From The Ashes

01

The morning sun shone out bleakly from behind greying clouds. Either rain was heading inland, or worse, a storm. Whichever was coming over the horizon, Bard could only hope he would return home in time to miss it. The prospect of getting caught out in the rain would ruin an already wasted and uneventful morning. At the crack of dawn, he had been up and out of the small building which he called home. He had quietly grabbed what he needed and exited as stealthily as he could. None of his children had been stirring which made leaving a little bit easier.

He was partially thankful for them still sleeping soundly in their beds. Especially when it came to Sigrid. Being the oldest she was naturally more aware of what business he occupied himself with. And with that came curiosity; an endless amount of it, it seemed. She'd have asked numerous questions on what he was doing, when he'd be back, etcetera. She honestly seemed to worry a little too much. Nothing he did was dangerous, but even still, for someone of her age, she shouldn't spend her time worrying over her father.

Frowning and coming back to reality when something gently bumped against the barge with a quiet thumping sound, he stepped slowly down to the deck and walked over to the side where the quiet noise still echoed. A thick fog hung on the surface of the lake, in the early morning sun the lake was really only just visible. The growing warm rays struggled to split through the fog, but even as it struggled Bard could already see the mysterious bumping item below him.

Drifting on the surface of the dark water was a barrel. This alone was not an unusual thing. The unusual thing here being a rather water logged cloak being draped over the wooden item. It was not an unknown thing to see drifting items. Wrecks happened often, a little too often. The crashing and sinking of these boats would usually be the result of an unfamiliar path, an unseasoned captain, or an oblivious one.

Drumming his fingers against the side of the barge he watched as the two simply started to drift away from each other. Without him steering, the barge was ideally drifting away from the barrel. Pushing away and darting back to where he was previously standing steering lost in his thoughts he managed to manoeuvre the barge slowly over to the barrel. It wasn't just a cloak, there was something, someone, attached to both. Half in the ice clad water and half over the barrel. With great difficulty he managed to stop by the barrel again and run back to the deck and lean over it.

His fingers clutched tightly onto the sodden material, and with a great heave he managed to pull the person up and out of the water and away from their temporary mode of travel. Though in all seriousness, he was not certain whether he was pulling an alive person or a deceased person on board. Either prospect caused him to frown even more than what he already was. Shaking ice water from his fingers, he laid the body on the deck. Pushing away the hood of the cloak he looked over the rather lifeless form of a woman.

Pale and unmoving with blue tinted lips, the possibility of her being alive immediately left his mind. But even still he had to be certain, reaching down he placed his fingers against her neck. The last thing he truly expected was to feel a pulse. She was still alive. Through luck or some other intervention he did not know. But she was alive. This bought about the next obvious thing which people need to have to live: oxygen. Removing his hand from her neck he held it hovering above her nose. She was breathing, which in turn caused him to release a breath.

Looking about him he looked for anything to help him keep this woman alive long enough to return to Lake-town. There sat only a few paces away, rolls of material which he had meant to trade with someone who didn't show, subsequently leading to the wasted morning which he was having. Pushing himself up off of the deck, he wasted no time kicking one of the rolls open. It spilled over the deck and with great effort, Bard managed to remove the water logged cloak and lift her up and carry her over to the material.