Chapter 16: You have fear while I have priorities.
The female goblin struggled violently, her claws scratching at his arm and her legs tried to kick upwards but to no avail due to the point were Adrian's feet pressed down on.
He held firm, his weight pressed down on her, his hand continued to seal her mouth tightly until her movements became weaker, and then finally stopped altogether. He let out a long, shaky sigh, his breath misting in the cold air.
Without pausing, he moved to the second sleeping goblin and repeated the grim process, ending her life just as quietly.
The young man was now crying tears of pure, overwhelming joy. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Thank you, thank you..."
Adrian didn't even look at him. He just walked over to the fire and sat down heavily, holding his trembling hands out to the warmth, his body shivering uncontrollably now that the adrenaline was fading.
The young man wasn't angry at being ignored. He saw how badly Adrian was shivering and realized the severity of his condition, his skin was pale and covered in goosebumps.
"Hey," he unconsciously whispered, his voice weak but urgent. "Over there, in the back. They have some skinned fur skins there."
" They usually gather them after going out on their hunts, if you're truly cold, you could use some of them to help keep warm as well."
Adrian listened, his head nodding slowly. He pushed himself back up and found the pile of animal pelts, a couple of wolf skins, roughly skinned but still thick. He stared for a moment at the remains of the animal, then used his sickle to quickly cut and adjust one of the larger pelts, making a crude but serviceable poncho. He pulled it on, the fur was scratchy but incredibly warm against his frozen skin.
Feeling a bit of life return to his limbs, he finally walked over and used his sickle to cut the ropes binding the young man. The moment he was free, the guy overflowed with emotion, surging forward to wrap Adrian in a tight, grateful hug.
" Hey Hey Hey" Adrian hurried to stop him, He brought his arm up, not pushing him away violently, but firmly holding him back at arm's length, his eyes wary. "First things first. You need to find some clothes to wear."
" Oh, alright." The young man said, looking a bit embarrassed by his brazen behavior.
The young man, quickly pulled on one of the rough beast-skin furs, the coarse hair was scratching against his skin but provided immediate relief from the cave's chill.
As he tried to get used to it, he saw Adrian already moving toward the cave entrance.
"Let's go." Adrian said, his voice sounded flat yet tired at the same time. It couldn't be helped, after all the things he'd endured after his second revival, it was astonishing that he could still stand abd walk around as if nothing happened.
Though he looked fine, right now, Adrian felt a sudden headache coming on, at the same time, his vision was growing dizzy with each moment.
"Wait, are you crazy?" The young man whispered, his eyes wide as he glanced at the howling whiteness outside the cave mouth.
"Look at that blizzard! We'll freeze out there, or get lost if we head out now. We should wait it out here, at least until it calms down a little."
Adrian didn't even break his stride, nor did he turn to spare him a glance. "You can stay if you want."
" I for one I'm heading back home." he called over his shoulder, the words almost swallowed by the wind.
' For all I know, mothers illness might be acting up at this very moment. I can't afford to keep wasting more time. I need to get her treated as fast as possible, before her issue worsens.' Even against his bodies weakening self, his eye's burned with a hidden determination that refused to quit.
Seeing his only chance at survival literally walking out the door, the blonde haired guy hurried after him, his own fears of being left alone outweighing his fear of the storm.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming!"
" Just don't leave me in this place!"
Adrian said nothing to his remarks, instead he continued on and the other soon caught up with him, the both of them walked side by side till they left the cave.
Outside, the wind immediately stole their breath. Adrian walked over to where he'd left his wicker basket, now crowned with a thick layer of fresh snow.
' Thank God the herbs are still in one piece... A bit frozen but I'm sure the doctor can take care of that.' He said inwardly, sighing in relief.
He brushed off the snow on the herbs and hoisted the heavy load onto his back, the weight was far higher due to some of the herbs being frozen but Adrian only grunted once before gritting his teeth and continued heading towards the direction he recalled the village was in.
The guy stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. "Why are you taking that?" he asked, his voice was slightly raised against the gale. "Just leave it! It's slowing you down in this weather. It's not worth it!"
Again, Adrian acted as if he hadn't heard him. He just adjusted the straps and started walking, his head down against the stinging snow. With a nervous gulp, the guy pulled his own fur tighter and followed, sticking close behind Adrian as they vanished into the whiteout.
After what felt like an eternity of trudging through knee-deep snow, the dark shapes of the village huts emerged from the blur. Two patrol guards, bundled up and nearly invisible themselves, suddenly stepped out, spears held ready.
"Halt! Stay back, beasts!" one of them yelled, his voice filled with apprehension and fear, from the looks of it, he had mistaken their shaggy fur skins for real monsters.
Multiple patrol men held spears and bows and arrows at the ready, while some with swords, stoop at the forefront.