To War 103.

Summer. The Province Of Calinar.

The Quick Gull set down early in the morning. Near a small town about forty miles to the southeast of the city of Calinar.
Helbe the elven thief, along with Narladene the ground pixie went on ahead.
While the others  followed in their own time, as they head to the city of Calinar, the capital of the kingdom of Melaurn.
After teleporting them all again, Beldane the cleric looks away to the northwest and says "Is that it?".
"That's it" replies Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy.
Next to them, the prisoner, general Sumic slightly nods as he can see the outline of the city of Calinar in the distance to the northwest.
Standing a little bit further down the rise they're on, Mira Reinholt the mage looks back up at the others and says "Might as well head down there".
The once powerful mage who gestures at the road, and the village just off to the side of it, as he adds "See what's happening here, near the capital".
The general in the Kings Own slightly grimaces, and Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy tells him "You're fine".
"So you lot keep telling me" dryly says the prisoner who is from the city of Calinar.
As they all head down the rise to the nearby village and road, the elf from the principality of Alínlae tells the enemy general "Trust us".
"Easy for you to say" mutters general Sumic, who holds up his right hand, and sees what he's always seen, his right hand.
Though he's been told he doesn't look like himself as the elven magic user named Helbe has cast a spell upon him. But to the general in the Kings Own, he still looks like himself.
As they make their way to the village, the mage Reinholt asks the prisoner "How far away is the city, you think?".
Gesturing at the road, the enemy general says "There's a crossroads not far from here" followed by "That's the six mile marker to the capital".
The mage, who is from the city-state of Vexil, nods his hooded head, then glances at his fellow spellcaster, the fighting cleric from the kingdom of Nastell, and asks him "In one?".
"Maybe" replies Beldane the cleric who continues with "More likely two" followed by "Probably best if i didn't teleport us straight to the city gates".
"Probably" says the Vexilian mage in exile, who then looks at the others and tells them "Keep your eyes and ears open" followed by "Any bit of information might help us out".
The four of them enter the village, with the two spellcasters wandering off together.
While the prisoner, who doesn't see himself as a prisoner. Nor is he treated like one by his captors.
Sticks with the elven spy, Dalinvardèl Tanith. Or Dalin as he's more commonly called by the others in the group.
"Know much about this place?" asks the elven spy who previously served in one of the more prominent noble houses of his homeland, the principality of Alínlae.
The elf speaks in the common language. For though Sumic can understand it. He's not the best at speaking the elven language.
"Like a lot of the villages and towns close to the capital" quietly says the general in the Kings Own, who continues with "It's local lord is loyal to the crown as much as the king himself".
"The crown being the dowager queen?" asks the elven spy, who along with prisoner. Was just in the city of Calinar last week.
"Correct" says general Sumic, who is the highest ranking non noble in the Kings Own.
"As are a lot down the coast from the capital" adds the prisoner as they stop at the morning market here in the village square.
The enemy general, who grew up in the Palace of the King, within the capital city Calinar.
Where he became good friends with the young Harmard the Third. Who is now the king of Melaurn.
Then quietly tells the elf who is originally from the principality of Alínlae "This area and south along the coast are definitely her base of power".
Followed by "You can expect the local nobles to be fiercely loyal to her" he briefly pauses before adding "More so than to the king probably".
"Hmmmm" murmurs Dalin as he listens to conversations of the people at the morning market.
The elven spy, though he does hear snippets of conversation about the crown's war with lord Gormica of Salmah Forest.
It's more to do with how the king, and the crown will deal to the rebellious nobleman from the southern province of Karricaw.
As they wander away from the village square and the morning market, the spy Tanith faintly smiles as a young man almost bumps into the enemy general, and says to the prisoner "Apologies miss".
General Sumic stops in his tracks, and looks back and sees the young man, give him an admiring look as he walks away.
The senior officer in the Kings Own, looks sharply at the elven spy, and says to him in sharp tone of voice "What the hell did you lot do to me?".
"I told you not to worry" says Dalinvardèl Tanith who continues with "And that you wouldn't be recognised".
The enemy general, grimaces then mutters "Hell, a woman?".
With a slight grin upon his face, the elven spy says "A fairly attractive one at that" followed after a brief pause with "Well, for a human".
With a sour looking smile upon his youthful, and very attractive female face, general Sumic mutters "Hell".
As the two of them continue on their way through the rather prosperous, and busy little village. About six and a half miles to the southeast of the capital city Calinar.
Walking out of the village tavern, it also has an inn over on the south side of the village.
Beldane the cleric looks around, and spots his fellow spellcaster. Mira Reinholt the mage walking around from the side of a building, across the lane from the tavern.
The powerful cleric in the church of Glaine, a god worshiped predominantly in the north of Beldane's homeland, the kingdom of Nastell.
Makes his way across the lane, and joins the mage in the black hooded cloak.
"Anything?" quietly asks the spellcaster from the city-state of Vexil, who was once the most powerful mage of his generation, to be found anywhere in the Southlands.
"Not much" replies the powerful cleric from the kingdom of Nastell.
Beldane, who like the mage Reinholt, is speaking elven, continues with "Just a couple of customers in there at this time of day, they and the tavern keeper weren't discussing the war down in the south".
"Same" says Mira Reinholt, who has just come from a nearby chandeliers.
"They were more concerned about getting new supplies into the shop from the capital than anything else" quietly adds the mage, who is also a highly skilled swordmaster.
The exiled Vexilian mage, who is a member of the personal council to lord Farque, then quietly adds "Not realising it's the war that's slowing up their stock not coming in" followed by "And this place is less than ten miles from the capital".
The member of the church of Glaine nods his head in agreement as they set off to the west side of the village, and the road that goes northwest to the capital city of Calinar.
A city on the coast, that's less than a handful of miles from the border with the lands Farque.
"Imagine if the war continues into the autumn, or even into the winter" says the fighting cleric in the halfplate armour.
"They'd really have something to complain about" adds the powerful spellcaster who hails from the kingdom of Nastell.
The swordmaster Reinholt nods his hooded head in agreement as they make their way to the west side of the village, to join Dalinvardèl Tanith and General Sumic.
The latter who is in the guise of an attractive young woman, thanks to a spell cast by Helbe the elven thief.
"You could of damn well told me what that elven magic user did to me" says an annoyed sounding general Sumic a little bit later, when the two spellcasters rejoin the enemy general, and the elven spy.
"You're fine" dryly says Mira Reinholt the mage, who then adds "We told you know one will recognise you".
The highest raking non noble in the Kings Own can only sourly smile in response to that.
As the four of them set off along the road that goes west from the village.
On this warm and sunny, summers morning, here in the northwest of the kingdom of Melaurn.
They're well off the road before the crossroads, and they head up a nearby hilltop so that Beldane can get good view of the city in the distance.
As they walk up the hill, Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy says "Getting into and out of the city is no problem".
As they top the hill, and look away to the northwest, to the capital city Calinar, that's about six miles away.
The elf, who previously served in one of the more prominent noble houses in the principality of Alínlae.
Who is now an officer in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque.
Then tells the two spellcasters "The problem is the palace itself, especially if any of us want to enter it".
The prisoner, general Sumic nods his head in agreement with the spy from the elven principality of Alínlae. "Hopefully we won't have to go into the palace" says Mira Reinholt, who after a brief pause adds "The royal thief will deal with that".
As the plan is for Helbe the elven thief to eliminate their target, the dowager queen. Though the elven masterthief intends to find out some important information before he does that.
The once powerful mage glances at his fellow spellcaster, and asks the fighting cleric "Got it?".
"I have" says Beldane the cleric, who continues with "We can walk the rest the way there".
The member of the church of Glaine then gestures for them to all stand close to him. After they do, the four of them disappear from the hilltop.
They reappear just over a quarter of a mile from the capital city Calinar.
And they walk the rest of the way to the port city, that's the capital of the kingdom of Melaurn.
The city isn't a walled city, though there's a wall along the northern side of the city.
And part of one, along the east side of Calinar, where a set of gates are located.
It's here, where the four of them enter the capital of the kingdom of Melaurn.
And though both Mira and Beldane, and even Dalin get a view looks directed at them by the city guards on gate duty.
It's the enemy general who gets the most attention, due to the fact he's an attractive young woman thanks to the spell cast upon him by Helbe the elven thief.
They enter the city of Calinar without incident, and Dalinvardèl Tanith takes the lead.
As the elven spy leads the way to one of the safehouses the Farqian spies use here in Calinar.
The enemy prisoner, quietly asks "Other spellcasters won't be able to know it's me, will they?".
"I doubt it" dryly says Mira Reinholt the mage.
His fellow practitioner of magic, Beldane the cleric nods in agreement, then tells the general in the Kings Own "I'm right behind you, and i can't sense the spell on you".
Sumic the general lets out a breath in relief, as he was worried about that.
Then he along with the two spellcasters, follow the spy Tanith around a corner, onto a main street, here in the east side of the city.
It's midmorning, when they get to the three storey building, not that far from the Palace of the King.
From a room on the third floor, that gives one an unobstructed view of the palace.
The enemy general, along with the mage Reinholt and the cleric Beldane, look out a window at the nearby palace.
While the spy Tanith is out in the hallway, chatting with one of the Farqian scouts who are spies here in the city of Calinar.
"What are they doing there?" asks the powerful cleric from the kingdom of Nastell.
"Looks like repair work" says the Vexilian mage in exile.
General Sumic nods, then says "From when i was freed from the dungeons beneath the palace".
The prisoner points to the barracks off to one side in the palace grounds, as he says "They're fixing up the damage there".
"And over there" says the mage Reinholt nodding his hooded head away from the barracks.
"That was part of the distraction to get me out" says the general in the Kings Own.
"Seems Dalin didn't explain how large of a distraction they did to get you out" dryly says the spellcaster, who is also a highly skilled swordmaster.
Then the three of them turn as the spy Tanith enters the room from the hallway.
"Well?" asks Mira Reinholt, who is a member of the personal council to the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
"He stopped by" says Dalinvardèl Tanith who joins the others at the window.
The elven spy as he looks out the window to the nearby palace, continues with "He's gone in".
Mira Reinholt nods his hooded head, then says "I figured as much".
The once powerful mage briefly pauses before he continues on with "Now we wait" . . . . . .