Forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest - but not if you get chased for it.

[Anadwen]

Candlelight illuminated a large lobby of a rich merchant's house. Fire, burning in a fireplace on one side of the chamber, was kindling on big logs of wood, dancing its wild dance. A dark figure, seated in an armchair near the entrance, shifted closer towards the flames. Light glinted on long wisps of Thranuilas's hair, slipping between his fingers.

He yawned. When was this noble going to call him inside? The evening was slowly passing... He was getting tired of this waiting. Although the payment was too high to let this job go, he wasn't too pleased with the task, and more thinking only made him doubt his choice further.

The jug with water on a small table nearby was half empty already, and the elf was about to fall asleep as he was, in a long grey robe and with his silver circlet in his hair. Yawning again, he nonchalantly stretched his arms, and folded them on the armrest instead of a pillow for his head.

He'll fall asleep if the man doesn't come soon...

[Kratesis]

Masculine laughter echoed through the hall as Julia pushed the door open. The noble was visible behind her, a thick set, obese man with a rich black beard. Spittle specked it as he bellowed with laughter, slapping a thick palm against her armored shoulder.

Julia's eyes flickered with amusement but her expression remained stoic. "Thranuilas I presume?" She said as her gaze roamed up and down the white haired man.

Firelight glittered off Julia's steel lamellar. A straight bladed, old fashion blade hung at her left hip, the five lobed pommel covered in ornate knot-work. A langseax was tucked into her belt and the arrows in her slender quiver protruded slightly over her shoulder. Two horses could be seen hitched to a post outside the hall, before the Noble Hadrian slammed the door shut with a boom.

[Anadwen]

Thranuilas woke up, gracefully raising his head up in the armchair as if he was never asleep in the first place, and his eyes flashed from the noble to the girl and back. "Yes, you are right. Julia?" he asked.

He crossed his arms in his lap with the same grace as he has shown before, the darker lower layer of the fabric appearing beneath the soft grey, and he produced a charming smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir." he said, bowing his head in a greeting.

The man was fat and growing old, completely disgusting to him, but he kept a polite mask with all the charm he had. He wasn't willing to lose a job because of something so petty.

[Kratesis]

"That's my name." The olive skinned woman replied. Hadrian laughed again, his jowls shaking. For her part Julia simply ignored his ill mannered behavior. He was a noble and a valuable patron, after all. Angering him would not only cost her the benefits of his hospitality and this job, but also the intangible benefits of having a man of such wealth and social status as a backer.

"Likewise." Hadrian said as he took a swig of wine from a pouch at his belt. Walking over to the fireplace he snatched the iron poker and prodded one of the logs before turning back to the pair of them. "Alright. This is the deal. I use to do business with an old chap named Thomas Bryce. Former highway man, had his own crew and he knew how to get it done if you know what I mean. Things were good between us."

Hadrian belched, and paused while he took another drink. "Until they weren't. Old Bryce and me.. we had a disagreement 'bout his payments and he tried to stick me in the belly while I was bath'n, if you can believe it. The gall of that sh!tstain." He shook his head and rubbed his beard, clearly disturbed. "Anyhow old Jewels here saved my bacon but Bryce got out while the gett'n was good. Now he's out in the Connlaoth countryside with his pack of gods-forsaken bandits."

His mood changes, snapping like a whip from drunken jolliness to rage. "And I want his f***ing head. Right here." He holds up a meaty fist. "Right in my hand so I can spit in that b*stards eye."

"Fifteen gold in it for each of ya if I get the head. Noth'n if I don't, 'cause I wouldn't know if you did the job or just blew some smoke up my ***"

[Anadwen]

"Fifteen? Only fifteen?" Thranuilas raised a brow in disbelief, and shook his beautiful head. "I require at least thirty. You do not realize how dangerous my work is, sir."

The noble laughed, taking it only as a joke, but when he saw that Thranuilas was completely serious, his glance turned ice-cold. "Twenty five at the highest." he growled, but as an answer received only a head shake from the elf. "I will not go lower than thirty. I can guarantee you a clean job, but not without a good payment."

He glanced at Julia with a question in his eyes. "Thirty for me, twenty for her. Mages are hunted like deer...."

[Kratesis]

Julia simply shook her head, unwilling to damage her relationship with her patron over just one job. "I've already agreed to fifteen." A flicker of disapproval crossed her blue eyes. "And do not presume to negotiate for me." Another handful of golden coins would go a long way of course, but the favors and friendship of a man like Hadrian went farther still. Besides, she had been working and saving for well over a decade now; the days of desperation were over.

"Alright curse yer eyes, thirty it is then." Hadrian snarled, acquiescing to the price. He could afford it, and more, but all men had their games and money was Hadrian's game. Although he had been born with more money than most could spend in a life time it was not enough for him. He bartered, bickered and brawled for every scrap of gold he could get his hands on. Not because he needed it, he didn't, but because he needed a way to keep score. Some men counted conquests, some honor, some virtue. Hadrian counted gold.

[Anadwen]

Thranuilas showed him a pleasant smile. "Thank you. It will make my job far easier to know that we can avoid arguments and use reason." he replied, and bowed his head softly.

He turned to Julia, and wagged his head towards the gate. "Let's go till the night lasts." he encouraged her, and stood up to leave.

[Kratesis]

"If you think you can keep up." She chuckled, a dry, crisp sound. Amusement lite her eyes but never touched her face.

Tossing the doors wide and striding out into the crisp wind Julia made her way to her coppery brown stallion. A big, aggressive horse he snorted and shook his head as she approached. The mercenary calmed him with a word and climbed into the saddle.

Two pine round shields, a recurve bow, two spare quivers full of arrow, water, rations, blankets and more were piled behind her. Yanking a heavy spear from the dirt beside them she nudged her horse into motion as they set off.

[Anadwen]

Thranuilas, who has been hiding in the shadows among a couple of dark trees, saw Julia approaching, and swiftly ran towards her, hiding from the light. He has taken off the exquisite velvet robe, and was now dressed in simple black leather and fabric, hiding his long hair beneath a hood.

He pulled down the scarf, covering all of his face except for eyes, to show that it really is him, and reached after the map. "May I look? I can read maps quite well." he asked, studying the map with his eyes in the meantime. It was old and its edges were lightly tattered, but the shapes, drawn by black and red ink, were visible.

He snapped his fingers to produce a small flame, and shielded the light by his other hand, both to hide it, and to protect it from the wind.

[Kratesis]

Julia's weight shifted to face Thranuilas as he approached. "Of course." A steel gauntleted hand extended out and she offered him the map.

"Tell me." She asked while sorting through her belongings. "What can you do with your magic?" Every magic user had their own powers, and those powers could range from the mundane to the exotic in Julia's experience. The exact details of her companions powers could prove instrumental in the struggle to come.

[Anadwen]

"A lot of things." Thranuilas whispered. It was unnatural for one to possess a range of elemental powers as wide as himself, but it did take a toll on other aspects of his life.

"Mostly element control. Fire, wind, storms, earthquakes. Whatever of those you wish." he shrugged.

Wind, shaking the trees, suddenly grew stronger, strangely circling around them two. It felt completely natural, not as a work of magic, but off course, it was one. And as abruptly as it begun it also ended. The flame, first blown out by the wind, reappeared above his thin fingers, and the elf smiled softly. "A lot of things." he repeated.

[Kratesis]

Her horse shook his head and snorted, pawing and tearing at the ground. The stallion was clearly disturbed by the sudden change in the weather. "Good. We can use that." She canted her head toward her spooked ride. The motion was accompanied by the clatter of the iron in her braid clanging against the steel of her armor. "We can at least force them to dismount. Enough wind will also render their arrows useless."

Climbing back onto her brown stallion she calmed his nerves with a whisper and stroke of his mane. "Whenever you think you have that map figured out lets move out. The quicker we arrive, the less chance a spy informs our target of our arrival."

[Anadwen]

He gave her a faint nod, too busy with the map to really pay attention, and kept studying it under the small flame. It was quite simple and clear, and he figured out the directions quickly, choosing a route that should not be found that easily.

Thranuilas's elegant hands folded the map again and returned it to its case. "I picked a way to follow on which nobody should see us. It's quite fast, but we will have to go without horses at one point." he informed Julia, and pulled the dark scarf back onto his face, mounting the big stallion again. "We should go till it's dark."

[Kratesis]

"Excellent." Julia's stallion pawed at the earth, huffing aggressively. She plucked her spear from the dirt once more and took the reigns in her gauntleted fist. The horse stilled. With a touch of her knee against his side she steered him around the tree.

"Lead on." Her soprano voice filled the crisp morning air as she gazed out over the rolling green land.

[Anadwen]

Thranuilas led them away from the main road, taking a narrow path, hidden among the trees and hillsides. They went north, towards the mountains, towering in the darkness, swiftly leaving the city behind.

Mist, rolling over the fields and forests, lay like a white veil over the country, slowly beginning to be illuminated by the rising sun. It was useful to them, as the eyes of anyone passing by could not cross it, and yet Thranuilas's sight pierced it. He allowed himself to further adjust it, making it thicker, like milk, and just as white.

[Kratesis]

The unnatural fog enveloped Julia and her steed. A touch of approval glittered in her dark blue eyes. Fog would protect them from prying eyes and muffle the sounds of their passage. The stallion bucked his head from time to time, disturbed by the freakishly thick mist but he remained calm.

The ride was long and eventually darkness fell. Within the thick cloud the twilight was as black and thick as a moonless midnight. The mercenaries soprano echoed through it. "Are you fatigued? I can go on, and I shall make the rest of the journey on foot. If ye are able we shall attack tonight; if not I will scout the encampment and wait for thee."

[Anadwen]

"I'm fine. We will have to get off the horses soon, but we're close. We'll do the job today, no later." he replied silently.

They soon reached a couple of rocky hills, sides of which were too steep for horses. Thranuilas sled off the saddle, and led his stallion into the shadow of a few trees. "Now it's only about a mile or two on feet." he informed Julia, and tied the reins to a branch.

[Kratesis]

The sellsword slipped gracefully from her mount and secured her steed to a branch with a length of hemp rope. She took a last minute accounting of her tools; langseax, boar-spear with a hickory shaft, recurve bow of yew wood and three quivers with twenty steel headed arrows in each, Brannrokkor her blade and two pine shields.

One of the shields went across her back, the other she left secured upon her horse. Brannrokkor hung at her left hip and she took her bow in her left hand. The langseax was secured at her belt.

No expression creased her features as she regarded Thranuilas. "When we near their camp summon up as much fire as you can and hit every structure. The bigger our alpha strike the smaller the resistance shall be."

[Anadwen]

Thranuilas shook his head. "I have a better idea. Strike them with lightning." he whispered. It would surely work better - after all, a bolt of lightning had the pure force of unleashed natural fury.

He walked through the narrow valley as silently as the wind itself, closer and closer to the encampment with every step, unseen by anyone but Julia. The rocks in the valley had sharp edges, covered by moss, and a small stream ran aside the path they took...

[Kratesis]

She sighed. Lightning was very dramatic but she had hoped to light the entire compound on fire. It would have been a great distraction, but no matter. It was his magic, she elected to not press the issue.

Notching an arrow onto her bow she crept through the stream along side him. Julia was a fantastic warrior, but she was no where near as stealthy as an elf. Especially not when dressed in chainmaile. Her passage was slow, and she motioned for Aldanith to move ahead without her.