A Grand Design 20.

Late Autumn. Western Girdane.

"Hmmmm" murmurs Narladene the ground pixie as she pops her head up out of the ground and looks around.
Above her on a tree branch, a squirrel is chirping at her in a scolding manner.
The naturally magical creature tells it to get lost, and the squirrel after one last chirp, scampers away up through the branches of the tree.
"Not here" Narladene murmurs to herself, who then sighs, and drops back down beneath the ground. And she continues on her way.
The tiny winged creature has been searching for days now. Trying to find the waagen, who have been attacking the villages in the remotest parts of western Girdane.
Waagen who have also been attacking the king's men who have come out to the very west of the kingdom, to help stop the spread of the plague that's hit some of the villages and farmsteads in the duchies of Dalmar, Girnath and Falosen.
As well as attacking the forces of the dukes of the three most western duchies in the kingdom.
Narladene who is in the duchy of Falosen at the moment. Pops her head up out of the ground again, about half a mile from where she did previously.
The naturally magical creature who is originally from the Sunreach Mountains, and who is attached to Helbe the elven thief.
Comes up completely out of the ground when she spots something away to her right. The ground pixie wings her way over to it.
And looks carefully at the ground, where she sees footprints, or more precisely boot marks. She looks a few yards away to the right of them. And sees more boot marks. And near them, she finds what she's been looking for, signs of waagen. A small group of them by the looks of it.
Narladene follows the boot marks and the waagen tracks, which by her best guess, look to be at least a week old. Heading south, she only follows them for a few hundred yards, until they suddenly disappear.
"Drats" mutters the tiny winged creature, as she realises that the waagen and those with them, went through a rift or gateway.
The naturally magical creature sighs, then she turns around, and follows the tracks back to where they've come from.
The ground pixie goes a good mile and a half, nearly two before she makes an important find amongst some woods.
Narladene frowns as she looks down into a large, and fairly deep trench dug into a clearing within the woods.
Down in it, are two rows of empty wooden cages.
She goes down into it, and when she sees that the cages aren't overly large, she slightly grimaces when she realises they're only big enough to hold children or youngsters.
The naturally magical creature comes up out of the trench in the ground. And through the trees to the left, she spots another clearing in the woods, about fifty yards away. She wings her way over to it.
The ground pixie who hails from the Sunreach Mountains, who first met prince Helbenthril Raendril in the city of Leeabra, the capital of the kingdom of Druvic.
Finds another trench dug into the ground, with a similar amount of empty wooden cages in it, two rows of about fifty each.
Also in this clearing, about ten yards from one end of the large trench in the ground. Is a fairly large tree stump, that has an iron chain wrapped around it.
Narladene slightly grimaces again when she sees the iron chain has fetters at one end of it. And that the stump, and the ground immediately around it, is fairly dark in colour. From a large amount of dried blood.
"Fucking hell" mutters the tiny winged creature as she can imagine what happened here. Where children and youngsters who were taken from their villages and farmsteads in the remote areas of the duchies of Dalmar, Girnath and Falosen, were turned into waagen.
Well, some of them were, most were probably killed in the attempt.
The ground pixie finds evidence of that, when she heads through the woods, and about fifty yards from the second clearing. Between some trees, she finds where a large pit has been dug.
The naturally magical creature, just shakes her head, as she looks at the dozens and dozens of bodies of children and youngsters in various stages of decomposition within the pit.
Most if not all are in parts, with very few of them whole. And even then, those that still resemble a child or youngster have chunks of flesh torn from them.
As she wanders through the woods, Narladene finds two more of these pits. And she guesses there's about two hundred and fifty to three hundred dead children and youngsters in them.
Less than half of the missing from the villages and farmsteads of the remote areas of the three most western duchies in the kingdom of Girdane.
She figures there must be a similar site to this one, somewhere else in western Girdane. Where the missing children and youngsters were turned into waagen.
The naturally magical creature sourly smiles as she looks at the last of the large pits she has found.
Then she wings her way up to the branches of a nearby tree. Where she talks to a pair of larks. Birds she find that are always willing to gossip.
Narladene like all pixies and sprites has the ability to speak with every kind of natural animal.
Speaks with the pair of birds, who are willing to tell her everything that's happened in their part of the woods over the last few weeks.
As she listens to the larks, the naturally magical creature looks away to the east, more specifically the southeast.
Then after speaking to the pair of birds, she drops down to the ground, and goes into it.
Beneath the ground, Narladene senses as far as she can. Not for magic, but for movement.
The tiny winged creature senses as carefully as she can. And after a few moments she locates what can only be a village. About eight miles away to the east and south.
The ground pixie frowns as she wonders why she can feel people moving about in that particular village. And why it wasn't wiped out by the waagen and those they're with. Especially since they were based not all that far from it.
The naturally magical creature originally from the Sunreach Mountains, who until recent memory, within the last twenty years.
Was the last being to see a Greater Dragon, about five hundred and fifty years ago, when she was a young pixie.
Starts making her way to the southeast, and wonders if the village and it's inhabitants weren't wiped out by both the plague and the waagen.
Just incase it's location gave away where some of the waagen and those working with them, were based.
Just after midday, when she gets to the village, and does a little nosing around. Listening to the villagers and those from the nearby farms who are in the village today.
That is indeed what she finds out. As she hears from more than a few of the locals. That the strangers who have often come to their village since the end of the summer. Have stopped coming over the last week or so.
They've usually been here to buy supplies, mostly food. But also equipment, like milled wood and rope.
And by the sounds of it, from what the villagers describe them as. Narladene figures that the strangers are either mercenaries or military of some kind. Though they wore no uniforms, tabbards, or sigils.
But to the inhabitants of the village, that was left alone by both the plague, and the marauding waagen.
The strangers who had often visited them during the autumn, were definitely fighting men.
The naturally magical creature who is attached to prince Helbenthril Raendril of Laerel, hangs around the village for much of the afternoon trying to find out any information as she can.
Then the ground pixie from the Sunreach Mountains takes off. Heading east and south across the duchy of Falosen. As she goes to catch up to the army.
Which no doubt has left the duchy of Dalmar, and crossed over in the duchy of Poldis by now.
A sure sign, that the rebellion by the three most western duchies in the kingdom of Girdane. The duchies of Falosen, Girnath and Dalmar, against the crown and king. Is now well and truly underway.
Narladene travels throughout the rest of the day, and into the night. Right through the night, and into the morning.
The tiny winged creature who finds it easier, and much quicker to fly through the ground than the air.
Doesn't need sleep or rest of any kind. It's one of the advantages of being a naturally magical creature like a pixie or sprite.
She has just gone under a narrow country road in northern Girnath, when she suddenly stops. And heads back to it. Once she's under the hard packed dirt road again.
The ground pixie from the Sunreach Mountains senses, both for movement as well as magic.
Narladene slightly frowns, then she takes off again, following the path of the road as she travels beneath the ground.
The tiny winged creature follows it eastwards, flying as fast as she can. She sticks her head up through the surface of the road after she's gone a few miles.
And before she pops her head back down through the ground. She spots a number of wagons. Along with dead horses, as well as dead soldiers scattered across the road and just off it. Soldiers in the army of king Jarnard the Second of Girdane.
Narladene can immediately recognise that they didn't die all that long ago. Probably just before dawn.
"Come on" the naturally magical creature mutters to herself as she flies beneath the ground, more or less following the path of the country road as it goes eastwards through the duchy of Girnath.
The ground pixie with her tiny gossamer wings fluttering faster than the eye can see. Continues to fly as fast as she can underground. With a scowl on her pretty little face as she does so.
"Almost there" mutters Narladene as she continues to sense both movement and magic. Then she mutters "Fuck" in disgust, silently followed by, Damn it!
The tiny winged creature sighs, and slows down. And after about another five hundred yards or so. She comes up through the ground.
And sees the waagen tracks and boot marks on this section of the road, which is slightly damp this cold late autumn morning, after a brief shower just before dawn.
The ground pixie sourly smiles, as she sees where the waagen tracks and boot marks go off the road, then suddenly disappear.
Narladene shakes her head, as she wasn't all that far behind them. But now she knows there was about thirty waagen, along with a dozen others. Men from what she could sense from their movement.
She also knows they're with a wizard who she sensed. Who created a rift, which they all went through. Just before the tiny winged creature got here.
The naturally magical creature knows that the rift went somewhere to the east in the kingdom. And from how powerful she sensed the wizard was, she figures they could of gone as much as two hundred and fifty to three hundred miles away.
"Now i know there's a wizard involved" Narladene murmurs to herself, she also knows that she can easily identify, and locate him again if she's within twenty miles of his location.
The ground pixie looks away to the east for a few moments later as the sun continues to rise in the east on this partly cloudy, late autumn morning here in the very west of the kingdom of Girdane.
Then Narladene drops back down into the ground, and turns south. And heads off again, going in search of the army, that Helbe the elven thief and the rest of the group are with.
The naturally magical creature travels throughout the rest of the day, and the night. Always sensing for movement, as well as magic.
Just incase she's able to locate any more of the waagen, and those who are with them.
But she finds no more signs of them. As she heads into the duchy of Dalmar the following afternoon.
The tiny winged creature then turns eastwards once she's in northern Dalmar. And by the next morning. She's nearing the border with the duchy of Poldis. The duchy directly to the east of Dalmar.
Narladene soon finds the spot of the camp that she left a number of days ago. And a little bit later she comes across the sight of the next camp, that's just before the border of the duchy of Poldis.
The tiny winged creature continues beneath the ground, under the road the army has used to go east.
She's soon into the duchy of Poldis, and though she periodically checks above the ground. She finds no signs of battle as of yet.
Though she can clearly see the way the formidable army from the very west of the kingdom of Girdane has gone on it's way eastwards.
It's later at night, that the naturally magical creature comes across the rear of the army, that consists of the dukes of Dalmar, Girnath and Falosen's armies. Along with one of the armies of Farque, who have been hired by the three dukes of the western most duchies in the kingdom.
The ground pixie sees that it's the last of the supply wagons. Who are about to stop for the night. She continues onwards, not stopping until the middle of the night.
When she finally gets towards the front of the army, and where they've stopped for the night.
Narladene heads to where the army of Farque have set up. And she goes immediately to lord Farque's tent.
Who has sensed her approaching, and called Helbe the elven thief, Arvelle the plainsman, and Tamric Drubine the field commander to his tent.
The ground pixie lands upon the right shoulder of prince Helbenthril Raendril who slightly smiles at her appearance.
Then Narladene makes herself visible to both Arvelle Ganard, and Tamric Drubine, who normally can't see her.
"What did you find?" quietly asks lord Farque in the elven language as he sits upon his camp chair after a yawning Arvelle Ganard lights a couple of lamps in the tent.
The naturally magical creature then explains everything she found out in her search for the waagen, who have attacked both the king's men, and the soldiers of the three dukes who have rebelled against the crown.
As well as a number of villages, and farmsteads in remote areas of the duchies of Falosen, Girnath and Dalmar.
The elven masterthief, the former illegal wrecker, and the nobleborn teenager all grimace when Narladene describes the location she found where the missing children and youngsters were turned into waagen. Well those who actually survived the ordeal. As all the others were killed in the attempt.
The ground pixie attached to the young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel then describes how close she came to actually seeing a fair sized group of the waagen, and those others with them. Before they disappeared through a rift, and headed further east into the kingdom.
"A wizard you say?" quietly says the undead warlord after the tiny winged creature originally from the Sunreach Mountains, sums up what she found as she searched throughout the duchies of Falosen, Girnath and Dalmar.
"It was" is the quiet reply from Narladene, lord Farque slightly nods his full helmed head, then looks at the other three and asks them "Do we know if anyone of significance here in the kingdom has a wizard who is close to them?".
"None that I've heard about" says Helbe the elven thief, both Arvelle the plainsman and Tamric Drubine the field commander nod in agreement with the elven master assassin.
"Then that's something we'll have to find out" says the heavily armoured deathlord.
"You think it's someone within the kingdom attacking both our side and the king's with these waagen?" asks the highly talented elven magic user.
"Seems most likely" says the lord and ruler of the lands Farque, who continues with "The most complicated of plans, is usually done by someone fairly obvious that people tend to overlook".
Draugadrottin as he's also known by to the people of his lands, looks at the nobleborn teenager, then the tall plainsman, and the young elven noble, and then finally the ground pixie.
And he quietly tells the four of them "We find where these waagen and others have gone to, and we'll find whoever it is that's behind these attacks" lord Farque briefly pauses before adding "And when we do, we can deal to them too" . . . . . .