Arkisz stooped to avoid a low-hanging branch as the party approached the end of their relatively short trek, marked by the appearance of the dilapidated tower previously described to them by the town elders. His eyes, like the rest of the party, scanned the scene before him as thoroughly as they could from such a distance. It was somewhat of an odd situation they had come to face, or at least it appeared so -- had these individuals been bandits hoping to ambush mercantile wagons, they would have probably hidden themselves better - or if they had hoped to set an attack to pillage the town, one would think they'd have done so before being noticed - or at least, this was as far as Arkisz could reason. Truth be told, the whole affair had an air of concern to it, moreso than one might normally feel.

Nevertheless, the Vedalken watched on as one of his companions, Aura, sent forward her familiar to acquire a better view in nonchalant fashion. His brow furrowed as she relayed what the bird saw, the lot of them crouched in the cover beneath the trees. A worrisome scenario indeed. He listened to the thoughts of his fellow travelers as his eyes once again searched, following along any other treelines in sight to ensure there wasn't further threat lurking nearby - but it seemed they had enough on their plate as-is with the tower seemingly full of hostile individuals. His eyes turned back to the hushed planning.

"Hmm. It is indeed odd that they are expecting our approach. Perhaps a forward scout had been set up outside the town and avoided our detection. In any event...the span between us and them may be rather difficult to creep through without detection - it is quite open." He spared a look at the rest of the party, as if to measure how prepared they seemed to fight. "While it may seem a somewhat simple solution, a surprise attack could be effective. My ability to deliver at range is not the greatest, but I can manage if this is the path we choose - albeit I am not sure if there are many other options." He concluded, his steady voice simply neutral and informative as he did so. He watched the faces of his comrades to gauge their reaction to Aura's plan in the meantime.

It was quickly that a plan was decided upon, and even quicker that it was executed. Arkisz was content to listen through the musings of his comrades, finding Rala's approach rather agreeable - they did indeed have the upper hand, or at least it seemed so. Taking one alive wouldn't be the worst idea. Most people, even if bandits, could usually be reasoned with if given-

The thought itself was interrupted by the swiftness of the attack. Rala had readied her shortbow and loosed an arrow in but a second or two, the projectile launching forward at one of the bandit guards. As Arkisz's eyes followed and he began to shift his focus to the components of a spell, his eyes flicked to Aura, who had already begun casting. It was a swift follow-up to the arrow as three beams of searing energy shot forth and struck one of the guards only but a second or so after the first was struck by Rala's arrow.

The Vedalken lowered his hand, seeing as though an additional attack was now unneeded. He glanced at the two of his companions in what one could only assume was the equivalent to a silent nod of admiration. "Well then. Nicely done." In other circumstances, it would've been more like him to question the outright brutality with which the guards were dispatched - but these bandits had shown previously that they were ready to kill innocent people themselves, so the thought stayed itself on its own. The stillness that followed the attack was short-lived as a figure popped its head out of the tower door before quickly disappearing inside once again.

"Unfortunate timing."

Arkisz began moving from his spot in the treeline as the figure disappeared from view, their advantage of surprise clearly no longer in place. He drew a fine-looking Bastard sword from a scabbard resting on his left hip as he increased his pace to a fast jog. His head turned, sparing a glance behind him to make sure his companions followed, even though they assuredly would. The more time they allotted these 'bandits' to prepare and/or barricade themselves in, the worse.

As he drew closer to the tower he would focus again, remembering the procedures for casting this particular spell easily. His unoccupied hand would draw a motion and the spell would activate, allowing him to Detect Magic within 30 feet, which he measured the height of the tower to be, roughly. He would then shift his hand to slip the shield from his back, gripping it readily as he approached. Although the spell may not be entirely necessary, something odd was going on, and any heads-up as to nearby magic would be welcomed in his eyes.