“Sitron!” You would think that looking for a Fjord horse in the mountains of Corona—which had no Fjord horses to his knowledge—would be a simple enough task. Just a few minutes, Hans was distracted as he fastened the sting of his bow, then turned to see his steed had disappeared.
“Sitron!” Hans called again, growing impatient. Higher and deeper into the woods, he finally found hoof marks on the lush ground that led to—Aha! He saw his horse sniffing along a wall of stone covered in vines. He was about to call Sitron over when the horse slipped his head right through the wall of greenery.
“What?” He strode over as Sitron completely disappeared through the vines. The ginger man curiously followed his steed through a tunnel until Sitron gave a pleased sound and lowered his head to bite on a fallen orange. Hans rubbed his face with his hand, an unimpressed look plastered on his face, which his companion clearly ignored. The former prince would have left then and there, but when looked upon what he came to, his eyes widened at the sight.
It was a beautiful small hidden valley with a tower and a waterfall, just as tall, falling over what looked like a small paradise hidden in the forest. Who lived here is such an isolated part of the forest? Was there anyone still living there?
He felt a nudge on his arm and saw Sitron was finished eating and now stood beside him looking over the valley as well. Too curious to leave, Hans gestured to his horse to follow and they made their way to the tower. However, just as they approached, he heard a crack under his feet---
“CRASH!!”
“WHOA!” Quick on his feet—and some help from Sitron, Hans scrambled out of the way of a hidden trap hole dug deep under the ground. He hardly had any time to recover as he heard Sitron cry out as another set of hidden traps have set off. Arrows, more trap holes, bear traps and more arrows came flying at them both as they ran. He hissed as a few grazed past him, scathing his left shoulder and calf.
Finally... Finally the assaults stopped when he and his steed reached the tower. He looked back at the aftermath and shook his head in disbelief. What was this place? He was starting to regret setting foot here.