Aiden took a bite of bread while he thought. "Well, we can each carry a canvas bag with us. that should be able to hold a good amount of supplies for traveling. Aside from the basics, I can also carry some camp necessities while you can take some things that we can sell in the next town. I want to go back to my families forge in the morning to pick out some weapons. I'll need a bow, a blade, and a knife. I can get walking stick that I can tie sting and hook to, that would be good for fishing." He looked up, realizing he hadn't really let Serra talk about anything yet. "Oh, uh... sorry... Have any thoughts?"

Serra felt a bit out of place, far from everything she knew and this town was obviously not at all like her own. That much could be evidenced in what sort of “things” these people owned. Still the idea of a town that was empty of people but full of stuff was a wonderful idea, if it didn’t seem so ghostly.

She introduced herself to Aiden, barely. She was more comfortable around him than she might have been around an adult, but he wasn’t of the same lifestyle as herself. It was plain he didn’t have to scrape and steal for another just to survive. So she said little until she was more familiar with him. But when they settled down for the evening her attitude shifted.

She was still nervous being in what she determined as a ‘ghost town’…as in a town filled with ghosts. Even though she had actually seen a ghost.

“I guess that will work” said Serra when Adien gave her a chance to speak. “Not really sure about this whole thing, traveling here I just packed what people told me to. I hope you know what we need to take.”

She hesitated, fighting shyness for a moment.

“I’d like to go back to Llorkh.” She didn’t say what she was afraid of, that she wouldn’t make it back that way without help. Or that she would be sold into slavery as soon as she got back there. It was just the only home she had ever known.

“Oh and I found something odd outside the walls, well actually it was about half a days walk from the town on the road. I found it on my way into town, I hid it and kept it incase it could be useful.”

She laid a knife of the table but a knife unlike any that either of them had seen. The handle was of wood but blackened in a fire and hard as stone, the blade was of glassy black stone and the tip was broken off.

“If you know about knives from your family maybe you know about this one? I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m no expert though.”

Argurios had no problem with walking first two days. He ate when he felt hunger. He didn't need much rest, he didn’t complain either. The ground he slept upon had no effect on him. Whenever someone asked him anything he would answer with a low growling mumble. He didn't tell anyone of the equipment he had neither of the gold. When the group faced a problem he didn't help. His orcish mind was still trying to comprehend the fact that his father is most likely dead.
On the third day as he woke up he was different. This time since he woke up he was present bought mind and body. When he learned the there was a food shortage he quickly offered his help. His gear and food came in handy. On the fourth day the rain began to fall. Argurios was unimaginably happy and thankful for his father's winter cloak. The cloak kept him warm and dry throughout the whole day and night. With his father's gear they all managed to make some poor excuse for a shelter. Since the cloak was so warm, Agurios lend his sleeping blanket to one of the group. In the middle of the night Argurios had an interesting walk thought the forest. His eyes could see everything in the dark as bright as during the day. The whole thing seemed strange to him. His memory of this was vague and so he decided it was only a dream. This belief could be alerted though, for in the secret pocket under his clothes a strange this is stored.
On the sixth day, the small group of children found an inn. Though the whole place was empty it was clear it was deserted. Argurios felt uneasy by everything, thinking that there must be some spell upon it. At the same time he believed that if there would be any kind of magic endangering them that Brisa would protect everybody. The kids quickly made a small fire and ate. Argurios ate as much as possible, trying to eat so much that he would have enough for a couple of day. When everyone was gathered, before they would go to sleep, Argurios told everyone that tomorrow if anyone finds any leather in store, that they should tell him. He offered them to make everyone a cloak, something to protect them from wind and rain.

"Well, it would seem that somehow, the handle is made out of scorched petrified wood. The blade has been tempered to form the dark color so it won't be so bright, and as for the chip in the blade..." He thought about it for a moment, "That could have been from someone trying to pry something open with it or a down turned knife strike missing its mark and hitting something hard." He took another look at it. "By the feel of the blade though, its not metal, so whatever stone this is carved from is naturally this color. It being stone could also explain why it broke so easily."

***********Group A********************

The inn of Raevyn’s Rest was empty, but it was an ordinary sort of empty. Once the children had explored, and they explored all over the place, it was plain that residents simply up and left. Why they up and left was not so clear, but it was a safe enough place to rest. There was little of high quality left, most had been taken when the owner and staff abandoned the place. What was left, however, was more than enough to satisfy the weary children.

The horse and goat were fed, watered, and stabled in a place with clean hay. The children found beds, blankets, and a huge fireplace and crafted their own resting spot which gave them a comfort they hadn’t had in awhile. Brisa even took the time to wash herself and her clothing and do something even more valuable, cook.

It was easy enough to forage in the gardens, though they were overgrown a bit, and return with a few fresh vegetables and some apples. In fact Brisa took time to pack daisy’s travel packs with apples, cornmeal, and potatoes. Not very exciting but she knew they would be a nice thing to have along the way. She also cooked corn cakes with honey, there were vats of honey in the larder that were large enough to climb into. The cakes were a nice treat, so was the warmth, the fairly vermin free quarters, the blankets, and the beds. All in all it was a wonderful place to rest, despite the emptiness of things.

In fact had there been people about the cost would have been high, the food likely no better, and the conversation much worse. It was almost relaxing after the hassles of the road, at least for Brisa. They talked of mundane things, things that kept at bay the reality of what they were doing. Things like what they should pack, if anyone found any valuables, and what they could make from what they found. Unfortunately only Argurios had much skill in crafting anything that might be useful in their present state.

Soon though, as most knew it must, the topic of conversation wound back to their present plans, and things started to get serious. Finally as they were winding down their talk Brisa pulled out what she had been working on these past few days.

“I have been trying to translate the words we found above…” She trailed off, swallowed hard thinking of Autry, and began again. “I have been trying to translate the words that were written above the bodies back in Twiddledale. It’s slow going, I only have Dakin’s book of maps to compare with. Unfortunately I only have managed to figure out “warning” and “death”. Unless I find more writings in whatever language this is I won’t get much farther than that.”

“When I was looking around here however, I found something else interesting. I found what had to be the owner’s office. It had a desk and writing supplies and such” She didn’t mention she took some ink and paper from the desk. Those things were valuable and she had no money. Since she was trained to record and write everything down it was driving her nuts not having paper and writing supplies. “I found a crumpled up paper in her office hearth, it wasn’t burned, it was more of she just tossed it in there. So I read it. It was a letter from a priest in Llorkh…he warned that there was danger coming this way. In his letter he said he was sending a similar letter to Aheric to warn him of the danger. He also mentioned he had sent a request to a friend who was also a church knight to come investigate the danger. He said to watch out for 3 ‘heathens’, 2 males and a female, professing to be clerics of an unknown god. He named them ‘Dessa,’ ‘Yog,’ & ‘Yamuna.’ Which I think must be the same people that Thovren’s father, Captain Sareth, was concerned about as well though his information didn't have any names, just descriptions. And I think they are the same strangers that visited Twiddledale not two ten-days past. Also Aeden the Bard had a letter that Kaya translated, sort of, that warned about people of the same name. It's too much similarity, they have to be behind this...or at least know who is. Right?"

***************Group B*********************

For the solitary pair back in Twiddledale, sticking it out one more night in the abandoned town, it was a little less comfortable. The silence for one thing, it was oppressing. Despite the fact that animal life had returned to the area, and the animals in town were acting somewhat normally again, there was still and eeriness to the land that kept Aiden & Serra inside and behind a barred door. At least the fire in the grate crackled and sputtered like normal, and they ate well for food had been easy to find and plentiful.

It had taken some time to discuss what they would take; Serra’s cluelessness balanced out Aiden’s knowledge and they ended somewhere in the middle with a variety of useful and useless items. At least they had managed to include a few essentials that would make their lives much easier, unfortunately they had to carry it all on their own. Serra had an endurance far beyond one of her age and size, a result of her time spent as scullery maid and slave. Aiden had done this before. It was an advantage that would help them greatly, they had a long weary walk ahead of them in the morning.

At dawn Aiden returned to his father’s shop, to collect the final items he thought he would need while Serra carefully packed their chosen belongings. She had been one of the packing slaves on her trip from Llorkh to Twiddledale and had managed to develop a rather streamlined method. She also didn’t waste space. The packs, when she was done, were densely packed and deceptively heavy.

Before the sun was up more than two hours the pair were on their way and though it took much effort on both their parts they managed to shut the town’s gates behind them. They even took a moment to ‘lock’ it with the twine that had been on it when Aiden arrived. For whatever good that did.

They had been fortunate enough to have missed the rain on the road, it had hit them when they were still in town and where they were it had been only a light drizzle, not the torrents that the other children had to endure. But though they didn’t suffer the rain on the road they still had to suffer the mud. It had not dried out by the time they were on their way, though it wasn’t terribly deep. It did slow them down however, and make walking more tiresome than normal. Added to their heavy packs and by the third day of walking they were worn through. They were almost too tired to talk that evening, fortunately they had developed a routine of making camp that didn’t require talking. It did require them to be awake however, and that was growing increasingly difficult with their exhaustion growing each day.

*********Group A***************

Llorkh was the obvious place to go, with all the clues they had gathered. Plus it was the next town on the only road for hundreds of miles. Unfortunately There was no comfort, or hope, in knowing that someone in Llorkh might know what happened. Llorkh had suffered the same fate as Twiddledale, at least by Ronin's report. Brisa kept the letter she found however, so they could find the home of the priest that had written it. She hoped desperately that he, or possibly she, would have more information somwhere in their dwelling that would help track these people down. And if they were really really lucky, maybe they would find a clue as to what happened to the missing villagers. In the dark parts of her heart Brisa also hoped that she would be able to figure out some way to avenge Autry's murder with whatever clues they could find.

It was plain that Ronin’s knight master, who had also disappeared, was sent to investigate the troubles. That meant they had a way to bring the killers to justice, at least she thought they did. What she really wanted though was not justice, not really. She just wanted whoever killed Autry to suffer and die. The depth of that thought scared her and she drifted off into an uneasy sleep, frightened by her own mind despite the comfort of the beds and the warmth of the fire.

It was late, past midnight, when the raiders entered the Inn grounds. Clouds had gathered, blocking the moon and leaving precious little light to illuminate the grounds. That made it easy for the raiders, their scouts were nearly invisible as they padded into the area on light feet. Lack of light meant their spotted fur was dull, blending perfectly with the shadows. The pack animals scented them first and it was the warhorse that sounded the alarm.

A veteran of many battles the great beast was alert and on his feet the instant he scented strangers. Unwashed human scent, blood, and fur, and animal stink filled the air, carried on the breeze as the raiders approached. With a great whinny, loud enough to wake all near, the warhorse charged from the stables where he had been. He smashed the doors with his hooves, they were not made to withstand a charging animal of his size. He was a force to be reckoned with; trained not to shy at blood-stink but grow fiercer. Though he lacked his usual barding he still charged with a ferocity that gave the intruders pause.

Fifteen there were, bandits and thieves the lot of them. However three of them stood out among the rest. Not in a good way, they inspired fear and even a bit of horror for they had many features of both dog and human, but were neither. They walked upright, on two legs and were covered with dense spotty fur. Their torsos lean, hips narrow, and shoulders broad. They had thick cainine heads with heavy muzzles and carried weapons such as bows and blades with the skill and opposable thumbs of a human. All in all they were a monstrous mixture of both races and for those unused to the presence of gnolls they caused more than a slight panic.


The warhorse was used to them. While the race appeared monstrous in reality it was not all that uncommon and was completely natural. For many travelers gnolls were a common sight. They were as often likely to be an ally as a foe, their society as rich and complex as humans. Here, it was plain they were nothing more than bandits. Allied with a group of a dozen human bandits, they had scented the presence of fresh meat, goat and horse, at the inn and investigated. They were surprised by the presence of the warhorse, and indeed there was no mistaking a knights mount. The horse joined the fight without urging, using his teeth and hooves to great effect. Even the hide armor and shields carried by the bandits, gnoll and human alike, would not protect them from the deadly hooves of a trained destrier. It was no cowardly ladies mount to flee at the sight of danger. The goat on the other hand, frightened beyond all control, fled to the hills with terrified bleats. It would likely survive, goats could survive anywhere, but it had to escape the predators who would be just as happy to eat it as look at it. It’s speed was its safety, and its nimble hooves. It flew from the inn grounds and raced into the nearby rocky hills, seeking safety among the cliffs.

The raiders were driven by hunger and greed, in equal parts, and the presence of a warhorse meant there was another dwelling in one of the buildings. This was the human’s share of the treasure. The horse’s owner might have money, goods, weapons, armor, any number of valuables. The humans left the dog-like creatures to fight the warhorse while they began to systematically light fire to the roofs of each of the buildings to drive their quarry out. They were armed with simple weapons, ones easy to use like crossbows, clubs, and short swords, and while they were not greatly powerful weapons they numbered twelve fighters, and numbers always played a part in any fight no matter how much people tried to deny it. They assumed a knight would be their prize; they counted on superior numbers to match his superior fighting skill. A group of children would be an unexpected result; and a valuable one. This close to the desert slave caravans would be by at some point; child slaves fetched a decent price and slavery was still very much alive in the reaches of the desert.

***Group B (3 days time delay)***

The night was cool and comfortable and the pair of travelers had established a sort of rhythm. It was good however, that both were accustomed to sparse and un-varied rations for their food supplies depleted quicker than they thought. Fortunately one of them could fish, and Aiden had some skill providing them with fish on a nightly basis. They were never large fish, but they were enough that they were able to fill their bellies. Serra never liked fish, but she was also used to starvation and eating whatever she could in order to survive. She had eaten much nastier things than fish. So all in all they were in decent spirits save for their growing exhaustion.

It was hard for only two people to make a decent camp at night, a surprising amount of work went into making a comfortable camp. So the pair settled for an uncomfortable version. They were able to make fires to cook their food, but after that things got less comfortable. With only two of them, and their own exhaustion evident, they had to find safe places to sleep for the night. That was the uncomfortable part. A safe place to sleep was rarely a comfortable place to sleep. With only two of them and no way to keep watch throughout the night it was really their only option. It didn’t help their exhausted state much, but by the third day they had sort of come to tolerate it enough that they could get real sleep.

So when the morning of the fourth day dawned, they fortified themselves the dense dark brown rolls Serra had stolen from the baker in town and were in remarkably good shape and spirits. At least compared to what they should be, they had quite a bit of luck on their side. They didn’t know it but that was about to run out.

They caught the sound of voices first, people speaking but at this distance the words were unclear. Ahead, just around a blind corner, a wagon was overturned in the road. It blocked it, crosswise, halting anyone who wished to pass that way. It was an old and very common ambush tactic for brigands…in terrain like this where the forest pressed tight against the roads boundries, a simple obstacle in the road meant anyone passing that way would have to come to a halt. Then the bandits could strike, loot whatever of value they could, and be off. The three men who had been tasked with manning the ambush leaned lazily at the side of the road, jawing about who knows what. This section of the road had been empty of travelers and they resented being stationed here. It was a punishment, and they well knew it. Their resentment clouded their judgment and children had time to spot the ambush before the bandits noticed their presence.

Serra had become accustomed to sore muscles, tired feet, and fish. Still it wasn’t all that bad, certainly better than scullery work which she absolutely loathed. Of course she wasn’t all that fond of the weird places Aiden had chosen for them to sleep, but she had no idea what to do and left all that up to him. She just had to trust him. She wasn’t sure why she did, maybe because he was about her age. Of course lots in her old gang were her age but she didn’t trust them; in a gang everyone was looking out for themselves first and the thief lord kept order.

Here she actually felt a little more relaxed than normal. Maybe because it was because there wasn’t really anything she could do to alter her fate at the moment. She just didn’t know enough in this situation to be of any use. She could walk and carry things though; she had done that all her life. So that’s what she did. She also refused to eat raw fish; fish was bad enough but raw was terrible so she helped with the cooking when the stopped to eat dinner.

They walked in silence. For Serra’s part its because all of her energy was being taken just to keep going. She was very tired, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world but it didn’t make her inclined to chatter either. She just followed Aiden and tried not to think about when they would stop next.

She caught the sound of peoples voices carried on the breeze and halted in her steps. She had no idea if they were friend, foe, or worse. Her wide eyes darted instinctively to the brush on the side of the road but she could tell right away if she tried to push through it she would be heard. It was thick and somewhat dry, there was no way she could clamber through that without leaving a trail so obvious a blind deaf man could follow.

She looked to Aiden hoping he would know what to do next; this walking on and on forever was his department after all. She hoped he would know if what lay ahead was dangerous or not. She would take her cues from him.

Aiden stopped in his tracks and got low to the ground. He signaled with his hand to Serra to do the same. He quickly took stock of what kind of gear/weaponry they had and then quietly directed Serra back till they were out of earshot. He spoke quietly, "Bandits. We could go around, but we could probably use whatever cargo they stole... Still got that knife? He then told her his plan as he unrolled a survival kit. pulled out a 6ft strand of twine and tied one end to a small tree in a narrower part of the pathway. "Stand behind this larger tree across the road. I'll surprise the first one and take him down. The second will come after me and you can trip him here. He'll be vulnerable the minute he starts to fall. I can then come in and take him down. The third will probably stay with the cart to keep it safe, however, with his other two comrades down, he may change his mind and run...I would like to use the knife though..." It figured, the only day that Aiden's dad didn't have any swords in the shop, everything had to go upside-down. He probably could have forged one himself, but he wanted to catch up to the others as soon as possible.

posted on behalf of Serra

Serra stilled and watched Aiden trying to mimic his movements and his actions. In a proper town she would have been past them without them ever noticing her, she was good at sneaking around amongst people. Here in the forest she was completely at a loss and had turned over all leadership to Aiden without qualms. He knew what he was doing. Or so she assumed.

His plan, when he laid it out, sounded completely insane to her. How could two young kids handle three grown men. She would have snuck around them if she could have, gone on her way without the bandits being the wiser for her presence. Or she would have tried to. Still she trusted Aiden, she didn’t even know why, just that he seemed to inspire trust from her. Maybe it was as simple as he wasn’t one of the gang, but even those not in the gang beat her, kicked her, whatever whenever they caught sight of her.

She nodded when he asked about the knife and drew it out. She didn’t want to give it to him, she knew the value of a knife and this one for all that it was weirdly made was at least quality and still sharp. Deep in her street rat instincts there was the call never to give up a weapon. They were worth more than their weight in silver.

Her reluctance was plain in her eyes as she handed the blade to Aiden. She hadn’t realized that what he meant by “take him down” would be killing the bandit. If she had she wouldn’t have given it to him. She wasn’t a murderer, just a thief, and she was proud of that fact. Lots in the gang had crossed that line just in squabbles with rival gang members. But she didn’t realize Aiden’s intentions, and from what she could tell of Aiden’s plan she didn’t have to really do anything but hide so she nodded solemnly.

“Ok” she said softly.

***Group A***

The whinny of the horse woke Brisa from her sleep. She had been so warm and comfortable that waking was quite miserable. Blearily she looked around and realized that none of the others had heard it. She assumed then that she had imagined it but the whinny came again, along with a yelp that sounded like someone kicking a dog.

Up, covers thrown to the side, Brisa raced to the window and was about to throw open the wood slatted shutters. A moment’s hesitation made her think; what if what was outside was not friendly. They weren’t among the moors any longer but nasty things could still wander the night. So instead she peaked through a knothole in the wood.

What she saw terrified her. Two huge creatures, not human but walking like humans and wielding weapons, were attacking the war horse. They looked like dogs but were not. They looked like humans but were not. It was terrifying for the young girl but when the horse spun on his hind hooves and caught one of the creatures square in the chest with his fore-hoof she realized that it was very real. She thought she could even smell the blood. She had never seen a fight, not like this, and it was so surreal in the moonlight that for a few crucial moments she stood mesmerized by the tableau going on outside. She never saw the third of the dog-like-creatures lift a nose, sniff the air, and point towards the building she was hiding in. Nor did she see the humans slinking through the darkness towards her.

Only when the door slammed open with a noise that would startle the dead did she realize that she and the others were trapped. Patchy moonlight silhouetted the men in the doorway, 5 of them holding weapons but the play of shadows and light rendered them too indistinct to notice.

Brisa screamed belatedly and looked wildly for an escape. The raiders hadn’t spoken but it was plain they were not intent on helping the children. Indeed as that thought crossed her mind she heard them burst out laughing and making crude disgusting comments to one another about taking the children slaves, and much much worse. Brisa realized the men blocked the only exit from the building. They would have to get past them somehow, or climb out the windows which would dump them in the battle of horse and gnolls. Frying pan and fire. But which was which…

***

The gnolls, three of them, circled and feinted at the war horse. A lesser animal would have been dead in minutes, if not seconds, but not the knights great animal. Instead it kept eyes on all three, using hooves and teeth to keep the creatures at bay. Finally with a triumphant whinny it spun gracefully, in a move so quick even the gnolls couldn’t follow him. It’s rear legs kicked back and caught one of the gnolls sending him flying end over end into a stone wall, a sickening crunching thump filled the air when the gnoll hit. It slid down the wall and lay still and the warhorse, uncertain of the odds and lacking its true master to guide it, took to flight down the road, instinct guiding it towards the only home it knew, Waterdeep many days away. It’s hooves thundered in the distance and the two remaining gnolls let it go as they nursed their own wounds. One had broken shoulder, another multiple cracked ribs and a nasty bite on its fore-arm. A knights mount was a truly formidable adversary. Instead they turned to help the bandits plunder the buildings wanting to seek out easier prey. They stalked, pacing like restless cats, towards the building where the children were cornered.

Later at night the kids sat together. Argurios like usual didn’t talk much. Also he was the last to go to sleep. When other fell asleep Argurios moved away from them to the other side of the rom and starred out of the window. Slowly he fell asleep as well.

The banging of doors woke him up. He jumped up from his sleep and looked around. The moon was in his favour, for he could see the bandits in the moon shine, yet he himself was covered in total darkness. On the other side, he noticed Brisa standing in the room. Others around her. Argurios knew he was the only one who could do something. No one knew he was in this corner. But the orc boy also knew that though he’s as strong as any man, he has only one chance. As long as he has an element of surprise, he has a chance. Though he could run, the thought didn’t come to him. Argurios was set on to save his new companions. Looking and feeling around him, trying to find something useful, he remembered a tale his dad used to tell him. How he once escaped some soldiers, by throwing a log on them. Though there was no log here there were barrels. Argurios grabbed one barrel with one hand and another with the other hand. Lifting them up, he threw them into the attackers. Picking up the biggest barrel he found, he screamed as loud as possible, and charged forward. As the first two barrels toppled the bandits on the side the three in the middle turned to face him. As they saw him, they panicked. For to them something big strong and loud came their way. They didn’t see an orcish boy, just a tall big shape. Crushing into them Argurios knocked one out and the other two fell on the floor. Noon of them could get up immediately, because of the barrels holding them down. Argurios had no such problem. He was on top of the barrel and standing up was no problem. He quickly ran forward grabbed his pac and Brisas hand. “Come we must run away, while we still can.” He darted towards the doors, past the bandits.

***Group A***

Brisa stood in shock as the large form of Argurios, distorted and made odd by the barrel he was holding, rushed passed her. She was nearly as startled as the men in the doorway but when Argurios grabbed her arm she snapped out of it. She had presence of mind to grab her satchel, and fortunately she had not removed either Dakin’s book of maps or her spellbook from it. Unfortunately she had removed everything else that might remotely have been useful.

“Run” she shouted back to the others and did her best to leap over the fallen men. It was harder than she expected and she ended up running across the top of them. She almost lost her footing, almost had her ankle snatched, almost got caught. But she didn’t.

Her hand had slipped from Argurios’ grip but she kept as close to him as she could. Unfortunately she had not the running strength nor length of stride that the orcish boy had and she was soon several paces behind him. The others, they were behind somewhere. She heard their footsteps she was certain. Of the horse and the goat there was no sign and Brisa didn’t want to stick around to search. The men were only temporarily detained, they would be after them shortly.

In front of her, out of the shadows, rose up two creatures that were the stuff of nightmares for the fairly sheltered girl. Standing on their hind legs they towered over her, their fur shadowy in the partial moonlight. She could smell the stink, hear them snarl, and see the glint of the weapons they held. Fear flooded her and she knew she couldn’t outrun the beasts. She caught the outline of Argurios ahead of her and also felt a fear that she would be left behind. She couldn’t be alone out here, she simply couldn’t. The two fears warred inside her and though it seemed like forever she stood there frozen it was barely more than two seconds before she took action.

She raced to the side of one of the dog-men and sprinted for all she was worth. It was dark and she had trouble running but the ground was mostly cleared. Her satchel flapped painfully against her back with every step. Her legs and lungs burned with equal fire and she prayed to Mystra and all the gods that she would come up with some plan. She was running away from Argurios and the others, and she knew she had to double back somehow but she could hear the padding steps of the dog men behind her.

She darted back to the right, running next to a waist high rock wall, tracing her way back towards the entrance of the inn complex. Her prayers must have had some effect, or at least trained her thoughts along a different course, for she remembered something. She only knew one cantrip but it was one that could help her now. As she slowed her steps to work the minor magic she swore she could feel hot breath on her neck.

“head and heart are one” she whispered the simple charm, forming the arcane symbols in her mind and almost tasting them as she spoke. She was not an adept spell user, she had only successfully cast spells a handful of times, but this happened to be one. She could feel the strength flood her body and her heart beat as fast as her thoughts were racing.

With renewed energy she raced off, the magical adrenaline pouring through her system and giving her a speed that even the gnoll chasing her could not match. She was out of the inn complex and running along the packed dirt road in short order. She had lost all the others and she realized her only chance was to find a safe place to hide and hope one of the others came along. Her fear of being alone, at night, in the woods, had come true.

~~~

The gnolls had spotted the two children run from the building and had the same thought. The smaller, slower girl would be far and away the easier catch. They were both injured and weak from their failed battle with the destrier and needed something soft and easy. Their injuries slowed them, otherwise Brisa would not have stood a chance, but they chased the girl. When she suddenly slowed they had assumed they had winded her and could catch her with ease, they hadn’t decided whether to kill her or bring her back to the bandit camp as a potential slave to sell off.

Her spell took hold before they reached her, however, and the two gnolls stood in awe as the girl sprinted off at a run they would have had a hard time matching at full health. A mage girl it was obvious, that would have been a valuable slave but they would say nothing to their human allies. It was not worth chasing a mage girl, and they were hungry and fed up.

Instead of waiting for the bandits they loped off into the hills, their keen noses allowing them to retrace their steps back to camp. They may have been allies with the human bandits, but they had their own orders and own leader. The other humans were not their concern, the hunt was over and they were wounded. Let the humans fend for themselves.

The three that had been taken out by Argurios’ surprise attack took some time to recover, and by the time they did all fight had gone out of them. The attack had bruised them terribly, and they were sore, tired, and pissed. There were, however, other children besides the two who had bolted. The remaining children were captured in short order, an easy task between the three inside the building and those outside who had been searching the other places. They had let the orcish boy go, not bothering to chase after him. They had richer and easier finds, it wasn’t worth possibly loosing some of them to go haring off after him.

It took the rest of the nights darkest hours to finish searching the buildings, gathering everything that might hold any value, and binding their captives enough so they would stop trying to escape. Shortly before dawn they headed off to their camp, grumbling and cursing the two gnolls who had left long before. They could have used the help. The plunder from this raid would not be shared with them, despite their help early on. The men decided that as they made their weary way back to camp. They had suffered no casualties at least, though the man that Argurios had personally taken out had several cracked ribs.

Separated and alone, with only what they had managed to grab, Argurios and Brisa were finally free of their pursuers. It was by sheer luck, or a whisper of good fate, that they both had run in the same direction. It would take some doing but they would find each other before dawn. Of the rest of the group there was no sign, and the obvious conclusion that the bandits captured and possibly killed them but without returning to the Raveyn’s Rest they would never know for sure.

Brisa was winded, sore, tired, and barely able to stand after her spell wore off. She had crumpled to the ground, huddled like a miserable rat under a bush. She was too tired even to cry.

Aiden saw the reluctance in her eyes as Serra handed him the blade. He had a particular hatred for bandits ever since they attacked his village, killing his mother. He never had a second thought about killing one. He almost had the blade when he stopped. He shook his head. "Nevermind, you hold onto it if you need it." He took out the small blade from his survival pack that he had. It's blade was small, and wouldn't go deep enough for a fatal injury around the torso, but it was easy to hide in the hand during a fight and could make quick work of someone's vital points. Most of all, when he thought about it, he didn't want to leave her without anything to protect herself should something happen. Aiden large and strong, especially for his age, his father made sure of it. If it came down to a fight, at least he could hold his own.

Aiden silently moved up and behind the bandits as if he was stalking a hunt. He took a long way around and looked to see if there was anyone on the other side of the wagon before moving toward it. with any luck, there even may be something in the wagon he could use. if not,he would have to take a weapon from the first bandit he brought down.

***Group A (Argurios & Brisa) ***

Brisa slept deeply for about an hour, the exhaustion of the scare plus her spell taking its toll on her. Eventually her discomfort woke her. The ground was damp from the evening air and it had soaked all the way through her cloak and clothing. Add that to the fact that her stomach was rumbling and her whole body felt like it had been pounded with hammers and there was no way she could sleep further.

She stood, stretched her body out, and pulled her bag close to her and by the light of the cool moon she began rummaging through the bag. She desperately hoped she had something edible in her bag, she was starving and feeling rather shaky as well.

She found two apples and nothing further. At least it was something and she started to eat one, tucking the other away for later. Now that her immediate needs had been satisfied she knew she had to look for the others. Walking would also help keep her warm and dry her out.

She shouldered her bag and began trailing down alongside the road. She didn’t want to walk in the open, but there was hardly any space on the side. The night was silent except for night noises she had come to expect. She suspected that meant the bandit men were gone, but she wasn’t sure. She knew though, that she couldn’t remain in one spot, it would be too dangerous. So she walked.

She found Argurios just before dawn, it was pure chance that their path’s crossed. The relief when she found him though was obvious. Her whole demeanor changed. Up till that minute she had assumed she was now completely alone. Even though they weren’t friends, in fact she barely knew him, he was still familiar and that was a huge comfort now.

“The others?”

It was a vain hope, she could tell he was alone. He likely didn’t know. In fact unless they went back to the inn and risk capture or worse they wouldn’t know. They had no supplies, other than what they had grabbed in their hasty escape. Their most valuable possessions…the warhorse and the goat…had bolted and neither could be recovered. Without waiting for reply she slumped on a nearby rock, hung her head so he wouldn’t see her tears, and sighed.

“What do we do now?”

*****Group B (Serra & Aiden)****

The three bandits were busy chatting amongst one another. They had been away from their base long enough and would be heading back soon. It had been days, long days, since anyone had come this way and they were giving up.

Bits of the conversation could be overheard as Aiden slunk around them. Their complaining was not quiet. It was plain that the emptiness of the road was not expected…there were caravans that regularly ventured out into the desert to trade and they always straggled…pickings should have been easy. While the wagons in the road stopped the caravan lead the bandits could hit the rear in a strike and retreat. They weren’t after people, only sellable goods. Now though there was nothing. There had been nothing for quite some time.

The wagons were empty and so old it was obvious that the bandits had brought them here for the sole purpose of serving as a road block. They were high enough to make a sensible horse think twice about jumping and they blocked the length of the road so that only foot traffic could pass on either side. Of the bandits themselves, they were simple folk. Dressed in leather armor and armed with basic weapons…knives, staffs, and clubs…it was obvious they were not equipped to deal with a determined resistance. In fact they had been chosen for this post because of their ability to run and move quickly through the woods…which was part of the strategy. A crossbow lay at the feet of one of the bandits, cocked and ready and just within reach. That was the most valuable item they had, it was actually well made, accurate, and would last a long time with the proper care. They each had packs, doubtless containing their sleeping blankets and rations, which were shoved into the shade of one of the wagons. And that was it.

Back where Serra was crouched the day was quiet save for the rustle of wind in the trees, and it was growing warm crouched there, waiting for Aiden to make his move.

It took some time before Argurios realised, that he had lost the small girl. Though he grabbed her with a strong grip he still didn’t hold her with all his might. Though he didn’t know why, but for some reason, when he grabbed the girl by the hand, he grabbed her gently in a matter that he wouldn’t hurt her. But for that same reason he lost her. He starred into his free hand for a moment. Then a sudden feel of guilt hit him. “I lost her. I let her go. Why?” he murmured to himself. Now a rush of anger flew through him. He was mad at himself for letting this happen; blaming himself he fell on his knees and slammed his fists to the ground. Then like the shift of the wind, anger left him, but sadness bloomed in his heart. Looking around he realised that he was in the middle of a forest. And above all he was alone. His mind slowly tried to wrap itself around his situation and find a solution to all this. After extensive thinking he managed to come up with the plan to sleep for the night and in the morning look around the forest hoping to find some of his comrades. At first he wanted to rush back to the tavern, but realised that it would be a stupid and fruitless decision. He couldn’t fight and neither could he outsmart the bandits. Feeling powerless, and ashamed, for leaving his friend behind, he went to find a sleeping place and slept.
In the morning he was woken up by the bright shafts of dawning light, which broke through the thickness of branches and leaves. Sitting up he rubbed his eyes and with a sullen look glanced around him. Still alone and still in the middle of nowhere, whit his backpack beside him, he was still lost. Remembering the plan he made the previous night, he packed his stuff, and hauled his backpack to his back. He didn’t want to be useless from now on. He strapped his axe so he could quickly draw it, though it was still to heavy for him, and from his right arm he let his sling hang with a stone ready.
He walked around for some time before he managed to find Brisa. When he saw her he hugged and lifted her up. He was overjoyed that at least someone managed to get out as well. When she asked for the others he looked own. “Don’t know, I didn’t find anyone else but you.” As she slumped down he sat beside her and put his arms around her. Though they were bought kids she was lost in his embrace. “ I don’t know, maybe if we just follow my father’s map we can continue to the tow, and maybe find someone who will help us or something. I truly don’t know.” Whit that being sad he sat for a few lingering moments then got up. “What I know is that we mustn’t lose hope and we must keep moving” he extended his hand in a manner to help her up. Though he didn’t know from where he managed to find those words, he was proud of them.

Brisa tried to squeak when Argurios found her, picked her up, and squashed her. She tried but it was lost. Still she didn’t mind. It was good to find something familiar, even if she didn’t know him that well. And it was good to sit with him in quiet for awhile. There was something so overwhelming to her about being alone, and something so much better about finally finding someone familiar. She cried on Argurios’ shoulder for a while, half from relief and half from depression at not finding anyone else. When he stood up she was ready. Sort of. She grabbed his hand and he helped her up, or more precisely he pulled her up as if she was a rag doll.

Brisa felt a little shaky as she stood there, trying to gather her wits. She wondered if he realized how much stronger than her he was…she thought it was not likely. Once it might have scared her, now it was just another thought of no real consequence. The day was burning ever on and they had to get moving.

She shouldered her bag, but not before digging out her last apple and offering it Argurios. She didn’t know what they would eat in the future, she also didn’t know what he had in his bag, but it had been a long night and she wanted to share with the only companion she had left.

“Maybe the others went on to the town too…it’s the only one around. Maybe we can find them there.” Her voice held no hopeful tone, it was more she was just trying to convince herself to make herself move.

She settled into Argurios’ shadow, content to let him lead down the road. It’s not like they could get lost. The road was the only one, and walking through the dense mountainous terrain around wasn’t really possible. There was a lot of up walking still, as there had been to get as far as Raevyn’s rest, she was beginning to hope they could walk downhill soon. Argurios didn’t seem to mind but Brisa was tired. Even using the endurance she had built up since this whole thing began she was still tired.

She walked in Argurious’ shadow, literally. She used his shadow to mark where she was supposed to be but it was getting harder and harder to keep within its boundaries. When they found a roadside spring, several hours later, she had to stop.

“Sorry” she mumbled, embarrassed that she couldn’t keep going. Her body was just too weary. She sat down next to the spring and dipped her hands in, drinking till her empty belly felt full. She wanted to cry, to give up, to go to sleep. She knew she couldn’t do any of that so she just huddled in a lump and tried to let her sore body rest.

Argurios looked around. It was day and the bandits might be looking for them. Though he believed it was doubtful, he stayed on his guard. He turned back to Brisa and was surprised by her, offering him an apple. After a short moment he shook his head. “thank you little one but no. I have my own food and well need to save it. I don’t know how long we will need to the town. My father always told me to eat little when on the road. So i plan on listening to him.” with that he turned back on the road to the nearest town and wanted to begin walking. Brisa’s voice and question stopped him. He stood frozen for a moment. Knowing that there are little chances, that any of their former companions made it to town. “i hope we will find them. It’s possible that they are headed there. But it doesn’t matter right now were together and we must take care of ourselves.” Argurios said, as he began to move forward. He knew, from his father’s tales, that moral is important and Argurios had no wish of harming Brisa’s moral. And by lying he not only helped her but also himself.

The sun was hot and there were few clouds on the sky, giving the sun rays a clear way from the sky to the ground. Though it was nice to walk in a beautiful weather, it made Argurios little tense. He hated hot weather, and up here in the mountains, there was little shade to defend him from the scorching rays of the sun. At first he glanced back a couple of times to see how Brisa was doing. It was clear she was tired and out of her usual self, but it seemed as there was no giving in her and she just walked on. After a while Argurios stopped looking over his shoulder for the girl. Instead he just listened closely to her fast light steps behind him. After several hours of walking they came by a small spring.

Argurios though it beautiful, but had no intention of stopping. He didn’t need rest and he still had, two days of travel, water with him. “Sorry” he heard her mumble behind him. Argurios stopped in his tracks and turned around. At first he was worried something was wrong, but as he saw her walk to the water, it hit him. 'Damn I’m stupid. She must have been tired to death.' He thought to himself, mad that he had done such a stupid mistake. It should be logical to him, that she couldn’t endure such physical hardship as he could. He was used to working on the farm for days in freezing coldness, or under the burning sky. Being an orc also helped in this. But Brisa wasn’t a farm girl, she was a student, her strength was in mental capabilities not physical. Argurios hit his forehead with his fist, from anger over himself.

As Brisa lay down and huddled up, Argurios came to where she was and dropped his backpack near her. Out of it, he pulled a blanket and cowered the girl with it. This is where they were making camp and it was obvious. Argurios went to the woods and came back to make a small fire. Though, he wasn’t sure that staying here was a smart idea. It was a water resort, meaning that other will come by here as well. Setting some sort of traps around the camp, so that intruders could be heard coming. Argurios went to a big tree that was near and swung his axe at it. The weight of the axe quickly drew away his energy, and after an hour, he put the axe away and practised shooting with his bow.

Aiden took his time to carefully move around to the tree that the crossbowman was next to. He watched his step to makes sure to work around leaves and twigs as not to make noise. It was odd, he was automatically using his hunting techniques without even thinking about them. He waited for what seemed like an opportune moment and decided to make his move. Using surprise to his advantage he slammed into the bandit with a crossbow, shoving him to the ground. Aiden didn't dwell on the fact, instead, he immediately grabbed the crossbow, checked to see if the bolt was still seated, and took aim. He did not shoot however. It would be better if he could get them to surrender, lay down their arms and take them. He may not be able to shoot them all, but he could shoot one, and then have a chance at fighting the two with his earlier plan (trip/disable the second while feigning a retreat then fight the other one on one). He made it back around to the side of the road he and Serra where coming from. Keeping himself at a proper distance from the three bandits. "Drop your weapons!" Aiden shouted. Although he was dealing with people, in his mind, this had turned into a hunt. With his past encounters with bandits, he didn't see them as much more than animals anyway. To him, this wasn't as much a problem of fighting people, as it was just another dangerous hunt.