Tae'loren's breath caught once the mages began to show concern for his behavior the previous night, then exhaled as Elariel redireted their focus back to their mission. He was thankful for the respect she held; they would have likely discovered the bond between the hunter and the mage otherwise. Inside the hunter smiled at Elariel, impressed with her ability to dominate a room of aged elven mages. At that moment he was genuinely glad that he hadn't tried to escape, for he realized that she could just as easily kill him as he could her.<br/><br/>His ears were intent on the exhange between the elves; their tone, their syntax. All were behaving as he had predicted, which he was displeased with, for it would only lead to a stalemate. The hunter realized that he was surrounded, that he was prey. In his mind he replayed the dialogue, and realized that Solarius had said nothing regarding his plan, but rather displayed genuine concern for Elariel. He realized that that simple show of concern was the general concern that fed the argument. The hunter then submitted himself as prey to the elves, performing the action of complete trust.<br/><br/>Looking about he located a small towel, appearing clean, and took it. He then drew his dagger and cut across the wide part of his hand directly under his thumb. His blood ran slowly from the slice, using the towel to absorb the blood. Tae'loren did this for several moments until the wound stopped, and a good corner of the towel was a crimson color. He then folded it neatly and handed it to Elariel. He then turned to address the others.<br/><br/>“I will not take any of you with me into the stronghold because it would no doubt appear as a trap to the dwarves. So instead I give my blood as my collateral; I know how powerful your magic is, and how easily you could track me, control me, or even kill me with the amount of blood I have offered you. Will this be enough?”<br/><br/>He offered a subtle, apologetic look to Elariel; there is nothing he would have wanted more than for Ae'oleth to see that elves could work together again. His eyes then trained on the five again, hoping, praying that they would accept his offer.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>