The moon was now gone, covered by the thick layer of grey clouds that rush in the sky, being carried away by the unceasing winter wind. The old trees protested with their cracking, as their trunk was being lashed by the penetrating cold of Nightal, roughly a week before the end of the year. The tiny amount of light that managed to filter itself between the clouds and through the nude branches of the forest above only served to give a sad greyish light to the enviroment, almost if the forest itself was a mere vision in an endless fog. No type of life form was present in the forest, excluding the curious owls who stalked from the high branches in order to spot their meal.
In that same forest, the sound of a rythmical horse trot echoed in the night, to which a metal clacking was responding at a regular pace. The light of a torch flashes in the eyes of a curious owl, whose response is a growl due to the fear of his nearby nest being attacked, which does not happen, as the torch, the figure holding it, and the white horse quickly trot away. The owl, safe once more, returns to his vigilance, spotting a movement in a bush in the opposite tree's roots. It is then when it opens it's wings, and pushes himself off the branch, diving towards it's defenseless victim, in this case a rat.
Siegfried feels the cold but fresh air of the night filling his lungs, giving him an old sensation of peace and happiness, as if he was back on his teenager years lost in the woods with mud on his face as disguise, stalking a bear and raising his sword high above his head before delivering a death blow, breaking the sword into pieces. This old nostalgic feeling caused him to take deep breaths, and exhale slowly, almost as if he was meditating. Despite the calm around him, he was not calm at all. He was not sure what it was, but was most likely either the highly disturbing silence of the night, the obvious nervousness of his horse displayed by his constant growls and head shakes, or by the incredible hunger he was feeling, despite the Fire beer he drank as soon as he left the cave.
Despite all this, the journey continued. Siegfried's thoughts must have been taken over by the hunger he was trying so desperately to control, as he turned his torso to the right, raising his left had which holds the torch up high, and using his right hand to deliver a quick spank to his horses' thigh with an open hand. The sound caused by this sounded like a whip, and the horse seem to have though it was as it increased it's speed, causing the environment around them to become a simple blur. Siegfried, happy with the result, quickly grabbed the seat to avoid falling, as the road was not exactly perfect, but covered with constant obstacles such as branches and rocks and slopes. But nor Siegfried nor his horse had any intention to slow down. Siegfried looked down on the white horse he was mounting, his perfect mane so carefully preserved by Ryuk, and his clear-cut muscles. He remembers the days he bought it, which happened to be the first days he worked with Ryuk.
"As summer was almost over, the heat was almost gone. During the day the temperatures were quite pleasant, always together with the sun in the sky, resembled by general happiness of the population, as they gathered all the harvest in their respective warehouses making jelly, alcohol, or a pie, which always brought neighbors and ended up in a small feast as a offering for the Gods' good luck. But during the night, the wind was slightly colder,causing both sadness and nostalgia, as the Winter is coming, and it's bite will be as merciless as each year. Despite this, people were still working hard on their tasks, as Highharvestide was nearby, and if the crops died, the winter would be even harder.
The sun would soon hide in the horizon, and Rothe Valley was painted in a beautiful mixture of blue from the night sky and red from the now weak sun, still strong enough to paint the dispersed clouds above. Two months had passed since Siegfried met Ryuk in that awful tavern, and against the odds became companions. Siegfried still does not understand why, but neither does Ryuk. Perhaps she is still a kid inside, seeing the legendary knight who saves the princess in him, instead of the stubborn and rude man inside. This being the case, it would explain the sudden interest of Ryuk in searching for that same man that once delighted her with the worst pick-up line she has ever heard, counting those fat guards that tried bribing her parents to marry her in exchange of some pigs. It was no use thinking about it, as every time she did the rage was reborn inside once again. The fact is that this very man she loves and hates at the same time offered a generous offer for her services, so generous that she couldn't reject. In exchange, she'd just have to heal him with his divine magic in order to fulfill the most 'manliest' tasks around, and would even get a big percentage of the rewards.
The preparations were almost done, except the last thing: a horse for Siegfried. He used to have an old mare, which could barely walk by itself, and ended up dying about two week ago as Siegfried displayed his new armor for the Tower District's commoners. It was pretty sad. The poor mare walked as slowly as a legless man that was showing his limbs in order to get enough money to obviously get drunk once more, and it couldn't even open her eyes completely. It was then when she stopped, and simply stood there despite his rider fury unleashing in the form of constant spanks in
her thigh, creating a burn in both the hand and the thigh. As Siegfried was about to dismount, the poor mare simply fell forward, hitting her head against the soil ground, followed by Siegfried flipping down and falling on his ass, a comical scene that was happily laughed at by the pedestrians. Ryuk still remembers the scene to Siegfried, mostly to annoy him or as she complains for his abusive orders.
The stable-master was an old man, which hair seemed to have decided to migrate from his head to his face, displaying an almost magnificent grayish wild beard. His name is a mystery, as Siegfried does not remember almost any names and Ryuk was focused entirely on the disturbing beard, which she openly discussed with Siegfried afterwards. He showed his extensive collection of horses, including big intimidating monsters that didn't look like horses at all, to the cutest ponies that girls would kill to have, in vain. Siegfried is a stubborn man, who had his eyes fixed on a donkey that was simply standing by a well, knowing that he'd get the same result with a much lesser waste of coin. It was quite obvious, which was greeted with the desperation of the stable-master, and a quick drag by Ryuk, who tried to convince him in private, which she achieved with the help of the voice of reason, composed of the words 'horse' and 'manly' in the same sentence, and the reinforcement which took form of a slap. Satisfied with her arguments, Ryuk asked to see the finest horse the stable-master had.
It was then when the stable-master delivered the most beautiful horse he had. A white stallion, as big as it gets, with the finest mane Siegfried and Ryuk had ever seen, and the obviously proud movements of it, as if the horse knew that it was unique. Somehow, the horse reminded Ryuk of Siegfried, as the stallion fought the stable-master all the way to them, almost dragging the stable-master away. It was the obvious choice, although Siegfried was not really convinced, demonstrating it by a furtive gaze towards the donkey, almost like a warning. Still, he decided to buy the horse. The first encounter with his new horse was a disaster, as Siegfried tried to inspect his head by holding the horses' jaw, to which the horse replied with a bite, and Siegfried with a slap across his horse face. Being as stubborn as he is, he tried mounting it when they obviously didn't like each other, but despite the resistance that the horse offered, he managed to take a seat on him. If the stable-master hadn't saddled the horse up, Siegfried would have left by foot, and with a noticeable lack of gold in his pouch. But he was still not welcome to mount him, as the horse did not stop rearing.
In that moment, as the silhouette of the rearing stallion and the shape of Siegfried's armor and long hair just stood in the middle of the dying sun of the horizon, Ryuk realized that both beast and raider were one, as they shared the same majestic looks but in the end they were as stubborn as the donkey who refused to move despite the old womans' cursing. Unfortunately for Ryuk, realizing that also brought a feeling of lust towards the raider of the stallion, despite her attempts to remember the true nature of Siegfried. Once again, it was in vain, and would result in a sexual encounter in the campfire they set for the night on their way to the Neverwinter Woods, one that she would regret every time Siegfried spoke, especially as he refereed to her as 'woman'. Still, she was in love with the looks of him, and would occasionally succumb to those same desires over the course of the four years they have known each other.
Now they were ready to continue with their journey to the Neverwinter Forest, in order to accomplish their first bounty together. Night was soon going to be complete, and the roads were barely illuminated by their torches. Siegfried and his horse seemed to have made peace, as if accepted that they would spend endless amount of time together from that moment forward.
"How about giving him a name"? - Ryuk suggested, mostly to make some conversation instead of watching the now boring landscape, decorated with scattered trees on the endless fields around them.
"He has a name. It's Horse." - Replied Siegfried instantly, not looking away from the road ahead, as if in any moment an ambush of bandits would fall upon them.
"Horse, that's his name?" - Ryuk was once again surprised of the stupidity that Siegfried showed sometimes, and had a certain need to face-palm, which helped digest it.
"Of course." - Siegfried showed his proud smile, mostly to himself. Sometimes it was hard to imagine how things worked in his head, but Ryuk had learned to not think about it as it usually brought a headache.
A few days later, they finally arrived to their destination. The Neverwinter Woods didn't look any different from any other forest to Ryuk. The tree were tall, true, but nothing else seemed extraordinary, not counting the multiple legends based on them. Nevertheless, they established their camp in a small clearing a few kilometers into the forest, away from all the roads. It was pretty simple: two big tents next to each other, a campfire a few meters from the entrance and some hay for Horse, which name was still being discussed. The food was provided by Siegfried, who every morning woke up before dawn and brought a good bunch of nourishments, those being either a boar, a dozen squirrels, or different wild fruits.
The bounty seemed pretty simple: three brothers have caused mayhem in various taverns, becoming every time more violent and eventually leading to the death of a barmaid, two guards, and the rape of several women scattered around the area. Their names were Olaf, Victorr, and their leader Kurki, which was the most brutal. It was common knowledge that their base was in a cave not far from their current camp, but no bounty-hunters ever returned from it. Still, Siegfried was pretty interested in the job, and Ryuk had no saying in his decisions. She tried discussing several times the plan they were going to follow, to which Siegfried always replied: "Go in, deal with them, and leave".
The day finally arrived, and they were standing in front of the cave entrance. Ryuk was obviously nervous, as looking inside the dark cave made her shiver, but not Siegfried. Instead, he was happily devouring some berries he had collected that morning, eating them as loudly as if the berries were metal plates. He finally let out a sigh, and proceed to equip the heavy shield he was so proud of. He then carelessly walked into the cave, without even drawing the sword he carried, like if this was a simple walk instead of a manhunt. Ryuk gasped in awe, but still followed him. The cave was pretty big despite it's look: it held a forge on the left, a big rectangular table with a dozen chairs around it in the middle, fully decorated living quarters to the right, and a big collection of weapons, trophies and treasures in the back, which sight was blocked by the three beds of the brothers, who obviously liked sleeping next to that most precious to them. On those beds lied the ruffians, who didn't really seemed aware of their presence, and obviously didn't have the brains to establish a night watch schedule or to wake up before noon.
Ryuk smiled at their luck, being able to finish the three brothers without even having to fight. Seemed it was all too easy, like if this was free coin for them, that would maybe allow them to buy another horse to carry all the equipment instead of overcharging her horse, and perhaps even being able to purchase a new spell book in order to improve her magical knowledge, as magic was not cheap, and even less without an Academy or Master to provide and guide her. Yes, it was a real luck, and hopefully all the-
"I am Siegfried Friedmann, and I've come to challenge you!" -Siegfried exclaimed, loud enough for the three brothers to completely wake up, pick a weapon from the big pile of treasures they slept with, and ready their stance, completely running the surprise element. Ryuk had a hard time digesting what just happened, and limited to look with eyes as big and round like dishes towards Siegfried. "Fight or die, it's your choice."
The brothers immediately reacted. The one on the right, who had a large pole arm as a weapon, didn't hesitate to rush towards Siegfried, letting out a battle cry that would have scarred even a pack of wolves. The one on the left followed his brother by the opposite side of the cave, armed with a golden maul, which despite it's luxury still looked pretty intimidating. Ryuk instinctively stepped back instinctively, but Siegfried did not. Instead, he readied his guard, preparing for the incoming attack from the pole arm, shoving his knee on the hard rock of the cave's ground, and raising his shield just enough so he can still see his opponents' movements.
The man with the pole arm, who still was shouting in rage against the trespassers, noticed Siegfried's guard, so he raised his pole arm on high in order to deliver a quick stab over Siegfried's shield, hopefully hitting either the neck or chest and killing him instantly. As he was about to thrust his pole arm down, Siegfried reacted by standing up with a jump and raising his left arm quickly, despite the shield's weight, and hitting the ruffian in plain face with the edge of the shield, sending him into the air and therefore falling on his back, the pole arm flying over the room to fall on top of the table in the middle of the cave, and taking his hands to cover the severe hemorrhage that his face was suffering. Meanwhile, the man on the left had made a significant progress, and was about to deliver a side sweep against Siegfried's back, using the moment his fellow ruffian had provided with his nose. As the blow was flying, Siegfried suddenly turned to the left, hitting the maul against his shield, and despite the strong impact of the maul against it, he managed to deflect it. The ruffian and his weapon were knocked lightly to the right, turning around his feet as the maul's weight was in control now despite it's attempts to steady it. Siegfried then used his right foot to trip the man down by doing a kick movement behind the man's left foot, raising it up and causing the man to fall on his back, and immediately after stomping his head with the heavy plate boots, to which the ruffian replied with a painful grunt and eventually going silent as he lost consciousness.
The man on the middle, who was holding two daggers not a moment ago, was now running while muttering something towards the pile of treasures, perhaps thinking that hiding was the best option. He did not run long, as Siegfried flew straight across the room like a disk, hitting his neck and immediately breaking it. The man gasps lightly, and falls on the pile of treasures, with his arms and legs wide open as if a supernatural being had just smited him with his whole rage. Siegfried headed towards him, and instead of finishing the job, he simply took the shield and placed it on his back. Afterwards he ordered Ryuk to begin the treatment of the ruffian with the broken neck, which she refused at first but eventually did. After ensuring Siegfried that the three of them would survive, he stopped the treatment and proceed to tie them up, naked, and deliver them to the Neverwinter Guard, responsible for the reward. It sounded weird to Ryuk, as Siegfried seemed like the one that kills its victims and then threw the heads into a bag. But she realized that this was somehow worse, when she saw the mechanism that ensured the men from not escaping. There were too many pieces, most of them of wood and the rest from forged metal that Siegfried had prepared. The objective of it was simple: if the ruffians did not manage to keep their arms raised horizontally, small blades would rupture into their arm pits, and would cause both pain and eventually death.
The journey back was now quite sad, as the three ruffians moaned and cried all the way from both the mechanism, which had exhausted their arms, and their certain death on hands of their victims or the rope. The fact that they were naked was a plus, and even more when they had no other choice but to urinate or defecate on the move. Ryuk felt sorry for them, thinking that death would have been something they now wish and desire, but that was not coming. They arrived after two days non-stop to a small village in which the three brothers had caused mayhem the last time.
Somehow, it went smooth. Siegfried tied them together by the feet and hands, he removed the mechanism, and took the gold from the so-called mayor. All this under the gaze of the whole population and the visitors of others, which had heard that the scum they hated so much had been captured and were now defenseless and pathetic, and the silence that expressed the fact that something horrible was coming in the ruffians' next hours.
They left pretty quickly as Siegfried advised, leaving the population to do as they wished with the brothers. Ryuk knew that it was all planned, as the villagers had payed them less than the bounty, and that they would be able to get benefits upon giving the brothers into justice, but they also had the chance to administer justice themselves. It was scary. Ryuk realized her services were destinated towards Siegfried's victims, and that only brought respect and fear towards him.
Siegfried couldn't help himself, and smiled at the fond memories. Those were good days, as him and Ryuk were close and ready to prove their worth. Despite his refusal, he knew that those days were over, and shadows had replaced them. The message he received from Ryuk could only be bad news. Soon he would know, as the village was not far away, and would hopefully arrive before the snow decided to give up, and fall down like a frost bite. Horse had not slowed down since he left his cave, which proved that Ryuk was right about buying it.
In that very moment, the snow started falling.