Private rp with Wingfeather

[mainehorse]

"As long as we find her before any real harm is done then all will be well, even if it takes a while." Cass says, kicking the gelding she rode into a gallop. Until they got into the thick of the forest, it was probably best to maintain some speed. The kidnapper could be anywhere in the woods. Whether he would be hiding amongst the trees or had some sort of hideout in the woods, well they would likely find out eventually she supposed.

[wingfeather]

Lockian agreed. He eased Phantom into the gallop and kept the horse up with Cassidy’s gelding. Soon enough they entered the wood. Lockian quickly checked his mount’s speed. The tracks went further into the forest but the brush made it more difficult to decipher them, also the fact that there was less snow due to tree coverage. “Seems to be going pretty straight,” Lockian said from what he could make out of the prints.

[mainehorse]

"For now anyway... but if he has a lick of sense about him then he'll change course at some point here. Surely he had to consider that he'd have people on his tracks sooner or later, and going in a straight line would make him easier to find. Would be nice if he kept it up, but he seemed to have his wits about him at least enough to keep his face covered. Assuming our perpetrator is the same guy from last night that is." Cass says.

[wingfeather]

''I think his main goal at this point was just to get as far away from the castle as he possibly could. He will probably get more shrewd once we get a little further, I think,'' Lockian said. He shrugged, ''a lot of things point to him being our man, but for right now its impossible to say for sure, though as of now I think the two are the same person.'' Riding further the dead winter brush on the ground slowed their progress considerably, until it opened up again into a split deer trail, one went down to a rocky area with enormous boulders choking the place and other went into a darker more dense portion of the forest. Both paths were trackless. ''He must have come back and covered his trail,'' Lockian said standing in his stirrups to try and get a better look down both trails. ''We just have to pick blindly,'' he said sitting back down.

[mainehorse]

"Most likely... but however shrewd her might be, there's only so many places out here he can hide." Cass says, pausing to lean over slightly and get a better look at the now muddled trail. They probably should have been expecting this. But either way, it was only prove a minor setback if they had to double back and take the other trail. "There's only two at least, so we've got a fifty fifty chance of picking the right one first. There have been worse odds. And if the first proves fruitless then at least we know the other one has the be the one we need" she says, straightening up again in the saddle.

[wingfeather]

Lockian’s eyebrows drew together in thought, “true, but that depends upon how far we follow one, it could take us all day before we realize we are actually on the wrong path.” He examined both paths, “the wooded one, I think, means he was traveling far and wanted to get away as it seems to go fairly straight. The other has the possibility of caves and hideouts large enough to conceal some people and even a horse, if he still has it with him. Which do you think?”

[mainehorse]

"It's a risk we'll have to take, we can't risk turning back too early either." Cass says pausing. "Probably best to start with the latter. He can't get very far with Sylvia in tow, so if he's wise then he'd avoid getting caught out in the woods by any search parties hot on his trail. It would have been in his best interest to find a place to wait things out in the hopes that any search parties pass him by before hitting the road again." She says.

[wingfeather]

“Sounds good,” Lockian said with a decisive nod before turning his horse in the direction of the boulders. Just when they entered the path a hail was suddenly heard behind them, “well now, so you both decided to pay me a visit after all.” Lockian turned to see the cloaked man from last night leaning casually against a tree. His hood was still pulled low but Lockian thought he could perceive the glint of a smile from beneath the thin fabric. Neither horse nor girl was in sight.

[mainehorse]

Cass dismounts wordlessly, drawing her sword. It was all too convenient, the way he was leaning against a tree. In one swift motion, she has the tip of her sword just above his neck, keeping him pinned up against the tree. "Not a friendly visit however. We've got questions. You've got answers. Now talk. Where is the girl?" She asks. She wasn't in the mood to play his games right now. Either he would talk freely, or she'd find a way to make him talk. Either way, they were getting answers.

[wingfeather]

The man remained calmly against the tree as Cassidy approached. He let out a bark of a laugh, when he felt the steal push against his neck, “girl? I beg your pardon ma’am but I have no idea whatsoever of what you are speaking about,” his voice was calm and betrayed no fear whatsoever, if he even was afraid. Lockian dismounted and took a look around as Cassidy spoke with the man. There were no tracks or signs around anywhere to indicate a horse and two people had passed through, unless there was perhaps a concealed entrance.

[mainehorse]

Cass quirks an eyebrow slightly as he speaks. "Fine. We'll do this the hard way. You do know where she is, and you're going to tell us" she hisses. She turns her sword abruptly, knocking him down with the pommel of her sword. He was hiding something, whether it was a concealed entrance or a separate location entirely where he had hidden her, she didn't know. But she did have ways of getting answers. She digs the heel of her boot into his chest, holding him down against the snowy ground. "Talk" she growls.

[wingfeather]

He spat, “even if I did ever admit to knowing, you really think I’d tell you? Im not afraid of death,” he never lost his calm demeanor but his ire was visibly raised though he kept his voice controlled. Lockian returned and watched from the side, observing everything that passsed between the two. He knew that if he entered now it would just make things more strained. In the fall the man’s hood fell away revealing dark wavy and equally dark eyes, a green gem was fastened around his neck by a silver chain, but other than that there was no other finery about him.

[mainehorse]

"Why who ever said anything about death? You can't talk if you're dead, now can you? Last time I checked a corpse doesn't have much to say. But there are fates much, much worse than death you know." Cass says, her mismatched gaze meeting his dark eyes as she sheathed her sword. "I have no intentions of killing you, but if you won't talk freely then other arrangements can be made. Trust me when I say you won't like them" she says. Her heel was still digging into his chest. She wasn't going to take a chance of letting him get away. But if he wasn't going to talk without being coaxed then she would just have to try other methods. That or he'd have to be tied up while they searched, and then when they found the girl, the king could deal with him as he saw fit.

[wingfeather]

“But his spirit does,” the man muttered under his breath. “To be sure, yes there are, and I speak from experience,” he said in perfect agreement, “but whether you are capable of carrying out that threat is still to be determined,” he said eyes never wavering from Cassidy. He coughed and his breath was coming out in shorter gasps at the pressure applied to his chest but he knew that there were a few advantages on his side that they apparently didn’t know about.

[mainehorse]

"Is that a chance you really want to take?" Cass asks, digging her heel in a bit further. He was awfully confident for someone who was pinned to the ground. He seemed to think that her threats were empty. But she didn't make empty threats. She'd give him this last chance. But if he kept pushing then she would have to find other ways of getting information from him.