CHAPTER 4
—--18th day
Two days later, Sarah ate her breakfast early and she had written down the directions Aron had given her in one of her book's covers to the Labyrinth. She got her horse, Ghrian. She packed him up with all her bags and made sure everything was tied down. She had cheese, bread, shelled nuts, dried berries, dried meat, and cookies in her front saddlebags. She wouldn't have to stop but for bathroom breaks and watering the horse. She got a smaller bag of sweet feed for her horse from the blacksmith.
She headed to the south Thallansin (Over There), then Síosann (It Goes Down), to Coirnéil (Colonels), to Saighead (Corners), to Sliabh (Mountain), then to Bhaile(Town). Aron said to stay at the inn in Síosann, because it was only a day's ride. He said Síosann was a day away from Coirnél and to stay there also. It was two days between Coirnél and Saighead and she would have to camp. He said to stay at Saighead. He said it was a day between Saighead to the foot of the mountain and to camp there. He said she had to follow the trail through the mountain to Sliabh which was on top of the mountain. He said to be careful of the trail because it was rocky and would take a day to go up, so stay at Sliabh. He said from Sliabh it was a full day's ride down the mountain to Bhaile. He said to spend the night there, at its base on the other side of the mountain. He said the Labyrinth was a half day's ride southeast.
So it was stay at Síosann a day, stay at Coirnél a day, and camp between Coirnél and Saighead. Then stay a day at Saighead, camp at the foot of the mountain, and stay a week at Sliabh on top of the mountain. Then stay a day at Bhaile and then a half a day's ride to the Labyrinth. She figured it would take about two more weeks to get to the Labyrinth. There will be snow by then probably and she better be prepared clothing wise.
She headed due south to Thallansin, where all the kidnapping was happening. So she was on high alert and went straight through. She saw elves and goblin army types passing her on the road and she kept her face hidden.
She entered Thallansin about noon, she stopped and ate a cheese sandwich and some nuts and a cookie. While there she took a bathroom break. Ghrian got water from a lake nearby where she stopped. She gave him a handful of sweet feed and let him feed on the half brown grass being mid November now, if the seasons are the same. She mounted back up and headed to Síosann. By nightfall she reached Síosann and the inn. She went inside and paid for a room for the night.
—--19th day
Sarah left Síosann in the early morning after some breakfast. She rode for the day stopping now and then. She reached Coirnél that evening, tethered Ghrian, grabbed all her gear and walked into the inn. The place was full of people drinking and eating with a piano player. She walked up to the counter and said in her lower voice, "Excuse me, can I have a room for the night, please?"
The woman innkeeper looked her up and down and said, "Six silver. Room eight." Sarah put the money on the counter and took the key. She thanked her and went up to the room and left her stuff and locked the door.
She came down and asked where to board her horse. The woman said down to the right at the end of the street. Sarah thanked her and took Ghrian to the livery stable to board overnight for four coppers.
She returned to the inn and got a mead and roasted mutton and vegetables for five coppers. She ate and listened to the conversations on local matters. One caught her attention.
A man said, "...an tha Goblin King told Lord Aimar tha he wouldna' be takin' a bride anytime soon, no matter how his father threatened em'. Ye know he be tha only son of tha High King an Queen. I guess, he be waiting fer tha right lady."
The second man said, "Member back, bout' ten year or so, tha King had his eye on a human runner…. what were her name… Sarah. She left from winnin' her babe back an he about had a fit. He were not good company fer at least four months after. That be the rumor."
The first man said, "Aye, he be bogging and yellin' at everbody. Nobody be going near him fer a time, cuz he be havin' spells even years after. Ya canna see in the weather over tha Labyrinth. She broke his heart. I hear tell that girl be too young and a dark haired looker. He shooda know better. Lasses tha young be fickle." Sarah ordered another mead.
The second chuckled and said, "Them fae be high strung and randy folk. They be runtin' each other like shakin' hands. Most rich and haughty fae are, but not sos much the lower ones. Goblin King he least be fair in dealin's with everbody human or no."
Sarah found all that interesting because the little red book she carried on her still in her saddlebags said at the end, "But what no one knew is that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl, and he had given her certain powers."
Sarah thought, 'What powers? Humm…' it made her think and wonder. She finished her mead and meal, thanked the woman and left the innkeeper a silver coin. She went up to her room.
—--20th day
Sarah ate breakfast, saddled up Ghrian and brought him to the inn. She brought down her gear and gave the innkeeper the key and thanked her. She mounted her horse and left for Saighead but would camp for the night between towns.
By evening, she found a camping area by a small lake area and a rock outcropping surrounded by trees not far from the road. It gave her protection behind her tent and a large rock was on the other side to give her two sided protection next to the lake. She cleared the spot and set up her tent. She unloaded the horse and put it into the tent. She foraged around for wood and kindling. She spotted a rabbit and shot it, gutted, skinned and prepared it to cook. She found sticks to make a spit for over the fire. She found rocks for placing around the pit to bank the flames. She used her knife to dig the fire pit and rinsed it off in the lake.
She had the horse staked by the lake and grass. She gave him a handful of sweet feed. She started the fire, found a small flat slab she washed off and rinsed the rabbit off in the lake. She put the forked sticks in the ground on each side of the fire and made sure it was even enough and high enough. She put the stick bark free in the rabbit and seasoned it with salt, pepper,and rubbed with basil. She had a small pot she had in her backpack and small frying pan.
She made a very small pot of rice with wild dried mushrooms, and dried onion. She cooked the rabbit through and cut it up on the slab. She cut up the meat for the rice and the deboned leftovers were put in a small plastic bag. She washed her hands and the rock in the water. She mixed the rabbit in the rice adding a little more salt and pepper. She discarded the throw away the leftover bits in the woods far enough away from camp not to draw animals in.
She ate her meal and discarded the little left she couldn't eat. She had heated up water in her frying pan and boiled it to make tea from one of her tea bags she had a cup and spoon. She washed up everything in the lake and dried it with her one towel she used for this purpose. She settled in and drank her tea and got her bedroll ready in the tent. She removed all food stuff from the campsite including the spit stick. She laid down after building up the fire with her tent flap open. She kept her head on her gold with her gun and knife by her head and hand. She slept lightly.
In the middle of the night, a man's hand covered her mouth and his body was up against her. He whispered, "Ifin' ye scream, I be just making it harder on ye. Now, where be yer money?" She nodded no.
He said, "Ye'll be sorry fer denyin' me, purty lady. Ye make a man's member hard just being near ye. Ye threw around a lot of gold in Coirnél. I know ye got more."
Sarah's hand slipped under the blanket and pulled the knife out slowly and quickly held it to his throat. The man froze. She applied pressure on his neck so that he backed up and got off of her.
Sarah demanded in a deadly tone, "Move and I'll slit your fucking throat! Stay on your knees!" She stood up and backed him out of the tent backwards.
She kicked the human man in the crotch. He groaned. She asked the guy, "Are you alone? Usually your type, like to ride together in packs or two at a time. Where is your friend or did you want them to watch you die slowly and painfully?" She reaches down and grabs his hand. She squeezed hard on his wrist pressure point and the guy screamed in agony.
Sarah sounded deadly and said, "Call them out or you're dead. One chance only."
The guy begged in pain. He called out, "Carrick! Come out boy or I'll be finished." Sarah noticed movement in the trees. A little boy about ten years old walked out from behind a tree and timidly walked forward.
Sarah asked, "So you also corrupt little boys?"
The man said, "No, tis because, it be me and me son only. I be desperate fer money."
Sarah said, "Then get a job like normal people and support your son and teach him properly, not by learning to steal people's money and preying on women."
He said, "There's be no work."
She said, "There is in the Goblin City, they are looking for people to build a damn. I over heard it in an inn the other day."
The man remorsefully said, "Ye help me after what I be doing?"
Sarah said, "If you stop and become an honest man it would be worth it and your life expectancy would last. You came damn close to death tonight. I'm trained to be able to defend myself against people like you. You got lucky tonight." She reached in her pocket and pulled out six gold coins. She coaxed the boy over to her. He hesitantly approached her.
She pressed the gold in his hand and said, "You're in charge of this money, do you understand?" The boy smiled and nodded.
Sarah said, "You make sure your father gets to the Goblin City to get a job, ok? This money is to tide you over until he's paid. If he screws this up and I ever see him doing this again, I can promise you I'll kill him next time. Do you understand?"
The boy looked serious and said, "Yes, malady." The guy stood up and hung his head looking down.
The guy said, "Thank ye fer the chance, malady. Ye humble me with yer kindness." He turned and walked away with his son into the woods to find their stuff and move on. She went back to sleep and put her knife by her head once again.
—--21st day
The next morning she got up, did her bathroom needs in the woods, and stoked the fire with more wood. She got out the leftover rabbit, her half loaf of bread and a small jar of honey she got from Bernie. She cut a slice of the loaf and put the rest back in the plastic bag. She put on the small pot to boil for tea. When the tea was done she put honey on her bread and the rabbit on top. She ate it like a folded sandwich. The sweet honey and savory rabbit was delicious while she drank her tea. She wiped out her pot after putting out the fire, put it back in her backpack and packed up camp. She saddled and packed up the horse, then broke down the tent to store back in the tote. She mounted Ghrian and headed to Saighead to spend the night.
She got into Saighead at about dusk and took her baggage in to get a room at the inn. The inn was full inside. She asked for a room for the night and the livery directions. She took her baggage up and went and took her horse to the livery. When she returned her door was open. She drew her gun and knife at the ready. She snuck up and saw a man bent over her duffle bag just opened, she put a knife to his throat. He froze. She holstered her gun.
She twisted his arm behind his back and said in a deadly voice, "I'm going to slit your fucking throat for this. What are you doing going through my things? Looking for money, asshole? I carry my money to protect it from a son of a bitch like you!"
The guy said, "I… I… be sorry to intrude?"
She said, "Yes, you are one sorry mother fucker. You came across the wrong person to steal from."
She rammed her thumb in his pressure point on his wrist and he screamed in agony loud. She did it again and he let out a blood curdling scream. The innkeeper flew up the stairs and saw what was going on.
She said, "This bastard was rummaging through my baggage. Should I slit his throat?"
The innkeeper said, "Can ye do it outside? Ye know the mess and all."
The man begged, "No, no, please!"
The innkeeper said, "I knew ye twere trouble soon as ye walked in ere' and ordered a pint. Ye watched tha stairs, fer em' to leave ta board his horse."
She shoved him face first into the door hard and gave the key to the innkeeper and said, "Can you lock the door for me?" The innkeeper nodded.
She grabbed him and shoved him out the door into the wall across the hall hard face first. The innkeeper locked the door and handed her back the key. She pocketed it and she walked the man out downstairs at knife point. The patrons all watched murmuring.
Sarah said low, clear and loudly, "This is what a dumbass loser looks like people! He is getting his arse handed to him! He has a death wish for stealing from one too many people who are sick of his greed!" The room applauded. She led him out around back into the woods.
He balked and started sniveling, "Please let me go! I won' do it no more!" She walked him further in the woods. She stopped him. She jammed her knife into his upper arm away from any arteries laying it open and he screamed. She wiped her blade off on him. She kicked his knees out from under him, making him fall to the ground on his knees.
Her voice low and deadly said, "You return to this place and you're dead. Everytime you feel pain or see that scar on your arm, remember how not getting an honest job almost cost you your life tonight, you piece of shit! Get up and run because I can throw a blade better than anyone in this world! RUN!" She roared. The guy scrambled up running like crazy with his hand holding his arm. She returned to the inn wiping off her blade with leaves on the way.
She walked in the inn and asked for an ale and threw down two coppers. The innkeeper drew her an ale and sat it down. The innkeeper asked, picking up the money, "You finish em'?"
She said lowly, "He's done. I carved him up before sending him on." That could be taken two ways and she wanted doubt in their minds not to fuck with her tonight. She will set him straight in the morning.