Tuledare.
They ride into the city well before dawn. It's still dark when the south gates are opened for them. And they head to the nearby army barracks in the southern quarter of the city.
As they ride, Maiya Garney the lead scout glances back when she hears one of the squad slow their mount.
Even though it's dark, and there isn't that much in the way illumination. She spots a tall hooded figure off to one side on the street they're on.
The member of the squad who has stopped and dismounted, is the elven ranger Halindrelle. Who briefly speaks with the hooded figure.
As the ranger from the forest city of Quinthain remounts, the hooded figure turns and walks into a nearby lane.
While Halindrelle makes his way forward, to have a brief word with the lead scout who commands the small squad of Farqians who have infiltrated the Tuledarian army.
Maiya Garney briefly nods after Halindrelle the elven ranger quietly tells her in his native language "The Traveler's Comfort after we deliver these messages".
The elven ranger drops back into line, as the lead scout Garney continues to lead the way to the nearby army barracks, here in the southern part of the capital city of Tuledare.
Even though it's before dawn, the army barracks is fairly busy. They gain admittance through the guarded gates by showing the missive they've been given.
Once inside they see that this city barracks has a large number of hired mercenaries in it. As the army of Tuledare are using it as a staging area for them.
And a busy one at that, as mercenary companies are already moving out. Some mounted, but the majority of them are on foot, as they march off to the various city airdocks.
As they're being shipped off to the south, predominantly the border region, where the enemy, the Phamalian forces have suddenly started showing up.
The lead scout Garney has the rest of the squad wait outside the main building of the barracks. As she and sergeant Blufont head inside.
With the missive they've been given, they gain easy entry. And the two of them soon find themselves outside a busy office. With other messengers from within the city, and outside of it too, from elsewhere in the city-state.
Getting the attention of the harried looking subaltern behind the front desk, lead scout Maiya Garney says "Captain Morsea with messages from commander Fessa on the border".
That gets the subaltern's attention, and he gets up saying "Come with me". The lead scout in the second division of the Fifth Army of Farque, along with her sergeant, follow the subaltern to one of the other occupied desks in the large office.
"Commander, these mercenaries have messages from the border" says the Tuledarian subaltern to the officer behind the desk, who holds out a hand for the messages.
Maiya Garney hands over the leather pouch with the messages, and says "From commander Fessa" in reply to the senior officer asking her "From who?".
The commander grunts, then takes out the written messages, most of which are authentic. With the lead scout, to be exact, the youngest member of her squad, Samiss. Who has a knack for forgery and counterfeit. Having added a couple more messages, orders to be exact.
The commander turns his desk lamp up, before reading the messages, and nods his head when he reads one piece of parchment, followed by another.
Looking at the two supposed mercenaries, the Tuledarian commander asks them "You lot see any of the destruction along the border?" followed by "Some of the villages and towns down in the region you came from?".
"We did sir" replies lead scout Garney, who goes by the name of Morsea, a captain of a small mercenary company that's been hired by the Tuledarian army.
The Farqian infiltrator then names a couple of villages, both of which her and her squad, attacked the local garrisons there, without the villagers knowing.
"The soldiers there were attacked, we came across them while on patrol" says Maiya Garney who continues with "Well, I should say we across their bodies".
The commander grunts, then says to the subaltern "Just like the other reports we've been getting from along the southern border" followed by "Those bastards are definitely planning a major offensive along the border".
He pauses for a few moments and stares off across the office, before he says "Good thing we're sending this lot off today". Referring to all the mercenary companies here in the barracks.
The commander then looks at the last parchment in the pouch, after reading it he nods, then says to the Farqian infiltrator posing as a mercenary captain in the Tuledarian army "You have your orders, see to them".
"Yes sir" replies the lead scout Garney, who repeats that after the Tuledarian senior officer tells her "You and your company can get something to eat from the kitchens before you head off".
After getting a missive from the subaltern, allowing them to get something to eat from the kitchens. The two Farqian infiltrators make their way outside to where the rest of the squad are waiting.
"Free food, might as well take advantage of it" says Maiya Garney, next to her sergeant Blufont sourly smiles before saying "But it's army food, their army" followed by "It's probably crap like the stuff they fed us on the border".
"I suspect it's better here in the city" says the lead scout Garney, who grins when the experienced sergeant mutters "I doubt it".
It turns out the lead scout was right, the food in the kitchen barracks here, is infinitely better than what they got down on the southern border from the Tuledarian army.
And after they've eaten, they make their way from the large barracks here in the south of the city, just as the first glimpse of dawn can be seen in the east.
They head along the same main street they rode on whilst entering the city, and with the elven ranger Halindrelle leading the way, they turn into a lane.
With dawn on the eastern horizon, the lead scout Maiya Garney sees it's the same lane she saw the tall, hooded figure who spoke to Halindrelle, went down.
The elf who originally comes from the forest city of Quinthain, stops out in front of an inn, it's the Traveler's Comfort.
Then the elven ranger in the Armies of Farque leads the way around the back to the stables located there.
And under the watchful eye of the stableboy who has just woken up, the squad in the second division of the Fifth Army of Farque, who have infiltrated the Tuledarian army, and the city of Tuledare itself, stable their mounts.
And in pairs, as well as one by one. The squad members in the Armies of Farque who are posing as a mercenary company.
Enter the inn, and make their way upstairs, following behind Halindrelle who once again leads the way.
Maiya Garney sees the elven ranger enter a room, and she follows him, with sergeant Blufont right behind her.
"Commander" quietly says the lead scout to the tall cloaked figure in the room with the elven ranger.
Sergeant Blufont repeats what the lead scout Garney just said. So does the rest of the squad, when each of them enters the room.
With Reynolds and young Samiss at the window, looking in both directions down the main street in this part of the city.
One looking towards the south gates of the city of Tuledare, and the other looking at the army barracks the squad just visited.
The lead scout Maiya Garney, sergeant Blufont, the sorcerer Carnid and the elven ranger Halindrelle, gather around Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy, who sits upon his bed in the room.
With the lead scout and the sergeant sitting on two of the chairs, while the sorcerer and the elven ranger remain standing.
After the lead scout Garney quickly informs the elven spy who is a commander in the Armies of Farque, what they've been up to lately, since crossing the border into the city-state of Tuledare, and infiltrating the Tuledarian army.
Maiya Garney who is speaking in elven, asks the elf who is a member of the group that travels with Lord Farque "What's been happening here in the city sir?".
The spy, who is originally from the elven principality of Alínlae, quietly and quickly tells them what's been going on here in the city of Tuledare.
"They still don't know that we've entered the war on behalf of the Phamalians" says Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy referring to the Fifth Army of Farque.
"All they know is that the Phamalians are making a major push on their southern border" adds the elven spy who previously served in one of the more prominent noble houses in his homeland of Alínlae.
After a brief pause, the commander in the Armies of Farque says "Which is what we want them to know".
Maiya Garney and the three members of her squad with her, nod in understanding. As they know much of the plans of field commander Tamric Drubine, but they don't know all of them.
"Scout Garney you and your squad won't begin your tasks here in the capital until they've shipped most of their army off" says Dalinvardèl Tanith who is known by the name of Dalin by those who know him well.
The spy Tanith who is technically in the same division in the Armies of Farque as the infiltrator squad, continues with "Mercenaries for the most part, and others they've hired recently" followed by "Mainly from the nearby barracks here in the south of the city".
The commander in the Scouts and Rangers division of the Armies of Farque continues with "Assassination of their leaders is no longer in play".
The lead scout lifts an eyebrow in surprise at that, and the elven spy originally from the principality of Alínlae informs them that he and Helbe the elven thief has ruled that out because the members of the ruling council of Tuledare aren't actually here in the capital. Infact they're not in the city-state at all.
And those representatives they've left behind to run the day to day things in the city, are probably more valuable alive, once the Phamalians are victorious in the war.
"You'll have your other assignments to keep you occupied" says Dalinvardèl Tanith who follows on from that with "And if anything pops up, or if any targets of opportunity arises, I or one of my informants will get in contact with you".
The elven spy then takes out a map of the city of Tuledare from a hidden pocket in his cloak, and shows the lead scout, and the three with her a number of things he thinks are important and that they should know.
The four of them hardly say a word as the commander in the Armies of Farque explains a number of things to them.
In particular which trade routes are still operating out of the city. Majority of which is by air, conducted mainly by foreign trading companies.
As the city-state has coerced the vast majority of local trading companies to work for them. Predominantly shipping, by both land and air, supplies and troops to the battle lines.
Once the elven spy has explained things, Maiya Garney is just about to ask him something, when from the windows, Reynolds quietly says "They're moving out".
The four of them, and the commander, along with the rest of the small infiltration squad. Make their way over to the windows in the upper storey room of the spy Tanith.
They stand at the room's windows and look outside, and up. And in the early morning light of a new day, they see airships from elsewhere in the city pass overhead, flying south to the war.
No one says anything for a few moments, then Dalinvardèl Tanith the elven spy quietly says "Off to their deaths".
Maiya Garney the lead scout doesn't say anything to that, but she is agreement with the elf who is a commander in the Armies of Farque . . . . . .
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