Emerald Edge waited patiently atop the carriage as Moon Tide began talking to the guards at the gatehouse. From what she could guess from one of the guard’s gestures, she was likely trying to understand why they were going to venture out to the Kievan Horse lands. They seemed to be in incredible disbelief, but eventually, let them pass anyway.
“Merci,” Moon Tide told them as their carriages and horses began moving past them and out of the gatehouses.
“What’d they say, Em?” Honeygold asked, now seated beside the spymaster atop the first carriage.
“How should I know? Only Moon Tide speaks Prench here.”
“Tis just warnings,” Moon Tide explained from her horse. “They say the Kievans are cannibals and savages. And to watch the woods and to never leave our young by themselves in fear of Baba Yaga.”
“Ba-Ba-Ba-Baba Yaga?” Honeygold shook beside Emerald.
The former pegasus remembered some of the fairytales the young farm girl would tell her. One of these was about the Baba Yaga, a witch said to steal little children away and eat them, flying around with their mortar and pestle. It really sounded too astounding to be any bit true, but then again, she didn’t know what this world had to offer. Perhaps a flying woman wasn’t too far off, just like pegasi.
Moon Tide led the way down the dirt road, with Emerald’s carriage following directly behind her. Honeygold was on top with her, while Spectrum Song, Guard Streak and Jewel Pin sat within, eating their breakfast. Posey rode alongside them, making sure the seamstress wouldn’t finish their entire food supply so quick into their travels.
Apple Bean and Golden Nugget rode atop their horses next to their carriage of supplies, with Nightfall Gleam riding on top of it, while Light Speckle sat inside with the maps and notes.
They had set out early, having a good night’s rest at the inn. The beds weren’t fantastic, but they were a far sight better than sleeping out in the wilderness.
They had also discreetly bought more food from the marketplace, either not saying anything or letting Moon Tide talk. They didn’t want the people to know they were from Canterlot, just in case, though they did seem fairly nice, unlike what they had heard about the Prench back in Canterlot; This also made Emerald wonder if the Kievan Horse people would be nicer than everyone was saying.
From up above, Gabriel gave them a squawk, then swooped in a circle.
“Gabriel says there is a roadblock,” Posey translated. “Landslide. We will need to go around.”
“Around?” Emerald scanned her surroundings. As they walked, they eventually caught sight of a mass of boulders and dirt, covering the path and disappearing down the other side. The rain must have loosened the soil.
Still being within the mountain range, there wasn’t much to go in terms of direction. Though, the right side was a slope down instead of a slope up. Perhaps that could get them past the landslide. It led down a grassy path, leading to the edge of some trees.
“Are we able to get the carriages down the side?” Golden Nugget pulled at a piece of straw in his mouth. “It’s gonna be a mighty hard way down.”
“Easier than diggin’ out the landslide, ain’t it?” His wife nudged him. “Besides, you’re a big strong man. Ah’m sure ya can manage this.”
“Not alone.” Nugget rolled up his sleeves. “Right, we’re gonna take this nice and slow. Emerald, if ya could get the front with me. Posey, can ya get the rear? We’ll bring ‘em one at a time.”
Moon Tide walked over and rolled up her sleeves. “I shall help.”
“Uh…” Golden Nugget rubbed his head. “No offense, mage, but this is better left to the stronger ones.”
“Trust me. I can still be of help.”
“Well, alright then. Ya can help Posey with the rear, mage.”
The four of them began helping the horses down the slope, with Emerald and Golden Nugget putting their backs to the carriage to slow its descent, while Posey and Moon Tide held the bars at the back. Emerald had expected it to be much harder, but for some reason, the carriage felt rather light. Perhaps she was a lot stronger than she remembered.
It had gotten noticeably chillier as they had left the Prench border fort. While it wasn’t raining, the sky was overcast and grey, and there seemed to be very little greenery around. Just short, tough grass that didn’t look appetizing at all, and some forests of scraggly trees.
It was a most unwelcoming sight, and the path ahead was ill-used, littered with stones and almost completely overgrown with grass. She guessed anyone who traveled down here would only use the main path. With the landslide like that, she didn’t know how much traveling was going to be done.
“What a miserable looking kingdom,” Emerald heard Jewel Pin exclaim. “At least in Prance they took some pride in their countrysides. This is just ghastly.”
“These are nice countrysides.” Posey glared at her from the corner of her eyes as she helped with the carriage. “This is what nature looks like, untouched by man.”
Jewel Pin sniffed. “It could still stand to be more colorful. This is so drab and boring, I don’t feel inspired at all.”
After almost half an hour, they finally got the carriages down the slope. The grassy path led in a meandering fashion around some boulders and into a forest. The trees here were laden with strange, round purple fruits that Emerald had never seen before.
Emerald reached out to pick one, but there came a sudden whack! On the knight’s arm.
“Ow!” Emerald said out of reflex. Because of her armor, it didn’t really hurt, but it caught her by surprise.
Moon Tide stood beside her, brandishing her staff.
“Don’t touch anything.” the mage ordered. “This is off the path that I usually travel, so I don’t know what devilry might be at work here. For all we know, those fruits could be poisonous.”
Emerald nodded, feeling foolish for making such an amateur mistake.
“Sorry,” the former pegasus said sheepishly.
“Nothing to apologize for, Emerald. We learn, yes?” Moon Tide walked a few steps ahead and gave the air a sniff. “If we walk along the trees here, we should eventually arrive at the part of the road at the bottom of the slope. We will simply be back on the main path and on with our journey.”
“Sounds easy enough.” Apple Bean gave Joey a rub.
Nightfall looked around after getting back on top of the other carriage. “Any wildlife to expect out here? Wolves? Trolls?”
Moon Tide looked on ahead. “Wolves, bears, tigers, these are your natural predators, but beware, there are much more reclusive hunters out here, far more dangerous than any troll you might have already seen before. Creatures of the dark. We must not stray from the beaten path in our time here.”
“But…” Honeygold pointed to the top of the slope. “We already have. And what’s a tie-gur?”
“I suppose you’ll see it if we come across one.” Moon Tide hugged her staff closer. “But tigers are the least of our worries.”
“Hey, Omul is from here, ain’t he? He’s a vampire. Maybe we’ll find more of his kind?”
“Honeygold, you were lucky enough that a vampire that took residence in your land was a benevolent one. The rest of his kind are not so… civilized.”
“Whad’ya mean?”
The mage seemed to think on how to word her next answer as she got back on her horse. “Vampires are generally feral creatures. They will not hesitate to turn you into their next meal.”
Honeygold swallowed hard.
“Do not worry, Honeygold.” Emerald gave her a pat on the shoulder, then ushered her and the other two children back to the carriage. “If evil vampires appear, we shall handle them.”
“Then let us hasten.” Moon Tide lifted her hood over her head. “The longer we stay off the road, the more chance we have of being discovered by something evil. We must go.”
Emerald got back on her carriage and got the horses moving, taking Moon Tide’s words to heart. Honeygold had told her many a story on Kievan Horse tales. Besides the Baba Yaga, that Emerald heard of the most, the young farmgirl had also told her tales of creatures far more dangerous. Ones she remembered over others were the leshy and the chort. Beings of pure evil who killed without thought. The spymaster didn’t think much of those stories, seeing as they were fairytales, but if vampires did exist, then these monsters could too.
The travel along the forest edge was bumpy, seeing as they were off the path, the carriage wheels rolling over grass and uneven ground. Birds chirped somewhere in the woods, some singing melodious tunes that made Emerald want to go to sleep. Besides that, nothing else made itself known, which was fine by her. She didn’t want to meet anything hostile anyway.
The path grew ever more winding, with heaps of stones and crevasses on either side. They had to be cautious with the carriages, as a breakdown out here would be disastrous. More of the strange fruits hung on the trees.
“It’s not that bad out here,” Guard Streak commented as they trundled along. “The birds are singing, there’s a cool breeze, and we’re making progress.”
Posey, however, didn’t seem to share in his sentiments. She kept looking all around them, and she kept one hand on her bow. Gabriel circled overhead, flying high.
Emerald herself found her eyes looking out into the woods constantly. Something about it didn’t feel right to her. She couldn’t explain it, but something about it kept making her look in, though each time, she saw nothing out of the ordinary except for a few dead trees.
“I’m worried about the horses,” Spectrum said, sticking her head out of the carriage. “There aren’t as many plants out here for them to eat. I haven’t seen any running water either.”
The carriage rolled over a divot in the ground, making the occupants bounce.
“Anyone know any good stories or a song?” Jewel Pin whined. “It’s so boring out here.”
“Oh! Oh! I’ve got a song!” Spectrum whipped out her lute and gave it a strum. “My pa taught it to me.”
“Oh, there once was a hero named Lydia the Fair, who was always eating and sitting on a chaaaaiirr!”
“Shh!” Emerald hissed from outside. Spectrum’s lute fell silent. “We do not want to attract any undue attention, so until we’re back on the main road, no songs.”
“Aww, that’s not fun.” Spectrum stowed her instrument.
“What kinda name is Lydia anyway?” Honeygold giggled.
“Don’t know. It was just the name my pa used in the song.”
“A different n-name would-would have worked better…” Guard Streak scratched his head.
“What other name would work better?” Spectrum waved her lute.
“I do-do not know…”
“Well, if you don’t have a better one, then we’ll have to stick with Lydia.”
“Hey, arguments later, would you three?” Emerald thumped the back of a foot against the carriage base. “Don’t want any leshys coming out, do you?”
Honeygold coughed. “Leshiye.”
“What?”
“They’re called Leshiye, Em. Ah mean, if it’s more than one.”
“I’m hungry.” Jewel Pin rubbed her belly. “Could we stop for lunch?”
A block of cheese and half a loaf of bread was thrust through the window into Jewel Pin’s lap.
“We’re not stopping here,” Moon Tide announced in a shout-whisper. “It isn’t safe.”
“Wait, don’t give her more food,” Posey groaned. “She’s going to eat us dry by the time we even make it to tomorrow…”
Jewel Pin paid Posey no mind as she tore into the bread and cheese.
They kept going along. Emerald grew a little more relaxed, though she kept glancing into the forest out of the corner of her eye. The group seemed to have left the birds behind, as there was no longer any birdsong.
“I wonder how far it is till we get back on the main path,” Emerald heard Golden Nugget say. “I’m not sure I like the idea of travelin’ past these woods after dark.”
Emerald privately agreed, though she kept her eyes on the path and said nothing, lest she needlessly worry the group. Still, something in the back of her mind kept sending up warning bells. The sooner they were away from this grove of trees, the better.
Posey pulled her horse up next to Emerald.
“Gabriel says we are being watched,” she said quietly.
This did not really surprise the former pegasus. “By whom?”
“He doesn’t know, but there’s been something following us through the forest for the better part of the day. Keep your sword ready. We are not as alone as we might think.”
Emerald nodded. She’d been feeling a sense of unease for quite some time now. She thought it might’ve been the woods, but now she knew better.
Posey then allowed her horse to lag back, with its rider whispering to each member of the party in turn. Each person glanced warily into the woods and put a hand on their weapon. That was good. At least if whatever was following them decided to attack, they would not be caught off guard.
“Ah don’t see anyone.” Honeygold panned her head across the woods.
Emerald continued to look out for whoever was following them, but even as skilled as she was, she still couldn’t see anyone there. “Neither do I, Honeygold. But I feel it.”
Spectrum placed a hand on her dagger’s grip. “I don’t feel anything. Are you sure anyone is out there? What if tis all just the Kievan lands working magic on your minds?”
“Where on earth did you hear that, young squire?” Moon Tide held back a snort.
“I mean, we all know the tales of Kievans. Them and their gypsies and vampires.”
“That… is possibly the worst summary I have heard of these people.”
“Yes, well-”
A rush of wind cut Spectrum off. Emerald tilted her head back to look at her, but it had all happened so fast. Spectrum had been in the carriage with Honeygold, Jewel Pin and Guard Streak, but the door was now open and the squire had gone silent.
“Spectrum?”
“Spectrum’s gone!” Guard Streak charged out of the carriage and looked around. “One moment she was here, next…”
“What do you mean Spectrum has gone?” Moon Tide pulled her horse along the carriage, then sniffed the air. “I do not sense anything or anyone.”
Emerald got off and looked around, even ducking her head under the carriage to see if the squire was there, but of course, she wasn’t.
There was a squawk from above and immediately, Posey’s head was turned to the forest. “Gabriel sees movement, far in. A flash of gray and a flash of… rainbow. Tis the squire! She has been taken!”
“How could someone have taken her right under my nose?” Moon Tide sounded flabbergasted as she got off her horse and removed her crossbow from her pack. “Tis no natural person, whoever has taken her.”
“We didn’t even see anyone!” Honegold waved her hands wildly. “And she was sittin’ right beside me one moment, and then poof, she wasn’t!”
“There is sorcery behind this…” Nightfall Gleam said, taking out a glass vial of bubbling orange liquid: alchemist’s fire. “We are being challenged by another magician.”
“Magician?” Honeygold suddenly drew back and began biting at her fingernails. “Th-th-there’s only one magician i-in th-these pa-parts… Ba-Ba-Baba Yaga!”
“Oh, Honeygold.” Apple Bean shook her head. “There ain’t no such thing as them babayaggers. They’re just fairytales.”
“Baba Yaga or not, we need to get Spectrum back,” Posey said decisively. “I think I can trace her; follow me.”
She readied her bow and stalked off into the woods. Emerald looked at the rest of her friends, then charged off into the trees after Posey, the rest of the group not far behind.
Jewel Pin sighed and hopped out of the carriage. She drew her dagger and rolled her eyes.
“Oh, I hate epic adventures.”