The darkness dominated the snow covered woodlands, but her eyes saw clearly through the night. More undead, these Draugr as the locals called them, stalked aimlessly through the trees. They were few in number and scattered, but Nadine wasn’t fond of the idea of letting them wander so close to her camp. Shaking off the cold gore from her gauntlet she carried on with her patrol.
Once she was sure there were no threats lurking in the area, then she would return to the abandoned cabin she had been using as a shelter. It was a simple log cabin with a short chimneystack, and above the front door outside was a piece of wood with carvings on it. Nadine just assumed it was to mark whoever’s house this used to be, but she couldn’t read Icebergian.
Several patches of newly overgrown plants covered holes in the structure with their roots grasping firmly to the cabin’s logs, keeping the heat in and the cold air out.
Inside the furniture was sparse. Whatever Nadine had deemed unnecessary and was combustible had been broken and moved next to the fireplace, where a fire roasted several skinned and skewered rabbits. Taking a seat on a fur covered couch the woman sipped hot water from a mug. Her eyes inevitably fell upon the dagger she had stabbed into the armrest earlier. It was an ancient looking thing she had picked up off of a Draugr, its blade etched with runes and its pommel decorated with a carving resembling a bird’s skull.
She wondered if it had ties to the ruins of an even older fortress deeper in the woods. Perhaps she would investigate further in the morning.