The Find 24.

Autumn.

Afternoon. In the giant hole in the ground. That's the city of Ruins.
"They're coming back" quietly says Saanea the witch after she opens her eyes, and looks at her lover Tamric Drubine the field commander.
The senior officer in the armies if Farque informs the others that lord Farque, Mira Reinholt the mage and Jarjin Littlefoot the hobbit are coming back after their meeting with Helbe the elven thief.
The others either nod, or quietly say something in response. Except for Dorc da Orc, who is looking northwards and scowling as he does so.
They're in one of the ruins here in the so called neutral zone of the City of Ruins.
And like many of the ancient ruins, it's just a shell of a building. Nevertheless field commander Drubine thought it best to wait here.
And any of the people who have come by, have ignored them. Except for many who stare at Dorc da Orc, wondering what he exactly is.
As the big, burly ork from the southern polar region of the world is far too large to be a goblin.
And he's too short to be a troll. Not to mention he's too thickset to be any kind of troll.
The young noble originally from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin, who has been left in charge of the group.
Looks at the large ork, who is continuing to scowl as he looks northwards across what looks like it was a giant plaza in the ancient city of Dalphene.
It's without doubt the most open area in the neutral zone, here in the middle of the pit, within which is the City of Ruins.
"Dorc is the lord and the others coming back?" asks Tamric Drubine the field commander.
The senior officer in the armies of Farque, who is just glad the ork warleader hasn't got into a loud argument with his bitter rival, sir Percavelle Lé Dic as they've waited.
Continues on with "Can you smell them heading back this way?".
The ork weaponsmith finally looks away from the massive plaza, or what's left of it.
And he looks at field commander Drubine, as he does the warleader of the ork race sniffs quickly and deeply.
"Yeah cunt" says Dorc da Orc, who after sniffing a few times more, adds "They comin' this fucken way".
Tamric Drubine or Tam as he's more commonly called by the others in the group, nods.
While the ork, who is a general in the armies of Farque. And actually a higher ranking officer than young Tam.
Goes back to staring at what was the largest plaza in the ancient city of Dalphene.
As he does, field commander Drubine wonders why the large ork is scowling at the place.
Then the young noble who is the son of a previous Knight of Castle Drubine, a castle and lands found in the forested north of the kingdom of Sarcrin.
Shrugs his shoulders, as the ork warleader tends to scowl at just about anything, and everything.
A short while later and lord Farque, along with Mira Reinholt and Jarjin Littlefoot make their way into the shell of a building, and join them.
"Let's get moving" says lord Farque, who continues with "We're going to meet someone".
"The one we're after?" asks field commander Drubine.
The undead warlord shakes his full helmed head no, then says "Someone who might know where they are".
The large, heavily armoured deathlord briefly pauses before adding "Or where they could be".
The others gather their gear, and move out, with the lord of the death realm telling Lisell Maera the scout and Dalinvardèl Tanith to head across the giant plaza, or what was a giant plaza here in the ancient city of Dalphene.
As they walk in the afternoon sunlight of the cool autumn day here in the pit.
Mira Reinholt the mage notices Dorc da Orc scowling, and says to the large ork "Look familiar Dorc?".
The weaponsmith from the wolf tribe of orks, grunts then says to the once powerful mage who is walking beside lord Farque, infront of him "Yeah cunt, kinda does".
The spellcaster from the city-state of Vexil, who also happens to be a highly skilled swordmaster gestures towards where they're going, and says "It's where you killed that ork".
The mage who is in exile from his homeland of Vexil, continues with "Trang or Trug, or something like that".
Dorc da Orc, or Dorkindle which is his given name, suddenly grins as he realises why this part of the City of Ruins is so familiar to him.
The big, burly ork from the frozen bottom of the world chortles, then says "Trung" followed by "From them bear tribe cunts".
The warleader of the ork race chortles some more before he adds "Fucked that cunt up good".
So good, the son of the previous matriarch of the wolf tribe of orks.
Chopped off Trung's head, and turned it into cooking pot. Which he still has in one of his sacks, nearly twenty years after he was last here in the City of Ruins.
"Good fucken fight that one" loudly murmurs the large ork as he looks to about a hundred and fifty yards away across the giant plaza.
That's broken and shattered in many places, with holes large and small dug across it in many places.
And an open culvert cutting through the middle of it from east to west. Where Dorkindle fought the ork Trung from the bear tribe, and killed him.
When he along with lord Farque, Mira Reinholt the mage, and Helbe the elven thief, were with the group as it was at that time. Just before Shur Kee the monk had joined the group. And about a year and a half before Zubutai the barbarian hordesman, who is now Jarjin Littlefoot the hobbit, joined the group at that time.
As the ork warleader continues to chuckle to himself as they cross what was an ancient plaza.
Tamric Drubine, who is walking beside Lisell Maera infront of lord Farque and Mira Reinholt.
Looks back at the undead warlord and the once powerful mage and asks "Anything happen?".
"Apart from a troll getting in his way" says the mage Reinholt with a nod of his hooded head at the undead warlord.
"And a tavern keeper accidentally poisoning himself" adds the spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster.
"Which caused an all in brawl at the underground tavern we were in" continues the practitioner of magic who is in exile from his homeland of Vexil.
"Then no, nothing much happened" says 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 majority of his vast amount of powers when he went offworld through a rift, void spell that he accidentally cast a number of years ago.
Field commander Drubine rolls his eyes, glad that he or any of the others didn't go along.
He now knows why the lord and ruler of the lands Farque left Dorc da Orc behind with him and the others.
A troll will set the large ork off, almost as badly as another ork, or even a dwarf.
The warleader of the ork race has a strong hate towards the troll race.
Tam doesn't know why. As it isn't like the ork hatred towards their natural enemies, the dwarf race.
It's something else entirely different. And over the more than decade he's known the big, burly ork from the southern polar region.
The young noble from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin has learnt that it's got to do with something involving one of Dorc's friends in his ork tribe.
That one without any legs, if i remember rightly, Tamric Drubine thinks to himself.
The senior officer in the armies of Farque then asks "Where's this person we're going to meet?".
Once again, it's the mage Reinholt who answers, and says "Not far from that portal". As he waves to where the free standing portal is in the distance.
After glancing at lord Farque next to him, the Vexilian mage in exile says "We'll be meeting Helbe there".
The lord of the death realm nods his full helmed head to that, indicating that will be so.
Then the undead warlord who has the name of Draugadrottin, that the people of his lands know him by, says "We should know the spots throughout the neutral zone that Maygam's company hang out once we've talked to this fellow".
The large, heavily armoured deathlord who like Mira Reinholt and Tamric Drubine, is speaking in elven then adds "Should make our search here in the neutral zone a hell of a lot quicker".
"If they're here or not" quietly says the Vexilian mage in exile, referring to the one they've traveled here to find.
The lord and ruler of the lands Farque nods his full helmed head in agreement with that.
As the group continues to cross the remnants of the giant plaza. The largest open space in the neutral zone of the pit.
And pretty much the largest open area in the entire ancient city of Dalphene, or as it's more commonly called, the City of Ruins.
Once across the plaza, and back amongst the ruins. The lord and ruler of the lands Farque has Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy and Lisell Maera the scout.
Head towards where the massive free standing portal is. And though the ancient plaza didn't have many people on it.
Here, once more amongst the ruins there's people about. Many watching the group as they go by. And just about everyone staring at either lord Farque, or Dorc da Orc. Especially the big, burly ork from the frozen bottom of the world.
Going by a few people standing around a fire basket, the undead warlord has the group stop in an ancient ruin.
Which isn't a shell of building, nor is still in one piece. But something in between. Though it's still dilapidated to say the least.
"Tam with me" says the large, heavily armoured deathlord, who leads the young field commander back outside.
And across to the ancient ruins opposite the one the rest of the group are in.
"Got the maps?" quietly asks the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
"I do" is the quietly reply of the young noble originally from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin.
The undead being who has the elven name of Des'tier, which means, The Destroyer.
Leads Tam into a room, which has in it, steps going down underground. The two of them take the steps, and end up in a tunnel.
There's people living and working down in the tunnel. One of a series of them in this part of the City of Ruins.
People hop out of the way of the large, heavily armoured deathlord who doesn't slow his pace down for anyone.
Draugadrottin who as ever, is continuously sensing. Turns into a side tunnel off the main one that the steps came down into.
The undead warlord gets to about halfway along the lamp lit side tunnel, and knocks on a wooden door built into one side of the stone tunnel.
The door is opened by Helbe the elven thief, and the lord of the death realm ducks to enter, and he's followed by the young field commander in his armies.
"This is Parmid" says Helbe the elven thief, lord Farque nods his full helmed head after looking around the large room.
That's stuffed full of goods procured by the fence, a rather fat looking man, sitting behind a table near one of the walls in the underground room.
Stepping over ancient bowls and silver trays to get to the table, lord Farque says to Parmid "Show us".
Tamric Drubine puts the map of the City of Ruins down onto the table.
"Here" says Parmid, who follows that with "Here, and here". And goes onto show them over a dozen places, nearly twenty of them to be exact.
Here in the neutral zone of the pit, where Maygam's mercenary company are known to use.
From storage sites, to taverns they frequent. To places they stay whilst here in the so called neutral zone.
"Pay him" says the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
And though Helbe the elven thief sourly smile, he does pay the fence a small bag of gold and silver coins.
"If you're lying, we'll come back and kill you" says Des'tier just before he makes his way out of the large underground room.
Followed by the young field commander, and the young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel.
As they head back through the tunnels, the undead warlord quietly says to Tamric Drubine and Helbe the elven thief "We might as well start now".
The large, heavily armoured deathlord continues with "A couple of those places are nearby" followed by "Might as well check them out before it gets dark".
The son of a former Knight of Castle Drubine in Sarcrin, and the grandson of the ruling prince of the elven principality of Laerel, nod in agreement as they head up the steps to the room up in the ruins above.
As they, and the rest of the group will continue the search for the one they've traveled here to the City of Ruins to find . . . . . .