Outracing the Flames RPG

[Folwren]

Athwen had not seen the group of horsemen standing near to where Vaenosa and Incana had killed and left the deer. She would have remained completely oblivious to them, had she not been hailed unexpected by one of their group. She and her horse turned their heads at the same instant. He brought his head up and ears forward sharply and as his nostrels dilated and his eyes opened even wider, he uttered a low nicker.

'Hey! Hey, you on the horse there! Wait up, will you?' the rider called. Athwen checked her gelding, but he didn't stop and instead he turned on his hind feet and went trotting and prancing towards the oncoming stranger and mare.

'Why you insupportable animal!' Athwen scolded under her breath. 'Really, Parith, you're quite embarrassing.' The horses were drawing closer together and Parith's neck was arching and his feet were lifting more like a stallion's than a gelding's ought. She drew him in and made him stand still. He obeyed her admireably well and they waited as the stranger slowed to a canter and then to a trot and in a moment, stopped altogether in front of them.

Anyone might have told Athwen that to turn and meet a complete stranger at such a time as that was a rather empty headed thing to do. But the thought never occured to her. She felt she had little reason to fear anything, particularly a young woman who seemed to be only a little larger than her own tiny self and who, though armed, didn't appear to be threatening at all. Anyway, she had a descent look about her, and after seeing orcs and what they did, Athwen certainly wasn't about to compare such a person to an evil creature or being like that.

'Hullo!' Athwen said, much as she would have before all the trouble of yesterday came. 'Where do you come from?'

[Maeggaladiel]

A throbbing pain in his forehead was Fion's first clue that he was drifting back to consciousness. When you were out cold, as Fion had just now learned, you didn't feel pain. You didn't feel anything.

Voices rang out through the darkness, although he could neither understand them nor match them with faces at this point. His mind seemed fully occupied with the constant, fiery pulsing that tore through his skull.

He was beggining to become aware of the rest of his body, however. His back was pressed against something hard and uneven. The ground, most likely. Something wet was being poured into his mouth, and he coughed. His scalp ached, as though someone had grabbed his hair and yanked. It was, all in all, an overly uncomfortable experience.

His eyes still closed, Fion grunted in pain and tried to move his head. The voices were silent for a moment, and then spoke again, more urgently. Something touched his head. Were they talking to him?

By the powers, that hurt! he thought as he tried to move again. What... What had happened to him??

Then, like a flood, it came back to him. The ride. The tracks. The noises. The... sudden explosion of pain at his brow. And then the darkness.

He forced his eyes open. For a moment, the world was a kaliedoscope of colors and shapes, blurry and too bright. Where was he?! Something must have knocked him out while he was riding with Osmod. That meant... (his mind tried to piece things together, with limited success) That meant that somebody had attacked them! It was an ambush! Where was Osmod?!

"Osmod?" he croaked out. "Its... It's an ambush!"

His vision began to clear, and he was suddenly aware that he was in the company of strangers. Instinctively he tried to push himself to his feet, away from the people surrrounding him. He stood, wobbled, fell over, cursed sharply as pain and diziness washed over him, and began a hasty backwards crawl away. His mind wasn't running at full speed yet, and he tripped over himself. Groaning, he touched his hands to his temples.

"Who... Who are you?" he demanded to the people around him. "Where is Osmod? What have you done to my friend?"