Act 1. Death Cometh Slowly

A trail of footprints and blood in the snow.

They led to a snow covered tree, indistinguishable from all others, except for the silent, unmoving figure which sat against it. Beneath that figure was a large pool of crimson blood, the dark reds a stark contrast against the sanctity of the pure white snow. Slumped against a tree, head bowed and totally still, the dark figure appeared dead. Death had not yet found him, however. The solitary clue towards the figure's subsistence being the faint white mist that occasionally emanated out from his mouth, and on closer investigation, the mild rise and fall of his chest.

Consciousness returned to the figure. His heavy eyelids parted slowly, the first thing in his vision was of his right hand, resting upon his thigh. He tried to move it, unsuccessfully, and he began the fear the possibility of paralysis. A sudden twitch in his fingers rescued his thoughts, and life returned to his blood stained hand. The figure then decided to shift his posture, but was hampered by a sudden pain from his abdomen. He lifted his shirt up, and underneath he saw a haphazardly bandaged wound. Bleeding appeared to have stopped. Gritting his teeth, he tried getting onto his feet. It proved an ordeal of sorts, having to cope with not just the pain from his abdominal wound, but also from his limbs, which had not yet regained their full function. The figure leaned against the tree, breathing quick and heavily. A card then slipped out of his coat pocket, landing upright on the snow below, which would have gone unnoticed had his head not been lowered. Enduring the pain once more, he bent over to pick up the card. On one side was a symbol, a square shape with a triangular L-section cut out of it. Flipping it over revealed something more useful, an unfamiliar address. Unable to make sense out of it, or for the matter, anything at all, the figure tucked the card into his coat pocket. Surveying his surroundings, he found no discernible path to follow out of the forest, except for what he assumed was his own blood and footprint trail. Wrapping his coat around him tighter, the figure limped forward, following the trail.