"Father!" Lana dashed towards her father who was uncharacteristically dressed in plain garb, his face looked drawn and haggard. As well it would, thought she, given the fact that his daughter is about to get ritualistically murdered. She felt his fierce hug, and his pull on her wrist. Time was clearly of the essence.<br/><br/>"Father, I love you. My love to mother, I love you so much." The dank and fishy smelling sacks were piled on her and the cart rumbled off with the cartwright encouraging the team by flicking the whip and shouting at the surly beasts. The carts foul smell had the city guards wave it through with due haste.<br/><br/>"Get going old man, get this stink out of my nostrils." complained the man. Lana wasn't sure if it was the stink or the profusion of black and blue bottle flies which followed the cart in a drunken cloud as it wove to and fro in the miasma. The cart rumbled over the stones and it wasn't long before the wheels of the vehicle were plying the dirt road to who knows where.<br/><br/>"Where are you taking me?" she asked the man, seeing his back towards here through a slit of the canvas covering the cart.<br/><br/>"Just to the port, someone else is waiting for my delivery there and will take you with him. Where, I know not."<br/><br/>Lana fell silent, brushing some maggots of her creamy white legs with a shudder. Well, at least these maggots weren't feasting on her she thought.<br/><br/>Hours must have passed during which Lana nodded off when a sudden thunk and a grunt by the cartwright was succeeded by his wordlessly toppling off the cart, while the team of oxen pulling the cart slowed down and veered towards a patch of green, absent the driver to guide them. Lana didn't know whether to run or hide and sat frozen, as a dozen hoof beats and the hooting of what certainly did not sound like city guards, surrounded the cart.