Misunderstanding
--
Casiama crouched low with her bow drawn, a hundred yards from the pair of conversing humans on the beach. A small rowboat had come ashore, not two-hundred yards from her, and dropped these two off before returning to the larger craft. The unmarked ship - or perhaps an uncommisioned Imperial vessel - hadn't yet set sail, making Casiama paranoid that this was a temporary landing for the two intruders before her.
She cursed again under her breath, realizing that the vessel indeed must have spotted her fire or perhaps the small amount of smoke it produced. She spied on the pair of humans closely as they conversed, trying to gauge their intentions.
The red-haired woman, wearing a cloak, leather jacket, and tight leather pants showed every sign of being a sorceress. Casiama saw that the woman was wearing a ruby circlet and wore her hair loosely down her back, two signs of magical inclination. Additionally, Casiama figured she was performing some unknown ritual as she pushed grains of sand around with a stick. Casiama noticed the woman was far more shapely than she had any natural right to be.
The man, who was watching the sorceress draw her vile spells in the beach sand, was a bit more mysterious to Casiama. He wore unmarked dark leather over most of his body, and was equipped with a crossbow on his back and sword at his belt. His brown hair covered his neck as he faced away from her, but the elf's heart fluttered nervously at the sight of him.
"
Inquisitors,"
Casiama thought to herself. They must have tracked her down after her identity was unmasked back in the town the humans called Kenilworth. She had been so stupid to let her hood down with her hair braided behind her head, but she had simply forgotten during a lapse of mistaken comfort. Several humans had started pointing at her, her ears specifically, before she had started running. Casiama had to kill three watchmen just to retreat through the town's gates, barely avoiding the remainder of the town watch in her escape and was thouroughly exhausted by the time she had finally reached the forests' edge.
That had been just six days ago.
"These inquisitors work quickly,"
Casiama admitted to herself.
She nimbly crept towards the Imperial inquisitors on the beach, her light steps subconsciously avoiding every twig and leaf which could give away her position. She stopped, ninety yards from her target. She would have preferred to be closer, but risked detection if she continued.
Casiama held her breath as she silently drew her bow, aimed at the sorceress, and exhaled softly as she released the string.
-
Talos heard the snap of a bow string.
From his perspective, the world was in slow-motion. Alanna, drawing a map of dubious quality in the sand, was standing not four feet to his left. The bow string had sounded from the forests' edge, Talos' eyes scanning the sky for the inevitable arrow instinctively.
He fortunately spotted the arrow in flightas it sped towards his companion. It made little noise compared to a standard shot, his eyes identifying the threat far before his ears had. His sword was already drawn without him thinking to do so, a confused look slowly forming on Alanna's face. He dove in between her and the incoming missile, deflecting the arrow with a deft upward cut. He quickly rose to his feet and ran towards the treeline, his instincts guiding his steps.
A second snap of the bow string, a second arrow speeding towards him. He ducked to the right, luckily meeting the arrow with a swift horizontal slash of his blade, all while charging ahead.
He spotted a lone figure in the trees rise from a crouch and turn, about forty yards ahead of him. The person started to run deeper into the woods as he closed the distance, regulating his breath with the instincts of an experienced sprinter.
-
Casiama's heart was racing as she fled from the man. She had just witnessed the greatest feat she had ever seen, twice, the man having deflected her silenced arrows with extreme precision. She was frightened for her life as she strode through the forest as fast as her lithe form could take her.
She vaulted over a fallen tree trunk, bounded through the thick undergrowth with sharp instincts and elven finesse. She could keep this pace up for almost an hour, and should eventually elude the man. Yet she heard her hunter's swift footsteps, keeping pace with her regardless. She turned her head just enough to get a hint of where the man was.
The man, not ten yards away now, held a crossbow aimed roughly in her direction as she tripped clumsily on an exposed root. She groaned and started to rise from the forest floor when something hard slammed on the back of her head, the void quickly consuming her.
-
Casiama awoke on the beach, laying on her side as calm waves lapped against the sand. She spotted the silhouettes of the two inquisitors as her eyes readjusted, conversing with each other in hushed tones. The elf felt terribly groggy and her head ached as it never had before. She tried to move, but only managed a weak roll as she realized she had been tied at the wrists and ankles.
"Look, she's awake!" the elf heard the sorceress exclaim. She was young, no older than twenty, her sensual curves jiggling lewdly as she hopped on her heels with the statement.
"
A bit young to be an Imperial inquisitor,
" Casiama thought in a haze, the busty sorceress raising an eyebrow at her as the thought passed her mind. She heard footsteps in the sand from behind and knew her superhuman hunter was making his way towards her. He stepped in front of her and knelt down, an insolent smirk on his face. Casiama's heart pounded as if it would leap from her at any moment.
"Greetings, elf. Name's Talos," the man declared, offering his open palm as part of his greeting before realizing his mistake and withdrawing it. "I do apologize for the, erm, hard hit to your head back there. And being tied up now. Natural precautions, you see."
This was not at all how she imagined her captors' interrogation efforts.
"Fact is, you attacked us first, and completely unprevoked at that. Care to tell me why?" he finished, his lips settling into a natural smirk. The sorceress behind him showed a brief facial sign of impatience, her squinting eyes boring into the back of the man's head as he questioned her.
Casiama simply refused to speak to the inquisitor. She spit at his boots, closing her eyes for the inevitable kick to the face. A kick didn't come. Her green eyes fluttered open again after five seconds of silence.
"I get it. Just a natural reaction to seeing us humans, I guess. I suppose most of us would return the favor in kind," he chuckled. The woman behind him stomped a foot as she spoke up.
"Talos! What's an inquisitor?" the sorceress asked tremulously, her impatience finally overwhelming her.
"
