Amal laughed, though not loudly. He admired her carefree attitude in such a dangerous situation. He was used to being cavalier in dire circumstances, but as a thief he was also someone who appreciated the act of taking an escape route while it was available to them. Still, he managed to rummage for a few more choice cuts of beef jerky before he took her hand and helped her forward. 

"You'll see better at the trees, and night is not far off." He temporized to her. Despite himself, he found her discomfort something he wanted to alleviate. When she was annoyed it reminded him of a pit viper, and somehow that was not off-putting. And truth be told, if he was smart he would simply kill her now, as they had made it out of the caverns and into freedom. But he found he did not do the smart thing, and somehow he felt neither would she. 
[hr] 

[h2]Chapter 1: The Bloodstone Lands[/h2] 

[hr] 

Amal whistled appreciatively, and for once it wasn't at Charynrae's backside. 

On the small hill at the cusp of a miserable little dell, they had finally spied civilization past a copse of trees. It wasn't a hut or a cabin, or a guard tower to watch over the ruined lands of Vaasa. Instead, it was a massive wall that had dammed a pass between the Galena mountains that had loomed over the horizon for most of their trek. From southwest to northeast, the wall stood like an impenatrable bulwark, and Amal honestly did not know how an army could conceivable assail it. 

"It looks a half a mile wide, and sixty feet in height." He breathed, for once putting on a professional air. Amal was quite good at ascertaining the length and breadth of structures, as he had been required to scale them more often than not. His sharp eyes could only see a handful of men, however. Well-armed men, but still. If he had to guess there was less than a thousand to guard the entirety of the vast structure. 

The white wind of Vaasa suddenly picked up, ruffling his dark locks and sending another chill down his spine, as if to tell him he and his companion had overstayed their welcome in the inhospitable land. It had been rough going, rationing their food and finding little water to drink save for the brackish or muddied bogs and moors that dotted the landscape. Once they had spotted a troll and had kept hidden, the long-limbed monster loping across the murky, wet landscape to disappear into the gloom. Amal had swore he had seen a dragon in the distance as well, once as he had kept watch, but by the time Charynrae had awakened, it was gone. 

He was ready for a warm bed and some food that someone had actually cooked. Even living off scraps on the streets as a boy wasn't as loathesome as trekking through that gods forsaken wilderness. 

"You may want to keep yourself cloaked until we find a room," He surmised, his cloak hanging about his shoulders, almost making him look the part of an exiled prince. Amal then shrugged. "Or not, and let them take you as they will. I've gone this far with you, I won't abandon you now."