Rina hid and observed the group - it wasn't that difficult, they were not exactly looking back and below. But the angle she was looking at, left her little idea of the number of the group. She counted at least five... but there was more, those who she did not see. She was sure of it.
As she looked around, Icena did not exactly see anything she could use... well, anything she could use alone. There was a sizeable box she could use, but it was of dimensions, she could not handle alone. She would need to either find someone to aid her in moving the box, or find some alternative somewhere else.
Icena's first thought was to get someone to help her with the box, but then she got another idea. She went to Ryze's clothes and started searching for the ones that showed the least amount of skin.
The man shrugged in frustration, "I don't have the answer. Figure out where they're taking it, find people to help us track it down and take it back that way? I don't even know what it is...There's no good solution here!
"More than five people, it is little too much for me." Rina said to hersellf and stay inside her hideout, waiting for them to leave.
Soon enough Icena found a rather nice looking cloak, that covered her entire body and the hood could be used to cover her head. But then she paused - she saw a set of clothes that seemed to be oddly familiar... this were the clothes and face mask used by the assassins during the alleyway attack!
"And to pay the help with what? The gold is on one of the carts." She glared at Valerian. "And since you have no better idea, we will go with mine. For now we shall see how the situation looks like, and seek a chance to strike. Remember," She put index finger on his chest. "You are still under contract." She said threateningly.
After some time, the group disappeared away. Then Rina had to pause as she realized, that something in the air was moving no the way it should - a vampire! She remembered that one of those was in Izana's service! It flew around, before quickly moving on... obviously it did not spot Rina, but it was but another persuer she had to be wary of...
"Ha, ha so Izana not only send after me her guards, but also vampire? The power what I stolen must be much more precious than I imaging." Rina said to herself, feeling more pride than fear from unknown treat. She waiting little longer, before she decided to leave her hideout. "Hmm... but with all these persuers on my tail, it wouldn't be wise to follow the same road as them." Rina decided to not go to the city, only head on into the wild, find some place to hide for the while.
What?!? Icena looked at the clothes and mask, then turned and glared angrily at the unconscious woman. You bitch! I am going to enjoy making you suffer! She quickly put the clothes and face mask in a bag, then added the money pouch she had found earlier. Once that was taken care of Icena went back to planning what to do next. The cloak was nice, but not quite enough. Her plan was to dress Ryze in something that would hide the ropes binding her, spill some wine on her to make it seem as if her “friend” had been so drunk she had spilled the wine ion herself, then wrap her in the cloak and carry her back. She would try to avoid people, but if anyone stopped her and asked she would pretend that her “friend” was so drunk she had fallen unconscious and Icena was carrying her home. She would also wait until it was dark outside to make it easier to move around without attracting attention. (I hope I explained the plan well enough.)
The silver metal rippled across his chest toward her finger again as he rolled his eyes, "Fine. I guess we can just go off and get killed then. Lead the way."
As Rina looked around, she determined that there were three directions she could go to - the living forest, the caves or the desert...
(yup!) After checking out the wardrobe, Icena realized that there was not much else - but the cloak was enough. if the woman would stay on her back, the bondage would stay hidden. She only needed to do something about the mouth.... Icena sat down and waited for the darkness to come. Soon, it was dark, but still not enough. he would need to wait some more. But then, Icena realized that her prisoner started waking up.
The two made their way through the forest, sneaking... but they did not find any bandits. As they approached, they reached the place of ambush. There were no bandits present and the road seemed to be cleaned up - there were no bodies and no carts. "Shit." Slate hummed. "They moved. They move fast." She walked up to the place the carts were. "Sloppy." She said as she picked up a knife that was left on the ground.
Icena had no desire to waste even more time with her prisoner. Before Ryze could wake up the orphan covered her mouth and nose with her hands, cutting off the flow of air. She waited until she was sure her prisoner was knocked out once more before going back to implementing her plan.
The travel to the forest went without a problem and any additional meetings... but the forest, it was alive. It was so different in comparison to the desert. Something moved here and there again. A leaf fell. Then there were the faces. Rina's stomach hurt, as she felt hunger and thirst.
Slate cursed lightly. "We will have to follow the lead." She pointed at the ground. "At least the carts left visible tracks." She got up and started walking, following the trail.
Ryze passed out again and Icena could continue. Her prisoner, was not the lightest, probably because of her bust. But for someone as trained as Icena, it was not difficult to move her. As they walked through the night city, her deception seemed to be working, there were a few close calls, but nothing she could not manage. Finally, she managed to reach her mistress's mansion.
