The Find 29.

Autumn.

Middle of the day. In the northern part of the pit. In which is the City of Ruins.
He's fairly tall man, standing around six foot in height. Lean in appearance, whose facial features would be described as sharp.
All angles, just like the rest of his body. Lean, sharp, sparse, and predatory. To go with his attitude to life.
After he disembarks from one of his two warships, Jorkamin the mercenary captain looks around as his men and women spread out from the airship.
He looks at the spellcaster standing beside him, then nods over to one of the nearby ruins where some of the company already in this part of the pit, are waiting for them.
After walking to the shell of the building, Jorkamin the mercenary captain quietly asks "Close?".
"He's close" replies Darmos the wizard, who then slightly shrugs before saying "I've no idea captain".
In response to Jorkamin asking him "Hamblett with him?".
The mercenary captain, who has been working on a plan for a couple of years.
And over the last week or so, has finally had the opportunity to bring it about.
Looks back at his warship, one of two that he owns. Both converted vessels, this one a small, twin masted cargo ship.
While the other is a former pleasure craft from the city-state of Eweteets, that he legitimately bought, and converted. Unlike this one, which he stole from a trading company out of Kuradum.
Jorkamin looks back at Darmos who gestures at the warship as he says to him "Smealle wants to know if you want to keep looking for targets for it?".
"Tell the rider to keep an eye on any target, but to lookout for any mass movement" says the mercenary captain who intends to wipe out his main rivals, along with anyone else who has got caught up in the battle, here in the northern half of the pit.
The wizard in the blue robes nods, then he looks up into the midday sky, on this cold autumn day here in the City of Ruins.
And he looks to the wyvern that's circling just to the south of them, and he gets in contact with the rider Smealle.
After a few moments, he looks at Jorkamin and nods. The mercenary captain then looks around at his men and women, who are waiting.
"Move out" orders Jorkamin who then adds "You know what to do". The mercenary captain then quietly says to one of his men "Salumen, directions from Darmos here".
"Yes cap" says Salumen, who like Jorkamin, is originally from the city-state of Eweteets. Where the two of them both served in the church guards of the god Madau, the death god.
"That way" quietly says the blue robbed wizard, who points the way. Salumen and some of the company move off in that direction, and a few moments later. Jorkamin, Darmos and some of the others who got off the warship, head in the same direction.
The wizard Darmos may be rotund in appearance. But Jorkamin knows that appearances can be deceiving.
As the spellcaster can easily keep up with him, and the rest of the group. He also knows that for a practitioner of magic, Darmos who is a little bit younger than the mercenary captain. Is a hell of fighter, when it comes to close up combat.
Preferring to fight with his fists more than anything else. Though Jorkamin knows the wizard is just as good with the daggers he has hidden beneath his blue robes.
Up ahead, Salumen and the others have stopped near one of the larger ruins in this part of the ancient city of Ruins.
And though true, here the ruins aren't as plentiful or numerous, not to mention as diverse as what's in the neutral zone.
There's still quite a lot of the ruins scattered across this part of the giant hole in the ground.
Unlike further to the north, where there's less and less of them. Up until the very northern end of the pit, where there's basically no ruins at all.
"He still trying to hide himself from you and other spellcasters?" quietly asks Jorkamin.
"He is" is the quiet reply of Darmos as they join up with Salumen and the others.
"He's not doing a great job of it" adds the overweight spellcaster who hails from further south in the Southlands, somewhere south of the Colevar Mountains.
"Think it might be a trap?" quietly asks the mercenary captain as they make their way along the line of mercs alongside the ancient ruin.
"Maybe" says Darmos with a shrug of his shoulders, who continues with "That's not really his style though, for a sorcerer he's quite aggressive".
The practitioner of magic pauses as they come alongside Salumen, then he quietly says "If it was the two wizards working for Jarnok, i would be more inclined to think it's a trap".
The blue robbed wizard from the unruled lands to the south of the kingdom of Nastell, then quietly adds "Kilfin just finds it difficult to hold his power within himself, and conceal himself".
The lean, sharp faced mercenary captain grunts, then quietly says "Well, no matter be careful" followed by "You're my best spellcaster, and as you've told me in the past, he's more powerful than you".
"He might be more powerful, but that doesn't make him better than me" says the rotund wizard in the blue robes.
"Luck" says Jorkamin, who for a mercenary captain, is one of the more loyal ones to be found here in the City of Ruins.
Or for that matter, anywhere in the northern central region of the Southlands.
Though that doesn't stop him from also being one of the most ruthless. Especially here in the giant hole in the ground, within which is the ancient city of Dalphene. Or as it's more widely known as, the City of Ruins.
After Darmos and Salumen have a quiet discussion, the two of them, and ten of the others move out.
While Jorkamin and the rest remain beside the large, ancient ruin.
The mercenary captain would like to of used his warship to take care of Hamblett's lead spellcaster, the sorcerer Kilfin.
But they've been unable to target him as they've liked, so Jorkamin has decided to come down, and get rid of him from the ground.
Which to be honest the ruthless mercenary captain prefers. As he'll know for certain he's killed Kilfin.
Which isn't always the case with the magetubes firing from the warship.
As they're kind of discriminatory, blowing apart and destroying anything they hit.
Not necessarily killing the person, or people they target. As people on the ground can see the magetube shots coming their way. Which if they've got enough time, they can avoid. More easily so, for a spellcaster as competent as the sorcerer Kilfin.
The other reason Jorkamin prefers to attack from the ground, is the chance that Hamblett himself could be with Kilfin.
Which the ruthless mercenary captain originally from the city-state of Eweteets is hoping to be true.
As he often has Darmos at his side, as do other mercenary captains, no matter the size of their company. Tend to keep their best spellcaster close to them, often having them as their second in command.
"They went underground cap" quietly says Marissa, Jorkamin nods as he looks towards the hole in the ground that Salumen, Darmos and the others went down.
"Get ready to go to them when you hear something" quietly says Jorkamin to Marissa and the others who have remained with him.
The mercenary captain knows when they'll have to go. As Darmos explained to him what he was intending to do, when they were still onboard the airship.
Sitting on a pile of rubble, opposite the side of the large ruin that the mercenaries are up against, as they wait.
Narladene the ground pixie looks carefully at the mercenary captain named Jorkamin.
The naturally magical creature who is invisible to everyone around her, watches the mercenary captain who is hell bent on wiping out his rivals, and anyone else who might get in his way.
As he tries to take control of everything down here in the City of Ruins.
The tiny winged creature who is actually searching for anyone who is part of Maygam's mercenary company.
And has found a handful of them over the last day or so. But not the person she and the rest of the group have come here to find.
Drops down through the pile of rubble after one last look at the sharp faced, mercenary captain, Jorkamin.
Beneath the ground, Narladene hurries to the nearby tunnel, which she's soon in.
And at the end of it, she finds those in Jorkamin's company who have gone ahead.
Including the blue robed wizard Darmos, and another mercenary, a close friend of Jorkamin's, a fellow by the name of Salumen.
The ground pixie, who even if she didn't listen to them earlier, knows exactly why they're all here at the moment.
The naturally magical creature who is originally from the Sunreach Mountains, and is attached to Helbe the elven thief.
Makes her way by the mercenaries who are waiting, and heads up and out of the tunnel.
And goes across some rubble and debris from a fairly recent dig, within the last few months, which is recent down here in the ancient city of Dalphene.
And makes her way over, and down into a ditch, which looks like it was part of a water culvert or an open sewer over fifteen hundred years ago, when Dalphene was a city on the otherside of the world.
Narladene goes along for about twenty yards, and lands on the top edge of it.
Where she looks down at a number of mercenaries taking shelter in it. They're from Hamblett's company, and one of them is the sorcerer Kilfin.
The tiny winged creature listens to their low conversation, and learns that Hamblett himself isn't with them.
Infact they don't know where he is, or for that matter. Where the majority of their company, who were in the northern half of the pit, now are.
Narladene watches the spellcaster, who is more powerful than the nearby wizard in Jorkamin's company.
But this sorcerer, is having trouble holding his power within himself.
A technique that if isn't something you regularly do, will always be difficult for any practitioner of magic.
The ground pixie slightly nods to herself, then lifts up and into the air after she senses and feels those mercenaries in Jorkamin's company who are nearby.
Have left the nearby tunnel, and are now quickly heading in this direction.
Once the naturally magical creature is a couple hundred feet up in the air, she looks down and carefully watches what's about to take place down on the ground below her.
As he waits, Jorkamin wonders if Darmos is skilled enough to survive this confrontation with the sorcerer Kilfin.
The mercenary captain would be loath to lose the wizard. As he's by far the best of the quartet of spellcasters in the company.
Jorkamin who has one of the largest, if not the largest company living and working down here in the City of Ruins.
Also hopes his friend and long time compatriot Salumen survives it as well.
The two of them have known one another for two decades, having been church guards in Eweteets when they were teenagers.
The mercenary captain who intends to wipe out his two main rivals here in the pit, and anyone else caught up in the battle, here to the north of the neutral zone.
Who warts to be the main force, both militarily, and politically so to speak, down here in the giant hole in the ground.
Has every intention of going through with his plans no matter what. So that he can have control of basically everything in the ancient city of Dalphene.
Jorkamin looks at Marissa and the others with him, and nods and grins in anticipation and encouragement.
Then they hear an explosion from nearby, in the direction that Darmos, Salumen and the others went.
"Go, go, go!" orders Jorkamin the mercenary captain.
Some of the others don't even wait for his order, they're off and running when they heard the explosion.
Jorkamin takes off running too, but sourly smiles as some of his men and women surround him.
The mercenary captain would think he'd get used to those in his company putting themselves between him and harms way.
But he hasn't after all these years, and he doubts he'll ever get accustomed to it.
And no matter how often he gives them orders and shouts at them not to. His company ignores him, as they place themselves between him and danger.
It's the only thing they ignore him about, otherwise they follow his orders and directions no matter what.
Jorkamin winces as he sees a cone of flames shoot up into the air from behind one of the ruins up ahead.
He and the others hear fighting and shouting from up ahead as well, as they run through the shell of a building.
Out on the otherside is fairly open ground, and the mercenary captain briefly wonders where the confrontation is.
Then one of the mercs further infront of him points as he runs. And Jorkamin spots what must be the top edge of an ancient culvert.
The sounds of shouting and fighting come from it, then from further along it, there's the thud of an explosion, and dirt, debris and body parts are flung up into the air.
There's almost silence after that, followed by a few shouts. And when the mercenary captain and those of his company with him, get down into the ancient culvert, the fighting has come to an end.
There's a handful of Hamblett's company still alive, who have thrown down their weapons and surrendered.
Jorkamin makes his way along the culvert to where Salumen is reloading his crossbow as he stands over a body.
"Almost didn't get the bastard" says Salumen the mercenary, followed by "Lucky his wards were facing forwards, and not behind him".
The mercenary captain nods as he looks down at the body of Kilfin the sorcerer, who has been shot through the neck, with the bolt sticking halfway out his throat.
Jorkamin looks along the ancient culvert, and through the dust and bits of debris in the air that's starting to settle down.
He sees the figure of Darmos the wizard walking this way, the spellcaster looks disheveled, and parts of his blue robes are singed, but he's in one piece.
"That was close" says Darmos the wizard as he looks down at the dead sorcerer.
"He almost had me" adds the portly looking practitioner of magic.
Jorkamin nods, then says "Well done" followed by "Next to find Hamblett himself".
The mercenary captain continues with "And after that Jarnok if he's still alive" he briefly pauses before continuing with "Then any of the other captains who are up here in this part of the pit, like Yarmod and Grimma, or that pain in the ass Maygam and his lot" . . . . . .