Part 2 of 2

A new day was rolling on and The Trader walked slowly behind a new client. The familiar sound of shoed hooves clopped up the road towards them. The Trader and the client turned from the girls and saw two men - swords at their sides, fine cloaks atop armor - astride two well kept horses.

The Buyer waddled away, pretending he had nothing to do with the Trader.

The Trader didn't mind, he understood.

The men on horseback stopped just a few feet from the Trader.

"There's two types o' people who come through here lookin' like you do." Said the Trader.

One of the men pulled back his cloaks hood and said "And they are?"

"One lot are Kingsmen, tellin' me to stop what I'm doin' 'cause it's against the laws." Said the Trader "They always seem to - er - disappear, without success. This is a dangerous little town, after all."

The man grinned "And the other type?"

"Holy men who tell me to stop what I'm doin' 'cause it's wrong."

"And do they disappear?"

"No. But, on some occasions some of their - er - worldy possessions do. Holy men aren't really s'pose to have all that much anyway, are they?"

A women's voice came from the other rider "We are neither Kingsmen, nor Holy men."

"We are in search of someone, and believe you could help us. My name is Lefiere, may we go inside and talk?"

For a small bag of coins the Trader had ushered his living wares back into the barn and agreed to talk with the man called Lefier inside. The lady rider remained outside, still upon her horse. The thieve's, looking out from their hiding places, didn't dare approach her. There was something in the way she moved - something in the way her head turned and scanned the surrounds - that was warning enough to dissuade them.

Lefiere spoke calmy, without malice or threat, he didn't want the Trader doing anything rash, like swinging the sword he was holding. The Trader held his blade low and out of sight behind the bench between the two men.

"The girl I'm looking for is from a village to the south, over the hills. It was attacked and burned down two days ago."

"Don't know of any attacks, or any fires, but, I may have been south of 'ere two or so days ago." The Trader's eyes were locked on another pouch of coins that hung from Lefiere's belt. I could swing me sword at 'im, he'd be dead before 'e knew it, but then I'd 'ave to deal with the other one.

Lefiere didn't need to follow the other Man's gaze to know what he was looking at. He pulled the leather pouch off and tossed it onto the bench.

"Yeah, I was there. Don't know nothin' about no attack though, that had finished before I got there."

"Do you go to freshly burned villages often?"

"Sometimes." The slave trader opened the purse and looked inside. "Newly 'omeless girls out in the cold, and kind ol' me in a carriage. Easy as breathin'."

Lefiere shook his head, he didn't like what the Trader's business was, but he wasn't here for that. He needed to find her. "There was been a girl there. Yellow-haired, blue eyes, young, but not a child-"

"Yeah, I saw her."

Finally, some one who saw her directly. "Which direction did she go? Was anyone with-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. I picked 'er up."

"You have her? Here?"

"No, no. Sold 'er yesterday."

Something wasn't right. Lefiere didn't know what, but he felt it in his gut. "She came with you willingly?"

"No, she was out cold when I found 'er. Found 'er in a half collapsed hut after I heard 'er moan, think a beam fell and cracked 'er on the skull. Didn't seem damaged once she woke up, but by then I 'ad 'er in chains."

That explains it, thought Lefiere.

"Thankfully, the bruise was 'idden by 'er pretty yellow 'air."

"And you've sold her?"

"Yep, certainly have."

"To who?"

"I can't be tellin' you 'bout me customers. That ain't-"

Lefiere reached into his boot, pulled out another small leather bag of coins, and tossed it in front of the Trader.

"Fella by the name of Mr Fillney bought 'er. Runs a mobile 'ore 'ouse - said 'e was headin' west towards Mertleshire, 'pparently 'e's gonna give 'er to Mr Waverly as a gift. It's a two day trip in a carriage like 'is. Head south outta town take the first road right and the right path when you hit a fork - that's the way 'e would've headed."

Lefiere asked the Trader to describe her once more, just to be certain.

In one smooth motion Lefiere mounted his horse.

"South, first right, right at the fork - towards Mertleshire. She's been bought as a gift for a Mr Waverly."

"How did a slave trader capture her?"

"She was unconscious, a roof collapsed on her."

"Hmm. She'd have freed herself by now."

"I know that, Hess, but at least we'll be headed in the right direction."

"Where is my coin purse?"

Lefiere handed it to her, a small droplet of blood told her that it had been taken, not given. Hess rubbed the dark wet splotch with her thumb. "And the girls?"

"We haven't got time to help them now. We have to continue the hunt."

"Sad, but true."

Lefiere nodded. "I unlocked one and she's unlocking the others."

Hess turned the purse over in hand. As they rode away she tossed it through an open window of the Trader's building, and wiped the blood on her hand on her cloak.

She didn't see or hear the two young girls that thanked her from the next window.

It was late when they found the cart.

It was on the side of the road, it's metal door hung open, and the horse that pulled it was nowhere to be seen. Inside there were six women, all deceased. Their faces beaten and the chains that had been used to choke them were still biting in the flesh of their necks.

Mr Fillney faired no better.

A chain had been looped through some bars behind where he sat. The metal links had been pulled tight and tied on the inside of the cart. Whether through the force of the person pulling, the struggle, or the throughs of death, the man's head was almost fully sawn off.

Lefiere patted Mr Fillney's pockets. They had a limited time to try and work out her next move. He tapped his chin and tried to piece together the Girl's escape. "She must have been able to get a key by reaching through-"

"No," Hess said from inside the carriage. "She picked the lock."

"On her chains? Yes, most likely - but surely there's no key hole on the inside."

"Look."

Lefiere peered through the bars to which Mr Fillney was chained. Inside Hess stood among the bodies and pointed, not at the carriage door, but to the wood next to it.

A hole had been cut from the wall next to the lock. A hole just big enough for...

"She cut a hole, reached through and picked the lock?" Lefiere shook his head and fought back a smile, she was definately impressive "but what did she cut the hole-"

Hess lifted a small axe that he had not noticed she was holding. As he looked at it he realized it was made of bones and teeth.

Hess dropped the axe and and made her way out of the carriage and towards her horse "We need to find her, Lefiere. We need to stop her."

"I know."