Travel to nowhere? (Samheen 18th)

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Travel to nowhere? (Samheen 18th)

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<b>Noon, Samheen 18</b>

The Achadhiel sighed both sadly and relieved as he leaved World's Mouth. He looked back ashamed for a fleeting moment. He had hoped to find his mother here. Yet his own nature had driven him out of the city fast. The filthy, cramped place was not a place where he could survive. Besides after hearing the cost of a room he had soon realized that he couldn't afford the steep living cost. No... Back to the roads for him. Back to the forests were he belonged. Ah, yes! Taquar... He missed the forest, the light shimmering through the leaves. He needed the sounds of life and not the perverted cries of a city!

He readjusted the weight of his bow and walked away with steady pace, no... His quest to find his mother had ended. He couldn't live in a city he knew now and certainly could never find her there. Maybe once he'ld meet her but he'ld not be as foolish as to go looking for her again...
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The Road to Nowhere is long

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Walking tired the feet, and no matter how accustomed to it, one would soon feel the burn of their muscles, especially after a good deal of hiking. It had been several marks before Mikael started to feel the fire in his legs, and even longer before he found a suitable place to really stop and rest.

A nice flat and round-topped rock, about a meter in diameter, sat to the right of the road he walked and seemed to beckon him to sit. The surface was worn away, no doubt from travellers much like himself stopping to take a meal and drink from their canteen or flask. However, it wasn't entirely smooth, and closer inspection would prove that it appeared some kind of writing was etched onto the face of the dark gray stone.

Not really being a scholar didn't really keep him from being able to get the general gist of what was presented. It was written in adhiel, two names. Kina & Hurtin with a what looked like a vine surrounding it. The scratches seemed fresh enough, probably done recently, the dust even remained from the blade that had cut into the rock.

Nearby, actually, right beside the rock, was a thorned bush. It would have berries on it at a different time of year, but for now it was a mass of leaves and spikes. A few of the branches close to the stone had shreds of fabric attached to them. It looked pink from this distance. There were several other things of note: first, the dirt around the seat-stone was disturbed from more than just foot traffic, it had been pushed around as if someone was kicking their feet; second something glittered at the base of the thorny bush. In order to get to it, Mikael would have to reach within the sharp branches.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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His eyes studied the stone for a few moments, his hand unconsciously resting o the pommel of his rapier. He frowned in dismay at the names carved into the stone. To use a blade like that would dull the edge. He himself was never the one to dull a good blade on something as foolish as this. Living out in the forest he'd come to value the sharp edge of both blade and arrow. He shrugged, his personal distaste would certainly not matter much to whomever had done this.

The rest of the area caught his attention. He knelt down and studied the ground trying to use what Celebren had thaught him. "The natural world has its own language," the Elf had told him the first day they had walked through the woods, "If you come to understand it, you can read what has passed..."

He focussed back on the surroundings, and saw something shimmering in the bush. Carefully not to disturb the tracks Mikael moved to the bush and pulled his leather gloves from his belt. He donned them and tried to reach whatever it was that shimmered inside the bush...
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The thorns were razor sharp, it was no great wonder how they had easily shredded the pink fabric which clung to the branches now, but Mikael had been smart and had pulled out his leather gloves, which did much to protect his hands and even part of his forarm.

Within a flicker he had the shiny object, and as he pulled it out into the light, he could actually see what it was. A drifting sunbeam caught the golden chain, but it wasn't the necklace that was of interest (even though it was finely crafted) but it was what hung upon it. A ring, made for a man, and harbouring a family crested signet, was dangling from the broken links.

Mikael, not being versed in the local nobles or others who might warrant such a token, could not realize how significant this was, aside from the obvious, and that was that: No one just dropped their family crest. The piece itself was yellow gold into which was set a large ruby. Overlaying the ruby was a rolled scroll with some kind of symbols on it. A bit of dirt had worked it's way into the jewelry, so it was difficult to discern. Upon closer inspection it was actually letters, nay, a monogram of initials. In beautiful script was: A.F.

During the process of freeing the jewelry a few of the pink tatters of fabric had loosened from the bush and landed on the disturbed ground. A few things could be seen. One was that the dirt seemed to be pushed away from the bush, as if someone had kicked at it. A few booted impressions could be seen. Second: The tracks that lead away were noyt following the road that Mikael had already be going along, and instead a small foot path behind the rock. It seemed at first as if something were being dragged along.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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The finding of a family crest didn't bode well, or so Mikael thought. And the tracks... the tracks didn't bode very well...

Tucking the gloves back into his belt he stood up, eyeing the dirt path cautiously. For a moment he stood there, hesitating, yet what he saw finally convinced him that there was something wrong here. He silently drew his rapier and started following the path, eyes on the tracks to see what they could tell him and listening intently to the sounds of the forest or... the lack thereof.
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The sounds of the forest were completely lacking. The birds had gone silent, and there was no chirping of chipmunks or squirells as they nested away nuts and berries. Any hunter knew this was common when there was some kind of disturbance, and even more so when there was some kind of predator. For Mikael, the only sound was his own breathing, and the rhythmic pouding of his heart in his chest as he kept walking. The crunching of leaves and the snap of a twig resounded through the air, but then once more emptiness reigned supreme through this area of the forest.

It wasn't until the sharp sound of a bird's shrill warning call cut through the air like a knife through butter, that something other than the achadhiel made a noise, and oh what a noise the thing made. It was a black bird, with a bit of a red cap atop it's little head, and it was letting every other creature in the dark treetops know that something was approaching. Beware. It told them, in it's clear chirp and tweet. It's beady little eyes, shiney and black, looked down at Mikael, and then it jumped from it's position on the twig, about ten feet above the traveller's head, to a few trees further down the path.

On the ground there was another shred of pink fabric and a solid boot impression in the loose dirt. It was a smaller boot, not nearly as large as a humans but not a child's either. After a few more paces through the path, Mikael found himself at an opening into what seemed a small clearing, but it was difficult to tell, for a thick undergrowth surrounded it. If he were going to get a good look into the opening, he would need to step into it, or find somewhere that he could see better from. On either side of the path were bramble bushes with thorns, much like the patch he had seen earlier.

The little bird settled down in his warnings, perhaps he was tired, or perhaps he decided that Mikael wasn't as much of a threat as he first surmised. In either event it wasn't the sounds that called to the attention of the achadhiel, but rather the scent of a fire.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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Mikael stopped and stepped back between the trees, checking that his sword was an inch out of it's sheet. Silently he moved around the clearing, trying to find a better vantage point.

If he would find one unnoticed he'ld draw four arrows from his quiver and stick them in the ground in front of him, draw his sword and place it next to the arrows after which he'ld unpack his bow and observe the situation.
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It was no easy task trying to move around the clearing without calling attention to himself. Mikael was surrounded by thorns and brambles, but there were small footpaths, probably from passing animals, that allowed him to make his way until he reached a point where he could see within the green glade.

The image was almost out of a caravan story, or maybe a faery tale. A small fire was burning in the center of the small field and two logs, perfectly set aside it, provided ample sitting room. A pot hung over the fire, and mingling with the scent of the blazing wood was some kind of savory stew and spices.

However, it was there that the happy tale ended, for sitting on the log, with her back to the traveller, was a young woman with golden hair in loose ringlets falling down her back. Her hands were bound with rope, and then tied onto a heavy rock that sat nearby as a tether to the fireside. She was wearing a pink dress the same color as the tatters of fabric that the achadhiel had found on his journey to this place.

She was not a compliant captive, though. Busily she was moving her hands and pulling as much as her muscles would allow, trying her best to loosen the ropes so she could be freed. Her shoulders were tensing and then relaxing in turn as she worked at the bindings. There was somethig over her face as well, for there was a tied knot at the back of her head, but it was impossible to tell if it was a gag or there to cover her eyes.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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Mikael cursed inwardly, the thorns and brambles would provide some problem. “Lets hope my luck doesn’t fail me. I have no intention on getting caught,” he smiled, “And what a insult that would be. If the others ever heard about it…”

When he discovered the small footprints he smiled: “I guess my luck hasn’t failed me yet.” He checked if his sword was loosely in the scabbard and continued on. He knelt down when he had a better vantage point and observed the glade. “Nice setting for a fairietale…” He smirked when he saw the bound woman. “So far for that theory. Well, never been a firm believer of faerietales.”

”Now she’s here… but were is the person or persons that captured her? Gone for the moment?” When he looked closely he saw that only two logs had been set next to the fire. ”I guess we’re talking about one person here. But where is he… or she?” The Achadhiel was normally not the person who involved himself in people’s business other then his own but capturing those that were too weak to defend themselves… That was something that he could not bear ”Better to wait. I don’t want to find myself with an arrow sticking in my back while rescuing her. If there’s only one captor it will be easy to free her. And maybe whomever caught her has a reason for it. Maybe she’s a thief…” He seriously doubted that last thought for which self-respecting thief would like to be seen in such a dress. ”Yet there is the signet ring to consider. It’s obviously not meant for her… Maybe it’s from her sweetheart?” He shook his head, leaving the moral questions for later. He’ld wait and see how this story unfolded.

.He drew four arrows from his quiver sticking them into the ground in front of him and carefully unpacked his bow. After checking the tension on his bow he slowly unsheathed his sword and placed it next to the arrows. You can never be too sure… Bow in hand he waited…
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The girl in the glade continued moving her hands. She was trying to rub the bindings against the log, but wasn't having much luck in severing the tie from the heavy rock. Frustratedly she took in a deep breath and sighed, resigning herself to the position for a moment as she kicked sand and dirt, and bits of rocks and grass into the blazing fire. At first she just barely moved one foot forward, but then she was madly kicking at the ground tossing chunks into the fire and it seemed as if the flames were beginning to sputter and go out because of it.

"Quit it!!" A male voice cut through the forest in adhiel, and what few animals had been chattering and chirping, once again were silent after the violent outburtst. It was difficult to tell from where the masculine demand came from, but it was apparent that he wasn't in sight of Mikael.

In the center of the situation, the young girl froze and hung her head dejectedly. She was quickly losing hope that she was going to escape this situation, and her shoulders slumped. Her legs relaxed and she began moving her hands once again to loosen the tether.

"What are you doing?" A blond, but darkly tanned, adhiel stepped into the scene. His voice was harsh as he looked down at the tied girl. He wore a simple tunic of green and leggings to match. A belt at his side held a short sword, and upon his back was a quiver. His bow was behind one of the logs, Mikael could barely see it from this vantage point. "Now, now, you aren't being very cooperative. Are you?" He looked down at the hostage. "I don't want to have to hurt you. Do the bindings need to be tighter?" The adhiel was facing Mikael, but he didn't notice him, atleast not yet.

It seemed as if the girl didn't understand what was being said to her, she didn't make any moves to respond in any way. Instead she set her face foward to the fire, not looking at her captor. Her shoulders had raised, and there was a certain level of pride in the tied girl, as if she were trying her damnedest to put on a brave face and not allow what was being said to her to get to her. Either that or she was just outright ignoring him.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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Mikael was taken aback when the man stepped into sight. He hadn't expected to see an Adhiel as the captor of this woman. What in the name of the Mother is happening here?

As the Adhiel mentioned tightening the bonds anger rose in Mikael and when the tanned Elf turned towards him he didn't hesitate. He took the blunt arrow, used for hunting birds, he had put on the ground and aimed for the man's stomach. No normal man could get such an arrow in his stomach, not with a longbow powering it anyway, and stand afterwards or keep his stomach content in for that matter... Fluently he took one of the sharp arrows and nocked it. Wether the first arrow had hit didn't matter now, for better or for worse, by releasing it he had commited himself to finish this.

He stood up, his bow aimed at the Adhiel and spoke: "I recommend you hold still, the next one will not be blunt and I will not miss," Mikael hoped that bluff would hold true or would convince the man not to move.
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Mikael's training with the bow had been worthwhile, for he hit his mark with the blunted arrow precisely. The adhiel, however, had taken a few blows in his life, and just as he took the first hit, he grabbed for the girl and pulled her forward, using her as a live shield between he and his attacker. He looked pained by the first hit, as was obvious by his expression, but he smoothed it over with practice as he stared at the traveller.

"Now now, let's not be doing anything that would put the young lady in harm's way." He said as she was turned around, her arms stretched painfully as they pulled on the rope. The rock moved a slowly, sliding across the ground. She grunted a bit as he yanked her around and used her body to protect his vitals. Her mouth was gagged, but her crystaline blue eyes were not covered, and they stared about wildly, and yet thankfully, through the pain, as if her prayers had been answered by Mikael's arrival.

The girl pleaded to him with those eyes, but didn't resist her captor.

"What you have here, boy, is a false sense of righting a situation that you don't understand." He continued. "But, really, what you ought to do is apologize to me, and probably to her as well for me having to pull her about so much, and then continue on your way." They were at a bit of a stand-off, but even now, the captor was at a disadvantage, for he didn't have a weapon drawn, though his short sword was at his side.

Tears were now streaming down the girl's face, clouding her skyline eyes, begging him to do something, anything, to save her.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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Mikael cursed inwardly, the situation didn't work out the way he intented it to do. He blurted out the first thing that come into his mind: "I must stop being so damn friendly. Next time use a sharp arrow first."

Now what am I going to do? I can not... His reasonable thoughts were washed away when he saw the girl crying. It took him a few moments to suppress the primal rage that was about to overwhelm him. The bow in his hands shook ever so lightly for a moment. To save her she'll have to bear this pain I'm afraid.

"Tell me," his voice sounded cold, "What situation can't I possibly understand? To find evidence of struggle? To see how a girl tied up? To see how an Adhiel treats her as if she were an Orc!?! Maybe you could explain it to me," he relaxed the tension on the string slightly as he stepped into the clearing, "And don't think you can get to your weapons fast enough. One move in the wrong direction and..." He left the rest unspoken.
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The adhiel scowled at Mikael's words of using a sharp arrow on his next attempt. "Well, it was quite the hello, that is for sure. You could have just stepped in and introduced yourself, saved me the hassle of trying to defend myself." It was no defence, he was acting the part of a coward, with a woman between he and a weaponed attacker.

"No need for threats, cousin." He replied. "She is a thief, and a whore, and I'm doing the city a favor by taking her with me." He said with a self-rightous air. The adhiel made no move for his weapons, perhaps Mikael's threat had been enough to scare him from doing anything too hastily. Either way, he loosened his hold on the girl ever so slightly. One of his arm's, the left, was wrapped around her waist, pressing her small frame against his. The tangles of her blond hair cascaded over her shoulders.

Here the girl snorted and began to struggle a bit. "Hey hey! Enough of that. I didn't mean it so offensively... calm down." She settled down a bit but continued to look quite infuriated by the comment about her. "So, really, friend, you ought to keep moving on. We are only here for the night before our travels continue." He was suave, and convincing of these facts. "Before you go, can I offer you a meal, atleast? There is more than enough." His head nodded in the direction of the fire, which was once again burning strongly following the sand episode of a short time ago.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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"Oh sure, I always introduce myself unarmed to people who have tied-up women sitting in their encampment," Mikael retorted sarcastically.

At the words thief and whore the Achadhiel's anger came dangerously close to resurfacing. "You are doing the city a favour? Which city would that be, friend, and by whose standards are you doing the city a favor, hmm?"

An thought surfaced as the man offered him a meal He will probably try to attack me, maybe poison me. If he goes for his weapons he'll have to release the girl. My whips... The Cat o'Nine Tails hung at his right side. If she's out of the way I could hurt him with it. Throat or arm...

He released the tension on his bow, lowering it and ready to drop it the instant the Adhiel made a wrong move to take is whip and use it on him... if the girl was out of the way. A daring plan but the only one he could think of...
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The man nodded as if he understood. "A showing of good faith." He commented as he let the woman free of his grasp once Mikael lowered his bow. "I know what you mean, this does look rather bad. I'm coming from just up the path a bit, no doubt you saw our tracks from there. Are you a hunter?" He paused long enough to allow the traveller to answer. "From World's Mouth. You know it?"

Meanwhile, the young woman glared menacingly at the two as they casually spoke while she was tied up. She kicked at the dirt, at her captor and he scowled in return. "Sit down!" His voice was stern, and she quickly and quietly obeyed.

"Excuse me, as I was saying -- Coming from World's Mouth. I work as a debt collector sometimes, and that's what I was doing in the city." It was illicit business, but this man was no liar, and he figured he was better off just telling the truth. "This woman made some loans she could not pay back,"

Here she shook her head and grunted, as if to make a noise that it wasn't the truth, that she wasn't a debter.

Her captor just spoke louder to drown her out, and soon she gave up.
"So she is going on a bit of a trip to make up for it. I'll offload her somewhere, they'll pay me, and then I can pay the person she owed money to, with a bit of a cut, of course." He grinned. "Name's Hurtin, and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister..." He offered his hand to Mikael to shake.

"I'm just a business man, I'm sure you understand perfectly well."
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
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Mikael shouldered his bow and put the arrow back in the quiver on his backpack and decided to give the man an inconclusive answer that would probably raise more questions then it would answer and if he jumped to conclusions might even work out: "I'm a hunter of sorts, you could say..."

The Achadhiel frowned surprised: "World's Mouth? Yes, I do know it. And I know for a fact that they do not like Adhiels there. I'm surprised you could make it out of the city with her," putting enough disbelief in his voice to make it clear that he didn't believe that the Elf actually came from World's Mouth.

The ranger didn't buy Hurtin's explanation at all. How can I get her out of this situation without killing him? As the man extended his hand Mikael suddenly remembered what he had picked up at the rocks This should make for an interesting turn of events...

With his right hand close to his whip, he used his left to take the broken necklace from the pouch on his belt. "An interesting story but one question remains unanswered. How does this fit in your story?" He raised the broken chain to eyeheight and smiled slightly.
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"Haha, no, not from World's Mouth originally, just passing through, and doing work that pays the bills. Some of us actually pay for what we say we will." He looked down at the girl who snuffed and sat down on the log again. She felt ill from pain, and was trying to push aside the grumbling in her stomach as she looked at the stew.

As Mikael didn't offer his name, or reach out to shake Hurtin's hand, the adhiel gave him a sour look, but watched carefully as he pulled something out from his pack. When he held the trinket up, the adhiel stepped forward just a bit to look at it closer, just as he did so, there was a squeaking sort of vocal noise from his right, followed by the girl, launching herself at her captor.

She knocked him to the ground with a loud thud, but she couldn't do anything more than that, thanks to the rock tether that held her in place. All she had been able to do was throw him off balance with her weight. Luckily he hadn't been expecting it, otherwise it wouldn't have done much good. Landing on her knees she scrambled upward and immediately started kicking sand and dirt at him, to cloud his vision, and hoped -- nay --- prayed, that Mikael would do something. "Kina! Argghaa! What are you doing you little - Argh." The adhiel was already putting his hands to the ground to push himself upward to his booted feet.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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Mikael didn't hesitate one moment when the girl knocked the man over. He kicked him in the side of the head with his boot and winced, he didn't like to hurt others. The Achadhiel rapidly drew his sword, remembering how easily Hurtin had shrugged off the impact of the arrow. I probably won't hurt you more then you've hurt the girl. Lets figure this out from a more comfortable position...

If Hurtin was able to move then he'ld hit him again, either with the pommel of his blade or with yet another boot to the head. In that moment he began to regret that he had involved himself in this matter. He had no experience whatsoever in telling the truth from a lie. Who was he to judge? Yet... someone who was cruel enough to sell a woman did deserve this kind of treatment. There were other ways to settle a debt that were more agreable to both sides.
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When Mikael's boot landed against Hurtin's skull, the adhiel went limp to the ground with a slight grunt. His eyes closed and he lay on his side quietly. Triumphantly she looked down at the adhiel and kicked him, hard, on the leg. The young girl then looked between him and the achadhiel before her, her bright blue eyes for a flicker beaming excitedly before she realized she was now with another stranger, and tied up still.

She had traded one captor for another.

Immediately she scrambled away and started tugging on her rope, quickly crossing to the fire to try to burn the tether that tied her to the rock. She was able to get close, but when Hurtin had grabbed her, he had moved the stone enough so that she couldn't quite reach the flames. Now, she was completely stranded. Angrily she tugged at the heavy object.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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Mikael flinched when his boot hit the Adhiel. He had never liked to use brute force in matters where he doubted. I hope I won't regret this later on... He flinched again as the woman kicked Hurtin. "I didn't knock him out for you to have your fun on!" the Achadhiel snapped at her.

"Perhaps it's best if I tie him up... No idea how soon he'll wake again," he looked around for something to tie up the Adhiel as he noticed the girl trying to get closer to the fire. When she realized that she couldn't get there and began tugging angrily at the rope Mikael sighed: "Really... You should think that she'ld have some wits...," out loud he spoke to her, "There is no need for that. Let me help you with that gag... And then you can tell me if I can find rope around here somewhere so that I can tie him up."

"You seriously don't think I'll let you out before I have solved the first problem, now would you," he thought as he knelt next to the girl, intent on her every move, and tried to free her from the gag.
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She didn't appear sorry for having kicked Hurtin. Not sorry at all. Infact, she looked glad for having done it, and Mikael's reprimand wasn't going to do anything to change that feeling. As he approached and told her to stop trying to free herself she paused and looked at him, her bright eyes trying to determine whether he was just saying that. She'd already been tricked enough by Hurtin.

Silently the young woman nodded and let her arms relax. The gag wasn't hard to get off, the knot was simple, though perhaps a bit tighter than it needed to be. Once it was off she moved her jaw in little circles to work out the tension. "Rope?" She looked down at her own tether. "You could use this. No problem, I don't mind at all." She smiled, her thin lips spreading, but then she realized he had no intention of untying her. "You could use his bowstring." She offered dully, no matter if she was untied yet or not, it was better of Hurtin was tied up as well.

I can't believe this. "Can I have the ring back?" She asked. "I'm glad you found it, I didn't want to leave it behind but hoped that someone would recognize it and follow. I had to hide it so that he--" The girl paused and jutted her chin out to motion to Hurtin. "--wouldn't notice."

"He kidnapped me, you know, everything he said was a lie." Her blue eyes tried to meet his. "For money. He was ransoming me. I can give you money if you bring me back, please just untie me. I'm starting to lose feeling in my fingers."
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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"His bowstring, good idea," Mikael nodded and used his knife to cut the bowstring and began tying Hurtin's hands together. I hope the damn string cuts in his wrists... It was not like the man had to tie the gag so tight... to the Achadhiel it showed a cruel streak in the Adhiel's character, one that he certainly did not approve.

"Give me one moment. You don't want him to wake up without being tied up, do you?" Mikael replied to her question about the ring as he checked the string one last time.

Whe she offered him money to bring her back the ranger sighed irritated, now convinced by both the presence of the ring as the offer of money, that she was probably of nobility or something of the sort. Why do these people always think the world revolves around money?

He walked towards her, knife in hand, not realizing that it might looke threathening. "I have no need of money, my lady. If you had offered it or not, I would have brought you back," he knelt beside her and tried to cut the rope.

While he was working on it he asked: "What does that ring mean exactly? I know it's a crest of some kind but I don't know nothing about heraldry or the like..."
Ashari
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The young woman nodded as he said that the bowstring was a good idea. "Thanks." She replied watching him carefully as he tied Hurtin up, as if she were checking that he really was tied, and it wasn't some kind of game. It was easy enough to wind the thin string around the adhiel's wrists, but the tendon width rope didn't cut into his flesh, atleast not yet. Were he to struggle he would quickly find himself in such a predicament.

"No! I don't." She replied exuberantly. "I don't want him to wake up untied, no." The girl shook her head.

As he stepped forward with the knife in hand she instinctively closed her eyes and braced herself. Her back was turned as he worked upon the ropes binding her hands together. Once she realized what he was doing her shoulders relaxed. "Ha.. I thought you were.. nevermind." She cut herself off nervously.

Turning around once the rope fell to the ground she looked at him with a confused edge to her blue orbs. She rubbed her wrists for a moment, and then tucked her hair behind her ears. Each was slightly pointed. "You don't want money?" She asked looking up at him. She was just a bit shorter than him, enough so that she did have to tilt her chin up a just a small ways to meet his eyes. "And I'm no lady." Warily she looked down at Hurtin who was still unconcious.

"He thinks I am, that's why he took me. I was afraid if I told him I was just a maid that he would kill me. The ring belongs to my employer. If you look at it careful you'll see one of the pieces is broken, on the F. He gave it to me to bring to be repaired. That's all. Hurtin saw me with it, and he mistook me for my employers daughter. She gave me this dress." Here she looked down at the tatters. "It was pretty before, but it's from last yahren and she was getting all new ones so she gave it to me. She has beautiful long blonde hair, and I guess that's all he had to go on." She shrugged.

"I guess it's a good thing you don't want money afterall, since I couldn't really pay you anything." She smiled. "But, thank you for saving me, even if you thought I was a lady worth saving, and I'm really not."
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
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When he saw her tense he first didn't realize why and merely shrugged it off as fear for him. As he worked on the ropes and heard her comment he began to understand: "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't want it to seem like I was going to hurt you."

When he finished with the ropes and she asked him about money the ranger grinned: "For someone who lives out here, money is of little value. I can get my own food if I want. What's left I can sell or trade. I have no great love for money."

He began to search the campsite for food, clothing, weapons, valuables or other interesting things. He nodded in understanding as the woman unfolded her story. "She's probably right. Telling him the truth might have gotten her dead or raped," he looked with disgust at the unconscious Adhiel, "How can an Elf fall that low? Bah!"

Her last comment that he thought she was a lady worth saving and that she had turned out not to be made him stop his search and he turned to her, staring into her eyes. "All life is valuable. You are a lady. It is not your place of birth that deserves you respect. It are your actions and intentions. Noble or not, I still would have saved you," he said.

This World's Mouth must have been a worse place then I thought if they measure people's value by where they are born. Foolish. Suddenly it struck him that he hadn't given his name to the woman and that he didn't know hers. "In all the excitement I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Mikael. Some call me Shadowwalker and I have adopted that name as my surname as it is not customary for me to have one."
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