The sounds of baying hounds filled the spring air as Ashlynn and Ollie raced through the forest. Twigs snapped underfoot as they ran and countless small bushes and ferns caught at their legs as they raced past.
Several hours had passed and both of them looked considerably worse for wear after trudging through the woods for so many hours. Ashlynn's blouse and skirt, already stained from work in the kitchens and the spray of Kaefin's blood, now sported a number of mud stains alongside twigs and leaves that had snagged on the coarse fabric.
Ollie looked little better and in fact, even more mud covered his breeches and tunic after crashing down a hillside into a small puddle. The young man was moving stiffly from a combination of bruises and the fact that his simple cloth shoes weren't made for trekking over rough terrain.
