Sirna was on the last Foundry wagon, trying to get the brambles out of her stockings, when she heard the sound of gunfire coming out of a small copse of trees. There were more shots and a growing cloud of gray and black smoke. She spotted several ambushers in morion helmets, with back-and-breasts and calivers. Their colors were black and green and she saw a green banner with a black boar; it looked familiar, but she was unable to place it.
The Foundry wagon train was three days outside of the Hostigos border and well inside Nostor; only a few days from Nostor Town. Sirna wished that Aranth was here, but Aranth had gotten into a fight with Talgran Garth and decided to stay in Hostigos. They had a small squad of Hostigi Royal troopers and five Foundry guards.
Sirna dropped to the bottom of the wagon, trying to find a pistol in the half-light of the canvas covered wagon. There was a loud bang and the driver let out a scream and slumped over. She and Eldra were the only ones left in the supply wagon and Eldra was already taking the reins.
"Who is it?"
"Bandits, I think," Eldra shouted through clenched teeth.
"I don't think so, they're wearing green sashes and armor. I saw their banner, too."
"What did it display?" Eldra asked, as she pushed the dead driver off of the bench and out the wagon.
"A black boar on a green field-I know I've seen it before."
"You have. It's the flag of the princedom of Phaxos-remember, Prince Araxes, who succeeded from Hos-Hostigos when the Harphaxi Army came calling."
"Is it a revolt? They must know most of the army is either in Beshta or out of Hostigos with Kalvan."
"I don't know. But I hope I'm not the one who has to tell Rylla what happened!"
There were more shots, some coming from the wagon train, and screams of pain. She saw one Hostigos trooper fall out of his saddle. Suddenly the wagon began to turn. "Where are you going?"
"Getting out of here!" Eldra shouted.
Sirna made her way forward to the front of the wagon, asking, "Why?"
"You're a woman, I'll give you two guesses!"
"You think they'll capture the wagons."
The wagon tipped precariously, as Eldra maneuvered her way past two huge trees, with trunks the width of air-cars. "I'm not going to stick around to find out. If they capture us, they're going to have to kill me." Eldra pulled out a wicked looking horse pistol. "This is no First Level park. If the bandits don't shoot us on sight, after a week you'll wish they had. Life in a Zarthani brothel would be nasty, brutal and forever!"
Sirna had never thought of a long life as anything but a benefit; suddenly she could see there were two sides to every coin. "Not if they have to shoot me first!" Then she started to laugh as the wagon sped up, rocking back and forth.
"What are you laughing about? Eldra asked. "This is no time to get hysterical."
"I was just thinking of Varnath Lala being drug into a Nostori brothel-giving one of her lectures on male-paternalism and it's deleterious effects on woman's rights to the madam!"
Eldra laughed. "Better yet, envision her, with her bony shanks and flat chest, in one of the shifts the harlots at the Silver Stag were wearing!"
"Now, that's a vision!" Sirna said, trying to keep from falling out of her seat. There was an explosion and she turned to see what was happening with the rest of the wagon train-all she could see was a cloud of smoke.
"One of the kegs of fireseed must have gone up!" Eldra cried.
Two of the wagons were on fire and there was the distant pop of firearms. For the moment, they appeared to have gotten clean away as there was no one in pursuit. Sirna said a quick prayer to Dralm for the rest of the Team.