<i>Thud.  Thud.  Thud.</i><br/><br/>That was the noise that resonated from Lyle's skull as the archer knocked his head against the nearby tavern wall over and over again as if that would distract him.  But no, in front of him, down on one knee with her sword to her chest, was Alex who kept talking.  And went on and on and on.  Whether she was even noticing how Lyle was deciding to react to her speech he had no idea but he was starting to think that now would've been a good idea to just sneak out of the tavern and towards freedom while everyone else were distracted by the woman's preaching.<br/><br/>But, alas, just when he was thinking about going through with that idea, Alex had ended her speech and stood up, all bright and cheery about meeting the commander of the defense and going off to war with bandits.  Having stopped inflicting pain upon himself, Lyle briefly looked to the elf and rolled his eyes.  Apparently she had the same feelings as he managed to catch her doing the same thing before they were herded out by the tavern master.<br/><br/><i>Great.  I'm really gonna go with this aren't I?</i><br/><br/>Only for the meeting anyway but Lyle had this permanent frown on his face as Jerry led them out of the tavern and towards where this supposed-Commander was on duty.  He really needed to think of a good way to exit this village before he got too far roped into this otherwise he may find himself broken and bleeding in the middle of a bandit horde which certainly wasn't how Lyle wanted his life to end.<br/><br/>Upon meeting with the commander, Lyle discovered that he actually knew of her.  Well, he's<i>seen</i>her anyway; usually stalking around the village, getting recruits or inspiring the recruiters.  But up close, he saw what an intimidating woman this Ser Katharine could be.  He had heard the talks around the tavern, of how men commenting upon her appearance and hypothesised on...things...but the sheer look of discipline on her face could put someone off to her physical attractions.<br/><br/>Nonetheless, Lyle couldn't help but tilt his head when her gaze flickered away from him, wondering if that chest plate of hers was as tight a fit as was rumored.<br/><br/>"The name's Lyle," the archer said and it was quite clear that he was as far as enthusiastic about this meeting as the tavern master was who was positively beaming at this point. "Been hunting around here for a while and I think I've killed any creature that you could find here."<br/><br/>The elf had introduced herself - and Lyle made sure to keep the name Aureslia to his mind - which meant...<br/><br/>Lyle winced to himself, expecting the worst.<i>Ah hell...</i><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>