Raven's Story Pt.2

Raven awoke in pain. She glanced around her to find herself lying on a river bank. She felt great pain in her leg and chest. She felt light headed and a throbbing sensation on her head. She placed her finger lightly on the spot and winced back as she touched it. There was a deep bruise on her eyebrow. She began to remember what she was doing there and stayed laying there.

She didn't know how many hours she sat laying there, going in and out of sleep. But eventually she heard footsteps that were walking around her. She heard someone stop, and kneel down closer to look at her. Raven stopped breathing. She tried to look dead, unable to open her eyes to tell if the person was fiend or friend. She felt the hot breath on her face.

The person must have seen her facial reaction as she felt a tang on pain in her arm from someone touching a bruise. "She's alive." A man's soft voice said to someone.

"How bad is she hurt?" A female voice asked.

"Pretty bad." The man's voice said. She felt him lean in closer to her face and whisper in her pointy ear. "It's ok. You can breathe now."

The breathe warmed Raven up and she began to breathe again. He chuckled to himself and whispered. "Can you open your eyes? I'm here to help."

Raven looked though her eyelids to see man. He had dark brown hair and smooth face. He looked in his early twenties and had blue eyes full of energy. Raven opened her eyes all the way and blinked twice to clear her vision. He smiled at her and she studied him.

What an odd human… Raven thought to herself as he looked down at her.

"I'm Kyle." He said, putting his hands on his chest. "This is Aralynn." He pointed to a blonde wood elf that put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. They looked like rangers, and the man remind Raven of an anti-Bishop. The elf had brown trousers on and a white T-shirt with lace down the front and tied up tight. Kyle had black trousers on and a white man's shirt. Bows and quivers were slung over their shoulders.

"What's your name?" Kyle asked.

"Raven." She said shortly then sitting up quickly.

"I wouldn't do that." He said, putting his hands out in front of her. "You seem to be suffering loss of blood and a hit to the head." He lightly rubbed her eyebrow and sighed.

"What are you doing here?" Raven managed to ask.

"We were running around in the woods, when we saw you." He answered. "You're welcome, by the way."

Raven suddenly stood. "I need to get back." She said, slightly shaking. Her legs felt like jelly. She took a couple of steps and leaned over to pick up her knife and bow. She had no arrows but the bow was the nicest thing Bishop ever gave her, and that is rare.

"Here, I figured you would need this." Kyle then handed her a quiver of crappy looking arrows. Raven then realized they weren't as experienced like Bishop or Raven in the art of the ranger.

"Uhh. Thanks, but I better be going." She said. Ravens slung the quiver and bow around her shoulder and put the knife in her boot. Most of her knifes were gone and her pants ruined into shorts. She cursed herself for being stupid and that next time she'll find another exit. If there was a next time. Raven then started to walk away then stopped.

"Do you guys know where the nearest town is?" Raven asked.

Kyle nodded and pointed north. "Once you get clear of the trees you'll see it."

Raven nodded and muttered her thanks. She began walking; realizing that every step she took sent a shock of pain through her body. Raven had no clue how to deal with wound; in fact she had no knowledge of healing. Some ranger she was!

Eventually she did make it to the town and walked into the nearest tavern. Lucky for Raven, a couple of gold pieces got stuck in her tight black shirt and was enough to pay for a room and meal.

"It's three gold for a room and two more for a meal as well." The inn keeper said. Raven nodded and patted her pockets. She pulled out four gold then reached in her shirt to get the fifth. The innkeeper looked at the gold for a minute then at Raven and shrugged, putting it in his pocket. Raven smiled, her cowl shading her face making her smile look evil. She walked up stairs and into the room.

The sheets were nice and soft, reminding of her bed back at West Harbor. A pang of homesickness washed over Raven for a minute but was then covered with hunger. Raven listened to her stomach growl and realized how she could use the sheets.

The innkeeper walked into the room, about to give Raven news of her supper only to find his sheets ripped up and bloody. "By the Nine Hells!" He swore. "What happened to my sheets?"

Raven looked up in surprise and shuffled her feet. "I needed them." She simply put while wrapping them around her waist.

The innkeeper mumbled something about teiflings and walked out, claiming her stew was ready. Raven followed him down and sat down at the counter. She listened to the music and ate her stew gratefully.

The music ended and an intimidating young man stood up. Raven felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Danger.

"Ladies and gentlemen, The Bandits!" Someone shouted in the crowd.

The Bandits, a group of bards who would rob a tavern. Raven remembered.

"Now would you all mind to," The man pulled out a sword. "Give us your-" A crappy arrow landed in the man's chest and the rest of the group pulled out their weapons and looked at the direction the arrow came from.

There. A woman in ripped up clothing and covered in a black cowl. She gave a wicked smile, and let arrows fly once more.

Raven shot one man, but the rest ducked. One ran up to her and dodged ever arrow she shot at him until he was inches away from her. He attacked her, and she kicked the dagger out of his hand and pulled her own from her boot. She stabbed the man in the head and kicked him the face to move him. She shot the last two and jumped down from the counter. She retrieved her dagger, wiping the blood on the dead man's shirt and shoving it on her boot. The guards came soon and Raven explained the events.

"Right, we'll just get the bodies out of here. Great work." The guards then rounded up the bodies and threw them on a cart. She turned around to see the innkeeper glaring at her.

"My best musicians gone!" He shouted. "Are you happy, girl?"

"I'm never happy." She said plainly and sitting down to eat her stew.

The door opened wide and two men in black walked in. Raven identified them immediately as assassins; she had enough for a life time of them. Her neck hairs pricked once again and Raven knew something was amiss with these two…

Suddenly an arm found itself around her chest and violently pulled her off the chair. She fell backwards and was being pulled towards the door. As she struggled, someone began to punch her wounds and she grunted every time they did, blood spraying everywhere around her. Finally the pain was enough and she didn't struggle as bad. They pulled her outside and dragged her down the street. Raven pulled a throwing knife from her boot and struck it at something. A shock of pain ran up her arm as she hit something more solid than her knife. She threw it at someone to her side and watched at the blow drove the man to a tree yards away. They punched her wound again and she grunted. Finally someone put a cloth on her mouth with a sleeping chemical on it that knocks you out. She fell asleep instantly.