Orion runs as fast as his legs can carry him over the misty tundras of the Snowdrift Steps. Snow crushes rythmicly as one foot lands, absorbing the impact, his weight shifting over it, trough the momentum, before using the stored energy to push off. Then doing it all over again with his other foot. Over and over.

If he keeps this pace there is a small change he'll reach Havenbrook in time to get a search party going before dusk.

It all happened so fast, one moment he and Gideon had been tracking a Frostwyrm, trough a snow storm, the next he disappeared. No foot steps, nothing.

A few minutes of effort later, and the rusty metal towers of the town starts peaking over the horizon. The relentless pace starting to creep in.

"Can't slowdown now, need to keep going" he says to him self.

Smoke from chimneys contrast against the sky. Slowly he can start making out more details, looks like at least old Silas has a fire going. Good. Probably means he is at his house.

As he runs into the town from the west side, the first house he passes is his own. The next is Nyla, she is probably still at work now.

Finally, he reaches Silas house. Out of breath he knocks on the old man's door.

After a few tense moments, the old man in brown worn leather boots, brown thick cotton pants, a dirty white shirt, and an old leather top hat, opens te door "Orion, what is it?"

Orion tells what happened, how Gideon was there one moment, and gone the next. How he searched but couldn't find him.

With a surprising vigor Silas jumps in to action. He grabs his long brown coat. "Follow me" he orders Orion as he starts making his way to the town square.

On his way, almost without stopping, he sticks is head in to Zena's window. "Zena. Bell. Now". Moments later Zena sprints passed them, presumably on his way to the tower.

The bell rings, echoing off the metal walls of the town. The towns folk start pouring out of the buildings and streets surrounding the central square. Seeing all the town come together, so quickly brings a strange sense of relief to Orion. For the past couple of hours he had felt so alone, the only one that knew Gideon was missing, the only one searching, at least now he has help."

"Silas, What is going on?" Asks one of them, Corvus, a middle aged man wearing oil stained overals.

"Gideon is missing, is the Omnibus good to go?"

"Yeah, checked her out this morning she was purring like a kitten"

"Good, start warming her up, we'll meet you at your shop"

"No problem" he shouts over is shoulder, already walking away with big strong paces.

What only feels like a few seconds later, for Orion, he is sitting on one of the benches of the Omnibus. It shakes and hobbles as it races over the endless white tundra of the Snowdrift Steps. A sinking feeling sets in to his stomach, he might not see Gideon anymore.

The man had always been somewhat of a father figure too him. Showing him the ropes of the adventuring business; how to track, which foot prints belong to which monstrosity. How to kill. what weak points to hit, how to skin them. How to survive, make a fire, find your way back, build shelter for a cold night. How to do business. what to charge for the various parts of the animals, and what bounties are worth pursuing.

Now he might have received his last lesson: don't wander off in a snow storm.

Corvus shouts over his shoulder, "we are getting close, where exactly did you last see him again?"

Orion climbs over to the passenger chair and start giving directions. The storm has passed, leaving the land scape covered in a blanket of soft white fluffy snow. As the omnibus plows trough the snow, shoving it to the side it leafs a deep track in the otherwise pristine landscape. Good, thinks Orion to himself, if we can't find him there is at least a chance he will find us.

The sun is about to touch the horizon when the Omnibus comes to a halt. We were here tracking eastbound when I last saw him.

"Allright, huddle up in a big circle everybody" Silas voice sounds full of authority.

The search party of twelve form a circle in front of the omnibus. "Good. Corvus, Nyla switch places. When I am done talking everybody turn around and take five hundred steps in your direction. Corvus you'll stay here. Everybody else keep your eyes pealed for any sign of Gideon and make sure the person left and right of you never leave your vision. If you find something let them know, so they can alert the others. No matter what everybody turns around after 500 steps. Allright keep save everybody."

Eleven evenly spaced lines radiate ou from the omnibus, like a clock, with the twelfth one already being there from the tracks of the bus it self. When the sun has already started touching the horizon, about thirty minutes later, they return.

"Did anybody find anything?" Nyla asks already knowing the answer. The tense silence and serious faces speak for them selves.

"Allright we have time for one more, people" Silas says. Everybody switch with the person opposite of you and go in between the track to your left. We'll go a thousand steps this time, which will probably mean you'll lose sight of your neighbors by the end. What ever happens you turn around at a thousand ok?"

961, 962, 963 Orion lost sight of Nyla to his left and Storm on his right about two hundred steps ago. The sun is almost under, the chance of finding Gideon is as good as null at this point. But then he notices it. An uneven patch of snow...