the young wizard correctly guesses, are soldiers in the army of lord Walashàele.
"Sir across the way there" says the guard who hauled Justifier Sammacin down, the wizard who is the youngest Justifier in all of Belinswae, looks to where the guard is pointing.
The wizard spots a group of Justifier's guards carrying away the unconscious figure of the witch Lovis.
Sammacin knows that she's only unconscious and not dead, for the simple fact that he can still sense his fellow Justifier.
"There's an elven magic user around" says the wizard Sammacin who holds his power within himself so as not to give himself away "Keep an eye out, and be careful" adds the young Justifier, who nods to a nearby set of steps that go down off the top of the wall, and says "Head down, and we'll see what we can do to help out the others".
In a building opposite the east wall of the city, not far from the destroyed sally port that's still being held by elven soldiers and mercenaries from the principality of Maladimbáh.
The elven noble Galacithàné Walashàele looks out of a second storey window, and murmurs "Now where have you got to?" as he sensed another of the local spellcasters, a Justifier by the power he felt, turn up in the area, then suddenly disappear.
He knows the Justifier is holding his or her power within themselves, as they didn't teleport away.
The younger cousin of lord Walashàele who can hear fighting within the building he's in, senses the other spellcaster, who he attack, when he blew up a building down the street, is moving away.
The elven noble guesses that she must be unconscious, for over the centuries he's been able to spellcast. He's learnt to distinguish the difference between when a practitioner of magic is awake and active, or sleeping, or if they're knocked out. All three feel different to him when he senses another spellcaster.
"Sir down the street, to the south along the wall" quietly says one of the two members of his cousin's personal guard who is with him "Coming down a set of steps" adds the guard who continues with "Those guards are in different uniforms".
Galacithàné Walashàele looks southwards down the street that slightly turns to the south as the wall slightly curves inwards as it heads in that direction.
The elven noble spots the Justifiers guards pointed out by the member of his cousin's personal guard, and sees that indeed they are in different tunics than the defenders on the east wall that the elven soldiers in his cousin's army, and the elven mercenaries from southern Maladimbáh are fighting.
The elven magic user slightly frowns when the guard beside him quietly says "Third one from the front, the one in the long cloak, he's not wearing armour, and he's got no weapons beneath that cloak".
The younger cousin of lord Walashàele can't tell that, but he takes the guard's word for it.
"Spellcaster?" murmurs Galacithàné Walashàele, who then says "Spellcaster" when a gust of cold air sends that particular individual's cloak flapping, and he spots what looks like to be robes underneath.
Figuring that it must the Justifier he sensed turn up a little while ago, who must be either a sorcerer or a wizard.
The elven spellcaster has to make a decision. For he's been ordered by the human mercenary, who along with that large green fellow has hired his cousin's army to attack the city of Falnic. The two who have devised and planned the attack.
That there's one Justifier of Falnic who must not be attacked no matter what. A young wizard by the name of Sammacin. For what reason, he has no idea. But it's an order from those two that must be obeyed.
He looks fairly young, Galacithàné Walashàele thinks to himself as he watches the Justifier and his guards come down off the steps, and head in this direction, towards the main gates in the east wall, and a bit further along from that, the destroyed sally port, where soldiers and mercenaries from southern Maladimbáh, continue to enter the city.
"Might as well find out" mutters the elven noble, who then reads the mind of the local spellcaster to see who he is. The elven magic user sourly smiles then mutters "Damn it".
"Sir?" asks the guard next to lord Walashàele's younger cousin "Nothing" says the elven spellcaster, who lets out a loud breath, then mutters in the noble elven language "They said don't kill him, they didn't say anything about not taking him out".
Then Galacithàné Walashàele casts a fairly powerful mind stun spell upon the young Justifier by the name of Sammacin. He slightly grins as the wizard drops as if pole axed.
The elven noble and the two members of lord Walashàele's personal guards with him, watch as a number of Justifier Sammacin's guards pick him up, and carry him away, off the street, away from the fighting around and near the main east gates of Falnic, and the destroyed sally port a bit further along from it.
As the unconscious wizard Sammacin is carried away, a bracelet he wears on his right wrist starts to glow. One of his guards carrying him across the street to a side street, notices it, but doesn't say anything.
The next instant, a bright white light forms from the bracelet that's made of a mix of metals, creating a ball of light, about the size of a small melon. Justifier Sammacin's guards almost drop him, as the ball of light appears, then suddenly shoots up into the night sky.
"What's that?" murmurs Galacithàné Walashàele to himself in the noble elven language as he senses the ball of light form, and sees it, then watches it head up into the air.
Harmless, the elven magic user thinks to himself as he senses that it's only light, though it will expand, most likely in an explosion.
The younger cousin of lord Walashàele shrugs, and continues to keep an eye out, as well as sense, for any other local spellcaster who might show up in this part of the city.
As his job tonight is to eliminate them if they show up, and try to hinder any of the soldiers in his cousin's army, and the mercenaries from southern Maladimbáh from entering the city of Falnic.
The ball of white light gets to about five hundred feet above the ground, where it explodes. Illuminating the night sky over much of the eastern part of the city.
It can be seen from all parts of Falnic if one is looking that way. Even out to sea, where the ships out the furtherest on blockade duty, are able to see it in the night sky above Falnic.
One person who sees it, is on the south wall of Falnic, who with an officer in his army, is looking down at the nearly destroyed south gates, calling out to those removing the rubble beside the gates. To block the opening with anything they can find, wagons, carts, boxes, anything.
The mage Kaellin looks up when one of his senior guards, Barsol says "Sir to the east" followed by "In the sky".
The Justifier looks that way, and he sees the night sky over the east of the city light up when the ball of light explodes.
"Shit" mutters Justifier Kaellin who glances down at the bracelet he wears on his right wrist. It's a brass coloured bracelet that's made out of mix of various metals. A bracelet that he, along with only the Justifiers of Falnic wear, none of the other Justifiers of Belinswae have them.
It has a signal spell in it, that's released when the wearer is rendered unconscious by magic or by other means, against their will.
It so another Justifier of Falnic can find them and come to their aid in times of duress, such as now in what's turned out to be a battle.
Sammacin, the mage Kaellin thinks to himself, as he knows that the young wizard is the only Falnic Justifier in that part of the city.
The spellcaster who led the invasion of the dwarven clanholds in the Stone Hills this winter. Who has had his disagreements with the young wizard who opposed the invasion of the Stone Hills.
Senses for Sammacin, and finds him in the east of the city, not far from the east wall if his best guess is correct. He also senses the Justifier Lovis nearby, who like the young wizard, isn't casting either. He figures the witch is unconscious too.
The mage Kaellin might have his disagreements with young Kaellin, but the wizard is a protector of the city, and though Justifiers of Falnic don't often work together. When it comes to the protection of their city, they will support one another, and come to one anothers aid.
Justifier Kaellin looks down the street he's above, and spots the wizard Davarn giving commands to guards in the clear up of the main gates in the south wall of the city.
"Fuck it" murmurs the mage Kaellin who has never thought that highly of the other Justifiers from outside of Falnic, he turns to his senior guards Barsol and Yarmeed and tells them "We're going" he looks at some of his other guards on top of the wall with him and adds "Gather around".
Then the fairly powerful mage tells his officer "Continue helping the others clean up here" he then adds "And send messengers to our barracks, and rouse those not already on night duty".
"I've sent them already Justifier" says the officer "Good man" says the mage Kaellin, who then nods his head for the others to step away, then once they're around him, the mage who is the most powerful of all the Justifiers of Belinswae looks to the east of the city, that's still illuminated by the white light spread across the night sky in that direction.
Justifier Kaellin teleports himself and his senior guards Barsol and Yarmeed, as well as half a dozen others, heading east across the city.
The mage doesn't make the same mistake that both the witch Lovis and the wizard Sammacin made. He doesn't teleport directly to the east wall of the city, near the main gates.
He teleports to a rooftop over a hundred yards from the wall, and more to the south than to the east.
There he and his guards look towards the east wall, where they can clearly see what's happening thanks to the white light in the sky, that's lit up the night above this part of the city.
Justifier Kaellin who knows the night sky will be illuminated by signal light for at least a half a turning of a sand glass, frowns and mutters "What the hell?". When Yarmeed is first to spot what's happening, and says "Elves" as they see that there's elven soldiers fighting Justifier's guards on parts of the east wall.
The mage, who like all of his kind, is quick to temper, and to lash out with vast amounts of power. Shows maturity, and does the unexpected for one of his kind, he holds his power within himself.
Justifier Kaellin knows that there's an elven spellcaster around somewhere. An elven noble who is vastly more experienced than himself when it comes to spellcraft in battle, who easily took out both Justifiers Lovis and Sammacin.
"Move" orders the Justifier, who continues with "Off the roof" as he nods to their right. Barsol and Yarmeed are already moving, and they're the first to run, then jump across the small gap to the next rooftop.
Justifier Kaellin jumps over as do the other guards, and they follow Barsol who calls out "Over here" as he finds a set of steps that lead down to the ground, and the street below.
"Now where did you get to?" the elven noble Galacithàné Walashàele murmurs to himself as he sensed another Justifier turn up in the area, though further to the south than actually near the east wall of the city.
This Justifier the most powerful one so far, a Justifier he immediately recognised, as he's met him.
Now where are you mage? the elven spellcaster thinks to himself, as he's a little surprised that Justifier Kaellin is hiding himself, after all he is a mage, the most powerful and the most brash of all the human spellcasters.
The elven noble glances up into the lit night sky and spots a wyvern with a small squad of Justifiers guards flying overhead. He could easily bring it down as those on it shoot crossbows, and throw spears at some of the elven soldiers and mercenaries who have made it to the top of the east wall of Falnic after entering the city through the destroyed sally port.
Galacithàné Walashàele leaves it alone, for he has more important things to do. Besides if he did bring down the wyvern, it will give away his location, which he doesn't want to do.
Turning to the pair of his cousin's personal guards, the elven noble says "We're going" they head to the door on the left that leads to a set of steps that go down into the lane next to the building they're in.
"We're going to hunt that mage who visited us in the autumn" adds the younger cousin of lord Walashàele as they step outside, and head down the steps to the lane below "And kill him" continues the elven noble from the principality of Maladimbáh . . . . . .
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