To War 33.

Summer. The Kingdom Of Melaurn.

Looking down through the trees in the ravine below.
Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy with his naturally enhanced eyesight, looks for any sign of someone passing through here lately.
The spy Tanith who has the advantage of his race's eyesight. Can easily cut down the glare coming from the sun on this warm summer's day. Here in the south of the province of Moleau.
The elf who is originally from the principality of Alínlae, where he served in one of the more prominent noble houses of his homeland.
And who is now an officer in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque.
Narrows his eyelids as he notices something down in the bottom of the ravine below him.
Which passes into more open country, with little in the way of trees. Which the ravine is covered with.
Dalinvardèl Tanith or Dalin as he's more commonly called by the others in the group.
Hurries back up the side of the ravine he's on. Barely making a noise as heads back up to open ground.
"Did you spot something?" asks Beldane the cleric when the elven spy comes back and rejoins him.
"I did" says Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy.
Who points back down into the ravine, as he continues with "Right there" followed by "See that gap between the trees?".
"Yeah" says the powerful cleric who hails from the kingdom of Nastell.
Who then mutters "How the hell you can see anything there, is beyond me".
The elven spy just grins before he and Beldane disappear as the fighting cleric teleports the two of them down to the spot at the bottom of the ravine that Dalin has pointed out.
Standing there, even the powerful spellcaster can see the tracks of boots and hooves on the ground, going between the trees.
"They came down that side of the ravine" quietly says the spy Tanith, who points out through the trees towards the open country as he adds "And they've gone that way".
"How long ago?" asks the cleric who is a member of the church of Glaine, a god that's worshiped predominantly in the north of his homeland, the kingdom of Nastell.
"There was a bit of rainfall overnight" quietly says Dalinvardèl Tanith as he crouches down to get a closer look at the ground, and the tracks left by those who have passed through here.
"That's why i could spot it from further up" continues the elven spy, who follows that with "They came through at night as it was raining".
He nods in the direction those that passed through here have gone, and he says "They've definitely gone northeast".
"Further away from the border" quietly says Beldane the cleric.
The spy Tanith nods his hooded head in agreement as he stands back up.
He's just about to tell the powerful cleric to teleport northwards.
When he notices the churchman go still. A sure sign that he's either casting, or he's sensing.
"What is it?" quietly asks Dalin a few moments later when the powerful spellcaster looks at him.
"Airship" is the reply of the fighting cleric in the halfplate armour, who continues with "A warship".
It's obviously in the king's fleet, as none in the fleet from the lands Farque is flying in the skies above the province of Moleau, with the exception of the krean strikeship that's the command ship of the fleet.
"How far?" asks the elf who is an officer in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque.
"And do they know we're here?" adds the elven spy who hails from the principality of Alínlae.
"About eight and a half miles away" says Beldane the cleric, who like Dalin is speaking elven.
"Heading roughly this way" continues the powerful spellcaster who then adds "There's a sorcerer onboard, but he's no where near powerful enough to sense me from that far away".
The elven spy nods his hooded head in understanding, then he quietly says "We better get going and collect the others".
The cleric who is a member of the church of Glaine nods in agreement.
Then he looks back up the side of the ravine, to where they were previously, and he teleports them away.
Lisell Maera the scout looks down at the burnt out farmhouse, which from the looks of it, was set on fire during the night.
The attractive young woman who hails from the city-state of Brattonbury.
Can see from where she is, a couple of bodies lying on the ground near the farmhouse.
One on the track that leads to the nearby road that passes through this part of the province of Moleau.
And another body lying in the pen, next to the burnt down barn.
The scout figures there's probably other bodies in the burnt out farmhouse.
Though with the actions of those who have been attacking the villages and settlements across the south of the province of Moleau.
She suspects some of those who lived here on this farm, probably escaped.
Or to be exact, were allowed to leave by those who attacked and burnt down this particular farmhouse.
Lisell Maera or Lis as she's more commonly called by those who know her well.
Is just about to go down and look to see which direction those who attacked the farmhouse went.
When she hears someone behind her callout "Lis!".
The scout turns, and sees Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy and Beldane the cleric walking towards her.
"Find anything?" asks Lisell Maera the scout when the elven spy and the fighting cleric join her.
"We did" is the reply from the spy Tanith, who points away to the northeast and he adds "They went that way".
Dalin then points directly east, the way the nearby road goes, and he says "Company" followed by "Riders heading this way".
All Lis and Beldane can see in that direction along the road, is dust far in the distance.
And the attractive young woman originally form the coastal city-state of Brattonbury asks "Them?".
"No" is the reply of the elf who is an officer in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque, who continues with "Some of the local lord's men".
"That's not the only company coming this way" says Beldane the cleric, who follows that with "A warship in the king's fleet is coming this way" he then adds "We've got to get out of here".
The scout in the first army of Farque nods at that, then she gestures down the slope of the rolling hill they're on, and she says "We're going to be blamed for that".
"We already have" says Dalinvardèl Tanith, who continues on with "Just like elsewhere in the province".
The elven spy, who is senior most ranked out of the three of them, looks at the fighting cleric and the scout and tells them "I'm guessing the local nobility here in Moleau have already made up their minds".
Dalin briefly pauses before he continues on with "All that have to do is convince those coming from the capital that we did it, then all hell is going to break loose".
"If war breaks out, think they'll turn their eyes north and try to go into Farque?" muses Beldane the cleric, who out of the three of them, is the most recent one of them to join the group who travel with the lord Farque.
"If they do, it'll be the last thing the kingdom of Melaurn ever does" dryly says Lisell Maera, who has been with the group going on a decade.
The spy Tanith nods in agreement with that, then he says "The crown, well i should say the king won't want to do that" followed by "He'll know the futility of doing that".
Dalin continues with "No, he'll concentrate on what's happening here in the kingdom" he then adds "That means dealing to us, and to lord Gormica".
The other two nod, then the elven spy originally from the principality of Alínlae, who is now an officer in the scouts and rangers division in the armies of Farque, says "Come on, let's get the rest, and get out of here".
A little while later, and they've gathered a half a dozen other scouts in the first army of Farque, who are here in the south of the province of Moleau.
And Beldane the cleric casts a gateway, that takes them back across the border into the province of Corlinda, over two hundred miles away infact, back to the city of Pirtgott.
Once back in the city, Dalin, Lis and Beldane head to the inn that the senior officers in the first army of Farque have taken over.
There, they're admitted to one of the rooms, where four members of lord Farque's personal council.
Three permanent members, and one honorary one, are deep in conversation.
"Find where they've gone to?" asks Mira Reinholt the mage as he gets up from the table he's been sitting at, and he stretches.
"We have" replies Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy, who continues on with "Thought about following them until something else came along".
"Oh?" says Jarjin Littlefoot, who then asks "What?".
"More airships from the capital" says the elf who is an officer in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque.
Who looks at his fellow elf, Helbe the elven thief as he adds "More of them, than the ones you saw yesterday".
"Hell" mutters Helbe the elven thief, who then shares a look with his fellow council members Mira Reinholt and Jarjin Littlefoot. And the honorary member, Shur Kee the monk.
"So" says the young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel, who continues on with "I'm guessing they'll be coming here to Corlinda pretty soon" followed by "To confront us".
The once powerful mage in the black hooded cloak, nods then says "Best we speak with lord Gormica and sees what he wants to do".
The spellcaster, who is in exile from his homeland, the city-state of Vexil, then adds "After all, he's still paying us".
There's a moment of silence, which is broken by the quiet, and considerate voice of Shur Kee the monk, who says "First, we should speak with lord Farque".
After another moment of silence, Helbe the elven thief murmurs "Good idea".
The highly talented elven magic user stands up from behind the table he's been sitting at with his fellow council members.
And he crosses the room to the double doors that open up to the inner courtyard in the middle of the inn.
As he does, the elven master assassin says to the others "I'll be back in a little while".
The grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel opens the double doors, and steps outside into the inner courtyard.
Where he looks up into the clear blue sky above the city of Pirtgott, on this warm summer day, then he disappears.
After Lisell Maera the scout closes the doors to the inner courtyard.
Jarjin Littlefoot the hobbit asks the trio who have just returned to the city from the province of Moleau "So what did you actually find up in southern Moleau?".
Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy, Beldane the cleric, and Lisell Maera the scout, all share a look.
Then starting with the spy Tanith, they tell the three remaining members of lord Farque's personal council what they found out across the border, in the south of Moleau.
The province directly to the north, and to the northwest of the province of Corlinda.
After hearing what the trio who have just returned to the city of Pirtgott have to say, Jarjin Littlefoot sourly says "Whoever it is, they definitely don't like us".
The halfling, who isn't exactly what he seems. He is infact, a hordes outrider from the southern tundra by the name of Zubutai Timaginson, who just happens to inhabit the body of the hobbit.
Nods his head in agreement when his fellow councilor the mage Reinholt says "Most likely one of the nobles from here in Corlinda who survived what's happened here recently".
The spellcaster, who was once the most powerful mage of his generation to be found anywhere in the Southlands.
Until he was stripped of the vast majority of his powers when he went offworld after accidentally casting a rift/void spell.
Goes to the side table in the room, where he pours himself a goblet of wine as he says "They want us gone, and this seems the best way for them to do it".
"The thing is, what will we do" quietly says the halfling who is from the far east coast of the continent.
"Will we stay as lord Gormica still wants to pay us to help him rebuild things in Karricaw?" muses Jarjin aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman.
"Or will we leave, and let him face the wrath of the crown for what's happened up in southern Moleau?" adds the hobbit who is a former air sailor, who served in the fleet of the Sultanate of Dreese, his homeland on the otherside of the continent.
"Either way, he's fucked to be honest" says Mira Reinholt "Because he'll face the consequences no matter what" adds the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster.
"Whatever it is, i will be up to lord Farque to decide" states Shur Kee the monk.
The double doors to the inner courtyard open from the outside, and lord Farque walks in saying "Yes it will be". After hearing what the short, statured monk just said.
The undead warlord is followed inside by Helbe the elven thief, who closes the doors to the inner courtyard behind him.
The heavily armoured deathlord looks at those in the room, who make up most of the group who travel with him.
Then with a glance at the young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel, who steps forward to stand next to him.
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque says "Best we go and speak with the lord of Salmah Forest and see what he wants to do".
Lord Farque, who is also known by the name of Draugadrottin by the people of his lands, briefly pauses before he adds "Because whatever he might choose to do, could very well end up with him in the middle of a civil war here in Melaurn" . . . . . .