<strong>Abandoned Cart<br/>The Imperial Highway<br/>Somewhere North of Ostagar</strong><br/><br/>"You swear?" he called out nervously.  "If you're headed towards Lothering, let me come with you!  I'm a great shot, and I know the woods around the old Highway.  Alright, I'm coming out!"<br/><br/>A rough wooden bow flew out of the bush and onto the ground between the forest and the cart, followed by a half dozen arrows tied in a bundle with twine.  A few seconds passed before a tall and wiry man stepped out of the bushes, his hands up and palms forward.  He was handsome in a way, if a bit gaunt and grimy, with an unkempt shock of black hair hinting at a distant Antivan ancestry.  He was dressed in the well-worn and simple clothes of a villager or farmer, and they hung on his thin body like rags on a scarecrow.  He looked terrified, but he moved steadily and stood tall.<br/><br/>He did not see Mathius, but looked at Eluv'yan instead.  The bow and arrows lay at his feet.