Pilindiel ran. She ran as fast as her small legs could carry her. She sometimes hated how small she was for her age, but over time she had gotten over it, thought this was one of those time where she wished for longer, and stronger legs.  Hear heart pounded as she ran back to her home to gather her things. She felt horrible for leaving her mother to her doom. She wept a tear at this thought but then pushed them her mind. She needed to concentrate. She was almost home, just another hill and she would be homeâ€¦.but not safe. She needed to get farther away, if anything she had to go off of was that those men were ruthless and would not stop until they had gotten ahold of her.<br/><br/>Soon she was at the front steps of her home. Memories of her childhood flooded her vision and she had to shake her head so she could focus again. â€œUhâ€¦what will I needâ€¦Where will I go..â€ She ran up the steps  and burst into her house. She glanced around drastically but didnâ€™t find what she was looking for, instead she grabbed up a few things she would need to cook and laid them out on their wooden table. Once she had gathered necessary cook ware she ran to her bedroom to grab a few other things. Once she was unable to carry anything else in her arms she went and added them to the pile on the table.<br/><br/>Before she went anywhere else into the house she checked over all the items she had collected so far; a frying pan, some flint and steel, a jar of seasoning, a skinning knife, a whetstone, and a tanned raw hide she could wrap all of those in. From her bedroom she grabbed; A change of linens, a bed roll, a bar of hand-made soap, two robes, one of which she fastened to herself now and a small portrait of her family which her mother had made. Knowing she would have to travel light she only grabbed what she knew she would need to last her till she got to the next town. Possibly the next country, in all her hurrying she still hadnâ€™t thought of where she was going. â€œOh father had family in Shoven..Possibly they would let me stay for a while..â€ She pondered to herself then heard one of their horses whinny.<br/><br/>â€œIâ€™m out of time, I must go.â€ She grabbed up all the cook ware and what she could of her extra clothingâ€™s and went to the barn. None of the horses had a saddle on so she set down the bundle in her arms and hurriedly went to the last horse in the barn. A black Morgan who was repeadatly throwing himself against the door. He wanted to run, he also happens to be Pilindielâ€™s favorite out of all of their horses. She cooed to the stallion. â€œHush now Adonis. Itâ€™s alright. You will run soon. Patience, be still.â€ He stopped throwing himself and settled for tapping his right hoof against the ground repeatedly, another sign of impatience. She then grabbed a lead then opened the door and went in, he bowed his head to let her place the lead on his head and she patted him.<br/><br/>â€œThatâ€™s a good boy.â€ She cooed again then led him out of his stall so she could place the saddle and blanket onto his back.  With the saddle in place and the buckles all adjusted right she continued her hurried pace and began to place things into the saddlebags.  Just as she was about to set out she remembered her mother had stashed away a purse with coins in it, she had been adding to it every month hoping one day it would be a good amount for Pilindiel to raise a family. But now she would need it for other things. She tied Adonisâ€™s lead to a post as she quickly ran into the house one last time and into her parentâ€™s bedroom. She found the coin purse with no problem but when she was about to leave she noticed a glimmer in the corner.<br/><br/>Pilindiel glanced over and curiosity caught the better of her, creeping forward ever so silently she could hear Adonis grow ever more impatient whinnying all the more louder. Her heart racing she drew back a curtain and revealed a short sword, possibly her fathers. A closer glance shown there was intricate elven words along the scabbard. The words were so worn she hardly noticed them, but remembered what her motherâ€™s name looked like in Elven. This was her motherâ€™s sword. She had no idea how to use it, but knew the men would destroy it once they found it. She took it with her, she wanted something to remember her mother by.<br/><br/>Quickly with the sword and coin purse in hand she descended both sets of stairs and climbed onto Adonis in no time. She swiftly fastened the sword so it was semi-hidden from view under her robe and saddlebags then tied her coin purse to her belt waist then kicked at Adonisâ€™s flanks and he started. First he began at a trot then she worked him into a cantor then rode him hard. She wanted to make as much distance between her and that town as much as possible before night fall.<br/><br/>It had been a few days since she had seen or heard any signs from the men who killed her family. Pilindiel was pretty sure that the few forest detours she had taken set them off her trail and down a few wolf dens. She snickered to herself while sitting comfortably in Adonis's saddle. She had already been traveling roughly a week or so if she had anything to go by other than the setting and rising of the run, but her rump was already tired of sitting in this saddle. She tried to adjust herself but must have nicked Adonis wrong for he started and she almost fell off the large stallion. His legs carried them over two hills in the span of a minute and She could make out the odd shape of what looked like a caravan.<br/><br/>"People yes!" She had been looking for just the thing. She stirred Adonis in the right direction and kicked at his flanks to make him ride faster. Soon she was upon them and it took all her strength to pull in his reins so he didn't run into anything. "Greetingâ€™s fellow travelers." She said bringing her hands up to make sure her ears were being covered by her hair.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0040FF">Myrist saw the small rider approaching. They almost looked like a child sitting atop Daddyâ€™s horse until they drew close. Only in the last 200 yards did the leader see that it was actually a very small, young woman; maybe an older girl. But what was she doing way out here by herself? They were still in areas where goblins had been sighted and, as far as Myrist knew, they were several miles from a town. He took his wide brimmed hat off to great her politely, with a tinge of concern. â€œGreetings yourself, young miss. Might I ask where your travel companions are?â€</span><br/><br/>Pilindiel nodded her head in greeting to the man who spoke to her. "I have no companions, I -um." She paused for a moment wondering how much she should really tell them, but decided to just fib a little. "My Aunt is sick and asked my father for aid, they sent me in his stead. I journey to Shoven. Where be the road taking thee?" she asked while gesturing towards the whole group.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0040FF">Smirking at the dramatic way she presented herself, Myrist put his hat back on and smiled kindly. He didnâ€™t trust that story for a second of course, it just sounded like a lie, but at least the girl didnâ€™t seem like a threat. For starters, she was too bad of a lier to be leading them into another trap; she probably just ran away from home. â€œWeâ€™re on our way to Shoven, as well, butâ€ He fixed the girl with a knowing stare â€œare you sure it wouldnâ€™t be better to head back home and get your father for the journey. Iâ€™m sure heâ€™d be awful upset if he never saw his horse or his daughter again. It <span style="font-style: italic">is</span> dangerous out here.â€</span><br/><br/>She smiled to herself then deepened her gaze in somewhat of a challenging way. " I may be small sir, but I am no child. I can take care of myself. But thank you for the concern none the less..." She hesitated for a moment hoping she didn't just mess up her chance at being around people for the first time in over a week. "All though, I wouldn't mind some company, mind if I tag along your caravan until we reach Shoven?" She asked, letting the softness come back into her voice. Adonis then balanced his weight to his other foot and she almost lost her balance, which would of been bad for she would of fell on the poor fellow.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0040FF">Locking eyes, Myrist assessed the girl. He had plenty of experience with this and it didnâ€™t take him more than a few seconds to be sure this girl wasnâ€™t going to turn around. So he shrugged. â€œAs you wish. The road is wide enough for one more.â€ She was better off with them than alone, at least. â€œCome along then.â€ He added as he set his carriage back into motion. â€œRide alongside me and talk. What village youâ€™re coming from? Have you been on the road long? Need a drink? food?â€</span><br/><br/>She sighed to herself as he agree to let her tag along. She stirred Adonis into a slow walk next to the man. "I come from Lumbersong, and I've been traveling for possibly a weeks hard ride, and a drink of water would be lovely." She said. "Thank you for your generosity." She added.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">â€œLumbersong, eh?â€ Myrist mused as he leaned over to hand her his waterskin. She wasnâ€™t that great of a rider and her horse was too large too boot. She almost fell under his wheels when she took it. And she was coming from slightly the wrong direction to be coming from Lumbersong. If she was telling the truth, sheâ€™d either been avoiding the roads or had gotten lost. Myrist assumed the later. <span style="font-style: italic">All the more reason to help her out.</span> â€œIâ€™ve passed through there a few times. Not much of a town if you ask me...â€</span><br/><br/>She balanced herself onto the saddle before she reached over for the waterskin. She took a shallow gulp before handing it back and answering his statement. "Yeah itâ€™s not much, just a bunch of milling families. My da was a miller." She said with pride in her voice.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0040FF">So she really was from Lumbersong. At least he knew something solid about her. They continued chatting for a while as they road. Myrist occasionally trying to get more information out of her, but mostly he just soaked up news about Lumbersong and the towns around it. It was always good for a man like him to know what was going on. And she was a nice girl; a bit edgy, but that was probably just from whatever was going on at home. Everyone has their problems, after all.</span>