Caspier Redain plodded along, swaying gently with the movement of her chestnut horse. She was tired, fed up and although she couldn't help but admire the vast, empty landscape of Evendim, she hated where she was. She needed people! People meant stock for her cruel business and buyers to sell her wares to. Still, her hope lay in the wilderness for any chance of making any money before the next instalment. She needed a few travellers; individuals easy to lure, easy to keep captured and worth a good coin or two..preferably more of course!
Caspier had come across only one elligable person since she had left Bree and that had been in the wilds of Bree-Land. Her riding had taken her to some deserted corner at the foot of a hill and from it she saw the tell-tale grey of wisping smoke from a campfire snaking its way from the other side of the hill. The temptation had been too much to resist and Caspier had been drawn to it like a moth to the light. Leaving her horse to graze, she snuck around to view the camp, hiding herself behind a rock she watched the lone man who tended the fire. He looked to be a few years younger than her and certainly a lot weaker althought the viscious looking knife at his side suggested that he was perhaps capable to defend himself. Tactics would be needed but Caspier was a master! She had learnt the hard way and her tutorage had more than payed off in her current capabilities. Crouching, she observed the man for about ten minutes, silently planning her tactics and was just poised to strike when suddenly a child ran out, seemingly from nowhere and giggled her way over to the man's waiting arms...
As silent as a shadow, Caspier snaked her way back around the hill and remounted her horse. However barbaric her job was she could never bring herself to take away a child's parent or the child itself. Haunted by her past, she had always tried to be moral when dealing with children having been little more than a child when her life had been turned upside down by the world of slaves and slavers and she refused to let that happen to anyone else however desperate she was to pay off the next installment to her mallicious boss. The man and child remained oblivious to her presence even when her horse galloped off into the distance, its rider's eyes searching for other signs of life.
It had taken several weeks of fruitless searching before she found another suitable candidate for her business. All she needed was one person to take to the slavor gathering that was taking place at her jouney's end. One slave would be enough to get enough money and to show her "willing" to her career. How many slaves had she taken in her career? She tried to keep it to a minimum but the threat of death to her friend had kept her at it. Was Fellicity really worth that many lives? Caspier never dwelt on that thought...she found the guilt would nibble away at her when thinking on that until she felt hollowed out and tearful. Still, it was too late to do anything about that now, she had to survive and Fellicity had to survive and that was all that mattered...
Caspier's find was a red-headed young woman of the wilds. She looked to be one who hadn't seen civilisation in some time; her clothing was practical travelling gear, her hair was dirty from the wilderness, she was armed to the teeth with both sword and spear and she huddled by the campfire, lost in silent thought. Caspier peered at her from her hiding place in the shrubbery nearby, watching her for some time as she formulated a new plan on how to capture her. She seemed to be a tough nut to crack in any case but Caspier had both experience and determination and neither had let her down in a long time...
Gathering up her nerve, she took a deep breath, drew her sword and suddenly moved around a little, moving from shrubbery to shrubbery and making a clumsy amount of noise to subtly attract the woman's attention. It works! And the woman comes to confront Caspier, speaking a few condescending words to her. No response! Caspier freezes! Her sword drops from her hand and she clutches at her throat, screaming in agony! A moment later Caspier is collapsed on the ground, writhing in agony, a sceptical but concerned woman standing over her, trying to calm her down. It's the work of a moment for Caspier to change their roles...
It had been on Caspier's first mission that she had been given her ring. It was a simple band of silver with a large, razor sharp spike on it which Caspier steeped in poison. Her time as a healer's apprentice had een well used and she had learnt to master many different herbs including a small paste which could knock a person out for about a twenty four hour period and it worked wonders in this situation. Soon, Caspier was leading her horse off into the distance, the woman bound and strewn carelessly over its back ready to awaken into a life of slavory...
