To War 106.

Summer. The Capital City Calinar.

"Anything different of late?" asks Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy as they look out a window that's faces north.
"Nothing much" replies the Farqian scout standing beside the spy Tanith at the window.
"Some of them came snooping around this quarter of the city after you and the prisoner escaped" adds the scout who is one of the spies who are based here in the city of Calinar.
"Apart from that, nothing" adds the scout who continues with "Just the regular patrols of the city guard, which to be honest have always been infrequent".
The elven spy who is originally from the principality of Alínlae, and who is now a company commander in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque, nods his hooded head to that.
Then the Farqian scout asks him "How's the war going down south?" followed by "Made any progress?".
"We've definitely got the upper hand" says Dalinvardèl Tanith or Dalin as he's more commonly called by those who know him well.
"We've pushed them up into Moleau now" continues the spy who previously served in one of the more prominent noble houses of his homeland, the elven principality of Alínlae.
"And with that lot from Selvah Na joining us, the crown's forces are in trouble" says Dalin as the two of them look northwards to the lands Farque, which is just over two miles away from where they are in the northern outskirts of the city of Calinar.
"I'm surprised the city division of the King's Own haven't been sent south" says the Farqian spy, who then adds "Or at least some of them".
"Maybe the king doesn't know the current state of the war?" says the spy Tanith who continues with "He might not know what's happened over the last few days".
"Could be" says the human spy whose homeland is just to the north of the city of Calinar, the capital of the kingdom of Melaurn.
After a pause for a few moments, the Farqian spy says "Maybe no one has informed him of the current situation down south".
The elven spy who hails from the principality of Alínlae, slowly nods his hooded head at that.
Then Dalin, who is just about to say something, falls silent and frowns as he hears something slightly out of the ordinary for city life.
"What is it?" quietly asks the Farqian spy when he sees the elf in the gray hooded cloak frowning.
"Movement" quietly says the spy Tanith, who like his fellow spy is speaking in elven.
"Soldiers by the sounds of it" quietly adds the company commander in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque.
Who turns, and nods his hooded head for the Farqian spy to follow him.
The two of them make their way out of the room, and turn to their left in the corridor, and cross to a room on the otherside of the three storey building.
In the room, the two of them separate, and approach the south facing windows, with Dalin quietly saying in the elven language "Across the street somewhere".
The Farqian spy nods, just as he does, the spy Tanith hears a small, female voice yell in elven "Down!".
Just then, the spy from the lands Farque staggers back, as he's hit by one arrow, followed by a second. And falls backwards to the floor, gasping his last breath as Dalin drops below the level of the window.
"Shit" mutters the elven spy from the principality of Alínlae, who grimaces as he looks at his fellow spy who breathes his last breath with an arrow through the chest, and another in his neck.
Dalinvardèl Tanith looks to his left, and sees Narladene the ground pixie hovering close by, who tells him "Move".
The naturally magical creature who is attached to Helbe the elven thief, draws her tiny little sword, and says "I'll take care of their archers, you get the others out".
The tiny winged creature who Dalin has only seen a few times in the past since he's joined the group who travels with lord Farque, says to him "There's a company of about thirty five of them out there".
Then the two of them, with their naturally enhanced hearing, hear the enemy calling out, then others rushing across the street, towards the building that's one of the safehouses used by the Farqian spies here in the city of Calinar.
Narladene disappears into thin air, and Dalinvardèl Tanith scrambles across the floor, and through the open door, and out into the corridor.
Where he yells out an order in the elven language, as there's a few other Farqian spies in the three storey building at the time.
As well as some locals, who have absolutely no idea that some of their fellow occupants are spies from the nation just over two miles to the north of the capital city of the kingdom of Melaurn.
Running down the corridor, the spy Tanith takes his crossbow from beneath his cloak.
He doesn't extend the arms, and keeps it in it's short configuration. As he suspects he won't be needing it to shoot long range.
The spy who once served in one of the more prominent noble houses in the elven principality of Alínlae before he joined the group that travels with the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
Runs to the stairs, which he makes his way down. Basically running down them, as he takes a throwing dagger from his belt with his free hand.
As he hurries down the stairs, the company commander in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque.
Hears shouting from down on the ground floor, it's in elven, and Dalin yells back in the same language.
"Hold to escape!" shouts the spy Tanith in the elven language as he hustles down the stairs, that's in a circular stairwell.
He looks to his left as he goes by the landing of the second floor, and shouts in common "Stay in your rooms!".
As a number of inhabitants have come out of their rooms as they wonder what's happening.
Dalinvardèl Tanith hurries down the rest of the stairs, hearing fighting coming from down on the ground floor of the three storey building.
Just before he runs out of  the stairwell, he lifts his crossbow up to waist level.
He runs from the stairwell, and throws the dagger in his left hand. That takes a soldier of one of the city lord's here in Calinar in the throat, who has just come running in through the front door of the building that the Farqian spies use as a safehouse on the north side of the city.
One of the spies from the lands Farque is on the floor, dead or dying. With the body of four soldiers in the particular city lord's garrison, who has attacked the building. Lying close to the dead Farqian spy
Dalin who hears a scream of pain from somewhere across the street from the building.
Guessing Narladene the ground pixie has just stabbed an enemy archer in the eye, as he's heard she likes to do that.
Shoots off the bolt in his crossbow, shattering apart the head of the enemy soldier who has just run through the open front door.
The bolt continues onto the next soldier trying to gain entry into the building. Dropping him just outside, with the bolt in his throat.
The elven spy from the principality of Alínlae runs across the entrance room of the building, towards the corridor opposite the open front door.
He drops to the wooden floor, sliding feet first towards the corridor. As a Farqian spy appears there. This one a ranger, who pulls back his bow, and shoots an arrow out the front door of the safehouse.
The spy Tanith slides by the ranger, who lets loose two more arrows in quick succession.
Dalin springs to his feet, and says in the elven language "No, out a window" followed by "I can hear some of them back there waiting for us".
In response to the Farqian ranger asking him in the same language "Out the backdoor commander?".
After the human spy shoots off another arrow, that takes an enemy soldier in the chest, as he tries to get in through the open front door.
The two of them hurry down the corridor, with the company commander in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque.
Calling out in elven a warning to any of the other Farqian spies still alive, to beware of the enemy at the rear of the three storey building, waiting for anyone to go out the backdoor.
"Split up?" asks the Farqian ranger as they head quickly through the corridor. The spy Tanith nods his hooded head, and says "Split up".
As the ranger from the lands Farque is about to go into a room to their right, he says "Luck commander".
"Luck" replies the elven spy who is originally from the principality of Alínlae, where he served in one of the more prominent noble houses of his homeland.
With the Farqian ranger entering one of the rooms on the right, Dalinvardèl Tanith makes his way into the room to the left at the end of the corridor.
The company commander in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque.
Reloads his crossbow, easy to do with it's underside sliding mechanism.
Dalin glances out the window, and looking to his left, he doesn't see anyone on the street near the corner of the building in that direction.
He looks to the right, to the back of the building, and listens as he's pretty certain there's someone just around the corner in that direction.
The spy Tanith who hears shouting from the otherside of the building, leans out the window, with his crossbow.
Then in the common language, Dalinvardèl Tanith as he looks to his right, says "Hey, i think there's one around here".
The next moment, a soldier in the forces of one of the city lord's steps around from the back of the building.
Only to drop to the ground with a crossbow bolt sticking out through the back of his neck, after the spy Tanith shoots him right in the throat.
Dalin climbs out the window, and crosses the lane on this side of the building.
And jumps the fence that runs closely alongside the next building along.
Keeping low, for at a few inches over six foot in height, the elven spy is taller than the fence.
Dalinvardèl Tanith heads to the back of the next building along, when he gets to the end of the fence.
He glances around it, and looks back towards the building the Farqian spies use as a safehouse in the north of the city of Calinar.
The spy who hails from the elven principality of Alínlae, sees that the backdoor of the safehouse has been forced open.
And that there's just a couple of enemy soldiers standing there in the lane, when earlier he heard at least seven or eight behind the building.
Dalin who has reloaded his crossbow, leans out a bit from the end of the fence.
And as he's about to shoot one of the soldiers, who serves in the force of one of the city lord's of Calinar.
The man suddenly screams and grabs at his right eye. Which has just burst, and blood is running from it, down his face.
The other soldier turns to him in shock, and that one falls to the ground after the bolt from Dalin's crossbow blasts apart the right side of his head.
The spy Tanith stands upright, putting his crossbow back beneath his cloak.He steps out into the lane, turns left, and walks away.
As he does, he hears the enemy soldier whose eye has just been put out. Stop screaming, and start gurgling. A bloody gurgling at that, as Dalin suspects his throat has just been cut.
A few moments later, and the company commander in the scouts and rangers division of the armies of Farque hears Narladene the ground pixie quietly say to him in the elven language "No one's following you".
The elven spy nods his hooded head, as he gets to the end of the lane, and turn to the right onto a street.
"Who were they?" murmurs Dalinvardèl Tanith.
"They're in the army of a city lord by the name of Tulbart" is the quiet reply of the ground pixie who is invisible to the elven spy at the moment as she flies alongside him.
Dalin nods his hooded head as he recognises the name of the local nobleman who he knows belongs to the faction at court loyal to the dowager queen.
The spy Tanith who hopes the hidden tunnel entrance down in the cellar beneath the safehouse isn't discovered.
Breathes  a sigh of relief when Narladene quietly tells him "I doubt they'll find the tunnel, it's hidden pretty well".
The naturally magical creature continues with "Besides, from what i heard from them, their orders were to get into the building as quickly as possible, and kill anyone not a local".
Dalinvardèl Tanith slightly winces, then mutters "We've been compromised".
"Not all the safehouses" quietly says the ground pixie who is from the Sunreach Mountains.
"They don't know about the one close to the palace, as well as the one near the docks, and the one in the south of the city that looks out onto the coast road" adds the tiny winged creature.
"At least that's something" murmurs Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy, though he now knows that half of the safehouses have now been found out. And who knows how many of the Farqian spies were in them at the time. And like him, they were able to escape.
Dalin is silent as heads through the northern quarter of the city of Calinar, making his way southwards in the direction of the Palace of the King.
On what's a fine and sunny summer day, here on the coast, in the capital city of the kingdom of Melaurn . . . . . .