She had decided to ride up ahead of the slowly ambling caravan for a time. The bright, afternoon sun felt warm against the growing chill of the wind. These pleasant days were becoming numbered as winter's icy fingers began to catch hold of the earth in their deathly grip. Aurine Tonnerre tugged upon the cuffs of her leather riding gloves as she twisted in her saddle to look back upon the pair of covered wagons following behind. Holding the reins of the first wagon was plump, older man entering the last stretch of his middle years. Wingtips of grey streaked his close cropped brown hair, and peppered his trim beard. A smile spread his lips as he caught Aurine's eye, and a thick hand lifted to wave. The second wagon was smaller, and the driver was hardly more then a boy. A gangly youth she'd picked up a few weeks back. A boy that yearned for excitement, and was drawn by the chance to see the world. He cared well for the horses, and took on the position for a considerably smaller salary then the man before him. "There's a small town just another mile or so ahead, Miss," a dark haired man on horseback reined in beside her and her spotted mare. He was painfully handsome, painful in the sense that he had a young woman waiting at home for him. "Wonderful," she smiled, "We'll stop there for the night then. I could use a night in a real bed." They'd been on the road for weeks now, and the past three nights had been spent on the cot she kept in the large wagon, while the men made due with their padded blankets. None of them had complained. "I will buy you each a drink tonight!" she twisted once more in her saddle to call back to the pair of carts lumbering on the road behind them, and the men who drove them sat a bit straighter on their benches. The man at her side laughed. His tone was wonderfully rich and deep as it brought her attention back to him once more. "Will you allow me the chance to win back my money?" he asked as dark eyes fixed on her in such a way that his words seemed to take a delayed moment to reach her ears. "So long as you have more to loose," she was quick to respond as she flashed him a winning grin. She had a way with cards, and dice, and most anything else she could get her hands on. At least when people were willing to loose their money over it. Just a winning streak perhaps, and hopefully it'll last till they arrive in this trade center of Arangoth. --- The large city of Drache was no more then a day or so ahead, and beyond that were the Isles. A veritable meeting place for any who had the desire to 'wander'. Opportunities abounded ahead. At least, this is what she'd been told. The closer the group came to the rumored city, the more she'd been warned of the thieves and brigands that thrived there. But this was not about to deter the young merchant, it was only further proof of the rich purses that lay ahead. And she was not to be caught off guard as well. Her dark-haired and handsome bodyguard assured her of that. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. -- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe dragontales" in the body of the message.
