Trouble on the road

Lethila took a deep breath of the forest air and resisted the desire to whoop in delight as her mount carried her through the woods. Off to her left somewhere would be the commander of the scouting party, Kiyla Elmbrook, she hadn't been happy to get a 'wet behind the ears greenhorn' on such an important detail but she hadn't fought it too hard. To her right was Balan Underwood, a much more welcoming figure he had taken her under his wing, a very experienced scout he was also quite handsome and Lethila was already considering ways that she might 'show her gratitude' if she got the chance.

They were three days out from the capital already, a messenger could cover the ground between the front lines and the capital easily in that time using remounts but the fact that they had a carriage and a large number of soldiers made it difficult to cover ground quickly. They were still making good time but the feeling of the air growing tenser as they got closer to the line was quite unnerving. They had started to see the signs of war, soldiers being rotated back for a break from the fighting, wounded being taken to healers. It had tempered Lethila's enthusiasm significantly but the way the carriages passing had been cheered by those same men was heartening. She hadn't realized how much this would mean to them.

Now they were deployed as proper scouts. While the main line was fairly solid it wasn't unheard of for raiding parties to slip through. Lethila and her companions were the early warning system for the group and she took her duties seriously. In that way, she pulled her mount to a stop as she heard something that Balan had warned her about. The birds had gone silent. That meant one of two things. Either there was a hawk in the area and the birds were trying to avoid its attention, or there was something else spooking them. Balan would have been able to tell exactly which it was but she hadn't had the chance to learn the meanings of bird calls. All she could do was silence her mount and listen for anything else out of the ordinary. She heard something. It was quiet but it was definitely coming from in front of her. The sound of leather on leather. She pulled her warning horn from her side and brought it to her lips. She let out three long blasts before turning to ride back towards the safety of the group. It was as she was doing this that an arrow came out of the trees, it missed her but grazed her horse, causing it to rear up, throwing her from its back.

She was dazed as she hit the ground, the air knocked out of her body as what must have been humans rushed towards her. She weakly reached for her knife, her bow had run away with the horse, but it would only be a futile gesture. She managed to scoot herself against a nearby tree trunk just as the first man came into sight. The twang of a bow sounded and she saw him fall with an arrow in his chest.

"Meara! Get up and lets go!" It took Lethila a moment to recognize her fake name but she scrambled to her feet at the sound of Balan's voice. His bow sung once more and another man cried out. She ran towards his voice and saw him in the saddle taking careful shots. He reached his arm out when she arrived and she gratefully accepted his assistance as she got on behind him. As soon as she was set he kicked his mount back towards the carriage. They encountered the first of those rushing towards the sound of her call lead by one of the orcs.

"They're 300 meters that way. Raiding party of 20-25, leather armor, two dead, no archers still standing." He quickly reported. Lethila was impressed, she hadn't noticed any of those details. She'd just been concerned with trying to get away. The orc grunted in acknowledgment and lead the response team towards where Balan had indicated. It was only then that she started shivering.

She couldn't help herself. When she was in the middle of it she hadn't had time to think. It had all been pain and shock. Now it was hitting her. She could have died! Balan obviously felt it and slowed down a bit.

"You did good Meara. Those men could have caused some damage if you hadn't spotted them." He reassured her. "The princess herself will probably sign a commendation for you." He said. He knew what she was feeling.

"You saved my life! How did you know I was in trouble? The queen will-" The dam burst and she hugged him even tighter, her shock being the only thing that stopped her from saying something incriminating. She felt her hands going back to her clothes wanting to give herself to him as a thank you but he turned in the saddle and stopped her.

"Not now. You aren't thinking straight. If you still want to later I won't say no but first we've got to find your horse and report back ok?"

She felt flushed and hot but the kindness in his face centered her. Letting the rational part of her mind take back over "Ok."