Border Region.
Looking back over her right shoulder, Maiya Garney the lead scout spots sergeant Blufont take cover behind a tree trunk.
The lead scout looks ahead again towards the road that cuts through the trees her and her squad are in.
And after a few moments she spots what she has been hearing for the last little while. The scout Garney relaxes as it's a farmer with a horse drawn cart. Heading in the direction of the nearby town on this cool autumn morning just inside the southern border of the city-state of Tuledare.
Once the farmer and his cart has gone by the stretch of road that the lead scout has been observing. She gives the slight hand signal for all clear.
The lead scout in her company in the second division of the Fifth Army of Farque waits a little bit longer.
Then she gets up from where she's been crouching down behind some shrubs, and makes her way down to the forest road, and across it.
One by one, she's followed by her small squad, who have penetrated the southern border of the city-state of Tuledare.
What hand signals, the lead scout gives orders. And her squad disperses, heading north in the direction of the town that's nearby.
Maiya Garney sets off, with the company sergeant keeping pace with her, about twenty yards to her right through the trees.
The lead scout in the Armies of Farque is expecting a rendezvous with a spy in her Lord's army. As the sorcerer Carnid received a message during the middle of the night within his mind, saying to expect sometime this morning meeting a Farqian spy, now that they're over the border.
The scout Garney has no idea who it might be, or when the spy will show up. The only firm instructions Carnid the sorcerer received was to expect the meeting to be near the town that Maiya Garney and her squad are heading towards.
Looking ahead through the trees, the lead scout can't see any of her squad, she looks away to her right, and is just able to make out the company sergeant Blufont, who is keeping pace with her.
The lead scout who is her early twenties, is in enemy territory. Not that the Tuledarians know that she and the Fifth Army of her Lord have joined the war on the side of the city-state of Phamal. And that they're enemies.
Maiya Garney who hopes that the Tuledarians still don't know that one of her Lord's army has joined the war effort on behalf of the Phamalians.
Pauses for a moment behind a tree trunk, as she looks around and sees that sergeant Blufont has briefly paused too.
The lead scout is about to give him a brief hand signal to tell him something, when she almost exclaims in fright as she hears a voice quietly say to her "Scout Garney?".
Not trusting herself to answer out loud, the lead scout just nods her head in response to the woman's voice that spoke to her.
"Good" mutters the voice, which Maiya Garney realizes is speaking in the elven language.
"Apologies to two of your squad who I scared the shit out of thinking it was you" continues the woman's voice which comes just to the right of the scout Garney's head.
"He didn't give me a description of you" mutters the voice, which then continues with "This is where you're to go".
The voice, which from the lead scout's best guess, isn't magical, but is from someone or something that's right beside her. Then gives a brief, but thorough directions of where to go.
"Got that?" asks the woman's voice, which the Farqian soldier would describe as tiny, more than quiet.
"Got it" quietly says Maiya Garney the lead scout in the elven language with a nod of her head, she continues on with "I'll be there shortly".
"Good" mutters the voice, which after a few moments, the company scout in the second division of the Fifth Army of Farque realizes is gone.
The scout Garney looks away to her right, and spots sergeant Blufont looking in her direction. The company sergeant is frowning as he wonders why the lead scout has paused for so long.
Maiya Garney nods to him, and gives him the hand signal for him to follow closely behind her.
She then sets off through the woods, following the accurate directions that were just given to her by the disembodied voice.
A short while later and the squad has come to a stop and is spread out about twenty yards back from where the lead scout and the company sergeant are.
Maiya Garney looks back, and is proud she can't see a single one of her squad amongst the trees. She looks ahead again, and nods her head, and quietly says in the elven language "This is the spot".
In response to sergeant Blufont beside her quietly asking in the same language "Is this the spot we're supposed to be?".
The two of them are looking towards the town they were heading towards. They're at the treeline, and the town which is on the road that curves away to their right, is about eighty yards away across mostly open ground, which is dotted here and there with a few trees.
As they watch the town in the distance on what's a cool autumn morning here in the border region of the city-state of Tuledare.
The lead scout is just about to tell the company sergeant something when suddenly a quiet voice right next to them says in the elven language "Scout Garney, sergeant Blufont".
They both spin to their left, hands going for a weapon, then pause as they see the figure that has suddenly appeared beside them. A figure that they both recognize.
The lead scout who realizes that it's not just any spy they're meeting with, but THE spy in their Lord's armies, quickly and quietly says in elven "Highness" which is repeated by sergeant Blufont.
A faint buy wry smile briefly appears on the youthful looking face that they can just glimpse from under the hood of the tall figure in white.
"I prefer envoy, or councilor" quietly says Helbe the elven thief, who after looking closely at both the tall, young woman, and the short, stocky man about a decade older than her, gestures towards the nearby town.
"The local barracks is on the other side of town" quietly says the elven masterthief who is a member of Lord Farque's personal council. Not just any member, but the one many consider to be the most important.
As he also acts as the envoy for the lord and ruler of the Lands Farque when it comes to negotiations in hiring out any of armies of Farque to nations who are willing to pay for their services.
"Not many are there at the moment" quietly explains the young elf, who is a member of the Raendril royal family, who rule the island principality of Laerel.
"Most of them have gone out on patrol across the border now that they know a lot of their watchtowers and forts in the disputed lands have been hit" adds the young elven prince as the three of them look across the open ground to the nearby town.
"Do they know we've entered the war councilor?" quietly asks Maiya Garney who briefly met the elven envoy a number of years ago, when she was thirteen years old.
Infact it was the same day she met her Lord, as they and others came to her family's farm. Because of her younger brother Jovan. Who at that time, was soon to discover his magical abilities.
"Not as yet" replies the young elven noble who is reputed to be an extremely talented and skillful magic user.
"The longer it takes them to find out that the Phamalians have hired us, the better" adds councilor Raendril who negotiated the terms of the contract that saw the city-state of Phamal hire one of the armies of Farque.
"Yesterday the capital received word of the loss of a number of their forts and watchtowers" explains the elven princeling who follows that with "So they'll be reinforcing the barracks here, and in the other towns and villages along and near the border".
The lead scout and the company sergeant both nod to that, then the member of Lord Farque's personal council tells them "Probably be later today, maybe tonight they'll start showing up along the border".
The talented elven magic user gestures towards the sky, then he says "You probably would of noticed the increase in air ships going overhead last night and early this morning".
Both Maiya Garney and sergeant Blufont have, and councilor Raendril tells them "They're off to the disputed lands where they'll meet their demise at the hands of our fleet".
Prince Helbenthril Raendril glances around then quietly says "Gather your squad" followed by "There's something I need to show you".
As the company sergeant moves back into the woods to get the rest of the squad, the lead scout nods her head, and quietly says "Yes he has".
In response to the elven envoy asking her "I understand your younger brother has left your Lord's lands?".
The scout Garney who is not in the least surprised the council member knows of her younger brother Jovan, quietly says "I have no idea". In reply to him asking "Any idea where he went?".
"I just know that he headed north since leaving the homeland" says the lead scout who is essentially an officer in the Armies of Farque.
"My parents haven't received a letter from him in a couple of months" says Maiya Garney who follows that with "Last we heard he was somewhere in the Central Regions" she then silently adds, I hope he's not anywhere around here.
The figure in the white hooded cloak standing beside her nods, then he falls silent as sergeant Blufont makes his way back with the rest of the squad.
Once they gather around, the elven spellcaster crouches down, and the members of the squad in the Farqian Fifth Army's second division does likewise.
The young elven noble from the island principality of Laerel casts then quietly says "This is the town, and this here is the army barracks over on the east side".
On the ground is a three dimensional illusion spell, about three feet by three feet, showing the nearby town.
The lead scout Maiya Garney blinks in surprise as she notices something, then she asks the member of Lord Farque's personal council "Is that happening right now?".
"It is" is the answer from Helbe the elven thief with a slight smile upon his youthful looking face, he gestures and the illusion, which is infact a viewing spell, shows the nearby town from overhead, zooms in, and into the local army barracks, going inside the building.
"As you can see, there's only the eight of them in there at the moment since most of them have gone over the border to investigate the attacks upon their forts and watchtowers" says the grandson of the ruling prince of Laerel.
"Take care of them, as quickly and quietly as possible without the townsfolk knowing what happened" adds the young elven noble who follows that with "Make sure you get rid of their bodies without a trace, the more unexplained attacks and disappearances the better".
The member of Lord Farque's personal council continues with "The more mystery and uncertainty they endure, and the more chaos we perpetrate the better it is we can achieve a victory for the Phamalians".
Maiya Garney nods in understanding, then she quietly says "We'll go in as mercenaries looking to join the war effort".
"The simple and direct way is often the best" quietly says the elven princeling who is in agreement with the lead scout's plan.
The highly talented elven magic user then says "Once you've finished here, move quickly on to the next town to the east" followed by "I won't be able to help you out with what's over there, as I'll be going to be meeting with another squad in the area. But I can tell you the barracks there is a similar state to this one, so quickly get rid of them too".
Prince Helbenthril Raendril then tells them "The border region will soon get busy, so you'll move on after you take out the enemy in the next town over".
The member of Lord Farque's personal council looks at the lead scout and says "You know your orders, you're to move north further into the city-state and infiltrate their army" followed by "Try and get to the capital city to do that, you know what to do when you get there".
The young elven noble who is also a master assassin then quietly says "Myself or one of the other spies will get in contact with you in the city if there's any new orders".
"Yes councilor" says the scout Garney, who quickly points out a few things in the illusion spell, and makes the plan at how she and her small squad will deal with the enemy soldiers in the nearby town.
A little while later and Maiya Garney the lead scout and sergeant Blufont lead the squad out of the treeline and head towards the road that leads into the nearby town.
Amongst the trees, Helbe the elven thief watches them for a bit, then after glancing at Narladene the ground pixie who is perched upon his right shoulder, he says to her "Let's get out of here".
The elven princeling disappears as he first blurs himself, then he shifts away, heading westwards as he goes to meet up with another of the scout and rangers squads in the Fifth Army of Farque who have crossed over the border into the city-state of Tuledare . . . . . .
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