CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.
The sound of loud footsteps echoed between the trees of the Kilanthro foothills. They were the footsteps of a heavily-armored man (http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=20854.new#new), walking up the wooded trail towards the distant mountains. Unrelenting and efficient, he drove steadily forward like a farmer's plow through soil. His emotionless expression seemed just as stalwart as his large armored body. Wherever he needed to be, the man was intent on getting there, and there was nothing that was going to stop him.
Behind him was a young woman. She was clad in dirty and tattered clothing, showing that she had been through difficult times. She was bound, hands tied with thick rope and connected to a heavy iron collar worn around her neck. A medium-length chain led from the collar to the armored man's left hand. It was obvious that wherever the two were going, she was desperate not to follow. She struggled and protested against her bindings, attempting in vain to stop her captor's forward momentum. She may as well had been a mouse trying to stop an ox.
The tears that streamed down her face were unseen by the man. The huge tower shield he wore on his back blocked a direct line of sight to his head. Even if he had seen, it was clear that he did not care. As she tugged against him, he kept his heavy mace ready in the other hand. There was no reason to use it yet, but that could all change in a moment. The captor hoped there would be no trouble along the way.
There was another walking threw the woods. She was not that far ahead of the pair. She had come here to hide her latest crime. She had stolen gold and few other things from some rich locals. It was not like they really needed it in her opinion. She thought the rich were greedy creatures. Then again so was she. She moved carefully though the trees . She did not want to be caught . Not that they could keep her in a jail. her acid claws and spit was enough to melt most binding and bars. Sometimes she had to laugh at how stupid humans were. She was a monster to most. However that was just opinion of others. She paid that no mind.
Then she heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming from behind her. Someone was coming up the trail . She looked around not wanting to be seen. However as she moved she made quite a bit of noise moving he bag of stolen goods. She hoped that whoever was behind her did not hear all of that noise. Or if they did they were to busy to come and investigate.
The man hear the sound of rattling coming from up ahead. There was either something or someone just ahead. He did not care to investigate it, for it did not concern him. So far, whatever had made the sound did not get in the way of him or his mission. However, he did grip his mace a little tighter. Eyes scanned the road ahead as well as the tree line. It did not hurt to be cautious. The wilderness was not the safest of places, but he was confident that he could either deter or best any obstacle that presented itself.
The two pressed onward at the same, steady pace. The woman that was dragged behind had no more strength left to struggle. She barely had the strength to keep walking. Hearing the sound, she was not sure what to expect up ahead. She was frightened of what it could be, but even more frightened that her captor was pulling her towards it. She considered letting out a scream, in case it was someone who could help her. However, she stopped herself out of fear that it was something dangerous.
Della hid in the trees as the footsteps grew closer. Then she saw a rather large man with a woman tied behind him. She cocked her head slightly wondering why he was doing that. However she knew better then to get involved with humans and their business. Though she did think that perhaps the girl was being held captive by this man. Hum what was she to do?
As she stood there she saw that he was almost to where she was. Now being a notorious evil their she knew that if he was a figure of authority perhaps he would have heard of her. Or at least her crimes. Though he could just be some sort of criminal himself. She moved now making even more noise than before. She then stumbled over he sack.t hat ticked her off to say the least
" you Dang stupid Bastered !" She said loudly. Now it could have been taken as insult if one did not know what she was talking to . Not that Della really cared right now.
Now he was confident of where the commotion was coming from. It was another traveler, or possibly a local. His guard dropped a bit, for it did not look like he was in for any confrontation. She was not even trying to be silent, or maybe she was, and was not doing a very good job. It mattered not, for if she meant to fight, she would have attacked already. She was definitely close enough.
Whatever the other traveler was saying or doing was unimportant. As long as she did not interfere. He ignored her and continued moving along. His prisoner, on the other hand, had another plan. She knew now that it was not someone who was going to attack them. She called out through the tears, the loudest that her hoarse voice would allow.
"Help! Whoever is there! Please! I need hel-"
She was cut off by a swift yank from her captor. The force was nearly enough to trip her up. Out of fear of another tug, she stayed silent and walked. Yet she desperately looked around with pain in her eyes for the other who could possibly help her.
Della who was now not in the best of moods heard the girls plea. So she was a captive. she wanted to ignore her but she the saw how he yanked on her rope. wemen should not be treated like that.Well she might be a criminal but she was not heartless either. She had to help the poor girl. Though she knew there was a danger in doing that. So she left her bag and started to move. Without that damn bag she was much much quieter and much faster. She moved a head of the man . She was wondering how she was going to help the girl. Maybe she would fight him. Well she would have to to save her . He looked like the kind who did not like to lose either. well She certainly was not afraid of humans . Especially men who mistreated females.
She flies down from the trees and landed in man's path. She was far enough away when he would have trouble hitting her with a weapon. Except maybe a magic one. She took a fighting stance and grinned. Giving a growl She looked in to the man's face. It was a silent challenge to him. Something that a feal animal would do. She was not sure how but she would save the other female from this brute.
It looked like this traveler did want to interfere after all. The armored man did not know exactly what he was looking at, but whatever it was seemed to want to fight judging by its stance. He gave a disgruntled huff. This could have been easy, but no. He knew from before that this thing knew the common tongue. He conducted this the same as any potential fight with intelligent beings. He would issue an ultimatum, doing his best to avoid conflict if necessary. There was still a long ways to go, and he preferred to not be drained by combat.
"Whatever you are, you are in my way. Move, or you will be sorry."
The captive looked upon her potential savior with both fear and joy. The creature was terrifying, but had most likely responded to her plea. She hoped that it would get her away from the bounty hunter.
Della was watching the man carefully now. She was not sure how to go about things like this. She was usually the one who was taking others captive. However she gave a slight smile as she heard what he said. Did he really think that was going to work? Her tail moved slightly as she started to laugh. It was an evil madding sort of laugh.
" I don't fear you. You are just another lowly male to me." She said. He voice had a dark tone to it. She was crazy at times. And she could also be focused when she was doing something that she believed was a good thing. She then smiled and added. " I think you will be the sorry one"
She was ready for him to make a move. She was just as smart as anyone else. In fact she may not be quite but her brain made up for it. That was why she had never been caught.
It claimed not to fear him, as did many enemies. Maybe this was true, maybe it was a bluff. The man saw there was at least wariness in the creature's eyes, and it refused to strike first.
"That may be... But right now, you are stopping me from collecting my bounty."
He dropped the chain to the ground, swiftly moving a foot over it to anchor it to the ground. He removed the tower shield from his back, and got in his most solid stance.
"This does not concern you. This is your last chance! Move!"
Della moved slightly as if to compile with the man. She was actually doing something quite the opposite. She was going to attack. However it had to grind in the right manner. " Stupid human . " She stated. She saw him taking the defensive now . She had to be careful now. She did not want to get killed. " Oh I'll move alright" she said . Then she laughed at him.
She move with lightning speed as she took to the air. She was low enough to where she could try to him him with her talons. They were one of the main defensive she had. She knew that even if she just made him stumble there was a chance the girl could escape. She did not want her hurt.
The defender had been wondering if the creature before him was able to fly. Apparently it was. Now he knew...
In all his experiences traveling through northern Serendipity, he had learned to expect anything and everything when fighting such strange creatures. The razor sharp talons racing towards his head did not frighten him in the slightest. In response, he raised his great shield up off the ground and awaited the impact.
The force of the attack was not nearly great enough to budge the defender. It was a mix of his strength, as well as the weight of the heavy plate armor. He stood fast, unmoved as a giant boulder would be after such a strike. The only one to move was the prisoner, who fell to the floor and curled up to protect herself. She was not even attempting to free herself anymore. All she wanted was to be out of the way of this combat.
It was the bounty hunter's turn to attack now. With his enemy closed in on him, he took a high overhead swing with his mace.
Della flapped her wings as she hit his armor with her talons. What this man did not now was that they did have acid if she chose for them to. However she was not trying to kill him. Just wound him . She expected him to time back at her. Now she saw him swing his mace at her. It would have hit her if had not been for some quick flapping on her behalf. He was avast but she didn't have heavy armor wheighing her down.
She had another trick up her sleeve . Her tail was another useful weapon of hers. But that also meant that there was a chance he could grab it . It was a risk she was willing to take. So she swung her whip like tail at him now to try to hit his shoulder or arm.
The bounty hunter expected a dodge, and quickly recovered from the swing. The tail was next, a weapon not overlooked by the armored man. Beasts such as this normally resorted to that. Once again, he successfully moved the giant shield in the way of the attack. Though years of intense training allowed him to move it more quickly than a normal man, it was still considerably cumbersome.
The way he moved it this time hindered him, stopping him from countering with his mace a second time. Even so, he preferred blocking with his shied over his armor. Enchanted items were much more sturdy than mundane items. His stance held, and he remained in place. A more cocky or boastful fighter would have had said a line here, but this fighter was not like that. He carefully observed his foe with his unwavering blue gaze, waiting to defend, and hopefully counter, against the next strike.
Della felt her tail hit the. Heavy sheild. She was going to have to use other methods. Well she had one more option she could try. she would have to be careful with it though. She moved away from the man a bit as she got ready with her next attack. She spit a line of acid at the man intended to wound him. She did not aim for his face though. She did not wish to kill him. Not yet anyway.
Another reactive movement of the giant shield yielded a slight sizzling sound. The warrior knew all too well what this meant: Acid.
He had faced this before, but always hated doing so. The last time he had faced a creature that used acid, a fine amount of his equipment needed to be replaced or repaired. The man cursed under his breath as the caustic liquid dripped down the front of his shield. It left a very faint yet visible mark, but the enchanted metal was thick. It would take much more than that to get through it.
The bounty hunter was at a disadvantage in his current situation. The foe had range as well as a projectile attack. He could close the distance, but that meant taking his foot away and almost certainly freeing his captive. He continued to stand fast, trying to decide what was more important: Holding onto his bounty, or felling the creature?
The latter seemed to like the obvious choice. It was unrelenting, and now it most likely knew of its advantage. Without the girl however, he could not receive his payment until he tracked her down again.
Della saw that the acid had left a small mark on the child. Well she could could try again. She call her wings and gave a low growl. She then held more acid in her mouth. She wanted to get closer to him before she struck. She move just a bit closer but not to close. She doesn't want to get him by a return attack .
She now spit more acid at him. Since she had held it in her mouth it was a little stronger then the first was. She could not judge how strong though. The more she used though the stronger it got.
There was no choice now. All the man could do was defend in his current situation. The enemy was using her range to her advantage, and her acid was starting to noticeably damage the shield. He had to go on the offensive.
Readying his mace, he took his foot off the chain and suddenly charged. He kept his shield up to protect against the acid stream, and moved quickly forward. He barreled towards his enemy like a rolling boulder, just as he had done many times before. This move would knock her down with the sheer force of his combined mass. Of course, she could probably dodge. She seemed agile enough to do it. That was what the mace was for, waiting like a scorpion's tail to strike at whichever direction she would move. That is, if the shield charge did not work.
The captive woman cowered on the ground, not noticing yet that there was no one holding her. No one stopping her from escaping at this moment.
Della saw the man moving toward her very quickly. Well it looked like if the female were to notice she would be free. however Della now had this man to deal with. Well she must have made her point. He was comingher way. She was fast enough to be able to dodge him. She just had to wait for the right moment.
Just a few seconds more and she moved out of his way only to have him swing his mace at her. Well it hit her rather hard . Lucky that her dragon skin was hard to price. She hit the ground and cringed. Well that hurt. It would take a sector her to recover from that strong of a blow.
The man watched as his foe toppled to the ground. He stood over her, ready for another strike.
Behind him, the captive realized her opportunity and began to seize it. With her persuer distracted, she shakily rose to her feet. She looked on, realizing that the one responsible was laying flat on the ground.
The man lifted his mace high in the air. It was ready to fall onto the creature, with all the man's strength aiding gravity's pull downwards. Surely, it would have been a very savage strike.
Freedom was a possibility now. To him, she was already gone. He would not turn to look in her direction, not when he was so focused on killing the interloper. Still, she could not simply allow her savior to be killed like this.
With nothing else she could do, she charged headlong into the armored man. Her frail form did virtually nothing to the hard metal wall of a man. However, he did lower his mace.
She once again had his attention. He spun around quickly, knocking the woman back into the ground with a swing of the massive shield. With her stunned on the ground as well, the man could now focus back on the creature.
The woman had not done much, but perhaps she did give her potential rescuer a few crucial seconds to recover...
Della gave a cringe as she tried to recover. She saw the man raise his mace she knew that she could not get out of the way . She readied herself for the blow knowing it was going to hurt. However it was about that time she saw the girl come to try to help. Well she hoped that she would not get. Herself killed. It did give her time to get to feet though.
She managed to get up as her for faced her again. She glared at him with a very evil look in her eyes. She had to get him because he certainly was going to kill her now. She raided the acid on her claws now. She did not have weapons herself. She really didn't need them. Her left should was hurt bad but she could deal with that latter. Right now she was just focused on the man .
The man stared right into his enemy's eyes, matching her glare with his own cold and unrelenting stare. He was not going to be intimidated so easily...
The little distraction had taken valuable seconds from him, seconds in which he could have finished this monster. At least one thing was off his mind now: his quarry had not run away from him. She lay writhing on the earth behind him. Hopefully this would be over before she regained her senses, and collect her again.
The armored bounty hunter could practically smell the strong acid on his adversary's claws. This was not magic, or the shield would have absorbed it. That is what made this so challenging. He was walking on glass with this one, a feeling that made many uneasy and fearful. He, however, dismissed these from his mind. It had to be taken down fast.
Without so much as a warning, he raised the tower shield off the ground. A low, sideways swing of the mace was followed by a few steps forward. Distance was its ally, so he had to close the gap whenever possible. The shield would protect a significant percentage of his body against attack, but not all of it.
Della did not even flinch at his stare. She did not fear humans no matter how strong they were. She was not going to be afraid of them. She was taught that all human were was prey. Though she never ate them. That was a bit to nasty to her.
She now saw him swing his mace as he move forward. She could still spit her acid at close range. However she preferred using her claws when a foe was this close. She now prepared to make her move.
She suddenly lunged forward at the man . She was aiming to strike him with her claws. The were just as sharp as they were strong and acidic to boot. She wanted to make sure that he got the message that she was not an easy foe to deal with
The battle raged for what seemed like hours. Both fighters were able to inflict damage onto one another, but nothing that was significant enough to take either out of the fight. His superior armor and strength was matched by her superior speed and mobility. His thick tower shield was the perfect compliment to her acid-coated claws.
Some cuts had hit the armor itself, leaving gashes that were much deeper than they would have been without the acid. The man muttered curses. Replacing those pieces were going to be expensive. Although, not as expensive as the shield. Enchanted items were not so easy to replace or fix.
The captive woman began crawling away from the fighting once she had the strength. Her savior seemed able to handle itself now, and there was nothing she was able to do to help.
The bounty hunter recoiled back, taking a more defensive stance. A block-and-counter seemed like the only tactic that could finish this.
Della was aware of the fact that this human was very strong. Perhaps she was evenly matched with this one. She had talked a couple of hits from him but none had really hurt her. She just wanted the woman to be able to get away. She now moved back a bit . She was trying to get a bit of distance between her for and herself. She noted that he had also backed off a bit. She had to find a way get the upper hand.
She the swung her feather tail at the man's feet. She was aiming to trip him up. She hoped that he might not have been expecting that. She was a good fighter but not for long periods of time. She got tired after a while.
Frode was having a great time. He just left a small village, with a full belly, and a canteen full of mead. Traveling down the road in his usually rough aspect, he narrowed his eye as he came upon a very unpleasant scene. As he rounded a bend, he saw an armored man fight a... Thing. Tightening the grip on his spear, he observed the scene for a while before noticing, a ragged women with a chain around her neck. This was bad. Quickly, Frode spoke a rune of concealment, and approached the women. Speaking another rune, her chain snapped with a loud crack. Frode then spoke in whispers and in a gentle tone said "Run, I'll do what I can, but for now you must get out of here." At that Frode turned away from the women, and tried to figure out who was responsible. Neither of the fighters seemed very.. Innocent. Speaking a simple rune to increase the volume of his voice he said "Cease this useless bloodshed! I cannot condone such barbarism!" At that Frode readied his spear, for any conflict.
The woman found that her neck was no longer weighed down by metal. She rose to her feet, and wiped a joyful tear from her eye. She ran off back down the trail, knowing that the situation was under control. She disappeared and left the three alone with each other.
The man had set up a defensive stance, waiting for an attack such as this to exploit. He lifted his leg, and brought it down with great force onto the incoming tail. Now, it could not get away. One well placed strike would end it at last.
The armored man heard another coming, but paid them no mind. He could not afford to fight this thing any longer. One more blow was all it took. Once it was dead, he would deal with the newcomer. Once again, the mace was raised high into the air.
The booming of the newcomer's enhanced voice took the man off guard. The sheer sonic force forced him to stagger, messing up the attack. Still anchoring his foe's tail, he readied the mace again. Before it fell, he called out to what he could tell was an elderly man.
"This does not concern you, old man!"
Della growled as he stomped down on her tail. Not only did that hurt but now she was trapped. She saw that the man was going to strike her with his Mace . She tried to get her tail free from the man's foot. Then a loud voice made her aware of the other man's presence. She also noted that the man she was fighting with did not hit her with his attack . This gave her time to counted .
She put her hands up to try to block his attack. Yes it could certainly breaks them but she really did not have a choice at the moment.
Frode frowned distastefully as he said old man. With a smile he says "You don't like age? Shall I spare you from my fate then?" Without waiting for an answer Frode pulls his arm back and with surprising speed hurls the spear at the armored man. Not pausing to see if the spear hit its mark he mumbles a rune and fire jets out from his fingertips in the man's direction. This man seemed to be the culprit behind that young girls plight. Frode wasn't aware of slavery in the region? Perhaps this man is some kind of law enforcement and the girl was in the wrong? At these thoughts Frode frowns and begins to move closer to the conflict.
"Another one..." he thought.
Not only was this new opponent hostile, but he was also hasty in his attack. The bounty hunter lifted his armored foot off his first enemy's tail in order to take a new defensive stance. It was not something he wanted to do, but a spear traveling that quickly through the air would have definitely penetrated his armor and wounded him. Maybe worse...
There was only a split second before the hurled weapon glanced off the giant shield. The words "Too close..." was uttered in his subconscious. With the spear THUNKing into the dirt behind him, the only thing left was the approaching fire. It did not concern the man. Not in the slightest.
Still in his rock-solid stance, the tower shield began to glow. Immediately, the jets of flame were attracted to it. Instead of making contact, they were absorbed into the very metal of the shield. It was a special enchantment, one that allowed this manhunter to subdue many a magical foe.
The fighter was not in a good spot, and he knew it. There were enemies on either side of him, and the wear of battle was beginning to take its toll. He could not figure out his two opponents. Were they allies? It seemed unlikely, judging by how quickly and recklessly that attack was thrown. The elder would have hit the other creature with that attack. That meant he did not care for it, right? He stayed in his stance, shield glowing with magic energy in front of him.
He had to watch them both. It was unknown exactly who would be first to make their move...
Della saw the older man throw his spear at the one she had been fighting. The man had moved off of her tail. Della moved it back around her. She did not wish to get caught like that again. After the spear what thrown Della saw the flames that the man shots well. She moved so that she did not take a chance on getting burned. She growled unsure of rather the old man was friend or foe.
She moved to where she could watch both men for a few minutes. She wanted to see rather she would need to attack both or not. It was getting to be quite confusing for her.
Frode began to doubt his actions. What if the girl deserved her fate? What if the rude armored man was attempting a rescue until he arrived? The spear flung into the air and placed itself back into Frode's hand. First, he must decide who is at fault and whether or not they could come to some agreement. If not - violence would get the job done. "I'd like to inquire as to who had that poor girl shackled like some kind of animal." Frode's eye glared at them as if daring them to lie to him. Taking a step forward he spoke a simple rune that made his elderly form more regal and intimidating. It wouldn't be polite for him to show weakness to potential enemies.
The creature moved away. It was almost completely obvious that these two were not allies. The elderly man had just happened upon them by coincidence.
The armored man remained cautious of his surroundings. There was no telling what the beast would try now that she got her distance. He dropped his mace into the ring on his belt, and used that hand to take a contract from under a plate of his armor.
"That "girl" is a criminal, escaped from her prison in Connlaoth!"
He spoke confidently, and with annoyance. He did not care who he was talking to, or his visage. This was justified to him. With a flick of the wrist, the paper unrolled, showing the escaped captive's likeness, as well as her bounty.
"I was bringing her back to receive justice, when this... thing... attacked."
Rolling the parchment back up, the man used it to point at his original opponent. He tucked it away, and once again gripped the mace.
"She is gone now. I will have to track her down again because of you!"
Della was watching as the man she was fighting spoke to the older man. She really did not care if the girl was evil or not. After all she was evil herself. She heard him call her a thing.. well that was pretty offensive to her to say the least. She gave a snort and nothing more. She did not really have a reason to continue fighting this human. Nor did she want to fight the old man. However she would watch just to see what would happen next.
Frode removed his previous rune and seemed in deep thought. While she did break the law who's to say that law was actually just. Or perhaps she angered someone influential and they had her imprisoned. There were just too many possibilities to completely trust him. But there is wisdom in law because without law there would be utter chaos. Frode smiled and bowed his head apologetically and in a gentle tone said "Please forgive me. If you'd like I can retrieve her for you." It was a ruse of course. He needed more information. The girl can provide that. Frode has already gotten involved. Leaving now would just be lazy.
First he attacked without cause, and now he offers assistance? The elderly warrior was highly unpredictable. That, perhaps, that made him the more dangerous of the two enemies...
There was no way he could be trusted. The armor-clad bounty hunter suspected at first that this new opponent was attempting to take the bounty for himself. Of course, this was laughable. Even if he had the bounty letter, it would be no use. It was a very... specific clientele. Clientele that knew exactly who they were expecting.
"Not likely." he responded, collecting himself.
Mace and shield at the ready, the man started down the trail in the direction in which the girl had run. He remained cautious of both enemies, even as he went pacing off. There was a lull in the combat, and he needed to test their resolve to stop him. He expected an attack from either direction at any time.
"If you truly wish to help, take care of that monster."
It was obvious who he was referring to. Although she had disengaged, he would rather not confront the creature on his way back.
Della was carefully watching both men as they spoke. She was not really in the mood to continue fighting. The girl was free so she felt that Hermon was done. She heard the man she was fighting tell the older man to take care of her. She gave a short trying not to laugh. It seemed that the armor man was a coward the could not find he his foes. That was humans though. Always afraid of something.
As the armored man turned his back Frode looked at the thing. "I apologize for my intrusion. I would like to ask you some questions but it appears I do not have any time. Another time." At that he disappeared and reappeared some ways down the road. Hopefully he'll intercept the young lady before that man does. Frode would love to just drop the whole thing and move on but it has now peaked his interest. That and it just makes sense to finish what you've started. That man seemed dangerous however. With that thought Frode willed his form to change. His blind eye switched places with his good eye and his spear was replaced with a staff. His features seem sharper and his beard grew shorter and with a reddish tint to it. This would do nicely.
Ever on guard, the warrior spun around when he heard what had happened. The elder had vanished, like a whisp of smoke in the air. This was another form of magic, he was sure. Where had he gone? The man was paused, until a sudden realization hit.
"Damn!" he exclaimed suddenly, before taking off in as much of a sprint as he could manage.
There was no telling exactly what fascination the old man had with his prisoner, but he would be damned if that elder got to her before he did. He left the creature where she was. She did not seem as much a threat anymore, and there were bigger priorities to attend to.
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Down the path, the girl was still running. Without her bindings, she was able to cover more ground than her armored persuer. However, another sight ahead startled her. She saw as someone magically appeared further down, and did not know what to make of them.
She dove into the brush, running in a random direction to get away from any whom she did not know. It was not the safest option, but it was the easiest one that her panicked mind could conceive. It was better to avoid any contact with others until she could escape in earnest.
She did not get far. In the fallen leaves and underbrush, her foot caught something. It was a somewhat-concealed sack filled with some sort of metal, as well as some other heavy things. She fell immediately to her stomach, just barely getting her arms under her in time to break the fall. After her ordeal, she lacked the strength to rise again. Hopefully, she though, she would be hidden enough to avoid detection.
As the older man spoke she just listen . She was not sure if she need to say anything or not. It seemed that everyone was leaving. She would soon do the same. The girl was free and that was all that mattered to her.
Della watched the two men as they left. she supposed that she would now need to go and get her bag of stolen goods. The thing was that she would have to go in the same direction that everyone else agent. So she sighed as she moved in that direction a bit sore Frome the fight.
Frode turned his head to the brush. Thought he heard something. In case the girl tries to sneak off Frode tore off a piece of fabric and drew a simple rune on it. An alarm rune. Can't be too careful. Walking along the trail he also changed his apparel. It becoming more clean and luxurious. This was again with the same thought that one can never be too careful. Along the trail Frode saw the armored man sprinting toward him. In his newly crafted voice he said "Now now lad. What exactly are you rushing off to? Hm... Perhaps you know that lady that passed by? If you want I can tell her where she went." This was troubling. Apparently he did pass by the girl. This was starting to get annoying.
The man was on approach towards yet another stranger. Perhaps he should be questioning why this road was so popular today. Sure, it linked the two nations, but it was not a highway by any means. However, his one-track mind kept him focused on the task at hand. He slowed his pace significantly, but coming to a quick and complete stop with such weight and momentum was much too difficult.
"Yes! Tell me where she is! Did she follow the trail?"
It was only after he just passed the man that he was able to halt completely. His tone was hurried and impatient. He needed the answer right away.
Hearing the man's voice, the woman quietly rolled over in the underbrush. She watched the two, still as the trees that surrounded her. Her gaze was averted only for a moment when a single beam of light glinted off an item at her feet. There was gold, fallen out of a crude sack during the impact. There was even more inside, judging by the look of it.
Good luck, the woman thought. She may have needed this. Should she get out of this alive, perhaps such treasure could help her build a new life. She refrained from taking any though. The woman was waiting for the coast to clear.
Della was making her way through the woods towards the spot where she left her bag. As she close to the spot she saw the woman from earlier was there. No normally she would be upset at someone else finding her stolen goods. However she not feel that way at the moment. When heard the men talking amoung each other. Looks like she found out where the armored man had when. And there was yet another stranger talking to him. She decided to keep quiet until they passed.
Keeping up the farce of a being a simple old man he grinned knowingly at the armored mans rush. "If it's such a urgent matter I suppose I can tell you. She went down the road alright. She also seemed to be in quite a hurry." At that he tilted his head upward as if in thought. This was odd. Frode was sure the girl came down this way. Unless.... briefly Frode's eyes wandered the forest around them before returning to the armored man. "I'll be off then. Hope she isn't in any trouble." At that Frode continued walking up the path like nothing was wrong but as soon as Frode left the man's line of sight he cast a rune of stealth and entered the forest where he thought he heard the noise. Perhaps she went off the road to avoid detection? Simply tactic but it could work in certain cases.
The bounty hunter was not one for small talk. As soon as his question was answered, he was off. He continued down the trail with what haste he could muster. Before long, the armor-clad man hunter was out of sight.
Everyone had disappeared, leaving the woman alone in the brush. She stood up, and scanned the surrounding woodlands. She saw no one...
She had done it, she thought. She had escaped her fate. All that was left was to get away from this place, hopefully with a sack of treasure to start life anew. She fell to her knees, and raked what gold had fallen back into the sack before rising picking with it in hand.
It was heavier than she thought, but nothing she could not handle. She gave one final look around to make sure she was alone.
Della saw that the two men were gone. She glanced over to where the girl was now. She was surprised that even though she had her treasure Della did not care. She just wanted the other female to be safe. Strange she usually did not give a care. Maybe she was loading her evil touch. She moved now just watching and waiting to see what happens next.