A Revelation and An Escape

Sarah looks at you, surprised. "You don't remember Mark?" She pauses. "No, I suppose you don't." She sighs. "Mark is... you and Mark... you and Mark were in love. You used to live in the same village, but then you ran away to join the New Amazons. When it was discovered you were gone, people suspected that Mark had helped you to escape; everyone knew how the two of you felt about each other. So, he had to flee the village. He came to us, and, though Princess Illura didn't allow him to live with the Amazons, he lived nearby and became a trusted ally. Though we haven't spoken with him since before the battle, I'm sure he's still alive."

Something about that bothers you. It doesn't seem... right. "I... don't remember..."

"What's wrong?" she asks.

You're suddenly distracted. You're mind races, though you're not sure why. "I don't know. It's just..."

"Oh," she says softly, "It's that man you're travelling with, isn't it?"

Your eyes dart up. "N-no..." You feel a sudden need to be alone.

Just then you hear shouting behind you. You turn back to the makeshift encampment of the New Amazons and see women running around fractically. Elinor comes into view, and she shouts, "One of the prisoners has escaped! We don't know which way he went; no one saw him leave. We need volunteers to go search for him."

You and Sarah run to Elinor and volunteer, and so do a few other women. Aaron volunteers as well. The volunteers are divided into three groups, and the rest are told to stay behind and guard the prisoners. Each group is told to go in a different direction; if a group doesn't find the escaped prisoner in an hour, it's to return to the camp. Elinor says that the band of New Amazons is to head for the pass to Daria at nightfall, and anyone who hasn't returned by then is to be left behind.

You, Aaron, and Sarah form one group. You off in together in the opposite direction from the hill the wagon fell down.

"Never a dull moment, eh, Karen?" Aaron says as you leave the camp. He leans closer to you and whispers, "When we get a chance I want to speak to you. Alone."

The three of you go through the forest as quickly as possible while remaining stealthy and careful. You search the woods for some sign of the escaped prisoner.

After a few minutes, Aaron says, "Stop." You and Sarah stop. Aaron leans down and investigates the ground beneath him. After a moment he says, "He's passed this way. We're on the right track." He looks at the ground around him. "And he ran that way," he says, pointing somewhat to the left. "If we keep going, this way, we might be able to catch up with him." He stands and takes off running. You follow.

After a couple more minutes Aaron stops and motions to you and Sarah to stop. He points through the trees into a shadowy area ahead. You squint and see some movement far off in the distance. "There he is," he says in a low voice. "We'll catch up with him soon, but I'm not sure if we want to overtake him quite yet. It might be wiser to see where he goes. Though I haven't conferred with Elinor about her interrogation of the prisoners, and so I don't know what she found out, if she wants us to go to this much trouble to catch one prisoner it must be important. We might be able to find out more if we follow him from a distance."

"But if we wait," you say, "he might get some help. We can catch one man, but we can't fight an army."

"True," Aaron says, "but if we find out who else he's with and where he's running to, obtaining that information might be more valuable than obtaining the man himself."

"We won't be able to get either if we just stand here arguing about it," Sarah says. The three of you start running again. Soon the prisoner is within sight; if you follow at the speed you're currently running at, you'll overtake him in a matter of moments.

1. You decide to follow at a distance. Aaron's right; it's better to know where he's running than to keep him from running there.

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