Pausing a moment the ranger tried to collect her thoughts which appeared to become ever increasingly more difficult over the past, few hours. If any were to question her about this second blade she would answer truthfully, even if the facts were quite unbelievable. For the moment she would have to act as calmly as she could and stay her hand; so long as no one threatened her, she would have no reason to threaten anyone aside from the thief. Yes, she was still out there, and her constant musing of her thoughts was costing her valuable time. As she looked around the parapet she located the window that the figure had entered the castle through, and found a number of means for her own entry. Were she able to walk through the air itself she'd have been able to reach the window in only half a minute, but as she could not she looked over the most opportune passages. She could, perhaps, climb down the other side of the wall or even leap down with a careful jump; it would certainly be the fastest, albeit the most injurious. Turning her head to and fro she tried to espy as much of the parapet as she could, thinking there might have been some other means that wouldn't involve her landing on her head, however. It was when she looked to her right that she noticed a stairwell leading into the depths of the castle wall itself; no doubt it would be guarded, but much like her attempt at tracking the thief through the crowds she had to be thankful for the fact that she had not yet been found out and executed on sight.

Grasping the hilt of the new greatsword so that its blade rested below her hand she held the blade behind her, took in a deep breath, and stepped cautiously towards the stairwell, her steps slow and deliberate. Her armour and gear would make it most difficult to silence the sounds of her heavy boots, but if her rogue's luck were to continue she might be able to bypass any resistance before her. The ranger knew that this method would be slower, and losing track of the window more problematic, but she doubted that whomever that figure was he or she would not have stayed in that location for long. Who knows? She might be able to catch her prey somewhere in the middle, less she herself be caught in turn.

She got what she wished for. Far off in the distance the ranger heard the sound of voices coming towards her. Obviously she could not be alone in the castle, such an idea would be utterly ludicrous. Even if in the back of her mind the dream of facing the thief alone in combat thrilled her, she tried to reason against her desire for battle that her prey likely had a contingency plan and that, were conflict to ensue, she would not make it out of this building without a scratch. Unfortunately it only served to heighten the passions within her heart, so she then tried to convince herself that, if she doesn't throw herself headlong into a needless battle, she may not die this day. Such thoughts would have to be saved for later, however, as the voices were steadily growing closer with each short breath she took. Quickly her eyes darted from wall to wall, looking for any object or deep shadow that she might be able to use to hide. If she were truly lucky, she might be able to keep herself from being spotted and perhaps even make out just what the voices were saying; yet to trust in such luck was a fool's hope, and the grip upon her new blade tightened as she tried desperately to steady her nerves and ready herself for the end.

“I can't believe that Captain Raish Vandecken left a little girl to take his place,” one of the guards spoke up with an agitated tone. “I mean, heck, I could do a better job as captain than Veranda Qual.” The ranger's eyes grew wide when she heard that name. So, the captain of the guard did indeed belong to one of the four bloodlines housed within the shrine; worse yet, she was a descendent of Sailove the Vampire. This bitter news sent a cold shiver down the woman's spine, for until this moment she had begun to hope that the captain would have been on the side of good, a person of virtue dedicated to stopping such evil from ever returning to plague the land. Then again, only one of that accursed bloodline could know just how heavy such doom would lay upon the land; perhaps there was still hope, indeed, that Veranda had sought to keep the artifact from foul hands. Before she could focus her thoughts any further on the matter, however, the other guard soon replied to the first. “Leaving a girl to do a man's job is just despicable. Don't worry, though; her time will come before too long.” Gritting her teeth so hard that it hurt, the ranger had to call upon every last ounce of her will to stay her hand less she take the heads of these so called men as they walked into her view, laughing heartily.

“Wait a minute… did you hear that…?” asked the first guard to his companion, both their merriment and their movement stopping suddenly. A momentary sense of fear struck the young woman's heart as she could feel their eyes upon her as they more closely examined their surroundings. Had she been found out? Was it the unintentional heaviness of her breathing, or the earth-shattering noise of her heartbeat? Would they unsheathe their blades and pierce her reckless body, or take her for their own and inflict upon her a pain far worse than death? No. More than likely this was her chance to show these braggarts the strength of a woman, to let them know that even the fairer sex was no stranger to the art of killing. With her fingers gently rapping against the hilt of the unusual greatsword she had found she glared hard into their eyes, ready to pounce upon them… but, once more, her conscience held her back. True, the guards glanced upon the shadows beneath the stairwell and saw exactly that; nothing but shadows. “I don't hear anything,” the second guard confessed. “Who would be dumb enough to attack or infiltrate a castle? Plus, nothing ever happens around here, anyways.” “I guess you're right,” his friend replied with a chuckle. “After all, we took these jobs so we wouldn't have to do any real work after all.”

Much to her chagrin the ranger let the two men walk with their supposed confidence up the stairs above her, although she had to admit what they said hadn't left her spirit unsullied. She would not argue that what she was doing here was the very height of foolishness, but was that not the fun of it? Climbing out of the shadows she shook the anger and hatred from her young, headstrong mind. They doubt the abilities of their captain yet confess that they took the job because they are lazy? Had they never seen their captain in action as she had done? For all of her assurances, however, fear soon enveloped her. Just what did the other mean by, “her time will come before long?” Was the captain prey for more than just the ranger? Whatever the case may be, simply standing around and thinking about it would serve her no good; time was running out, and the captain, whether she was the thief or not, was still out there. She knew she had to find her before anyone else did.

And, with any luck, she might just shake things up for those two so sure in their superiority.