Orup nodded agreeably, examining the campsite that Rua had picked out. The boy certainly had a knack for it, he'd happily admit; most of the nights he'd spent out here were in trees or familiar spots and villages. Walking into the center of the camp, the short, heavy-set man finally unmounted the enormous pack from his shoulders, setting it down with a heavy thud.
"This should be great, boy," he said excitedly, rummaging through his pack for a moment before pulling out a completely ordinary looking stick. "I'll set the wards, and we'll get straight to dinner!"
---
Shepard remained silent for a long while, but Elle'n waited for him until he spoke. It seemed they had something of an accord, though she was still wary of the game he played.
"He fancies himself in total control," she replied honestly, though it was, perhaps, with a catch now. She had underestimated Pius, and it had cost her dearly. She wasn't afraid of him, but the man wielded more power than most suspected, and the only reservation he had on her life was tenuous at best--no more than a pesky rule just looking for a reason to be broken. It gave them no real advantage.
"It seems we're left with only one option, then," Elle'n concluded, after a long pause of her own. "We kill Pius."
---
"Do I look all right?" Skild snarled in return, though the bite was leaving his voice under waves of self-pity. Woe was he. The greatest rooftop runner to ever roam Thebas reduced to nothing by one stupid, pesky, idiotic word. If he ever got his hands on that voice in his head...
But he still had one hope left. So the girl couldn't die--fine! Killing was for Korresh, but what Skild desired was that mask. More importantly, he wanted to know where it came from. Only, it would be so much easier if he could just ring the answer out of her throat and toss her to a grave! A sob crept up into his throat, but he struck it down fervently.
Pull yourself together!
Clambering to his feet, Skild sniffled something that was certainly not snot back inside his nose, planting his hands on his feet and looking at this girl--Branwyn?--for the first real time. So she'd tricked him. Fine. He could be tricky too.
"I'll help you with... whatever stupid thing you're here to do, but you have to help me too," he said at last, peering at her carefully, as if he hadn't been moaning uselessly on the ground only a minute ago. No no, that was then. This was now! And that mask. That was next.