Just a few more steps and Ralph could see a large sign through the mist-covered surroundings. The cold had progressed to snowflakes falling from the sky, and the mist from the frost covered the entire surroundings, mildly blinding Ralph from his clear path.
He had travelled through hills, waterfalls, and the forest to get here. He wouldn’t let a miserly mist block him from reaching his destination. His only help had been the cub and his heightened eyesight from his ability to notice vitality amidst the cold air.
"Can you see that buddy? We’re almost there, then we can finally rest properly!" He said to the cub, a smile spreading across his face.
Since he began his journey with the cub by his side, he had not gone a night feeling cold, every night that went by was more like a sumr night.
It was kind of good on Ralph’s part since he never once felt cold, it made his travel less deadly than it seed. He could travel smoothly without worrying about the cold nights, and food was also taken care of.
His only job was preparing the food, and leading them towards their destination. The only problem was that, after each coldless night, he felt extrely tired, ntally and physically. Like he was being drained all night, but nothing ca to his mind in particular.
He overlooked it since it wasn’t causing any physical harm to him aside from causing him fatigue and sotis dizziness. Each day that went by, the pup grew bigger and bigger and the reason was still unknown to Ralph.
He overlooked it as a growth spurt and nothing more than that. After days of travelling together, they had finally arrived at their destination with days to spare before winter arrived, an accomplishnt Ralph was proud of.
The sign grew bigger the closer Ralph moved towards it, and the title, or rather, the na of the city beca clear through the mist. Boldly it was written, ’WELCO TO PENNINGTON’ on the signboard.
’There are no guards at the gate?’ He noticed the closer he crept to the city. The gates were wide open, which was unusual for Ralph because his clan’s gates were always closed, no matter what the occasion was.
’I wonder if it’s because of the cold..’ He got closer and rubbed his hands against the sign, brushing off the mist to see the na clearly.
Then he glanced into the city, and the streets were almost empty from the distance. He could only count a few people, and they weren’t much, not up to a dozen and they all seed to be busy with sothing.
He took a step through the gates, checking if he would be called out but no one cared or looked his way. ’Huh..that’s odd. These people operate differently from the clan, very much differently, it’s almost suspicious.’
He couldn’t help but think that way, since he grew up in one place most of his life, but the need to find shelter before the blizzard hits just couldn’t get out of his mind.
’Well, it’s not like I have a choice right now. Even if it’s suspicious, I still have to find shelter and this is the closest city. The next one will take another week or two before I get there and I don’t think I have ti for that...’
He walked in, taking the silence as hospitality. ’Might as well take the risk and find shelter within this city, then maybe leave when sumr drifts towards these parts.’
The path he walked was straight, with houses built on each side of the road. It was empty, hardly anyone outside their hos, which was surprising for Ralph. He kept his composure, moving swiftly through the streets, looking for where to stay.
The sun had almost gone down, the evening glow still illuminating the streets in its radiance. The houses were well built and structured with stones and mud covering to regulate the temperature during hot and cold days.
’That was actually a smart move, whoever built these structures must have thought of all that before construction.’
He had walked down the street and yet nothing, the pup had begun to whimper from the quiet streets. ’I wonder what happened here, is everyone alive?’
He wanted to take a step further when soone called his attention and he turned to the voice. It was coming from a slightly open door to the left, when he turned to it and noticed an eye glaring at him.
He was slightly flustered by it, behind the darkness of the door, the eye was there, glaring at him continuously. He felt a bit threatened by it but didn’t react, he simply walked up to the doorstep.
"Are you new to these parts?!" The person asked, keeping their identity hidden behind the door whilst talking to Ralph.
He didn’t understand why he did so, but he couldn’t care less about it. He only needed to find a shelter for the coming blizzard, stay a while then leave when sumr returns.
"Yes, I am. Is there a problem?" He raised an eyebrow, trying to look further into the ho through the slightly opened doorway.
"You should find sowhere to stay before nightfall, otherwise bla yourself for what happens to you afterwards."
His heart skipped a beat from the warning, it was sudden and wasn’t what he was expecting to hear from a stranger. It was also unusual for him, seeing his situation. Where would he find shelter when he was new to the place and knew nothing about it.
"Excuse but do you know where I could stay for the night? I promise not to take up space." He requested, seeing how serious the warning was.
"Down the street, go to the left and you will see a tavern. You can rest there for the night, but be as quiet as you can while you stay there, every noise is heard." Then the door was closed shut without any further words of advice.
The rest was left to him. He didn’t understand the warning and why it was directed to him, or what he was supposed to be afraid of.
’Did I make the right decision coming here?!’ His brows furrowed.
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