> >       As he made his way over, he finally came upon them.  His surprise at the
> presence of people was compounded by the oddness of the sight.  There,
> standing contemplatively over a blackened husk of a man who he presumed was
> dead, were two women.
> >       He stepped forward to address them.
> >       "Well," he said, "What brings a couple of women like you out to this end
> of the desert."

As he spoke, a party of heavily armed mounted warriors flashed into existence, and
much searching, shouting, and threatening of corpses took place.  Confused and
reluctant to blunder into whatever strange events were taking place, he was just
thinking of calling someone's attention to him again, or maybe quietly moving away
from a situation that appeared in no way normal, when the raven-haired elf woman,
dressed as he was in Ebony plate, and restraining another female in oddly mismatched
and poorly fitted armor, addressed him.

Her sonorous voice clashing oddly with her icy tone, Twilight looked over at the big
black-mailed newcomer and demanded, "And just who, by Akatosh's Tail, might *you*
be?  I warn you that I grow weary of traps and mysteries, and I give you this advice
for free:  look around you and realize you are in the presence of enough angry and
frustrated death-dealers that whatever you say had better sound very damned good, or
someone is certain to ensure that you get to keep yon sunburned carrion company.
And keep your hands well free of those katanas I see, unless you are *really*
curious to learn how to eat with your feet.  If I weren't occupied with my friend
here, you'd probably already be wearing a couple of my daggers in your throat, and
if you think your size means something, have a good look at Balefire over there --
yes, he's *that* Balefire.  I figure he has an easy 70-pound weight advantage, and
maybe six inches in reach, on you...and you don't know what "fast" means until
you've seen him in action.  And there's Elfiran, and Tabanallis, and that redguard
is giving you a *very* evil look...so speak, stranger, but stay peaceful."