Sandreena took a deep breath.
She had no love for anyone in this camp, but she had sympathy for the villagers still being used as slaves. She struggled for a long time over her best course of action, but finally rejected all of the choices that didn’t involve trying to save the slaves.
She slowly worked her way over to where they were sleeping and gently nudged a young woman. The woman awoke suddenly and was about to shout as Sandreena’s hand clamped down over her mouth. ‘Shh,’ she whispered, if you want to live, make no sound. Do you understand me?’
The young woman nodded, in a few minutes the guards are going to kill the cultists. Then they’ll kill you and your friends. Help me wake them up quietly and escape silently. Do you understand?’
Again the woman nodded and Sandreena let her go. There were eleven other sleeping villagers, all of whom looked exhausted and underfed. They were normally listless but their fear energized them now. The young woman who was the first one Sandreena awoke said, ‘What do we do?’
‘Go north,’ she said. ‘Find a safe place to hide for a day. Those cutthroats will ride east to Akrakon; then south to Ithra. After they’ve gone, it should be safe for you to go home.’
‘Who are you?’ asked a man standing behind the young woman.
‘I’m a Knight-Adamant from the Temple of Dala in Krondor. If I can get out of here alive, I’m going to return with help in case others like those Black Cap bastards come back.’
‘Thank you,’ said one old woman, obviously frightened.
‘Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t made it out of here alive, yet.’ Looking at the young woman she said, ‘Remember this, if I don’t get out, someone else has to go to Ithra. There’s a Keshian garrison there and a shrine to Dala. Go to the shrine first and tell its tenders that Sandreena of the Shield of the Weak spoke to you. Tell them what you’ve seen and heard, and then tell them that someone named Belasco is behind all of this.’ She looked the young woman in the eyes. ‘Can you remember that?’
The young woman nodded. ‘Sandreena,’ she said softly, looking at the Knight-Adamant, as if trying to burn her face into her memory. ‘Belasco is behind this.’
‘Good. The monk at the shire will talk to the garrison commander and perhaps the Empire will send someone up here. If they don’t, my Temple certainly will. Now go!’ she hissed.
The prisoners needed no further prodding, they turned as one and began scrambling over the rocks to the north. Sandreena knew that if they could get a half an hour’s start, the fighters wouldn’t bother to hunt them down. Glancing at the moon, she realized half an hour was about all she had, too.
She hurried to where the horses were picketed. In their certainty that they were under no threat up here in the hills, the Black Caps had become complacent. She approached the horses slowly, for she didn’t want their nickering and stomping to alert the three murderers in the big hut or any light sleepers close by.
She reached the side of her mount and found her unharmed. She patted her horse’s neck as she looked for any sign of her tack. It lay in a heap nearby and Sandreena quickly gathered it up. She saw nothing that resembled her armour or weapons, let alone the little pouch with the soul gem in it. Most likely her armour had been apportioned to some of the smaller men, one of the leaders had claimed her mace and shield, and the soul gem would be sold to a gem merchant who would have no idea of its true properties or worth.
She pushed aside the regret she was unable to gather more information, and instead considered trying to muffle her horse’s hooves, but there was nothing at hand that would easily lend itself to doing so, and she didn’t have the time. Sandreena quietly led her horse away from the others and paused a short distance away, waiting to see if the sound of its hooves on the ground attracted notice. When no alarm was raised, she slowly moved through the heart of the sleeping camp and made her way down the trail. Tying her horse to a bush, she hurried back up to the rock from which she’d first observed the camp.
The thirty minutes passed quickly and as she anticipated. She watched as the three murderers from the hut quietly roused their companions. No one seemed to notice the absence of the prisoners, all of their attention seemed focused on the sleeping cultists.