looked down at the steel. The thought was interrupted by a bright bolt of lightning followed by a loud crack of thunder that reminded her of the situation. The storm conveniently provided the perfect cover she needed to get away.
She quickly changed out of her prison garb and into the clothing provided, attaching the sheath to the belt on her waist and wrapping the cloak around her for protection from the weather. Everything else she kept in the sack which she slung over her shoulder. When she mounted the horse, she turned back to look at the cave she had escaped through.
"Be safe, Glenn."
She turned the horse out to face the storm and took a deep breath before pulling the cloak's hood over her head. She had no idea where she'd go, but she knew she had to go somewhere. She heeled the horse to get it running and galloped into the rain.
______
Sunlight broke through the treetop canopy to Anye's camp in the forest far to the south of Delrich’s castle, waking her from another troubled sleep. Her ride through the dark storm had been far from pleasant. Not only did she need to avoid being seen by anyone out of fear of being turned in, she also had to deal with the torrential rain and winds. If that wasn't bad enough, when she reached the relative shelter of the southern forest and made a tent out of the sailcloth, she constantly heard the voice of her father repeating his last words to her. The uttering mixed with her recurring dream of fire, which combined for an especially bad series of nightmares while she slept.
Regardless of the dreams, she did manage to get some rest and come up with a plan. Mitus was officially still at war with Delrich, and even though most of the hostilities between the two nations had temporarily stopped, fleeing to the imperial capital was out of the question. North of Delrich and Mitus were the snow plains of Toran, and to the south through the forest was the neutral nation of Belrun.
Toran and Delrich had an alliance which allowed the kingdom to herd dragons from the northern peaks for the Dragon Knights in exchange for protection, and for goods manufactured in Delrich. The alliance also meant that they were at odds with Mitus and would likely report her presence to the capital if she were discovered, so Anye ruled out that possibility as well.
Belrun remained neutral in the war against Mitus, wishing not to provoke the sorcerous empire from attacking them at their harbors in retaliation for supporting Delrich, or the latter pushing through the forest and razing their farmland if they chose to aid Mitus. The sheer amount of land under the kingdom's control provided a large enough supply of people to keep their army and navy formidable regardless, but they still preferred to remain out of the conflict. Since Anye was already in the bordering forest and there was no real reason for them to turn her over if discovered, continuing south seemed like the best choice. The port towns within the kingdom also provided transportation to other lands beyond the ocean, so leaving the continent was also an option if the need arose.
Luckily the road leading through the forest connecting the two kingdoms was hardly ever populated. The only location she expected to find anyone besides random traveling merchants was at the border tolls. Anye only needed to come up with a new identity for herself when questioned by Belrun’s guards. She’d sneak around it to get out of the forest away from the road, just as she’d snuck in, except the toll was literally the only way in; at the edge of the forest was a gorge that dropped at least two hundred feet and was about half as wide across. It stretched along the entirety of the forest edge, cutting off access completely except for the toll bridge.
Packing
She quickly changed out of her prison garb and into the clothing provided, attaching the sheath to the belt on her waist and wrapping the cloak around her for protection from the weather. Everything else she kept in the sack which she slung over her shoulder. When she mounted the horse, she turned back to look at the cave she had escaped through.
"Be safe, Glenn."
She turned the horse out to face the storm and took a deep breath before pulling the cloak's hood over her head. She had no idea where she'd go, but she knew she had to go somewhere. She heeled the horse to get it running and galloped into the rain.
______
Sunlight broke through the treetop canopy to Anye's camp in the forest far to the south of Delrich’s castle, waking her from another troubled sleep. Her ride through the dark storm had been far from pleasant. Not only did she need to avoid being seen by anyone out of fear of being turned in, she also had to deal with the torrential rain and winds. If that wasn't bad enough, when she reached the relative shelter of the southern forest and made a tent out of the sailcloth, she constantly heard the voice of her father repeating his last words to her. The uttering mixed with her recurring dream of fire, which combined for an especially bad series of nightmares while she slept.
Regardless of the dreams, she did manage to get some rest and come up with a plan. Mitus was officially still at war with Delrich, and even though most of the hostilities between the two nations had temporarily stopped, fleeing to the imperial capital was out of the question. North of Delrich and Mitus were the snow plains of Toran, and to the south through the forest was the neutral nation of Belrun.
Toran and Delrich had an alliance which allowed the kingdom to herd dragons from the northern peaks for the Dragon Knights in exchange for protection, and for goods manufactured in Delrich. The alliance also meant that they were at odds with Mitus and would likely report her presence to the capital if she were discovered, so Anye ruled out that possibility as well.
Belrun remained neutral in the war against Mitus, wishing not to provoke the sorcerous empire from attacking them at their harbors in retaliation for supporting Delrich, or the latter pushing through the forest and razing their farmland if they chose to aid Mitus. The sheer amount of land under the kingdom's control provided a large enough supply of people to keep their army and navy formidable regardless, but they still preferred to remain out of the conflict. Since Anye was already in the bordering forest and there was no real reason for them to turn her over if discovered, continuing south seemed like the best choice. The port towns within the kingdom also provided transportation to other lands beyond the ocean, so leaving the continent was also an option if the need arose.
Luckily the road leading through the forest connecting the two kingdoms was hardly ever populated. The only location she expected to find anyone besides random traveling merchants was at the border tolls. Anye only needed to come up with a new identity for herself when questioned by Belrun’s guards. She’d sneak around it to get out of the forest away from the road, just as she’d snuck in, except the toll was literally the only way in; at the edge of the forest was a gorge that dropped at least two hundred feet and was about half as wide across. It stretched along the entirety of the forest edge, cutting off access completely except for the toll bridge.
Packing
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