Mary (Closed)

[Incubo28]

It surprised Marcus how far they had walked the previous day as he hardly had any recollection of it. Luckily it was easier to get to a town than to move away from one, it just was important to remember how to get back. The distance also meant he had to hurry more as he hoped to be back at 'their' spot before the girl noticed he was gone. He was shocked to realize that he had no idea what her name was. He remembered telling her his name but had no memory of her doing the same thing. Naturally it was very possible that in his feverish state he just had forgotten.

Well, there was a big bright side to that... if he got caught he was unable to tell the men who she was. All they would manage to get out of him would be that she was a pretty, young, brunette girl and that she was heading west. The first part was the truth, the second was a lie he would tell them no matter the torture. They would kill him anyway if they captured him. He very much preferred not to get caught, so when the town got in sight, he made sure to keep a good amount of distance.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Mary was very careful to keep to the shelter of the shrubs and bushes and avoid the clearings which she had always enjoyed walking through before this. She moved quietly and stopped frequently to listen out for any movement nearby. Even when gathering her harvest, she was sure not to get distracted and keep her wits about her. The only risk she ran that morning was when she manufactured a branch to help her gather out of reach fruits. She knew that by standing out in the open and raising that forked branch to knock the fruit free made her vulnerable to being spotted. She worked quickly and gathered her bounty into her sack and then made her way winding an indirect path through thick foliage before finally hiding out beneath an outcrop of old tree roots. Only after waiting for at least 20 minutes, did she then set off and head for their base, still obviously keeping vigilant at every step ...

 

[Incubo28]

Marcus cursed silently as he watched the town... it just didn't make any sense. It was a miracle the girl hadn't asked him how he knew so much about Lord Darkfire and his men, but right now it seemed he knew nothing about the subject. This made no sense at all. There was no tactic, no masterplan, nothing that could explain the things he saw right in front of him. Something was terribly wrong, that was the only explanation he could come up with.

He spend some time looking at it, wishing there was some way to get more information about what was going on and why. The only way was to capture one man and to extract information from him but right now that clearly was impossible. Besides, he had to head back before the girl found him gone and started to travel alone.

Slowly he got up from his hiding place and started to walk back. He turned one last time towards the village. There were four groups of men, more than he had expected but instead of searching for him, they were leading the town's folk away. Lord Darkfire was not one to take prisoners, only slaves and recruits but right now he seemed to have taken all people of the town prisoner. It just didn't make any sense. No raping, no killing, no ransacking the town. Prisoners... it made no sense.

Marcus sighed and headed back to the shelter, fearing he would be the second to arrive.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

She was almost back at their 'base' when Mary became aware of movement coming from the opposite direction. She froze straining to work out what direction the other person or people were moving in and just where they might have come from. At any time she was sure they would turn off, but no, it seemed that they were heading directly towards where she was stood.

With a flurry of skirts, she backtracked and after a rapid search, located a particularly generously foliated bush and stashed her harvest in it's depths before scrambling underneath herself. Her heart hammered loudly in her own ears and she actually put her hand over her own mouth to stifle a scream as a man burst forth into the slight clearing. It was obvious that he was in haste and that he knew exactly where their hideaway was located.

Her eyes widened and fright gave way to anger as she watched Marcus look around and then head behind the bushes which hid their hideaway from prying eyes. It was long moments afterwards that Mary slowly eased out from her hiding place. Dusting down her garments as best she could, she retrieved her sack and headed slowly towards their hideout. One glance around and she too ducked behind the shrubs and into their sheltered hideaway.

Sure enough there was Marcus laid out, supposedly resting up.

"Feeling better?"

She asked him neutrally as she put the sac securely against the bark.

"Important to conserve your energy didn't you say?"

She watched him carefully as he responded. Common sense told her to keep the knowledge of his outing to herself, that it would give her an advantage, but she had been so scared and so shocked at the sight of him up and about when he had left her to do all the supply gathering that she could not prevent the fire of anger in her eyes betraying her.

"That's good then, for if t'was you who just gave me the fright of my life out there, then a girl would have to question your honesty and the fact that a man would give her the burden and the risk of gathering provisions when he's able bodied enough to run around the forest pursuing Lord knows what scheme of his own.... "

Angry though she was, it struck her then that she had no real way of knowing who he was or just how truthful he had been with her. Lies bred lies she had always been told and if that were true, then it was very likely that the fate of her village was not as she believed at all.

"I'd be better throwing in my lot with my kinsfolk, least with them I know I can trust them."

With a flurry of skirts, she had turned and headed out into he woods, breaking through the shrubbery and turning in the direction of her home, intent on finding for herself what had really happened there.

 

[Incubo28]

Marcus made sure no one was able to follow him as he made his way back from town to their hiding place. At times he stopped to remove any tracks he left behind, or to leave a fake trail in the opposite directions. Still his mind tried to make sense of the things he had seen. It did not make any sense... unless... There were a few things that Marcus worried about that might give some answer but they were either so far fetched or unlikely that he had a hard time accepting them as answers.

He was happy to see the girl hadn't returned yet when he did, but he knew he had to tell her. If only he knew a good way to do so. A moment later she came back and started to talk. She started friendly but soon enough it became painfully clear that she had found out he had gone missing. To make things worse, she even turned her back on him and started to walk away. Marcus did not believe he had seen any girl turn her back on him until he had met her.

He sighed loudly and then followed her. "Wait! I went to the town to see what was going on there." It didn't look like she was going to wait, so when he got the chance he grabbed her by the arm and forced her to stand still. Her body pulled very close near his.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

She couldn't believe that he had lied to her, that he had sent her out foraging for supplies whilst all the time ...

"Wait! I went to the town to see what was going on there."

She heard him call after her, but she wasn't going to listen to anything he said. If he had gone back there then he should have told her ... The next thing she knew he had grabbed hold of her bringing her to a halt. She opened her mouth to protest, to tell him to leave her alone, but found herself crying out as he pulled her roughly against him. Her eyes flew up to his face, her heart beating in sudden fear. He had claimed to be weak, but was much stronger than she had assumed. The tales he had told her of women being attacked, of terrible things happening to her people, how did she know that he too was a man who treated women like that?

" ... let me go ... "

She told him in panicked tones as she began to struggle to pull away from him.

 

[Incubo28]

A painful grimace stood on his face, although he did his best to hide it, as the girl tried to struggle free. Years of training and fighting might have given him the muscles to hold on to her, but the pain was very present. He knew it couldn't be good for his body to do this, but it was needed.

"Not until you listen. It was needed to go back there to gain information and I was hoping I could find a way to do something for your town or loved ones. You helped me. If I had told you, you would have wanted to come along or would have refused to let me go." He sighed and looked her in her eyes before letting her go. "They are taking the people from your town away. I am not sure where, most likely to Lord Darkfire. I don't know why and that is what troubles me most. I still think it is the best idea if we travel together and go in the opposite direction. After the first town we can split up if you wish."

A little voice inside him said he should go to Castle Darkfire and find out what was going on, but he had years of practise of ignoring that voice. All ideas he had about the why, were a very good reason to go the other way as fast as he could.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"Not until you listen. It was needed to go back there to gain information and I was hoping I could find a way to do something for your town or loved ones. You helped me. If I had told you, you would have wanted to come along or would have refused to let me go."

She had stopped struggling as he spoke, but his hands still held her securely. He was right, she would have wanted to come, so why would he want to go without her ... unless there was something he was hiding.

"They are taking the people from your town away. I am not sure where, most likely to Lord Darkfire. I don't know why and that is what troubles me most.

He had released her now and she stood rubbing her arms pointedly. She didn't know if she could trust his words anymore, but the idea of her family being taken away made her realise that he couldn't just abandon them.

"I still think it is the best idea if we travel together and go in the opposite direction. After the first town we can split up if you wish."

She shook her head stubbornly.

"No. I'm going to my village. Perhaps the only way to know what has happened to my family is to let myself get captured. At least I'll know who survived and where they're going to be taken to ... "

She reasoned.

 

[Incubo28]

Marcus had a hard time keeping a straight face at her words. He knew he should just give up on her and leave her. She had helped him and for that he was grateful but there were limits to how far he would go to repay her kindness. "If you allow yourself to be captured, you won't help your family. You will become the property of some general and will have to submit to any wish he has no matter how sick or twisted. You will be a slave and they will use your family to get your obedience like they will use you against your family."

He sighed, wondering why it was so damn hard to turn his back on her and walk away. "... we can try to follow them in hopes of learning more. Perhaps there will be a chance to..." He shrugged, not wanting to give her too much unjustified hope. "It will take them only three, maybe four days to get to Castle Darkfire. It will be impossible to free your loved ones in that time and the chance is big that we will get captured."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"If you allow yourself to be captured, you won't help your family. You will become the property of some general and will have to submit to any wish he has no matter how sick or twisted. You will be a slave and they will use your family to get your obedience like they will use you against your family."

She pulled away from him, but did not make to run away further. His words were harsh and she had no idea just what the 'sick and twisted' could refer to, but the logic of making things worse for her family cut through her instinct to return to them.

"... we can try to follow them in hopes of learning more. Perhaps there will be a chance to...It will take them only three, maybe four days to get to Castle Darkfire. It will be impossible to free your loved ones in that time and the chance is big that we will get captured."

She listened to him lay out the two options.

"How can I trust you?"

She asked him finally.

"How do I know that you couldn't do just the same to me? You looked like you could for a moment just now."

She accused acknowledging that for a moment she had actually feared him.

"What does it matter anyhow?"

She asked him finally, defeated.

"Even if the worst happened, surely that's better than being alone?
What am I supposed to do without family and friends? I've nowhere to go, know no one ... I might as well just go back there ... no matter what happened at least we'd be going through it together ... "

She doubted that he could give her a reason to stay away.

 

[Incubo28]

He looked at her and sighed. He really had no idea why it was so important to stay with her, normally he would have said goodbye a long time ago and not give her a second thought. She had helped him, but even that should not have this much meaning to him. Her nicely shaped tits, hidden away but still present enough to give him a good idea of their form and size, were no reason either. There were many other girls that would give him a whole lot less headache. There was something about her that kept him here, or perhaps he just didn't want to be alone. His life had changed dramatically as well although that was mostly his choice while she had none.

"You shouldn't trust me. The only ones that can betray you are people you trust. If I wanted to hurt you or worse, I would have done so. Or perhaps I am just waiting till my body is more healed." He looked at her, fear was a lot easier than trust.

"It seems we keep having this conversation, but there really is no point in giving your life away. Your life should be important for you and as long you are alive there is hope things improve. There is no hope in death or in slavery." He told her and kept looking at her. "You helped me, so I offer my help in return and while I prefer to go the other way, I will stay with you if you wish and follow your town's folk. In an attempt to see if we can help them, not in an attempt to share their fate."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"You shouldn't trust me. The only ones that can betray you are people you trust. If I wanted to hurt you or worse, I would have done so. Or perhaps I am just waiting till my body is more healed."

She met his gaze steadily. He could attempt what he would with her, but she would fight him all the way!

"It seems we keep having this conversation, but there really is no point in giving your life away. Your life should be important for you and as long you are alive there is hope things improve. There is no hope in death or in slavery.
You helped me, so I offer my help in return and while I prefer to go the other way, I will stay with you if you wish and follow your town's folk. In an attempt to see if we can help them, not in an attempt to share their fate."

She nodded.

"Fine. We'll follow my people. If I know what happened to them, the perhaps I can find some peace, no matter how dreadful the truth may be."

She told him bravely, not wanting to show any sign of weakness in front of him.

"When do we leave?"

 

[Incubo28]

Most likely this was the best outcome he could have hoped for as there was hardly any chance she would have agreed to leave. Not at this point anyway. Marcus nodded. "Very well, I suggest we leave now so that we don't get too far behind them. With prisoners I don't think they will be able to travel very fast, but the whole fact that they took prisoners surprised me enough that I don't want to assume too much." He told her.

"I am not sure if they are daring enough to stay in towns during the night. Such a large group of prisoners is hard to explain, even when they work for Lord Darkfire. But I think some while keep watch of the taverns so we will have to find other places to sleep. Perhaps we can use a stable or abandoned house, but we will face that problem when time comes." He continued. There were many questions she hadn't asked him directly and he hoped she would wait a bit before she would. There was something very strange about this girl that gave him the odd feeling that he wouldn't be able to lie or keep quiet if she asked him a direct question.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"Very well, I suggest we leave now so that we don't get too far behind them. With prisoners I don't think they will be able to travel very fast, but the whole fact that they took prisoners surprised me enough that I don't want to assume too much."

It was a quicker start than she had expected, but it would be better if she had something to do.

"I am not sure if they are daring enough to stay in towns during the night. Such a large group of prisoners is hard to explain, even when they work for Lord Darkfire. But I think some while keep watch of the taverns so we will have to find other places to sleep. Perhaps we can use a stable or abandoned house, but we will face that problem when time comes."

She frowned at his words.

"You know a lot about this Lord Darkfire."

She accused.

"I still don't trust you."

She told him simply.

"But I have no other option, so ... I'll fetch the supplies I gathered and be ready to leave in ... 10 minutes."

 

[Incubo28]

Marcus grimaced at her accusation and wasn't too surprised at her lack of trust. It mostly surprised him she trusted him this much. "I promise I won't abandon you again. Unless there is a good reason." He somewhat promised her, there wasn't much more to gain her trust right now. Trust was not earned with words, it was reward for actions and behaviour.

"10 minutes is fine. We should be able to go to your town now if there are things you want to collect there. We can win time however if we travel through the forest and head directly to the next town instead." He told her. It might be best if they didn't go back to her town as he was sure there would be some corpses and in such a small town it was likely she knew all their names.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"I promise I won't abandon you again. Unless there is a good reason."

She shrugged. She hadn't felt abandoned, just that he'd betrayed her trust.
And his promise meant nothing.

"10 minutes is fine. We should be able to go to your town now if there are things you want to collect there. We can win time however if we travel through the forest and head directly to the next town instead."

She hesitated at his offer.

"... suddenly it's so safe to return?"

She asked him and gave a bitter laugh.

"There's nothing there I want, not if the people have moved out.
Whatever I found will have to do ... "

She turned on her heel and headed back to what had been their hideout and began to gather together provisions and the few items she would take with her.
There was no way she was going to walk into any trap by returning to her town now.

 

[Incubo28]

He was happy she decided not to be willing to return to her town, even if it was out a clear lack of trust. He stayed at the spot and waited for her to return with the provisions. His left arm still hurt, more after grabbing the girl. It was a good thing he was right handed but he would be very happy when his left shoulder was healed more.

"So... if we are going to travel together." He started when she found him again. "What do I call you?" That seemed rather useful information to have. "We will head to the north east." He decided after that and had no problem pointing in the correct direction. Forests might be confusing to a lot of people, but with the right knowledge it was easy enough to find north without tools.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

She returned with a carry sack slung over her shoulder, a smaller pouch like bag hung across her body.

"So... if we are going to travel together ... What do I call you?"

He asked her.

" ... you can call me whatever you like ... "

Was her unhelpful reply. She had already decided that if possible she wouldn't reveal to him which of the prisoners were part of her family. That way he couldn't use that information against her.

"We will head to the north east."

She nodded. She would follow his lead, for now. But she was not going to let her guard down.
For all she knew, she could be walking into a trap.

 

[Incubo28]

As they walked through the forest Marcus made sure to share his knowledge with her. He had the feeling that a girl living in a town near a forest had more knowledge about the various plants and dangerous than he had, but it would suck if they lost even more time by touching the wrong plants. He didn't blame her for not sharing her name, although he had hoped she would at least give him something to call her.

It was a long walk through the forest but luckily it wasn't too difficult to find somewhat of a path to follow without too many poisonous flowers or thorns. The girl seemed to have less trouble with the long walk than he had, which was troubling as he had no intention of looking weak.

"Alright, it should take us one more hour to leave the forest and I think it will be two more hours on and near the roads" He told her as they were getting closer. Most likely it would be dark before they left the forest

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

The walk was uneventful, but she couldn't help noticing that he seemed fatigued.

"Alright, it should take us one more hour to leave the forest and I think it will be two more hours on and near the roads"

He told her as they were getting closer. Most likely it would be dark before they left the forest[/QUOTE]

She looked around.

"It's getting late. Are you sure it's safe enough to leave the shelter of the forest?
Walking on the roads in the dark seems far from sensible.... "

 

[Incubo28]

"The men of Lord Darkfire left several hours before we did so they will be at the town by now. I expect they will have a camp just outside of it, so if keep walking we will be closer to them and will we be able to see what is going on. And anyone else with bad thoughts that doesn't belong to that group, will stay away from the roads tonight. The men of Lord Darkfire are still seen as the law around here... or as more dangerous criminals."

Marcus said but then nodded. "But we could decide to just travel to the edge of the forest and rest there instead. I don't think the men of Lord Darkfire will pack up their things at first sunlight." The fact he made such an offer already showed that his body still hadn't fully recovered.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

She listened to his reasoning. It seemed this Lord and his men were enough to intimidate even criminals, but even so she preferred the idea of remaining within the realms of the forest.

"I think we'd be safer sticking to the edges. I'm not too keen toget close to the men you speak about."

She told him, not realising that he still did not feel totally well.

"How is it you know about this Lord and his men ... and you seem to know how he operates...?"

She realised he did indeed seem to know more than a mere passer by would.

"How did you come to be at our village anyway?"

She asked with sudden suspicion.

 

[Incubo28]

Marcus looked at her as she spoke, once again registering her looks and wondering how she would look in clothes that did more justice to her beauty. He hoped she realized they would have to get a lot more closer to the men if they wanted to have any chance at finding out information or even helping her town's folk.

Just as he tried to decide if he should comment on the matter, she started to ask him questions. Direct questions and as he had feared he felt his mind getting ready to answer them. There was something about this girl that was not normal and scared him, but he feared she would be more scared if he answered her questions.

"Most of the things I tell you is known by any local warrior and fighter you will meet. It is important to know who you are dealing with and what you can and cannot do. But let's get to the edge of the forest and make camp. I rather talk in dark than travel in dark." It seemed delaying his answers was the only way to keep some secrets for now. He nodded in the direction they were going and started to walk again.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"Most of the things I tell you is known by any local warrior and fighter you will meet. It is important to know who you are dealing with and what you can and cannot do. But let's get to the edge of the forest and make camp. I rather talk in dark than travel in dark."

She halted and continued to question him.

" ... most of the things, yes ... but not all .... and I think I prefer to talk now, rather than find out in the dark if the man I am travelling with is in fact a threat to me .... "

She stated simply.

 

[Incubo28]

Marcus stopped walking and turned to her. "I think you are a smart girl and already know that I am very much a threat to you if I had the wish to be so. I am a fighter, I have spend all my life training to be one of the best killers in the world. If I wanted to kill you, I would most likely succeed at that." He spoke to her, wondering what power she held over him.

"I have done many things wrong in my life. Some by choice, others because I thought I had no choice. I wanted to leave my old life behind and almost paid for that with my life if it hadn't been for you. I owe you and right now that makes me the best and most likely only friend you currently have." He sighed and looked at her eyes. "I don't know what magic you hold over me, but I do know that if you ask me again I won't be able to fight answering you. So I ask you, not to ask me again and judge me on my actions and not on the person I was."

He looked at her and waited for her decision. He feared she would ask him again and most likely that would be their last conversation.