Chapter 4: A Few Hours of Sleep...
She hesitated for a moment, obviously contemplating the best course of action. So, I took this time to study her, starting from her feet upwards. Her feet were covered with nothing but a set of bandages wrapped around them. Those bandages wrapped clear up her shin overlapping a pair of stretched fabric leggings of a sort. They were tattered but obviously worn for agility and comfort. She wore a trenchcoat of sorts on her torso that covered her arms with long sleeves. She wore an assassins hood, which covered her head. The lower half of her face was masked with a white bandage that was very tight. All I could see under the hood were her eyes near gleaming with pleasure. Her eyes were a Cobalt blue that shone bright in the firelight. Her outfit fit into only one category, that of an assassin. Her melee weapon was a Haladie*, but her long range caught my attention. It looked similar to a garrote* but it had a blade at each end. The elastic rope that connected the two was made just for maximum reach.
When I finally quit inspecting her, I noticed she was staring at me with an intense gaze. I gave her a hard look and spoke once again.
"I don't know what you were doing clear out here in the woods to bother me while I slept but I would like to get back to sleep. I have a long way to go to Farandar and only a little time to get there. So, would you like to stay and have some food and water? I have some fresh rabbit jerky I made just tonight. I also have a little bit of water as well if your thirsty. You are also welcome to stay and sleep as well if you would like. As long as you don't try to kill me in my sleep. Or are you going to leave anytime soon?" I watched as she pondered my offer.
After a few moments I could see it in her eyes that she had come to a conclusion. " If you would be willing to allow me to stay at your camp for the night, I can't refuse it. It has been far too many a day since I last slept or ate. I promise I won't try to kill you after this show of kindness. Thank you." She threw a look my way and lowered her haladie. She strode towards me with a defensive but confident posture. She came to a halt a few feet away and asked me one question. "May I have some of your food and water please?" That was all I heard from her all night. I ran over to my bag and grabbed her a handful of rabbit jerky and my water bottle which I had just filled with fresh water from a nearby stream, only hours before.
I returned to see that she had fixed my bed and was trying to start the fire up once again. I crouched beside her and handed her the jerky and water. "I can light the fire. Just work on filling up. You might also want to find somewhere nearby to sleep. Unfortunately I only have one sleeping bag, which I am currently using. I apologize." Standing, I recited a spell and cast an orb of flame onto the burned logs that I had cut earlier. She cast a glance at me, with what could have been thousands of questions just asking to be answered. Feeling generous, I began explaining. "I am a battle mage, so I have fire as a power among others." She looked away as understanding rippled across her face. Deciding it was time to get back to sleep as my eyelids began to droop, I asked her if she was good. "Hey, are you good for the night? I need to get a couple more hours of sleep so, yeah." She merely nodded and stood up. I laid down in my sleeping bag and tried to fall asleep but I couldn't seem to get drift off. So I rolled over and watched the girl. She walked to the end of the clearing and whipped out her garrote-like weapon. Whirling it around her arm, she turned to a tree branch and threw the dagger at the branch. The rope wrapped around the branch and she yanked the cord. The dagger cut right through the branch, yanking the cord to the ground. I decided to call the weapon a garrote at that point because I couldn't think of it's proper name. As I made this decision, she walked over to the branch and whipped out two pairs of Haladies. One was Ivory, and the other was black, most likely Ebony. She whipped them around a couple times and the next thing I knew the branch fell into pieces, just like that. I watched as she gathered the logs in her arms and she walked to the fire to throw them in. I closed my eyes as she looked my way. I heard a rustle and opened my eyes. She was in front of a tree. She crouched and did a flip onto the lowest branch. She grabbed onto the next branch and swung herself onto it. There, she laid back against the tree and let a leg dangle. I seen her look at the sky then lower her head. I watched her body go slack from sleep and decided that she wasn't that bad of a person. I then made a mental note to never get in a full on battle with her. Or annoy her. With that thought, I slipped into a peaceful slumber.
* For those unaware of what a haladie is, it is a melee weapon that often has three daggers embedded in a handle. One at the left, one at the right, and occasionally one that protrudes from the knuckle area of the handle.
** Also, a garrote is a basically a rope or cord that is used for strangulation, however in this case, it is a flexible blade. Thin but sturdy as well.