Aftermath 47.

The Kaldel Plains...

Throughout the cold night, the crew of illegal wreckers take it in turns to guard the various ways the village can be approached from.
Where they've put wagons between many of the houses, as they watch for anyone approaching the village.
The trio of spellcasters, routinely cast to the north, west, east and particularly to the south to see if anyone is near the village. So far they've yet to find anyone near or approaching the village.
That doesn't stop them from still looking whenever one or two of them is awake, as the third gets some sleep.
Sometime during the night, after halfway between midnight and dawn. Pallen the blademaster is woken again by his lover, Sasha the former mercenary, who quietly tells him "Our turn again".
The two of them don their armour and weapons, and step out into the cold night.
They look away to their right, and in the nearby torch light, they see a trio of their fellow wreckers, behind one of the wagons, looking out to the southeast, making sure not to look at the torch light behind them, to preserve their night vision.
The couple, who are from the kingdom of Girdane, then head into the village proper. Occasionally glancing to the side where they see others on guard, looking out and away from the village, trying to spot anyone who may or may not be approaching the village.
Some of the wreckers might of complained at first earlier in the night at the lengths their leader Arvelle has gone to protect them and the village.
But after Pallen cut down the wrecker who was complaining the most. Simply because he didn't want to spend any amount of time outside during the cold night.
Everyone else who even murmured a complaint, shut up and got on with what they were told to do.
None of them wanted to end up dead on the end of dangerous blademaster's sword like the fellow who complained the loudest.
Pallen and Sasha head to the village green, and the two storey house that their leader Arvelle lives and works from.
The two of them briefly stop on the village green, which has burning torches stuck in the ground, dotted all over the place.
The green, that's the most open part of the village. Has wreckers everywhere, even up on the decks and masts of the ships they're still stripping down.
They're the best vantage points to see from anywhere in the village, including the roof of Arvelle's house. That has a trio of lookouts on it at the moment, and is usually where one of the spellcasters is located.
At the moment, the sorceress Sara is up there, bundled in a heavy cloak. Beside her as always, is her twin brother Famic. Who is one of the lookouts at this time.
The blademaster and the former mercenary from the kingdom of Girdane, nod to the twins from the kingdom of Nastell, who have looked down, and waved in greeting to them.
Then the couple, who met on opposite sides of a battlefield in their homeland of Girdane, enter the two storey house.
"Get any sleep?" asks Sasha the former mercenary "A bit" replies Arvelle the plainsman who yawns as he's just woken up a little while ago.
The leader of the illegal wreckers who have terrorised airships flying over the Kaldel Plains over the last year or so.
Is sitting at the table in the kitchen, where he's eating. He gestures for Sasha and Pallen to sit and join him. The couple do so, and partake in the food on the boards and plates on the table.
"Anything?" asks Pallen the blademaster "Nothing" replies the tall plainsman with the shaved head who leads the crew of illegal wreckers.
"The spellcasters too?" asks the dangerous blademaster, who though born and raised in the kingdom of Girdane, is also a plainsman. Though he wears his hair long in plaids, unlike his fellow plainsman, Arvelle.
"They've found nothing too" says the leader of the illegal wreckers, he continues with "As much as Samiel doesn't think much of Davon's abilities, he will admit that he's a genius at warning spells, or alarm spells as Samiel calls them".
Arvelle then adds "Seems the wizard has put them everywhere around the village to up to a quarter of a mile away in all directions, and even further to the south". The tall plainsman with the shaved head then says "It will gives us fair warning of anyone who gets near  the village".
"You trust it?" asks the blademaster in slight tone of scepticism "To a point" says Arvelle, who like his fellow plainsman Pallen, and for that matter all plainsmen, isn't entirely trusting of spellcasters and their spells.
"Better than nothing i suppose" says Sasha who is eating some bacon and cooked tomatoes, the two plainsmen nod in agreement.
Then the three of them look to the door of the kitchen when they hear someone out in the main room of the house.
"Samiel" quietly says Arvelle, who continues with "He's been sleeping out in the main room".
A few moments later, and the powerful mage makes his way into the kitchen, yawning as he does so.
"How late is it?" asks Samiel the mage after he sits down at the table and pours himself a mug of warm tea from the ceramic jug in the middle of the table.
As the spellcaster who hails from the city-state of Tuledare heats the tea in his mug with a quick spell, Pallen the blademaster dryly tells him "You mean early".
Samiel grunts, and Sasha the former mercenary says to him "It's closer to dawn than it is midnight".
The powerful mage nods, then now that he's relatively awake, he senses in all directions, for as far as he can. Which is to about six miles in all directions.
He immediately senses Sara up on the roof of the two storey house. And the wards she's surrounded Arvelle's house with.
The mage thinks the sorceress is a more than competent practitioner of magic. And though younger than him by about five years or so. She probably knows more spells than he does. Which isn't all that surprising, as he's a mage, who tend to concentrate on just one thing. That being destruction. And the spells that can help them achieve that. As well as other spells that help facilitate those destructive spells.
Samiel then senses Davon, who is on the south side of the village. Then all the alarm spells the wizard has placed out from the village. The furthest of which, are over a mile away to the south, almost to the large patch of scrubby trees in that direction.
The powerful mage who is sensing even further out in all directions, eventually nods his head as he's unable to sense anything or anyone else magical in the area. Including north to the other village about two and half miles away, that the illegal wreckers have also taken over.
"I can't sense anything new" says Samiel to the other three, who have all been watching him, figuring he's probably sensing trying to find any other spellcasters in the area who are unfriendly towards them.
The Tuledarian mage who is certain that there's another mage in this part of the Kaldel Plains, then says "If any spellcasters are about, they're keeping themselves well hidden".
Samiel, who was briefly blinded early in the night, when something stabbed him in the right eye, continues with "Even so, i sure there's another mage in the area".
Well, you're right about that, Narladene the ground pixie thinks to herself, who is sitting upon a window sill in the cosy kitchen watching and listening to those at the table.
There's another mage in the area alright, the naturally magical creature thinks to herself, Narladene who is invisible to the four humans sitting at the table, then silently adds, as well an elven magic user and a cleric of all things.
The tiny winged creature who can clearly sense Mira Reinholt the mage, Helbe the elven thief and Beldane the cleric just a quarter of a mile away to the east of the village.
Knows that the young elven noble has cast a shield spell upon the fighting cleric from the kingdom of Nastell, so that Beldane doesn't have to keep holding his power within himself.
While the highly talented elven magic user just automatically casts a shield spell upon himself at all times. While the mage Reinholt has an amulet that basically does the same thing. So the two of them are unable to be sensed by other spellcasters.
The ground pixie who is attached to Helbe the elven thief watches those at the kitchen table for a little while longer.
Until she takes off and goes flying backwards through the window shutters behind her.
The tiny winged creature who is originally from the Sunreach Mountains, twists in midair so that's she's facing the right way.
Then she wanders around, looking and listening to the wreckers who are up at this time. Seeing what they're up to, as well as where they're positioned, before she heads off to return to the others who are just to the east of the village.
Meanwhile, back inside the two storey house on the northwest corner of the village green, Arvelle the plainsman is saying "We'll head out and make sure everyone is in the place they're supposed to be".
The tall plainsman with the shaved head, who has been in more than a few battles in his time when he was traveling throughout the Southlands. Knows that dawn and dusk are the times people are most likely to attack a target.
And with Samiel certain that there's a mage in the area, who may or may not be with others. If they're likely to do something, it'll be before first light this morning.
The leader of the crew of illegal wreckers after eating, goes and gets his weapons, then he along with the couple Sasha and Pallen, as well as Samiel, who grabs his cloak from the main room, make their way outside.
"I'll speak with Sara then go and check on Davon" says the powerful mage from the city-state of Tuledare.
Arvelle nods, and as Samiel levitates up to the roof of the two storey house to speak with the sorceress up there.
Arvelle gestures across the village green to the ships that are in various states of being dismantled, then he tells the Girdanian couple "I'll go and check on that lot on the ships" followed by "Then those around on the north side of the village".
Sasha, who is basically the defacto second in command of the crew of illegal wreckers now that Mac the dwarf has gone missing, nods her head, then says "We'll check on the south side of the village, then work our way around to the east side".
"I'll meet you around there on the east side of the village" says Arvelle, who then sets off across the village green, to the nearest of the ships. Where some of the wreckers are up in the masts, where they're lookouts, keeping a watch out for anyone who might approach the village out of the darkness.
The former mercenary and the dangerous blademaster cut across village green too, heading to the south side of the village. In particular to the track that comes up from the south of the village.
As they do, the blademaster Pallen asks the good looking, one eyed woman who is his lover "What was that Gorlic was going on about earlier in the night?".
"Huh?" says Sasha who is already looking at some of the houses they're nearing, making sure that those who are supposed to be up and on guard, are doing so.
"Something he was pretty insistent about" says Pallen, who continues with "I didn't hear, since i was a bit busy".
The former mercenary wryly smiles, for her lover the blademaster was busy killing that one wrecker who was complaining about being up in the middle of the night. And make sure the others who dared to complain, knew about it.
"Oh that" says Sasha as they make their way off the village green, and go between some of the roundhouses as they head to the south side of the village.
Then the good looking woman who has just the one eye, and has a gnarly looking scar down one side of her face, says "He swears he saw something when Samiel destroyed that little airboat they spotted" she continues with "The mage didn't, and he doesn't believe Gorlic either".
"Oh?" says Pallen, who knows that for all of his hotheadedness, the former arena fighter Gorlic isn't one to make things up.
"What was it?" asks the dangerous blademaster who like his lover is from the kingdom of Girdane.
"You're not going to believe me" murmurs Sasha, who then says in a slightly dry tone "He swears he spotted a big ugly troll holding the brightest looking goblin he's ever seen" she continues in that same dry tone with "And that they were floating down through the air after that little airboat went spinning out of control towards the ground".
The dangerous blademaster who is at a loss for words, blinks in surprise, then looks sideways at his lover the former mercenary.
"Don't look at me like that" says Sasha, who continues with "I'm not the one making things up" she shakes her head as she adds "I swear he'd been in some of Samiel's potions or something to make that crap up".
Pallen slowly nods his head, then he eventually says "That is rather" he pauses before adding "Fanciful from Gorlic". "That's one way of putting it" dryly says the good looking woman with just one eye.
"Still" says the tall plainsman with the long hair, who continues with "It's not like Gorlic to make things up" he follows that with "He might be a hothead at times, but he doesn't lie like that". After a bit of silence as they get to the south side of the village, Sasha quietly says "I know".
The two of them wander down the track that's been lit with lamps on the ground to either side of it for about fifty yards.
Where the last of the lamps are, a few of the wreckers are on guard. The couple from Girdane have a quiet word with them. And after finding out no one has been seen or heard on the track. The former mercenary and the dangerous blademaster make their way back into the village. And work their way around to the east side of the village.
Pallen has just said "It'll be dawn before we know it" and Sasha nods in agreement, when they see a yawning Gorlic make his way from between two of the roundhouses to their left.
The former arena fighter from the city-state of Brattonbury who has just woken up, grunts in greeting to the couple from the kingdom of Girdane.
"I was just going to check on that lot that way" says Gorlic the former arena fighter who points in the direction that Pallen and Sasha are going.
The good looking one eyed woman, with the gnarly looking scar down the side of her face where she has no eye, nods and says "We're heading that way too".
The trio continue on that way, and though the tall plainsman who is a blademaster wants to ask Gorlic about what he saw yesterday at dusk when Samiel the mage destroyed a small airboat that was heading towards the village from the south.
The dangerous blademaster stays silent on the matter. Only saying "Getting close to dawn I'd say" in reply to Gorlic asking "Any idea what time it is?".
The three of them get to the east side of the village, and after they go by the house that Sasha and Pallen live in, and speak to the wreckers behind one of the wagons near it.
They spread out to speak with the others who are on guard on this side of the village.
The dangerous blademaster from the kingdom of Girdane, who has just knocked on the front door to one of the roundhouses, and told the wreckers in there to wake up or else.
And faintly smiled when he's heard a sleepy reply from inside. Looks across the way, to where Sasha is speaking to a couple of the locals, who are up early, and have just left their house. When they hear a shout from nearby.
The couple look at one another, then take off running to where they heard the shout, they hear it again, followed by another.
As they get closer, they clearly hear it's from a couple of the wreckers who have spotted something to the east of the village.
Pallen and Sasha run to where a couple of wagons are between the last two houses on the east side of the village, Gorlic runs from their left.
And when the three of them get to the wagons, one of the wreckers on top of one of the wagons says "There's movement out there".
As Sasha takes her brass, cylindrical eyepiece out from her cloak, and looks through it.
As she does, Samiel the mage suddenly appears nearby, and hurries over to the wagons saying "One of the alarm spells has gone off".
"You see it?" says the wrecker standing on the wagon, who then adds "Where that little hill is out there".
The former mercenary from Girdane looks that way through her eyepiece, then quietly says "There's movement there alright".
And though Sasha can't see clearly through her eyepiece in the darkness, which is starting to lighten as it gets closer to dawn, she does say "Looks like someone is heading this way down that rise" she briefly pauses then quietly adds "Someone big".
Samiel the mage who is standing to one side of the wagons next to Pallen and Sasha, casts a nightvision spell.
Then he quietly says "I can't see any, no wait a moment there is" the powerful mage from the city-state of Tuledare suddenly goes silent.
The dangerous blademaster looks down at Samiel, who has a stunned look on his face "Mage, what is it?" asks Pallen.
The Tuledarian spellcaster is silent for a few more moments, then turns and looks over at Gorlic as he says in disbelief "It's the ugliest looking troll I've ever seen, and with it is a bright green goblin".
"See, i told you" says Gorlic the former arena fighter, who then mutters "And no one would believe me" . . . . . .