Silver Silence
The night air was thick with a choking fog. Each breath became harder and harder to take as the thief struggled on. Jerald had no idea how long he had been running, but he knew that to stop was to die. Through snow and hail he trudged wearily on, the hungry pursuit of the troll’s footfalls driving him farther and harder than he knew possible. Hours had elapsed since last he saw the round mass moving between the rocks behind him, its black eyes glimmering with an unnatural fire and hatred as it sought to feed its tremendous appetite. He could no longer see the troll, but the heavy sound of its feet reached him clearly, as if amplified by his fear. It was the only sound he could hear in fact, that and his own frantic breaths. The night was quiet, the storms had stopped and now Jerald got the eerie feeling that the mountains were watching him, keeping silent awaiting his death. Jerald thought uncomfortably that it sounded a lot like a graveyard; and he could not help but ask himself if this would become his graveyard. The pursuit of the troll was impossible; Jerald was amazed by the persistent athleticism of the overweight troll as he squeezed through spaces far too small for the large troll to follow, and yet the sound of its footsteps could still be heard echoing off the cold grey mountain around him. Finally, Jerald could go no further. He collapsed behind a boulder, drawing his dagger, waiting for the troll to come barreling around the corner. Jerald was determined not to make an easy meal, but his body could simply not stand a battle with something so obviously strong and fierce. Jerald was dead. He knew it. His life would end here in the desolate and merciless mountains, none would mourn his passing; he would simply disappear from history as if he had never existed. Jerald waited. Waited for the terrible sound of the troll’s hungry breathing, waited for the wooden club to split his head and spill his brains upon the cold hard stone beneath him. Beneath him….Jerald was amazed to feel, not hard stone but soft grass beneath his hands. He looked down, astonished. All around him he could see grass and light foliage through the fog. The grass was grey, everything was grey, as if the silver moon above had completely drained the color from the world. Jerald imagined his blood pouring from his head, grey as the ground it spilled upon. Sucking in a deep breath, he listened. Nothing. No footsteps, no angry troll’s heated curses, not even the howling of the wind; just cold, ominous silence. He sat there, against the boulder, staring at the grass beneath him, exhausted but too full of adrenaline to sleep. Finally, when he had regained some of his strength, he crept along, silently slipping from cover to cover, not knowing what he expected to be hiding from. With a quickness born of desperation he sprinted to a nearby cave hidden behind wild vines and thick brush. Cautiously he peaked inside. A small shaft of silver moonlight pierced the deep darkness of the cave. Jerald slowly crept inside, carefully placing one step before the other, making his way to the small patch of light in the center of the cave. Slowly he reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a yellow topaz gem. A flawed jewel, it was worth nearly nothing, but to Jerald it was an invaluable tool. Slowly he slid the gem into the light, its crystal form scattering yellow light in all directions. The cave was empty, and Jerald sighed with relief. At the rear of the cave was a tiny spring, its warm waters giving off faint traces of steam in the chill winter night. It was a perfect place to rest, too perfect. Jerald did not trust seemingly fortunate events, his last bout of good luck had nearly killed him, but he had no choice but to settle in and rest. It would not matter what came after him now, if he did not rest, a cat could have killed him much less a rampaging troll. Picking a dry corner of the cave, Jerald carefully spread out his bed roll and ensured the cave was hidden behind the brush, he even took pains to cover his tracks in the soft dirt outside before he finally gave in to exhaustion.