"You will not disobey me!" Karn shouted as he brought the whip down on his neice's back. "I will not have you leaving the Manor grounds without my permission!"
Niara said nothing, content to block out the world until her uncle's rage was spent. She stayed huddled tightly into a ball on the floor long after he had stormed from the room.
She slowly uncurled as a soft voice called timidly from one of the outer rooms. "Niara? Are you in here? It's me, Sasha... Niara?"
"I'm sorry, M'Lady, but mistress Niara is confined to bed, as she has been feeling poorly of late," answered a strong, feminine voice.
Niara waited in silence while her disposed of Sasha as politely as possible, under the circumstances.
She heard quick footsteps as Sasha left, growing louder as they approached until the door opened, slowly, lest Niara be lying behind it.
"Niara, are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Jerina asked angrily. She dropped to her knees beside Niara, unpacking the medical supplies she had brought.
Jerina was tall, and wore her long black hair pulled back into a severe braid. She was dressed as a common house servant, but Niara knew that in her free time she preffered something more suitable for fighting. She had grown up with only her three brothers, and the eldest had thought it wise to let her run the streets and learn to fend for herself. She was unquestionably the best fighter in the family.
Niara gave her a somewhat irritated look for asking such a stupid question, and sat up slowly, biting back an exclamation of pain. "He didn't hurt me any more than he usually does," she sighed wearily, leaning over to let her frien swab the blood off her back. "Why didn't Masca come this time?" she asked, hoping to take her mind of her throbbing back.
"She had to attend to a birthing." Jerina moved to the wardrobe for something to replace Niara's ruined tunic. "She left directly after she gave me the supplies, so i suspect there were complications," she added, pulling out a loose tunic that would be a little easier on Niara's back. The deep purple dye went well with Niara's black hair and eyes, too. Jerina regarded her mistress critically. "You're too thin, Niara, and you're not as tan as you should be. You've been spending too much time indoors. It's not good for you."
Niara grunted in reply. She was having trouble pulling the tunic on over thick bandages. She stood up slowly. "I'm leaving, Jerina," she announced, ignoring her friends' concern. "I'll need supplies, and i want you to contact anyone you think might be able to help. I want to be out of here in less than a week." Niara looked at her friend, seeing realization in her eyes. One week... long enough for her to heal, but probably not long enough for Karn to get angry enough to inflict more wounds. Niara took a deep breath,
"You don't have to come if you don't want to, but my uncle is likely to be.... very angry when he finds out i've left, and he may well take that anger out on you."
She watched expectantly while Jerina thought it over.
"I'll come," she said finally. She couldn't leave Niara now, not after so many years, and not because she might be put in a little danger. "As to who should come with us... i have an idea about that."
"Who?" Niara asked, jumping at the chance for an ally.
"Two of my brothers, Morgan and Joshua," was the answer. "One is a Market Worker and the other... well, the other will be of use to us."
"Is that all?" Niara asked, dissapointed.
"Joshua might know some people," Jerina replied thoughtfully.
"Get hold of them. We need to prepare, and we won't have much time before someone notices. Steal some horses," she said, sitting down at her desk carefully and writing on a handy sheet of parchment.
"The best horses i can find?" Jerina asked hopefully, already knowing the answer.
"Tempting, but no." Niara replied, not looking
up. "They'd be too noticeable. Try and make them as
unobtrusive as possible. Good quality, but
ugly, or possibly tempermental, but i'd like to
avoid that
if possible. Better yet, get one of your brothers to
do
it. They shoud be experts if your brother does what
i thin
k he
does.
"I want you to help me and Niara get away from here! Neither one of us knows anything about Market Working, even if women were allowed to Market, which they are not," Jerina said impatiently. "Oh, and do you know where Joshua is? I haven't seen him in a while," she added, suddenly considering that he might not be available.
"There's no need to get irritated. I never said i wouldn't help you. In fact, i'll go with you. "I've nothing much to stay here for anyway. We'll have to tell Daro we're leaving, but i think we should leave out the part about your Lady coming with us. He's not the most reliable of people. Oh, and Joshua's in prison again, which by the way, you'd know if you came home once in a while, instead of staing up at that manor all the time. We'd have to get him out before we do anything else. When did she want to leave? And does she know anything whatever about living on her own?"
"She wanted to leave within the week. She knows plantlore..."
"Good, because i don't. Let's see... does she have access to any money> I want to leave as much behind for Daro as possible, since we don't have time to prepare him for this."
"I have no idea. She might be able to get some from Sasha, but i don't know if Niara wants to get her involved. I'll ask when i get back. I'll also tell her that we may have to wait a few days on Joshua." Jerina thought for a moment. "You'll have to get Joshua on your own, i need to arrange a few things. Joshua has to have time to contact a few of his friends, and we need some horses."
"What if he doesn't want to go?" Morgan asked, laughing.
"Well he can't hang around here too much longer anyway. If he escapes from prison one more time they'll hang him when they catch him again. He has to go somewhere, so he might as well come with us. That's reasonable, isn't it? she asked, suddenly worried. They would be in serious trouble if Joshua didn't go. Or if he couldn't find any of his frinds who wanted to go.
"Absolutely. I'll explain everything to him when i spring him. He'd go even if he didn't have to, but in any case, you're right. He doesn't have much choice in the matter. You'd better get to work putting your things in order."
"Alright, i'm going. Wait," she added sheepishly as he was turning away. "What do Niara and i need to pack?"
Morgan snorted. "I'll worry about all the
supplies., and i'll make you a list of waht personal
items you're likely to need," he said, rummaging
through his pack for a piece of
parchment.
"You owe me two Joules," he grinned to one of his shadowy companions. I told you she'd get tired of Karn's abuse sooner or later."
"If you'd predicted that she'd want us to come with her, i'd have bet you fifty," Storm answered. "Are you sure this isn't a trap? After all, we may very well be the best known thieves in the city."
"We are the best," answered a soft voice from his other side. "I believe that Joshua's sister can be trusted."
"Now, see! If Mist thinks that Jerina can be trusted, then you know she can!" Joshua said with conviction, "Because Mist doesn't trust anybody but you. Which i still think is a major mistake on her part. Besides, we already stole those horses and delivered them to Morgan. If she wasn't trustworthy, don't you think he'd have been picked up by now?"
"No, i think they'd wait until we showed up and take us all at once."
Mist smiled quietly, casting a sidelong glance at her friend. "Storm is not the only person i trust," she corrected Joshua quietly," she is, however, the only person i trust completely."
"you're also the only person who can put up with her for more than a few days at a time. And anyway, i told you i would travel with you if you ever needed a partner." Joshua couldn't see Mist because of the darkness, but he could just make out Storm.
She was tall and slim, with the black skin of someone who's ancestors had grown up on the southern continent. Strong features and blue eyes that fascinated others to the extent that she couln't be described unless you were looking directly at her made her even more distinctive. A tribute to her skills when it came to remaining unnoticed in a crowd.
Mist was different. Her eyes were a very ordinary brown, and her skin a very ordinary tan, but there was something... a sort of ethereal quality that made people not want to look directly at her. She kept herself under very tight control.
"Hush. There's the fountain. Do you see your frinds?" Storm asked Joshua. "Because if you don't, i'm not walkingout there into a trap."
I don't... Wait! There, in the shadows by the wall. Mist, can you see who they are?" Joshua asked, relying on Mist's excellent night vision.
"Two women and some horses. Pack animals. Supplies, but not many; clothing, perhaps. There is a man waiting by the wall on the other side of the fountain. He looks to have brought quite a few supplies of his own, and some more horses." Mist answered.
"How many horses in all?" Joshua asked, concerned.
"Five. But one looks to be a warhorse, big enough to carry two of our group."
"Good. Then let's go. I'm tired of waiting, and Joshua's going to be arrested again if we stay in town any longer." Storm moved briskly toward the small company by the fountain. She vaulted onto the warhorse, pulling Mist up behind her and rode out toward the desert, tossing a "Let's go," over her shoulder.
Joshua snorted in amusement, then ran to catch up. "Come on!" he called to his siblings as he chose a horse and followed his friends.
Morgan calmly waled his horses over to the two women, handing them their reins. He shrugges philosophically and mounted his own beast. He rode after his impetuous brother with a grin for his startled companions.
Niara stared after them for a moment, then came to her senses and mounted, trotting after an already moving Jerina. She decided they would have to settle the details of the trip after she had gotten away from her uncle.
Marcus listened as his Lord presided over the interrogation of the Farmer. The man was too terrified to hold anything back. No wonder they'd left him behind.
He considered what little they had learned. Niara had apparently left with her servant, and at the least, her servant's two brothers. Niara's personal weapons were missing, and some clothing. A search of the servan't home had yeilded similar results. The Farmer had mentioned horses, apparently rather ordinary ones.
They were going to be near impossible to find.
Excellent. Marcus did love a challenge.
Jerina she knew well enough, she'd start there. She was loyal, and she could keep her mouth shut. She knew a little about applying herbs and such. For the most part, she would be good at gathering information. She'd know who was most likely to be trustworthy. She was also a very good fighter. She much preffered riding to walking, though, and as a consequence was not very good at the latter. She was also a little over protective of Niara herself, which could limit her usefullness in a battle.
Morgan would do their shopping for them. They could find some of thier own foods, and most of the medicines they were likey to need, but there were some things they needed that couln't be found in the desert. Like clothing, for instance. Or weapons. Morgan was also her choice for a seccond in command. His oof points... a distinctive appearance. Smaller than most men, he had dark skin contrasting vividly with white-blond hair, several unusual, and noticeable traits. At the very least, His father's features didn't show up too much in his features. his face was almost delicate, in contrast to Jerina. The relationship between the three siblings wasn't extremely noticeable.
Joshua they could use as a spotter. He could warn them of spies, or towns that were unsafe because the citizens could be bought. He could also 'borrow' things they couln't but, although Niara preffered to keep that as a last resort. His constant chatter kept up morale, as well, even if he did complain a bit. He was good in a fight if his opponents didn't get too close. Once inside the range of his throwing knives his usefulness decreased radically.
Storm was very adaptable, she was good at almost anything. She and Mist had been standing second watch at night; Mist's night vision aided them in that. Mist also knew her way around the desert well enough to act as a guide. She had apparently traveled extensively. Most of the party had never left Isthia, so Niara relied heavily on Mist in this aspect. She hoped to get a map in the near future, and have Mist teach her about the land surrounding the manor. Mist could usually keep Joshua, who was, as a rule, a little too impulsive for his own good, well in check.
As nearly as Niara could tell, Storm had become a thief because her temper kept her from holding any other job for a decent length of time. One of their main drawbacks was that the two were completely inseperable. She could only use their talents in conjunction with the other. She got the impression that if she tried to seperate them they were likely to disappear in the middle of the night.
"Where are we goinf?" Joshua asked, "And when will we get there?"
"We're going to the Sataris Oasis, and if you don't stop asking, you will not get there," Storm replied in irritation.
"Storm..." Morgan warned quietly.
Storm shot an angry look at him, but subsided.
"I think," Joshua began, but was interrupted by a long, deep-throated howling.
There was a long pause in which everyone was silent. Even the horses had stopped at the sound.
"I think we'd better find someplace to spend the rest of the night," he continued nervously, "Or maybe the next several nights. That thing sounded hungry."
"Any ideas?" Niara asked of no-one in particular.
The small party looked around at one another. "There is no adequate shelter for two day's travel," Mist said quietly. "If we push ourselves to our limits."
