Aftermath 53.

The Kaldel Plains...

Pallen the blademaster shoves his lover Sasha the former mercenary to one side when the knight they're following briefly glances back at them, and throws the pick he's carrying at them.
The pick thuds into the side of the roundhouse they're next to, right where Sasha was about to be.
"Hell" says Gorlic the former arena fighter who is behind the couple from the kingdom of Girdane.
"That was close" adds the former arena fighter from the city-state of Brattonbury who looks at the hand pick sticking in the side of the house just a couple of yards infront of him.
"Where did he go?" asks Sasha the former mercenary as they pause in pursuit of the large, heavily armoured knight who they find it hard to believe, moves so quickly in all that armour.
"There he is" says Pallen the blademaster in a slightly dry tone as they hear the knight shout out "Narille!" once again.
"Isn't that a god?" asks Gorlic, who recalls that one of the shrines near the fighting arenas in the city of Brattonbury where some of the fighters prayed at, was dedicated to the god Narille.
"It is" says Sasha as she remembers a church of Narille in the city of Oaklynn, the capital of the kingdom of Girdane. The city the good looking woman with one eye, and a gnarly looking scar down one side of her face, was born in and grew up in.
"Let's go" adds the former mercenary who finds herself with her lover Pallen, and the former arena fighter Gorlic, in pursuit of a knight through the village that their crew of illegal wreckers live, and work in.
As they chase after the heavily armoured knight, Sasha and Pallen share a look. As again they hear the roar of the ork they saw earlier.
A roar that's definitely louder and closer, from somewhere near the middle of the village.
"I hope to hell we're not going anywhere near that ork again" says Gorlic from behind the couple who hail from the kingdom of Girdane as they run through the village in pursuit of the large heavily armoured knight.
The former arena fighter turned illegal wrecker who is from the coastal city-state of Brattonbury, doesn't want to be anywhere near the ork anytime soon.
He'd rather face that knight one on one, than get close to that ork once more.
Infront of Gorlic, both Sasha and her lover Pallen have a sneaking suspicion that's exactly where they're going.
For what other reason would the knight be shouting out as he is, while the ork roars. They're basically calling out to one another, so they can locate one another.
Though strictly speaking, that's not actually what they're doing. They're more like two dogs in a pissing competition. Marking their area, and declaring that they're the top dog in the area.
For they may be in the same group, and have been for more than six years now. But first and foremost they're bitter rivals. Always have been, and always will be.
Who previously in the past, before the large heavily armoured knight joined the group he's now a part of.
They tried to kill one another numerous times for a decade whenever they ran across one another throughout the Southlands.
Over on the south side of the village, the wizard Davon has left the roundhouse he was in previously in, and in the early morning light, is making his way towards the middle of the large village.
The spellcaster originally from the city-state of Andelka, who is holding his power within himself, is also holding something in his clenched right hand.
The wizard hurries into the open backdoor of a roundhouse that's been vacated by some of the locals who still live in the village since it was taken over by the crew of illegal wreckers.
He hurries through the house, to an open window, and he looks out in the direction he's heading.
Davon who hears that roar again, spots the wrecker Sovirn and a couple of the other wreckers hurry by.
Sovirn, one of the few plainswomen amongst the crew of illegal wreckers, is carrying her bow and quiver with her.
The wizard from the city-state of Andelka, is about to head out and follow them, when out of the corner of his right eye, he spots movement.
He sees someone in the distance on a rooftop, getting quickly down off the house they're on and disappear.
The spellcaster slightly frowns as he didn't recognise the cloaked and hooded figure carrying what looked like to be a longbow, who he could just make out in the morning light.
Davon glances at his right hand, and after a moment, the practitioner of magic decides not to use it. After all he can no longer see that person, so it'll be a waste of time to use what he's holding in his hand.
Then as the Andelkan wizard goes to head outside again, and follow after Sovirn and the others, he spots movement again. Though this time out of the corner of his left eye.
Davon spots someone trying to move stealthily between the houses, as they head towards the center of the village. The wizard frowns as he tries to see who it is.
Samiel the mage pauses when he hears what he still thinks is a troll, roar from somewhere near the center of the village.
The powerful spellcaster who hails from the city-state of Tuledare, where before he took up a life of crime which has led him here to the Kaldel Plains to work as an illegal wrecker. He worked for the airdock authority in the city of Tuledare.
Has his back against one of the roundhouses, and he peers around to see if there's anyone between this one and the next roundhouse along.
The powerful mage sees no one, and though he's a bit sore and tired from having a healing potion after being knocked out.
He moves freely across the gap between the houses, and he gets behind the next roundhouse along.
Samiel frowns as he's certain he hears someone hiss his name, the spellcaster from the city-state of Tuledare looks around.
And there, in a window of the roundhouse directly to the south of the one he's behind, he spots a figure at the open window.
The Tuledarian mage peers through the early morning light, then nods his head as he identifies his fellow spellcaster Davon the wizard.
The powerful mage looks around, then he hurries to that roundhouse, the front door of which opens as he quickly approaches.
"What happened to you?" quietly asks Davon the wizard when he sees the state of Samiel after he closes the door behind the mage when he enters.
"I was knocked out" sourly says Samiel the mage who has flecks of vomit up his front, from his waist to his neck.
"Seems i threw up when i did" adds the powerful spellcaster from the city-state of Tuledare.
Samiel then quickly explains to the wizard what he was doing when he was knocked out. And then later Gorlic the former arena fighter reviving him with a healing potion.
"There's a damn spellcaster around, i don't know if it's that mage i told you about, or someone else" says Samiel, who thinks there's another, more subtle spellcaster in the vicinity who isn't the mage, who tried to baulk his attempt at destroying that small airboat at dusk yesterday.
"Whoever it is, i sent a mageglobe after them" adds the powerful spellcaster from the city-state of Tuledare.
The wizard Davon, who like Samiel is holding his power within himself, nods and says "I saw that go up into the sky, then i lost sight of it going east".
The Tuledarian mage nods, then quietly says "Good, it's found someone and is after them" he continues with "Whoever it is, they'll find it near impossible to get away from it".
Then the two spellcasters who are illegal wreckers, look out the window as they hear the roar again from somewhere near the center of the village.
"A troll you say?" asks Davon who then adds in a murmur "I never knew trolls roared like that".
"Yeah big ugly brute of a thing" says Samiel who was casting upon what he still thinks is a troll, when he was knocked out.
The powerful Tuledarian spellcaster then adds "There's a small, bright green goblin with it" followed by "Horribly green too".
"That sounds like an odd pair for sure" quietly says the wizard, who by far is the less powerful of the two spellcasters who are illegal wreckers.
Samiel nods in agreement, then when he sees Davon is clutching something in his right hand, the powerful mage asks "What have you got there?" as he nods to what Davon is holding.
The wizard from the city-state of Andelka opens his right hand, and the mage's eyebrows lift up in surprise when he sees what the less powerful spellcaster is holding.
"Had it for a while" says Davon who continues with "Got a few of them actually" in response to Samiel asking him "Where the hell did you get that?".
"Well don't use it until you have to" says the powerful mage "Make it count when you use it" continues Samiel who then silently adds, sneaky bastard had those all the time and never told me.
Then the most powerful of the practitioners of magic amongst the crew of illegal wreckers quietly says "Come on" followed by "I want to take care of that damn troll once and for all".
As the two spellcasters step outside again, the mage from the city-state of Tuledare quietly says "When you stop holding your power within yourself, put up wards" he continues with "That mage might be around, and that other spellcaster too if they can get away from my mageglobe".
The wizard in the dark robes, who hails from the city-state of Andelka, a nation founded by some of the nobility of Nastell, who broke away from that particular kingdom just over five centuries ago. Nods that he will, then he says "You hear that?".
"That troll?" asks Samiel "No someone else" says Davon, who continues with "Sounds like they're shouting something out".
As they walk away from the roundhouse they were just in, the mage from the city-state of Tuledare frowns as he concentrates, then Samiel says "Think they're saying, Saint something".
The most powerful of the spellcasters amongst the illegal wreckers shrugs his shoulders, then says "Well, i think that's what they're shouting".
The wizard Davon nods
as the two of them hurry between the houses and other buildings, as they head towards the middle of the large village, that they and the other wreckers took over as their own, just over a little more than a year ago.
Ahead of them and to the left, they spot the plainswoman Sovirn and a couple of the other wreckers, behind one of the roundhouses, which Sovirn is glancing around as she holds her bow which she has arrow in it.
The two spellcasters, Samiel the mage and Davon the wizard after sharing a look, head their way when they see them.
Over on the north side of the large village, Arvelle the plainsman hops back and avoids getting gutted by the man with two long daggers who more than once, has nearly killed him.
The leader of the crew of illegal wreckers looks at his opponent, whose face below the bridge of the nose, is covered by a black cloth that's wrapped around his head.
The man who at about six foot tall, is only a few inches shorter than the tall plainsman with the shaved head.
Has proved a difficult opponent, with Arvelle unable to hit him so far. The leader of the crew of illegal wreckers thinks that even the dangerous blademaster, and his fellow plainsman Pallen, would find it difficult to take down this man.
One of the other wreckers intervenes, and swings a sword at the man with the two long daggers,
Arvelle steps back again, turning as he does so, and gets his sword up just in time, to deflect the haft of long handled hammer swung at him by the solid looking individual in the long leather smock who has just climbed over the wagons to get at him and the others.
As his arms shake at the impact, the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers is just glad that the knight who was with this lot attacking them, took off further into the village.
Arvelle knows that he and those with him, wouldn't of been able to hold them off if the knight, who moved pretty quick for someone so large, wearing a full suit of a heavy plate armour. Was still here on the north side of the village, helping out the others who are attacking the illegal wreckers.
The tall plainsman with the shaved head who leads the crew of illegal wreckers that have been bringing down airships right across the Kaldel Plains for the last year or so.
Swings his sword at the solid looking individual with the hammer, who hops back out of the way.
As Arvelle does, he wonders where the third attacker is. When the wrecker engaged with the man with the two long daggers. Staggers backwards with a crossbow bolt in his gut.
The tall plainsman sees that the tall, athletic looking, attractive young woman with the crossbow, has crawled under the wagons, and is now on this side too.
Arvelle is with just one other wrecker, is joined by four others who have run here after hearing the fighting and shouting.
The leader of the crew of illegal wreckers doesn't know how long they'll last, as the trio they're up against, are highly skilled, and are determined to kill them all.
He wonders how the whole crew, who number just over two hundred, who are all in this village at the moment. Are doing, as it sounds like there's fighting going on elsewhere in the village.
The tall plainsman with the shaved head, who in the distance hears both the knight shout out something again, followed by the roar they've been hearing since the attack on the village began.
Is certain that he and his crew must eventually take down those attacking them. As if the indication from this side of the village is anything to go by. Those who are attacking them are few in number.
The thing Arvelle doesn't know, is that this group attacking him and the other wreckers. A group that numbers less a dozen. Are hell bent on making the illegal wreckers pay for destroying the airship they were traveling on.
As well as the small airboat some of them were flying on, yesterday at dusk.
Some of them have already stolen from the wreckers, and sewn mistrust amongst the crew of illegal wreckers.
Now this morning, in the first light of a day that promises to be another, sunny but cold day here in the northeast of the Kaldel Plains, they're exacting revenge for what's happened to them recently.
Then as Arvelle throws himself into the fight again, he and everyone else in the village hears the thud of one of the magetubes firing again from over on the village green . . . . . .