Weapon
Jezirea was not stupid, and as lucky as she'd been so far, she knew that she would not be able to take on this large group of men.
She bolted; darted in to the trees on the side of the road. She could hear the men shouting after her, hear their feet pounding on the forest floor, but she didn't look back. She focused her attention on weaving between the trees, hoping they would help impede the men behind her.
She still had her dagger grasped firmly in her hand; she hadn't had time to sheath it.
Something caught her eye, and without thinking she changed course towards it.
It turned out to be a large mound of earth, apparantly leading down in a burrow of some sort. Quickly, she darted inside the entrance, hoping to lose the bandits that had been hot on her trail. The burrow was large, obviously not made by an animal, but it didn't appear to be a mine shaft either.
She realized that she had slowed her pace; as it had become pitch black within the tunnel, she had slowed to avoid stumbling; keeping her hand upon the earthen wall for support. She could still hear the men thundering after her. No time to be dilly dallying. She quickly picked up the pace, uncaring of where the tunnel lead, as long as she could lose the bandits. She had rations for a few days yet and wasn't worried about getting lost.
Slowly, she became aware of a dim light ahead, and then suddenly, the walls of the tunnel changed drastically and Jezirea slid to a halt on the smooth surface.
More acurately, the tunnel walls were no longer coated thickly with dirt. The real tunnel, apparantly, was made of a material Jezirea did not recognize at all. It was a smooth, glossy black, and it had red lines of light running across its surface in intricate patterns. The entire surface seemed to be glowing dimly.
Jezirea had no idea what to make of it.
"I think I see something ahead!"
Jezirea was once again brought back to her senses by the sound of her persuers. Man, were they ever angry, but then again, she would be too if two of her companions had been killed.
She took off quickly, hopeing the path would split. Her legs were aching, and her lungs burned. It was a little hard to lose someone when there was only one path to choose from, and Jezirea didn't think she'd be able to run for much longer.
As if her prayer had been answered, the path forked ahead of her, splitting in to two.
But which way?
Did it matter?
She bolted; darted in to the trees on the side of the road. She could hear the men shouting after her, hear their feet pounding on the forest floor, but she didn't look back. She focused her attention on weaving between the trees, hoping they would help impede the men behind her.
She still had her dagger grasped firmly in her hand; she hadn't had time to sheath it.
Something caught her eye, and without thinking she changed course towards it.
It turned out to be a large mound of earth, apparantly leading down in a burrow of some sort. Quickly, she darted inside the entrance, hoping to lose the bandits that had been hot on her trail. The burrow was large, obviously not made by an animal, but it didn't appear to be a mine shaft either.
She realized that she had slowed her pace; as it had become pitch black within the tunnel, she had slowed to avoid stumbling; keeping her hand upon the earthen wall for support. She could still hear the men thundering after her. No time to be dilly dallying. She quickly picked up the pace, uncaring of where the tunnel lead, as long as she could lose the bandits. She had rations for a few days yet and wasn't worried about getting lost.
Slowly, she became aware of a dim light ahead, and then suddenly, the walls of the tunnel changed drastically and Jezirea slid to a halt on the smooth surface.
More acurately, the tunnel walls were no longer coated thickly with dirt. The real tunnel, apparantly, was made of a material Jezirea did not recognize at all. It was a smooth, glossy black, and it had red lines of light running across its surface in intricate patterns. The entire surface seemed to be glowing dimly.
Jezirea had no idea what to make of it.
"I think I see something ahead!"
Jezirea was once again brought back to her senses by the sound of her persuers. Man, were they ever angry, but then again, she would be too if two of her companions had been killed.
She took off quickly, hopeing the path would split. Her legs were aching, and her lungs burned. It was a little hard to lose someone when there was only one path to choose from, and Jezirea didn't think she'd be able to run for much longer.
As if her prayer had been answered, the path forked ahead of her, splitting in to two.
But which way?
Did it matter?