Most woke up groggily the sa way Irene did after only a few hours of sleep, but soon they were alert at the sound of her screaming sothing so horrible.
Felix especially was shocked when he opened his eyes to blood being sprayed on his face. With that, he was up with a start.
To his horror, Irene had stabbed a dire wolf cub until it was pinned on the ground and there wasn’t an ounce of life left in the young beast. There was no choice as even the cubs started to growl. Even if they were harmless compared to their mother, it was part of the knights’ and apprentices’ job to wipe out these infesting beasts who often overhunted the forests and left nothing for the humans to survive off during the winter.
Everyone was on their feet and suddenly sharp as the thrill of fight rushed through their veins. It was part of the reason they slept in armor and with their weapons ready.
Luckily, outside of the four cubs, there were only two adult wolves since another one had appeared at the sound of action and the sll of blood. Sir Gunnar took out the first while Sir Phillip and Leif took out the last one.
Considering they were re beasts and unlikely to be bothered by necromancers, those were carcasses they simply had to toss to the side and do nothing with.
"A sha to waste the fur," Irene uttered as she dragged one of the cubs to a place outside of their camp. "It’s so fluffy this ti of year."
Sir Sven helped her with the other cub’s bodies and he chuckled lightly.
"Haven’t you had enough furs for one lifeti?" he asked.
"After paying the mage to send a letter to my mother, I am feeling light in coins," Irene admitted.
"Your father wouldn’t cover such a thing?" the knight wondered.
"Would you ask a man who only just lost his hand to cough up coins, sir?" she asked. "He was a bit volatile when he first woke up."
The knight’s shock caused him to laugh once more. The apprentices said the damnedest things sotis.
"Fair enough," the man muttered before he headed off to the camp. "Shall we build up this fire and have a proper breakfast? I’ve brought grain for porridge. Do you still have fruit, Sir Gunnar?"
"Yes," Gunnar responded. "Dried grapes."
It felt strange to wake up like that just after midday and it ant they were going to have a long day ahead of them since they would have to wait for the following morning to rest once again. However, waking up to the brightest ti of day was invigorating enough to keep them moving.
Once the fire from the night before was built back up and they were finishing their breakfast, it was ti to pack up and move even higher on the mountain. Their aim was the summit where snow had settled at the highest point.
On the back side of the summit, there was a plateau that looked over the far north that was undoubtedly covered in snow as it was for most of the year. It was the very land that Irene’s family once ca from. They would be able to see the sea from that point and she promised her father she would look for it once they were up there after he told her what it ant to their family.
However, before they could make it all the way there, there was much more to discover throughout the mountain.
The travelers soon ca upon a split in the trail and Gunnar turned to the group.
"It’s about ti we split up," he explained. "This last stretch is by far the shortest and we’re unlikely to see goblins this high, but there will be cave systems to collapse to ensure they never beco a safe place for goblins to hide. Go off in whichever direction you feel. We will see each other in only a few hours."
Everyone sort of gravitated in different directions all on their own. With Leif, Sir Phillip, and Sir Sven going one way while Sir Gunnar, Irene, and Felix took to the other way, the path forward got even more difficult and it was the highest incline they had faced so far.
On their hands and knees they climbed as the sun sank over the horizon. While they were good to travel the night before, they found that particular night to be a bit precarious since more clouds had settled in and the highest part of the summit was completely hidden.
Occasionally, Irene would turn and look at where they had co from. It was the highest she had ever been in her life and it felt like she could see Polona on the other side of the kingdom from where she stood.
"It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?" Sir Gunnar asked from where he had gotten to a flat point.
He couldn’t help but notice that Irene was distracted in her path forward. It caused Felix to stop and look for himself even though it wasn’t the first ti he had been up there.
It begged the question of how sothing so beautiful from far away could be ugly up close. Everything that had ever hurt them was from that valley they called ho. It made them feel as if they weren’t on a monster culling trip at all.
Irene eventually turned back ahead and she got to where Sir Gunnar was waiting, closely followed by Felix.
The path ahead curved in a different direction and there was little ti for a break before they had to keep moving.
Since they didn’t make it as far as they were the prior year, they were having to fill in caves that could possibly house goblins. They had brought tools with them that were suitable for crushing rocks. It made their packs heavier but it seed worth it in the long run.
Satisfied with the state of one of the caves, they continued for a while longer, but Sir Gunnar stopped abruptly.
The worn path ahead was covered because of a collapse. It would make traveling over it a bit precarious. Considering how steep and thin the trail was, there was no other option but to continue on that path
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