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Old 09-30-2004, 10:42 AM   #303
Ealasaide
Shadow of Tyrn Gorthad
 
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Naiore

For most of the afternoon, Naiore traveled on a northeasterly course, one that would take her directly to the High Pass through the mountains. She moved quickly, urging her captive, Benia Nightshade, to maintain a grueling pace only a few steps ahead of her. Fortunately for Miss Nightshade, the southern woman was a well-behaved captive and, apparently, well-used to walking. The entire day, she neither slowed nor faltered, which pleased Naiore no end. Nor had she made any attempt to speak. Since Kaldir had walked away and Barrold Ferny had put a stop to that annoying keening, the woman had not made a sound. In fact, she had not even looked at her captor. She had simply lowered her dark head and walked, hour after hour, holding herself in a stoic silence. Naiore smiled to herself, reaching out with her mind to touch the mind of her captive. Interestingly, she found no hint of the fear that had been so strong in the woman earlier. Now she found only deep sorrow and a trace of resignation.

Such a pity to hand her over to that oaf Ferny, thought Naiore. Sooner or later, he’ll only kill her. With a little training, she would have made someone an excellent slave. Not that Naiore would be interested in a slave herself. She was much more comfortable on her own. No, the southern woman would have been an valueable commodity that could be traded away to some less than scrupulous character in exchange for a favor or a horse. She was quite pretty. Naiore imagined that the exchange rate for her would be quite high in the right marketplace. Besides her value as a slave, there was also a cash value attached to the woman. Her tattooed hands gave her away. Unfortunately, though, Naiore had already promised the woman to Ferny and she was not one to go back on her word. Too bad. Such a waste.

Thinking of Ferny, Naiore cast a glance back over her shoulder. She and her captive had been climbing in altitude more or less steadily through the course of the afternoon. Now, as the sun began to dip lower on the horizon, they had reached the peak of a high ridge. Her keen elven eyes scanned the landscape behind them, looking for a sign of pursuit, not just by Ferny but by anyone. INstantly, her gaze fell on a puff of dust in the distance and a small black speck, jumping about and waving his arms after another speck of dust that seemed to moving rapidly back in the direction of Imladris... the horse no doubt. The fool had managed to get himself thrown and lost them their horse. A flash of irritation trilled down Naiore’s spine, then vanished. It was just as well that the horse was gone. They would not be able to take him through the mountains, anyway, at least not by the path she intended to take. As she watched, the black speck that was Ferny stopped fussing with the vanishing horse and turned in her direction. Seeming to catch sight of them, he began to jog toward them.

Naiore turned again toward her captive and gave her a considering stare. It was not good that Ferny had been able to spot them from such a distance. They had been careless. Ordering the southern woman to stop, Naiore slid her pack from her back and pulled two cloaks from main compartment. One, she put on. The other, she tied around the neck of the southern woman, spreading it across her slender shoulders. The cloaks were elven made and would serve to camouflage them against the rocks. Once the cloaks were satisfactorily in place, Naiore urged her captive forward again, but instead of pursuing the northeasterly course they had been following, she made a turn due east. While she had hoped to lead her pursuers into believing that she intended to take the High Pass over the mountains, her real destination was a smuggler’s trail, not often used and said to be frequented by orcs, that lay to the south of the other pass. Ferny would know it well, if he would just let the light into his shuttered brain long enough to remember that it was there. Once he reasoned thngs out that far, she was certain that he would realize that that was where she planned to make her crossing. Having no fear of orcs, she would wait for him at the base of the trail.

Last edited by Ealasaide; 10-15-2004 at 08:10 AM.
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