"Everyone has a price, but not everyone values the same currency."

  - Arimenes "The Bck Wave"

  Though Aurelia was rger, and she had to take care to not catch her wings on low hanging branches, she found herself outpacing Gregorios as they sped through the wood back to their camp. Through the rushing of the wind, she heard the cries of mustering greenskins and other darker things in the distance behind her. Steeling her will, she pushed on. Making sure not to leave Gregorios behind as their breaths turned boured and ragged.

  With a stumble that nearly caused her to fall, her and Gregorios burst out from the trees and onto the high rocky pteau where they had set up camp days earlier. In the mid-day sun, the crumbling ruins which had been her home these st few days looked as comfortable and strong as any wall back in Rome. Thankfully the others had packed up camp in their absence. The packmule and Mare, Junia's horse, had been gathered and saddled with pack and person. The tents had been taken down, and the fire dashed and scattered. As she and Gregorios rushed to join them, Thessa handed each of them their packs. Her arms trembled with the effort of lifting Aurelia's pack up to her, and she sighed with relief when she took it. Looking down at her, Aurelia judged that the relief she saw in her eyes was about more than just the pack. Though it was distant and quiet, all could hear a discordant cmour approaching from the deep wood to the east.

  They set out at once as soon as Aurelia and Gregorios had secured their packs. Down the narrow path which led to the main road down below, they went as quickly as they could in a line single file. Gregorios out in front, Aurelia at the rear ensuring the pack mule didn't slip or falter. Thankfully, they managed to reach level ground again at the bottom without any slips or falls. Now that they had reached the road again, Gregorios had a decision to make. If they took the road left, they would begin the journey back to Rome with their moderate haul of razortail feathers, though they would journey with their lives and health intact. Should they take the road right, they would head deeper into the hinternds, under the cover of deep trees and wandering valleys. Though what lurked behind every twist and bend of the road was unknown to them. Gregorios looked back and forth, quickly making his decision to lead them right. Deeper into the darkness of the wood.

  Aurelia, bringing up the rear of the column, gnced about her for her little observer. Perhaps the little sprite would have heard the coming orks and decided to fade into the forest, but if she had decided to follow them for many days already, perhaps she would continue to follow them now. In the shade of the trees off of road, she saw two tiny pinpricks of light. They flitted from tree to tree alongside Aurelia at the rear of the column, hidden from the eyes of others. Though Aurelia hadn't known Iri long, and the danger of the ork horde hung above their heads, she couldn't help from smiling. It seemed that friends could be found in the unlikeliest of pces, and in the most uncommon of shapes.

  Snuffling and growling as it prowled along the ground, a great and dark beast trod at the command of it's foul masters. If one looked from a distance under the obscuration of dark, it might look like an overly rge hound, or perhaps a mangy wolf. But any closer and one would see the teeth which seemed overly rge for it's jaws. Where wolves are wild and hounds are colred, these beasts were possessed of a malicious intellect. Following behind the beast in ranks were half a dozen lessers of it's fell pack, they too snuffled at the trail they followed. The tongues of elves and dwarves had names for these beasts, but in the words of men they were called warg. Sat astride each was an ork of wiry build, where the orks of the ambush had been rger than men, broad-shouldered and light green of colour, these ones were smaller, though no less vicious. Their colour was darker in shade, able to blend into the darkness of the forest at night with ease. These orks rarely left their crude dwellings under the light of day, save for when disturbed or when possessed by the thrill of a sure hunt.

  And so the orks followed in the tread of their quarry. Occasionally, one of the warg would pause in apparent confusion. As though one of the scents they followed were unfamiliar to them, but prey was prey, and they quickly redoubled their efforts. As they rode, the orks would reach out with beaten bdes and axes, scoring the trees as they went with bck marks. When they reached the end of the forest and looked out over the ruins, they paused. Where before they were under the shade of the forest canopy, now they would be forced to ride under the brilliance of the mid-day sun. Though they were daunted at first, the leader in front bellowed at it's kin in it's harsh tongue, and they broke from the cover out into the open day. When they reached the ruins, they quickly came upon the leavings of the company's camp. The embers of the firepit were still warm, and the droppings of the animals were fresh. As the smaller orks on lesser warg gathered the trails of the st days, the leader stood at the edge of the cliff and looked out. From his position, he could see the road west through the branches as it headed west to more civilized nds. He inhaled deeply with a snorting sound, even he could smell the manfolk they were so close, and judging by the reaction of the beasts, there would be much eating and breeding when they came upon their prey.

  A shrill howl pierced the din of the wilds behind him. They had found the trail again, and they would not be denied. Down the cliffs they went, the narrow path which had been so treacherous for the manfolk was naught to the stridden warg. Their paws were more like grasping hands, and tipped with wicked cws which grasped and scraped down the rocky surface with ease. At the bottom they reached the stony road of men and headed east, picking up speed as the warg sensed the nearing of prey. The orks bellowed and the warg howled with the hunt, decring their intent and imminent victory in a cacophony which resonated through the ancient trees and hills.

  "Faster Faster!" Cried Gregorios. "These greenskins have tamed foul beasts to their purposes, and will be upon us soon if we do not move faster!" The echoes of the pack cry still rang in their ears. Though they had left as fast as they were able, the company had not anticipated the sudden need to fly with all speed. Most were tired after a day of searching, and they were den with the supplies of a many day voyage. Aurelia, still at the rear, looked to Thessa and Junia ahead with worry in her eyes. Still further ahead, she saw the first stirrings of panic in the eyes of Gaius and Tullius ahead. Through it all, the men had never wavered in their conviction. Even when they had been ambushed suddenly, they had simply drawn their weapons and entered the fray. Their worry and dread did more to leaden Aurelia's heart than any piercing cry from behind.

  The next howl was closer, and Aurelia fancied that she could begin to hear the snuffling of beasts and the scraping of sharp cws on cobblestone behind her. Turning to look behind her down the narrow corridor created by the road and surrounding forest, she couldn't see anything yet, but the tendrils of fear, dread, and anticipation dragging down her spine warned her that it wouldn't be long before whatever dark host pursued them would be within sight. Looking forward again, she saw with some trepidation that some of their party were tiring. Tullius had been somewhat recovered from his injury, but now she saw that he winced with every step. And that his bindings were stained red from where he had torn his injury again in their flight. Thessa had been retively fit, and used to long walks as a shepherd and from their time adventuring together, but she also had the most soft and plush form of all of them, and she was beginning to slow. Looking at her face, Aurelia saw that her expression was frozen into a grimace of shock, dread, and more than a little resignation. Her eyes were gssy and gzed over as though she wasn't wholly present, instead looking at waking nightmares of the past. Aurelia silently vowed that Thessa would not be the sole survivor to make it out again, not while she had breath in her chest.

  Comak turned midstride and looked behind them. A howl broke the panoply of exhaustion and he met Aurelia's eyes. Though they hadn't spoken much, she liked to think that they had brokered a measure of acknowledgement. The look of understanding they shared between them was the most emotion she had seen from the man yet. Now she didn't have to imagine the sounds of the pursuers, they were clear and sharp as they rang out behind them. Turning to look behind again, her heart skipped a beat. Around a bend in the road a short distance behind them came no less than a dozen dark shapes astride terrifying creatures. They let out a piercing cry of triumph as they finally id eyes on their tired prey. There was no contest of speed between them, Aurelia despondently noticed. For every pace of the group, the pack advanced several more. The packmule and Mare squealed with terror at the sounds of approaching predators, and began to accelerate.

  As they ran, the right side of the road suddenly was no longer a solid wall of forest. The shape of a bare mountain began to be visible through the fading foliage as the trees began to dwindle. The left side remained an impenetrable green, and to Aurelia it looked as though the road split two wholly different worlds.

  The orks were gaining, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Gregorios shouted directives again before slowing and falling to the back next to Aurelia. He ran with one eye on the people in front, and one eye on the ever shortening ground between them and the onrushing pack. She looked to Junia now, who met her eyes. Her face was pale as she rode astride her horse. It was taking considerable skill in horsemanship to keep Mare from bolting, and to Aurelia it seemed that she out of everyone had the best chances to make it out in one piece.

  "Get Thessa!" She cried to Junia, pointing at the fgging Tauren, hoping she would hear and understand over the growls of the coming pack. Thank Jupiter she did, and drew alongside her. Slowing her horse slightly, she leaned over and reached out to her. Thessa, deep in the fog of her mind, took a second to realize what was being asked of her. But once she had snapped out of her reverie, she gratefully took the offered hand and leaped with all her might up at Junia. She drew Thessa up in front of her with strain, and slung her belly down across the saddle in front of her.

  There was less than a hundred meters between the pursuers, and the fleeing. She and Gregorios were bringing up the rear, he had drawn his sword in preparation for the inevitable, and they exchanged pointed looks between them and their companions in front. Aurelia had never been much for numbers. She had learned them alongside her letters in the Temple, but had detested every moment of it. Even she knew that things just didn't add up. Something had to change. She was going to do that something. Something incredibly stupid.

  Gregorios seemed to catch on that she was hatching a pn in her mind, and shook is head at her. He was too tired for words. She gave him a knowing smile, and began to slow, though she wasn't nearly as tired as the others.

  "I'll find you again ter." She said to him. "Just promise me to stay within sight of the road."

  He looked like he was about to protest, but after gncing backwards once more, he just gave her a solemn nod and a quick salute in the Roman fashion as best he was able.

  Now that she was alone between the group in front, and the orks behind, she took a deep breath and mentally prepared to run swifter than she had ever before. She spread her wings slightly, and focused her will. As she ran, she began to shine with light. Dimly at first, but quickly rising to the brilliance of a mighty beacon even in the full light of day. Her wings and hair were the brightest, shining white and gold. Some of her companions ahead turned and gaped. She just smiled sadly at them, and turned right off the road and onto the slow barren incline of the mountain. She thought she heard a fluttering behind her, but was so devoted to her new course that she didn't bother to check. Her fate was in her hands alone now, she just had to hope that her actions would be enough of a distraction for the others to make it to safety.

  The beady eyes of the lead rider widened at the unexpected brightness, and all the pack faltered for a step as they looked forward in confusion. They might brave the light of day when forced, but this was a new and uncomfortable shining on their dark forms. Raising his arm to block some of the light, the rider saw that it was the new thing. A female of the sort they had not encountered, nor had their ancestors in all their long years. All thoughts of chasing the others dimmed, then went out. Their hunt had narrowed to one solitary hare which eluded them, and they had beasts to spare. With a fresh howl, the lead rider urged his warg to follow the bright one, and the others of it's pack followed. The orks left the road behind, the other prey forgotten.

  Aurelia felt like the wind itself... for the first few minutes. She soon was panting raggedly as she urged her legs to flow and her knees to pump. Alone, she was much quicker than the others of the company had been, but she was still slower than the riders. Her initial fsh had given her some much needed distance, but they were slowly eating up the ground between them. The mountain she led them up was bare, as though shaved of trees by giants in the same way a man shaves his beard. It was a double edged sword. She was sure of foot, and able to see every rock and divot in her path up the slope. But it also meant that there was no hope of ducking out of sight of the ork riders. Not that it would matter much, she mused, for they had surely tracked them using senses more than sight.

  Her long golden hair had slipped free of her usual braid, and arced through the wind better than any fg or banner. It was only when it spoke up that she realized that it was not wholly the wind which tugged at her hair.

  "This one must run! Run! Faster than the gnashing ones. Iri has no trees nor bushes to hide in!" Said the little sprite as she clung onto the hair at back of Aurelia's head. Her hands held the golden strands like reins on a horse, but that didn't stop her from thrashing up and down with the pace of Aurelia's movement.

  Aurelia would have replied, if she wasn't running for both their lives.

  "This one has big wings, much bigger that Iri's! Why doesn't she use them?" She cried.

  Aurelia wanted to reply that she didn't know how, that she had always been alone, the sole member of a race that for all she knew was long dead or not yet meant to exist. Was she a cruel joke of the Gods? An unfortunate twist of fate and chance? She did not know. But her wings had been pretty ornaments at best her whole, short, life.

  Up and up she ran, spiraling up the mountain. Chancing a risky look back, to her dread she found that the lead rider was less than fifty meters away now. Soon they would catch her, and if they didn't, she would run out of mountain before much longer anyway.

  Iri used her handholds in Aurelia's hair, and dragged herself close enough to Aurelia's head that she could y one of her tiny hands on her skin. Though Aurelia was focused on not tripping and dying, she began to feel phantom sensations which nearly made her stumble. First they ranged all over her body like questing hands reaching through her, but they settled on her wings and upper back. With growing understanding she realized that Iri was doing something simir to what she had done in their tent the night before. Odd Silvani magics. She rexed her mind and let them in completely, if Iri's skills were anything like the priests in Rome, she would need to willingly accept them. Though again maybe not, she hadn't seemed to have any problems st time. As the feelings coalesced, she began to spread her wings slightly. It was as though she was having memories and sensations of flight impnted inside her.

  Up and up they went. The mountain, barren of trees and brush, soon ran out of grasses too. And her feet found only rock and gravel. A bck fletched arrow whizzed by her head, and a great cry of violence followed by an odd whimper of pain followed soon after. As the sensations flowed through her, her wings spread more, almost involuntarily. They began to beat in time to the internal urges, and she soon was actively beating her wings on purpose. They didn't grant her flight, but they did lessen the load of the uphill climb. They weren't completely spread yet, as their full extent would hinder her more than help, such was their breadth.

  With a gasp the ground started to level out again, and she realized that she was nearly at the peak. No more than a short distance ahead of her was a great drop which plummeted far below out of sight. Behind her she heard a cry of triumph, and she realized that it was not the howl of the beasts, but of the ork itself. She dared not turn back, but she knew that it would be scant seconds before she felt the hot breath of beasts and greenskins on her heels. The sensations Iri was feeding into her began to fade. And Aurelia felt the sprite fall nearly limp against the back of her head. She could only pray that the little one held on tight, it seemed that she had done all she could. As the edge approached, Aurelia spread her wings to her full extent, they fred far to her sides. She began to beat them, and to her etion she found that unlike before she rose each time. At first it she would only rise inches before her feet touched the ground again, but quickly it grew to feet. She nearly had it, and not a moment too soon. The cliff edge was only a few paces away, it was now or never.

  Spreading her wings fully had slowed her down, and each time she beat her wings her feet left the ground. Which, while etive for Aurelia, meant that for precious moments she wasn't running at full speed. Now she really did feel the hot, panting breath of the ork beast behind her. Over the rush of wind along the mountaintop, she heard the ork cackling as it reached out to grab a hold of it's prize.

  The edge was before her, and with determination she jumped. Beating down with her wings in a motion which carried a strength she had never before known. As the space beneath her feet changed from stony mountaintop to open air, her heart stopped with anticipation. Then she beat her wings again, and felt no sensation of falling.

  It was with etion that her doom came upon her.

  All the warg and their ork riders had drawn to a halt at the mountain cliff, they looked hatefully out at her as their prey escaped for the second time that day.

  All but one.

  The lead rider, so blinded by the shine of her light and the thrill of the hunt that he had leaped after her. Thoughts of all else had faded from his twisted mind. That he was surely doomed was of no concern. What mattered was catching his elusive prey. Though Aurelia had leaped mightily from the mountain, and was now aloft, the warg and it's rider had been going faster, and the four-legged beast could leap much further than she.

  In her moment of exaltation, the rider reached out and grabbed a hold of her hair as it streamed out behind her. He began to quickly descend as the earth regained it's hold on him as Aurelia was rising. Though one handful was all he or his beast were able to cim, it proved plenty enough. As beast and rider began to plummet, they tugged down. Aurelia's golden hair held firm, stronger than any rope. The motion dragged the woman down and off bance, and they both began to fall.

  With his work done, the ork came to with stark realization. He screamed as he fell, dropping much faster than the winged Aurelia, and he lost his grip in his panic.

  Aurelia let out a sound which could only come from the dashing of childhood dreams and the ending of hopes as she began to fall.

  SarcasticMisfit