He was not killed by his attackers. He was mortally wounded, but escaped and died in the snowy mountains after he ran away from them. They probably did want the ax. The question is whether it was his, a trade object, or something he stole from those who attacked him.
That’s another thing I find difficult to believe.
He ran away and died... from hunters... who shot him with an arrow.
Hunters, accustomed to tracking down animals wounded by their arrows through forests and woods, couldn’t track down a guy in a mountain pass.
Yeah. I don’t see that happening.