Ch 2.
Following the path of the riders was not difficult, as they had been travelling for speed, not stealth. This puzzled Drew, until he reached the crest of a hill and saw where the path was leading him.
The IronBack Ridges. One of the only places in the Fae Kingdoms that thwarted Fae magic.
Ah-ha, Drew mused. I was right. She is royalty. His luck was indeed smiling on him today.
That the Fae would hurry to take the woman to the IronBack Ridges told him that they feared that magic would be used to find and take the woman back. As only those of Fae Royal Blood could perform the magic required to scry and transport people, it was obvious that the riders hoped to get to the mountains before they were seen. The large amounts of iron ore buried in the heart of the mountains meant that magic could not penetrate past the foothills of the Ridges, and even before that, any scrying was thick with a kind of magickal fog.
All to my advantage, Drew decided. If the woman is as important as I think, it means that whoever will be looking for her will not have any ideas as to where she is. They will not even be able to feel her essence, whether she is alive or dead. When I present her back to them, they will be so grateful, they will shower me with gold!
Drew was so taken by the idea, daydreaming of the mountains of gold that would be his, that he nearly lost the trail as it suddenly veered off into the brush. Concentrate, he admonished himself. After you have the woman, you can think about the rewards. Until then, concentrate!
He turned off the track and plunged his horse into the low, dry scrub. He was worried about losing the trail, but after a couple of steps, the brush opened to a track that he had not even suspected was there. Little more than a goat track, it seemed to have had a lot of traffic recently. He grinned again. The signs of lots of movement along this path meant that this is something that has been planned over time, he thought to himself. it is not a quick snatch-and-run. This is a pre-meditated Kidnapping. She must be very important for someone to go to all this trouble!
The thought of pre-meditation made him hesitate and slow his horse to a trot. if they have planned this, they could very well have a look-out posted, just in case. He would have to be careful.
He reined the horse in suddenly. A niggling thought that he had had for most of the ride had suddenly screamed to the fore. There had been at least six riders with the woman this morning; what if there were more waiting at wherever they were taking her? He could take on maybe four or five of the men if he had the element of surprise and grab the woman before the others had time to react, but if there were more than eight, he had little chance of surviving, let alone rescuing the woman.
For the first time, he had doubts. Maybe the best idea would be to go back and find a noble, tell them what he had seen and bring them back here. Maybe it would be the wisest course...... he toyed with the idea for a second, and then discarded it ruthlessly. If he told a noble, then they would take all the credit and get all the reward, not him. He would be given a pat on the head and dismissed. No, he decided, he had come this far and his luck had rewarded him. If he turned back now, luck would discard him as a coward. he would go forward and see how his luck fared, and if it held, then all would be fine.
With this thought in his heart, he touched his heels to the flanks of his horse and continued along the trail.
Following the path of the riders was not difficult, as they had been travelling for speed, not stealth. This puzzled Drew, until he reached the crest of a hill and saw where the path was leading him.
The IronBack Ridges. One of the only places in the Fae Kingdoms that thwarted Fae magic.
Ah-ha, Drew mused. I was right. She is royalty. His luck was indeed smiling on him today.
That the Fae would hurry to take the woman to the IronBack Ridges told him that they feared that magic would be used to find and take the woman back. As only those of Fae Royal Blood could perform the magic required to scry and transport people, it was obvious that the riders hoped to get to the mountains before they were seen. The large amounts of iron ore buried in the heart of the mountains meant that magic could not penetrate past the foothills of the Ridges, and even before that, any scrying was thick with a kind of magickal fog.
All to my advantage, Drew decided. If the woman is as important as I think, it means that whoever will be looking for her will not have any ideas as to where she is. They will not even be able to feel her essence, whether she is alive or dead. When I present her back to them, they will be so grateful, they will shower me with gold!
Drew was so taken by the idea, daydreaming of the mountains of gold that would be his, that he nearly lost the trail as it suddenly veered off into the brush. Concentrate, he admonished himself. After you have the woman, you can think about the rewards. Until then, concentrate!
He turned off the track and plunged his horse into the low, dry scrub. He was worried about losing the trail, but after a couple of steps, the brush opened to a track that he had not even suspected was there. Little more than a goat track, it seemed to have had a lot of traffic recently. He grinned again. The signs of lots of movement along this path meant that this is something that has been planned over time, he thought to himself. it is not a quick snatch-and-run. This is a pre-meditated Kidnapping. She must be very important for someone to go to all this trouble!
The thought of pre-meditation made him hesitate and slow his horse to a trot. if they have planned this, they could very well have a look-out posted, just in case. He would have to be careful.
He reined the horse in suddenly. A niggling thought that he had had for most of the ride had suddenly screamed to the fore. There had been at least six riders with the woman this morning; what if there were more waiting at wherever they were taking her? He could take on maybe four or five of the men if he had the element of surprise and grab the woman before the others had time to react, but if there were more than eight, he had little chance of surviving, let alone rescuing the woman.
For the first time, he had doubts. Maybe the best idea would be to go back and find a noble, tell them what he had seen and bring them back here. Maybe it would be the wisest course...... he toyed with the idea for a second, and then discarded it ruthlessly. If he told a noble, then they would take all the credit and get all the reward, not him. He would be given a pat on the head and dismissed. No, he decided, he had come this far and his luck had rewarded him. If he turned back now, luck would discard him as a coward. he would go forward and see how his luck fared, and if it held, then all would be fine.
With this thought in his heart, he touched his heels to the flanks of his horse and continued along the trail.