Joyce
With a growl of frustration Stern emerged from his hiding spot, letting the snow fall off him. The hunter was standing almost as tall as the knight atop of the horse. The bear fur coat added the remaining details required to make the horse panic. 

The orc looked at the knight, craking his knuckles at him. His voice once again breaking the silence like a thunder in the night. 

"Put the bow away. I only want to pass."

His ears twitched as they revealed something closing in. 

Wolves... Moving silently through the vegetation, they were following the knight and, now, they would have become a problem for him as well. The knight was 5 meters away from him, which gave Stern enough space to pull a spear out of the bundle strapped to his belt. His nose confirmed the smell of wolf fur at both sides of the road. 

"Or if you really want to keep the bow... Aim at something else... Like the wolves you have been too blind and deaf to notice."
Bertha
As the orc emerged from his snowy hiding place, the poor steed's already frail mental state gave out and, after standing up on his hind legs and neighing out in panic (Which, in turn, threw Edmund out of his saddle and into the snow along with the most of his belongings), it ran away into the wintry woods, leaving its owner on his back and laughing at his string of bad luck..

"Agh, taff.. Well, off he goes then." Edmund muttered with a smile, getting up from the snow and quickly leaning down to gather whatever he could properly carry on his own back. It seems that, unlike Orn, he wasn't really bothered by the stranger's tall height, boomind voice nor his unnaturally green-ish skin and tusks... Soon enough his things were hanging on his belt and back. Finally, he turned to address Stern the orc. "Well, I suppose we're stuck with that pack of wolves now. I see you've got some weaponry on you. That's going to prove very useful, in'nit?" His voice shook a bit from the adrenalin of the whole situation, but he seemed more excited than scared: finally, his first story to tell someone later... Meeting something as unusual as Stern and fighting by its or his side was rather interesting.

"What are you, by the way? Just wondering. Or is this all war paint?" The last question was uttered as more of a quip than an actual quriosity.
Joyce
The orc growled softly, following the horse with his eyes as it ran away. He then studied the knight, now as small as every single other human he had ever met. He juggled with the spear to hold it in a way more suitable for throwing. He found those questions pointless, which made answering just as useless to him. He began pacing towards the middle of the road, before smelling the air. "They are closing in..." He sentenced before getting into a simple stance. 

He could hear the sound of paws in the snow trotting closer, tho he wasn't sure about the number of wolves in the pack... He would have known soon enough.
Bertha
"Man of few words, aren'tcha? Oh well, I'll crack that mystery eventually.." Edmund looked around himself to see if he could spot any of the wolves that the orc was talking about. He was slightly frustrated at the other's refusal to give simple answers, but it wasn't that important right now, so he chose to shake it off. Waiting for the predators to show themselves, he placed an arrow up and onto his bow, ready to shoot whatever emerged its ugly head out of the woods first.

A lone howl came from the creeking pines.. It was low, growly. Definitely more frightening than that of a usual wolf - wargs! Edmund knew of them. Him and his father usually went out to hunt those dangerous creatures for their valuable furs and plentiful (though coarse) meat. They weren't the creatures to be fooled around with - one chomp and a human was done. Either losing their limb or, if they were to succed in killing the beast that bit into their armour, having a dead giant canine just hanging on them, holding whatever they bit into before their death in an almost impeccable grip.
Joyce
Stern took some steps back before he trew a spear into a group of semi frozen bushes. The projectile flew at incredible speed, describing a low arc in the air before reaching its target. 
A fraction of second before the primitive javelin landed, two grey wargs jumped out the bush, snarling at Stern, their white teeth contrasting with their dark gums. 

They were about fifty meters from the two, so the hunter quickly grabbed another spear... Six spears left... 

"There are more of them on our left... They won't attack until we stop keeping an eye on them..."
Bertha
Watching Stern fight with the two giant wolves, Edmund nodded in acknowledgement of this hunter's great skill with his spears. But once it was relayed to him that there were more on their way, he turned to his left and, upon noticing a grey shadow quickly dart in the foliage, let his arrow fly by instinct. It swung through the air, cutting it with a quiet whistle before burrying itself into the wolve's Hind leg. Not a serious injury, but it did take the beast out of this fight - it scurried away with another low howl, leaving behind it a rather large blood trail... 

The other three weren't discouraged by this, however, circling around the two fighters and waiting for a good time to strike. Meanwhile, Edmund quickly drew four more arrows from his quiver. Placing them against his bow for convenience sake. "Another one gone. Looks like we've got this."Edmund exclaimed, excited by his lucky shot.
Joyce
The hunter slowly put his spear away as the wolves were circling around him. He unsheathed his dagger, lowering his stance. He snarled at one of the wolves, which put a bit more space between it and the orc, who immediately stepped forward. Just like animals contending rheir territory, Stern managed to grab the attention of the bigger warg of the pack, showing its pointy teeth at it. "You... Knight... Stay back."

As he said so he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the cold air of the north. He then stomped his feet in the snow and roared at the warg with primal and incredible intensity, taunting the animal, which immediately leaped at the orc, aiming for his neck.

Stern had predicted such an instinctive reaction and immediately stepped to his left side, using the momentum to punch the warg as it was still in the air and sending it back into the snowy floor. Another warg tried to bite the hunter, who swiftly stepped back and slashed with his dagger, managing to cut deeply in the wolf's eye and nose. 

The alpha warg shakingly got back up and leaped once again, leaving Stern the only option to hold the jaws of the animal open with his hands.

A following struggle which led the wolf and the orc in the snow took place before the sound of broken bones put the word end to the fight. The warg's jaw was dangling innaturally off the animal's head, which was twisted innaturally. Stern had some scratches on his chest, yet he immediately got back up. The remaining wolves began to move backwards, eyeing the carcass of the alpha which was now laying in the crimson snow with its neck snapped.
Bertha
While the deadly struggle woke before him, Edmund followed Stern's advice and stepped back, putting his bow away and drawing his sword to, in case if things went south, at leat try and help the experienced hunter. However, while he was watching the fight go down, the only uninjured warg suddenly leaped toward him, missing his target by just a small margin and starting a duel that could've very well ended either his or Edmund's life by the end of it.

Edmund jumped to the side, somewhat surprised by the sudden attack. But, after a moment of regaining his balance, he gripped his sword a bit more firmly and looked over at the wolf, grinning beneath his helmet as the animl hesitated, hearing the struggle behind it. "Go on then, whatcha waitin for?!" He exclaimed, waiting for the warg to inevitable leap at him once again. And, after another moment of hesitation, the beast snarled and lept forth, aiming to sink its disgusting, crooked teeth into the knight's armoured neck... Soon it landed, with a victorious roar, only to then suddenly whimper out in intense pain that filled its body. Soon, a burning sensation of a steel blade driving its relentless edges through the wolf's hide and ribcage followed, making it thrash in panic. But it couldn't go anywhere now - it was impaled.

Wasting no time, Edmund quickly retrieved his dagger and sunk it into the warg's neck, splitting it wide open which, in turn, covered his armour in even more of the foul monster's blood... Now only a carcus hung above him, shaking in agony and emitting vapors from its newly cut-out wounds.
Joyce
The injured warg, finding itself now alone against two dangerous foes began running back into the vegetation. Stern could have killed it, yet he folded his arms on his muscular chest and looked at the creature flee. There was no point nor honor in killing all of the wargs after killing their alpha. The orc sighed and, after cleaning his dagger in the snow, he kneeled next to the dead alpha warg "Dosh morkun zovak" He muttered to himself, paying respect to the fallen wolf. 
He then stood up, lifting the warg and resting it on his shoulders as if he was carrying a lamb. 

He began to walk his way into the pine thicket, ignoring the knight.
Bertha
"Not goin ta stick around? Alrighty then. Off ya go." Edmund paid no mind to Stern leaving him in the frozen wastes. After all, he was the one to blow the orc's cover somewhat, so it was only fair. Now his concern was his armour that was covered in the warg's blood in multiple places. He sighed "For fuck's sake.." And began to quickly clear out a place to make a fire for himself - it seemed like he'd have to stay the night out in the harsh cold of the witherlands.

"Thanks for your help, by the way. Safe travels, green stranger." He called out to Stern one last time as the orc walked off, leaving Edmund to his own devices and himself to think about what'd just occured and mull over a plan of action for the next couple of days.
Joyce
As he heard the knight speak, Stern's mind lit up with a blazing idea. "You... Do you know of the White Roses?" He stopped walking turning slightly to look at the armoured man. Judging by the ex-horseman he assumed his rank as a knight, which meant that his knowledge of the area would have definitely granted him a quicker journey.
Bertha
"I've heard of them, I suppose. Though I know not of where they are currently residing. What would you need from them? Judging by appearance.. I doubt they'd be happy to accept you into their ranks, if that's what you're after." Edmund responded, not looking at Stern - he was preoccupied with cleaning his armour off with melted snow and bits of cloth that he found in his bag. It continued for about five minutes.. Then he tended to his sword, quickly and carefully cleaning its now crimson blade and putting it back into its scabbard.

Once those chores were over and done with, he picked up the axe that fell off his horse's back in the beggining of this strange encounter to go out and get himself some firewood and materials for a shelter - the dusk was already upon them.
Joyce
Stern sighed. "Norovak..." The word sounded like an insult as the hunter disappeared into the vegetation, returning to his lonesome travelling. He would have had to keep moving east to find the main settlements and castles of the area, something which both would have helped him and at the same time made his travel more difficult, yet that remained his only option...
Bertha
Hearing the word Edmund paid no mind to it either - it sounded empty for him. He didn't know the language that the orc spoke from time to time. Either way, their encounter was over and, in a way, he was somewhat glad that it was so, tending back to the tasks at hand - he'd already found a couple of pines that he would need to cut down and chop into pieces if he were to survive this night.

As for the orc, he had no idea if that creature would survive in the witherlands on its own. "Who knows? Mybe the bugger will actually find the white roses.. But I'll be surprised if he will find anything but the sweet relief of death." Whispering under his breath, the unfortunate adventurer got to work, swinging at the tree before him with dedication worthy of a man who feared for his life and didn't want to die on the first day of his journey just because of a bit of cold.
Bernice
The snowfall would only get worse as Stern traveled south, towards the border to Northwind. The sprinkling of snow would quickly turn into flurries, and from them, into a dense storm. Soon, even the snow would give way to sheets of ice, whipping across the pines at strange angles. The sky would grow dark, a purplish blue, crackling with lightning that stretched across the clouds. It blew with a wind so fierce that the torches carried were almost immediately extinguished. Tough weather the brave alone, even for someone well versed in the art of survival. Many men had died along these trails on routine trading runs. 
 The scrolls might have very well been the only thing responsible for the Orc's survival. Although they were all written in a strange, runic language, it was clear from the crude maps that there had been an established, but now hardly discernible, path. This was, by all accounts, a more covert way of approaching. It might've been intended for a surprise attack. The Bulwark was hardly a citadel capable of being hidden. From the trees, wind whipped banners flew. They were blown almost sideways from the wind, but when gripped, they bore the familiar sigil of The Order of the White Rose. He was getting close, but the storm deadly. He knew all too well of the dangers that lurked just behind the woodline. Something was stalking him. The scrolls indicated that he was only two or three more miles away, but their reliability was questionable. He would have to make a choice, and the wrong one could very well cost him his life.
Joyce
The orc growled, covering himself with the mantle of bear fur obtained during his travel, yet he knew too well that facing the wind and ice was a battle only fools were willing to fight. His limbs were going numb. The hunter checked the scroll once again, acknowledging the presence of a series of caves nearby. 
With renewed enthusiasm and moral strength, he took a different road, deciding to find shelter into the caves before resuming his journey. 
Although he was very close to his destination, his instinct told him to be patient. His ears and nose were unable to locate eventual threats due to the wind, keeping the orc on edge. He managed to make his way to a cavern... Yet he didn't let that glimmer of victory against the elements blind him... Other animals could have found refuge there.
The orc unsheathed his dagger.
Bernice
The cave that Stern would enter was a simple affair, shallow, but with enough curve to avoid the ice storm. There were remnants of an old campfire off in the corner of the cavern, now just a pile of smoldering ashes. It wasn't warm, but it was dry. 

In the corner was a wolf, asleep. The fact that it had not stirred from it's slumber, even as the large figure entered it's den, was a testament to it's exhaustion. It's back was facing him, and it's thick fur coat rose and fell slowly.
Joyce
Stern moved slowly, his ability to see in the dark allowed him to spot the wolf almost immediately, which immediately made him start thinking of a possible course of action. The orc searched his bag, pulling out of it a big chunk of meat, which he placed less than a meter from the wolf, quickly returning near the entrance of the cave to use the dead campfire to start a new one with the wooden spears he had with him plus some logs he kept for emergency reasons. He sat on a rock, facing the animal, his hand holding onto his dagger. 
He did not want to kill the other animal, having been raised to respect nature and its inhabitants, plus a sleeping wolf wasn't something able to threaten him nearly as much as the storm roaring behind him. He relaxed his tense muscles as the warm embrace of the campfire envelopped him. 
He grabbed a small puch he kept in his bag and started eating some wild berries he had found recently, enjoying their energizing sweetness.