Happy Monday!

The blue-eyed boy frowned thoughtfully at the backs of the dwarves in front of him. On the outside he seemed woefully ignorant of all that was going on around him. By this stage of the game, however, it was safe to say that this was only an act. While he wasn't just another kid from the country, he wasn't some city kid either. His family had moved around a bit early on. He'd spent far too much time in places like Big Bear, California and Seneca Rocks, West Virginia. In fairness, he didn't know a little bit about surviving in the desert, but it was more theory than something he was sure of.

The past was the past, but some lessons stuck with you. Like noticing things. They had barely traveled anywhere... No more than fifteen minutes from that cave, walking along some kind of game trail, when Ian noticed that the birds weren't singing. Come to that... aside from the dwarves and Sunny, he didn't hear any noises at all. He didn't really trust his companions, but they did have a reason to get him home, theoretically. On the other hand, there might indeed have been something in the area. Did he owe it to them to tell them?

Sunny was looking at him oddly, opening her mouth to ask him something when the choice was decided for him. Before his brain even explained why he was doing it, he pretended to trip and fell, an arrow flying from out of the trees. It came so close that the boy felt the wind from the arrow graze him in passing. Worse, now the boy was on the ground and the next best thing to defenseless while an archer was trying to kill him. He rolled to his right and, upon hearing the thunk hit the ground he'd just been at, moved to put himself between the dwarves and the assailant.

"Wh-what's happening?" he asked, not even having to act to show how afraid he was. He ducked again, though there was no arrow this time, and half ran forward to put a tree between himself and his putative assassin.

"These arrows... It can't be!" Rokal exclaimed, looking around sharply. The fact that only the boy was a target was rather obvious by now. "Lad, get back over here, the assassin is on the move! Hurry!"

Yeah right, except a dead body might serve their purposes better than a living one if he were killed in the right way. Come to that, if they could prove they'd tried their hardest they might even make a more convincing argument to daddy dearest when sending the army to obliterate the elves or the goblins or whomever else the dwarves wanted taken out. Still, that remark had Ian on the move, crouching low and running from tree to tree, trying his best to alternate his footing, speed, and direction.

There was the sound of footsteps... behind him, just there! Before he could turn, he felt the hardened body of a woman as she slammed into him, forcing him to the ground. Just in time, too, as there was another thwack from above him as an arrow hit the tree near his head. He was grabbed and hauled around the tree by a very angry looking Sunny. There wasn't time to speak just yet, though, and after a few seconds she dragged him toward the dwarves once more. There was a pause before he moved on his own to run that way and yet another arrow nearly hit him.

"How many shots does that lunatic have!" he shouted, exasperated.

"Less talking, more moving," the girl replied, grumpily.

It was then when he heard a familiar sound. It was like a... clop-clop, clop-clop, clop-clop. Hmm... It sounded like the noise made when clinking coconut shells together, or... "Horses!" he called out loudly, finally realizing it. "Keep your eyes open!"

"No, really?" a sarcastic voice replied, "I thought I might close my eyes and enjoy the rutting sunshine for awhile!"

"Wow, someone's feeling grumpy," the boy replied breathlessly, just a bit on the flippant side considering that someone was trying to kill him. "That archer is going to run out of arrows eventually, right? So what do we do now?"

"Now, you keep your fool head down, and wait," the grumpy one replied, sounding more annoyed than grumpy really.

"Hey, you need to be nice to me. I mean it. I have a slap in my pocket with your name on it. Hell, I've got slaps for everyone!"

"Will you shut up already!"

"Do you annoy every woman you run across?" Rokal interjected, curiously.

"Just this one," came Ian's glib reply, "It's a gift, really."

Either nobody had time to form a reply, or they all rose above the need to do so. Regardless, it was noteworthy that the arrows weren't being shot at him anymore. Interesting... "So erm... Should we hide? I can't imagine whomever is on those horses is going to be happy to see an armed group of folks with their weapons out and begging to hit something."

"Ah..." Sheepish looks were passed, "The archer seems to be gone, I suppose. I mean, you'd have been killed by now if not. Right, we hide until we know the situation better!" Thus saying, the party split apart, headed for the trees. Ironically, Ian was dragged even further away from where the elf seemed to have been, then was pushed face-down into a little ditch with some thorny looking bushes just a few inches in front of his eyes. Well, he didn't want to look anyway.

The sound of hooves came closer, though there was no conversation. He tried turning his head and moving just a little to at least get a slightly better view of the group, though he'd only see their backs from this angle. Judging from the sound, the horses were armored as well as the people on them. With every clop-clop he also heard the musical sound of steel chain on steel chain. His guess was confirmed soon enough as the strange group finally entered his view.

There were maybe six men on horses... At a guess they were humans, each wearing nothing heavier than chainmail, though two were clad in leather armor. The leather armored men had longbows in hand and full quivers of arrows on their right hips. They also each wore a sword on their back and, it was hard to tell, possibly a dagger on their far hip.

The men kitted out in chain had their shields in hand and helmets on their saddles. There was a great sword on their back, though he wasn't sure what kind it was at a glance, a longsword on the one hip and a dagger on the other. Their heads were moving constantly, obviously searching for something but... if they failed to find a dozen freaking dwarves and a pair of humans that were almost literally in their path, then they were unlikely to find anything else.

How much of this was coincidence by this point? It didn't seem like the dwarves were trying to get him killed, though the jury wasn't out on that yet. By the same token, it wasn't like he could really trust them either. What to do... He shrugged mentally and prepared to rise, only to feel Sunny push a little more firmly. What, not done yet? He finally noticed the others were still in hiding as well... come to that, in spite of the small patrol passing by he was hearing that sound increase...

"She can't be much further," a man shouted and several dogs barked. Wait, dogs? Oh snap, they might be in serious trouble here! "Her trail's pretty warm! Look there, an arrow! Looks like she missed whatever she was aiming at. Eleanna Shalia Steelleaf herself missed a shot! Maybe she's getting old."

As the patrol was passing the party, another said carelessly, "Or she's setting up another ambush. Have we heard from the vanguard recently?"

There was a startled exclamation, then, "Right then, men! Move it up on the double!" was shouted and the dogs whom were, finally, starting to sniff curiously toward the tree line ran to keep up with their masters. Another lucky break? Come on, that's just pushing it.

He waited, counting to sixty, before trying to rise again... and Sunny let him. He looked at the others, frowning, as he said aloud, "Hey... so isn't this supposed to be a game trail in the back of beyond? Or did I miss something?"

"Well, it's true that it isn't well known... It's unusual to see anyone else out this way and I'm hard pressed to say whom those men served. I didn't recognize their standard. Maybe it wouldn't be the best thing, sticking around here for too long."

"Is that right?" Ian asked, frowning. "Right then," he said briskly, clapping his hands together. "Let's move right along then, shall we?"