Chapter 1, Pages 20-24

 

Rielari
shook her head to dislodge the memories, she needed to concentrate on
finding the man responsible. She rolled out her sleeping blankets
and removing her weapons she tucked them next to her for easy
retrieval. Laying down she knew the grouper would alert her if there
was any danger, she was soon fast asleep.

Waking
before the sun crested the horizon, Rielari quickly packed her things
and continued her tracking. The town of Sairk was still a days
journey away, if there was no delays. She was certain that Lord
Zefrik would stop there for supplies at the very least. She hoped
that she could catch him there, it would be easier to kill him in a
large city.

Stopping
the grouper when the sun was at it’s highest position in the heavens,
she dismounted. Pacing with an agitated movement she examined the
jumble of tracks before her. They crisscrossed leading off in
several different directions. Rielari silently cursed, she would
have to waste time to figure out which tracks were his.

Following
the set of horse tracks leading off in an eastern direction, she soon
concluded that they were not the tracks of Lord Zefrik. The set
heading in a western direction took her a bit longer to figure out.
It seemed like they were purposefully trying to avoid anyone tracking
them. The tracks were definitely those of Lord Zefrik’s group,
however they ended and doubled back on themselves several miles down
the dirt road. She was livid realizing what they had done; she
cursed vehemently.

Returning
to the original intersection of tracks Rielari’s mood had not
improved. Kicking at a clod of dirt she jumped onto the groupers
back; Lord Zefrik was heading south. She was now certain of that but
he was being more cautious which worried her. Nudging the grouper
firmly in that direction she noticed that the sun was close to
setting.

Several
miles down the road the sun vanished below the horizon. Saptyrn rose
appearing slightly smaller than the night before as it made it’s way
through the next of it’s phases, Galtyn. Serynth, the smaller of the
two moons had been just a slim crescent of light the night before.
It’s pale blue glow appeared to be growing as it made it’s way higher
in the heavens. In approximately two weeks Saptyrn would be in the
cycle of death, Neyhpa, which would last for three days before
emerging again to light the night skies. Rielari hoped that she
would catch Lord Zefrik before the Neyhpa. She knew it would be
impossible to move around at night. Serynth didn’t cast enough light
to illuminate the world and it was tabu to travel during Neyhpa.

With
Saptyrn’s heavenly red glow, Rielari continued tracking the arrogant
Lord hoping to make up lost time. The tracks were relatively easy to
follow now that they were following a main road. She still took her
time and was cautious, they knew someone was following them.

“Someone
is ahead of us,” the grouper whispered in it’s raspy voice.

Without
hesitation Rielari directed the animal to the side of the road. She
quickly jumped from it’s back and grabbing the reins guided it into
the dense forest undergrowth. The grouper knelt down needing no
command, they had been in this predicament before. Rielari
skillfully muffled any metal that might give away their position then
slowly crawled on her belly back towards the road. The undergrowth
hide her well enough in the dark that she could observe the lone man
walking stealthily down the road. His pale blonde hair and
exceptional height marked him as a Friatian, but not the Lord she was
hunting down. He must be one of the guards, she thought with
delight. The idea of taking some of her anger out on this man made
her heart race in excitement.

The
man had his scimitar drawn, its deeply curved blade was distinct
among the Friatian’s. The hilt was made of hard wood, most likely
island oak and it had a hawks bill pommel. His eyes darting rapidly
back and forth searching the road and undergrowth for anything
suspicious. Rielari let him walk past her as she watched him
observing the tracks in the road just as she had been moments
earlier. She had hid her tracks the best she could and hoped he
wouldn’t noticed them. When he was almost out of her sight she slide
from her hiding place like a snake, making no noise. She knew he
would soon realize that someone was following them and had hid their
tracks. She hadn’t had time to hid her tracks that far up the trail
and the man would soon be doubling back to figure out were the tracks
had stopped. With all the skills available to her she cautiously
followed behind him, hiding her tracks as she went. Seeing him go
around the bend in the road she quickly made up the distance between
them. He would be turning around soon, she thought.

Reaching
the bend in the road Rielari quickly hid herself again and waited for
the man t

o come back in sight. Just as she had predicted the man
came back around the bend but more cautious than before. She could
almost her his frantic heart beating as he walked slowly past her new
hiding spot. The beads of sweat that she saw rolling down his
forehead confirmed her suspicions, he knew he had missed the person
following his party and he was nervous.

Rielari
confidently stepped out of hiding, “Why are you following me?”

The
question startled the poor man so much he swung his scimitar as he
turned, “I, following you?”

Rielari
grinned, her appearance shocked the man to the point of shaking. She
knew he had not been expecting a woman by the surprise on his
handsome face. The Friatian had predictable features for his race;
large round eyes that she knew would be some shade of blue, high
arching cheek bones, a straight noble nose, and large full lips to
the point of being almost to big for their thin faces. His short cut
hair was that pale blonde that she had always admired in his kind.
She almost hated that she had to kill him but then the image of her
beautiful Yislon came back and her smile turned to a menacing smirk.

“Yes
I am hunting you and your Lord,” Rielari watched the expression on
his beautiful face turn from surprise to fear in a heartbeat.

The
man quickly came to his senses and held his scimitar in a more
defensive position, “Who has hired you to kill my Lord?”

The
question surprised Rielari and she laughed, did this arrogant Lord
Zefrik think he was so important that someone would hire an assassin
of her skill. With none of her weapons drawn she slowly began to
circle the man. With a trained eye she began measuring the mans
potential threat to her.

“No
one has hired me, fool,” Rielari sneered, “Your Lord murdered my
lover and he will pay dearly for that.”

The
confused look on the mans face startled Rielari for just a a moment.

“My
Lord has killed no one,” the man stated confidently.

“Ha,
of course you would say that,” Rielari continued circling the man,
“That’s why he tucked his tail and ran away.”

The
man drew his scimitar closer to his body trying to determine which
angle Rielari would strike him from. She had still not drawn a
weapon and she wouldn’t until she was ready to deal her death strike.

“My
Lord is being framed,” the man said with a tremble in his voice.