The Homecoming 104.

The Castle...

There's smoke around three sides of castle Lé Dic. Only to the north, where there's no fire, is the air relatively clear.
The town of Massic on the western side of the massive castle is burning. While there's fire upon the water in the moat on the eastern and southern sides of castle Lé Dic.
Riley Hait the mercenary ranger who has ordered the archers and crossbowmen on the southern parapet. To hold their fire until some of the smoke clears.
Slightly jumps in surprise, when the voice of Helbe the elven thief quietly says to him in his left ear "Company coming". The blurred and shielded elven magic user continues with "Airship coming from the west" he briefly pauses then adds "It's a warship too".
After wincing, Riley Hait the mercenary ranger quietly asks in the elven language "How far away?". "Under twenty miles away" replies the young elven nobel from the principality of Laerel, who then adds "I can't sense or see it yet" followed by "But it's closing in for sure" the elven magic user continues with "I've a feeling it won't be here to help the Lé Dic's".
The mercenary ranger who was raised and trained in the elven principality of Alínlae, nods his head, then says "More than likely".
Then the ranger Hait quickly drops down to the parapet when the elven masterthief tells him "You better duck down".
A burning barrel of pitch, one of three of them. Comes through the smoke, and just passes over where the mercenary ranger was standing.
It and the other two barrels shot from a Harkonin catapult. Crash down in the main east courtyard. Splattering burning pitch all over the place, hitting one of the Lé Dic catapults there, setting it on fire. And setting a couple of soldiers on fire too.
Both Riley Hait and Helbe the elven thief look quickly down into the courtyard, to make sure that the war engineer Tovis is okay.
They see the young engineer from the Harkonin fief, is fine and in one piece. And is busy sending townsfolk, and castle workers to get buckets of water to help put out the burning catapult.
The mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen, 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.
Gets to his feet and quietly says "Better be careful with Tovis" followed by "No use spending all that time to find him, only for him to end up dead".
"That's for sure" murmurs the elven princeling, who then tells the ranger Hait "That smoke for the most part will soon burn away" he continues with "You can have the archers and the others resume shooting at them when that happens".
Then the grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel looks through the smoke as he senses the dark druid Palvarc is about to cast. The elven magic user slightly nods his hooded head when Narladene the ground pixie whispers to him "A rift".
"Where to?" asks the young elven noble, which causes Riley Hait to briefly frown, until he realises the elven masterthief is talking to the ground pixie that's attached to him.
"West" is the whispered reply of the naturally magical creature, who continues with "Towards that airship coming this way".
"Shit" mutters prince Helbenthril Raendril in the royal elven language, who reverts back to the regular elven language, and tells the Ranger Hait "I'm going after that druid, he's leaving by way of a rift" the elven master assassin briefly pauses as he considers something, then he adds "I'll be taking Shur Kee with me".
"Stay safe" says Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman "You too" says the elven magic user, who then adds "Keep the others safe too" he follows that up with "If things get crazy here, let Dorc go wild. He'll find a way to win a battle that looks like it's lost".
The mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen nods, and the blurred and shielded elven spellcaster shifts away.
Helbe the elven thief reappears on the west wall of the massive castle, causing Tamric Drubine to jump in surprise, when he sees the young elven noble suddenly standing next to him.
"Shur Kee we're going" says the elven princeling from the island of Laerel to the short, statured monk sitting on the parapet, with his back to a merlon, with his eyes closed.
The acolyte in the order of Bru Li opens his eyes, and stands up as the elven master archer quickly tells the nobleborn teenager from the kingdom of Sarcrin "There's a warship on it's way here" followed by "And the baron's advisor, the dark druid is going to meet it" he then adds "This might be our chance to stop him".
The son of the former knight of castle Drubine in northern Sarcrin nods. Then the elven magic user asks the physical adept from the far east coast of the continent "Ready?".
"I am ready friend Helbe" is the reply of Shur Kee the monk, then Helbe the elven thief takes a hold of the short, statured monk's left arm, and the two of them disappear.
Back on the south side of the massive castle that's been the home of Lé Dic family for centuries. The smoke is starting to clear away, as the naphtha on the water in the moat has all but burnt away. And everything that was on, or in the water, has basically burnt away too.
Riley Hait, who has just informed sir Percavelle Lé Dic that prince Helbenthril Raendril has left with Shur Kee the monk, to see if they can take care of the dark druid Palvarc, who it seems has gone off to rendezvous with an airship coming this way.
Orders the bowmen and archers to resume shooting at the enemy. Who are making their way forward again, after the fire that sprang up from the surface of the water in the moat, drove those of them on the otherside of the moat, back due to the intense heat from the burning naphtha and everything it caught alight.
Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson looks away to the east as he takes an arrow from his quiver, and puts it to his bow. That way the smoke is still pretty thick, probably due to there being a burning siege tower in the moat on that side of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
Then the mercenary ranger looks back to the south, draws his elven made longbow back, and through the dissipating smoke, he lets the yard long shaft fly. Sending it towards a Harkonin soldier who is yelling and shouting, encouraging his fellow squad members forward.
Until the arrow shot from the ranger Hait's longbow takes him in the top of the chest, just below the throat, and knocking him back and down onto the ground.
The mercenary ranger who was raised and trained by some of the warders in the elven principality of Envadarlen, takes another arrow from his quiver, and puts it to the plate in the belly of his bow, as sir Percavelle Lé Dic says to him "Bravo my fine fellow" followed by "Excellent shot, even for a mercenary chap like yourself".
Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman slightly grins at the backhanded compliment from the former earl of Lé Dic, then he lets the cloth yard shaft to his longbow fly.
As it heads towards it's target, the ranger Hait squints to look through the smoke that's steadily drifting away, as he tries to see what's happening at the rear of the Harkonin army.
The mercenary ranger spots something, and he informs the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che about it.
The former paladin frowns as he looks to the rear of the enemy army on this side of castle Lé Dic.
Then he too spots what Riley Hait has pointed out to him. Sir Percavelle Lé Dic slightly grunts, then he says "The prisoners". Stepping beside the large, heavily armoured knight, the ranger Hait nods in agreement with the former earl of the Lé Dic fief.
"Going to stake them out by the looks of it" quietly says the ranger Hait, who then winces as a large boulder flung from a Harkonin trebuchet, slams into the south wall, about thirty yards to the left of them.
Smashing apart some of the battlements, destroying a merlon. And killing two soldiers, and a trio of townsmen who were on that part of the wall.
"Nothing they don't deserve" declares the former paladin, who as more of the smoke drifts away, so that they can see the enemy army more clearly, adds "They are villains of the worst sort, who deserve their fate".
Riley aka Zubutai the son of Timagin, slightly nods, then as the small catapult to their right, shoots away a load of rocks, he says "We'll be fighting them on the walls properly next" the mercenary ranger then adds "That's unless there's a way to drain the moat in an instant that you haven't told us about".
"Unfortunately not" says the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che, who continues with "Would have to dam the river to the northwest if one would want to drain the moat wot" the former earl of Lé Dic who is often referred to as Percy by the rest of the group, continues with "Even if one did so, it would take many a day for the water level in the moat to drop. Also the water supply to the castle, as well as the town of Massic would be cut off. We can't very well be having that, now would we?".
"I guess not" says the ranger Hait who has just let another arrow from his elven made longbow fly. There's a brief pause in their conversation as the heavily armoured knight goes over and helps the nearby ballista crew load another heavy spear into the war machine.
Then he comes back, as the soldiers and townsmen operating it take aim at a wagon mounted ballista coming forward through the Harkonin army.
As the thunk of the ballista being fired comes from their left, the mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen, nods his head towards the rear of the Harkonin army, and says "That's them there isn't it?".
The heavily armoured knight, who has just glanced down at his large canvas bag on the parapet, steps to one side, so he can see around a siege tower that's making it's way towards the moat.
Then as the former earl of Lé Dic looks towards the rear of the army from the neighbouring fief to the east, he says "Hmmm it seems to be so" the nobleborn knight continues with "Seems they're going to watch" followed by "It does look like they're going to bring them forward a bit for the deed as well".
"It's so those of us on the wall can watch it happening" says Riley Hait, who after quickly looking around, quietly says to the former knight of the first class "The men and the town's people don't know what they did to your brother" the mercenary ranger brought up and trained in the elven principality of Envadarlen continues with "All they know is that your niece declined the offer of a prisoner swap. And all they'll see is the death of three of their own nobles" he then adds "Not the roundabout justice that those three deserve".
As the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che frowns, the ranger Hait tells him "It will be a blow to morale for sure, and so soon after we've wiped out a fair few of them by setting the moat on fire".
The frowning sir Percavelle Lé Dic grunts, then says "Alas too true" he looks at the mercenary ranger who tells him "You might want to retaliate in kind".
Percy who is dense about a number of things. Instantly gets what Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman is suggesting, and he says to him "I could never execute a nobleborn born prisoner. That would bring me down to the level of that lickspittle baron from across the border".
"I'm not suggesting you do it" says ranger Hait who placed emphasis on the word "You" when he said that.
Riley Hait continues with "I'm suggesting someone else should do it".
"You?" asks the large, heavily armoured knight in a tone of surprise "Hardly" replies the mercenary ranger who has just shot off another shaft from his elven made longbow.
"I was thinking about someone else" dryly says the ranger Hait as he takes another shaft from his quiver, and looks for his next target.
Beside him, sir Percavelle Lé Dic slightly frowns as he tries to figure out who the mercenary ranger means. Then the former paladin sourly smiles as he realises who Riley Hait is talking about.
"Yes i see" sourly says the uncle of the current lady of the Lé Dic fief, who then adds "It would be appropriate all things considered".
"So should i?" asks Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson as he draws his elven made longbow back again, and lets the yard long arrow to it, fly off to hit another Harkonin soldier.
"Might as well then" says the heavily armoured knight, who goes off to help the ballista crew load another heavy longspear into the war machine.
Sir Percavelle Lé Dic continues to sourly smile, as behind him he hears Riley Hait tell a runner "Go to the east wall, and get the ork, Dorc. There's something i need him to do" . . . . . .