Slowly, carefully, Hector walks along the narrow path, leading his horse Carrot behind him. Originally he was riding her, but when the mist started, Carrot stopped and he couldn‘t get her to continue no matter what he tried. Something about the mist must scare her. Only by walking in front, pulling her on the lead, and offering her a piece of carrot, her favorite snack, was he able to trick her into moving forward at all.

Now the mist had turned into a fog and he barely was able to see the path in front of him, not to speak about seeing anything that was to his sides. If someone or something wanted to catch him by surprise, it would be easy to do so.

The sound his boots and Carrots hooves made on the stones together with the rustling and squeaking sounds his leather clothes made seemed to echo unnaturally loudly.

He was holding Carrot's lead in his left hand, his right resting on the shaft of his short sword, ready to draw.

‚Almost there, slow and steady…‘ he said in a low and what was supposed to be a calm voice, but there was a trembling in it.

With every step the mist seemed to become thicker, the sounds he made louder. The horse resisted to walk forward but the next carrot was a good enough argument to do so despite the fear.

What has now been 6 months ago, he got a letter from a dear friend. He was just sitting at home, eating dinner with his wife and children when there was a hectic knocking on the door that only stopped when he opened it. It was a boy, maybe 16 years old, with deep dark rings under his eyes, disheveled hair in urgent need of a cut, and clothes that needed washing and mending. Out of breath, he handed Hector the letter, and before being able to say anything he collapsed.

The letter itself was a cry for help. The hastily written lines were from an old friend Hector owed his life to multiple times, back from when he earned some money as a mercenary.

He immediately got his things ready to rescue his friend. He assisted his wife put the unconscious boy to bed but didn‘t wait for him to wake up. He put on his leather armor, which luckily still fit, took his sword, packed some food, and then went on his way, promising his wife to be back soon.

He found his friend's house empty and half destroyed. There was no one there, not even bodies. So he investigated and this path he now was on was where his investigations led him to. At the end of the path, he would, hopefully, find his friend. At least he would find out what caused all of this.

A loud cracking sound pulled Hector out of his thoughts. He immediately stopped and drew his sword. Carrot took some steps back and pawed the ground nervously. Without the lead, she would have run away.

Hector tried to ignore the sounds Carrot made and concentrated on hearing footsteps or other sounds that might indicate someone or something coming close. Seeing was impossible now, the fog only allowing him to see what was right in front of him. Even Carrot, only a bit more than an armslength away, was barely visible to him. Even so, he looked around, listening, even holding his breath to maybe hear the breathtaking of another being. His heartbeat got louder in his ears and the louder it got the faster it was.

__thump thump, Thump Thump, THUMP THUMP__

It got unbearable and Hector dropped his sword to block his ears, getting to his knees and wishing his heart to stop.

He woke up from having Carrots nostrils in his face. Opening his eyes and gently pushing the horse's head away he looked around. It took him a bit to remember what happened. He must have lost consciousness.

He was lying in the middle of a field. His clothes and hair were wet from the dew on the grass he woke up on. His sword was lying next to him. The sun was shining and only a few clouds could be seen. It was almost noon according to where the sun was.

But where was Hector and how did he get here? There was no path around him, though he was sure that he had followed a stone path. There were no signs on him of Carrot dragging him. It was as if he had just laid down in the grass. What had happened?

He got up, cleaning himself off as best as possible. Whatever happened must have been some kind of magical defense. If he wanted to get to his friend he must find out how to get through this fog.

Seems like his family had to wait a bit longer for him to return.