To War 32.

Summer. Southern Melaurn.

Narladene the ground pixie makes her way up through a burnt out house, and looks around.
The naturally magical creature who is from the Sunreach Mountains.
Wings her way through the village, looking at the destruction that's been wrought.
The ground pixie stops near the body of a half burnt child. Before she continues on her way.
The tiny winged creature goes flying through the only house in the entire village that isn't completely burnt down.
Narladene goes out the backdoor, and makes her way over the bloated corpses of a man and woman.
The summer heat has corrupted their bodies, making it difficult to see how they died.
The ground pixie knows they died violently, like just about everyone else in this village.
She rises up into the morning sky, and looks further afield.
The tiny winged creature narrows her eyelids as she looks at the hill just behind the burnt down village.
Narladene wings her way up the hill, carefully looking down between the shrubs and bushes that dot the hillside.
The ground pixie nods her head, as she finds what's she's been searching for.
"So you've gone north" Narladene the ground pixie murmurs to herself as she looks at the tracks, both human and horse, that head north.
The naturally magical creature who hails from the largest mountain range in the entire Southlands.
Is about to head north, here just across the border in the province of Moleau.
When she spins around in midair, and looks away to the west, the northwest to be exact.
The ground pixie, like all of her kind, both pixies and sprites.
Can magically sense in all directions, for a very long way. Much further than any spellcaster.
The tiny winged creature who can also see vast distances thanks to her naturally enhanced eyesight.
Slightly frowns as she looks away to the northwest.
Then Narladene mutters "Fuck". For in the distance, about fifteen miles away, she spots an airship coming this way.
It's obviously a warship, and just as obviously it's from the capital, and belongs to the king's fleet.
The ground pixie with her extraordinary vision, can clearly see the pennant of the king of Melaurn flying from one of warship's masts.
The naturally magical creature sourly smiles, then she turns to the east.
And senses in that direction, Narladene nods her head when she locates who she's sensing for.
The small, four and half inch tall magical creature, who hails from the Sunreach Mountains.
Wings her way in that direction for a bit. Before diving down into the ground.
Which she can fly through, even quicker than what she can fly through the air.
Helbe the elven thief walks through the village, that has all but burnt down recently.
It's one of a number of villages, here in the south of the province of Moleau that's been attacked in the last few days.
Villagers for the most part killed, though a small number from each village have been able to escape.
The highly talented elven magic user isn't so sure about that. He's of the opinion that those who have survived the attacks upon their villages, have been let go.
The young elven noble who is from the island principality of Laerel, looks around at the burnt down village.
That was apparently attacked by the first army of Farque.
The elven masterthief who is a member of the royal family that rules the elven principality of Laerel.
Knows that's not true in anyway. And that these villages here in the south of the province of Moleau.
Have been attacked by someone else completely different.
The elven master assassin looks down at a shovel on the ground, that's been warped by fire for a moment.
Then as he looks up, and as he's just about to shift away, Narladene the ground pixie appears on his right shoulder.
The young elven noble, who is the grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel.
Listens to what the naturally magical creature who is attached to him, has to say.
Then he turns and looks away to the west, then northwest in the sky.
The elven master archer who is a member of the personal council to lord Farque.
Blurs himself, then shields himself. Before he shifts up into the morning sky, here in the south of the province of Moleau.
Helbe the elven thief when he's a few hundred feet above the ground. Nods his hooded head, when he looks to where Narladene points.
The elven princeling from Laerel then shifts away. Heading to the northwest.
Heading towards a warship in the distance. One of a number in that direction, pointed out to him by the ground pixie sitting on his right shoulder.
A little bit later, and after resorting to teleporting a number of times. As he can go further doing that, than he can by shifting.
Helbe the elven thief is floating above the deck of a destroyer in the crown's fleet.
The highly talented elven magic use who is blurred and shielded, floats backwards so that he's above the aft deck.
Prince Helbenthril Raendril doesn't even bother to set foot upon the airship.
He just reads the minds of a number of the officers onboard as he floats about thirty feet above the airship.
"Hell" mutters Helbe the elven thief to Narladene the ground pixie who is sitting on his right shoulder.
"They think we did it alright" continues the young elven noble in a murmur.
As they suspected such when they spotted the airships from the capital Calinar.
The elven masterthief who is a member of the royal family that rules the island principality of Laerel.
And who is also a member of the personal council to the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
Looks away to port as he floats at the same speed as the warship below him.
The elven master assassin sees another of the warships in the king's fleet about a mile away.
Which along with a number of others, has traveled to the south of the kingdom to investigate the attacks upon the villages and settlements in the south of the province of Moleau.
For though the conflict between the provinces of Corlinda and Karricaw was fine to the crown and the king.
Just as long as the nobility in those two provinces in the south of Melaurn. Kept their war within the two provinces that have always been rivals.
But to have it expand beyond either Corlinda and Karricaw. That's a definite no, no in the eyes of the crown, and the king of Melaurn.
Especially acts of violence perpetrated by a mercenary army from a foreign land.
At the behest of one of the leading nobles in the conflict between the provinces of Corlinda and Karricaw.
In this instance, lord Gormica of Salmah Forest. Who in all intensive purposes, has been victorious in the conflict between the two warring provinces in south of the kingdom.
As military action outside of either Corlinda or Karricaw after one side is victorious.
Might be seen as push for land and power. A sure sign of someone who wants to achieve more than their position in life.
A sign of an impending civil war in the kingdom of Melaurn.
For that is how the king and the crown's councillors see it at this time.
And why the king has sent a fair few of his fleet south to see what's actually going on.
And to stop those who have perpetrated the attacks upon a number of villages in the south of the province of Moleau.
Although Helbe the elven thief could easily destroy the warship he's floating above. And the other one, about a mile away to port.
He falls on the side of caution for the moment. For the simple reason that he, along with the rest of the first army from the lands Farque. Are still in the service of lord Gormica of Salmah Forest.
The elf, who is the envoy for the armies of Farque when dealing with those who want to hire them, or have hired them.
Thinks it's best to discuss the situation with his fellow council members, as well as lord Farque himself.
With Narladene holding onto his right shoulder, the elven magic user shifts away.
And he's soon back down on the ground, looking up at the passing airship that's come from the capital city Calinar.
The elven master archer looks at the ground pixie who attached herself to him, when they met a number of years ago in the city of Leeabra, the capital of the kingdom of Druvic.
"Where's the command ship?" asks the elven princeling referring to the krean strikeship.
"Anywhere close?" adds adds the young elven noble who is from the island principality of Laerel.
Which is just across the Kuyriers Straits from the coast of the kingdom of Melaurn.
The naturally magical creature who is originally from the Sunreach Mountains murmurs "Hmmmm" as she senses.
After a few moments, she says "No where close". Meaning it's not between twenty five to thirty miles in any direction from where they are. As that's how far she can sense anything magical.
"Fuck" mutters prince Helbenthril Raendril in the royal elven language.
Narladene sourly smiles, for though she doesn't understand the royal elven language.
She can clearly guess that what the elven master assassin just said, was obviously a swear word.
The elven master archer frowns as he thinks about something, then he looks up at the warship in the crown fleet.
That's bound for the nearest village that's been attacked, or the local lord here in southern Moleau who has sent for them.
The highly talented elven magic user nods his hooded head, then says to Narladene "Keep sensing and looking for the command ship".
The member of the personal council to lord Farque then adds "Tell me when you locate it".
"I will" says the tiny winged creature, who holds onto the right shoulder of the elven princeling as she senses he's about to cast.
The next moment, and the young elven noble has teleported away.
Later in the morning, closer to midday than midmorning. And Helbe the elven thief stands upon a hilltop on this warm summer's day in the province of Moleau.
The blurred and shielded elven spellcaster looks across a river at a town, and the castle of a certain lord Panharst.
The local lord, on whose lands, a lot of the villages and settlements here in the south of the province of Moleau have been attacked and destroyed.
One of the airships from the capital Calinar has just set down beside the town, next to the local lord's castle.
As he's watching things across the river, councilor Raendril is saying to the ground pixie sitting on his right shoulder "We still have to find that lot responsible for destroying those villages".
Narladene nods in agreement, then says "Maybe one of the others will find them".
The young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel slightly nods to that.
Then the naturally magical creature asks him "Who do you think is doing it?" followed by "Pretending to be our army?".
"Obviously someone from Corlinda who isn't happy with the way things have gone in the war against Karricaw" says the elven masterthief.
Who looks at the tiny winged creature, who has suddenly stood, and is looking back behind them.
"Is it?" asks the elven envoy, the ground pixie nods, then says "It's them".
Narladene follows that with "Back across the border in Corlinda, heading this way fast".
The elven magic user turns around, then teleports as far as he can back to the southeast.
The best thing about the krean strikeship that's the command ship of the fleet and the army from the lands Farque.
Is that it moves so quickly, that it doesn't take all that long to close the distance between it, and the teleporting elven spellcaster.
After teleporting a number of times, and as it nears midday, Helbe the elven thief appears on the flat deck of the krean strikeship.
The council member spots lord Farque through the windows of the wheelhouse at the stern of the sleek looking mastless airship.
And hurries to the wheelhouse to inform the undead warlord what he's discovered in the south of the province of Moleau.
After they heard the rumours of what was happening there, concerning the villages, that had apparently been attacked by the first army of Farque for lord Gormica of Salmah Forest.
But in reality has been perpetrated by someone else, who wants to see an escalation of the recent war between the provinces of Corlinda and Karricaw . . . . . .