Amal, glistening with sweat on his naked, caramel skinned body was what some northerner's might call "in a mood." Someone had just interrupted his sleep and nearly killed his woman. Of course, such things usually excited him, but he had promised Emmaline and himself a vacation and these amateurs had ruined a good night's sleep. 

"We were attacked, herr Gruber!" Emmaline gasped, and though she didn't need much in the way of motivation, Amal knew her well enough to know when she was putting on a show. The voluptuous woman, now draped to hide her modesty in their bedsheets fell to her knees and tugged at the inn keeper's pants leg. "Who could have done such a thing!? How could you let such a thing happen in your well to-do establishment? Is this what we paid all of this money for?"

 Behind her, Amal had his trousers on in a mere second and pulled the window open. The inn keeper gaped when he leaped out into the storm without shoes or a shirt. 

"He um, he does that." Emmaline explained, before gazing up at him with her big eyes, as innocent as a milk maid. Even tears glistened there as she began to infer they would not speak ill of his establishment if they were to get their money back and another free week under his roof. 

Amal had hit the ground in a roll, feet hitting the mud and back rolling over a small stone pathway without his feet ever touching it. He moved like a southlands gazelle, knives in hand as he leaped and pushed off a balustrade, catching the curved roof of the building they had seen the figure upon. The building was some fancy and well built trade hub with the sign 'Jaeger's & Sons' on it. Amal made it on the roof with little effort as lightning struck through the sky once more. No matter where he looked, he found no trace of whoever had been here, nor what path led away. The mud around the building had eroded from the heavy rainfall, leaving no trace as to any tracks either. It was as if no one had ever been here at all. 

A minute later, he climbed back in through the window to see Emmaline now alone, the waves of her golden hair obscuring her face as she held up a pendant she had taken from one of the men in her hand, a pendant of two crossed fingers. 

"The symbol of Ranald." She said. 

"I know. If there's any god I can appreciate besides Allah, it's him. Are followers of his a...militant faction here?" 

She gave him a wondrous smile at his improving grammar, but shook her head. Her hand pressed against his cheek, making sure he was not catching a cold. "No, my love."

"Then we need to find out why they hate us." 
[@Penny]