Chapter 2

Alicia awakened with the sun, as she had the day before. This time, however, she felt rested. While the dirt floor was a far cry from her feather-stuffed mattress, it was a great improvement over sleeping on sticks and pine cones.

With only a little food remaining, and not enough knowledge to live off the land, she knew that she had to move on. She could only hope that she was moving away from her kidnappers, and not walking right into their arms. After a quiet prayer to the gods to that effect, and another that she might find civilization, Alicia gathered up her meager belongings.

She barely stepped into the doorway, and then almost immediately darted back inside with a gasp. The man standing near the edge of the woods was obviously looking for something — or someone — and his manner of dress looked all too familiar to Alicia. Unwilling to risk another look, she huddled into a shadowed corner and prayed he wouldn't notice the turf house, which blended into its surroundings to some degree. Her hand found her dagger and pulled it from its sheathe, the naked steel in her hand giving her a small measure of comfort.

For long, agonizing minutes, Alicia sat in silence, her heart pounding in her ears. Eventually, her nerves got the better of her, and she risked a look outside. Her brief, darting glance revealed no sign of the man, but she couldn't summon up the courage to take a second, longer look just yet.

The minutes dragged on, and Alicia relaxed a little. She smoothed back her blonde tresses, dislodging a few stray strands that had stuck to her sweat-dampened skin. Her heart ceased to pound, and she decided to look outside once again.

Just as she leaned toward the door, someone appeared in the open portal and blocked the bright summer sun. She couldn't see his face, but she recognized his voice.

"Well, here you are, Pretty."

Alicia screamed.

All three men in the camp perked up their ears when they heard the scream, and turned in the direction from which it emerged. Two shrugged their shoulders and returned to their breakfast, but the third stood. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. Hope he's gettin' as good as he's givin' — lucky bastard. I haven't got my dick wet in weeks."

"I hear that," the other man muttered between bites.

Thakkor grunted, scowling at his two companions on the road. The more time he spent with them, the less he liked them, regardless of their reputation and the work that brought to him. "That scream was terror, and you know it."

The first man shrugged. "Yeah — so what? None of our business."

"None of our business?" Thakkor asked incredulously, stepping toward the two men.

"None of our business," he replied, stressing each word in a tone that bordered on a veiled threat.

"You go running off playing the noble knight again, and you can just keep running. We're tired of it," the second man added, gesturing with the dagger he was using to carve his meal for emphasis.

Thakkor drew his sword and growled, "To hell with the both of you."

As he turned his back on them and jogged in the direction from which the scream had emerged, the two men just looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Put it down, Pretty. I owe you for stealing that, and for bustin' up my nose, and for losing me my pay. I'm the one to drag you back, and maybe the boss'll at least give me my coin. You don't put that down, and I'm going to make sure you regret it."

Alicia backed away, her dagger held before her in a surprisingly steady hand. She could sense the wall behind her, and turned slightly to move toward the center of the tiny interior of the crude house. She knew she was running out of room, and options.

He lunged at her to grab her wrist, but Alicia reacted instinctively. Her lessons in the Baron's courtyard took control of her, moving the dagger in a deft slash that opened the man's arm.

He screamed, "Ah! You fucking whore!" Clutching the bleeding cut, he growled in low, ominous tones, "Maybe I'll just have some fun with you, then cut your throat, and cut my losses."

Alicia glanced toward the doorway for a fraction of a second, the open portal calling to her. Though she knew that she had little hope of reaching it, she prepared to try anyway. Just as her muscles tensed and she tried to plant her feet to sprint, she stumbled over a bit of broken crockery on the floor.

He was upon her in an instant, his eyes full of malevolent triumph. He grasped her wrist, but she managed to jerk one away before he could grip it firmly. He continued forward, slamming them both into the wall and causing dirt to rain down from above. Alicia's eyes closed from the pain, and she cried out.

When she opened her eyes, she saw surprise in his. He opened his mouth and let out a coughing wheeze, a bubble of blood emerging to spatter her face. He leaned away slowly, and Alicia felt a tug on her right hand. She looked down to see a spreading dark stain on his chest, and the dagger she held dripping blood.

He fell to his knees, continuing to wheeze as his eyes glazed over. Alicia stood paralyzed as he collapsed into an unmoving heap upon the hard-packed earth, a crimson puddle spreading slowly from beneath him.

Alicia's senses returned to her in a rush, a sobbing gasp bursting from her. She quickly walked away from the man in the floor, gathering up her bag, gourds, and blanket again. Now, more than ever, she knew she had to leave this place, as fast as her legs could carry her.

Once again, someone appeared in the doorway just as she tried to exit. As before, she screamed, but this time she lashed out with her bloodstained dagger as well.

"Shit!" Thakkor cursed as he put his shield between him and the flashing blade. He backed away, holding his sword out wide in what he hoped was an unthreatening gesture, but wisely keeping his shield between him and the wild-eyed blonde woman. "Peace!"

Alicia stared at him nervously, not knowing what to do. He lowered his shield and cautiously sheathed his sword, looking into her eyes and repeating, "Peace." He was dressed well, if a bit dirty from the road. His dark hair and beard were well trimmed, and he certainly looked nothing like any of those she'd seen in the camp of kidnappers. Her white-knuckled grip on the hilt of the dagger softened slightly as she tried to decide what to make of the man.

"Not going to hurt you," he said as he pulled his hand away from his now sheathed sword. "I heard you scream, and I thought you needed help." Looking at the bloody dagger in her hand, and remembering the strength of her attack, he contemplated the dichotomy of that compared to her beautiful, lithe form. Seeing her blue eyes soften a little, he said, "My name's Thakkor." He waited for a few seconds, and then asked, "What's yours?"

"A-alicia," she finally answered, letting her knife drop slowly to her side as the adrenaline drained from her body.

"Okay, Alicia, are you hurt?"

"I ... No, not physically. You're not one of them, are you?"

"I don't know who them is, but no. I just heard you scream, and I couldn't ignore that."

"Can you help me?" she sobbed, breaking down and letting the dagger fall into the grass at her feet.

"I'll do my best. What happened?" He approached slowly, barely able to see the body on the floor of the turf house. He bent and picked up her dagger, wiping it on the grass to clean it somewhat.

"I was kidnaped. I have no idea where I am, or where I'm going. One of them found me." She gestured back into the low structure and then choked off a sob, her body trembling as she remembered the feeling of the man sliding off the blade of her dagger.

Thakkor finished wiping the blade clean with a cloth strapped to his sword sheathe. "It's okay. Let's get away from here and let you clean up a little. I'll get your things."

Alicia nodded her head and walked away from the doorway as Thakkor hefted the bag and her other impromptu supplies. "I think I saw a creek back there as I was running up here," he suggested, and led her that way across the overgrown remnants of a long abandoned garden.

Alicia knelt to wash in the cool, fast moving water, scrubbing at the blood on her hands and face, and feeling as if it wouldn't wash away. She was glad for the presence of the man, Thakkor, and gladder still that he had the intuition to stand close enough for comfort, but not too close.

"I guess the best place to start is where you are. We're a little south of Dalaria, in Ferrartene. Where are you from?"

"Freeland," Alicia answered, the sound of his voice soothing, and helping to distract her from the events of the last few minutes.

"The country, or the city?"

"The city," Alicia answered. "I don't know the name Dalaria."

"It's in the far south of Ferrartene. You're a good ways from home, but not too far from the nearest garrison in Armand."

Alicia looked up at him, her cheeks warming a little when a small part of her mind piped up to remark about how attractive he was. She pushed the thought aside and asked, "Could you help me find my way home? I can pay a little now, and my father is very wealthy..."

"Whoa," Thakkor laughed, holding up his hand. "Now, I wouldn't mind a little pay, as I just walked away from my meal ticket, but I wouldn't be much of a man if I left you out here all alone. Let's just get you home for now, and worry about all that later."

"Thank you," she said, noticing that he had a very charming smile as they looked into each other's eyes.

He cleared his throat and looked away for a moment. "Oh, here you are," he said, handing her back her dagger. "Looks like you handle that pretty well. You don't look the part, but I guess looks are deceiving."

Alicia apprehensively took the blade, remembering all too well what had happened the last time she'd held it.

"Just put it back in the sheathe. It's never an easy thing to kill a man, even one that's rotten to the core. If you need to talk about it..."

Alicia shook her head emphatically, but she did as he suggested and slipped the dagger back into its sheathe. She felt a little queasy from the sense of comfort that the blade brought her, knowing that it had snuffed out someone's life only minutes before.

Deciding that the man was probably unworthy of burial, and assuming that she was in no shape to wait while he did so, Thakkor left the dead kidnapper where he was. "Let's get walking. There's a village not to far to the south, and it's closer to home for you. We can get something to eat and a bed that's not on the ground there. We can probably reach it by nightfall, and I doubt anyone is going to risk anything there with so many prying eyes about."

Alicia nodded and offered a wan smile. Thakkor hefted her bag into a more comfortable position and gestured with his head to follow. She fell into step next to him, a sense of relief flooding through her as she considered his friendly manner and the sword he carried with such ease. He reminded her of Trell, and that sat well with her, indeed.

What was once a terrifying flight from an unknown fate transformed into a pleasant stroll through the unspoiled countryside.

"Hardly Freeland, but it's civilization," Thakkor declared as they crested a flower-spotted hill an hour or two before dusk.

Alicia breathed a sigh of relief. Though the sedate pace was far less taxing than her previous, nervous flights, she still ached to the very bone. The sight of people going about their daily business was a welcome one.

Thakkor felt his heart leap when he saw her smile. Damn me, but she's beautiful, he thought. "Let's get on down there and see if we can get a room at the inn."

With a real destination in sight, the walk to the village felt even longer to Alicia than the entirety of the journey before it. Relief flooded through her as they passed between the first of the two log buildings at the end of the muddy road bisecting the community. Thakkor led her unerringly, obviously having passed this way before and knowing exactly where to go.

The tavern just inside the doors of the inn made Alicia nervous, as she'd never seen the inside of such an establishment before. She'd heard numerous stories, however, and many of them were unpleasant. When she relented and took a breath, she was relieved not to smell the unwelcome stench described to her in hushed whispers. The floor and tables all appeared clean, and nothing looked as though it had been cobbled back together several times.

Though the relatively tidy and clean nature of both the establishment and the patrons lessened her worry, she stayed close to Thakkor as he crossed the wide-planked floor to the man behind the bar.

"We need a couple of rooms."

"Got a couple freed up just this afternoon. Two silver per night, and we'll be serving supper here in a bit." The barkeep eyed the stein he had just wiped clean as he spoke, and sat it down as he finished.

Thakkor reached for his coin purse, knowing that the cost was going to severely cut into his remaining funds.

"Please, let me. If you will hand me my bag?"

"Okay," Thakkor replied, handing her the bag.

Alicia rummaged through it and located her small coin purse. Thakkor's eyes widened when he saw the glittering gold and silver coins within the silk pouch. While it was mere pocket change to Alicia, it could represent a full month's wages to him. He wondered how it was that whoever had abducted her had not taken the coin the moment they had her.

Alicia placed the coins in front of the bartender and asked, "Do you have a bath house?"

A woman stepped out of a doorway behind the bar and answered, "Yes, Dear, we do. I do washing and mending as well, if you're in need."

"Yes — thank the gods," Alicia breathed with a hint of laughter.

"Come along then, Dear. Let's get you cleaned up and feeling better."

Alicia happily followed, and the barkeep said to Thakkor, "My wife. We don't get many women, and she coddles them all like her own children." He glanced back over his shoulder at Alicia and said, "Pretty one, she is."

Thakkor nodded, certainly in agreement with that statement. "I could probably do with a bath too, but for now, I'll settle for a beer."

"We'll get along just fine," the innkeeper laughed as he reached for a stein.

Alicia didn't want to get up, but the water was growing chill and her fingers were wrinkling up like prunes already. She'd soaked away not only the filth of the road, but a great deal of her fear and despair as well.

Sheltered by a large tree behind the inn, the bath house was comfortable and relaxing. The simple, though expertly crafted wooden tub dominated the structure, the stained planks of the wall almost within reach of a bather. Alicia had learned just how many buckets of water were necessary to fill a tub as she helped to do so, and developed a newfound appreciation for the servants that did so in her home.

She'd found the innkeeper's matronly wife a welcome companion during her bath. The woman's calm, earthy conversation was comforting, although Alicia had blushed furiously during a few mentions of Thakkor, and how handsome the young man was.

"I can't save the one gown, I'm afraid," Bertina said as she handed the rising Alicia a hand-woven towel. "Pity too, because I can tell it was beautiful. Haven't seen such fine cloth in a dog's age. All the things you were wearing when you came in need is a good washing. I rummaged through a few of my daughter's trunks and found some things that I think will fit you."

"I don't know how to thank you," Alicia sighed as she toweled dry.

"You already have. Don't get many women through here, and I get tired of gossiping with the same old hens all the time. Where do you call home? I'd take you for a noble by the way you talk, and the color of your coin."

"I'm from the city of Freeland," Alicia answered as she brought the towel to her head to dry her hair.

Bertina blew out a long whistle. "Oh, how I'd love to see that city some day. Long way from home you are, my dear."

"Not by choice," Alicia said in a small voice.

Bertina's expression hardened. "If that man has..."

Alicia waved a hand to cut the woman off. "No — I'm sorry. Thakkor isn't responsible. He was kind enough to come to my aid."

Bertina smiled and nodded her head. "Good. Damn pity if a strapping man like that had gone bad. Now, let's get you dressed and see if we can't make him stumble over his own tongue when he sees you." She winked and let out a laugh.

Alicia blushed at the insinuation, in no small part because the thought of him looking at her that way made her tingle all over.

A knock on the door awakened Alicia, long before she was ready to do so. She'd enjoyed a real, filling meal for the first time since her abduction, and likely drank more wine than was really advisable. It had helped her keep her mind off of Thakkor's reaction to her emergence from the bath house, clean and dressed in a flattering blouse and skirt.

Bertina's prediction was not far from the truth.

"Alicia, it's Thakkor," she heard from the other side of the door.

"One moment. I'm not dressed," she answered.

Outside the door, Thakkor imagined that and felt a chill run up his spine.

Alicia pulled on a cotton dressing gown that Bertina had supplied in addition to several changes of clothing. She only cracked the door, though the gown was long and formless enough to more than preserve her modesty. "Yes?"

"I was talking with a merchant down in the tavern, and he's bound for Freeland. He's willing to take us along, and he'll do it for the price of my sword added to the guards he already has."

"That is wonderful," Alicia sighed, finally feeling as though she might actually return home.

"He's going to leave before long, though, so we need to be ready."

"I'll prepare my things immediately. Thank you, Thakkor."

"I'll be down in the tavern. I'm already packed up and ready to go."

Alicia dressed and gathered her belongings, finding that her bag had enough room for the new clothing once she removed the tattered remains of her gown. Bertina had also provided a few other essentials to tide her over until she reached home, all the little things a woman needs to feel pretty and comfortable.

She answered another knock on the door to find Bertina outside. "Bless the summer breezes, these are all dry." She handed over Alicia's practice uniform.

Alicia tucked it under one arm and pressed a gold coin she'd fished from her purse earlier into Bertina's hand. Seeing the woman about to argue, Alicia cut her off. "I won't accept no for an answer."

"Fair enough," Bertina chuckled. "You take care. He's waiting down in the tavern."

Thakkor stood as she walked down the stairs, hefting his pack and adjusting the rest of his gear. "Ready?"

"Yes. I'm ready for this all to end and return home."

"Follow me then. We'll be on our way as soon as we stow our gear in his wagon."

Alicia thought the merchant leading the two-wagon caravan looked familiar when she saw him, and thought she saw recognition in his eyes as well. His two wagons looked much like tiny houses on wheels with a place for the driver, even having gabled roofs. She and Thakkor put their gear into the first wagon, and Alicia noticed that it resembled the moving prison in which she'd awakened after her kidnapping on the inside. The merchant's wagon had far more shelves and cabinets, however. The apparent leader of the group then called Alicia up to the buckboard of the wagon. "Fantil, at your service," he said as he helped her up.

"Alicia," she said, feeling just a little uncomfortable under his stare.

"Alicia? Who's your father, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Abraham Nash, of Freeland."

Alicia saw the flash of stronger recognition in his eyes, and she thought there was something of greed there as well. Fantil slapped his knee and laughed. "I knew I recognized you. I've done business with your father. Thakkor explained to me what you've endured. Rest assured that I will return you to your family safely, and with all haste."

"Thank you," Alicia said, thinking that the reward he expected for doing so far outweighed any other consideration. She did have to admit that he'd agreed to convey her home before learning her identity, however.

"Let's be off then. Hyah!"

The wagon lurched into motion.

The masked man cursed under his breath, knowing that reacquiring his prize had just become far more difficult — and dangerous. "Ride ahead, and let none see you. You will have further instructions when the time is right."

The men around him grunted their agreement, and then spurred their horses off into a perpendicular course to the road, gaining enough distance to safely parallel the wagon and pass it.

Once again, the masked man cursed. This time, his ire turned upon his employer. He could not fathom why the man demanded that the woman be unharmed — at least any more than absolutely necessary — and that he actually turn her over upon payment of the ransom. It was those restrictions that placed him in his current position.

Mounting his own horse, he took heart that the guards surrounding his prize would face two-to-one odds. Had she joined a larger caravan, he would have been hard-pressed to muster enough disposable men to do so.

He spurred his mount, riding to ensure that no further mishaps prevented his rise to prosperity.

Alicia smiled as she gazed upon the flag of her homeland flying over the fortification shadowing the wagons. Though the farthest outpost of Freeland within the Protectorates of Armand, it marked yet another step in her journey home. The fortress served as a waypoint for travelers, providing maintained campsites within the stone wall surrounding the utilitarian structure.

The group of merchants and guards chatted around the fire set in a ring of large stone, recalling past adventures and anticipating a profitable trip. Alicia's heart raced as she listened to the tales of the guardsmen, revealing a life full of excitement the likes of which she could only dream. With more than a little embarrassment, she realized that she paid far more attention to Thakkor than the others.

"With any luck, none of you will have opportunity to add to your campfire tales on our journey," Fantil laughed. "Though I anticipate our fortunate acquisition of magewares will find us great profit in fair Freeland, I do believe that the cost of bonuses for drawing your weapons might very well offset the gains."

"Magewares?" Alicia piped up, thinking of her lost spell book and component pouch — the one thing she had not found within the wagon serving as her prison.

"Some common magic items, roots, herbs, spell components..."

"Do you have any spell books?"

"A pair of what I'm assured are rudimentary texts," he answered.

Alicia stood, excited at the possibility of possibly acquiring new magic. "May I see them?"

A little stunned, Fantil replied, "Of course. Derell, fetch the chest, will you?"

One of the other merchants nodded and stood, walking across the well-trodden grass to the second wagon to retrieve a chest from inside. When he returned, Fantil nodded to indicate he should let Alicia look through it as she wished.