At the horse stable, Rebecca saw 5 horses available.Two of them were just foals, so they were definitely out of the question. As she examined each horse, she noted that one had a rusty knee cap. The other two were both designed for long-distance traveled, well-built with muscled legs. One horse, a majestic white male, was very showy, with a broad chest and flowing mane. The other horse was a dark chocolate brown with a small, short, refined head with a straight profile, and a strong, well-muscled body, featuring a broad chest and powerful, rounded hindquarters and stood about 14 hands high, definitely well-suited for travel. She decided on the latter, as she didn’t want a very noticeable and showy horse.
“23 Gold please.” the horse caretaker said. Rebecca carefully counted out the coins and handed them to the man. She thanked the man and walked to her new steed. As she approached the horse it was hesitant to allow her to mount it, but after a sugar cube or two, it came to trust the rider and stayed calm.
After being given directions to the Golden Lizard, Rebecca set off to the metropolitan city.
Rebecca stopped to rest at another village during her journey. As the local villagers watered her horse, she decided to see the sights of the village. So far, the village was rather dull, and all that differed was two mysterious figures, seemingly set on a mission. One was a woman, short in stature but obviously spunky as she talked back to her tall cloaked companion. Those two definitely stood out from the rest. Rebecca shrugged, whoever they were was not her business, she was only here to get her horse watered and then leave. She turned on her heel and walked back to retrieve her horse.
The villagers handling her horse gratefully took a gold coin as payment and even gave her a loaf of bread for her travel. Rebecca thanked them and walked her horse through the village wrapping the reins around her hand. While walking, she was feeding her horse, whom by now she decided to name Esmee, the same short woman she saw earlier ran straight into Rebecca, “Oof!”
Esmee neighed loudly and started bucking. Rebecca scowled, “Watch where you’re going!” and tended to calming her horse down.
As she patted Esmee’s mane, she watched the woman as she rubbed her temples in a childish way. She resembled Rebecca’s younger sister back at home, though this woman was obviously around the same age as Rebecca despite her looks and height. Then she noted a dagger sticking out of the woman’s boots.
“Who are you?”