Aftermath 72.

The Kaldel Plains...

One moment he's looking down the back hallway in his place, and sees the trio of strangers standing there.
Then the next moment he feels himself blacking out.
Now Arvelle the plainsman finds himself lifting up out of unconsciousness, as he wakes up.
The tall plainsman with the shaved head, who is the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers.
Hears movement around him as he slowly wakes. Then the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers who have caused havoc across the Kaldel Plains for more than a year now.
Catches the smell of smoke from somewhere. The tall plainsman with the shaved head, first thought as he wakes up. Apart from wondering what's happened to him.
Is that he hopes the airships on the village green aren't on fire. And that the smoke he smells is coming from something else.
Then as he wakes with a groan. The leader of the illegal wreckers recalls seeing the two airships on the south side of the village green, on fire when he made his way to his house.
The tall plainsman groans again, this time at the loss of revenue from the airships that he saw on fire.
Then Arvelle hears a voice say something in language he doesn't understand, though he thinks it's elven as he's heard it spoken before. Then the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers opens his eyes as he fully wakes up.
He sees a couple of figures crouching down, leaning over him. On either side of him. One in a white hooded cloak. And the other in a black hooded cloak.
Arvelle is pretty sure the figure in black, is one of those he saw in the back hallway of his house here in the village.
He can barely see either face beneath the hoods of their respective cloaks. Though from the outline of their profiles. He's pretty sure the one in white is elven, and the other in black is human.
Then the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers who realises he's outside on the village green, just infront of the two storey house that he's been living in ever since he and his crew took over this village, and another one a couple miles to the north, here in the northeast of the Kaldel Plains.
Is about to say something, when the fellow in the white hooded cloak, who he's pretty sure is an elf, says to him "Quiet".
Helbe the elven thief as he kneels beside the tall plainsman with the shaved head, glances over at Mira Reinholt the mage, who is kneeling on the otherside of the leader of the illegal wreckers.
The once powerful mage looks over to him, and slightly nods his black hooded head.
The young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel has told his fellow spellcaster what he found out when he read the mind of Arvelle the plainsman.
The mage who is in exile from his homeland, the city-state of Vexil. Was just as surprised as the elven masterthief when he was told by the elven master assassin about the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers.
The tall plainsman with the shaved head goes to say something, but shuts his mouth when Helbe the elven thief quietly says to him "I wonder what your cohorts would say if they knew you were working for the duke of Dalmar?". Dalmar being a duchy in the kingdom of Girdane.
"I guess they'll never know" continues the young elven noble who is the grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel "Since most of them are either dead, or they've fled" adds the highly talented elven magic user.
Arvelle the plainsman grimaces when he hears that. Then he tries to move. The leader of the crew of illegal wreckers finds that he can only move his head. From side to side, and a little bit off the ground.
When he looks to the right, behind the figure in the black hooded cloak. He sees Pallen the blademaster lying on the ground. His fellow plainsman looks to be alive. But is unconscious.
Then Arvelle looks at the elf in the white hooded cloak, who shakes his hooded head, then says "Bit of duplicitous prick aren't you?". The leader of the crew of illegal wreckers remains silent.
"Only that dwarf knew what you were really up to" says prince Helbenthril Raendril who continues with "Siphoning away your ill gotten wealth to help fund the duke's attempted revolt against the throne" the elven master archer then adds "That's why you wanted him found so badly when you thought he went missing".
The young elven noble from the principality of Laerel who is a member of the personal council to lord Farque then says "You needn't worry about the dwarf, he's dead".
"Which soon you'll be too" says Mira Reinholt the mage as he speaks up for the first time.
The once powerful mage grins, while the elven magic user sourly smiles as the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers screams at the fate that awaits him.
"Did you have to do that?" sourly says councillor Raendril in the elven language as he looks over at his fellow spellcaster, the mage Reinholt.
"I couldn't help myself" says the Vexilian mage in exile in the same language who continues to grin as the tall plainsman with the shaved head screams once more in panic as he realises he's going to be killed.
The elven master assassin waves a hand, and the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers falls silent in the middle of screaming.
"That's better" mutters the elven princeling from Laerel, who waits as Arvelle realises that no matter how much he screams, he doesn't make a sound.
"Finished?" asks Helbe the elven thief who has switched back to the common language, then the young elven noble whose mother is a princess of Laerel, and whose father is the Warder of Quinthain says to the illegal wrecker "Care to elaborate on the duke's plans?".
Arvelle shakes his head no as he stares at the two who are crouched over him as he's immobile on the ground.
A few years ago, the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers along with his best friend Mac the dwarf. Met the duke of Dalmar in Girdane. The kingdom that's directly to the south of the Kaldel Plains.
They got along, so much so that the duke shared his plans of rebellion against his king with the plainsman and the dwarf.
And it was the duke's initial idea to try and get some quick and easy coin to help fund his plans of rebellion. That brought about the idea to take down airships across the Kaldel Plains, and strip or wreck them for revenue.
He helped fund Arvelle and Mac to find like minded individuals to join them. Which was the basis of the crew of illegal wreckers that the tall plainsman with the shaved head would eventually led.
Then just over a year and three months ago, they had enough of a crew to accomplish what they wanted. And ever since then, they've been bringing down airships with regular ease.
And Arvelle has been sending a cut of their profits to the duke of Dalmar ever since.
Now the leader of illegal wreckers finds most of his crew are either dead or they've fled. And those that haven't, like himself and Pallen the blademaster, have been captured.
The tall plainsman with the shaved head now finds himself lying on the ground infront of the badly damaged two storey house that he's been living in ever since he and his crew took over this village.
Wondering what his chances are of surviving this mess. And from what he figures as he looks at the two figures crouching to either side of him. That his chances are pretty low that he'll survive this mess he finds himself in the middle of.
He doesn't know how, but the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers realises he can speak again.
"What do you want?" says Arvelle the plainsman, who then quickly adds "Who are you?".
"We're those you pissed off when you took down the ship we were flying on" says Mira Reinholt the mage who continues with "That's who were are" the once powerful mage then adds "It was bound to happen sooner or later that someone would exact revenge for their vessel being taken down by you lot".
The spellcaster from the city-state of Vexil, who also happens to be a highly skilled swordmaster, then says "Now it's sooner, and we're here".
"And what we want" says Helbe the elven thief as he interrupts his fellow councillor "Is well, what my colleague here mentioned before" adds the elven magic user who follows that with "Is your life".
"You want me to kill him?" says the mage Reinholt in the elven language, who then nods away to south side of the village green as he adds "I could burn him like one of those ships over there".
"That won't be necessary" says the elven princeling in the same language, then the elven master archer adds "Besides, we might want to keep him alive for a bit and take him with us".
"Oh?" says the swordmaster Reinholt, who then adds "Why's that?".
The young elven noble from the principality of Laerel nods his hooded head to a spot on the village green and simply says "Darid".
The spellcaster, who was once the most powerful mage of his generation, to be found anywhere in the Southlands, grunts to that then quietly says "That's if you know who can find him quick enough".
"He'll come back" says prince Helbenthril Raendril who after a moment's pause, adds "Hopefully".
The exiled Vexilian mage nods his hooded head again, then switching back to the common language as he looks down at Arvelle, the mage Reinholt says to the tall plainsman with the shaved head "Looks like it's your lucky day".
The human councillor continues with "We're not going to kill you" Mira Reinholt pauses for a few moments, before he adds "Yet".
The leader of the crew of illegal wreckers sourly smiles at that, as he feels sick to the stomach at the prospect he'll be killed at sometime, just not today.
He never thought we he began this venture that things would turn out like this.
Oh sure, he knew there would be some danger involved. But his crew of illegal wreckers numbered just over two hundred. Three of whom were confident spellcasters.
So that they could deal with any problem that arose short of army turning up to deal with them. And you'd never see an army on the Kaldel Plains.
And when he eventually finds out that a group of just ten attacked the large village he and his crew of illegal wreckers live in, here in the northeast of the Kaldel Plains.
And killed most of his crew, he will be more than a little annoyed at how things have ended up. As his life of crime has finally caught up to him.
Mira Reinholt, who can't help but find it amusing seeing the dejected look upon the face of the tall plainsman with the shaved head, can't help himself to inflict more misery upon the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers, and tells him "You know it was us who stole from you the other night when you thought your dwarf buddy took some of your loot".
The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster continues with "So you lot fell apart due to a simple act of theft".
The once powerful mage, who was annoyed not just that the airship they were flying on was destroyed by the illegal wreckers. Was also annoyed that the small airboat some of them were on, was also destroyed by them, as he really liked that the little airboat.
Says to the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers "Seems your paranoia got the best of you" the mage in the black hooded cloak looks around then adds "And look what it's got you" the Vexilian mage in exile follows that with "Your crew either dead or run away. These ships destroyed. And all the fortune you accumulated after giving some to the duke of Dalmar, now in our hands".
Arvelle the plainsman can only grimace at how things have turned out. And how his plans to amass a fortune from taking down airships here across the Kaldel Plains have fallen apart. And that he has lost everything, including his life in a day to come.
"Knock him out again?" asks Mira Reinholt in the elven language as he looks over at his fellow council member, Helbe the elven thief who replies in the same language with "Might as well" followed by "He knows what's happened, and what fate lies ahead for him. And we've got all the information we need".
Then the young elven noble from island principality of Laerel knocks out the leader of the crew of illegal wreckers.
Arvelle the plainsman feels himself falling into unconsciousness. As he does, he hears his two captors discussing something in the elven language.
As he's knocked out, Arvelle doesn't know it, but the two of them are talking his fellow plainsman, Pallen the blademaster who lies unconscious nearby . . . . . .