Igor was riding his stallion at full speed towards his goal: the magic ring which would ensure his victory over his brother's army and which would help him rule the kingdom. He was whipping his stallion from time to time to remind him that he had no time to waste.
The wind was blowing so hard that it was bending the trees till almost breaking point but Igor didn’t care. He had to have that ring, he had to take over the kingdom. His brother's ruler ship would soon come to an end and his time to shine would come. Everybody wouldobey him and only him! But where was that darn raven again? Margo had better not be playing with him or she would be sorry. She promised her raven would show him the way to the ring but it vanished into thin air again.
The weather turned stormy and as the raven was nowhere in sight, Igor finally decided to stop his gallop and find some shelter for the rest of the evening and for the night. The heavy clouds were chasing each other on the already dark sky.
By the way the sky looked, he had no choice. But it wasn't like the ring would disappear again now that he knew of it. The trip shouldn't take him more than a week. What was one more week in comparison with all those years he had already waited? Nothing! Just a grain of sand in the hourglass.
He was riding his horse on a winding never-ending path through the woods. The silence that surrounded him was like a heavy burden, it was almost freaking him out. Some distant bird was chirping happily a joyful song. Nature was indifferent to his worries, his dreams, him…
The rain started to pour as soon as the wind stopped. Now he was soaking wet and still no place for shelter in sight. His stallion was also showing signs of tiredness and restlessness. The rain was so strong that it was almost lashing his face, making it impossible to see anything in front of him. He was blaming everything on Margo, although she had nothing to do with the bad weather in fact and he knew it. But he needed someone to put the blame on and as there was nobody else there and as she was the first person that popped into his mind, he decided to blame it on her! He could almost see her yellow teeth or rather fangs coming out from her grinning face. He didn’t know why but he felt he could slap that ugly face right now. Then he got a bit scared as it crossed his mind that the old hag might be able to read his mind and decided to think of something different instead. Like finding a damned shelter!
The trees were looking so menacingly in the dim evening light that they appeared to be alive and have a will of their own. Which was pretty strange especially as the wind had ceased blowing. Maybe it was just his wild imagination playing tricks on him. Then suddenly Igor burst into loud laughter. He was laughing at himself for his moment of weakness, for having let himself be scared by some trees, even if for less than a
moment…
Igor was now laughing full heartedly as if to show the spooky trees that he was not afraid and that he had everything under control. Then all of a sudden something bumped his head from above and he lost all that courage. He clenched his teeth and put his trembling hands on his sword but the sword had somehow gained weight that he couldn't lift it anymore. And there was that something that had hit him still on his head. He finally let out a cry of terror and as he wasn't able to pull the sword from its sheath, he just ran his hands through his hair to see what it was. Then his hands touched it: the bloody raven, Margo's raven.
“Son of a …! If I didn't need you to show me the way to that wench, I would pluck all your feathers for disappearing like that and for giving me a fright! But have no fear, when it is all over, I can still have you for dinner, you stupid bird!”
But then the raven, as if in answer to his threats, pecked his head and then flew away again, leaving him alone in the scary forest once again.
“Good! Just go away, who needs you anyway!?” Igor yelled after it with anger and frustration in his voice. Then his stallion stopped suddenly and as he was still looking after the raven and wasn't paying attention to the horse, Igor flew from the slippery saddle right in a large puddle of mud, face first. Now he was really mad. Not only was he wet from the pouring rain, but now he was dirty too. He got up from the dirty puddle and was about to lash his horse when he stopped with his whip in his hands just before throwing the blow. There was a small entrance through the rocks! Shelter!
After mumbling to himself for his misfortunes, he tied his horse to the nearest tree and decided to explore the cave. He had his sword by his side if there were wolves inside or anything else. That would be his shelter for the night, no matter what beast might be in. But, then again, maybe it was empty. He took a few steps closer to the entrance and listened carefully for any noise coming from inside. As he couldn’t hear anything, he decided to enter. First he lit a torch he was carrying in his bag and then he slowly entered the dark cave.