The Hire 136.

Almaic...

"Another one?" asks sir Yarrim the sorcerer "Yes sir" replies one of his personal household guards who has just spoken to a messenger who has just come into the palace grounds.
"From the western side of the city again" adds the guardsman who is from the estate of the nobleborn sorcerer, which is located along the southern border of the duchy of Phelm.
"Sounds like they're being pushed there even more than along the north wall" murmurs the spellcaster, who is the second most influential noble in the duchy of Phelm, behind only duke Hargen himself.
His personal household guards with him, five now instead of the usual two. Watch him to see if he decides to do anything.
The powerful sorcerer nods his head, then says to his guardsmen "We'll go and check on that side of the city" sir Yarrim then silently adds, besides Berric is along the north wall, and i don't want to be around him.
The nobleborn sorcerer who is in a relationship with the lady Elaine, who is the younger sister of the duke, waves over one of the pages.
"Tell the duke my men and i will be checking the west side of the city, and how our defences are holding up there" explains the powerful sorcerer to the page, who nods and says "Yes sir Yarrim" before he hurries into the chamber where the duke and others have been coordinating the defence of the city of Almaic.
The nobleborn spellcaster and his personal household guards make their way out of the main building of the palace, and after he glances up at the clear afternoon sky, sir Yarrim says "We'll teleport to that side of the city".
The powerful sorcerer spots his fellow spellcaster, the wizard Melkar and waves to him, and informs the court wizard via mindspeech, where he's off to.
Then sir Yarrim, along with his five personal household guards, who are standing close around him, disappear.
They reappear on a roof of a large building just across the street from palace grounds. The exact same building to the west of the palace, that Helbe the elven thief observed the palace from this morning.
Sir Yarrim looks back, and checks on the wards he has around the palace grounds. Once he sees that they're secured. He looks away to the west across the city that's the capital of the duchy of Phelm.
"You think they'll try for the gates that way Harvin?" the powerful sorcerer asks one of his guards.
"I think so sir" says one of the guards who has been with the nobleborn spellcaster all day "Even though they can enter the city where ever they like on that side" adds Harvin as he looks westwards across the city.
Sir Yarrim who is casting a farsight spell at the moment, nods his head, then drops the spell once he spots what he's looking for.
The nobleman whose estates are along the southern border of the duchy, doesn't even have to tell his personal household guards to stand close when he says "Right then, let's go" as they're already surrounding him.
They disappear as sir Yarrim teleports all of them to the west across the city that's the provincial capital.
A few moments later and they reappear on the roof of a tower that's used to store grain that's brought into the city from the surrounding countryside.
They're about a fifty yards away from where a wall would normally be along the west side of the city.
And just as sir Yarrim's personal household guards are wondering why he didn't teleport them to one of the watchtowers that runs up and down the west side of the city, where a wall would normally be.
They see a boulder smack into the top of one further to the north. Smashing apart a lot of the roof of that particular tower. Killing, or at least injuring all of those who were on that roof of that watchtower.
The powerful sorcerer, who is sensing all around, not bothering to hide himself by holding his power within himself. As he usually does, with a specific spell he's learnt that hides him from other spellcasters.
For he wants the enemy to know that he's close to them, here in the western quarter of the city that's the capital of the duchy of Phelm.
"Looks like our forces are amongst them out there" says the guardsman Harvin who is peering ahead, looking towards the warren of buildings outside of the city proper. A lot of the buildings out there are either destroyed, or at least partly damaged. Especially those further away from where a wall would normally be on this side of Almaic.
"I'll have to be careful then" quietly says sir Yarrim, who has sensed a couple of dwarven delvers amongst the enemy spellcasters outside the city proper.
The powerful sorcerer knows they're the only two he has to be worried about. As he's not particularly threatened by any of the other enemy spellcasters.
He briefly thought he sensed an enemy sorcerer, a fairly powerful one at that. But he doesn't sense them anymore. And he must of been mistaken that there was one as powerful as that with the enemy along this side of the city of Almaic.
The sorcerer, who was trained by his friend Dominic's father. Nods his head as one of the guardsmen points to something. It's an enemy war machine that's being brought forward.
And though the duke forces are countering them with their own war machines. There's a lot less of them now, than there was this morning when the battle got underway.
Throughout the day a number of them have just broken down, while others have been destroyed or damaged by the enemy.
"I'll definitely have to be careful" the nobleborn spellcaster murmurs to himself, who decides to attack the enemy further out, instead of those closer to where a wall would normally be on this side of the city, where they're engaged with those defending the west side of Almaic.
He'll work his way back this way, steadily progressing this way as he attacks the enemy from the unruled lands in the Colevar Mountains.
"Keep an eye out on our lookouts on the watchtowers" says sir Yarrim to his men "If you see them concentrating on one thing, tell me about it" adds the second most influential noble in the duchy of Phelm. The personal household guards nod that they will.
Then the nobleborn spellcaster spots an enemy trebuchet in the distance, amongst the rubble of a couple of buildings. Further back from the city proper. Sir Yarrim slightly grins, then casts a spell.
"Ah captain" says one of the spotters up on the roof of the two storey building, who looks down at those on the balcony below.
"What is it?" asks Tovis the war engineer who looks up at the spotter looking down from the roof.
"One of the trebuchets is on fire" says the spotter in the engineering corp of the Farqian mercenary army, he follows that with "Like all most burnt to the ground already".
Larris the sorcerer hurries inside, into a room that looks back to the west. And the young engineer hears his second in command loudly swear, before he makes his way back out onto the balcony.
The fairly powerful sorcerer nods his head yes in reply to the enquiring look from the war engineer who holds the rank of captain in the mercenary army from the lands Farque.
"Hell" mutters Tovis, who then asks his second in command "That enemy you sensed coming this way?".
"More than likely" says Larris the sorcerer, who has told the young engineer, that it's probably sir Yarrim. Who is known to be the most powerful spellcaster in the forces of the duchy of Phelm. Who is known to be here in the city of Almaic this day.
The second in command of the engineers corp, who is holding his power within himself, so he isn't detected by an enemy spellcaster "I think he's targeting our war machines".
Tovis nods, then quietly says "Doesn't want to attack our forces who are engaged with the enemy just incase he hits his own" Larris the sorcerer nods his head in agreement with that.
The young engineer who is originally from the kingdom of Druvic where he was the war engineer for a baron Harkonin, looks up at the spotter who is still looking down at the balcony, and tells him "Signal all our crews to bring every war machine forward as much as possible" Tovis continues with "Even the trebuchets".
The spotter nods and moves back out of sight. While the war engineer says to one of the officers in the Farqian mercenary army on the balcony with him and the others "Send some runners to the field commander and tell him what's happening".
There's an explosion away to the south of them, and they see chunks of wood, obviously a catapult, go flying into the air.
"Quick!" adds the young engineer who commands the engineering corp in the mercenary army from the lands Farque.
As the officer details some messengers to go off and speak to field commander Talbot.
The war engineer asks his second in command "You think you could take him?".
Larris the sorcerer faintly winces, then says in reply "No, i don't think i can" the fairly powerful sorcerer continues with "Even if i was working in unison with other spellcasters".
Tovis grunts, then after a moment where he glances away to his right along the balcony, to someone standing towards that end.
He quietly says to his second in command in the elven language "What if you were working in unison with someone else?" the young engineer from the kingdom of Druvic then adds "Someone who isn't a practitioner of magic?".
Larris frowns, then glances to where the war engineer nods. The sorcerer in the Farqian mercenary army slightly nods, and in elven says to Tovis "Still don't think I'd be able to" followed by "Nevertheless he definitely would be able to".
The young engineer who holds the rank of captain in the armies of Farque nods in understanding, then he looks away to right along the balcony, and in common he says to the person they've been discussing "Shur Kee a word with you" he continues with "I was wondering if there's something you can do for us".
"Sir, the tower there" says the guardsman Harvin, who points to one of the watchtowers dotted up and down the west side of the city, where a wall would normally be.
"Something's got their interest" adds the guard in sir Yarrim's personal household.
The powerful sorcerer who is the second most influential noble in the duchy, behind only duke Hargen himself. Especially now, that the woman he's in a relationship with, the lady Elaine. Who happens to be the younger sister of the duke. Has been named as the new heir to duke Hargen.
Looks away to the watchtower that Harvin has indicated. There the nobleborn sorcerer sees the duke's men on the rooftop, pointing away to something.
Sir Yarrim looks to what they're pointing at, and in the distance he spots an enemy catapult moving forward along a street in the warren of buildings, outside of the city proper.
The powerful sorcerer sends a blast spell towards it. Then he quickly says to his men "We're going" as he senses something. His personal household guards stand close to him, and the next moment they disappear.
They quickly reappear down on the street next to the tower used for storing grain they were just on top of.
They look up, and see a fireball coming from the direction of the enemy, streaking through the afternoon sky towards the top of the tower they were just on.
"Harvin and Sallick with me" says sir Yarrim to the two guardsmen who have been with him all day.
The nobleborn spellcaster who is now hiding himself from other practitioners of magic, continues with "You other three move out" followed by "But stay within sight of us".
The nobleman whose estates are along the southern border of the duchy of Phelm moves out. Heading west along the street they're on. In the distance they can hear fighting. Which they steadily move towards, as they walk quickly to where a wall would normally be along this side of the city that's the provincial capital.
The powerful sorcerer is heading towards one of the watchtowers of the city guard. The one directly to the south of where the gates are.
Sir Yarrim, who can still cast and sense as he hides himself from other spellcasters, as he isn't holding his power within himself.
Can sense the enemy delvers in the area not too far from where the city gates are.
The nobleborn sorcerer slightly nods to himself, and though he senses other spellcasters amongst the enemy that are about. He isn't worried about them at all.
"Hurry" says sir Yarrim to his two personal household guards Harvin and Sallick, and they break into a run, heading to the nearby watchtower. Followed by the other three guards from the estate of the powerful sorcerer.
They run by one of the duke's catapults, where the crew is busy reloading it.
And sir Yarrim looks back at his trailing guardsmen, and points up at the roof of the watchtower they're hurrying towards.
The next moment, the nobleborn sorcerer and his two personal household guards Harvin and Sallick disappear.
They quickly reappear on the roof of the watchtower, where sir Yarrim says to those already on it "Clear the roof".
The powerful sorcerer who is hidden from other spellcasters, sends a firewave away to the right and down.
And though it's no where near as long as one he could create one at just fifty feet in length. It is extremely tall for that spell, as it's over twenty feet in height.
It heads towards where he can sense the two enemy spellcasters, who are dwarven delvers, who aren't all that faraway from one another.
"That will flush them out" murmurs sir Yarrim, who is ready to cast a pair of spells at once, as he continues to hide himself from other practitioners of magic. Who can only find him by sight alone, as they're unable to magically sense him now. Unless he drops the spell that masks his presence from other spellcasters. Or he's forced to drop it. Which he isn't intending to do.
As he waits for his firewave to reach its target, specifically two targets. Sir Yarrim spots the top of an enemy catapult not that faraway, behind a building. The powerful sorcerer destroys the top of it with a blast spell.
As they stand at the end of the balcony talking with Shur Kee the monk, they look back in the direction they came from, and see the top of the catapult that the war engineer directed behind a nearby building, explode in shower of wood.
"He's close" says Larris the sorcerer who is holding his power within himself.
They look towards the city proper, and Tovis the war engineer calls out to the others along the balcony, and up on the rooftop of the two storey building "Keep an eye out for an enemy spellcaster!".
Immediately from up on the roof, a voice calls back "There's a wave of fire in the air!" followed by "To the south of where the gates are".
They all look in that direction, hoping to spot the enemy spellcaster they suspect is sir Yarrim.
Tovis glances at his second in command Larris, then Shur Kee the monk. Hoping that the two of them can deal with the threat that is the enemy nobleman, sir Yarrim the sorcerer . . . . . .