A snapping sound accompanied by the rustling of bushes broke out from a spot a short distance behind the boy, yet was still loud enough for him to hear it. Without making a large scene, he lowered his left hand to grip his sword slung over his back, but the real threat was his right hand inside the rune satchel. He was frozen in his tracks, but kept facing forward. A brief moment passed with no sound; his very breath seemed like it had stopped. After the brief interval he removed his hands from his weapons and continued walking.
The surrounding forest was nothing to ogle over, but still gave a tranquil feel to the path. The road itself was a good twenty feet across. The dirt that made it up was firmly patted down from not only a number of travelers walking over it, but a great deal of carts being pulled between the towns. Unless one wished to travel along the shoreline or through the forest to the south of Seer's Village, this was the only way to travel between the fishing docks of Catherby to the market of Ardougne. Though, today, no one seemed to be doing much traveling.
From past experience in these parts, Tash knew that a troop of rogues and bandits liked to hoard this area. He had a few run-ins before with the merciless bunch having to travel around to different homes and locations scattered around the land. The last encounter he had made him believe he left quite the impression on the poor highwaymen. Making the earth beneath their feet crumble and then forcing them down into the dirt by manipulating the air pressure above their heads was sure to make them think twice before messing with him.
30-Jul-2008 06:43:51