| Cold.
Already the blanket of snow was thick leaving Nerta to rest in her small camp and reflect on how things had changed in a year. Last winter she had fled from Mhed wearing only a rough wool tunic and now she had a letter requesting coin from some Patrician. A request she could now fulfill.
Ignoring the Old Man as he reads off a litany of titles from the bottom of the letter, Nerta glances around the small camp.
A stew bubbles away, her tent pitched near by, both a marked improvement from last year. Though some things were the same: she was still helping Plebeians with their monster problems; still alone. Despite all the adventures of the last few weeks she'd not seen Wren or Jacinda for some time. Hopefully they were all right.
"You have the money to fulfill the request, though you'll need to get to the bank... You're a league away Nerta."
"I know Old Man, I know." Scrubbing her face with a sigh, Nerta collects some stew. "How did you... How did you do it back in the day? How did you handle," she waves a hand about, "everything."
Her ghostly companion smiles, "A solstice miracle, you ask for my advise." A hand rising to forestall the retort, the scholar sighs, "Yet I don't really have an answer to your question. I tried things; sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn't. All you can do is try and hope that others will as well."
"Others are trying I'll give them that..."
The shade chuckles, "Yes, they can be that as well. But overall things are going well."
"Well? Every day we get reports of doom and the undead marching around."
The Old Man laughs, "Yes, it is winter after all, but spring will come and some will have survived."
Rubbing her temple Nerta sighs, "Cold Old Man. Cold." | 
