-----Within a moment, the sword pierced the goblinoid’s throat! The soldier was suddenly on his knees gasping and grabbing at its gushing windpipe. With a quick movement, Whisper withdrew the weapon and stabbed in again, ending the hobgoblin’s life. It then collapsed to the ground.
-----A quick motion, and Whisper had sheathed his sword. He would be able to clean both scabbard and blade once he survived this night... and if he didn't, well, corroded metal and leather would be the last of his worries.
-----His eyes fixed on the tree, swung to the corpse at his feet, to the fallen torch. Desperation drove through his thoughts, and he grabbed the torch, extinguishing it by ramming it into the ground, before using the same hand to awkwardly grab hold of the hobgoblin. Then he placed his other hand onto the bark of the tree.
-----He drew the rustling of leaves into his mind, closed his eyes, brow furrowed in concentration, and then began to speak Elven words in his mind at the tree. 'Brother, aid me! Lend me your strength, allow me to ascend. Feather my burden, Brother.'
-----The leaves continued to rustle and as his eyes remained closed, the movement became just a little louder, but only for a few moments. It then died down and as Whisper opened his eyes, he was amazed. Somehow the limbs of the tree had lowered and it was such that the leaves provided more cover. Whisper found himself and the dead hobgoblin in a deeper shadow. As if to confirm his situation, the next hobgoblin guard passed by and Whisper could tell as he peered through the foliage that they were well hidden.
-----Whisper smiled tightly, and maintained contact with the tree for a moment longer, 'Thank you, Brother.'
-----He took a deep breath, calming himself down from the sense of wonder that the last few moments had incited. Straightening, he re-commenced trying to scale the tree.
-----As Whisper climbs the tree, he sees a few yards away, a small group of soldiers quietly making their way through the nearest buildings. When they draw within the small yard surrounding the home Whisper now stands atop, one of their number leaves the rest of the soldiers to silently approach the house.
-----As the wood elf continues to watch, he sees the hobgoblin soldier not approach the house, but rather the guards walking around its perimeter. Waiting until three of the guards have gathered to him, the soldier glances cautiously at the darkened dwelling and then begins to speak lowly to the three guards.
-----An eyebrow rose in consideration. He sensed a complication in this, and crouched down. A few more moments would not go astray observing what these curious hobgoblins would do next.
-----Whisper watches the hobgoblins nod their heads and occasionally glance at the house. Curiously enough, they don’t appear to be looking toward the roof where Whisper is now hidden. Quickly the discussion ends, the soldier that came from the village leaves and the guards return to marching about the house. Interestingly enough, the guards have widened their perimeter around the structure and Whisper notices that now they appear to watch the house as they pass instead of turning their attention away from it.
-----Whisper pursed his lips. So, they weren't aware of him, but something had changed in the balance of power within this village.
-----The elf spent a moment thinking, then shook his head. This changed very little for him. Carefully, Whisper moved, turned and moved towards the nearest window. Time to find out what was inside.
-----Whisper waits until there is a slight pause in the soldiers moving under him as they continue their patrol. Finally he sprawls out on the roof and lowers himself so that he can peer into the window.
-----Within, there is a vacant room; only the shadowy forms of a table and chairs can be seen.
-----Perfect.
-----First things first. He looked over the window, and slid a hand under his heavy vest, reaching for some of his picks, just in case the latch was more complicated than a simple lift and pull.
-----Just as Whisper reached for the window to test the latch, his eye caught a flash off to the west. Out high in the dark sky, small bolts could be seen dancing briefly illuminating the thick clouds. A few seconds later, the rumbles of thunder had reached the village.
-----It seemed that his tools were unnecessary as Whisper found the latch easy to open, perhaps hinting at the confidence of those in command of this unfortunate place.
-----Easing himself through, Whisper found himself inside the room. With his elven eyesight, he sees two ways out of this room. One is an open passage on the opposite wall and the other is through a closed door to his left.
-----It looked like Whisper would get his wish. Of course, his archery would suffer, unless he loosed from inside buildings.
-----He shook off the thought in favour of concentrating on the tasks at hand.
-----And then his mind wandered back to the pens where the... concubines were kept. It would be more than an even bet that a few of them had ended up in this house, if this was where the Black Riders were housed... and if that were the case, then he was about to repay a little of what this occupation had done to the people of this demesne.