The Lost Ones 39.

Summer. The Port Town Of Gilsom.

"There's a company of goblin mercenaries from across the ocean in town at the moment if you want to hire them" says the mercenary agent as they walk along the waterfront.
"No thanks" sourly says Spranen the mercenary who continues with "They'd do more harm than good".
The agent, a local like Spranen and Halnard, shrugs his shoulders then says "You're loss" followed by "Supposedly they're good".
As they follow behind the agent, the two mercenaries from here in Gilsom, glance at one another, and sourly smile, then Halnard the mercenary asks the broker "Anyone else?".
"Just the ones you've already hired" says the local agent, who looks back at the two mercenaries following him, then he adds "Well, and the lot I'm taking to you now".
The broker, a bald headed short fellow, who looks like he might have a bit of dwarven ancestry to him, then quietly says "I wouldn't exactly call them an ordinary band of mercenaries for hire".
Halnard, the most cautious of the five who have intentions of carving out a nation of their own in the Maldin Hills, catches on immediately and quietly says "Coastal raiders?".
The broker nods his head, as they walk southwards along the crescent shaped harbour, and quietly says "They're pirates in all but name".
He looks ahead again, then says "If you wanted quality you should've hired in the springtime" he follows that with "Summer is always the busy time for mercenaries".
"We know that" dryly murmurs Spranen as he and Halnard follow behind the broker, as the late afternoon sunshine beats down upon the harbour front of the port town of Gilsom.
Onboard their twin masted airship, which is in a shipyard getting repaired by a shipwright's crew.
Brossic the flatland mercenary who is at the stern, looking back at the small mountain which the town of Gilsom itself is actually in.
Turns and sees Grunna the sorcerer come on deck, look around, then head aft when he spots Brossic.
"They settling in?" asks Brossic the lowland mercenary.
Nodding his head yes, Grunna the sorcerer says "They are" as he waves in the direction of the township, that's here on the inland side of the small mountain.
"They're at the inn with the others" adds the spellcaster who is from further south down the coast.
"Any good?" asks Brossic, who leads the crew who are attempting to set up a nation of their own in the Maldin Hills.
"The wizard seems more than competent" replies Grunna, who then pauses, and shrugs before adding "The magic user is a magic user, not that powerful, so who knows how good he'll be".
Brossic grunts, then he asks "How much?".
The spellcaster from down the coast replies with how much he had to pay to hire the two new practitioners of magic to join them.
Which causes Brossic to wince, then he dryly says "What did Sharnd say when you told him that?" followed by "I bet he wasn't happy".
"That's putting it lightly" dryly says the sorcerer, who continues with "I thought he was going to explode with the way he was turning red" Grunna then adds "He ended up walking away muttering himself".
"I can well imagine" dryly says Brossic, who after a brief pause, adds "Still, those two spellcasters along with that band of mercs Halnard and Spranen have hired should make a difference".
The crew leader then asks the powerful sorcerer "Where are those two by the way?".
Nodding his head to the small mountain behind them, Grunna says "Over on the harbourside of town" the mercenary spellcaster from down the coast continues with "They've gone to look at another band of mercs that one of the local agents told them about".
Brossic nods at that, as the more mercenaries who can fight for them, the better in his opinion. Especially if they run into that group they encountered early yesterday morning up in the Maldin Hills anytime again.
The leader of the crew of five who have plans to set up their own nation in the Maldin Hill range, then gestures along the deck of their damaged airship and says "The shipwright and his carpenters are making fairly good progress".
Looking up at the late afternoon sky, Brossic continues with "They'll stop when it gets dark" followed by "And resume first thing in the morning" he then adds "They expect to finish sometime tomorrow, in the afternoon most like" he follows that with "The next day after if they run into any unexpected trouble".
Grunna nods at that as they watch the repair work being done on the bow decking of the airship. While the underside, and the damage to the hull is being worked on as well. Not to mention the repair work down below deck onboard the twin masted airship.
As they watch the repair work being done in the late afternoon sunshine here in the shipyards of Gilsom. They're oblivious to a blackbird up on a crossbeam of the aft mast. Looking down at them, watching and listening to everything they're saying.
"Is that it there in the distance?" asks sir Percavelle Lé Dic, who belatedly adds "Wot" as he looks away into the distance to the north.
"That's it" replies Lisell Maera the runner as they stand upon the last hill for quite a distance here in coastal range known as The Cascades.
The road continues down this hill, and onto the coast, where it's essentially flat for another three or four miles. Until you get to a lone mountain on the coast. That lone mountain is the port town of Gilsom.
The attractive young woman from the city-state of Brattonbury, and the nobleborn knight from the kingdom of Druvic. Step off the road as a coach comes up the hill, and goes by them as it heads south.
It's followed by a pair of mounted guards, who carefully watch the heavily armoured figure of sir Percavelle.
Who completely ignores them as he looks away to the north towards the lone mountain, within which is the town of Gilsom itself.
Lisell Maera or Lis as she's more commonly called by those who know her well. Listens to the former paladin tell her how it's been a number of years since he was last in Gilsom.
As she listens to the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic, the messenger or runner in the armies of Farque waits for the others to reach them up on the hilltop.
Next to the top of the hill is Shur Kee the monk, who is quickly followed by Tamric Drubine the field commander and Saanea the witch.
The spellcaster from the Maldin Hills is glad to see that once they're down the hill they're on at the moment. It's fairly easy going on the way to the small mountain about four miles away, where the port town of Gilsom is located.
"Busy even for this time of the day" quietly says Saanea the witch as they see airships, both leaving and arriving into Gilsom.
While out on the Great Western Ocean, fishing vessels are returning to port after a busy day trying to catch what they can in the deeper waters out from the coast.
While merchant vessels can be see leaving, and entering the crescent shaped harbour too.
"Busy place alright" says Tamric Drubine the field commander who along with Lisell Maera has only been to Gilsom once before. And that was only briefly, stopping off in the airdocks on the inland side of the small mountain.
"Tis been a number of years since I've been here, wot" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic who more often than not, is called Percy by the others in the group.
Infact the heavily armoured knight was last in Gilsom when he was on his holy quest to kill Dorc da Orc.
When he had joined up with a various assortment of others. Who were all trying to kill the large ork. As they traveled south on a dwarven dreadnought.
The former paladin sourly smiles at the memory of that. Where he ended up in the southern kingdom of Melaurn. In a war between two local lords. Which saw the massive dwarven airship they were traveling on destroyed. And most of those traveling with him, ending up dead in the crash, and the subsequent battle.
The knight in the order of the Knights of Saint Mar-che turns and sourly smiles again as the reason that all happened makes his way to the top of the hill, to join the rest of the group.
The former earl of Lé Dic, which is his family's fief in the east of the kingdom of Druvic.
Snorts in derision as he looks at Dorc da Orc, as he recalls the two of them. Tied together by a chain, fighting one another on a wounded, and very annoyed dragon. That was trying to burn them both to a crisp as they were busy trying to kill one another.
"What you lookin' at cunt?" growls Dorc da Orc as he sees his bitter rival, sir Percavelle Lé Dic looking at him in disgust.
"A giant steaming pile of green dung that walks" states the nobleborn knight, who continues with "That is what I'm looking at, wot".
The large ork, who is in a foul mood, for the simple reason he hasn't found any dwarves in these hills yet. Well, none close by, as he caught scent of some of them, miles to the east in the range.
And he can't think up of an excuse to Tam to head that way, as they're going north along the coast here in The Cascades.
Takes a threatening step towards the former paladin, who takes hold of the hilt of the sword of knockdown that's on his hip.
Dorkindle's growl is curtailed by field commander Drubine saying "Would you two quit it" followed by "I've no time for your usual carrying on at the moment".
Both the ork warleader and the heavily armoured knight shoot a glance at the nobleborn teenager who is a senior officer in the armies of Farque.
Then they step back, and move away after glaring at each other for a bit.
Tam rolls his eyes at the antics of the two who are bitter rivals, then the son and former heir of a previous knight of castle Drubine, which is located in the forested north of the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin says "We should get there by evening".
"Will we try something tonight?" asks Lisell Maera the messenger "Maybe" is the reply of the young field commander, who then adds in the elven language "I'm still working on something".
Then switching back to the common language, Tamric Drubine says "Percy take the lead with Lis" he follows that with "Dorc walk with me". For the simple reason he wants the two of them as far apart as possible as they continue the rest of the way to the port town of Gilsom.
They set off down the hill, heading down the road, which for quite a lot of it along the coast here in The Cascades is paved.
As sir Percavelle Lé Dic and Lisell Maera the messenger hurry out infront of the others.
Saanea the witch moves quickly forward to walk next to Shur Kee the monk.
As she doesn't want to be anywhere near Dorc da Orc, who absolutely reeks at the moment.
Not just that, she doesn't want to be anywhere near him when he decides to do something disgusting.
For he's likely to just stop and take a shit right there infront of everyone without a care in the world.
The pretty looking hillwoman doesn't want to see something like that again if she can help it.
As the two of them walk at the back of the group, Tamric Drubine who was practically raised by the large ork when he was just a child, after first joining the group, asks the ork weaponsmith "Tell me what you see Dorc?".
The big, burly ork from the southern polar region of the world looks up, then says "The fucken cunt sun in the sky".
Dorkindle gestures away to the left, at the Great Western Ocean as he adds "That fucken cunt water out there" followed by "And the fucken road we on".
Refraining from rolling his eyes, field commander Drubine says "I meant there" as he points to the north, and adds "Gilsom".
The warleader of the ork race grunts, then says "Oh" he follows that with a "Hmmmmm" as he looks at the small mountain in the distance that they're heading towards.
The son of the former matriarch of the wolf tribe of orks then describes what he sees at the port town of Gilsom.
The nobleborn teenager from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin nods his head, then listens to what the large ork has to say.
And though Tam has heard what Saanea the witch has told him about what's happening in Gilsom.
He likes to hear another perspective of what's going on. As the big, burly ork from the southern polar region of the world can clearly see to the township, airdocks and shipyards on the inland side of the small mountain, within which is the town of Gilsom itself.
The mercenaries Spranen and Halnard walk from the tunnel that goes right through the small mountain.
Here on the inland side, the shadows are long as it approaches dusk, as the sun is going downwards out over the ocean to the west.
The two of them head through the township that's here on the inland side of the small mountain.
They head to the airdocks, and the many shipyards out here. One of which, is where their twin masted airship is being repaired.
The find the rest of the group who have plans to create their own nation up in the Maldin Hills.
Standing on the ground, looking at their vessel, as the shipwright and his carpenters down tools for the day, and head home.
"I see the hull is done" says Spranen the mercenary "That's the easy part" explains Brossic the lowland mercenary, who then adds "The shipwright says it's the internal work that's the hardest".
Sharnd the flatland merchant nods, then says "Still, they're making good progress" he continues with "We should be underway tomorrow evening, or the next morning" followed by "And back on our way to the Maldin range".
The others all nod in agreement to that, then Brossic who is their leader, then says "Back to the inn then".
As they turn, and make their way through the shipyards and airdocks, Brossic looks at Spranen and Halnard and asks them "How did it go with that last lot you went to see?".
"We hired them" says Spranen, who briefly pauses as he shares a look with Halnard, who slightly nods his head.
Then Spranen, who grew up here in the port town of Gilsom quietly says "They're not exactly like other mercenaries".
The others, Brossic, Sharnd and Grunna the sorcerer look at Spranen and Halnard, and the lowland mercenary who leads them says "Oh?" followed by "How so?".
After glancing around as they head into the township, and making sure no one is too close to them, Spranen quietly says "They're a bunch of pirates" next to him, Halnard nods in agreement.
"Hell" mutters Sharnd the flatland mercenary with a wince.
While Brossic briefly grimaces, then says "Can they be trusted?".
"Probably not" is the answer from Halnard the mercenary, who then adds "But they'll do what they're told just as long as we keep paying them".
"At least that's something i guess" says Brossic, who looks over at Grunna the sorcerer and tells him "You'll have to keep an eye on them, and make sure they're don't get up to any mischief".
"I will" says Grunna the sorcerer as they head through the township to the inn they're staying at as the late afternoon turns to dusk, and early evening here in the port town of Gilsom.
While flying a couple hundred feet above them, a blackbird changes to an owl, watching and listening to everything the group who have plans to create a nation of their own in the Maldin Hills, say and do as they head to the inn they're staying at . . . . . .