I doubted that the shattered stone fragments had killed any of them or even seriously injured them, but their sense of being in control of the hunt was gone as well as the advantage of surprise. Still smiling I pulled Flin back around to the trail and proceeded slowly up the mountain path by the light of the half moon that was glimmering overhead.
After last night whoever was following me could harbor no doubts as to my knowledge of their pursuit of me. The dust cloud on my back trail was clear evidence that they realized stealth was no longer an option they considered worth pursuing. Pausing on a ridge I looked back at the five riders following me. Zoarinian Horse Guardsman by the look of them. They were pushing their horses hard to catch up with me and I made no attempt to hide my trail.
I finally crossed over a small crest into a valley in between some low mountains. On the far side of the short valley was a close knit grove of pine trees, which I now headed for.
The trees had grown close to each other and there was little light in the dark confines of the pine forest. Having gone some distance into the pines I dismounted from Flin and tethered him behind some deadfalls, where he was unlikely to be noticed right away. Putting a little distance between me and Flin I stopped roughly eighty feet back from the edge of the pine grove, where it met the valley meadow I had just ridden through.
I climbed one of the pines, until I was about twenty feet off the ground. Resting on a sturdy branch I pulled two of the Nizak blades from my belt and waited for my pursuers to come to me. I was done with running. Last night had been all the warning that I was willing to give, as to the danger of following me and they had not heeded it.
The day was hot for early spring, but it felt good within the cool darkness of the forest. After a while I heard the brush of a stirrup against a tree, accompanied by the sounds of movement from several riders in the close confines of the pine forest. They were riding single file directly following the trail I had left. In the darkness of the forest they didn't see me sitting motionless high up in the tree. I made sure not to stare at them directly as well, but rather I kept my gaze off focus. A concentrated stair can often alert the intended victim on some unconscious level to the unseen danger posed to them, why I did not know, but I had found it to be true none the less.