Snippet #2545263

The fires could be spotted from miles away. Thick plumes of black, ashen smoke spiraled into the air to be met with the white fall of snow from the dark skies. It was the strong wind that carried the ash away. It scattered over the forest to the east, far enough away that it bothered none but the animals who prowled the wilderness.

By the following morning, nothing remained. The freshly fallen snow had slowly smothered the fires, though not before an entire village had raised to the ground. There was no movement. No cries. No life.

Stepping carefully over the ruins, a young woman picked her way through what was once a small hunting village. In her right hand she carried a long spear. The other was wrapped securely around a handle of a dark brown satchel, keeping it secured on her shoulder.

She had been here once before. The butcher had given her meat enough to last through a good part of her journey west. By the time her rations had run low, she had nearly caught up with the pack of demons she had been tracking.

“That is no place for a woman,” she recalled the butcher saying, even as he packed up the food for her journey and placed it all carefully into her satchel. “You'd do best to stay here. Or go back south if that takes your fancy. Demons are scarce in those parts, mind you.”

“Not scarce enough,” Eilin whispered the words that she had replied with. Her breath escaped with a white puff into the cold air around her. Her footsteps halted and she slowly knelt beside a crumbled wall of stone. This used to be his home. And next to it, the remains of the tavern where she had spent a night before continuing her journey.

Gone. They were all gone. Just like her own village all those years ago.

It was a rustling sound behind her that brought her out of her memories. Eilin stood abruptly, turning on the spot as she dropped her hand from her shoulder. The next moment, she had a throwing knife pulled from her belt, her eyes widening slightly as she searched the area for any sign of movement.

A dark, small shape tore across the snow not far away. With a flick of her arm, Eilin sent her blade hurtling toward it. It caught the creature in its side, sending it skidding sideways where it fell and lay still. Quickly, Eilin hurried toward it to take a look. Though, as she reached it, she grimaced slightly at the sight. A rat. A large rat with fur enough to make a pelt out of. These things had a tendency to disgust her.

Kneeling down beside it, Eilin pulled the knife from the small body, wiping the blood off with mild disgust. She wouldn't even be able to make a meal out of the creature. They were quite known for having infected meat. What a waste...

With a sigh, the woman rose to stand, turning on the spot to look around her. Whoever had attacked this village was still close. She had not been near enough to do anything about the attack, but she could track the demons that did this. Even if it was difficult to do with the fresh fallen snow. She would find them and they would pay with their own lives.