And yet, more travelling

It didn't take long for Grace to find the town blacksmith once she had left the inn.

"Excuse me!" She yelled, trying to make her voice heard over the noise of the forge.

"Can I help you?" The blacksmith, an olive-skinned man with green eyes asked as he approached the counter that separated them.

"Do you have any swords for sale?" She asked.

"Yes, I do. Are you looking for anything particular?"

"Something simple, designed for a beginner." She said.

"I have just the thing." The blacksmith turned. When he turned back he held a sword, well crafted and beautifully simple. "Will this do?"

"It's perfect." Grace marveled at the craftsmanship. "How much?"

"One silver piece." Grace pulled out the coin purse that she had prepared.

"There you go." She handed the coin over as the blacksmith handed the sword over. "Thank you." She strapped the sword to her side.

"Have a good day!" The blacksmith called after her as she left the stall.

Right, she thought. Now to get the food.

When she arrived back at The Dirty Lady inn, Falael was already standing there next to a mule.

"You're back!" He exclaimed, elated. "I wasn't sure that you would."

"Why, because I am a woman?" Grace asked teasingly. "If we have gone this far as a group, then we might as well continue." She said, setting the large amount of food that she had purchased down.

"Did you afford a sword?"

"I did." Grace took out her newly purchased sword for him to see. "Isn't it pretty?"

"It certainly is," Falael said as he marveled at the simplistic masterpiece that was Grace's new sword. "Does it have a name?"

"Not yet."

"You two done flirting?" Rinomve asked as he approached the pair. "Or are we leaving tomorrow?"

"Grace has scored a very good blade," Falael replied, showing Rinomve the blade.

"Wow, it is a superb blade." Rinomve agreed.

"Okay you two, can you please stop ogling my sword? We need to pack up and get moving." Grace pointed out.

"Yes, we do." Rinomve unloaded his burden from his shoulders. "Right, what are we packing first?"

It was midday by the time the trio and the pack mule left Madmaw, much later than any of them wanted. They stopped by a stream, where Rinomve unpacked the extra wine-skins and filled them with water, before resuming on the road.

"We should probably stop," Rinomve said as the sun set. "It's getting dark."

"I agree." Falael, who was leading the mule, stopped the caravan and tied the mule to a nearby tree, as Grace started unpacking the tent.

It was as if there were assassins in the woods, listening to their every move. So many of them sprung out of the woods so quickly, Grace didn't grab her sword before someone clapped their hands around her mouth and dragged her backwards in the forest.

She tried to scream but found her mouth covered in fingers. Desperate to warn Falael and Rinomve, she bit down causing her captor to cuss loudly. In spite of this, the fingers remained.

In spite of this, Grace found herself thrown in to what seemed to be a cage, completely separated from Falael and Rinomve, that was moving through the darkness that enveloped both her and her captors, destination unknown.

"Stop this carriage, right now!" She yelled, shaking the wooden bars to make her point. Whoever had captured her, however, seemed to take no interest as they trundled on through the night.

Falael looked around the campsite, panicking.

"Did you see where Grace got off to?" he asked Rinomve, who apparently shared his panic.

"No, I didn't."

"Shit."

"Yes, very much so." Rinomve replied in a sad tone.

"Any idea where they went off to?" Falael asked.

"Only one, the same place that we are trying to go to." Rinomve said, as Falael hung his head.

"Well, looks like we are continuing on our journey." He said, going back to the tent. "We might as well get some sleep, we aren't going to be much help to her if we are tired."

"If only you were wrong." Rinomve agreed.

"Where am I?" Grace asked when she woke up the next morning, blinking several times. She was still in the cage that she had been placed into the previous night, but they were in a part of the forest that was completely new to her. "Where am I?" She asked again, getting more frantic. Again, she didn't get a response. Defeated, she slumped against the wall of the carriage. It looked like she was going to have to find out where she was going the hard way.

The hours turned into days, and still the carriage rattled on. She slept as much of the journey as she could, consuming only the meagre meal and the single glass of water provided to her daily.