The inside of Vera's house still looked as familiar as it usually did. The first thing you notice is the long hallway with two large, open-frame doorways on each side of you, several segments of animal heads mounted on the hallway walls along with a mount for a short bow accompanied by a quiver. Of course, those two were missing for obvious reasons.

Peering left, you find a small kitchen style room, with a single furnace surrounded by numerous end tables used for counters, one slightly larger table standing at the other end of the room, three chairs slid underneath it.

Going right, you would find a slightly larger room, a small living area with a small fireplace as its headpiece with two chairs layered in furs in front of it. Two sets of doors stood directly across from the doorway, leading to both Vera's room, and her mother's. This was the room Vera led me into as she took my hand in both of hers, urging me past the fireplace to the set of stairs that sat out of sight just behind it.

These stairs lead down to the small dug out basement that Lehen had told me she dug out even years before she found Vera. "If there's one thing I can do, it is fight. By building a choke point like this, any person who wants to test my strength will have to do it one at a time." Is what she had told me. Of course, shortly after she took in Vera, the space had quickly become a small hiding place for Vera and her antics.

"It's down here." She said, still tugging me along like I didn't get to make a choice otherwise. I looked back at Aeron who was still trailing us close behind. He met my gaze and thinned his lips, raising his eyebrows at me and itching his beard. Why does it feel more tense than it needs to be?

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Vera quickly flung the door open as she ushered me inside. Looking around it was still the same as she always left it. A small, roughly dug out cube of a room, where dust and dirt was still floating and falling in some places, it smelled just like that. Dust and dirt. A small square table sat in the middle of the room with an unlit lantern dangling just above it. Darkness obscured the rest of what I could see, but I knew where everything still was. The walls still had different pieces of parchment strung to it with varying pieces of Vera's "artwork and literature." Lots of different knick-knacks were sprawled across the room, whether it was tips of blades from weapons, broken arrowheads, teeth from different animals, or even different colored furs.

Vera sauntered over to the table and reached for the lamp, igniting its flame and bringing light to the room; my eyes immediately caught the massive object that sat on top of the table, previously obscured by the darkness. Now leaning over, Vera ran her hand along its length before she lifted it up in front of her to me. In her hands, she held an overly sized knapsack with more pockets than I could count. Several arrays of adventuring gear were also strapped to the sides of the backpack, most notably a large bedroll strapped to the top of it and a dense, crooked walking staff attached to its side.

Still unsure of what to say, Vera set down the knapsack on the table and looked at me. I felt Aeron's hand rest upon my right shoulder. Vera was the first one who spoke in that silence.

"When I was found by my mom, it was during the evening when Uwendale was getting rid of the corpses from the raid." I raised an eyebrow, she continued. "The thing is, everyone didn't seem at all interested in the equipment and clothing that the Freljordians carried." I remembered when she still called them her people, but nowadays she's drifted away from that path. "When the corpses were taken away, all the stuff on them went with, and with the cold climates Uwendale always gets, it's not surprising that they simply just froze over."

I think I'm beginning to understand what she's saying.

"So all this stuff here," I gestured to the knapsack, "is from the Freljordians so many years ago?" Glancing her eyes past me then back to me, she nodded. "So... what is this all for then?"

Vera opened up the main pocket of the knapsack before she showed it to me, revealing a wide variety of different survival gear. A tinderbox lay inside the pocket along with what looked like small torches, rope, and other various items too far deep inside to make out. "I've been spending the last week or so gathering as many items off of them as I could."

"For what?"

At that moment, Aeron brushed past me between the two of us, looking at her. "Are you sure about this Vera?"

She looked at Aeron, her expression changing to that of a distressed person, before looking back at me with a serious face.

"Let's get out of here and make our own adventure."

Silence must have ensued for several minutes, because it felt like an eternity before I crossed my arms and widened my eyes at her.

"Is this is a serious request?" I was immensely confused, unsure of why she would want to leave here for good.

"You told me yourself that you don't want to do what your parents do, same with you Aeron," She gestured to both of us, "and we've all been around your parents. They don't necessarily enjoy us going off by ourselves and neglecting the 'family business.'" She finished that last part with air quotes.

Is she actually serious about this? "What about Lehen? You want to just leave her behind?" My voice was a little but more curt than I think I expected there. She answered only with a pause, looking down at the floor before meeting my gaze.

"Of course not. I love my mother Danut, you know that. But look at me, I don't do anything around here and this small town is barely ever noticed. I believe we're meant for so much more." She began to walk around the table, as if she was some general giving some inspiring speech to her soldiers. "We could have the chance to explore lands the nation itself hasn't even seen yet! More so than that, we could find the opportunity to make a name for ourselves and our families." She finished walking around the table, ending right in front of me. "I wanted to leave right before the winter season started, that way we wouldn't have to worry too much about the cold."

Our eyes peered right into each others', as if one pair was at war with the other but not wanting to fight. Slowly resting her hands on mine, I saw a tear start to form at the edge of her left eye. "Please Danut, I don't want to stay cooped up in this one place forever, but I don't want to go off on my own without you guys."

Completely now unsure of what answer I even wanted, I glanced past Vera towards Aeron, who was leaning up against the table, arms folded. "What about you Aeron?"

He leaned forward off the table, walking over to the both of us. "She dropped this news on me early this morning. I've been dealing with it ever since."

I cocked an eyebrow his way. "And?"

He gave a soft sigh, sharing a look between Vera and him. "I decided I'll always go where you go Danut." Still looking at Vera.

That answer made my heart sink more than I had expected it to, because now this future of us three rested on my answer and my answer alone. Thoughts began to spiral around in my head, thoughts of my parents and how loving of parents they are even though their expectations of me are misplaced and misused; thoughts of what would happen if we three just vanished from here; thoughts of what terrible things could happen to us out in the world... thoughts of what new things we could find out in the world. In that instant, anxiousness and nervousness turned all in one to curiosity and excitement. It had been so long since me, Vera, and Aeron had gone on an adventure with each other to seek out something new. The thought of this once again becoming a reality really motivated me.

"Let's do it." The words escaped my mouth before I even realized.

Vera's arms were around me in a flash, hugging me tight and squealing with joy. She was sputtering out words so fast I couldn't even understand what she was saying. Finally she released me from her grasp.

"OK, OK, let's leave as soon as we can."

"I still need to get my own stuff." I responded. Aeron seconded that statement.

"That's why I said as soon as we can geniuses. Go pack as much stuff as you can as quickly as you can, I'll meet you guys out at the Shotun Gate that leads to the trails up and over the mountains." She began to spring into action before I grasped her arm, whirling her back around to face me.

"First..." I let out a sigh. "Let's at least leave a note for our families. If we are going to do this, I'd rather they know the truth rather than grieve thinking we were probably dead."

Silently, they both nodded before we all sprung into our different "assignments."

I was back out on the village paths and rushing towards my home the next thing I knew. The cold air whipped against the side of my face, it felt so refreshing.

We're going to go out and see the world! This single thought exhilarated me as I ran past others in my village. Nearly toppling someone as I rounded the last corner to my home, I finally arrived at my door.

The inside of my home sounded quiet, and the architecture of it gave the same feeling. Quiet. Not too many colors were depicted across the home which looked like an upside-down galley and only a couple shielded candles were lit near the front entrance. My parents are well-known farmers in Uwendale, so during most of the year they are almost never home, always out working the fields to provide a good harvest. No doubt they were out storing whatever food they had gathered to prepare for the winter season right now.

Feeling no need to sneak into my own home, I rushed in and began ransacking my room for vital equipment and gear I would need. Grabbing the knapsack my mother had made me for one of my birthdays, I began stuffing it with anything of mine I thought would be useful. Food and water gear, a couple articles of clothing, my bedroll I used as a pillow on my bed, a set of skies that I kept tucked away under it, a hooded lantern with a small jar of oil, my notebook and quill along with its ink, and also a water-skin. I was barely able to fit and fasten it all to my knapsack, which was a lot smaller than Vera's.

Finally, I tore a piece out of my notebook before I dipped it in my ink and began writing.

Dear mom and dad,

I've always loved you guys, and I know that you have always loved me.

There have been countless times when I wanted to take you both on the

adventures that me and my friends went on, and I always knew that your

thoughts of my well-being were well placed. But, I never could show the

same determination for agriculture as you guys could, and it sometimes

drove me further away from it when you would discourage the thoughts

and visions I had with me, Vera, and Aeron. I'm sorry to say, but the times

when we were small children have long since past, and remaining here for the

rest of our lives just isn't what either of us want. The three of us are leaving to

make an adventure for ourselves, and hopefully even come back one day with

endless tales of things that would make even you two proud! I love you both!

~ Danut

Setting the quill down, I placed everything back into my knapsack while I placed the note on the main eating table and was just about to make my way out the door before I caught a glimmer out of the corner of my eye. Resting behind a chair that sat near the main door, was a sword. I recognized this sword as I sauntered up to it, lifting it out from behind.

My dad had made me this sword earlier in my life, telling me that one day I would need this sword more than ever to protect what I love. Of course, I remember wanting nothing to do with a sword during this time too, so I paid about as much attention to it as a toddler would his vegetables.

Wiping away the dust on the blade, I examined its shape more closely than ever. A slender short-sword, its blade gleamed in the light where the dust was wiped away, and the hilt was layered in a polished leather which was framed by soft furs at its pommel. It looked more like a Freljordian had made this sword rather than a Demacian.

Dad always did want me to be able to protect myself.

Quickly fastening the sword to the side of my knapsack, I set out of the house back onto the village roads toward the Shotun Gate, one of the few notable landmarks in Uwendale. Known more for telling time than acting as a gate, it's adorned with a large sun dial at its corner stone, where an open circle in the stone work rests. They say that if you look through that at the right time of day, you can see the sun resting perfectly within the circle itself. Of course, looking at the ever darkening skies, the sun was well past that point now.

Vera and Aeron came into view beside each other, both sitting next to the gate. They stood up as they noticed me making my way towards them. Vera still wore the same knapsack she had shown us, but Aeron was carrying one that was almost the same size as hers. A short spear was also fastened vertically to the side of his while a short bow and a quiver containing several arrows rested around his arms.

Geez, way to make me look like I have nothing.

That thought was diminished as I felt Vera take her hand in mine as she lead us out of the gate, peering upwards at the close but distant mountain peeks ahead divided by the coniferous tree lines ahead of us. We simply walked in silence. The more steps we took, the more ambitious I grew. As we past into the dense, uphill forest, we kept moving until Uwendale was no longer in sight, not even the smokestacks from the tops of the structures were in sight. It was at that point we stopped; Vera was the one who spoke first.

"So Danut." She looked back at me, the brightest smile plastered on her face that I had ever seen, eyes glittering green like never before. "Where should we go first?"

Author's Note: Thanks for continuing to keep up with this story so far! I know we're only two chapters in but I plan to take this story to as long a length as I can. Chapter updates right now will be very sporadic but common since I am on a winter break right now and feeling very inspired to write. But in January, my university will be starting up again, so chapters then will come out at least once a week.

Shotun - "Show-tin"