Eldon found himself wandering further and further from the Spires, yet for some odd reason, his typical cautious self was shattered. Normally, he would have Vanah with him, his trusty strider that had been through the worst of the worst with him, or at least Sylvi, his adorable Pycon Companion. But no, for some reason, he was functioning with reckless abandon, dangerous curiosity, senseless motivation. Eldon ran, chasing the lingering echo of bird-chatter that rang in his skull like the sound of water dripping in a deep cave. It was like he knew about where it came from, but didn't at the same time. Every time he found himself lost, or unsure which way to go and considering returning to the Spires, another tantalizing sign of bird-talk, the voice of a raven, would coax his new adventurous flare into action once again, and he wandered further from safety of the Spires.
Eldon paused for another moment as he turned his head away from the distant crows, he thought he heard another sound. A horse perhaps? It seemed unlikely a horse would be found this far north. Whatever, it was probably just his imagination. He returned his focus to the direction of the raven voice, and didn't reconsider for a second of what he was doing. Chasing the sound of a mere shadow he saw maybe an hour ago. Every passing moment led him deeper into danger that he wasn't equipped to handle.
Yet, he had no idea that he was already in graver danger than he'd possibly seen since his run-in with the beast that harassed the Pycon in the Sea of Grass.
Eldon stopped his maddened running for the final time as he stood tall, panting and sweating despite the chilled air of Taldera breathing down his neck. He finally found his targets, a group of a dozen or so ravens, as black as ink and creepy as anything could be. Every single black bird was watching Eldon, which wasn't hard to believe since he was a crazy-looking human that just burst into the area with a weapon in hand and nearly exhausted from physical strain. Eldon returned the gaze to the birds, or at least one at a time, and this awkward silence lasted longer than anyone would feel comfortable. Eldon, then, dropped his spear, allowing it to sink to the grass at his feet and he walked forward, stepping slowly out into what was merely a small pond, and it couldn't have been more then ten foot deep at the deepest point.
'Swim. Let's swim.' Eldon nodded to himself as the bone-aching cold water began to flow up to his waist. His arms worked almost mechanically to undress himself. His shirt was flung carelessly into the water, his trousers next. In mere minutes, his body would start shaking uncontrollably, doing its best to keep whatever warmth existed inside, but the environment was too much for a mostly hairless creature as the Drykas Man. Give it a few hours, and he would pass out from overexposure to the cold. Beyond that, whatever chances of survival he currently had, wouldn't remain. |
