Spring. The Northern Border. The Lands Of Farque.
He leaps over a stream as he runs eastwards. He looks up and spots in the distance an airship.
It's over the north face of a hill here on the northern border.
It's a twin masted vessel, with the main mast down as it just hovers there above the hill.
He runs between some trees, and even at the distance he is. He can see what's happening on the hill.
As he runs out of the trees, he sees those who are familiar to him. Who he saw throughout the winter in the forest town of Gildin Dale.
Then out on the coast of the lands Farque, in the bordertown of Halmard.
He runs up, then down a smaller hill to the west of the one the crippled airship is hovering over.
He leaps across a track, creating a thud when he lands. As he continues on his way to the hilltop to the east.
Any creatures or animals that are out and about on this warm, sunny, first day of spring.
Keep well clear of him as he runs through their range and territories.
They know instinctively to keep out of his path as he runs through the terrain. Here along the northern border of the nation of Farque. About twenty to twenty five miles inland from the coast.
He just runs through some scrub that gets in his way. As he's running in a straight line to the hill the dead in the air, twin masted vessel is floating above.
He gets to the western base of the hill in question. And runs up it.
He's not running anywhere as fast as he could be.
But nevertheless, he's running fast enough, that at least one person on the side of the hill. Hears him, and sees him approaching.
He sees who it is. And recognises the young teenage recruit from the village of Polsten.
He can't help himself. And wags his tail in a show of happiness. As he likes that particular young recruit. Who he instinctively knows will make a fine soldier one day in his master's armies.
Hamblin the teenage army recruit ducks down after standing up. As the undead wardog Axe runs up the hillside, straight at him.
The unofficial leader of the first group of teenage army recruits who lived and trained in the forest town of Gildin Dale throughout most of the winter.
Who then went out to the coast of their lord's lands, and the bordertown of Halmard to complete their training.
Didn't have to duck, as the massive animal leaps clear over him. And smashes into one of the raiders climbing over the fallen tree.
As that man from the unruled lands just over the border to the north.
Goes flying backwards forty feet to slam into a pair of his fellow raiders heading this way.
Axe who has come to a dead stop, whips his head to his right. And bites a stunned looking raider in two. As he stands there over a dazed looking Golmard the teenage recruit.
Another raider who has squared off against Jinsa the teenage recruit.
Backs away when he sees what's just happened to his fellow raiders.
He only backs away a few steps, and doesn't even see the massive undead canine move.
The next instant, that raider's head is between the jaws of Axe, who bites down, popping the man's head apart.
The undead Farqian wardog looks at the trio of teenage army recruits from the northwest of the lands Farque.
Barks and growls at them a few times. They know he's talking to them. But they've got no idea what he's saying.
Then the undead wardog, who they know died the same day as their lord. Infact he died just moments before the lord and ruler of the lands Farque died.
Wags his stubby tail rapidly. Then takes off running. Smashing apart the large fallen tree they've been behind. Taking cover from the raiders who have come their way.
They watch as Axe runs across the hillside, bowling and smashing over any of the raiders who get in his way.
He's also biting many of them who he gets close to.
And when he bites. Arms, legs, and heads are bitten off. Infact he just bites a lot of the raiders completely in two.
Picking them up by the torso, and chomping down on them.
The massive animal is moving so fast. That a lot of the raiders from the unruled lands to the north. Who have made it off their crippled airship.
Have no idea what it is that's now amongst them. Tearing and ripping them apart.
Axe runs over one of the crew, who hits the ground so hard, that his head shatters apart from the impact.
The undead wardog then leaps up at the damaged airship that's just dead in the air above the hill on the border.
Here on the very first day of spring for the year.
The fact that the that the raider's vessel, a former cargo ship. Is forty to forty five feet above the hillside.
Doesn't even come into the mind of Axe. Who sees it, and the raiders who have brought it here. As a threat to his master's lands and people.
"I say, what is going on down there?" says sir Percavellé Lé Dic, who adds "Wot".
As he hears screaming and shouting, obviously in panic, coming from the raiders down on the ground below him.
The former paladin who is holding onto a rope. Which he's glad is still holding his weight.
Is along the starboard hull of the twin masted airship.
He looks straight down, and sees a few of the raiders down on the ground running for dear life.
The heavily armoured knight frowns behind the faceplate of his full helm.
Then suddenly the entire airship violently moves to one side, as something crashes into it, just to the right of the nobleborn knight.
"Narille" mutters the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic as he swings from side to side, bouncing along the hull, trying not to lose his grip on the rope he's holding onto.
The member of the order of the Knights of Saint Mar-che looks to his right as he continues to swing from side to side.
And he blinks in surprise as he sees that there's quite a large hole in the hull of the raider's airship, just ten feet away to his right.
"By jingo what did that?" murmurs sir Percavellé Lé Dic, or Percy as more often than not, he's called by those who know him well.
The foreign knight kicks off from the side of the airship, and swings away to his right, and grabs a hold of the edge of the hole in the starboard side of the twin masted airship.
The former earl of Lé Dic, which is his family's fief in eastern Druvic peers through the hole in hull.
And blinks in surprise at what, or to be exact. Who he sees inside the hold of the converted cargo ship.
"Why good dog, what are you up to?" asks the nobleborn knight, who after a moments pause as he's surprised to find the massive animal here, then adds "Wot".
The former paladin really wants to call Axe a mangy mutt for eating his magical sword of knockdown during the winter.
But the heavily armoured knight frowns instead, as he watches the massive canine inside the hold of the airship, sniffing at the decking of the hold.
Percy is just wondering what the massive canine is up to. When Axe looks his way, and barks a few times.
The nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic isn't entirely sure, but it does look like to him. That the massive wardog has a grin on his maw. Especially as he stands there with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. And his stubby tail wagging furiously from side to side.
Then sir Percavellé Lé Dic blinks in understanding as he realises where exactly Axe is standing.
"By Saint Mar-che" mutters the former paladin, who then adds "Hell".
Who quickly resumes climbing down the swinging rope. As Axe, lifts up his head, and smashes it down into the decking. That's directly over the magical keel of the crippled airship.
As he climbs down the rope that's swinging more and more the further he goes down it.
Sir Percavellé Lé Dic silently prays to Saint Mar-che, and the god Narille. That he gets down onto the ground, and away before Axe brings down the raider's airship.
"The fuck is that?" mutters Dorc da Orc when the twin masted airship violently shakes for a moment.
The large ork swings from side to side as he holds onto a couple of sails, a bunch of lines and sheets.
Draped over the port side rail of the converted cargo vessel used by the raiders from the unruled lands to the north.
The big burly ork from the southern polar region of the world bounces along the port side hull.
While twirling about, getting wrapped up in some of the sails and lines he's holding onto as he climbs down towards the ground.
The ork warleader shakes his head, so he can see what's going on around him.
The ork weaponsmith grunts as he catches a glimpse down to the ground.
And he sees some of the raiders and crew down on the ground, running down the hill, away from where their crippled airship that is dead in the air.
The ork general in the armies of Farque who heard screaming and yelling a few moments ago coming from along the hillside, to starboard of the raider's vessel, mutters "What the fuck are those cuntheads doing?".
As the sails he's holding onto continue to twist about, the son of the former matriarch of the wolf tribe of orks sniffs deeply through his nostrils.
Dorc da Orc or Dorkindle which is his given name, frowns as he smells something.
That's familiar, but frankly a surprise that he can smell it here.
The warleader of the ork race who has been one of the instructors of the teenage army recruits from across the northwest of the lands Farque over the winter.
Bumps up against the port side hull, he puts his left ear to it, and listens. All the while sniffing as he does so.
Dorkindle blinks in surprise, then mutters "The fuck that doggy cunt doin' here?".
The big, burly ork from the frozen bottom of the world scowls.
Then he hears a cracking sound from within the twin masted airship.
Then a shudder passes down the entire length of the raider's vessel.
"Er?" murmurs Dorkindle who pauses for a moment, then he starts climbing down the sails again. Even though they're swinging about, and twisting around him.
The large ork hears something smash through the port side hull, not far from where he just was.
The weaponsmith from the wolf tribe of orks. Who knows exactly who did that. He can smell them down on the ground now, mutters "Fucken cuntdicks".
As he hears a couple of the teenage army recruits down on the ground somewhere, yelling at him to hurry up.
Dorc da Orc figures he's more than halfway down to the ground, when he feels the twin masted airship shudder again.
"Uh oh" murmurs the ork warleader, the next moment, the crippled airship drops out of the sky.
Over on the starboard side of the raider's vessel, sir Percavellé Lé Dic who is closer to the ground.
Quickly looks up when the damaged airship shudders again.
"Fuck" mutters the former paladin, who lets go of the rope, falls about twelve feet to the ground, which he hits with a clang, and a clatter.
The heavily armoured knight is up and moving, just as the twin masted airship drops down out of the sky.
Hamblin the teenage army recruit, along with Golmard and Jinsa. See sir Percavellé Lé Dic running this way as the raider's airship drops, and crashes on the hillside.
Over on the otherside of the north face of the hill. The teenage army recruits Furnid and Dammis see the ork general Dorc da Orc. Fall about twenty feet, and land in a heap of twisted sails and lines.
Just before the raider's twin masted airship crashes down upon the hillside.
The converted cargo vessel is pretty much intact, with very little of it breaking apart when it hit the ground after the undead wardog Axe bit out a large chunk of it's magical keel.
With the wind knocked out of him when he landed on his back, entangled in sails and lines.
Dorc da Orc's eyes go wide when he hears and feels the raider's airship crash straight down onto the hillside, just yards from where he's lying.
The large ork as he tries to get out of the entanglement he's in. Sourly smiles when he starts moving. As the sails, lines, and sheets he's wrapped up in, is dragged across the hillside.
The ork warleader continues to sourly smile when he comes to a stop, and hears barking nearby.
"Yeah cunts, get the general out!" calls out Dorc da Orc after he gets his breath back, and hears a couple of the young army recruits call out if he needs help to get free.
As the teenage army recruits Furnid and Dammis start cutting the big, burly ork from the southern polar region of the world free.
The undead wardog Axe wanders away. The massive canine, bites one of the raiders crawling across the ground. Snapping the man's spine in two.
Then the Farqian wardog makes his way around the bow end of the airship he's just brought down.
He bites a couple more of the raiders too slow to flee. Like what's left of most of those who have survived what's happened. Are doing as they run down the hill, heading back north across the border.
Out of the corner of his eye, Axe spots two more of the teenage recruits at the top of the hill. Walk out from amongst the trees up there.
The undead wardog who was in the bordertown of Halmard twenty five miles away to the west, when the teenage army recruit Claradene arrived late yesterday. To inform the garrison commander in the bordertown. What had happened on patrol for the first group, and two of their instructors in the unruled lands to the north of the border.
The Farqian wardog waited in Halmard until earlier today when he sensed the teenage recruits and their two instructors cross the border.
He set off from Halmard not long after that, when he sensed the airship and those onboard chasing the patrol, cross the border too.
It didn't take the undead wardog long to cover the twenty or so miles to get here. To the hill on the northern border, where the nine teenage army recruits, and two of their instructors decided to make a stand.
Breathing heavily, as he ran across the hillside to avoid the airship that dropped to the ground.
Sir Percavellé Lé Dic stands there with a hand on his knee, and says "You there youngsters alright?" followed by "Wot".
"Yes sir Percavellé" replies Hamblin the teenage army recruit who along with his fellow recruits Golmard and Jinsa, is injured.
The unofficial leader of the first group of teenage recruits looks downhill, and spots the young army recruits Marshay and Markell heading up this way.
Markell who has a cloth bandage wrapped around his right leg, is limping, and has an arm over Marshay's shoulder, as she is helping him to walk.
Hamblin looks up the hill, and spots the teenage recruits Maselle and Lamis walking out from the trees on the brow of the hill.
The two of them head downhill, making their way down to where the others are.
As the undead wardog Axe comes over and sits down next to them and sir Percavellé Lé Dic.
Hamblin is just wondering where his fellow recruits Furnid and Dammis are. Along with general Dorc.
When he first hears them. Well, he hears the ork warleader, that's for sure. Then he sees them walk around the crashed airship that's just sitting there on the hillside.
Furnid is wounded, an injury to his left arm by the looks of it. And Dammis is helping to keep him steady, as he looks a little pale, most likely from blood loss.
As Dorc da Orc scowls at both his bitter rival the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic. And the undead wardog Axe.
Hamblin looks at Axe, who ducks his head down towards the ground near sir Percavellé's boots, and coughs.
Well it kind of sounds like a cough, it's more of a rumbling growl than an actual cough.
Looking down with a frown on his face, the former paladin then blinks in surprise at what he see.
"Why would you look at that" says sir Percavellé Lé Dic in a tone of wonder,.
His bitter rival Dorc da Orc looks down too, then says in a tone of surprise, and annoyance "The fuck?".
As a beaming Percy picks up the magical sword of knockdown that Axe has just spat out.
After taking it from the ork warleader in the middle of winter and eating it.
"Mine again, wot" says the grinning foreign knight sir Percavellé Lé Dic in a tone of glee, as a scowling ork general Dorc da Orc looks on . . . . . .
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