The Homecoming 154.

Breaking Free...

"How's he fitting in?" asks lord Farque later in the night as he and Helbe the elven thief make their way through the central keep of castle Lé Dic.
"Pretty good so far" is the reply of Helbe the elven thief as they make their way along a dimly lit hallway, heading towards the northern side of the central keep.
"He's pretty smart for someone who's relatively young" adds the elven magic user, who continues with "He designed those destroyed siege towers of the Harkonin's as well as their larger trebuchets and catapults".
The undead warlord nods his full helmed head when he hears that, then he quietly says "He'll definitely fit in then".
The young elven noble walking beside him, nods his hooded head in agreement with the heavily armoured deathlord.
Then the elven princeling from the island of Laerel who like the lord and ruler of the lands Farque, is speaking in the royal elven language, says "Though there might be one little problem with him".
"Oh?" says the lord of the death realm, who also goes by the name of Draugadrottin to the people of his lands "He's totally enamoured with Lis" says the elven masterthief, who then adds "Infact he's fallen for her, and he's only known her a handful of days".
"That's not going to go well for him" murmurs the undead warlord, the elven master assassin nods in agreement as well. As they both no the reason why Lisell Maera will not contemplate a relationship with Tovis the war engineer, or anyone for the matter. Not for a long time at least.
The young elven noble who is the grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel opens a door, and the two of them step outside into the dark courtyard on the north side of the central keep of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
After prince Helbenthril Raendril closes the door behind them, and lord Farque looks around in the darkness as he senses, the undead being who is also known by the name of Des'tier to an older generation of elven kind, says "On the roof?".
"It is" replies the highly talented elven magic user who is part of the royal household of the principality of Laerel.
The heavily armoured deathlord turns around, then leaps the forty five feet to the roof of the central keep of castle Lé Dic.
Helbe the elven thief shifts up to the roof, and appears next to the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
The two of them start walking towards the center of the roof. As they do, Narladene the ground pixie appears and lands upon the right shoulder of the young elven noble she's attached to.
There's a solemn look on the tiny face of the naturally magical creature who is originally from the Sunreach Mountains.
The lord of the death realm and the elven master archer stop basically in the middle of the roof of the central keep.
The deathlord of Farque gestures to one side, and asks "Did you kill him?".
"Narladene did" says Helbenthril Raendril who speaks in the normal elven language so that the ground pixie can understand them.
Draugadrottin slightly nods his full helmed head, then switching to elven too, he tells the princeling from the island of Laerel "Get rid of it".
The elven magic user nods his hooded head, then with a spell he burns away the body of the dark druid Palvarc.
There's a brief red flash in the night where the dark druid lies dead, and his body burns away in a matter of moments.
After the young elven noble blows away the ashes of the dead spellcaster with a slight breeze spell that he casts.
Helbe the elven thief asks the undead warlord "Is it one?". "Yeah" is the answer from Des'tier, which causes both the elven princeling and the tiny winged creature attached to him, to wince.
Then Narladene the ground pixie who has been silent until now, quietly asks the lord and ruler of the lands Farque "Is there anything you can do for it?".
"I can release it" is the reply of the lord of the death realm, who then adds "Which might not exactly be that much of a relief for it" lord Farque pauses for a moment, then says "Feels like it's wings have been crippled or ripped off. It might be better to kill it and put it out of it's misery".
Narladene grimaces when she hears that, while the grandson of Prince Raendril of Laerel winces again.
Then the ground pixie standing on the right shoulder of the elven master assassin she's attached to, quietly says "Well it can still live in the ground" she continues with "We can move about down there without the use of our wings".
The deathlord of Farque glances at Helbe the elven thief, who just lifts an arched eyebrow. The undead warlord then shrugs his broad, heavily armoured shoulders. Then he reaches down and picks up the magical staff that's lying on the roof right infront of them. Draugadrottin then snaps the staff in two.
"Well it's no longer magical" dryly says the elven magic user who can no longer sense the magic of the staff.
Lord Farque biffs the bottom half of the staff away, then looking at the top half he still holds, the undead being puts his right gauntleted hand upon the gnarled looking top of the broken staff.
The heavily armoured deathlord then slightly closes his right hand, gently squeezing the gnarled looking top of what was a magical staff that belonged to baron Raevar Harkonin's advisor, the dark druid Palvarc. There's the sound of a slight crack from within the top of the staff.
Des'tier drops the half of the staff he's holding, turns his enclosed fist over. And opens up his gauntleted hand. In the palm of the lord of the death realm's right hand, sits a wingless ground pixie amongst bits and slivers of wood.
There's a startled look upon the face of the ground pixie sitting upon the gauntleted palm of the deathlord of Farque. As he realises that he's finally free after long centuries trapped in a magical staff.
"Well?" says lord Farque in the ground pixie language to the tiny winged creature he's holding in the palm of his right gauntleted hand.
Blinking as he can't believe he's finally free, the ground pixie says "Thanks". Then he realises that the person holding him, who also spoke to him in his native language, is human.
He looks to the left, and sees an elf in a white hooded cloak standing nearby, who he has sensed recently whilst still trapped in the staff that's been his prison for a number of centuries.
He then spots a ground pixie standing upon the right shoulder of the elven spellcaster, peering down at him.
The ground pixie then looks back up at the large heavily armoured figure who freed him, and now holds him.
Then he grimaces, as he recalls that he has no wings. Something he's often forgot during the pain of his imprisonment.
Guessing what the wingless ground pixie is thinking, the undead warlord says in it's native language "It could be worse, you could be dead". "There is that" says the naturally magical creature who a number of centuries ago was captured by an undead being under the control of a necromancer, and shoved into the staff as it was magical. That was after they tore his wings off.
With a nod of his full helmed head in the direction of Narladene upon the right shoulder of Helbe the elven thief. Lord Farque says to the ground pixie he's just freed "According to one of your own here, you can still live and move beneath the ground without any troubles".
The wingless ground pixie thinks about that for a moment, then says "I guess i can".
The heavily armoured deathlord nods his full helmed head, then he turns around. Helbe the elven thief turns too. And they make their way back to the northern edge of the roof of the central keep.
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque steps off the roof and drops to the ground. While the elven magic user floats to the ground, dropping down a bit more leisurely speed than the lord of the death realm.
In the dark courtyard behind the central keep of the massive castle that's been the home of the Lé Dic family for multiple generations.
Draugadrottin crouches down, and says to the wingless ground pixie in the palm of his right gauntleted hand "Who caught you?".
"A dark cleric" is the reply of the ground pixie, who continues with "Well, one of the undead he was controlling".
"Well" says the heavily armoured deathlord as he sets the wingless ground pixie onto the cobblestones of the courtyard "It's one of the undead who has freed you".
The naturally magical creature who has the pleasure of feeling his natural element for the first time in centuries as he stands upon the ground.
Figured as much, as he knew probably only one of the undead, or a dragon could free him.
And the fact the heavily armoured human, who he senses is not a spellcaster. Stepped off the roof of a forty five foot tall building, and landed with ease, barely bending his knees as he hit the ground feet first, proves it.
"Seems appropriate" says the wingless ground pixie, who after saying "Thank you again" and glancing over at the other ground pixie, who he guesses is attached to the elf, whose shoulder she's standing on.
Sinks into the ground, slowly as he drops through the cobblestones and the ground beneath it, savouring the sensation of passing through ground again, something he hasn't felt in a long time, something he felt he'd never be able to experience again.
Once the wingless ground pixie sinks into the cobblestones of the courtyard, and disappears as he drops further down into the ground.
Lord Farque gestures to the nearby door that he and the elven masterthief came out of a little while ago.
The two of them turn towards it, and as they walk to the door that's in the back, or northern side of the central keep of castle Lé Dic.
Des'tier says in the royal elven language "Think you might have to tamper with Tovis anymore?" as he resumes their conversation from before they went up onto the roof, to free the ground pixie that was held within a magical staff.
"I shouldn't have to" replies Helbe the elven thief in the same language, the young elven noble from the island of Laerel, continues with "That's unless you want me to interfere with the way in which he feels for Lis".
"Might be better on all of us if you did" quietly says the lord and ruler of the lands Farque as the elven magic user opens the door, and the two of them step inside the central keep of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
"Then again he needs to learn about something like that" says Draugadrottin as the elven master assassin closes the doorway behind them with a thought, and they start making their way down the dimly lit hallway.
The lord of the death realm, who freed the trapped ground pixie at the behest of prince Helbenthril Raendril and Narladene the ground pixie, continues with "Then there's Lis, she needs to learn about herself too".
Des'tier then tells the highly talented elven magic user "Leave him alone, he can develop and gain experienced without any help from you".
Helbe the elven thief nods his hooded head that he won't cast any compulsion spells upon Tovis the war engineer, and that they'll leave him to become a member of the group without anymore magical interference.
"Now about those fucking dark druids, and their influence throughout the kingdom" says lord Farque who has changed the subject again, the undead warlord then adds "And at the king's court too, with the lord high constable" . . . . . .