[2175 Words]
In the second hour after the sun's set, the cold winter's wind barreled through a clearing of trees that was made a path. "Aah, aaagh, AaaaChu! FU-" A man lost his balance on the ice and snow covered ground and fell backwards. His eyes were red with tears that he quickly wiped away. His elbows and shoulders were sore from bracing the fall, but it didn't stop gravity from making his head kiss ground.
"Uhh hahauhh, man that hurt." That being said he shakingly got up on his feet slipping once, but he caught himself with the shaft of his ax. He had to move quickly before the snow comes to cover the tracks he was following. It was as he finally stood up that he saw a flower.
This flower in particular was his favorite because despite the harsh winter of this mountain range, they endured. The Frostblooms shared the same ice blue of his eyes and endured great suffering as he did. The bitter cold left him sick since birth, as the sneezing and coughing racked his lungs.
He walked over, kneeled, and very gently wiped of the snow from its petals. He snapped some twigs from the tree above and set a loose perimeter around the flower. He kissed it softly despite the chappedness of his lips and said, "wish me luck" before standing.
Stepping back on the path carefully, he continued to follow the tracks. He was surprised to not have coughed since falling. Maybe the fall knocked some sense into this body of his. Looking to his surroundings, he watched and listened for crunching snow and movement through the trees. When he found nothing, he continued following the tracks until he suddenly realized that there were no tracks.
Looking side to side and even under his boot brought nothing new and only renewed his fear of losing the tracks. He turned around and found that the ones he was chasing covered their tracks. "Hmm"
His keen eyes locked on to a dagger lodged in the snow at an angle. "Whoever threw caused it to tail spin through the air to make go that deep in the snow, so it couldn't be dropped." He looked to the opposite side of the clearing and saw a tree limb without snow on it. "It can't be that easy can it?"
He got on the ground and rolled in the snow covering his clothes in snow before getting up and sticking close to the trees for cover. He couldn't camouflage his ax, but the rest of him was camouflaged enough to blend into the foliage. His pale skin and white hair were trademarks of his people who lived in these mountains for generations before traditions recorded.
The snow creaked and crunched under his feet. The air was dry and fridged as he weaved from tree to tree. He soon noticed that the footprints came back, and soon after that the smell of wood smoke waffed through to his nose. Now on his tip toes, he stepped slowly until the light of the fire was seen in specs through the trees.
Up against a tree with the ax on the side of his body opposite the fire he looked around and almost had to admire the scenery the cliff. The trees came in like circle that opened over a cliff with bushes of his favorite flower. The clouds opened up to reveal the wonders of the stars. His heart ached at the sight.
The fridged wind and the crackling of the fire reminded of his priorities before he got lost in the sight. Looking around he saw a clearing he saw only one real path deaper in the forest as fallen trees blocked every other exit besides the cliff, but it's assumed that they're not trying to escape life. Then he looked over the three men and one of the had sack wrapped around his shoulder. The three men themselves were armed with clubs, and one man had an ax.
The sides of their faces were familiar. They came into town about two weeks ago, and they could never really mind their own business. They asked questions about old wives tales and were caught once in a persons home looking for something. It turns out they were looking for the Hearthstone amulet.
Due to his chronic illness that caused him to be shunned, he didn't know what the amulet did, but it was key to the Winter Hearth Festival. The festival would begin on the winers solstice and continue untill spring. Snaggletooth, Mr. Grumpy, and Roughneck stole it this evening before running out of town thinking no one saw them; they were wrong.
Raymond this, so far, sneakily perceptive man saw them and gave chase. The three men didn't have the same breathing problems and didn't have to take breaks like Raymond did so he didn't catch up until now.
He decided that it would be a smart move to block the exit spook them and ambush them when they tried to escape. He tipped toed very slowly around to their left. He almost made it when he slipped up on solid ice and grabbed a branch. Needless to say, his curses and the sound of snow falling alerted the three men.
Raymond ran to the exit and the three men realizing he was there changed him. Snaggletooth got the first hit in with his club that hit its mark on Raymond's head. Mr. Grumpy pants taking this time to hit Raymond's leg causing him to fall just in time evade the ax coming at his head. Mr. Grumpy was the closest to Raymond who was sitting on his club so Raymond used his great ax (just a simple ax with a long handle) to share his breathing problems.
Mr. Grumpy pants, as Raymond unaffectionatly called him, was unable to dodge or block, so he began suffocating on his own blood as the ax entered the man's throat. Raymond was hit in the back so hard that the air was taken from his for a minute as he ripped the ax out of the other man's neck. Mr. Roughneck tried to swing his ax over head like he was chopping wood but Raymond stood up abruptly, and only the handle hit shoulder. The ax bounced off shoulder, but it still hurt. Using the other arm with a close hand to head grip, he continued to share his breathing problems.
The last one, Snaggletooth stepped back as Raymond rolled his shoulder. He gulped one more time before swinging one last time, but Raymond defused the hit with the shaft of his ax and rotating enough for the club to pass by before setting up the ax horizontally to stab towards the man. The handle hit the man's shoulder while the tip of the ax blade hit his chest. The man held his chest screaming before Raymond hit him one last time having shared his breathing problems with all three men.
The clouds covered the stars as if in shame, and the light of the fire faded with Raymond's adrenaline. In its place a with a throbbing headache and a greater difficulty in breathing. The man grabbed the sack that had food for a week, 5 gold coins, and the Hearthstone amulet. It looked like amber trapped in deep blue ice enshrined in silver. The cord holding it was common lase, but it didn't detract from its beauty.
Throughing the sack around his shoulder he tried standing up nearly fell down from a bout of dizziness. Since he was conveniently next some cloth he could take, he cut the sleeve of former Snaggletooth and wrapped around his head hoping some pressure would make I better. It didn't, but he made to the end of cleaning right next to his favorite before collapsing.
"Well aren't you pretty?" he said with one eye open as he gently wiped off the snow from its petals. "Thanks for the luck... I... Couldn't have ma.. made it this far... With.. out...yo..." Raymond passed out his hand falling to the side of the plant as it began to glow.
Raymond woke up on his back and the sack on his stomach which was weird because he distinctly remembered falling face first. The moon was now in the middle of the night sky marking it the 6th hour after sunset. "I guess I should mossy on back that way... Uhha" he groaned getting up.
Remembering the way back to the main road he proceeded through the forest the same way he came. To use the main road back to the city he took a left stepping carefully despite his limp that he braced with the handle of his ax. Making his way back down the road he found the flower again. Limping all the way to it he knelt down and gently brushed off the snow built up on his petals again.
"Did I ever say 'thank you' for the luck? Well if I didn't, thank you. Hope to see you again." He said before hobbling off on the main road. The road seemed longer on the trek back for some reason that couldn't put his finger on as he waddled down the road. Becoming slightly paranoid he kept on looking inside to side almost feel like something was watching him.
It was then that, "aahh hau uUhchU! Uhh... There we go again..." The fits didn't happen during the fight and he was glad for, but it still sucked especially when the coughs irritated the bruised ribs. With the ninth hour since the sunset just stating, the town came into view.
With the rag falling off his head a sudden realization came to mind when he bent down to grab it. The snow he rolled around in previously was now completely covered in blood. If he came into town looking to have that bad he'd be arrested or killed on the spot. He took the ax and started scraping away all the snow he could, and using the handle to bat away the snow off his boots.
He didn't see anyone outside because everyone was celebrating the Winter Hearth Festival in the main hall. When he finally made it to the main hall limp in toe, he found himself looking at two double doors. Adore on the right had a worn handle all the door on the left was barely worn at all and looks brand new in comparison. Raymond grabbed a left handle as he entered the door and turned his back to the crowd as he shut it.
The crowd went silent momentarily thinking everyone is already here but then they saw Raymond they got automatically went back to what they were doing. Raymond decided it would not be best not to bother anyone walked along the wall attempting to get close to the mayor to deliver the Hearthstone amulet.
Whether he was ignored or he just genuinely was not seen at all he made his way undisturbed the whole way. When he finally reached the back of the main hall it found the mirror and a table saw all the elders they were talking about the winter Hearth Festival and he briefly overheard something about the Hearthstone coming from one of the elders and worry what Raymond did not speak up.
Raymond waited patiently for the mayor to raise their hand, for the only opportunity he would have. The mayor was giving a toast or something, Raymond wasn't really paying attention to it, but in that moment the mayor raised his left hand. Raymond sees that moment and slung the amulet by its string so the stone would land in the mayors hand before quickly stepping back and saying, "I'm sorry for bothering you, sir." The mayor turned back along with the elders and when they saw him they looked at him with shock. When they realize it was the Hearthstone amulet they immediately rid all attention to it and ignored him.
Sighing in defeat before leaving the building the way he came. He had woken up that that morning rather early, and on top of that had a little adventure for 10 hours so he was exhausted to say the least. Making his way back home, which was on the other side of the town, he noticed his head did hurt. He blinked but didn't give it a second thought.
Looking back to the town hall to make sure no one was following him or sneaking in to the town hall, but he found no one. He made it to his on room home with one door and one window. Opening the door he found the fire place with a pot and a bed under the window. Dropping the sack he forgot about and the ax the opposite sides of the door, he started lighting a fire. Getting up without the ax or the limp he walked to the bed and passed out with one foot over the edge.