An arrow whizzed past the old man's thigh, impacting the tree trunk in front of him. For the better part of a day, the old man, the adoptive father of Herodotos and Telamon, had been chased by the elite lizard rider squadron reporting directly to Feidi, city lord of Victoria. Now they had finally caught up to him and his lizard mount, shooting potshots with their bows while chasing after him on their own lizards. The father urged his lizard to move faster with his heels, letting it navigate between the dense underbrush of the jungle floor. He himself straightened in his seat and unslung the bow he had stolen from a hunter. He took out an arrow and nocked it, aiming it behind him at one of his persuer's lizard. He let the arrow fly, yet it missed, impacting the ground in front of the lizard, narrowly missing it. The lizard, after realizing the danger that had just passed slowed briefly, but continued it's vigerous persuit after being prompted by it's rider.
There were four lizard riders pursuing him right now, yet the old man knew, that if the city lord's elite riders were behind him, then that meant, that either she or one of her offspring were close by. He couldn't afford to get sloppy now, as even the smallest mistake could lead to his capture or death. His mount seeked out it's own path, bobbing and weaving between the tree trunks, allowing the man to fully concentrate on shooting with his bow. He nocked another arrow, when he heard another whistling sound, followed by a thump as an arrow impacted into the ground a mere palm width away from where his mount's back leg had been.
The man cursed and drew his bow, aiming it at the rider who had shot the previous shot. Just when he was about to let loose his arrow, a sudden impact threw off his aim, making him drop his bow and release the arrow prematurely, missing entirely. The man gazed at his arm in a daze, only to see an arrow sticking out of his limb, the tip having pierced through his left bicep, the bronze tip glistening with a red sheen as it reflected the sun's rays.
The man was in a brief daze, before a wave of pain assaulted his mind, radiating from where the arrow had pierced his arm. "Hey! We're not supposed to kill him, only capture!" The rider who the father was about to shoot shouted this at his comrade, who had delivered the wound upon the old man. That lizard rider scoffed and shouted back. "He was about to shoot you clean off your lizard. You're welcome." The leader of this squadron glared at the two of them. "Stop bickering and capture the heretic. He's injured, so he doesn't have much fight left in him." The two rider's who were previously arguing nodded their head's and resumed their chase.
The old man, who was branded a heretic, gritted his teeth and urged his mount to move ever faster. He no longer could use his left arm, as it now hung limply from his shoulder, but he still could use his right arm. He unslung the javelin from his back and prepared to throw. However before he could throw, his mount suddenly skidded to a halt, making the old man lose his balance and tumble off the lizard and unto the hard rock floor underneath. The javeling remained firmly gripped in his hand.He looked up to see the reason why his trusted mount had suddenly stopped, and saw that they had indadvertedly arrived at a cliff face. The rock floor extended for a few more paces and afterwards dropped hundreds of paces down, from where the man could see the green tree tops from above. He turned around, his mount by his side, to see how the four riders had completely surrounded him and his mount, cornering them to the edge of the cliff.
The leader spoke up. "Surrender now and your life will be spared." The old man laughed a cold and soulless laugh. "I would rather die standing than live kneeling." The leader frowned before gesturing to his soldiers. All of them drew their bows and aimed them at the old man and his lizard. The old man's mount hissed and curled itself protectively around it's rider. The old man let out a soft expression for the briefest of moments, before hardening his resolve and gripping the javeling in his hand tighter. He would only have one chance at this. The leader shouted at his soldiers. "Kill the lizard and aim for his legs. We need him alive." Three arrows were suddenly let loose, all aimed at the old man's body. The only thing blocking them was his lizards body. The lizard could have easily dodged out of the was of the arrows, but then they would strike it's rider. And so, three arrows pierced through the lizard's body, two in the chest, one in the neck.
The old man let out an animalistic roar and threw his javelin with all his might. It was aimed perfectly and was aimed at the leader's chest. The leader's eyes widened. If he were to get struck by this blow, then he would have died on the spot. If. Before the spear could strike true, it suddenly halted mid air, mere fingers away from the leader's chest. "Can't you guys do anything on your own? Must I do everything myself?" So came the voice of a young girl from the dense jungle undergrowth, as Eliana, riding upon a lizard, revealed herself. The leader bowed to her, which was an akward thing to do atop a lizard, and apologized. "Apologies. Thank you for saving my life. I am once more forever in you and your family’s debt." The young girl simply scoffed. "So where is that traiter that-" But before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly realized that the old man had leapt off the cliff face. The moment when he saw the javelin he had thrown stop mid air, he had turned around and ran with full speed, not even hesitating when jumping off the cliff. Eliana cursed and dashed forward, using all of her powers to move as quickly as possible. When she arrived at the cliffside she flung herself off the cliff as well, moving down at great speeds. Before the old man could impact the ground, she grabbed him and herself with her powers and launched both of them up, ascending the cliff at a rapid pace. Once they were at the top, she flung the man unto the ground, after which she herself landed gracefully.
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The old man seemed dazed and groaned from all the cuts and bruises he had gotten from getting dragged across the ground. Just when Eliana was about to say something to the lizard riders, the old man, despite the apparant wounds and disorientation, pulled out an obsidian knife and was about to plunge it into his own throat, before Eliana grabbed his knife and flung it to the side using her powers. "Quickly tie him up, before he tries something else!" Heeding the screamed commands of the city lord's daughter, the lizard riders dismounted quickly, after which two of them held the old man down, while the third used string to tie his hands and feet together, effectively immobilizing the old man. Once that was done, a triumphant expression spread across Eliana's face. "We finally meet. You know, you have quite the history, Dolo. Now tell me, where is the accursed child of that heretic Mundus?" Dolo, the advisor and friend of Inpar, a key figure of the failed uprising led by Mundus and the adoptive father of Mundus' son furrowed his brows and scrunched his nose. "I have nothing to say to your ilk." One could almost hear the venom in his voice. Eliana chuckled upon hearing his hateful response. "Perhaps seeing my mother will change your mind. I've heard there are quite a few things she wishes to discuss with you. As for you four, I will go back to Victoria with the traitor for now. Continue the search and report if you find any traces of the accursed child." The leader gave a salute and shouted "Understood!" With these parting words, Eliana mounted her lizard once more and made her way back to the southern city, a human package in tow.
The cow let out a deep moo. The merchant, who's name turned out to be Troy, clapped the cow on the neck, while making shushing noises. "Don't worry girl, we're going to stop soon and you'll be able to eat all the grass you could ever want." Troy then turned to Herodotos and Telamon who were both walking next to the cart. "Up ahead there is going to be a village close by the road. Inside the village is an inn, where we can spend the night. If we continue at our current pace, we are going to reach the western city in two more days. How does that sound?" Herodotos and Telamon exchanged a glance, before Telamon smiled and nodded to Troy. "Yes that sounds good by our measure. How much farther up ahead is the village you were talking about?" Troy scratched his rugged beard and gestured down the winding path wich they were taking right now. You see how the trees clear all the way up ahead?" The old man pointed with his outstretched arm. "After the trees clear, there is some open farmland cultivated by the village we are about to visit. We should arrive there shortly before sundown." Telamon nodded and gave an agreeing hum.
The three men and one cow continued thier journey together, until a few thousand paces later, they arrived at the aforementioned village. The village seemed very similar to what the brothers were used to, with fields being tilled and planted by farmers and chickens being kept for their eggs. However, something that surprised them greatly, was when they saw another cow being used to till the field. The cow had a harness similar to the one that belonged to Troy, but instead of pulling a cart, it pulled a large wooden plough, allowing the farmers to till vast amounts of farmland much faster than the villagers in Herodotos' and Telamon's village could. They were both quite shocked to discover that these beasts had been tamed not only to pull carts, but also to help with farmwork. After passing the as-of-yet tilled fields, they arrived at the village. One of the houses was notably bigger, even featuring a second story.
Most houses even in Victoria city had only one story, so seeing as this house had two stories, meant that the inhabitants were quite wealthy. Troy left his cart outside together with his cart and entered the inn. Herodotos was left behind to keep an eye on the cart and Telamon went together with the old merchant, into the interior of the inn. The first floor was similar to the pub that they had in their own village, with a bar at the back of the room with a few tables scattered around the room. The cooking stove was placed in a corner, the warm flames dancing as they consumed the wood, providing heat and comfort to any weary travellers or farmers. A middle aged woman greeted them from behind the bar countertop, her demeanor warm and inviting, yet Telamon felt like there was a certain fierceness hidden within her soft demeanor, as if she were someone one shouldn't mess with. Troy did most of the talking, booking two rooms, one for himself and one for the brothers. He also rented a spot in the barn for his cow for the night. The room cost six small copper coins, which if converted to bread was enough to feed an adult for two entire days. Telamon almost chocked when he heard the exorbitant price, but could only pay with grievences in his heart.