Falnic. Belinswae. Winter...
Justifier Sammacin wakes up with a rotten headache. The young wizard feels sunshine on his face, and when he opens his eyes, he finds he's on an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room.
With the window next to the bed open, that has the morning sun streaming in through it. On what feels like a pretty cold day outside for Falnic during the winter.
The Justifier, turns his head, and finds a hooded figure sitting upon a chair next to the closed door of the room.
"Who are you?" croaks Justifier Sammacin, who coughs to clear his throat "It's not important" says Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy who captured the young wizard yesterday morning in the south of the city.
"There's water in the mug on the table" adds the spy Tanith who nods to the small round table next to the head of the bed, the elf from the principality of Alínlae in the Southlands continues with "There's more in the pitcher".
The young wizard sits up and takes the mug, and takes a drink from it, as he does, the hooded figure, who he's guessed is an elf. His voice, and the height of him even sitting down, gives that away. Says to the Justifier "Please don't cast, or even sense, you might not like what happens if you do".
The wizard Sammacin who is just about to sense, suddenly feels something sharp at his throat. The Justifier, who is one of the rulers of the region of Belinswae, immediately stops what he was about to do, which was sense.
He feels whatever it was at his throat, like a sharp prick more than anything else, suddenly disappear.
Narladene the ground pixie returns her tiny sword back to it's scabbard. And she sits back down upon the headboard of the bed, and waits for the prisoner to try to sense again, or even cast. She has a feeling the young wizard won't, after she's put her sword to his throat once already.
After drinking the water, the Justifier leans back against the headboard, and asks "Where am i?". The wizard Sammacin doesn't think the hooded elf is going to answer, for he's silent for quite some time, but eventually he says "In the east of the city, a home of a moderately successful merchant by the looks of it, who took off out of the city yesterday during the battle".
"Yesterday?" murmurs the young Justifier who then adds "You mean last night" the hooded figure on the chair next to the door shake his head, then says "Yesterday during the day" he briefly pauses before continuing with "You've been out since yesterday morning".
Hell! Sammacin thinks to himself, the young wizard slightly grimaces, then he looks over at the elf, and says "So I'm a prisoner then?".
"Something like that" is the reply of Dalinvardél Tanith, who more often than not, is referred to as Dalin by those who know him well.
The elven spy from south of the equator then tells the Justifier he captured rather easily "No harm will come to you" the Southlander then adds "Unless you try to sense or cast".
For emphasis, the invisible Narladene sticks the point of her extremely sharp sword against the side of the captured wizard's neck.
She withdraws it when the Justifier nods his head in understanding when he feels the sharp jab in the side of his neck.
The wizard Sammacin clears his throat, and pours himself another mug of water, after drinking some of it, and returning the mug back to the small table, he looks at his captor and says "The battle?".
"Over" is the reply of Dalinvardél Tanith, who sees the Justifier grimace at that. The young wizard who is pretty certain that the city of Falnic has fallen, lets out a deep sigh, then mutters "Fuck" under his breath, which the elven spy clearly hears.
Justifier Sammacin is about to ask another question, when suddenly the door opens, and another hooded figure enters the room.
This one is a black hooded cloak, not as tall as the elf is the young wizard's guess, though still tall, around six foot tall, which is well over the average height of most townsmen of Belinswae.
The Justifier who hears talking from the room outside the one he's in, before the figure in the black hooded cloak, obviously human, closes the door.
Sammacin looks at the new arrival who is scrutinizing him, then the young wizard slightly frowns as he's pretty sure he's met this person before, though he can't exactly remember doing so.
"Have we met?" asks the Justifier as he looks at that figure in the black hooded cloak who has a sword on his hip, and another one, a strange looking one, that has a long blade at either end with a shaft handle in between, strapped to his back.
"We have" says Mira Reinholt the mage in response to the young wizard's question, the once powerful mage continues with "Back in the summer" the Vexilian mage in exile then silently adds, not that you'll remember doing so.
I can't remember doing that, the wizard Sammacin thinks to himself, who just nods to what the figure in the black hooded cloak just said, who then tells him "If you could get yourself ready, we've got somewhere to go".
"Certainly" says the Justifier, the youngest of the rulers of the region of Belinswae. Who gets up out of bed, and though a little wobbly on his feet at first, he makes his way over to a set of drawers. Which has the rest of his clothes on top, as he's just in his under clothes.
Getting dressed the young wizard feels how cold it is from the open window, he's glad once he's got his robes on.
After using the piss pot in the corner of the room, he follows the black hooded figure out of the room. While the elf in the grey cloak follows behind the two of them.
Sammacin briefly stops, as does the talking from those in the room they step into. It's a kitchen come small dining hall, in what the Justifier guesses is the servants quarters of the merchants home.
At the tables, and on benches and chairs scattered through the small hall, sit dwarven warriors and elven soldiers, while others are standing. Most of them who are having their breakfast by the looks of it, stare at the young wizard for a moment. While others after a quick glance at him, get back to their meals.
They resume their conversations once Sammacin follows the black hooded figure out of the dining hall and kitchen.
The Justifier who is stunned to see dwarven warriors, presumably from the Stone Hills. Just nods his head, as the captor infront says "This way".
The wizard who was the only one of the Justifiers based in the city of Falnic not to take part in the invasion of the Stone Hills. Doesn't really look around to see where he is, until they pass through a walled garden, and they go out through a gate in the back wall.
Sammacin looks around as he clinches his belt a little tighter. And he finds they're on a street, that looks vaguely familiar to him.
Once they go down the street, passing a few elves and dwarves, and they walk out onto another street. He knows exactly where they are in the city, he can actually see the east wall of Falnic that isn't all that far away from where they are.
As a wyvern passes overheard, the figure in the black hooded cloak drops back to walk beside the young wizard as they head eastwards to the nearest city wall.
The Justifier who figures they're on the way to the city gates, is surprised to see some townsmen out and about on the streets, going about their ordinary lives, though many if not all, look scared.
"The people, they're scared" the young wizard quietly says, which Mira Reinholt the mage hears, and nods to "They are" says the once powerful mage who then adds "And with good reason".
The spellcaster from the city-state of Vexil in the Southlands, who also happens to be a highly skilled swordmaster then explains to the prisoner "That can all change though" the mage Reinholt continues with "You've got an important decision to make that will do it".
"And what's that?" asks Justifier Sammacin as they turn onto another street that leads straight to the city walls "You'll soon find out" is the reply of his captor in the black hooded cloak walking beside him.
The young wizard who wants to know how his family are, and if his cousin Galbin is still alive, and how many in his army survived the battle yesterday.
Remains quiet as his captors take him to the east gates of the city of Falnic. They're guarded by both elven soldiers from the principality of Maladimbáh, and dwarven warriors from the Stone Hills.
The gates are slightly open, and the Justifier along with his two captors make their way out of them.
As they walk outside the city wall, and go off the road to where a group of people are standing. Sammacin briefly pauses as he sees a pair of griffons nearby on the ground, basking in the sun, as the morning warms up.
The young wizard who has never seen one before, is surprised at how big they are. As large as the largest of wyverns. From the looks of them, he can see how their reputation of being deadly fliers are true. With only dragons being more lethal in the skies of Volunell.
Sammacin sees that in the group waiting off the side of the road some fifty yards from the walls of the city. Are a handful of dwarves, and a similar number of elves. There's humans too.
Two youngsters, teens by the looks of it. Though taller than any teens that the young wizard has ever seen. The two, a boy and a girl are both taller than most townsmen of Belinswae.
There's also a man wearing an odd conical shaped hat. He's about the height of townsmen of the region that the Justifier is a ruler of. He's talking to a knight, the large figure in the shining armour, with a white cape off the shoulders, is rather animated and boisterous as he talks.
A hooded figure, an elf by the looks of it, leaves the group and approaches the trio who have just left the city.
Sammacin's captors stop, and so does he, they're joined by the elf in the white hooded cloak, who says to the young wizard "If you could continue to refrain from sensing, or attempting to cast, that would be appreciated".
The Justifier nods his head, and Helbe the elven thief tells him "Follow me". The three who came out of the east gates of Falnic do so. And as the young wizard's original captors remain with the group of people when they walk around them.
The elf in the white hooded cloak leads Sammacin around the people, and by the pair of dozing griffons.
The young wizard stops, and almost trips up as he sees a large green creature sitting on the ground, gnawing on a haunch of roast ox. There's an open barrel of ale next to it, while on the otherside is a large spear sticking into the ground, impaled upon which is a Justifier's guard. Who the young wizard is glad to see, is not one of his guards, and more importantly dead.
The Justifier continues on his way when the elf takes hold of his right arm and leads him on, towards a large, heavily armoured figure standing off to one side.
The wizard Sammacin looks beyond the person in the dark armour, and he stops in his tracks again as he sees what's in the distance to the east.
After staring for a moment, he continues walking as the elf holding his right arm, nods for him to keep going. They eventually stop next the large, heavily armoured figure, who is by far the tallest human Sammacin has ever seen.
As the elf in the white hooded cloak leaves and walks back to where the others are, the Justifier slightly frowns as he glances at the large figure he's standing next to. Sammacin thinks he's vaguely familiar, and wonders if he's met him before. He has, briefly during the summertime, not the young wizard can remember that.
But most of the Justifier's attention is taken up by what's away to the east of the city. He would never of thought that this day would come, but here it is.
"You've got a decision to make" says lord Farque who briefly glances at the wizard Sammacin beside him, the undead warlord then looks back to the east and adds "You better think carefully about it". "If i don't?" asks the Justifier as he stares off to the east, not sure how things have come to this.
"If you don't, then i let them into your city to do whatever they want" says the heavily armoured deathlord with a wave of a gauntleted hand to the east "I see" quietly says the young wizard, who then looks up at the tall figure beside him, and asks "What is it that you want me to do?".
Justifier Sammacin listens, all the while looking off to the east, where an army of tribal nomads from the plains to the east of the region of Belinswae, wait just a mile away from the walls of the city of Falnic . . . . . .
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