The Homecoming 101.

The Battle Continues...

"Well he didn't sense that, so there's obviously a limit to how far the staff can sense" quietly says Helbe the elven thief as he watches the Harkonin soldier he's cast a mind control spell on. Finally get cut down by his fellow soldiers at the gate house of the drawbridge to the south gate of castle Lé Dic.
Though only after he had killed five of them, and wounded three others.
"I wouldn't try anything further out than that" quietly says Narladene the ground pixie as she stands upon the right shoulder of the young elven noble.
Who looked like he disappeared from the top of the south wall once the attack began by the Harkonin army. But he's been there all along.
The elven magic user who is trying to test the limitations of the dark druid Palvarc, in particular the staff that he possesses.
Quietly says to the naturally magical creature that's attached to him "There must be something wrong with it". He doesn't want to say pixie or sprite, so he refers to it, as it.
"Or being contained in that staff has drastically hampered it in some way" quietly continues the blurred and shielded elven masterthief, who then adds "You can sense a fair distance. The dark druid isn't even a half a mile away. It should of sensed me from that distance normally".
Narladene, who like all of her kind, can indeed magically sense over fairly long distances, up to twenty miles.
Who knows that only the undead like lord Farque, and dragons. Both normal and Greater. Can sense further than her.
Even when Mira Reinholt the mage still had his full powers. He could only sense to a distance of just over ten miles.
It takes an extremely large amount of inert power to sense magic over long distances. And Narladene like all pixies and sprites has such natural power. Even though they're not spellcasters. They do have their own types of power. In the case of pixies like herself, it's to do with the element she has an affinity to. Which for her is earth, or the ground.
"Maybe it's injured in someway" quietly says the ground pixie as she contemplates what the young elven noble from the principality of Laerel just said.
Then as a bunch of burning and smoking barrels go flying over them, heading towards the Harkonin army.
The elven princeling quietly says in a tone of surprise "Can your kind be injured?".
Narladene who just said what popped into her head, then says "I'm not really sure" she follows that up with "But i guess so" the naturally magical creature tells the highly talented elven magic user "I know we can be killed".
She has been in the vicinity where lord Farque has killed both a pixie and a sprite. And where one of his wardogs has killed a pixie too. That one being a water pixie which was doing it's best to kill both Helbe the elven thief and Narladene herself.
"Though only by someone like you know who" quietly says the tiny winged creature, who then adds "Or a greater dragon".
"The idea of an unthinking undead capturing it at the behest of a necromancer makes more and more sense, the more you think about it" murmurs prince Helbenthril Raendril, who like Narladene is speaking in the elven language as he stands upon the top of the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
Not too far away from where both Riley Hait the mercenary ranger and sir Percavelle Lé Dic are above the gates along this side of the massive castle that's been the ancestral home of Percy's family for generations.
The ground pixie nods her tiny head in agreement with the young elven noble she's attached to.
Then she tells him "Yes it is making more and more sense" she looks at the Harkonin army, and adds "Quite a few of them have reached the moat".
"Well they'll be in for a surprise soon" quietly says the grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel, who then makes his way over to where the ranger Hait is next to one of the ballista crews. There's something the blurred and shielded elven magic user has to tell the mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen.
Riley Hait the mercenary ranger slightly nods after he hears the invisible elven princeling quietly tell him something in the language of the elves, then he says in common to the ballista crew who he's beside "Concentrate shooting at the war machines now".
The ranger Hait follows that with "Leave those with the rafts and scaling ladders alone now". The crew, a mix of Lé Dic soldiers, and folk from the town of Massic do so.
For they know that there's something planned for the enemy who are able to get into the moat with their rafts, that connect to make platforms. And the scaling ladders that they'll use to reach the top of the south facing wall of the massive castle that's been the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family for centuries.
The mercenary ranger who was raised and trained in the elven principality of Envadarlen hurries over to where sir Percavelle Lé Dic is near one of the small catapults up above the south gates of the massive castle.
"Percy, try and let them get into the moat" says the ranger Hait, the former paladin lifts up his face plate and frowns. Then it dawns on him, what the mercenary ranger means.
"Yes alright wot" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic, who then tells the catapult crew "Aim further back now chaps!".
While 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.
Tells the bannerman nearby to give the signal for the war machines down in the courtyard below. To fire their shots for distance, at the Harkonin army's own war machines.
Looking down into the courtyard behind them, the ranger Hait sees the war engineer Tovis nod when he spots the flag the bannerman holds up.
Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman then looks back at the progress of the Harkonin army. And feels sir Percavelle Lé Dic grab his left arm, and haul him to one side.
"Watch out there old chap" says the former earl of Lé Dic in a pleasant tone, while the mercenary ranger yelps "Fuck me!" in the hordes dialect of the southern tundra.
As good sized boulder barely misses the two of them, by just twenty feet at most, away to their right. Between two merlons, taking the bannerman with it, as it crashes into the courtyard behind them.
Riley aka Zubutai the son of Timagin sees it bounce and roll, going between one of the trebuchets, and a catapult. Those in the courtyard are lucky it didn't hit any of them, or any of the war machines.
"Hmmm seems we're going to need a new bannerman wot" says the heavily armoured knight, who then adds "Bit of a faff i dear say if no one else knows the signals".
As the former paladin calls out for someone to be a bannerman, the mercenary ranger from the elven principality watches the Harkonin army attacking this side of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
We might want to let one of those siege towers get into the moat as well, Riley Hait thinks to himself as he sees that there's a few rafts in the water below, and that more will be in there soon.
The mercenary ranger takes an arrow from his quiver, and puts it to the plate on his elven made longbow.
Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman draws back the long weapon, and lets the cloth yard shaft to it fly.
The yard long arrow takes a Harkonin soldier helping to carry a scaling ladder, off his feet after the broadhead arrow punches through his leather armour, and deep into his chest.
The other soldiers carrying the long ladder, pick it up, and continue on their way across the open ground towards the moat.
They're running even faster than they were before. Which is what the ranger Hait wants. As he wants them, and many more of the soldiers from the fief to the east. On the water as soon as possible.
The mercenary ranger who was raised and trained by some of the elven warders of Envadarlen. Looks eastwards, towards that wall of the massive castle. Wondering if Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy has already begun in the next stage of the defence of castle Lé Dic. He suspects so.
And when Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson looks back down at the moat that runs infront of the south wall of the massive castle. And he sees that there's now Harkonin soldiers on the rafts down there.
He says to the nearby runner who has been waiting for this specific order "Go down and tell them to open the pipes".
The runner, a young squire, whose nobleborn father was killed over in the Harkonin fief at the beginning of the week when the Lé Dic army was wiped out.
Heads down the steps, heading to the gatehouse below. There he'll give the order to one of the few officers that remain in the army of the lady Linara Lé Dic.
"You might want to drop a few rocks down on top of them Percy" says the mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen, who then adds "Want it to look like we don't want them to have an easy job of it now do we?".
"Quite true good ranger" says the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che, who as he's about to pick up a large stone in the pile next to the catapult. He makes a face of disgust when the ranger Hait tells a couple of the townsfolk up here on the battlements "You might want to go a bit further along and dump the contents of one of the troughs on top of them".
"By Narille" mutters the former paladin as he watches the two men, lift the cloths around their necks, and cover their noses and mouths with it. As they trudge away towards one of the troughs full of human excrement.
The heavily armoured knight grunts as he picks up the large stone. He gets it onto the top of the wall between two merlons.
And as an enemy arrow careens off the side of the former earl of Lé Dic's full helm. He rolls the heavy stone off the battlements. And it falls to the moat below.
It kills a Harkonin soldier, who along with others, have got their raft to the wall. The heavy stone smashes through the raft. Causing the former earl of the Lé Dic fief to slightly wince. Hoping it doesn't sink. Which after a few moments, he sees that it's still floating.
Then the former knight of the first class makes a face of disgust. As away to the left, a bit of brown rain, showers down upon a raft floating towards another.
From the yells and shouts of disgust, and the sound of vomiting from those particular Harkonin soldiers on that raft.
That they've quickly realised, and smelled what it is that's just been poured down on them from the battlements above.
Seeing those Harkonin soldiers splashing water on themselves, trying to wash away all the human waste that's on them.
Sir Percavelle Lé Dic says in a tone of anticipation "That's the way you Harkonin rabble" the nobleborn knight who is the uncle of the lady of the fief, continues with "Keep splashing that water on yourselves wot".
Then after Riley Hait lets another arrow fly from his elven made longbow. Taking a runner off his feet, who is making his way back through the ranks of the Harkonin army. With a message from the front, to the army commander sir Tovis, and the baron Harkonin too.
A message of importance no doubt. Which won't reach them now, well at least for a little while. Now that the young runner the mercenary ranger shot. Lies dead with a yard long shaft, that entered his back, and went most of the way out his chest.
That the runner he sent down to the gatehouse below, returns near out of breath, and tells the mercenary ranger from the principality of Envadarlen "The pipes are open" he takes a few deep breaths, before adding "It's flowing".
Looking over at the former earl of Lé Dic, Riley Hait says to him "Percy, it's begun!".
The large, heavily armoured knight frowns, and loudly mutters "Begun? It got underway a fair while ago you incompetent ranger".
Then the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che says "Aaaahhhh so it has" when he looks over at the mercenary ranger who points down at the moat below.
As he pushes another rock off the top of the wall, and watches it miss everything and hit the water with a splash. The former paladin, as the ranger Hait is doing.
Looks at the water below, looking to see if they can see what's being poured into the water from pipes in the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
They can't see it at first, then the two of them eventually spot the slight sheen in spots on top of the water in the moat.
It's the telltale sign of a slightly heavier liquid floating upon the surface of the water. In this case, it's a sign of naphtha that's coming out of the pipes hidden in the walls of castle Lé Dic . . . . . .