Chapter 17

Day 58

The silence woke me. After a few days of hearing the raging storm outside the cave, the earie silence made it seem as though there was nothing living outside. We had run out of wood and now only smoking embers rested in the firepit. I watched as streams of smoke stretched to the roof of the cave where it seeped into the cracks. My body protested as I tried to move around and uncover myself from the bits of cloth that we had been using as blankets. I crawled out of my cot and moved over to the embers to stir them around with the tip of Kharjo's sword. After getting a little more heat circulating off the embers I made my way to the crevice that lead into this room. Kharjo and Zaynabi where still fast asleep in their cots, more than likely exhausted after having a hard night with Kharjo's injuries.

After taking a few steps toward the entrance to the cave I realized how eerily quiet it was outside. No animals or creatures seemed to stir near the cave. I couldn't even make out any sounds in the distance. The snow also looked undisturbed as far as I could see. A chilling breeze blew in from the entrance and I did my best to keep my robe wrapped tightly around me.

I went back into the room and searched through the bits of cloth and managed to wrap some around my feet in makeshift boots. The ones I had would just get drenched and I couldn't risk getting sick now. I also searched through a bag that Zaynabi had taken from the Keep and found some fur gloves. I slipped them on and savored the feeling of warmth they gave me. I hadn't realized exactly how cold I had become until my body began to warm up thanks to the extra cloth and gloves. I wrapped some cloth around my neck and stuffed the ends down my robe and pulled it over my mouth and nose. After putting on my hood I stepped back out to the entrance to the cave and took my first step outside.

I had brought Kharjo's sword with me as my dagger had been left behind in the Keep and I had to take off the sheathe as the metal and leather had become cold fast when we had been looking for shelter.

The blade felt awkward in my hand as I walked a few paces outside the cave. I hadn't held any weapon larger than a dagger since being here. I had hoped I wouldn't have to use it, the memory of the events in Mistwatch Keep played fresh in my mind.

Kharjo and I had made into the keep without too much difficulty but when we did we saw these strange crystals that grew on the walls. They glowed an earie purple color that illuminated the halls and rooms in the Keep. Bodies littered the ground,they looked to be bandit and innocent alike. We hadn't met a living person until we got down to the prison where we found Zaynabi and Ahkari. They looked worse for wear and there had been parts of their fur that seemed to be matted with blood. Zaynabi later told me how it wasn't their blood that had soaked their fur but the blood of other prisoners. I hadn't yet been able to get her to tell me what happened to the other prisoners as we had only seen bodies littering the floor of the entrance of the Keep.

Branches cracking jolted me out from my memory. I held the sword tightly in my hand before me as I looked around. I couldn't see anything around me but the foliage. I heard a few more branches break before a large pile of snow dropped next to me. I jolted backwards and fell into the deep snow.

The next hour or so was filled with similar scares and similar reactions. I was practically drenched by the time I returned to the cavern with as much branches and bits of wood as I could find. Zaynabi greeted me at the cave entrance as she and Kharjo had both panicked when I had not been there when they woke. I apologized again and again as I attempted to find the most dry pieces of wood and set it in the fire pit.

Zaynabi brought out her book and held it open, extending her hand in the process. She was still learning and needed the book as an anchor but she was getting the hang of the spell. Energy around the cave began to spark to life as a small flame ignited in her hand. She hadn't wanted anything to go wrong so intstead of expelling energy and sending out the flame she brought it to the fire and released it onto the wood. The timber ignited and began to crackle almost immediately. I brought myself over to where Kharjo lay and knelt by him.

"You look terrible." Kharjo laughed and winced.

"Fell in the snow a few times." I admitted and dropped my hood. "How are you feeling?"

"I have seen better days my friend. But the initial shock has passed." I knew he was talking about Ahkari and Dro'Marash. He hadn't had time to grieve for either and now that he was calmer he was able to process things.

"The weather has cleared up. If it holds we might want to think about trying to get to a nearby village or even a city. Riften is relatively close I think."

"I think we ran far from Mistwatch. I believe we are just around what the locals call Shor's Stone. A small village." Zaynabi said as she tended the fire to make sure it was staying lit.

I went over to my cot and rummaged through what supplies we had. Luckily there was some clothes that had belonged to a member of the bandits at Mistwatch Keep.

"Thank you Zaynabi." I said out loud as I pulled out the green tunic and grey pants. I no longer felt embarrassed as I stripped to try and wring out my robe. Being the the confines of this small cave there wasn't much room for privacy. I had gotten slightly used to it as we had lived in here for a while. I put on the dry clothes and placed my damp robe on a rock near the fire. I took a seat by Zaynabi and threw in a few more twigs.

"I knew grabbing something would be helpful." Zaynabi said with a small smile as she poked at the fire.

The rest of the day went by rather quickly. We ate and drank then rested to keep our strength. Zaynabi had been the first to wake up and ready the remnants of our supplies. I woke after just as she was checking over what measly food we had left. There was some salted meat,bread, a few veggies, and two more skins filled with water. If we weren't able to find any place soon to get some supplies we where going to run out within the next day or so.

The cold morning air greeted us as we made our way out of the cave. Fur rubbed against my neck as I adjusted the steel plates on my body. It had taken some time for Zaynabi to strap me into the layers of fur and steel but eventually we got it on and adjusted. I was smaller than Kharjo and his armor felt heavy on me. Due to his injury, he wouldn't be able to wear his armor comfortably. The foreign feeling of the armor intensified as I turned to view the surroundings. Kharjo was dressed in my now dry robe as it was much warmer and comfortable in his injured state. We had put his arm into a sling that hugged it close to his body. We needed a healer and fast though. The potions had sped the healing process but enough that he wouldn't lose it completely. I checked the blade sheathed at my side, my satchel, and my small bag of supplies on my back then headed out. We made decent progress as we trudged through the snow. Zaynabi helped Kharjo along the way. I acted as scout, keeping ahead of them more than just a few paces so I could keep a look out for any danger.

After what seemed like an eternity we made it out of the wood and onto what seemed to be a major road. We could make out a watchtower in the distance.

"That must be Shor's tower." Kharjo wheezed. He was exhausted, we needed to stop soon. Just a little more to the tower. We could probably get a guard to help.

I was the first to reach the tower and small walls around the road. I couldn't see anyone, I couldn't even hear anyone up the hill where the town should be. I came back to help Zaynabi with Kharjo and told them.

"We will just have to see. Kharjo and I will check out the tower. Darius, can you go up to the town?" Though I wasn't too keen on checking out a "ghost" town on my own I knew there wasn't any real choice at the moment. I nodded then helped them the rest of the way to the tower where we found the guards. What was left of them anyway. There where body parts and littering the ground and blood had sprayed out across the doorway to the tower and the nearby trees. I drew Kharjo's sword and helped them inside the tower.

"Zaynabi can you check up the stairs?" I asked as we set Kharjo in a chair near a desk. I closed the door to the tower behind us and moved a few barrels in front of it.

"It's clear!" Zaynabi shouted as she descended the stairs. "But I don't see anything going on in the town." She added when she sat down and took off her pack.

"It's going to be dark soon. We'll check out the town in the morning and try and find out what happened." I said as I took off my own pack and satchel. I unhooked the metal chest-piece and placed it next to my gear. I kept on most of the gear but it was rather difficult to try and sit down with the chest piece and shoulders riding up and into my head. "I'll take first watch. With luck we won't run into whatever those guards ran into." The minute I said that I knew I was going to regret it.