Gone
The howling wind stung like needles, even through Augustus's thick cloak and layers of winter clothes. With the dense forest behind him, his clothes and his scant beard are the only things that stand between himself and an icy meeting with the reaper. However, Augustus can see the outline of a large house with a lit chimney through the blizzard; Death would not have his quarry today. With boots filled with snow, a back burdened by his musket and his latest kill, Augustus trudges on.
As he approaches the house, he notices that it appeas to be in rather poor condition; the bottom two windows are broken on the front face of the house. The roof has lost many shingles and even the brick fireplace seems ready to fall. Maybe Death has a chance after all.
Augustus bangs on the door, silently praying for a friendly face to appear in front of him. No answer comes. After more waiting and desperate rapping, Augustus attempts to open the door. It offers no resistance.
"Hello," he calls with a nervous twinge in his voice. No answer. A fearful part of his mind screams to leave this place, to risk death rather than this house. He ignores the impulse to run in fear. He is no craven. He instead seals the door behind him and moves further into the house with his lantern extended in far in front of him.
He notices he is in a rather large room containing a large couch behind three cloth chairs surrounding a table, and a couple small end-tables flanking the couch. He also notices a large oil lamp dangling from the ceiling and a single candle on each table. Augustus lights the large lamp. He rather quickly wishes he didn't. There are two cups of steaming tea on the center table alongside a still-smoking pipe and two piles of cards. He almost runs back out into the cold, but he stops the knee-jerk reaction before he can follow through with it. He decides to explore the adjacent room as soon as possible.
As he steps into the kitchen he drops the deer carcass on the table and lights the lamps flanking the entrance and a candle on the table. The kitchen seems relatively small; there is an oven leading up through the roof, most likely the chimney. The fire in the oven is still lit, and there is a bowl full of something with the most intoxicating smell. There is a wooden door, most likely leading down to a cellar Augustus also observes there is knife laying on the counter next to several onions and various herbs. A wine bottle sits open next to the vegetables. He takes a long swig. A rather good vintage, he determines. He opens the pot and a flood of smells waft toward him; veal, wine, onions, and pork all bombard his senses. A rumble sounds from his stomach. Augustus immediately sets to finding a bowl and a spoon.
After his meal, Augustus notices a doorway leading to a long hallway. Grabbing his musket, he carefully makes his way down the hall. On his left a staircase rises up to the second floor and further down he can see two doors, one on his right and one straight ahead. He looks through the small glass windows on the door in front of him and sees nothing but frost. Another door out to the cold. The room on his right at first glance contains a large, comfortable-looking chair next to a table, while a large bookcase occupies the wall opposite him. As he enters the room he sees a gun closet and a sword rack. The rack contains two highly-adorned sabers and a brutal falx. The falx is standard issue for naval officers of the New Roman Republic; the sabers are obviously very expensive foreign swords. Swords given by a surrendering captain or even admiral. The closet contains a musket and a minimum of six different pistols of varying quality. A golden eagle stands proud atop the closet.
Augustus served in the army, everyone has to in some capacity. However, he hadn't heard of any glorious naval victories happening while he was campaigning; this officer must be very old or dead.
Augustus opts to go up to the second floor. The stairs creak unnervingly as he rises. He is met with another hallway and several doorways at the top of the stairs. The two rooms on his left and right are simple, spartan bedrooms. A single bed, a writing desk, a small chest, and a chair. The room facing him, however, is somewhat more extravagant. A king-sized bed with fine, silk sheets imported from the far east dominates the center of the wall in front of him. Two dark tables flank the bed. Two large windows with high-quality drapes stand behind the bed. On the center of the floor is a high-price persian rug. Two wooden dressers stand to his right and a sturdy chest sits on his left. He opts to stay here for the night, cradling his musket just in case.
I really need to work on description, this was hard. I think this was better than my last thing, but I put more thought into this. I'll do these more often. If you see this, please give some feedback/constructive criticism.
