Alaric Fortis

Alaric chose to leave his faithful companion at the foot of the mountain. The path ahead of him promised to be arduous but was more so fashioned for a man's feet. So, he carried his own weight upwards one step after another, defying the unforgiving weather. One hand on his sheathed sword while the other held his shield up against the indignant winds. It was as though nature itself was offended by Alaric's presence there, determined to send him back from whence he came.

But it did not accomplish much, besides fueling Alaric's resolve. He'd traversed hundreds of miles, paid mind to every word, every rumor, every clue that led him to that point in his quest. He'd come thus far, turning back was out of the question.

He kept on pushing until nature fought him no more. The roaring thunder and winds ceased at once, for a soft breeze to graze his barely visible face. Gone were the thick clouds that had darkened the sky all of his way up there.

Alaric stood atop for a moment, taking in the scene he'd left behind before turning to what lay ahead.

A straight, perfectly carved, path among the tall trees that cozied up to each other, so much so that they'd cloaked everything behind their figures from each side of the road.

It was an odd occurrence, indeed, but Alaric had seen odder. He did not linger, and so began his walk forward.

Seconds turned into long minutes, but time seemed to stop the moment his eyes had landed on a silhouette. That of an old woman very slowly crossing from one side of the road to another under the warm sun.

Her back severely hunched over as her small hand trembled around the cane she used for support.

"Greetings my good mother, I am Sir Alaric Fortis, knight of the silver veiled kingdom, sworn to the service of Lord Caspian the third," with both hands, he removed his helmet as he introduced himself.

The old lady only stopped once Alaric had finished his sentence. She finally turned to face him, offering him a meek smile that further accentuated the wrinkles riddling her features, "My, my! A knight, you say? And a very handsome one, at that!" her dull eyes had halted on the emblem adorning Alaric's shield.

"Indeed," he smiled back. Alaric took a look around before turning back towards her again, "Tell me, my good mother, is there a village nearby this place?"

"That, there is," she paused for a moment, her grin growing wider, "I have seen my fair share of knights running by, but never from this silver veiled kingdom,"

"Honored to be the first. I hope I've made a good impression," Alaric nodded.

She ignored his statement to ask a different question, "But then, if you are a knight, where might your destrier be?"

"Left him at the foot of the mountain. it was hardly a path for a horse,"

"How considerate of you!" she turned to face the way she'd been heading in before Alaric had stopped her.

"If knights come and go through here, then I must be on the right path,"

he'd muttered those words mostly to himself, but they still caught her attention, "Are you here for the dragon?"

"I am here for the princess,"

She allowed a short laugh out, her raspy voice permeating their surroundings, "There sure is a dragon, but there's no princess," by the time she'd ended her sentence, there was no trace of the courteous smile she'd been offering him since she saw him.

"Surely, there is! Princess Louise, the fair daughter of King George from the Golden kingdom," Alaric chimed in, almost too eager to correct her.

The sayings of the old lady instilled doubt within him. Alaric had never been the kind to immediately dismiss words based upon the person uttering them.