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- Not far down the road they catch up to Uriah’s pack dog who is attached to a cart and sleeping. He introduces the dog as Lily as he wakes her up. He tells the pair he picked her up in Carveil, but only just as he was leaving.
- “She’s a good dog. Doesn’t bark, doesn’t argue, sleeps whenever we stop. We get along just fine so long as I keep her cart balanced. Though I must say, it looks pretty easy to keep Balder happy right now, what happened to your cart Gordan?” Uriah is petting Lily while he looks over at Thomas.
- “Balder died over the winter. Poor bastard got attacked by some coyotes. This lug is Bunt.” Thomas looks worried while he talks.
- Uriah squints at Thomas before replying. “Hmph. Don’t want to talk about it yet do you, alright. Let’s get a move on then. If we can get at least two more pillars behind us before we stop for the night, we’ll be good.”
- Other then asking Samina to pass Thomas the leather straps for his sword, nobody talks for the next hour. Their pace is quick, and Samina finds she needs to almost jog to keep up. After two slabs, she gives up and with a gesture to Thomas, he picks her up and places on Bunt. By the time the hour’s up, even Bunt is breathing heavily, and they stop for a rest. Uriah has water skeins and after he takes a quick drink, he passes it over to Samina.
- Uriah watches Samina drink carefully on her turn. “Your shoulder isn’t broken, is it? It looks like you’re part Valoren yourself the way its puffed up!”
- Samina finishes her drink before responding. “It moves ok. The halfling only hit me with a wooden hammer.” She hears Thomas gulp when she says this. “We may as well tell him Thomas, we can’t keep him out in the rain forever.”
- Uriah smiles slightly while she’s speaking, and responds before Thomas has a chance too. “Let me guess. You tried to sell your produce but they offered too little. You got angry and started another big fight. Wouldn’t you know it, this time things got too heated and weapons were drawn. You dropped the cart, and ran. On your way through town you both grabbed anything that wasn’t nailed down, but since you had no money for winter, you decided to come to me for help, if’n I’m right?”
- Samina is about to disagree when Thomas speaks over her. “You got me. You know my temper Uriah. Just another instance when a cooler head would have prevailed.” Thomas had moved over next to Samina while he spoke and placed his hand on her knee while he took the skein of water from her. His grip is stiff while he does so, and Samina decides to take the hint again.
- “I guess that’s… close enough to what happened,” she says with a disapproving glare at Thomas. “After we got out of town though, Thomas
- thinks we’re still going to be followed even though we crossed the river. They’ll have a hard time following us, you know that Thomas. Even my families blood-thirsted ferrets couldn’t track something that ran through water.”
- The water skein sloshes loudly as Thomas finishes his draught. “We should still get further away. Those little bastards hold grudges too dearly to hope they give up after just a few slabs.” Thomas has the same harsh tone of voice he had used with Sheriff Braag. “We’ll have to camp off the pillar line a ways tonight as well.”
- Uriah stashes the water on his cart once again and nods solemnly. “I did ask you join me. Always an exciting time when you’re around Gordan. H’yup!” To Samina it sounds like Uriah is regretting this adventure already.
- Samina stews about the lies to Uriah while they travel. She just can’t understand why Thomas feels the need to lie to everyone, especially since he is so bad at it. As she watches him walk she can tell he is still angry. Every so often she will see him clench his fists, or say something soundlessly to himself and shake his head. After one particularly aggressive shake of his head he grabs a stalk of Greenpike about a hands length wide, pulls it out of the ground and breaks it in half in front of her, scaring her with the show of raw strength. One stalk like that can easily support up to fifty brick before breaking. Her gasp breaks his reverie though, as he startles at her voice and drops the remains sheepishly. When he looks over at her he is blushing slightly and whispers an apology. He calms down considerably after this, and spends the rest of the walk moping.
- They set the same pace as earlier for the next hour. About halfway between two pillars they cross back over the river again, but this time using a small bridge that was built over it. Otherwise, nothing else of particular note catches Samina’s eye in the countryside. The hour behind them, they stop for a quick breather, give water to the animals, and discuss the plan for the night. Thomas agrees to slow down finally, and Samina says she will walk. Having had enough of the silence, Samina tries her best to bring Thomas’s spirits up. She asks questions about the world and politics. What life was like with different races intermixing in the cities and how being a guard works day to day. Uriah joins in on the discussion shortly. Eventually Thomas starts to cheer up, and by the time they reach the third pillar west of Shephaven he finally laughs at an amusing comment from Uriah.
- A rumble in Samina’s stomach interrupts another idle question she was asking to Uriah, causing her to pause.
- “It is getting to be that time of the day I suppose.” Uriah responds with a smile. “I could do with a meal myself if’n we could stop.”
- Thomas stands on his tip toes for a second looking back to the east before responding. “Yeah, I can’t see the town any more. We should be relatively safe now. Let’s go another half slab and then head off to make camp for the night.”
- Samina and Uriah agree. Shortly they are pushing their way though the brush. They had tried to get Lily to pull the cart through the grass, but it kept getting caught so they unhooked it and Thomas carried it over his head while they trekked north off the pillar line. Uriah had grabbed a hatchet from the back of the cart before unhooking it and after pushing their way for a few minutes decided this was the right place. He begins to hack away at the grass and slowly cuts a small three stride diameter circle. Thomas uses his strength to pull out some more clumps off to the side a bit and makes an area large enough for him to lay down. Samina notes there is at least a few Greenpike still growing between the clearings to act like a curtain.
- Samina spends a few minutes digging a small fire pit, then asks Uriah if he has tools to make a fire. He brings them over from the cart and Samina does her best to start one. The fresh Greenpike resists the flame for a few minutes, but eventually she is able to get a small fire going. Thomas looks unhappy but proud at the same time. He congratulates her on being able to make a fire in these conditions, but reminds her it needs to be completely put out before falling asleep.
- For dinner, Uriah provides a couple links of sausage to each of them. They cook them over the fire, and settle in to enjoy each others company. Conversation is light, and Samina is feeling like her normal bouncy self by the time the meal is finished. Her shoulder aches immensely, but otherwise she’s in good health.
- “Why don’t you tell us about your village for a bit Sam?” Uriah asks as the sun begins to set. “If I remember you said your matrons name was Ina? It’s not a name I’m familiar with.”
- Samina shakes her head. “No, my matrons name is Cass. Samina is my whole name.”
- Uriah perks up immediately. “Cass? Was her matrons name Bernardina per chance?”
- Samina cocks her head slightly in surprise. “Yeah, how did you know that?”
- Uriah slaps his knee and starts to laugh. “Did you hear that Gordan! You managed to find a Bernardina prole!”
- Samina looks over at Thomas and he is staring at her in surprise. “What? Is my matron important?”
- Uriah is smiling like a jackdaw as he looks between the two. “Well, Bernardina was only one of the richest families in Storach! Her masters ran most of the economy on the north-east quarter, and she had masters in the court! Two of her daughters took over the mining district forty years or so ago and between the whole family they funded the entire wall project! Gordan here worked for one of your matron’s sisters. Cass was the youngest mother Bernardina had. She would have been maybe twenty-three when the elves came knocking. Cass had never been accounted for in the aftermath, and the family assumed she was dead somewhere in the rubble. Can you prove your connection? You might be set for any apprenticeship you want when we get to Storach!”
- Samina lets this information sink in before replying. “I… don’t think I can. My matron died nearly seven years ago.” Remembering her mother always makes her sad and its hard to hide that from her face.
- Uriah snaps his fingers. “Blast! Well, you can take heart knowing you have good lineage.”
- Thomas is looking at her with concern. “How did she die Sam?”
- Samina finds her mouth is suddenly dry as she remembers the night it happened. “It was during the spring moon festival. When the mothers all dance to lure the moon out of hiding. She’d been teaching me how to do the dance for weeks, but I was still too little to keep up to her. I was sitting at the edge of the clearing with the rest of my family when it happened.” Samina shivers as she watches the scene in her minds eye. “I don’t even remember it fully. We were watching my matron dance in her dress that looked like the full moon. Then, there was a loud thud and something gigantic was standing on top of her. She never made a single sound.” Her eyes are welling up with tears and she wipes them away before they can fall. She wants to mention the great yellow orbs she saw, but can’t bring herself to say the words. Instead, she ends the story with, “And then she was gone.”
- Thomas moves closer to Samina and gives her a hug, being careful not to put pressure on the wrong side of her shoulders.
- Uriah is looking at the fire. “Horrible way to die. But at least she died quick I guess. There are worse ways to go after all.” Uriah has the morose tone of voice he had yesterday when he described the attack on Storach. He sits there quietly digesting the story until his expression goes quizzical. “Wait. Did you say she was teaching you how to do the dance?”
- Thomas lets out a long sigh. “Sam is a mother Gob Uriah.”
- Uriah blinks a couple of times. “Huh. Well, there you go. Wanted a village instead of a farm, did you?” he says with a smirk and twinkle in his eye. “How many proles have you had?”
- Samina shakes her head. “I’m not old enough yet. I just had my age-over and I haven’t gone to find a new path yet.”
- Uriah squints tightly at her. “I see. Well, it’s a good thing we’re getting you to Storach then.” Uriah suddenly looks very wary of Samina. “I’m going to go sleep now. We had a late night last night and I always find it hard to sleep in the wilds.” He continues to squint at her while he moves away from the fire. He had cut himself a small area off to the side of the cleared area for himself and Lily and he crosses through the Greenpike to get to it.
- Samina watches the swaying grasses for a second while she contemplates Uriah’s change in attitude. Unable to guess at his reasoning she instead turns back to the fire and pokes at it idly. Thomas is still sitting beside her and she can hear him breathing calmly. The sun has almost set by this point and the dark has begun creeping in.
- ---
- “This is my favourite time of the day.” Thomas says as he leans backwards. He shuffles left and right a bit before finding a comfortable spot and lays there looking up at the night sky. “Watching the stars appear.”
- Samina tries leaning back as well, but the instant her shoulder touches the lumpy ground it starts to cause pain. No matter how she turns something is always jabbing her and she sits up with a huff. Thomas shifts slightly beside her and she feels his hand pull her so she lies with her neck and shoulders on his arm. This is far more comfortable, and Samina lets a small sigh free. “He’s not the most talkative sort, but he knows how to do things right,” she thinks to herself smiling.
- “I’m sorry you saw that side of me Sam.”
- Samina turns her head to look at him. “You don’t need to say that. I need to say that to you! I just made you lose your home and your farm and all the things you had there.”
- Thomas lets out another long sigh. “I hated those things Sam.”
- “So why did you stay there?”
- “I just liked knowing where I was. My lot in life.”
- “Well, then I ruined that, didn’t I?”
- Thomas chuckles at the impatience in Samina’s voice. “No, you haven’t. Isaac made it clear to me. I’d rather protect you then keep farming.”
- Samina turns again to watch the sky. She’s not quite sure how to take this. After stewing on this for a few minutes she responds. “Then what are we going to do?”
- “For now, let’s get to Storach. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I can be a guard again!” There is a spark of excitement as he says this, and Samina can feel him smiling beside her.
- She turns over and lays on top of Thomas’s chest with her hands under her chin so she can look at him directly. He places his hands on her back and continues to watch the sky. His breathing pushes her up and down slowly and she watches him contently while the stars appear.
- The night is fully dark by the time they break their vigils. Samina makes sure to smother the left overs of the fire with dirt while Thomas moves over to the area he had cleared off after making sure Bunt was snoozing happily near the fire pit. Uriah can be heard snoring lightly in his clearing.
- Samina brushes past the few Greenpike separating the two areas as she joins Thomas off to the side. In the barest of light from the stars she discovers he has already removed his clothes and is laying on a bed of Greenpike waiting for her, fully erect.
- “Oh! But… what about Uriah?!” she whispers to him.
- “He sleeps like the dead,” Thomas replies as he reaches over to Samina and begins pulling her vest and shirt off.
- Samina doesn’t prevent him from doing this and other than a short flash of pain as her shoulder gets tweaked, the clothes come off cleanly. He then pulls her body down to him and begins sucking on her breasts. Samina shifts to straddling his stomach as he switches back and forth between her two sides. Her initial surprise is turning to enjoyment as he continues. The cool air mixes with his saliva whenever he switches sending an icy tingle into her. A pressure is growing in her neck again and she rubs it instinctively just as Thomas releases her chest. She takes the opportunity to kiss him, pushing her tongue into his as hard as she can.
- As they pull apart for a quick gasp of air she says, “Do you like my body?”
- “Oh yes, Sam.” Thomas starts kissing her neck and the tingles start all over her entire body. Its different this time then the last couple of days. Instead of growing slowly, every part of her is instantly energized.
- “My chest isn’t too big?”
- “Your tits are wonderful.” Thomas pinches her left breast as he says this, sending a spark of delicious pain into her.
- “And… my ass isn’t wrong?”
- Thomas undoes her belt and pushes her pants half way down before grabbing her cheeks with both hands roughly. “Your ass is the perfect size. Just big enough for me to hold, and just soft enough to enjoy.” His hands are causing jolts of electricity through her as he rubs her roughly. After a few seconds of this Samina can’t take it any longer so she turns to sit on his stomach and removes her pants completely.
- Thomas picks her up by her thighs and holds her while she lines him up with her opening. The moment of insertion reverberates up her body. Like a hundred fireworks slowly spreading in tiny explosions he works his way deeper into her. When he is as far inside her as he can fit, he leans up so he supports most of her weight and lets her legs go. Samina’s breathing is laboured as she adjusts to the feeling of him being inside her again. Supporting himself with his left elbow, he wraps his right around her chest just below her breasts and picks her up slightly before letting gravity pull her down again. Each upward motion releases a tiny rush as he hugs her body, followed by another firework as he slowly fills her up again. Up and down she goes on him slowly. They both have begun to sweat from this workout, and Samina can feel the chill air leaving goose bumps on skin. She’s getting close to a climax when Thomas stops and lays flat, breathing hard from the exertion.
- “Oh, don’t stop!” She pleads to Thomas.
- “Turn around.” He responds out of breath.
- Samina does her best to stand up. She can feel him so far inside of her, but manages to get to her feet without him falling free. She turns slowly, and half way around feels Thomas grab her hips and finish the job. She falls forward onto his stomach and Thomas takes over again, pushing her hips down, then pulling her butt forwards. Her vision starts to see sparks of light again as she once again approaches the end. Thomas keeps up a steady rhythm and she can feel him hitting her limit over and over. It’s when he starts to speed up that she once again explodes in euphoric bliss. Her mind goes completely blank in a flash of pure white. All pain disappears, as there is nothing but the incredible feeling of Thomas filling her insides with his seed. He keeps moving her up and down this time while he twitches over and over inside her. He slows to a stop eventually, and lets her rest while still inside.
- Nearly out of breath Thomas says, “I… do believe I love you… Sam.”
- Samina moans happily. “Mmm. You’ve convinced me of that.”
- The cold air is starting to take its toll on Samina, and she shivers. Feeling this, Thomas covers her with his hands and arms. He is still spectacularly warm beneath her, and his arms are like living fire on her cold back. He holds her like this over the next few moments. Samina can feel him growing softer inside her, and eventually he falls free allowing a flow of liquid to come out as well. Shortly after this she can feel Thomas breathing steadily again, and she can tell he has fallen asleep. Content for now, she gives him a hug and quickly drifts off herself.
- ---
- Samina wakes up with a start. It’s still the middle of the night, as the only light is from a sliver of a moon hanging in the sky above her. Her heart is pounding for some reason and she extricates herself from Thomas quickly. The cold air makes her shake, so she quickly puts her clothes on before moving back to the fire pit area.
- Bunt has a slobbering noise as he breathes in and out, but otherwise the night is quiet. Sam still has a really bad feeling though, and moves over to the box next to Bunt and roots around until she finds her new knife. Just as she closes the box lid again, she hears a noise. It was so faint, she couldn’t even determine a direction, let alone what it was.
- Samina rushes back over to Thomas and shakes him awake.
- “Huff~ ahm. Wha-.” Thomas begins to say before Samina covers his mouth. Thomas shoots awake when she does this, but keeps quiet.
- They wait like this until a few moments later the noise happens again. Thomas sits up quickly looking around. This time Samina is sure the noise came from the south.
- Samina leans as close to Thomas’s ear as she can and whispers. “Someone on the road?”
- “If so, let’s hope they pass by,” he whispers back.
- They wait in silence again.
- Suddenly the light of the moon flickers above them. Shooting their eyes upward, neither can see anything though. Both do hear a whoosh a few seconds later, as a gust of wind passes over the Greenpike. Samina feels her chest start to tighten as fear begins to take hold. As Samina watches the sky, a new noise can be heard not far away.
- Lily must have been awakened by the gust of wind, and she can be heard growling now. Samina hears Uriah wake up and begin to grumble.
- “Hmph, What’s wrong girl?” Uriah isn’t whispering, and his voice carries easily in the quiet night.
- A screech erupts in the sky above them. Like a thousand mice being caught at the same time and amplified louder than any one could yell.
- “Gods alive! What in the hells is out there!” Uriah yells in shock.
- Thomas jumps to his feet and grabs his pants. He pulls them on and runs through the Greenpike to Bunt to grab his sword.
- Samina has frozen in fear. Unable to move she crouches wide eyed with her dagger drawn in her right hand.
- A second screech blasts down, directly above them. Thomas has his sword ready and is joined Uriah in the center. Together they scan the sky. Samina has only shifted a tiny amount, allowing her to look up in terror.
- Two giant yellow orbs pass over them quickly.
- “Preserve us! What was that!” Uriah yells at Thomas.
- “Shush up!” Thomas admonishes.
- Another screech, and this time Uriah can’t take it.
- “Worms to this!” he yells to Thomas and starts running towards the pillar line.
- “You idiot Uriah, stop moving! Get down!” Thomas yells back at him.
- There is a crash like a building collapsing and a scream from Uriah in the brush not far from the clearing. At the same time a war cry raises up just a few strides from the clearing. Samina snaps from her inaction, and she dives into the Greenpike near her. She only moves a few strides before falling to the ground and hiding behind the grasses as best she can. As she does her best to peak through the grass she can hear a scuffle.
- Thomas is yelling at something, and every so often she catches a glimpse of movement. A horrible sound like flesh being torn open followed by a spray of blood can be heard. A second later a loud thump not far from Samina makes her jump. Looking over she sees the decapitated head of a halfling staring back at her and she does her best to hold back a scream. More fighting can be heard from the clearing, as more combatants enter the fray and she hears at least two more halflings be cut down. She is just beginning to dare to hope Thomas might win when her heart leaps into her throat as she hears Thomas cry out in pain followed by something big falling over. After that, all she can hear is heaving breathing from several people. She hasn’t even had time to process what’s happened when she hears the sheriff start talking.
- “Bastard is still alive. Good. Tie him up and we’ll drag him back.”
- Samina lets out a huge sigh of relief that Thomas isn’t dead, causing her to miss whatever the other halflings said in response to this.
- “Someone stop Sabre from eating that traitor. We have the villain, but his mistress still eludes us.” Sheriff Braag can be heard moving through the Greenpike towards the clearing where Samina and Thomas slept. Just barely through the grasses, Samina can see him moving around. He takes something from his front jacket and spits on it. He then touches his face and Samina assumes he is cleaning off blood. She hears him sniff loudly and he turns around again.
- “Heathens were fornicating here. The noose is too good for this animal, we’ll have to burn him. Have any of you seen the Gob witch?” he calls to the rest of the halflings. After a chorus of negative responses, he grunts in dissatisfaction. “Fortunate we are she wears a white shirt then.” Samina piques at this, realizing she does indeed wear the white shirt the halflings routinely wear in Shephaven and she quickly removes it, throwing it aside. Sheriff Braag has moved back over towards the main clearing by the time she looks up.
- Deciding she needs to risk it, she creeps as quietly as possible to get closer to hear or see what’s happening.
- The sound of Thomas being dragged off towards the pillar line as she makes her way closer masks her movements, and she manages to get close enough to the clearing to see inside. Several bodies lie silently bleeding in the area, including poor Bunt. To the south, a large swath of Greenpike have been flattened and she recoils in terror as she recognizes what moves on top of it. Sheriff Braag standing next to an owl that is easily ten times his height. He is calmly petting and cooing to it as its bright yellow eyes stare unblinking at him. Listening carefully, she hears him say one last command before it appears to nod and takes flight with a horrendous whoosh of air: “Go Sabre. Find yourself a sheep nearby for dinner. Don’t come home until you find her.”
- Samina spends the next few minutes petrified the owl is going to descend upon her. She watches the halflings say a quick prayer for their lost brethren before they all leave towards the pillar line. As her wits slowly creep back to her, she begins to line some things up in her head. The owl must be heavily trained by Isaac to provide tracking in the air at night. It’s how they must have found them without needing a trail, and to find them so quickly. The last bit about finding a sheep leads her to believe it will be looking for a while object moving in the grass. As she links this up, an anger takes hold of her. “A white… dancing in the grass at night?” she whispers to herself.
- A groaning noise catches Samina’s attention. It’s coming from the crushed Greenpike near the clearing and she cautiously moves over to check to see what’s there. As she gets closer she can see Lily is trying to move some heavy grass over top of the noise and Samina drops the caution and rushes to help. After moving a few broken pieces Uriah’s arm can be seen. Together, they slowly pull a barely alive Uriah from the foliage. Samina takes a few seconds to find a skein of water in the area, and with a quick splash wakes up Uriah.
- “Ack, lord. Why is there still pain in the afterlife?” He grunts and sputters as he slowly regains consciousness.
- “You’re not dead Uriah. Keep your voice to a whisper.” Samina whispers harshly to him. “The owl might be listening.”
- Uriah is grimacing in pain, but manages to keep his voice quiet. “O-owl?”
- “A giant owl landed on you when you bolted. I… think it might be the same one that killed my mother.” Samina can feel the arch-angel of anger fighting with the devil of fear inside her over this. She can’t tell if she wants to hide from the monster, or find it and kill it for what it’s done.
- Uriah coughs wetly before spitting and responding. “Ugh. Where’s Gordan?”
- “Sheriff Braag was here. I think he keeps the owl as a hunting pet. He had a few men with him, and they fought Thomas and captured him.” A wolf howl resonates over the field as she finishes her explanation.
- Lily is growling while Uriah talks. “I’m guessing, we should make a bit of distance between us and this bloody battlefield. Go grab what you can, I’ll try to get up.”
- Samina spends a few moments surveying the site. Realizing she is bare chested again, she puts on her new vest. While rooting around Bunt she finds her dull short sword and gives it to Uriah to use like a walking cane, which steadies his movement greatly. She decides the best she could probably do is to take the wooden box with the clothing and coins hidden inside. It’s heavy, but she manages to get it over to Uriah who uses the rope from the buckets to attach it to Lily’s harness. Lastly, Samina finds Thomas’s long sword. She places her new dagger with its sheath into her pants before picking the sword up. It’s very heavy, she can barely carry it across her shoulders. The cool blade feels soothing against her wounded side, but the weight slowly makes the pain worse over time. Samina knows Thomas will need his sword, so she grits her teeth and pushes onward.
- Together they make their way back to the road, then head west until they hit the next slab. Uriah is rasping as he breathes, so Samina suggests this is far enough. They move barely off the line, this time to the south, and Uriah lies down next to Lily.
- “Sit, Sam. We may as well get sleep while we can.” Uriah can barely speak as he pats the ground beside him.
- “Uriah. I’m going to go save Thomas.” Samina wasn’t going to say this, surprising even herself. Having heard the words come from her lips though, she realizes she means it. “He saved me, and now the sheriff said he was going to burn him. I… can’t let him die for protecting me.”
- “How do you intend to do that? Even if’n you can catch them, they outnumber you.”
- “I know.”
- “And what about the owl?”
- “I KNOW!” Samina doesn’t mean to yell, but reminding her how useless she is doesn’t help her save Thomas.
- “Bah, if’n you know, then why do it? Why get yourself killed?”
- Samina whispers, more to herself then Uriah. “He gave up everything for me. Without a second thought.”
- Uriah watches her closely for a few seconds while she hangs her head. “You’re sure it’s not just your neck talking? You know he can’t give you proles, right?”
- Samina looks over at him with a confused look while she checks her neck with her hand. “My neck?”
- “I used to sleep deeper then the worms dig, but elves change that. I heard you two tonight.” Samina blushes instinctively. “He’s not a goblin. You’ll not get children from him. No matter how many times you blow your sweet mist in his face.”
- “Sweet… mist?” Samina sits down she’s so confused.
- Uriah sighs. “Your matron never told you did she. Let me guess, you have a burning hole in your throat? Or maybe it’s a piece of snow, or a pin needle? Well, when you feel that, your breath will make who ever you’re near want you. Need you. And they’ll do anything to get you.”
- It feels like Samina’s been kicked in the stomach. “I… forced him to want me?”
- “So, it has started for you. I’m sorry lass.”
- “H-how long does the mist last?”
- “No more then a few minutes for most men.”
- Samina thinks back to the last couple of days, and hope wells up in her. “So, he did do things of his own choice then! I didn’t make him save me or take me with him to town or show me the top of the grass! He acted on his own to protect me from the crowd at the store! And stood up to the sheriff!”
- Uriah closes his eyes for a second, grimacing as a wave of pain hits him. “He is a Gordan. His father saved people like that too.”
- “Well, now he needs to be saved!”
- Uriah watches her stand up again. “You do like him don’t you.”
- “Yep. And I’m going to save him.” Samina has an extra sense of conviction in her voice now. She knows Thomas wasn’t just acting as her unwitting pawn. He deserves her faith in him, and she intends to live up to the faith he put in her.
- Samina resettles the sword on her back while ignoring the pain, turns and starts running down the road to the east.
- After watching her leave, Uriah whispers quietly to no one. “Good luck Samina.”
- ---
- Samina figures they have at most an hour’s lead on her as she runs down the path. She doesn’t know how many there are, but she’s sure they are having a hard time dragging Thomas so they are probably moving slow. She hopes she’ll be able to hear them before she barrels into the back of them.
- The moon is just three days past the new moon directly above Samina. It hangs there, peeking down at her as though it were afraid of what’s to come. There is no sound beyond the pattering of her bare feet as she races towards a fight she hasn’t even prepared for. While she runs, she does her best to think of the skills and advantages she has and slowly a plan begins to take form.
- A scraping noise on the path ahead snaps her to attention and she stops running. Looking ahead, she can make out a strange light moving on the path that doesn’t spread outwards. It illuminates only the area directly in front of the lead halfling, and she can tell they are moving very slowly. The noise on the path is Thomas being pulled behind three halflings as he bounces and jostles on the hard earth. Knowing there is nothing she can really do while they move in a straight line, Samina falls into the same pace as them about thirty strides behind. Listening carefully to their voices, she concludes there are a total of six men in the war band, one of which is Isaac Braag.
- Time passes slowly as she follows behind the group. The run had winded her so the chance to walk for few minutes is a welcome rest, but just following won’t rescue Thomas. It’s not until a new noise trickles to her ears that she realizes just how far they’ve come. The river crossing is ahead.
- “Bah, Isaac, this lout is heavy. Can we stop for a drink at least?” One of the halflings pipes up as they close in on the river.
- “Yeah, go ahead.” Sheriff Braag replies gruffly.
- Quickly, Samina moves into the grass beside her. Just in time as well, as the halfling holding the lantern turns around and the light passes where she had been walking. She listens to the group complain about the distance and weight before drinking their fill from the clear stream.
- “Should I rush up now?” she thinks to herself while biting her lower lip. “I can’t take them when they are all together…”
- The sheriff pulls the choice out her hands quickly, as Samina hears him bark at the men to get moving. There is a bunch of grumbling, but soon she hears Thomas being dragged again. She admonishes herself for her inaction as she steps back out on the road way and continues to follow. Just as she gets to the bridge she hears a spark of opportunity.
- “Ah, keep going, I’m just going to take a quick dribble here.” One of the halflings is moving back towards the bridge slowly.
- Holding perfectly still, Samina waits for the halfling to stop moving. He walks up to the middle of the bridge and stands looking over the side. Samina carefully places the sword on the ground, pulls her dagger, and creeps closer as the sound of the halflings stream hits the water below. Just as he finishes, Samina jumps into action.
- Wrapping her left hand over his mouth, she uses her right hand to draw the dagger across his collar. He makes a move to resist her temporarily, attempting to yell but only blood comes out of his mouth. After holding him for a second to make sure he won’t yell a warning to the others, Samina lets him go and then kicks his dying body into the river below. Running back to the sword, the loud splash draws attention from the rest of the group.
- “Hey Vickers! Did you go and fall in?” One of the halflings pulling Thomas starts to laugh, and Samina hears the group stop moving. She quickly picks up the sword and melts into the grass beside the road. Placing the sword back down quietly she does her best to hide and watch what happens next. “Vickers? You alright? Vickers! Aw hellfire, Isaac, Vickers has fallen into the river!”
- The group runs back to the bridge and starts looking over the edge. The halfling holding the lantern is scanning the water beneath the bridge but comes up empty.
- “You fool, give me that lantern!” Isaac yells at the man. Grabbing the lantern, he starts scanning down river. Eventually he spots Vickers body floating away a good distance down stream. “There! The simpleton must have hit his head! You two, go after him! We’ll watch the prisoner.” Isaac hands the lantern back to the original owner.
- The two men rush to the banks of the river and start running down stream to catch Vickers. Isaac makes his way back to the prone Thomas with another halfling, while the last stays on the bridge holding the lantern to illuminate Vickers as he slowly drifts away.
- Samina once again decides to take the opportunity. Slipping quietly up onto the bridge she sneaks up behind the halfling with the lantern. A bead of sweat rolls down her face as she thinks about how she is going to do this. “Killing him will alert the rest that I’m here. But I don’t want them to discover I killed the first!” she thinks to herself frantically. She is about to just stab the lantern holder when the itch in her throat gives her a sudden idea. “Uriah, you better be right about this!”
- Samina takes a slow deep breath and then rubs the spot on her neck roughly. Again, she covers the mouth of the halfling with her left hand but this time she leans around close to his face and whispers. “Keep the lantern on your friend but don’t make a sound or your life is mine.” She presses the dagger up against his throat but doesn’t cut him. He freezes instinctively, but other then a shudder momentarily, keeps the lantern on the body floating down the river.
- “Good, good. I’m going to take my hand off your mouth, but if you let anyone know I’m here, you die.” Samina feels the halfling nod slowly, and she takes her hand off slowly. “I’m not so bad you know. I can even make you pretty happy… Would you like me to do something to make you feel good?” she whispers into his ear lustily as she reaches down with her left hand and grasps his quickly hardening dick. The quick shake of his head confirms Uriah was right about the itch in her neck. “I can’t right now of course. But… if you were to accidentally drop the lantern into the river. Maybe convince the rest of your…friends… to rest for the night. I might be able to then.” She makes a few quick jerks with her hand on his penis and watches in amazement as the halfling immediately drops the lantern over the side. Realizing her plan might be working, she quickly tells her captive, “Volunteer to stay awake and guard everyone, as your penance for losing the lantern.”
- Shouts can be heard from down stream as the pair chasing Vickers lose him in the darkness.
- “Once everyone is asleep, come back to me here on the bridge. For your reward.” She plants a quick kiss on his cheek, and runs back to the side of the road.
- Hiding in the grass beside Thomas’s sword, Samina listens to the halfling explain to Isaac that the lantern slipped as he tried to shift it between his two hands. She can feel an excitement building in her chest as she listens to the sheriff respond. Isaac is furious, but keeps a mostly civil tongue. The two halflings from down stream have no choice but to return empty handed, the light from the moon is simply not bright enough to find a corpse floating in a river. Her thrall follows through with her story, and suggests they should sleep here until morning. Eventually, Isaac agrees with this course of action, and coincidentally reinforces Samina’s plan by forcing the lantern holder to take first watch.
- As the group makes their way back to Thomas, Samina discovers there might be a down side to her plan. The excitement she’s feeling is continuing to grow, and she can feel the familiar pin pricks of arousal starting to fire on her hips and thighs. Slowly the halflings lie down around Thomas, with one of the halflings even using Thomas’s calf as a pillow. Samina takes an opportunity to move the sword across the bridge and hide on the opposing side once things begin to quiet down.
- Over the next few minutes, Samina can feel her body heating up. She does her best to focus on the grim task at hand, but the tingles are slowly spreading. Eventually, Samina finds she must remove her vest due to the distraction it causes her when it rubs against her nipples. By the time her thrall begins to make his way towards the bridge Samina is sweating profusely.
- Waiting until the halfling passes her hiding place, Samina grits her teeth and gets up to follow. He stops just before the bridge and she hears him whisper. “Miss… are you there?”
- Quickly, Samina slides the blade through his larynx while covering his mouth. He shudders slightly, and she slowly cradles him while lowering him to the ground. His blood rushes freely and, due to her positioning, Samina can feel it coating her. The warm gore mixes with the cool air on top of her breasts making the tingles turn to sparks. The convulsions of his body pressed against her form a mix of sensations raising her arousal to a fever state. Samina is simultaneously disgusted and enflamed by her actions and she bites her lip hard enough to draw blood of her own. The rush of pain manages to bring her focus back and once he has finally stopped moving, she lets him go.
- Samina takes a few seconds to catch her breath. She turns and returns to the sword. The stimulation in her skin has reached her hands as she leans forward and picks up the sword. “I can finish this. I’m almost done,” she whispers to herself, standing up. Dripping blood in the darkness she makes her way to the sleeping villagers before her.
- As Samina approaches she sees Thomas’s eyes shoot open. Fearing he might start moving and wake the rest of the sleeping halflings she dashes up to him and places a finger over his mouth. He looks confused, but slowly nods his head. Samina crawls over to the halfling asleep on Thomas’s shin and slits his neck in a smooth clean action. The halfling manages a cough, but expires before he can make another noise. Samina watches the rest for any response, before taking her knife and attempting to free Thomas from the ropes binding his arms and hands.
- The ropes are well made, and resist the blade. Samina can barely concentrate her body is so turned on, but finally manages to cut through the knot near his wrists with an audible tearing noise. Freezing in place for fear she’s been heard she waits. Hearing nothing, she quickly starts unwrapping the ropes around his arms. Once his arms are free she moves over and starts cutting the knot at his ankles.
- “Fmnuh. What’s that?” A sleeping halfling has been roused by her cutting and is turning to see what’s going on. Desperately, Samina changes her target and lunges with a snarl at the groggy man. The halfling wails as she stabs her knife into his heart, causing the other man beside him to startle awake quickly.
- “Hellfires! What~,” is all the final halfling manages before Thomas’s mighty hand grabs him by the head and smashes him into the ground a couple times. A groan manages to escape him, but Samina quickly uses her blade to end his life.
- “Thank the gods you’re here, Sam! Give me the knife so I can finish freeing myself.” Samina hands Thomas the knife while she brushes the blood off her hands on the shirt of the third dead halfling.
- “Wait… There is one missing Thomas.” Turning to look around she realizes Isaac Braag is not amongst the dead. “Sheriff Braag is still alive somewhere!”
- Just as she says this a flash of fire erupts from her right ear. With a cry of pain, she falls to the ground grabbing at the side of her head. Her ear has been cut cleanly in half, the bottom part hanging painfully. She looks around quickly, but doesn’t see what caused the cut. It’s not until she hears a high-pitched noise fly past just a fingers width from her head that she understands. “He’s throwing those little knives again Thomas!”
- “Then be quiet! It’s too dark for him to see you clearly. Augh!” Thomas grunts in pain as she hears a knife land in his arm, forcing him to drop the knife. Luckily, he had finished the cut and was already unwinding the rope. Rolling away, Thomas moves into the Greenpike just as another knife embeds itself into the thick stem. Samina snatches the knife from the ground before following his lead into the brush. She only goes a few steps though before falling to a crouch and turning to look for Isaac.
- “I WILL KILL YOU VALOREN! You may run! But my Sabre is ready!” Isaac screams into the wild plains.
- A piercingly high pitched whistle suddenly assaults Samina. She grimaces in pain as it hangs in the air for what seems and eternity, then suddenly vanishes. She pants a few times before the whistle returns. The exact same note, spread over several seconds. When it ends again she looks up and can see the sheriff making his way slowly to the pile of ropes near him.
- “I have your sword Valoren! Your ugly harlot left it on the road beside you, and you left it behind! Failure! Can’t you even be a proper villain!” Isaac seems out of breath after he yells this to the wind. “Well, shall you just run like a coward?”
- “No.” Thomas’s voice answers. Samina hadn’t noticed, but he had gone towards the river, and he was stepping out onto the road about twenty paces away. “If you want a fight Braag, I’ll give you one.”
- Isaac laughs at him. “So, easy to toy with. I don’t want a fight, I just want your hide.” Samina watches in horror as Isaac throws a dart at the fully exposed Thomas. He must not have seen the motion in the darkness because she hears it connect and he grunts in pain.
- “You… think your little darts can stop me?” Thomas spits back. “I’ll crush you with my bare hands.” Thomas starts charging towards Isaac with a thunderous war cry.
- Samina can see Isaac reaching for another dart, but she reacts quicker. The instant Thomas started his charge she started hers as well. Isaac is just beginning to pull another blade when she crashes into him knife first. Together they fall in a clump to the ground and Samina begins stabbing the halfling over and over while she sits on top of him. Isaac fights back initially, but the knife blade does its work. By the time, Thomas reaches them Isaac is dead but Samina continues to draw the blade out and viciously stab him.
- “Sam, you got him. He’s dead, you can stop!” Thomas places his hand on her bare back as she stabs him twice more for good measure. “He can’t hurt us any more.”
- Samina can feel the electricity shooting through every part of her body. She hates to admit it, but she wants Thomas so badly right now. She stands quickly and hurls herself into Thomas’s arms. She gives him the most passionate kiss she can manage, but the blood from her torn lip quires the result.
- “Easy Sam, I’m OK.” Thomas just hugs her tightly instead of continuing the kiss. He is still holding her like this when the screech of a thousand mice shatters the night sky above them.
- Thomas releases Samina quickly, and grabs up his sword. Samina has a thousand thoughts race through her mind as she lands on her feet.
- She wants to freeze in terror, flee like a rat, and scream in frustration. Thomas kicks her in the hip, sending her sprawling just as the giant bird lands heavily where they had been sitting.
- “Hide Sam!” Thomas yells at her as he slashes towards the beast, barely missing as it takes flight again.
- Samina looks up as it flies overhead, the owl’s bright yellow eyes stare down back at her. “I’ve just gotten him back! I’m not going to lose him again!” she thinks to herself, overpowering the voices in her head. Looking around she starts digging through the remains of Isaac. Just as she finds what she was looking for the owl sounds its terrifying cry and begins to dive at them once again.
- Samina waits as long as she dares. She’s never done this before, but it feels perfect as she flings her hand toward the beast. The dart flies out from her hand, flying straight and true up at the monster. A smile lights up her face as she sees it pierce the left eye of the falling monstrosity and hears it writhe in pain. She knows she hasn’t killed it, but she’s done something to it at least. Even if it doesn’t die, Samina is glad she made some small gesture to avenger her mother’s killer.
- The last conscious thought Samina registers is the owl trying to change directions mid drive, failing, and slamming into the ground on top of her.
- ---
- The soft melody of a sparrow awakens Samina slowly. At least it would have if the sudden bounce didn’t rattle her awake.
- A groan passes her lips as the bright sun bears down on her. She can hear a foggy voice talking far away, but no matter how hard she tries to listen, it remains incomprehensible. Another bump beneath her makes the world start spinning and she lets out a whelp as she feels her insides try to become her outsides. She grits her teeth and squeezes her eyes shut, and eventually the feeling passes. Slowly she opens her eyes again and realizes she’s not moving at all any more. A dark shadow eclipses the sun as she looks up.
- A deep voice speaks to her like its behind a few walls. “Sam, can you hear me Sam?”
- “I… can hear… you,” she replies groggily.
- The shadow above her moves away from her vision and she hears the voice again. “Oh, thank the gods! Uriah, she still lives!” The voice is getting clearer the more she listens.
- “Who… are you?” she manages to squeak out, blinking her eyes into focus slowly.
- Thomas appears above her, looking down with a huge smile. “It’s me, Sam, Thomas!”
- “Thomas.” Samina lets another groan out as the night’s events filter back to her. “The… owl. What happened?”
- Thomas lets out a brilliant laugh as he recounts the tale. “You saved us both Samina! You struck that devil right smack in the eye with a dart! It crashed to the ground on top of you, blind in one eye, and I charged in with my sword!” Samina smiles faintly as she watches Thomas re-enact the engagement. “It fluttered about for a second, but turned on me just as I got within reach. I dodged the beak, then its claws, and dove for its center! I missed as it moved to the side! I never knew owls were so skinny, their feathers make them look so much bigger then they are! Recovering, I turn into the dodge, and slash wildly. I feel it connect for an instant and the bird stumbles away. I press the advantage, forcing myself to stay close. The beak snaps at me, but I’m too close! I heard it snap shut behind me. I’m sure if you hadn’t taken its eye, I would be dead right now. I strike, aiming for the neck, and it hits true! I feel the bones break as my sword cleaves into it! Suddenly, its talons start thrashing about, and I jump away! It did manage to snag a good hit on me though, as you can see!”
- Thomas is smiling as he picks up the side of his shirt and Samina can see a pair of dark red lines running down his side towards his hip.
- “After it starts to slow down, I make sure to finish the job proper. That’s when I started searching around for you. I nearly died when I found your limp body Sam.” Thomas has moved back to beside Samina at this point, and the pain in his voice is undeniable. He leans down slowly and gives her a quick kiss on the forehead. “I thought I had lost you. I ran to your side, and through some miracle, I heard a heart beat. I gathered you up as quick as I could, and started running. It’s a lucky thing Lily heard me coming and growled, or I would have run right past Uriah. He’s the one that patched you up. It’s been two days since that night. I’ve been worried to death about you Sam.” Thomas drops to his knees in front of her as he finishes. Samina can’t believe it as tears start streaming down his face. He laughs gently to himself. “Look at me, the wreck I am. You’re the one who nearly died, but I’m beside myself.”
- Uriah speaks up at this point as she sees him walk into view from behind her. “He’s been naught but a troublesome nitwit this whole time, Sam. I had to force him to do things, else he was going to make things worse. Well, you’re on the mend now. We’ll let you get some sleep, won’t we Thomas?” Uriah is looking very pointedly at Thomas, who is nodding while wiping his eyes and standing up. “Hmph. Get some more sleep mum. I’ll make sure this straw hut stays standing until you’re on your feet.”
- Samina nods slowly. She’s not in any pain, but she can barely feel anything. Closing her eyes, she decides it must be some salve Uriah has given her, and takes comfort knowing she’ll be safe.
- ---
- A pop from burning Greenpike awakens Samina next. She opens her eyes and looks around the small room she’s in. It’s completely empty except for the bed she’s in, a chair beside her, and the fire burning quietly in the corner.
- Samina sits up and feels a dozen tiny slices of pain shoot through her. Removing the sheet that covers her she surveys her naked body slowly. Bruises cover her chest and stomach and her right leg is currently in a brace. She gingerly attempts to move her foot and to her relief discovers no bones are broken. Checking her face, she finds a few minor cuts, but it’s when she touches the right side of her head that she lets out a gasp.
- Tracing slowly with her fingers, Samina feels around her ear. The top ridge leading to the pointed end is still intact, but nearly every other part is missing. The hair behind where her ear should be has been shaved back. Probably so the wound could be kept clean she reasons. She checks the area around the paired ear canals next and they are extremely tender at her touch. Snapping her fingers a few times her hearing hasn’t been damaged and she thanks the gods for that small favor.
- Samina sighs as she leans back onto the pillow behind her. “It could have been worse,” she whispers.
- A sound can be heard from the doorway and Samina turns her head to see who’s there.
- “Sam! You’re awake again!” Thomas exclaims.
- Samina nods her head and sits up again just in time for Thomas to nearly crush the life from her as he hugs her close to him. She’s about to scold him for being too rough when he releases her from his grasp, and switches to kissing her. The rebuke dies in her throat as she decides to just enjoy the passion and kisses him back. The kiss lasts almost a minute before Thomas finally pulls away.
- “I know its only been a few days, but gods I’ve missed you.” Thomas is smiling as happily as she’s ever seen him. “Do you think you can stand?”
- Samina nods quickly and says, “I think so.” She turns on the bed and lowers herself gently to the ground. Thomas watches her take the weight and nods when he sees she can indeed walk. He leans over the back of the bed and grabs one of his shirts for her. Samina smiles as she pulls it over her head. It’s large of course, but only hangs down to her calves and the neck is small enough not to expose her shoulders.
- “Great! Come on Sam, lets go get something to eat!”
- Together they walk into a common area and Samina can see Uriah sitting at a table checking over some papers. When Uriah looks up he smiles politely at Samina. “Finally, up and about I see. About time too. This inn has been costing me a pretty penny!” The faux gruffness in his voice softens as he smiles. “How are you feeling Sam?”
- “I’m doing OK, thank you Uriah.”
- “You’re probably pretty hungry. I’ll go fetch the chef.” Uriah hops off the chair he’s in, and winks at Thomas as he limps his way to the door. “Always has to be your shirt doesn’t it…” he says as he disappears through the entrance.
- Samina sits down in a chair and watches as Thomas starts to sit down as well, only to catch himself quickly. “Oh, I nearly forgot, I have something for you!” He stands back up and walks over to the fireplace in the main room. He picks up something large and black and makes his way back to Samina.
- “Uriah was getting worried I would do something stupid like get in his way when he was fixing you up. He told me to go be useful and see what I could find at the bridge. I gathered these up and I’ve been working on something for you since then while you slept.” Thomas hands her a necklace made from four of the large black talons of Sabre the owl. “I know its nothing impressive. But hopefully it helps you sleep at night knowing your mother has been avenged.”
- Samina holds the necklace in her hands for a few moments. “The only thing that’s going to help me sleep at night is you Thomas. When you got captured, I couldn’t breath I was so scared. When I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you again, I felt like a hole was carved into me. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew I had to save you.” She places the necklace on the table beside her and stands up. “Don’t you dare ever leave me again!” she says as she grabs his leg in as powerful a hug as she can manage. “You’re mine forever now. You’re my guardian.”
- Thomas rubs his hand through Samina’s hair and she hears him swallow. “So… you don’t like the necklace?”
- Samina breaks the hug and slaps his knee. “I like it you ox! I just needed to tell you that first!”
- Thomas laughs gently. “Whew. That’s good. I was worried you would hate it.” He sits down in a chair before continuing. “So now you own me, do you? Hmm.” He acts like he’s weighing a big decision in his head for a few seconds. “Well, there are worse fates I guess. So where are we going next?”
- Samina nibbles on her bottom lip as she looks around quickly. "How about... back to the room?"
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