The Northern Forest — late afternoon
The caravan was strung out along the narrow track, wheels creaking over roots. Twenty wagons of silk, spice, and silver — Merchant Relian of Ar, Lina's father, riding near the front, nervous eyes on the treeline.
Head Guard Ortossi holds up a fist. Too quiet. No birds.
Then — a sharp twang. An arrow thuds into a wagon frame. A wild cry from the brush.
From the trees they come — panther girls, bow-armed, in forest hides, faces painted. Swift, silent, surrounding the guards before swords are half-drawn.
Ortossi (shouting, sword out): "To arms! Form on the lead wagon! Protect the Free Lady!"
Relian (pale, clutching his reins): "Lina! Lina, stay down! Guards — hold them! I'll pay! I'll pay whatever—"
Lina — Free Lady Lina, proud in her travel veils — stands in the wagon, refusing to cower. A panther girl leaps onto the wagon bed, knife flashing, cuts the reins. Two more seize Lina by the arms.
Lina (struggling): "Unhand me! I am a Free Woman of Ar! Father! Ortossi!"
Ortossi fights toward her, cutting down a path, but more panthers block him, arrows aimed at his chest.
Panther Leader (laughing, bow drawn on Ortossi): "Drop it, guard. The little free lady comes with us."
They drag Lina into the treeline. The forest swallows her cries.
Ortossi turns to you, breathing hard, blade bloody. Relian is shaking, reaching for you.
Ortossi: "They've taken her north, deeper in. We have minutes before the trail goes cold. Orders?"
Relian: "Please — she's my daughter. I'll give half my caravan to get her back."
The panther girls vanish between the great pines, dragging Lina with them. The caravan is in chaos — two guards down, horses rearing, merchants shouting.
Ortossi doesn't wait. He grabs a spear and his short sword, eyes on the broken brush where they disappeared.
Ortossi: "Relian, keep the wagons circled! Post six men here. You — Jerr — Tarl — with me. We track now or we lose her."
Relian of Ar (grabbing Ortossi's arm, voice breaking): "I'm coming with you. She's my daughter — I won't sit with the wagons while she—"
Ortossi: "You'll slow us. But... you'll not be stopped, will you? Fine. Stay behind me and stay quiet."
Deeper in the Northern Forest:
Lina stumbles as they pull her along, wrists now bound with leather before her. Her veils are torn by branches.
Lina: "Where are you taking me? My father will have your hides for this!"
Panther Leader (a tall girl with a scar across her cheek, walking ahead): "Quiet, city flower. You're leverage. Your father's silver will buy us bows and salt for winter. Behave and you'll see him again."
Young Panther (prodding Lina forward): "She's soft. She won't last a night in the trees."
They reach a hidden camp — low shelters of branches and furs, a fire pit, other panther girls looking up.
The Leader turns to Lina.
Panther Leader: "Kneel and wait. If your guard is smart, he'll come. If he's stupid, he'll die trying."
Back on the trail, Ortossi kneels, fingers on a snapped twig and a strip of blue cloth from Lina's veil.
Ortossi: (low) "This way. Five... no, seven of them. They're not trying to hide now — they want us to follow."
He looks back at you and Relian.
Ortossi: "It's a trap, plain as day. We can rush in blind, or we can circle east through the ravine and come at their camp from above. Your call."
Relian: (whispering) "Please... we must hurry. What do we do?"
The Ravine Path — dusk
You choose the ravine. Ortossi nods grimly and leads — you, Relian, and two guards, Jerr and Tarl, moving low through ferns slick with evening dew.
The forest darkens fast. Somewhere ahead, woodsmoke.
Ortossi halts at the lip of the ravine, peering down.
Below you — the panther camp. A central fire now lit. Six shelters. Perhaps a dozen panther girls, bows stacked nearby but not in hand. They are eating, laughing.
And in the middle, near the fire:
Lina. Her hands still bound before her. She sits on a log, head high despite the dirt on her cheek and the tear in her sleeve. The Panther Leader sits across from her, watching.
Panther Leader: "Your father is a rich man, yes? He'll pay for you by dawn, or we move you north to our winter camp. No city guard finds us there."
Lina: (cold) "My guard Ortossi will find you. He tracked larls in the Voltai. You are not larls."
A few panther girls laugh.
Young Panther: "Big words for a bound girl."
Ortossi (whisper, pointing): "There. Look — two sentries on the rocks, east and west. Bows on the ground by the fire, that's our chance. If we take the sentries silent, we can get to Lina before they string a bow."
Relian (trembling, gripping a dagger he clearly doesn't know how to use): "That's my daughter down there..."
Jerr (whisper): "I can take the west sentry. Tarl, east?"
Ortossi looks to you.
Ortossi: "On your signal, we go. I'll go straight for Lina. You cover Relian — keep him alive. Ready?"
The wind shifts. The fire flickers. The west sentry stands, stretches, looks right toward your ravine...
You give the nod.
Jerr slides down the ravine like a shadow, knife out. The west sentry turns too late — a hand over her mouth, she goes down silent in the moss. On the east rock, Tarl does the same, an arm around throat until the sentry slumps.
Ortossi is already moving.
He drops from the ledge, lands soft, sprints for the firelight. You follow with Relian close behind, heart hammering.
For a heartbeat, no one sees you.
Then Lina sees you. Her eyes go wide.
Lina: "Father—!"
The Panther Leader spins, hand going for her bow —
Ortossi (roaring): "NOW!"
He kicks the stack of bows away from the fire, scattering them into the dark. Chaos erupts. Panther girls leap up, grabbing knives, shouting
Panther Leader (drawing a short blade, seizing Lina by the bound wrists, pulling her up as a shield): "Back! Back or I cut her bonds loose and —"
She doesn't finish. Lina — brave, furious Lina — drives her bound fists up under the Leader's chin. The Leader staggers.
Ortossi is on her in two strides, sword to her throat.
Ortossi: "Drop it."
Steel clatters to the leaves.
Silence, except for the fire crackling and Relian's ragged breathing as he rushes forward.
Relian: "Lina! My girl — are you hurt?
Lina (falling into his arms, wrists still bound): "Father... I'm alright. I'm alright."
Around you, the panther girls freeze — outmaneuvered, their bows scattered, their leader held.
Panther Leader (through gritted teeth, to Ortossi): "Kill me then, guardsman. Or let us go. The forest is bigger than your caravan."
Ortossi looks to you, blade steady. Relian holds Lina tight.
Ortossi: "Your order. We finish them, we bind them for the magistrate, or we let them melt back into the trees and we run for the caravan before more come?"
Lina looks at you too, breathing hard.
Lina: "Please... decide quickly."
You speak it: Let them go.
Ortossi holds the Panther Leader's gaze a moment longer, then lowers his sword a fraction.
Ortossi: "You heard. Pick up your knives and walk south. Your bows stay. If I see an arrow nocked before you're out of sight, I won't miss twice."
A tense breath. The Panther Leader rubs her jaw where Lina struck her, eyes flicking from Ortossi to you to Lina.
Panther Leader: (quiet) "You'd leave us defenseless in the forest?"
Lina (stepping forward, wrists now free — Relian has cut the leather): "No. You'll get your bows back at the treeline. But you will not follow us. And you will not take another of my father's caravans."
A murmur among the panther girls — surprise. The young one who prodded Lina looks down.
Panther Leader: "...Why?"
Lina: "Because I was your captive and you fed me by your fire instead of chaining me in the dark. I pay debts."
Ortossi snorts but gestures. Jerr and Tarl toss the bows, one by one, toward the southern trees — out of immediate reach.
Ortossi: "Go."
One by one, the panther girls back away, collect their bows, and melt into the dusk. The Leader is last. She pauses.
Panther Leader: (to Lina) "City flower has thorns. If ever the forest takes you again, ask for Mira. I will remember this."
Then she's gone.
Silence returns, broken only by the fire and Relian's shaky laugh as he hugs Lina again.
Relian: "My brave girl... my brave, foolish girl."
Ortossi (sheathing his sword, clapping you on the shoulder): "Mercy on the trail. Risky. But... well done. Let's get back to the wagons before dark takes us completely."
Lina turns to you, dirt-smudged, veil half-gone, eyes bright.
Lina: "Thank you. For my life — and for theirs. Will you walk with me back?"
The caravan lights glimmer through the trees to the south, and the Northern Forest exhales around you.
The road is open again.
Conversation
Be the first to join the conversation.