I find myself staring down the path that leads northeast out of town. Just three hours ago I was waking from another stupid nightmare about chapels and blood, and now I’m questing alone for a bottle of potion in a town that will take me gods-only-know how long to get to. I was assured by wanderers and merchants in town that the trip should take not but an afternoon. Of course, these men are used to a horse under their legs. I have nothing but my own two feet to guide me.

Nevertheless, I take stock of my supplies: the bow and quiver over my back are much lighter than I expect, which saves my energy for a burden of medicines, skins of water, a knife, and a small sack of nuts and fruit. It’s summertime, so I don’t expect to need extra clothing for the elements, and hunting and gathering won’t seem necessary for an excursion that should only last me several hours one-way. As a precaution, I am bringing my knife. One never knows when she might need a knife.

The well-worn path twists around the white and brown mountain walls. High up on the cliffs the evergreen trees do no work blocking out the noon sun, but other than these geographic features there is nothing much to see. I was assured that staying on the main path will take me straight to Winterwood, and that the few branching paths I come across can be ignored. After a time I started to let my guard down. Surely Hirsham would have insisted that I stay home had this journey been too treacherous.

Based on the sun’s movement in the sky I estimate that about an hour has passed. I intend to take a quick rest at a low cliff, which I endeavor to climb to sit in the grass under the shade of a canopy of evergreen trees, but I slip during the ascent and skin my leg badly enough to draw blood. “Shit!” I scream; unladylike, but there is no one around to care if a noble woman of the House of Kormack belts out a curse. It caught me off guard, besides. Steeling myself, I try climbing the low cliff again and reach the top without another incident. It is a pity to waste a bit of poultice this soon into my quest, but the wound stings and is bleeding a fair amount. I pat it down with some clean cloth and apply the poultice. Then I take a swig from a skin of water. So much for rest, but the shade is nice.

It wasn’t until another two hours on the trail that encountered my first real problem. Prowling down the path toward my direction was a large, gray wolf. I froze in my tracks, blood rushing out of my head with panic. Wolves were kept at bay by the wardens hired to surround Wolfspire; rarely did they get close enough to town to pose a significant threat to anyone. No one told me I’d run into a wolf on the road to Winterwood, but here it was stalking toward me. I tried to take small steps forward, but my sidling had alarmed the creature who must have food or cubs nearby to protect. I continued sidling and shakily reached for my bow. As if clairvoyant, the wolf started running toward me. I nocked an arrow on impulse and loosed it. Not a terrible shot; I nicked something. I didn’t see blood, but I heard a cry of pain as the wolf hobbled backward a few steps and maintained poise. Bolstered with confidence, I nocked another arrow. “I’m not afraid of you!” I yelled with a little more quaver than I would have liked. The wolf answered by baring its teeth and growling. I took a step forward, and this time the wolf ran at me. Taken aback again by the beast’s sudden aggressiveness, I stumbled backward and lost my aim. Before the wolf could sink its teeth into… I didn’t even want to imagine… I loosed the arrow and hit its leg square and true. The yelp was louder, and this time I could see blood. After tripping and falling down, I believed for a moment that this was the end. The wolf had his moment to end the fight now, but it didn’t advance. It stayed put, growling weakly.

From the ground I loosed one more arrow. It hit the ground at the wolf’s paws, but it was enough to finally scare it off. It ran up the path away from me, the beat of its paws thunderous between the otherwise silent mountain walls. I waited for minutes — it could have been hours — listening… listening for other wolves that were possibly around to avenge their brother. Listening until I heard nothing but the birds in the trees high above. I felt around me, making sure that I wasn’t wounded or in pain. Not a scratch. I couldn’t believe my good fortune! Wait until Glynn back home heard about this! He’ll never believe that I staved off a full-grown wolf without harm!

…then I realized that I’d be lucky if I didn’t see another during my travels. Next time I may not be so capable.

I continued for another hour or two without incident. I found the trickle of a stream near a part of the road that branched off in a new direction. Someone had jammed a crude signpost on the corner with labeled arrows pointing in three directions: forward toward Winterwood, backward toward Wolfspire, and north toward Wolfstone. “Not very imaginative with the names,” I thought as I filled a skin with water from the stream. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky behind me, and I realized that I must gain ground if I were to get to Winterwood before nightfall. I pressed on.

My situation kept worsening on the next leg of my mission. Not only was I ambushed by a wolf, who wounded both my calves and my left forearm with minor bites, but I slipped down a hill during the fight and spilled all the contents of my sack of supplies. After I miraculously fended off the wolf, it took me a bit of time to retrieve all my items (especially my knife, which I thought I had lost completely until I found it in a brush). By then I was stressed over losing more daylight. I unrolled a bedroll from my sack and lied down on it, resting my weary legs and applying more poultice to the bites. I was running out of medicine fast and made a plan to barter for some more when I made it to Winterwood. If I made it to Winterwood. No, no, I must not think like that. I’m almost there, for the sake of the Gods! I have to stay positive.

I filled all my skins to the brim with water before I set off for what would be the final leg of my travels. Facing no other major incident, I saw the town as I passed over a hill. It was larger than Wolfspire for sure, but contained no major houses. I know Winterwood is sworn to Wolfspire, so I didn’t worry about facing any major trouble.

But I couldn’t think about that now. The sun had long past set. It was time to find an inn for the night.

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