Heavy rainfall slowed down their party longer than they could have imagined. They were making their way from a small town with no na, heading toward a large city called Yokam when the rain began.
And for the past three days, it fell relentlessly.
Ning tried teaching the soldiers when he could, but with such heavy rainfall, they simply couldn't train. Forget training—preparing food was even difficult.
There was no fire to be made, so they had to sustain themselves on dried fruits and ats. Thankfully, they were more than prepared for months of travel on the road, so they had enough.
On the fourth day of their journey, the skies finally cleared, giving way to a bright, hot sun. The day felt exceptionally sunny, making it hard for many to keep their eyes open outside.
The road was muddy and wet, so they traveled slowly.
There was just a single day left before they reached Yokam, but sothing stopped them along the way.
The carriage ca to a halt, and Ning frowned upon hearing the shouting outside.
"What is that sound?" Shara asked. It sounded like a large beast roaring in the distance. Even the carriage rumbled slightly with the noise.
"I don't know," Ning said, finally poking his head outside the carriage to see what it was. When he did, his eyes widened in stunned silence.
Just 100 ters away, where there should have been a bridge with a river flowing below it, was a roaring flood that had overtaken everything. Strong currents rushed through the river channels, splashing dirt-filled water onto the land from ti to ti.
They were not the only ones stopped by the flooded river. Other smaller carriages and carts had been halted as well.
Ning got out of the carriage, with Shara and Mari quickly following behind him. The soldiers were already outside, so Ning strode up to Matthew, who wore a troubled expression.
"This is bad," he said, looking at the flood.
"The rainfall," Ning said. That was the cause of the flood. Ning looked toward the north, where the river ca down from. The clouds were parting in that direction, too. There shouldn't have been more rain there.
"Did you guys just arrive?" an older man asked as he approached, wearing commoner's clothes. He looked sowhat worn out, as though he worked all the ti.
"Yes," Matthew replied. "How long have you been here?"
"We arrived last night," the man answered, pointing to a small wagon with a woman inside, pulled by a bull instead of a horse.
"So this flood has been going on all night? Doesn't look like it'll stop anyti soon," Matthew said.
"No, it won't stop," the man said. "Worse, the bridge is gone."
Both Matthew and Ning turned to look at the man at once. "WHAT?!"
The soldiers heard the man too and were troubled by the thought of no bridge.
"Are you sure it's not just buried underneath the water?" Ning asked. Seeing the flow, he feared the question was foolish, but he held onto hope.
"We saw it get destroyed last night," the man said. "Not just . Those other people were here when it happened too."
Ning frowned.
"Wait, so how are we supposed to cross this river?" Romus asked.
"Tell ," the man said. "You people look strong. Are you soldiers?"
"rcenaries," Romus answered.
"Oh, would you mind getting hired?" the man asked.
Ning frowned a little at the man's question. There was a flooded river before them and no hope of crossing. Even if the flood subsided, they would still be stuck here without the bridge.
"Is the river shallow by any chance when it's not flooding?" Ning asked, ignoring the old man's question.
"Shallow? Not for another month, I fear. It should stop raining in a few weeks, but while it rains, the river is too deep to cross with horses or carriages," the old man said.
"For a month?" Ning asked. "That's such a long ti. What are we supposed to do for a month?"
"What's going on? Can we not cross the river soon?" Mari asked, walking up to them. The commotion within their group was growing.
"Sir, what does one do in this situation?" Matthew asked after calming his soldiers.
"Well, normally, people just turn around and go back to where they ca from and wait until the river calms down," the old man said.
"What if we can't do that? We can't wait an entire month," Matthew said. They had been on the road for nearly three months now. If they waited a month, they would miss the small window to enter the Fool's Pass.
"Oh," the old man said, surprisingly seeming excited by their predicant. "Then would you like to get hired by ? Or rather, a few of us."
"What for?" Matthew asked.
"We're planning to go through the old fort about a day south," the old man said. "There's a large bridge there that shouldn't have been taken out. It's elevated, so it should be safe."
"Oh!" Ning said excitedly. "So we don't have to go back. Why didn't you suggest that before?"
"Well, that's because there are a lot of bandits roaming around those parts. There's an old torn-down fort there, and it's known to house many bandits, so we're scared. If we could hire you rcenaries, then maybe…"
"Are you sure there's a way through there?" Matthew asked.
"Absolutely," the old man said. "I've seen this river flood many tis. The bridge never did get destroyed before, but often went underwater. We always took the southern bridge when we could. But with the war worsening, every runaway soldier or bandit has taken refuge in the old fort. Would you guys help us get through by any chance?"
Matthew looked toward Ning. "What do you say?" he asked.
Ning looked toward the sun to check the ti and noticed that they could imdiately continue journey. So, he nodded and said, "Alright, gather everyone who wants to leave. We'll take them with us."
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