It wasn't everyday that Logan got to see a man look so out of sorts when he approached. [i]It'd been years, actually. Not since I'd first left the temple.[/i] It didn't help that what looked like the resident holy man had gone into shock at the mere sight of a Dark Mage. It was more amusing than insulting, really. The newest woman stepped forward with open arms, dragging the spellcaster's attention away from the muttering priest. 

Well, at least one of them knew how to treat a stranger who was walking on the desert. Or didn't, as carrying an open mind and bleeding heart for any of the unruly folk that roamed Plegia's wastes usually resulted in that bleeding heart becoming a very literal description. He supposed that he couldn't complain, it allowed him to make a better point. The caster relaxed his shoulders, the rigid stance that he had adopted to make the stiff bows and poses vanishing into the smooth folds of his dark robes. [i]Better to talk slow, then. I hope that they aren't all this... mentally challenged.[/i] He lifted raised both arms, mirroring Rachel's stance while he took several strong steps forward, halting again by the sack of food and drink. [b]"I'll answer the questions in order, then? I'm me, of course, that point isn't really debatable. However, if you were to ask both my name and profession, I'd say that my name is Logan, and I'm a recently-unemployed researcher and practitioner of the elder arts. I also do both fortune telling and hexes if the money is right.[/b] Logan paused to take a breath, choosing to sit down next to his offering of rations instead of pressing his luck with another step. He seemed even more at ease, the words silkily smooth as he carefully pronouced each one. [b]"As for the gift of food and water that I offer, I assumed they'd be helpful for negotiations and the like. However, from your point of view a man has just approached from the horizon, offering a boon that your group desperately needs, as well as a way to escape this desert with your lives. It sounds too good to be true, especially for wanted fugitives such as yourselves."[/b] Another pause, as if he was relishing in letting the knowledge sink in. [b]"Yes, the [i]Shepherds[/i] really should not be so trusting. Thus, as I assumed you wouldn't blindly take the food and drink that I offered, I mentioned the possibility that I could be a filthy liar and a scoundrel. I know I'm not, and as such I'd rather not have any of those trust issues forming right then and there."[/b][i]This part wasn't going to win me any friends.[/i] [b]"I'm both a caster with a long range spell that I can use with pinpoint precision, and a smart man who's lived in this desert region for all of his life. Therefore if I wanted to kill you I'd have used said spell or merely poisoned the bags and not brought them too you, instead leaving them in your path. I could have even left you alone here, and let the day dry you so that the night may freeze you. However, I did not and instead brought you a bag of food and water that I say is untainted, and can prove it if need be. However, I'm fairly certain you need it more than I."[/b] Another, longer pause as the spellcaster attempted to gauge the reactions to this revelation. [b]"So in conclusion to this rambling exposition: I suppose the best reason and explanation as to why I approached in such a manner is that I wished to enter into a sort of contract of mutual benefit, in which I could use the interesting people that surround the ever decreasing numbers of the Shepherds as a study, and in exchange the Shepherds could use me as they saw fit, be it battle or performance or labor."[/b]