Appearing back by the horses, he held her close as he mounted on his horse, pulling the reigns on hers to bring it close. In an instant, he was rushing towards the forest, though he managed to pull out the arrow, only a dirty cloth was keeping it closed and he knew the forest was a few days travel from here.
She remained unconscious throughout the trip, only taking small breaks for the horses and to rewrap the wounds, keeping it as clean as he possibly could. Finally, he saw the treeline of the forest and breathed a sigh of relief, he stopped only momentarily to look around, finding the mountain and forcing his horse to turn in the direction. He struggled to remember the directions she had given him but assured himself he knew it.
Looking down at his horse he patted his gently, "I need you to run as fast as you can until we get there." The horse neighed in response, never reieving the word to move again and ran forward on its own, shooting right into the forest.
As they ran through the forest, he began to notice a glow, unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was warm, inviting, illuminated the forest in every direction just enough to have seen it upon nearing the location. He prayed that is what she spoke of, the hidden oasis.
His horse cut through bushes and the treeline that seemed to move just enough to create a trail for them. He paid no mind to it, only focused on getting closer to the light. Then, finally he emerged into the oasis, his horse slowed to a stop.
This place was astonishing, he thought. The leaves of the trees gave off a faint glow, the vines that hung off of their branches seemed buzzing with life. Flowers that were in full bloom were glowing in a variety of neon colors, just enough to light the small area around them. Fireflies lit up the area around him, buzzing with life at his presence. He wanted to explore, see more of this fantastic place, but there was little time.
Dismounting, he carefully pulled her off the horse and carried her into an open area, gently resting her down on a comfortable patch of grass. Then a thought crossed his mind, "river." He whispered and looked around. Searching his thoughts for what she told him once before, he remembered to just listen to the world around him so he did. After a moment, he moved to a stand and followed the sounds, moving through a nearby brush, he spotted a small glowing river that looked deep enough to swim, but short enough to easily cross.
Nodding to himself, he moved back over to her and looked down at her wound, debating his thoughts. Then, as much as he didn't like the idea, began to remove her armor, removed her cloak and then lifted up her shirt just enough to get a better look at the wound. There was something else that caught his eye, something that instantly set of burning rage through every cell of his body.
There, on her stomach sat a crude tattoo, a burn mark of a black hand.
He knew this symbol well, knew that this was a symbol of the Ivory Kings greatest warriors. A secret group of rogues who were known to be the most feared assassins in all the lands. A group that worked closely with the Ivory King. For the briefest moment, he almost decided upon leaving her there to die, but as his eyes trailed up her body to her face hidden behind the helmet. He suddenly couldn't find the strength to get up and leave.