Mornin' Ride

(OOC – Well, the Pony Express has got nothing on Busy. I didn't expect to see you writing Oruvand again, DaMasterT, but I threw that out there because Kalena was not likely to forget Oru and realistically he would be high on her list of people to recruit. With Jack wanting revenge on them both for the raid at Jocelynn's Inn, and now interacting with them in disguise, this should potentially be a lot of fun. I'll write Kalena receiving Chiren/Jack's couriered return message as soon as either Ren, LSP, Albino Moose or someone else responds to my last post. And SilverCloud, no worries about taking so long with the Nate and Orla story. I haven't been in the best frame of mind to write lately and due to something I've worked out with Nim, it's actually a good thing that we haven't progressed too far with it yet, but I'll say no more...;))

-Verden, just outside the Skeldergate Forest, very early morning, 546 DBTR-

Orla gathered the components for the spells she intended to cast: diaspensia, spruce pollen, a strip of flax yarn, a limestone pebble. Then she peeked through the window at Nate's guard who was in bed. After mixing the flower petals with the pollen, she quietly incanted the words to a powerful sleep spell and blew the mixture off the palm of her outstretched hand.

The strange glittering cloud passed insubstantially through the panes of glass and floated across to the sleeping man who breathed it into his lungs, causing him to slumber even more deeply. Imp that she was, she silently snuck up on the second man standing guard, and from behind, dosed him with the same magical sleeping mist so that despite himself, he began to softly snore, upright, leaning against the wall. As he started to slide down it she quickly pushed a chair under him as his legs gave way.

Smiling, Orla next tiptoed toward the inn's stables where Nate was waiting for her with the two horses. She took the yarn and limestone pebble from a pocket in her dress and cast another elaborate spell, this one on the two steeds so that their hooved tracks would appear to go in the opposite direction that they were rode, confounding any later pursuit. She then tied a kerchief on her head, as she saw the local peasant women wore, and carrying a small pack walked out and into the stables where Nate was standing beside the mounts along with a slightly bewildered stable boy nervously attending him.

"Good morning, Your Highness," Orla chirped sweetly, and none too loudly. "I hope you slept well." She gave him a curtsy, and then surveyed the two horses with pleasure. What a handsome pair of beasts, she thought. She was not a practised rider, but was able to commune with all sorts of animals and so was confident that she would be able to make due upon one. "I see that you're all ready to go, so I guess we should be off. There's just enough light now to find our way, and in not too long we'll be in for a beautiful sunrise."

The stable boy awkwardly stepped forward and assisted her into the saddle. She took the leather reins in her small hands and smiled across at Nate, her expression warm, and her silver-blue eyes adventurous.