The morning was warmer than usual, with a slight sense of humidity in the air. Heidrenn always hated when his older brother sent him to town for supplies needed at the inn his family ran. Of course they had animals and crops at the farm his father owned, but the inn was located at the main road that connected with Eludia. So many travelers past by, sometimes there wasn’t enough resources to maintain the quantity that arrived demanding food and shelter . Normally it took him a whole day to complete an errand if the weather allowed it.

Well, at least it isn’t raining like last time.

Several days ago, with his brother, they had to set camp at the outmost part of the lord’s land. He’d been through that before. Storms are very common in this part of the world. They could restrain you from advancing for weeks. It was better to set camp and wait for the passing of the storm.

While mentally complaining about the unfairness of the job his family had granted him, he saw an atypical man walking down the road, with clothes very different from a normal Eludian. He almost seemed like a Northerner. He wore a black and red tunic, bearing a snow owl at the innerside, like keeping it from being discovered from an unkown party.

He’s from House Nightfrost. Heidrenn thought. What is a Winthrossian noble doing here, at this side of the world?

From the rumors Heidrenn had heard, the people from Winthross are very reserved, they do not accustom to travel around the world, specially not on their own. If one of them was here, it would probably mean he was exiled. For a Winthrossian to be exiled, treason must be the cause. Theirs is not the tradition of execution. Their method of punishment is more brutal than that. They are forced to climb the frozen mountains alone, lasting at least a week before they can come back down and repent themselves, at the same time as enduring the difficulties of a frozen environment that almost no sole person can survive or has ever been known to survive. Even if they manage to come back down, they are exiled from Withrossian society for the rest of their lives, relieved of all their titles along with their direct descendants. A trait that makes them very loyal people.

Although unwillingly. He thought.

He’d never seen a winthrossian noble alone before. Maybe he was a killler? Or a rapist? But it is a sure thing that he is a bad man.

I do not need a servant, I need a friend.