Journey To Hellspost (TXT X READER)

19

The morning brought the warm sun to warm what had been covered over by frost in the night. This included the shivering bodies of the six who sat without fire all night.

When Taehyun woke up, his slender black robe had been covered by a thin layer of white frost that creased when he stood. His fingers were numb and he was shivering. He rolled his eyes. Time in Southern lands must have weakened him to the cold because Whitecrest Mountain was colder than this tenfold. Perhaps it was the time he spent exposed to the cold. He didn't know.

  His eyes shifted to others in his company who were also blanketed in a thin layer of frost. He thought about making a fire but there were no dry sticks in sight. The sun hadn't quite risen yet and he was met with such a pitiful sight that he couldn't help. His eyes shifted towards the rogue, the one he had been most comfortable with. Her cloak had turned white because of the frost and it hadn't covered her completely so the frost trailed to her calves and ankles and her decorated feet.

The heeled shoes were beautiful, no doubt, but they were not shoes that were suitable for such a quest. Taehyun mentally flipped through his spells, looking for anything to get better attire for the rogue he had grown to appreciate. He couldn't think of a single spell to help her. As he stood over her, thinking intently, he failed to notice her waking up.

"Master Sorcerer," she stuttered, the cold hindering her voice, making her jaw shake. "You are awake." Her voice was raspy and thin.

"Indeed I am. I can see the cold has all but treated you well," he commented, lowering himself to sit next to the rogue.

"I have endured more than my fair share of cold, Master Sorcerer," she assured him, sitting up and disturbing the thin layer of frost.

"You hadn't mentioned that your footwear was also changed," he changed the subject, gesturing to the shoes with a thin heel, decorated with the same material as the kings crown.

  "I hadn't even thought to mention," she shivered, looking down to her half exposed feet. Whilst she liked the way they looked, they were nowhere near practical.

  "Do the heels not sink?" He asked, looking to the terrain that would soon be moist with the melted frost.

"I'm sure they will, but I'd rather have a little trouble than have no shoes at all. I'm afraid that my feet would not do well exposed to the elements," she joked, rubbing the tops of her feet gently at a pitiful attempt at warming them.

  Taehyun let the silence grow for a moment before leaning forward and brushing her hair behind her ear, causing her to suck in a quick breath as she winced. He paused for a moment, meeting her eyes, then started again, fully moving her hair away from her ear. He looked over the wound that still hadn't healed over. He felt guilty as he looked at the red skin, indicating that an infection was on its way. He hoped that the dwarrow of the Mountain would have some sort of healing salve to ease her pain and lower her chances of infection.

  The sense of guilt in him deepened. It was his fault. He knew he had to take responsibility for this. Not only was he the reason that she'd even come on this journey to begin with, but he was the one who couldn't save her. He had taken too long with his teleportation spell. If only he had been quicker or started the spell sooner...

  "You mustn't look at me with such guilt," she told him in assurance.

  "How can I not when this is all my fault," he choked out, his voice low with conflicting emotions.

  "I have made choices too, master sorcerer, that have led me here. It is naught but a little pain that I should endure until we reach the mountain. I'm sure they have a dwarrowdam who is a skilled healer." The rogue offered him great assurance as she tilted her head to rest gently in his palm.