Nuzyael 16

Quintin heads out at the break of dawn from Jedes in search of a band of brigands that he was instructed to find. Following along the creek, he easily notices the prints leading into and out of the oddly placed shrubs clumsily hiding the entrance to the cave.

Crawling on all fours, Bors curses once again at the small size of the entrance, thinking perhaps it should be expanded to fit someone more his size. Finally he emerges from the cave, and stands up, stretching to his full 6'6" 300 pound frame. A loud yawn escapes his mouth, and he smacks his lips. Squinting up at the morning sun, he looks around, and then slowly stumbles towards the nearby stream. A few seconds later a steady trickling sound can be heard, along with Bors whistling as he relieves himself in the stream.

Quintin eats a small breakfast in the inn and slowly makes his way out the door into the brisk morning air. He takes a deep breath as his eyes close and the sweet morning air penetrates his lungs. "What a grand day it is to remember the day of my birth. I will enjoy getting out of this town and back to the woods I so enjoy," he thinks to himself. He begins to head out of town with a small skip in his step.

After a time he approaches the area that was described and sets off the trail and into the woods. Quintin's deft eyes quickly pick up the footprints belong to what looks like half a dozen people, but consisting of 2 different groups. "Looks like the people I was looking for have company," he thinks. Following the tracks and the stream Quintin slows slightly as he begins to see where the tracks of the second group appear to separate. He looks ahead at the hill rising up in front of him and sees what looks like 3 freshly dug graves clearly visible on the hillside. The thought crosses his mind, "Not very subtle fellows." He suddenly hears some rustling and quickly takes some cover. Peering out from his cover he sees a very large man crawl out of the cave then stand and stretch with a great yawn. "What a beast of a man," Quintin thinks to himself. "If this man and his friend defeated the 3 fellows I was sent to recruit then these 2 would be far better help than the others. But I must be weary."

Quintin watches the man make his way toward the stream. He clutches his bow tightly and slowly begins to follow the man, knocking an arrow as he goes.

Silas comes out of the cave, stands up and dusts himself off. Looking around he notices Bors urinating in the stream. Shaking his head slightly he turns to look at the nearby trees.

"What I need", he thinks to himself, "would be some sturdy oak for a new door to the cave. I also need a kiln to dry the wood... i'm not waiting for a couple years for the wood to dry.... hmmm. Now where am I going to get one of those... i guess I will have to make one. I wonder if I could find some black walnut instead.. that would look nice, a bit softer but it would look nice indeed.."

Mission in mind, Silas begins walking briskly over to the creek, saw and ax in hand.

Finished with his task, Bors takes a few steps upstream, then bends down and splashes water into his face. He shivers slightly as the cold water runs down his chin, then stands up and takes a deep breath, admiring the view surrounding the hideout. Hearing a noise, he notices Silas walking towards him with his tools.

"Ah Silas, you going to start working on that door already? Well, you certainly don't waste any time." The large man pauses for a moment. "You know, I could use some exercise, let me go get an axe and I'll join you."

Walking towards Bors, Silas begins to speak,

"Aye, I've got to at least scout out some decent timber. This is going to take a while to finish, might as well start now. Plus, the sooner we secure this cave, the better me thinks. If we find something I could definitely use your strength Bors."

Suddenly over Bors' large shoulder Silas sees a figure in the distance stand slowly out of some brush. A tree to his left, the figure is still heavily concealed, and Silas cannot make out his face from this 100 foot distance, but he obviously has a bow ready to fire an arrow right at them. Then the figure speaks. "Silas and Bors. I mean you no harm. I wish to speak to you concerning some business I have that may interest you. Will you allow me to sit and speak with you in peace?"

Startled, Bors turns around quickly, getting his feet tangled up in a tree root in the process. With an audible grunt, the big man goes down in a heap. Bors quickly springs to his feet, and looks around until he locates the stranger with the bow.

"Well Silas, it appears we have a visitor, with a longbow pointed at us ... "

Bors then turns his head towards the "visitor" and raises his voice slightly.

"Stranger, if you do indeed have a business proposition for us, then put down that bow and come forward."

Quintin slowly begins walking towards them, always keeping his bow aimed in their direction. As he comes into view of the two men he begins to speak as he lowers his bow a little, still keeping the arrow knocked and the bow half drawn. "My name is Quintin. I came in search of the 3 men you dispatched to offer them work, but seeing as they are no longer available I thought the two of you might be interested in taking their place. Would you like to know more or shall I just be on my way." Quintin stops when he is about 30 feet away. He positions himself near another tree, obviously still taking up a defensive position. There he awaits their response.

Turning to look at the graves, Silas speaks."Sadly, those unfortunate souls wouldn't have been much use to you, as you can see from our lack of wounds we dispatched of them rather easily. Looking back at the mysterious man, "Now good man, please lower your weapon and step away from the tree or are you afraid I'm going to throw this saw at you? Come and sit with us, and we can discuss this job of yours. Does it pay well?"

Quintin lowers his bow as he stands straight and walks forward to stand near Bors and Silas. Quintin speaks, "My name is Quintin. I am performing this task as a service for an influential member of the nobility and while our task is secret so is our reward, but we will be rewarded all the same." While Quintin speaks the two men are able to look over the stranger that appears to have got the drop on them. Standing before them is a stout man of average height. He has dark skin, hair, and eyes. He is wearing mostly cloth, with his bow in his hands, a quiver of arrows on his back, and a dagger at his waste. "I am a trained tracker and hunter. As an act of good faith I would be willing to aid you in making this area more secretive once again. I have skills that would help hide the fresh graves on the hill, the tracks that led me here, and the entrance to the cave that you would like to keep secret. However, once I accomplish this it is necessary that we begin our journey. Are we agreed?"

After spending some time to set up the cave, the three men start off to find the miner.