A Threatened Treaty

Chapter Eighteen

Alysster, Halt, Will, Horace, and William arrived in the port town of Toscana and glanced around at the crowded place near the ships as they waited for their horses to be transported onto the docks. Alysster sighed. "There's no way we're going to find her in this mess."

Will placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Alysster, You have three Rangers, and you're a diplomat, much like your mother. We'll find her. You do the talking and we'll be your bodyguards."

Alysster glanced around and sighed as Will continued. "I understand you want to save her as soon as possible, but you have to keep your head. Take a deep breath, then start asking around."

Alysster nodded and took a deep breath before he straightened his back. Will and William stood beside him, with Halt and Horace pairing up behind them, and the five of them wandered around the town, asking if they knew Alysster's daughter and where she went if they said yes to the first question.

In fact, several of them had. 

They described a man with a young face and a purple cape, dragging along the young blonde, having shackles around her wrists and ankles and gagged to prevent her speech. They all pointed in the direction they saw her go and Alysster, along with his family, stared out into the desert.

Alysster fell silent as he stared, and he mounted his horse before rushing off into the desert. Will and his other son groaned before doing the same and rushing after him. 

Halt and his ow horse lined themselves with Will and Tug. "Your son is the most impulsive one I've ever met."

"I think he gets it from me."

"You think?!"

They continued to chase Alysster all the way until the diplomat had stopped and directed the others to do the same. He dismounted and approached his family. "There's a camp up ahead. I want to check it out, but if it's a Genovesan camp, I don't want to get caught."

He, along with the others, all snuck their way over to the nearby camp, taking cover behind what little brush there was in the desert and peered over the edge of the branches. Each of their eyes were drawn to the center of the camp, where two people were tied to a pole, sitting in the unbearable heat of the sun.

One of the two individuals was a young woman, blonde and small in stature. She moved her head and Alysster's eyes widened for a moment before his face scrunched in anger. "That son of a bitch, Anastasio!" he hissed and he was very much tempted to rush over and save her, but thought the better of it.

The other individual was a young man, and Alysster felt guilty for him, until he noticed the type of armor he wore. His heart was conflicted whether to save him, or leave him there, since his kind took his daughter. 

Anastasio approached the two of them, four guards trailing behind him. Anastasio ordered two of the guards to take Evangeline and the other two to take the man. They were dragged off somewhere the group couldn't see, leaving the group to stare in astonishment.

"That bastard hurt my daughter!" he cried. His cries sent the rest of them rushing to hush him before anyone could hear them and investigate. They ran as quickly as they could without being spotted back to their horses, still a safe distance away from the camp, to come up with a plan to rescue Evangeline.