They hid in a cave to escape the blizzard, Oscar sat down shaking next to the already dying flint fire trying to warm his frozen bones. Ruby and Jaune tried to cook meals over it, with no great success. Maria sat on a cold rock her mind wandering and meditating on their next steps on the frozen plains outside.
Blake and Yang sat together sharing stories of what they should do if Adam ever returned, Yang pretending to be more courageous than she actually is and Blake cheered her on. Ren and Nora sat up the sleeping bags and tried to warm themselves a glance or two lasting maybe too long for each others liking. Qrow and Weiss scanned the cave, looking for all and any sign of danger. Qrows blood tinged eyes watched the shape of a man in the snow storm approach them, his body already focusing on a fight. Qrows breathing slowed to a crawl and the handle of scythe already comfortable in his palm he stood at the entrance of the small outcove.
The man kept walking slumped over in the heavy snowfall, bound to his body a great rope, attached to the other end was a dead deer its blood still trailing behind them. The old man's great silver beard covered in snow, he approached the cave and stood staring at the two hunters and let his heavy gasps escape him. Then he spoke.
"Hello." The pair did not respond to him, they simply stood like statues ready for a trick by one of Salem's pawns. "How many of you are here?"
"Enough." Qrow answered in his natural raspy voice.
"May I come in? I have a meal." The man gestured to the great deer with the rope slung around its neck and the blood still pouring out the open wound on its left rib cage. Weiss turned away for a moment in disgust. "I assure you I won't stay here long. Just until the blizzard clears and I can get my marbles again." Qrow was against it, but with low supplies and unsure of their current path they had to take a gamble. They let the old man to stay.
The old man slung the dead deer over his shoulder and walked deeper into the grotto past every curious eyes that wondered who he was.
The old man removed his old gloves to begin his work. He cut deep into the animal letting the warm blood spill over his scarred fingers, he skinned it with such profivency it seemed he spent lifetimes perfecting the method. He took the rib cage with his silver prosthetic arm and threw them aside, removing the lungs with a great tug he placed them on top of the bones that once protected them. When he clasped the heart of the animal with great care, making sure not to damage it too much, he wrapped it in leather and hide, putting it inside his satchel. He began to carve out the meat for eating.
"Gosh Darnit..." Ruby muttered under her breath, as the flame that was so promising died out again. Her stomach rumbled in great hunger, she was shivering, and no matter how hard she wrapped herself in her cloak the nail biting cold still reached her. Jaune had tried to collect more dried branches and leaves around the cave to increase their chances of not dying of hypothermia.
"May I help?" The old man stood above her covered in blood, his hat and beard caked in snow, he slipped into one knee and reached into the pocket of his wasted brown leather jacket. He pulled out a gunpowder bullet and bit into it, separating the casing and the round, he held it between his index finger and thumb, he waited for a spark to appear from the flame. He threw the gunpowder into the flames and it raised immediately into the air. Real heat now.
"Thanks... " She offered a short smile to the old man as she warmed her hands. "I'm Ruby and you?" For a moment the man is hesitant, his mouth stays open for a second before he answers her. It was enough to make up something.
"Uriah." He answers.
"What brings you out here Uriah?" At this point Oscar and Jaune have joined around the fire placing more cold leaves and branches trying to increase the flame and comfort.
"That is a good question, truly I am not sure. But there are legends… legends of magic in this place." Oscars shifted and shook a little, it gave him away immediately as knowing something and the stranger was not blind to it. He pressed the boy on it. "You believe in magic son?" But before Oscars answer could escape his lips, Ruby saved him with a simple statement that they could all agree on lying to the man.
"Magic isn't real. It's fairy tales." Slowly the rest of the group had come around the fire growing a circle of debate for them. The man smiled at her answer as he began to cook.
"Do you truly believe in that or is lying common among you?" Uriah took a knife hidden inside his jacket and pointed the blade at himself as he handed it to any who wanted the slab of meat atop the flames.
"It's the truth." Uriah chuckled and placed his hands over the warm fire looking deeply into the silver eyed girl.
"And what if it is real Ruby? What would you do if one day you were given power beyond your wildest dreams? What would any of you do?" The question lingers in the air, scratching at their minds of what they could and would do. Some even ask if they should do anything and keep it a secret like the world as ordered so long ago.
"I'd make it not so goddamn cold." Oscars answers, some smile and some laugh, Uriah looks displeased with the answer but he does not push his case any further. These children hide something from Uriah. It's so curiously sweet.
"Where you from Uriah?" Qrow asked that viperous taste of distrust still in his tongue.
"From the desert of the Issachar, my village." He knew this wasn't a place they knew, this place has been ripped from history. "By the accent I'll gamble that a majority of you come from Vale. Except the girl in white. She dresses in Atlas fashion."
The guesses were dangerously close but still obvious things, they did not interrogate the stranger any further.
They shared the meal and spoke among one another letting any information to escape to be little and unimportant for their greater plans.
Slowly the great white thunderous storm had come to a halt, the sun dying slowly across the edge of the sky, the outside was a beautiful white covered wonderland. Blake who rarely ever saw moments like these felt marveled, she finally understood that concept of frozen in time that so many speak about when talking about beauty.
Qrow and Yang were strong enough to slowly descend the motorcycle bumblebee back down unto the clean snow, making the white snow splash as it hit the ground. Uriah offered his hand to Maria to help her come down unto the thick coat of the white blanket.
"There is a town not far from here. I intend to go there for my fairy tales." Uriah gave a coy smile to Maria as he did so, she returned the same short affection. "If you want to follow I won't stop you."
The old man walked in a straight line as the group weighed the pros and cons of trusting this crazy stranger out in the frozen mountain range. They put it to a vote.
There was a march for 40 minutes and they all felt their anxiety and fear increase with each step, this stranger not even turning around to see if they still followed just head raised up to look in front of him sometimes removing the snow that crossed across his face. He ducked below a branch and held it high for long enough so Qrow could grab it and let the kids pass in front of him.
As they climbed a hill they broke the tree line, and saw the small village with great smoke lines across the wooded houses and mansions at the edge of a great ice still lake. Uriah pointed at it and spoke.
"There's your fairytale Ruby." He had a crooked smile to him knowing she had to ask him the terrible secrets.
"What is down there Uriah?"
"If the legends are to be true, twisted apotheosis." Again with the cryptic lines and veils on truth. This guy is starting to sound like Ozpin.
They descended slowly, Uriah now fully aware of them, helping Yang and Qrow with the motorcycle so it didn't suffer any stupid damage from sloppy handling. They passed down the main road examining the great wooden buildings with marvelous stained glass, the brick stones building the on high furnaces with even greater black smoke rising above it all. Animals like cows and pigs were pinned behind a great stone house, hidden in huts trying to escape the cold.
The town felt dead, and like Blake had felt before, frozen in time. The village had no walls, no way to protect itself from Grimm, no merchants or guards walking and patrolling the town. They went past a large house with a porch with tables and chairs set outside, the great sign saying Tavern and Inn: Motetz Dam.
Uriah checked his pockets making sure his chalk and cobalt bound book was still hidden there.
The inside was blazing hot considering the outside, powered by the great fire in the fireplace, next to the red cloth couches facing it. Behind them was wooden tables and chairs with blue cushions on top of it making a form of dining hall.
Behind the counter was a young woman with pale skin and great sapphire eyes, her hair a short and ill-kept blonde mane with a necklace laying comfortably over a woolen sweater. She looked from the counter and the book that lay there. It seemed she was startled from seeing such a large group specially in the middle of winter.
"Do you have rooms?" Weiss spoke up first. That posture usual to her when wanting to make a business deal.
"Yeah, we got like... empty house…" Her voice was raspy belonging to a frequent smoker and she adjusted herself and her clothing. She kneeled on one knee escaping sight for a moment. She pulled from below a great leather bound book with yellow pages and bloated ink. "I need you to write down your names then I can give the keys to your rooms… How many of you are here?"
"11." Uriah responded. His tone with a hint a of poisonous anger.
"Well if some of you are willing to share we can set you up in 6 rooms with 2 beds each, they aren't very big." They agreed choosing pairs in between them. Qrow and Oscar. Maria and Uriah. Blake and Yang. Ren and Nora. Jaune and Ruby. Weiss would sleep alone that night. She thanked the heavens for some alone time.
"How about some actual food. No offense but I'd like something that isn't freshly hunted deer." Jaunes half joking comment made Nora and Ruby chuckled, a great number of them sat down around the tables of the composed dining hall. Others like Uriah and Maria, Blake and Yang went to their rooms to get cleaned up.
The room wasn't as warm as the main hall, Uriah pressed his hand against the dark wall feeling for a light switch. Maria found it eventually, it was much lower than he mellow yellow light turning the pitch black room clear.
The old man removed his heavy jacket and hat. His leather vest followed shortly, after hanging it all on a hat stand in the corner Uriah examined his face upon the mirror above the cupboard.
"So what do you know of magic Uriah?" The old man turned and faced Maria that sat on the bed.
"Have spent my entire existence hunting it."
"Any luck?" Uriah revealed his left arm, silver and only silver, there was no sign of bolts or electronics and it moved with such natural finesse it was as he was born with it.
"This is magic. An arm formed for a great leader, but he fell, I took this from his gravesite deep below the jungles of Mistral. The only thing that controls it is my mind."
"If you spent your entire life hunting these things I'd imagine you'd have flashier stuff. Should have known not to get my hopes up." Uriah smiled and from his pants pocket he took a small note block. It was made of wasted cobalt with great many pages written inside.
"You should know not all magic comes from objects. Silver Eyed warrior." Maria tried to play the fool in this scenario she answered with a short chuckle and a response.
"What are you talking about you idiot. The snow must have frozen your brain."
"Calavera, it's alright. I am a servant as well. But I chose this path you were forced because of your genes. I know who you are." The old man got on one knee and reached his hand to Maria, she took it cautiously. He spoke the truth, he was older than her after all and was doing this long before she was born.
"What do you know of the silver eyes?" She asked steading her voice from trembling.
"Gifts and curses by the false god, I knew many like you given this… nightmare. I know Ruby also has these. I want to protect her, like I want to protect you. I offer my services." Maria turned to him, the great metal shutters that formed as her eyelids closed somewhat. "We don't need protection."
"A scribe, a lore master. I know the secrets of magic, I've been upon this world for so long wanting the witches head. I am so very lucky to meet you." He touched her cheek and had an honest look to him, as a puppy wanting nothing more than to be petted and said he's a good boy, she hated how it worked on her soft ancient heart.
"I'm not leading this band of youngsters. If you want to follow you'll have to ask them." Uriah smiled and got up back on his feet.
"Thank you Maria, and if you do fall asleep remember to lock the door. I don't know if I'll be coming back up." The old man nodded to her and took his leave, her mind still ablaze with ideas about this stranger out in the mountains. So many why's and hows. It clinged to her throat forming a knot of anxiety only to be expelled with a strong and controlled sigh. Maria wished to sleep.
The others downstairs were served feast after feast, this strange town having delectable meals from the farthest corners of Remnant. Jaune, Nora and Qrow ate like starved animals living in a cave. Ruby alongside Oscar Joined them in the feast but she was more careful, her face stuck with a thousand yard stare.
Weiss and Ren ate a healthy platter with salmon and potatoes covered with sweet vinegar, they made small talk where they could but it all ended back at the stranger, Uriah and his almost miracle discovery of them.
"Do you think he works for Salem?" Weiss asked almost afraid the man would materialize out of thin air behind her.
"I don't know, maybe. He doesn't fit the usual bill of crazy and sadistic. But it's obvious he's not being completely honest with us." Ren responded his hand touching his chin quizzically.
"I think he knows about my eyes." Ruby who now barely touched her meal responded to them bought. Her face furrowed and frustrated. "Of course he knows. It's the worst kept secret of the world." Ruby growled under her breath making all turn to her, the mere sight of seeing the pure and innocent Ruby Rose be pissed at something was so strange that some though truly that the old man had placed a spell on her.
Uriah heard them speak, trying to calm Ruby, telling her that she was safe and it would all work out eventually in the end. But the truth is she wasn't safe, none of them were and it would only take for the sky to turn into pitch darkness for them to see it. So with what little sun rays Uriah could muster, he passed the group and their now muttered speeches to go unto the frozen lake. With chalk in hand he began to draw upon the ice great sigils, offering the heart of the deer and it's blood as sacrifice.
It wasn't long before the sunlight had vanished replaced by the soft feinted moonlight on a overcast day, only to be followed by their rising in shadow and mist like harpies.
"Fucking Vampires."