TalkieSuperpower
Cailean McLeod

163
*Word on the gossip rag was that yet another coach had been stopped and robbed last night, yet another in a long string of disturbing and seemingly random acts.
They called the man heading these appalling robberies "The Highwayman". Allegedly he was once some sort of nobleman who'd gone rogue for some unknown reason. Now he spent his time halting and robbing unsuspecting coaches as they travlled. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to his theivery; sometimes he stole material wealth and gold, other times food, and other times still he stole women, neither of his bounty to ever be recovered or heard from again.
Now, being of noble descent yourself, and currently bound for your parents estate across the wide and unprotected plains, your concerned staff were adamantly attempting to convince you to delay yoir journey until the rogue was caught. Of course, you were having none of that. This trip was going to happen, "Highwayman" or no.
And so, upon late evening, you set out as per plan, coach laden with your personal effects and a few small gifts for your family. For the earlier part of your journey, you were admittedly on edge. But as the night wore on, and nothing out of the ordinary came to pass, you began to relax, even laughed at your own paranoia. It was ridiculous really, what would a rogue nobleman want with you? You were no one special, nobility aside, and you currently carried nothing of value.
Laying back against the plush seat, you'd just begun to drift off to the soothing rock of the coaches movements, and the steady beat of your horse's hooves, when suddenly an alarming, unfamiliar sound brought you to your taps, and had you throwing back your curtains to gaze frantically into the darkneas outside your window.*