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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spider_Jerusalem" data-source="post: 2453975" data-attributes="member: 5507">"Who’s to say we can’t just walk through?"Thalin and Torious walked ahead of the villagers, shoulder to shoulder in silence, their faces both flecked by ice. Thalin’s scraggly beard had grown into a wiry brown mane, though his eyes darted as quick as ever in their sunken sockets. Thalin had listened carefully to Torious' talk over the past few days, but had kept his tongue guarded. The Aasimar had quickly chosen his side of the woman in red conundrum, basing this on what Thalin could only assume to be a childish infatuation. Thalin refused to add comment when Torious asked his viewpoint. He was determined to stay perfectly neutral to both of the women in red, or at least until something could be proven against them. Despite his talk, Thalin did have particular reservations over Vaerana. She had charmed everyone and had certainly proven her worth as a fighter, but something didn't ring true. Thalin had caught her a few times staring into the campfire, her eyes all but lost in the flames. When she had noticed him watching, she had flashed that disarming smile and pressed Thalin on this subject and that. Thalin was worried. Errilinth had kept to herself since the frost giants, helping with the village children when she was needed. Torious, his boots a familiar crunch in the snow next to his, had become quite the conversationalist and had explained his life story to Vaerana in a few brutally boring monologues. The poor boy didn't know which way to turn, let alone how to talk to a woman. Thalin knew only a little more, but had decided that the judgemental high ground was the place to be. Thalin turned to look at his companion. As he did so, Torious clenched his hand like a military leader and pointed ahead.Both adventurers slowed as the path suddenly widened, spreading out on both sides to form a flat, level field whose sides sharply rose in two hills of snow. A fortified wall lay between the hills, a huge gatehouse standing sentinel where the road ran through it. This was the entrance into the valley.Waving for everyone to stop, Torious crouched down onto his haunches and brought his keen sight to bear. His eyes focused over the length of the wall, its frosted stonework tying together the two snow-strewn slopes. The wall was perhaps ten feet tall but he assumed it to be quite thick, as figures stood on the ramparts. Soldiers glinted in the morning light as they traipsed the walls in twos or threes. Torious counted perhaps twenty guards in total, but of course, more would be inside. His eyes fell to the frost bitten gates, their heavy wood latticed with iron and a glistening red symbol of Kossuth bolted on, apparently having only just been finished. The aasimar looked back over his shoulder at Thalin, Milo, Mikka and Vaerana with a disgusted shake of his head. Milo and Mikka sat playing a game of snap with a handful of skee, the clatter of the little slate pieces the only sound as Torious picked his way towards them. He crouched down and snatched Milo’s winning stone away.“Hey!” Milo bleated,“Milo. Shut up. This is bad, I don’t know if we can get through there”Thalin folded his arms and pulled his wolf skin cloak a littler tighter as a chill climbed up his spine, “Well, we can’t go back now. Who’s to say we can’t just walk through?”“Robar does. He would have told them to watch out for us, he knows we’re alive”, Torious countered, his voice a steely growl, “His sins will burn in Tyr's wrathful glare!”Mikka chimed in, his voice chattering in the cold, “Easy now. This isn’t really the time for rash decisions. We need to get to the plains before my bottle of Vassan 1294 Red freezes, it will be ruined”, Mikka saw the others glare at him, “And save those poor villagers, of course”.</blockquote>

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