He rested his eyes, trying his best to not doze off to sleep as the caravans weathered wooden wheels trudged through the desert roads of Thanalan. His vision darked, as he caught a glance; a glance of the man's face leading the horses. There was obvious concern that formed on his brow.
"Here is fine." Asher lied. There was still well over another kilometer before they reached Ul'dah, but he had little choice.
The man stopped without a word, relieved.
Asher stood from his uncomfortable seat, pushing one of the drapes to the side as the furious desert sun partially blinded him. As his vision refocused, he could see the cause of concern. Another Caravan was very close to them, haulted maybe 20 meters away, the drivers eyes fixated on Asher.
Asher jumped down from the back of the caravan, a small burst of dust spreading from his shoes in a circle around him. He tapped the rough wood behind him, the heat quickly spreading through his fingers as his ride swiftly left the scene.
"What lovely weather we're having." He spoke, his volume and tone mimicking that of a normal conversation. The driver across from him tilted his head, unamused.
Just then, two rouges burst up from the sands flanking Asher, each brandishing a dagger in each hand, each aimed for his heart and throat respectively.
Asher flicked his hand downwards, as a Rapier formed from his Aether appeared. His body swift, dashing forward- evading each of the knives, as the rogues hadn't even turned their heads yet, unaware that he'd even moved yet. His blade aimed straight forward, as he pierced the Chest of the driver that had given him that look previously; this time Asher's head tilted in the same direction as he stared down at the man, twisting his blade as the sound of the man's ribs crunching between the two of them, his mouth opening for a scream as Asher's aether poured from his blade, directly into the man's heart, as his detonated inside of his chest- killing him instantly.
Asher slowly turned towards the other two, slowly retracting his blade from the corpse now behind him, before the sound of thin metal quickly slicing through the air filled the silence, the wet sound of blood spraying from his blade onto the ground and corpse behind him following.
"I thought he was a mage." One of the rogues nearly shouted. Asher could see his jaw flexing, perhaps gritting his teeth? He had to guess seeing as their faces were covered from the nose down. It must have been so hot under all those rags, he thought.
The other didn't hesitate, turning around to quickly flee.
Just then, his friend watched as a hole the size of a melon perhaps, shot through his torso, followed by a bright flash of red aether. A jolt cast killing his friend instantly.
He turned his head slowly, every muscle in his body suddenly feeling like stone. He met Asher's gaze, who's head was tilted to its side. Why? He thought. And then he thought about the bounty on the man's head. A simple mage? The report was a load of shit. He knew the amount of Gil was too good to be true.
Asher's hand was held out, palm first.
"I am in fact a mage. I just prefer more… personal engagements." Asher spoke, again, conversational.
The man's palm was drenched in sweat, the grip on his daggers faultering. To think he and his friend thought this would be the perfect setting to ambush a mage. His eyes slowly looked to his left and right.
"An open desert. No cover for a mage to fall back on." Asher began explaining, before he once again dropped from another caravan today. This time, there wasn't any dust leaving from his landing. No sound. "Dry sand, easy to maneuver through. Ensnared by the heat of the sun." He went on, as he slowly walked towards the man.
The man was hardly listening, as he desperately looked for a way out. He knew if he turned his attention away, he'd wind up dead all the same. He analyzed Asher's posture. The way he held his blade. That was a swordsman- no doubt. Not a fucking mage.
Before he has realized it, Asher was standing before him, no taller than he, but he hadn't felt smaller in his life.
"A mouse stuck in a cage. Or in this case, a rat." Asher spoke.
The man wanted to say something, or to move at the very least, but his body wouldn't budge. He felt a warm trail on his lip, was he drooling? He wiped his mouth, as a dark red smear appeared on his hand. Why was he bleeding?
His eyes glanced down, Asher's blade had pierced his chest. He was already dead.