Aleksandra had started to pack her things up, since she would not have need of most of her tools for a while.  Hopefully, for the rest of their travels, if she was being honest. Tommen caught her eye as he came in, but she turned to see if Maleki would respond, only to catch him in the middle of dressing. Something about his scarred and strong skin made it difficult to look away. Much of her life she had been courted by noblemen who had little more than a few friendly duals to their name. His scars gave him character, he had been tested and tried in the battles that life had sent his way. Tommen seemed to notice her looking and cleared his throat, which caused her to go back to putting her things away.<br/><br/>"He's probably wanting to get back to the coast, so he can begin again. I'm glad he found good fortune here."  She said. It was not exactly the direction she wanted to go in, but Storka had urged her to be patient and continue on the path set before them. There were other allies she could seek out, but none were near where they were now and though Barnstorm had already given the two women a little bit of money for their company and help, Aleksandra had insisted she not take much beyond that. He had taken Maleki on as a favor to her and she could not slight him after that generosity.<br/><br/>She could tell by the light against the tent that the sun outside had already begun to set. It cast orange and pink hues against the beige canvas.<br/><br/>"I should head into town then, I used a few of my herbs in a salve for a headache the wife of one of the coachmen had."  She said, looking from Tommen over to Maleki.  "Enjoy the fruits of your labor."  She gestured to the bottle, figuring this was certainly not a party she was invited to. Gathering up her things, she headed out of the tent, leaving the two men alone.<br/><br/>"I know you don't like her much, but...She doesn't seem to return that animosity..."  Tommen pushed, gently, curious about the man he had survived a battle with and the woman he so disdained.  "How much of this bottle would it take to get you to tell that tale?"<br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr"/><br/>The town was quieter than she had expected, but she was almost grateful for the peace.  A local had directed her to a small market where she would be able to collect what was needed.  She smelled the market before she saw it, the scent of spices and food dancing in the air as she approached an open area, filled with small booths.  Some had started to clean up for the night, but she was able to find the merchant with herbs and purchase enough to refill her stores.<br/><br/>Once her transactions were finished, she headed back along the same roads she had walked into town on, but again it was oddly quiet, even more so than before. A sudden pair of footsteps behind her caused her to hurry.  She was not that far from the camp the caravan had set up and she realized now why Storka always cautioned her about overusing her abilities.  Aleksandra had made the mistake of continuing to use healing magic once Maleki was asleep and her stores of mana were utterly depleted. Another set of footsteps joined the first and then another, all stalking behind her.<br/><br/>Aleksandra forced herself to turn around, hoping she would just find some townsfolk behind her, but that was the moment they sprung upon her.  Masked men, all in dark garb.  She fought as hard as she could, but there were at least five of them now and each worked to subdue her. One had a cloth and he managed to hold it over her mouth while the others held her in place.  Aleksandra tried to resist breathing in, but in her panic, she did not manage to stop herself.<br/><br/>The world went dark...<br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr"/><br/>Less than an hour later a ransom note arrived in Barnstorm's camp.  At first, he was confused as he read it.<br/><br/><i>We have your daughter.  If you wish to see her alive again, you will pay a ransom of 8000 coins, to be left in the square at midnight.  Refuse and she dies. </i><br/><br/>His daughter?  She was miles away, with her family, there was no possible--  The dots connected in his mind quickly, Barnstorm had made the comment on more than one occasion how little "Lexie" reminded him of his own kin.  Someone must have misheard him and assumed they were actually related.  The amount did not surprise him, though, because it was nearly all the money he had made selling his goods. He was up and headed for Aleksandra's tent immediately, only to find she was not there, but the guard she seemed to care for and his little sidekick were and they had apparently greatly enjoyed the bottle had offered them.<br/><br/>"We have a problem." He said, holding up the note.