The wooden frame of my bed creaked, as I stumbled out. The holding my head, which still hung in a monotone aching. I put on my shoes, shivering slightly as I walked into the main room, the table was set with a few wooden bowls dotting its warped surface, a mixture of cheese and hard bread with a few containers of watered down ale. I sat down, slowly starting to nibble at a loaf as the woman in front of me worked on a cold stew, slowly starting to warm in the small fire underneath. She hummed as she went, stopping every now and then to pull her silky hair out of her eyes. I looked down trying to dull the gritty texture in my mouth as I reached for a slice of cheese.

“Are you alright?” a small voice came from across the room, she had sat down and was now perched, both arms cupping her face as she leaned in towards me.

“I'm fine” continuing to chew, I counted the small grains of dirt hanging onto the log walls.

“Are you sure?” she leaned in further her cheeks falling as her eyes seemed to whimper.

I made a motion to get up, that she responded to by placing her hand on mine, and once again almost glaring at me with begging eyes.

“I'm fine, don’t worry about me” I smiled, the corners of my mouth spreading limply.

She stepped back slightly, returning the smile.

“Ymira eccan si a forna aksi, te a gladas ut custod”

What?

I furrowed my brow, squinting, trying to focus on the words through the rising pain in my head.

“Father wants you to go back to Hovden, he has a sword for one of the wardens” she repeated.

It's gone, thank God.

I nodded, proceeding to walk through the door on my left, being greeted by the hot wall of the forge.

A motion of shovelling charcoal and the metallic thudding of a hammer, he looked up to me briefly, and nodded towards the left side of the room. It was silent, and smell of hot iron penetrated my lungs, like the stabbing of a needle.

I walked to the back of the room, and emerged with a short, bladed weapon, that fell deftly amongst my hands, I strapped it into my belt, gave him a quick nudge, and left the house.

As I was leaving the other woman of the house called out to me from the garden.

“Check the traps for me on the way back! Be careful as always! Say hi to Leoric for me if you find him!” she smiled, bending down, and returning to her work, her once blue dress already stained by the dirt.

The town once again crested over the hill, and as I walked through the opening in, between two stone towers, one half collapsing, one of guards, looked and grimaced as I passed. I continued through the bustling streets, cutting into a small opening between buildings, my vision was marred as the rickety frames covered the weak sun, as I ambled through, a group of people stood outside a building, the sign reading “An Gof” the symbol of a dragon hung above it, its tail curling into a knot of 3 rings. They were standing not far from the door cluttered on both sides of the street.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

They spoke in a strangely sibyllic tone, as though a snake had learned to speak, slurring each word, making each letter a long and drawn-out action. They stopped as I walked past, I kept my head down, not meeting their gaze, and I heard the snakes continue their chatter, rounding the corner.

Just keep going, just do what your told I thought to myself, at least this place is peaceful

The grimy streets continued, marred with refuse, and hunched figures. The small cobblestone hut, stood out amongst the ragged wooden buildings, like a monolith amongst dead trees. 2 middle aged men stood either side of a barbed door, their armour having lost its shine, slightly blending into the grey bricks behind.

The first of the 2 stepped forward as i approached, he had a spear in one hand, with 2 brown eyes that glinted beyond his nose guard.

He held out his free hand.

I placed a bronze coin within. He led me through the barbed door into the 2nd door, where another guard had emerged from the building within. His helmet fully covered his face, with glistening plating.

He struck his hand out, shaking it with his head slowly, his feet tapping the cobbles, i dragged the scabbard out of the sheath of my belt, and balanced it neatly on his hand, with my head lowered. I felt his eyes stare into the back of my skull before he started examining the blade. He dropped 10 neat coins onto the ground, that I proceeded to scrounge what was it? Don’t bite the hand that feeds you? I thought to myself as I gathered the last of the coins and was escorted back out into the street.

Only the gentle cawing of a bird and the squelching of my crude shoes etched into the silence, walking into a sea of spiked yellow leaved trees. Their thin trunks black against the grey sky. My mood lightened as soon as I found the 3rd trap after the others came up naught. A single rabbit, or what a rabbit should not look like, it was freakish in nature, the body and tail of fluff, with six spindly legs that jutted out from all sides, with a long many eyed snout at one end. I took it in both hands and heaved it over my shoulder, resetting the trap and starting to walk back.

As I closed upon the log house, I came across a clearing, in the middle rested a circle of stones, covered by a mass of bushes and leaves, peeling it away revealed a heap of charcoal and burnt wood still smouldering against the leaves that imprisoned them.

Odd, I thought, must have been Leoric

“LEORIC!” I called into the surrounding wood

Silence echoed back

I shrugged, putting the leaves back over the top of the fire and walking back, dragging dinner behind me.

A single needle broke behind me, but my eyes were met with the yellow and black of the trees as my eyes scanned the forest.

I heard a muffled call from inside the house, I pulled the cloth wrapped around my neck tighter, as the wind howled at my actions, I brought the hatchet down one last time, embedding it deeply into the log and strolled inside.

The room was warm and dry, I rested the rag about my neck on the side and sat down at the table. The pungent odour of vegetables and meat coated the room, as the pot boiled in front of me, above a raging flame. The younger woman sat down at the table and was staring longingly at her bowl as if to will the food into existence, whilst the other, older one sliced another grainy loaf onto the table. Finally, the man entered from the metallic cave, wiping his brow, he sat down, mirroring his daughter, catching a chuckle out of his wife.

They began talking, I could understand, and I smiled, both my lips curling to the back of my mouth as I laughed alongside my family. A moisture started to tear down my face before I realised taking in the sight of the table once more, then wiping my face, quickly.

The stew filled me with warmth, and finally I felt content and whole, as though they were still here, still with me, in the form of these people.

I sat down, against the great tree, now leafless amid the morning sky, the chill bit at my hands, that struggled to grip the leftover bread from last night. I chuckled, gazing at the beautiful scape that was before me, the valley, the hills, the mountains and Hovden in the distance. I smiled, even as the smell of burning wood began to infect my lungs, and the first screams and cries started to bleed my ears.