Bells. Bells of all things. Whoever was causing that noise was good at hiding. The black knight had started showing signs of weakness, faint, but ever increasing. The behemoth managed to walk without rest, without stop for days, with his massive armor and weapon weighting him down. Luckily for Maldron, and the bearer of the bells, his pace was slow, giving Maldron precious time to rest and scavenge for SOMETHING. Hunger, exhaustion and thirst were the most dangerous threats, as the hostile denizens can be avoided. Lady Death must have quite a sadistic sense of humor, Maldron thought to himself. Or was it Lord Death? The assassin was not sure, nor he much cared - whatever gender he assigns to Death, it still an abstract concept. You cannot slay a concept, an idea, so his skills were rather useless here.

The forest he passed almost a week ago, eerie and dangerous, contained enough things one could use for survival. Roots, fungi, berries, maybe even a critter. Maldron doesn't remember seeing anything resembling a rabbit, or anything humans could consider normal food. But the assassin had it worse. He could not recall what was worse, but he felt like he went through worse conditions than that. Was he a pickpocket desperate for food when a child? Just before the strangers took him in and shaped him into a weapon? It was the most logical progression of possibilities. Either way, hunger, thirst and death accompanied Maldron for most of his life, and at this point, they were like a lifelong companion.

Inside his small pouch, various snippets of berries, roots and fungi were stocked. Several of them already had teeth marks in it and a chunk gone. Maldron assumed that he took a sampling bite to test if it's poisonous. That way, if he dies, he can check for teeth marks and know which ones are inedible. This just proved that Maldron has suffered at least a few death here, from poison of all things. There was also a large stock of small red berries in his pouch. When he saw them back in the forest, he simply felt they were OK to use. Not very nutritious, but sated both hunger and thirst, however slightly. They were also extremely bitter, eating them was a challenge in itself. But beggars can't be choosers, and in such a place, this was the food of kings.

[hr]

And finally, the black knight stumbled. Delirious from hunger and thirst, he could no longer push on. He hasn't eaten anything since Maldron first started tracking him, and it was already more than a week. Now was his time to appear. Maldron would be now in control. The knight would be unable to fight back if worst came to worst, and Maldron could find something useful on his body. Otherwise, he could gain an ally, which would be a great boon. The knight was able to effortlessly cut down most of the hostiles that he encountered. Maldron had to always hide in shadows to avoid confrontations. It could be a mutually beneficial alliance - Maldron could provide them both with necessary supplies, and the Black Knight would resolve conflicts when they arise. In any scenario, the assassin is the winner.

Supporting himself on his halberd, the knight was barely able to stand. He could hear Maldron approaching, but had not the strength to face him. [color=ff0000][b]"Marching without stop, without food or drink, is incredibly stupid, you know. It is not a race. Carrying around all that also slows you down a lot. War equipment is ill suited for long travels."[/b][/color] Maldron said as he approached the knight. Part one was to establish superiority in the knight's mind. Part two was to establish the knight's response. Reaching into his cloth bag, he pulled out a couple of the bitter red berries. [color=ff0000][b]"These are really bitter, but it should quench your thirst and hunger. It's not much, but consider it an investment."[/b][/color] Holding the berries right near the knight's helmet, his next move will dictate Maldron's course of action.