[You have found a hidden mission].
[Quest Name: Horse Trail
You met a traveler, named Astru, who lost his horses while you were lost in an unknown region. The traveler promised that he would help you if you found his horses and unhitched his carriage, but he also warned you about a creature that frightened his horses.
Quest Objective: To help Astru.
Possible rewards for completing this Quest:
- 100 Fame
- 1 gold coin
- Fast track to the nearest town].
[You have accepted the quest 'Trail of Horses'].
*
'The roar that frightened Astru's horses must have been the roar of the dragon I killed, so I guess I won't have any problems.' Kaizen thought, starting to walk in the direction Astru pointed to.
The soft snow sank beneath his feet with every step, but he was determined to find Astru's horses, because that was his best chance of getting somewhere instead of just wandering around.
With steady steps, Kaizen trudged through the fluffy snow at the base of the mountain, shrouded in a pristine black cloak. The icy air penetrated his lungs, creating a sensation of freshness and awakening his senses. Silence reigned in the landscape, broken only by the muffled sound of his footsteps and the whisper of the icy wind. The surrounding scenery was stunning and intimidating at the same time. The mountains rose majestic, with shimmering peaks. The pine trees bowed under the weight of the ice, like frozen guardians of nature. Tiny snowflakes danced in the air, creating an illusion of magic and enchantment.
With each step, his footsteps were lost in the vast sea of white that stretched as far as his eyes could see. He was alone, with only his thoughts for company.
'I guess I missed doing a simple mission like this.' Kaizen thought, looking around.
The wind blew hard, cutting like blades of ice. It penetrated his clothes, making his skin sting a little and his breath condense into little clouds of steam, but that was somehow good for Kaizen, who hadn't been having a very quiet life recently. This landscape was perfect for him to think and just relax a bit too.
As he walked, Kaizen felt a change in the air. A peculiar smell reached his nostrils, an iron scent. He followed the scent, stronger and stronger, until he spotted a dark spot in the snow nearby in the middle of a clearing. His heart clenched with a sense of apprehension.
As he approached, Kaizen was confronted with a dark and sad sight. A horse was lying motionless on the ground, partially covered by some snow and with its blood smeared across the snow. Its empty eyes stared lifelessly at the horizon. An expression of pain and suffering was etched on his face, frozen by the bitter cold.
Kaizen knelt beside the horse, touching its fur already stiff from the frost.
"It's still warm..." Kaizen realized with touch. "That happened recently. That's probably one of Astru's horses."
A moment of silence settled. Kaizen paid silent homage to the horse, offering him his parting words, and lifted his head to survey the scene around him.
In the snow around the horse's corpse were a series of footprints, which together messed up the scene than pointed out clues. However, the footprints were not those of any ordinary animal. They were large and deep, indicating that a being of impressive proportions had passed that way, or a very large group of medium-sized creatures, which was unlikely because the horse was almost intact. In other words, the creature was just protecting its territory.
Kaizen carefully examined the footprints in the snow, trying to decipher what could have left those marks. Although he was not an expert tracker, his intuition could tell him something. Despite this, he was unable to tell exactly which creature, only the direction in which they had gone.
Following the footprints in the snow with his eyes, Kaizen realized that they led towards a dense pine forest that stretched beyond where he was. Kaizen then looked back and made sure to remember the exact path to get back to the carriage.
The wind howled, creating an eerie, icy melody. Kaizen felt the chill down his spine, but decided to keep moving forward.
The footsteps led him down a narrow path between the trees, taking him deeper and deeper into the frozen forest. The branches of the pines were dry, hanging ominously over the path. As he advanced, the landscape grew wilder and more inhospitable. Steep rocks rose from the snow, creating dangerous obstacles in his path. The steep and slippery terrain demanded caution with every step.
Once again the icy wind whispered between the trees, creating a somber melody that echoed through the nooks and crannies of the forest.
Snow fell softly as Kaizen absently touched the tree branches, and with each step Kaizen strained to keep his hearing sharp, hoping to hear any sign of the other horse.
After a while, he noticed a wind-dulled, barely perceptible sound coming from somewhere far away. It was a soft noise, almost like the neighing of a distant horse.
Kaizen's eyes lit up with hope and he quickened his pace, following the sound in the direction it came from.
As he got closer, the sound became more audible and distinctive. It was undeniably the neigh of a horse in distress. Kaizen moved forward as fast as he could and saw still far away a horse trying to climb a steep part of a mountain. However, the part the animal was trying to climb was smooth and the snow made it very difficult even for an ordinary human, let alone a horse with horseshoes.
To make matters worse, a big black bear with spikes on its back was trying to sneak up on the horse, which explained the animal's desperation.
...
Edited by: DrHitsuji
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