The frosty wind blew through the forest, its sharpness cut against any exposed skin like a knife. A few men and women cried out from the sudden coldness of the air against their wounds. Others enjoyed the familiar chill that was accompanied by the sounds of birds and the brightness of the outdoors. Something which many hadn't seen in the week since the catastrophe as they had been locked away in the confines of the great hall - one of the few buildings whole enough to protect the injured and ensure that they didn't freeze to death before arriving home.

Slowly Brigid sloshed through the cool water with a young teen resting on her back. The side of the girl's white fox mask poked the side of the red-head's face as she carried her. “Are you sure you want to stay here,  Ms. Brigid?” The girl questioned as the two neared the last of three horse-drawn wagons.

“Yes, there's something I'd like to check out before I leave. But, don't worry. I'll be careful.” The redhead spoke, her gaze moved up to the trees for a moment, watching as a pair of ravens cawed. Their bright and beady little eyes locked on the girl and Brigid. Their heads turned just the slightest in what the older woman could only guess was curiosity.

It was a strange sight, to say the least. However, it probably was just as strange to find so many people coming out of such a ruined area. Something she even found slightly surprising after all the bodies they had burned at the pyre outside Oakridge just a few days prior.

As the two passed the gate another warrior came from his place near the wagon. A smile on his face as he thanked Brigid for her help and took the injured civilian off her hands. The teenager threw a wave over her shoulder as she limped off with the warrior. The man did the same after he hoisted the girl onto the last wagon. The two muscular black horses began to walk forward, following the other two wagons down the snow path towards the city of Blackbranch.

The red-head quickly found herself thinking of those who were currently in the city already. It must have been hard to see so many had died in this lost cause. She knew the news on all three attacks had no doubt hit the king hard as he never seemed able to handle death well. “I hope Cerberus is holding up. He really doesn't deserve this at all. The weight on his shoulders all the time… even more so now.” A sigh escaped her lips as the wagons faded from sight. The prying eyes of her fellow healers are now gone, allowing her to sate her curiosity in peace.

The water sloshed with each movement she made. A smile placed upon her face as the noise rose to her ears, bringing back memories of her childhood - most of them being days at the lake near the capital city of Nyx during the previous king’s rule. All the children, even Hildr and King Cerberus once found the place as a simulation of more than a few of their war games as children.

As she pushed the thought away, she found herself standing face-to-face with a pair of large heavy doors. A rusty chain holding them closed.  Something that made the natural curiosity within the young woman much greater. After all, it had been like that ever since her arrival at the settlement nearly six months ago.  The idea of sneaking in had crossed her mind many times before and after the attack. However, she knew such an immature thing would surely get her demoted to helping the wet nurses… again. But, now she could simply allow her curiosity to take hold without fear of being caught.

Brigid reached into her trousers’ pocket, extracting a brightly-colored red gem she had snagged off of a dead warrior. Closing her eyes, she imagined the red-hot mana within the gem traveling from her palm to her other hand as she grasped the chain. Her eyes only opened once she heard the chain fall to the ground.

She gripped one of the door handles, pulling the large door open. A creak resonated through the cold ruins as she entered, not bothering to close the door after herself. The once dark room was now illuminated by the red gem’s bright glow. A wall-sized shelf became visible as Brigid shined the light to to her left. Likely hundreds of unnamed books sat upon the shelf.  While on the right there was a decent-sized desk with three candles and a closed tome.

While it wasn't nearly as amazing as she thought, Brigid still found herself wandering over to the large tome sitting there. She took the seat before it, and used the gem to light all three candles before she pocketed the item and opened the tome to a random page. The pages appear blank for a moment before suddenly a wispy black ink-like substance swirled across the page, taking the shape of a large wolf-looking creature which stretched across both pages. The animal's features were eerily statuesque. The words, “Et lapis Animalibus,” scrawled just above its head in a neat cursive.

The female gave the words a few more seconds to sink in before they seemed to click into her head. “Well, of course! Animalibus has something to do with animals, and lapis is a stone… This must be about those animal-colossi Lagertha and her men spoke of.” Brigid mused as she turned the page. The question of why the book - which could aid the kingdom with its Colossi problem - was locked away, quickly escaped her mind as she watched the cloud swirl across the page once more.

“There were another race of great giants who once called this world home. That was when our people were-” Her reading was cut short as the writing disappeared and the book slammed shut. Her bright green eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she attempted to comprehend what had just happened. She could deal with the ink which seemed to swim across the pages, tracing out its original path. However, the book slamming shut was another thing.

“Brigid,” The woman practically jumped at the slightly familiar voice. Her head turned to the side only to find the Baroness’ younger brother. The male’s hazel eyes filled with worry as he entered the one-roomed building. “Are you okay, friend?”

Ignoring the male’s question, the healer slowly stood from her spot. Her green eyes narrowing at the male in suspicion. She knew that he wasn't supposed to be here. Why would he when the king had requested that the others return home? “Ryder, what are you doing here?”

“I was on my way back to my sister’s home to bring forward a witness of a strange event. A new type of Colossi attacked her people.” Ryder spoke as he came to stand near the table were Brigid sat. “While on the snow path the others said you hadn't left yet, so I decided to see if you were okay.”

“I'm doing fine, just curious.”

Ryder sighed at the green-eyed woman's quick reply. Easily being able to tell that there was something she had been hiding from him. It was written in the strange uneasy smile she had given him, one corner of her lips lifted upwards in a smile while the other seemed to twitch downward. “I see… What's in that book you were looking at?” The girl stiffened. “Ah, I see I found out what you were hiding. Brigid, tell me what's in it.”

“Nothing,” An unimpressed look came upon Ryder's face as the female groaned. “Fine, I suppose I'll have to tell someone eventually… Remember when we were younger and Hildr's sister would speak of stone animals? Well, I think this book has something about them in it.”

Her words seemed to peak the male's interest. He could faintly remember walking into the bar to fetch his sister from Lagertha and her compatriots, the group either roaring with laughter or telling the children strange tales of their adventures. All of which could only be thought of as drunken ramblings to his mind. “What did it tell you?”

“Nothing, the book slammed shut the moment it sensed your arrival.”

Ryder nodded his head, thinking the fact over for a moment. “Likely the work of the First magic, I'd wager,” he mused more to himself as he turned around and began to walk out of the building. “Bring the book and let us leave this place.”

Brigid did just as he had instructed, the two once more sloshing through the water before finally reaching the unmelted snow that made up the snow trail. A muscularly built brown horse stood there waiting. Her long black tail wrapping back and forth as she leveled a heated glare at the two humans.

As the two reached the horse, Ryder hopped on its back while Brigid gave a loud sigh.  She did want to go see the others, however, she wasn't really looking forward to having the other healers berate her for her actions after the attack. An idea soon popped in her head. “Why don't I join you? Your sister’s a kind woman,  I'm sure she would lend her brother an extra horse when we depart for Blackbranch once more.”

“Are you sure we won't get in trouble?” His question was met with nothing more than a nod as the girl lifted up her hand, waiting for his help onto the horse. “Alright, but if we do, I'll blame you, Brigid.”