The moment that Elena crumpled to the ground, Joel disengaged completely. She would be no threat moving forward. What surprised him the most was that the girl was not bleeding -at least, at the moment- from the force of his slam. But that wasn't his concern. His sword soon found itself embedded in the ground, freeing his hand to deal with the only problem in this situation. The manner in which the woman had thrown her dagger and the angle that his arm had been resting had allowed the blade to be lodged in both the plates of his armor as well as in the 'workings' of the arm itself. It took some effort, and in the end, his armor was left with a gap in it, allowing one to stare at the bone unnaturally bound in stone and metal that rested underneath. But with the blade now free, Joel had the tool required to thoroughly inspect his latest conquest.<br/><br/>The first to go was the cloak, allowing him a better look at his assassin. His eyes were drawn not to her assets, but to her weaponry. The line of sheathes that curved around her legs were immediately taken away from her, deposited on the cloak. What came next immediately told him what he needed to know. She was more than just a mercenary or a bounty hunter looking to claim a prize, she was an assassin, geared with what he could only assume were vials of poison, here to remove him. For what reason, he did not know. But he would once she came to. More blades and vials were found as Joel systematically stripped his assailant of everything. Once a blade rattled out of one of her boots, even the armor was removed, allowing him to notice yet another one tucked away in her corset. With his conquest bare and unconscious before him, Joel moved back to the tree, retrieving the discarded pack off to the side of it. From within, he pulled out three lengths of rope. The first two were used to bind her wrists behind her back. In actuality, it was the entirety of her forearms, leaving no room for her to escape and perhaps tied a bit too tight. Next where her ankles, which was given a similar treatment. However, he paused during this bit of rope work, stopping to cross her ankles in such a way that she could not completely close her legs.<br/><br/>With his prisoner bound, Joel grabbed a couple of her daggers, adding them to his own weaponry, before he tied her cloak up with the fabric. He attached a rope to it and left it be for now. With that, he sheathed his own sword before hauling his prize up and over his shoulder. Her cloak and possessions were simply drug along after him as he wandered once more. Eventually, he had found a cave and, after placing her belongings in a tree, entered the cave with her, waiting. With all that he had done, he did not have to wait long for her to awaken. He was now without his gauntlets, but otherwise sitting in pretty much the same position he had been before, save the fact his eyes were locked on her. His accursed limb was now clearly visible to her. It was horrid. There was no fake skin to cover it. Gray and tainted bone, though clean, hung eerily along the positions that it should. Stone served as muscle, the solid surface seemingly moving in the dim halflight of the cave. Strips of metal took the place of ligaments and veins, bending and resetting with each little movement of his hand. He didn't say anything at first, letting her situation sink in for a time.<br/><br/>He taunts and threats, however, brought forth something that Joel assumed he had lost: the ability to laugh, feel joy, or anything of the sort. The sound that emitted from him was raspy and low, a dark chuckle at her accusations and vows of violence. "What you see before you is one that has died and lost all," Joel responded with, his voice seemingly out of use. "No honor to have a sense of, morals twisted by the lord of the dead." Joel stood once again in that disjointed bit of movement, but this time a dagger was in his hand instead of his own blade. "Normally I do not bother with absconding with a woman I conquer and take what I wish of them where I find them prior to ending their life. They are never worth that sort of effort." Joel walked closer leaning down and using the flat side of the knife to brush her raven colored locks behind her shoulder, stripping her of a bit of the modesty that they had provided her. "You, however, are able to give much more than passing pleasure and supplies. You shall tell me why the dead is a target."