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Eva had been enjoying her morning. The sun was shining, she was on the move, and more importantly, she was on the move. It was a relief to be out of Anacortes, but it had been quite some time since she’d ridden a horse. She wondered if it showed. Jerome silently rode beside her, the displeasure radiating off him. Eva smirked, "Why such the bad mood, Jerome? It’s such a nice morning.”

He glared at her, “Oh, nothing. Just the fact that I dragged my a** out of a nice, clean, comfortable bed to go ride around on some smelly animal.”

Eva gave a wheezy laugh, then turned around when she heard Tonash’s question. She slowed her horse down, “Hm? I’m not sure what to make of things yet. I don’t know why we need this town if we already have the gold mines, but who am I to complain? It’s about time I got some work to do.”

((It's all good, 'tis all good.))

Aeolin's trip was slightly challenging. She still wore some of the armor plating on her arms, and although the chainmail shirt wasn't quite as obvious, it was still there. She felt it minorly miraculous that no one stopped her, but no one did.

Helen herself seemed to find no trouble in slipping through. No one really gave her a second look (and had they, they probably wouldn't have done anything about it). She arrived at the bar nearly simultaneously as Dalneik, although slightly behind. A few moments later Aeolin arrived, still carrying the long leaf-bladed spear.

"Odd. Nobody stopped me. I'm surprised. I didn't seem many Imperials, but still..." Aeolin mused.

Dastri started away from the group with his hood up, hiding the prominent features of his race. Covering himself in his cloak, he just looked like a filthy vagabond. Perhaps that was why an incompetent Imperial soldier stopped him, thinking Dastri to be easy prey. The guard followed Dastri for a few minutes, following the Elf away from his fellow guards and towards an emptier part of the town. Finally, without any onlookers, the guard shouted out to Dastri.

"What's this now? Day-um, a little basterd like yeself shouldn't be out in da streets. I might have ta take ye in jes fer dirtyin' the town."

Dastri kept quiet and kept walking, seemingly ignoring the soldier. The soldier, ever the bully, grabbed onto Dastri's arm and tried to pull him back. Dastri let the guard pull him back and then quickly turned, his free hand heading straight for the guard's throat. Working quickly, Dastri crushed the man's windpipe and tossed the body into nearby foliage, giving nature a corpse to take. Dastri left the body without a second thought, making all haste to the tavern.

Captain Tonash was shaken from his gaze as he regarded Jerome and Eva. For a moment, he had forgotten where he was and what role he played in the grand scheme of things.
"Ahem. Pardon. You may go as you please. The Dark Artists should not have to act too fervently. There have been little reports of magic users here in Borgerwood. Escort Lieutenant Vawl if you wish, but otherwise, feel free to choose where you wish to position yourself. I can only hope that this can be resolved through diplomacy and the town will simply surrender. As such, you do not attack without my orders, or without direct provocation...
As for Barghest... That sick fiend will have to be a contingency... I can only hope that the town comes to its decision of surrender before he does something stupid."
"You may take your leave now."
With that, the captain returned to the table and began re-examining the map of the town, though hardly masking his concerns of the matters at hand.

Nyysharzi hated to leave his newly found friends. "Hey...but…," started Nyysharzi but stopped in mid sentence. He knew that complaining about the split would not help the cause. However, he did feel odd in leaving Dalneik alone to travel. He was destined to find and help this person out, but if this helps to further the cause then so be it.

"Alright then," he began, “we might as well get underway." He mentally contacted the Yrûn of Earth for a safe way to Borgerwood. There was slight rumble in the ground and he got the message clearly in a low, deep grumble, “Headth to a laketh to north, then fromth there. Headth northwest to the cityth you seekth." Nyysharzi got his bearing and head out as Wit landed on his shoulder. "May the Gods preserve you all, and see you at the tavern, for that beer."

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After making his way to the lake to the north, he discovered that the boat across the lake was under the control of the Imperials. "Damn," he swore. He decided around the lake to the west to find an easier way to cross any body of water without paying.

Following a two-hour walk around the lake, he came upon a river. Walking towards the shore and discovered various boulders scattered across the river forming a crude path. Looking at the path, he thought aloud, "If this is the safest path for the Imperials, I guess." He placed his foot on the first stone to test. He found it sturdy and put his whole weight on the stone.

"Fwwwwsssshhhhppp!" an arrow struck the water.

"DAMN THE GODS!" Nyysharzi said as turn around quickly and lost his balance. Before striking the water, he caught himself on the next stone.

"Fwwwwsssshhhhppp!" another arrow struck the water. Wit flew for safety.

Nyysharzi pushed off the first stone with his feet, propelling himself into back flip onto the third stone. Regaining composer, he looked for his attackers. He spotted them, a small platoon of Imperials consisting six soldiers and three archers. They were a few yards away from the shore of the river.

"Halt! Elf!" said the apparent captain. "You make a single move, my archers will use you as target practice." The archers knocked arrows at the ready.

Nyysharzi locked eyes with the captain and said, "Well, Sir, How good are your archers at firing into water!" He dove into the water.

"FIRE!!" yelled the captain. The archers let their arrows fly, but only struck water.

Underwater, Nyysharzi anchored himself with his dagger. He raised his hands over his head gathering magical energy around himself. After a few seconds, enough energy was collect and he cast his Wave spell. A towering wave formed above him and crashed the platoon to the ground.

Nyysharzi climbed onto the shore and gasped, "Well that was easy, good I was in that spells element." Coughing up water, he stood and walked over to the unconscious Imperials. Combing over the bodies, he found a soldier of similar build and height. He striped the Imperial of his uniform and stowed his clothes in his pack. After securing the various belts, straps, clips, and buckles, he went to the waters edge to look at his appearance. Looking at the reflection, Wit landed on his shoulder, "You missed all the fun you know." Wit looked away. "Anyways, you do like my impersonation?" Wit replied with a loud hoot.

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A disoriented soldier walked from the path, looking lost. The gate guard looking at this embarrassment bark at the soldier, "Boy, what is the problem?"

Confused, the boy walked up, "Well. Ummm.., sir, I am looking for a tavern on the edge of town."

"HA HA HA HA, a little R and R. I see well you are a lucky one arent'cha. Well then boyo, take this road to the left until you reach the tanner store and take a right," the guard pointed in the direction to follow.

"Th..th..ank you Sir," he saluted and walked off.

"One more thing lad, I had a guard go missing so watch yourself," yelled the guard.

The soldier nodded and hustled to his destination. Nyysharzi wiped the sweat from his brow and breathed easily. A quiet hoot came out from his pack. "Shh. We are not at the tavern yet," he motioned Wit to quiet down. After passing the tanners, he found a abandoned alleyway. Quickly slipping into the alley, Nyysharzi changed and discarded the Imperials clothes. Appearing out of the alley, he found the tavern. He walked in the front door and found Dalneik, Aeolin, and Helen, but not Dastri.

Sitting with his friends, "Where is friend Ranger, Dastri?"

Barghest slipped into the town, remaining amongst the shadows and made way to a tavern on the edge of the perimeter. Uncharacteristically ignoring the ruckus that ocurred only a few blocks over, he timed his movement as someone else went into the bar, sliding in behind them before the man guarding the door noticed. The room was relatively dim, all about, there were very salted veteran types. However, he did note a handful of elvish ears here and there as well as numerous dwarves amongst the crowd.
He had found the perfect spot to cause trouble.
A wicked grin flashed across his face as he contemplated how best to make use of the tools that were present to him. Alone in the shadows, his invisibility remained as his cloak and shield, listening to every conversation that could reach his ears.

"Captain! Captain Tonash! Come quick!"
Tonash spun about from his early evening stroll and looked to the oncoming group. Lieutenant Goldrum was at the head of the squadron, marching the other four men and dragging behind him a captive, bound by ropes, and leaving a trail of what the captain perceived to be his very blood.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Caught the little pointy eared runt in the streets. Wouldn't come quietly though... killed off two of me boys 'fore we brought him down," he turned to the prisoner and kicked him in the ribs, causing a groan of pain," If'n it were up ta me, ye'd be dead already. Quit yer whinin'."
"That is quite enough, Lieutenant. You have done well in apprehending this one. I will take him into questioning now, you are dismissed."
The lieutenant glared for a moment as he turned about, smiling, then headed off with his squad members back into the town.
With one powerful grasp, the captain hoisted the injured prisoner onto his back and entered his tent, where he placed him gently onto his own bed, disregarding the blood marks he was leaving on the white sheets.
"I must apologize for the Lieutenant's rash behavior," Tonash said as he unsheathed his blade,"normally I would've reprimanded him, but you are indeed amongst the enemy's forces, so do not think your treatment unusual, save for my own. Hold still, this will sting."
The half-conscious elf could barely glance up as he saw the captain raising his sword high, and in a split second, pain wracked his body.
It was only until after the pain had partially subsided that he had noticed the captain had removed every arrow shaft from his injured form. He regarded him through half-closed eyes as he cringed in pain, watching the captain sheath his sword.
"There now, I can't have my captive bleeding to death on me, now can I?"
The captain ran a hand through his matted brown hair as he walked over to the table, grabbing a roll of gauze and bandages, then wrapped it tightly over the elf's wounds. As he cut the last stray piece of cloth free, he grasped a small flask of liquid and held it to the elf's mouth.
"Drink. It will at least numb the pain for now."
The elf looked at him suspiciously and made no movement.
"I know you cannot trust me. This shows me that you are loyal to your cause, for that I am glad. It does me nothing to accept information from a willing source. However, I do wish information, and I have a feeling you would more readily submit such words should you not be in excruciating pain. So, I give you my word as a former citizen of Valendia, not the Empire, that this is not poison, nor truth serum."
Still, the elf only eyed him with caution.
"You do not recognize me? I am Captain Tonash Drahow, commander of the First Battalion of the Imperial Army and my reputation, as I have heard, heralds that I am a kind and merciful soldier. If you do not take this concoction, your experience will be far more unpleasant than I intend it to be. And, also, should you not garner the information I require, it is my great disappointment to turn you over to that beast of a man... Barghest."
A flash of trepidation appeared on his face.
"You know of him? Hah, I suppose fear travels faster than respect. In any event, do you accept my offer of this pain numbing substance? Or do you truly wish for me to question you while your body is aching so?"

"Not a clue," Aeolin responded, glancing about. "It shouldn't be taking him so long, though."

"Probably captured," Helen responded, taking a short sip from her drink. It appeared to be nothing more than water. "Even if he isn't, it's better to plan on having been compromised in one way or another. We probably shouldn't stick around here too much longer."

Aeolin frowned at her. "Always the worst. Delays happen, we're in an occupied city." She, in turn, took a short gulp from her beer and glanced about. "Give him some time, he'll show." She looked somewhat doubtful, but continued to remain casual.

Dalneik returned to the bar to see most of his companions, but immediately felt worried when he had heard Dastri hadn't made it. Knowing time could be very limited, he didn't hesitate to speak.

"My friends, I'd like to introduce you all to my friend, Aden Callidus."

"Pleased to meet you all," Aden said to the company.

"He is a higher-up in the resistance, and he can offer us shelter in the basement of the tavern if we need a place to hide away."

"Indeed, we have the planks covered up in the corner behind the bar so that the soldiers would never suspect it," Aden said while pointing to the corner right in front of the wine racks. "It's not a very hospitable place, but it certainly is the best place to hide when it comes to shaking off any soldiers chasing you down. If you ever find yourself being followed, I urge you to lose sight of them and return here to the tavern immediately, where my allies and I will keep you safe until you're no longer being searched for."

After a few extra minutes of waiting for Dastri, Dalneik began to get anxious. "I am truly worried for our ranger friend... perhaps we should look for him before we head to the mines? Any ideas?"

[[OOC: HP regeneration has been added. Imperials can return to Durahan Fortress for full HP restore, and rebels can visit priests in the towns to restore 10 HP per day. I'm not sure if there's anything I've left unclear at this point... so, if there's anything you're not certain I've fixed yet, please tell me in an OOC comment and I'll get right on it. smile ]]