The village slowly disappeared behind them.
Its weathered rooftops sank beneath the rolling hills until only thin trails of smoke remained against the pale winter sky. Before long, even those were gone.
No one looked back again.
Only the steady rhythm of boots pressing into fresh snow remained as they continued north.
The old farmer's weary words lingered in Viktor's mind.
"They always come back."
He did not understand why those words troubled him more than the soldiers themselves.
He wanted to ask.
Instead... He watched the road beneath his feet.
Gavril finally broke the silence with a grunt.
"...Should've knocked a few more teeth out."
Samuel laughed softly.
"And spend the next week outrunning every soldier in the valley?"
"I've run farther."
"You've complained farther."
"I can do both."
Samuel shook his head, smiling.
"I've noticed."
Even Viktor's lips curved ever so slightly.
Gavril caught it.
"There."
"I made the boy smile."
"Must be one of my many talents."
"Your greatest talent is talking while walking."
The exchange faded as naturally as it had begun.
The hills gradually flattened into long stretches of open land. Old wagon ruts carved lines through the frozen earth, disappearing toward the distant horizon.
Samuel slowed.
His eyes followed the tracks for several moments before kneeling beside them. He brushed away loose snow with the back of his glove.
Fresh impressions. Heavy wheels. Several horses.
He smiled to himself.
"What is it?" Gavril asked.
"Wagons."
Samuel stood.
"They're not far ahead."
He pointed toward the deeper grooves.
"Heavy load."
"Probably merchants."
Gavril adjusted the straps holding his axes.
"Good."
"Maybe they'll have something worth eating."
Samuel laughed.
"You're thinking with your stomach."
"My stomach usually has good ideas."
Kaavi remained quiet.
His eyes lingered on the same tracks only briefly before turning toward the road ahead.
A dull ache pulsed behind his eyes. Fainter than yesterday.
Still there. He ignored it.
The journey mattered more.
"Let's keep moving."
Nearly an hour passed before the road curved around a rocky hillside.
The sound reached them first.
Wood creaking. Harnesses shifting.
The rhythmic clatter of wagon wheels over frozen ground.
Then... the caravan emerged.
Two sturdy wagons rolled steadily along the road.
The first sat low beneath neatly stacked crates, barrels and tightly wrapped bundles secured beneath heavy canvas.
The second carried only a handful of smaller boxes.
Mostly empty.
Horses pulled the wagons while several men walked alongside them, chatting idly between themselves.
One of them looked up.
For a heartbeat...
He simply stared.
Then a broad smile spread across his face.
"...Samuel?"
Samuel blinked once before breaking into a grin of his own.
"Roderic."
The man laughed.
"I'll be damned."
"I thought you'd gone south before winter."
"Changed my mind halfway there."
"Happens to the best of us."
The two clasped forearms like men who had crossed paths more than once over the years.
Roderic's gaze drifted toward the others.
"Traveling with company now?"
Samuel nodded.
"Met them along the way."
"They're heading north."
"So are we."
Roderic looked toward the nearly empty second wagon before shrugging.
"Then climb aboard."
He patted the wooden frame.
"No sense wearing your boots thin when we've plenty of room."
Gavril answered first.
"I'll walk."
One of the merchants chuckled.
"Suit yourself."
"My knees prefer wagons."
"They're lazy."
"They're smart."
Laughter spread easily between the men.
Roderic looked toward Kaavi.
"You look tired, old friend."
Kaavi offered only a small smile.
"The road has been longer than expected."
"Then sit."
"The horses won't complain."
After a brief pause...
Kaavi nodded.
"Thank you."
Viktor climbed into the wagon beside him, Veyl following quietly without a word.
Gavril remained on foot, as he always preferred.
The caravan started moving once more.
Now,
Not as strangers sharing a road.
But as fellow travellers headed toward the same horizon.
The horses walked with the steady rhythm, their breaths rising in pale clouds before disappearing into the air.
For the first time in several days...
The road no longer felt empty.
Conversation drifted naturally between the travellers.
One merchant cursed beneath his breath after stepping into a patch of slush.
Another laughed.
"Told you to walk where the horse walks."
"And twist my ankle in the ruts?"
The men shared a laugh before continuing on.
Roderic glanced toward Gavril, who still refused to ride.
"You really don't get tired?"
"I do."
"You hide it well."
"I complain instead."
Several merchants laughed.
One rubbed his beard thoughtfully.
"I've known men who carried swords that large."
"They usually preferred showing them off."
Gavril snorted.
"Talking's lighter."
"It weighs less than swinging steel."
The merchant nodded in approval.
"A wise man."
"Nah."
"I'm just lazy."
More laughter followed.
Even Kaavi allowed himself the faintest smile before looking back toward the endless road.
Samuel walked near the front wagon beside Roderic.
"So"
"How's business?"
Roderic scratched his beard.
"It pays."
"Barely."
"Winter slows everything."
Samuel nodded knowingly.
"Always does."
"Harder to find buyers?"
"Harder to find anything."
The two continued talking quietly about trade routes, damaged bridges and rising prices.
Nothing unusual.
Viktor listened.
There was something strangely comforting about hearing adults speak of ordinary things.
Broken wheels.
Frozen rivers.
Spoiled grain.
Prices of salt.
It reminded him that the world was larger.
One of the younger merchants looked toward him.
"First time traveling this far?"
Viktor nodded.
Yes."
The merchant smiled.
"You'll remember your first winter road."
"Mostly because your feet won't let you forget it."
A few chuckled.
"My feet already hurt."
"They'll stop hurting."
Viktor looked hopeful.
"...Really?"
"No."
"They just go numb."
The entire caravan burst into laughter.
Even Viktor couldn't stop himself from smiling.
Beside him, Kaavi quietly watched.
The boy had smiled more today than he had in several days.
For a brief moment, the weight pressing against Kaavi's mind felt a little lighter.
The afternoon passed peacefully. Snow occasionally drifted from heavy branches overhead whenever the wind found them.
The caravan stopped beside a narrow stream to refill water barrels.
The horses drank greedily.
Everyone stretched their legs.
Gavril crouched beside the icy water, splashing his face.
"...Cold."
One merchant looked over.
"What did you expect?"
"I expected less cold."
"You'll have to travel somewhere warmer."
"And where's the fun in that?"
The merchant laughed.
Before setting off again, one of the merchants struggled to lift a barrel back onto the wagon.
Gavril walked over without a word.
He lifted it as though it were nothing.
The merchant blinked.
"...Remind me never to wrestle you."
The men laughed again.
The barrel settled back into place.
No one thought much of it.
Except...
Roderic.
His eyes lingered on Gavril for only a heartbeat longer than everyone else's.
Then he climbed back onto the wagon. The journey continued.
By late afternoon, the road entered another stretch of forest.
The trees stood taller here, their branches weaving together overhead until the fading sunlight struggled to reach the ground.
Roderic studied the sky.
"We'll stop soon."
One of the merchants nodded.
"There's a clearing ahead."
"I remember it."
"Good place to spend the night."
Samuel smiled.
"I know the one."
"Used it years ago."
"Still standing?"
"Barely."
The road bent gently to the right.
Only another few hundred paces remained before the trees opened once more.
None of the travellers realized...
That tomorrow's road would not resemble today's.
The clearing appeared just before sunset.
It was wide enough for the wagons to turn around, with a few old trees scattered around its edges. A small stream ran nearby, mostly covered beneath a thin layer of ice.
Roderic raised a hand.
"This will do."
The caravan slowed.
The horses were tied beneath the trees while the everyone began setting up camp. Some gathered fallen branches for the fire. Others cleared the snow from the ground.
Gavril helped unload one of the heavier crates before dropping it beside the wagon.
He looked at Samuel.
"Your friends carry more than they look like they do."
Samuel smiled.
"That's because you haven't seen their backs after a full month on the road."
"Good."
Gavril stretched his shoulders.
"Then I'm not the only one suffering."
One of the merchants laughed.
"You complain more than my old mule."
"Your mule probably has better food."
"He's not wrong."
The merchant shook his head and walked away.
The fire was soon burning.
The smell of cooked meat and boiled grain slowly spread through the clearing.
For a while, the entire group simply enjoyed the warmth.
Viktor sat beside Kaavi, watching the flames.
Veyl sat a little farther away, sharpening one of his knives while listening to the merchants talk.
Samuel had joined Roderic near one of the wagons.
Their conversation was quieter than the others, though there was nothing secretive about it.
"How long were you in the south?" Roderic asked.
"Long enough to hate their wine."
Roderic laughed.
"Still drinking it?"
"When someone else is paying."
"Some things never change."
Samuel smiled.
The two continued discussing their travels while checking the ropes around the loaded wagon.
One of the other merchants walked over and inspected the remaining space.
"Should we leave tomorrow?"
Roderic looked toward the darkening sky.
"No."
"We'll stay until the next full moon."
The merchant frowned slightly.
"That long?"
"Might as well."
He tightened one of the ropes.
"We've got enough room for another load."
The merchant nodded.
"Then we'll make the trip once."
"Exactly."
Another man sitting beside the fire looked over.
"More goods."
Roderic smiled.
"More profit."
The men laughed.
Dinner was passed around shortly afterward.
The food was simple, but after a full day of walking, nobody complained.
Well...
Almost nobody.
Gavril looked down at his bowl.
"This needs more meat."
Samuel raised an eyebrow.
"You've said that every night."
"And every night I've been right."
"You've eaten every night."
"Because I'm adaptable."
Veyl glanced at him.
"You complained about the food yesterday too."
Gavril pointed at him.
"That was different."
"How?"
"Yesterday it was worse."
Samuel laughed.
Even Kaavi gave a quiet chuckle.
Viktor looked toward him.
The sound was brief.
Almost lost beneath the crackling fire.
But he had heard it.
Kaavi noticed his gaze.
"What?"
Viktor shook his head.
"Nothing."
Kaavi gave him a faint smile before returning his attention to the fire.
For a while, there was nothing but warmth.
The sound of men talking, the occasional laughter and the horses shifting in the darkness.
It was an ordinary evening.
Perhaps that was why no one noticed how quickly the night settled around them.
After dinner, the merchants began preparing their bedrolls.
Gavril stood and stretched his arms above his head.
His shoulders cracked.
"Finally."
Samuel looked up.
"Finally, what?"
"Feeling like my legs belong to me again."
"You've been complaining about your legs all day."
"They're stubborn."
"So are you."
"That's why we get along."
Samuel smiled.
Gavril took a few steps toward the edge of the clearing and stopped, his brow furrowing as he blinked into the gloom. For a moment, the surrounding trees seemed to sway. He shook his head, muttering,
"That's..."
"What?" Samuel asked, looking up from the fire.
Gavril reached toward the nearest trunk to steady himself, but his knees gave out before his fingers touched bark. His body struck the frozen ground with a heavy thud.
The laughter around the fire disappeared.
Veyl was on his feet immediately.
Viktor stared.
Samuel rushed toward him.
"Gavril!"
Kaavi stood.
His expression changed the instant he looked at the fallen man. The headache behind his eyes seemed to vanish beneath a colder realization.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
He took one step forward then another.