The Search

[rer]

Snow swirled through the night air. This late in the season, the mountain was already completely blanketed in white. The drifts were so deep, in fact, that trees and rocks looked like large, white lumps. Silence permeated the area, for what creature would really be out during this weather? Only a light wind faintly whistling through the passes and snow banks could be heard, and that only sporadically.

Surrounded by three large mounds, whether they were large boulders or trees it was impossible to tell, was a small fire. The flames licked dolefully at a single, small log. Smoke curled in an upward spiral, looking like it was dancing, in small wisps and tendrils. Only a scant few feet above the tiny flames, the snow and wind cleared the smoke out completely, so that it was no longer visible.

On one side of the fire, a rock had been cleared of all the snow and pushed close enough to be almost in the flames. On it lay 3 small strips of meat, slowly roasting. The strips had been very thinly sliced, and looked to be quite fresh.

On the other side of the fire, a man huddled beneath a heavy cloak. His hair was quite long and ragged, coming down to his shoulders, and help back from his eyes by a thick cord. His beard, too, was quite long and gnarled, frozen into place by the storms that raged this high in the mountains.

Time passed, and the man stirred, seemingly restless. He slowly reached across the dying fire towards the strips of meat, and tested their temperature. Nodding slowly to himself, he grabbed the meat and started eating. A sudden noise, just as he was finishing the second strip, caused him to sit straighter, clearly much more alert. He quickly popped the last strip of meat into his mouth and rose to his feet, looking around him intently. He nodded to himself again, and strode off into the white landscape, his shape fading into darkness quickly as he turned his back on the remaining embers.

Only moments later, wolves the color of snow crept into the now deserted area. Sniffing carefully at the air, then at the rock that had been used as a frying pan, the wolves searched the area quickly, clearly looking for food. Finding nothing but the same dreary whiteness as everywhere else, the wolves picked up the man’s trail. They had barely left the shelter of the large mounds when the lead wolfs head came rolling back into the circle, without the body attached. A fraction of a second later, his companions fled back through the way they had come.

As the man returned to his coals, he carefully wiped clean his blade before sheathing it once more. He then covered the remains of his fire and headed back to his journey. It had been a long and grueling one, not made any easier when his campsite was disturbed by wolves, like tonight’s had been. Rer knew better than to return to his campsite for the night – he knew that as soon as he fell asleep, the wolves would be back to bother him.

He trudged on wearily, knowing that what he sought he was not likely to ever find. Nonetheless, the guidance he received from his ancestor’s told him that a path would be laid clear before him, if only he kept to the mountain for the next 6 months. Knowing what lay before him helped, and at least soon he would be able to be warm in his waiting. It was only a matter of time before the passes cleared and he would begin to see travelers coming through once more. But for now, he needed to find shelter again soon. He could already feel another storm coming in, one that he hoped would be the last of the miserable season.