16.

Luke and Kyara escape the Inn only to face a larger obstacle.

16.

 

The Lead-shot Inn and Tavern was known throughout Ledfurdd as a ‘night place’ where local residents and travelers could drink, dine and ‘have a good time’ late into the night.    But in the early morning until about noon, the place was extremely quiet, with only a handful of servants cleaning the tavern area and some maids preparing the linens for use on the beds after the late risers crawled out of their drunken stupors by midday.

This day, just before sunrise, the tavern area remained messy as the workers had celebrated the marriage of two of their own, the evening before, and all had decided to wait until later in the morning to clean up the place.

So when Luke and Kyara crept down the darkened stairwell, there was no one to see them.    Luke quickly, yet quietly moved to the large central fireplace in the tavern area, which had cold coals remaining in it.

“Are you sure this will work?”   Kyara asked in an excited whisper.

“No, but we’ve got to do something to distract those men watching us.    Two of them we could handle, but a dozen of them would probably overwhelm us.”   As he spoke to her, he began throwing pieces of firewood into the fireplace and then reached into the soot filled chimney and groped for the flue damper lever.   Once he found it, he had to work it for a short time before it would close.

“They probably have a fire going in here every night,”  He told Kyara, “We’re lucky it even has a damper.”

“So closing it will shut off the escape route for the smoke?”

“Yes, and I hope it will produce enough smoke to make everyone in the Inn think the place is on fire.”

“That’s a crazy idea, Luke, but I like it.”

“Turn over some of those chairs and tables, but do so as quietly as you can.   Try to put some against the front door so they won’t be able to get in here quickly and discover that the fire is only a closed damper.”

Kyara complied with his orders, her heart racing in excitement.    Though she tried to be very quiet, the noise seemed to be echoing through the empty tavern.     She feared that any moment, a servant or patron would come down the stairs and discover what they were doing.

But to her relief, Luke got the fire stoked up in the huge central fireplace, putting in wood, kindling and even some of the soiled cloth tablecloths from the tables.     Almost at once the room began to fill with a thick black smoke that reeked of grease and burning wood.

Kyara was amazed at the speed at which the room filled with smoke.    Holding her cloak over her nose and mouth, she followed Luke to the stairs leading to the upstairs.

“You certainly have a thing for smoky fires, Luke,”  She teased him, remembering his suicide attempt.

“The fireplace has a Practical Magic incantation on it to help fires start easier.   That’s what I was hoping for.”   Luke told her as they hurried up the stairs.

“So now we start phase two of your plan?”

“Yes, and make it sound as panicked and scared as you can.”

“Okay, here goes.”

 

A moment later, two loud voices filled the early morning air with shouts of ‘Fire!’.

“FIRE!  FIRE!   THE INN’S ON FIRE!   EVERYONE GET OUT!  FIRE!”   Luke yelled, rushing down the hallway and pounding furiously on each door before moving on to the next, while Kyara did the same thing on the other side of the hall.

By the time the first door opened, they were at the end of the hall and quickly ducked into the doorway of their room as if they too had just been awakened by the same shouts.

Smoke was filling the hallway and it exceeded Luke’s best hope in effect.    In a minute’s time, utter pandemonium engulfed the inn.   Half-naked prostitutes raced up and down the hallway, screaming shrilly, followed by their clients.    A dozen hung-over merchants and their servants rushed around in a panic, yelling orders as they attempted to gather their wares and money and flee the inn.

Several young chambermaids, some of them not even teenagers yet, stood plastered against one wall of the hallway, pale, terrified and too scared to know which way to flee.

“Wow, your plan really worked,”   Kyara told Luke as they joined the others rushing down the back stairs that led outside.

Pushed along by the terrified occupants of the upper floors of the Inn, they stampeded down the outside stairs that led to the stables.    The combined weight of everyone on the stairs at once made the old wood creak and groan.   Just as Kyara’s foot touched the ground, one step, halfway up, snapped in two, sending a fat merchant and a prostitute falling through.

The commotion had brought neighboring businesses and homes awake.    People were rushing out into the street to see what was going on, while many rushed toward the Inn.

“Get the horses out of there before the whole damned thing goes up!”   A merchant from behind them yelled and Luke was very pleased with it, for this would explain their hurried mounting of their horses.    Yet he also knew that it wouldn’t be long before someone figured out that it was only a closed damper, so they had to immediately get away.

They joined a handful of people racing to the stables, to find a pair of stable hands already pulling horses from their stalls.    Luckily, they had thrown their saddles - unbuckled- over the backs of their steeds and they hurriedly took the reins from the terrified youths and walked them a distance down the street, past throngs of people flocking to see the building burn.

“Get your saddle buckled up quickly and let’s get out of here before they figure out what happened,”  Luke told the princess and Kyara went right to work.

   They had just mounted their horses and were turning to lead them down the street when Luke thought he heard someone from the front of the Inn call out that it was a ‘false alarm’.     Luckily, the noise of the crowd prevented this call from reaching those at the rear of the inn, and he put the spurs to his horse, Kyara following his lead.

They galloped up the street and to the city gates, which had just been opened for a make-shift fire brigade of men in a wagon, who had filled several empty ale barrels with water and were rushing toward the Inn.

“Hey!”  One of the gate guards called out as Luke and Kyara rushed past, “Where are you going?”

“They need more water!”  Luke called back and in the chaos of the situation, his explanation seemed to satisfy the guard.

They rode at a gallop for a mile out of the city then up the reasonably wide mountain path that weaved across and around the sides of the plateaus.   It was a beautiful scene, looking out across the wooded valleys covered in early autumn mist, but Luke knew they were not out of danger yet.

He kept glancing over his shoulder as they rode and it wasn’t until Ledfurdd disappeared from view behind the side of a mountain that he slowed their pace to a fast trot.

“We did it!”  Kyara laughed gleefully.

“I’m not so sure,”  Luke replied.

“Why?   Do you see something?”

“No… not exactly.    It’s more of a feeling than anything, but I think that we weren’t the only ones leaving Ledfurdd.”

“You think those men you told me about are following us?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think I saw a group of riders going through the gates just before we curved around the mountain out of view.   If they saw us leave, it could be those men and the others that were supposed to join them this morning.”

“So they’ll be chasing us?!”   Kyara asked in dread.

“Following us, is more likely.   This trail has no forks in it for forty miles, and it is far too steep for us to try to go down the side of these mountains, so they know that we’ll be directly ahead of them for probably two days.”

“Are their any villages?”

“I think there is supposed to be one about a day’s ride, just on the other side of Timberline Gorge Bridge.”

“Timberline Gorge Bridge?”

“You’ve not heard of it?”

“No… should I have?”

“It’s supposed to be the highest man-made bridge in Albyia.    It spans Timberline Gorge, which drops about 1,000 feet into icy Toricii River.   It is said to be quite a feat of engineering - a hundred feet long and partially supported by Practical Magic.”

“And we’ve got to cross that?”

“I’m afraid so - it is at the edge of timberline, but it is supposed to be wide enough for a caravan wagon to go across.”

“What about the drop into that river?   I don’t like heights, Luke.”

“Just don’t look down - the Practical Magic enchantments keep it stable, they say, though there are frequent storms that pass over it and from late fall until mid spring it is covered with about ten feet of snow.”

“You’re not helping sell this to me, Luke.”

“Then I won’t tell you about the Toricii River legends.”

“Oh no… go ahead, tell me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Tell me,”

“Well, ‘Toricii’ is an ancient word from the native elven population of Albyia that means ‘demon’ or ‘ghost’.   Or, more accurately, ‘baneful spirit’.   The river is said to be enchanted and speaks to those venturing close to it, luring them into it.   The water is a brilliant blue and it is said that it flows out of some mysterious source in the mountains.    Some say that there is an ancient, abandoned elven city hidden somewhere in these mountains to the north and that this river’s source is there.”

“Great…”

“It is a fast moving river, for it descends down out of the mountains and then weaves through the badlands of the Earldom of Midgranne until it disappears underground not far from St. Catherine’s Abby.    Some say that it then feeds into St. Catherine’s Pool.”

“But isn’t St. Catherine’s Pool supposed to be a holy site?   So how would a ‘demon river’ connect to a holy pool?”

Luke shrugged, “They’re just legends.    Anyway, once we cross Timberline Gorge, the path slowly descends over the course of probably forty more miles until it comes out in the foothills of Greenshire and then we’ll have about thirty miles easy ride through the Duchy of Poltris which will take us to the edge of the Yehsaelie Forest.”

“So we’ve just got to get past this bridge without being overtaken by those men following us and then we’re home free?”

“I’m not positive that we’re being followed, but if we are, yes, there are a few diverging paths through the mountains on the other side of the gorge.”

“You’re sure of this?   I don’t want to get trapped up here.”

“I’ve been told about this route, Yara, but I’ve never actually been here.   Several of my fellow knights had taken this route and they told me about it.   I trust them and so far they’ve been spot on with what they told me.”

“So what do we do if we are overtaken by those men following us?”   Kyara looked over her shoulder as if she expected to see them riding down upon them.    But the curving mountain path was clear as far as they could see - which was perhaps half a mile until it disappeared around the side of a mountain.

“We’ll have a desperate fight on our hands, I would imagine.   These men are not bandits but trained men-at-arms.   That is why I’d like us to get over the gorge far ahead of them.”

“So we’ll have to push our horses for a while.   I don’t like doing that in this high altitude.   They’re not used to it.”

“I hate it too, but we’ll get no mercy from them, especially if they know we set the fake fire to sneak away from them.    Once we’re over the gorge, we can take a connecting path and hopefully lose them.   But until then we’ve got to keep the pace up.”

 

For several hours they moved at a trot, not daring to stop for long.    Once, while crossing an open area going around the side of a mountain, they could see the path where they had been a quarter of an hour before, on the side of a mountain opposite their current position.

To their dismay, they saw a line of twelve armed horsemen, travelling a pace matching their own, making their way around the mountain.     They looked up at them, too far away to see each other clearly, but clearly recognizing them as their prey.    Each side stared at each other for about a minute, before Luke and Kyara’s path took them around out of their view again.

“Well, at least now we know,”  Luke told Kyara, who wore a grim expression on her pretty face.

“How far away are they from us?”

“Probably half an hour.   They can’t push their horses any harder than we are, so we should be able to stay ahead of them.”

“Why would they go to so much trouble to pursue us?”

“I imagine that Reddric is paying them to find and kill any rebellious elves.    You are very likely the real prize - perhaps Avalynn has told him about your plans.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.    God how I wish she’d see things differently.”

“Maybe she’ll see the light soon.   Hopefully it won’t be too late for her.”

Kyara bowed her head at the thought of her sister and fought back tears.

“Hang in there, Yara,”   Luke encouraged her before breaking off into a fit of coughing.    The Princess paled and leaned over to him.

“Luke?   Are you alright?”

“The air is thin and I’m feeling a bit light-headed.   It’s probably due to the witch’s potion.”

Kyara scrutinized him closely, “You’re not looking so good, Luke.   You’re white as a sheet and hollow-eyed.”

“The stress of this ride and high altitude is making me ‘burn up sooner.”

“Don’t say that!”

“I do not want to upset you, Yara, but I can feel it happening.   I think this whole thing has accelerated my time left.    I just wanted you to be prepared if I succumb suddenly.”

“Stop it, Luke!   Damnit, I mean it!   We’ve got enough to worry about right now!   Change the subject.”

With a wheezing sigh, he began telling her about the topography that he could remember, of their destination.    She knew why he was doing that, but she let him talk, for it gave her time to try to think of something  -- anything- that could help him go on living.   Yet nothing came to her mind and by the time Luke informed her that they were only a mile away from the gorge, she was exhausted from fretting and disappointment.

She was about to ask him how he was feeling when around a bend ahead of them came a pair of merchants riding mules.

“Good afternoon!”  One of the merchants called as they neared, “Are you planning on heading over the Timberline Gorge Bridge?”

“Why, yes, we are,”  Luke replied in a friendly but guarded voice.

“So you haven’t heard about the bridge?”   The merchant asked, clearly excited to share some information.

“Uh, no... What about the bridge?” 

“Last night there apparently was a pretty rough storm up here and the winds and rain caused a rock slide on this side of gorge.   One of the older support posts was knocked into the gorge.    The bridge is still standing, but the post that fell was the one with the practical magic enchantment that helped support the total weight of the bridge.”

“Oh no!”  Kyara groaned.

“Well, it is still standing, but it is really creaking in the middle and I wouldn’t recommend going across at the same time.   We walked our horses across one by one.    I think it will hold the weight of a horse and a man, if you dismount and walk your mount across.   The weight’s distributed better that way.   Just go slow and one at a time and you should be alright.    I’m going straight to the Practical Magic guild in Ledfurdd; they’ll have someone who can enchant a temporary support enchantment until a proper job can be done.   I just wanted to warn you.”

“We appreciate it; we’ll be careful.”

“Well, have a good journey and safe passage.”

“You too,”  Luke replied as they let the merchants pass.

 

“Now what do we do, Luke?”  Kyara asked after the merchants were out of voice range.

“We’ll have to cross it, but we’ll just go one by one.   Actually, it might help us as those men following us will have to take some time to get across the bridge.    Once we get across it, we should be home free.”

“A damaged bridge - I don’t like it, Luke.   You don’t look good, either!   We need to find a wizard.”

“Yara-“

“Don’t argue with me, Luke!   I’m feeling extremely anxious right now!”

“Alright - let’s just get to the bridge and cross that first.”

“The sooner the better.”

 

Ten minutes later they reached the Timberline Gorge Bridge.  It was as both of them had imagined, a long bridge made of thick ropes, wood beams and large wooden posts supporting the ropes at each end.   It was wide enough for two riders to cross side by side, but two of the support ropes dangled free and splintered wood near the edge revealed where the Practical Magic support post had been.

With a stricken expression, Kyara looked at the bridge and the deep cut of the gorge, which disappeared far below into a purple haze as it finally met the river.

“Dear God, I’ve never seen such a deep drop!   You’d fall forever if you went off the side!”   She shivered and swallowed hard as if she was sick, “Luke, there is no way I can go across that!  Look at how it bulges down in the center!    I can’t see how it could hold a person, not to mention a horse.”

“It’s designed like that, so there is some play in the rope.   It actually makes it safer, but with the arcane assisting ropes dangling loose and the anchor post snapped in two, I’m sure it isn’t as sturdy as it was before the storm.”

Kyara shook her head, looking away from the gorge, “I don’t think I can cross that, Luke.   Is there any way around the gorge?   A detour, maybe?”

“Well, we’d have to go back the way we came, and we’d run into those men following us for sure.  Even if we got past them, it would take us about a day to get to the next bridge south of here.”

Kyara sighed, “So we don’t really have any choice?”

Luke shook his head and launched into a brief coughing fit.   Kyara failed to see a patch of bright red blood mixed in with his spit as he wiped his mouth.

“We’ve got to try it,”  The Princess suddenly announced, “You’re getting weaker, aren’t you?”

“I’m alright, Yara.”

“No you’re not!   Don’t lie to me!”

“My time isn’t up yet.    But we can’t waste any more discussing the bridge.   You go first.”

“Me?   Why me?”

“I’ll be watching for those riders following us.    You lead your horse across and keep one hand on the rope railing.   It should be safe enough to cross slowly, but if the planks give way, grab the railing rope and hold on.    You’ll have to let go of the reins though, or your horse will drag you both to your death.”

“Yesh have mercy!”  Kyara groaned, closing her eyes and looking as if she might throw up.

“If we had a long rope, I’d tie it to you as a safety line, but we don’t have one and we’ve got to move quickly.  Quickly, but safely.”

“Well let’s get this over with as fast as possible.”

“Alright - remember, walk slowly and gently - if your horse spooks, let go of his rein and try to get to the nearest side.”

“Oh Lord, I don’t need a panicked horse to worry about too!”

“There might be an animal calming spell on the bridge - I seem to remember something like that -  I wish I’d listened more closely when my friends talked about the bridge, but I didn’t think I’d ever be crossing it.   If there is a calming spell - and if it wasn’t damaged in the wind storm last night - then at least our horses will not bolt.   But if he does, don’t try to control him, just think of yourself, okay?”

Kyara nodded, patting the neck of her horse as she slowly dismounted.

“Well, I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Luke slid off his horse and followed her to the bridge.

“The ropes making up the railings are thick - I don’t think they’d snap if the board walkway gave way.   Make sure you have one hand on one of the railings at all times.”

“Don’t worry!    You know, I’m beginning to think that maybe I should have just gone with our people into the Highlands.”

“It’s too late to go back now.    Now get going, and walk slowly but don’t stop.   I’ll watch for those men following us.   We should have time enough to cross if everything goes well.”

“Let’s hope it does.    Luke, I’m sorry I put you through all of this.”

Luke shrugged, “Its okay.”

“I promise you that when we get to the other side, I’ll find a wizard or healer that can help you.”

Luke knew it was a hopeless promise, but he didn’t want her to be upset before crossing the bridge, so he nodded with a slight smile.

“Get going, Yara, before we have company.”

The Princess took a deep breath, took the reins of her horse in one hand and tightly gripping the hand railing with the other hand, she rather hesitantly stepped out onto the rope bridge.

It gave slightly with her and she gave a small groan but forced herself to look straight ahead to the opposite side.    She took two more steps, then, to both Luke’s relief as well as her own, her horse readily stepped onto the wood boards.

They creaked ominously under his weight, but held and Kyara moved forward.    Luke could hear her breathing; she was close to hyperventilating, but he didn’t say anything to her as he didn’t want to cause her any more stress.    She was all right for a while, until about the middle of the bridge, when the dip was deepest.  

“Oh God, Oh God, Oh God,”  She chanted between gasping breaths as they now had to climb slightly toward the other side.   Her horse seemed perfectly calm, even when a board cracked slightly as he passed over it.   

Luke kept turning to scan the road behind him.    There was nothing to see, though he thought he heard the rumble of horse hooves on the ground as if a large group of riders were galloping toward them.

Anxiously, he turned and was relieved to see Kyara almost to the other side.    He held his breath until she had stepped off onto the rocky side of the canyon.    As soon as her horse got off the bridge, she sank down onto the ground and began hyperventilating.  

“Are you alright?”  He called across and she could not verbally answer, but gave him a ‘thumbs up’ sign.

“Just slow your breathing down, okay?    We’re going to start across.”   Now he was certain that he heard approaching horses, but he felt that he still might have time to cross before they arrived.    

Quickly wrapping the reins of his horse in his right hand, he went out onto the bridge, which complained against his weight.   Thankfully, his horse followed without hesitation.   Clearly there was a calming spell cast on the bridge to aid the animals crossing it.

 The bridge was indeed wobbly, and normally he wouldn’t have tried to cross it.   Slow care was required, but Luke knew that wasn’t advisable with riders approaching behind them.

Kyara didn’t hear them from the other side of the gorge, but was starting to recover her normal breathing pattern and was getting to her feet.

He didn’t want to tell her of the approach of the horsemen, for it might scare her, which the horses might sense, while he was crossing over the bridge with his stead, so he just focused on monitoring the boards beneath his feet.

The bridge seemed ridiculously high in the air, hanging out in the middle of the rocky sides of the mountains with a river hidden far below in a cloud of midst and fog.   He wasn’t afraid of heights, but even with the bridge in perfect working order, it would have made him very uneasy.

His horse seemed calm enough, though his eyes darted all around and he was slightly hesitant to take each step forward.

“You’re doing fine, keep moving,”  He told the horse in a soothing voice before glancing over his flank back to the side of the bridge where they had departed.

To his horror, around the side of the mountain, approaching the open area where the bridge was positioned there appeared a thundering thong of armored horsemen.    They burst into the open area and reined their horses to a hard stop.

Luke and his horse were halfway across the bridge when the riders arrived.    Kyara saw them and was yelling a warning to him.

“Go!”  He yelled over to her, “Ride off!   I’ll find you!   Go!”

Though she heard, Kyara ignored his orders and stood there trying to verbally speed his progress.

On the other side, the men were shouting at him also, though he couldn’t make out what they were saying.   It wasn’t difficult to imagine.   They had apparently been notified of the danger of the bridge, for none of them attempted to ride across, for which he was thankful.

But more alarming was the sight of five of them rushing up to the edge of the bridge, each with longbows in their hands.    They lined up side by side and quickly notched arrows.

“Yara, get back, they’ve got bows!”  He yelled in warning as the arrows began to fly.   But the archers were not targeting the princess on the other side.   They were aiming at him.

Luke heard Kyara scream as the missiles whizzed by him.  One hit him in the shoulder, but his armor deflected it.    Then one of the arrows hit the rump of his horse.    It wasn’t a very serious injury, but the pain from it frightened the horse, in spite of the calming spell cast on the bridge.    Instinctively he galloped forward across the wobbly bridge, ripping the reins from Luke’s hands.    Amazingly, he made it across the bridge and kept running down the path on the other side.

But his furious gallop was terminal to the bridge.    It twisted and shook during the panicked run of the horse, sending Luke tumbling forward as the horse rushed past.   He grabbed the lower rope support of the bridge just as the wood planks began to snap and fall from the vibrations.

Kyara was hysterical on the far side, but there was no chance of her crossing over to assist him without endangering her life.

“Yara, get the hell out of here!” He yelled at the top of his lungs as he clung to the rope.   The weight of his armor on his greatly weakened muscles were pulling him off his perch.  

He knew his time had come.   Mustering up the last of his strength, he clung on for one last instruction to the girl, “Yara, ride northwest as hard and fast as you can!    Don’t be afraid of the forest, you are elven and those within know of our people’s suffering!”

“LUKE!”  She wailed, “Hold on, please, I-I’ll…”

“It’s alright,”  He yelled back as more arrows zipped by him.   The archers wanted to be certain of his death.  

“Please, Luke, hold on!”  She cried and from his precarious perch, he saw her approaching the badly damaged bridge, trying to overcome her fear to try to go out and help him.

“Be strong, Yara, and trust in Yesh; He won’t abandon you… or me.”   A strange calm came over him as he said the deity’s name, as if the arm of God had embraced him.   In spite of his situation, Luke smiled and slightly raised his head,  “Kyara, don’t be afraid.   Thank you for helping me live a bit longer.   You are a wonderful, beautiful woman - keep yourself alive and don’t mourn me.”

“LUKE!! LUKE, NOOO!”  She sensed what he was about to do and took a step onto one of the remaining lower rope supports.

“Head northwest, and God speed.   Goodbye, my Princess!”   With the same peace blanketing him, Luke relaxed his muscles and fell back into the gorge.

There was an exhilarating rush of cool air, the sense of falling and then - a soft blanket of nothingness.

 

On top of the gorge, Kyara nearly fell into the canyon when she saw Luke slip away into the gorge.    Staggering back from the edge, she felt as if her very soul had been torn free from her body.   She was unaware if arrows were now being aimed at her or not (they weren’t, as the horsemen were momentarily surprised by Luke’s fall) and she was not able, later on, to recall mounting her horse and riding away, down the mountain path.

She was numb with anguished grief.    It surprised her, for she hadn’t known Luke Penrook very well until the past week and yet his death felt as if it would completely consume her.    As she rode, she wept fiercely, letting her horse lead the way.    Her pain was so intense that she did not think about the men that had been following them, or notice Luke’s injured horse as he stood silently a half mile down the path.    Luck would be on the horse’s side, though, for later that same day, a merchant, unknowingly approaching a destroyed bridge from the west, would find him and nurse him back to perfect health.    

Kyara however, was completely lost in her terrifyingly powerful grief at Luke’s loss.   She hadn’t experienced such hurt when her parents or brother had died and she wondered if she would simply die from grief.

For several hours she rode with little conscious knowledge of her surroundings.   Her path took her straight until, three hours later, she subconsciously pulled the reins to steer her horse to a narrow path winding southward through the mountains.    She would not remember making the decision to turn that direction, for it was against Luke’s last orders to her, but she rode until sunset.

As the sun was beginning to set in the west, she suddenly realized that her road had taken her out of the mountains and she was in gentle foothills.   

“What have I done?”  She said to herself, looking around in dismay.    In the distance, to the south, perhaps three or four miles, could be seen the lights of a small village in the twilight.   But what drew her attention was the vigorous babbling of a large river somewhere nearby in the darkness to the east.

“The Toricii River,” She whispered, a chill going up her back as she remembered what Luke had said about it.   She started to turn her horse around and head back up the mountain path so she could reconnect to the road leading toward the great forest.

Yet something held her back.    She blinked in the darkness, almost feeling it as a presence - not something terrifying, yet powerful and fae.  

“No,”  She told it, but her voice held no power at all and her word fell flat in the growing darkness.   For a long moment she sat on her horse, trying to understand the strangeness around her.   Kyara looked up at the town lights twinkling in the approaching night and a queer understanding crept over her.   

She had to follow the river.

With a click of her tongue, she put her horse in motion and they resumed their path down the road toward the lights in the distance.