The next time the group reconvened, it was outside the protective walls of Syliras. Following the information given to her just before leaving the nest of the knighthood, Kaie maneuvered carefully through the woods with Jeida and the rest of the group close behind. The smiths and pair of horsed mercenaries were already moving slowly along the Kabrin road to buy them time to find position.
Outfitted with their own equipment, the smiths had made a convincing pair of traveling tradesmen. Their horse-drawn cart bumped along with shields and swords cleverly hidden within in place of wares. Beside them the armored ax man wandered along with eyes roving the ground before them. Within a half bell the scouts would catch wind of them and report their approach back to the others. Kaie hoped to have everyone comfortably hidden and waiting by the time the moment to give signal came.
"I imagine this will feel almost familiar even across the Suvan," Kaie mused quietly to Jeida stepped just behind her heels. She glanced backward to find the Kabrin was no longer in sight. "The Dhani rarely leave their holes in Zinrah, but my fang has stumbled on a pair stupid enough to think they could outsmart the Blockade," Jeida murmured in return, the pride evident in her tone implying the encounter was little short of a massacre. No doubt the snakeskin was shorn and strung from tree limbs closer to the Cutthroat Shadow clan lands as tradition dictated. Would she have had the same experiences had she remained behind? What notoriety could she have boasted? Slayer of Dhani? Tokoh of her very own fang? A legendary Tiger Rider?
She stepped more carefully through the terrain the closer they came to their destination. Noisy twigs were avoided. Dried leaves were not permitted to crackle beneath her boots. They simply could not risk the scouts identifying an approaching war party before setting their sights on prey. After about a bell the group of seven fighters were perched on high ground above the bandit encampment. The boisterous laughs of unsuspecting men and the smell of campfire smoke were welcomed stimulation to the senses. Kaie gestured for the group to get quietly comfortable in their hiding place while they waited. She could see the restless nerves evident in their wide eyes.
"What are you doing?" She hissed quietly to her sister hidden behind some brush nearby, noticing movement. Jeida peeked her head out to reveal a a half-painted face and palette of colors in a small bowl. A wicked grin appeared on Kaie's visage. Without needing invitation, her younger sister scampered over to share. Kaie immediately began to paint herself as well. The only other time she'd gone through the trouble outside of Falyndar was when she enacted brutal revenge in Sunberth. To partake with a clan member was exhilarating.
The color palette of war was simple for the Cutthroat Shadow clan. Black represented war. Blue signaled strength. Red, a willingness to kill or be killed. Like Jeida, Kaie used the black to fill in in the areas around her eyes, across the bridge of her nose, all the way to to her temples. Streaks of blue were painted down her arms with her fingers and drawn diagonally across her cheeks to her jaw line. Lines of red were pulled down with two fingers over her lips down to her chin, and one thick line slashed across her throat. The painted Myrian sisters clasped forearms with murmurs of praise to their Goddess Queen before separating again.
"We got ourselves a pair!" An unfamiliar voice echoed from below, almost immediately rousing the lounging bandits to action. And here...we...go. Noises of all sorts exploded from the camp. Swords were unsheathed, boots raced toward a preconceived position, horses stirred as bodies mounted saddles. "Three men drawing a cart behind them. Probably a smith or craftsmen if I had to guess. One wears armor and carries an ax. They'll be here before the half bell is over," the first voice continued to inform his brethren. Kaie assumed him to have been part of the scouting group just returned. The second voice Kaie assumed to be the leadership. "An easy snare! Get the girl ready!"
Outfitted with their own equipment, the smiths had made a convincing pair of traveling tradesmen. Their horse-drawn cart bumped along with shields and swords cleverly hidden within in place of wares. Beside them the armored ax man wandered along with eyes roving the ground before them. Within a half bell the scouts would catch wind of them and report their approach back to the others. Kaie hoped to have everyone comfortably hidden and waiting by the time the moment to give signal came.
"I imagine this will feel almost familiar even across the Suvan," Kaie mused quietly to Jeida stepped just behind her heels. She glanced backward to find the Kabrin was no longer in sight. "The Dhani rarely leave their holes in Zinrah, but my fang has stumbled on a pair stupid enough to think they could outsmart the Blockade," Jeida murmured in return, the pride evident in her tone implying the encounter was little short of a massacre. No doubt the snakeskin was shorn and strung from tree limbs closer to the Cutthroat Shadow clan lands as tradition dictated. Would she have had the same experiences had she remained behind? What notoriety could she have boasted? Slayer of Dhani? Tokoh of her very own fang? A legendary Tiger Rider?
She stepped more carefully through the terrain the closer they came to their destination. Noisy twigs were avoided. Dried leaves were not permitted to crackle beneath her boots. They simply could not risk the scouts identifying an approaching war party before setting their sights on prey. After about a bell the group of seven fighters were perched on high ground above the bandit encampment. The boisterous laughs of unsuspecting men and the smell of campfire smoke were welcomed stimulation to the senses. Kaie gestured for the group to get quietly comfortable in their hiding place while they waited. She could see the restless nerves evident in their wide eyes.
"What are you doing?" She hissed quietly to her sister hidden behind some brush nearby, noticing movement. Jeida peeked her head out to reveal a a half-painted face and palette of colors in a small bowl. A wicked grin appeared on Kaie's visage. Without needing invitation, her younger sister scampered over to share. Kaie immediately began to paint herself as well. The only other time she'd gone through the trouble outside of Falyndar was when she enacted brutal revenge in Sunberth. To partake with a clan member was exhilarating.
The color palette of war was simple for the Cutthroat Shadow clan. Black represented war. Blue signaled strength. Red, a willingness to kill or be killed. Like Jeida, Kaie used the black to fill in in the areas around her eyes, across the bridge of her nose, all the way to to her temples. Streaks of blue were painted down her arms with her fingers and drawn diagonally across her cheeks to her jaw line. Lines of red were pulled down with two fingers over her lips down to her chin, and one thick line slashed across her throat. The painted Myrian sisters clasped forearms with murmurs of praise to their Goddess Queen before separating again.
"We got ourselves a pair!" An unfamiliar voice echoed from below, almost immediately rousing the lounging bandits to action. And here...we...go. Noises of all sorts exploded from the camp. Swords were unsheathed, boots raced toward a preconceived position, horses stirred as bodies mounted saddles. "Three men drawing a cart behind them. Probably a smith or craftsmen if I had to guess. One wears armor and carries an ax. They'll be here before the half bell is over," the first voice continued to inform his brethren. Kaie assumed him to have been part of the scouting group just returned. The second voice Kaie assumed to be the leadership. "An easy snare! Get the girl ready!"
