Re: Chapter 3b - The Hunted and The Hunter
The bumps of the cart were a little too consistent to be the random mudholes of a country road. Looking upwards and over their heads towards the front of the wagon, the tied-up duo could see a pair of gray-clad soldiers driving the cart. They were conversing in a language that neither of the pair could understand, but at least to one of them was becoming at least recognizable as of late.
A quick scan of the wagon's contents showed that they'd been thrown in with a load of supplies, weapons and tack. Near the tailgate boards were two bundles which belonged to the two of them. After what seemed like a moderate amount of time the wagon slowed a little and the sound of horse-hooves on cobbles could be heard. Above them, the gray clouds which had been threatening rain, let loose with just a few teasing drops.
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Lya had been working her way North and East in an effort to reach Falport and find a ship to get her further away from lower Zeland and the nightmares she'd experienced there. What might have been an enjoyable journey had been anything but. The farmers in the region seemed to have suddenly become depressed, even apathetic towards their crops and animals after the earthquakes and storms which had taken place. There had been fires and quite a lot of devastation. They seemed to no longer be the same friendly and helpful folk they had been before. She'd remembered Old Bill Figgins and wondered how he was getting along.
Besides the change in the general feeling of the region, there were now occasional patrols of gray-clad soldiers along the major roads and always a few posted at bridges. Lya had carefully avoided them, but once had observed a confrontation between a farmer and his family who seemed to have just given up and had pulled stakes. The soldiers demanded that they return to their farm and would not allow them to cross a narrow bridge. The farmer had tried to coax his team across, disregarding the given command. His life ended moments later in front of his wife and children.
The beautiful Elfish young woman felt less than beautiful by the time she'd reached the outskirts of Falport. Her clothing was torn, her hair was a rat's nest, and she felt constantly soaked to the bone and hungry. It had taken much of her skill she'd learned as a thief to secure new raiment and money for food. Falport was under the control now of a small contingent of the gray-clad army and the city, like the countrysides around it, seemed to be a place which had lost all hope. It was puzzling, for the size of the occupying force didn't seem large enough to really have the kind of power necessary to run the place, but it was said the Falport authorities barely raised a finger in defense, the city watch just dropped their weapons as if they were a burden. They didn't seem to care. The feeling was so pervasive that Lya felt herself wondering why she would even bother to try and leave. In fact, she felt little desire to do much of anything that wasn't absolutely necessary for her own survival. It was the images of the vision Haymane had shared with her that kept her from slipping completely into the slothful sentiment.
One day her ship came in, rather it was the ship of a raggedy looking crew and a grizzled captain. They seemed immune to the affects of the city and surrounding area, and strangely the gray-clad soldiers paid them little heed. Lya disguised herself and gained the promise of passage to Zel City, the capital of Zeland, and hopefully a place where there was much more opportunity for a girl of her... talents. Besides that, she was sick of the stench of swine.
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The wagon came to a halt, and the sounds of guards talking with the wagon drivers could be heard. From their position in the bottom of the wagon, they only caught the last part. "...хајде путем..."
The wagon jounced ahead and they were moving through a gate in what must be a city wall. In the brief time they saw it, they both noticed the moss growing on the heavy wooden beams. The gate, up until now, had been very rarely used. Soon, on either side of them, they could see buildings constructed of stone and beam, strong and stout and similar in architecture to those throughout Zeland, a nation of hardy and hard-working folk.
Then they turned down a very narrow street. The gray sky seemed far above them do to the gloom of the way they traveled. It was cooler here. The normal sounds of a city seemed to come to them, only they were subdued and the two both felt that same weight upon them, urging them to give up, to quit, and to no longer even care...
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Evrik had chanced upon the young half-elven woman as she was about to board the ship leaving Falport. His story had been similar to her own, for he too had been working to remain hidden and trying to make his way to the port city. So far, the woodsman had been able to shrug off the feelings of despair, and he was highly motivated to be on that ship.
Not long after they'd boarded and moved out of the harbor leaving Falport, another series of storms blew in. It seemed especially stormy lately and unseasonal for the late summer. The air felt cold too. The captain and crew were not overly friendly, the kept to themselves and left Lya and Evrik alone for the most part.
It was perhaps the third day at sea that they were invited by the captain to his cabin to share a meal. During that time he asked a lot of questions and seemed to gage the reactions to them more than the answers. He told them that Zel City had just been taken over as had all of the other cities in Zeland as far as he knew. The invasion had been quick and for the most part, fairly bloodless. People seemed to just not care...
He offered them a chance to get into the city in exchange for taking some information to a contact of his there. Had they known what that might entail, they might have just jumped ship and risked dealing with sharks.
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The wagon again clattered to a halt before a gate or some other obstruction. The driver and other soldier seemed to be agitated about something. Then there was only gurgling noises...
A couple of shady-looking men appeared, not dressed in gray nor any other sort of uniform. They produced daggers and deftly cut the cords which bound Lya and Evrik. Once they were free, they could remove their gags.
"If any of this is yours, grab it and let's move. We don't have much time!" The speaker was the taller of three men dressed in the dirty and torn vestments of lower class laborers. One of the men pulled the bodies of the dead soldiers down, stripped them of their uniforms and then slid them down through a drainage duct that ran along the cobbled street.
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This scene won't be long, but you'll have a chance to RP out a little bit of the backstory of how you got here and why you were bound and gagged. This will set up the rest of the chapter.