Batisha continued...
“Hmph! Your soft heart is matched only by your soft brains. You can’t see beyond your emotions Soren. This is a time of desperation. Much can become moral at such times”
“Blaspheme not Batisha! Your greed for gold over rules your curiosity for courage. Theives we may be but we steal not from avarice. We steal from necessity! Our crimes come from good not from evil Batisha and you would do well to remember that!”
Batisha snorted...“You call me greedy and claim my ends justify my means, yet it is you who speak of crimes from good and evil. A crime is a crime Soren and your hypocrisy bears no judgement upon me. The necessity you so forcefully speak of is upon us whether you see it or not. I will not let you lead us into hunger and abject poverty. I have felt it before and I hold no fond memories of it. You have tonight Soren. Think wisely. I hope you won’t disappoint me in the morning”… Batisha turned to leave…
Compelled with rage, Soren pointed at Batisha and cried out…“Not tonight and not any other night Batisha! You can have my answer now. I hold my compassion higher than my hunger. There is nought in the world that will move me to raid that village”
Batisha spoke slowly in a cold whisper, his every syllable rung with hatred and malice…“That kind of thinking is what got us here in the first place”
*sshshing!* *Gasp!*
The sound of unsheathing followed swiftly by the murky sound of Soren gagging on blood rang clear in Tenshoujins ear. Whoever batisha was, he was clearly a talented swordsman. The blow was fatal and decisive, Tenshoujin could assess that merely from the sound of the attack. Soren did not have much time left... His voice feebly continued…
“..B..Ba…Batisha… you traitor…” … Soren coughed up more blood.
“Rest well Soren… and may you be happier in the next life..”
“..if..I.. d-die… who will lead you to the treasure?... It’s gleam is now l..lost to you f..forever..”
Batisha snorted… “I never believed in the treasure you spoke of Soren. Nothing could possibly shine as bright as you describe it…”
Tenshoujin tensed. What treasure did they speak of? Was it the gem he sought? Too much rode on chance for him to risk. He knew he had to confront these humans…Soren in particular probably held important information. He had to be questioned before it was too late. The time had come for action...
Jumping from his hiding spot, Tenshoujin made an inhuman leap to the clearing fully intent on gaining the upper hand through surprise. With a stunning blast Tenshoujin landed in front of Batisha and bared his red eyes on him.
Batisha barely flinched.
He merely looked peacefully at Tenshoujin as though welcoming a guest…. It was Tenshoujin’s turn to be surprised. What was going on? This human may be talented but an ambush like this caused reaction in even the most courageous of men. The only way the man could stay passive was if…. No! that was impossible! This had to be an ambush. There was no way the man could have known about him before. Tenshoujin didn’t want to believe it.
He kept a passive face and surveyed Batisha. There was more to this man than met the eye. It would not bode well to underestimate him.
Batisha smiled. “Welcome stranger! You’ve arrived at a most opportune moment. For a while now I have been pondering the means of my comrade’s murder. You see, his life has always been easy to take, my tracks have been the difficult ones to cover.”
Tenshoujin still remained silent.
Batisha hurled the sword toward Tenshoujin. His dragon vision easily saw the trajectory of the sword. He caught it deftly with his right hand without moving an inch.
Batisha continued.. “Oh! Impressive reflexes. There is no-one in my ranks that could have done that and I have some of the finest men in the land. Clearly you are not ordinary…”
Batisha squinted into the darkness boring into Tenshoujin’s red eyes. “Interesting... what are you? You have sharp features. Are you an elf?”
Tenshoujin didn’t respond…
“A mute elf then?” Batisha laughed to himself “It matters not. With your adroit reflexes you’ve now got the murder weapon in your hands. All that’s left to complete this sorry charade is to cry for… HELP!”.
Without warning Batisha yelled the last word into the night calling for reinforcements. Within moments a dozen well built fighters appeared at the scene from all directions. They wore black armour with a silver crescent etched on their shoulders. They were warriors by the look of them…