"We ought not to disturb the tracks as much as we can," Sir Gunnar ordered the others. "Who knows if these tracks will be useful to us later. The snow will continue to melt and erase the evidence anyway so we ought to use it while we still can."
A feeling of dread she was familiar with filled Irene's heart as they all followed Sir Gunnar into the forest without any certainty that they would stumble upon a horrific scene. There hadn't been monster activity, but what if it was just the beginning for them?
The snow had melted a lot that day, after all.
Rather than dwell on what she could not control, Irene kept her dominant hand, clad in brown riding gloves, tucked against her belt so she could easily access her sword if needed. Even though she wasn't yet a confident archer on moving horseback, she could rely on her sword skills and she knew that much.
