A daring escape route

Kathryn led the way as the two young women hastened through the Adajan Forest, mostly clinging to reasonably passable trails or running across green meadows moist with dew. At times Kathryn would choose a short climb up a cliff to hamper the hunters from tracking them. But in general the ranger avoided too trying passages with regard to Lillian's lack of appropriate clothing. Lillian noticed that their general direction would lead them to higher ground, but this was Kathryn's place and she didn't object. In the end, they had to climb a rock formation that clearly stood out from the surrounding trees like a dome of stone. Lillian was about to comment on the dubious wisdom of this place, as it would leave them kind of exposed if those hunters ever tracked them down, when their flight came to an abrupt halt.

"What...?"

Lillian gasped and stared at a deep gorge that cut into the void for about sixty, maybe seventy feet. The green band of a fast-moving river meandered through the bottom the canyon.

"Up for another swim?" Kathryn asked with a wild smile on her face. The ranger was already disassembling her bow to stow the bowstring in a water-proof casing. Next she secured her long dagger and fastened her longbow to her small side bag.

Lillian leaned over the rift. As far as she could tell, hundreds of lethal, hidden rocks were just waiting for her under the waterline. Increduously she looked at the green-clad woman. "Are you mad?"

"Nope," Kathryn beamed. "Not at all."

"This is folly."

"It isn't," the ranger insisted.

"There's no chance to see where we're gunna land," Lillian objected.

"Pah." Kathryn waved a hand. "It's the wildness of the current. It's misleading. This river is deeper than it appears."

"You sure?"

"I am. Trust me." Kathryn produced an assuring smile that eased Lillian's concerns. "Are you ready?"

"What we gunna do if we survive this jump of ****?"

"We gunna swim with the current for a while. That okay for you?"

Lillian shrugged. "Do I have a choice?"

"There's always a choice," Kathryn replied cryptically.

"Of course." Lillian frowned. If these hunters were as good and as ruthless as Kathryn thought, they didn't seem like a valid option. "Okay, let's do it." The half-elf shed her cloak and wrapped it together to a small pack.

"Fine."

Kathryn looked down the rift, stepped back, tilted her head, ran... and jumped.

"Yeeeh-haaahhhhh!"

Holding her breath Lillian watched Kathryn's fall. Her aim was true, as was her promise. With a heavy splash the ranger vanished in a monster of green waves just to reappear several strides downstream. Amazingly the ranger hadn't lost hold on her pack and was wildly paddling with her arms to stay above the water.

Lillian had no time left to waste lest Kathryn got an uncatchable headstart.

"Iaaaaahhhhhh!"

Lillian screamed from the top of her lungs. Her jump was wide. Her jump was deep. The impact when she hit the water was immense. The waves collapsed over her. For a moment Lillian lost the orientation. Was this up or was it down? She was close to panicking, her lungs burned, when a lucky current washed her up. Lillian gasped for breath, swallowing a good deal of cold water in the process. Then the current took her away.

In the following minutes the half-elf thief was totally at the hands of the cold waves. After years in the cities she wasn't that good a swimmer though her elven agility and innate reflexes
tipped the scales in her favor. After a while she got into a rhythm and floated with the current, easily keeping herself above water. Then she realized she had lost her cloak. Lillian cursed. She would have to travel naked once again to whereever the ranger would guide her.

"You okay?"

Kathryn's shout caught Lillians attention. She looked around and discovered the human ranger just some feet downstream. With a pang of envy Lillian noticed the easiness of Kathryn's swimming. But then again, the young woman had made a living in the wilds, and all of sudden Lillian realized: Kathryn had taken this dive before.

Lillian nodded.

"Great!" Kathryn turned around to become one with the current. "...-reds feet...-wards right!"
The river's roar swallowed some of Kathryn's words. But the ranger waved her hands towards the right bank and Lillian understood. She directed her strokes towards that direction even though the current pulled her to the opposite side. For a brief moment Lillian feared she would drift too far to the left, but with a final effort she managed to swim free from the main current and follow Kathryn to slower waters. She expected Kathryn to aim for a shallow river bank to leave the water. The more she was surprised when Kathryy swam for a steep rock slide.

"Here?" Lillian shouted.

"Yes!" Kathryn replied. "Try... get hold... -ome heavy... -oot for clim-... out!"

Lillian blinked and swam on. She looked up and saw that Kathryn had grabbed a thick root that stuck out from below a huge tree on top of the steep stone wall at the river bank. With astonishing grace and strength, the female ranger pulled herself up, using the wooden arm as leverage to get a decent stand on a small ledge. From there, the rest was an easy climb - easy in comparison to the previous adventure in the wild current.

Not wanting to be outclassed by a human, Lillian pushed herself forward against the inward current. Again she barely made it, but in the end, she also got hold of a thick root. Not hindered by any kind of wet clothing much less some equipment, the rest was a simple exercise in dexterity - nothing Lillian couldn't handle.

A few minutes later Lillian and Kathryn were sitting on top of the rock wall, several feet above the raving river. Lillian took some time to find her breath. To her relief, Kathryn wasn't as unimpaired as it had seemed. The ranger was breathing heavily too, her eyes sore with exhaustion.

"Phew, that was quite a ride" Kathryn noted briefly.

"You bet. Stupid." Lillian wasn't all too happy how things had turned out. It had been too close and too dangerous for her liking. Not that she disliked the thrill of danger and risks - but only when she could take influence on it beforehand.

"But it was worth the risk. It will be quite tough to follow us this way."

"Hmm." Lillian wasn't that convinced. "What if they just cross the river at a more suitable place and backtrack till they find our traces on this side?"

"They'd have to cover quite some distance to cross this river downstream. Even if they have hunting dogs, it'll be difficult to catch our scent on this rocky turf. And if they should succeed, which I doubt, we'll have quite a start on them."

"You've thought this thru before?" Lillian wondered.

"The Adajas aren't a location saver than Tabriz or the other great cities. I have scouted several escape routes for situations like this. Though this is one of the more dangerous kind."

"I see." Lillian decided to accept Kathryn's explanation at this point. She was a stranger to this forest and this was Kathryn's playground. For whatever gain, she had **** but to hope the ranger's decisions didn't prove lethal. Eventually she recovered from the stress of the swim and got up on her feet. "By the way, I lost your cloak in the water."

"My bad," Kathryn replied. "Not for me though. But I have nothing else to offer for clothing."

Lillian nodded. "Can't help it."

"Well, if you can survive without garment for the next two days..."

"I don't have any other choice."

"Right." The ranger took another appreciative look of Lillian's lush curves. "By the way, you've got an, uhm, nice body."

"Thanks." During her days as a whore Lillian had heard many other descriptions of her assets. Some more vivid, others quite insinuating. Kathryn's was comparably simple but positively up-front. Even though Kathryn was a total stranger, Lillian didn't feel abashed or **** in the ranger's presence.

"Anyway," Kathryn changed the subject. "We better get going. Let's try to make some miles before sunfall."

Lillian nodded. A few moments later, they were off into the wilderness again.