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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cabe Zeree" data-source="post: 2134076" data-attributes="member: 20453">The time 's at hand"My motives are savin our own. That means ridin fast and far, not watchin after a bunch a would be cutters come ta be heroes," Rabian growls. "Ya fall behind, ya stay there," he declares and turns his horse. "Garret! Forward!" he shouts. Looking to the head of the four, Noi'nu sees a weathered dark-skinned man with pockmarked cheeks astride a light tan horse. A magnificent dog stands beside the horse, sleek furred and long of limb, Noi'nu guesses its back would come up to his waist. Garret seems to say a few words to the dog. It gives one drawn out bay as a response and then takes of down the path. Garret kicks his horse to follow, and soon the entire party is racing through the grasslands beyond Lornhall.  The breakneck paces isn't one the horses can keep up for long. Before the golden dragon climbs very high in the sky, they have to reign them in.  The alternate between a walk, a quick trot, and a gallop throughout the day, always following Garret's hound. They don't pass through any more towns or villages, but every so often there are wells and a couple taverns along the road. Many times they come to junctions in the road. Sometimes the junctions are small trails, other times they are maintained roads. At each intersection the group slows, allowing the hound to explore all avenues, but it invariably continues along their same heading. One that will lead them hinterlands if they travel long enough. As the gold dragon is a couple bells away from setting, they talk with an innkeep that had a run in with ten to twelve bashers not two days ago. They had a few others with them that kept quiet and look pretty worn. The 'keep would have turned them away normaly, but their leader didn't look like the kind of tough to mess with. This news pleased Rabian and Nara greatly. The description of the five "others" matched the descriptions of the missing Lornhall children. All were at least alive. It also meant the mercs had to ride slower because of their charges, and if the Lorhall party kept their pace, they could catch them in about two days. The next two days passed with a lot of tension among the party, and it intensified as the days wore on. Everyone had the mercs and the captives on their mind in some manner. Even Barnabus, who wouldn't stop complaining about riding double with Kort. Of course he wanted them alive so the mage would cough up the goods, but he was thinking about them. And their hope was kept alive by inn owners along the trail, "yep 10-12 with 5 others, so many days ago." The trail lead out pushing closer and closer to the hinterlands. Both Zee and Noi'nu could feel the chaotic lands nearby, thrumming in their veins. Before the feeling got too intense though, the trail turned "clockwise" along another road."Where in the pits these bastards headin," Rabian scowled on the sixth morning. Zee knew though, "They're lost," he said with a humorless smile. "Cedric knows there's a gate around here somewhere, but 'e's not sure. 'E'll find is soon enough though. The nature a the Outlands." "Where's he headed?" "A cheery spot. Crag, in Gahenna.” No one asked Zee how he knew.  Still the true question some were pondering was, what would come pass when they finally caught up with the mercs? As the blades fell, they found their answer that evening. Everyone knew the horses simply couldn't keep the pace any longer, but still a little more needed to be asked of them. With the setting sun the ten horses immerged from a forest they'd been in most of the day. Rabian was looking for a decent place to call it another day when everyone saw a group of riders in the field before them. Eleven horses by Noi'nu's count and five bore two riders. "The time 's at hand. You've ridden well," Rabian said turning towards Noi'nu, Zee, and Nara who had drawn close without knowing it. "You've m'thanks. We need ta keep our five charges safe, and I'd have your council before we bring our vengance to the curs!"</blockquote>

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