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Adranel awoke shivering after a long night of restless sleep and dark, dimly remembered dreams. The first thing she was aware of was the cold. Had she been more alert, she may have been surprised to have survived the night. Her body temperature was dangerously low, and her wet clothing provided very little warmth. Subconsciously she knew that if she stayed there much longer she would likely freeze, and had to find another source of warmth. As she sat up a groan escaped her mouth; her muscles had stiffened up during the night, and her back was sore from sleeping on the hard ground. She was able to stand with some effort using the tree she had slept near as a support.
A pale rim of light stretched along the eastern horizon, the only sign that morning was near. Still, she could see better now than last night. She saw that she had left the thickest part of the forest, and was now in a lightly treed area. She turned to face the direction Dale was in, and tested her legs by taking her weight off the tree against which she was leaning. They supported her, and some of the feeling was returning to her toes. Gingerly she leaned over to pick up her bow and quiver of arrows and swing them around onto her back. Those, a short knife, and the soaking clothes on her back were the only things she owned, now; everything else had been burned.
There was a dead look in her once bright eyes as she set off for another day’s march. There was nothing left to keep her moving; only a strong, determined force from deep inside drove her on. She had to reach Dale. She didn’t know anyone there, but surely she could find someplace to stay in the time being. Adranel frowned, trying to remember why she had decided to head for Dale. Because... because there is safety there. But why do I want to find safety? Why could I not have died with the rest? Then words came unbidden to her heart: get away from here, my love.
“Hergon,” she whispered. Fresh tears came to her eyes, but she brushed them away. This would never do. She had to stop tearing up all the time. Frustrated at herself and angry that everyone she had cared for had been taken from her, she locked all of her memories of family, friends, and home away in the far recesses of her mind, never to be recalled. She hardened herself against all tenderness, hope, and love, never to be so close to anyone again. Life would be easier, and less painful that way, she decided.
Within only a couple hours, the sun had risen and Adranel left the thinning woods behind completely. Having little resistence, the snow had drifted more here, but it still wasn’t terribly deep. In the distance she could make out a small settlement. She began to steer wide of it, because she had no desire to meet with other people. At any rate, she had no reasons to enter a strange town. She still had no desire to eat anything, and movement combined with the weak light of the sun had warmed her some. Then, of course, her lack of money would be a problem even if there had been something she needed.
As she continued her trek through the snow, Adranel’s steps became heavier. She had not gotten enough sleep, and by not eating she was starving herself of the nutrients her body needed. Still, she forced herself on faster. It was a long way to Dale, and she would not get there by resting.
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