The Find 48.

Autumn.

In the north of the central region of the Southlands. The City of Ruins, once known as Dalphene.
Jarnok the mercenary captain paces back and forth, while Tunga the troll watches on.
Jarnok hasn't heard from the wizards Lopaphil and Greason for quite some time.
Or for that matter anyone else who went off with the two spellcasters.
The mercenary captain looks over at the troll he's known for quite a number of years.
And thinks about asking him if he hears anything new in the direction the wizards went.
But apart from the explosions they heard earlier in the evening out towards the west.
He knows the large troll won't of heard anything from that part of the pit the wizards, and about sixty of the company went off to.
Jarnok, who is originally from the kingdom of Girdane, where he met Tunga in the shipbuilding yards in the capital Oaklynn when they were much younger.
Is about to resume his pacing when Tunga the troll quietly says "Someone comes" he briefly pauses before adding "Greason".
"About damn time" mutters Jarnok the mercenary captain, who then nods when the lookout above quietly calls down "Someone approaching".
Jarnok and Tunga who are in one of the ancient ruins above the tunnels and underground chambers the company have taken shelter in.
Step outside into the night, when the lookout up on the partial roof of the ancient building quietly says "It's the wizard Greason".
A few moments later and they see a harried looking, and rather disheveled Greason stumble towards them.
"You okay?" quietly asks Jarnok the mercenary captain who grabs the wizard in the red robes, who is breathing heavily.
Nodding his head, Greason the wizard says "As okay as I'll ever be" the spellcaster then asks "Anyone else make it back?".
After shaking his head no, Jarnok says "You're the first one back".
The practitioner of magic grimaces, then loudly mutters "Damn".
Jarnok who is starting to get an uneasy feeling about what's happened, quietly asks "Lopaphil?".
"Dead is my guess" is the quiet reply of Greason of his fellow wizard, he briefly pauses before adding "No, I'm pretty sure he's dead".
Now it's Jarnok's turn to mutter "Damn" while wincing as he wonders what went wrong in the attack out to the west of here.
Where tunnels were located, that some other mercenaries had been found to be using.
They assumed it was Jorkamin's company using them, or maybe even Hamblett's.
But it could very well be any of the other mercenary companies, who have been caught up in the battle, here to the north of the neutral zone in the City of Ruins.
"Did you find out who it was?" asks the mercenary captain as they step back inside the ancient building.
"An educated guess" says the wizard Greason, who continues on with "I'd say Maygam's company".
Jarnok frowns when he hears that, then as he's about to ask Greason why he thinks that.
The disheveled looking wizard in the fiery red robes quietly says "I'm pretty certain it was those damn twins who attacked us".
Greason goes onto explain "Whoever it was, they were fairly powerful" followed by "You must of heard and saw those explosions away to the west".
Both Jarnok the mercenary captain and Tunga the troll nod their heads yes, that they had.
Then the spellcaster quietly tells the two of them "I couldn't sense the bastards, and I'm sure Lopaphil couldn't either".
Greason follows that with "That's always been the problem with those two, no one knows where the hell they are".
Jarnok slightly grimaces, as he knows this to be true. As the elven twins Gilvanéllé and Lolmildíll are the reason that Maygam's company. Which isn't all that large, and is barely a mid sized company in comparison to other companies down here in the pit.
Has been so successful over the last ten years or so. Certainly over the last handful of years.
"I got away from there as soon as i could" says Greason, who teleported in a number of directions just incase one of the elven twins followed him.
The wizard in the red coloured robes quietly continues with "If only those bastards ran into some of Jorkamin's or Hamblett's companies".
Jarnok the mercenary captain nods in agreement with that. As anything to decimate his two biggest rivals is a good thing.
The mercenary captain faintly sighs, as once again he thinks of how well things were going in the two week long battle against Hamblett's company.
Until Jorkamin and his company got involved in the battle, here a couple of miles to the north of the neutral zone of the City of Ruins.
Jarnok is just about to say something, when Tunga the troll quietly says "Someone coming in".
A few moments later, and the lookout up on the partial roof of the ancient building, quietly calls down the same thing.
It turns out to be one of those who went off with the wizards Greason and Lopaphil.
He's the first one back after Greason. And through the night, he's the first of just a dozen of them who make it back.
After nearly sixty of the company went along with the wizards Lopaphil and Greason.
With the first one back, who confirms the wizard's story. Jarnok who hopes more of them come back.
Who will be disappointed at how many actually return from the ill fated attack upon the tunnels further to the west in the pit.
Quietly says to the practitioner of magic "You up for anything else tonight?".
"What do you have in mind?" is the quiet reply of Greason, who doesn't voice he isn't really interested in doing anything else tonight.
"Tunga has heard a bunch of people away to the east of here" quietly says the mercenary captain, who follows that with "Just four or five hundred yards away".
The wizard in the fiery red robes just nods his head, and doesn't voice what he's actually thinking.
"They seem to moving out in patrols, or small groups seeming like they're on patrol" quietly says Jarnok.
Tunga the troll agrees with the mercenary captain, and he grunts when Jarnok quietly asks the spellcaster "Care to guess who?".
Greason slightly frowns as he tries to figure out who. Then the practitioner of magic nods, as it's a fairly easy guess, and he quietly says "Jorkamin's company".
"Correct" says Jarnok the mercenary captain, who then sourly adds "Only he would be arrogant enough to send out patrols in the middle of the night in what's essentially a battlefield".
Both Greason the wizard, and Tunga the troll both nod in agreement with that from the mercenary captain.
Then Jarnok quietly tells the spellcaster what he has in plan.
The wizard's eyebrows shoot up in surprise when he hears what the mercenary captain has to say.
"No use just getting anyone" quietly says Greason after Jarnok explains what he wants to do.
"It will at least have to be one of his immediate subordinates to make it successful" adds the wizard in the fiery red coloured robes.
Who is now getting over the shock of losing his fellow spellcaster Lopaphil, who he has worked closely with over the last few years.
"I know" quietly says Jarnok who continues with "Have to be one of his more senior mercs".
The mercenary captain pauses for a moment or two, before he adds "Maybe even Darmos".
Greason slowly nods when he hears that, then the wizard quietly says "I doubt he'd be on one of their patrols".
The spellcaster continues on with "If i know anything about my former colleague is that he's never far from Jorkamin" followed by "Nor does he put himself in harms way, like going out on a patrol".
Jarnok nods as he figures as much, but he quietly says "You never know, we might get lucky" he then adds "Nevertheless, we'll grab someone of significance".
The mercenary captain looks over at Tunga, and quietly tells the troll "Get the others" followed by "We'll go now".
Elsewhere in the pit, another mercenary captain is contemplating his fortunes, and how things have gone of late.
Hamblett the mercenary captain as he lies in a recently dug hole in the ground amongst the rubble of an ancient ruin.
Wraps his blanket around him tighter to ward off the chill of the cold autumn night, here in the City of Ruins.
The mercenary captain who was just thinking of how things were in a stalemate with his rival Jarnok.
In a battle here in the northern half of the giant hole in the ground, that had gone on for nearly two weeks.
Then things changed when Jorkamin and his company entered the fray.
Hamblett sourly smiles as his company took the brunt of the initial attack from Jorkamin's company.
Losing the sorcerer Kilfin fairly early on. Which was a major blow for Hamblett.
As the sorcerer, though not his second in command. Was one of his major confidants.
Not to mention Kilfin was the best spellcaster in the company. Who died in an ancient culvert with a crossbow bolt through the neck.
Hamblett sighs at the loss of the accomplished sorcerer. As he tries to get more comfortable in the hole he dug himself.
The mercenary captain hears movement to his right, from the hole a few feet in that direction.
And someone moving up and out of it. Hamblett knows who it is, his second in command Rameeda.
"You thinking what I'm thinking captain?" quietly asks Rameeda as he looks down into the hole that the mercenary captain is in.
"Knowing you, i hope not" dryly says Hamblett the mercenary captain, which illicits a chuckle from his second in command.
"Too true" quietly says Rameeda, who is about a decade older than Hamblett, who himself is in his mid thirties.
The second in command of the company then says "I was thinking about those large explosions a little while ago to the south".
Rameeda briefly pauses before continuing on with "And who it could be down there".
Hamblett falls silent at the mention of that, as that's what he's been thinking about ever since it's happened.
And though he's tried to push it to the back of his mind, and think of other things. Like how things have been going overall since Jorkamin's company got involved in the battle.
It's always been there, ticking away. Having his attention no matter what else he's tried to think of.
Hamblett, and a lot of his company, or what's left of it. Are further north than their two main rivals, Jarnok and Jorkamin.
Where there's less of the ruins, that gives the city in the giant hole in the ground it's name.
Earlier just at sunset, two of Hamblett's company were further south.
Where in hiding, they saw a fairly decent number of Jarnok's company moving westwards across the pit.
In that group, were the wizards in Jarnok's company, Greason and Lopaphil.
The two mercs in Hamblett's company followed them at distance during the early evening. Until one realised where Jarnok's men were going.
The two of them broke off, and headed north to inform their captain what they had discovered.
And like the one who knew where Jarnok's mercs and two wizards were going.
So did the mercenary captain Hamblett when he and Rameeda were told about it. A system of tunnels, leading to a large underground chamber.
Hamblett knows about it, because he found the entrance to one of those tunnels just over a decade ago.
When he was just another merc in another company that was working down here in the City of Ruins.
Rameeda, who was in that same company over a decade ago quietly says "It has to be them" followed by "Figure hardly anyone else knows of that tunnel system".
The second in command of the company continues with "And i bet what we heard was them dealing to Jarnok's lot, no doubt taking them by surprise considering who he has hired over the years".
The mercenary captain sighs, as the he, Rameeda is referring to. Is the same person who was by Hamblett's side with a shovel all those years ago, digging out the entrance to one of those tunnels.
His former best friend Maygam. Who more than a decade later, is a mercenary captain himself down here in the ancient city of Dalphene, or as it's more commonly called, the City of Ruins.
"You're right, i am thinking what you're thinking" quietly says Hamblett, who continues with "We know that tunnel system better than anyone along with him".
Looking at his second in command, the mercenary captain quietly tells him "We'll hit them when they least expect it" he then adds with a touch of heat in his voice "And wipe them out".
There's a reason Hamblett and Maygam are former best friends. It's because they absolutely hate one another . . . . . .