Dame Sara Illou, Knight of the Land, stared at the broad river in front of her. It was fierce despite its breadth, but quite shallow. A huge waterfall thundered to her right, the water plummeting from a great height and churning on the rocks below. She had to admit that it was absolutely stunning.
It was also completely in her way.
She needed to cross the river or else her journey had been fruitless. For the past two hours since she had risen that morning she had been travelling through an increasingly steep ravine. If she decided to turn around now she would have to all the way back to the start, and there was no guarantee that she would be able to find another route anyway.
She gritted her teeth, dismounting from Snowglide and walking as far as she could up and down the riverbank. The water was shallow, but quite fast moving. There was nowhere easy to cross.
She looked back at her horse and sighed to herself. It would not be fair to ride the mare across - she would struggle for grip enough as it was. Instead she would need to guide her.
Walking back she took Snowglide by the reins and then dipped her toe in the river. She sucked in a gasp at how icy cold the water was then steeled herself and stepped further in. Snowglide followed tentatively but at least the water only went as far as their knees.
Slowly they picked their way across the river. Snowglide actually proved to be surer footed than Sara, who would occasionally slip on the smooth wet rocks beneath her feet. At last they had crossed the river and Sara climbed out onto the other side.
She guided Snowglide forward, helping her up onto the bank. It was quite steep however and mare struggled, trying a couple of times to make it but slipping back both times. Sara could see that her steed was starting to panic, so she jumped back in the water to help her with a bit of a push.
She did so, giving the mare a gentle shove as the horse suddenly lurched forwards, this time clearing the bank and making it onto dry land. However, the movement was quite violent and Sara watched in horror as it dislodged her pack, sending it tumbling into the rapid icy water. Sara lunged for it but missed, landing up to her neck in the water and it was all she could do to clamber back to her feet and escape the river, watching in despair as her pack coursed downstream.
Suddenly a loud cry filled the air and Sara looked up. It did not sound like one of the gryphons and turned out not to be so. Instead a great white eagle, as wide across as Sara was tall if not more so, swooped down from above. It grabbed the pack out of the water, lifting it into the air.
"Hey!" Sara shouted, waving at the bird in anger. "That's mine!"
She did not think it would do any good but suddenly the bird veered around, angling right for her. She flattened herself to the ground as it dived on top of her but at the last minute it angled upwards and dropped the pack by her head.
Sara rolled onto her back and watched with surprise as the eagle cried out again and then circled away over the mountains. She lay there a moment gulping down air not knowing what in the hells had just happened before at last pushing herself to her feet.
Snowglide was snorting but was fine and Sara quickly reattached the pack, making sure that everything inside was alright. It had floated thankfully and very little water had made it inside, meaning that mostly nothing was soaked. Unlike Sara who was dripping wet from head to toe. The water would simply run off her mithril armour without damaging it but her underclothes were not so lucky. They would need to dry.
She climbed back on to Snowglide and angled her into the woods, hopeful of finding somewhere with a bit more shelter that she could rest in. Perhaps she could even build a fire to generate some warmth. Partly to dry her clothes but also to warm herself up after being immersed in the icy river water.
She rode for a few minutes until she heard the a sharp repetitive sound. She paused and wondered what it could be until she realised it sounded like someone chopping wood. Which in turn meant there might be signs of civilisation nearby!
She angled Snowglide towards the noise and very soon after rode out into a small clearing. A roughly made cabin stood there with the trees cut back all around it. A small stack of logs rested against one side and a small area out the front had a few animal carcasses hanging from it as well as leathers left to dry.
What grabbed her attention however was the shirtless man holding an axe who had been chopping the wood. He paused as she entered, turning his head to her and regarding her with curiosity and also a little suspicion in his ice blue eyes. She took the time to really check him out.
He was likely in his late-thirties and very tall at around 6'5". He was extremely broad and very muscular though his physique spoke of days of genuine hard work and not simply generous exercise. His hair was black and messy but not overly long, and he had a thick beard that was nonetheless well looked after and not left to just grow wild. His chest was a carpet of chest hair but that only enhanced his appeal. Sara had to admit, he was an extremely handsome man.
"Who are you?" he said at last, his voice low and gruff. He bounced the axe in his hand menacingly.
Sara raised her palm. "I am Dame Sara Illou, a Knight of the Land. I do not mean to hurt you. I... need a place to rest a short while."
He stood still a moment longer then nodded, before setting down the axe and walking over to her. He held out a hand and Sara took it and let him help her dismount. She did not need the help but it would have been rude to turn him down.
"Sara, you are soaking wet," he said. "What in the heavens happened to you?"
"A mishap with the nearby river," she said with a smile, a little embarrassed. "Can I come inside?"
"Of course. Follow me," he said, showing her to the cabin.
