You Want A War? You've Got One! 62.

Falnic. Belinswae. Winter...

They fight throughout the night. Mainly heading south through the city of Falnic after opening the main north gates of the city, and fouling the mechanism to open and close them.
They head south for a couple of reasons, as the fighting near that end of the city, in particular towards that end of the harbour. Is the heaviest after most of the fighting was concentrated in the east of the city. Where the army from southern Maladimbáh originally entered Falnic.
The other reason was because they were pushed that way, as a particular good commander in one of the Justifier's armies. In this case, Galbin, the cousin of the wizard Sammacin.
Herded them that way, as he got out most of those off duty guards in the barracks of his cousin's army fairly quickly when he realised the city was under attack, and had been entered.
With superior numbers he pushed the elven soldiers and mercenaries who were predominantly in the north of the city, south towards that end of the harbour.
Sometime during the night, after halfway between midnight and dawn. In a lull in the fighting, Riley Hait the mercenary ranger, who was nearly out on his feet, as he was that exhausted, found himself a place to rest in an empty house.
The human ranger who was raised and trained in the elven principality of Envadarlen in the Southlands, slept until just after dawn. He wakes up, and finds a few of the elven soldiers asleep on the floor of the room he's in.
The ranger Hait finds a handful more out in the main room, most asleep, though one's awake, sitting in a chair, looking out a window.
The mercenary ranger looks through the door to the kitchen, and finds one of the healers in lord Walashàele's army, with his assistant, setting the broken arm of one of the soldiers.
While on the floor sits one of the elven mercenaries from southern Maladimbáh, who has a blood soaked strip of linen wrapped around his head.
As the healers assistant steps outside to get a bucket of water, the ranger Hait spots at least half a dozen dead elven soldiers and mercenaries at the far end of the back courtyard.
A pair of soldiers come into view carrying another dead elf from the principality of Maladimbáh. They lie his body beside the other dead, covering his body with a sheet pilfered from a nearby house.
Riley Hait the mercenary ranger moves forward to the window, and says to the soldier sitting on the chair "Dorc?". "Down the street the last i saw" says the soldier who speaks in the elven language as he knows the human ranger from south of the equator speaks it fluently.
The Southlander then asks in the same language "The enemy?" the elven soldier in lord Walashàele's army answers with "None around here recently".
The ranger who is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra, who just happens to inhabit the body of Riley Hait, nods his thanks, then heads outside.
Once on the street infront of the house, the mercenary ranger who was brought up and trained by the warders of Envadarlen, turns left and makes his way down the street.
About forty yards down the near empty street, one of the elven soldiers is knocking on a locked door. Which eventually opens, it's a bakery, and he has a quiet word in the common language with the person who has opened the door, then gives that person a handful of coins.
The door shuts, then a few moments later and it opens again, and the elven soldier is given a basket of bread. He says a quiet word in thanks.
Then he walks away, and he spots the ranger Hait nearby, and tosses over to him a loaf of bread. Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman thanks him for it, and continues on his way.
The mercenary ranger tears open the round loaf of bread, enjoying the smell of the still warm bread on this cool winter's morning here in the city of Falnic.
It's definitely preferable to the smell of smoke coming from the north, as more than a few buildings and structures are on fire, or have been burnt down in that part of the city.
More so than anywhere else in the city of Falnic where a battle is still being fought.
Chewing on pieces of newly baked loaf of bread, the Southlander makes his way to where a handful of elven soldiers stand near the corner of a building, on the corner to another street. Which leads down to the nearby docks.
The ranger Hait is about to ask them if they've seen Dorc da Orc, when he sees that they're looking up at a roof of a building, on the otherside of the street that leads down to the harbour.
The mercenary ranger from the principality of Envadarlen rolls his eyes after looking up at that particular rooftop.
For in the early morning light, he sees Dorc da Orc walking back and forth across that roof. Holding one of his spears, upon which is a Justifier's guard. Who is impaled upon the nine foot long weapon.
With it up through the guard's ass, and coming out at the top of his back, just above his shoulders.
Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson grimaces when he sees that the Justifier's guard is still alive when the large ork angrily shakes the spear when he briefly stops, and glares as he looks away to the west.
The guard in the service of one of Belinswae's Justifiers, impaled upon the ork warleader's spear groans as Dorkindle shakes it like a banner of war, which is what it is. Well to the big, burly ork it is.
"Dorc!" calls out Riley Hait, the large ork grunts, turns around and looks down at the mercenary ranger, who waves for him to come down. The ork warleader grunts and makes his way down off the roof, a short while later and the weaponsmith from the wolf tribe of orks joins the human ranger who hails from the elven principality of Envadarlen in the Southlands.
The nearby elves move away as the large ork has brought the impaled guard with him, the ranger Hait winces as Dorkindle leans the spear, and the Justifier's guard impaled upon it, up against the side of the building they're standing next to.
"How are things?" asks Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman who hands the rest of the loaf of bread to the warleader of the ork race, who sniffs it, then shoves it in his mouth, barely gives it a single chew before swallowing it whole.
"Not much fucken fighting at the mo" says Dorc da Orc, who then goes onto detail what he's seen so far this early in the morning, on what's turned out to be a clear, cool winter's morning in Falnic.
The ranger from south of the equator listens in silence to what the large ork has to say, and nods his head in agreement with the ork warleader when he says that the fighting will pick up once again, and continue throughout the day within the city.
The mercenary ranger from Envadarlen who is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra says to the large ork "Come on" and nods his head in the direction the elves moved away to, as that's the way Dorc da Orc has indicated the closest fighting is.
The ork weaponsmith grunts, then picks up his banner, who groans and Dorkindle mutters "Fuck up ya cunt" to. Before following after the mercenary ranger from south of the equator.
The streets not just here near the harbour in the south of the city are near empty. But throughout all of Falnic they are. The people have shut themselves in their homes and businesses. Afraid to come out due to the fighting between the Justifiers guards who defend the city, and the elven army from southern Maladimbáh who have made their way into Falnic by way of force.
Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson knows that the local populace have got off easy, as the elves won't harm them.
It won't necessarily be the same when the nomad army turns up later, most likely tonight.
Due to centuries, infact many millennia of animosity between the townsmen of Belinswae and the nomads of the plains that lie to the east of the region of Belinswae.
Dorc da Orc grunts and stops, as does Riley Hait who glances at the ork weaponsmith who is looking towards a lane up to their right.
A few moments later, and a cow walks from the lane, then makes it's way down the empty street, going by them. It's escaped from a stable or someone's yard, where it's most likely used for milk.
Though it doesn't exactly get close to the two from south of the equator, after all it gets a whiff of the large ork. It ambles away down the street as if it's a everyday excursion.
"Huh" murmurs the big, burly ork who is in exile from his homeland the Ork Range that's located in the southern polar region. The ranger Hait can only nod his head in agreement with him.
Even the Justifier's guard impaled upon the spear the ork weaponsmith is holding. Has a brief moment of coherence and lucidity and sees the cow wander by. And he wonders what strange hell he's descended into. Where he's to be tortured by large green monsters. And has lone cows wandering through the empty streets of a city that looks like Falnic.
The two from south of the equator set off again, with Dorkindle's banner groaning in pain once more, who the large ork growls at.
The mercenary ranger from the principality of Envadarlen and the weaponsmith from the wolf tribe of orks turn onto another street. There they find more elven soldiers and mercenaries from southern Maladimbáh.
Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson stops at a cart that a few of the elves are around. It's a fruit sellers cart that was abandoned in the evening. The ranger Hait takes a handful of dried dates, and an orange. The warleader of the ork race makes a face of disgust as the mercenary ranger starts eating the fruit as they continue down the street.
They enter a building, upon which, and on nearby rooftops. Are a number of elven archers, who are shooting at the enemy in the early morning light of the day.
Inside the building, they find the officer who has been with them since they entered the city last night. He tells them in the common language "Things are starting up again" the elven officer continues with "Also, my lord and his daughter have turned up, they've been spotted flying to the east of the city".
"The nomads might turn up a bit earlier, late in the afternoon maybe" muses Riley Hait who knows that lord Walashàele and his daughter Jalindílth have flown directly here from the Nomads Plains upon their griffons.
Infact they left well before the army came through the portal that had them come out less that than six miles from the walls of Falnic.
"Any word from lord Walashàele's cousin Galacithàné?" asks the mercenary ranger who was raised and trained by the elven warders of Envadarlen "Nothing since last night" is the reply of the officer.
The ranger Hait nods his head, and he wonders if the elven noble whose task it is to eliminate as many as the Justifiers in the city, is still alive.
They haven't faced much in the way of spellcraft during the battle so far, intact very little. Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson suspects Galacithàné Walashàele has at least been effective in some part.
As some of the elven soldiers in the room glance sideways at Dorc da Orc and his banner, as the large ork peers out one of the windows.
Riley Hait says to the elven officer "They still gathered around those warehouses towards the docks?". "They are" replies the senior elven soldier "We'll make another push against them" says the Southlander, who glances over at the ork warleader, and says to him "Sound like a good idea Dorc?".
"Yeah cunt" says the large ork, then as the officer starts issuing orders, the son of the former matriarch of the wolf tribe of orks, grabs his banner and makes his way outside.
The ranger Hait follows quickly after him, calling out to the elven soldiers and mercenaries to come along.
Out on the street, Dorc da Orc glances back and sees Riley and the elves following behind him, he looks forward, and starts heading to the warehouse district behind the docks at this, the southern end of the harbour.
The warleader of the ork race shakes his banner, which groans and causes the big, burly ork to chuckle, then Dorkindle says "Get some" as they head into battle again . . . . . .