To War 114.

Summer. The Province Of Calinar. In The Northwest Of The Kingdom Of Melaurn.

"Wonder who that is?" says Beldane the cleric as he looks through the eyepiece that belongs to Mira Reinholt the mage.
"Whoever it is, he's pissed off for sure" adds the fighting cleric who is from the kingdom of Nastell.
"Hmmmm probably that lord Tulbart" says Mira Reinholt the mage who shares a look with Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy who is to his right.
The spy who hails from the elven principality of Alínlae, nods his hooded head in agreement with the once powerful mage.
"Is that him?" asks the cleric in the church of Glaine, who hands the eyepiece to the prisoner standing to his left.
Looking through the leather wrapped, brass cylindrical eyepiece, general Sumic nods and says "That's him alright".
The prisoner, who isn't treated as such by his captors, continues with "That's the city lord Tulbart".
"I think he might of stopped by his townhouse before coming to the palace" dryly says Dalinvardèl Tanith or Dalin as he's more commonly called by the others who know him well.
"Sure looks like it" says the mage Reinholt as the four of them stand at the windows of the third storey room, that gives them a view of much of the east side of the Palace of the King. Here in the city of Calinar, the capital of the kingdom of Melaurn.
It's early morning, and the sun is up on what's a sunny, but pretty mild summer's day, at least temperature wise, here on the coast of the province of Calinar.
In the palace, a number of horse drawn carriages have just come into the grounds.
And when they've stopped infront of the main building of the palace. One of the occupants has got out yelling and shouting.
While others try to calm him down, as he's obviously in a fit of rage about something.
"Well he's obviously fucked off that he needs a new townhouse" says Mira Reinholt, who is a member of the personal council to lord Farque.
The spy Tanith chuckles at that, for just before dawn, he was the one who attacked lord Tulbart's townhouse here in the city of a Calinar.
Destroying much of the city lord's residence with a couple of mage canisters.
Because lord Tulbart was one of those responsible for the attacks upon some of the safehouses used by the Farqian spies here in the capital of the kingdom of Melaurn.
"Is she back as well?" quietly asks Beldane the cleric, referring to the dowager queen, the mother of king Harmard the Third.
"It doesn't look like it" says general Sumic as he continues to look through the eyepiece that belongs to the mage who hails from the city-state of Vexil.
Once the last of the passengers get out of the carriages, the general in the King's Own hands the eyepiece back to the powerful cleric, and says "She's not there".
The member of the church of Glaine nods, while the mage, who is also a highly skilled swordmaster, grunts as the fighting cleric gives him back his leather wrapped, brass cylindrical eyepiece.
"The old bat probably didn't want to travel at night" says the Vexilian mage in exile who steps back from the windows.
Then he looks at the prisoner, and asks the enemy general "Does she have any spellcasters amongst her retainers?".
"She does" is the reply from general Sumic, who grew up in the palace that's just a couple of streets away from the three storey building, that's used as a safehouse by the Farqian spies on duty here in the city of Calinar.
"Powerful enough to get her from where she is down the coast, to here in the capital in no time?" asks the spellcaster who was once the most powerful mage of his generation to be found anywhere in the Southlands.
Until he was stripped of most of his powers when he went offworld through a rift/void spell that he accidentally cast.
General Sumic, who is the highest ranking commoner at the court of the king, frowns as he thinks about it, then he says "Like through a gateway?".
As he nods at Beldane the cleric, who has cast a couple of gateways that the prisoner has gone through since he was captured.
"Yeah like that" says the mage Reinholt, who follows that with "Or a rift".
The enemy general shakes his head no, then says "That sorcerer who is a distant relative of hers, isn't that powerful from what i can tell".
"Her side of the family?" asks the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster.
As he hasn't heard that magic runs through the royal line, and family.
"Yeah her side" says general Sumic, who continues with "I think Garbén is the son of one of her cousins".
The prisoner, who was captured in battle in the north of the province of Corlinda, then says "What i do know is that Harmard, i mean the king, doesn't like the sorcerer Garbén".
The enemy general who grew up with the current king of Melaurn, who he had remained friends with, continues with "Even though they're very distantly related, the king has banned Garbén from court".
General Sumic nods to the palace grounds that's just a couple of streets away, and he says "He's allowed into the palace, but not at court".
"Hmmmm interesting" murmurs Mira Reinholt has he thinks about the magical stones of influence that the dowager queen has in her possession.
"He's somewhat calmed down" says Dalinvardèl Tanith as they see the city lord who is one of the dowager queen's staunchest supporters.
Being led inside after he calms down a bit, when a couple of court officials come outside to speak to him.
"I've got a feeling he'll lose it again when he's told his lackey Jurshwin is dead" says the enemy prisoner, general Sumic.
Whose words just a few moments later, turn out to be prophetic and highly accurate.
"What?" says the city lord Tulbart in a tone of shock, followed by "How?" then "When?".
"Yesterday my lord" says one of the court officials who went outside to help calm down the influential city lord.
"His heart gave out on him says the king's physicians" adds the same court official.
The city lord stands there in the large entrance hall of the main building of the palace, at a loss to what to think, and what to do.
First was going by his townhouse after getting into the city just after dawn, and finding his home badly damaged. With most of his garrison here in the capital dead or wounded.
Now here in the palace, he finds that one of his main offsiders. Not to mention the person he gets to do a lot of his dirty work, sir Jurshwin is dead.
One of the city lord's retainers clears his throat, and the nobleman gets out of the shock he's feeling.
Lord Tulbart nods, then asks the court officials "Is court in session today?".
"Yes my lord" says the court official who informed him of sir Jurshwin's death.
"The king will sit in at midmornig" adds the court official.
"Very well" says the city lord, who after nodding to the court officials.
He and his retainers, and his men at arms he's brought along with him, continue on their way.
Heading through the entrance hall here in the main building of the Palace of the King.
As they walk, the city lord, one of the most important nobles, not just here in Calinar, but in all of the kingdom of Melaurn.
Quietly says to one of his retainers "See if you can find out from any of the others about what happened yesterday".
Lord Tulbart, a man in his forties, medium height, who is going to fat after spending his twenties and thirties, in the saddle, fighting battles throughout the kingdom.
In the name of the crown, which really meant the dowager queen. Even before her husband, the previous king died. A death under mysterious circumstances.
That even lord Tulbart didn't poke his nose into to find out the truth. As he like many others at court, have a sneaking suspicion the old queen had a hand in her husband's death.
"The message we got on the road last night, was that they were successful" says the powerful and influential city lord.
Who then angrily mutters "And find out anything else about our home" followed by "And who might of had a hand in that".
Lord Tulbart, who allowed some of his garrison here in the capital city to undertake an attack on a number of locations throughout the city of Calinar.
On behalf of the dowager queen, and a number of others who are supporters of the crown's war against the nobleman from the province of Karricaw, lord Gormica.
The city lord who had sir Jurshwin remain here in the capital to help run things while he was away with the dowager queen down the coast.
Drumming up support, and funds for the war against the lord of Salmah Forest, lord Gormica of Karricaw.
The retainer nods, and hurries back in the direction they've come from. While lord Tulbart and the rest of those with him, continue on their way.
Heading to offices here in the main building of the Palace of the King, that the city lord has use of.
"What did they do exactly?" quietly murmurs Helbe the elven thief.
"It was Dalin" is the quiet reply of Narladene the ground pixie, who is standing upon the right shoulder of the blurred and shielded elven magic user.
"He used a couple of mage canisters" adds the naturally magical creature who is originally from the Sunreach Mountains.
The young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel winces when hears that.
Then the elven masterthief asks in barely louder than a murmur "What was the results?".
"The barracks in that city lord's townhouse was destroyed, and the stables next to it quickly burnt down" is the quiet reply of the tiny winged creature, who then adds "And one side of his home has been destroyed too".
"No wonder he was so pissed off" murmurs the elven master assassin who is a member of the royal family that rules the island principality of Laerel.
The blurred and shielded elven magic user who is a member of the personal council to lord Farque, follows after the lord Tulbart and his retainers.
As he does, the grandson of Prince Raendril of Laerel who is deciding how he'll kill the city lord, reads the mind of lord Tulbart.
"Interesting" murmurs the elven master archer.
"What?" asks the ground pixie who is attached to the member of the royal family that rules the elven principality of Laerel.
Helbe the elven thief quietly tells the naturally magical creature what he's found out.
Narladene nods, then murmurs "Interesting alright".
She nods again in agreement with the elven masterthief when he quietly tells her "Think I'll keep him alive a little longer".
"At court maybe?" quietly asks the tiny winged creature with a wide grin upon her elfin looking face.
"Maybe" murmurs the elven princeling with a twist of his own lips as he slightly grins at the idea of killing lord Tulbart during the session at court today.
As they follow the city lord and his retainers and men at arms to a series of rooms on the ground floor of the main building of the palace.
Rooms that a number of the nobility share when they're here in the palace doing work on behalf of the crown.
The naturally magical creature from the Sunreach Mountains, who first met the elven master assassin in the city of Leeabra, the capital of the kingdom of Druvic.
Quietly asks the elven practitioner of magic "The old queen?" followed by "Where is she?".
"Still making her way to the city" is the murmured reply of prince Helbenthril Raendril.
"She left later than this lot, as she didn't want to travel through much of the night" continues the highly talented elven spellcaster who then adds "They're expecting her back sometime later this morning".
The member of the personal council to the lord and ruler of the lands Farque goes and stands in a corner of the room, that lord Tulbart and his retainers have come to.
As the blurred and shielded elven magic user watches, listens and reads their minds, he quietly tells the ground pixie who is attached to him "Go and tell Mira and the others what's happened".
The young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel, that lies across the Kuyriers Straits from the kingdom of Melaurn, then quietly adds "And when the old queen is expected back".
Narladene nods, then she hops off the right shoulder of Helbe the elven thief, and dives down into the floor.
"Doesn't look like anyone of importance on the main street that comes up through the city from the south" says Beldane the cleric as he walks back into the room, after going up onto the roof to look south across the city of Calinar.
Mira Reinholt the mage nods, then as he's about to say something to the others, he pauses and glances to the side, above his right shoulder.
The exiled Vexilian mage nods his hooded head again, then says to the others "She's expected back later this morning" followed by "She didn't travel through much of the night, and left later than the others".
The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster is silent for a few moments, then he murmurs "Interesting".
"What is it?" asks Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy, who can hear that the once powerful mage is listening to Narladene the ground pixie.
But she's speaking in a whisper to councilor Reinholt, that even Dalin can't hear what's she's actually saying.
The mage Reinholt looks at the spy Tanith, then Beldane the cleric, and lastly the prisoner, general Sumic.
And he tells them what Narladene the ground pixie has just told him what Helbe the elven thief has found out from reading the mind of lord Tulbart and his retainers.
"That's interesting alright" murmurs the fighting cleric Beldane, while the spy Tanith nods his hooded head in agreement.
They all look at the prisoner, who slightly grimaces after hearing what the mage Reinholt has just said.
"Holy shit" quietly says general Sumic who shakes his head in disbelief after finding out what the dowager queen and her supporters are planning to do . . . . . .