The Find 61.

Autumn.

In and around the giant hole in the ground. In which is the ancient city of Dalphene. Also known as The City of Ruins.
They're up early, well before dawn. Packing away their things and gear that they have, things that they've actually brought with them.
After a fairly comfortable night in the old, ramshackle looking barn. The five of them make their way from it, and head off.
And though it's still cold, it doesn't feel as cold as it was during the middle of the night, or indeed yesterday evening.
As usual as they walk, it's Hilmik the dwarf in the lead with Zam the mercenary following closely behind him.
Next is Farnill and Melmear, with the leader of the small group of mercenaries from Maygam's company, Almard. Following behind the rest of them.
As they head across farmland as they continue southwards, just to the west of the giant hole in the ground.
The young dwarven warrior from the Colevar Mountains who is leading the way, notices something.
"Fog rolling in" quietly says Hilmik the dwarven mercenary who slows for young Zam to walk alongside him.
"Really?" asks a surprised Zam the mercenary, who then grunts as Hilmik gestures away to the southwest, and says "Yep".
The young dwarf, who like the others, is a recent hire in Maygam's company, then adds "It's settling down around us now".
In what little light there is before dawn this autumn morning, Zam looks down at the ground, and spots tendrils of fog down around his ankles.
"Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing" quietly says the young teenage mercenary who is originally from the city-state of Kuradum.
"I agree" says the young dwarven warrior, whose clan hold is on the northern side of the Colevar Mountains.
Hilmik stops to allow the others to catch up, then he quietly tells them "Fog coming in" followed by "We'll want to keep close so we don't get lost".
"Definitely" says Almard the mercenary, who since he's joined the company has been Uren's helper.
Uren being the second in command of Maygam's mercenary company.
"What's that?" asks Melmear the mercenary, with a nod of her head away to the right, and south of them.
"Sheep" is the rather dry sounding reply from Hilmik the dwarven mercenary.
Who looks around before he continues with "There's no one around up here" followed by "Though i suspect that will change at first light when the local farmers come to check on their flocks and herds".
They start walking again, this time more bunched up than they usually do.
Relying on Hilmik to alert the others of any danger, as they walk through the darkness before dawn.
As they head south, the dwarven warrior in the lead informs the others that another magetube fired down in the pit after they had gone back to sleep.
When the previous ones and the large explosions woke them up in the middle of the night.
Though this time, it was just a single magetube shot which though Hilmik heard, he didn't see.
Unlike the earlier ones that destroyed an airship, and killed a wyvern.
Both of which they guessed, correctly as it turns out. Belonged to the mercenary captain Jorkamin and his company.
As the others start noticing the fog, and feel it as it starts to settle down in this area just west of the giant hole in the ground.
In which is the ancient city of Dalphene, known more commonly as the City of Ruins.
Hilmik the dwarven mercenary quietly says "Who knows what they were shooting at that last time".
The young dwarven warrior from the Colevar Mountains continues with "Hate to of been on the receiving end of that".
"That's for sure" quietly says Farnill the mercenary from the middle of the group as they continue southwards across the open countryside and farmland.
Here to the west of the pit, down in which is the ancient city of Dalphene. Where the rest of the company are at the moment.
The five of them, who started off as six, until Imraness was killed yesterday afternoon.
Were separated from the rest of Maygam's company who were to the north of the neutral zone, down in the City of Ruins.
Now after making their way up and out of the pit late yesterday afternoon. And spending the night in an old barn less than a mile to the west of the giant hole in the ground.
They're making their way south to the southern end of the pit. So that they can go down the giant ramps there.
And head back down into the ancient city of Dalphene. And the towns and villages in the southern end of the pit.
One of which, known as the Last Village, is essentially a place that Maygam has under his control.
Zam who can now see more of the fog, looks away to the east, across the pit, in the direction the sun will rise from.
The teenage mercenary who hails from the city-state of Kuradum, where he failed to get in the nation's army, as well as the city guard of Kuradum.
Sees things are lightening up in that direction, a sure sign that it's false dawn, and that true dawn will soon be here with the sun rising above the horizon to the east.
He also sees more of the fog has swept in, and will soon be over the pit, no doubt settling down into the City of Ruins fairly quickly.
"Looks like it's going to be pretty foggy down in the pit" quietly says Zam the mercenary as he walks alongside the young dwarven warrior who is originally from the Colevar Mountain range.
The dwarven mercenary looks that way, and sees the fog is getting  thicker, especially over the pit.
"Looks like it" quietly says Hilmik the dwarf, who after looking back at the others, making sure that they keep close, adds "That will definitely make things a lot harder down there".
At the back of the group, listening to Hilmik and Zam out infront. Almard the mercenary nods his head in agreement with what the young dwarven warrior just said.
Almard, the most experienced of the group with the exception of Hilmik. Who might be young for a dwarf, he's way more experienced than the rest of them.
Can now see the fog that's around them, as there's now a faint light away on the horizon to the east.
As the sun is about to rise on what feels like it's going to be another cold autumn day, though not as cold as it was yesterday.
Almard looks ahead again, and sees that Hilmik has stepped to one side, to allow the others to pass by. With the young Zam now leading the way.
The dwarven warrior walks alongside Almard for a little bit, quickly looking back in the direction they've come from.
Noticing the look back from Hilmik, Almard the mercenary quietly asks him "What is it?".
"I think someone might be back there" quietly says the young dwarven warrior.
Almard's eyebrows shoot up when he hears that, and he quietly asks "You sure?".
Hilmik shrugs his shoulders, then quietly says "Not really" followed by "Best to think there might be someone back there".
He briefly pauses before continuing on with "If there is someone out there, whoever it is they know how to move quietly in this fog".
Knowing that the dwarven mercenary's eyesight is far superior to his own, Almard quietly asks him "Will you be able to spot them?".
"If they get close enough" is the quiet reply of Hilmik the dwarven warrior, who then adds "I should be able to".
He left the northern end of the pit during the night. Something he doesn't do all that often.
Though there was good reason too, as there was a few too many wild goblins prowling around the very north of the pit.
Not wanting to be found by them, as they would take everything he has, and probably his life too.
He left the pit, and avoiding even more of the wild goblins who were up on the open countryside to the north of the giant hole in the ground.
He headed west, as he thought that direction was as good as any. And it looked like some of those wild goblins had just been that way, before returning to the north side of the pit.
Once he was able to, he turned south and walked for a mile and half when he spotted an old ramshackle looking barn in the distance as he realised be must of wandered onto one of the farms here to the west of the City of Ruins.
Unfortunately for him, he saw someone in the distance, looking to be standing guard next to the old run down barn.
He realised that the barn was occupied this night. And he was out of luck, and had to find somewhere else to hole up.
He found a small depression in the ground near a few trees, he took shelter there.
Chewed on some of his hard tack, took his blanket from his pack, and wrapped himself up against the cold autumn night.
Though he fell asleep, he wasn't asleep for long. As he was woken by magetubes firing down in the nearby pit.
He stood up, and even from where he was, he watched the awesome display of the magetube shots in the night sky above the northern half of the City of Ruins.
He saw an airship explode and break apart when it was hit by a few magetube shots.
Magetubes that kept firing a little bit longer, before they finally silenced when he caught a glimpse of an explosion all the way over towards the eastern side of the giant hole in the ground.
He settled back down beneath the trees and went back to sleep. Briefly waking once more when he thought he heard the thud of a magetube firing again.
He was quickly asleep again, before finally waking up sometime before dawn.
With his stuff in his pack, he headed south, and soon found the old, ramshackle looking barn, which he finds empty.
From what he can tell, he figures five or six people took shelter here during the night.
He looks around for a bit, both inside and outside the old barn. And finds tracks heading south, and realises that those who were here, have got off to an early start.
He stands there thinking about something, then shrugs his shoulders as he figures he could do with some more supplies.
Which he can get down at the towns at the southern end of the giant hole in the ground.
Within which is the ancient city of Dalphene, known far and wide as the City of Ruins.
Heading off southwards, he soon spots fog coming in as he follows the tracks of those who spent the night in that old, ramshackle looking barn.
He looks away to the east, and sees that it's slowly brightening towards dawn as he walks through the fog that's settling in.
As he walks, he wonders if those he's following, were that small group of mercenaries he spotted yesterday afternoon, who also fled the pit.
Well, that was their intentions from what he could tell from watching them.
I wonder if it is them, Charles the goblin thinks to himself as he continues southwards through the fog, following the tracks on the ground of the people out infront if him.
As dawn takes effect here in this part of the northern, central region of the Southlands, on what's another cold autumn day . . . . . .