For two days, Tayli had ridden behind them as far away as she could without
losing sight of them. She watched the group, and knew that they watched
her, wary of her movements. She was, despite everything, surprised that
they had not made an attacking move yet. Half relieved, half wary that they
were misleading her and would host a surprise attack during the night, she
continued on, following on the rough road that wound up through the now
steeper and higher hills.
The forest was unchanged, though the towering mountains seemed much closer now, and she wasn't sure if they were riding over large hills or small mountains. The country, however, was absolutely breathtaking, and the view from the top of a hill, over the smaller hills and up towards the mountains, with a leafy green carpet covering it all, and occasional pockets of lush, fresh grass, was gorgeous. A few clear blue rivers wound through, along with the dusty road, and sometimes a sheer rock face would come into view on a side of a huge mountain ahead of them. Blankets of mist rolled across the valleys and crowned the top of the mountains, giving it all a fairy-like, peaceful quality that she would never forget.
At night, Tayli ventured into the woods to sleep, wrapped up in her cloak. She woke up shivering at the first rays of gray light the next morning. It was getting cool during the day, and cold at night, and everything was wet with pearly drops of dew, and covered in a wispy blanket of fog in the morning. She knew Moonflight, though trained for this sort of mission, was uncomfortable in the enclosed woods, though they could make their way through it soundlessly enough at a walking pace.
At about mid-afternoon of the second day, they saw a small, sturdy log cottage with a clearing cut around it. Tayli, who stopped closer to the knights and Terian than usual, overheard Michael, who had been this way before, say to the prince that it was a traveler's resting place, kept up by the city of Lubran. They would reach 'that beautiful city' within 2 days if nothing-and his tone had darkened-unexpected happened. Tayli assumed that the reference to something 'unexpected' dealt with her.
To the mutual surprise of everyone, there was a horse grazing in the grassy clearing around the cottage, and worn, though well looked-after tack lying close to the door. Obviously someone had been there a short while ago, though they were not there now. The knights released their horses in the field, and stretched out to take a nap, while Sir William mounted guard (Tayli had noticed that he volunteered often-she approved that. Wariness was something that could save your life).
Retreating farther into the forest, Tayli leaned against the tree, her guard up and ears pricked for any sound from the men. It was not surprising, therefore, that she heard the footsteps long before she saw the man.
It was near dark when she started hearing the crunch of feet on dead leaves. For a while, they became louder and then paused, though Tayli could sense that the person stood very close by. She sat watching Moonflight, who had pricked his ears up and was looking behind and slightly to the side of her, nostrils flaring. She and her dark cloak had blended almost perfectly into the shadow of the huge tree she leaned against, and not a sound or movement betrayed her presence to the unknown thing behind her. It had obviously made up its mind, because it walked forward and into Tayli's line of vision. In the dusk, she could barely make out the figure of a man, approaching her horse as silently as possible. Tayli waited patiently. When he had reached the quivering and nervous horse, he proceeded to astound his silent watcher. Undoing the first of her saddlebags, he quickly and glibly reached inside. resounded in Tayli's mind, and she sprang up, plunging her hand inside her cloak and grasping a dagger handle.
The man whirled round and before he could do anything else, the sharp blade had flown out of Tayli's grasp and thudded into the arm with which he was stealing something of hers. Tayli silently congratulated herself on not accidentally killing the man-she just wanted to teach him a lesson. For a moment, the thief stared in shock at the blade imbedded in his arm, as if not believing that it was there. Tayli knew how he felt-it had happened often enough to her. For the first second, you felt no pain.
Transferring his attention from his arm, on which a dark stain of blood was spreading, to Tayli, the man screamed, loud and horrible, as if scared out of his mind. Moonflight, panicking slightly, reared and voiced an as-loud neigh, almost striking the man with his flailing front hoofs. The last Tayli saw of him was his back as he fled crashing through the woods.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Garram jumped up from his crouch by the large, crackling fire as a loud, human scream rent the peaceful night air in two. His fellows stared at each other in shock, and a trace of fear as a neigh that sounded as if it came from a demon-horse came right after.
It was only a moment before they heard crashing in the woods outside, and then the thud of feet by the door. The men armed themselves, steeling for whatever might come, when the door was pushed open to reveal a man leaning on the doorframe and clutching his arm, which was stained with dripping blood and boasted a protruding knife. The newcomer stared at them hazily for a minute before collapsing to the ground.
Garram, the healer, took immediate charge of the situation, even before the others had gathered their wits. "Carry him here, to the fire, but be careful! Luke, get some water and try to get him to swallow. Bert, bath his face with a wet cloth. Michael, you try to gently take his shirt off. Whatever you do, DON'T REMOVE THE KNIFE! William, I'll need my bandages-in my saddlebags-and cut long strips in your worst shirt. Natal and Frenery, go and a bowl-full of water from the barrel that we found, we'll need it. Now move aside, all of you! Hand me a wet cloth, someone, I'll have to clean this before I can work. It's stopped bleeding much, that's good. Zachary, Jerrold, hold him down, he may become conscious now, this will hurt him." And the stranger did become conscious with a groan as he tried to sit up. He was forced down again, but as soon as Garram finished expertly cleaning and bandaging the wound and making a sling, he was allowed to sit up and was fed.
"Now tell us your story," Michael said gravely.
The forest was unchanged, though the towering mountains seemed much closer now, and she wasn't sure if they were riding over large hills or small mountains. The country, however, was absolutely breathtaking, and the view from the top of a hill, over the smaller hills and up towards the mountains, with a leafy green carpet covering it all, and occasional pockets of lush, fresh grass, was gorgeous. A few clear blue rivers wound through, along with the dusty road, and sometimes a sheer rock face would come into view on a side of a huge mountain ahead of them. Blankets of mist rolled across the valleys and crowned the top of the mountains, giving it all a fairy-like, peaceful quality that she would never forget.
At night, Tayli ventured into the woods to sleep, wrapped up in her cloak. She woke up shivering at the first rays of gray light the next morning. It was getting cool during the day, and cold at night, and everything was wet with pearly drops of dew, and covered in a wispy blanket of fog in the morning. She knew Moonflight, though trained for this sort of mission, was uncomfortable in the enclosed woods, though they could make their way through it soundlessly enough at a walking pace.
At about mid-afternoon of the second day, they saw a small, sturdy log cottage with a clearing cut around it. Tayli, who stopped closer to the knights and Terian than usual, overheard Michael, who had been this way before, say to the prince that it was a traveler's resting place, kept up by the city of Lubran. They would reach 'that beautiful city' within 2 days if nothing-and his tone had darkened-unexpected happened. Tayli assumed that the reference to something 'unexpected' dealt with her.
To the mutual surprise of everyone, there was a horse grazing in the grassy clearing around the cottage, and worn, though well looked-after tack lying close to the door. Obviously someone had been there a short while ago, though they were not there now. The knights released their horses in the field, and stretched out to take a nap, while Sir William mounted guard (Tayli had noticed that he volunteered often-she approved that. Wariness was something that could save your life).
Retreating farther into the forest, Tayli leaned against the tree, her guard up and ears pricked for any sound from the men. It was not surprising, therefore, that she heard the footsteps long before she saw the man.
It was near dark when she started hearing the crunch of feet on dead leaves. For a while, they became louder and then paused, though Tayli could sense that the person stood very close by. She sat watching Moonflight, who had pricked his ears up and was looking behind and slightly to the side of her, nostrils flaring. She and her dark cloak had blended almost perfectly into the shadow of the huge tree she leaned against, and not a sound or movement betrayed her presence to the unknown thing behind her. It had obviously made up its mind, because it walked forward and into Tayli's line of vision. In the dusk, she could barely make out the figure of a man, approaching her horse as silently as possible. Tayli waited patiently. When he had reached the quivering and nervous horse, he proceeded to astound his silent watcher. Undoing the first of her saddlebags, he quickly and glibly reached inside. resounded in Tayli's mind, and she sprang up, plunging her hand inside her cloak and grasping a dagger handle.
The man whirled round and before he could do anything else, the sharp blade had flown out of Tayli's grasp and thudded into the arm with which he was stealing something of hers. Tayli silently congratulated herself on not accidentally killing the man-she just wanted to teach him a lesson. For a moment, the thief stared in shock at the blade imbedded in his arm, as if not believing that it was there. Tayli knew how he felt-it had happened often enough to her. For the first second, you felt no pain.
Transferring his attention from his arm, on which a dark stain of blood was spreading, to Tayli, the man screamed, loud and horrible, as if scared out of his mind. Moonflight, panicking slightly, reared and voiced an as-loud neigh, almost striking the man with his flailing front hoofs. The last Tayli saw of him was his back as he fled crashing through the woods.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Garram jumped up from his crouch by the large, crackling fire as a loud, human scream rent the peaceful night air in two. His fellows stared at each other in shock, and a trace of fear as a neigh that sounded as if it came from a demon-horse came right after.
It was only a moment before they heard crashing in the woods outside, and then the thud of feet by the door. The men armed themselves, steeling for whatever might come, when the door was pushed open to reveal a man leaning on the doorframe and clutching his arm, which was stained with dripping blood and boasted a protruding knife. The newcomer stared at them hazily for a minute before collapsing to the ground.
Garram, the healer, took immediate charge of the situation, even before the others had gathered their wits. "Carry him here, to the fire, but be careful! Luke, get some water and try to get him to swallow. Bert, bath his face with a wet cloth. Michael, you try to gently take his shirt off. Whatever you do, DON'T REMOVE THE KNIFE! William, I'll need my bandages-in my saddlebags-and cut long strips in your worst shirt. Natal and Frenery, go and a bowl-full of water from the barrel that we found, we'll need it. Now move aside, all of you! Hand me a wet cloth, someone, I'll have to clean this before I can work. It's stopped bleeding much, that's good. Zachary, Jerrold, hold him down, he may become conscious now, this will hurt him." And the stranger did become conscious with a groan as he tried to sit up. He was forced down again, but as soon as Garram finished expertly cleaning and bandaging the wound and making a sling, he was allowed to sit up and was fed.
"Now tell us your story," Michael said gravely.