After a bit of tending, Flake got a tinder fire going and added larger pieces of wood, hoping the logs would catch fire soon enough. Once he figured that the fire was large enough, Flake grabbed his spear and the padlock for the door. He rose from his place in front of the fire and walked over to the door with the two items in hand. He calmly locked and bolted the door, then returned to the fire, sitting on a chair a few feet from the fire. As Raine started to speak, Flake rested the spear against the back of the chair and adjusted his robe to a more comfortable arrangement. His only response to the assassin’s initial statement was a slight nod, even though she was not looking.

As the assassin continued, the bounty hunter closed his eyes and attempted to reenact the scenes which she described. After she was finished talking, ending her brief monologue by searching her figure for unusual objects, Flake opened his eyes once again and looked over to her, reaching into a pocket in his robe. “I found this map and this key on the ground between our beds when I woke up,” he answered, holding out the map and key for his ally’s inspection, “the map was edited by my ‘friend,’ but it seems to be from the prison medic, originally.”

After the two items left his hands, Flake continued, “there are enough supplies inside the house to last us a week, but there is a river West of here and plenty of deer.” After waiting for a brief comment by the assassin, Flake proposed, “I’d wager that two days are enough for us to sneak through the prison and recollect our belongings, but we should scout out the castle and prepare ourselves before assaulting your uncle. The poison will only take a day or two to wear off, but we will not be primed for extended combat until next week.”

The bounty hunter paused, then rose from his seat and placed another log into the fire. He determined that the wood in the fireplace would last well into the evening, so he organized the tinder on top of the extra lumber, then returned to his seat once more, listening to the assassin all the while. Once he was seated again, he closed his eyes and relaxed, a hint of impatience on his expression. [i]I said that we should rest, but I am going to need to keep myself occupied if I am going to put up with staying in this building for more than a day,[/i] he thought, balancing the prospect of scout detection and the benefits of training.