A Wilderness Road Archive 1

Relieved to wake up within the confines of the tent she would never know his kind gesture in making sure the blanket covered her. Feeling a sheen of light sweat trickling down her back there was a chill rising up throughout it. Her hair which had been held back in a loose braid had lost all control the tie coming lose. It had drawn the strands out of the braid, which had been sticking in quite a few directions when her restlessness had started. 

When Vith returned taking his seat she had just bolted upright he would see the reaching hand. Her breath came shuddering at first until she noticed his presence and the tea he held out to her. She would run her hand through the top of the long locks surrounding her for only a second to give her something to ease the tension she felt at having been found like so. They fell just past the middle of her back and were in light waves from having been wet in the braid and trained that way. Concealing her worries from the night she remembered the dream well enough and wished to forget it as soon as possible. Fresh on her mind even he could not make her fully forget but she had a duty to perform and a horse to make sure was brushed properly and soothed from the storm in which she left it. Stopping her onslaught upon her hair she allowed it to flow freely about her outlining her jaw and casting shadows beneath it. Strong in nature it only appeared more so highlighted and raised before he sat and lowered so she could view him properly.

The tea was suspicious that he handed her for she did not recognize the name nor was wanting to recognize his kindness for what it was. Last night he had been a different person from the tavern and him continuing in this manner left her at a loss. Had he been pretending then or was he pretending now? What barriers had been broken down from him believing in courtesy to his fellow traveler. He'd spoken of stars and the old masters and shown her secrets that others might covet. Had it been a test?

The rain had washed clean none of her hesitation and yet she took the cup uttering a soft, "Thank you," out of habit more than anything else lowering it to her lap letting the warmth of the outside flow through her fingers. "Well enough," she answered his other question, "And you?"

Vith avoided the conversation of her asking choosing to ignore her nightmare for a topic only lighter in theory. Taking a sip of the tea after his reassurances and because it would have been rude to further refuse after he spoke so highly upon it she found the feeling soothing. Warmth possessed her very form flowing through her veins and making her feel instantly refreshed. It was as if she had taken a dip in a pool of moonlight. The sensation was surreal and though she heard him it was as if he were speaking through a glass pane, fuzzy and muffled. Her tongue felt thick and yet light as if she could sing a thousand songs and never tire. One deep breath and her lungs felt fuller than they ever had and as she released it she felt something stirring in the back of her mind.

Vithkun could never know the effect, that this tea had been planted in such a place as it was only served to the highest of drows. Such potent power that only gave sweetness to the light elves of the world would encompass all of the light within the drow. It was used only ceremoniously and even then if one were not capable of taking the power of it the user could be made sick. Myra felt the complete opposite. She felt as if she had been imbued with a magic not her own a niggling in the back of her mind surrounding her. Swallowing all of this she had no good answer for him, “I have never seen this plant nor would I know if it’s presence there but we were not once so distant I would believe.”

There was much to uncover it appeared. Taking another sip she kept the cup near her lips inhaling the very scent of it. It was if nothing else intoxicating. Her pupils dilated without her knowledge and she seemed to glow slightly from her cheeks. 

Him questioning her sleeping habits almost did not reach her. The fits she had in her sleep were unknown to her as she generally was alone and no one had mentioned them to her before. Shrugging she drained the last of her cup attempting to rise unless he said something to make her stay, “It’s fine.”

Catching the grin that flitted across his face it made her suspicious of the him instead of the tea. Had he known it might have such an effect might he have still shared it so openly with her? To think that they drank it so recklessly when it broke down the barriers of the drow so quickly. Her head swimming she brought herself back to the ground mentally before answering him, "It was fine."

Not wanting to give him the satisfaction if he had been looking for a different response she was once again withdrawing inside of her shell. His comments about the jewel itself only served to further her ducking back inside the shelter of it. Stiffening he could see her hands clench slightly as she set the cup down beside where he was sitting, "My reasons are my own."

Picking up the blanket she folded it with haste as he spoke of the weather. Handing it to him once he relieved her of it she would be back to her short sharp tone, "Good, we need to put some distance behind us."

Whether she spoke of last night or the town they had been in wasn't clear because she was already leaving the tent to attend to her other matters.

The more he spoke the more furious she became. He offered her gold ad perhaps jewels with all the wealth she might ever wish for at her fingertips. Had he not tested her once giving her leave to abscond with the absurd amount he had given her in order to buy his supplies with. He had asked her also to purchase her own and she could not have done so in good conscience. It was not a gift but a favor and it was easily refused. Even now he told her all she had to do was ask and he would provide as he informed her that her station in life could only be improved by buying it. Drows were not so different from their cousins and yet not all his words were true. To bring back the jewel would give her a standing and allow her to take on an apprenticeship at the very least.

He tried to make her look at him and she had looked over her shoulder only turning to address him when she believed him finished. Wanting so badly to rage against his words, to tell him she was not bought by gold or won over by jewels. Looking at his fair features the man handsome only on the outside she believed the night before he could change. That he might prove that he could be both.

It was only for this that she spoke softly instead of raising her voice in anger, “I am glad you think so little of me.”

She gave him no chance to refute her words the sound of the cloth flap all he would hear as she stalked out of the tent.

The matter only temporarily settled it would come back to bite her later in ways she was not yet aware of. Vith wasn’t the type to drop an issue simply because she deemed it to be over and neither was she. Therefore both would continue the argument as long as was necessary until one came out on top. Vith believed he might get the jewel by winning her over but her stubborn nature would prevent such. She believe she could simply beat him to it or if not take it from him. Not easily now that he had shown his hand with magic but would he be willing to kill her for it in the end?

Settling the saddle on her horse he decided to scout ahead without consulting her. Caring not for his careless behavior it was one thing to sleep out in the rain but another to go off into these woods alone. She knew what dangers surrounded civilization and the world around it. Bandits had a tendency to search for places to ambush others along these parts as many merchants would travel back and forth between the dwarves and human cities selling extra wares and bringing back goods that either the dwarves could not produce or grow on their own.
Making sure the fire was fully extinguished and her horse had been brushed and cared for she redid the braid of its mane and drew her own hair back into one if only to keep it from getting in her way. Tsking at his absence he had been quite a while and she would eventually go look for him if he did not return.

While Vith rode along he found a pathway through the forest. Marked with signs of others passing there were ruts from passing wagons. There were sounds of birds chirping and the wind ruffled the leaves around him disguising sounds within one another. There were those who were patient and those who were not and for this journey the might encounter both. He had simply come to the kind that were willing to wait. The wind shifted and he might pick up their scent then, the smell of sweat and body odor in the tree line. They knew of the change themselves and would break position. Three in front of him blocking the path and if he should stop long enough there would be three behind him. A glance upward showed archers in the trees and with his hearing keen he heard whispers around the trunks of the trees. There were at least twenty surrounding him, possibly more.

The center man of the ones that were in front of him seemed to be the one who also led the group for the moment. He took a step forward as Vith started to speak his pretty words seeming to have no effect on his intent as he drew a short sword from his hip. The metal was sharp and clean the light casting off the edge of the blade. A few nicks here and there it had been used before and would be used again. He waited until the elven prince had finished his speech to speak, “Either you’re lying or there will be a better ransom for your return than what we can take off your corpse. While prying things from your cold dead hands sounds pleasant enough I don’t mind keeping you alive for a few days in order to make a better profit.”

The bandit might have let him pass for a suitable fee, basically everything he was carrying on him, but Vith’s lies now gave him a reason to take him and take him alive. Capturing him seemed more suitable. “Why don’t you dismiss that creature your riding and come a bit more easily, yes? I’m sure they’ll take you back even if you are missing a few parts.”

His reluctance shared a warning within it and the leader himself would not go to retrieve his sword but instead motion for one of the other men to do so. If Vith made any aggressive motions he would find an arrow at the bottom of his feet in warning but otherwise they would simply take it from him and back up. Then the man would wave two others forward who would bind his hands. The leader himself stepped forward then. A seedy man with dark beady eyes and a curved nose he had a sort of cunning look in the way he observed him. His mouth made into a snarl he would ask of Vith, "And who shall I send your ransom too?"

As he relinquished the sword the man who stood with it had met his gaze. He appeared rather unimpressed with the threats he offered going so far as to draw the sword to show it to the man in charge.

“Beside him,” said the very same man who took the blade by the hilt holding it before him casually and swinging it once, “I will send someone with word, your help is not necessary.”

He wasn’t taking the bait but Vith would hear the archers twine tighten as he insulted the man who led them. They had only been successful lately due to his machinations. Therefore his orders were clear to his men if not Vith who separated his hands from his back to his sides. They would string the rope along his back and to each hand and then around the front. He could move his hand across his body but to do so he would need to move his other across his back. After that was finished they took his wrists and made another line that led to his feet wrapping them around his ankle. Effectively it mean that when he walked he would have but very little leeway to move his limbs and most certainly would not be able to bring them together. This was all done as his own sword was pointed at his neck in a form of warning.

“All done boss,” said the quaint man that had been perfecting the knots placed around him.

The boss as it were would say shortly, “You should recognize this make elf, elven rope is difficult to obtain here but not impossible. It is, however impossible for you to break.”

He sheathed the sword holding the hilt within his hand as he directed the men, “Search him.”

Any belongings on his form other than his clothing would be removed unless he argued for their sake. One would shoot back, “Boss he ain’t got much other than this ring.”

The elf’s lamentations about the ring were rather spectacular if not believable. The man outright laughed at his words before waving the man off, “If you wish to keep your trinket for now I’ll allow it. You will bring me much amusement elf.”

Two men took a line off of either side of Vith while a third began to place a bag on his head. No argument would allow him out of this as they pushed the small of his back a gruff voice telling him to walk.

They would walk for some time the men switching positions occasionally. Not all that had accosted him seemed to travel with them and the footsteps varied heavily. There were ten consistent ones but after a few hours there came the pitter patter off smaller feet in the form of women and children. Heading and smelling the sounds and cooking of a camp there was laughter in the air and rabbits on a brazier.

He was shoved roughly over a short barrier and his ankles were untied but the leads were transferred to either side of him. He would be able to sit if he raised his hands slightly but not be able to slip the rope past his shoulders due to the short length.

One of the men took off the bag revealing a sight he might not expect. An old elven village. Homes made in trees long abandoned and now claimed by refugees. None were dressed richer than a commoner but no one seemed to worry at their lot. There were fires and smiles and even children racing around one of the larger trunk homes.

Vith had been places in a branched prison that had once held large game. It was reinforced by magic but if he could reach the outside perhaps he could influence it. If only he wasn’t held in the center.

The man who ripped off the hood appeared to have some pity on him as he told him, “I’ll have one of the women bring you supper.”