2. Encounter

A few weeks have passed since you and Sten first arrived at the base of the mountain. Sten felt it was best you kept a low profile until the aftermath of his actions settled. Eventually, you gained word that Ulf had taken thrown as he is next in line. When he gained news of his brothers ****, he was hardly distraught and seems to have no plans of looking for those who are responsible. During your time on the mountain you started learning how to fight from Sten. You've become fairly adept with a battle hammer, however, your preferred weapon has become a bow. Now that you know there's no threat of being followed you'll be heading back to Sten's village soon. The trip will take around a week and you will need more food for the journey. You were quite thrilled when Sten agreed to allow you on a small hunting trip before your departure. Thought, it will be your first one you feel as if you're more than ready. Your aim with a bow has become quite sharp and you're eager to finally practice on some moving targets. You follow Sten into the forest and feel your excitement grow with each step. After a while Sten pauses and walks a few feet away from you to inspect something. "There are some deer tracks." He says when he returns to your side and gestures to where he had been standing earlier. "I’ll be back." Frowning, you watch as Sten turns and disappears into the forest.

This isn't exactly what you had in mind when you heard you were going to join him. You stand waiting for a few minutes but after a while start growing more impatient, and restless. Eventually, you move over to a tree and lean against it's large frame as you absentmindedly stare ahead. A moment later you quickly sit up when a small, grey, object darts past you. Grabbing your bow, you feel your excitement pick back up. Just because you can’t join Sten doesn’t mean you can’t do some hunting of your own. The creature, presumably a rabbit, had run off in the opposite direction that Sten had gone in. Moving as quickly and quietly as you can, you follow behind it. Unfortunately, after a few steps you see the animals speed increase after a twig loudly snaps under your foot. Wincing slightly, you forgo the quiet method and start running instead. Wind rushes past your face as you make your way down the narrow path. Losing yourself in the invigorating feeling, you find your concentration on the rabbit before you begins to fade. You're unsure how long you've been running when you finally realize the rabbit is gone. Slowing to a stop, you take a look around and realize how far you've strayed. The rabbit didn't move in a straight line so you're not sure of the exact way back. Thankfully, the mountain slopes and you figure as long as you head downhill, you will be fine.

You're still slightly winded from your run and decide to walk this time. After a while you come across a small trail that seems to lead down the mountain. It appears to slant slightly left and you try to remember if that's the way you came from. After a while you realize you're unable to remember and it's only growing later in the day. Glancing over your shoulder, you take a final look at the other side of the forest before stepping down the path. The ground starts growing slightly steeper as you continue and becomes harder to traverse. Keeping your steps slow and cautious, your hands gently brush against rough bark as you hold your arms out for additional balance. When you're nearly half way down you stop when you see deep gashes running down the dirt path. It almost looks as if something has recently slid down it. Furrowing your brow slightly, you look around for any other disturbances but see none. Dismissing the strange oddity, you take another step forward then gasp. The ground crumbles slightly beneath you and you feel your foot sliding forward. Reaching out, your finger tips graze past a branch but you're unable to grab it in time. You come down with hard crash onto your back before your body starts sliding down the dirty path that eventually turns to mud. Grabbing desperately around you, you find that the soft ground around you provides nothing to grip onto.

As you continue sliding you feel the side of your head hit against a rock and the world goes black. Sometime later, your eyes slowly flutters open and your vision distorts slightly as your eyes readjust. You're laying on your side in cold mud and you feel your back pressed against something hard. Groaning slightly, you lean back further into hard surface. "Oh, you're alive?" You quickly sit up when you hear a deep male voice from behind you. Though, it's more of his words that surprise you than anything as you recognize them to be your old language. Placing a hand back, you start using the hard surface for support but jump in surprise when it pulls away. Heart racing, you quickly scramble to your feet but nearly lose your balance in the process. You find your hand falling back onto the surface to steady yourself. The thick mud you've been lying in seems to suck your feet in deeper with each step. Once you're steady, you glance over and quickly pull your hand away. It appears the hard surface is the back plate of a large suit of armor. You struggle to take a few steps forward before finally finding solid ground on the edge of the pool of mud. Slowly walking around the perimeter of the large puddle you begin taking in the strange being. It appears he also had the misfortune of losing his step on the path. Unfortunately, for him, he landed deeper into the mud and you can see his left leg and arm are almost completely submerged.

While this normally wouldn't be impossible to get out of. The heavy armor he's wearing is likely what's actually preventing him from getting up. When you reach the opposite side of the pond you're still unable to see the man's face as the visor on his helmet is pulled down. "Quite the predicament, huh?" He says when he sees you observing him, then scoffs. "Not that you can understand me." He tilts his head slightly and you get the feeling he's looking you up and down. After a moment you hear him mutter, "They told me there were savages here but I didn't realize they'd be so... unkempt." Your back stiffens slightly and you're surprised to hear yourself quickly retort. "Speak for yourself." His head raises back up and he sounds somewhat taken aback when he asks, "You speak my language?" Hesitating for a moment, you finally nod your head 'yes' and hear him sigh in relief. "I'm sure you can't get me out of here." He pauses and you see his head tilt again as his eyes presumably glance over your slight figure. "But if you could just take my helmet off..." You didn't pick up on the weary undertone in his voice until now and realize how hot it must be under the armor. Biting the inside of your lip, you nod again slightly before walking back around the puddle.

It's just as difficult walking back into the mud as it had been getting out. When you reach the man you have **** but to place your hands on the broad shoulders of his armor for stability. His head leans back slightly when you reach him and you see a leather strap running below his bare chin. Not wanting to risk going deeper into the mud you decide to remain where you are. Unfortunately, this provides an awkward angle and you find yourself having to wrap your arms around him slightly to reach. Your forearms rest on his shoulders as your hands reach under his helmet. When you start undoing the leather strap you can feel your fingers brush against his rough jaw with each movement. Finally, the strap comes lose and you slowly stand back up. The helmet is quite heavy but after a moment, you're able to pull it off. The removed helmet exposes a mess of slightly sweaty, curly, brown hair. The man sighs, and starts to lift his free hand up as it to run it through said hair. When his arm pauses in mid air you see his gauntlet is still on and covered in mud. Taking some pity on him, you reach forward and slowly slide it off his hand. Once it's off, his hand resumes it's motion and you watch his fingers gently rake through his messy curls.

He thanks you but you hardly hear him as you start making your way back out of the mud. When you reach the other side again, you're finally able to see the man's face. Beads of sweat run along the sides of his angular face and drip down his broad, clean shaven, jaw. His green eyes are sharp and inquisitive as he stares back at you before finally breaking the silence. "Who are you?" Furrowing your brow slightly, you decide there's no harm in telling him your name and do so. "You're not from here." He remarks when he hears your name and his intense gaze starts making you slightly uncomfortable. He looks as if he's about to continue speaking when a sudden shout in the distance draws both of your attentions away. The man seemed to recognize the voice and he quickly yells back out to it. Stiffening, you decide you should leave before more people arrive. "Wait!" You hear the man call when you turn and start walking away. Glancing over slightly, your eyes lock with his for a moment before the sound of voices is heard again. They sound closer and you waste no time quickly looking away and running forward. It's nearly sundown when you reach the forests edge and are relieved to see your camp some distance to your right. It seems you had gone the wrong way after all but thankfully not by a significant amount. As you walk back towards the camp you find yourself lost in thoughts of the strange man.