Cold, icy wind.  Or at least close enough to it compared to the lands he usually called home for Darion to notice.  That is what was greeting the man as he moved through the mountain forest towards the very remote village high in these mountains.  He was happy at least that he had bought that heavy cloak in the last village.<br/><br/>The trader a week ago had told him, when he had a few drinks in him, about this very remote village in the mountains.  All humans, and very welcoming to traders and the like.  Once a year they seemed to open their doors, to the roaming traders.  Of course the trader had said nothing about the rest of the year.  He had no clue because he only headed there once a year when he was in the area.<br/><br/>Even with that little lack of information, what he had been told made this village sound like the perfect place.  Isolated, far away from anyone else, and not large enough to draw much attention.  The perfect place to hide for a few months from a merc band that worked in much more populated areas where they could earn gold.  He could offer to do any menial labor or anything they could think of, and he could ask only for a room and food in return.  A perfect place to hide for a few months, and then leave with some merchants, work as a bodyguard for a ride out.<br/><br/>That would be all he would need for his old ‘friends’ to forget about him.  Right now though he wished the trader had warned him about the chill at night.<br/><br/>It had been bad timing on his part, Darion had thought he could reach the village before sundown, thought he was closer than he was.  He was wrong and had found himself alone on the road in the middle of the night, and not willing to stop so late.  It was likely he wouldn't wake up if he did.  The damned cold of the night was starting to seep into his bones through the cloak he wore.  All he could do was pray he was almost there.  It felt like ice sinking into his skin.<br/><br/>Darion was overjoyed, without showing anything of it at all, when he finally saw the silhouette of multiple buildings, especially one that looked abandoned on the edge of town.  Even the wet mud between where he was and that building, a haven from the cold as soon as he started a fire, was not enough to kill his spirits at the sight.  He didn't even care that he saw two other dark shapes enter as well, it looked like they were sneaking in as well.  It would be better to talk to the villagers in the daylight, than wake them up in the middle of the night.<br/><br/>Climbing up the back steps of the hut that was probably the in, Darion entered the building a little after the other pair he had seen, and he could hear their voices as soon as he was inside.  Something in their voices didn’t exactly sound right.  That didn’t stop him though as he walked into the room they were in.  “Looks like I wasn't the only one with the idea to take shelter from the damned cold…”  he stated but paused his mouth when he hears someone else enter the house, a couple other people.<br/><br/>Because of the pause and him looking around at the others who came into view, was why he was looking straight at the human woman when she climbed in through one of the windows.  His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword at the newcomers, and as he watched the woman.  His hand’s position having pushed the cloak far enough away to see the metal of his armor, and the sheath of his blade.  "Villager or visitor?"  he asked, not sure which one was a bad one in this place right now.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>