Zack let out a sigh as he leaned against a tree, a small bundle of clothes placed underneath his arm. He glanced down the road to his right. Still not here. They were taking their damn time was for sure. Glancing to his left he idly watched the distant and slow stream of traffic coming off of the intersection down that way, most of them likely heading towards Duskrock. From the looks of it they were also refugees from the war going on in the south, if their disheveled appearances and noticeable lack of much belongings was anything to go on.

Running a hand through his black hair, he sat down on the grass, crossing his legs as he did so. He leaned his chin against his hand, looking to the right once again. He took out the piece of paper in his brown cloak, rereading it again. The note contained exact specifications about their party size, approximate speed, and estimated arrival time to his location. He glanced up at the sun. It was just after midday. Zack groaned as he pinched his eyebrows. They were definitely late.

He grabbed his canteen, taking a sip from it. The sweet taste of honey filled his mouth, calming his nerves significantly. He could wait a bit longer. He really wished he had a watch right about now.

As soon as he finished that thought a faint sound filled his ears. He peered down the road to his right, a small rise preventing him from seeing what was going on. He narrowed his eyes as he shot up, quickly running up the rise. As soon as he was about to make it over the rise however something stopped him. Namely the body of a small boy that sprinted straight into him. Due to a combination of the current position of Zack's feet, the angle of the rise, and the momentum of the boy he stumbled back before eventually falling into a backwards roll, tumbling down the rise.

His world span for a few seconds before coming to a stop at the bottom of the rise. He quickly scrambled to his feet, looking to his right to find the boy still on the ground, groaning in pain. His attention immediately went back to the rise as something else crested it. His eyes widened as he summoned a purple dagger, quickly sidestepping and slicing into the white coat of the dire wolf that leapt at him, causing it to not stick the landing and instead tumble across the dirt packed road.

He quickly rushed to the boy, grabbing him around the stomach with one arm and quickly running to the tree line and skidding to a stop. He placed the boy down against a tree, finally getting a good look at him. The small boy was undead, and now staring at him with wide eyes. Wait, he was looking over Zack's shoulder.

Looking back the dire wolf was getting to it's feet, seemingly only dazed by the tumble it took. The cut on it's side was also shallow and didn't seem to have done much in terms of damage. He quickly readied his purple dagger, pointing it towards the wolf while bracing it with his other hand, the dagger's form constantly shifting yet staying in the shape of a normal dagger. His eyes glowed a deep purple, the dagger mirroring this by increasing the ferocity of it's shifting.

He stared down the dire wolf, who only growled in challenge. The direwolf took a step forward. A sudden blur smashed into it's side, going through it in the process. The dire wolf collapsed into two halves, it's mouth lulling open as it's eyes widened in shock for a final time. The blur skidded to a halt, kicking up dry dirt that made up the road in the process. The man slowly stood up, his figure only barely perceptible in the cloud. Yet Zack saw very clearly what he was looking at. Particularly the purple orb of flame centred in his chest.

His dagger immediately unsummoned and he took a couple steps back. "No way..." He muttered to himself.

Footsteps coming from the rise drew his attention, the three adventurers cresting it being the ones making the noise. His eyes fell on one of them in particular. A massive grin on his face, he immediately made a show of walking quickly towards the brown haired elf before skidding to a halt in front of her, pointing two finger guns at her.

"Hey there beautiful, what you doing after this?" He said with a wink, causing the elf to take a step back and blink in shock. Soon after however her face turned beet red. He noticed the elf look past Zack to the Abyss Watcher who was now approaching the child. He raised an eyebrow, his gaze flicking between the elf, the Abyss Watcher, and the small child.

He directed his raised eyebrow at the elf and nodded towards the other two. She seemed confused for a couple of seconds before her face grew an even deeper shade of red and she shook her head vigorously.

Zack nodded in response, "Yeah, I don't even think that would work with him." He reasoned.

Her interest immediately piqued as soon as he uttered those words, "You know him?" She asked.

Zack scoffed, "Hell yeah I know him. He's an Abyss Watcher."

The elf suddenly tensed up, "What did you just say?" She asked, voice suddenly filled with urgency.

"Uhhhhh, he's an Abyss Watcher?"

The elf suddenly grabbed Zack's shoulders turning him to face her fully, "What do you mean an Abyss Watcher?"

Alissa stared the man in the eye. She had no idea who the hell this person was, nor why he had showed up from seemingly nowhere and started flirting with her. What she did know however, was that this man knew who the Abyss Watcher was.

The man raised an amused eyebrow, "Man, didn't realise you guys were that in the dark. Yes, he is just one Abyss Watcher." He said, a smile coming to his lips.

"Explain." She demanded, looking to the Abyss Watcher who was rummaging through a small bundle that lay on the ground, handing it's contents to Caelan who was in the process of placing on a cloak.

A grin came onto the man's face, "I'll do it on one condition." He said, Alissa's eyes narrowing. This didn't sound good.

The man leaned forward, "I take you out for dinner." He winked as he finished his sentence.

"Absolutely not." She replied immediately. Sure the information he had was possibly very valuable and could shed some light onto who exactly the Abyss Watcher was, she still had the Carndolan to ask. And personally she would rather exhaust all her options before losing her dignity.

The man held a hand to his heart and made a dramatic groan of pain, "Ahhh, you hurt me with your words." The act faded after he said these words and a grin remained on his face, "I can tell you though, nobody knows as much about Farron as I do. Well, maybe except for the Abyss Watcher but that doesn't really count."

Alissa grit her teeth and folded her arms. If this man was right and she rejected his offer than there was no telling when she would encounter him again. While she still held onto hope of the Carndolan knowing what Farron and the Abyss Watcher's were, if the Carndolan in Duskrock didn't know than this man would be her only source of information.

"Can we put that idea on hold for a little while?" She offered, the man's grin only broadening.

"Excellent then. My name is Zack, and when you are ready to accept my offer I will find you." He said, holding out a hand.

She grimaced slightly as she took it, "Nice to meet you Zack, I am Alissa. God I hope I don't have to do this." She muttered the last part, but Zack's smile only seemed to grow even larger.