The woman followed the mage along the road, often barely able to see him from the trees where she hid. Slowly, the woods crept closer to the road, making her job of following him much easier. Finally, she decided he was headed to town and picked up her pace. There was a span of trees that reached very close to the road and she headed toward it, planning to use them in order to get a close look at her quarry.<br/><br/>She arrived well before him and deftly climbed into a tree, hauling her belongings with her. The pack she hung from a branch where it would be safe, and would not make noise. Finally, she settled herself onto a lower branch, picking a spot that was almost completely concealed behind leaf-laden branches.<br/><br/>Just as the heat was beginning to make her drowse, she heard him approaching and snapped alert. Her eyes were intense as she watched him approach, then observed his simple actions as he ate. His behavior seemed innocent. Almost too innocent. She began to suspect he knew he was being watched. In fact, it was likely he was leading her on deliberately so that she wouldn't follow the bandits.<br/><br/>Torn with indecision, she remained absolutely silent as she watched him, becoming more and more anxious. Finally, she decided she would wait no longer. The longer she followed this man, the longer the bandits had to cause trouble. Reaching to her boot, she pulled out a slender parcel wrapped in leather. It was thin as a twig and roughly a foot long. When she unwrapped the leather, she held in her hands a pair of darts and a long, hollow tube, perfectly straight and rigid. Inserting the dart into the tube, she held the tube up and pressed its end to her lips.<br/><br/>Taking in a deep breath, she held it, eyeing the man, then puffed out her breath in a harsh push, firing the dart toward the man. She knew the poison well, and the dose used. It was a poison of which she was particularly proud, as she'd created it herself. The man was slender and obviously didn't work much. Based on what little he'd eaten, she estimated what his metabolism would be. The poison was extremely fast acting, and induced a heavy, peaceful sleep in even the most resistant of victims. She had used it often enough that she felt certain he would be sleeping peacefully with in ten minutes if the dart hit its target. She had used it often, enjoying the fact that it left no averse side-effects. Often, her victims never knew she'd been there.