He was on the trail, he knew that much and he would have his target within a day if he kept up his pace. And he knew he would. The damned slave had given him the runaround for three days straight and though Ki'adan had tried to be discreet enough to keep the slave ignorant of his pursuit, apparently he was smart enough to know better. Just great; the smart ones were always the worst.
But it wasn't enough to deter the slave hunter from pressing through the wilds, and pushing his men, to the edge of the Adelan border. Perhaps the slave thought if he could get out of the country, he was home free. As if the Duhjari rider was going to let him go that easily. However, the slave was pushing it awful close and the men that followed him were growing tired and reluctant to go further.
All the better, he thought. The last thing he needed were six other people to slow him down. And he alone ventured to the edge of Adela. Ki'adan paused when he reached the edge of the Draconi forest, where the grasses grew longer, and the wind blew chill. His dark eyes stared out toward the plains, faint memories floating on the winds and, with them, vanishing.
Ki'adan knew the risks he was taking in venturing here once more, though from this view the Plains seemed distant and empty, barren of little more than the wild animals that roamed it. A fox scurried out from underneath his horse, Bal'an, a white beast, powerful and strong with blood of those of the Duhjari line. There were many things Ki'adan had shed of his past, many things that had weighed him down and would do nothing more than hinder him from the freedom he so desperately clung to. But his horse was not one of them.
With little more delay, other than watching the pale sun fade into orange on the horizon below, Ki nudged his horse to slowly walk out through the grasses, and his rider, ever watchful.
Eylene shivered as the chill on the wind settled in her bones. They had been chasing her for the past few weeks now, but she had been lucky enough to outlast them. They will tire eventually, go home and tell the man who sent them that they had killed her. He wanted her head, but any story of how they had taken pleasure in bludgeoning her to death, leaving nothing recognisable in its place would persuade him that she was dead.
Eylene pulled her cloak back around her. Her feet was only a dull ache these days, she had been on the run for so long that she barely felt the rocks that managed to dig into her feet through the soles of her boots. Two or three days had passed since she had last seen any sight of her pursuers, but she kept a watchful eye on the long grasses that stretched out away from her. Night was falling fast, the sun just dipped below the horizon, sprinkling the sky with the tiny, white, flickering stars.
Maybe she could afford a small fire. She had shot and killed a rabbit today, but she didn't fancy raw meat any more than the next person.
Eylene started searching for broken twigs, being careful not to leave any traces that there had been a log there before she took it.
Looking for a spot where the grass was highest, she set about carefully crafting a small fire and hiding its light from the outside world. Of course she could never eliminate it entirely, she just hoped that it was enough for any curious eyes to overlook.
These early yards would be the easy ones, and yet the most tentative. Ki held his breath as Bal'an passed through the tall grasses, which reached all the way up to his knees, even on his horse. But he could see fairly well and his eyes canned the horizon line. He knew what kind of dangers were he was putting himself in by setting foot here. Thankfully there were too many raiding parties this far north. But being a nomad didn't mean one set still.
As darkness slowly fell on the grasslands, Ki'adan could have sworn he made out a smlll light in the distance. A sinister grin took his face and he scoffed a little to himself. Slipping from his saddle, he pulled his bow from his back and and arrow, carefully stalking through the tall grasses, careful at every step.
The rabbit didn't do much to fill the empty hole in the pit of her stomach, but then again, only a huge home-cooked meal would ever have done that much.
The night's sounds were picking up with the wind, slicing through her coat. She knew that the small flames that licked at the dry wood were dangerous, but she couldn't bring herself to putting them out. The little warmth that radiated from it was small comfort, but at least it was something.
Somewhere behind her a twig snapping made her jump. Her throwing knife was in her hand in an instant, but the night was still around her. After a while Eylene let her eyes turn back to the fire, but she couldn't stop the scream that bubbled up in her throat.
Right there in front of her was a man with an arrow pointed straight at her heart. She had heard the twig snap behind her, but this man had somehow gone right around her and ended up in front of her.
She was only aware of having moved when her body hit the ground. She had fallen off the rock she had been sitting on, the scream cutting of abruptly at the impact.
Ki'adan had learned, in all the years he'd lived on the Plains in his youth, how to move through the grass without disturbing more than the dirt, and not even then. He breathed softly, the cool night air, pouring in his lungs like an arctic kiss and back out again, his dark hair had been well hidden beneath the hood of his cloak and soon he was nearly beside the camp of the woman when her scream abruptly pierced the air.
He immediately ducked low in the grasses and watched from his position as another man was suddenly upon the owner of the camp, with a bow and arrow in his grip. Ki'adan didn't make a move nor a sound and only kept his eyes glued on the two before him, but fifteen feet away.
Eylene watched as the man in front of her advanced. She had thought that she had lost the pursuers that were on her trail, but clearly she had underestimated them. This man had been following her for the entire time, she would know his face anywhere.
Eylene scrambled to her feet as the man inched closer to her. Her heart was beating rapidly in her throat as she saw the smirk on her attacker's face. This is where her luck would run out.
Eylene tensed up, ready for more men to step out from the long grass, but none did. Maybe he was alone. The thought gave her some hope. She could take one man, more was a little tricky, but surely one would not be so bad?
Eylene was only aware of the knife leaving her hand when she felt the blood splattering on her face.
Her aim was off, but then again, she was never really good at throwing knives. The knife had cut him just below his eye and the roar he gave promised nothing good to come her way.
Ki'adan held his breath as he watched the entire display with wide eyes. He didn't utter a word and could do nothing as the he saw the knife suddenly thrown at the woman's attacker. He heard his screams, tensed up at the sounds, but so far he made no move to interfere. A part of him wanted to move on, knowing he should have no part in this. This was not his fight after all, and the longer he lingered here the further and further away did his prey escape.
But suddenly he saw the man stand up and grab the knife she'd thrown at him. And just as abruptly he was upon her, trying to pin her down and drive the knife down on her, screaming bloody acts of violence. Ki'adan's hands itched on his bow, his heart racing in his chest and every second seemed to pass by like an hour. He pulled back his bow, slowly, watching waiting. But he didn't have to wait long when suddenly his arrow flew and drove home in the man's chest. He hadn't even realized he'd been standing, fully exposed from his hiding place, and gasped when he came back to himself.
The man was on top of her so fast that Eylene was caught off guard. He pinned her to the ground, still cursing and screaming at her. No amount of kicking at him did her any good. Her legs just flailed about, not even coming into contact with anything.
This was it. This was how she would die. Strangely enough, she was ready for it. If this was what it took to get out of the hell her life had become, then maybe it was for the best. She closed her eyes just as he lifted her throwing knife, ready to drive it into her heart when suddenly the weight on her shifted. Her eyes shot open, but the only thing she could see was the glaze that only death could bring dulling her attacker's eyes.
Freeing herself from the prison his body put on hers she could finally see the reason for his death. An arrow pierced his heart. The icy grip of fear latched itself onto her throat as she scrambled away from the dead body, her eyes scanning the tall grass all around her. Finally her eyes fell on a shape just out of the light cast by her small fire.
The man was somewhere between standing up straight and crouching, almost as if he was undecided about what he should be doing. Involuntarily, Eylene backed up away from her unlikely savior. She didn't know this man, but just because she didn't know him, didn't mean he wasn't out to kill her. He might just have saved her life, but what's there to keep him from taking it?
"Uhm... Thank you?" Eylene muttered, not sure if he could even hear her, but it seemed approriate, in a way.
In a way the thank you had fallen on deaf ears as Ki'adan was unsure whether or not he wanted to step forth from the grasses. But as his hiding place had been discovered, by no short fault of his own and he was stock still for the longest time. His eyes first fell on the man and then shortly after the woman that wiggled out from underneath him.
Ki'adan suddenly stood up and rushed toward the body, turning him over, thinking the man was the slave he followed and gave a sigh of relief before following. He did pry the arrow from his chest and wiped it on his shirt before placing it back within his quiver. Still no words came when his eyes fell on the woman who thanked him once more.
He narrowed his eyes at her, scowling. "You idiot! Don't you know better than to make an fire out here! You get exposed, you die!"
"I was..." Eylene's feeble excuse faded away with his narrowed eyes on her. Yes, building a fire was stupid, but did he really have to be so upset about it? She never asked him to save her life. Heck, she would have been happy to die, knowing that she did everything in her power so far to avenge her family.
"Then why don't you go? If you're so upset at being exposed when I'm clearly endangering you, go," she couldn't keep the venom out of her words as she pulled herself to her feet. This had been a long day and she would like nothing better than to get away from these two men.
"Best idea I've heard all night," Ki whispered grimly, uncaring whether she heard or not. Ki'adan grabbed the body of the dead man and searched him, finding few things useful. He found some coin, wrapped in a small leather purse, and he took it for himself and a set of necklaces that could prove valuable. When the body was sufficiently looted, he took it and smashed it over the fire, sufficiently smothering it.
His eyes adjusted in the dark better than most men and he rose from the grasses, preparing to leave. He took one last second to give a final glare to the woman when something came zipping through the darkness. It didn't take long for the force to send Ki'adan reeling back on the ground, an arrow seeping out from his shoulder. All of a sudden there were at least ten men surrounding them, one of them a stout bastard that was reknocking an arrow in his bow. He was undoubtedly the leader between the group of men.
And he came over to the girl first, a wicked grin plastered across his face. "Gotcha," he snickered, looking down on her.
Eylene watched as the man looted the dead body. She could never get over the fact that people would do that. Your possessions were yours, after all, deceased or not. The killer didn't have any right to take your life as well as your possessions. She bit on her lower lip to keep herself from flinging a stinging remark at him.
Neither did she have to look for an excuse to break the silence, because an arrow came out of nowhere and knocked him down right in front of her. Eylene spun around, only to realize, for the first time that they were surrounded by a group of men. The leader, who she would recognise anywhere, was a stout man named Lian.
"Gotcha," he snickered as he said it, making Eylene's stomach drop. Yes, it would definitely have been better if the first man had killed her. She contemplated only a second, glancing at her first saviour and trying to figure out how to get him out of this, but it was impossible, the men were standing on either sides of him, blocking escape.
That wouldn't keep her from running herself. Eylene spun around and before anyone could comprehend, ducked between the outstretched arms behind her and bolted towards the tall grass. She however didn't count on the young man that set off after her. He grabbed her around the ankle as he dove for her and she plummeted to the ground.
"Not so fast there, sweetheart, you've been running long enough," Lian walked over to her with a smirk on his face.
As Lian had gone on after the girl, Ki'adan tried to stand up when a boot suddenly came beating down on his chest. The arrow was embedded into his shoulder and the pain reached out and grabbed him coldly. He grabbed the ankle with his good arm, when a sword came down to his throat. "Oh, no, no, no, no, don't you move!" growled the man above him. He was dark-faced, even in the night and he grinned with two gold teeth glinting from his mouth. "After all, any friends of Elyene's is a friend of ours," he grunted at the man.
"Who the fuck are you guys!?" Ki'adan spat, as the man's foot came down by his shoulder and pressed down on the wound, then bent down and yanked the arrow from his arm. He seemed to take enjoyment from his sudden scream that tore across the night
"Oh, me?" the man replied after laughing. "I'm Krill, that's Gip, Morse, Vann, and you know Lian. He's a crack shot. And who we are...." He laughed again. "You're about to find out."
Eylene stopped struggling to get her feet from the young man's grip when she heard the scream. What if they killed her savior? He didn't do anything to hurt her, in fact, he only tried to help her. He got shot because of her.
She shook her head. No, if it wasn't for him, she would be good and dead right now, which would be infinitely better than what lay ahead for her now. Slavery, beatings and who knows what else?
This was all his fault. If he had just stayed out of it like he was supposed to, then none of this would be happening right now, but no, he had to interfere. It was his own fault he got hurt while trying to help her.
Lian kneeled down in front of her, blocking her view of Krill with his boot still on her savior's chest.
"You know, little girl, you gave us quite the runaround. You will wish you have never tried to enter our master's manor by the time we're through with you. Heck, you'll wish you have never been born!" Liam laughed as she felt the young man that tackled her tie her hands behind her back. The night's cold swept into her bones, freezing her where she lay sprawled on the ground.
They treated him just as roughly as they did the girl. Krill leaned down and plucked Ki'adan conveniently off the ground by his wounded shoulder. It was easy to use pain to keep him under Krill's control, but Ki'adan knew it would only last so long before they bound his hands and stripped him of his weapons - that was if they could find them all. It was the same method they used to capture those that had given them a maddening chase. Strike them down in the let or arm, or shoulder if you were a poor shot, then drag them back on their bellies.
But Ki'adan was starting to get a feeling that these men weren't slavers like he was. And from what he gauged from Lian's words, they were headed to a punishment worse than slavery. He growled at Krill as the dark man put him in binds, tying his wrists behind his back and lifting him by his arms. Ki'adan refused to yell despite the protest of his wound and only grit his teeth.
"Help Lian, Gip! Vann come help me with this one. Boy is he feisty! We'll get ye back to the manor in one piece - mostly," Krill laughed as he and Vann plucked Ki'adan off the ground, even as he kicked and squirmed. Vann wrapped his legs around his hips, clutching his ankles, while Krill held him from underneath his arms, transporting him like a rotting log. Lian and Gip did the same with Eylene.
"Let me go! You don't know who you're fooling with! Really you don't!" Ki'adan seethed and spat and continued to struggle, but Vann had a good grip on his legs. "I don't even know that wench! Take her, but leave me out of it!"
"And I suppose Ral just dropped dead all by himself!" Van laughed. "We ain't in the matter of sorting things out. We'll leave that to Lian. Who knows, maybe he'll let you beat the girl, take a finger or two. Then we'll take one of yours." Krill laughed too and readjusted his hold on Ki'adan's arms.
"You stupid fucks! I'll be the one taking your fingers if you don't let me go now!" Ki growled. "I might even leave it at that and not kill you!"
They just laughed more shortly after telling him to shut up. Despite his better judgment, Ki'adan said only one more thing. "Where are you taking us? Why?" Well, two things.
Eylene was yanked up by her shoulders and feet. Somewhere beyond her sight she could hear her saviour cursing and swearing at their captors. Eylene tried not to look for him, but she couldn't help it.
This was his fault, she could do nothing about that, but she couldn't help but feel guilty. If she hadn't lit the fire or broke into their manor, then they would never have met under these circumstances. He would still be on his merry little way.
"Where are you taking us? Why?" She could hear her thoughts reflected in her rescuer's words and Eylene caught sight of him being carried by two men. Even though she couldn't stand him, she felt her heart sink. No way would they take her without a fight.
Eylene pulled back, yanking her feet from the Gip's hands. The sudden change in her posture pulled Liam down with her weight. She struggled to her feet, kicking hard at Lian's face before she launched herself towards the two men that had a hold of her rescuer. The surprise in their faces was the que she needed. She threw herself at Krill. He dropped his load and Eylene turned to Vann who also dropped the legs to defend himself, but Eylene felt a sharp pain in the back of her head before she collapsed next to the man on the ground.
When the girl promptly smacked Ki's captors and he fell to the ground, the air was promptly smashed out of him. And it wasn't long before she too joined him on the ground. He turned his head to look at her when his sense came back to him. "You're either really brave or really stupid," he growled at her. "My money's on stupid!" But it wasn't long before each pair of men kicked both of them and then lifted them back up from the ground.
Stupid? Yeah, maybe she wasn't in her right mind, but at least she tried to fight it. You can be defeated many times over, but when you stop fighting, that's when you realize you are weak.
"Stupid? Yeah, I guess I am, but you're no better," Eylene spat at him before they were carried away from each other.
"That's for fuckin' sure," Ki'adan rolled his eyes and felt the weight of him being carried back in their initial direction. They were carried for what seemed like a mile or two in a western direction, but at an angle like this and recovering from the wind being knocked out of him, Ki'adan couldn't be sure. But suddenly the smell of smoke and fire came into his nostrils and with a turn of his head he could see a small camp in the distance, no doubt their destination.
He turned his eyes to the stars and blinked, reading their direction. Yes, west, indeed. There were at least three warring clans in this area of the plains, and while that might be good for his situation, perhaps has a distraction to break free and escape, he didn't want to be caught by horselords. It would only serve to make a bad situation all that much worse.
Once they were in camp, they set Ki'adan on the ground and drove a large stake between his arms into the ground to keep him confined in place. The girl was placed on a stake opposite him as the men moved away, feeling secure in their catch. Finally, Ki'adan turned his head toward Eylene an gestured toward the men. "I get the feeling you know these guys. What the hell did you do to get them so riled up?"
At first Eylene just blinked at him. Why in the world was he talking to her? He seemed pretty pissed at her in the first place. Well, she was pissed at him too! She didn't do anything to him. He was the one that got them into this situation in the first place.
She shifted her weight, trying to get rid of the rock that dug into her ribcage before she turned her eyes back to the man opposite her. Maybe it would be best to just answer him. Why not humor him?
"Know them? That's the understatement of the day. I tried to kill their leader. Not Lian, he's an underdog compared to that man!"
"Then I guess it's fair to say you didn't succeed and they're looking to exact a little retribution," Ki muttered both to her and himself. Though it was true, he was irritated with her, as far as he was concerned the enemy of his enemy was his friend and perhaps it would be less prudent to demean her as he wanted to.
Chewing out could always be reserved for later at a more convenient moment.
"Hey, I know we have little reason to trust each other, but I'm not lookin' to die in some bandit camp, or wherever this is, so whaddya say we put the irritation aside and we find a way to bust out of this joint?" he whispered to her. But it seemed his words wouldn't get much of a response when one of the guards came by and spat at Ki'adan's face.
"Sonuvabitch," he griped, rubbing his cheek on his shoulder. He turned back to the girl. "My guess is the leader is that big one over by the tent, right?"
Escape from this camp? That seems impossible, but the man across from her seemed capable enough, maybe he could be a good ally. Not that she thought they would ever be anything beyond forced allies, but at least that was something. That could just as well keep his knife out of her back.
Eylene turned her head as far as she could to see the man he was indicating towards. The tents stood only a little away from them and Eylene could clearly make out the man in the light from a nearby fire. The telltale scar down his left cheek marked him as their unmistakable leader.
"Yes, that's him. His name is Ruthgard," Eylene looked around her before she lowered her voice to a whisper, "Escaping seems like a... likable option. What do you have in mind?"
[Sorry for the long delay!]
"Hmm, well, nothing solid yet. I'll need a bit more time, a few more details, before I can formulate a proper plan. I imagine in the meantime, we'll be strangled a little, beaten within an inch of our lives, and - if we're lucky- be sold into slavery." Ki'adan cursed and peered at his newfound companion.
"Well, you gotta name don't ya? Least some kind of code to call you when we make our grand gesture toward these lovely ladies. I'm Renault."
"Call me Eylene," she looked at their captors who was sure enough making their way over to them before she continued, "I guess you're right, Renault, we will never get out of this unscathed, but there's no reason not to fight back!" She smiled cynically back at him before the stake that kept her down was pulled out and she was yanked to her feet.
"Boss wants to see you, sweetheart," Gip's face was so close to hers that she could smell his rank breath before he pulled her away.
"See you, maybe," Eylene called back over her shoulder.
[OMG I thought I replied to this! So sorry!]
Gip was no less rough with her than he was with Ki'adan. But because her sex made her out to be the most delicate of the two, Ruthgard gave special orders to see to it that she wasn't harmed more than she needed to be. So Gip found it suitable enough to swing her from side to side a little before finally settling her on the ground across from the fire where Ruthgard sat.
He only looked at her after Gip planted her on the ground and he stepped back, smiling smugly at her with ugly teeth. Ruthgard gave a grunt and grinned at the small girl. He looked her over, with some hunger on his part, but it soon faded away. "How far did you think you could get exactly?" his voice rumbled out to Eylene, almost like a purr.
"Well, to tell you the truth, I was hoping on a little longer, but you see, there's only so much a girl can hope for. At least I did what I set out to do to you in the first place," Eylene let a grin spread across her face.
"And what is that?"
"I caused you an inconvenience. It could have been worse, I see that now, but I'll settle for what I got," Eylene stopped herself short of stepping back. His eyes glinted maliciously at her. She could see now how he did with her family what he did. He will still pay. Even if it was the last thing she ever did.
"Get her out of my sight, Gip!" Ruthgard hissed through his clenched teeth, his entire body trembling.
"Don't worry, Ruthgard, I'm not done with you just yet," Eylene could hear him roar behind her, but Gip had already turned her away from Ruthgard, so she contented herself with the knowledge that she had struck a soft spot as Gip dragged her back to where she was chained up before.