<div class="floatright">(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3640/3480561563_fdc5d4659d.jpg)</div>Despite it being almost midmorning, only secondary light seemed to make it to the leaf-carpeted forest floor beneath the thick canopy of overhanging branches above Antonio's meager home.  It was as he preferred it, however, a fitting testament to his almost constantly shadowed mood.  He'd built this house deep within the Forest Kingdom specifically to avoid others, not wanting to share in their 'friendly banter' and 'personable exchanges'.  He was for all intensive purposes incapable of any such thing, so rather than deal with his social malaise, he chose dark and dour solitude.<br/><br/>There were a few birds chirping, higher up in the outstretched limbs where the sunlight more easily reached their wings, and they called down to Antonio almost teasingly as he set another thick log atop the cutting block and raised his maul.  His eyes moved upwards only for a heartbeat before he turned his attention back to the round of wood, dropping his wide-bladed splitting axe down with an accompanying grunt.  The wood sundered beneath the force of the heavy-headed tool, half-moon shaped pieces of wood careening left and right away from the point of impact.  Antonio hefted his maul once again and picked up one of the two halves, placing it back atop the cutting block.<br/><br/>He took a moment to wipe sweat from his brow as he glanced about the expanse of his property, outside the low-railed fence that he had built to advertise the boundaries of what he considered - and expected all else to reciprocate - his property.  It wasn't much, and with it being far off of any trade-roads, he rarely saw humanoid visitors with the exception of a lone hunter or two.  The closest dwelling to his that he was aware of was the Dwarves' cottage, some five miles away in the direction of town.  Inconsequential at best, though it did bring him more than a moment of pause.  With the dwarves lived a remarkably attractive girl, though for what reason she'd take up residence with seven bearded annoyances was beyond him.<br/><br/>He did have to admit he enjoyed passing close enough to smell the aroma of the gardens she'd planted since coming to live with them.  Despite her beauty, somehow the girl actually managed to be useful.  It was of peculiar interest to Antonio, since most women with her natural radiance were so utterly rotten at the core it was as biting into a rotten apple.  Nonetheless, with his uncanny ability to sour even the most pleasant of moods with his brutal honesty, he had no intention of going nearer the cottage than he absolutely had to.<br/><br/>Well, perhaps a little closer.  It was quite pleasant to enjoy the well-tended gardens, especially considering that flowers seemed to refuse to grow for him this close to the Dark Depths.  Perhaps if the coast were clear while on his way back from town, he'd slip in and 'borrow' a few blossoms to brighten his table for this evening's dinner.<br/><br/>With a grunt, he brought the maul down upon the wood once again, quartering the piece cleanly with one stroke.  A few more minutes and he'd finished the last piece of wood, and stacked them neatly in a pile next to his porch.<br/><br/>Antonio grabbed up his shirt and headed for the well, and pulled off his breeches before taking a few minutes to mop the dust and sweat from his body.  Once he'd completed the task, he rinsed the sweat and dirt from his clothing and hung them over the clothesline that stretched from the corner of his house to a thick oak at the back of his property.  He proceeded inside then, and changed into a set of nicer breeches and a clean linen shirt, then pulled on his thick leather boots and traveling jacket.<br/><br/>It would take an hour to reach town and an hour back, leaving him with only a few hours with which to complete his trip to market.  So long as he didn't run afoul of too many people, or get into any inevitably difficult conversations, he would be back and enjoying his evening meal by the light of a warm fire.  And perhaps he'd even have a fragrant bouquet of flowers with which to enjoy his meal by.<br/><br/>Antonio pursed his lips for a moment as he closed the door to his small home, then glanced around his property once more to assure where he'd left every belonging.  Once satisfied, he pulled his horse from the small stable at the rear, saddled her and mounted for the ride.<br/><br/>"Let's go, Caramel," he clucked at the light brown mare, pressing his knees to guide her through the fence and onto the small path that led towards the more habitable parts of the Forest Kingdom.  "Pray we have a quick and uneventful journey."