The plague rats were in most village was equivalent to what snow was in that region. No matter what year you were, there was little that the sun could do to melt the white sheet of frost that covered almost every inch. The most it could do was melt the occasional lake, but nowhere near enough to warm it - those thermal waters were more in the mountain regions than there in the open tundra; but, there was the random visitor here and there. Not only because it was the direct path from or to Connlaoth, but too because there were rare herbs which could be powerful remedies if in the hands of those that knew how to handle them.
Haddos did not like to leave Padonte, the little village near Hyote. He didn't enjoy to go out in the wild - he was not an adventurous person. But his master had assigned him the job of finding a rare flower only found in the region of Sionad, which usually had to be dug out of the snow to be found, but the thick, tall gelidity was making the young man scowl in mild annoyance.
Dressed heavily in warm coats, a hood covering his head, knowing the cold that was constant in the region, the young herbalist was mounted on Chestnut, his childhood companion, a good brown horse. Holding the spear on his right hand, his left was grasping the reigns of the mount. The animal shook its head, as it too felt annoyed by this long search.
Hooves crunching snow, Haddos sighed and slipped out of the saddle, walking next to Chestnut, "All right.", he began, affectionately rubbing the nuzzle of the horse, "I think it must be around here."
It was only then that he took notice of footsteps and hooves marks that did not belong neither to him nor Chestnut. Softly, he squinted his eyes and saw ahead a lone horserider. Up on the saddle again, Haddos incited it forward, to the stranger. It was not common to see lone people, he feared the other might be lost.
"Ahoy there?", he called out in his gentle voice, "Be you lost?", he tried his best to sound innofensive, which... wasn't that hard.
