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I'm so, so much tired. I barely can keep my eye open to write. I want to sleep so badly, but I need to do it now. I don’t want to forget any detail of today, as it has been one of the hardest day in my life. True be told, I hardly know how I was able to survive this. My muscle hurt so much that I feel like dying. It’s barely bearable... I’m so cold that my finger hurt as I am writing this, I’m still shaking like a leaf... But I can console myself be telling me that I didn’t suffer in vain. It is for a good cause because today i gave a young vixen another chance in life…

I found her under a thin layer of snow, almost completely frozen. She wasn’t shivering and didn’t react to us. She was, and true be told, is still on the verge of death. In fact, I even thought she was dead when I first saw her until a little bit of vapor exit her snout. Indicating that she was still alive.

Of course, I was happy when I saw it. It was that little message, that little note, that told me there was still a chance to save her life ... But when I shared it with my companions, the joy was not reciprocated by everyone. Especially Serrena and Sortor who were strongly against any help with this person. They said that it was a waste of time to try to help her and that we should just leave her there. Their comments particularly enraged me. Letting someone who still has the will to live die like that is monstrous. But I digress...

Sorda, for his part, didn't seem to know where to put his head in the argument between me and the other two. I noticed that he wanted to help this person, but from another side. He knew that such an operation was dangerous and had a low chance of success. I can imagine that he had an argument in his head between leaving her there and helping her, but in the end it was the voice of ease that won. Without a word, possibly in shame, he only went to join Serrena and Sortor side.

The only one who was on my side was Irlen. Like me, she didn't want to let a poor vixen die like that. Alone in the cold when she still had a chance to be saved, but I think that the confrontation disturb her, she was less verbal than I was. She was just standing next to me, quiet, watching. She was not really used to this kind of conflict. Since the beginning of our trip, she wanted a group of people ready to do their mission as a team, like in the book. I'm sorry she had to discover the true nature of people like this, but at least it didn't cost her a copper, but I digress again...

While I was at the woman's side, seeing that it was going nowhere with the other three. I decided to make a stop here to warm her up. I know that I would need a fire, so I asked Irlen to take Serrena's axe, so we could cut some wood, but Serrena simply replied that she wasn't going to waste another second on insignificant creatures like us, so she set off. Sortor followed her instantly, then slowly Sorda joined them, but my mind was already made up. I was not going to follow them and, to my delight, the same was true of Irlen who preferred to stay with me. I didn’t, and still don’t, care about this contract and my travel to the well if that means that I can give this lady a second chance

Without the axe, I gave Irlen my sword to find something to warm ourselves before night. My sword wasn’t the best tool for that, but we didn’t have anything more useful, and warm was our biggest priority at that time. After all, all we add was a bit of tinder and that was it. But at least, I wasn’t anxious for the food, Irlen was the huntress and I could trap and fish. Food wasn't a problem for us, but It was going to be for the others. That's probably why Sorda came back to us. Trying to convince us one last time to follow them. That this person wasn’t a good reason for us to die of cold or hunger. That what we were doing was just staving off the inevitable and thus making this person's death even more gruesome than it already was. He did have some good argument. I can give him that, but he soon realized that it was almost impossible to change our minds. Both of us were determined to save her.
So, he went back to see the other two and after a short discussion that I couldn't hear, he came back to us, but this time to propose something new. The other two were ready to slow down so that we could follow, but they didn’t want to stop or to do anything for this vixen. So I would have to carry her in my arms for the rest of the day. At the camp, he would make a sledge for everyone belongings, but mostly, for the vixen. He also suggested taking some of the weight off me, to carry my bag and equipment. Finishing by saying that it was better to follow the group than to separated. After all, back at the manor. She would have time to recover and regain enough strength for the return journey. It wasn’t the best idea, but he was right on one thing. It would be much easier to warm her there, that in the middle of nowhere. We agreed, and I had to take the vixen in my arms for the rest of the day. For hours, I had to walk through the snow, against the wind and the weather, holding her cold body against me. Not once did she move anything, it was like caring a corps... I’m ... ashamed of that thought... But more than once, I thought about abandoning her. I was, and still are, so tired that I want it to stop right there, but I couldn't make it. All the day, she was still speaking to me with her little vapor. It gave me hope... and guilt... But even at the camp, my nightmare of a day wasn’t over because when we finally stopped for the night, I still had to go fishing. Irla and Sorda would set up my tent and putting the woman inside with their blanket to kept her warm until I come back. At least, I was lucky this time, I did manage to catch a fish... but It was luck more than anything as I fell asleep while fishing. It was the fish pulling on the line that woke me up and brought me out of my resting state... Even now, I’m wondering if that could have been my end if that fish didn’t wake me up... Maybe they would have come for me if I didn’t show up… Maybe… At least I was able to take some food back to camp. My catch was cooked and mixed with melted snow to make a soup. It was bland, but it was a normal meal for such a trip. I wanted to give some to the vixen, but although I put some soup in her mouth, she didn't react. She did not try to swallow, so I only managed to get her to drink some of the hot liquid, but nothing more. I hope it will improve her condition a bit.

Settling into my warm tent and having the rest of the night to myself. I was finally able to take the time to look at her in detail. She is in a pitiful state. Obviously very weak and extremely poorly dressed for this kind of hostile environment. She is not wearing any warm clothes, and the little she is wearing has holes in it. Not to mention that she doesn't even have boot or glove, but what surprise me the most is that she didn’t show any sign of frostbite or major damage caused by the cold. It seems that being a polar species saved her life and limb.
Strangely, she has other wounds that didn’t have time to heal. Some of them are open to the air, others are covered with makeshift bandages. The bandages were completely frozen, so I had to replace them, which gave me the liberty to look at the wound under. They were dirty and had small rocks stuck in them. Because of the frozen blood and the healing process, I had a hard time removing it all and cleaning the wounds properly, but with patience and care, I was able to remove every debris that I was able to see. At least, having her unconscious was a plus in this case, she would have probably screamed especially when I removed the bandages. They were so frozen and stuck that some of her fur followed. When I re-did those, I took the opportunity to put some healing cream on her so that the flesh would heal more quickly. I could also see that she had many bruises on her body and legs. Her hands also have many shallow cuts. The cushions are damaged from rubbing against something rough, and she has also lost some claws, nothing I can really help with at the moment. At least, while she sleeps, she doesn't suffer from these injuries. That's a good thing for her. I have no idea what happened to her, but it didn't look like fun, it must have been very painful.

I hope that a good night's sleep in the warmth, some warm liquid and new bandages will be enough to keep her alive until we reach the manor...

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