The Homecoming 67.

In The Middle Of A Battle...

"Fucknuts" growls Dorc da Orc as the ground beneath them shakes, the large ork grabs a hold of the tree next to him so he doesn't fall over. Then he reaches out and grabs Tamric Drubine who is falling over, the big burly ork keeps the nobleborn teenager from the kingdom of Sarcrin upright.
While behind the two of them, Riley Hait the mercenary ranger mutters "Shit" as he falls over on his rear end, as he can't keep to his feet due the ground shaking so much.
Then suddenly, about thirty yards further along the hilltop to the right from where sir Percavelle Lé Dic is clinging onto a tree trunk. While Shur Kee the monk, is crouched on the ground. Still able to keep from falling over.
A tree falls down, as does another, then another, and another, and so on. Earth and dirt erupts in the air where the trees have fallen. They're showered by dirt as they try to keep from falling over as the side of the hill they're on continues to shake.
They look down the hilltop, and see an almost wave like path of destruction heading down it, going to the southwest. Dirt and trees are flung up and out of the ground, as a wide line in the ground can clearly be seen going down the hill. Onto the flat, across the trade road, of which a forty foot long section of it, that's torn apart and thrown into the air.
Before the line of the destruction tears through the ground, going diagonally across the meadow, right into the already depleted ranks of the Lé Dic army.
Horses and their riders are hurled into the air with the ground that erupts beneath them as the path of destruction continues on it's way.
The clearly visible wave in the earth, can be seen rapidly changing direction, sweeping back and forth across the meadow as it plows through the surviving ranks of the army from the Lé Dic fief.
In then turns back towards the trade road, flinging and throwing up dirt and rock in all directions. As it heads alongside the road, going through the rest of the Lé Dic army that's near the road.
Those that are on the trade road, are the lucky one's really. As the wave of destruction doesn't seem to want to destroy the road that much.
That's until it gets to the very rear of lady Linara Lé Dic's army. There it plows into the trade road, sending hard packed earth dozens of feet into the sky. Along with those soldiers, all on foot who are on that part of the trade road.
Wagons and their horses are hurled about as the wave of devastation slams into the war machines at the very rear of the Lé Dic army. One catapult that's on the road is completed shattered apart. While the other, that's just off to the side of the trade road. Topples over, smashing down onto those that are next to it.
Soldiers and camp followers, at the rear of the army from the Lé Dic fief. Who were too far back to be effected by the two cockatrice. For the simple reason they couldn't see them.
Try to flee the wave of destruction traveling through the ground. Those that aren't knocked over by the violent shaking of the ground.
Are mowed down by the upturned earth as the wave runs them down. None of them are quick enough to evade the destructive forces of the earth being churned up, and hurled in the air all around them.
The wave of destruction continues on for a good few hundred feet behind the very rear of the last of the Lé Dic army. Out of sight from where it originally came from, the top of the hill on the north side of the trade road. It finally comes to a stop and disappears. Though the ground continues to shake for what feels like a long time, but is really only a few moments.
Once the side of the hill they're on finally stops shaking, and the ground below in the meadow, and back west beside, and along the trade road stops shaking.
The mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen, who is flat on the ground, rolls over and looks back up the hill, following the path of destruction, to see where it came from.
With a lot of the trees along a stretch of the hill, now knocked down, and others completely shattered apart. He can see a bit more clearly up to the top of the hill, where he can see movement.
"Fuck" mutters Riley Hait in the hordes dialect of the southern tundra, who then says in common to the others "Move!" followed by "Down the hill" he then adds "Through the trees".
"What fucking trees" mutters Tamric Drubine as a lot of the trees to their right have either fallen over or have completely gone. But he knows what the ranger Hait means. And heads down through the trees to their left, followed by Dorc da Orc, who along with Shur Kee the monk, was the only one to keep to his feet as the hill they're on violently tried to shake them from it.
The short, statured monk from the far eastern coastal kingdom of Wah Lee, who stood tall in a ball of white energy around him as the earth shook violently beneath them.
Helps sir Percavelle Lé Dic to his feet, Riley Hait hurries over and helps the heavily armoured knight too. And the three of them hurry into the trees to the left as they head downhill.
With the former earl of Lé Dic in absolute shock at what's just happened to his niece's army. Which looks like it's been all but wiped out.
Further down the hill, Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy who clung to the ground, as where he's located on the hill, didn't shake too violently. He suspects because he's directly above the ranks of the Harkonin army. Who don't seem to be effected by the violent earth shaking in any way.
Looks quickly uphill to see if Lisell Maera is alright. He quickly spots the orphan teenager from the city-state of Brattonbury getting up off the ground, from where she was huddling at the base of a tree trunk.
The spy Tanith hears the attractive young human woman muttering to herself, swearing actually. But she seems to be fine.
So he quickly looks back down the hill at the Harkonin army. And sees that they've been given the order to advance. As he sees both mounted soldiers, and foot soldiers. Moving off, heading west. To attack and kill any in the Lé Dic army who might of survived the wave of destruction that came down the hill, and churned up the earth as it plowed through the army from the Lé Dic fief.
Fuck, they've been wiped out for sure, Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy thinks to himself as he looks towards the Lé Dic army. Or what's left of them. Which isn't much. If most of them aren't already dead. They're lying there wounded, just waiting to die from their injuries. Or the advancing Harkonin army who are making their way towards them.
There's very few in the Lé Dic army who are still on their feet uninjured. Even less who are still on horseback. Having miraculously avoided the wave of destruction that swept through their army.
Then the elven spy from the principality of Alínlae, remembers what he and the others are here to do. He looks back down at the Harkonin army. And now with most of them moving off. He can see more clearly those who are in and around the war machines.
They seem to be more relaxed, as it looks like they've been given the order to stand down. As the spy Tanith sees many of them chatting, and discussing what's just happened.
Then Dalinvardél Tanith, or Dalin as he's often referred to by the rest of the group. Narrows his eyelids as he sees a few of those who have walked around to the back of the second trebuchet, the one that's to the south of the trade road.
The elven spy looks carefully at a young man in a workman's smock. Similar to a blacksmith's apron. Next to him is a teenager, as well as an officer, an adjutant by the looks of it.
And though the officer looks like he's the one in charge, of all the crews and soldiers of the war machines by the looks of it.
He's definitely acting in a deferential manner to the younger man who wears a leather apron over his clothes.
Come on turn around, and look this way, Dalin silently urges to himself, and a moment later, the young man he's watching, does so, as he briefly looks at the other trebuchet on the trade road.
"Found you" murmurs the elven spy in satisfaction as he recognises the war engineer named Tovis. Dalinvardél Tanith has seen the image of the war engineer cast by Helbe the elven thief plenty of times, and knows what Tovis looks like.
Dalin quickly looks back uphill, when he hears movement heading down through the trees in this direction. He easily hears with his naturally enhanced hearing, who it is that's coming this way.
He scrambles uphill to join Lisell Maera, and he quietly tells her in elven "The others are coming down" Lis nods, then her eyebrows lift in surprise, when the spy Tanith adds "Also, I've found our engineer".
It's not too long before the others get to them, they all get low, or behind trees. And as Lisell Maera quietly asks "What the hell happened up there?". The spy Tanith says "Forget that" he then tells the others "I've found him" followed by "The war engineer".
"Where?" asks Riley Hait "There" replies Dalin who points out the person they've traveled to the kingdom of Druvic to find.
The mercenary ranger who is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra by the name of Zubutai Timaginson, who just happens to inhabit the body of Riley Hait. Nods his head when he sees the person that the spy Tanith points out.
"That's him alright" quietly says the ranger Hait who recognises Tovis the war engineer from the images of him, that prince Helbenthril Raendril has cast and shown to them all.
"Looks like a cunt" says Dorc da Orc, giving his opinion of what he thinks of the young engineer when he spots him "We gonna kills him?" asks the ork warleader.
"No" says Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman with a roll of his eyes, then the mercenary ranger who was raised and trained by the warders of the elven principality of Envadarlen, adds "We're going to take him".
"How?" asks Lisell Maera, who then adds in a slightly dry tone of voice "If you haven't noticed, there's a bit of army down there at the moment".
"I'm working on that" murmurs the ranger Hait "I could grab him tonight" is the quiet suggestion of Dalinvardél Tanith who continues with "I could sneak down into their camp, knock him out, then bring him out" as he knows he'd be less likely to be noticed as an elf during the night, than he will during the daytime.
"No we get him as soon as we can" quietly says Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson, who then silently adds, what we need is a distraction.
The mercenary ranger who is the temporary leader of the group in the absence of lord Farque, Mira Reinholt the mage and Helbe the elven thief. Looks over at the most likely source of a distraction. Infact two such likely sources. Dorc da Orc and sir Percavelle Lé Dic.
And though the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che still looks stunned at what's just happened to his niece's army. Many of whom he probably previously fought alongside, when he was earl, and before he had that title too.
Dorkindle looks bored already as he looks down at the rear elements of the Harkonin army. The ranger Hait knows a bored Dorc da Orc is a recipe for disaster, as he'll likely to do anything.
Perfect for a distraction, Riley Hait thinks to himself with a grin upon his face. The mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen is just wandering what type of distraction the large ork could come up with.
When a distraction happens down near the trade road anyway. Infact two such distractions. As another happens on the advancing left flank of the Harkonin army.
"Milburn" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic who nods his full helmed head down to the trade road, where a lone rider, who has been wandering around aimlessly, is hauled down out of his saddle by a number of the forward elements of the Harkonin army.
While on the left, or southern flank of the Harkonin army. Those who are mounted there. Nobles by the looks of the armour they're wearing. Come to a stop as a number of people suddenly appear infront of them.
"Scouts" says Dalinvardél Tanith who can clearly see to the far flank of the Harkonin army who have momentarily stopped. The elven spy who once served in one of the more prominent noble house in the principality of Alínlae, frowns then adds "And some guy in a robe" he briefly pauses before continuing with "A spellcaster i guess".
"The baron's advisor i bet" says Riley Hait who continues with "That druid we've heard about" the mercenary ranger waves away to their right, and the scene of destruction that was caused just a short time ago, and he adds "He probably did that".
The ranger Hait looks down at the rear elementals of the Harkonin army, then quietly says to the rest of the group "Down the rest of the way to the bottom of the hill". When he sees a number of the soldiers who are part of the crews operating the war machines. Hurry forward when they see the nobleman from the Lé Dic fief, lord Kievar Milburn being hauled back through their forward lines.
"Get to the edge of the trees" quietly adds the mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen as they start making their way down the rest of the tree covered hill. Well the trees still cover the part of the hill that they're going down. Not so much to their right, over that part of the hill.
"We're going to get ourselves a war engineer" quietly says Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman as they continue to make their way down the hill. As they do, the spy Tanith gestures at something, and the ranger Hait spots what he points at. It's the cockatrice, who once again with their blinders on. Are making their way back from near the clump of trees where they were positioned during the battle.
Well there's our distraction, that's if they come back this way, Riley Hait thinks to himself, the mercenary ranger from the principality of Envadarlen hurries over to Dorc da Orc, and quietly explains something to the warleader of the ork race.
The son of the former matriarch of the wolf tribe of orks frowns as the ranger Hait tells him something. Then the large ork, who is in exile from his homeland of the Ork Range at the bottom of the world, in the polar region there. Suddenly grins when he understands what Riley Hait wants done.
"Get some" chuckles Dorc da Orc as they near the base of the hill "Get some indeed" quietly says Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman, who then adds in a murmur "Get us hopefully that engineer" . . . . . .