The weather was treacherous the snow was piling up thickly on the ground and the wind was throwing the snow into the air. One would not be able to see three feet in front of them trying to get from one place to the next. The wind would bite through the thickest coat and clothing that could be put on to stop it.
The weather wasn't the only problem facing a traveler this night there was no moon to speak of in the sky.
The weather and the night were just a few of the dangers in this particular area. The area was usually a darkened forest with very few settlements spread throughout the thicket. The settlements had a constant watch and fires burning troughout the perimeter to try to keep the one thing they feared at bay. Every settlement knew the stories and every one showed a respectful if not warranted amount of fear.
The one thing -or in truth the many things- the people in the villages feared was the pack of wolves that lived in the thickest parts of the forests. It was said that the wolves were not always the blood thirsty creatures prowling the dark roads,that once a long time ago they had been a great race of people. They had been cursed by the King out of the Forest when they had refused to fight in his war against a clan of shadow walkers from the north.
He had cursed most of the denizens of the forest in such a manner but none of the others still prowled the lands like the wolves. They had moved further south away from man while the wolves remained true to the home they held dear.
It was said that if one could find the center of the forest they would come across a temple overgrown with vines and vegetation. That the temple was once where the people had lived before being cursed and now the ruins were home to the wolves they had become. Even if it was all just stories told to scare children the humans of the villages still stayed far away from the center of the forest.
There were very few who lived in the forest that were brave enough to get through to the center of the forest. But those from outside of the forest wanted to get inside to find the power the King had sought.
Looking to get closer to that secret the King had made the only decision he thought would get him what he wanted through it all. He had a nephew that was his sister's son that had been sent to live with him as apprentice to his sword master. He had taken the young man of 18 aside one night in the castle to give him his orders.
The boy would go to the forest and speak to the villagers to find one who would be willing to show him the way to the center of the forest. He would be given information about the wolves from the local hunters and he would navigate his way through to the temple where his mission would really begin. He would leave immediately and he would inform no one of his mission, the King had enemies which meant that the boy had enemies.
The boy left immediately as he was ordered to do only bringing the essentials that he needed for the trip till he reached the village to restock.
The boy's name was Gregor De Monte he was from the Plains to the west and had never even seen the forest in person. He was 6' tall, had lean muscle that made it easier for his swordsmanship, and he had sharp boned features. Even if he was the nephew to the King he was used to roughing it, he had spent days in the sun causing him to have tanned. He had close to shaved blond hair and deep steel blue eyes. He wore all black leather and a black cloak, he even rode a solid black mare.
When he left he took his mare,his sword, and a few provisions. He planned on riding straight until he reached the forest and then continuing on till he reached the first village.
*****
Gregor left the castle in the cloak of night just as his uncle King Roderick LaClair had asked him too. He had agreed to a life of service to the crown and all it's heirs so long as the bloodline was the LaClair line. That meant following through on the secret missions his King sent him on and there had been a few he had been on in his short time as the King's warrior.
