#int. w/lothar.nornwatch

[alrikhart]

@lotharx location: Nornwatch Keep notes: the beginning of those first two weeks at the keep

Snow fell over the opening of the cave mouth as the witchers moved the last of the barricades that concealed the hidden route through the mountains. Light from the dark clouds above filtered through and Alrik stepped into the clean air of the open cold and took a breath. He’d said once that nothing could make him go back to an Iskaran mine, but that vow had shifted through the battered wind of change that fell upon Alrik and Alessia. They had called the mountain salvation and in the quiet dark, he’d considered the madness he’d felt when he’d been pushed underground. Back then the witch had traveled into the deep in chains, this time Alrik had gone willingly - that was the difference he carved away.

That had not made it any easier, reduced to muttering to himself under his breath in private conversation as he mulled over the possible motivations of the conquerors who’d taken everything from them over the course of a single fortnight. But the sky was liberating, not just for him, but for Valr.

Alrik removed the bird’s hood and lifted his arm, watching with some liberty as the falcon flew with unabashed liberation for the first time in a fortnight.

“If only it were so easy for the rest of us.” Alrik said to the nearest person: from the mouth of the cave the refugees were making the short pilgrimage from the mountain to the Keep only a short distance away. It was imposing, but nothing like what Alrik had imagined. Stained walls that looked broken or breaking in places, and only one or two figures on the walls. Not much of a guard.