The Frostrune

Part 1~5k words

Last thing that I remember was the coldness of the water when the big wave covered the ship. Dad and I were traveling back home to Norway, but sudden bad weather sent the ship of its way. Captain couldn't control it, passengers and workers were terrified, everyone was saying that we must have done something bad to make Gods angry, I was in my pajamas there, running around trying to find my dad. And then I was in the water, sinking, looking at the world around me, slowly turning black. I don't know how to swim well enough to even try to get out of the water. After all, I am only 13. Only a child.

While I was floating in the darkness I could hear a voice. A whispering voice of a lady speaking on strange language, that I understood. She told me it will be okay and that she is sorry. And then I closed my eyes. It was just too cold to even think about the fact that I am not drowning.

I woke up trembling, choking and gripping onto my soaked pillow. I looked around me to see that I am on a shore, lying on a rock. My bunny slippers are gone! And I am all soaked in cold water and wind here is freezing and I have no idea where am I. Next to me was a small chest, floating in the water. 

I jumped back in the water, quickly grabbed the chest and walked toward the only thing I could see from down here. Up the path on the green hill. It's freaking summer, why is it so cold? And where in the world am I? Where is my dad? He must be so worried...

I dropped my pillow halfway up the hill. It was just too destroyed and useless now. Forest was right next to me while I was climbing up the hill, so the wind wasn't that bad, but it was getting colder and colder as I climbed up the hill. 

As I climbed on top of it, I could only stare at what is in front of me. A village. A deserted village. It is circled by a fence and in front of that fence was a stone half of my height covered completely in ICE. IT'S SUMMER. AM I IN RUSSIA???

-Hello?! Is anyone here?! I need help! Please!

As I searched through the village little longer, I realized that there is literally no one here. But all the doors to all the houses were locked. As I approached one of the houses, I saw a banner just lying on the ground, and its door where locked with the most complicated lock I ever saw, but it did look beautiful. Three locks with four silly looking soldiers and they also need a key. I assume I need to find a lock code for this? And one of the keys is missing. Great. I walked behind that house, leaving the puzzle for later and saw the gate, trice as tall as I am. It was closed, so I couldn't go through it and its mechanism looked destroyed, so in order to leave somewhere I will have to somehow fix this.

This is quite a strong gate...what kind of enemies did these people have? You don't build a gate like this to defend yourself from animals...On the top of one of the loose looking watchout places, however they are called,I could see something shining. If I cut the ropes on the scaffolding, the construction might fall and I will be able to see what the is. I just need something sharp to cut that rope.

I went back to the smith house trying to see if I could maybe break in, but there was no way. At least this lock looks normal. And even this silly chest I am carrying has a weird lock. Not complicated, but extremely extravagant for a small wooden chest.

All I could see around this house are clothes hanging out to dry. They look like they were dyed with madder root...My mum is very good at that...And there was also a little path that is going even further up the hill and deeper into the forest. It is going out of the village for sure...but I have nothing to do here and I have to move in order to stay warm. It is really freezing here.

And it is even colder here, on the top of this path and I san see why. A little house that is standing alone here is halfway covered in ICE again ice. The front door and the whole front of the house is frozen, but I can see that on the side of the house the wall is strangely crooked, so I have to check that...I am soooo going to get killed here. This is probably some cannibal island and I will end up as some dude's dinner.