Escape into the gathering dark.

The bald, broad-shouldered bandit leader shrugged free of Vilea’s grasp. He paused and appraised the women once more, and looked and forth between his cohorts before taking a step back.

"Here’s what I say we do..."

Jilleen saw the tall murderer's eyes glance to his leader, and that was the opening she needed. She drew a small vial from her bodice. "Nimbus crepitus," she whispered, and broke the seal, lifting it toward the bandit's nose.

A piercing whistle shattered the air as the contents of the vial rushed out into a fetid, **** cloud, centered on the bloody-handed bandit. He retched, flinging Jilleen to the ground, and lurched into the carriage with a thump.

Startled by the noise and the cloud, the others hesitated for a beat.

"Down, m'lady!" Jilleen hissed to Vilea. She didn't wait for her mistress to comply, but dragged her down below the level of the fumes. "Quick, crawl this way!" she urged.

The bandit leader cursed and called out to his men. "It's a trick, don't let'm loose! Hold'em!"

The other bandit heeded his leader's call and rushed forward, but a faceful of the **** vapors put him into a spasmodic crouch, and he fought to stay on his feet.

The horses, already spooked by the whistle, started to scream and buck as the noxious cloud reached them. Hoofbeats thumped into the distance as two of the bandits' horses broke for clean air and quiet.

Jilleen led Vilea to the side of the road, into the bushes. Tears ran from their eyes from a whiff of the nasty cloud. Away they crawled, into the growing darkness, twigs pulling at their clothes.

After many minutes of scrabbling through the brush in the dim twilight, they stopped. They had gone over a hill and crossed a small stream, and were in the midst of a thicket of small trees. All was quiet, but the stars were beginning to come out above. A chill evening breeze rustled the branches.

"Mistress, perhaps we should find shelter," Jilleen said. "A bed of dry leaves in the hollow of a tree could keep us warm," she said.

"If you think we've come far enough," Vilea said quietly. Then she quickly turned her head and pointed her finger. "Look, Jilleen, what is that light?"

Jilleen saw a light in the dimness. She wasn't sure if it might be fire, lantern, or the eldritch glow of rot or fairy-lights. "Should we not wait till day?" Jilleen said.