A small breeze blew through the forest, rustling the branches of the trees, filling the air with noise. To the group of men who were gathered together in front of a fire, it was simply another noise in the forest, one that was to be expected and ignored. The men were in a small clearing that was well known to them, and it was a place of rest they had used several times before. It was a place where the bandits in the Norwood Forest commonly came to rest before setting out after another target. From the amount of money they had in their saddlebags, they had been fairly successful, and it was that success that had brought them to the attention of Ahren Elessedil. Listening to the wind, the God of Air had heard the many announcements going off about a reward for their capture. Since it had been some time since he had done anything interesting, Ahren had immediately set off from his temple.
There were a few clouds up in the sky, and it was on one of those clouds that Ahren stood, looking down at the neat camp below him. It was easy to see why these men had been so successful. Everything was in order, they each had a task to perform. They worked together very well for bandits, and it was that fact that had allowed them to escape capture so far. "Well, all good things must come to an end." With a small smile on his face, Ahren stepped off of the clouds and transformed himself into a bird. Winging his way down from the heights, Ahren landed lightly on the branch of a tree, turning to glance at the bandits. At the moment, a meal that smelled extremely delicious was being cooked over the fire, and the rest of the group was setting up their bedrolls. There were already three men stationed in various places keeping watch. Silently, Ahren counted bodies, looking to see how many people he was going to have to deal with. In a few seconds, Ahren had a head count. The band numbered eight people with horses.
Fluttering to another branch, Ahren slowly made his way around the camp, getting the position of everyone as he thought of what he was going to do. He could just enter the camp and start throwing around lightning bolts and capturing people with the air, but that might panic the horses and it might get someone killed. If he could, he wanted to do this with as little trouble as possible. As he slowly flew through the trees, he noticed one of the bandits watching him. Slowly, the man reached down and picked up an already strung bow. With elaborate care, the man selected an arrow and took aim at Ahren. Since Ahren had no desire to be shot at, he decided it was time to start doing something. Fluttering down to the ground, Ahren got behind a tree and quickly transformed back into himself. Reaching out a hand, he formed his own bow and arrow out of the air. Stepping out from behind the tree, he smiled at the man, taking aim. The man was not an idiot, he quickly fired an arrow and let out a warning shout. Without flinching, Ahren watched as the arrow was knocked to the side. It had hit the wall of wind that was swirling around him. Letting his own shot fly, Ahren sent it through the leg of the man's pants, pinning the man's leg to the ground. It had begun.