The Homecoming 134.

On A Boat...

Mira Reinholt the mage yawns after taking a drink from his water bottle. Then he nudges, with his right boot, the tied up wizard who is sitting at the base of the mast.
The bound prisoner shakes his head no when the once powerful mage offers him the water bottle. The Vexilian mage in exile shrugs his shoulders, and returns the bottle to his pack.
Then he leans back against the gunnel behind him, and once again yawns. The mage Reinholt starts to doze in the early afternoon sunshine.
They stopped at a village here in the west of the Lé Dic fief a bit earlier, just before midday. Where the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster. Got some supplies. As he and the prisoner do need to eat.
They got underway again, continuing eastwards across the Lé Dic fief. Heading towards the town of Massic, and the massive castle beside it, that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
The hastily repaired ship's boat they acquired last night. Isn't flying all that quickly. As the wind hasn't been particularly strong this clear spring day over the west of the Lé Dic fief.
Until now, in the early afternoon. As the breeze, though still not strong as it blows from the west. Is now, far more steady, compared to it being intermittent, as it was previously.
The swordmaster Reinholt wakes up from his brief nap, when he hears lord Farque tell him in elven "Wake up".
The exiled Vexilian mage opens his eyes and looks around, he immediately feels the steady breeze coming from behind the ship's boat.
He nods his hooded head in response to the heavily armoured deathlord, who is at the tiller, telling him "Try now".
The spellcaster who was once the most powerful mage of his generation, to be found anywhere in the Southlands.
Has never been particularly good at weather spells. Unless it was something destructive like a lightning storm. Which was one of his favourite spells he used to cast before he lost the majority of his powers.
And has never been good at specifically affecting the weather in a small area. But now with the breeze more steady, and having a near limitless supply of power. In the form of the wizard in the kingdom of Druvic's aircorp, who they hold prisoner.
He casts a spell to increase the strength of the breeze pushing the flying boat through the early afternoon sky, above the western area of the Lé Dic fief.
He waits a few moments, then after the lines snap, and the sail billows out more. Mira Reinholt the mage quietly says to the undead warlord in the elven language "Might work for a while".
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque nods his full helmed head, as he slightly turns the tiller, so that he's quartering the ship's boat from the starboard side, to capture most of the increased breeze coming from a stern.
The mage who belongs to one of the most wealthy, and prominent trading families, not just in his homeland, the city-state of Vexil. But in all the Southlands.
Stands up and looks to the north, and asks the deathlord of Farque in elven "They cross over the border at all?".
"They have" replies the undead being in the language they speak infront of the prisoner "Further north" adds the warlord of the lands Farque, referring to the decent sized squad of soldiers, from the Gallus fief they saw earlier this morning.
Des'tier as he's known by to an older generation of elven kind, who might know who he is. Stands up from the aft bench, and still holding the tiller, he looks eastwards, the way they're heading.
"What is it?" asks Mira Reinholt, who turns and looks that way too. "An airship" is the reply of the large figure, in the suit of dark blue, black heavy plate armour. "It's down" adds the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
After a quick glance at their prisoner, who lord Farque captured last night, when they destroyed a pair of battlecruisers in the personal fleet of the lord high constable of Druvic.
The Vexilian swordmaster asks the undead warlord, who rules the largest nation, size wise, in the Southlands "That other ship that went out first?" followed by "The frigate?".
After a slight shrug of his broad, heavily armoured shoulders, the deathlord of Farque says "Could be" he then adds "More than likely it is".
The once powerful mage slightly nods his hooded head. And continues to look to the east, for the downed airship, that's too faraway for him to see at the moment.
It's a little later in the early afternoon, when the highly skilled swordmaster from the city-state of Vexil spots the downed airship at the base of a hill.
It's crashed on the western side of the hill, pointing east, the direction it was heading.
"It's definitely a warship" murmurs Mira Reinholt, who then looks at the undead warlord, and tells him "The royal thief probably brought it down".
"Probably" says the heavily armoured deathlord, who is also known as Draugadrottin to the people of his lands, he then nods towards the crashed airship in the distance, and adds "A number of survivors down there".
The undead warlord then tells the mage Reinholt "See what you can find out once we get closer". "Will do" replies the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster,
As they near the downed warship, that's missing most of it's bow, and the aft mast is down and over the port side. Lord Farque drops the ship's boat down in altitude, so that they're only a couple of hundred feet above the ground.
"Don't" warns the once powerful mage in common to the prisoner as they hear the shouting and hollering from the survivors of the crashed airship, many of whom are waving to get their attention.
The wizard in the aircorp of Druvic, in particular the personal fleet of the lord high constable. Sourly smiles at being warned not to cast.
He contemplates doing so again, until he notices the heavily armoured figure of lord Farque at the tiller, staring at him.
The exiled Vexilian mage drops the wind spell he's been casting, and as he looks overboard as the ship's boat slows down. He spots one of the survivors of the airship that's crashed.
"Hmmm" murmurs the mage Reinholt after reading the mind of the air sailor he picked out. The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster picks another one, this one a junior officer if the uniform is anything to go by.
"That's better" murmurs Mira Reinholt the mage after reading the mind of the young officer standing near the downed airship.
The Vexilian mage in exile looks at the lord and ruler of the lands Farque and tells him "Seems Shur Kee was here" followed by "I assume Helbe was with him, and brought down the ship". The once powerful mage then tells Des'tier aka The Destroyer what he's found out by reading the mind of the junior officer standing near the wrecked frigate.
The heavily armoured deathlord doesn't say anything as the mage Reinholt explains to him what he's found out. The undead warlord occasionally nods his full helmed head as he listens to the highly skilled swordmaster who hails from the city-state of Vexil.
After Mira Reinholt finishes telling the lord and ruler of the lands Farque what's happened here. Draugadrottin says "They're going to put those boats up".
As a pair of ship's boats, about thirty yards to the rear of the downed warship, are being prepared for flight. As those upon the ground see that the ship's boat above them, which is clearly one in their aircorp, isn't going to stop.
Then speaking in common to the prisoner, lord Farque says "This advisor to baron Harkonin, the druid Palvarc, you know him?".
The officer in the king's fleet, well to be precise, the personal fleet of the lord high constable of Druvic looks at his two captors, and shakes his head no.
The undead warlord glances at the mage Reinholt who quietly tells him in the language of the elves "He doesn't, but he knows of him".
"Well, what do you know of him?" asks the heavily armoured deathlord in the common language.
After sourly smiling, the wizard from one of the two battlecruisers that were destroyed last night, says "What's there to say, he's a druid" followed by "One of those from here in the east sticking their noses into the happenings of the kingdom".
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque slightly nods his full helmed head as the spellcaster in the Druvician aircorp tells him "There's some in the 'corp who have sympathy for them and their cause. But in the end, their magics and their old beliefs will no longer have a way in the daily life of the kingdom".
"Well he certainly doesn't care for them" quietly says the Vexilian mage in exile in the language of the elves, he continues with "But he definitely knows that there was others in his crew, and amongst those lot down there, whose sympathy lies with the druids, the dark druids infact".
"That Palvarc pissed off did he?" asks Draugadrottin as he brings the ship's boat they're in, higher up into the early afternoon sky.
"Yeah he appeared onboard not long before the frigate crashed" replies the swordmaster Reinholt, who continues with "Then from what that lot down there saw, he was up on the hill here, where Shur Kee confronted him. He pissed off pretty quickly when he realised he was out matched by the monk".
"Wise move" dryly says the lord and ruler of the lands Farque. The once powerful mage wryly smiles, as he knows that it's definitely unwise to take on Shur Kee with spellcraft.
As the short, statured monk from the far eastern coast of the continent. Can protect himself from magic. And that the power he possesses when he becomes the living conduit of the Jade Warrior, Bru Li. Is impervious to magic, nullifying instantly upon touch.
"Anyone down there see where they went?" asks lord Farque, Mira Reinholt shakes his hooded head no, then says "They just saw Shur Kee and the druid disappear".
The once powerful mage then quietly asks the lord of the death realm "Can you sense any of them anywhere?".
"Not at the moment" is the answer from the undead warlord, the Vexilian mage in exile slightly nods and knows that both this dark druid Palvarc, and Shur Kee the monk. And probably Helbe the elven thief, and more than likely, Narladene the ground pixie too. Are over twenty miles away, more likely thirty miles away, at least. Since the heavily armoured deathlord can't sense them at the moment.
Then the highly skilled swordmaster from the city-state of Vexil looks overboard, to stern when Des'tier quietly says without turning "We've got company".
One of the ship's boats, that was on the ground, just behind the downed frigate that's part of the lord high constable's personal fleet. Is rising up into the sky, and heading after them.
There's more than a dozen air sailors on the pursuing ship's boat. Which is slightly larger than the one they're flying. And unlike the one they're flying, isn't damaged in anyway.
"Knock it out of the fucking sky" says the lord and ruler of the lands Farque to the mage Reinholt.
Who is just about to create a mageglobe, to have it destroy the pursuing ship's boat.
When Draugadrottin, after quickly looking at the state of the flying boat they're in. With it's badly damaged decking. Makeshift mast, with the spare sail from the locker. Being the only bit of canvas up the repaired mast.
Then glancing back at the ship's boat from the downed frigate, which is quickly gaining altitude, and catching up to them. Says "Wait a moment".
The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster lifts a questioning eyebrow, and the undead warlord quietly tells him "That one's definitely better than this fucking piece of shit we're in" the lord and ruler of the lands Farque then adds "Let's have that one instead".
A few moments later, and Mira Reinholt takes the tiller as lord Farque disappears thanks to a spell cast by the once powerful mage.
A moment later and the large, heavily armoured figure appears onboard the ship's boat to aft.
The exiled Vexilian mage shakes his hooded head, as air sailors start getting biffed overboard on the pursuing flying boat. The undead warlord who appeared in the bow of that ship's boat.
Makes his way aft on it, grabbing those onboard as he does so. And throws them overboard, to fall hundreds of feet to the ground below. It's not long before the lord of the death realm is the only one onboard that flying boat.
"Come on you, we're going" says the mage Reinholt, who takes hold of the prisoner, drains him of a little bit of magical power. Then the two of them disappear as the once powerful mage teleports the two of them over to the slightly larger ship's boat, that lord Farque is now flying.
With the smaller, damaged ship's boat, floats out of control with no one at the tiller.
The ship's boat they're now on, moves fairly smoothly through the early afternoon sky above the western part of the Lé Dic fief.
With the lord and the ruler of the lands Farque at the tiller flying it, and with a constant and steady breeze to aft, behind it, courtesy of the exiled Vexilian mage in exile.
As they continue on their way eastwards to the town of Massic, and castle Lé Dic . . . . . .