Capítulo 31: Misled
Like violent thunder, the many sounds of hooves pounding on the ground filled the air. This dense forest surrounded us, making the visibilty very minimal. Only few rays of the moonlight made their way through the thick foliage of the company that sat over our heads. Faint outlines of the trees barely gave away their positions as we weaved around their thick trunks. Dead twigs and branches along with dead leaves crunched underneath us as we stromed through the thick woods.
Despite our urgency, I was enjoying the heavy smell of the oak woods that surrounded us. It filled and wafted through my nose, clouding my thoughts. Despite our urgent pace, the night was calm. Critters slept quietly in their homes, not making a peep despite our reckless stomping. It was so peaceful, that it almost seemed as if we where taking a casual ride through the forest. But with the peace of the night, it almost was a sign of danger.
With every second of the passing quiet night, I grew more wary. Of course I knew that we wouldn't have caught up to Nathanial and Jeremiah by now, but there was something unsettling about the forest. Normally you can hear at least an owl or two, and maybe even the crickets that sang at night. But there was nothing. My nerves where starting to get touchy. Every crack of a twig or branch was starting to make me jump. I was convinced that at any moment, we would be ambushed.
"It's oddly quiet tonight." Marquise casually noted from behind. His voice startled me, causing my to jump in my saddle. My heart pounded fast and loud in my chest, almost like a loud drum. I peeked over my shoulder and barely made out the fine lines of his face. Like his casual tone, his face revealed nothing but contempt.
"Yes, I have a feeling it won't be a quiet night. It might only be a matter of time before we are in combat. The question is, is when?" Marquise grunted in response. Often the way he silently agreed. If we continued to chat, we might miss the quiet approach of foot steps, or the soft whizzing of an arrow passing through the air. I already had to strain my ears over the pounding of hooves. But with the silence, I found myself getting distracted.
The more I tried to focus on our surroundings, the more I found myself listening intently to the horses heavy breathing. Their snorts coming in short and rapid breaths as they pushed themselves to their limits. It wouldn't be too long before they would have to take a break and recover. We had already been traveling for about two hours now, and not once have we seen signs of getting close to Nathanial and Jeremiah.
Everyonce in awhile, Marquise would cup his hands to his face and make small owl noises. It was the best way to quietly communicate with the other party. Everytime we stopped, we where always met with silence. Not once have me caught up to them. So we always dismount and make sure that the tracks we are following, are theirs. As we had saddled up earlier, we learned that the prisoner had stollen a horse.
So they where crossing more distance than I had originally predicted. With having to take time to change, it put us futher behind them. It would only be a matter of time before we caught up to them, but who is to say that won't be when we finally get ambushed.
"Do you think Nathanial and Jeremiah are alright? They may be skilled at hunting, tracking, and scouting, but they are only two people." Micheal rose his voice up over the pounding of hooves. He was slightly behind me on the other side of my horse. His white mare throwing her legs out far and wide to keep up with my black stallion.
"I have complete faith in their skills. When we where ambushed at one of their branches, they fought impressively. I have no doubts they can take care of themselves if they where to get into trouble. But for their sakes, I hope they don't." I called back to Micheal.
"These mercenary bastards are rutheless and cunning. They have the upper hand right now if this was all planned. They know that we will be tailing the escapee, and that gives them plenty of oppurtinity to hide. All it takes is one abrupt event to occur, and these horses will be all over the place. With the panic they cause, they can easily over power us." Marquise's words made the uneasiness to rise up in my chest. Because he was right. Not only to they have the cover of the canopy above our heads, but they also have the element of surprise.
"They didn't have that much of a head start on us, at best we should have at least gotten close to them. But we haven't seen their tails at all. Something doesn't feel right." Micheal noted. His voice seamed calm and collected, but there was still a hint of uneasiness. I couldn't agree more with him either. They where either really fast, or we weren't following the right trail. I held my hand up, slowing my pace to a canter as I observed the dense trees.
"When you questioned the guard before we left, didn't you say they where taking off North?" I asked Marquise. His face read it all as I turned to face him. We had been misled. Anger soared through me and I yanked on the reigns to stop my horse. It neighed loudly in irritation, shaking out its mane before lowering it's head towards the ground.
"Damn it. I thought he was suspicious. But he had been working under us for so long I thought he was just unnerved. I didn't think he would steer us in the wrong direction!" He growled as he pulled his horse next to me. Of course I over looked the most important detail. Why would they be heading north, if the camp was possibly in the West. I just blindly believed we where wrong and followed the direction of a guard. Just goes to show that absolutely no one was trustworthy. Cursing, I palmed my face, trying to calm my nerves.
"This doesn't make sense, why lead us this whole way and not ambush us as soon as we made it out of the territory?" Micheal asked, his brows furrowed in confusion. The question was always why. With the evidence we had gathered, the best option was to start heading west in search of our comrades. If we found the village where the suspicious materials came from, then maybe we can find the mercenary village.
"According to Emmanuel's letter, they have a base in the West. If we can somehow ask the neighboring villages if there is a rogue mercenary camp nearby, maybe we can track them down. Unfortunately this whole thing was planned from the start, so Nathanial and Jeremiah will be in danger. I just hope their skills supersede their reputation." Can they stay alive long enough for us to find them? Was this their way of drawing me out to make me feel desperate?
"You know, it kind of sounds like they are aiming for you Alliah. I think we best start proceeding with caution. We should head West, but you can't tell anyone your name. Keep your hood up and let us do the talking. They will be expecting us I can only assume." I nodded with Marquise, agreeing with his plan. It would be best to stay under the radar, I could also gather more information this way. The West was filled with underclassmen. Beggars, stragglers, and convicts would hide out here to get away from military power. If I could pose as less of a threat, then there would be no issues gathering information.
"Ok, let's head out now. We can start in Milford. I know a guy that still owes me a favor." Michael grinned from ear to ear. I feel like this wasn't something we where suppose to know. Considering how his father is, he would get ripped a new one if the General found out. For the sake of information, I wouldn't let the General find out about his weird connections outside of the Kingdom.
"We are in your care, Michael. But I am curious as to how you have these...connections. Please explain." I said with a grin.
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