, Year 216 ----- Location Unknown --
Carrying a simple longbow strung across his chest, a quiver of arrows, and old backpack, the somewhat tall man grabbed the edges of his traveling cloak, wrapping it even tighter around himself, making sure to secure the hood securely around his head, in an attempt to protect his already freezing body from the harsh winter breeze. He had been walking through the cold half-foot tall snow for what seemed several hours, perhaps even a little less then a day.
His hazel eyes quickly, though carefully, scanned his surroundings, searching for a noticeable landmark. After only but a minute or so of walking, his eyes wandered upon a familiar oak tree bearing, on the trunk, a crudely drawn X about eye level. The man let out a sign, mustering the courage to speak with his painfully chapped lips, "Dammit, I've already been here twice in the last hour."
Finally deciding that he was, most certainly utterly lost, he leaned on the tree for support, he took off his age torn pack, speedily checking it's contents. The food he had rationed off for the next few days was rapidly deteriorating as the days went by. Sooner or later he'd have to start hunting, or end up starving. After a few moments of thought, he decided that it'd be best to begin tracking for his food as soon as possible, in case for some reason he wasn't able to find prey later.
Surprisingly, it hadn't taken long at all for him to find a wandering deer. Although it was odd to see one alone, in such harsh conditions, the man didn't question if incredibly good luck. He stiffly hid himself by a tree, taking his bow off of his chest, loading the bow as silently as his chilled joints would allow. The man aimed carefully, taking his time to find a near-perfect shot to render the animal cripple.
The deer moved slightly, continuing to be oblivious to the threat standing only but a few strides away. Now the man had the shot he had been patiently waiting for. He made sure that his bow was aligned right, and then prepared to let the arrow soar through the air, but the soft crunching of snow behind him stopped the man.
After a loud noise, he heard the sharp twang of a bow, and unexpectedly, a whistling arrow whizzed by his ear striking home into the trunk of a tree not even an inch away from the man's own face.
His human instinct quickly took over. The man was confused of what came next?\It happened so fast that there was really no time to consider what had just occurred. There were a few hollers here and there, and a bit of a fist fight. But finally after a few moments of complete bewilderment, the man found himself on top of a woman, pinning her down onto the ground, with a large, well built young man standing a few feet away, yelling.
"Peace! Peace! We mean no harm!"
********
"We're so very sorry," claimed the woman in a whisper, her head staring into the snow.
"Yes... You see, we were hunting a deer, and when I approached my friend here, I startled her." Explained the large man, holding an axe to his side.
"An' ?eer aim went off, I'm assumin'." said the cloaked man.
"Precisely!"
The cloaked man nodded, "I s'pose it coulda happen to anyone. I apologize for tha' uppercut you had to suffer through." Chuckling, he added, "Th' name's Hyude."
Hyude grinned at the smiling axe-wielder, although the woman was still silently staring at the snow, seemingly hypnotized.
"Well, my name's Galonwand. And my friend here's Baleen. Mind if I ask what you're doing in the middle of this forest?"
"I've been wandering this forest for a week. I'm lost" Hyude smiled and added after Baleen muttered a nearly unheard "Hi".
Galonwand let out a laugh "So are we!"