israa nilas ; waking sea ranger (israa) wrote in thedas, @ 2010-01-08 14:36:00 |
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Fall in Ferelden was one of the many reasons Israa enjoyed her patrol route. Seeing the she-bears and their cubs fattening up for the winter made her feel as sentimental as she'd ever admit to anyone. The smell of dried leaves, especially near water, was to her more invigorating than a warm spring rain. True, the crunchy foliage often gave her away, but her skill was reaching the point where it had become easier to avoid making more noise than was expected of the animals that lived there. That and more made her a little sad to be leaving the water's edge, but she needed to start heading north again, back toward the bannorn. Her errand had taken her further south and normal, mostly due to her investigation of the growing number of bandits on the road. It was rare that she ever actually traveled on the road - it seemed like a silly idea since her job was to watch, not to be seen. Besides, none of them ever seemed wise enough to keep watch off of the road, so it made picking them off much easier. Sure, she knew that there were some innocents forced by desperation to join up with the wrong crowd, but it was their own fault for not finding better means to get by. Most of them were amateurs, anyway. It was rare that she ever ran into a well trained mercenary. Most laid traps were shotty at best, not that she was complaining. It allowed her to collect material to set up her own traps in places that suited her needs. As far as she could see it, that, and some good target practice, was all these bandits were good for. Just as she'd come past the Imperial Highway, she spotted a broken down wagon, that, from her angle, looked to be abandoned. There was no doubt in her mind that this was a trap, and she assumed that there may have been some helpless looking woman sitting on the other side to get some bleeding heart traveler's attention, and trick them into getting jumped. So bold, these bandits must have been, to set up such a trap just off of the Highway. Sure, it was a busy road, and they would have made great profit, but many of the travelers were nobles and their knights, who, if trained properly, would have been an uneven match against a few not-so-average thieves. Wanting a better look at the situation ahead of her, Israa carefully moved just a bit north along the road, doing her best to keep out of sight and earshot. As she came around, she caught a glimpse of a woman and her dog. Just a variation on a classic. It was hard for her to not immediately judge. The woman was far swarthier than any Ferelden, and she wasn't dressed in anything more than what Israa was wearing, herself. There were clumsily laid traps surrounding her, as well as up and down the road. If she set them, she certainly had no idea what she was doing. As she got a bit closer, she could tell that the dog was very much aware of her presence, but the woman didn't seem like she was too worried about what he was interested in. Continuing to process the situation, Israa weighed her options. She could have just shot them both there, but it was likely that there were at least three more bandits hiding somewhere around them. She could move around and walk up the road, spring the trap and face them all at once with a little help from a foresty friend. Or she could fire a warning shot, just to see how she reacts. Deciding on the later, Israa carefully aimed her shot at one of the claw traps near the wagon, and took a deep breath. She knew that the instant she loosed that arrowed, there was going to be some sort of consequence. Whether or not she was ready for it didn't matter, because the trap had snapped, and waiting for the rest of the dominoes to fall, even in that slim second, was making her antsy. |