Chapter 9

Raven

Alan stretched as he slid off Stormy's back. The long day's journey had tired him out considerably and he was more than happy for a respite. As the others slid off their horses, he knuckled his back and turned to examine Stormy's hooves. He hadn't liked the way she had been favoring her right foreleg, but when asked she had said she would be fine. Tapping her leg, she obediently raised it up for him to look at. Sure enough, when Alan got a closer look, there was a sharp rock embedded in the frog. Pulling it out was the work of seconds, and he heard her give an audible sigh of relief when it was gone. As she put her hoof down, Alan debated whether or not to give her another scolding about toughening it out, but decided against it. Time was running out, and as long as the issues were small, he was willing to let them slide.

As he straightened up from his task, he could see the others going about, setting up camp. Tobias was near the edge of the clearing, gathering wood for a fire. The young woman Raven was unsaddling her massive mount. The animal nickered softly as the saddle was removed from his back. She led him over to a line strung between the trees and tethered him there for the night. The animal arched his neck over her shoulder in a strange hug. She patted the side of his neck, laughing softly as she snuck out from his grasp. Alan blinked in surprise. He tucked the information safely away in his mind, waiting for a better time to examine it.

Tobias returned from his search for firewood and placed it beside the wagon. Taking his knife, he cut a plug of grass and set it off to the side. Then he scooped out a shallow hole and set the wood inside. Taking out his flint and tinder, he struck the flint until the tinder caught. Blowing gently, the flames wavered and danced on the verge of going out. He continued adding smaller branches and wood he had collected until the fire began to burn cheerily. Sitting back with a weary groan, he watched the fire in case it should gutter.

Jerome stepped out from behind his wagon, where he had been hitching his horses to the tether line. Seeing the fire, he smiled at the boys and went into the wagon. Alan could hear the sounds of the cabinets opening and closing. Then Jerome came back out holding what appeared to be hardtack. Alan accepted his portion gratefully, as did Tobias. Raven looked askance for a moment before accepting her share as well. Stormy swallowed her portion instantly, causing Raven to stare. Alan ate his a bit more slowly, chewing thoughtfully as he stared at the new girl. She was an enigma to him. It was clear that she was at least moderately well off. The fine cut of the cloth that made her cloak attested to that, and supported her story as a merchant's daughter on her way to pick up goods for her uncle. However, Alan doubted at least that part of her story. If she was a merchant's daughter, then where were her guards? She should at least have one. Now that they were sitting, he could easily see a slim sword attached to her hip. Where was it yesterday when she was on the road? He hadn't wanted to ask many questions while they were traveling, but he thought that it might be good to ask some now.

Alan swallowed the last of his meal and cleared his throat. "Miss Farlight." He started, which caused the group to look at him. "I was wondering if you could tell me more about yourself. Such as how you came this far from Rivertown without any guards or wagons?" her eyes narrowed at him and she seemed to bristle slightly. "Are you saying that I could be a thief set to rob you? What nerve you have. As if you farmboys would have anything worth robbing!' Alan held out his hands placatingly. "I hope you understand, but these are odd times. Surely you must be worried about bandits." She stood up abruptly and, Alan thought, angrily. Everyone tensed as she drew her blade. Grabbing a small log from the pile she threw it up into the air. All eyes followed it as it reached the top of its arc and started its return to earth. About halfway down, there was a sudden glint of metal and a sharp cracking sound. Two pieces of wood landed with a soft thump on the ground. Jerome was sitting very straight as he watched the two pieces tumble into the muck. "Very impressive." He hissed slowly. Raven sat down with a slight smile that Alan found slightly irritating. "I can defend myself pretty well." She said smugly. "My father was a Master at Arms for a large House. He taught me all I need to know." "Yet we were able to take you down." Alan pointed out. Raven flushed in anger. "You caught me by surprise. It won't happen again." She snapped. "I'm sure it won't." Tobias agreed, glaring daggers at Alan. Alan shrugged his massive shoulders at his friend. He didn't understand why Tobias was so defensive of the girl unless it had something to do with his embarrassing position on top of her when Alan had found them.

Suddenly Raven laughed, causing everyone to look at her in surprise. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just realized the absurdity of the situation. Here you are asking me the questions I would be asking myself in your shoes and I am getting upset. Please forgive me." Alan shrugged slightly. What was going on here? He wondered. She smiled at Tobias. "Really, that was a great job you did in disarming me, my da would have been proud. Now, as to your other questions, I had left without guards because I wanted to get to the goods quickly. I'm good with weapons, so my uncle allowed it. I was to pick up wagons and guards at Hell's Gate from Uncle's friend and lead it back to Rivertown. I arrived at Crossroads too late to get in, so I decided to just continue on my way. About noon I spotted your dust trail, and decided to approach during daylight hours, so I increased speed. However, I didn't count on you setting an ambush and I walked right into it." She said ruefully. Alan nodded. It made sense to him, and there was no reason for her to lie. He laughed at her wry tone. "Sorry for doubting you, but I'm afraid we had an interesting run in at Crossroads and were forced to leave the town early." He said.

Alan launched into the story of how they had ended up in Crossroads, the brawl and the flight. He left out no detail, and she smiled and gasped in all the right spots. When he came to the part about Jones, she grimaced in disgust. At the end of the tale, she turned to Jerome with a frown on her face. "What were you thinking, involving these boys in your dispute?" Jerome shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated fashion. "To tell the truth miss, I was looking for an opportunity to escape with my skin attached to my body. I'm quite fond of it, you know." She sighed. "I understand. My uncle has had run-ins with the Thieves Guild in Rivertown. However, they know my father is Master of Arms of a minor Noble House, and so they are not very keen in tangling with us." She said. She then turned to the boys "It looks like you boys have found yourselves falling into a pit of vipers. Mayhap you could use some help." Alan shrugged his shoulders cautiously. What was her game here? "Perhaps. But I thought that you had a load you needed to deliver to your uncle?" She laughed. "Not join you, silly. But teach you to use those weapons." Alan glanced at his spear that he had leaning next to his stuff. "What do you mean? I know how to use a spear." He asked. She gave a broad, toothy grin and said, "Show me."

Alan faced her across the fire, his form towering over hers. She eyed him warily as he idly swung the practice staff he had just made from a sapling. Suddenly she charged him. Surprised, he barely got the staff up to block as she swung her staff as if it was a sword. Wood smacked wood with a resounding clack that echoed throughout the clearing. He easily pushed her off and launched into an attack of his own. Using the staff as a spear, he jabbed at her midsection quickly, but carefully so that he didn't hurt her. She easily dodged the blow. She spun in a form that he didn't recognize, and he had to leap back to avoid getting hit by the staff. He growled and jabbed again, trying to hit her, but she danced away. Blocking several moves, he was slowly pushed back across the clearing. The stick blurred in her hands as she pressed her advantage. His staff was suddenly knocked out of his hand and he froze as the staff flicked up at his throat. Dimly, he could hear the sounds of cheering from Tobias and Jerome. Stormy whooped as she reared. Raven's harsh breathing could barely be heard over his own. "You did better than I expected." She complimented. Alan shook his head slightly to clear the rushing noise in his ears. "You did very well yourself. As to the spear, well, wild boar sometimes fights back. You have to be good to hunt swamp boars with just a spear." He said. Raven looked thoughtful. "I suppose that could be true. I've never hunted swamp boars, so I wouldn't know."

Tobias clapped him on the shoulder, startling Alan from his reverie. "That was good work my friend. I saw some moves that I didn't know." Raven had that wolfish grin on her face again. "Care to show me what you have?" she taunted. Tobias quickly put up his hands to ward her off. "Hey, hey, hey. I don't know the spear nearly as well as Alan. I use the bow and arrow to get the boar before he can see me!" she continued to grin at him, and Tobias slumped slightly. Taking Alan's quarterstaff, he set himself across from Raven. Alan stood beside Stormy to watch the coming match with interest. She leaned down towards him and whispered quietly, "I thought you did very well." Alan smiled and whispered back, "Thanks." Together they turned to watch the match.

Within minutes it was clear that Raven severely outclassed Tobias. She almost seemed to be toying with him as they exchanged blows. His face was already slick with perspiration and was set in a grim mask as he tried to get under her guard. She almost seemed to be dancing as she evaded his every attack, overcame his every defense. Finally, Raven appeared to grow tired of the match. She went onto the attack. Tobias was no beginner with the quarter staff (there had been several competitions in the village over the years) but Raven was in a completely different league. She was able to turn her staff into a web of wood to trap his. Tobias felt his staff go flying, and now it was his turn to freeze as Raven's staff jutted up near his adam's apple.

Raven seemed barely winded as she spoke. "You farmboys clearly have a great deal of knowledge about the spear and staff. However, I can see some room for improvement." She spent the next thirty minutes showing them various forms that they could use. The boys worked at perfecting the movements. As they finished for the night, they were surprised to see Stormy standing there with the staff held in the guard position. "Stormy, what are you doing?" Alan asked. "It's been many years since I've learned. I would like to see what I remember." She said. She looked at Raven, "Unless you're too tired?" Raven shrugged. "I didn't think slaves were allowed to learn how to fight." Alan felt a stirring of anger at that. "Stormy is her own person. If she wants to learn how to fight, she can." He said coldly. Raven raised an eyebrow at his tone, but shrugged again before setting herself against Stormy.

Stormy didn't give her a chance to rethink her decision. She gave a powerful shout and lunged forward. A ton of centaur-flesh was bearing down on Raven. She seemed rooted to the spot as Stormy came down on her. Alan felt himself moving forward to Raven. What was she thinking! She could crush her! Were his only thoughts. He stopped as Raven simply stepped out of the path and swung the staff towards Stormy. It was met with the sound of wood as Stormy's staff met hers. The two women battled, Stormy meeting every attack of Raven with one of her own. Raven was forced on the defensive for the first time that night. Stormy continued to advance forward while Alan and Tobias looked on in amazement. "Alan, did you know she could do that?" Tobias whispered. Alan shook his head, unable to tear his eyes away from the spectacle. The two women came apart for a minute, Raven breathing heavily and looking for an opening. Stormy planted as firmly as an oak, staff on the guard position. Raven launched an attack of her own, swinging the staff from above, leaving her forward body open to attack. She changed positions midway, swinging the staff down and inwards in a circle, trying to get under Stormy's guard. Stormy blocked it and swung her staff in an attack. She clipped Raven's shoulder, causing her to hiss slightly. Stormy stepped back and was rewarded with a sharp rap in her side. Raven had stepped with her and gotten under the guard. "Enough." She panted. "Stormy, I take back what I said. You are a hell of a warrior. Where did you learn all that?" "From my mother before I was kidnapped." She replied sadly. "I was badly surprised and very young when I was captured. I forgot all I had learned until I was at the Eaglehearts. I remembered what Mother had taught me, and I practiced every night when I was small, just as I practiced human tongue."

Alan stepped forward to comfort Stormy. She gave him a wan smile as he stepped beside her heaving flank. "I've found a good family here." She said softly. She then turned towards Raven. "Thank you for the sparring session. I've never had a sparring partner. I was always too afraid to ask." "Stormy!" Alan said, shocked. "I've never given you a reason to be afraid. You could have told us!" "I know, but Wild Weed warned me against showing you when I asked her. I never forgot. I'm sorry." "It's all right. I'm just glad you know what you're doing!" Alan chuckled. He looked at her proudly. Stormy had beaten Raven for sure in his mind.

Worn out from the evening's excitement, the group quickly divided up the watches and turned in for the evening. Alan turned towards Stormy who had drawn the first watch. He gave her a broad grin of his own, which she matched before he turned over. As the fire began dying down, he watched the smoke billow into the sky. As sleep came to him, he muzzily wondered how Sabrina was doing with Mary back home.