Chapter Fourteen

Sira Torila urged her mount to greater speed. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she was dismayed to see that her pursuers were gaining on her. A grunt of desperate frustration escaped her lips as she scanned the area ahead for any possible avenue of escape. She was far yet from the Haedral Valley, and the open land she traversed lay in the shadow of the ominous crags of the Ramash Mountains looming behind her. That high, western range was the largest in the realm, and much of it unexplored due to the harshness of the landscape. It was known, however, to be home to most of the Goblin tribes that plagued the land.

Torila felt her anxiety rising as it became clear there were no hiding places, no alternate routes she could take to elude those in pursuit. But she had to! The information she had was vital, and the First Commander had to receive it. She gritted her teeth, leaning low in her saddle as she raced toward the still-distant mouth of the valley. The foothills seemed infinitely f