Gidian looked down at the unconscious courier, who shockingly wasn't attracting very much attention. The guards merely laughed and walked out, leaving her there. It was as if this kind of thing happened all the time here. Even the woman's friends had left without her, although the Two-Raced man was still upstairs. Deciding that he needed answers, and he couldn't just leave her lying on the ground, he scooped her up as if she weighed almost nothing. Now, unsure of what to do, he looked toward the door where her "friends" had exited, and then back up the stairs, where her room would be. Facing only a moments indecision, he decided to take her back to her room, where she could recover enough to answer his questions. Besides, he imagined she needed a bit of rest. He walked up the stairs and into the hallway toward her room, but stopped in front of her door. He eyed the doorknob for moment, inspecting it for damage or signs of a shoddy lock picker. He was almost certain his former apprentice had paid her a visit, but he had left very little trace behind. Deciding she wouldn't be safe in her own room, knowing Kabal the way he did, he instead took her to the room he'd paid for in advance, and unceremoniously dropped her on the bed. Then, he moved to the window for a moment, stealthily looking outside, and saw what he was looking for. Kabal, walking toward the Courier's former company. Gidian looked at the drunk woman one time, decided she wasn't going anywhere, and hopped out the window and climbed up to the roof. There, he moved slowly, careful not to make a sound and to stay low, so he wouldn't make a silhouette against the skyline. When he was within hearing distance of the small group, and was fairly confident of where they were standing, he listened to their conversation.
Noting that there was one still in the inn, he dropped stealthily down to the corner of the building, where he would be out of sight of the small group. Waiting for them to get absorbed in their conversation, he stepped out from the corner and into plain sight, although his cloak made him very difficult to focus on, plus it was dark. He elected to walk boldly forward to avoid drawing suspicion from anyone watching, and he could walk quietly enough without the foolish over-exaggerated posture and slow footsteps that most assumed would make them stealthy. He'd positioned himself almost perfectly, so that he was behind his former apprentice, who's large form would block the sight-line of the person in front of him, and none of the others really had a chance of spotting him. They weren't looking his way, and were to engrossed in their passionate speaking. But, before he could get very close to the group, Kabal simply excused himself and left, making a joking comment. Glaring, Gidian waited until he'd passed out of sight, then stepped out into the light, right in the middle of the group, grabbed the Argonian by the shoulder, and said grumpily, "I moved that woman to the room I rented. I thought better of putting her in her own room, she may be in danger. Keep an eye on her. The room is at the end of the hall. Can't miss it."
And then he walked off after Kabal before anyone could respond. He was following the route he'd last seen Kabal take, going over building to check around corners instead of simply sticking his head around them. Soon enough, he spotted him walking out one of the main gates and on to the roads. Shocked by his carelessness, Gidian quickly scaled the wall and stealthily dropped to the other side, as he had done so many times before. He elected not to pull the fancy tree swinging, because it was considerably more risky and made one much easier to detect in most cases. Stalking through the forest, paralleling the road, he set out at an ambitious pace, working hard to slide his feet under things that could make noise, such as twigs, branches, and some leaves. Years of experience made him light footed, and that, coupled with his specially crafted boots, made him nigh undetectable by sound. Matching his movements with the environment around him, swaying with the wind, and all the shifting shadows, along with his mottled clock, he was nigh undetectable by sight. The most anyone would see was a small blurr of movement, which only a trained eye would spot. Still, Kabal was trained. Keeping that in mind, he gave Kabal a wide birth as he worked his way in front of him, predicting his route instead of trying to trail him. It would be easy for Kabal to simply observe behind and beside him and notice something was amiss, and even if it wouldn't have been likely for Kabal to spot Gidian, he took no chances. The assassin would not expect to be stalked from in front of him. Occasionally, he would find himself having to stop and listen intensely to make sure Kabal was still headed in the same direction. Several times, the boy had taken unexpected detours. But, each time, Gidian was able to locate him once again. In the end, it was inevitable Gidian had to give ground to Kabal. The options and paths available to him became too numerous for Gidian to reliably predict. So, he sacrificed most of his speed for stealth, freezing several times as Kabal suddenly turned around, and examined the area all around him. In a few agonizingly long hours of this cat and mouse game, Kabal finally came upon a tower, or refuge of some sort, abandoned.
Gidian was perched in a tree, swaying with the wind and shadows, almost completely invisible, as Kabal entered, then quickly exited to see if he could catch any amateur stalkers slipping up. But Gidian was no amateur stalker, and remained hidden. Then, he went back inside and checked the place for inhabitants, only to find none and report to himself, "Hmm, nothing here."
Gidian waited for several long minutes, when he heard a sound of metal against stone. Most likely Kabal climbing to another level of the tower. Figuring his old apprentice would sleep in the most secure location as possible, the top of the tower, he gave it a few more hours, ignoring the soreness of his muscles from maintaining the same position for so long. Confident the assassin was now asleep, albeit in a light one(He'd trained Kabal to never sleep too deeply, not that he had needed much practice). Knowing his former apprentice would wake up at the slightest noise which was out of the ordinary, Gidian lowered himself stealth-fully to the ground. Not anxious to cross the open ground to the tower, as he would be in plain sight, he steeled himself before quickly and quietly crossing the distance. Almost certain that almost every floorboard in the abandoned tower would let off a terrible groan, Gidian's innate light footedness, combined with years of training, allowed him to carefully inspect the lower level of the tower without making noise. Or at least, not enough noise so that he thought most would hear. Heart pounding, Gidian forced himself to take steady and quiet breaths. This was one of the most unadventurous positions in the tower, as anyone on the upper floor (which he was confident Kabal was) would have those on the lower floor at their mercy. The stairs were not an option. Even he, with all his experience and training, would not be able to ascend those deathtraps without making a sound. Cursing silently to himself, he silently walked outside and inspected the walls of the tower. Grinning to himself, he found that he could easily find handholds to ascend the tower with. With great care and skill, he agonized about every foot and hand hold, testing them before actually putting weight on them. If they broke off, or he made a noise, then this whole hair brained scheme would be over. Progress was agonizingly slow, and several times he found himself suppressing cried of alarm as he reached out only to find no holds to place his hand or foot. But, one of the most important things was keeping calm, and not losing composure. Eventually, he got to the upper floor of the tower, and found himself holding on to a small balcony. Gently hauling himself over, and stepping carefully, he found his apprentice sleep on the only mattress in the room. Sloppy! Gidian was telling himself in his mind. Stepping lightly, and examining the chair to see if it was stable enough to sit in, he couldn't help but think his former apprentice had wanted him to follow. He certainly hoped so, or he'd lose all hope for future generations. Finally satisfied the chair and table could hold his weight without making any noise, he carefully sat down and propped his feet on the table, watching his apprentice. Gidian would appear asleep in this position, his face obscured, even if he was awake.
A light sleeper himself, and a seasoned campaigner, Gidian was able to doze off for increments of time, and then periodically wake up and observe the area, making sure his apprentice was still asleep. Doing this for several hours, Gidian would be waiting awhile before his apprentice would wake up.
