Morning everyone, last prompt for the week. Let’s see what comes out of it. Timers set and off we go.
I kind of like this as a start. I’ll have to figure out what Kelan said to make him an exile, as well as what sort of adventure I want to send him on, but I like the start.
Friday, May 23rd: The wind howled over the rocks.
The wind howled over the rocks. Kelan clutched his cloak closer to his body. It wasn’t thick enough to provide a lot of warmth but he knew if the icy fingered wind slipped under the cloth he would steal the heat from his body.
His eyes were narrowed to slits against that same wind as he looked around. He needed shelter for the night. The wind was getting worse. Dark clouds followed in the wind’s wake and he could feel the thick moisture in the air. All it needed was a little nudge and it would fall. He could stay warm if he could stay dry.
Hope blossomed as he saw a cave entrance. It was slightly higher up but he knew he could make it if he hurried. In the distance he heard the first rumbles of thunder. They weren’t as distant as he would like and he hurried forward.
To reach the shelter offered by the cave he needed to use his hands to climb as well as his feet. He let his cloak go. While it remained fastened around his neck, the wind wipped the cloth from his body. It flew out behind him like a flag as he climbed. Kelan felt his body cool even as he put in the exertion needed to climb up to the cave.
He reached the top and pulled the cloak close again hoping to regain some of that body heat. He shivered as he moved forward. The cave was shallow. It did not delve too deeply into the mountain. It was deep enough to offer him shelter even if he would have preferred it to be a little larger.
‘At least it is small enough that nothing is using it as a den,’ he consoled himself. He slipped into the entrance. The stone blocked the wind and although it wasn’t much warmer, he felt warmer as the wind was not needling his skin.
Thunder cracked over head. The moisture in the air decided it was now time to fall to earth and the rain began. He pulled his cloak close and huddled as far from the opening as he could. As small as his shelter was, it was well placed. The angle of it kept the rain from rolling into the cave and the opening was placed in such a way that the wind blew past him instead of sending the rain inside.
If nothing changed then he would at least remain dry through the night. ‘Should have kept my mouth shut,’ Kelan thought as he huddled in his shelter.
He knew if he had kept his mouth shut he would be home right now. He would be in front of a warm fire, his belly filled with whatever Denaris was cooking for supper. His empty belly clenched at the thought and he turned his thoughts away from food. He had a small handful of dried meat in his pouch. It was enough for a between meals snack rather than an actual meal itself. He wasn’t certain when he would get a chance to get more food, so he was holding off eating it for the moment.
The thought of having absolutely nothing to eat on him terrified him more than he wanted to admit.
He watched the rain fall and slowly he began to warm. The wind swirled the droplets and as he stared, he wondered what he was going to do with himself now. Going home was not an option. He outran those pursuing him, but he could not go back.
Ten til Midnight 