Freezing Winds }{ Open open open open

[Talwyn]

It was obvious Tal didn't like her answer one bit. He wasn't violent, nor did he enjoy killing, but for bandits he gladly made exceptions. Leaving them alive would make it harder to get what he wanted, he didn't even bother denying her claim of him wanting something from them. For you see, there was one thing about bandits that Tal did like. They looted indiscriminately. Everything they could take with them was hauled to their hide-outs.

Naturally, this meant that every now and then there would also be magical items in their treasure hoards. And though he knew the chances of finding one capable of granting his wish where slim at best, he just can't ignore that slightest sliver of hope. Also, the thought of fighting a mage didn't really scare him. As long as you kept your wits and was being smart about it, a mage was far from a serious threat. Of course, a really, really good mage would be very difficult, but what powerful, self respecting mage would choose to hang out with bandits?

Ignoring her tactless joke he eyed her closely and eventually sighed. He was certain that he could find no argument that would persuade her to go along with his plan. "Fine." He gruffly said as he looked away. "We do it your way. You'll know when the diversion starts. Lets go and see if we can find something to eat along the way shall we?"

He got up and walked outside, looking at the surroundings to get an idea of where exactly he was. Pointing over to the path he had come down from he called out to Krae. "If I am not terribly mistaken, that's the way I came from. The sack of supplies I had with me should be around there somewhere." With that he walked off in search of his lost supplies.

After about half an hour of searching he found them. The jerky was frozen solid, and the cheese would be a hard bite, but if he could just cut it up it would be fine. Walking back to the cave he called out to Krae. "I found them. Want to eat in the cave and wait until we can eat the jerky without breaking our jaws, or would you prefer to stick to the crackers and cheese and eat on the way down the mountain?"

((OOC: Not entirely happy with it, but it's the best I could come up with I fear. And I wanted to write down something because I should have done so weeks ago >_> sorry for the delay))

[Lujayn]

Krae glanced at the food he presented wordless, her face set in a blank, emotionless expression that more than conveyed what she thought of the fare. Wordlessly, she walked out into the small copse of trees outside the cave, dissappearing easily. A short while later, she emerged again with a rabbit in hand.

"I think this presents a far better fare than that, would you not agree?" She asked dryly, gesturing to the rabbit. "You can eat it if you want. I, however, am not. I shall eat real food, thank-you very much."

With that she went back into the cave, sitting by the fire to prepare the rabbit for consumption. She was surprisingly good at it, considering that only a few years ago she would have been a bird that scavanged for its food. It didn't take long for there to be a perfectly edible rabbit, and although it was tasteless (Krae did not bring seasoning or spices with her, that would just be silly), it was much better than mostly-frozen food.

[Talwyn]

Biting a cracker in half, he watched Krae go off without a word. Sitting down at the cave's entrance he made quick work of several crackers. Upon Krae's return, he eyed the rabbit with interest, though remained silent. When she told him it would be a 'far better fare' than his supplies he merely shrugged, no point in arguing against the undeniable right?

He followed her back inside, and placed his travel sack near the fire so the jerky would be edible again sooner. After Krae was done with the rabbit, Talwyn wolfed down his share obviously not minding the lack of taste. With all the traveling through rough and uninhabited terrain, he could not afford to be picky about his food. His emergency rations where never selected on their taste, nor did he ever ignore food found while foraging just because it might not be entirely to his liking.

After he was done, he let out a rather a satisfied burp. "Well, that hit the spot. Thank you." Getting up, he grabbed his travel sack and checked how the jerky was doing. It was still cold, but no longer frozen so he took a piece out and swung the sack onto his back. Biting off a piece he headed for the cave entrance. "Well then, let's get to work eh?" With that, he left the cave.

He strolled down the mountain at a leisurely pace, pausing only to fill the wineskin he carried with water. It was obvious he was in a good mood, if it had been any other person they would most likely have been humming or singing. But that just wasn't like Tal.

By the time they reached their destination, the sun was setting. Carefully peering over the boulder they were hiding behind, Tal surveyed the area. He noticed there were several cave entrances, but to get to any of them, one would have to pass through the camp at the bottom of the ravine. Well, that was just perfect, it meant that so long as he caused enough of a commotion out there, they'd be running out. Which in turn would give Krae a chance to get in.

Dropping down to the ground again, he shot a look at Krae before grabbing one of her daggers, without so much as asking. He was already on his way down, so it would also be impossible for her to call out to him. Well, not unless she wanted to alert the bandits to their presence, which, at this point, wasn't very smart if she wanted to get in unnoticed.

Hiding behind a tree, he pulled his cowl down, and looked around carefully. He had seen one of the bandits wander off and he should be around here. Spotting him, he gripped the dagger and stalked over carefully, demonstrating much more stealth then one would expect from a man made of rocks.

Killing the bandit swiftly and silently, he wiped the dagger clean on the mans cloths and glanced back to see Krae approaching. With a casual flick of the wrist, he threw the dagger in her general direction, causing it to stick in a nearby tree. Raising his hand to his forehead, he made a saluting motion while grinning, as if to thank her for borrowing her dagger. The grin disappeared quickly however as he grew serious once more and crept closer to the bandit camp.

His eyes darted around, surveying the camp once more. There where ten of them. Several appeared to sleep. Considering the loud snoring, one of them was most certainly asleep. Two where actively keeping watch. Whispering an incantation, a bow of ice appeared in his hand and he took aim at one of the bandits. Drawing back the string, an arrow of ice appeared. The arrow hit with such impact, the target flew back a few feet.

The bow disappeared, and Tal grabbed his sword and stepped out into the open. A swift incantation later, a bolt of fire hit one of the bandits that was just getting up due to the commotion. "Well then little miss demon, one distraction coming up." He uttered as he got ready to defend himself.

[Lujayn]

If it hadn't been for their current position, Krae would most likely have just killed Talwyn at that point. She didn't appreciate having her things taken and used, especially without her permission.

She wasn't really a sharing type.

With a silent snarl, she jerked her dagger out of the tree bark and bounded the rest of the way down the mountainside, scarcely leaving a track on the snow. Quietly she followed behind Talwyn, some distance behind, and once she was certain the bandits were concentrating on him, and not around them, she darted inside, a mere black shadow that disappeared into one of the tunnels leading off.

She knew, generally, where the bandits' hoard was, although she took a few wrong turns, having not gotten inside that far the previous time. When she arrived, she took a breath; they had a lot in there, piles of coin and small goods, as well as a number of chests. It was like something out of a fairy tale, of a dragon's hoard. It certainly wouldn't make looking for something as small as the heirloom easy to find...

She searched the tables first, pushing aside the papers and weighing tools. This would be where the bandits found the value of what they had stolen, and perhaps it was recent enough that the heirloom would be... there it was!

She snatched it quickly, slipping it into a pocket on her vest. She took one last look around, and noticed something, in one of the piles near the back. Carefully she picked her way across the room, and peered at the object. It was a small locket, scarcely bigger than the length of her finger tip to the first knuckle. What she noticed was a faint shimmer of magical... something coming from it.

Krae doubted Talwyn would find it useful, but what did she know? She pocketed the locket as well, and made her way out of the room.

Outside, she looked around, and said to herself, "... now where am I?" She had forgotten to pay attention where she had been going.Fffft Krae, you fail so hard sometimes. -

[Talwyn]

"Sylpheed, warden of air, let me direct the power of the amethyst flames to crash down upon my adversary!" Talwyn shouted as he pointed towards a single bandit aiming a crossbow at him. A flash of blueish-purple erupted from his finger and headed for the bandit, hitting the mans crossbow causing it to explode like a tree hit by lightning.

He immediately ducked to avoid a horizontal slash and while getting up, thrusted his blade into another bandits gut. Surveying the situation, he sighed. How many where there again? Fifty? Well, that's what the lady had estimated. And half had crossbows to boot. He had killed three now, and disabled one crossbow. Oh... and he had to make sure he had enough energy to fight a giant and mage. Better switch tactics...

Whispering another incantation, Tal jumped back to avoid another blade. His eyes widened as he felt a crossbow bolt pass by the space his head had just occupied. Finishing the spell, he slammed his fist into the ground, and a wall of earth rose up. There, now at least one side will be safe at all times.

Rushing over to the edge of the wall, he was just in time to catch the first of the bandits that was coming around. He grabbed the guy's arm, and as he give a firm pull he thrusted his blade into the bandits heart. Pulling the blade back out, he slashed into the air behind him to get some of the blood off. Hurry up would you. I don't have all day.