Broke Down And Stranded
Flakes of white softly travelled to the ground as grumbles were shared, a band of four men gathered around their wagon as they'd inspected the damage that had been done. Earlier during their trek towards the capital, now a distinct landmark within the Dread Mist, the wagon had experienced a situation with snow and slushy mud, the cold temperatures hardly a contribution to their passage towards the city of Kalzasi. They were all so close now, and yet...
"Oooooh, forget it!" The voice belonged to the youngest of the bunch, the well-toned and evidently animated one of the bunch, as he raised his coated arms up to support his head as he leaned back into a stretch. "That horse is probably long gone by now."
"Relax Connor, chances are it could've reached the city by now." One of the older men assured him with his tone deeper, a bit more experienced even, as he and the oldest inspected the wagon itself. Where the straps that connected to the horse's harness, the wooden peg used to secure all the bindings seemed to have snapped off entirely. Which meant that the horse found it suddenly easier to gallop, as the weighty wagon itself no longer had weighed it down either. So, broken down within the middle of the road, four brothers worked to assess their situation, and in turn, draw out a conclusion that would have to solve their current predicament.
"Well, this sucks." The younger yet somewhat matured of the bunch remarked, his hazel eyes shifting between the oldest, second, and then youngest of the trio with him. He sighed and looked at the world around them, while brushing the upper sleeves of his coat, hoping to rub out the cold felt within his forearms. "I don't see any other way of getting it there without pushing." The others then sighed heavily with great disapproval. Patrick honestly didn't want to have to either, but seeing as how they were left out in the open, and exposed to the cold like this, they needed to resort to a plan of action soon.
Though they had plenty of daylight left to burn through their morning, the light showers of snow weren't going to recede any time soon. Therefore, it was imperative that they moved their wagon... one way or another. "Come on boys, time to push."
"Oh, man, and I was really looking forward to enjoying the ride." Connor remarked in turn as he moved toward the back of the wagon, while the other two then walked to approach it from the sides.
"Yeah well, stop bitchin' and start pushin' little man!" Burton called out hoarsely as he tucked a half-emptied bottle within the left corner of the wagon, shifting his body so that his upper shoulders leaned toward the wagon more.
"If we work together, we may actually get there pretty quickly." Dominik reassured the group as he took hold of the wagon from the right side, doing the same as Burton did before beginning to push. Patrick joined the youngest one at the back, picking the corner of the side Dominik was on as he planted his shoulder against the wood of the wagon in turn.
"Let's get to it then..." The third-born son sounded utterly reluctant to the cause, however, put all his weight into pushing just as the others would. The wagon began to groan then as the sound of crushed snow started to fill the air, with their wagon on a sluggish roll towards the city still awaiting them. Slowly did the wheels churn through the slush that covered their path, as the road before them stretched onward for at least a few miles longer. Yet already did Patrick feel the strain of pushing begin to weather his stamina, for the wagon was hardly getting anywhere in comparison to before.
"Man... this really blows..." Connor whined aloud between his groans as they kept pushing, the oldest brother scoffing in turn when everybody heard him.
"Quit your whinin', the sooner we get there the sooner we can rest!"
"We've walked longer distances..." Dominik weighed in between deeply paced breaths, as they kept pushing the cart onward. "Conditions can always be worse too, then again, they could also be better by now!"
"No kidding," Patrick agreed grudgingly as he felt his lower back stiffen throughout his spine, "hey Burt... think you can take over for a while? I might need a break here soon."
"Don't you fuckin' do it!" The oldest growled as he pushed harder, clearly driven to reach their destination more than the rest.
"Awe come on old-timer, you're as strong as an ox, I bet you could practically drag this whole thing there yourself!" Connor added over the wagon as Patrick noticed the sinister grin on his face.
"If we don't die out here in this frozen wasteland, I'll kill you myself if you let go of this wagon!"
"Remarkably, you lot have way more energy to bicker, when we'd get a lot farther if you all push together!" Dominik remarked to the lot of them, putting in a bit more effort on his side as well, which seemed to help drive the wagon through the snow in turn. Slowly but surely, their combined effort allowed their cart to plow through the snow, and carry ever onward toward the outskirts of the city itself. They still had quite the ground to cover, but it wouldn't be much longer before they'd reach it, and in turn finally pay a visit to a very dear friend.
Glade 2nd, 120th AoS
"Oooooh, forget it!" The voice belonged to the youngest of the bunch, the well-toned and evidently animated one of the bunch, as he raised his coated arms up to support his head as he leaned back into a stretch. "That horse is probably long gone by now."
"Relax Connor, chances are it could've reached the city by now." One of the older men assured him with his tone deeper, a bit more experienced even, as he and the oldest inspected the wagon itself. Where the straps that connected to the horse's harness, the wooden peg used to secure all the bindings seemed to have snapped off entirely. Which meant that the horse found it suddenly easier to gallop, as the weighty wagon itself no longer had weighed it down either. So, broken down within the middle of the road, four brothers worked to assess their situation, and in turn, draw out a conclusion that would have to solve their current predicament.
"Well, this sucks." The younger yet somewhat matured of the bunch remarked, his hazel eyes shifting between the oldest, second, and then youngest of the trio with him. He sighed and looked at the world around them, while brushing the upper sleeves of his coat, hoping to rub out the cold felt within his forearms. "I don't see any other way of getting it there without pushing." The others then sighed heavily with great disapproval. Patrick honestly didn't want to have to either, but seeing as how they were left out in the open, and exposed to the cold like this, they needed to resort to a plan of action soon.
Though they had plenty of daylight left to burn through their morning, the light showers of snow weren't going to recede any time soon. Therefore, it was imperative that they moved their wagon... one way or another. "Come on boys, time to push."
"Oh, man, and I was really looking forward to enjoying the ride." Connor remarked in turn as he moved toward the back of the wagon, while the other two then walked to approach it from the sides.
"Yeah well, stop bitchin' and start pushin' little man!" Burton called out hoarsely as he tucked a half-emptied bottle within the left corner of the wagon, shifting his body so that his upper shoulders leaned toward the wagon more.
"If we work together, we may actually get there pretty quickly." Dominik reassured the group as he took hold of the wagon from the right side, doing the same as Burton did before beginning to push. Patrick joined the youngest one at the back, picking the corner of the side Dominik was on as he planted his shoulder against the wood of the wagon in turn.
"Let's get to it then..." The third-born son sounded utterly reluctant to the cause, however, put all his weight into pushing just as the others would. The wagon began to groan then as the sound of crushed snow started to fill the air, with their wagon on a sluggish roll towards the city still awaiting them. Slowly did the wheels churn through the slush that covered their path, as the road before them stretched onward for at least a few miles longer. Yet already did Patrick feel the strain of pushing begin to weather his stamina, for the wagon was hardly getting anywhere in comparison to before.
"Man... this really blows..." Connor whined aloud between his groans as they kept pushing, the oldest brother scoffing in turn when everybody heard him.
"Quit your whinin', the sooner we get there the sooner we can rest!"
"We've walked longer distances..." Dominik weighed in between deeply paced breaths, as they kept pushing the cart onward. "Conditions can always be worse too, then again, they could also be better by now!"
"No kidding," Patrick agreed grudgingly as he felt his lower back stiffen throughout his spine, "hey Burt... think you can take over for a while? I might need a break here soon."
"Don't you fuckin' do it!" The oldest growled as he pushed harder, clearly driven to reach their destination more than the rest.
"Awe come on old-timer, you're as strong as an ox, I bet you could practically drag this whole thing there yourself!" Connor added over the wagon as Patrick noticed the sinister grin on his face.
"If we don't die out here in this frozen wasteland, I'll kill you myself if you let go of this wagon!"
"Remarkably, you lot have way more energy to bicker, when we'd get a lot farther if you all push together!" Dominik remarked to the lot of them, putting in a bit more effort on his side as well, which seemed to help drive the wagon through the snow in turn. Slowly but surely, their combined effort allowed their cart to plow through the snow, and carry ever onward toward the outskirts of the city itself. They still had quite the ground to cover, but it wouldn't be much longer before they'd reach it, and in turn finally pay a visit to a very dear friend.
"Patrick" "Burton" "Dominik" "Connor"
"Freedom is everything that matters in the end."
