Cari, Rodrigo, and Jaycee made good time on foot that evening. They managed to get far away from the place where the soldiers began chasing their friends to the south. As it got dark, they camped out in a small abandoned barn just off the road for the night. While most of the roof was missing, there was partial cover in one corner. It was there the three of them settled down for a cold night in camp.
In the morning they set out again, pressing on through a light drizzle of rain and traveled eastward. Fighting with the wet grass and mud in the fields, Cari made a decision to return to the road and make their way on it towards the Crystal City.
Judging from maps she’d seen of the empire and pulling up her Earth Sense ability, Cari figured they had four or five days more travel on foot before they reached the region of the Empire in which the Crystal City lay.
They traveled most of the day without seeing anyone else on the road. The rain let up around noon the three of them had mostly dried out by midafternoon. They were in pretty remote country here. And as it got dark, Cari made the decision to settle in and look for a place to camp for the night. She stopped their progress towards the nearby trees when a group of seven men rode from the tree line and cut them off. The men moved to block the road ahead of the three of them.
Cari glanced at Rod. Judging from the worried look on his face, he was just as concerned as she was. Jaycee had moved behind Cari and clutched at her hand.
“What is it you want?” Cari asked the men as they got down from their horses and approach the trio.
“We have to charge a toll for people passing along this section of road,” one of the men said. That brought laughter from the other six.
Cari scowled. Clearly, these were common brigands who waylaid travelers passing by, stealing from them or exacting extortion for free passage along the road. Cari didn’t like people who treated others that way. Though it bothered her that they might have to pay to avoid a fight, she had to remember the mission and keep her temper under control.
“We have nothing you would want,” Rodrigo said. “We are just a young family traveling to visit relatives to the east. We have nothing of value.”
“We’ll see about that. Search them,” the leader said.
The other robbers dismounted and approached.
Cari backed up trying to decide if she could get her sword free of the bundle on her back in time to put up a fight. Rodrigo backed away on the other side of Jaycee. He’d already drawn his dagger.
The man saw the dagger pointed at his men and laughed. “Look, lads, the boy thinks he can play this off with that little pig sticker.”
The statement brought more laughter from the group and they increased their speed, closing the gap between them.
Just as the men were about to reach them and Cari was getting ready to launch an attack on the group. Horses rode down the road from the east in their direction. Cari looked past the men moving up on her to see a patrol of twenty or so men in the Duke of Charon’s uniforms riding towards them. Cari wasn’t sure if she should be happy or concerned.
The leader of the brigands shouted at his men. “More soldiers, boys. Let’s get out of here.”
The six men approaching Cari, Rod, and Jaycee turned around and ran back to their horses. They mounted and took off back to the north, racing away across the fields at top speed. Cari heard a distant shout as the officer in charge of the column pointed at the fleeing men. Immediately, a group of twelve troopers took off after the would-be robbers.
The remaining soldiers and their officer came on down the road towards where Cari and the other two stood.
The officer tipped his hat at the three of them. “I hope you three are well? It is dangerous to travel this stretch of road in such a small group. I’m surprised someone didn’t tell you that.”
“We lost our farm when the most recent crop failed,” Rodrigo said. We had no choice but to travel eastward to seek out our family there. My wife and daughter and I have nowhere else to go.”
Cari thought he did an excellent job of sounding like a meek and humble farmer.
The officer seemed to believe him, too. “Well, you can travel along with us back to our garrison. Once you’re there, we can see about connecting you with a regular wagon train heading east. They can take you on towards your family. Does that sound all right?”
Cari and Rod exchanged glances. Cari nodded, and Rod turned to the officer. “That would be perfect. Thank you, sir.”
The officer instructed his men to head back the way they had come. They had some spare mounts, so Jaycee and Cari rode one of the horses while Rod rode the other. They moved down the imperial road amid the group of guards to the east.
Cari glanced at Rod. This wasn’t necessarily the best of options for them. For the time being, though, at least they were headed in the right direction.
They traveled along for an hour or so and Cari soon noticed something strange about the officer’s demeanor. He’d leaned over and whispered something to the trooper riding next to him. He pointed at something he held his hand, but Cari couldn’t see what it was.
They all continued along the road. The officer glanced back in her direction on several occasions. He smiled at her when he caught her looking at him.
On one occasion, when he turned back to the front, Cari caught a glimpse of what he was holding. It looked like some sort of wanted poster. The face drawn on the paper was unmistakable. It was hers.
Cari pretended not to see anything and continued riding along as if nothing happened. She nudged Rodrigo with her boot. When he looked her way, she mouthed the word “trouble.”
Rodrigo looked forward and saw the officer talking to his sergeant at the front of the group. Rodrigo nodded. He had slipped his bedroll off his shoulders and rode with the bundle that hid his sword across his lap.
It was a good idea and Cari wished she had done the same thing. She tried to shift the bundle around in front of her. The officer glanced back again. He saw her shifting her bundle and frowned.
“Is everything all right, mistress?” The man asked.
“Yes, I’m just a little uncomfortable, that’s all. I’m trying to situate my pack here so that it’s easier on my daughter riding behind me.”
“Well, we’ll be stopping soon to have a rest. Perhaps you can rearrange your pack then. It won’t be long.”
Cari nodded but continued working at her pack. She whispered under her breath hoping Jaycee could hear her. “Jaycee, these men know who we are. When the fighting starts, stay on the horse and ride for the nearest trees to the north. Don’t worry, we’ll catch up to you. Don’t stop for anything unless it’s Rod or me. Keep moving north.”
Jaycee squeezed Cari in a hug from behind. “Yes, mama,” the little girl said, playing her part.
The officer rode to a clearing on the side of the road. “We’ll stop up here.”
As they arrived at the clearing, the soldiers dismounted. The officer and sergeant talked to each other and then the sergeant moved over to speak to another pair of troopers next to them.
Cari realized it was now or never. Rodrigo had already dismounted. His hand reached inside the blanket roll holding his sword. He was ready to pull out his weapon. Cari got down from the horse but left Jaycee up in the saddle. The little girl slid forward and grasped the rains. Once all the troopers had dismounted Cari reached her hand into her bundle.
At that instant the officer pointed to the sergeant, calling out his orders. “Get them!”
Cari slapped the horse’s rump in front of her, sending Jaycee, seated atop it northward across the road. As the little girl fled, Cari reached into her bundle and pulled out her sword. She drew her dagger with her other hand.
Cari armed herself just in time to deflect the incoming attack of the nearest trooper behind her. The other one was trying to mount his horse to take off after Jaycee.
Cari shouted at Rodrigo. “Don’t let any of them mount up and go after the girl.”
Rodrigo had already seen what he needed to do. He’d cut down one of the troopers already and was facing off against the sergeant and another one.
Cari ignored the one attacking her from behind and ran over to the one trying to mount his horse. She got there just as he mounted up and reached up to pull the man down again. A swift sword thrust from behind her slashed across her back. Cari winced and ignored the pain.
Health damage — health -10
Despite the injury, she managed to yank the trooper from his saddle and he slammed to the ground. She finished it with a thrust of her dagger to his throat. As she killed the man, she took another hit from behind.
3,000 experience awarded
Health damage — health -12
Cari turned around to face the attacker who’d managed to get in the last hit on her. She blocked his next attack and followed it up with a lunging riposte of her own. She managed to cut a gash across his cheek that bled freely. It wasn’t a deadly wound, unfortunately.
He grimaced and continued pressing his own attacks on her. The officer in charge of the guards moved over to join him against Cari.
The two of them pressed in on her as she worked to hold them both back. She managed to fight off the trooper’s blade and blocked the incoming officer’s slashes as he drove in at her.
Pressing the officer backward with a fresh combination of thrusts and slashes, Cari pivoted around, crouching low, using her leg to sweep the feet out from under the trooper in front of her. The move caught him by surprise and he fell to the ground with a groan.
Cari continued her spinning move, bringing herself back to her feet. She was just in time to catch the incoming attack from the officer. He must have thought she’d gone down injured. He’d slashed downward at her, assuming she’d remain on the ground. She caught him by surprise as she rose to her feet, catching the attack of his heavy saber on her dagger, pushing it aside and slashing back at him, cutting a deep blow across his chest.
The officer gasped in pain and he retreated two steps to avoid Cari’s follow-up thrust. Smiling, Cari continued turning around, spinning in place. The second thrusting attack on the leader of the troop had been a feint and he’d taken the bait. It allowed her to turn and finish off the soldier behind her as he struggled to get up.
Cari’s slash with her dagger cut deep into his neck and he fell backward, blood spurting between the fingers clutching at his severed throat.
3,000 experience awarded
Cari turned and faced the officer once more. She spared a quick glance to assess the situation at hand. Rodrigo had dispatched the sergeant and looked like he was ready to finish off the final trooper as well.
There was no sign of Jaycee. The horse she was on had disappeared into the tree line a hundred yards to the north.
Cari returned her attention back to the matter at hand. She had the officer to deal with before she could worry about the missing princess.
“I’d ask you to surrender, captain, but I can’t afford to let you go and I don’t have the time to take you with me.”
“I wouldn’t surrender to you, anyway,” the man said, sneering at her. “You’re a pirate and a menace. We’ve heard all about the trouble you’ve caused in the west country. The Duke of Charon has offered a hefty price to the man who brings you and your companions in. He wants to deal with you himself.”
“It’s a shame you won’t be the one to collect,” Cari said.
She launched an attack at the man’s head causing him to raise his sword to block her descending blade. He almost realized too late that she’d followed it up with her dagger from below. He managed to bring his saber down just in time to parry the dagger thrust, too.
The awkward combination left him open to Cari’s next move. She launched a spinning roundhouse kick that caught him on the jaw with the heel of her boot. His head spun to the side and his neck broke with an audible crack from the mighty blow. The officer’s body dropped to the ground as all his muscles went limp at once.
5,000 experience awarded
The final opponent finished, Cari looked around and saw Rodrigo take out the last trooper. He turned and looked at Cari to see if she needed help. She saw he’d taken a thrust to his side and he had his hand pressed against the wound to staunch the flow of blood.
“How bad is your wound?” Cari asked.
“It’ll probably need a few stitches. I can’t heal it with magic the way you can.”
“Come here and let me have a look.”
“We don’t have time, we have to go after the princess.”
“We won’t get very far if you’re bleeding out on the horse next to me. Take off the shirt and let me have a look.”
Rodrigo lifted his shirt and Cari saw a ragged gash in his side. It didn’t look too deep, but it needed several stitches.
She went to where she dropped her pack and dug out some supplies to do the job. She wanted to race off after Jaycee, too, but she couldn’t let Rodrigo go untreated either. She needed his help to locate the girl.
Cari wasn’t as handy with a needle and thread as Helen was, but she’d learned a thing or two after all the times the woman had stitched her up. It occurred to Cari she really had to find an apothecary or temple along the way and purchase a few healing potions. They were going to need them before this was over.
It didn’t take her long to put in the six stitches needed to close Rodrigo’s wound. She pressed a dressing on the area and wrapped a bandage in place around his waist to hold the folded wad of cotton cloth in place.
“That’ll have to do. I’ll check it again and change the dressing later after we catch up to Jaycee.”
“I hoped she would have seen we’d prevailed and come back by now.”
“I told her to ride north and not look back. She’s probably still headed that way. Let’s get a couple of horses each so we each have a remount and get after her. She’s got a pretty good head start.”
Rod nodded and did as she said. It only took a few minutes to get their packs secured behind the saddles and remount. They each led a rider-less horse behind them as they took off northward.
Quest accepted — locate the lost princess