The Homecoming 87.

The Capital...

"What did you tell him?" asks Mira Reinholt the mage after he comes over and joins lord Farque under the steps to the airdock the ship they arrived into Leeabra, is moored to.
"That if he's ever down south" says lord Farque who continues with "Like way south".
The once powerful mage nods his hooded head in understanding, and the undead warlord tells him "He's more than welcome in my lands".
The mage Reinholt looks down the wide lane off to one side of the edge of the city airdocks, and says "Think he'll do alright?".
"He'll be fine" says the heavily armoured deathlord who then adds "The shipyards always hire his kind, even if they have no experience in ship building".
They watch Tarong the troll making his way through the nearby lane, heading to the shipyards of Leeabra that the lord and ruler of the lands of Farque has given him directions to.
The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster agrees with the lord of the death realm. He too thinks Tarong will fit right in here, in the capital of the kingdom of Druvic.
The practitioner of magic, who at the age of seventeen, was the youngest ever member of the mage council of Vexil, until he was kicked off it. And forcibly exiled from his homeland the city-state of Vexil for betraying it.
Then says to the undead warlord "By ship then?".
The deathlord, who is also known by the name of Draugadrottin to the people of his lands, nods his full helmed head, and says "By ship".
The undead being who also rules the realm between the living and the afterlife, then adds in a slightly dry tone of voice as they converse in elven "That's if any are going that fucking way".
"Let's hope one is" murmurs the swordmaster Reinholt who then adds in a sour tone "I don't particularly want to go east again on foot" he continues with "Who knows what we'd fucking run into if we did".
The two of them move off, heading away from airdocks, to the buildings nearby in the streets that surround the main docks of the city of Leeabra.
There you can find the offices of shipping agents, and trading companies. If one can't get a flight on an airship there. There's also plenty of taverns, alehouses, wine shops and inn's located in the same area.
In those you can deal directly with the officers and crews of the airships in the docks, and get onboard an airship often for a cheaper price than you would get with a shipping agent.
For the two of them, they head to the nearby offices of a trading company, one of the largest in all of the Southlands. It's a family run business. That one of them, just happens to be a member of.
"Did you stop in here, when we were last in the city?" asks lord Farque in the elven language as they make their way to the offices of the Reinholt trading company.
"I didn't" replies the exiled Vexilian mage, who continues with "Though i did spot one of my family's ships in the docks when we were last here" the mage Reinholt then adds "I spoke to the captain who i knew, and he told me that they've had a change of manager here in company's offices since i lived in Leeabra".
"The last one probably lost his job because he associated with you" dryly says the heavily armoured deathlord, who the people on the streets, are quick to get out of the way off.
"Probably" says the spellcaster who was once the most powerful mage of his generation to be found anywhere in the Southlands "The new manager seems to be competent, and know what they're doing" adds Mira Reinholt, who follows that with "If one of the company's ships isn't going that way. I'm sure he'll get us in contact with another company's vessel going east".
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque nods his full helmed head as they round a corner onto another street. Which like most of them around, and near the airdocks, are fairly narrow for streets found in Leeabra. Which is home to some, if not most of the largest and widespread streets of any city in the entire Southlands.
Boulevards are common throughout the capital of the kingdom of Druvic. And it doesn't particularly matter where. Whether it be in the king's domain, or in the second, third or fourth domain.
But here in the centre of the third domain, which is to the northeast of the city centre. Many of the streets around the main airdocks of the city, are similar to streets found in other cities throughout not just Druvic, but all of the Southlands.
As they walk down the street, and Mira Reinholt quietly says in the language of the elves "It's around the corner coming up on the right, and across a square".
The undead being, who is also known by the name of Des'tier to an older generation of elven kind, who might happen to know who he is.
Glances across the street at a group of men, who from the looks of it, have also come from the airdocks.
They look to be mercenaries, fighting men from their attire. But the deathlord of Farque slightly frowns when he sees one of their cloaks slip open at the front to one side.
Noticing that the undead warlord has fallen silent, the exiled Vexilian mage asks them as they turn onto the street to the right, and head across the square "What is it?".
"I'm not sure" murmurs Draugadrottin as they cross the square, and the swordmaster Reinholt points to the building that houses the offices of his family's trading company here in the city of Leeabra, the capital of the kingdom of Druvic.
They enter the offices of the Reinholt trading company, and the exiled Vexilian mage is immediately recognised by some of the workers who have been with his family's company for quite a few years.
The swordmaster Reinholt and the lord and ruler of the lands Farque are led to the manager's office upstairs. There Mira Reinholt talks with the company manager, not just for the city of Leeabra, but for all of the kingdom of Druvic.
As they talk about finding an airship traveling further east in the kingdom, as none of the Reinholt trading company's vessels are going that way anytime soon.
The undead warlord sits in silence upon a bench, that gives him a view out of the expensive glass windows in this office. It offers a view of the nearby airdocks. Quite a handy view for the manager of one of the largest trading companies in all the Southlands to have.
When there's a lull in the conversation after the manager calls in an assistant to send a runner to find out what, and whose ships are heading east.
Lord Farque asks the manager, a man named Davik, who is of similar age to the mage Reinholt, around thirty, early thirties to be exact "Do you have a tome detailing the sigils of the Druvician nobility?".
Knowing that trading companies in a kingdom such as Druvic would definitely have one somewhere. As it's best to know everything about your main customer base.
"I do actually" says Davik the office manager, a rather short fellow from Vexil, whose parents were originally from the kingdom of Druvic, and who joined the company after Mira Reinholt was exiled from the city-state of Vexil.
He gets up and goes over to a book case, and from the very bottom of it, he takes a heavy book, which he brings over to lord Farque.
The undead warlord opens it, and turns immediately to about a third of the way through the book. He quickly finds the noble family he's looking for.
"Thought it was" murmurs the lord and ruler of the lands Farque "What is it?" asks the once powerful mage who walks over, and stands next to the lord of the death realm, and sees what he's looking at.
"Harkonin?" says the highly skilled swordmaster who sees that the heavily armoured deathlord is looking at the colours, sigils and tabbards of the noble family of Harkonin.
"There's some Harkonin soldiers in the city" says the undead warlord, who continues with "They just left the airdocks when we did".
"Probably something to do with the troubles out east" says the office manager "Oh?" says the exiled Vexilian mage, who then adds "What troubles?" followed by "You didn't mention anything about troubles out east".
Davik the office manager for the Reinholt trading company here in the kingdom of Druvic. Explains that there's tensions between the noble families of Harkonin and Lé Dic.
Which is no surprise really. Considering they've been enemies for centuries. Always having skirmishes and wars between their two fiefs.
But from what a Reinholt trading company cargo ship that came into the capital Leeabra two days ago from the kingdom of Nastell.
Which crossed over eastern Druvic to get here, they saw troop movement across the Harkonin fief and into the Lé Dic fief.
"Must be pretty serious" says Davik the office manager, who sits back down behind his desk, and gestures to the airdocks through the windows, and adds "A warship left earlier this morning, someone at court must of taken an interest to deploy a frigate out there" he nods his head towards the nearby airdocks, and says "There in the aircorp's docks away to the right there, looks like a couple more ships are readying to leave, more than likely they're going east as well".
Lord Farque and Mira Reinholt share a look, then the once powerful mage says to the office manager "Find us a ship quick". Then the spellcaster, who is also a highly skilled swordmaster tells Davik "We'll be back later" as he hurries after the heavily armoured deathlord who is already leaving the office.
"Which way did they go?" asks the Vexilian mage in exile as they exit the building that houses the offices of the Reinholt trading company here in the city of Leeabra.
"East" replies the undead warlord "How appropriate" dryly murmurs Mira Reinholt, who then nods his hooded head when Des'tier tells him in elvish "I'm sensing them" followed by "Have been since i caught a glimpse of one of them wearing Harkonin colours beneath his cloak".
The lord of the death realm leads the way across the square, and turns right, he tells the mage Reinholt "They stopped a little while ago, must be at a tavern or an inn".
"More than likely" quietly says the highly skilled swordmaster, who walks beside the large, heavily armoured figure of the deathlord of Farque, who leads they way eastwards through the third domain of Leeabra.
The mage Reinholt who knows exactly where they are in the city, after all he lived here for a time. Mostly in the second domain, near the places of significance in the city. Close to the trappings of power, both politically and magically.
"Part of the city the country folk prefer to stay when they're in Leeabra" says the exiled Vexilian mage as he nods in the direction they're going, south and east.
"Near the parks and like" adds the spellcaster who was once more powerful than any other mage of his generation in the Southlands. Until he lost most of it when he accidentally went off world thanks to a rift spell he incorrectly cast.
As they cut through a lane between two streets, the mage Reinholt quietly asks "Think they got in contact with whoever it was those druids dealt with in court?".
"More than likely" quietly says the deathlord of Farque who like the highly skilled swordmaster, is speaking in elvish.
"Read their minds when we get there" quietly adds the lord and ruler of the lands Farque, who after going down the lane that's on a slight incline, turns onto a wide street, that has park like grounds on one side.
"Belongs to one of the knight's orders" says Mira Reinholt with a nod of his hooded head to the left at the park, the undead warlord nods then gestures to a building up ahead, and says "That inn on the corner to the right".
The two of them walk to the establishment on the corner, and after the lord of the death realm quickly describes the group of six men to look out for. The mage Reinholt enters the inn, while the heavily armoured deathlord waits outside for him.
The swordmaster Reinholt comes back outside a little while later, and mutters "Shit". "What?" says lord Farque, who turns and heads back towards the offices of the Reinholt trading company.
The once powerful mage quietly explains what he found out from reading the minds of the six men, who it turns out are scouts in the Harkonin army. Who came to the capital Leeabra, well partway at least. Magically, through a druid's circle.
"Shit" mutters Draugadrottin when the exiled Vexilian mage explains what he's found out.
"Fucking hell, wiped out eh" quietly says lord Farque, who then adds "That's not good". The mage Reinholt nods in agreement, and as they go back up the lane that's on an incline, he says "Well at least there's one good thing to come out of it" he then adds "We've got our war engineer from what that lot think".
As the information he garnered from the Harkonin scouts, included the disappearance of baron Harkonin's war engineer, Tovis. During the battle where the Lé Dic army that had crossed over into the Harkonin fief, was all but wiped out.
"That is one good thing" quietly says the undead warlord, who then adds "Do you?" in response to Mira Reinholt asking him "You think they've left?".
"I'd rather doubt it" says the Vexilian mage in exile, who continues with "Percy leave with his niece's fief under threat, no they're still there".
"They're definitely still there" says lord Farque, who then asks "This equerry those scouts dealt with, no fucking way he could order one of the aircorp's ships east".
The swordmaster Reinholt nods his hooded head in agreement, and the heavily armoured deathlord tells him "Let's go and find out who at court he works for" the lord and ruler of the lands Farque then adds "What's a bet he's the same person those fucking dark druids had dealings with" . . . . . .