Soldier Of Gods 3.

The Central Regions. 

The lead scout Maiya Garney grips onto the straps that are holding her in as the Krean scoutship Skidaémon accelerates through the sky rift that the ship's navigators have cast. 

In the seat next to her, built into the port hull, sergeant Blufont groans as the sleek, dark mastless airship hits more than two hundred and fifty knots. 

The lead scout hears others of her company groaning and gasping, while the crew down here are busy chatting with their wings flapping away as they hover in the air, not bothered at all with what's happening. 

Maiya Garney has her mouth firmly shut, and though she has gone through ship rifts a handful of times while onboard Krean vessels. 

She doesn't ever want to repeat of her first time doing so. When at sixteen during her final year of training. She and others in her training group traveled on a Krean warship that went through a sky rift. 

To this day Maiya never thought she could projectile vomit like that. Infact pretty much all of them in her training group did so. 

She and the others had no idea what was going to happen that day. She should of realized it was going to be something dramatic when the crew that was below deck, kept as far away from the human teenagers as possible. 

The below deck officer in charge, a navigator. A Krean spellcaster. Calls out in his language "We're through!". 

Maiya Garney sighs in relief while to her right, sergeant Blufont mutters "Thank fuck for that". The lead scout nods in agreement with him as they feel the Skidaémon slowing down to below thirty knots. 

"Your company is made of strong stuff scout Garney" says the chief bosun with a grin upon his dragon like facial features as he helps undo the strap netting that has held the lead scout in place. 

"Not a single one of you lot puked" adds the chief bosun who like all of his kind stands over six foot in height, with wings even longer. They're tucked in against his back at the moment, and he's standing on the decking as the Krean strikeship is flying level. 

"Though the captain did give you a fairly level flight through" continues the chief bosun, who then adds "Much to the disappointment of some of the crew". 

The chief bosun chuckles as lead scout Garney sourly smiles as she sees some of the Krean crew laughing as others hand over coins as more than a few of them placed bets to see how many, or if any of the company from the Scouts and Rangers division of the Fifth Army of Farque would throw up. 

After a quick moment to orientate herself, the lead scout picks up her pack, and along with others in her company, heads up top. 

Once on deck, the company of Scouts and Rangers from the Fifth Army of Farque, congregate into their squads. On what is a cool, clear Autumn night, here above the central regions of The Southlands. 

"Ready?" quietly asks Maiya Garney to those who have gathered close. There's murmured replies from those who will be going with her. Including sergeant Blufont as well as the sorcerer Carnid. 

Krean air marines are also on deck, as well as a couple of the ship's navigators. 

One of whom makes his way over to the lead scout, and quietly says to her in his native language "Scout Garney your group will be first". 

The lead scout nods in understanding, then she looks at her squad, who she can barely see as there's just a couple of running lights that are lit on the aft wheelhouse of the Krean warship. 

Then turning to the navigator, she says to the spellcaster "Ready when you are". The Krean practitioner of magic nods, and the next moment as he looks overboard and down, Maiya Garney disappears. 

Looking around from the faint light of two of the three moons of Volunell in the night sky, lead scout Garney looks across the dirt packed road that's twenty yards in front of her. 

The lead scout who is under the branches of a tree, looks at the tower fort on the other side of the road. 

It's a Tuledarian fort, that's recently been built here in the disputed lands between the two warring city-states. One of a number of them that both Tuledare and Phamal have built in recent years. 

This one isn't all that far from the border of the city-state of Tuledare, and the road is one of the two main trading routes south, that eventually leads to Phamal. 

Next to the lead scout, sergeant Blufont nods when she points something out, and does so again when Maiya Garney points at the incomplete stone wall around the fort. 

A fort that consists of a tower and courtyard, with a barracks and stables, that has a small smithy off to one side. 

Glancing behind her, the lead scout quietly asks "Anyone?". "No one" is the reply of the sorcerer Carnid referring to any magic users in the fort. 

Maiya Garney nods then quietly tells him "Try not to destroy anything" followed by "Remember we want things to look as normal as possible once it's daylight". 

"Will do" is the quiet reply of the sorcerer who like the lead scout is speaking in the elven language, then scout Garney murmurs to herself "Right, let's do this". 

Then she quietly informs sergeant Blufont "Give the order" followed by "And I want this done as quickly and quietly as possible". The company sergeant nods then quietly gives the squad the order to move out. 

Later, and Maiya Garney is in the top room of the tower, and looking to the north through her eyepiece. She glances to the window that faces east, and sees that the night sky is getting lighter in that direction. It will soon be dawn, on what feels like it's going to be a cool autumn morning here in the central regions of The Southlands. 

The lead scout who was able to get a little bit of sleep, briefly looks over her shoulder, as sergeant Blufont enters the room. 

She goes back to looking through her eyepiece as the company sergeant steps over the small puddle of blood in front of the doorway, then makes his way over to the lead scout. 

"Anything?" quietly asks sergeant Blufont "Here" replies Maiya Garney who hands him the brass, cylindrical eyepiece. 

As the sergeant looks northward through the eyepiece, he says "Carnid has disposed of the last of the bodies". 

"Reynolds?" asks the lead scout referring to the only squad member who was wounded when they quickly took the fort in the middle of the night. 

"Carnid healed him" is the reply of the company sergeant, who after a brief pause adds "Hmmm I don't see anything". 

"Give it two turns" scout Garney tells the short, stocky sergeant who has got ten years on the lead scout. 

The company sergeant twists the brass outer sleeve of the eyepiece two notches to the right, then after looking through it for a moment, sergeant Blufont grunts as he spots movement on the road to the north. 

"Supplies by the looks of it" quietly says the sergeant who continues with "Yeah definitely supplies by the amount of troops with those wagons". 

"They must of traveled through the night" quietly says scout Garney who follows that with "Considering the last town is just across the boarder, and it's only eight miles from here". 

With a nod of his head, the company sergeant says "They'll probably stop here, and rest for part of the morning before continuing on to the south towards the war". 

Then taking the collapsible foot and a half long eyepiece away from his face, he looks at the lead scout and asks her "Your plans?". 

Sergeant Blufont who figures scout Garney will do one of two things, adds "Give them a welcoming party, or clear out and let them wonder what the fuck happened here?". 

"We'll take them out" is the reply of Maiya Garney whose orders are to destroy and take out as much of the enemy without them knowing it. Along with that, she and her squad is to head north into the city-state of Tuledare itself. 

"The more we can do without them knowing our lord has decided to join the Phamalians the better" says the lead scout who continues with "The longer they're unaware of our involvement, the better". 

The company sergeant nods in agreement, then asks his immediate commander "Thoughts of how we're going to cross the border once we've delt with this lot?" followed by "Are we going to sneak across, or?". 

"We're going to or" says scout Garney with a slight grin upon her race. She and the company sergeant have discussed a number of ways of how they're going to enter Tuledare. And the lead scout has decided on the most obvious one. After all, why not hide in plain sight. 

"They're hiring mercenary companies for their war" says Maiya Garney who continues with "So that's what we'll be" followed by "A mercenary company joining their war effort". 

She pauses for a moment as sergeant Blufont hands her back the brass, cylindrical eyepiece then the lead scout with a nod of her head to the north as they look out of the window, says "First thing first, we'll deal with this lot heading this way". 

A little while later and as dawn breaks to the east, scout Garney is amongst the trees across the road from the tower fort that she and her squad took during the night. 

The lead scout who has her bow strung, and has a hand on her quiver as she watches the road to the north, and those approaching from that direction on this cool, autumn morning in the central regions of The Southlands. 

Knows that up and down the two main trading routes between the city-states of Tuledare and Phamal. In the disputed lands the nations are fighting over. 

Squads from the second division, the Scouts and Rangers division of the Fifth Army of Farque. During the night have attacked the various forts and towers that Tuledare have built over recent years. 

The company scout who has just fourteen in her own squad, that includes her. Has one of the smaller, if not the smallest Farqian squads that were deployed during the night from Krean scoutships. 

For the simple reason she has with her one of the spellcasters in the division. The sorcerer Carnid might not be the most powerful practitioner of magic in the Fifth Army of Farque. That honour belongs to a mage serving with the heavy foot infantry. 

But even so, the lead scout wouldn't trade Carnid for anyone more powerful. For the simple reason the young sorcerer. Who happens to be younger than Maiya herself. 

Happens to be one of the more talented spellcasters to be found in all of the armies of The Lands Farque. 

The lead scout looks over to where she can just make out the practitioner of magic who is behind the trunk of one of the nearby trees. 

Carnid who is from the south of the Lands Farque just like the scout Garney is from. Doesn't wear robes as sorcerers tend to do. Instead he's in light leather armour. Black like pretty much all of the armour the rest of the squad wears. He also wears a black hooded cloak like the rest of the scouts and rangers. 

All of whom are human with the exception of Halindrelle, an elven ranger who originally hails from the elven forest city of Quinthain. Which lies to the east of the Lands Farque. 

The lead scout hears a bird call, the signal from the ranger Halindrelle. Maiya Garney looks over to the tree closest to the one she's behind. Where sergeant Blufont looks back at her and nods. 

Then they, and the others of the squad on this side of the road. Whilst the rest are across the road in the fort they took over during the night. 

Wait for the supply wagons from the city-state of Tuledare to come into view along the road. They don't have to wait long as a couple of riders head along the road. Followed fairly quickly by the first of five wagons. 

The lead scout Garney sourly smiles as the Tuledarians have failed to send out riders further in front of the wagons. 

And though that is good for what she and sergeant Blufont have planned. She can't help but disapprove at the lack of caution, and frankly sheer arrogance from the soldiers from Tuledare guarding the supply wagons. 

The company scout quickly looks in the direction of where the sorcerer Carnid is behind a tree. And when she sees the spellcaster moving his hands. 

Maiya Garney quickly takes an arrow from her quiver and puts it to her bow. She draws it back when the fifth and final wagon comes into view. 

Then as the last wagon in line suddenly erupts in an explosion spraying liquid fire amongst the enemy closest to it. 

The lead scout let's the arrow from her bow fly. The shaft slams into the throat of one of the two lead riders. 

While the other rider out in front, is knocked out of the saddle by a bolt shot from the heavy crossbow that sergeant Blufont uses. 

Maiya Garney already has another arrow to her bow, which she draws as she spots another target as she and her squad attack the enemy supply wagons and the Tuledarians soldiers protecting it. On this cool autumn morning here in the disputed lands between the city-states of Tuledare and Phamal in the central regions of The Southlands . . . . . .