Chapter 744: Creatures Of Snow [Part 1]
In the early hours of the morning, as the day star was just climbing the sky, hours away from reaching its pinnacle, a small group moved along a narrow, twisting road, with three different wheels of cargo between them.
The snow seemed especially heavy as they exited the eastern border of the capital city and headed towards a dry forest, conquered by the aftermath of a heavy snowstorm.
Two mercenaries guarded the caravan in front: Gareon and some other guy with black spiky hair and really thin lids. He said little and had a focus so sharp that it could cut through the weave of reality.
The two sat on the first cargo and controlled the direction of the first two mounts.
Another two sat on the second cargo and on the third. Each wheel of cargo was flanked on both its left and right with two mercenaries.
In total, twenty-two mercenaries were escorting the cargo to its location. All of them distinctively dressed in such a way that asserted their values and mystery in a spectrum, with Northern being the most mysteriously valuable of them all.
After a few minutes, they began to enter the depths of the forest, the pace of their journey slowed by the piles and heaps of snow that littered both the passageway and tree corners of the forest.
Instead of a beautiful lush of greenery, the woods were dry and pale, their lives drained by the relentless chill of the season. What remained of the undergrowth peeked through the snow in brittle, frostbitten clusters, their leaves reduced to shriveled whispers of their former selves.
A ghostly quiet hung in the air, broken only by the rhythmic crunch of boots and wheels grinding through the snow.
It had been over two hours since they began their journey, and everyone maintained their quietness and air of mystery. Northern took the opportunity to change consciousness, taking an active view of things in the estate.
Not much had changed, but the Student Union president and her team had eventually managed to come out of the rift.
They were not the second nor third. However, aside from him, they were the only team that managed to clear the rift, emerging from it bruised and heavily battered.
She had even passed out the moment they stepped out.
Her feat was no less bizarre than his. Even he was amazed. Clearing the rift in three days, no, two days, was amazing. He probably would not have seen it as amazing as this if Aster hadn't properly explained what it took for Drifters to clear a rift.
The complications and difficulty of it.
But now that he had a fair understanding of what it took to clear a rift, he found himself being able to appreciate their effort more.
When he thought about the rift he and Raven had cleared too-on their own-he felt no less proud and appreciated the deed more than ever.
Through it all, he could feel his confidence rising like an eastern dragon's ascent to the heavens.
Then the situation of things changed.
The atmosphere suddenly shifted. They were still traversing the snowy and cold embrace of the forest that seemed to endlessly stretch forward, but something suddenly felt different. And almost all of them could tell.
Their suspicions each became confirmed when the first cargo came to a slow halt. The second naturally followed, as did the third.
All the mercenaries, each with their guarded and stern expression, surveyed their surroundings.
The man with the map, standing on the left of the second carriage, briskly walked forward to meet Gareon.
"What is going on...?"
Gareon made a frown as he jumped down from the rider's seat of the cargo. He carefully scanned around with the fierce and sturdy look in his eyes before responding to the man.
"I can't tell... yet."
The man studied his gaze for a couple of minutes and asked:
"So what do you suggest we do?"
Gareon sighed and folded his arms, thinking for a bit with his eyes down.
He traced back to the man and replied with a resolute light burning in his eyes.
"We will continue forward, but with measured steps. Please pass the message around for everyone to stay guarded and vigilant. Something is definitely not right, and it's more disturbing that I can't put my hands around it."
The man nodded and immediately turned around to his position. The mercenaries guarding the first cargo heard clearly; there was no need to relay the information to them.
He informed the second mercenaries with whom he was placed, and the information naturally traveled to the back, all the way to Northern who was behind, walking silently with the least person he wanted to be walking with.
The girl relayed the information but was met with utter silence. She also grew silent for a couple of moments, but as the seconds crawled by, her displeasure with Northern's silence after the relaying of the message grew difficult to contain.
She frowned and threw her face in his direction.
"Hey, you know I hate walking with you as much as you do with me, right? And I don't act like you're invisible."
Northern did not respond, causing her frown to deepen.
"What you are doing is just outright rudeness, and I can tell you were not taught well. You must be a very spoiled brat who happened to just awaken and think he can stand on his own."
She scoffed annoyingly.
"My good Eldech, these Drifters, people like you are bound to die ea-"
She was not granted an opportunity to finish whatever she was about to say; the entire caravan was thrown into terrible chaos as the heaps of snow that littered the ground began to fly into the air.
The girl immediately placed her hand towards her waist, grabbing the hilt of her sword and waited carefully.
For a moment, everything turned blurry. All that resounded was a wrecked rhythm of explosions, causing white clouds to blow violently into the air, confusing and disorienting
the caravan.
Then something, fast-very fast-began to streak across the vaguely transparent mist of
disturbed snow.
"Arggh!"
"Everyone... defen-"
"I can't see it..."
In quick succession, screams and shouts of people were abruptly silenced.
Something quick and dangerous was moving in the whitish haze.