[color=0072bc][h2]Vala Lynstad[/h2][/color]
[i]Life without the Sea, without the Hearth[/i]
[hr]
It had been four months, maybe. Whether that was an accurate count or not, the young Skjaldmær could only think any time away from her home was too long. The smell of the salted sea, the sound of churning waves... all of it was absent in this hilly landlocked plain. Yet this was her burden that she was likely to carry until her last days. Exiled and disgraced from the things she so loved... Truly, there was no greater punishment, even death would be a welcomed relief if it had not meant Vala would spend the rest of her afterlife wandering the damned shores of Helviti. So she held on because she had to. Maybe one day her ancestors might forgive her but that day could not come sooner. Until that day, she couldn't stand the sight of the open ocean.

For several months she had wandered, venturing further and further inland, until she eventually settled upon an abandoned tavern set atop a rocky hillside, no more than a fortnight ago. Vala had ran out of coin months ago which made it a perfect place for the downtrodden. As expected the place was empty and while the structural foundation was still solid, the walls and roof were slowly deteriorating with the passage of time. Still, the rent was free. Vala didn't spend much time improving the deteriorating conditions as she always felt it to be a temporary home, but she did a few things like brushing away the cobwebs. Eventually living there became a routine that distracted her, which was a welcomed sensation.

Mornings were typically a fair time to hunt. In fact, the morning of that day usually determined whether or not Vala would eat well that day or eat skimp pickings of her leftovers. Small game were the easiest to catch with her limited knowledge of traps. Sadly, Vala lacked a bow and the big game was a lot harder to come by. Thankfully a nearby stream usually had some fish the helped offset the lack of a large, hardy meal. Otherwise, Vala was left to harvest the few plants and fruits that she knew that wouldn't outright kill her if she ate them. It took a bit of experimenting but usually the local wildlife would avoid something that is entirely toxic.

Hopefully returning in the afternoon with a successful hunt, Vala would prep herself a meal and eat well. On particularly fortunate days, Vala would expend a little extra energy to make minor improvements to the tavern to prevent the place from falling apart but those days weren't common. 

For the most part, Vala was isolated from the rest of the world and she kind of enjoyed the bliss that came with it. Travelers would ignore the rundown place, even looters thankfully. But today, it seemed like Vala would not be fortunate to avoid the wandering eye. 

The faint flicker coming from the windows was tough to distinguished in broad daylight but the wide open front door really did help in identify the presence of someone inside. Vala drew her hatchet and tilted her spear to allow the hanging critters from this morning's hunt to fall to the ground. She never carried her shield with her as that was extra weight she never needed as well as some other items, like her armor. She always wore the thinnest hides she had as the difference in heat was clearly evident for the Northern so she had no protection outside of a sleeveless shirt and a slightly thicker set of hide trousers.

She bent down and charged the tavern, [i]her[/i] tavern, in a sprint, trying her best to conceal footfalls. It took only a few moments but she reached the threshold of the door. As far as she knew, there wasn't another way out so whoever was inside had to get through her. She stepped through, pushing the door, which had slowly drifted to an ajar opening, aside revealing the three intruders. The three of them were strangely unique from each other and while they gave off no hostile impression, Vala had to be sure they weren't here for malicious purposes. [color=0072bc]"Undskyld!"[/color] The Skjaldmær shouted harshly like barking an order after she crossed the threshold of the doorway in her native tongue, interrupting whatever conversation they were having before. Of course she knew that they wouldn't understand that but being a giving orders in her own tongue felt natural. [color=0072bc]"What are you three doing here?"[/color] She demanded with a stern tone as she clutched her hatchet and spear tightly in her hands. The spear probably wouldn't be of much help but she was deadly with that hatchet.