[i]Trusting his instincts had kept Markus alive against plenty a monster, so when he got the sensation of being watched, he didn’t simply dismiss it as frayed nerves or silly feelings. His eyes, hidden by the helmet, closed slowly as he tried to focus on whatever was sending chills up his spine at the moment. It wasn't really the same crushing, hopeless feeling he'd felt when he had actually come face to face with a Grandgrandpa before. No... while this was infinitely more subtle, the power doing the watching was simply so great that it was impossible to fully mask; even the minuscule amount that he could feel had alarm bells going off in his head.

In a single moment he went from sitting leisurely to having drawn his massive cleaver-like sword, swinging the weapon in a wide sweep all around him. The air that rushed away from the motion carried with it any magic that might have been active nearby, disrupting whatever scrying or observational spell he suspected the dragon was using. At least, Markus hoped it had since he wasn’t exactly sure how effective his weapon would be against a creature that could supposedly create and erase mountains with ease.

Regardless if it had worked or not, he knew it was likely that the Grandgrand was more than just aware of his presence, but taking an active interest. Jumping off the branch the moment he was done his weapon swing, Markus fell through the air like a rock and quickly disappeared amidst the tree tops. There might have a been a small boom, a minor shake in the ground, for those who were sensitive enough, but the mercenary had already disappeared by the time the smoke cleared. While he couldn’t be sure if any Dragons had been sent out, the option that they were travelling in their human forms was quite possible. It would make their travel time far longer than it had to be, but he supposed it would be good to avoid detection by someone like him.

Still, there were only so many ways someone could take to reach Gold Village. They’d run into him eventually, and he’d see about sending them back to the safety of their village if it happened to be sooner or later. Of course that was the ideal case, but most Dragons he had dealt with seemed to be a fairly prideful lot. Even if they weren't a prideful bunch, which by the way would have been a horrible choice to send for a rescue mission, he couldn’t imagine the idea of abandoning their comrades to their death and running back home would be met positively. So as he ran through the forest, a literal blur between trees, Markus prepared to take lives once again today.[/i]