Taika sighed heavily and then looked at Elise at the question posed to her at the time, seeming to think about it a second before speaking seriously and without deception, her tone seeming too tired after the events outside to really seem like she was lying. She didn't look at Elise directly, rather she looked at her hands before her as she sat in place, a serious look on her face as she spoke up.<br/><br/><strong>"They hired me to show the old ruins. Said there was a string of bandits preying on people going about. They wanted me to help them make their way without bandits spotting them. Then, they said they'd burn every one of those old ruins so bandits could no longer use them. I thought it was fair enough. I am not against fighting but someone that would stab a farmer for his coin and his wife or daughter is someone that needs to examine their life, and their guts on the floor before them, for those few seconds they remain in the world after I catch them."</strong>She snorted a bit aggravated in her tone. Her head hung low as she sighed.<br/><br/><strong>"I didn't ask much. I thought if it was for an idea like that, I should do it. Catching cowards and crooks. Bandits used to raid my clan because we were weak, and more than a few tried to catch 'feral women' only to have their heads cracked in but a lot of good folks lost their lives then. So it was no surprise they'd get volunteers but uh..."</strong>She paused looking up. Seeming to try and describe what she had to say next in a fair bit more detail.<br/><br/><strong>"They had some guy with them that gave orders, wearing a big metal armor, of blackened steel, with some huge horns curving up and holding a metal ball between them above the guy's head. Looked pretty weird but the horns sides were jagged, and the ball didn't stop the horns ends from going through so a push with it would've certainly hurt. It looked a bit weird but..."</strong>She shook her head and sighed.<strong>"No matter. Anyhow, they hired me and a few others, and our groups split."</strong><br/><br/>She looked at Elise a bit uncertainly at the time, looking at the direction of the kitchen as Elise was getting out the ingredients for a bit of a meal, seeming to have sharp senses certainly. Of course, the growl from her stomach told its own share about what might have caught her interest that way.<br/><br/>Tavah's question brought her out of her thoughts though, as she looked at the man a bit uncertain.<strong>"Uhh, not really, I haven't got a clue what's in there. Hold on."</strong>Getting up to join Tavah to move the stuff off the crate and help pull it open, the two of them would still find themselves strained. The hatch wasn't giving in easily, and the half-orc's muscles trembled as her arms tensed besides Tavah, until finally the hatch itself tore off from its place, its hinges held in place by old nails that had given in after some effort.<br/><br/>What was revealed was a cellar full of large jugs, the smell of a lot of oil, several torches scattered about, and a set of arrows with cloth wrapped around their shafts right after the arrowhead itself. Beyond them lay some bags of black powder set aside on wooden planks to keep it above the floor-level.