Interlude - Ork Times 2.

Summer. The Land Of The Orks.

The krean transporter Del Diablo turns more to port as it heads south above the southern polar region of the world.
The day is fine and sunny. Though that doesn't mean it's necessarily warm, as the temperature is just below freezing at the moment.
The transporter is keeping clear of known villages as it heads southwards, not yet at the tribal lands that are it's destination.
As from previous journeys south in the Ork Range, on this airship and others in the fleet.
It's best to avoid any settlements, as the occupants tend to attack anything, especially something as strange as an airship. And that's just in tribal lands that aren't their destination.
When they finally get to where they're going. They're more than likely be attacked there too. Even though for over fifteen years now, airships have been traveling to their final destination most years.
This year is no different, though there is a slight difference of those onboard.
For with the usual crew of the dragon like krean onboard, along with a detachment of soldiers from the armies of Farque, a couple of whom aren't living.
There's a few others onboard, and though one has journeyed to the Ork Range in the southern polar region a couple of times in the past.
There's three others onboard who have never been this far south before.
Infact no one else comes south into the southern polar region. With good reason. As the inhabitants are all mad who will do their best to kill you.
And the weather, even in the summer like now, is deadly. As only the inhabitants of the Ork Range can survive at the frozen bottom of the world for any length of time.
The one who isn't usually a passenger onboard such a vessel, and is making a return trip to the southern polar region for the first time in a number of years, makes his way up on deck.
He looks around, and nods in reply to one of the krean crew who half bows to him, before winging his way to the wheelhouse to aft.
The passenger who is glad of the wards completely surrounding the Del Diablo.
Not just because it protects it from attacks both magical and mundane. But also because it keeps the below freezing temperatures at bay. As here onboard the krean transporter, the temperature though decidedly cold. Is much warmer than it is outside the wards.
Then he slightly smiles as hears a young girl squeal, he looks forward, where he sees his youngest child, bundled up in furs, chasing a pet flying lizard that belongs to one of the crew.
Kreece Van Der Linden the mage, the premiere of the lands Farque makes his way forward, to where his daughter Saralynn is scrambling about trying to catch the small flying lizard, that's hopping around the deck, trying to keep clear of the enthusiastic young girl.
The mage Van Der Linden has traveled south with his youngest child, and his oldest, his son Yarren. Along with his wife Sephiryn the elemental.
They've left their middle children, the twins at home, back in The Citadel, in the lands Farque.
The two of them are a handful at the best of times. So it was thought best to leave them at home.
Though the twins are rambunctious, and are handful to keep under control.
It's Kreece's youngest child who is the most enigmatic out of the four of them. And that's saying something, considering his oldest Yarren is a mage like himself. And the twins aren't even human.
The seneschal or premier of the lands Farque, who attained that position a little over eighteen months ago after his father passed away.
Watches as he young daughter, just over five years old now. Climbs up onto one of the benches infront of the forward mast, and sits down.
The child, who looks like a little puff ball of fur at the moment, with her face peeking out of the fur lined hood of her cloak.
Pats her lap, as the flying lizard watches her warily from a few yards away on the deck, the little creature is flicking it's tail back and forth as it watches young Saralynn.
The young girl pats her lap again, and the pet flying lizard leaps up in one bound, and lands upon her lap.
Where it promptly curls up and goes to sleep, as the little girl softly pats it.
The mage Van Der Linden looks around, and spots one of the crew nearby, with a surprised look on his dragon like face.
The owner of the pet flying lizard spots the premier looking his way, and slightly bows to the powerful spellcaster. Probably the most powerful mage at this time who resides in the Southlands.
The crew member shakes his head, then gets back to his duties, after looking at little Saralynn with his pet lizard, fast asleep in her lap.
The seneschal, a man who stands a couple of inches over six foot tall, in his mid thirties, who has a fur cloak over his halfplate armour.
Slightly smiles as he looks at the back of his youngest child, who is now softly singing to the sleeping flying lizard.
Then the premier of the lands Farque turns, and makes his way along the deck, heading aft.
Kreece, who is on the port side of the triple masted krean transporter, looks overboard and down, and shakes his head at what he sees.
How anyone can live down there is beyond me, Kreece Van Der Linden the mage thinks to himself as he looks down at the Ork Range below.
As far as the eye can see, it's just snow and ice. Occasionally broken up by forests every once and a while. Though the trees within those forests are more ice than actual wood. As many of the trees have been frozen for tens of thousands of years.
The mage Van Der Linden stops and looks back in the direction they're going, and he sees a landscape that's vaguely familiar.
He quickly casts a farsight spell, then nods his head, as he sees it's the tribal lands near the southern coast, that's their destination.
The powerful spellcaster who was previously a senior officer in the armies of Farque, drops his spell and continues onwards to the wheelhouse.
He enters, and looks around and spots his son Yarren in a corner. The now eleven year old is watching the officers and crew in the wheelhouse, especially the navigators, those krean who are spellcasters.
After quietly speaking with the Del Diablo's captain, a krean standing nearly six and half foot tall, who by the looks of, wouldn't look out of place as an air marine in the krean fleet.
The mage from the lands Farque makes his way over to his son standing in one of the corners of the wheelhouse.
"Do you see how they're doing that?" quietly asks Kreece Van Der Linden in the elven language as he gestures at the map table in the middle of the wheelhouse.
"A viewing spell" is the reply of Yarren Van Der Linden in the same language, who looks wise is more like his father than his mother. It helps that he's human like his father too.
"A very" adds the child mage, who momentarily pauses, before switching to common and saying "Sophisticated" he reverts back to the elven language with "Viewing spell too".
"That it is son" quietly says the seneschal of the lands Farque, who then adds in a slightly dry tone of voice "Hell, i can't cast anything like that".
Young Yarren's eyebrows shoot up when he hears that from his father. As the two of them watch the moving viewing spell on the map table.
It's from what one of the navigators in the bow is looking at, as he looks away to the south. And is relaying back to another of the navigators, and the chief navigator here in the wheelhouse.
"Look" says Yarren Van Der Linden as he points at the viewing spell most of those here in the wheelhouse are watching "A village" adds the young boy.
"That's where we're going" quietly says the mage Van Der Linden, who then in the krean language, asks the chief navigator a question, who replies to him.
"It's about fifteen miles away" quietly says the premier of the lands Farque to his oldest child.
"We should get there pretty soon" adds Kreece, who along with being a powerful mage, is also a blademaster.
Just after that, the two humans in the wheelhouse feel the Del Diablo pick up speed. For though the transporter has masts unlike krean scout ships, and strike ships, which are mastless.
The tri masted transporter is far quicker than any other transport airship of a similar size. And though it's a transporter, it has it's own detachment of krean air marines, along with soldiers in the armies of Farque. And not to mention it's rated with twenty magetubes. All of which are in operation.
"Orks father" says Yarren Van Der Linden.
"That's what you find in an ork village son" says Kreece Van Der Linden, who then nods his head yes in reply to his son asking him "Are those the general's people?".
Then the seneschal of the lands Farque says "Come on, we better go and get your mother and sister, they'll want to see this".
Then after the child mage puts the hood of his fur cloak onto his head, the father and son make their way out of the wheelhouse.
They head forward to go and get young Saralynn who is still sitting on the bench infront of the forward mast, with the sleeping flying lizard in her lap.
Sephiryn Van Der Linden nee Vaitrelle makes her way up onto the deck, the elemental, the most unique elemental in the world, looks around and spots her family in the bow.
The wife of the premier of the lands Farque quickly steps to one side when she hears and feels what's approaching from below.
The undead wardog Spear leaps up onto the top deck from below deck, she's followed by her brother Hammer.
Both undead dogs look at the elemental swordmaster, then Hammer wanders away, heading aft. While Spear shadows Sephiryn the elemental who heads forward to the bow deck, to where her family are looking away to the south.
Sephiryn or Seph as she's more commonly called, who like her husband is her mid thirties, though at thirty four, she looks exactly the same as she did fifteen years ago when she was nineteen.
Stands next to her husband the mage, who turns and looks at her and smiles.
After smiling back, Sephiryn the elemental says in the common language "That's it then?". For in the distance to the south, she clearly sees a village in the white landscape, on what's a clear and sunny day here in the southern polar region of the world.
"That's it alright" says Kreece Van Der Linden, who like his wife is speaking common for little Saralynn's benefit, as the young girl, has only recently started learning elven.
Though Seph suspects her youngest and most enigmatic child, already understands the elven language, and that she's just unable to properly speak it yet.
Infact, the elemental swordmaster suspects Saralynn understands any language that's spoken around her.
She's asked Kreece to find out magically, but all he's ever found about their youngest child, is that she's perfectly normal, above average intelligent wise, and physically healthy.
Though the two of them, know there's more to their youngest that what it seems. What exactly? They're not exactly sure.
The elemental originally from the Sunreach Mountains slightly frowns as she looks at little Saralynn, who Kreece has picked up.
Sephiryn Van Der Linden lifts an eyebrow as she sees a small flying lizard, has wrapped itself around the neck of the young girl, and is sitting on her right shoulder. Eyes swirling, with it's tail around the throat and neck of the youngest of the Van Der Linden children.
Seph who has seen a couple of the pet flying lizards onboard, knows that they usually avoid anyone not a krean. And they usually only allow their owners to handle them.
But this one is sitting comfortably on the shoulder of her youngest child, like it belongs there.
The elemental, who is unique because she is of two different elements, opposite elements too.
Looks back, and sees Spear the undead wardog sitting there, watching the Van Der Linden family, specifically young Saralynn.
Seph looks ahead again, then glancing at her husband, who is to her left, who is pointing out to Saralynn and Yarren to where they're going.
She quietly asks the powerful mage who she married over a decade ago in the Winter Palace in the lands Farque "So what can we expect then?".
Kreece faintly smiles, then says "Oh they'll attack us for sure" followed by "They always do".
Both Yarren and little Saralynn look absolutely excited about the prospect of that.
"They will daddy?" asks Saralynn "With what dad?" asks Yarren.
"You name it, they'll use it" says the mage Van Der Linden, who looks at his wife who is traveling here to the Ork Range for the very first time, and adds "And i mean anything and everything?".
"Oh?" says Sephiryn Van Der Linden nee Vaitrelle, who then adds "Like what?".
"The usual" says the seneschal of the lands Farque with a shrug of his shoulders, before he continues with "Every weapon you can think of, and others you can't imagine" he follows that with "Rocks, trees, each other" the powerful mage then adds "Their children, what they call orklings, they'll biff them at the ship too".
Both Yarren and young Saralynn find that absolutely hilarious, and burst out into laughter.
While Seph rolls her eyes, then quietly asks her husband in air elemental language "You're kidding right?".
"I wish i was" quietly says Kreece in the same language, who then dryly adds "We can hope that's all that chuck at us" dryly followed by "They're orks after all, so you can imagine what else will come flying our way".
Sephiryn the elemental winces, as she can well imagine what exactly her husband is referring to.
"Great" dryly murmurs the air/earth elemental as the krean transporter, the Del Diablo approaches the main village in the lands of the Wolf tribe of orks . . . . . .