Lingering Pain
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 15432
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Princess Astra of Aquilaria guided her horse with her legs, riding along at
a steady pace. It had been awhile since she had been given the chance to
use her riding skills, and it felt good to refresh herself in their
practice. Her people were fearsome on horseback, having developed a method
of guiding horses without reins, and thus able to fight and send volleys of
arrows while mounted. Though Lord Frederigo D'Honaire had regarded her
shunning of reins as an oddity, Aethir MacFionn and Simon the Anchorite
paid it no mind, as they had witnessed Aquilarian equestrians before. Astra rode alongside Frederigo as they traveled, examining him as if for the first time. This journey was wearing on him; that much was certain. He seemed somehow more bitter to her, with perhaps a slight edge of brooding. It occurred to her, however, that it might be as a result of where they were headed. The closer they came to the Southern border of the Calamari, the more they heard tales of what awaited them in the burning sands. Many of them circulated around rumours of a flurry of activity from the haven of Mad Vincent the Chiurgeon. Tales of astonishing war-beasts being released in droves from his pens abounded, as well as abductions. The fear of the peasantry who lived in the lands bordering the burning sands was the fact that he seemed to be preparing for something. The only folk who seemed undaunted by this were the Sdanosi gypsies who haunted the travel routes that led to the desert. Their caravans were well known for being able to navigate the harsh lands to the North, for a price. The gypsies were everpresent as they neared the border, seemingly not concerned with dispelling the fear of those fierce lands, but simply emphasizing their skill and essentiality in surviving them. Astra ruefully remembered her last experience in sampling Mad Vincent's "hospitality", an experience that had horribly mutilated and almost killed Frederigo. She still didn't know how he had escaped, due to her magical mishap. The thought of it, though, made the offers of the gypsies who shadowed them tempting, and the warrior woman decided to speak up. "Frederigo, I think we perhaps should hire the Sdanosi. I'm not sure if we have the strength of arms to risk braving Mad Vincent's pens again." "Oh really? We should patronize these gypsy trash?" A gypsy riding a mule near them spat in disgust. "You shouldn't say that with them in earshot. Offending them is dangerous." "We don't need them. I hope we do find Mad Vincent. I have matters to settle with him." Astra frowned, and slowed her horse a bit, looking at the scowling Sdano on the mule as Frederigo spurred his mount on. She gave a wistful sigh, and tossed a pouch of copper commons to the gypsy, speaking softly so that Frederigo could not overhear. "For his idiocy. I can give more if you can find someone to watch over us in secret as we travel..." Lady Rowena D'Honaire rode on steadily through the duchy of her birth with her retinue. It would take another week to reach the seaport of Collins, and the reports her retainers brought her were progressively more disturbing. Hespan, as expected, was threatening embargo and demanding extradition of the privateers. Several of the Allarian shipping companies were spooked, and placing pressure on the aristocracy to comply with Hespan's demands. If she didn't reach Collins in time, those that knew of her lost younger brother might be rotting in the brigs of the galleons of Hespan. She couldn't afford that...
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The Traveler
3/8/2001 8:14:57 AM
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