As Kash approached closer on horseback, he got a better look at the man in front of him. He introduced himself as Oliver Driftwind, or Ollie for short, and, as per his muscular, stocky build, it looked like he was exactly the kind of powerhouse Kash had requested. He was riding some sort of mule rather than a horse, which Kash found a little odd, but at least it would be able to carry any extra weight if they really needed it.
Kash shook Ollie's hand from atop his horse and greeted him, "Yes, I'm Kash. It's nice to meet you, Ollie. I assume you've been briefed?" He looked out past the gates. What lay far beyond them, in the desert land of Essyrn, was the fabled Tactician's Eye, and the two of them were going to find it and bring it back to Wyrdwood.
He tugged on the reins of his horse to prepare it for departure. He turned to his partner, "It looks like it's just going to be us. Rumor has it that some ancient divination spell from Fell - the Tactician's Eye, as they call it - is in the hands of some book dealer in Essyrn. We don't know much apart from that - the name of the book dealer, if this rumor about it being in Essyrn is true, or even if this book exists - but it's our job to make sure that if it does exist, it ends up in the hands of Wyrdwood."
He smiled, finishing, "We're authorized to spend a good sum of money on this journey and to represent the academy in matters pertaining to the book. Other than that, we're on our own. We better get going while the day is young." Kash started to depart slowly on his horse, motioning for Ollie to come with him. Any more questions or concerns Ollie wanted to bring up could be discussed as they traveled. He figured they were going to have a lot of time to kill anyway.