The Lost Ones 52.

Summer. The Islands Of Dreese.

He's awake early, up well before dawn. Leaving the cabin he shares with another of the cadre of spellcasters that the Sultan of Dreese controls.
He heads up onto the deck of the flagship of the fleet, where a number of the crew are on duty.
He nods his head in greeting to some of them who acknowledge him. Though most ignore him, as they do the rest of the practitioners of magic that the supreme ruler of Dreese has under his control.
He makes his way forward along the deck of the large airship, then heads to the starboard rail.
He climbs over it, and down the cargo netting that's hanging over the side. Near the bottom of it, he hops down onto the sand of the beach, and looks around.
Then he heads north along the beach that's on the east side of the island on this, the west side of the channel that separates the two islands near the equator, at the very northern end of the chain of islands that are off the coast of the mainland of Dreese.
As he walks on the sands of the beach in the murky gloom before dawn. Mira Reinholt the mage takes the hood of his cloak off his head and takes a deep breath through his nose.
Briefly closing his eyes as he does so. Enjoying the sensation of being a little bit under his own control. As it is whenever the Sultan of Dreese is sleeping.
It's the only time he and the other nearly thirty spellcasters who are under the control of the Sultan. Have some partial control, and normalcy in their lives.
There's a few others walking up and down the long beach. Which is empty apart from the Sultan's flagship.
The mage Reinholt even hears a couple of the others swimming in the waters off the beach.
The once powerful mage contemplates doing the same thing. But he has other things to do this early in the morning, before dawn.
The spellcaster who is from the city-state of Vexil, which is all the way on the otherside of the continent, faraway to the west in the Southlands.
Keeps walking north along the beach, and he soon leaves the last of the other spellcasters up early, behind him. When he passes a wizard sitting in the sand, staring off to the east, waiting for the sun to rise.
The exiled Vexilian mage, who just happens to be a highly skilled swordmaster. Slightly frowns as he peers through the gloom towards the north end of the beach.
Then he slightly nods his head, and makes his way up the beach, to where he's spotted someone sitting on a fallen palm tree just above the sands.
"Morning" quietly says Mira Reinholt the mage in the elven language as he sits down next to the tall figure in the gray hooded cloak.
"Morning mage" replies Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy in the same language.
The two of them are silent for a few moments as they look out over the beach to the channel between the two islands, as dawn will soon break over the island chain that lies off the coast of continent.
It's the spy Tanith who breaks the silence between them, when he quietly asks "How's things?".
"Alright at the moment" is the reply from the spellcaster who was once the most powerful mage of his generation to be found anywhere in the Southlands.
"Helps that, that fat asshole is asleep at the moment" dryly adds the mage Reinholt, who can still feel the Sultan of Dreese's control over him. But it's not as oppressive, and all powerful as it is when the Sultan is awake.
The elven spy form the principality of Alínlae, which is in the Southlands nods his hooded head, then falls silent again.
The swordmaster Reinholt doesn't mind the silence. He's just glad he's in the company of one of the group. At least for a little while, which is better than nothing.
Then the elf who is an officer in the scouts and rangers division in the armies of Farque breaks the silence again, as he quietly tells the Vexilian mage in exile "Something's going to happen this morning".
"Oh?" quietly says Mira Reinholt, who then asks "What?".
"You know i can't tell you" quietly says the elven spy who previously served in one of the more prominent noble houses of his homeland of Alínlae.
The once powerful mage who is a member of the personal council to lord Farque, grunts at that.
Then he raises an eyebrow, when Dalinvardél Tanith or Dalin as he's more commonly called by the others in the group, quietly tells him "Be ready for anything".
The spellcaster who was sent into exile from his homeland of Vexil, for betraying the city-state during a war, nods his head in response to that.
Then he lifts an eyebrow in surprise again, when the elf, who like him is from the Southlands, quietly says "Here, this is for you" and hands him something. It's a spell gem.
The mage Reinholt looks quickly around, before he looks closely at the small gem that Dalin has handed to him. The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster, frowns as he looks at it.
"There's nothing in it" quietly states Mira Reinholt, who then adds "No spell, or power" as he carefully studies it in the gloom before dawn.
"There is" quietly says the elven spy from the principality of Alínlae.
The Vexilian mage in exile frowns again, then he says "If there is, he'll know I've got it because of that captured sprite he's got".
"He won't" quietly says Dalinvardél Tanith, who as the once powerful mage frowns again, he quietly tells him "Lord Farque had his sword do something to it" as he gestures at the spell gem in the hand of swordmaster Reinholt.
"Hell" quietly mutters Mira Reinholt, who then quickly pockets the small gem that's just been given to him.
Nodding his head, the spellcaster from the Southlands quietly asks "What does it do then?".
"I can't tell you that either" is the quiet reply from the spy Tanith.
"You can't tell me what's happening this morning" mutters the exiled Vexilian mage, who continues muttering with "You can't tell me what it does" as he gestures at the pocket in his black summer cloak he's just put the spell gem into.
The highly skilled swordmaster sighs in frustration, then after a deep breath, he asks the elven spy "So what can you tell me".
"Not much really" quietly says the elf from the Southlands, who continues with "Just that something will happen this morning, and you should use that gem when necessary".
The mage Reinholt just nods his head, as that's about all he can do since Dalin won't actually tell him anything specific about what to expect this morning.
Instead the member of lord Farque's personal council asks the spy Tanith "How did the battle go?" followed by "I assume we won".
The Vexilian mage in exile like everyone else onboard the Sultan's flagship was kept out of the battle. Due to a suggestion from lord Farque, which for once the Sultan of Dreese actually listened to.
The once powerful mage saw late yesterday afternoon as they approached the two islands that are separated by a channel. That only vessels in the Sultan's sea going fleet remained in the water between the two islands. And the Viceroy's fleet had been destroyed.
"We defeated them" quietly says Dalinvardél Tanith who continues on with "You'll hear more about it later on this morning".
The swordmaster Reinholt looks sharply at the elven spy sitting next to him, then nods his head.
The elf in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque then adds "The army is camped just a mile and half away to the north from here" followed by "A lot of the remaining ships are just off the coast from there too".
"So i saw, when we set down early yesterday evening" quietly says Mira Reinholt who looks south along the beach to where the Sultan's triple masted flagship is on the sands of the beach.
The Sultan himself is in the pavilion just up from the airship there. With his gaggle of concubines, and a few others. Those he most trust from his court.
While on the flagship is the rest of the court. And most of his cadre of spellcasters he has control of. Apart from those up early like the mage Reinholt, who are wandering up and down the beach, or in the water this morning.
The spy Tanith nods his hooded head to the east, then quietly says to the once powerful mage "The sun's about to come up".
The Vexilian mage in exile looks that way too, and after a little while he sees the first glow of dawn start to appear on the horizon to the east.
"Hopefully he drank too much last night, and wakes up late today" quietly says Mira Reinholt who always likes it when the Sultan of Dreese wakes up late. As that gives a little more time to himself, and a sense of normalcy that will disappear when the Sultan takes over full control of him again.
"That would be useful" murmurs Dalin so quietly that the swordmaster from the city-state of Vexil doesn't hear him.
Then the elven spy who previously served in one of the more prominent noble houses of his homeland of Alínlae, nods in the direction of the Sultan's flagship and quietly says "Some of the others are up".
Councillor Reinholt looks down the beach to where the large airship sits upon the white sands, and sees a number of the other spellcasters in the cadre controlled by the supreme ruler of Dreese, are now up and about.
And as the first rays of sunshine start to come up over the island on the otherside of the channel, and hit the water between the two islands.
The exiled Vexilian mage sees that a number of the Sultan's personal guards are now up as well.
Dalinvardél Tanith who has seen this too, quietly asks the highly skilled swordmaster "How many of his guards stayed with him instead of going into battle?".
The mage Reinholt slightly frowns as he tries to remember, then he quietly says "About fifty or so i guess" followed by "His dozen bodyguards, and about forty others".
The spy Tanith slightly nods his hooded head, then quietly says "No reason really" in response to the highly skilled swordmaster asking him "Why do you want to know?".
Dalin looks at the Sultan's pavilion, where he sees a few people entering and leaving it as the sun begins to rise on what looks like it will be another warm tropical summer's day here, near the equator at the northern end of the island chain that's off the coast of the mainland of Dreese.
The elven spy from the Southlands spots a few of the members of court have just come out of the large pavilion just up from the flagship, one of whom he recognises as the Sultan's herald.
The mage Reinholt has seen the thin, skeletal looking figure of the herald too, and sourly mutters "He'll be awake soon" the member of lord Farque personal council then adds "He always wakes just after his mouthpiece gets up".
The spy Tanith nods and gets up off the fallen palm tree as the Vexilian swordmaster does.
"I better get back" quietly says Mira Reinholt.
Dalinvardél Tanith nods his hooded head then quietly tells the spellcaster from the Southlands "Remember, use that spell gem when you think it's the right time".
"And when will the right time be?" quietly asks the mage who no longer has the vast amount of power he once had when he was a younger man.
"You'll know when" is the quiet reply from the elven spy from the principality of Alínlae.
The mage Reinholt faintly smiles, then turns and heads back along the beach.
"I hope" Dalin murmurs to himself as he watches Mira Reinholt walk down the beach as dawn breaks over the island chain that's part of the Sultanate of Dreese.
The spy Tanith watches the Vexilian mage in exile lift the hood of his cloak up onto his head.
Just after he does, the elf from the Southlands sees councillor Reinholt slightly stumble, then stiffen after he regathers himself. The elven spy slightly grimaces as he knows the Sultan of Dreese is awake, and has taken full control of the cadre of spellcasters, who he has control of.
Dalinvardél Tanith sees a wizard sitting on the beach, fall onto his side, before quickly sitting upright, then hoping to his feet.
He spots a practitioner of magic stumble from the water, before jerking to a stop. Then turn and walk purposefully back towards the flagship.
He sees a woman, what type of spellcaster she is, he has no idea. But she was wandering up and down the beach. Then she fell flat on her face. Before standing back upright, turn then walk back to the large triple masted airship.
Before she turned, the elven spy who is an officer in the scouts and rangers division in the armies of Farque. Clearly saw the dull, almost dead look in her eyes before she marched back to the Sultan's flagship.
"Hell" mutters Dalin, who then murmurs "By the forest gods" as he thumbs the spell gem in one of the pockets in his own cloak.
It's a gem he always has on him, especially when he gets close to wherever the Sultan of Dreese is.
The elf from the Southlands continues to watch the mage Reinholt, watching him all the way back to the Sultan's flagship. Once the exiled Vexilian mage is onboard. Dalin turns and goes north, heading back to the camp that's about a mile and a half away. The spy Tanith will return to this beach shortly. Though with him, will be a number of others.
Meanwhile, onboard the large triple masted airship that serves as the Sultan of Dreese's flagship.
Mira Reinholt the mage stands at the port rail in a midships with a few others in the cadre of spellcasters who are controlled by the Sultan of Dreese.
They're all looking at the pavilion that's just up from the flagship of the supreme ruler of Dreese.
All with a dead eyed look as they watch people enter and leave the large pavilion that the Sultan lives in while they're on campaign.
As the sun starts to rise in the sky to the east, they watch a few of the court outside the pavilion discussing something.
And a short while later, the front of the pavilion is opened by servants. And a few of the Sultan's concubines wander outside.
The mage Reinholt knows the Sultan is awake, for the simple reason he can't do whatever he wants to do now.
He like the other spellcaster who have been enthralled by the Sultan of Dreese. Wait silently for his appearance this morning.
And it's not too long before a number of the Sultan's personal guards are standing at the front of the pavilion.
A few moments later, and a yawning Sultan of Dreese walks from his pavilion.
As he does, Mira Reinholt unconsciously puts a hand in one of his pockets. And thumbs a small gem that's in it.
And as he and the others onboard the flagship watch the Sultan discuss something with some of the members of his court,
The once powerful mage, in the very depths of his mind, knows that he has to do something this morning with the small gem he's got.
Exactly what, he's not too sure. Just that he'll know when to do it, when the occasion arises this morning . . . . . .