Day 32 of Fall 515AV
The clouds hung overhead threateningly, a dark grey that blocked the sun. They were huge, those clouds, and though fluffy looking, their color did not bode well for the weather the coming days. If this had been an ordinary Fall season, Brandon would have put his money on heavy rain coming down somewhere in the near future, but this time around... Snow, he thought, definitely snow. Usually, if anyone told him at the start of Fall that it would be snowing the coming days, Brandon would have laughed, but not now. It had snowed already after all, and it was colder than usual.
He sighed deeply, feeling the fresh mountain air flow through his nostrils and fill his lungs. Snapping out of his thoughts, the bat shifted his gaze back to the surface instead of the sky, then starting to walk again. As per usual around Wind Reach, the terrain was difficult to traverse, steep slopes alternating flatter surfaces, though all were rocky, and riddled with indentations and bumps. Even for someone well versed in the ways of keeping once balance, the underground proved to be hard to battle. Despite the efforts of the terrain, Brandon wasn't easily tripped, and he was able to cross to the hut he'd been looking for.
A wooden construct far larger than the bat had been expecting, the Greco Hut laid before him, sitting at the foot of the mountain the Inarta called home. Took far longer than it should have, the Kelvic grumbled in his mind, knowing fully well it was his own fault for walking too far onto the Sanikas Road, lost in thought. Ah well, it was a good stroll; he'd done far too few of those lately. Out in the open air, with only the sky above his head... A gloved hand came up to rub his brow; this was why he needed more of these strolls, he'd be less distracted.
Focusing, the thief stepped onto the porch, ears catching the almost-quiet creak of the protesting wood. Brandon frowned, one hand on the knob of the door. For all the information he'd been given when asking how to get to this place, the bat did not know what was waiting beyond. He had however picked up on some rumors. Gossip that told about the resident of the Hut laying in ambush while waiting for his students to enter. Whether that was more than just a rumor or not was yet to be seen of course, but the bat had spotted some windows embedded in the walls, so it was possible the so-called master swordsman had seen him coming. Hmmm. What to do? Brandon's breathing was becoming faster, his heart starting to beat more violently. The hand on the knob was starting to sweat. This feeling...! One of the rare moments he'd felt this in Wind Reach, even though it wasn't even close to the real deal. Still though, to feel this kind of thrill again... It was different though, it was more oriented towards self-preservation and less towards trespassing. Still, it felt good.
What do I do? he wondered, eyes having confirmed the door opened inwards. Logical too, a door that opened to the outside was a bad place for an ambush. If someone opened a door that opened to the inside, they usually stepped right into the room at the same time as they opened the door. When you had to pull the door open though, you did not, thus getting a view of what laid beyond. But, was someone really laying in wait here? Brandon frowned, not hearing any breathing over his own. Holding it in did not help much, as it was now his own heartbeat getting in the way. I need more practice.
Obviously, there was another way to uncover the truth here; peeking through the windows. Naturally, the one closest to the door wouldn't do at all, so another had to do the job. Relinquishing his hold of the knob, Brandon lowered his center of gravity, crouching to get around more quietly. True, that wouldn't have been necessary at all; he could just have walked around -even if he was just as loud as an ordinary person- throw a glance through the window and be sure once and for all. But Brandon was enjoying this way too much. He wanted to see through the ambush -if there was one- in a stealthy fashion. The swordsman did not need to know he had walked around the Hut. For all he cared the man was allowed to believe he'd been standing there the whole time. This was a challenge, a game to outwit the other.
Moving quite swiftly while crouching, the bat quietly made his way to another side of the Hut, easily finding another window to peek through. Silently he moved his face to the side until one eye had reached the glass, glancing inside. The inside of the Hut was surprisingly unique, though not really worth his valuable time. The area around the door was though, and there was indeed someone there, eyes fixed on the doorway, back pressed into the wall, some sort of long staff in hand. An ambush it was, good old caution always paid off. Well then, Brandon grinned as he removed himself from the glass, being careful to stay out of view, now it was time to come up with some countermeasures for that swordsman. How to avoid being caught into the trap was easy, but the question was what to do next...
The clouds hung overhead threateningly, a dark grey that blocked the sun. They were huge, those clouds, and though fluffy looking, their color did not bode well for the weather the coming days. If this had been an ordinary Fall season, Brandon would have put his money on heavy rain coming down somewhere in the near future, but this time around... Snow, he thought, definitely snow. Usually, if anyone told him at the start of Fall that it would be snowing the coming days, Brandon would have laughed, but not now. It had snowed already after all, and it was colder than usual.
He sighed deeply, feeling the fresh mountain air flow through his nostrils and fill his lungs. Snapping out of his thoughts, the bat shifted his gaze back to the surface instead of the sky, then starting to walk again. As per usual around Wind Reach, the terrain was difficult to traverse, steep slopes alternating flatter surfaces, though all were rocky, and riddled with indentations and bumps. Even for someone well versed in the ways of keeping once balance, the underground proved to be hard to battle. Despite the efforts of the terrain, Brandon wasn't easily tripped, and he was able to cross to the hut he'd been looking for.
A wooden construct far larger than the bat had been expecting, the Greco Hut laid before him, sitting at the foot of the mountain the Inarta called home. Took far longer than it should have, the Kelvic grumbled in his mind, knowing fully well it was his own fault for walking too far onto the Sanikas Road, lost in thought. Ah well, it was a good stroll; he'd done far too few of those lately. Out in the open air, with only the sky above his head... A gloved hand came up to rub his brow; this was why he needed more of these strolls, he'd be less distracted.
Focusing, the thief stepped onto the porch, ears catching the almost-quiet creak of the protesting wood. Brandon frowned, one hand on the knob of the door. For all the information he'd been given when asking how to get to this place, the bat did not know what was waiting beyond. He had however picked up on some rumors. Gossip that told about the resident of the Hut laying in ambush while waiting for his students to enter. Whether that was more than just a rumor or not was yet to be seen of course, but the bat had spotted some windows embedded in the walls, so it was possible the so-called master swordsman had seen him coming. Hmmm. What to do? Brandon's breathing was becoming faster, his heart starting to beat more violently. The hand on the knob was starting to sweat. This feeling...! One of the rare moments he'd felt this in Wind Reach, even though it wasn't even close to the real deal. Still though, to feel this kind of thrill again... It was different though, it was more oriented towards self-preservation and less towards trespassing. Still, it felt good.
What do I do? he wondered, eyes having confirmed the door opened inwards. Logical too, a door that opened to the outside was a bad place for an ambush. If someone opened a door that opened to the inside, they usually stepped right into the room at the same time as they opened the door. When you had to pull the door open though, you did not, thus getting a view of what laid beyond. But, was someone really laying in wait here? Brandon frowned, not hearing any breathing over his own. Holding it in did not help much, as it was now his own heartbeat getting in the way. I need more practice.
Obviously, there was another way to uncover the truth here; peeking through the windows. Naturally, the one closest to the door wouldn't do at all, so another had to do the job. Relinquishing his hold of the knob, Brandon lowered his center of gravity, crouching to get around more quietly. True, that wouldn't have been necessary at all; he could just have walked around -even if he was just as loud as an ordinary person- throw a glance through the window and be sure once and for all. But Brandon was enjoying this way too much. He wanted to see through the ambush -if there was one- in a stealthy fashion. The swordsman did not need to know he had walked around the Hut. For all he cared the man was allowed to believe he'd been standing there the whole time. This was a challenge, a game to outwit the other.
Moving quite swiftly while crouching, the bat quietly made his way to another side of the Hut, easily finding another window to peek through. Silently he moved his face to the side until one eye had reached the glass, glancing inside. The inside of the Hut was surprisingly unique, though not really worth his valuable time. The area around the door was though, and there was indeed someone there, eyes fixed on the doorway, back pressed into the wall, some sort of long staff in hand. An ambush it was, good old caution always paid off. Well then, Brandon grinned as he removed himself from the glass, being careful to stay out of view, now it was time to come up with some countermeasures for that swordsman. How to avoid being caught into the trap was easy, but the question was what to do next...
