Aftermath 17.

The Kaldel Plains...

They rode all yesterday. And most of today as well. Only stopping in the early afternoon beneath some of the scrubby looking trees of the plains. As today is a little warmer than it's been recently.
As if summer is still trying to cling on. Even though it's rapidly approaching Autumn here on the Kaldel Plains.
For Beldane the cleric, who hasn't ridden at length for quite some time. Today and yesterday has been trying, to say the least.
After checking his horse, and the remounts they've brought along with them. The fighting cleric grimaces as he sits down at the base of one of the trees.
Feeling a bit sorry for the cleric in the church of Glaine. The war engineer Tovis makes his way over to the powerful cleric who is originally from kingdom of Nastell.
"Do you drink hard alcohol?" asks Tovis the war engineer, who has seen the churchman drink ale and wine, but nothing stronger.
Knowing that some churches and temples don't allow their followers to drink any alcohol, the young engineer who hails from the kingdom of Druvic adds "If you do, this might help".
The war engineer, holds out a flask of liquor, and the fighting cleric gratefully accepts it.
Then after taking a drink from the metal flask, and after coughing from the strong taste of the fiery alcohol.
Beldane the cleric says "Thanks" followed by "Where did you get it?".
"Off one of them yesterday morning" says Tovis as he sits down next to the powerful spellcaster beneath the shade of the tree.
"He's not going to need it anymore" says the war engineer in a slightly dry tone of voice.
The member of the church of Glaine nods his head to that. For yesterday morning, at around dawn. They killed every single one of the bandits they found in the small caravan.
The four of them wiped out nearly twenty of the bandits. Not a single one a plainsman. All from beyond the Kaldel Plains. From elsewhere in the Southlands.
They kept a couple alive for a little while. So that they could be questioned.
Beldane winces at the memory of that. And though he kept out of that questioning. And the methods that were used in that questioning.
The fighting cleric did use his magical powers to find out if their prisoners were telling the truth or not.
The churchman originally from the duchy of Phelm in the kingdom of Nastell. Looks away to their right, where he spots Tamric Drubine and Lisell Maera beneath another of the scrubby looking trees.
Beldane can't believe it was the two youngsters who did all the questioning upon the two prisoners. Then killed them after they found out what they wanted to know.
The fighting cleric if he feels any guilt over the death of those two unarmed and defenceless bandits.
All he has to do is remember what happened to those plainsmen and their caravan. Where a large family group were wiped out by those bandits. Who also raped a number of the plainswomen and girls, before killing them.
"That helps" says Beldane after he takes another drink of the hard alcohol, the cleric in the church of Glaine continues with "Because my thighs and butt are killing me".
The young war engineer in the armies of Farque chuckles, then says "The joys of riding long distances".
The war engineer, who takes a drink from the flask of alcohol which the fighting cleric has given back to him, asks the powerful spellcaster "You know where we are?".
"Not particularly" is the reply of Beldane, who doesn't recognise where they are from his previous times here on the Kaldel Plains.
The churchman who is looking away into the distance to the northeast, continues with "Once i do, I'll let you and Tam, and Lis know".
Tovis, who was formerly the war engineer of a baron Harkonin in the east of the kingdom of Druvic, nods then says "Not much to break up our surroundings, apart from trees like these" he continues with "Or those canyons we saw further to the south".
"Yeah, it pretty much looks all the same" says Beldane, who then adds "The Plains of Kaldel".
"Who, or what is a Kaldel?" asks the young engineer from the kingdom of Druvic "You know what" says the fighting cleric, who shrugs as he continues on with "I have absolutely no idea".
The powerful spellcaster who takes pride in knowing the geography of the Southlands, and the meaning of their names.
Is a little disappointed he still doesn't know the origin of the Kaldel Plains name. And he vows to find out what it is one day.
The young engineer from the kingdom of Druvic hands the flask back to the fighting cleric, who takes another drink from it.
Though only a sip this time, as he isn't accustomed to such strong alcohol. Then the member of the church of Glaine says "You think we'll find that lot who attacked our ship?".
"Maybe" says Tovis, who then nods over to where Tamric Drubine and Lisell Maera are sitting, and quietly adds "Tam seems to think we will".
The war engineer pauses for a moment or two, before he continues with "I've met some determined people in my life, none more so than that young man".
The young engineer then adds "If he thinks we'll find them, then there's a good chance we just might".
Beldane nods, then quietly says "I often wonder how someone so young gets so determined and confident" he follows that with "After all he's only, what? seventeen?".
"Yeah seventeen" quietly says the war engineer from eastern Druvic, who then adds "It kind of helps he was born a noble, they tend to be more than a bit confident to begin with".
Then in a dry tone of voice, Tovis says "Then there's those who have brought him up since he was a child, they're the most determined bunch you'll ever meet" the young engineer adds "It's no wonder he's like he is".
"I assume you're talking about the others?" asks the powerful cleric from the kingdom of Nastell.
"I am" says the war engineer, who is ranked a captain in the armies of Farque, he continues with "You wouldn't think it, but his best friend is the ork warleader, Dorc".
The churchman winces when he hears that, and does so again when Tovis tells him "He's known him for about a decade now, and from what i know, he's learnt a hell of a lot from him".
"No wonder he's so determined" murmurs Beldane the cleric, who in his short amount of time he's been around the group, has seen how the large ork acts.
And immediately knows it likes to get things it's own way. It might not do so as quickly as it wants. But it eventually does so, through dogged determination.
"Think we'll find them?" quietly asks Lisell Maera the messenger in the elven language.
"I hope so" says Tamric Drubine the field commander in the same language, who looks away to the right away from the trees. At the wagon tracks in that direction.
And though there's quite a number of such tracks, as they're following a well established route here in this part of the plains.
The heavier wagon tracks they've been following from the site of the remains of the air transporter they found near a canyon away to the south on the plains.
Are still heading to the northeast across the Kaldel Plains. Towards the direction where the cleric Beldane says there's quite a few villages and even towns are located. Up in the northeast quarter of the plains.
"Hell, it looks like they could've gone hundreds of miles" quietly says Lisell Maera, who is more commonly called Lis by those who know her well.
"More than likely" says the nobleborn teenager who is originally from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin "Good thing we found those bandits and took their horses yesterday morning" adds the young field commander, who continues with "Because if we didn't, we would of spent weeks walking across these plains" he then adds in a dry tone "I wouldn't of fancied that".
The attractive young woman who hails from the city-state of Brattonbury grins at that from the young field commander, then says "Nor i".
Then after a brief pause, Lis says "Well if we can get further north to a place the cleric recognises, we can go by one of his gateways to these villages and towns in the northeast of the plains".
Tamric Drubine, or Tam as he's more commonly called by those who know him well, nods his head, then says "If we do, we'll have to leave these horses behind".
The son and former heir of a previous knight of castle Drubine in the kingdom of Sarcrin, continues with "The cleric can't create a gateway big enough for a horse to go through" the nobleborn teenager then adds "He can only create one big as a normal sized doorway".
The attractive young woman, whose mother was a street prostitute, and whose father was a sailor, a man she never knew, says in a slightly dry tone "The limitations of magic".
Tam faintly smiles, as that's the term they've both been taught. For though magic has it's advantages. It can also have many limitations. And in combat or battle. Or just in life in general. If you, like in the case of Tamric Drubine. Are in command of spellcasters. You have to know their limitations, as well as their capabilities.
"I think we might travel a bit further on by horseback even if we do find somewhere the cleric knows" quietly says the young field commander in the armies of Farque, who follows that with "To somewhere closer to where he knows those villages and towns are up in the northeast of the plains".
Tam who has been thinking about this a lot ever since they escaped the crashing warship, and decided to head after whoever it was that was responsible.
Quietly says to the messenger sitting beside him under the branches of the scrub like tree, which surprisingly offers quite a bit of shade "We could be heading into the middle of a hornets nest if we're not careful".
Field commander Drubine continues with "If they broke down that airship we came across pretty easily, and move some of it hundreds of miles across these plains with wagons. Well, there's going to be a fair few of them for sure" Tam then adds "Way more than the four of us could hope to deal with".
"That's a distinct possibility" says the messenger, who is part of the scouts division in the armies of Farque "Infact probably so" adds Lis who then asks the young field commander "What do you suggest?".
"We observe them" quietly says the nobleborn teen from the kingdom of Sarcrin, who continues with "At the least". Tamric Drubine pauses for a moment or two, then adds "If there's a lot of them, we'll watch their routines, and what they get up to".
Field commander Drubine then looks at the runner sitting next to him and tells her "From there, we'll see" Tam then adds "We might start picking them off without them noticing" he continues with "Or at least plan an attack for a larger force to take them on".
"You think others are looking for us?" asks the attractive young woman who is originally from the coastal city-state of Brattonbury "What do you think?" is the reply from Tamric Drubine "They are" is the answer from the messenger.
"Knowing them, they'll also be looking for the ones who were responsible for bringing down our ship" says the son of a previous knight of castle Drubine, which is located in the north of the kingdom of Sarcrin, which lies to the west of the Kaldel Plains.
"They're the most vindictive people i know" adds the field commander in a dry tone of voice, who then continues with "No way are they not going to do something about what happened to our ship". "That's for sure" dryly says Lisell Maera with a rueful shake of her head.
Lis, who'll never be the best of friends with Tam. Even though they're extremely close, as they've spent nearly a decade growing up together. Pretty much trusts his judgement more than anyone else.
Not to mention he's the one who came back for her by himself, a few years ago when the group were beyond the Southlands. North of the equator, where Lis was captured and raped by two men. Before she was able to free herself, and kill her captors.
Not that Tam knows all of that. Infact she's never told anyone the full story of that incident. Though unknown to her, there are those in the group. Two infact, who do know what happened.
One of the disadvantages of having an elven masterthief, who is also a highly talented spellcaster, who routinely reads the minds of the others in the group. Who then tells the leader of their group what he has learnt.
The attractive young woman who is a messenger in the armies of Farque says to the nobleborn teen "If you think we can get away with observing them without being found out, then that's what we should do".
The young field commander, infact he's the youngest of the field commanders in the armies of Farque, by quite a few years too. Nods his head, then tells Lis "We have to find them first".
Then after he takes a drink from his water bottle, Tamric Drubine says "Best we be off". Then switching to the common language, he says to Tovis the war engineer and Beldane the cleric who are sitting in the shade of the tree to the left "We're going".
They mount up again, with Beldane grunting as he gets back into the saddle, hoping that they won't ride late into the night before stopping again. Then the four of them, continue on their way, heading northeast across the Kaldel Plains . . . . . .