Raiding Thuisk: A Curse Revealed

This was it. After all of the trials, after all of the sacrifices, this was finally it. She could feel it in her bones. She wasn’t sure how she knew; perhaps it was the way that she felt lighter than air as she walked through the forest, and how her feet didn’t leave any footprints in the pristine white snow. Perhaps it was because she had left her home and her family behind long ago to seek out this very place. Or maybe, just maybe, she had known all along what lay before them. She couldn’t be sure of anything anymore.

She did know that they were close; she could feel an ancient energy emanating from further down the path. The forest around them was eerily quiet, no birds or squirrels scurried about; even the trees seemed to be holding their breath. The group walked on in a tense silence until they reached the clearing where they would make camp for the night. As they set up camp, they broke into excited chatter, talking about what they would do with their riches once they found them; she tried to listen, but couldn’t get past the feeling of dread that nagged at her stomach.

As night fell and a thick layer of snow blanketed their campsite, Alise retreated to her tent to rest for the evening. The treasure hunters offered to keep watch for the night so that she could rest without fear of attack; she thanked them for their kindness and drifted off to sleep, unaware that trouble was already brewing.

* * *

She awoke suddenly with a start and quickly sat up in bed. Her simple tent provided little protection from the bitter cold of winter and shivered as she pushed herself out of bed and fumbled with her travel pack searching for something warm to wear. She dressed hastily and stumbled outside into the darkness of night; she found one of the treasure hunters still awake, sitting by a small fire that crackled weakly in the wind.

“What is it? Are you ok? You look pale… are you sick? Do you need me to find something for you? I have some herbs…” He stammered as he made his way towards her.

She took a deep breath and held up a hand to stop him, “I’m fine… I think… I just need some fresh air” It was true, though even now she wasn’t sure why she felt so ill; perhaps it was nerves? Something inside of her told her not to trust these men who claimed to be treasure hunters, but there weren’t many other options available to her if she wanted to claim this treasure for herself… Her face flushed as she realized that most people would call that greed. No matter what anyone else thought of her intentions, Alise knew better than anyone else what this meant for her family back home; things had been rough ever since dad died last year - without any money to pay for medicine or food supplies or even heat! She hadn’t known what else to do except try and find this lost treasure...

Alise wandered off into the woods surrounding their campsite while pondering over thoughts both dark and hopeful; it wasn’t long before she came across one of the men who had been keeping watch during the night curled up under a tree asleep with his hood pulled over his head like a blanket protecting him from the elements through which he snored gently away his troubles. She stared at him silently for a moment wondering whether or not this man was actually worth anything at all - then decided against waking him up and continued on deeper into the woods until suddenly everything went black around her and she found herself standing in front of an ancient ruin with faint light leaking through cracks in its ancient stone walls…