Falnic. Belinswae. Winter...
Sammacin the Justifier wakes up groaning, he rolls over as one of his guards says "Sir are you alright?".
"No" replies the young wizard who has a splitting headache, and who feels like he's had a herd of horses repeatedly trample over him.
The Justifier, the youngest one in all of Belinswae, holds his power within himself. For he knows whoever it was that incapacitated him. Did it with magic, and did it with ease.
"How long have i been out?" asks the spellcaster who is one of the rulers of the region of Belinswae, who finds that he's lying on a low bed, in what can only be described as a shabby looking room.
"Since last night" says the guard, who is one of three in the room "It's morning now sir" adds the guard. One of the others, who is at the window, pushes aside a torn, ratty looking curtain, to look outside, allowing the early morning sunshine to come in.
The Justifier winces at that bright light, he turns his head and asks the guard kneeling beside the low bed "Where are we?" followed by "And what's been happening?".
"Where off the tannery row" says the guard.
Well that explains the shabby accommodation, the young Justifier thinks to himself, who can also get a hint of the smells from the nearby tanneries located up a hill in the south of the city of Falnic.
The wizard listens to the guard, and the other one at the door, while the third at the window remains silent. Explain what's been happening, or more precisely, what they've seen, and what they've heard from others. Both from fellow Justifiers guards, and ordinary residents of the city they're been able to talk to.
Sammacin winces as he's informed that the city of Falnic is under attack from an army of elves from the principality of Maladimbáh.
How they've made their way into the city, and are fighting guards in the service of the Justifiers in virtually all quarters of the city.
Fighting has been heaviest here in the south of the city, and in the east of the city. Where most of the elves entered the largest city in Belinswae last night.
The young wizard feels some small measure of relief, not to mention pride. When he hears it's his cousin Galbin, and his own guards who have had a fair bit of success against the elven soldiers from Maladimbáh.
Though he grimaces as the two guards doing the talking tell him of what else they've seen and heard. And how other Justifier's guards have struggled against the elves who have forced their way into Falnic.
"It's those damn longbows of their's" says the guard next to the low bed, he then adds "And the fact they can fight like hell in the dark".
"Should be more of a fair fight now that it's daytime" says the guard at the door, the silent one at the window nods in agreement, and the Justifier agrees with that assessment too.
"And the other Justifiers?" asks the wizard Sammacin, who continues with "Any word about them?". "We saw the guards of the witch Lovis carrying her away" says the guard at the door.
The young wizard nods as he vaguely remembers that just after they appeared on the east wall of the city last night, just a little while before he was knocked out.
"We caught up with them after you collapsed sir, as we were carrying you away" says the guard kneeling beside the low bed, who continues with "They were taking her back to her townhouse" after a pause he adds "We didn't think it would be safe to take you back to yours, since most people know where the Justifiers live, and the elves could easily find that out".
"You did the right thing" says Justifier Sammacin, who then asks "Where's the rest of the squad i teleported to the east wall last night?". "Dead sir" says the guard doing most of the talking, the young wizard grimaces, and the guard next to the low bed he's lying on, tells him "Killed by the elves during the night as we brought you south through the city".
By the gods Kaellin, look at what you're meddling has got us into! the young Justifier thinks to himself in disgust, the wizard who is not in the least pious or religious, has a feeling that they'll need the luck of the gods to get out of the mess they're in at the moment.
"Justifier Kaellin?" asks the wizard Sammacin who continues with "Any word of him?". All three guards shake their heads in the negative, and the one kneeling beside the low bed the Justifier is on, says "There's been a few big explosions during the night, they could of been caused by Justifier Kaellin".
Sounds like something the mage would do, the young wizard dryly thinks to himself, then he shakes his head, and he goes to get up. It's a bit of a struggle, but after sitting up, then with help from the guard next to the bed, Justifier Sammacin is able to get up off the bed.
Still holding his power within himself, which isn't particularly easy to do if you're not practiced at it. The wizard accepts a mug of water from one of the guards.
He drinks another, then makes his way over to the window, and looks out it when the guard there on the chair, pulls the ratty looking curtain to one side.
The wizard Sammacin squints as he looks around, and finds they're on the second floor of what seems to be ramshackle looking building.
"Down the hill sir" says the guard in the chair who until now has been silent, he continues with "Quite a few guards down near the harbour, in the warehouse district" the guard in the chair then adds "There's a large force of elves that way, you can spot some of them on the rooftops down there".
The Justifier who can definitely smell the nearby tanneries, spots the figures on roofs down near the harbour. Far taller than any townsmen, all with longbows in hand.
The wizard Sammacin sighs as he knows that there's an army of tribal nomads that's almost here too. The Justifier who sees that the streets are basically empty. Knows that the elves from Maladimbáh won't harm or threaten the townsmen of Falnic who aren't guards.
Not so when the nomad army gets here, their animosity towards the townsmen of Belinswae is as great as the hate that the townsmen have towards them.
The young wizard is not looking forward to them turning up, to go with the elven army from the principality of Maladimbáh who are already within the walls of the city.
"Sir, why have the elves from the otherside of the plains attacked us?" asks the guard who was beside the low bed, who has made his way over to stand near the Justifier, whose army he serves in.
"I don't know really" muses the wizard Sammacin, who after a momentary pause, adds "Well, it might have something to do with an offer that was made to them by one of the Justifiers, which they rejected".
The trio of guards work that out, as along with most guards in the armies of the Justifiers of not just Falnic, but all of Belinswae. As well as most of the ordinary townsmen.
Have heard about Justifier Kaellin's sojourn to the principality of Maladimbáh. Where he wanted to sign a treaty so that he could house part of his army in Maladimbáh, so that could easily raid down into the Nomads Plains.
"Probably" adds the young wizard, who then says in a dry tone "Convenient of them to attack when an army of those damn nomads are just about to show up".
It's fairly obvious to Justifier Sammacin that the army of elves from Maladimbáh are in cahoots with the army of tribal nomads from the dry, arid plains to the east of Belinswae, who are expected to show up in Falnic any day now.
The wizard nods down towards the harbour, then says "I'm pretty certain those elven soldiers are in the army of one lord Walashàele". As that is the second elven lord that Justifier Kaellin tried to negotiate with. As the first one, a certain lord Haldéliv was killed during the summertime.
I wonder if he's pissed off that Kaellin met with him second, instead of first? the young Justifier thinks to himself, as he has a feeling that elven nobles, like any noble he's heard about. Can be a prickly bunch when they want to be. And upsetting their pride could be one of the reasons they, in this case, he. Would launch on attack on Falnic, from so far away.
"What should we do sir?" asks the guard who helped the young wizard to stand, Justifier Sammacin slightly sighs, then he says "What we can" then he adds "Try and save our city".
And still with a splitting headache, the wizard says to his men "Come along, let's get moving".
They head out of the room and down the rather rickety looking stairs that the wizard isn't entirely sure will hold their weight. It does, and once downstairs, they make their way outside.
"We'll try and join up with some other guards" quietly says the Justifier, who then continues with "Try and keep out of sight, i don't want to cast unless it's absolutely necessary" Sammacin then silently adds, whoever it was that took me out so easily, is probably still out there.
"This way" quietly says the guard who was the lookout at the window, who continues with "I grew up in this part of the city and know it well".
The guard goes right, and the others including the young Justifier follows. They hurry across the street, and enter a dark lane, going down some steps into a small square with a grotty looking fountain in it, the water in it, is none to clean.
They head down the steps on the otherside of the small square. They come out on a narrow street, that could possibly pass for a lane anywhere else in the city, but not here.
The window shutters are all closed or boarded up. Justifier Sammacin is glad the local people are keeping inside and off the streets. Hopefully not too many of them have been casualties of the battle that's taking place in the city.
They stop at the end of the narrow street, and now that they're a bit further away from tannery row, the young wizard is fairly certain he can smell smoke.
"Many places on fire?" quietly asks the Justifier as the guard out in the lead, is glancing around the corner of a building "Mostly in the north and in the east of the city" quietly replies the guard who was next to the low bed the young wizard slept in.
"A number of buildings have been burnt down there sir" continues the guard, Justifier Sammacin winces, then he and the two guards behind the one in the lead, follow him around the corner, where they quickly cross a street.
They make their way over a cart belonging to a street vendor, that's been tipped over at the mouth of an alley. They go down the alley, and come out onto a street.
Seeing that the street is clear in both directions, they cross to a lane as they continue on their way downhill towards the harbour.
They pass beneath an archway as they enter the lane, that has steps going down it. Unseen to them, a figure that was lying flat on top of the archway, gets up into a kneeling position.
The guard in the lead suddenly falls forward down the steps as the back of his head shatters apart when a crossbow bolt slams into it.
The wizard Sammacin goes to turn, when suddenly he's bumped aside by the guard next to, who trips and falls down a couple of steps, a dagger hilt is sticking out of the back of his neck.
The young Justifier pushes off the wall to his left, and goes to turn, as he does he stops holding his power within himself. All of a sudden something whacks him in the back of the head.
Sammacin as he blacks out, sees his bracelet on his right wrist, and knows it won't go off, as it's only good for a single use.
As the light fades, and everything turns to darkness. The Justifier who has slightly turned around, sees the third guard hanging from the archway they just passed beneath, with a cord around his neck.
The wizard Sammacin also sees a tall hooded figure standing directly behind him as everything goes dark, then he feels nothing.
Grabbing the unconscious Justifier before he falls down the steps, Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy quietly says "Can't have you hurting yourself after I've spent most of the night looking for you".
The elf from the principality of Alínlae in the Southlands puts the wizard Sammacin over his right shoulder, then quietly says to the unconscious Justifier "Come on, let's get you somewhere safe" . . . . . .
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