Despite everything that had happened in the past few hours Ardur found him self not feeling so bad about the situation.  Sure he would much rather be at the tavern right now, he had won a fair bit of coin from that bartender and he could have gotten himself drunk and in bed with a beautiful woman if things would have played out like they usually did.  Sure he would have woke up in the morning with a head feeling like the gods themselves were squeezing down upon him and his coin supply would have nearly disappeared but he would have enjoyed every second of it.  But along came Anora, into the type of place that she detested to find the man whose life she had saved more times than he cared to admit, to recruit him for her crusade.  Turning his focus away from the window, Ardur snuck a quick glance towards Anora.  She was now sitting on a rather old looking crate away from everyone else.  Her face was covered save for the lower jaw and lips, and she looked all the bit menacing as she always did.   Under the hood her cloak covered almost all of her body and nothing but her right hand, which was out and twirling a pair of coins, and her feet were visible.  Ardur chuckled a bit at the sight, he knew this was a common thing for her to do in towns.  He never understood why she dose it, but she rarely never stops.  He turned his attention back to the window with a smirk on his face.<br/><br/>Anora's persistence with always asking him for help was made him feel not so bad.  His mind drifted slightly to think about all the times he seemed to do everything in his power to get killed.  Nearly dying to a knife in the back from an angry elf, that bear when he was on guard duty, and even that one time when that strong orc got mad when he won a bet.  All those times his life was spared by an arrow when he was at the mercy of old man death.  Even though he messed up so much, which often followed him when he partakes in too much drinking, Anora would still lay her trust with him.  He considered her like a sister to him, and one day he would repay that debt.  Be it by saving her life three times on his own, or by baby sitting people who need all the experience they can get.<br/><br/>He had already voiced his displeasure at these people.  They were the reason why he was not completely happy with this situation.  With their loud moths and large dragon like creatures, if they were ever to leave this warehouse intact they would draw too much attention to themselves.  His thoughts first fell upon the man named Magnus.  He seemed like he was a nice enough man who had his life in order.  He was well dressed, seemed to be well liked and if they had met under different circumstances they could have been well and good as friends.  Ardur was even considering asking him to forge him some weapons, as his swords were rather boring and old.  But he seemed to have never seen the fields of combat.  He carried his weapons with experience, no doubt he could carry his weight if push came to shove, but could he make the choices which needed to be made?  This is what Ardur was unsure of, and it frightened him that he might have to rely on him at some point.  His second thought was on the elf who fancied herself the queen, Atisha.  While she seems like the smart type, and her plans reflect that, she carriers a feeling of arrogance around her. While this is not bad per say, it could get them into trouble down the road if he or Anora come up with a better idea for a plan and she is unwilling to listen.<br/><br/>The next two people who had come to mind he decided to group them in the arrogance of youth group, Avis and Larteis.  Avis seemed nice enough, but she was so young and so small.  She held herself up with a certain bravado, like she is never going to die.  She seems much too young to know what life will be like if they come under attack.  Whats more he fears she could shut off completely if faced with the same decisions that might plague Magnus.  While Larteis he simply can't put his finger on, something he rarely has trouble with.  He can tell he is really young for him to be in this group, not in the age but in mentality.  But besides that, he can't figure him out.  He would have kept thinking about this, and the other members of this group, as he kept watch, but the voice of a young Teryn girl caught his attention.<br/><br/>It was the young girl Avis, who had been standing nearby after she arrived here at the warehouse.  She asked him who he was and why he was here, with a smile that indicated she was looking for something else.  At least she was somewhat smart for her age, he thought.  She appeared, to him at least, be using these questions to answer a separate question.  Was she trying to see if he was trustworthy?  He figured no, she seemed like she was still young enough to trust others easily so he knew it must be something else.  What was his motive seemed like a more likely reason.  She must have thought why is this man here when he witnessed nor took part in any of the events that she had.  But again this boiled down to an issue of trust, so he dismissed it.  It must be what he could bring to the group, what type of asset is he.  Sure she would have some idea, the fine armor with the dual swords would easily give him away as a warrior, but his other less orthodox skills are unknown.  He figured this was the most likely reason for her sudden interest.  He turned his attention from the window and down to her.   Before he spoke he put a nice genuine smile on his face and spoke in a soft tone.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“My name is Ardur.”</span>He spoke slowly, but quickened the pace<span style="font-style: italic">“Battle mage extraordinare at your service.”</span>He paused for a second before continuing<span style="font-style: italic">“Im here for Anora, if you”</span>he paused again while quickly looking towards Anora, before returning the gaze back to the young girl<span style="font-style: italic">“If you knew our history, you'd know we go back.  When she says she needs assistance with tasks like this, I never hesitate to help. We both have a few tricks up our sleeve when it comes to defending travelers and...”</span>pausing for a second to find the word<span style="font-style: italic">“people in need.”</span>No way she could misinterpret anything he just said.<br/><br/>-----------<br/><br/><br/>Anora simply sat on a dusty old crate, part out of boredom and a desire to not really socialize until she learned the results of the happy chat time down below.  She knew that Magnus seemed like he could handle the sweet talking, he was a salesman after all.  Anora was willing to wager he might have been able to sell an ordinary iron hammer as an especially durable hammer to poor folk.  That is, if he was raised by Ardurs parents.  It seems that Magnus had a proper upbringing with a family that actually taught him how to be a proper salesman, not just one who was out for himself.  She began to wonder what that was like, being raised by your natural parents, but she quickly shunned that thought from her mind and clamped her fist down on the coins she was twirling.  If someone was able to see her face at this instance, it would look like Anora was deeply disturbed by something.  Her mind was vacant for a second, before a single humorous thought drifted through her mind.  She was twirling the coins again.  No doubt if Ardur noticed that, he would ask her once more why she dose that to which she would say she did not know.<br/><br/>She was snapped from her thoughts when someone asked for some assistance.  They needed someone who was willing to apply a more 'hands on' approach to the interrogation.  Anora slid from her seat and looked over to Ardur.  He was staring back out of the corner of his eye, he knew she would be willing to volunteer and he simply gave her an approving nod before returning his eyes out the window.  Anora spoke in a soft voice “I can put these to use, if it pleases you.”  Rising her gauntlets up, allowing her cloak to fall down revealing the spiky nature of her armor.  She turned her hand showing the similar metal ridges on her hand.  She looked up from under her cloak at the woman who asked the question.   She spoke quickly “Lead the way?”