[b]"I don't doubt they'll come looking for you, lass. I'm sure your daddy loves you very much. And you're right, the natural place to start a search would be the most densely forested part of the road you were travelling, as it is exactly where people like us have a tendency to set up ambushes. Thing is, what the [i]rookies[/i] forget... you know, the sort of amateur thieves who spend half their time pillaging things and the other half shouting impotent threats at men with magic greatswords... is that if you shit where you eat, you're going to get sick real quick."[/b] Ronan chuckled slightly. He took a knife from his belt and held it up for Alianor to examine for a moment. Then he came closer, grabbing hold of her roughly and thrusting the knife forward... into the loose-hanging thigh of her dress. He split the fabric on both sides ripping it to give her a little bit more freedom of movement. [b]"We're camped about three miles north of here, cliffside near a river. Relatively sheltered from the storms, and we have fresh water to drink. But I suppose you should hope we do a poor job of covering our tracks, eh?"[/b]

The journey back to their camp was difficult. Ronan led the party along a winding trail, thick with crawling roots, hanging vines, and the occasional spider as big as a small dog which a few of the bandits had to quickly put down. They did collect some venom from these encounters however, so it was not entirely without profit. Ronan knew that he was taking far longer than necessary to reach the camp, but he didn't want to take any chances with the new girl - it would be better that she didn't remember how to get back to the road, and his crew were fit enough not to be all too bothered by the hike. Well, Huxley wasn't exactly enjoying himself, but then again Ronan needed the man for his brains and not his physique, so this could be forgiven. Besides, thought Ronan... it was nice to make the pretty lady work. She was certainly not dressed for the journey, even with Ronan's impromptu modifications.

The Black Arrows' camp was encircled by a high wall made of wooden stakes, carved from what could only be whole tree trunks. Ronan was not quite sure how the process went - he knew that ancient armies did something similar through sheer numbers, but his own resources were limited and so he instead had to buy them from a strange wizard who the group occasionally traded with. He seemed to like gems, apparently they worked well for enchanting purposes, and in return he would send shipments of cut wood to them by stone golem. It was a queer arrangement, but it worked. As the group neared the gates, a voice called down to ask who it was. Ronan shouted that the man who asked was an idiot, and this seemed identification enough - the gates soon swung open, and the group rejoined the ten men they had left behind to guard their homes.

The camp itself was... fine. The high cliff face along its northern edge gave it some level of protection and shade, but the buildings were particularly simple. Most of them were more or less wooden tents or yurts, with one particularly large area filled with long tables and benches - presumably a sitting or dining area of some sort - situated beneath a long thatched roof with regular wooden columns holding it up.

[b]"Alright lads, put your spoils wherever. Dun-lane, preserve the horse and get started on tonight's meal. Huxley, you come here."[/b] Ronan motioned for his lieutenant, who sidled over, still panting slightly from the journey back, and looked at him expectantly. [b]"I haven't decided what to do with her yet. Some of the lads wanted to have a go on her, but I told them to piss off. I'll be having her sleep near me, so they don't try anything. If one of them does, castrate him and put him on night watch for the next year."[/b]

[b]"Yessir."[/b] Huxley nodded, hurrying off to make the announcements that the prisoner was not to be touched. Ronan looked wearily at the woman... she might shape up to be more trouble than she was worth.