[ IP ] Trudging through the frost

The Winter Solstice had barely passed. The grand Ralkut River had frozen over from the previous night, trapping Spotted Salmon beneath a crystalline cover of ice. The fishing season was over for now. 
 
 The snow had begun to fall again in the early hours of the morning as Jolben Cruller and his squire Werner followed a stream that ran through the Swadenoh Forest. It too was as unmoving and ice-covered as the mother river from which it sprang. The trees, having lost their autumn colors, stretched high above the two as they continued on their mission toward the kingdom ’ s border. Jolben ’ s sword was by far the only lustrous object in the entire forest, but it was a dull gleam at best in the absence of sunlight catching the blade. 
 
 The two bear fur pelts for himself and Werner cost him every last coin in his pocket, but the feeling of encompassing warmth against the relentless biting wind was worth the price of being destitute. Jolben ’ s father wasn ’ t a learned man, but his observation that “ Money doesn ’ t warm you up in winter; only fires and fur coats ” was a truth that Jolben found to be useful. They had to make it last, for now they didn ’ t have money for a tent, and the inn they stayed at last night was far behind them. 
 
 Werner wasn ’ t as agile as Jolben, which caused him to fall behind by the length of a stone ’ s throw. He walked through the snow, for he was fearful of stepping on the frozen stream next to him, and he especially wanted to avoid the large icy rocks that jutted out of the water. One wrong step was all it would take to injure himself and slow down their mission further. 
 
 “ Master Jolben? ” Werner called out ahead of him. “ Wait up, please. ” 
 
 Despite the sound of overheard branches creaking lightly in the wind, Jolben had the ears of an owl. He could hear the soft crunching of snow behind him with every step that Werner took. 
 
 “ You ’ ll do well to walk along the riverbank, ” Jolben replied, not looking back. “ Do you want them to track us? ” Jolben was referring to any potential bandits that may lay in the forest. Out of all the occupations one could have in the kingdom, thievery was a year-round endeavor, and it didn ’ t take a break, not even from the harshest weather conditions. However, they, like Jolben, used the river as a guide to find their way out of the forest, for its massive size had caused many travelers before them to lose their way and eventually die from either starvation or exhaustion… or worse. Those bear fur pelts came from somewhere. 
 
 “ No, Master Jolben, ” Werner reservedly replied. 
 
 “ Then hurry up. The sooner we get out of this forest, the better. ” 
 
 Werner was reticent to hasten his pace, but he knew that Jolben would not slow down. Summoning his courage, he headed toward the ice-covered river. His first steps placed him on a stony ledge that sloped slightly down toward the water. His next couple of steps would bring him down to the river bank. 
 
 At this point, they were passing a glade at the top of a knoll. It was surrounded by rows of feather reeds, and from Werner ’ s vantage point, he was unable to see what was on the other side. Perhaps that ’ s where “ they ” camped out and waited for vulnerable travelers to come by. 
 
 “ No time for sight-seeing, squire, ” Jolben called back. “ Let ’ s keep moving. ” 
 
 Jolben said this as a pretext for concern; he didn ’ t want to stick around to find out if Werner was correct in his suspicions of what was laying there above the knoll. Hopefully, it was just an empty glade. 
 
 Then again, hope was nothing more than a distraction for Werner. Time was of the essence, and Jolben still was n't slowing down, not even for Werner to catch up. 

