-----A slight breeze began to stir the leaves high above although it did little to relieve the heat of the summer day. After a few more moments of silent working, Whisper notices the breeze seems to die down and what small bird noises there were fade.
-----Suddenly his elven ears pick up a furious thumping coming from the west. Somewhere out there, probably just entering the small woods is the sound of a horse galloping along the trail.
-----Once again, Whisper moved with alacrity, turning away from his work on the hummock, and swiftly gathering up his bow and the quiver of normal sheaf arrows before dashing for the dirt road running through the small woods, and the place of his previous successful and unsuccessful ambushes.
-----There was no doubt in his mind that he was once more dealing with a foe, probably a returning scout this time. A swift and sure pass of his right hand pulled up his hood and raised his scarf, despite the stifling heat.
-----Whisper dashed through the woods as lightly as his elven skills would allow him to attune to the surrounding forest. Within moments, he makes it close to the road and finds a spot to observe what is approaching. From behind a small cluster of trees he sees a rider charging his horse as he enters the woods following the trail road toward Black Bog. The rider seems to be one of the refugees from Kulendra as he wears piecemeal armor common to those that had been freed.
-----Suddenly, Whisper is aware of a second rider approaching. Glancing beyond the first approaching rider, Whisper recognizes this second rider. It is Raven! The hunter appears to be charging after the first rider.
-----The presence of Raven cinched the decision to fire. Suppressing the sudden whelm of guilt that went through him, Whisper smoothly released the arrow, aiming for the horse.
-----Whisper’s arrow strikes the charging mount in the front flank. The animal whinnies in fright and pain as its front leg gives way. The rider yells in surprise as he sails over the horse’s head landing face first just a few feet on the trail road.
-----Raven quickly dismounts shooing his horse back up the road. The hunter then dashes for the forest growth on the same side of the road as Whisper is hiding.
-----The horse snorts and is obviously hurt as it struggles to keep its footing. The man riding the unfortunate horse is sprawled on his belly and he moans and grunts as he tries to struggle up.
-----Whisper flexed his right hand, cold eyes considering the fallen rider. Then, with a slight shrug of his shoulders, he proceeded to put two arrows into the stunned man before straining his senses to detect where Raven had disappeared to.
-----The man’s body collapses as the arrows take the man’s life.
-----Whisper then turns to look along the forest trail road. At this point he sees no sign of the hunter, but he has the feeling he is there!
-----Whisper considered playing the waiting game with his comrade, but though he was confident that Raven's woodcraft would not be able to outdo Elven nature, he decided against it.
-----Instead he shouldered his bow, drew his sword and easily walked towards the corpse.
-----As Whisper draws near the corpse, he hears movement in the brush off behind his right shoulder. A familiar voice exclaims, “Whisper?! I thought maybe it was you who stopped this one.”
-----Raven then emerges onto the trail road and tries to calm down the injured horse.
-----In the meantime, Whisper finds nothing on the dead man other than the armor that he had pieced together and a crude orcish sword.
-----Whisper looked up and over his shoulder. He pulled down his scarf to give the Hunter a slight smile.
-----Finding nothing of real interest on the man, the Wood Elf sheathed his sword, and then prepared to move the corpse off to the same place he had carried the other two dead men. He gave a low whistle to let Raven know that he was moving.
-----Raven grimaced at the arrow wound the horse took. “Hmm,” he says, patting the animal, “Perhaps Rinda could do some healing for you.” Letting the horse move freely, he then turns his attention toward helping Whisper.
-----“Thanks for stopping this one,” he says to the wood elf as they move the body. “We wanted to stop this one before he or any of his fellows made it to Black Bog.”
-----“You’ve been busy,” the Hunter quips as he sees the other two bodies. After they finish their task, Raven asks, “Is the Town of Black Bog much further from here? The army of Silvergard should be in Kulendra now. Our party may be ready to move on.”
-----Whisper nodded absently whilst running his eyes over the dead men. Rolling his shoulders, he focused back on Raven, and shook his head in answer to the Hunter's question.
-----The Wood Elf considered a moment, adjusted the fit of his leathers, and then beckoned to Raven.
-----"Come. Show." Whisper moves forward to grab hold of the horses' reins, before moving off.