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Post by Brandwyn on May 22, 2012 14:44:43 GMT -5
“Go around front and catch her!” The leader of the three pirates ordered the man who was guarding the front door as the big burley man and his sidekick picked themselves up off the floor. “Come on! She can’t get far.” He ordered the other man and they dashed out the back door and looked around.
The girl wasn’t in sight anywhere and there were only a couple of directions she could have fled. “The stables!” the burly man pointed. “She had to have gone in there.” They both ran toward the long stables that housed the guests’ mounts on one end and carriages on the other.
“Hurry up and find her, the barge is leaving shortly and we are supposed to have her on it along with that hellcat ranger chick,” he ordered as he began looking into each stall. He motioned the other man to check the stalls on that side of the stable and slowly they made their way down toward the other where the carriages were parked.
“Come on out, Girlie! We know yer in here an it will go a lot easier on ya if’n ya give yerself up now.” The shorter man coaxed, not wanting to waste time with this kid. He had no idea why the boss wanted her, but if he was going to get paid silver for bringing her in then he wanted to make it fast and easy. “We ain’t gonna hurt ya none, we promise. We just wanna take ya to yer mentor.” He winked at the burly man who nodded.
“Yeah, that’s right Girl. We just want to take you to the Ranger. She needs you.” He suppressed a laugh, covering it up with a cough.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on May 22, 2012 16:40:21 GMT -5
~i'm not stupid, i should not give in. But there's no way i can save heather on my own.~ Enya thought sighing. Staying in the shadow for a moment thinking " alright fine.. but just remember. I can kick you but if you go back on your word on not hurting me" She said getting up and came out.
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Post by Brandwyn on May 29, 2012 11:29:45 GMT -5
The big man nodded, managing to keep a straight face as he said, “of course you can. You better bring along them horses too. Wouldn’t want you to lose them now, would we?” The man paused for a moment and then said, “Actually, we better go up an git your stuff outta your room too. I don’t know if you’ll be coming back to it or not.”
He followed Enya up to her room and waited at the door while she grabbed her things and then they went back to the stables to get the horses. With him in the lead and the other two thugs following Enya and the horses, he led them down to the river docks. There was a large river barge moored to the pier that was loaded down with crates and barrels. At one end was a crude wooden structure almost like a hut and in front of that was where the Captain stood directing his crew in tightening down the final cargo. A string of horses were picketed by a ground tie line in the center of the barge.
“Hook them two horses up there on that picket. They’ll be safer if we run into rough patches.” The burly man ordered Enya. When she was finished, he led her to the hut and opened the door for her. “Yer mentor is in here.” Inside the hut was divided in half with the door on the right sporting a large lock. If one looked closely, they could just make out the bands of thin wire interwoven with the bamboo slat walls. They were woven close enough together to prevent someone from getting their head between the wires thus making the hut a much sturdier structure than it looked like at first glance.
The big man had the guard unlock the door and open it. Inside there was a bit of straw strewn on the floor but no other furniture, windows or light. It was dim inside, though there was enough light to make out the lump covered in a ranger cloak lying in the far corner that wasn’t moving.
Heather was curled up in a ball, lying on her side clutching her aching stomach, but to all outward appearances she seemed to be unconscious. She had a black eye, dried blood on her nose and the front of her shirt and a large bruise on her forehead. She didn’t stir at all when the door was opened.
“We’ll take those weapons now.” The big man said to Enya as the guard grabbed her arms and held them behind her back. They stripped her of the bow, arrows and knives and then the pirate shoved Enya inside the cage and swiftly shut the door behind her. “Welcome to the Black Thorn’s crew, Girlie!” The big man laughed and clapped the guard on the back, shaking his head at some private joke and left the hut with only the one man to guard them.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on May 29, 2012 13:20:27 GMT -5
Enya hit the floor with a slight yelp when they pushed her ~ idiots~ she thought looking over at Heather. and crowed over to her ~please be OK ~ she thought " Heather? Are you awake?" She asked in a low voice getting to her mentors side. the young girl was shaking as she was scared. Enya was not sure what to do now, how where they going to escape?. many difrant thoughts ran threw her head. couseing her to almost brake down in tears.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 1, 2012 9:00:42 GMT -5
Heather feigned unconsciousness when she heard the door to her cage being opened. They’d deposited her there about an hour before, right after beating the stuffing out of her while asking her all kinds of questions about the ranger Gathering. She hadn’t answered them at all and they finally gave up – at least for the time being.
So now she lay in a heap on the deck of a smelly barge and every bone and muscle in her body was screaming in pain. She wished she had passed out again, but she’d found no such relief. Still, she figured if they thought she was out cold, maybe they wouldn’t start in on her again. She wasn’t sure where her breaking point was, but right now she was so angry she figured they would likely inflict a lot more damage before she was even tempted to tell them anything.
"Heather? Are you awake?" Heather’s heart sank at the sound of the voice. Now they had Enya too. She’d hoped the girl would get away. She waited until she heard the one pirate walk away and then carefully opened one swollen eye.
“Enya. I am okay, I think.” She croaked and slowly sat up. Her hands were bound tightly at the wrist with a rope that ran down to her bound ankles. “I am sorry they got you too. What about the horses?” She was worried about Shasta if no one was there at the Inn to take care of her.
“It’s not dark yet is it?” Heather peered through the bamboo shafts of their prison and although it was quite dim inside the hut, she could see the sun was fairly high in the sky still. It would be several more hours until dark. “They were asking about the Ranger Gathering. If they question you, Enya, you must not tell them anything. Lie if you have to, but it is best not to say anything at all.” She warned her apprentice. “The lives of all the other rangers depend on us remaining silent.”
She looked around their prison, knowing her weapons were close at hand, but might as well be miles away for they couldn’t get to them. “I guess we bide our time for now. If you see an opportunity to escape though, you take it, you hear me? Don’t try to save me. Get away and go for help to the nearest castle.”
She could see Enya was on the verge of tears, fear in her eyes. Awkwardly she patted her apprentice’s hand, wishing her hands weren’t bound so she could give the girl a much needed hug. “Don’t worry, Enya, we’ll get out of this. I’ve been in worse predicaments.” She couldn’t think of any right off the top of her head, but she was sure it was true. She rested her aching head on her sore knees, trying to stop the rocking and spinning motion in her head and thought of Ben. ‘Ben!’ she thought, crying out in her mind silently, ‘I’m in trouble this time Ben. I wish you were here to rescue me.’
It was then she realized the rocking motion was the barge heading down the river. They had left port and were on their way, to where she had no idea, but she figured she wasn’t going to like it when they got there.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 1, 2012 9:44:19 GMT -5
“It’s ok, I kind a gave up…They had me cornered me.. The horses are fine.. There here.” Enya said sighing “ I won’t say anything “She added Sighing sitting with her back to the wall “ and if I do get a chance to escape, don’t worry I will get help” She said sighing “ Want me to untigh you? .. I don’t know why they did not tigh me up” Enya said looking over at Heather.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 3, 2012 20:03:05 GMT -5
“It’s ok, I kind of gave up…They had me cornered. The horses are fine, they’re here,” Enya said sighing.
Heather wanted to nod, but moving her head caused a wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm her. “I’ve had to make the same choice before. The important thing is to stay alive. As long as you are alive, there is hope.” She said, her eyes still closed and her head resting on her arms and knees.
She smiled at her apprentice then when the girl declared she wouldn’t say a word. “You are quite brave, Enya. Hang onto that as long as you can, you may need to be very brave indeed before we escape these maniacs.”
“Want me to untie you? I don’t know why they did not tie me up,” Enya said looking over at Heather.
“Sure,” Heather said and held out her wrists. “I have been working at them but I think they only got tighter.” She hadn’t had a great deal of success with the knots. “Darn sailors are too good at knots,” she muttered. “Anyway, they probably figured there wasn’t any point once we left port in tying you up. They are probably thinking there is no place for us to go or way to escape.” Heather looked at the guard through the cracks in the bamboo. “They don’t know me very well,” she whispered. “By the way, can you swim?”
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 3, 2012 21:15:53 GMT -5
" Thanks, It took alot of being brave to survive on my own as long as i did." Enya said smiling a little " Yeah i can Swim" Enya said as she began to work with the knots " I actually can hold my breath for a good few minuets under water" She added loosening the rope some . She soon had the ropes untied and unwrapped them from around her wrists and ankles. "there we go.. That feel better?" She asked
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 4, 2012 15:22:09 GMT -5
“Much better,” Heather rubbed her wrists where the rope had chafed it and wiggled her fingers until the tingling stopped. “Well, you might have to use those swimming skills before we get out of this mess.”
Heather sat for a moment, thinking and trying to peer through the slats of the bamboo. She checked the three sides of the room that were exposed to the open barge and counted the men within site. There looked to be at least 10 of them. She knew there was one in the room next door with all of her weapons and gear and also the guard outside their door. “I can count at least 12 men. That doesn’t put the odds in our favor as long as my bow is in that other room. Hmmmm…” She drummed her fingers against her chin, and then peered through the cracks at the sky. “Midday or early afternoon… If they are heading down the river to the coast then we should probably arrive there some time tomorrow afternoon or evening. However we don’t know if they are stopping anywhere else on the way. They seem to be fairly loaded down with cargo and horses from what I saw earlier, so they may just head straight out to their ship. What did he call it? I heard him say it as you were pushed into the room. It was the Black something crew…”
Heather snuck up to the door and could make out the figure of the guard standing just outside. He seemed to be nearly falling asleep on his feet. She knew from experience that it could very well be a ruse, but if he were sleepy that might make things easier. She crossed back to the far side and sat down next to Enya again.
“So, let’s assume they are going to a ship in the harbor at the mouth of this river. Well, actually it isn’t this river, this one connects up with another river that goes out to the sea. That one is wider and deeper but doesn’t move as fast.” Heather informed Enya in a low voice. “I wouldn’t mind waiting until we get a bit farther downstream and closer to home before making our escape, but if the opportunity presents itself, we need to take advantage of it.” She glanced over at Enya, “I want to get you out of here before they try to interrogate you.”
“Let’s make use of this rope. See if you can tie that end around that bamboo pole there about ankle height off the deck.” Heather handed Enya one end of the rope and pointed to the spot on the wall. “Maybe we can trip them up if they stride in here to get one of us and jump them.”
It wasn’t a great plan, but at least it was something. Her other idea would best be done under cover of darkness when most of the men were asleep. “And then we wait. If you are sleepy, go ahead and doze. I will keep watch on the guard.”
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 4, 2012 18:02:18 GMT -5
Enya took the rope and tighed it to the Rope to the Bamboo " That sounds like a good idea. " Enya said finishing and backed away to where she was sitting before and yawned " Alright, I am kinda tired anyway" She said closing her eyes
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 6, 2012 19:10:34 GMT -5
Two hours later Heather heard footsteps approaching their prison and withdrew to the middle of the room. She gently nudged Enya’s foot with her own to wake her as the key turned in the lock. She wasn’t going to let them interrogate Enya if she could prevent them and she hoped to distract them from noticing the rope strung at ankle height just within the door.
The same burley pirate smiled broadly as he peered in through the doorway. “Ah good, you are awake and free of your bonds I see.” He looked her up and down, noting her fighting stance with her weight on the balls of her feet, her hands in fists at her sides. “Wonderful, there is still some fight left in you. I was hoping I wouldn’t miss it.” He grinned at her and then stepped into the room, stopping just short of the rope.
“Now, you can come with me, or I can take your little girlfriend here.” He made an obscene gesture and looked at Enya. “Little Boss has some more questions and since you weren’t so cooperative the first time, he is hoping you will be a bit more amiable this time.” He turned his gaze back to Heather and his eyes got cold, “I am hoping not.”
Heather stood calmly and raised her battered chin, “Why don’t you come in and get me, if you want me?”
He laughed, and deliberately stepped over the rope. “Fine, I like the hard way too,” he said and in two strides he was within range. Heather stepped back on her left leg and kicked out and up hard with her right, planting her foot square into his rock hard abdomen. He didn’t so much as grunt in discomfort. Instead he grabbed her foot and twisted it sideways painfully.
Heather let out a yelp, not expecting the maneuver and tried to flip to the side and twist out of his grip. She brought her other foot up swiftly and managed to kick him in the side of the head, but again it was with little effect. The brute seemed to be impervious to pain.
Swiftly he closed the distance until he was picking her up by the scruff of her neck. He released her foot and grabbed her left arm and twisted it around her back, nearly breaking it, while lifting her completely off the ground so that only her big toes were touching the deck at the very tips. His grip on her neck tightened and he partially closed off her airway as he brought her ear close to his mouth.
“I am going to enjoy it when the Boss gives you to us after he is done with you,” he growled in her ear, making Heather’s hair on her arms stand up straight and her skin crawl with loathing. “You are one fine looking piece of tail.” Heather felt the first shards of fear pierce her heart at his words.
Heather squirmed in his grasp as he hefted her out the door, again stepping over the rope and ignoring Enya as if she were an insignificant fly he could swap at any time. The other guard slammed the door shut in Enya’s face and locked it while the Burley man opened the door on the other side.
This time there were ropes hanging down from the cross beam in the ceiling and Heather’s heart sank as she saw her original tormentor standing calmly swinging a coiled bullwhip in one hand. Heather could not help but wonder what was going on. This was certainly not your typical pirate behavior.
The Burley man placed her hands through the loops of the ropes and hoisted her up so she was standing on her tip-toes and hanging from her wrists. Then he went to stand in front of her to one side, his arms folded across his massive chest and a fowl grin on his face. Heather tried to avoid looking down at his breeches just below his belt and turned her attention to the ‘Little Boss’ who was starting to circle around her.
“Well met again, Miss Ranger. What was it you said your name was?” The man asked pleasantly. Heather did not respond, but just watched him warily, steeling herself for the pain that was surely coming.
“The way this works is, I ask you a question and you answer it.” The man explained as if talking to a five year old. “If you don’t answer it, you get this.” He flicked the whip so fast, that even though she knew it was coming, she wasn’t prepared for the intense burning pain that ripped across her back as he expertly flicked the end of the whip around behind her. Heather let out a scream and clamped it off, nearly biting her tongue as tears came unbidden to her eyes.
“Smarts, yes?” He smiled sweetly at her and Heather wanted to plant her foot right smack between his eyes. She again made no response and steeled herself. “Should you not cooperate, we shall start asking questions to your apprentice, even though I suspect her information would be slightly less accurate than your own.” He moved out of her sight just off to the side behind her and she heard the swoosh of the bullwhip as he lazily prepared to lash her again. “Now what is your name?”
Heather wasn’t about to tell him anything useful, but maybe she could stall him and buy her and Enya time to escape. “Con…” she cleared her throat and began again in a whimpering voice, “Constance.”
“Excellent! See now what harm was there in telling me your name?” He had walked up right behind her now stepped in front and gripped her by the chin, turning her head from side to side as he examined her. “I see what you mean, she is decent-looking. It’s a shame the Boss is going to reduce her to a leaden lump before he is through with her.” He said to the burley pirate. “Perhaps we could just keep her and not tell him we found her.”
“That would suit me just fine, but you know the crew has seen her. One of those rats would be sure to squeal and then what would the Boss do to us?”
“You have a point. I suppose we shall have to continue.” He turned back to Heather. “Although, My Pet, if you were to cooperate, we could not only spare all this unpleasantness, but I suspect I could talk the Boss into releasing you to me. I assure you your life will be a lot longer and far more pleasant than it will if the Boss questions you. Most do not survive his interrogations, especially the women, at least not for long.”
Heather whimpered again and squeezed a tear out of one eye, pretending to be cowed and compliant, as if one lashing was all it would take. She wasn’t sure how many more than the one she could endure, but she really didn’t want to find out. She’d had two hours to come up with plausible, yet completely false answers to his questions that she hoped would satisfy him for a while.
“Now, how many rangers were at the Gathering and where was it held?” He asked her rubbing the coiled whip down her pale cheek. The rough leather made her skin crawl and she couldn’t help but look at it with fear. Not wanting to appear too easy, she was a ranger after all, she clamped her mouth shut and shook her head. Not having to fake the tears as she waited for the lash to fall again.
She screamed again when it slapped her back and buttock, ripping the cloth of her shirt. “PLeeeasse…stop!” she gasped, again not faking it. She had never before experienced such pain. Her unhealed shoulder wound was now bleeding again as well as the welts rising up on her back. She’d take a crossbow bolt over a whip any day, she thought, cringing away from him as far as she could as he plied her with the same questions.
“You can make it stop, all you have to do is tell me what I want to know.” He said reasonably, holding the whip handle up while standing off to her other side. Heather turned her head and tried to cover her face with her arm as she refused to answer him yet again. This time he slashed across her belly and the pain was so unnerving and intense that her scream was silent. She was sucking in her breath rather than letting it out. She began to sob in earnest.
“Please, no more,” she whispered hoarsely and hung her head in defeat. “I will tell you.” Then she cried, hoping that would convince him she was broken. He asked her again and she gave her false answers. There were more questions and when she hesitated too long before answering she got another lash until all it took was for him to raise the whip handle before she blurted out an answer. She hoped the answers were close enough to the truth to be convincing but not so close that they could gain any useful information from her. With any luck the information she fed to them would backfire on them and it would end up ruining their plans. At least that was her plan.
They finally cut her down and tossed her back into the cell with Enya and locked the door back up to let them stew for a while longer.
Heather stayed where she fell and curled into a ball, moaning in agony, but as soon as the footsteps faded away she quieted and smiled reassuringly to Enya. “I am okay, I think. Just need to get these wounds to stop bleeding. Wish I had my pack.” She hurt so bad she didn’t want to move, but knew she needed to reapply the bandage to her shoulder. Carefully she sat up, cross-legged on the deck. “Can you do anything for it?” She asked Enya, hoping maybe they had left her with something useful. If not they would probably be best to use the tattered back of her shirt, since it was already ruined. She just figured she was going to need it for warmth when the sun went down, so she really didn’t want to cut it up. “I think they tore the stitches in my shoulder, but at least they should leave you alone now.”
At least she hoped they wouldn’t call Enya over to verify anything. Maybe Heather should brief her on everything she’d said – assuming she could remember everything. She had been quite distracted from the pain.
“Guess we are going to wait until dark now, then we will make our move.” She still wasn’t sure how she was going to accomplish this, but she figured something would come to mind.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 6, 2012 19:22:28 GMT -5
Enya wathed the guy closely as he took heather away, this made her angery. Enya wanted more than anything to threw these guys over bored to save herself and her mentor. But that would not be easy.. The young girl waited for what felt like forever till she was back. Enya was quckly by her side to try and help stop the bleeding some how . " Its not long till dark it seems.. maybe if we can some how get these bars to move apart more i can get threw and then swim for help." Enya said throwing out a sudgestion
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(OCC: Grammar and spelling corrected by Staff:)
Enya watched the guy closely as he took Heather away. This made her angry. Enya wanted more than anything to throw these guys over board to save herself and her mentor. But that would not be easy.
The young girl waited for what felt like forever till Heather was back. Enya was quickly by her side to try and help stop the bleeding some how. "It’s not long till dark it seems. Maybe if we can some how get these bars to move apart more I can get through and then swim for help," Enya said, throwing out a suggestion.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 7, 2012 22:15:03 GMT -5
“Yeah, maybe two more hours until dark,” Heather grunted as she stood up and swayed on her feet for a moment. “Let’s take a look again at this cage. There has to be an end to the wire someplace…” she mused as she tried to trace one of the wires near the floor back to its end. “If we can get to an end of these bottom two wires I think we can separate them enough to squeeze through between the bamboo poles.”
She followed the wire back to the corner that butted up against the next room. She realized then that it wasn’t the interrogation room like she had thought. There seemed to be a darkened room between their cage and the room she had just been tortured in. ‘It must be narrow like the short hallway between the two doors,’ she thought as she tried to peer through the cracks between the bamboo. It was too dark inside to see anything. ‘Now I wonder what is in there. Perhaps Little Boss has some valuables locked in there.’ She would love to be able to deal him a financial blow, but the chances of that were slim.
Finally her poking around resulted in her pricking her finger on the end of the wire. “Aha!” She exclaimed. “I found it!” She managed to uncoil it from around the wire on the other wall and slowly worked the wire back away from the corner until she reached a slightly wider crack between the poles, then she let Enya take over. “Here keep pulling that loose as far down this wall as you can.”
She went back to the corner and located the end of the wire on the strand above the one she had just liberated and began to unthread it back from between the bamboo poles. Pushing on the poles resulted in the bottoms moving slightly, but not enough to let them get through. So Heather undid the next strand up as well.
All of this took quite a bit of time, and so by the time they had unstrung enough wire to allow them through, the sun was setting behind the barge.
Heather used the last little bit of light they had to make a map using some of the stalks of straw they had in one corner. She showed Enya where the rivers were, where she thought they were on the river and where to find the nearest castle to get help. “Assume some of the peasants nearby to here are eith informants for the pirates, or too afraid to help you or tell you anything. Your best bet is to get to a castle and ask to see the highest ranking official present.” Heather instructed Enya. “Remember, if things go south and you can still get away, go ahead and get out of here and leave me behind.”
“Okay, as soon as they start to settle down from all this drink they are consuming right now, we will sneak out of here. You get the horses undone. If you can release all the horses in the picket line, it will cause more confusion if they are running around the barge or trying to jump into the river. Then you get overboard with Stormy and swim for shore. Once there, ride like mad for this castle.” Heather explained her plan in a very low voice, right in Enya’s ear.
“Meanwhile I am going to make my way into the next room and get our gear. If I get lucky I may be able to deal a blow to this ‘Little Boss’ guy while I am at it.” She checked what the pirates were doing again and happened to see that Little Boss was out of his office room and swigging a bit of ale himself after their dinner. Heather didn’t’ care much for ale, but the sight of the jug made her crave a drink of water. She hadn’t had a drink or any food since they had captured her that morning. She was very thirsty and her throat was hoarse from being so dry and all the screaming she had done earlier.
Most of the pirates were congregated in the middle of the barge just beyond where the horses were tethered and were sitting on crates and barrels while passing a jug of ale around and talking. They were making a fair amount of noise and Heather thought maybe now was as good a time as any to try and make their escape.
She pulled the poles apart far enough so that Enya could squeeze through and then followed Enya, just barely fitting through the slats. She scraped her raw back and stomach on the poles and had to pause for a moment to deal with the pain before they could continue. So far no one had noticed them, but then the biggest share of the pirates were around on the other side of the bamboo cage.
Heather motioned for Enya to go do her part and then she began to work her way around the bamboo structure so she could get inside Little boss’s room to get their pack and weapons.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Jun 8, 2012 15:19:23 GMT -5
Enya nodded and slowly began to make her way to the horses, pausing slightly we she kept an eye on the guys. Once she got to where the horses where she began to untie them. Once the horses realized that they were freed they started to panic. Enya ducked down next to stormy, who stayed there next to her. “Who let the darn horses free?” One of the people hissed as they all scatted to grab the horses before they could hurt them self or jump off the ship. One of them noticed Enya “guys the girls escaped get her!!” He said rushing at Enya
“Time to go” Enya said quickly to her and leaped on Storm’s back. Seconds later, they raced to the side of the ship and plunged into the water. Storm swam to shore once on land he ran off into the woods. Enya looked back, she hated having to leave Heather.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 9, 2012 19:04:55 GMT -5
While Enya was making her way carefully to the horses, Heather slipped the opposite direction around the hut. She pulled a belaying pin out of a bucket on the deck as she slipped along the edge of the hut. The man guarding their cell had stepped out from the door slightly so he could see the other pirates carousing further down the deck. Heather saw Enya inching along, in plain site of the guard and knew she had to act swiftly or they would both be recaptured.
Slipping up next to the guard silently, as she was known for in the Ranger Corps, she rapped the man hard on the side of the head with the wooden pin. With a “whoompf!” he slumped to the ground and Heather arranged him so it would like he was sleeping. She slipped into the empty interrogation room and tried to find her and Enya’s belongings in the dark. Enya’s pack and weapons were where Heather remembered seeing them before and she slung them over her aching and bleeding shoulder, wanting to keep her good arm free for when it came time to mount Shasta.
Her own pack was more difficult to find and after a quick search now that her eyes were more adjusted to the dark, she realized it was on the table at the end of the room and several items had been pulled out. She quickly shoved everything on the table into her pack and grabbed her bow, arrows and double knife quiver, placing them all in their accustomed places.
As she slipped back out the door, there was a commotion among the pirates, “Who let the darn horses free?” Heather saw Enya leap onto Stormy’s back and head for the edge of the barge. She gave a low double whistle and saw Shasta barrel toward her, kicking a pirate that tried to stop her which sent the pirate sprawling, knocking down two others. Heather heard a splash just as Shasta reached her and she moved to swing up onto her, wishing she that their saddles and bedrolls hadn’t been left back in Brockton Foorde. Heater saw Stormy swimming for shore and heard Little Boss yelling at several men to jump overboard and go after her.
Heather urged Shasta to keep going as she sprang onto her back on the fly, their gear pulling painfully on her bad shoulder, but she ignored the pain and directed Shasta to jump off the edge of the barge.
She held her breath and hit the water hard, nearly looking her grip on the piebald mare and held her breath as they momentarily went under the churning water. Shasta fought the current until Heather guided her down stream, crossing with the current and soon they were scrambling out the eroding bank on the east side of the river. Heather shivered with the cold and risked a glance back just as Shasta started to gallop back upriver and inland. She hoped to intersect with Enya’s path, but it would be difficult in the dark.
She had heard two splashes after own and figured there were two men on foot trying to follow her, assuming they hadn’t drowned in the fast moving river water. But she knew they were hardly out of the woods. Little Boss would ground the barge and send the men upriver after them, of that she had no doubt. They were going to have to keep moving and hopefully with having released their horses, most of whom went into the water before Enya did, they would have a hard time following her and Enya.
Heather got to a point where she figured Enya should have come out of the river and slowed Shasta to a walk, giving the horse a moment to catch her breath. Heather listened and thought she could hear the faint sound of galloping hooves up ahead and farther inland. She listened for a moment and caught the sound again, confirming the location and turned Shasta toward the sound, angling for an intercept course.
Within ten minutes she could see Enya and gave a sharp whistle and called her name, “Enya! Wait up a moment!”
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