It rained from morning until evening that day, as the group was forced to endure the relentless downpour throughout the entire march until, finally, sometime after nightfall, they reached the clearing where Garron intended for them to camp.
Fortunately, by then, the rain had weakened considerably, allowing the exhausted children to begin gathering whatever branches and timber they could find beneath the surrounding trees, using which Garron somehow started a fire that was big enough to survive the occasional droplet falling on it.
For several minutes, Garron allowed them to rest, as the children used the heat of the bonfire to dry themselves.
However, once everyone had settled down and eaten their evening meal, he finally stood up before the campfire and clapped his hands together.
ClapClap
"Alright, everyone, listen up."
Garron said, as the conversations around the campfire gradually disappeared while every child turned their attention toward him.
"Tomorrow is going to be one of the most important days of our journey so far.
Because tomorrow, for the first time since leaving Ashfang Village, we’re going to enter another human settlement."
He explained, as several children immediately straightened their backs.
"We’re going to reach the lawless town of Stoneville."
Garron declared, as excitement instantly spread throughout the camp.
"A real settlement?"
One of the younger children asked, as several others immediately began whispering among themselves.
"Do you think we’ll get to sleep inside a proper building with straw for bed?"
Another child wondered.
"Maybe we’ll finally get some properly cooked food that has seasonings."
Someone else added, as the possibility of eating a warm meal seasoned with something other than burnt wood immediately caused several children to laugh excitedly.
Even Riven found himself sitting slightly straighter.
As after more than a month of sleeping beneath trees, marching through mud and washing whenever they happened to find a suitable river, the thought of seeing another human settlement sounded almost too good to be true.
However, Garron merely raised one hand and killed the chatter.
"Don’t get too excited."
Garron warned, as the conversations around the campfire immediately quietened.
"This isn’t going to be a leisure visit.
We’re entering Stoneville for one specific purpose, and the moment that purpose is fulfilled, we’re leaving."
He explained, as his expression gradually became more serious.
"And before any of you start imagining warm beds, cooked meals, and wandering around shops trading whatever herbs you have picked up during the journey for measly bronze.... understand something very clearly."
Garron warned, as his gaze slowly moved across the children.
"Stoneville is more dangerous than the forest."
He declared, as the excited expressions immediately disappeared.
"The wilderness is honest.
A hungry beast attacks you because it wants to eat you.
A poisonous mushroom kills you because you were stupid enough to swallow it.
A river sweeps you away because you underestimated the current.
But Stoneville isn’t like that."
He said, as the children listened carefully.
"Inside Stoneville, someone can smile at you, offer you food, ask where you’re travelling, and spend the entire conversation deciding whether you’re worth more alive, dead, or chained inside the back of a wagon."
The campfire crackled between them.
Nobody spoke.
"Stoneville was built by mercenaries, beast tamers, bounty hunters, independent cultivators, and merchants who needed somewhere to rest while travelling through this region.
Over time, more people arrived, businesses opened, mercenary companies established permanent bases, and eventually the settlement became one of the largest trading points anywhere near this part of the wilderness."
Garron explained, as he slowly paced around the campfire.
"You can buy almost anything there.
Weapons.
Aether medicines.
Information.
Captured beasts.
Slaves.
And if you’re willing to spend enough silver, probably things I don’t want any of you knowing exist yet."
A few nervous laughs escaped from among the older children, however, Garron did not smile at his own joke.
"Several powerful mercenary companies maintain order inside Stoneville, but don’t misunderstand what that means.
They protect businesses that pay them.
They protect merchants who are useful.
And they protect people powerful enough to cause problems if something happens to them."
He said, as his expression hardened.
"They do not protect children wandering through alleys because they were curious."
The camp grew silent once again.
"So from tomorrow onwards, every single one of you will follow my instructions perfectly, or risk being sold as slaves once more if not."
Garron declared, as he did not leave any room for negotiation.
"First, nobody leaves the group without my permission.
I don’t care if you see something interesting.
I don’t care if someone offers you food.
I don’t care if you recognize somebody from Ashfang Village standing across the street."
He said, as several children exchanged glances.
"You stay with the group."
Garron continued.
"Second, none of you will tell anyone where we actually came from or where we’re going."
That statement immediately caused confusion to spread throughout the camp.
"Why?"
One child asked.
"Because several dozen unascended children travelling toward the Valdrak Empire under the supervision of one instructor is information worth money....."
Garron replied.
"And information worth money eventually reaches people willing to act upon it."
He said, as the children gradually understood.
"So from the moment we approach Stoneville, none of you are children from Ashfang Village anymore."
Garron declared.
"You are outer disciples of the Redpine Sect."
Several children quietly repeated the name beneath their breaths.
"Redpine Sect is a minor wilderness sect located several weeks southwest of Stoneville.
I am one of its instructors, and I’m leading you toward Greyhaven, a frontier village located several days outside the western border of the Valdrak Empire."
Garron explained.
"Greyhaven recently reported that several Direwolf packs have established dens near the surrounding livestock trails.
Cattle have disappeared.
Hunters have been killed.
And merchants travelling through the region have begun avoiding the nearby roads."
He said, as the children listened carefully.
"The village requested assistance, and the Redpine Sect accepted the commission.
Rather than sending experienced cultivators to deal with weak beasts, the sect decided that exterminating the Direwolves would provide practical wilderness experience for its younger disciples."
Garron concluded.
"That is our story."
For several moments, nobody spoke.
Then Garron pointed toward one of the children sitting near the edge of the campfire.
"You."
Garron said.
The boy immediately straightened.
"Where are you from?"
"The... Redpine Sect."
The boy answered.
"Where are you going?"
"Greyhaven."
He replied.
"Why?"
The boy hesitated.
Garron’s eyes narrowed.
"Because... there are wolves?"
Several children shook their heads.
"Wrong."
Garron said, as the boys face immediately stiffened.
"Because Greyhaven requested assistance after several Direwolf packs established dens near the surrounding livestock trails, and your sect decided that exterminating them would provide practical experience for its younger disciples."
He explained.
"Memorize it."
Garron then pointed toward another child.
"Where are you from?"
"The Redpine Sect."
The girl answered immediately.
"Where are you going?"
"Greyhaven."
"Why?"
"To assist with exterminating Direwolf packs threatening the surrounding villages while gaining practical wilderness experience."
She replied.
Garron nodded.
"Better."
He said, before pointing toward someone else.
And then another.
For nearly half an hour, Garron continued questioning the children at random, deliberately changing the wording of his questions and demanding immediate answers until everyone around the campfire understood the cover story well enough to repeat it without hesitation.
Eventually, Garron stopped.
"One final rule."
He said, as his expression became colder than before.
"If someone asks you a question you cannot answer, you say that they’ll have to speak with Instructor Garron."
He explained.
"You do not improvise.
You do not invent additional details.
And you do not try to make the story more convincing by adding information I haven’t given you."
Garron warned, as his gaze slowly moved across every child around the campfire.
"Because the easiest way to discover that someone is lying is to let them keep talking."
Nobody interrupted him.
"Stoneville isn’t Ashfang Village."
Garron continued.
"Nobody there knows you.
Nobody there cares about you.
And if one of you disappears into an alley because you were stupid enough to wander away from the group, I may not even realize you’re missing until we’re already outside the gates."
He said, as several children instinctively moved closer to one another.
"So memorize the story I’ve given you.
Stay together.
Keep your mouths shut.
And for the love of everything sacred, don’t give anyone inside that settlement a reason to become interested in you."
Garron concluded, as silence settled around the campfire.
The excitement that had filled the children only minutes earlier had not completely disappeared, however, it had now been mixed with enough apprehension that nobody spoke about warm beds or cooked meals anymore.
Riven quietly looked toward Mary, Stacy, Garsim, and Dara, as without needing to discuss it, all five understood that tomorrow they would remain closer together than ever before.
Because for the first time since leaving Ashfang Village, the danger waiting ahead of them would not come from poisonous plants, wild beasts, or the unforgiving wilderness.
It would come from other people.