I have decided to update after the wonderful reviews I received after the Prologue! This chapter is a lot shorter than what I usually write, but it still gets what needs to be said. I hope you like it! R&R! Open to ideas!
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Night had fallen as the gang came across Markador Fief. They had just gotten in from Anselm and were tired from their retreat. Markador was their next target in their child-napping spree. Jory Ruhl turned into the horizon at the rising moon, assessing his ranks. He was pleased until he noticed a single horse coming up from behind. It held two riders, coming at a fairly fast speed. Jory gave a quick hand signal to his men. They instantly faded into the background and stayed totally silent. The rider came up loudly, calling, "I got her! I got her!" The rider, who Ruhl now recognized as one of his scouts pulled up along him. What Jory saw surprised him.
"Why in the name of Gorlog's bloody beard would you bring a body with you? Are you trying to get us killed?"
The rider grinned mischievously at the gang's leader. "No, she is alive. This is Lady Alyss Mainwaring Treaty, a Courier in Redmont Fief." His grin broadened. "Wife of the famous Ranger, Will Treaty. I pulled her out of the fire just before the inn collapsed!"
Jory grinned at the lad on horseback beside him. The rider could almost see penning signs swimming in Jory's eyes. "Ransom," he said.
"Exactly!" The rider turned the Courier over for Jory Ruhl to see. Blisters from the heat that had engulfed her in the inn covered her body. One of her eyes was black and bloodied; Jory guessed that came from falling support beams. Her breathing was shallow and ragged. Jory frowned when he noticed something very alarming. The Courier's lower left arm was badly burnt; nearly to the bone. Charred skin lined the wound. He nearly gagged up his meal right there on the spot. This woman looked like she was on death's door.
"You idiot!" Ruhl exclaimed. "Do you not think we have enough blood on our hands, and to add a dead Courier to it…"
"But, sir," The rider interrupted, "She is not dead."
"But she will be! And how will it look on us then? We already have a life sentence, we could not handle public execution!"
The rider looked up at Ruhl. "What do we do with her?"
"We leave her here," Jory instantly replied, "We give her some of that memory wiping potion you found in Socorro. Then, we turn our tails and get out of Markador as fast as we can."
"But the plan…"
"Forget the plan!" Ruhl snapped, turning his horse around. "We will head to Trelleth and start there. Get moving!"
So there Alyss was left, dying and ill on the outskirts of Amberdon, Markador.
When she woke up, she did not open her eyes. Something told her not to; that she was in foreign territory. She could not tell what was making her cautious. Possibly just instinct or fear. She heard unfamiliar voices and the clanging of pots and pans from afar. Something smelled wonderful. She slowly tried opening her eyes and shut them immediately as the light became too much to handle. She heard a surprised gasp as someone rushed to her side. Her mind was swimming, she did not know where she was, she was desperately confused. She felt a cool cloth covering her eyes and a soft, friendly voice said, "You can open them now. I've drawn the curtains and covered your...let's just say, impaired, eye. Go on ahead."
She gave in to the voice and slowly lifted her eyelids. One of them stung with pain and she kept it closed as her other eye eased open. She could instantly tell something was wrong. She burned all over. Her eye hurt, and there was nothingness where her left arm lay. She took in her surroundings AN/ Yes, I am using "she" a lot, but you will understand why in a few lines. A kind looking woman, probably in her mid-fifties, was looking down at her, smiling. "How are you feeling?"
She grinned slightly, "Like I've been run over by a stampede." The woman giggled and moved the cloth away from the, apparently, impaired eye. "Would you like to try opening the other eye?" She frowned and shook her head in a small sign of "no". Then, the lady's eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"We found you a week ago-well, actually, the town hunter found you. He brought you to us and we got you taken care of." The woman smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry the arm had to go." Understanding dawned on her. Most people would go into shock if they found that their arm was cut off, but she was not phased by this. For some reason, she could not remember living with two arms.
"Excuse me," she said weakly, "But, where am I? And… who am I?"
Man, that was really short... Oh well.
~RangerNinja
