Lost Scout

[ChickieBooBoo]

Bump!

 

[Frundette]

Jasper looked behind them to make sure nothing had followed them back to their horses. "Everyone said there's been no real trouble for as long as the settlement's been here. Probably nothing much to get excited about now either, I suppose," he said. The young man swung back up into the saddle of the old horse, and nudged his mount after Aelfric's.

The sworn man glanced back over his shoulder as they re-emerged onto the road and continued their journey eastward. For the next hour, he varied the pace between a walk and an easy trot, keeping an eye on the surrounding woods, but noticed nothing more interesting than a few white tailed deer that stood not far from the road and watched the horses pass by.

Should they have met more travellers on the road? While the road was obviously not heavily used yet, Aelfric's worry about Gytha made him take it as a foreboding sign that they had not passed a single soul travelling westward.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Ezra and Panago fell in step silently behind Aelfric and Jasper. Although they were on a serious mission, he actually began to enjoy himself as the ride progressed smooth and uneventfully. The evening sun cast long shadows around them and highlighted everything in gold light. After a couple of hours he also began to notice the lack of traffic, but not being one who traveled the road frequently, he didn't know if that was unusual or not.

...

Several miles ahead of them Danielle was traveling down the same road at a similar pace. As the setting sun slowly gave way to night, she began to feel nervous wondering why she hadn't caught up to her father yet. Certainly Duke was faster than Panago, she reckoned. She had brought some supplies with her to overnight, but she was unfamiliar with the area and had limited survival training. Instead of stopping to make camp before it was completely dark she pressed on at an increased pace, still trying to catch up with them even though they were actually behind her.

 

[Frundette]

"Think it'll rain tonight?" Aelfric asked Ezra as he looked for a suitable place to stop and set up their camp for the night. As he asked the question, it made him think again of Gytha. The woman had an almost uncanny knack for picking out the signs that foretold the weather. He shook the thought away as his eyes scanned the terrain for a campsite. A few miles ahead, he knew there was a place with a rock overhang that made for good defense against both the weather and unwelcome visitors. But with the detour they had taken to follow the strange tracks there was no way they could make it there before dark.

--


Vorgak's nostrils flared as he caught a whiff of a strong scent. "Horse," he growled at the others.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Ezra shifted his gaze towards the darkening sky, but all he seen was fluffy white cumulus clouds. Behind them, however, were darker and thicker clouds which potentially held rain. "Hard to tell," he held his hand up to his face to block the last rays of sunlight. "Possibly, those darker clouds are slowly heading this way. Know of any place nearby to stop?"

--

A couple miles ahead of the trio, Danielle stopped and dismounted from Duke. The lowering sun cast long shadows across the road and slowly diminished her chances of finding a suitable place to spend the night. She decided that instead of pushing on and risk getting lost, it was better to stop and press on again tomorrow morning. After looping Duke's reins securely around a tree branch she stepped a couple feet off the road to look for a place to pitch her tent.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Bump!

 

[Frundette]

As dusk turned into twilight, the small group of orcs crept toward the road and the strong scent of horse. The one called Vorgak paused and peered through the foliage. One human girl and a horse. This would be just as easy as the one they had abducted a few days before. He looked back, showing his pointed teeth to the others in something that might have been a grin, then suddenly let out a whoop and plowed through the brush straight toward Danielle.


--

"Not that we can get to before dark, I'm afraid," he answered, stopping his mount. "Probably best to stop here while we've still a short amount of time to set up a camp before dark."

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

The sudden noise in an otherwise silent evening startled Danielle so much that initially all she could do was gape in panic as the orcs closed in. Behind her, Duke also felt as much. The black colt skirted forwards in fright, bumping into Danielle and nearly knocking her over. While struggling to regain her balance, she jolted out of her temporary state of terror and reacted by ducking around Duke and using him as a sort of shield. She hoped that it would slow them down while she tried to unbuckle the sack of supplies that was still attached to his saddle.

--

Ezra nodded. "Sounds fair, I'll find some dry firewood to cook up some grub. Dunno bout' you, but I'm famished."

 

[Frundette]

"Same here," Jasper added as the group dismounted. While a decent rider, the lad was not accustomed to being in the saddle all day and he stretched, trying to loosen up his saddle-sore muscles. "I'll get the horses tended to," he volunteered. "Unless you think we should leave them saddled?" he asked, looking at Aelfric.

"They need a rest, same as us," the swordsman said. "Thanks."

--


Vorgak continued his rush straight toward the horse, but the others slowed, slightly fearful of the large animal. "um out, humie!" Vorgak screeched loudly, trying to dart around the horse, while two of the others started to make a much wider circle around the beast.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Ezra handed the reins of Panago to Jasper and glanced upwards at the darkening sky. "Thanks. I'll be back as quick as I can. Hopefully this rain stays at bay long enough to get something going, otherwise it'll be impossible to find something dry in here." He readjusted his hat, padded his horse once and stepped into the bush, making sure to keep the small, make-shift camp site in sight at all times.

--

Through no deliberate attempt on his own part, Duke provided a decent amount of cover for Danielle while she wrestled with the saddle bag. Each time Vorgak tried to go around the frightened horse, Duke would spin around in fear, always keeping his rider on the opposite side of the orc. At the same time, however, the rope and branch became weaker and weaker as Duke pulled, and eventually broke just as the saddle bag came loose. The moment he was free, Duke bolted away from Vorgak, right into the two orcs who were sneaking around the other side. Still holding onto the saddle, Danielle was pulled off her feet and thrown onto the ground, still clutching the bag as Duke ran. Using the temporary moment of confusion and chaos as Duke collided with the orcs, she ripped the bag open and pulled out a medium sized sword. Although she had never received any training in it's use, she had spent a number of hours practising on her own while her parents weren't watching.