Chapter 7: Sarah Leaves!
The Twenty-Ninth of Greentide, D.Y. 500
-----The party then sets out at a walking pace toward the west. In the distance, the clump of trees looks to cover an area of roughly a mile surrounded by flat lands broken occasionally by hills. The flatness of the plains makes it difficult to judge proper distances, but the weather makes the late morning ride pleasant.
-----After half of an hour passes, the party comes across a pond that they warily skirt around. At this point, a castle is sighted about two miles to the south of their position. To the northwest, the small dwellings that Dilton spotted are seen clearly to form a small hamlet. To the southwest, a large hill rises and more dwellings are seen upon its crown.
-----In front of them lies the ever-approaching wood, which they reach in another half-hour. As they move closer, they can see tall trees covering a soft and wet ground. High furrow paths have been made to allow passage through the woods from water that has collected on the lower ground.
-----Suddenly, the party comes to a stop! Within the trees on the raised land are seen wood cottages forming a small thorp community. Oddly, everything is quiet save for the birds in the trees. No movement is seen around the dwellings.
-----Like a blur Raven is suddenly behind the guard that insulted Caranip. Roughly Raven kicks the man to his knees and holds him tightly by the throat. Raven has a look of a wild one as he leans in close to the guard, "So you like talkin' huh? You sure like talking down to my friend." Raven's grip gets even tighter, "Time to pay us back for not killing you. I own every breath you take. Remember that. Tell me what you know about this town and I'll forgive your earlier insult." Raven releases his grip, but remains close to the man.
-----Raven says to the man in a cold tone, "Where is everyone?"
-----"You own nothing of me, swine," the guard hisses breathlessly at Raven. "You want to know what happened here? Find out yourself."
-----Raven looks down at the man and frowns. "You must want to die. That is the path you are on if you continue to be a fool." Raven nods, "I have a feeling you will get what you want in the end." Raven turns to walks over to the group, "I wonder if these people here were killed by these bastards. Should we explore the town or move on to a better place to rest?"
-----"Perhaps if ye had a quick look, Raven. Ye'd have th' best chance o' been unseen. If ye don't find anything soon, come back an' we'll find another spot." Sol suggests.
-----Raven nods, "I'll take a quick look around." Raven motions for the wolf to follow. Raven moves off into an area that offers some cover as he approaches the village.
-----"The Hunter be with you, my love," Rinda calls after Raven as he disappears through the trees.
-----Everything falls quiet as the silence among the trees makes some uneasy. When it is apparent that it may be a bit of a wait before Raven returns, Dilton and Pil turn dark expressions toward the prisoners, warily watching over them.
-----Finally Caranip speaks up, first looking at Sol, "Well, what are we going to do with these . . . . men?"
-----"I know what I'd like to do with them," Garrison grumbles as he squeezes the heft of his axe.
-----The captive guards do not meet anyone's eyes but a few firm their chins defiantly.
-----"Let there be a gathering of clouds and I shall give them over to the Rager," Lovan says firmly as he sits taller in his saddle.
-----"I ask of you," the armored young officer suddenly says, marking his words slowly and deliberately, "allow me to remove my armor. My flesh is burned and this armor pains me."
-----Rinda suddenly looks at Sol with a surprised expression.
-----Sol looks at the young officer as he replies to the prisoner in a decidedly neutral tone, "Perhaps ye can answer me th' question I asked your 'Dark Lord' a'fore he ordered me taken. Perhaps then I can appropriately judge how t'handle yer suffering."
-----A cold tone creeps into his voice as he words the question again, "Why are ye consorting wi' evil humanoids an' faiths? What possible justification do ye have fer joining this coming battle?" Sol then turns to all the captives, "Th' rest o' ye, feel free t'speak up an' answer th' question, fer I'm genuinely interested."
-----Just then Raven returns from the woods. "The people here were killed," he says. "I found a few bodies in the homes." Raven looks at their prisoners, "The poor folk here were not armed and they were dragged from their homes to be killed like cattle."
-----Raven turns back to the group, "The people here have been dead more than a month and no one has been through here since then. This might be a good place to rest up before our next move."
-----Raven motions toward the prisoners, "What do we do with these murderers?"