The Hire 124.

Almaic. In The Duchy Of Phelm...

"We'll move forward to the next battleline" says Darid Parsen the cavalry commander, who then adds "Give the order to do so".
"Yes commander" says Kalleb the second in command of the cavalry company, who then calls out the order to advance to the next battleline. The last one before the north wall of the city of Almaic. Which is under heavy attack by the armies led by field commanders Drubine and Leivyn.
Commander Parsen rolls his eyes, as sir Percavelle Lé Dic is up and out of the trench and running forward with others in the army before the second in command Kalleb have finished giving the orders to their company to advance.
The cavalry commander, who is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra by the name of Zubutai Timaginson, who just happens to find himself inhabiting the body of Darid Parsen. Who was formerly a foot soldier in the army of lady Linara Lé Dic in the east of the kingdom of Druvic.
Looks at the battleline to the rear of them. Where commander Leivyn and most of her senior staff, along with the robber barons Gergus and Solamard are watching the progress of the battle so far this afternoon.
"No doubt they'll move forward to here soon" quietly says Darid aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman, next to him the runner, Lisell Maera nods in agreement.
"Let's get going" says the cavalry commander, who along with the attractive young woman from the city-state of Brattonbury, climbs up and out of the trench they're in, and hurry forward with the rest of their company.
Around them, others in the army led by field commander Leivyn who are attacking the western half of the north wall of Almaic. Hurry forward towards the city too.
Commander Parsen, who is a member of the personal council of the lord and ruler of the lands Farque. Grimaces as he runs as he hears an enemy catapult up on top of the north wall of the city that's the capital of the duchy of Phelm, throw it's load in this direction.
The cavalry commander looks up, and sees burning barrels of pitch flying through the air, away to the right, about seventy feet away. Heading towards some soldiers and mercenaries in the army of the robber baron Solamard, who are carrying a pair of scaling ladders.
Darid aka Zubutai Timaginson looks away, not wanting to see if those burning barrels from one of the enemy catapults hits its intended target.
All he does is keep his eyes forward, towards the trench that he and his company are running to. Hoping that he doesn't get shot, as he's now within bow range.
The cavalry commander who is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra doesn't want to die anytime soon again. He's been Darid Parsen for a little over fifteen months now. And as he jumps into the next trench, and beside him Lisell Maera, who is more commonly called Lis by those who know her well, does to. Hopes he's able to be commander Parsen for at least another fifteen months.
Knowing my luck, i probably won't, Darid aka Zubutai the son of Timagin sourly thinks to himself, who then turns to the water elemental spouter Zaneff who appears in the trench next to him, and asks him "Did you find out what it was over there?" the cavalry commander momentarily pauses before he adds in a slightly dry tone of voice "Well, apart from it being a spell".
"I don't know what it was" says Zaneff the water elemental spouter, who continues with "But those over by the road said it hit the warleader".
The eyebrows of commander Parsen go up in surprise, and he wonders if Dorc da Orc was killed by the beam of white light that shot down out of the afternoon sky a little earlier.
"Dead?" asks the member of lord Farque's personal council "No" says the head scout of the company, who continues with "He was sitting up when i looked across to the otherside of the road" Zaneff briefly pauses before adding "He looked a little grumpy".
"You mean more than usual?" dryly says Lisell Maera who like the other two, is keeping low in the trench they're in.
"Probably just pissed him off some more" says commander Parsen in a wry tone, both Zaneff and Lis agree with that assessment from the cavalry commander.
Away to their right in the trench as others in the army led by field commander Leivyn go by the trench, and head across the last of the open ground infront of the north wall of the city. The company's second in command, Kalleb calls out "Commander messenger!".
Darid aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman who quickly checks to make sure that sir Percavelle Lé Dic didn't continue on towards the city wall, and spots the heavily armoured knight away to the left in the trench.
Looks back behind him, to where his second in command is pointing to. And he spots a runner in the Farqian mercenary army. Heading straight his way. The teenager must have a spell on him to protect him. As Darid Parsen sees a couple of arrows shot from the bows of enemy archers up on the north wall of the city, hit the messenger and bounce off him.
The runner jumps down into the trench right next to the cavalry commander, and says "Councilor, for you" and hands a missive to commander Parsen.
Unrolling the small piece of parchment, Darid aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman says "Er?" as there's no writing on it. Just then words appear. And he realises a spell has been cast upon the parchment, that reacts to his voice.
The council member blinks in disbelief after reading the missive, then in the hordes dialect of the southern tundra he mutters "The fuck?" followed by "You've got to be fucking shitting me?".
"What is it?" asks Lisell Maera "Here" says the cavalry commander, who speaks in elven like they normally do while with members of their own army.
"What is it?" asks Kalleb the second who has made his way over to them.
Darid aka Zubutai the son of Timagin just sourly smiles. While the attractive young woman from the city-state of Brattonbury says "What the hell?" after reading the missive.
"Is he sure about this?" asks Lis "Mira seems to think so" says the councilor, who continues with "Remember, it's the same way we found you and Tam, and Caerick, and Tovis too".
Lisell Maera grimaces then says "But leaving in the middle of a battle" she pauses as an enemy magetube up on the top of the north wall fires, and its shot heads towards the rear of the army led by field commander Drubine.
"What if we need him to" says the messenger in the Farqian army, who suddenly pauses, then winces and mutters as she realises something "Hell, a cleric".
"Yes, quite" says commander Parsen, who waves a hand all around, and adds "Considering who it is that leads the nation we're all part of" he then says in dry tone "That's not exactly the ideal situation is it". Lis winces again as she realises the ramifications of what's in the missive Mira Reinholt the mage has hastily written to his fellow councilor Darid Parsen.
Darid Parsen thanks the messenger who brought the missive from the mage Reinholt, and dismisses him. The teenage messenger in the Farqian mercenary army, gets up out of the trench. And runs back the way he came from. With a ward still around him. Protecting him from enemy bow fire.
As Lisell Maera hands the missive to Kalleb to read, commander Parsen looks to the wall that's less than two hundred feet away.
He nods his head as he sees where either a trebuchet or catapult has hit the wall a few times, where it shows signs of damage. A scaling ladder has been put up there, and soldiers and mercenaries in the armies of both the robber barons Gergus and Solamard are climbing up it, under the command of a few Farqian soldiers at the base of the ladder.
As Kalleb mutters "Oh shit a cleric" after reading the message from councilor Reinholt.
Darid Parsen watches as one of the mercenaries in either the robber barons Gergus or Solamard's army. Falls from the scaling ladder, as the enemy at the top of the north wall of the city that's the provincial capital, attempt to push ladder off the wall.
"This might turn out to be a long, hard grind" quietly says the cavalry commander who is a member of the personal council of the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
Who knows that with the failure of the attack upon the east side of the city of Almaic by the army led by general Halvane.
That the attack here, on the north side of the city, by the armies led by field commanders Leivyn and Drubine. Is going to turn into what's been nicknamed over the years by soldiers and mercenaries from across the world of Volunell, as feeding the wall.
Where soldiers and mercenaries literally feed the wall, continually until they finally top it, and take it.
Darid aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman sees that this could take a long time, with the attack upon the east side of Almaic a bust. Because if it was successful over there, it would of definitely drawn away the defenders of the city from elsewhere. Including the north wall of the city that's the capital of the duchy of Phelm.
That's not going to happen now, the cavalry commander dryly thinks to himself, who watches as the scaling ladder is pushed away from the north wall of Almaic with a couple of soldiers attempting to climb up it.
While less than fifty feet away to the left of it, another scaling ladder has just gone up, and others have started to climb that one.
"It's going to be a long rest of the day" murmurs Darid aka Zubutai Timaginson in the hordes dialect of the southern tundra, who turns to his second Kalleb, who says "What are we going to about this?" as he holds up the missive.
"Nothing we can do" says councilor Parsen who knows his second in command isn't referring to the small parchment that the message is actually written on.
"But a cleric" quietly says Kalleb, who after a moment's pause adds "My lord won't exactly like that".
"That's an understatement" dryly says the cavalry commander who for more than a decade now, has inhabited a number of bodies as he's died, and has been brought back to life by lord Farque, who needs him to be part of his overall plan to rebuild the mercenary armies of Farque. As they were, or even better than they were four hundred and fifty years ago, before the Southlands was invaded by the Holy Norstran Empire. Where a war across a lot of the Southlands lasted nearly two years. Until the Empire's army was finally defeated, and the emperor himself was killed. In a battle against a combined force led by the young battlelord Kaiuss Farque, who would die in that battle. And would return a day after it was over as the undead lord Farque.
"There's nothing we can do about it" says commander Parsen, who continues with "It's up to his highness to find this cleric".
Darid aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman doesn't mention the fact that it might be best if Helbe the elven thief, didn't find this cleric that his powers of foresight have revealed to him.
It might be best if this cleric can elude the elven princeling who has taken off to search for him, somewhere to the southwest of Almaic, after the cleric who a little while ago was actually in the city. Until he went through a gateway to avoid certain death after being caught up in explosion caused by a mageglobe created by councilor Reinholt.
Though commander Parsen knows that they've found every single person that prince Helbenthril Raendril's foresight has revealed to him to be an integral part of lord Farque's overall plans.
And he doesn't suspect it will be any different now. And that the cleric will be found. And brought to the undead warlord. Who Darid Parsen knows is onboard the krean strikeship Flídiablo, somewhere elsewhere in the duchy of Phelm. Probably observing the battle for Almaic from miles away. As the Flídiablo and other vessels in the fleet. Keep enemy airships. And for that matter, any airships away from the central region of the duchy of Phelm. The northern most, and largest duchy in the kingdom of Nastell.
Councilor Parsen who thinks it'll be pretty even odds as to what will be worse, actually finding the cleric or not. As lord Farque will be angry either way. There's no doubt about that. As it's a law in the lands Farque that there's no clerics or magic using priests. Whilst he'll be just as angry as an integral part of his plans is unable to be found, even it is a cleric.
Glances at another of the integral parts of the undead warlord's plans to rebuild all of the mercenary armies of his lands. The messenger Lisell Maera, who quietly says in a slightly dry tone of voice "Percy is getting antsy again".
As the heavily armoured knight, sir Percavelle Lé Dic is boisterous once more. And is pacing back and forth in the trench, not bothering to take any cover against the enemy archers and crossbowmen up on the top of the north wall of the city of Almaic.
"Let him get antsy" says commander Parsen, who then continues with "We're sticking with our revised plans" Darid aka Zubutai Timaginson then adds "We'll go forward only when the wall has finally been topped, and a section of it is secured". For he and his company, will then go to the wall, get to the top, and enter the city proper, where they'll quickly head deeper into the capital city of the duchy of Phelm.
Though when exactly that might happen is anyones guess. As the battle here on the north side of the city of Almaic continues to rage. On what's been, and still is, a hot and sunny, summer's day here in the north of the kingdom of Nastell . . . . . .