「Two days later.」
A quiet, forested snowfield.
The sled cut through the placid snow, kicking up flurries in its wake.
Led by the alpha, the sled dogs up front worked in an orderly fashion, pulling the sled along at a steady pace.
Colin, sitting in the back of the sled, looked up and rolled his neck. Orelia, who had been reading alongside him, shifted away and stretched lazily.
He had just been reading notes on the combat styles of Druids. ’There are so many books in the world,’ he thought, ’you could never read them all in one lifeti.’
The past two days of travel had left Colin feeling drained.
It was mainly because there was no sun. They could only judge the ti by the faint light filtering through the clouds, which had thrown their routine into slight disarray.
Furthermore, while they spotted so animals in this area, they had no ti to hunt or do anything else. All in all, it was a dispiriting journey.
Colin crossed his legs and pulled his collar tighter.
Perhaps the cold was also to bla. After all, people tend to get sluggish when they’re cold.
He glanced up at Ale, who sat across from him.
She too was reading a thick book.
The Half-Elf was like a stone statue, barely moving except to turn a page.
Colin turned his head to look at the nearby World’s Roof, which soared into the sky.
For the first part of the journey, their sled retraced their steps back to the foot of the World’s Roof. Then, they followed the snow-covered woodlands at the base of the mountain range, heading East. The path was a series of rolling snow-slopes and unnaturally arranged forests, which felt rather incongruous.
This was the sa route the previous party had taken.
He didn’t know why they’d chosen this path, but they must have had their reasons.
’Maybe this route helps them avoid the surveillance of the Frostland Druids,’ he mused.
Speaking of Druids, once Colin had gained a basic understanding of their abilities, he’d abandoned the idea of scouting for any Frostland Druids that might be tailing them. It was a nigh-impossible task.
All they had to do was transform into an eagle and watch from hundreds of ters up.
There was no way his party could ever spot them.
"Whoa, stop!" Kase yelled, pulling tight on the reins.
The sled dogs up front imdiately slowed, bringing the sled to a gradual halt.
"Ti’s up. Let’s take a break."
Kase said, then imdiately unharnessed the sled dogs. He took out so dog food—a mix of ground at and animal offal—and tossed it into the snow.
Unafraid of the cold, the sled dogs devoured the food, chewing on snow along with their al.
The sled dogs were diligent and surprisingly fast, but they needed a twenty-minute rest for every hour of work. Any more than that and they wouldn’t be able to take it.
Colin’s breath plud in the cold air as he jumped off the sled to stretch his limbs.
After feeding the dogs, Kase walked over to a large boulder by the side of the path and stopped. A handprint, pressed in red paint, marked its surface.
He took out his own food for the day, cut off a small piece, and tossed it in front of the boulder. Then, placing his hand over the print, he muttered a phrase in the Orcish tongue.
"Is that a stone to honor an ancestor?" Colin asked.
"You catch on quick. That’s exactly it. A stone like this ans an Orc Warrior perford a great deed here. A great ancestor of our tribe. I’d like to have a stone like this of my own soday."
Kase continued, "We should reach Barbarian territory today. If all goes well, we’ll find a place to rest. I don’t know about the Barbarians from the Endless Wilderness, but the ones around here are pretty friendly."
"That’ll be a new experience, then," Colin said.
Just then, Orelia walked over, her expression serious. "Mr. Colin, I sll it again. That putrid stench."
"Does that an there are Skeletons nearby?"
"Soone’s coming."
Just as they were talking, Ale, still sitting on the sled, suddenly spoke up.
The words had barely left her mouth when the sound of crunching snow echoed from all around.
Several tall figures suddenly rose from the vast expanse of snow.
They were clad in thick leather, adorned with strange bone ornants, their faces covered in bizarre paint. Before Colin’s party could react, the figures raised their Short Spears, aiming nacingly at them.
The man in the lead yelled, "You! Where from?!"
Colin quickly gestured to Ale.
’One glance and I can tell these are the so-called Barbarians,’ Colin thought. ’Kase probably knows them. Besides, they haven’t made any overtly hostile moves yet.’
Kase imdiately spoke, uttering a long string of words the others couldn’t understand.
After a brief exchange, the Barbarians’ hostility gradually subsided. But then they began to speak urgently to Kase, grabbing at him and clamoring. Kase initially shook his head, but after they spoke a bit more, he began to hesitate.
"Colin, my friend, we have a problem," Kase said, turning back. "They say so wandering Skeletons have appeared on the road to the East recently."
"Then let’s just get rid of them."
"They say there are dozens, encamped ahead like a small army," Kase said. "The tribe wants us to et their Chief to see about dealing with this problem together."
"Can we go around?"
"No, we have to pass through there."
Colin thought for a mont.
A single Skeleton was easy enough to handle, but a whole group would be a serious problem, especially since there could be special variants like Ogre Skeletons among them.
’Speaking of which, Orelia’s senses are incredibly sharp,’ he thought. ’The stench she slled back when we entered Snow Deer Valley must have been from this.’
He said, "Alright, let’s go take a look."
After Kase agreed, the Barbarians let out a cheer and led the party toward their tribe’s settlent.
The sled continued on to the foot of the World’s Roof.
Here, there was a large cave, its entrance flanked by flags and bear pelts—what looked to be so kind of tribal markings.
The party parked the sled at the entrance, and a number of fur-clad Barbarians erged from within.
"Follow ."
With that, Kase strode into the cave.
The rest of the group followed him, feeling the eyes of the Barbarians on them.
Colin observed his surroundings as he walked.
Most of the Barbarians here had blue eyes and reddish hair. So of the n were nearly two ters tall, rivaling Kase in stature.
Their skin was bronze, and their weather-beaten faces were so chapped they looked as if they were wearing strange, cracked masks.
’They look like they’re a different species from the people in the south,’ Colin thought. ’No wonder so people in Thousand Masts City call northerners ’Northies.’ The difference is plain as day.’
They didn’t have to walk far before arriving in a massive cavern.
The air was thick with the smoke of burning fat and the pungent sll of tanned leather.
A huge bonfire roared in the center of the cavern. In its light, a giant bear head painted on the far wall was clearly visible. Below the painting was a fur-covered throne, and on it sat a powerfully built man whose stature rivaled Kase’s.
He was draped in a bearskin, its head worn like a cowl. Beneath it, he wore thick furs, and his weathered face and exposed arms were covered in tattoos.
Seeing them approach, the giant’s face twitched as he cracked a terrifying smile.
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