Volume 4: Dereliction of Duty
Chapter II: Old Roads
Sarah scraped herself off the floor of the carriage, reclaiming her seat by the window with a muzzy wariness that carried over from sleep into awareness. Around a deep yawn, she managed to ask for some water which got her a blank stare from the two sitting in the opposite bench. The small elf and the smaller kobold were an odd pair, but their mirrored look of disbelief and confusion somehow made them look like siblings.
It was enough to make Sarah chuckle. Gods it felt good to laugh. "Where are we?"
"I don't know," Tessarie said anxiously. "Caldion said something about a village called Laleah?"
That was right. She barely remembered having given those directions, but now it made sense. Sarah kicked her feet up on the bench and rubbed her eyes. "Capital." After finding her glasses and setting them on the end of her nose she leaned deeper into her corner trying to find a comfortable leaning position that would favor her shoulder. It was still sore despite Keiter's healing and she, soft from years of a life of comfort, had become entirely too susceptible, even minor aches.
It seemed that it wasn't just her endurance that had waned over the past couple of decades. How uncouth. It wouldn't matter much once they got to Laleah, of course, but maybe she could get back into shape- farm villages always needed some kind of help. Yes, that was it; a little time in front of a forge wouldn't hurt anything.
That was, of course, once they were safe. Yes, they'd spend a little time in Laleah, she'd make the arrangements necessary to see to it everyone was taken care of. Then she'd get back on track with her original plan, maybe head to the south plains for a while. The others could fend for themselves- Tessarie would need help getting back to elven lands and Caldion. . .
Well, Caldion was a paladin. He was probably used to doing whatever compelled him. So long as it didn't include Sarah, she couldn't have cared less; attachments like this were a death sentence, especially the paladin. But what about Keiter?
Sarah massaged her temples, eying the little kobold from her periphery. He wouldn't last a minute in the wilds, even if they could find a tribe of the reptilian creatures that wouldn't kill them on sight for trespassing, he didn't speak their language and the idea of his delivering Isira's message of pleasure and warmth? Preposterous. He may as well have been proselytizing to humans- which he had been doing for years now anyway. . . "Hmph."
As if she'd sensed an opportunity to grab Sarah's attention, Tessarie leaned forward. She spoke in elven, probably assuming Keiter would have no idea what was being said. Sarah didn't have the heart to break that illusion. "We're heading to a human city, aren't we? What about your-" she pinched the tip of her tongue between her lips, looking at Sarah apologetically. "Friend? They will kill us all for traveling with him-"
Sarah cut her off with a pleasant smile that didn't touch her eyes. Keiter had turned his attention to the conversation but, as usual, said nothing to suggest he understood what was being said. Maybe it was part of his nature to be so obtuse, Sarah had never understood why he acted that way. "I think you discount the value of good friends, my dear girl. I would no sooner abandon him than I would my own god."
That earned a poignant look from the kobold. She knew better than continue down that line of lies, so she took the girl's cheeks in her hands, smiling gently. "Trust me."
A flicker of doubt sparked deep in the young elf's eyes, as it rightly should have, but she gave a weak smile all the same. "I do."
"Good girl. Now, then!" She drew back. "We'll get to Laleah and I'll have a talk with an old friend of mine there, we'll do our best to make sure everyone's comfortable and then. . ." With a satisfying 'plonk' Sarah kicked her boot against the carriage floor, crossed her legs and stretched long and languid. It was as much to emphasize her generous curves as it was to pop her aching muscles and bones- the concept of winning minds and hearts was, after all, a multi-faceted proposition. "Then we'll get everyone where they want to be." When she found her seat again, she was the focus of her companion's attention. There was a very subtle acknowledgment to them that made Sarah smile all the brighter.
They weren't wrong to believe in her. She'd saved their lives, gotten them out of the city and had ensured everyone had enough money to retire on in one night.
They might have been foolish.
But not
wrong
.
#
The coach lurched to a stop on a slight incline several hours later- hours that had been filled with mindless silence and a certain sense of growing dread that things might not turn out as they should have. Sarah had done her best to distract herself by reading one of the books left behind by the noble who's carriage she'd 'borrowed' but soon gave up when she realized it was going to be a treatise on why elves had no business intermingling with humans. Disguised as an educational primer on market forces, no less. How droll.
Caldion disembarked from the carriage a few moments later and slapped the side of the compartment. "We're stopping for a bit." He said as if it was a foregone conclusion, and then disappeared into the brush along the road. Tessarie jumped from her seat to stretch out, Keiter followed behind by a few seconds and Sarah, almost reluctantly, made her way out.
Sarah eyed the stretch of road behind them and the one in front- both were remarkably open and easy to watch for approach, but still the fine hairs on her neck stood at rigid attention. "Pray tell, why are we stopping now?"
"The horses are tired," came the terse reply. The young man stepped out of the bush adjusting his belt as he made his way towards the animals, ignoring Sarah's quizzical expression. He spent some time cleaning them up from what Sarah could see, washing blood splatters from their manes that even she hadn't noticed in their escape. He used spit and elbow grease, pampering the animals with a particular fondness that actually impressed her. What was more impressive was that the hoses actually seemed to enjoy the attention. Maybe it was because they were stopped.
Keiter wandered over to the edge of the woods and leaned against a tree, for just a moment looking like he was going to go to the bathroom but instead he hung his head against the bark and went still. Tessarie disappeared gods only knew where leaving Sarah nothing to do but pace back and forth to stretch her legs.
Provided the good Mayor Harris hadn't gotten himself into trouble with Sorash's nobility, Sarah would have full access to the caravan coaster upon arrival. All they had to do was be discrete and everything would be fine. . . Just like she'd planned for.
It was actually rather surprising how well her plans had come to fruition after a rocky, some might say chaotic start, but the core plan was still perfectly in motion. Sarah had to smile at that. Decades may have softened her body, but they hadn't robbed her of her faculties. Except one little problem.
They had no food.
She wasn't the only one who was hungry, she couldn't have been. Hungry and thirsty, a terrible state of affairs no matter what situation they were in. Sarah rifled through the luggage compartment and despite finding a beautiful dress that would have fit her a lifetime ago, came out with nothing useful to their current situation. She leaned against the side of the coach, muttering a curse in Sphinx.
Tessarie emerged from the woods ahead of them a couple of minutes later with a bundle wrapped up in her cloak and, Sarah noticed, a couple of feet of material torn from the bottom of her dress. It wasn't dragging on the ground and fit more or less, except for where it hung from her body, leaving a shoulder exposed- it had been sewn for a human woman, not a tiny elf. Sarah quietly vowed to find a real tailor once they were in Laleah.
