"But instead, I find merely feeble bandits."
Tarquin's expression quickly drew into a scowl as the midlander chose to test his luck even further. A brief thought, however, occurred to the bandit leader just in time to prevent him from cutting Tobias off in a flash of bitter anger. Was he intentionally trying to aggravate in hope of distracting them from further assaulting the captive elezen? Perhaps, but perhaps not. The only thing that Tarquin felt assured of was that the hyur was working towards something. He didn't seem the type to show rash arrogance nor one to be blinded by pride. Almost as quickly as his expression had turned sour, it became more neutral as he felt adamantly confident in his judgement. Amadi on the other hand, merely grunted and smirked at the man's comment, bemused by his words as though they served as some form of commendation. He was lacking a certain component that Tarquin, on the other hand, did possess.
The midlander lowered his weapon once more, allowing it to hang loosely by his side as he relaxed his posture, intrigued to listen further to what the hyur had to say.
"I. Am. Garlean."
Tarquin's eyes narrowed, his head tilting ever so slightly in surprise at the man's sudden claim. He had no time to ponder further on it before his eyes widened in disbelief as the so-called-Garlean turned to strike his archer companion viciously in the stomach, causing him to heave over, clutching his gut in pain. The black-haired bandit took half a step backwards as his expression revealed no less than utter confusion. His fingers wrapped more firmly around the, bandage-cloaked handle of his blade as he grew more cautious, briefly uncertain as to if the man was even sane. Was this some sort of trick? His linguistic skills certainly defended his claims, rendering Tarquin unsure of what to believe.
The midlander remained stunned and motionless for a moment following Tobias' proposal and disarming of the archer. The sound of the raindrops continuing to bounce off of his and Amadi's raincloaks as they stood there in brief silence served as the filler between the occasional roar of the rolling storm that raged in the cimmerian clouds above.
"You... you dare threaten us?!" Amadi finally broke the verbal silence, shouting at the hyur with his grip on the female growing even tighter, behaving as a demonstration of his anger towards the man's speech, unintentional as it may have been.
"The arrogance... the nerve..!" he continued as he shuffled on the spot, contemplating releasing the woman so that he could charge at the man and strike him down for his insolence.
"Enough. Amadi" Tarquin interrupted his comrade's vexed ramblings without removing his stare from Tobias. His glare was unwavering, sizing up this mysterious man in vain hopes of figuring out his motives. His eyes then slowly crossed over to Clavier's neck, confirming Tobias' claims once more. Whatever game the midlander may be playing, he was certainly not bluffing on that fact. Had the cargo not been worthy of retrieval they would simply have taken the females with them in exchange, but a Garlean deserter? No. That was a much better prize.
They were, however, not spared the luxury of contemplating the offer. A sudden and loud crash sounded from the darkness a little away from the caravan, distracting the men quite easily. Tarquin's eyes searched into the black void of the night for the male archer he had seen earlier. Surely it was him. The lashing rain did their visibility no favours while they both continued scanning for the presumed mysterious guest, Tarquin carefully retaining the remaining travelers in his peripheral vision at the same time.
"Tarquin! The caravan!" Amadi shouted towards the midlander as he caught sight of the female miqo'te in time to see her drop down once again into hiding. It was then that they realised that it had, in fact, all been a diversion.
"Gugghhh!!!" Amadi let out a grotesque howl in pain, releasing the female elezen as he lurched forward in agony. Her strike has been quite successful and excellently timed, giving her the perfect opportunity to escape from his weakened grasp. Even had she lingered on the ground following her fall, Amadi still wouldn't have been able to re-secure his grip on her as he clutched on to the site of impact vehemently in a vain attempt to sooth his discomfort.
Tarquin grunted in frustration, his eyes following the girl as she made her escape. He was close enough to steal her back had he wished to attempt it, though he knew Tobias would certainly have seized the chance to strike assuming Clavier had not managed to do so himself.
Amadi quickly dragged himself up alongside his leader as they made a line of defence, slowly drawing out his greataxe in preparation. His stature was still somewhat hunched forward as the effects of the blow continued to affect him. His expression was heavy, slowly morphing from a strenuous and flustered vision of distress into one of absolute and unrelenting fury. He huffed dejectedly as he locked his eyes on to the female who had struck him. He would not allow her to get away with striking him.
Snickering in mild amusement, Tarquin tilted his head upwards in an attempt to project his voice, deciding to exact intimidation tactics once more before he would officially act upon them.
"A very foolish move should you value your life, Moonkeeper.... your friends here could have all walked away from this without further harm coming to them..." he sneered arrogantly, his voice tinted with confidence in spite of the tables being turned on them so suddenly.
"...Yet now you shall bear witness as each of them die" he continued, spitting towards the ground as he paused briefly.
"And I promise you, I will ensure that yours will be befittingly painful" he finalized with a grimace as he took an aggressive stance, ready for combat.
Tarquin's expression quickly drew into a scowl as the midlander chose to test his luck even further. A brief thought, however, occurred to the bandit leader just in time to prevent him from cutting Tobias off in a flash of bitter anger. Was he intentionally trying to aggravate in hope of distracting them from further assaulting the captive elezen? Perhaps, but perhaps not. The only thing that Tarquin felt assured of was that the hyur was working towards something. He didn't seem the type to show rash arrogance nor one to be blinded by pride. Almost as quickly as his expression had turned sour, it became more neutral as he felt adamantly confident in his judgement. Amadi on the other hand, merely grunted and smirked at the man's comment, bemused by his words as though they served as some form of commendation. He was lacking a certain component that Tarquin, on the other hand, did possess.
The midlander lowered his weapon once more, allowing it to hang loosely by his side as he relaxed his posture, intrigued to listen further to what the hyur had to say.
"I. Am. Garlean."
Tarquin's eyes narrowed, his head tilting ever so slightly in surprise at the man's sudden claim. He had no time to ponder further on it before his eyes widened in disbelief as the so-called-Garlean turned to strike his archer companion viciously in the stomach, causing him to heave over, clutching his gut in pain. The black-haired bandit took half a step backwards as his expression revealed no less than utter confusion. His fingers wrapped more firmly around the, bandage-cloaked handle of his blade as he grew more cautious, briefly uncertain as to if the man was even sane. Was this some sort of trick? His linguistic skills certainly defended his claims, rendering Tarquin unsure of what to believe.
The midlander remained stunned and motionless for a moment following Tobias' proposal and disarming of the archer. The sound of the raindrops continuing to bounce off of his and Amadi's raincloaks as they stood there in brief silence served as the filler between the occasional roar of the rolling storm that raged in the cimmerian clouds above.
"You... you dare threaten us?!" Amadi finally broke the verbal silence, shouting at the hyur with his grip on the female growing even tighter, behaving as a demonstration of his anger towards the man's speech, unintentional as it may have been.
"The arrogance... the nerve..!" he continued as he shuffled on the spot, contemplating releasing the woman so that he could charge at the man and strike him down for his insolence.
"Enough. Amadi" Tarquin interrupted his comrade's vexed ramblings without removing his stare from Tobias. His glare was unwavering, sizing up this mysterious man in vain hopes of figuring out his motives. His eyes then slowly crossed over to Clavier's neck, confirming Tobias' claims once more. Whatever game the midlander may be playing, he was certainly not bluffing on that fact. Had the cargo not been worthy of retrieval they would simply have taken the females with them in exchange, but a Garlean deserter? No. That was a much better prize.
They were, however, not spared the luxury of contemplating the offer. A sudden and loud crash sounded from the darkness a little away from the caravan, distracting the men quite easily. Tarquin's eyes searched into the black void of the night for the male archer he had seen earlier. Surely it was him. The lashing rain did their visibility no favours while they both continued scanning for the presumed mysterious guest, Tarquin carefully retaining the remaining travelers in his peripheral vision at the same time.
"Tarquin! The caravan!" Amadi shouted towards the midlander as he caught sight of the female miqo'te in time to see her drop down once again into hiding. It was then that they realised that it had, in fact, all been a diversion.
"Gugghhh!!!" Amadi let out a grotesque howl in pain, releasing the female elezen as he lurched forward in agony. Her strike has been quite successful and excellently timed, giving her the perfect opportunity to escape from his weakened grasp. Even had she lingered on the ground following her fall, Amadi still wouldn't have been able to re-secure his grip on her as he clutched on to the site of impact vehemently in a vain attempt to sooth his discomfort.
Tarquin grunted in frustration, his eyes following the girl as she made her escape. He was close enough to steal her back had he wished to attempt it, though he knew Tobias would certainly have seized the chance to strike assuming Clavier had not managed to do so himself.
Amadi quickly dragged himself up alongside his leader as they made a line of defence, slowly drawing out his greataxe in preparation. His stature was still somewhat hunched forward as the effects of the blow continued to affect him. His expression was heavy, slowly morphing from a strenuous and flustered vision of distress into one of absolute and unrelenting fury. He huffed dejectedly as he locked his eyes on to the female who had struck him. He would not allow her to get away with striking him.
Snickering in mild amusement, Tarquin tilted his head upwards in an attempt to project his voice, deciding to exact intimidation tactics once more before he would officially act upon them.
"A very foolish move should you value your life, Moonkeeper.... your friends here could have all walked away from this without further harm coming to them..." he sneered arrogantly, his voice tinted with confidence in spite of the tables being turned on them so suddenly.
"...Yet now you shall bear witness as each of them die" he continued, spitting towards the ground as he paused briefly.
"And I promise you, I will ensure that yours will be befittingly painful" he finalized with a grimace as he took an aggressive stance, ready for combat.
![[Image: ecec20e41f.png]](https://puu.sh/xvMxb/ecec20e41f.png)
Characters: Andre Winter (Hy'ur) / K'nahli Yohko (Miqo'te)
