Falnic. Belinswae. Winter...
Lord Farque glances at Mira Reinholt the mage and nods his full helmed head. The once powerful mage creates a mageglobe as the prisoner upon the bed slowly wakes up after Helbe the elven thief drops his deep sleep spell he's cast upon the prisoner.
The mageglobe leaves the right hand of the mage Reinholt and makes it's way over to the bed, where it hovers near the waking figure. The trio from the Southlands waits as the prisoner fully wakes.
The mage Kaellin groans as he wakes up, he doesn't feel any physical pain, he just feels an all over aching soreness. His eyelids flutter, and he opens his eyes, and finds he's on his back, looking up at a ceiling.
Suddenly a mageglobe comes into view, he blinks in surprise at seeing it, for the simple reason it isn't his.
Then the Justifier hears a voice say "Don't sense or cast" followed by "Or that will kill you" adds the voice, which continues with "You know how fast they are, much faster than you can ever be".
Kaellin swallows as he looks at the glowing red orb of living magic, which what exactly it does, he has no idea. But being a mageglobe he knows it will be destructive in some way.
The Justifier, one of the rulers of the city of Falnic and the region of Belinswae. Slightly turns his head to the right, and finds three people standing near the door in the room he's in.
They're all tall, far taller than an average townsmen of Belinswae. The large one in the dark armour towers over the other two. One in a white hooded cloak, who is over six foot tall. And the other in a black hooded cloak, who is about six foot tall.
By the fine features of his face, the Justifier sees that the one in white is an elf. While the other two are obviously human.
"Who are you?" asks Justifier Kaellin "Your captors" says the one in the black hooded cloak, who the spellcaster figures is a mage as well.
Before the prisoner can say anything else, the mage Reinholt adds "What we want" as he guesses what the captured Justifier is going to ask next "Is that you listen carefully to what is about to be told to you" the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster silently adds, even though you're going to fucking hate what it is.
The mage Kaellin lies there waiting for one of them to say whatever it is, but they've fallen silent as they look at him. Eventually lord Farque quietly says in the royal elven language to Helbe the elven thief "He's coming up, get the door". The young elven noble slightly nods his hooded head and turns to the door which he opens.
"Let him in cunt" calls out the undead warlord in the ork language, there comes a grunt from outside in the hallway, then the floorboards out there creak, a moment later and Justifier Sammacin walks into the room.
While Shur Kee the monk who has brought the young wizard upstairs in the inn, remains out in the hallway with Dorc da Orc, who grunts and sits back down infront of the door, which prince Helbenthril Raendril closes again.
"Sammacin" says the mage Kaellin in surprise when he sees the young wizard enter the room he's being held in "Kaellin" says the wizard Sammacin to his fellow Justifier.
Then the younger of the two townsmen looks at the large heavily armoured figure of the lord and ruler of the lands Farque, who tells him "Proceed".
"Justifier Sammacin I've been tasked to inform you" begins Justifier Sammacin who continues on with "That the city of Falnic has fallen to a combined force of elven soldiers from Maladimbáh, dwarven warriors from the Stone Hills" he gestures at the three from south of the equator and adds "And others".
The mage Kaellin lies there completely shocked at what he's hearing from his fellow Justifier, he's even more shocked when the young wizard continues with "As well as an army of nomads from the plains".
The older of the two Justifiers hisses in anger through clenched teeth, and goes to sit up. But he jerks his head back, and lies still as the mageglobe that's hovering over him, drops down to only a couple of inches from his face.
The mage winces as he feels the heat coming off the living piece of magic. The Justifier whose idea it was in the first place to invade the Stone Hills. To take the riches in the mountainholds of the dwarves to help fund his raids into the Nomads Plains keeps completely still, and eventually the mageglobe rises up, so that it's back to about a foot above him.
The mage Kaellin who breathes a little bit easier now that the mageglobe isn't so close, looks back over at his fellow Justifier, who starts talking again when lord Farque tells him "Continue".
The older of the two Justifiers, with his arms down by his sides, grips in anger the blanket he's lying on as the wizard Sammacin tells him what's happening, and what will happen.
An incredulous look passes across the face of the mage Kaellin as he listens to the young wizard.
The last thing Justifier Kaellin remembers before waking up a short time ago. Is moving through the city with a small number of guards, trying to avoid one of his own mageglobes.
Which was after an elven noble, who was following closely behind the Justifier.
The mage Kaellin turns his head and looks at the elf in the room, and figures that he's the elven noble in question, who somehow incapacitated him and his guards.
The Justifier then looks sharply at his fellow townsmen and says "What?" in shock at what he's just heard the young wizard say.
"From this day forth, raids into the plains by the townsmen of Belinswae, to capture and kill nomads will cease" repeats Justifier Sammacin who sees the incredulous look on the face of the mage Kaellin turn to anger.
"By who's authority!" demands the Justifier who has been taken prisoner "By mine" replies the wizard Sammacin, who then adds "It will be written into law".
A look of astonishment goes across the face of the mage Kaellin, who goes to sit up again until the hovering mageglobe drops down so that it's mere inches from his face.
The older of the two Justifiers in the room glares at the living piece of magic, but he lies flat again, and looks over at his fellow townsmen.
"Why?" asks the fairly powerful mage, the young wizard replies with "To stop the slaughter of every townsmen in the city that's why" the younger of the two Justifiers explains to the mage Kaellin that if he didn't do what he did, then the army of tribal nomads would of been allowed in the city to do whatever they wanted to do.
Justifier Kaellin lies there seething at the betrayal that he feels, at what his fellow Justifier has done. The mage Kaellin would rather Falnic had fallen and every townsmen in it, killed. Than see one of the oldest laws of the region of Belinswae be overturned.
The ability of any townsmen, not just guards in the service of the Justifiers. To raid into the Nomads Plains is so ingrained into the fabric of the region, that after thousands of years, that it's suddenly been changed. Will completely change what it means to be a townsmen of Belinswae.
The mage Kaellin glares at his fellow Justifier, and true that he's had his differences with the young wizard, especially of late concerning the invasion of the Stone Hills.
He never thought Sammacin would ever do something like this, to actually change what it means to be a townsmen of Belinswae.
After staring at his fellow Justifier in silence for a while, the mage Kaellin spits out "What else traitor!" he continues with "Seems you've got something else on your mind, tell me!".
The wizard Sammacin remains silent for a couple more moments, then he starts speaking again. And as he talks, the colour starts to drain from the face of the mage Kaellin as he listens to what his fellow Justifier has to say.
"Lies" whispers Justifier Kaellin, who then hisses "Lies" followed by a shout of "Lies!" after the wizard Sammacin explains to him, that they, the townsmen of Belinswae, are the same people as the tribal nomads who live on the dry, arid plains to the east of the region that the Justifiers rule.
The mage who is reeling at what the young wizard has just told him, suddenly has an idea about something, and is surprised he didn't think of it earlier.
"You can't change the law like that Sammacin, and you know it" says the mage Kaellin, who continues with "If another Justifier disagrees with a proposed law, it cannot come into effect".
"I know" says the wizard Sammacin who after a slight pause continues with "But since I'm the only Justifier in Falnic alive, I'll pass the law on my own".
"Aren't you forgetting something?" says Justifier Kaellin, who then adds "What about me?". The young wizard glances over at the tall, silent figure of lord Farque, who nods his full helmed head.
The wizard Sammacin looks back at his fellow Justifier who is on the bed, and tells him "Well i will be the only Justifier in that city once you're executed".
"No!" shouts the mage Kaellin who doesn't care about the living piece of magic floating above the bed, he reaches for his power to cast. As he does his eyes close, and his mind goes foggy. In an instant he's asleep again, as Helbe the elven thief casts deep sleep upon him once more.
"Pretty good with that" says prince Helbenthril Raendril in the elven language when Mira Reinholt drops his illusion spell, and his mageglobe disappears. The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster was not going to waste a real mageglobe on the Justifier they have as a prisoner.
"Thanks" says the mage Reinholt, lord Farque turns and opens the door, then says to Dorc da Orc "Get in here, and get the prisoner".
The large ork ducks down to come in through the door, then he makes his way over to the bed and picks up the sleeping Justifier, and puts him over his right shoulder.
The undead warlord looks at the others in the room, including Justifier Sammacin and tells them "Come along then" and he makes his way out of the room on the second storey of the inn, the others follow him.
Justifier Kaellin's eyelids flutter again as he wakes up, he repeatedly blinks as the sun is bright, he feels colder now, and realises that he's outside.
Once his eyes are completely open, and he's fully awake, he finds that indeed he is outside.
"What?" gasps the mage Kaellin, who sees a group of tribal nomads standing below him. The Justifier looks down at them, and grimaces as something is tight around his neck.
The mage looks around, and sees that he's in a familiar street in the east of the city. And that there's a large crowd gathered, a lot of elves from the principality of Maladimbáh, as well as dwarves from the Stone Hills.
There's also a lot of townsmen, who are looking on from windows, doorways, and balconies. The Justifier looks up, and finds a tree above him, on the branch directly above him, is a rope, that ends in a noose which is around his neck.
The mage reaches for his power, and is shocked when he can't feel it. The Justifier whose wrists are tied behind his back, who is shocked at not being able to touch his magical power. Starts to struggle, but he barely moves, for not just his wrists are tightly bound, so are his ankles. And there's also something or someone behind him, holding him still.
The Justifier who suddenly feels his bladder give way, and urine run down the inside of his legs. Looks down as one of the tribal nomads steps forward.
The mage Sammacin looks wildly about, and spots his fellow Justifier, the wizard Sammacin standing nearby, next to the two hooded figures, as well as a third, this one in grey, another elf.
As well as a short statured man in an odd conical shaped hat. A large knight in shining armour. And two youngsters, teenagers, who are quite tall.
Next to them, sitting on the ground, is a large green creature, drinking from a barrel of ale, and grinning profusely as he looks at the Justifier hanging from the tree.
The tribal leader Chanük who has stepped forward, kicks the chair out from beneath the Justifier. And as lord Farque who id standing behind the condemned, continues to hold him, the mage Kaellin starts to choke to death.
Chanük takes out his dagger and stabs the Justifier in the stomach. He stands aside, and another of the tribal leaders from the Nomads Plains steps forward, and stabs his own dagger into the guts of the hanging mage, who groans in pain as he struggles to breathe.
All eight of the tribal nomads, ending with the far hunter Saladén stab their daggers into the stomach and groin of the Justifier. Who is choking slowly to death, as the noose around his neck, isn't the tightest.
And because lord Farque who is standing behind him, holding him so that he's unable to struggle, and unable to touch his magic in his prolonged death throes. Is keeping him as still as possible.
Eventually the undead warlord lets go of the Justifier who has taken sometime to come to his end. The last thing Justifier Kaellin sees before he dies, is those eight tribal nomads looking at him, satisfied in the knowledge that they've executed him, knowing that he knows his region of Belinswae has been completely changed forever, and he can't do anything about it . . . . . .
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