Fiction: The World of Estor

(this and any future creative writings will be labeled as "Fiction" in the title.  I do encourage readers to not take these to heart as my personal thoughts, which will be titled normally.  these are merely exercises to stoke the fires of my creativity once again, so regard any potential controversial writings as fictional)

It was with a hesitant heart that I ventured into Estor.  That not usually my style, since I tend to jump into things with as much regard for my well-being as some dogs would have for their stomach's well-being.  For a guy like me to feel any sort of hesitance means something.  I could be rating my self-importance higher than others, but I'm about as humble a guy as they come.  So very humble, the most humble even!

Either way, Estor's mountainous environment left me with double the chills, inside and out.  The borloff coat was barely thick enough for me to still feel my arms and digits.  Their fur is the best, better than their attitude that's for sure.  My guide, Selumeth, felt it was a good purchase at the border village; his near toothless grin was a puzzle, almost literally, when trying to decipher whether i was being scammed or not.  The damned thing was expensive, but I didn't know whether it was better that I felt the cold or instead just let my arms go numb from it at this point.

What to say about Estor?  Cold, pointy, and full of surprises.  Thick fog held in front of us at about 100 paces.  Even my hand was hazy being in front of my face.  The brief glimpses of the fog, when it passed, presented a valley of sparse trees and brief patches of forest.  Say what you will about the forests in Estor, but at least they offered a measure of shelter.  Selumeth's comforting recommendation of caves along the Estor pass did little to comfort me; sharp stones in my back are not exactly comparable to the gaudy hostels in my hometown of Craiis.  I'm spoiled, what can I say?

Selumeth stopped us after what felt like days on the path to direct our traveling party to a nearby cave.  Anticipating the worst, I went along with it to humor him.

I hate being right. 

to be continued...