"T-thank you." Asrith carefully took a cup of hot tea out of the elderly woman's hands, taking a seat near the fireplace.
The thin old lady let out a slight chuckle and smiled, "There's no need to thank me young man, I'm the one who should be thanking you."
Taking a seat near the window the old lady resumed her knitting, "You see I don't get many visitors out here, being in the middle of the Elascian Forest can make me quite difficult to find."
Asrith nodded in acknowledgement, taking a sip of his tea after a moment.
Gazing out the window he grimaced, a feeling of uneasy crept up on him. He had been running for days with no destination in sight. Sick, cold, hungry, and lost he was on the brink of snapping. It was in that moment that this cabin appeared, it was in that moment that he needed a home the most.
Was it not too good to be true?
The lady old, as frail as she looked, took him in without a second thought; smiling with open arms.
Was it not a little too good to be true?
She didn't ask a single question about him being here. She didn't even ask what he wanted. All she's done was make him tea, get for him a blanket, and be kind and welcoming.
Was it too good to be true?
With his luck who would know? Even the gods have forsaken him.
"Is the tea to your liking?" his head was pulled out of his thoughts as the elderly woman once again gained his attention.
"Bitter", avoiding eye contact Asrith glanced over at a bookshelf, murmuring a few titles.
"I see that my collection has caught your eye. Well young man you're in luck, my books are much better than my tea." letting out another small chuckle a small grin formed on the old woman's face, a distant expression soon following.
"Those books were gifts from my grandchildren. You see, when old bones were a little bit younger, I traveled to all the seven kingdoms. Deserts, mountains, rivers, I conquered then all."
Her grin widened, "Ah yes, I miss those days. The days of being a story seeker, the days of being an adventure."
As the night grew darker the elderly women retold the countless tales she had gathered over the years, Asrith listening contently.
That whole time there was this knowing glint in her eyes. Eyes that seemed to speak to him.
It was during that time, without him knowing it, that tears began to fall down his cheek.
Reflecting, he realized what he had forgotten. The feeling of family. The feeling of home. It was a warmth that no fire could provide. It was a warmth that burned away the countless years of torment he had endured.
In that moment Asrith dared to smile, an expression thought he would never make again.
With his eyes growing heavy and his vision slowly blurred, Asrith embraced the darkness of the night, falling asleep as the fireplace slowly burnt out.
It was on that night that another figure was found following a trail near the outskirts of Eldor.
"His tracks end here." Glen mumbled as bent down to touch the ground feeling the dirt as he rubbed against his fingers.
Looking forward into an endless layer of trees he cursed, "Damn the rain."