To War 123.

Summer. The Kingdom Of Melaurn.

The airship arrives in the middle of the night.
The sleek looking mastless vessel, with it's flat deck.
Puts down about a quarter of a mile from the camp.
A large heavily armoured figure jumps to the ground from the deck.
An even larger figure, a dog the size of a horse goes to follow him.
But he looks back up at it, and gives it a quiet command in a language spoken by no one else.
The massive animal whines, but it remains onboard.
While the large heavily armoured figure walks through the night towards the camp.
Standing just outside of the camp, Helbe the elven thief turns after Narladene the ground pixie whispers to him "That way".
The young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel, who returned to the province of Moleau at sunset with the others.
Looks to the southwest, and with the his race's natural nightvision. He spots the large, heavily armoured figure walking through the nearby woods, heading towards the camp.
The highly talented elven magic user waits as the large, dark figure walks straight to where he's standing.
"I gather it worked" says lord Farque once he comes to a stop infront of the elven masterthief in the white hooded cloak.
"It did" replies Helbe the elven thief, who after a slight pause, adds "More or less".
The undead warlord nods his full helmed head, and in the royal elven language the two of them are speaking in, he says "Tell me".
The elven master assassin then explains to the heavily armoured deathlord what happened.
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque is silent as he listens to what happened in the capital city Calinar over the last few days.
After the grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel explains what happened in the capital of the kingdom of Melaurn.
The lord of the death realm says "You didn't kill her?" followed by "A bit fucking surprised at that".
Slightly nodding his hooded head, the elven masterthief who is a member of the royal family that rules the principality of Laerel says "He didn't want to". Referring to the king of Melaurn.
"He actually did something that's actually worse" adds the elven master archer who helped exposed what the dowager queen has been up to.
"He's locked her up in a tower room for the rest of her life" says the elven princeling from Laerel.
"A room that looks down at the main building of the palace, where she can see who is entering and leaving" continues the elf who is a member of the personal council to lord Farque.
"She'll be so close to the power at court, but have no influence at all" continues the grandson of Prince Raendril of Laerel.
"The first thing he did was summarily execute some of her co-conspirators in the square infront of the palace" says the highly talented elven magic user.
"She had a great view of some her closest allies being hanged" adds the elven envoy for the armies of Farque.
"And she will do so again and again as the king rounds up more of those who conspired with her" continues the elven princeling from Laerel.
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque nods his full helmed head, then the large undead being in the full suit, of dark blue, black heavy plate armour says "So he won then?".
As he gestures at the camp, that is for an army predominantly made up of those from the provinces of Karricaw and Corlinda.
"He did" says prince Helbenthril Raendril who continues on with "And got the terms he wanted to".
"What did he do when he found out?" asks the heavily armoured deathlord, who is also known by the name of Draugadrottin to the people of his lands.
"He and his brother got drunk" is the reply of the elven master assassin.
"Can't blame them i suppose" dryly says the undead being who has a number of names in various languages and cultures.
The lord of the death realm slightly nods as he looks down at the elven masterthief, who quietly tells him "Before they did, i had him send some of his vassals off to that army from Selvah Na, to tell the lords of Ramgee that the crown will change the shipping rights to and from the port city".
As he waves a hand towards the west, the young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel, says "Sent them on the Quick Gull".
The undead warlord who was wondering why the small, sleek, single masted airship originally from the Sultanate of Dreese, wasn't here.
Nods his full helmed head in understanding, when the elven master archer tells him "That lot will be the most difficult to control, the sooner they know they've got the terms they've wanted for more than a century, the better".
Draugadrottin who has noticed that one of the group hasn't returned to the province of Moleau, asks "Dalin?".
"He remains in the capital" is the answer from the elven princeling from Laerel, who follows that with "To keep an eye on things, and to keep an eye on that general Sumic, keep him alive as the king rounds up the old queen's co-conspirators, many of whom will want the general dead".
Helbe the elven thief then adds "The old queen no longer has the title of queen too" followed by "That's worse than death for her" he then says "She's lost all standing and ranking in the kingdom, she'll be hating that more than anything else for sure".
The elven spellcaster who suspected the king's mother will try and kill herself in her isolation.
Cast a spell upon her before he and the others left the capital city Calinar.
A compulsion spell so she won't attempt suicide. Which will also force her to keep fit and physically healthy. So that she can live as long as possible.
The young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel suspects the old queen will fall into madness in the years to come. And he's okay for that to happen.
"He give any idea what he wants to do now?" asks lord Farque with a wave of a gauntleted hand at the camp, as he refers to the lord of Salmah Forest.
"He wants to keep us around to make sure the crown and it's allies return to where they've come from" is the reply from the elven master assassin, who then adds "He got that out before he and his brother went off and got drunk".
"Can he afford to pay us?" sourly asks the heavily armoured deathlord who towers over the young elven noble.
Who isn't exactly short himself, as he stands a couple inches over six foot in height.
"He can, Zubutai i mean Jarjin said he paid the latest payment yesterday" says the elven princeling who continues on with "So he's got at least five more days of us from this morning".
The lord of the death realm who has the elven name of Des'tier, which translates to, The Destroyer.
Grunts, when he hears that from the elven masterthief, then the lord and ruler of the lands Farque says "Very well, another five days from this morning".
The undead being continues with "If he wants to have us here for any longer, he'll have to fucking pay again".
The grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel nods his hooded head in understanding.
Then as Draugadrottin watches the night camp this particular army has set up, the heavily armoured deathlord quietly says "Some of the enemy might not move out when ordered to".
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque, continues with "Especially those who were loyal more to the crown than to the king".
Lord Farque then looks down at the elven envoy and says to him "You might have to make an example of any who do so".
The elven masterthief nods in understanding, and does so again, when the undead warlord tells him "I'll inform our other forces as i tell them of what's happened in the capital city".
"You're not staying?" asks the elf who is both a member of the royal family that rules the island principality of Laerel.
And a member of the personal council to the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
Shaking his full helmed head no, the deathlord of Farque says "No" followed by "The sooner our forces know, the better".
The highly talented elven magic user nods his hooded head as he looks at the camp.
Which was a raucous place earlier in the night, when word got around at what happened in the capital city Calinar.
And how the dowager queen had been caught using something magical in a meeting with the king and others.
Trying to influence what they were doing. Somethings she's been doing for a number years, trying to influence those at court.
To get them to do what she wants them to do. Even though magic is banned in the court of the king of Melaurn.
Now the camp of the army, which is predominantly made up of soldiers from the neighbouring provinces of Karricaw and Corlinda.
Is mainly silent now in the middle of the night, after the rowdy celebrations of earlier.
"I'm off" says the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
"You're not staying?" asks prince Helbenthril Raendril.
Des'tier shakes his full helmed head no, then quietly says "Best i get word to the rest of our forces throughout the kingdom". The elven master archer nods his hooded head in understanding.
Then the lord of the death realm who has turned away, turns back and asks the young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel "Has anything happen lately?".
It takes a moment for the elven princeling to realise what the heavily armoured deathlord is referring to, then Helbe the elven thief says "Nothing".
"Not since Saanea" adds the elven envoy for the armies of Farque.
"You should try and work on that" dryly says the heavily armoured deathlord.
"I do" sourly mutters prince Helbenthril Raendril.
Who tries not to sigh at his failure to control his powers of foresight.
A unique power, that isn't magical in anyway, that he possesses.
"Well, keep fucking trying" says the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
Who without another word, turns and walks away. Moving away from camp, and heading to the nearby woods.
The highly talented elven spellcaster sourly smiles as he watches Draugadrottin walk away into the woods.
Then once the undead being is out of sight, Helbe the elven thief glances at his right shoulder, where Narladene the ground pixie says in the elven language "Well?" followed by "What did you two talk about?".
As the naturally magical creature who is from the Sunreach Mountains, doesn't understand the royal elven language.
The tiny winged creature listens in silence as prince Helbenthril Raendril quietly tells her what he and lord Farque spoke of.
After he does, Narladene quietly says "Best he does go and tell the rest of our army".
Then the ground pixie who is from the Sunreach Mountains. Who met and attached herself to the elven princeling in the city of Leeabra, the capital of the kingdom of Druvic, more than fifteen years ago.
Points away to the southwest, the direction that the undead warlord went.
The young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel looks that way.
And he spots the krean strikeship, the command ship of the Farqian war fleet that came along with the first army of Farque. Slowly rising up into the air about a quarter of a mile away from the camp.
On the flat deck of the krean vessel, about halfway along the port side.
The elven masterthief sees the large, heavily armoured figure of lord Farque.
Sitting next to the deathlord of Farque, is the even larger figure of the undead wardog Anvil.
And as the krean strikeship turns to the southwest in the night sky.
Both Helbe the elven thief and Narladene the ground pixie see the undead wardog look in this direction. As his master, the lord and ruler of the lands Farque looks in the direction the sleek, dark, mastless airship is going.
The elven master assassin and the naturally magical creature both see and hear Anvil barking as he looks their way as the krean strikeship moves away.
The highly talented elven magic user and the ground pixie attached to him, watch the krean vessel fly away quicker than any other ship in the skies of the world of Volunell, could ever fly away.
Then the elven princeling turns and walks back to camp. Slightly grinning as he does so at the prospect of waking up the others now, in the middle of the night.
To inform them of lord Farque's visit, and to tell them what they'll be doing in the next little while . . . . . .