Aftermath 51.

The Kaldel Plains...

Helbe the elven thief looks down to the north side of the village and frowns.
The young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel, rolls his eyes as he spots sir Percavelle Lé Dic running through the village shouting and yelling at the top of his lungs.
In the early gloomy light below, the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic is almost as loud as Dorc da Orc, who is roaring and yelling as well. As he works his way from the east side of the village, cutting down any poor unfortunate soul who is dumb enough to stand up against him.
Finally, Helbe the elven thief thinks to himself as he sees Narladene the ground pixie suddenly appear out of the corner of his right eye.
"That mage" says Narladene the ground pixie as she lands upon the right shoulder of the elven magic user she's attached to. Who interrupts her as he says "Where's that wizard?" followed by "I can't find him".
"He's in there" says the naturally magical creature after sensing for the wizard in question, then points down at a roundhouse on the south side of the village that the elven masterthief is floating a few hundred feet above.
The shielded and blurred elven spellcaster nods his hooded head, then as the grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel is just about to shift down to the ground, Narladene quickly says to him "Wait".
The elven master assassin who is a member of the personal council to the lord and ruler of the lands Farque slightly frowns as he glances at the tiny winged creature who is standing on his right shoulder.
"That mage" says Narladene who begins again where she was interrupted by the elven princeling from Laerel "He's awake, well waking" adds the ground pixie.
Helbe the elven thief quickly looks down to the long building that the unconscious mage was taken into, and he can no longer sense him.
"By the forest gods" mutters prince Helbenthril Raendril, who then asks Narladene "Is he still in that building there" as he points to the long, low building near the center of the village.
"He is" says the ground pixie who is originally from the Sunreach Mountains, who met the young elven princeling she's attached to, nearly fifteen years ago in the city of Leeabra, the capital of the kingdom of Druvic.
"He's holding his power within himself" adds the naturally magical creature, who at seven and a half centuries old is fairly young for a pixie.
"I know" dryly says the blurred and shielded elven magic user.
Narladene sourly smiles, then says "There he is, he's not now".
The elven magic user from the island principality of Laerel nods as he suddenly senses the mage named Samiel.
Prince Helbenthril Raendril is just about to cast a spell, when Narladene suddenly tells him something.
"Hell" mutters the elven masterthief who winces when he hears what the ground pixie has to say.
The highly talented elven spellcaster who has no trouble casting multiple spells at once, slams up some wards around himself.
Samiel the mage groans as he fully comes around. The powerful spellcaster who hails from the city-state of Tuledare remembers casting a spell against what he thought was a troll, then suddenly blacking out after seeing into the mind of what he thinks was a troll.
Now he finds himself lying on the floor of the low, long building in the center of the village, that the illegal wreckers have been using as a tavern.
The mage who before becoming a criminal, then an illegal wrecker, worked for the airdock authority in the city of Tuledare.
Finds himself covered in vomit, from his chin, down to his waist. Samiel makes a face of disgust at this discovery as he tries to sit up.
The Tuledarian mage who automatically started holding his power within himself when he fully woke up.
Frowns as he tastes something in his mouth, he thinks about it for a few moments, then realises it's the aftertaste of a healing potion.
"Gorlic" murmurs Samiel the mage as he realises the former arena fighter from the city-state of Brattonbury must of given him a healing potion.
Then the powerful mage frowns once more as he suddenly remembers as he was trying to wake up, Gorlic slapping him across the face and yelling at him to wake up.
"Damn hothead" mutters Samiel, who then wonders why he fell into unconsciousness in the first place.
The spellcaster from the city-state of Tuledare didn't sense anything magical on or near what he still thinks is a troll.
So he comes to the conclusion, correct as it turns out. That there must be an unknown spellcaster about. Infact there's a trio of them. Though they didn't have anything to do with him being knocked out.
The powerful mage gets to his knees, and glances towards a nearby window, and sees that outside the darkness of predawn has all but dissipated, and the early morning gloom of dawn has taken over.
Samiel briefly thinks about something, then he stops holding his power within himself and creates a mageglobe that appears in his right hand.
The living piece of magic shoots from his right hand, across the room, and out the open window.
The Tuledarian spellcaster has tasked it to go out and find any spellcasters in or near the village. Who isn't himself, Sasha the sorceress who he senses somewhere on the north side of the village green.
But not on the roof of the two storey house on the northwest corner of the village green where she's supposed to be. Or Davon the wizard, who Samiel can't sense.
The powerful mage may not particularly like the brand of magic that Davon practices. Nor the overall ability of the wizard's spellcasting.
But he will admit that Davon can be a bit of a sneak at times with magic. Who can do something unsuspecting, especially when you're not expecting it.
Samiel senses his mageglobe outside circling around the building he's in, and just before he starts to hold his power within himself and get up and head for the nearby door, he senses the living piece of magic shoot up into the dawn sky above the village.
The powerful mage steps outside, and looks up trying to see where his mageglobe went, but he can't see it anywhere.
Samiel glances around in the dawn light, and wonders what he should do. Then the spellcaster from the city-state of Tuledare hears the roar of what he still thinks is a troll.
The mage who is part of the crew of illegal wreckers who have been plaguing the airships that fly over the Kaldel Plains over the last year or so.
Makes his way through the village, muttering to himself "I'll get that damn troll this time" as he walks through the early morning light as the sun rises in the east.
Mira Reinholt the mage frowns as he looks out the back door of the house he's in. The once powerful mage from the city-state of Vexil, briefly senses the mage named Samiel towards the center of the village.
The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster, who can't be sensed by other spellcasters due to an amulet he wears around his neck.
Spots a mageglobe head up into the sky, before he's unable to sense the mage again.
The Vexilian mage in exile watches the mageglobe go up into the dawn sky, just a few hundred feet up, then go sideways and down, until it's out of view.
The spellcaster who was once the most powerful mage of his generation to be found anywhere in the Southlands, slightly nods his hooded head as he realises the small red, living piece of magic, that must be the size of a small apple.
Is after Helbe the elven thief, who was going to observe the battle for the village, from up in the dawn sky. On what looks like it's going to be another clear and sunny, though cold day here in the northeast of the Kaldel Plains.
The mage in exile from his homeland of Vexil tries to sense for the other mage, but is unable to.
The mage Reinholt closes the backdoor as he hears both a roar from Dorc da Orc, and a shout from sir Percavelle Lé Dic from somewhere else in the village.
The Vexilian swordmaster who is a part of the personal council to the lord and ruler of the lands Farque, makes his way to the front room of this particular house located on the southside of the village green.
One of the few houses in the village where the illegal wreckers live and work from, that isn't a roundhouse.
In the front room, councillor Reinholt sees Tamric Drubine and Shur Kee the monk trying to move one of the magetubes. And though it and two others in the room are in their firing cradles, they're still extremely difficult to move, as it's just the two of them to do so.
As he hurries over to help the young field commander and the physical adept, Mira Reinholt the mage asks "What part of that house over there has the rest of that loot in it?".
"The right side" is the reply from Tamric Drubine the field commander, who then adds in the elven language "That's where Narladene says they moved it to from the main room".
The nobleborn teenager who hails from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin reverts back to the common language, and continues with "We're just trying to clear this wreck here" as he nods out the window infront of them, at one of the stripped down airships on the village green.
It's infront of the bow of the one that's now well and truly ablaze thanks to the mage Reinholt setting it on fire.
The once powerful mage casts a spell, and the magetube in it's cradle is now far easier to move with all three of them pushing.
"We'll probably have to shoot out of the wall beneath the window here" explains the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster, who follows that with "If we lift it up, the firing angle will definitely only hit the second storey, or even pass over it".
Tamric Drubine or Tam as he's more commonly called by the others in the group nods his head in agreement.
Then the son and former heir of a previous knight of castle Drubine, a castle found in the forested north of the kingdom of Sarcrin, asks the once powerful mage "That sorceress still over there?".
"Not behind that two storey building anymore" is the answer from Mira Reinholt after he senses across to the north side of the village green. To the two storey house that the leader of the illegal wreckers has been living in ever since he and his crew took over this village, and the next one just a few short miles to the north.
"She's still around on the north side of the village, heading eastwards" adds Mira Reinholt, who slightly nods his hooded head when he realises where the sorceress named Sara must be heading.
The exiled Vexilian mage who is of the opinion the sorceress won't like what she's going to encounter soon, says to Tam and Shur Kee "Don't fire until i say so" the highly skilled swordmaster continues with "There's something i want to do the exact same time we fire it off".
Mira Reinholt just wants the mage named Samiel to know that he's not the only mage in the area. And that though the spellcaster from the city-state of Vexil may not be all that powerful anymore.
There's a number of things he can do and can create, that are still as devastating as when he still had all of his powers at his disposal.
The three of them get the large, magical weapon so that it's pointing across the village green, clear of any of the airships that are out on the green.
They maneuver it so that it's pointing at the right side, from their viewpoint. Of the two storey house across the village green, at the northwest corner.
"Are we going to hit it?" asks councillor Reinholt "I think we will" says Shur Kee the monk who is an honorary member of the personal council to lord Farque.
"I'd say so" says field commander Drubine who peers down the length of the magetube as he looks out the window to the two storey house across the village green.
Then the nobleborn teenager from the kingdom of Sarcrin nods his head, and says "We'll hit it" then he steps to the side and back, so that he's near the back end of the powerful magical weapon.
Both Mira Reinholt and Shur Kee move back from the otherside of the magetube, and Tam looks at the two of them, in particular the Vexilian mage in exile and says "Ready when you are".
"Wait a bit" says the once powerful mage who is sensing as he prepares to create a mageglobe.
The young field commander in the armies of Farque nods, and he waits for the order from councillor Reinholt to shoot the magetube.
Over on the north side of the village, Beldane the cleric is behind one of the roundhouses.
The fighting cleric from the kingdom of Nastell who is a member of the church of Glaine takes a peek around one side of the roundhouse.
And not that far away, just thirty or forty yards at most. He sees in the early light of dawn, Darid Parsen the cavalry commander, Lisell Maera the messenger and Tovis the war engineer, engaged in combat with a fair few of the illegal wreckers, near and around some of the wagons placed between some of the houses.
The powerful cleric who saw sir Percavelle Lé Dic take off further into the village a short time ago. Has been told to keep clear, and out of the way. And to take care of more dangerous opponents amongst the illegal wreckers who might come this way.
One of whom is the sorceress by the name of Sara, who Beldane senses not all that faraway, who is heading in this direction.
The sorceress who survived a strike spell cast by the fighting cleric a little earlier, which struck the roof of the two storey house she was on previously.
Doesn't know where Beldane is, or who he is. As he's still under the influence of the shield spell that was cast upon him by Helbe the elven thief.
The member of the church of Glaine who is pretty sure he sensed the mage named Samiel briefly a few moments ago.
Takes a peek in the other direction after watching the trio engaged with some of the illegal wreckers, one of whom is their leader, Arvelle the plainsman.
Beldane spots something, then quickly steps forward in through the open back door of the roundhouse.
That until just before dawn, had some of the locals living in here. Who took off out of the village when all the shouting, yelling and roaring got underway not so long ago.
The powerful cleric takes his magical mace from the loop on his belt, and waits just back from the open doorway, listening carefully as he does so.
And though he can hear the sounds of combat not all that far away from the roundhouse he's inside of. And he's pretty sure he hears sir Percavelle Lé Dic shouting in the distance, from further in the village.
And he's absolutely sure he can hear the roaring and yelling of Dorc da Orc from even further away in the village.
He listens carefully for what he knows is approaching from further to the west along this side of the village.
Beldane lifts his mace up, then pulls his right arm back, to get ready to swing the weapon forward around his body as all of a sudden he hears people approaching the roundhouses he's in from west.
The fighting cleric who knows who it is, as he caught a quick glimpse of them just before he stepped inside of the roundhouse, silently counts to himself.
Then the cleric in the church of Glaine steps forward, as he does, he swings his mace forward, casting a spell as he's about to swing it out the open door.
As Beldane does this, the village and the dawn is rocked by the loud unmistakable thud of a magetube firing that everyone in the village, and those near it, clearly hear.
A thud that comes from the village green, that reverberates first thing this morning, here in the village located in the northeast of the Kaldel Plains . . . . . .