"Don't move, missy." I felt the tip of a sword press gently between my shoulder blades. The thin layer of my leather vest would do nothing to protect me from the weapon, and I knew I had no other choice. I froze.
"Now, put your weapons down."
I sighed resignedly, but complied. My bow went first as I set it down onto the mossy forest floor, then my arrows as I slowly shrugged my quiver off my shoulder. After a short pause, I slipped my belt knife out of its sheath and it joined my other weapons. Raising both hands above my head, I stood and turned around to face my captor.
It had seemed like such a perfect idea. The gang of bandits had moved into the area a few months ago, and had been preying on merchant caravans ever since. Not only had Guard forces proven unable to stop their depredations, they'd repeatedly failed to locate the bandit's camp. Things had gotten so bad that Lord Atrayan had finally issued a reward of 100 gold pieces to anyone who could tell his Guards where to find the bandits.
And that had sparked my idea on how to earn that reward money. I lived outside of a small village, where my father worked a poor farm. I helped with the farm work, true, but I also supplemented things by hunting in the forest and, at times, poaching in the Lord's private preserves. I was so good at tracking and hunting that I even provided meat for a few neighboring farms who were just as poor as we were. And I'd been doing so for the past four years, ever since I turned sixteen. Now twenty, I was a better tracker and hunter than I'd ever been.
The rest followed logically. I started by dressing in my well-worn forest leathers. While I would have preferred trousers, my father was a traditionalist when it came to girl's attire, so instead I wore soft leather panties and a leather skirt that reached mid-thigh. A loose-fitting cloth shirt followed, covered by a leather vest that did a fair job of accentuating my curves and highlighting my breasts. Once clothed and armed, I set out to track the bandits.
Logically, the best way to track them would be from the scene of the crime, so to speak. So, starting at the site of the last ambush, I circled outwards searching for sign. When I found it, the hunt began. It took me all of four hours of stealthy stalking before I noticed a glow from a campfire lighting the night sky in the distance. Using every scrap of caution and field-craft I've ever learned, I slowly approached the campsite.
Large campsite, major cooking fire, nine or ten roughly dressed men involved in various end-of-day tasks. It sure looked like a bandit camp, and as soon as I got back with the information, I'd be rich!
And that was when I felt the sword tip pressing into my back, and I knew I was in trouble.
My captor looked me over, looking for hidden weapons, then brusquely ordered me to turn and walk into the fire light. As I did so, with him following close behind, I expected alarm from the rest of the bandits. But while most of them stopped what they were doing and watched me being paraded towards the largest of the tents, I saw no sign of panic.
We stopped in front of the tent's entrance, and my captor stepped forward, flipped the tent flap aside, and went inside. I knew a chance for escape when I saw one, but I turned my head to look around before I made my move. Good thing I did, as standing right behind me was the biggest man I'd ever seen in my life. He was seven feet tall if he was an inch, and he positively rippled with muscles. I had no idea how he'd gotten so close without me hearing him, but I also had no doubt he'd catch me easily enough, so I abandoned my plans for escape. For now.
A third man emerged from the tree line, carrying the weapons I'd dropped in the forest. He headed for a small tent three over from this one, and I made a note of it. That was my favorite bow, and I had no intention of leaving it behind.
My captor emerged from the tent and faced me. "Wait here, girl." Then he turned, walked to the tree line, and disappeared into the darkness. He was obviously a sentry, and a damned good one. My muscular shadow remained with me, though, so I stood still and waited like the good, helpless girl that I fervently hoped they thought I was. If they saw me as a threat, I was as good as dead.
My wait was a short one, as the flap opened and the bandit chief walked out. He was a ruggedly handsome man, fit and trim, with a square-jawed face that immediately appealed to me. He wore a short sword on his left hip, and high-topped moccasins. He moved me closer to the firelight and then looked me over very carefully before he spoke.
"Well," he said, finally meeting my eyes, "and what have we here?"
Should I lie to him, or would he see right through it? I had a hunch he wouldn't buy the whole "just out hunting" excuse I'd prepared, though, so I needed to tread carefully.
"I'm a hunter." He quirked one eyebrow in question. "Tracker." That elicited a nod.
"Tracking us, obviously." He glanced at the big man over my shoulder, then back at me. "For whom?"
I hesitated, unsure if he'd believe me. "Uh... free-lance." I swallowed nervously, then continued. "There's a reward."
"Already? Well, this Lord of yours is an efficient fellow." He looked away for a moment, obviously thinking. "A very efficient fellow, indeed," he continued softly. "Damn him."
His gaze flicked back to my face. "So nobody knows you're here?"
THAT stupid I'm not. "I told my pa!"
His hand moved so quickly that I never saw it coming. The slap against my right cheek spun me around and had me spluttering with the indignity. "Don't lie to me, girl!"
I opened my mouth to repeat the lie, but knew it'd just bring me another slap. "Nobody," I finally muttered sullenly.
He smiled. "Good. Then there's no time pressure, and no need to kill you and run."
That close. I'd been that close to death. I shivered at the thought.
"We have time," he continued, "So maybe we can profit from you. Is there anyone who can pay a ransom for you, girl?"
I shook my head numbly. "No."
"Hmmm."
I was suddenly intensely aware that I was alone in a camp full of ruthless brigands, with no potential rescuers who knew where I was standing by to rescue me. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I forced myself not to fidget.
"What's your name, girl?"
I thought about it briefly. I mean, it couldn't matter that much, and it was definitely better than being called "girl" or "missy" all the time.
"Kendra."
He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Kendra. I'm Niels." He took a step closer to me, and I almost stepped back. "And you are a puzzle."
