Grey Tower

Gold and Silver

      The cold wind bit at their faces as they galloped down the road. A series of raids in the south had delayed Torian and his party so that they were still a few hours ride from Silverpoint. The snowstorm behind them, on the other hand, was much closer and gaining fast. Torian snapped his reigns, urging his horse to go faster still, his companions following suit.

      A sudden gap in the tree line beside the road just ahead caught his eye. It was a path!

      "This way!"

      "We don't know where that leads! It could be dangerous, or a dead end!" shouted his friend, Winfred.

      "We don't have a choice!", he told the older man. "We'll freeze before we make it to Silverpoint at this rate. That path leads somewhere. Its our best bet to finding shelter."

      The men pulled their horses around and galloped into the unknown...

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      WHOOSH

      Torian pivoted in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing. They had been traveling on this new path for a mere twenty minutes, and it was already driving them all insane! It was dark, and the path was overgrown, so they had already had to start leading the horses on foot so they wouldn't be injured by a stray root or a low hanging branch. Everywhere they walked, they were drenched by water and ice from the thick layer of branches above. And the noises! Torian had heard hisses, shrieks, and growls as well as a variety of other inhuman noises coming from the forest on either side. Perhaps it was just the cold and his nerves playing tricks on him, but Torian felt like they were being watched and could have sworn he had seen something move out of the corner of his eye on several occasions.

      THWAK- CRASH!

      "It moved! I swear! I saw it! It moved!" The final member of their traveling group, Jaxon, was now sitting in the mud with one hand still on his reigns and the other covering the side of this head. It seems he had lost focus on where he was going and somehow ran into a tree.

      "What are you blathering about boy?!" Winfred snorted. "The tree didn't move. You ran into it."

      "Not the tree! There was a shadow! Up there!" he pointed at the branches above our heads. "It was big and had glowing eyes!"

      "All those tales of yours have gotten to your head, Jax!" scoffed Winfred.

      "Easy friend. He could be right. There are plenty of owl or wild cats that could fit his descriptions." Torian consoled, offering Jaxon a hand.

      "Suuure..."

      And with that, the adventures regathered their wits and traversed deeper into the tangled wood.

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      After another hour or so of walking, the three suddenly emerge from the dank forest and reached a clearing. In the very center, partly surrounded by a lake, was a looming ruin of a grey-stoned tower. The tower was at least seven stories tall, though it was hard to tell as the top floors seemed to have collapsed inward.

      "Well, there's that shelter of yours, Torian." Winfred finally spoke.

      "Do you think anyone lives there?" worried Jaxon.

      "Don't be daft, boy! One'd have to be mad to be liven' here of all places!" A gesture to the black misty lake and half rubbled tower seemed to concert his assertion.