Forest RUN

Lynn swiped her hand through her short blond hair and took out a few stray leaves she'd picked up on her run. She'd been making good progress but her muscles felt spent and she knew she'd have to rest soon. She was close to her goal but stumbling in to the foresters' station would only cause ridicule with the others. Technically they weren't direct colleagues but she'd been their messenger for the past five years and she felt they were closer than the other runners at Acicade. Maybe that had also something to do with a silent blue-eyed man that she'd been trying to get to talk to her. 
She walked a bit and then sat down to rest. She took some sandwiches and a bottle of water from her small backpack and took the time to replenish her reserves. The forests around Acicade Castle were vast and though there were small communities, they could mostly be found near the edges. Only the most desperate people ventured deeper into the forest to make their home. Some were loners, hermits who sought solitude, but some had bad intentions and used the forests to hide. 
Today Lynn was bringing a mission request to look and neutralise a band of thieves that had become quite troublesome. Other times she brought them requests to clear a patch of land or to go investigate something that the drak scouts had seen from the above. And they had perpetual tasks of checking for fire and dangerous situation, monitoring the wildlife and generally looking for suspicious activity. 
Having rested enough, Lynn got up again and jogged the remaining 2 miles toward the station. She was greeted by the sight of Morphe acting like he was walking a catwalk, his vulpa Resh draped across his shoulders and a piece of cloth wrapped around his torso. The young man was doing a great job of walking on his tiptoes, even adding some sway to his hips. On the porch Rayne, the forester in command, was laughing wildly. Her curly black hair bouncing in time with her heaving breath. To the side, Lynn noticed Xetho quietly watching. He had noticed her as well and she smiled when in greeting.
"It's work." Xetho commented, bringing Lynn down a bit with his dry assessment.
"Welcome Lynn, what messages have you got for us today?" Rayne asked as she came closer.
"I have a request from the Castle and a few personal letters." Lynn replied.
She handed over the personal mail to Rayne to distribute later and then gave the overseer the larger envelope that contained the mission details. Lynn knew what it said, she'd been given the instructions before she left in case something happened to the written message.
"The drak patrols have noticed some unusual activity about 8 miles north of here." Rayne summarised, "We're tasked to go and see what it's about but they're expecting bandits."
Morphe perked up and whooped in anticipation. He didn't mind the actual foresting, but he liked some excitement every now and then. Even if they just stumbled upon a new hermit or maybe found a campsite from some travelling fair, this would break the routine. Though all there was 8 miles north of them was nearly impenetrable woods. The drak patrols were right to report it. 
"I'll get packing." Xetho supplied and went inside the cabin.
Lynn followed him in to get a drink and a bit of time off her feet. She enjoyed the view and grinned when he caught her staring. Even that didn't get Xetho to acknowledge her. Maybe she'd better give up on the man. But then he talked to her and her worries were forgotten.
"Like what you see?"
"You're not that bad from the back." she teased, "If you'd shave your beard and cut your hair you'd be perfect. But that's just me."
"Maybe I'm just waiting for someone to like me for my inside personality."
Lynn laughed, "Quiet, brooding mountain man? I think you don't need to work on that."
"I figured." Xetho said back quietly, "Will you be here when we return?"
Xetho knew that was the usual MO for Lynn. She would take whatever report they gave her and head back to Acicade. He knew she made more trips back and forth then she actually had to do which kept them up to date with what was happening in civilisation and he appreciated that. She was also nice to look at and she had a sense of humour. Still, they spent too little time together to know if something could happen between them.
"I'm actually coming with you." Lynn said, "Just in case you get into trouble."
This time Xetho laughed and asked, "They don't seem to have a lot of faith in us."
Rayne and Morphe entered the cabin and the overseer said: "I think they're worried."
"Worried?" Morphe asked.
"Worried that the bandit group is larger than the previous bands we scattered."
Morphe felt a cold shudder run down his spine and he suppressed his usual instinct of cracking a joke. If Rayne was all business then he needed to follow suit. The foresters were a team and though they were different people, they knew how to work together when it mattered. 
"I hope Doshi is okay." Morphe said.
"Chances are he's the one who signaled the drak patrol." Rayne nodded, "last time I saw him he mentioned something about a well-organised group uniting some of the small rebel bands. They couldn't have stayed hidden for that period of time if they weren't good."
Rayne didn't really worry about the undercover man they had working for them. Doshi had been headed in all the wrong directions before she'd given him a purpose. Doshi knew how to stay low-key. He wouldn't endanger his own life if there wasn't an urgent matter that twisted his hand. Which let Rayne to believe that the bandits were planning something pretty bad. 
"It's a bad coincidence that Giles is out on another mission. I'd prefer to have a medic with us for this mission. But there's no helping it. As it stands Giles isn't far away and should be here when we return."
"If we're lucky the Wo Yao Fei draks will still be around." Xetho commented.
"Maybe." Rayne acquiesced, "We can leave a note for them."
They planned ahead while they packed and prepared as best they could. As Rayne saw it, they would first assess the situation, if possible get Doshi to tell them what was wrong and then make a decision about what to do. But as always, plans weren't guaranteed to work. If something unforeseen were to happen, they would scatter and regroup at the cabin where Giles would hopefully already be waiting with backup. 

Doshi kept his eyes nearly closed and watched the girl skulk around the hideout. He understood her plight but her behaviour had grown increasingly bold over the past months. She acted meek and clumsy during the day, but when she thought no-one was looking she sometimes let her act drop. Doshi was far from a law-abiding citizen, but he also wasn't a crook. He was more of a fringe-operating deputy or bounty hunter and if possible he didn't want the young woman to get hurt. And if she tried to escape and the others caught her, her life would be in actual danger. For now he could only keep watch though as the group of bandits was preparing to raid a village. Sometimes working on the proper side of the law had it's drawbacks. He couldn't just drop his cover to save the girl if it meant endangering an entire village. Rayne would have his hide for that. So when he heard people approaching, he made certain to stir enough to alert Odette to cease her activities and return to her sleeping bag.
Odette cringed when she heard Doshi stir in his sleep. She'd been as quiet as a mouse so he was probably just having a bad dream, but she couldn't risk him waking up and finding her there. With the practiced ease of a cave lizard, she scuttled away and quickly crawled back into her sleeping bag, feeling the warm body of her vulpa Rikki press against her.
Just after she'd hidden, she heard the others return and counted her blessings that she'd not been out in the room. She'd been a part of this group for 9 years, kidnapped by her father when she was just 7. As a child things hadn't been so bad. She'd been allowed to run around and play. She was on the short and slender side but as time moved on there was no denying that she was growing up to be a young woman and she'd been getting looks that she wasn't comfortable with. So far her father had kept the others at bay but she knew that that was just so he could offer her to the bandit leader. Odette sometimes wondered why he'd ever kidnapped her in the first place, it's not like he'd taught her anything or kept her company. An older woman she suspected was her grandmother had raised her. But the old woman had died last winter, leaving her without a single ally. Which was why she needed to get out. Odette knew the bandits were planning something big. Most of them would leave the hideout and she hoped she'd be able to escape at that time. So she'd started sneaking away supplies and food. Things she could keep hidden and wouldn't be missed immediately. But it was getting harder to hide them as the tension rose and bandits started to fight among themselves. It wouldn't be long now. She closed her eyes and prayed that she would go unnoticed for another day.

Giles had wrapped up his mission just half a day earlier and had gotten a ride home from the knight pair he'd headed out with. Hywll and Fire Ijkios had been showing their squires how to patrol forested areas that were vaster than the forests around Wo Yao Fei which was located on an island. Some of these squires would join the armadas at Acicade Castle and both castles would benefit from this agreement. Every now and then one of the squires had an accident landing in the forest which was why they always asked for a medic to be present. Giles was more used to human injuries but scrapes and bruises weren't that different on draks. 
As soon as they touched down, Giles noticed that something was amiss. Usually he'd see one of the others outside but the cabin was locked up and shuttered. Hywll waited while Giles went to check inside. 
"Can I ask you to stay a little longer?" Giles called after he'd found and read the note.
"Something wrong?" Hywll asked back.
"Hopefully not. But apparently my colleagues were asked to check out a possible bandit hideout and they suspect that they might need to convey a message depending on what they find."
"We saw some knights from some of the Northern castles around when we flew down here. Maybe they called it in?" Hywll wondered.
Giles shrugged and proceeded to open up the cabin. He tried not to worry but it was in his nature to try to be prepared. So out came his supplies and he counted and prepped anything he could, even if he knew he'd done a check of his supplies before he'd gone on his own mission. It beat waiting. 

The next morning dawned early and bright, not giving a single clue that something was about to happen. Inside the bandit hideout Odette got up, got dressed and went to check her stash. Any day now she'd need to be ready to move. She'd heard the men talk last night and it wouldn't be long now. 
On the other side of the cavern they used as base Doshi watched her move and made certain to obscure some of her movements. He had a pretty good idea about what Odette wanted to do and if she could get away she'd certainly find help. She'd been in these forests long enough to not lose her way or do something stupid. It'd have to be enough. He could give her description to Rayne when he next met her and the foresters would look for her. 
Just a little bit down to the south, the small group of foresters got ready. They made camp last night and had quietly gone to observe the bandits. There were sentries but they hadn't been too focused on their jobs, clearly excited and already thinking about the action that was to come. Rayne hadn't been able to locate Doshi but maybe she'd be able to get to him today. 
Morphe made certain to keep Resh close and quiet, but his vulpa was well-trained and read the mindset of his owner flawlessly. There were times for fun, and times for work. Xetho made certain Lynn knew what was going to happen, briefing her one last time about her job. Rayne, Morphe and Xetho would approach the camp from three different directions and Lynn would keep lookout on the Southern edge. The three foresters would try to gather as much information and determine how many people were present. If possible they would seize the camp, if not they would retreat with the information. If anything went wrong, Lynn was to run back to the cabin and alert Giles and then the knights with the signal fire they kept at the cabin for disasters and urgencies. 
The three foresters were about 15 minutes away from Lynn when all hell broke loose. The ground beneath her feet shook, shuddered and then quaked. Struggling to keep her balance, Lynn watched as rocks started falling from the sky, rolling down the cliff. Fissures appeared and the bandits swarmed to the open space in front of their hideout, leaving the caverns and cliff-dwellings as fast as they could. She waited, but as the calamity increased the chaos, Lynn knew that all she could do was run back and alert Giles. Rayne, Xetho and even Morphe would be able to survive better than she could, and the bandits wouldn't be able to carry out their plan for a couple of days anyway. Getting reinforcements was what she could do. Running back would take over half a day, moving through the thick vegetation, she had no time to lose.
It was well past noon when Lynn finally made it back to the cabin. She nearly collapsed when she saw Giles. The medic supported her and helped her inside where Hywll was still waiting. Both of them had heard the rumbling but sounds echoed off the mountains and it was difficult to say what had happened. Lynn filled them in on what she knew and only an hour later they were on their way. Hywl had called in reinforcements from the nearby Acicade Castle and an able group of 6 knight pairs headed for the hideout. But when they got there all that was left were a few bodies and an empty camp. The knights swiped the vicinity but they couldn't find Rayne, Xetho nor Morphe. 
"Don't be too worried." Hywll tried to comfort Lynn, "I know there are other knights in the vicinity. Ijkios has noticed them. It's likely that they came to the aid of the people here. Whether they were bandits or law-abiding wouldn't matter when their lives are at stake. I'll send word to the other castles to keep a look out for people of their description."
"Don't forget Doshi." Giles added, "He could tell us a lot about what happened here."
"I'll take you two with me to Wo Yao Fei, I'll be able to keep you up to date easier that way."
"Stop by the cabin, I'll leave a message for the others in case they return."
"Of course."

Xetho felt the ground give way beneath him and he could only grasp at the edge of a widening crevasse. He was lucky to crawl back onto solid ground but was pummelled by falling rocks. When he came to, a girl was sitting beside him, clutching a backpack.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, who are you?"
"Who are you? I haven't seen you around."
Still feeling a bit dazed from the hit to his head, Xetho fell silent and processed. The young woman didn't seem dangerous, she looked scared and worried. Haunted even. Making a quick decision Xetho went with the truth and told her his name and function.
Hope lit in her eyes, "I'm Odette, can you get me out of here, I want to get back to my family."
Xetho nodded and started moving away from the mountain. Luckily the rockslide seemed to have settled but the ground was still quivering and debris was all around, obscuring their view. But it also kept them hidden which might be a good thing considering. 
Suddenly a man came around from one of the boulders. Xetho froze and twisted to keep Odette behind him, ready to fight the bandit that had appeared.
"Are you with Rayne?" the man asked, surprising Xetho.
Xetho nodded and waited, relaxing slightly. Odette peered from behind his back and tensed, wanting to run away. Xetho tensed again. Doshi held yp his hands in surrender and talked as fast as he could:
"Don't worry. Mt name is Doshi, I've been giving you information. Rayne must have told you something about me. I lit a fire when the draks flew over because things were about to take a turn for the worse. I want to help you. I really do. I can guide you to where I saw the knights."
Xetho waited for Odette to react. When she relaxed, he did as well and motioned for Doshi to lead them away. But Odette stayed put and said: "Rikki."
Doshi understood and whistled, a small yellow flash of fur appearing from the bushes.
"How did you do that?" Odette asked.
"Bribes." Doshi shrugged, "This way, hurry."
Doshi quickly headed for the safety and shelter of the trees and led them north along the mountains and away from Acicade. Xetho wondered about that but patrols had been known to fly strange patterns to surprise bandits before. They'd walked for the better part of three hours when the forest started to change and they reached a clearing. Inside they saw a forest drak with a dark-skinned, black-haired knight. 
"We mean no harm." Doshi called, "We need help."
"Did you get caught in the quake?" Mary, the knight asked, "I'm a bit out of the way but I'm from Chindor Castle. Me and my drak were out here enjoying a little vacation when we felt the tremors. 
Odette stepped forward and hugged the woman, "It was terrible."
"Things will be alright dear, I'll take you to my castle and we can go from there."
"I need to return to find my crew." Xetho said.
"Don't worry, Issnidi told me her mate is close by and will likely be heading there to rescue whoever might still be out there. He'll know where to find me."
"I can only ferry two of you out at most." she continued.
"You can leave me be, I can fend for myself." Doshi insisted.
"Are you sure?" Xetho asked, willing to be the one staying behind.
"It's better that no-one sees me with you. I'll make contact with Rayne when I can."
Xetho nodded and followed Mary, Odette to Issnidi. After the three of them had taken off, Doshi turned around, intending to go look for a place where he could stay when he felt an odd presence. 
"That was very gallant of you." a voice said.
A dark-haired man stepped from the shadows, followed by a dark night drak. Doshi couldn't believe he hadn't noticed them before. 
"We didn't want to make our presence known yet. Let's just say we have our reasons. I can take you to Wilgen Castle if you want. I'm sure you'll be able to rest up a bit."
"I haven't heard of Wilgen Castle though."
"We pride ourselves in being keepers of secrets. Don't worry, it's real. So are you coming?"
"I guess." Doshi shrugged.

Morphe felt the earth move and fell down to his knees. A tree in his vicinity toppled and fell down. He heard people cry out and saw rocks falling. Resh jumped down from his neck and started weaving through the trees. Trusting his pet blindly, Morphe followed and was with Rayne within minutes.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Rock slide." she said, "earthquake must have destabilised something on top of the cliff."
"What do we do?"
"Lynn will have started back to the cabin for help by now." Rayne mused, "Let's look for Xetho before we head back."
Morphe nodded and gave Resh the command to look for their team-member. The little vulpa however sat down and didn't move.
"What's wrong Resh?" Morphe asked.
The vulpa cried and in stead turned away, leading them deeper into the bushes. Morphe went after him. Rayne hesitated for a moment but then followed, believing they'd better stick together for now. The vulpa led them north-east, away from both the hideout and the cabin. Rayne wasn't convinced the creature was leading them toward Xetho, but where else could it be taking them? Apparently a nearby knight pair had swayed Resh to come to them. They could use the help of the draks for sure. The knights were a small group of three pairs, resting about an hour away from the hideout. Well they had been resting but now were on high alert.
"We need help." Rayne said, taking charge as she was used to doing.
"The earthquake?" one of the knights asked.
"We were just about to take down a group of bandits when a rock slide hit their camp. At least one of our crew is still up there, a second is probably heading back for help and we had a spy on the inside. There seemed to be at least two dozen bandits at the site. A lot of them might have fled but there's bound to be a few wounded."
"We'll go check it out." one of the knights said and turned to one of his crew: "You take these two back to Drockh-Tallahn for medical care."
Before Rayne and Morphe could protest they were headed to Drockh-Tallahn Castle and could only wait for news about the others. 

Stats and Draks:
Xetho - Rayne - Doshi - Morphe - Lynn - Giles - Odette

All images were made by me with images found on the web.