Wind, blown, strongly and unstoppably through the rocky landscape creating a dust cloud, which was too thick for the two lonely rider to be able to see anything. The only reason they were able to move forward though was the horses they rode on. The equines had bend their necks to shield their eyes just like the riders and depended only on their hearing and careful, probing steps to get forward.
The little group consisted of two humans and four equines. Two of the horses were proud battle horses while the other two were shaggy manned small horses, one of them a pony with a barrel chest. The humans were just as different as the horses. On the shaggy horse was a man, who was short, had pepper-grey hair and beard, and wore a green-grey mottled cloak with the cowl pulled deeply in his eyes, soft brown boots, a pair of brown trousers and a white shirt. His choice of weapons were just as weird as his cloak because he only had a long bow with a quiver full of arrows and a pair of knives. His younger companion on the other hand had a sword and a shield with him, wore a chain shirt over his simple clothes. It was easy to tell even from far that the younger was a knight while the older was a mystery.
The horses trotted forward slowly towards Skandia. Towards Will. Thought Halt glumly. He was still mad about Will's enslavement. He wanted his apprentice to be back at home with him in his cabin where the boy would be safe. He couldn't imagine life without him. He became so accustomed to the boy's endless questioning that the quiet loneliness disturbed him. He couldn't find his place without him anymore. He was more than an apprentice to him, Halt came to see him as his son.
Horace was determined to get his best friend back. He was still angry with Morgarath, who's, Scandinavian soldiers caught Will and Evanlyn. He was happy that he could go with Halt to free them. The only downside was Halt's silence. He would have been happier if the old ranger would talk more and smile a little bit. The journey so far contained more fight than he thought it will. Making it harder and longer than he anticipated. He couldn't believe they were on their quest to get Will and Evanlyn back for months now.
Halt was trying to find shelter to hide from the storm which was coming their way. He knew that once the wind dies down there will be a couple minutes of silence before the storm hits down. He knew it for a long while now, but didn't want to tell his companion until he really needs to.
The wind began to die down and with that the two rider was able to look around more and more. Halt's trained eyes found a faraway cave once the wind stopped completely. He motioned to Horace to pick up their pace and follow him. The young warrior did as ordered even though he didn't understand why they needed to hurry. He trusted the older man and knew that he was a great leader especially when they were out in the wild.
It took them a good 15 minutes to reach the cave even with their fast pace. As it was luck was on their side because the rain only began to fall after they were inside the cave where they were protected from the elements. The two set up camp, took the equipment off the horses and sat down to wait it out.
The cave was cold, full of small rocks, and uncomfortable, but it was safe and that was all that really mattered to them right now. Halt knew that a long, tiring wait was ahead of them so he sat down and began preparing their diner.
Horace didn't know how long they will need to wait, but he thought that after an hour or two the rain will stop and the sky will clear. Little did he know that the storm will keep them in place for a long time with no way of continuing their journey for two whole day.
