The sun was descending in the sky and Aldrian figured there was a half-hour of day light left. The half-elf Ranger had come to the port city Truian in hope of collecting a bounty on some particularly nasty giants thirty miles north of the city, in the Grey Mountains. There hadn’t been one, and so the Ranger had no choice but to find another contract.

Unfortunately for Aldrian there hadn’t been any of the traditional contracts that he was used to taking on, it seemed the beasts and monsters of the north were content to stay silent. It was no surprise to Aldrian of course, things tended to slow down when winter was nearing. So he had to find an alternate means of collecting coin and decided on the next closest thing to killing creatures in the wilderness, hunting them in the city.

His target was a young women by the name of Tanya and his goal was to bring her in alive. She was wanted for theft after all, a crime that didn’t normally carry a punishment as severe as death, though, he figured she may get a finger or hand removed. The thought didn’t really bother him though, justice has to be followed.

Aldrian found himself near the docks of Truian. He had tracked down through means of intimidation and administering a few beatings and a couple bribes. It was a different sort of tracking than what the Ranger was use too, but it was no less effective in its end result. He stood on Port Street, which ran parallel with the docks, there were several taverns in the area and the cloaked man, leading his horse, looked between two that he could see, deciding which to continue his search in.

Tanya flicked another coin, sending it into a spin. Idleness didn't suit her, but it was a necessary evil. She figured a lady with her looks would often have to fend off meatheads and would be Casanundas in this part of Truian, and she hoped to hell and back that somebody, anybody, would try something. She drummed her fingers on the rough wooden tabletop, not a single delinqent in sight. Nah, it seemed that even dockside vagrants had heard of the girl with the snake tattoo. She briefly considered her half finished beer, and peered out of the window into the darkening streets.

A man stood quietly near the edge of the street-- that in itself was a bit of an event. Traffic doesn't stop in this part of Truian, especially not towards sundown, and Tanya wondered to herself if this was the contact Gaunt had been referring to. Somehow, she doubted it. Maybe it had something to do with that bigass bow he had strapped to his back, but there was something about the way he stood that just kinda put her on edge. It was... determination. Yeah. She'd seen cops get like that once in a blue moon, wouldn't stop chasing for fuggin anything. Tanya exhaled, her nostrils flaring, and rose from the bench. She'd learned that when people get like that, it's better to nip 'em in the bud, sort them out while you're fresh so you don't have to do your running later. As she strode to the doorway of the bar, she figured it was time to start counting coup.

She pushed her way out into the rank smell of fish and sweat, gambling and disease and dirty life. Her eyes narrowed as she watched her mark, a hooded man standing pensively with horse-- of course he'd notice, only a matter of seconds. Enough time for her to light up a cigarette, lean on the wall with a more or less sort of expression. Oh yeah, she was weeell aware that she had a bounty on her head. That said, the hood from outta town probably wouldn't make his move here; while collecting a body was all well and good, the powers-that-be in Truian generally frowned upon shooting people down in the the street, criminal or not. Disturbing the peace, public battery, assault with a deadly weapon. Tanya's fingers made their way to the nape of her neck-- she was something of an expert in legal matters. At any rate, Gaunt's job would have to wait. Tanya had found some entertainment for the moment, and once she was sure he'd caught her, she'd bleed into the alley next to the bar. The ranger would find the shadows waiting for him.

Aldrian remained where he was standing as people move around him and onlookers raised a brow at his actions. He now remembered why he didn’t often visit the bigger cities like this. He stood out like a sore thumb among the common populace. He also hated that his normal method of tracking was all but useless on these cobble stone streets, looking between the two taverns he knew that one was likely as good as the other, yet he waited.

Be it dumb luck or something else Aldrians keen almond shaped eyes caught a flicker of light and he was drawn to a women leaning against the building, staring at him. His mark. She had spotted him before he spotted her, which in itself was not something the Ranger was not accustom to. That single look told Aldrian all he needed to know; she knew what he was here for, and she had no intention of running. With no particular rush Aldrian took the longbow off his back and knocked an arrow, his eyes remaining on his target the entire time.

That action in itself was enough to draw the eyes of the civilians around him. His eyes found no difficulty in seeing through the darkness of the alley, he could see his target as easy as he had before, a trait from his elven-blood. He brought his weapon to eye-sight, knocked, drew and released his arrow in one movement. His skill was evident as he hadn’t even taken a moment to line up the shot, yet it would find its way through the crowd and aimed directly at his quarry’s heart.

A scream went up around him, a shout of alarm really, but he paid it no head. His use of his longbow did not go unnoticed by those around him. Still, as long as he still had sight on his opponent he would knock and draw another broadhead arrow from his quiver and then start walking forward, people scattering before him and out of his way.

There. C'mon then, let's see what you're made of. As soon as this bloodhound seemed to catch her scent, Tanya made a beeline for the alleyway between the two bars. She stepped quickly and carefully into cover, blending in with the crowd to bait the new kid into the bad part of town, except...

Is he..? No, shit, no!

Tanya dove to the ground as an arrow whizzed overhead and buried itself in the wall ahead of her. Okay, this guy wasn't just determined, he was actually insane! Tanya scrambled to her feet, pulling scattering bystanders into the line of fire as ahe ducked low and ran for dear life. Okay, so this bounty hunter could see in the dark, no big deal. This just meant that Tanya had to move. Fast.

Tanya ducked low and pressed her hand to her chest, the Feather of Innocence sprouting behind her. As the ranger had proven earlier, he was willing and able to shoot through the crowd. At this point, Tanya was desperately weaving through and between other fleeing citizens, trying to keep the heat off by keeping as many between her and the bow as possible. All she needed to do was get to the end of the alley. There was a fire escape to the right that could serve as the first steps of an escape.

Sbe wasn't gonna make it. That is, not without taking the chance on another two or three arrows with her name on it-- pretty good odds between professionals really. There wasn't much hope for jumping up between the walls if the hunter could lead his targets, so she did what anybody else would do and snagged a little beggar passing by! She wrinkled her nose at the street urchin as the kid struggled and bit, its long, matted hair making it impossible to tell its sex. In any case, Tanya's wrapped her arm around its neck and pressed her Quill meaningfully against the small of its back, dragging it back. This way, most of Tanya's vitals were covered as she peeked over the kid's shoulder. It wasn't a sure thing, but her chances getting to the end of the alleyway were a lot better, especially with the boost of speed her Feather would provide. She prayed to the gods it'd be enough.