A/N-okay, this one's kinda short, so I'm gonna try to get the next one up asap. For any of you interested in Tamora Pierce's circle of magic books, I've started a second penname there (brierfox), and should be posting the beginnings of a story soon! Just so you know, the character Talorot is supposed to be a little like Tristran, except he's blond and he talks more :) Please enjoy and review!
On the wall, Talorot Syrearm looked out across the expanse of wet green and brown forest beyond the gates. Tomorrow, he, his companions, and his commander, Uther Pendragon would ride to find the Celtic upstart that had murdered lord Pelinius Sartorus, and now had the audacity to raid the many small settlements just outside the gates with his band of equally scummy warriors. He sighed and turned to find Uther watching him.
"What is it my scout?"
"This man we hunt troubles me" Talorot replied lifting his head to the wind as if trying to discern the location of his foe by scent alone. Talorot was a beautiful man. White gold hair that was thick and fell to his shoulders tangled with the few thin braids that marked his occupation as a scout. He had piercing ice blue eyes with flecks of green that possessed a peculiar intensity all their own. His face was weathered due to a long hard life on the trail and a thin white scar ran the length of one cheek stopped under one eye by a dark blue triangular tattoo. He was very tall and lean like a wolf and he radiated danger and solemnity. The most fearsome fighter in the small corps of Sarmatian knights on the wall save Uther himself, he was not a man to be tangled with. No man had ever eluded his capture before, and he didn't plan on letting an upstart Woad boy be the first. Looking back at his commander he said softly
"Let us ride my friend" Uther smiled, a lion to Talorot's wolf. "
It will be a pleasure to feel the saddle beneath me once again." They rode out of the gates that day, intent on catching Wynth Arden, murderer, raider, Woad, and criminal.
Gowan Kelbraiugh was running away. His spies had warned him of Wynth's return, and he planned to be long gone before she could find him. He personally didn't consider it his fault that the information he gave to Lord Pelinius under duress had led to the attack, capture, and eventual burning of her village and its people. How could she think that he had deliberately sold her and her family and friends to the roman?
"For goodness sakes" he thought "I only accepted money from the man once". Unfortunately, however, he didn't plan on sticking around long enough to meet her and tell her this, he was, by far, too much a coward for that. A pudgy, balding man with an unfortunate penchant for sweating, he was gathering his treasures, accumulated after years of service to masters both of Rome and Caledonia, and he was running away. As he slammed the lid shut on the last cache of valuables, a shadow fell across his door. He looked up and his mouth became suddenly and inexplicably dry. Wynth stood there, her arms folded across her breast, her hair dripping from the rain, and her iron gray eyes promising death. Several minutes later one of her band, a man by the name of Boaret came bursting into Gowan's tent, to find Wynth cleaning the blood from her long dirk on Gowan's rich tunic.
"Wynth we must leave, Uther and his Sarmatian dogs are on our heels!" She stood quickly knocking over the chest. From it spilled several gold necklaces. Among them, a silver torque gleamed next to a matching one of gold.
"My father's" she said sadly reaching for them
"Wynth! We have no time! Leave them!" she managed to grab the silver one before Boaret seized her arm and dragged her to her horse. She swung up and called "
Quickly let us ride!". They were gone like smoke just as Uther, Talorot, and the knights thundered into the now-ruined camp of Gowan Kelbraiugh.