Day 45 of Winter in the Year 513 AV
The winter had been brutal for the citizens of Sunberth. The snowfall had tripled in less than a month causing massive damage to homes and families alike. Every now and then a body could be seen in a back alley, rigid from freezing temperatures where death and stolen its life. Regardless of the weather, merchants and vendors hawked their wares along the streets, their guards standing ominously close by.
Roy and his mother Alice made their way through the crowd of bustling people. Alice lifted a hand to her hood and wrapped her fingers around both corners, pulling them tight against her chin as the chill wind swept through the street. Not even the teeming mass of bodies could generate enough heat to ward off the cold. Roy left his coat hanging lazily open, paying no mind to the numbing wind.
“Roy, close your coat or you’re going to catch a cold,” his mother chided him when she glanced over and saw the way he was wearing his winter clothes. He looked over at her wryly from under his hood, a small swagger in his stride.
“Really, Ma? You’ve got to remember, I’m not a child anymore.” She just shook her head exasperated. The snow crunched underneath their boots as they clomped through the ever thickening slush. They weaved their way through the streets, passing merchants, carts of goods, drunks, gangs, prostitutes and all manners of individuals that roamed the streets. Even at midday, the streets were a rowdy place.
The duo eventually made their way to a local produce shop. The building was in bad shape, it was more of a rickety shack then an actual shop. Two feet of snow was piled up along each side of the door blocking the only window. Like every other structure in Sunberth, it could have used a fresh coat of paint and new timber.
“Likely the only thing holding this dump upright.”
But Roy paid it no mind, he had grown accustom to such a way of life and no longer had any quarrel to the quality of living. A tiny bell rung as Roy opened the door, stepping into the shop, leaving the bitter wind outside. He held the door open long enough for his mother to step in, before closing it quickly behind.
His mother pulled back the hood of her cloak and wasted no time getting down to business. An old man slowly placed one foot in front of the other, limping as he came to the counter from a small backroom. White, wispy hair sprung out in all directions from his wrinkly skull.
“Ahhhh, Alice. Good to see you.” The ancient looking man smiled, revealing black, decaying teeth. He laid his cane against the counter and sat down gingerly. A sigh escaped his lips as his weight was lifted off his weak legs. “What can I do for you today?”
Roy glanced around the shop, he rarely came to buy goods but he was forced into it today. “I knew I should have escaped while I had the chance, instead of lounging idly around the house. But it’s just so blast cold outside…” Roy grumbled under his breathe. “I hate having to work for my parents all the time. Not only do I have to live with them but I am also obligated to work in the family business. I just want to do what I want. Why is that so hard to understand?!”
The winter had been brutal for the citizens of Sunberth. The snowfall had tripled in less than a month causing massive damage to homes and families alike. Every now and then a body could be seen in a back alley, rigid from freezing temperatures where death and stolen its life. Regardless of the weather, merchants and vendors hawked their wares along the streets, their guards standing ominously close by.
Roy and his mother Alice made their way through the crowd of bustling people. Alice lifted a hand to her hood and wrapped her fingers around both corners, pulling them tight against her chin as the chill wind swept through the street. Not even the teeming mass of bodies could generate enough heat to ward off the cold. Roy left his coat hanging lazily open, paying no mind to the numbing wind.
“Roy, close your coat or you’re going to catch a cold,” his mother chided him when she glanced over and saw the way he was wearing his winter clothes. He looked over at her wryly from under his hood, a small swagger in his stride.
“Really, Ma? You’ve got to remember, I’m not a child anymore.” She just shook her head exasperated. The snow crunched underneath their boots as they clomped through the ever thickening slush. They weaved their way through the streets, passing merchants, carts of goods, drunks, gangs, prostitutes and all manners of individuals that roamed the streets. Even at midday, the streets were a rowdy place.
The duo eventually made their way to a local produce shop. The building was in bad shape, it was more of a rickety shack then an actual shop. Two feet of snow was piled up along each side of the door blocking the only window. Like every other structure in Sunberth, it could have used a fresh coat of paint and new timber.
“Likely the only thing holding this dump upright.”
But Roy paid it no mind, he had grown accustom to such a way of life and no longer had any quarrel to the quality of living. A tiny bell rung as Roy opened the door, stepping into the shop, leaving the bitter wind outside. He held the door open long enough for his mother to step in, before closing it quickly behind.
His mother pulled back the hood of her cloak and wasted no time getting down to business. An old man slowly placed one foot in front of the other, limping as he came to the counter from a small backroom. White, wispy hair sprung out in all directions from his wrinkly skull.
“Ahhhh, Alice. Good to see you.” The ancient looking man smiled, revealing black, decaying teeth. He laid his cane against the counter and sat down gingerly. A sigh escaped his lips as his weight was lifted off his weak legs. “What can I do for you today?”
Roy glanced around the shop, he rarely came to buy goods but he was forced into it today. “I knew I should have escaped while I had the chance, instead of lounging idly around the house. But it’s just so blast cold outside…” Roy grumbled under his breathe. “I hate having to work for my parents all the time. Not only do I have to live with them but I am also obligated to work in the family business. I just want to do what I want. Why is that so hard to understand?!”
