Yorin found his favorite quiet spot. It was slightly off the road, he had a stick with some line attached to it. He was fishing for his daily dose of fish. There was a nice breeze that morning and it seemed like a good day to catch Silverfish. He cast his line out into the water. As far as he could tell he was not on anybodies land. More importantly he was a freeman.
He looked up at the morning sun and smiled a gentle smile. This seemed like it was going to be a good day. Then there was a tug on his line, that meant food. So it was going to be a very good day indeed!
The silent thudding of hooves, falling onto the soft brown earth, approached the riverside. The surface of the water was still glinting with the rosy light of the rising sun, and its rays were glistening in Thranuilas's long hair, waving in the gentle breeze.
A large white horse, ridden without a saddle or bridle, stopped on the bank of the river. His rider sled off his back with a silent swoosh of his dark grey robe, and looked around himself. The trees were shielding the slopes of the shore with their hanging branches, and only then he noticed the stranger, sitting in the shade nearby.
Thranuilas almost jumped up in surprise. That man was as silent as a mouse, sitting there, fishing, and not making a single sound, that it surprised even an elf such as himself. He made a small step forth, towards the stranger. His bright eyes were glued at him, hardly blinking at all, and he watched him with interest.
"Well met, good sir!" he cried out eventually, straightening his back and stroking the hair on his shoulders. The wind has ruffled it, and he didn't like that too much.
Yorin had a pleasant smile on his face and turned around slowly. He gave a nod, "Hey there!"
He then noticed a horse, then he noticed it was an elf!
Ye gods! An elf!
He tried to contain his inner giddiness. He had never met an elf before this. His line tugged hard, and the pole fell into the water.
"Well there goes lunch." He said with a touch of sarcasam to his voice.
Changing his tone to something more polite, He took an apple out of his satchel. "Would you like an apple?"
Thranuilas chuckled lightly at the man's surprise, but the smile quickly disappeared from his face. He shook his head at his question. "No, thank you. I've had breakfast." he replied calmly, gazing over the rippled water onto the other shore.
"Your pole will be soon gone if you don't fish it from the water..." he noted eventually, watching the pole, floating in the water. It was obvious, but he felt a need to notify the stranger, as he was obviously surprised by his sudden appearance.
Yorin shrugged a little, "Its just a stick. Besides, its something I am not overly attached to. If you do not mind me asking..."
He rubbed his hands together.
"Are you an elf? I have always wanted to meet one... please say you are?"
His eyes beamed with excitement as he began to walk over.
Nearby there was a rustle of bushes as Vincent laid, waiting for this elf to do something he didn't like.
He had tailed the elf since the last city, and was determined to kill him. He knew, somehow, that this elf was untrustworthy, and as such, was just waiting for the evidence to shoot the elf.
The other person was secondary.
Thranuilas nodded. "Off course I am." he replied calmly, reaching after his horse. The beast shook its head a little under his hand, and the elf's hand delved into its mane.
"Who are you, if I may ask?" he questioned him. It was unusual to meet a stranger on the road this early, and he was curious.
He crooked his head a little and noticed the rustling, he began to lead the Elf a few feet towards a clearing, where there was a lot more visibility.
"Yorin's my name. I am sort of a traveler in these parts. Can I ask what your name is?"
He motioned with his eyes at the brush and wiggled his eyebrows a few times. Trying to give the hint that there was something in it.
"Thranuilas. It is a pleasure to meet you." he replied, and followed. His leather boots were flashing between the soft fabric of his robe, reaching to the half of his calves, and softly stepped onto the ground, hardly leaving any footprints at all.
"I, too, am a wanderer, though I do not tend to fish in the morning." he admitted.
"Best time to fish, if you ask me."
He stroked his chin.
"Which I guess you haven't? Wow a real life elf.. Whats it like?" He asked without thinking.
Thranuilas gave him a faint nod, looking up at the sky. "A real elf, off course." he replied silently.
To his second question, he couldn't find an answer. "It's difficult to say what's it like. What's it like to be a human? I can't describe it, because I know nothing else." he shrugged. A wave of his silky hair slipped over his shoulder, blown forth by the wind.
Vincent looked around, to see if there was anything that would give him a better view, when he saw them. Six bandits, waiting to pounce on the two, bows drawn.
He drew enough arrows, to kill three of them, then took very careful aim. Then he loosed the arrows, and world war three broke out. The three remaining bandits fired at Vincent, but missed, allowing him to close in, and kill them.
Then suddenly a seventh bandit tackled Vincent, throwing both men out into the open, with the bandit letting out an involuntary yell.
He gave a chuckle and it came to him just how foolish the question. Then he added in with, "I guess that's a good of a point as any? Just don't get many folks who aren't human around here..."
He then knelt down when the commotion seemed to break. He attempted to tug at the elf's clothing to get him to kneel down.
"Bandits out here? What gives? This is near the main road.."
He pulled out his dagger. He then saw Vincent fighting.
"All I wanted to do was fish!" He exclaimed in a whisper.
Thranuilas drew his own slender blade from a sheath on his back, and took a defensive stance. It was no good to get so suddenly found by bandits... What did they go after? Could it be him?
He chased those thoughts away. Nobody knows him... Though he was on the run from guards for using magic, he wasn't a bounty. He wasn't hunted - at least he didn't think of himself as one.
Vincent kicked the bandit off him, and plunged an arrow into the man's neck. He removed it quickly, and spun around, pointing the set bow around for anymore bandits. Then he saw that the two men he was trailing were out of sight.
He slowly stepped towards where they were, unknowing of their presence.
He took a small cast iron skillet out of his pack.
"So alright... time to find out who this crazy is.."
He did his best to try to sneak up unsuspectingly to this man who made such quick work of dispatching bandits.
He fell upon Vincent quiet as a mouse. He took a swing with the frying pan, attempting to knock the man out. From his perspective the swing was true and would connect well.
Vincent wasn't expecting to be attacked from that angle, although he hear the man coming, he was unable to dodge the swing, and took the pan full on to the face, knocking him out cleanly.
Thranuilas screamed as the man collapsed beside him, knocked out by Yorin, and jumped away. Seeing that he doesn't move, he proceeded to poke him with the tip of his boot.
"Is he... Alive?" he asked, pointing at Vincent.
Yorin shrugged, "I hope so..."
He began to rummage through his pack and took out some rope,
"I normally use this for climbing, But you may want to bind his hands.. I am going to see if any of those other highwaymen are alive. Maybe somebody knows why they just showed up?"
((OOC: just thought I'd add my 2 cents on what the outcome was))
All the bandits lay dead, arrows having pierced vital organs and arteries, and the only one who knew what had happened, was Vincent.
The elf shook his head. "No, leave him. He didn't do anything to us... The bandits did." he muttered, and bent over Vincent to shake him, and try to wake him up.
His hands gripped his shoulders, and he gently shook Vincent's body, while he looked him over with suspicion. What was this man doing here? It seemed like the day of strange encounters...
Yorin blinked a little, "Seriously.. He was tailing us in the shrubs earlier.. But alright?"
Yorin walked over and began to search the Bandits for anything of use.
Thranuilas raised a brow. "Was he really?" he asked silently, and dropped the man onto the ground.
If he was tailing them, there was something odd in this. He was starting to feel unsafe in this company, and wasn't sure if running wouldn't be a better idea...
Vincent woke up when shaken, but kept his eyes shut, playing unconscious for a few seconds, before quietly getting up, and grabbing Thranuilas, taking his dagger out, and holding it to Thranuilas' neck.
"Those bandits are dead. Nothing valuable. Criminal scum steal petty and worthless objects. Now here's the fun part. You two need to explain to me why you decided to meet here, and what you were doing. Before you end up like our mutual acquaintances."
Thranuilas stared at him in surprise. "Meet here? It was a random encounter! I don't know this man... For the love of the gods, I've seen him for the first time in my life! I was just traveling to Reajh!" he defended himself, pushing the man back. It was not comfortable to have a dagger against his throat...
"I don't know why you were watching me, or following me, but I've done nothing!" Except for using magic where it is prohibited, and killing a few merchants for business, he's done nothing at all...
Yorin facepalmed, "I said tie him up.. Nobody ever listens to me.."
Yorin made a motion at himself.
"Because I have all the wealth of the Grand Duke?" He sounded sarcastic.
"Look crazy man... I am just.. well nobody really. I am trying to have breakfast, all of the sudden this guy showed up.. then you... Want to tell me just why you are following me?"