The Captain swallowed hard as he gazed into the darkness. He turned to Dervene, who was standing nearby some boxes of equipment they had close to the ship. Ash nodded to him and pointed to one box. Dervene quickly grabbed something from inside, and ran over to the Captain, handing him a hefty looking kind of pistol, which Ash then slipped into his belt. "Thank you Dervene. Gentlemen, if things start to deteriorate, follow my lead." He tapped his hand against the pistol.
"Understood sir." Dervene and the other men nodded in affirmation.
"Good. Percy, everybody, keep your eyes peeled for any movement out there. Pick targets carefully though, the scouts could be out there too, and I want them back unharmed." He turned his gaze back to the darkness, and stepped around the barricades and into the darkness. The Captain walked forward, rifle tightly held in his grip, pointed downward but in the ready position. The wind blew softly across the sands, causing his blue cloak and officer's sword to sway gently back and forth.
"Alright Old Chap, you went to all this effort to meet me. So let's talk, shall we?" Ash called out loudly into the dark.
Present:
A shrill whinnying noise was carried across the sands as Ash's steed reared back at the top of the dune outside Gutner's fort. The Captain was, for no apparent reason, smoking his pipe once more, gazing over the fort before him. Theory's men seemed to be gone at this point, and the fort was likely to be alerted to their presence shortly, so no time like the present to start the negotiations.
"Greetings and good morning folks! Is the lord of the manor available?" Ash called out in a cheerful tone as his grip tightened on the rifle he held.