And All Things Will End
Your eyes flutter open. Even now, your body is beset by horrific tremors. You are staring upward at a pale cloudless sky. Trees that would rival the height of giants lay huddled outside the edge of your vision. The faint smell of a pine fire gently worms its way into your nostrils. You are lying on a thin bedroll that does little to differentiate itself from the ground. You are covered by two rough blankets that rustle lightly as you push them off and sit up, blinking.
Your two companions look at you, worry evident in their faces. The shorter of the two kneels down next to you and offers you a brass mug, filled with some warm tea. You gladly accept, and as you sip it seeps into your bones and warms your soul. However, the shivering does not cease.
"I was on the first watch of the night, and I noticed you were shivering quite fiercely. I couldn't just leave you like that, so I.."her voice trails off, and she glances toward the camp. You look past her, toward her bedroll. There is no blanket. You open your mouth with the intent of thanking her, but she stiffly jolts upward and walks into the unplumbed depths of the forest before you can speak.
Your other companion, a man, clears his throat and motions toward a nearby fire whose last vestiges of flame are beginning to die. Atop the fire, skewered by a spindly piece of wood is some unidentifiable charred meat.
"I made breakfast". The man says curtly, and offers you a piece.
You accept, and in what is perhaps a defense mechanism in order to prevent you from throwing the food with all of your might and cursing it upon your worst enemy, your mind wanders.
Your two companions look at you, worry evident in their faces. The shorter of the two kneels down next to you and offers you a brass mug, filled with some warm tea. You gladly accept, and as you sip it seeps into your bones and warms your soul. However, the shivering does not cease.
"I was on the first watch of the night, and I noticed you were shivering quite fiercely. I couldn't just leave you like that, so I.."her voice trails off, and she glances toward the camp. You look past her, toward her bedroll. There is no blanket. You open your mouth with the intent of thanking her, but she stiffly jolts upward and walks into the unplumbed depths of the forest before you can speak.
Your other companion, a man, clears his throat and motions toward a nearby fire whose last vestiges of flame are beginning to die. Atop the fire, skewered by a spindly piece of wood is some unidentifiable charred meat.
"I made breakfast". The man says curtly, and offers you a piece.
You accept, and in what is perhaps a defense mechanism in order to prevent you from throwing the food with all of your might and cursing it upon your worst enemy, your mind wanders.