A note for 'Blaze' Whiteclaw

[Blaze]

She sighed inwardly. Talk talk talk. Nodding she leaned over the stubborn Mushal and took a strip of bacon and ate it reflectively, holding Mushal's head back with her opposite hand. The action to a stranger may have looked almost comical, but she did it with such expression that to her it seemed as natural to do as breathing. He was a better mattress then he gave himself credit for. She hadn't slept next to a male other then Mushal all night in...Blaze blinked. She couldn't remember.

Seeing the wince she raised and brow and looked at him questioningly, then followed his gaze East. The sky was beautiful, as it always was in the Loch, painted with such vibrant colors she was sure Elune mixed the palette Herself.

No rush? Good. Blaze hated to rush, and got into a position so that Mushal was propping up her back as she stared into the sky.

[valrae]

Seeing that Blaze was in no hurry to get started, Rook snagged another piece of bacon and wandered a few yards away from the fire. He stretched with his arms over his head, sighing in pleasure as his joints popped slightly. He rolled his head experimentally and found that everything was in order. A little tight perhaps, but that would work out and everything seemed to have mended well.

On reflex he drew one of his weapons, the blade flashing clear of the sheath with only the slightest of scraping noises. He spun it around his finger by the curved end of the crossguard and stuck it home again with a click. A second later he did it again. He was thinking. When the brilliant edge of the sun peeked up from the tops of the mountains, he turned his eyes to it.

There was the possibility that this could be the last sunrise he would ever see.

After a moment he snorted and slammed the blade home, keeping it there this time. He'd seen plenty of sunrises. If this was his last then he'd had his share, truly. He'd only be getting what it was he probably deserved. A sour look crossed his face and he turned on his heel.

He couldn't help but smile as he saw Blaze and her tiger lawn chair, looking at the sky, her face illuminated by the day's first true light. What a fierce, confusing, wonderful creature she was. He sighed happily, wishing somehow they could have met sooner... But things would have been different then, vastly. Still, if two days was all they would have...

He shook his head slightly. No, that wasn't right. Today COULD be his last. But it wouldn't be. He'd be telling this story over cold ale and warm fire a week from now. And a year from now. A hundred years from now. About the beautiful damsel who saved the villain in distress. His lips curled back into a smile. He liked that. It'd be a good story.

He coughed as the firesmoke blew his way and ducked under it to sit back by the fire, at a distance he felt Mushal wouldn't complain over. He looked at Blaze's face again, smiled, and followed her eyes to the sky.

[Blaze]

"Eburi'nei..." she whispered more to herself as the sun winked into view, remembering the story her dryad nanny told her about how she got her name.

Her mother had been a druid who loved the ocean, and while she couldn't remember the woman very well, the essence of how she had felt about the ocean remained in Blaze's heart. Anaya had wanted to give birth under the rolling waves. Not just sitting in the water either like normal people. She had wanted to be at the bottom of the ocean floor with the sun filtering down shattered by the water and sprinkled upon the sand like a million diamonds. In the end it had been decided it would be a risk to the baby, so she would compromise by having the baby on the shore.

Anaya had been in labor for a day and a night. It had been storming with heavy rain and wind, yet she refused to leave her blanket on the shore. Fara, Anaya's close dryad friend remained knelt by her side. She refused the menstruations of concerned priestess' and relied solely on her trust in the old saying, let nature take its course. Then with the new dawn, the storm had blown over and as the sun winked over the horizon and then exploded into warm light washing over the beach and the elven mother she had whispered, eburi'nei. The sunlight kissed her mother's tears as they rolled down her cheeks, and the new born babies cries mixed with the sound of the rolling waves upon the shore.

Blaze blinked back from the memory and looked around with a start as Rook coughed. She found him smiling at her before he looked away.

"Eburi'nei.." she bit her lip and swallowed down anymore words for a moment.

She stood and brushed herself off before going about the ritual of putting on her armor, making sure everything fit into place properly. She didn't know where they were going exactly or what he had in store for her. Blaze shot a look at Rook before picking up her helm and putting it on roughly. The chain mail clinked together like a muted wind chime. This might be the last day she ever sees him. There was an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach at the thought to which she frowned at and pushed to the back of her mind.

Looking around she found his panther ready to ride so she pulled out her stone and summoned her own.

[valrae]

Rook took a last glance over the campsite as they prepared to leave, shuffling dirt over the fire with his boots and peering around with keen eyes to ensure that nothing bad been forgotten. The site looked much as it had when the arrived, save for just a little more ash in the fire circle.

Arineva chuffled at him as he climbed on, eager to stretch her muscles on the road again. He patted her head and looked to Blaze, making sure she was ready to go.

"Our day begins, Sunshine." He smiled. "Follow along and I'll sing you a song." He pulled the reigns and hissed to the Nightsaber, who needed little urging to break into her steady loping gait.

And this time Rook did sing, words to the tune he'd been humming for days, sung in a deep, strong voice.

"The winds today bore your sails away,
Winds that said you could not stay.
Away from our hearth and over the hill,
the fire long cold, I miss you still.

A western port wrapped cold in mist,
warm land, cold ocean we stood and kissed.
I watched your boat shrink on the sea,
and with it went a part of me.

The wind's cold touch comes with the dawn,
I wake from sleep to find you gone.
A hundred days upon the sea,
A hundred paths to tragedy."

When the song ended he said nothing further, and only guided his saber north along the lake. Turning from the shore after a few hours, they followed the bed of a shallow green valley. Gradually the green gave way to brown, the air warming noticeably as they left the loch and dwarven lands behind them. Arineva's steady stride never faltered as they plunged into the heat and dust of the Badlands.

[Blaze]

Blaze listened intently to the song, it almost sounded like he had left someone behind. She tilted her head and watched him carefully as he carried on. Snorting sharply she then decided it was just an old fisherman's song and had nothing to do with him. And even still, who cared if it did have something to do with him for that matter? He had poisoned her father and was dragging her along against her will.

Images of them entwined on the lake shore flooded into her mind and she grunted. Maybe not entirely against her will.

As they rode into the Badlands she almost smiled. This was a place she enjoyed and a place her travels took her very often. There was not a nook or cranny she didn't know about her, yet who they could be going to meet was still a mystery to her...unless it was the ogres or dark irons. Shrugging she nudged her mount a little faster so that she was almost side by side with the rogue.

[valrae]

Rook led on west across the wasteland, skirting them around areas where the more dangerous predators were likely to lurk. The sun rose, reached it's zenith and was falling again by the time they came upon the mountains that seperated the Badlands from darker, hotter territory.

What remained of the day's light became smothered under a blanket of dark red haze, the hot breath of the raging fires that burned under the land spewed into the sky from hundreds of subterranean vents. Rook's nose wrinkled at the smell, both familiar and foreboding. He reached down and pulled his mask over his nose, only in part to block out the scent.

They continued east until they were brought up short by the edge of the Cauldron, and then he led around it's rim, following around the contour of the deep rent in the earth's flesh. He had not spoken in several hours, but there was a different quality to his silence now. The good humor that usually shone in his eyed had ebbed down to a cynical wariness. Nothing moved without being noticed and analyzed as a possible threat.

They passed several encampments of dark-skinned Dwarves, close enough so see their squat figures scuttle around amongst their tents, but still too far for the dark irons to do anything more than fire a few hopeless shots with their antiquated steamguns, none of which came particularly close.

The dark and burned land was home to other, stranger creatures as well, spiders that glowed with inner fire, assemblages of fire and rock given shape and life. Rook saw them all and avoided them, seemingly well versed in travelling this land.

As the dim orb of the sun sank into the jagged teeth of the surrounding hills, the night elf reigned in abruptly and slid off of Arineva. Even the restless cat's great stamina had been sapped by the long run, and she did little more than peer at him dully as he led her by the reigns up a short gully in the rocks, glancing over his shoulder to see if Blaze was following.

The walls of the gully heightened quickly till they towered dozens of feet overhead, then abruptly the passage widened out into a steep-sided box canyon with a rocky floor, perhaps thirty feet square across. Rook clucked his tounge and patted the ground, and Arineva flopped over without protest, immediately beginning to lick her sore paws.

Rook sat himself on a rock and pulled his mask down.

"We're very close. We'll wait here till full dark, then venture out without the cats. Thorium point is to the north." He pointed. "We'll fly out from there when we're finished."

He looked up at the pale orb of the sun.

"I'd say we have an hour or two before it's time." He leaned back against the rock wall tiredly and closed his eyes. He so badly wanted to sleep, but he knew he shouldn't. He'd sleep too long, and be awkward when he awakened. He was saving the last of the tea for right before the action later, if he drank it now, he'd just be tired then.

He opened his eyes again and smiled wearily at Blaze.

"I hate to ask, but you may need to keep me awake here soon... You don't happen to know any songs, do you?"

[Blaze]

Blaze shifted uneasily in her saddle as they rode, keeping her eyes on the road, and Rook. Seeing this new side to him was almost nice. So the man knew how to stop talking. When he pulled his mask up she growled within her throat, her upper lip twitching. Part of her wanted to pull the mask down again, with her teeth.

Focus.

Wherever they were going surely it was coming closer. At least it wasn't unfamiliar territory. She also knew the Cauldron, and knew beside its strange animals there were poachers that roamed as well to look out for. Part of her wished Mushal was with her physically. When the dwarfs began shooting her hand went to her neck and fingertips brushed over the arrowhead there before she glanced at the rogue.

Yawning she looked skyward. It seemed like they had been riding forever, and her mount was coated in heavy sweat from his labors. Still, Sui'ali did not faultier and kept alert. Arineva however appeared to be a younger animal and the strains were very visibly getting to her. For her sake, Blaze hoped they would rest soon. When he looked back at her she nodded. Of course she was following.

When they stopped Blaze slid off Sui'ali with a grateful thump on his flank, and then knelt to welcome Mushal with an affectionate ruffle on the ears. The great tiger chuffed his greeting which she replied to in kind.

"We're very close. We'll wait here till full dark, then venture out without the cats. Thorium point is to the north." He pointed. "We'll fly out from there when we're finished." Rook said.

She listened as he continued to talk, her features grim. So it was all coming to a head now. Pulling off her helm she shook out her hair. It was wet and clung to her face which was also smudged with black lines of soot and ash.

He looked so tired. The heat wasn't helping she knew, and it was now obvious he probably hadn't slept either last night. She sighed. It wouldn't do having him falling asleep over his daggers when it came time to gather up his box. She approached him, and told Mushal to stay with a silent hand gesture. When Rook reopened his eyes she was near him on his rock, walking on her hands and the balls of her feet, sort of creeping up to him.

She ignored his silly question and hesitantly crawled up beside him, very carefully hovering close before she bunted her head to his and whispered in his ear as she settled into a sitting position. "Sleep hour. Will keep watch with Mushal. Then go hour after that."

[valrae]

He looked at her with half-lidded, tired eyes for a moment before he brushed his thumb tenderly along her cheek, wiping off a bit of the smudged soot. "You missed a spot," he murmured, smiling. This close his first impulse was to kiss her... He may have tried if he weren't so exhausted. As it was he gently nudged her head with his in return.

An hour would work... He could get a little rest and still have time to shake off the sleep before it was time to go.

He nodded gratefully. "An hour, then. Thank you." He leaned back against the rock and closed his eyes.



((Well, today is my birthday. So I probably won't be posting much, except for possibly much later in the evening. So take care 'till then. ^^))

[Blaze]

At his touch she froze like a deer in headlights, and when he nudged her head in return she pulled back a bit flushing a deep purple. Was he mocking her, even now? Or was he sincere? His voice drew her from her whirlwind of thoughts bringing her to look at him again as he leaned back against the rock.

Blaze looked down to Mushal who was staring up hopelessly at his mistress with his ears twitching. He looked just as unsure of things as she did.

With a sigh she looked down at Rook beside her and her expression softened a bit. He was very tired, and now he was trusting her in this place to rest. Grimacing her hand hovered above his neck. She could choke him now, slit his throat. Make him pay for harming her father and find a priestess or someone to save him herself. Her eyes narrowed and she sighed jumping quickly off the rock.

Wordlessly she told Mushal to stay and watch over him. There was no way she could sit idly by for an hour staring at him, she'd go insane. Her thoughts were loud enough as it was.

Growling she called upon Elune's magic to grant her swifter feet to carry her across the land. She lept and danced over the rocks and boulders with practiced ease, pausing moments to watch the wildlife and random passing poachers. Perking her ears she looked around and nodded to herself. She knew the rocks well here and could find herself some thorium and perhaps mithril to sell later on. Clenching her jaw she refocused her attentions and began her search.


((Happy birthday!!))

[valrae]

It didn't take long at all for Rook to drift off into the black, dreamless sleep of exhaustion. His head rolled to his shoulder and he relaxed, his breathing growing steady and even. Oblivious to his surroundings or the passing of time, he would sleep or hours unless someone woke him.

[Blaze]

After an hour Blaze returned with a good haul of ore placed away safely within her sack. However it was not the ore that weighed so heavily upon her shoulders but the future to come. In the end she was doing it for her father.

She found Rook still on his rock, Mushal on a high hill not far away where he had no doubt seen or smelt her coming easily. It was not long after she appeared Mushal was by her side, greeting her with deep chuffing and a head bunt against her hip. Blaze ruffled his ears then looked to the sleeping rogue. It was time to wake him. For a moment she thought to have Mushal jump on him, but that might end unwell for all concerned. Picking up a small rock she threw it at Rook to hit his leg.

"Get up."

[valrae]

The rogue twitched and opened his eyes blearily as the rock struck him. He blinked several times, seeming to not know where he was at first. He quickly adjusted as he looked around though, and the brief flicker of confusion on his face quickly disappeared under the weight of tenseness. His eyes picked out Blaze and he did not smile, looking almost hurt. Why a damn rock?

He stood somewhat awkwardly, his delicate internal balance still fuddled by sleep, and moved way from the wall, seeking the position of the sun... It had sunk behind the mountains, as he'd desired, but some light still leaked around the edges of the jagged peaks.

Arineva saw him up and moving and mewled insistently. He went to her and watered her as he had before, murmering apologies to the big cat as she greedily lapped the water out of his hands. He released her pack harness and saddle as well, then half sat, half collapsed against the stone wall again, eyes closing.

As he had suspected, the short, interrupted rest had caused more harm than good in the short run, but in a few minutes he'd be feeling better and in the end it might make all the difference. ...So long as he didn't fall asleep again right now.

He pushed himself up and rummaged around in the pack, coming up with the remainder of the hardtack he'd brought with him. He stuck one in his mouth and tossed another to Blaze, in the off chance she wanted it. Working on the hard bread with his teeth he thought about what would happen now. Not long after this point, things would become impossible to plan for.

"We'll have to kill soon." He said flatly, looking up into her eyes.

He tore off a chunk of bread and worked at it in silence for a moment then continued, speaking lowly.

"Twilight cultists, if you've ever had any experience with them. Warriors. Casters. Some of them will know their business. They're in a cave a little to the west of here. We aren't here to exterminate them, but the ones that stand between me and my goal, those will die."

He tore, chewed and swallowed.

[Blaze]

Blaze continued to watch him. The hurt look on his face somehow felt like a pinch to her heart for some reason. She supposed he didn't understand why she used a rock, had a stick been close at hand she would have poked him with it instead, or if she hadn't been worried about poachers overhearing she would have yelled to wake him up. Anything to wake up out of reach of whirling blades. Yet he hadn't woke with a start, no blades came out. Perhaps he was more relaxed then she had thought. She shrugged. It didn't matter anymore. By the night he would have his box and her father would have his cure. Her eyes lowered painfully. His cure to remain locked away in his mind until Elune called him home.

His movements made her open her eyes, and she awkwardly caught the hardtack he tossed at her and stared at it. She almost laughed. He wanted her to eat this? She placed the bread beside her then rummaged around in her own pack, bringing out a large cooked quail. Mushal murred anxiously to be fed. Glancing once more at Rook she pulled off a leg and tossed it to him. Couldn't have him running on just hardtack, he might loose energy and die inside then her father would never be free after all.

The other leg she kept for herself, offering the rest to Mushal who devoured it in only a few bites. As she pulled meat off the bone with her teeth she listened to who her foes would be. She had had light dealings with them before, but mostly had kept clear. She nodded lightly, those who stood in their way would die.

Mushal purred lowly and laid down beside his mistress, his weight knocking her off balance a moment. She chuckled and wrapped an arm over his shoulders tossing the bone away to look back to the hardtack. It was very foul stuff, yet she found herself picking it up to chew on anyway. Her eyes flickered to Rook briefly then away.

[valrae]

Rook snagged the meat out of the air with one hand, glad to see that a little of his dexterity was returning. He bobbed his head gratefully and dug in with relish. Looking up a moment later to notice her chewing on the hardtack he chuckled.

"Tastes a little like dirt, doesn't it? But at least it never goes bad." He shrugged. "Except for when it does."

He fell silent, studying her for a long moment, a bemused smile on his face. Realizing his gaze was locked on her he coughed and sorted through his things, but gradually he found his eyes drawn back to her anyway. He snorted and checked his potions. ...How nice it would be to sit beside her- he shook his head. Oh, this was terrible. He almost laughed, realizing what he was caught in.

Finally he just shrugged, deciding to speak his mind. Life was just a little too short not to say certain things. Especially just now.

"I don't know what it is, but-"

...He paused and shook his head, grinning. It wasn't quite as easy as he had thought.

"But..."

He sighed. This wasn't working.

The rogue stood and moved (in a careful and hopefully non-tiger-aggravating manner) over to the huntress, leaning in to kiss her gently on the forehead, and on one cheek, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"...But that." He murmured, sighing slightly and bumping her nose before he pulled back, a soft smile on his lips.

[Blaze]

Mushal certainly did not like the proximity of Rook to his mistress, however Blaze's hand on his shoulders stilled him so that he was left only to glare hatefully at the rogue a menacing growl in his throat, and his lips peeled back from his teeth. He couldn't understand why his mistress was allowing this from this male. He was here now, and if she left him be he would put this invading male into his place!

Blaze was a little stunned, and confused at Rook's words and actions. She had stayed Mushal to try and see what Rook was trying to get to. From his actions however she decided he must think of her like a sister or a dear friend, or a child and he was trying to comfort her before the impending battle with the Cultists. The nose bump sent even more confusion threw her, but she decided to stick with her original thoughts. She stared at him oddly for a minute when he pulled back unsure where such feelings had come from from him. She shrugged off his hands on her shoulders suddenly feeling odd. Why would he suddenly think these things of her?

"...But that." he had said, as if those two words would explain his actions clearly.

Struggling for words, she wet her lips and tried some tentatively, her expression still very confused. "I will not kill you, brother, rest easy. And you no need to worry for me in battle to come."

[valrae]

He smiled ruefully. She had misunderstood him, he felt sure. But what had he expected, when he didn't quite understand himself? Besides, he told himself; Now was neither the time, nor the place... He didn't have the time to be thinking about her... Them, really.

"Oh, I'm not worried for you. If I wasn't sure you could handle yourself here, then I wouldn't have started... All this. Though it's comforting to know you won't be killing me. I had wondered about that, to be honest."

He smiled and sighed, backing up somewhat so the tiger could come off high alert.

"For my part, I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to help your father. I will stay true to my word, I will undo what I have done. ...Even if we fail here. I don't want any harm to come to him, or you. You need not fear on that account."

He sat back on his rock, looking a shade miserable. So he hadn't managed to say what was on his mind after all... And now everything seemed a mess. He scowled, feeling frustrated and trapped inside himself in a way he hadn't for many many years.

"Blaze... When this is over, and if you really decide not to kill me, will you stay with me for a while?" He smiled uncertainly. "There's a place in Feralas I go sometimes, it's very peaceful. I thought we might spend a few days there, once your father gets better. Lots of fish, good hunting, clean waters and, ah... excellent beaches." He smiled. "It might be nice."

[Blaze]

She continued to stare at him as he spoke, still baffled. As he backed away Mushal quieted though he also kept his eyes on Rook.

"For my part, I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to help your father. I will stay true to my word, I will undo what I have done. ...Even if we fail here. I don't want any harm to come to him, or you. You need not fear on that account."

She smirked, then tilted her head at his miserable look. Something was truly bothering him, and she genuinely wanted to know what. Damn him. His next words surprised her and she was left blinking at him, her mouth opening and closing without sound. Stay with him awhile? She could feel the color rising to her cheeks and then draining from them almost all at once. It was a very unsettling feeling, the confliction was almost palatable.

Finally she shook her head, "Can't." She stayed alone as to not get attached, she didn't mate with the same male twice to prevent getting attached, she couldn't. But she... wanted to. Blinking sharply she rubbed at her nose and looked around. "We go soon?"

[valrae]

When she answered he felt as though something had bumped against his heart, but he kept the smile on his face with effort. He nodded. "Alright, then. Consider it an open offer."

The rogue exhaled and leaned back, feeling like a fool. He had threatened her father and dragged her two days across country, had he really expected her to just wander off with him? He shook his head, realizing he'd been making the gesture a lot lately. That in itself should have been an indication.

Still, better to have done with it. Now maybe at least he could concentrate.

"We go soon?"

"Soon." He agreed, looking up at the sky. He unfolded and checked his crossbow, then stood and shook himself like a dog just out of water, listening for any clanks or other sounds from unsecured straps or buckles. There was only the slight hiss of shifting leather and he nodded, satisfied. Stooping a moment he dribbled oil from a small black vial onto both his blades before carefully spreading it evenly across their surfaces with a small rag. He slid the blades back into their scabbards and looked around. Seeing nothing left undone he closed up his pack and travel bags and shoved them into a corner.

He looked up, checking the sky. The last edges of the sun's glow were just slipping away behind the mountain peaks, and the rest of the sky was ebon. He nodded to Blaze, letting his eyes linger a moment of her before he looked away, a smile forming on his mouth in spite of himself.

"Ready when you are."

[Blaze]

Mushal looked between them, perking his ears at his mistress. With an uneasy snarl and positioned himself between her and Rook, then looked at Rook dead on and opened his mouth wide in what looked like a yawn. Blaze blinked and hissed a sharp intake of air as she got up quickly and shook her head at Mushal, narrowing her eyes. Now was not the time or place for that foolishness, not that the rogue would understand, but still.

She followed Rook's gaze to the sky then back to Mushal who was now casually licking at his paws like nothing had happened. If he had been human there would have been a smug smile on his face.

As Rook prepared his blades, Blaze took went over her sword and dagger, then her bow and arrows making sure everything was in ready order and that the bow string was taut. She wasn't going for a box, she was going to save her father. Her eyes closed and she uttered a pained sigh, still not certain if she was helping or condemning her father by saving him from whatever the rogue had done.

His voice made her look at him, catching his eyes upon her for a brief moment. She swallowed down the tickle in her belly and refocused. Mushal was standing now with his tail swishing impatiently. Nodding to the tiger she summoned her mount, sending Mushal back to his Plane once more. The next time the tiger appeared, it would be time to fight.

With Mushal gone she shifted on her saddle and openly stared at Rook, her eyes traveling over his form very carefully. He was a finely built male, and although he wasn't a druid he had a bit of the sense of one it seemed which was unnerving. Mushal had right to be uneasy. That didn't matter anymore, soon Rook would have his box and they would be going- They? She shook her head at her foolishness. The vision of them going together to give her father the antidote. Then what, Rook apologize to the living statue and he and she go off to Feralas together to play? No. After he had his box, he would give her what she needed and that would be the last time she saw him. It had to be.

Pulling her eyes away, Blaze sighed and put on her helm with a sharp gesture making the chain mail jingle.

[valrae]

It was a rather short trip. Rook left Arineva to rest and instead travelled on foot. In part because the cat was tired, and in part the exercise would clear the last remaining cobwebs out of his head. He skittered ahead of Blaze in what amounted to a fast jog, His head swivelling constantly, alert for threats. Even after darkenss fell -perhaps especially- the area was acrawl with activity. The overhanging clouds blocked out both moonlight and starlight, rendering the landscape nearly pitch dark, illuminated mostly by ever-smouldering fires and exposed pools of lava, the heart's blood of the world.

In the space of perhaps ten minutes they made their way to the Twilights' cave. The entrance was undisguised and illuminated by torches, and furthermore guarded by four figures in red armor. There was little doubt to what the place was... And less doubt that these people considered themselves secure here. The three guards seemed at ease. One of them, a dwarf, walked halfheartedly along a perimeter, and the other three talking animatedly amongst themselves. A female troll and two humans. Strange to see the two races conversing like that. But that was how the Twilight did business.

Rook sank down behind a shoulder-high rock as the very edge of the flat open area that lay before the cave entrance and motioned Blaze over. There was no joviality in his face at all, if anything he looked blank. He talked lowly, but not in a whisper.

"When the patroller comes by, I'll take him. It will be silent. From there I'll incapacitate one of the entrance guards, and engage one of the others. For simplicity's sake we'll say whichever one is furthest to the left, from this vantage point, will be the one I kill. The other one is yours."

He pulled the cork out of his vial of tea with his teeth and emptied it down his throat, with a wince. Age and lukewarm temperature had not improved it's taste any.

"Wind blows across the entrance of the cave, making it somewhat noisy inside. With luck our attack might not be noticed initially."

He licked his lips and slowly peeked around the edge of the rock, noting the position of the three stationary guards, and updating the progress of the roving sentry.

"The plan won't fail, but if it does... Improvise."

He shrugged, then faded into nothing.