When Eben decides to rob the isolated town nestled deep in the woods, he could never have predicted that he would be forced to atone by serving Adder, the powerful and terrifying gorgon charged with protecting the town of Nǣdre Tor.
However, as Eben...
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Winter was upon them now. Thick blankets of snow piled the forest, surrounding Adder's home in a frosty tundra of ice.
Eben shivers, breathing warm air onto his hands as he checks on the hens. Peering inside the coop, he sees they're all fluffed up and huddling together, cozy in their nests.
He sighs, wishing that he could cuddle up somewhere warm. But he wasn't like Adder, he couldn't slumber through this unforgiving time of year.
Instead, he focuses on keeping himself busy, knowing idle hands will lead to an overactive mind.
After tending to the birds, he mounts Fairy and heads into the woods. They move as one, darting and weaving through the trees expertly.
It's enjoyable as always, but it doesn't bring him as much exhilaration as it used to.
Before, riding the dappled made him feel free. But now he knows that is far from what he wants now. Now he wants to belong somewhere, to someone.
To Adder.
Pulling the reins, he slows Fairy to a halt. The half-elf takes a moment to gaze up at the sky, watching the canopy sway in the bitterly cold wind.
He dismounts and takes his place sitting under a frosted pine. Eben pulls out his drawing tools from his satchel and begins sketching out the frozen landscape. The redhead doesn't particularly enjoy drawing trees and snow, but it was a nice change of pace. At least here he wasn't checking Adder every ten seconds for signs of life.
Eben sighs, dragging the charcoal across the rough paper. He blocks out the shape of the towering pines bending under the weight of the snow, using his thumb to smear the dust across the areas of shadow.
As he works, the scene comes to life beautifully. He smiles, a little proud of his improvement. Since he's come here, he's had lots of time to practice.
However, the tranquility is soon interrupted by the dreaded sound—church bells.
Eben's stomach drops at the sound reverberating in the cold air. Dropping his sketchbook, he mounts Fairy and dashes to the cave.
He runs into Adder's room to check the gorgon, sighing a breath of relief when he finds the man is still fast asleep—curled up in the furs and blankets of his nest.
Eben reaches toward the bells on the gorgon's horns before he hesitates for a moment, a hand coming to his neck as he remembers Sheppard's ominous warnings. But looking at his friend's sweetly dreaming face bulldozes over his fear. He tugs on the bells tied to Adder's horns, removing them and tying them to his wrists before running back to Fairy.
He needs to do this.
As he reaches the town, he dismounts his steed and searches frantically for the threat.
This time, it's not like that dark night Claudia was slain. Villagers can be seen kneeling everywhere, frozen where they were going about their day just moments before.
