[hr][hr][center][h2][color=a2d39c]A S H   |   D E A D S N O W S   |   U K T A R   5 T H[/color][/h2][/center][hr][hr]

Night had fallen by the time Ash made it to the imposing walls of Deadsnows. He might have gotten there sooner had he not taken the time to admire how the the sun had set across the snow capped peaks of the mountains to the west. Despite the harshness of the land, there was something romantic about it. He had not been in the North for several years, and autumn weather had held off the snows on his journey thus far.

[i]Until now...[/i]

The road had been difficult since he had left the comfortable tranquillity of Silverymoon the month before. The twisting route through the Nether Mountains would have been hard enough on its own, without Ash almost being turned away when he had arrived at the gates of Sundabar. The experience had been... disheartening... but it had not dampened his spirits entirely. He had made it to his destination, and he almost felt the hardships had been vindicated by the breath taking views laid out before him.

Of course, there was perhaps, another tiny reason that Ash delayed his first entry into the ancestral home of his mother's family. One that would not go away no matter how studiously he tried to ignore it. 

[i]There's a good chance they're not even going to let you in.[/i]

He took his eyes off of the dying light and hung his head in his hands, letting out a low drawn out moan. 

Ash had talked to enough people on the road to understand that things weren't the best in Deadsnows right now. Food shortages, curfews, trouble with monsters and Gods only know what else, the works. The fact that even more of the travellers he had met on the road had wanted absolutely nothing to do with him and had threatened violence the moment he had gotten to close to them led him guess that unfamiliar armed half-orcs weren't exactly the most popular people in this region of the world. 

And now he, an unfamiliar armed half-orc, was trying to enter a not particularly friendly town, full of not particularly friendly people.

At night.
 
He buried his face deeper into his hands and moaned again slightly louder.

[i]This is a bad idea.[/i]

Dejectedly, he raised his gaze up from the trampled snow beneath him, and fixed it towards the thinning stream of people issuing through the gate. He would have to try is luck sooner rather than later, either that or spend the night in Snowtown, dwindling shanty town that existed at the foot of the walls. Perhaps that might even be preferable?

As if in answer to his question, a furry of snowflakes drifted down from the rapidly darkening sky, and the cold wind picked up once more. Ash shivered even beneath the heavy furs of his travelling cloak. It was going to be very, very, cold tonight.

[i]Okay maybe its a better idea than freezing to death.[/i]

He sighed one last time and hefted his pack back onto his shoulder, and made his way towards the gates.

As he walked, Ash debated the various different strategies to could employ in order to try and gain entry to Deadsnows. He could  try to slip in unnoticed with locals heading in. It was already pretty dark. If he put his hood up and wrapped his scarf around the bottom half of his face, almost no one would be able to tell he was a half-orc unless they looked closely. But if he got discovered it might lead to more questions, than if he just walked up and explained everything and told the guards his story. Perhaps he could come up with an even better story as to why they should let him into the town? But then he'd have to come up with something really quick, and he wasn't much of liar to begin with, and if he got discovered it could be even worse than if he had just tried to go in disguised. Having a hood up and wearing scarf in winter wasn't exactly suspicious, but being caught in the middle of lying to a town guard was definitely suspicious. Perhaps if there was some way that he coul-

Ash had arrived at the gate. 

He hadn't come up with a plan yet.

[i]Shit.[/i]

There was practically no one at gate anymore, the guards looked like they were ready to close up for the night, and they were staring at Ash. 

Ash blinked and stared back. A panicked half smile taking up the bottom half of his face as he nervously tried to find something, anything, to say.

[color=a2d39c]"Umm... Hi, could I... errrr- come in? Maybe?"[/color]