It was noon by the time the party reached the forest's edge. The heat of the sun almost making the men forget the autumn chill as they dismounted their steeds. The deception was dispelled as they entered the forest and were left with nothing but the wind and shade. It wasn't long before they found Sari's camp, or what was left of it. The scouts dismounted and began to search the camp for any signs of what might have happened.
"This water is stagnant, nobody's used it in days." one of the scouts said as she spat out a sip.
"These apples are completely rotted, fruit flies and all." another said. Invar made his way to the fire pit. Its stones were cold to the touch but he noticed a patch of fresh soot under the leaves.
"Someone's used this fire pit in the last few days." Invar shouted out.
"Tracks! Horse tracks." Came Dmetri's voice from behind a knoll. The party gathered around the corporal. Sure enough there were tracks, fresh ones. No more than a few days old. The scouts fanned out to search for more tracks.
Sari always took her horse hunting with her. Those tracks could very well be her's. Maybe she had left and returned to camp to light a fire before moving on. But Why? Maybe she was driven off by bandits? No forest beast could chase her off. Whatever the reasons, following the tracks was their best bet. If they didn't lead to Sari, they might at least lead to someone who saw her. The scouts mounted up and set off in the direction of the tracks, fanning out to cover the widest possible area, though Invar remained close by Dmetri's side.
"Do you think we'll find her, corporal?"
"I fancy our odds. Your sister's no damsel. For all we know she's just roughing it out here." Dmetri said with a chuckle.
"What do you reckon the story is with the recent fire and tracks?" Dmetri cocked his head for a moment and shrugged his shoulders.
"Hard to say. Not much reason to light a fire if you're not staying."
"You think it was Sari who lit it?"
"No way to know. Tell you what; you can ask her about it once we find her. Fair deal?"
"Fair deal."
The party followed the tracks till the sky turned blood red before finally making camp for the night.
