As Lon'thul snuck through the underbrush, he was deep in thought. His mission today was one of utmost importance. Thankfully, the one factor that could have really complicated his mission was getting some rest and relaxation back at their camp as he bided his time to be traded back to B'arthon.

Lon'thul was glad of that. He'd realized there was a genuine danger that his father could have been put to death for his part in this war. Thankfully Lady Angela had offered an alternative that would take him out of the hunt for what would likely be the rest of the war; however it ended.

As he snuck through the underbrush for the first part of the mission, he was somewhat lax, relatively speaking. Most scouts or hunters would likely be jealous of what he called lax, but until he got closer to the enemy patrols, he allowed himself the luxury of moving at the pace of a brisk but very silent walk between shadows, trusting in his refined senses to tell him if any of the enemy's scouts were brave enough to enter his territory.

Thinking of his opponents as enemies struck Lon'thul as more than a little odd. Before now, they'd been on opposite sides of a conflict, sure, but they'd still been people he'd known and grown up with. But now, this band of warriors was made up of guards and raiders from several villages and tribes. They hardly seemed cohesive with each other, let alone like they possessed the unity of a community. The only thing that united them was the goal of killing or enslaving everyone in Jack and S'haar's caravan. At least it lightened the hunter's cconscience whenever he dealt with one of them quickly and silently.

On that note, he was finally nearing the enemy's patrol routes. It was time for the Lon'thul to start the hunt in earnest. With so many patrols consisting of two or more argu'n, all within sight of each other, all far enough away from the trees that the belly bows would have almost no chance of reaching them with any degree of accuracy. This would be particularly tricky to pull off, but that's why he was out here on his own. With his father out of the hunt, no one could rival the hunter in the shadows.

After observing a few patrols and noticing how they moved and acted, Lon'thul decided it was time to learn a little more. So he intentionally broke a few sticks in succession, then faded deeper into the underbrush to observe the scouts' reactions.

The closest group halted, raising their torches to try and see better in the dark. Lon'thul noticed the other groups also stopped, meaning they were all keeping an eye on each other. Finally, one of the pair split off to work his way closer to the treeline, walking back and forth with his torch raised high as he inspected the ground for any sign of disturbance. Lon'thul was annoyed to notice he never came close enough to the trees to be attacked in any way that wouldn't have been immediately obvious to everyone watching. After a few minutes, he walked back and rejoined his partner. An "all clear" sounded up and down the lines, and the patroles began moving again.

It was clear they all had strict instructions, and no one was taking any chances that they might foul things up in any way. Lon'thul grinned. That just meant this was going to make an even better story when everything was said and done!

Lon'thul waited patiently as a few more patrols passed by. He wanted to make sure that anyone who'd been anywhere near the first patrol he'd messed with was long gone to create fresh confusion rather than tipping his hand to the same patrols. Finally, after about an hour, he broke a few sticks in rapid succession again.

Once again, the nearest group halted while the next few within sight also froze. Once again, the closest group split into two as one approached the treeline. However, this time, Lon'thul wasn't waiting to see what was happening. Instead, he was moving through the treeline clumsily, making as much noise as possible. All the patroles froze, then started splitting up, so no two argu'n were within throwing spear distance of one another. There were some cries of suspicion, but they weren't so alarmed as to send runners, probably thinking he was some sort of large animal. Finally, after a few moments, Lon'thul went silent again and waited.

After a few more moments, every other group sent a single argu'n down to check the treeline, and that's when Lon'thul made his move. Daggers in hand, he began swiftly sprinting toward one of the groups of two between two split-up pairs, relying on their distraction as they paid attention to the scouts checking the treeline to keep them blind to his approach until the last moment. Once he was close enough, he threw both daggers, one after another, hitting his targets. One was struck in the throat and went down silently, but the other was hit lower on his torso and cried out as he fell.

Immediately, the argu'n near the treeline began retreating back to their pairings, but Lon'thul took those moments to ready his bow and take out the two waiting argu'n on either side of him. As they and their torches fell, runners were finally sent, but Lon'thul wasn't done yet. He sprinted forward and readied another shot to take out the two closest returning scouts making it seem as if a large hole had been created in their lines. The few torchbearers brave enough to approach his position were fired at until they died or ran, and only when no aloft torches were within sight did his rampage end.

He immediately ran back to the tree line and wrapped his bow in an oil-soaked hide before burying it under a fallen log so no one would find it without a thorough search of the area, then taking out a similar bow Angela threw together that looked similar enough to his to fool anyone who'd never seen the real thing. Sadly, this one had several design flaws that would cause it to break should anyone try to use it.

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That part done, Lon'thul ran back and took one of the bodies swapping its clothing with his own, then dropped the imitation bow near the body. Then, taking the arrow out of the body, he rammed one of the nearby fallen spears into injury the arrow had caused. Finally, he took a new arrow, shortened and with a head designed more for easy extraction than damage, broke off the end, and rammed it into himself, right where the blood spot on his new clothing indicated it should be, deep enough to look bad but not deep enough to actually be dangerous.

The hard part done, he tore some clothing to make a makeshift bandage and wrapped it around the arrow wound, using some ointment Lady Angela had provided to clean the area around the wound and numb it slightly, then he laid down and waited, though judging by the light's approaching in the distance, he wouldn't have to wait long.

-

Bar'thon's slowly shrinking council was in an uproar, disagreeing with one another while he rubbed his forehead to try to deal with the slowly spreading headache that was probably more mental than physical. "It was clearly a botched escape attempt! We're lucky they didn't get out of the valley!" "And go where? Up the side of a mountain? This was clearly a test to see if they could get through without word getting back to us in time!" "In time for what? We can still outrun them! They chose this location because of how defensible it is for them!" "But they're running out of food! They'll need to escape soon!"

Finally, the noble had enough. Dropping his hand, B'arthon spoke up loud enough that he attracted the attention of everyone present. "You're all thinking too traditionally! These...people don't think so straightforwardly. They are playing games within games. That's why we are starving them out rather than trying to guess their next plan. They didn't escape the valley; that's all we need to know! Send a runner back to my father with the fallen scout's weapon and some of the small spears that went with it, and resume patrols. If they try to break out for real, we'll engage them as they flee or chase them down once they're exhausted. But I don't think they'll try something so direct yet. First, they will try to be clever, which we can't allow them to do. Resume the patrols, and be ready to engage them if I'm mistaken. Now go!"

As the various minor nobles and tribe leaders filed out of the tent, B'arthon sighed. They were all thinking like his father, perfectly capable of dealing with another argu'n but totally out of their depth when it came to a cornered wolgen. Still, at least this time, he had the final say in everything. But, of course, that only meant when things inevitably went wrong, he'd be responsible this time.

As they were heading out, B'arthon shook his head. He knew he shouldn't play into Jack and S'haar's plans, but something just didn't feel right about the whole situation. Walking out of the tent, he went to the field hospital to check on the fallen patrolmen, his two guards behind him. A lone scout had taken six of his men but died when one of the injured guards had been smart enough to play dead and strike once the scout had gotten within range. That was the story anyway, but things weren't adding up.

The healers were seeing to the usual minor illnesses and injuries that happened anytime this many argu'n got together in one place, but the corner with the seven dead bodies was empty aside from the dead. Walking up to one of the guard's bodies, B'arthon couldn't see anything that didn't fit the story, but there was still something that just didn't seem right. As he walked over to the scout from Jack's camp, the feeling worsened. Looking at the scout, it wasn't anyone the noble recognized, but then it struck him; that's what was wrong with this situation.

There were a few people in that camp who could overpower that many scouts, S'haar, Angela, and even Jack, with the right weapons, but only one or two argu'n could have done it without being seen by anyone... Lon'thul, and maybe that female hunter whose name escaped the noble, but he would have recognized both on sight. With a sudden suspicion, B'arthon turned back to the healers. "Where is the injured guard who took down the scout? I wish to speak with him directly."

The healers looked back and forth until one finally shrugged. "I don't know, Lord, he doesn't seem to be here. Perhaps he already went back to his patrol?"

B'arthon frowned. "How badly was he injured?"

More low tones as the healers spoke amongst themselves before turning back to the noble. "Um, apparently, he wasn't seen by any of us... Perhaps it was only a minor injury, and he hasn't been by to be treated yet...Lord?"

There was no further point in speaking to the healers, so B'arthon left to talk with the captain who'd led the force that found the bodies. His shift was over, but the noble was displeased to see the guard captain deep enough in his drink that getting information out of his was laborious and unrewarding. The noble made a mental note to discipline him for such unpreparedness, but it was getting late, so he headed back to his tent for the time being.

As he approached his tent, B'arthon stopped. There was a good chance Lon'thul was in his camp right now, brought back by the rescue party. His tent might already be compromised. It would be better to commandeer one of the storage tents for a night or two... but Vox'thon was still in his tent... with a sigh, B'arthon continued forward. Hopefully, he was in time to get her and get out, and if not...

B'arthon had his two guards enter in his place, under instructions to retrieve the odd pyramid he so often carried around with him. Then, after a few tense moments, both guards exited the tent, one carrying Vox'thon, who was wisely playing silent.

Walking away from the tent, B'arthon looked around until he saw one of the group tents usually reserved for four or more argu'n. He appeased the inhabitants with written authority to get themselves a larger share of food and drink after they delivered notices to the camp's leadership of his current whereabouts in case an emergency happened, and he needed to be notified. Then he moved in, with his two guards joining him in the tent instead of having them stand guard as was customary.

As the noble lay down, his mind was filled with thoughts and visions of him not living through the night, so it was only with mild surprise that he woke up to see a fourth argu'n in the tent.

Lon'thul had that same stupid smirk he always seemed to have when he spoke. "Heya, buddy! Been a while, hasn't it!"