WOOOOOOH!
The wind thinned.
And for a moment...
The snow relented.
Grrrr!
Crunch.
The pair stood rooted, breaths rising in pale clouds.
The shapes filled their vision; rooftops rising into the mist-filled sky, structures planted into the ground.
It was a village.
WOOOOOOOH!
Riven's chest tightened as Saphira's heart lurched.
Thump...
'Safety?'
A thought that reverberated through the two.
Was it?
They stood at the mouth; an entrance into the unknown.
"Haa..."
"Hkk--"
In that stillness, gazing at the scene displayed, they turned to look at one another.
No words passed as the wind struck their hair.
WOOOOOOH!
What was said in that exchange of looks?
Crunch.
It didn't matter.
Only the crunch of snow resounded, as they took their first steps forward.
One step forward.
Crunch.
Then another.
Hope and fear wrestled in equal measure.
Grrr.....
'Maybe....there's people.'
Saphira thought, as her crimson eyes pierced through the haze with slow steps.
Crunch. Crunch.
Hopeful thinking.
The only thing she'd kept to.
WOOOOOH!
Hope that there'd be food.
Crunch.
Hope that there'd be people.
Crunch.
Hope that there'd be shelter.
Crunch.
'Please....'
A short prayer.
Grrr!
One that folded into hunger....
One that filled her with a faint warmth, as a glint flashed before her crimson eyes nonetheless.
WOOOOOOOH!
Riven's head turned back one last time;
'...There's no going back.'
A simple fact, for there was nothing to go back to.
Crunch. Crunch.
Since stepping foot in this abyss, what hadn't they experienced...
WOOOOOOH!
'Blood, blood,' the memory floated in Riven's mind, before he shook his head as if to rid the nightmare.
'Not now....'
His chest tightened once again, until he wrenched his head, jaw clenched.
The snow crunched underfoot, pulling him back to the present.
Crunch. Crunch.
Whatever waited here....
Crunch.
Would it be any better?
WOOOOOOOH!
...Or would it be the same suffering, they'd be forced to endure?
Crunch. Crunch.
They crept through the gates slow.
Eyes scanned the multiple shadows that unveiled in the frost.
To the left; faded wooden walls, with barrels scattered, half-buried in ice.
To the right; snow sagged heavy on roofs, icicles hanging like sharp teeth.
WOOOOOOH!
Houses.
Dozens of them, lined in silence.
Then the ground; their steps slowed.
There was small lumps pressed beneath the snow.
Crunch.
Uneven.
Misshapen.
It didn't appear to be stone.
It didn't appear to be tools.
It wasn't even earth.
'What is all of this?'
The longer they stared, the less it looked like simple frost.
WOOOOOOH!
Their eyes lingered a while longer at the lifted floor, before they raised up.
Beyond the sagging roofs and snow laden barrels, a taller silhouette loomed in the back.
Its frame stretched higher than the rest, walls swallowed by frost, windows black and hollow.
'A hall?'
'A gathering place?'
Two distinct thoughts echoed as their eyes narrowed; grey and red glints shining through the haze.
But the principle was the same.
The looming structure must have housed a hundred from its size alone.
Maybe more.
So...
"Where is everyone?"
Saphira exclaimed, her words hanging shortly, before vanishing into the frost.
Not a single wisp of smoke rose from the chimneys.
Not a single footprint ran through the thick piles of snow.
WOOOOOOH!
"...It looks.... abandoned."
The words felt heavier than they should have when they left Riven.
Abandoned.
Left behind.
Forgotten.
They all meant the same.
WOOOOOOOH!
Riven's jaw clenched. Saphira's chest tightened. For a heartbeat, the silence pressed closer, almost listening.
The veil shifted with a sudden stir, and the wind rushed through the empty street as if to mock them.
WOOOH!
Snow lifted, spiralling into the air, then fell just as quick. It was as if the village itself had exhaled.
Grrrr!
Saphira's eyes dimmed, her brief flicker of hope slowly faded....
Riven felt it.
The weight in her shoulders.
The way her breath stilled too long.
'Empty.....abandoned...'
'Are we too late?'
"It's fine."
The words silenced her thoughts.
The words were quieter than he meant
But still.
It reached her ears all the same.
"Haaaa!"
'Fine? How can you be sure....?' The thought pressed against Saphira's lips but never left them.
"Let's search the houses. We'll find something."
Riven's voice was steady, but a hint of hesitation pressed underneath....
Hidden under a mask he was forced to wear....
She turned slowly, meeting his eyes before he continued.
"At least... there's shelter."
Crunch.
The words weren't a promise, only necessity.
And in this cold....necessity was enough.
WOOOOOOH!
Crunch.
Without waiting for an answer, Riven stepped forward.
His boots dragged through the snow until he reached a door to his left.
"Haaaa!"
Crunch. Crunch.
For a moment, Saphira stood rooted as he passed through, snow falling onto his shoulders.
His hand lifted, brushing away frost from the wooden frame, before he turned his head.
Those grey eyes cut back towards her:
"Come on."
Her breath misted as her doubts weighed heavy in the cold.
"Haakk--"
Then softly:
"...I'm right behind you."
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
She forced her feet forward, crunching into the silence until she stood beside him.
WOOOOOOOH!
His left hand massaged the door handle, before his right hand travelled to Mael's Fang on his hip.
"Haa...."
One last glance.....
Creak....
The door shifted, wood groaning as Riven pushed it open.
Cold air seeped out, stale and heavy.
He stepped inside first.
The moment his boots crossed the threshold, a damp scent hit him fast.
Mold.
Rot and something left untouched.
The air was thicker, almost immediately.
Tap. Tap.
Dark patches crawled up wooden walls, staining them like scars.
Creak!
"It smells..." Saphira spoke, her vision swimming left and right.
Tap. Creak!
Frost clung to the corners, each plank creaking as though protesting the unwanted visitors....
They swept the room:
A broken chair, prostrated on the cold floor.
A table leaning to one side.
More dark stains along the floorboards.
Riven's gaze lingered as his hand brushed the hilt at his side.
"...This place feels wrong."
Saphira's voice broke the stillness, softer this time.
WOOOOOOH!
"...Yeah, it is."