Lost Scout

[Frundette]

"Wait, please!" Gytha called toward the little girl, taking a few steps in Olivia's direction, unaware of just how disheveled and scary she must look to the child.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Olivia hesitated with one foot poised to flee, and one foot still planted in the dirt. She had expected Gytha to try and run at her, but when she didn't, Olivia began to feel a little bit curious. Who was this stranger? Why did she look so scruffy? Very cautiously she took a step towards Gytha and tipped her head to the side, causing her brown curls to fall off her shoulder and hang freely. "Who are you?" She asked.

 

[Frundette]

"My name is Gytha," she replied hoarsely, pausing at the edge of the garden so that she didn't frighten the girl further. "Please, are your parents home? Would you get them for me?"

 

[StarrNico]

Ruby frowned, watching the two orcs. She couldn't understand what they were saying to each other but suspected it was about her. She looked back to Grishkah again when the other left and moved her arm. "Rope off." She said, trying the simpler words to see if she could get her arms untied from behind her back.

David listened to the conversation quietly as the three followed the trail. He kept his eyes roaming over the forest around them as they rode along, not wanting to be ambushed.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

"My name is Gytha," she replied hoarsely, pausing at the edge of the garden so that she didn't frighten the girl further.  "Please, are your parents home?  Would you get them for me?"

Olivia nodded quickly and began running towards the house. She disappeared around the corner and was gone for a couple of minutes before she returned leading a tall brown hair man, her father Ezra. Behind them yet was Emma who hung back, weary of the stranger with a young child in the house.

Upon seeing Gytha, Ezra instructed Olivia to remain beside her mother and approached her by himself. Ironically, he didn't even know that the girl standing in front of him was the scout whom they had set out to rescue in the first place. "My name is Ezra... who are you? Are you hurt?"

 

[Frundette]

"Please..." Gytha said to him, forcing her feet to carry her forward until she was close to Ezra. As she came closer, her various bruises, cuts and scraps became visible through the dirt that covered much of her. "My name is Gytha. Please, I need to get to Lord Ragnar," she reached out to take Ezra's hand, trying to convey the urgency of her request. "Aberdeen is threatened. If I could but borrow a horse..."



--



"We did," Jasper confirmed. "Though Ezra and I returned ere it was certain the girls were in the camp. Though Strider spotted others held prisoner there, so it seems likely all were there." His horse pulled on the reins and tossed its head, prancing a bit when Jasper contained him to a walk. "Are they warmed up enough to pick up the pace? Mine is ready enough."

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

"Gytha?!" He felt as though she'd punched him in the gut. Could this really be the scout they had been looking for? If so, where was Aelfric and Stider? Danielle and Strider's daughter? He suddenly decided not to mention any of that to her, although the words were on the tip of his tongue. He didn't want to worry her. "Of course, Ragnar has been looking for you. Let me take you to him, you don't look in any shape to ride yourself."

--

Terrowin nodded. "The sooner we get there the better." A gentle tap on the sides was all it took to get his mount going, the animal seemed to sense his urgency. "Are you going to continue to Camden?" He asked Jasper.

 

[Frundette]

Not having to walk the last mile to Ragnar's home was a great relief to the scout and she gladly accepted Ezra's help getting her to and mounted upon Panago. But even in her current state, she couldn't help but notice the look of worry written over the farmer's face. Not realizing the farmer was already aware of the orcs, she didn't want to break the news to him before Ragnar had heard it, but was still curious if his worry went deeper than a disheveled girl showing up in his garden. Ragnar has been looking for you... his words slowly sunk in and she felt a sudden flicker of nervousness. "Did he send Charles looking for me?" she asked, hating the fact that she would even think to question Ragnar's own loyalty to Aberdeen, but the events of the previous day made her strongly doubt her own judge of character.

--

As soon as Terrowin nudged his mount into a faster gait, Jasper's horse lurched into a trot as well and the youth doubted he'd be able to convince the horse to go slower. At Terrowin's question, Jasper glanced at David, who hadn't spoken much. "I wasn't thinking to," he admitted. "But am willing if you see a need."

--

Meanwhile, Anna and Laethros were making very slow progress up the river bed. Even though the day was not yet hot, the old man's shirt and face were soaked with sweat and his cheeks and forehead were red. "A moment, lass, a moment," he said, out of breath, as they came to a large rock that made for a good bench and he sat upon it. His hand went to his hip to fetch his waterskin, only to remember a moment later that it was still with his items in the cave. So instead he just wiped the sweat from his brow, resting a moment as he studied his injured leg. It had swollen so much that the splint Anna had made felt like it was digging into his skin, but he didn't dare remove it.

 

[StarrNico]

David glanced to the other two and shrugged "Come if you want to. Be glad of the company if you do." He kept his stallion to the same pace as the others, though the stallion wanted to run. David knew they could possibly need his extra energy if they had to get away from anything.

~~~
Anna stopped and looked around then went to the water to get a drink from it. She dipped the clean rag into the water to bring back to him, the only way she could get him a drink without him falling into the water. She looked to the splint when she got close and handed him the rag "Drink from that, and I'll loosen this so it doesn't cut off your blood too much." She said and dropped to her knee to loosen the bindings a little.

 

[Frundette]

As Anna knelt down in front of him to loosen the bindings around the splint, he contemplated the vulnerable position she had just put herself in. A solid crack across the head with his walking stick would probably be enough to knock her down. But he contained the impulse, deciding that it was better to wait until they were out of the river bed, for he may need her help to climb even the much gentler sloping bank near the bridge. So instead, he just drank the water from the rag before it could all run out. "You know..." he began, his voice carefully guarded against emotion as he watched for her reaction to what he was about to say, "I'm sorry 'bout your father. Not that it can bring him back, but it was an accident. One that was, in truth, my fault. It was cowardly of me never to admit it."

--

The slave seemed to be attempting to tell her something. But Grishkah mistook Ruby moving her bound hands as the girl trying to point out something on her back. The orc moved behind the girl. Since Ruby had changed her shirt between the time of her escape and re-capture, Grishkah had overlooked the wounds on the girl's back. But she pulled up the fabric...not being overly careful about Ruby's bound hands or her injured shoulder in the process... only to be dismayed to find a laceration there that was red and inflamed. Mazoga had been right! Grishkah had the unfortunate luck of picking a sick slave.

Careful not to cut the rope, Grishkah began loosening the bonds around Ruby's hands, intending to bind them again in front so that she could more easily tend the wound. Perhaps her slave could be saved yet.