I appear to have encountered a heavy storm, hampering my
progress north. Pegasi do not fly well during stormy conditions, and at this
altitude, the low clouds can severely hamper one's visibility. The moment the
storm starts to set in, I begin to seek refuge, heading for the nearest colony
I can find. Fortunately, there is one not too far to the east, and I cling
tightly to the reins of my pegasus as I gently guide it in that direction. The
rain is already pouring down heavily, and a pegasus' mane and feathers are very
slippery when wet. The last thing I want, after all this time and effort, is to
simply slide off my pegasus' back and fall to my inevitable demise.
It's only a matter of minutes before I reach the colony,
and instead of trying to find a good spot to land, I simply descend as quickly
as I dare, landing on the very outskirts. It seems like a fairly large town,
perhaps not as large as Harford, but still of an impressive size. The roads are
made of cobbled stone, but the houses, at least in this part of town, appear to
be made of wood, just as the ones in my home village were.
As I slide off my pegasus' back and step down onto the
cobbled street, I'm already soaked through. I need to find shelter quickly, or
else I might catch an illness, and that would delay me even further. A bright
flash grabs my attention as a bolt of lightning streaks through the sky just to
my right, followed a couple of seconds later by a rumble of thunder. The centre
of the storm is still some distance away, then.
I ponder whether I should knock on the door of one of the
houses nearby and ask for some temporary shelter from the storm, or whether I
should walk further into town in search of an inn. However, the dilemma is
quickly solved for me, as I hear a shout coming from my left: "Hey! Get
inside! You'll catch your death out here!" Looking round, I see a man
standing at the doorway of his house, holding the door open and frantically
gesturing for me to enter. I quickly hurry over, tying my pegasus' reins to the
wooden fence before heading inside the house.
It's pleasantly warm inside the house, and there's a nice
fire burning in the hearth. Almost immediately I let out a sigh of relief, as
I'm finally given respite from the cold rain. I thank the man for letting me shelter
in his house. "No problem," he says. "What were you doing out
there, anyway? You only just arrive here?" I nod, and tell him how the
storm had interrupted my flight north. "Ah, I see," he says. "So
you're stuck here waiting until the storm clears, huh? Well, now that you're
here, you might as well stay the night. I don't think this storm is gonna let
up until tomorrow. You can sleep in the spare bedroom, but first you should
probably dry yourself off in front of the fire. You're soaked through."
I nod, and thank the man for his hospitality. He simply
waves it off before heading upstairs, presumably to prepare the spare room for
me. In the meantime, I kneel down in front of the fire and start to warm myself
up. The heat from the flames gradually seeps into my body, and I can feel my
clothes and body drying off nicely. It might take a little while before I'm
completely dry, however.
Glancing out of the window, I can't help feeling a little
sorry for my trusty steed, stuck outside in the pouring rain. However, it can't
be helped; there was no available shelter for it in the vicinity, and I
couldn't very well bring it inside with me. Pegasi are hardy creatures, so I'm
sure that now it's back on the ground, it'll make it through this storm without
a problem. The weather will have cleared up by tomorrow, and I can I can be on
my way once more.
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