Aftermath 57.

The Kaldel Plains...

Pallen the blademaster doesn't know what exactly happens. But one moment he sees a bright flash across on the otherside of the clearing here in the center of the village. Followed by a clap of thunder.
He briefly turns his head away, then looks back across the clearing that's in shade. And he spots the knight they were chasing, flying backwards through the air, propelled by what looks like a beam of solid fire.
The tall plainsman who is originally from the kingdom of Girdane sees the other end of the beam of solid fire strike something near one of the roundhouses at the southwest corner of the clearing where the wagon track that goes south, north. Crosses the wide path that goes from east to west, here in the center of the large village.
"What was that?" asks Pallen the blademaster who turns to his lover, Sasha the former mercenary who replies with "I think that's Samiel and Davon over there" as she nods to the opposite side of the clearing that's in shade at this time of the morning.
Then as the dangerous blademaster looks over to that side of the clearing, there's a large, and rather loud explosion that comes from over there.
That sends both Pallen, and his lover Sasha stumbling sideways, then falling to the ground. While behind them, Gorlic the former arena fighter mutters "Fucking hell" as he staggers backwards, and falls down on his rear end.
As he's on his hands and knees, Pallen looks up and sees a cloud of dirt and debris mushroom up into the sky from the otherside of the clearing.
He blinks as he thinks he sees something slightly glowing blue within it, that goes up, then comes back down to the ground as the dirt and debris starts falling down across the center of the village.
"Get up" says Pallen, who then adds "Move" as he grabs Sasha and helps her up as he stands.
The couple, both originally from the kingdom of Girdane, back away, almost tripping over Gorlic who is struggling to stand up.
The two of them help the former arena fighter from the city-state of Brattonbury to stand up, and the three of them back away as dirt and debris continues to rain down upon the center of the village.
They stop about twenty yards back from where they were, and look around. The dangerous blademaster spots the brothers Tim and Tom, and a few of the other wreckers. Run out of the falling debris away to the right, to the west of the clearing.
"What happened?" calls out the tall plainsman, both the brothers Tim and Tom look around, and when they spot Pallen, Sasha and Gorlic, the slightly older brother Tim calls back "Explosion in the ground over on the south side of the path!".
"Where the spellcasters were standing next to a house!" adds the younger brother Tom, who could easily pass as his older brother's twin.
Then Tim calls out "You see what happened to that ork and that knight?".
"I saw that knight go flying backwards through the air!" calls out Pallen as dirt and debris continues to fall across the center of the village, though not too badly where they're standing.
"So did that ork!" says Tom who then adds "Towards the large house that the mage is living in!".
The tall plainsman nods his head, while next to him his lover Sasha quietly says "I thought i saw them get flung back towards that house".
Just then, another of the wreckers comes stumbling out of falling debris and dirt, coughing as he does so. He comes to a stop when Pallen grabs him, and holds him upright.
"You okay?" asks the dangerous blademaster originally from the kingdom of Girdane.
The wrecker, Chisan nods his head then after coughing again says in a croaky voice "That damn goblin nearly gutted me" he continues with "As it ran into the mage's house".
Pallen lets go of Chisan, who gladly takes the water bottle that Gorlic hands him, and takes a drink.
Then the tall plainsman looks at his lover Sasha, and quietly says "Best we better find out if that ork and knight are dead".
The good looking, one eyed woman who has a gnarly looking scar down one side of her face nods in agreement, then says "Not by ourselves" followed by "Just in case".
Pallen nods, then waves to the brothers Tim and Tom, and the others with them and calls out "See if you can find any of the others!" the dangerous blademaster then adds "There's something we have to find out about".
"What was that?" asks Tamric Drubine from over on the otherside of the village, at the northwest corner of the village green as they make their way through the half destroyed two storey house that the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers, Arvelle the plainsman has been living in.
"My mageglobe" says Mira Reinholt the mage who has stopped just ahead of the nobleborn teenager from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin.
"Did it get who you were after?" asks the young field commander in the armies of Farque, who is behind the once powerful mage, and infront of Shur Kee the monk.
"Maybe" quietly says the spellcaster who is from the city-state of Vexil as he senses towards the east, towards the center of the large village that they, and the rest of the group are attacking on this sunny, but chilly morning here in the northeast of the Kaldel Plains.
"I'm not sure" says the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster, who doesn't know if the mage amongst the wreckers he targeted with his mageglobe is dead, or simply unconscious. Either way, he's out of action again. After earlier being knocked out as he attempted to read the mind of Dorc da Orc.
The mage Reinholt who briefly contemplates creating another mageglobe, decides not to. And instead continues on his way through the rubble strewn hallway they're in, Tamric Drubine and Shur Kee the monk follow after him.
"I think we might of done too good of a job with that magetube" dryly says the young field commander who is commonly called Tam by the others in the group.
"Probably" says the spellcaster who was once the most powerful mage of his generation to be found anywhere in the Southlands. Until he lost most of his powers when he went offworld through a rift/void that he accidentally cast.
"At least we've kept most of them away from this part of the village" adds the mage who is in exile from his homeland, the city-state of Vexil.
They climb over bits of broken debris, mostly wood from fallen walls, as well as stone, as they head through a hallway to get to the rooms at the east end of the house, the end that for the most part is still in one piece.
The swordmaster Reinholt finally climbs over the last pile of rubble, and ends up in clear part of the hallway.
He heads to the first door, followed by the nobleborn teenager from the kingdom of Sarcrin, and the short, statured monk who is from beyond the Southlands, the far east coast of the continent, where the kingdom of Wah Lee is found.
Mira Reinholt who is a member of the personal council to the lord and ruler of the lands Farque, opens the door and looks into a room, that looks like it's being used for storage.
Tam pops his head into the room and looks around too, then the son and former heir of a previous knight of Castle Drubine, a castle located in the heavily forested north of the kingdom of Nastell, says "They're not in here".
The Vexilian mage in exile nods his head, then steps back out into the hallway, and leads the way to the next room.
The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster, who is sensing as he makes his way through the damaged house. Opens the door to the next room, and looks in, then Mira Reinholt says "Chests and strongboxes in here".
"That's them" says field commander Drubine when he looks into the room. "There's a fair bit" quietly says the once powerful mage as he makes his way further into the room.
He checks to see if there's no surprises on the various chests and strongboxes, and with a single thought he opens one of the large chests.
The mage Reinholt whistles in appreciation when he sees how much gold and silver coins is stashed in the large chest.
"That is a lot" says Shur Kee the monk who follows Tamric Drubine into the room, and sees what's in the open chest.
The nobleborn teenager from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin, who is now a field commander in the armies of Farque, points at a small barrel chest, that looks like a cask of wine or fortified spirits, and he says "That will be full of either precious jewels".
He briefly pauses as he looks over at councillor Reinholt before adding "Or unused spell gems".
The eyebrows of the once powerful mage lift up when he hears that, then he lifts up one of the small, barrel like chests, and opens the top end of it with a thought.
"Hell" mutters Mira Reinholt, who continues in a mutter with "By the shape of fire" as he sees all the clear cut gems, flawless for the use as spell gems.
"That's a damn fortune" says the highly skilled swordmaster from the city-state of Vexil.
"Look there, there's two more over there that could be full of them too" says Tam who continues with "And we already took two of them, when we stole from them the other night".
"No wonder they were all riled up" quietly says the once powerful mage, who takes quick stock of what's here in this room, then he says to the other two with him "We've definitely scored a treasure here" the Vexilian mage in exile then adds "These wreckers have amassed themselves quite a fortune here" he briefly pauses before saying "And now it's ours".
More to the east here on the north side of the village that the crew of illegal wreckers has called home for the last year or so.
Their leader, Arvelle the plainsman has fled the fight he was engaged in with those who have attacked the village this morning, here in the northeast of the Kaldel Plains.
The tall plainsman with the shaved head thought he and the others with him were holding their own against the trio who were attacking them. The trio all wearing at least a black tabbard, or black cloak. The fellow around six foot tall who had a black cloth wrapped around his face. The lean, athletic, attractive looking young woman. And the sturdy looking young man in the long black leather smock, that looked like a blacksmith's apron.
Until the trio were joined by a fourth, who without a doubt turned the battle in their favour. As he was in half plate armour, wielding a mace.
Arvelle immediately recognised that young man as a cleric in the church of Glaine.
He's seen many of them over the years here on the Kaldel Plains. They come over from the kingdom of Nastell, trying to convert the plainsmen to their church.
This one wasn't trying to that, he was trying to kill Arvelle and the other wreckers with him, and was doing a pretty good job at it. Until the tall plainsman, turned and ran.
As he knew he had no chance up against a heavily armed and armoured cleric who can also wield magic.
The leader of the crew of illegal wreckers first headed south, deeper into the large village. Until he heard a clap of thunder rock the village, from somewhere near the center of the village.
And just a short while after that, just mere moments to be exact. There came the sound of a large explosion.
Which Arvelle saw the aftereffects of, when he saw in the morning light, a cloud of debris and dirt, mushroom up into the early morning sky in the very center of the village. Debris and dirt that would quickly rain down upon that part of the large village.
The tall plainsman with the shaved head has now turned west, and is heading for the village green. In particular to the two storey house on the northwest corner of the village green, that he's been living in since they took over this village just over a year ago.
Arvelle who has gathered some of the other wreckers with him, intends to secure the treasure he has stored in that two storey house. And load it up in a couple of the wagons, and get clear of the village.
At least until the others can either drive away those attacking them, or even better, kill them.
Until then, the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers is taking no chances. Especially after the theft of some of their fortune at the hands of his longtime friend, Mac the dwarf. Or so he believes.
So he's going to secure their treasure, and get it away to safety until the village is securely back in their hands. And those attacking them are either killed or driven off.
When the ground explodes on the south side of the clearing in the center of the large village. Teabagger the goblin Cunt is knocked off his feet.
The small, bright green goblin who is originally from the kingdom of Melaurn, who a few moments ago had his general, Dorc da Orc go flying over him, followed by the former paladin sir Percavelle Lé Dic.
Lies there on the ground wondering if he's going to die as debris and dirt rains down all around him. Then realising he's not, the goblin commander gets to his feet.
The air is thick with dirt and debris, and Teabagger covers his mouth and nose with a corner of his cloak as he looks around and tries to orientate himself.
The small, bright lurid green goblin has the advantage of his race that allows him to see in the dark, as well as enhanced hearing.
The commander of the goblin battalion in the armies of Farque quickly spots the outline of the large house that his general and the heavily armoured knight went flying into.
Teabagger who figures they're both alive, as he knows it'll take a lot more than whatever it was that hit them, to kill either one of them.
Heads through the falling dirt and debris towards the large house, that's on the northeast corner of the clearing here in the center of the village.
The goblin commander who nearly trips over a couple of times doesn't worry about the falling debris that's thick in the air, for as far as he can tell nothing large has fallen.
Everything has been blasted to pieces so small, that it looks like thick dust particles in the air.
What the small, bright green goblin does worry about is what he hears, then sees coming blindly towards him from the right.
Teabagger struggles to draw his small sword that gets tangled up in his cloak. And quickly stabs at one of the illegal wreckers who is coughing, and holding out a hand infront of himself trying to figure out where he's going.
The man yelps when he's nearly skewered by the goblin commander's sword. The only reason Teabagger misses is because the wrecker stumbled sideways when the small, bright green goblin stabbed at him.
The illegal wrecker hurries blindly away to get away from the goblin commander who sourly smiles as he watches the fellow flee.
Then Teabagger continues on his way, walking just a few more yards, and makes his way up the front steps of the large house.
He doesn't bother going through the front door, instead he goes through the large hole next to it.
Teabagger the goblin Cunt hurries inside saying "Boss, boss you okay?" as he sees both his general along with the former earl of Lé Dic, lying on the floor here in the front room of the large house, trying to sit up.
As the small, bright green goblin hurries to them, he trips and lands face first on the floor, which illicits a wheezing sounding "Fucken gob-a-lin" from Dorc da Orc . . . . . .