Eargrif replaced the neck lace to his pack with the other items he found spread over the nearby grass. He slipped his baldric over his head and adjusted it at his hip before putting on his pack. With all his belongings gathered he took a long drink from his water skin before continuing his journey down the neglected country road. The scene never changed as the day passed, it seemed as if he was walking in circles and someone was erasing his tracks. The eerie and ever present silence didn't bother Eargrif this day like it had the previous one. His mind was very busy trying to figure out the events of yesterday and last night.
Eargrif had decided that he was either a thief that had stole from the wrong people or he had crossed someone and they had knocked him out and left him in the middle of this lifeless and seemingly endless countryside. Both of these ideas were neither very comforting or likely, the second at least provided the reason for his headache that lasted most of the day before. Another thought was if someone wanted to get rid of him why was he still alive? Were these people just trying to stall him? All of the different scenarios and questions racing through his mind only resulted in more confusions and the bringing about of another headache.
Ignoring the question of what exactly brought him to be in this baffling predicament, his thoughts wandered to the events of the previous night. He could distinctly remember having a dream but he could not even begin to fathom what the significance of it could be. What the dream was puzzled him even more. He had not the slightest hint as to what it consisted of, only that it had disturbed him to a great extent. Even after waking several times the dream kept him in a panicked state until leaving him to sleep till he awoke in that morning. That dream may have also been the cause for his thinking there was someone attempting to steal from him that morning.
He played the event of his waking up through his mind a couple of times, recalling his feelings and how he sensed the person that was robbing him. Each time he could feel the present of a person or persons around him. It wasn't the same as it had been that morning. Eargrif had figured out why it seemed like there was someone there. He had seen his pack spilled out over the grass and at once his mind made him over cautious, he had invented an enemy supported by what he saw. Only now he knew he was the one who had gone through his pack, searching for that silver necklace with the white dragon-like emblem that appeared on all his belongings.
"My belongings..." Eargrif thought out loud "everything that appears to actually be mine has that emblem on it."
This was an altogether new thought that didn't seem troubling to him; in fact it was rather comforting to think he had his own mark of ownership. He went through everything he had mentally sorting out what was his and what could be anybody's. As he did this he realized that his neither sword nor baldric had an emblem on it. He thought about this for awhile before he made another connection between his belongings, they had a color scheme. His stuff only included the colors dark blue, black, silver and white. With that figured out Eargrif's thoughts were directed toward his stomach which he realized was breaking the silence of the afternoon.
The landscape had changed very little since Eargrif's little trip had begun, but as the sun started to set he noticed a new kind of tree growing a quarter mile of the road. With his stomach starting to pang him, Eargrif hoped the trees would bear something more edible than the leaves he had eaten earlier that day. It was evident that the trees had some sort of fruit growing on them as Eargrif approached the little grove. Standing at the base of a tree he recognized the fruit to be red apples, even though they were a little misshapen. Glad to have a meal of real food he dropped his pack on the ground and climbed up to retrieve his dinner. He let about 12 apples fall to the ground before hopping down to eat. Picking up a piece of the fruit and biting into it Eargrif was surprised to find out he was not eating an apple. The delicious burst of flavor told him he was eating a red pear. Happy to have found such a rare meal in the middle of no where raised Eargrif's spirits and he decided to sleep in the grove that night and eat again the next morning before continuing on.
Eargrif was shaking violently, sword in hand he gazed out into the endless void of blackness. His senses were pushed to the limit, straining to find a threat in the total blackness the seemed to swirl in the distance. The silence that had haunted him the passed few days was still very much in the air. Not a single noise could be heard, not even the sound of his own breath which he labored just to draw. There was nothing out there that could be seen or heard, but Eargrif could feel it. It was moving all around him, he could feel himself breathe it in. It was hate. It was pain. It was fear. It was shame. It was death. More than anything else though it was after him, then it was gone and Eargrif returned to a blissful nothingness.
Eargrif opened his eyes gasping for breath, he was covered in a cold sweat and his heart was racing. He was laying face down in the grass and he could feel that there was someone nearby. Just like the morning before he could see the contents of his pack spread all over the grass a few feet away. The only difference was this time he was laying on his sword and it was still dawn. Realizing that his situation may just be coincidence Eargrif didn’t let his mind wonder. He listened carefully for any noise that could tell him if he was in any danger or not. Getting a firm grip on the handle of his sword he tensed his muscles preparing to roll quickly to his feet. Hearing nothing Eargrif rolled forward where he could see the area was clear, before spinning back. Drawing his sword in the same movement Eargrif scanned the entire area surrounding him. The grove was deserted save for a few drying pear cores. The dream was still fresh in his memory but he couldn't remember it. That left only one explanation, Eargrif looked down and saw the emblem laying over his shirt.
