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|Word Count: 17,425|
𝘏𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯: 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 – 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬. He'd quickly realize it was night as he'd gaze up at the starry sky between the gaps of the looming tree branches. Nearby, he'd hear the crackle of a burning campfire and the scrapping of metal on wood, making him glance off to the right.
He'd see the Northerner, Marcus, sitting back against the side of his wagon while he carved away at a piece of weirwood, the shape of the carving seeming to be a man. Resting besides Marcus was Garm, the big half-wolf gnawing on a bone. The Northerner glanced up from his work to look at Hadrian as he'd shift to sit up and stretch his sore body.
"Doing alright lad? When I tried to wake you up I feared you passed on." The man remarked with a chuckle.
"Ugh...guess I was that exhausted." Hadrian muttered as he'd look around the rest of the camp. He'd see his clothes hanged up on a simple rank to dry off by the campfire, which also had a split with a large skinned rabbit cooking on it. "Where are we exactly?"
"About halfway to Raventree Hall. We'll get there by mid-day tomorrow if the roads are clear and weather in our favor." He'd carve at the piece of wood a bit more. "You didn't tell me where you ran from earlier. Judging from where I found you, you must have come from the south."
Hadrian nodded. "My group was close to High Heart, a landmark that was at the center of all the disappearances within the area."
"High Heart huh? Nothing there but weirtree stumps and superstition."
"Yes...but maybe there is something unnatural lurking there..."
Marcus paused, his gaze drifting about the dark woods surrounding them. Even Garm seemed to pause in his gnawing, ears perked up as if hearing something. "I'll admit, something has been off since we picked you up."
"How so?"
"Been around these woods for years, know them quite well. Yet today everything feels...quiet. Listen."
Hadrian paused as he quickly noted that the normal sounds of the woods seemed silent. Raventree Hall was set in a lush valley, so he knew well the sounds of the nighttime wild life. Yet everything seemed muted, no animals making their cries or shifting about in the distance...just silence.
