Heading Into The Mountains

Screams and the sounds of battle rang out from the northern forests of Chinebar. The True Order launched a widespread pursuit to hunt down the fleeing civilians. Greedy merchants who plundered Forest Waypoint before they left were the first to be hunted down.

They were quickly apprehended before they could destroy their stocks and flee. Larger groups were forced to split up to avoid the aerial pursuers. Those captured were either captured or killed on the spot if they resisted.

Chris led Daren, Jacki and Aayla north towards the Glacier Mountains. They didn't dare continue towards the east. Corrine was still alive, and could have passed on the students' plans to the enemy. The Glacier Mountains teemed with magical beasts, just like the Ural Bay.

However, they didn't need a boat and the True Order probably wouldn't expect them to flee there. Barely resting, they sped away from the chaos. They didn't know how Corrine blew their cover. If the True Order was still tracking them, then they needed to move fast.

They began to run into others fleeing from the war. Sometimes they would just pass on a warning before continuing onwards. Not everyone wanted to flee as far as they did, or believed that the True Order would bother to hunt down the non-wizard civilians that they looked down on so much.

Their group slowly grew larger as they joined others for safety. A few other students had joined them, but most were civilians from Forest Waypoint. Some police officers and mercenaries that had led the larger groups took charge over everything.

These leaders didn't hesitate at all when the students told them that the True Order had launched a massive search for civilians. In their line of work, conflict with True Order agents wasn't uncommon. If anything, the True Order search had started earlier than they predicted.

Several days of hard riding later, they finally arrived at the foothills of the Glacier Mountains. The frosty peaks towered over the lands below. Clouds obscured the highest reaches of the mountains, but the people below could already hear the magical beasts prowling around the evergreen forests.

After setting up camp, more refugees flowed in by the day. There were very few ways to pass through the Glacier Mountains. Many joined the stream of people fleeing towards the mountains out of panic or little other choice. Even other villages decided to evacuate after seeing the hordes of people running away.

Security slowly deteriorated. People had fled from their homes with just a couple of bags and the clothes on their backs. Summer was coming, but that wouldn't make survival any easier on the mountains. Thefts, muggings and fights became common.

Old leaders tried to keep order, while new leaders rose to claim power. The Nafriton students stayed together. They built their own tiny camp near the other main camps. As the number of refugees grew, their space became more cramped.

Many with ulterior motives began to eye their tents and horses. The students replaced their tents with huts made out of earth and tree branches. They built walls to hide their horses and set up barriers to prevent any neighs from leaking out.

The malevolent gazes eventually looked elsewhere, but many were reluctant to stay. The camp grew larger by the day, and the roads were noisy and crowded with fleeing people. The True Order was bound to take notice sooner or later.

They weren't the only ones who wanted to leave. The mercenary groups, the smarter leaders and the larger merchant groups realized that they had to cross the Glacier Mountains at some point. The mountains would prevent a large army from crossing and give them a better chance at freedom.

Right now, the camp was a dirty, unruly flock of sitting ducks. The nearby animals had been hunted to extinction. Waterways became dirty and wells were fiercely fought over. Trash littered every corner of the camp. Diseases had begun to spread due to the lack of sanitation.

A public meeting was held between the various leaders of the camp. The various crises of the camp had to be resolved somehow. Chris snuck out of the Nafriton camp to join in. Hours passed before he returned. The door was firmly shut behind him after he entered.

"Well? What happened?"

"How are they going to handle security?"

"Are the merchants finally going to start selling off their grain and meat reserves?"

"For reasonable prices. I saw some selling food, but the prices were insane."

Chris held up his hand to stop the deluge of questions.

"The public meeting didn't go so well. There was too much infighting. Nothing was decided about handling the water and food supplies or keeping this place clean. The entire camp has basically been divided up. The leaders of each section will determine the laws."

"We have one big problem though. A couple of the shadier mercenary groups have teamed up with the gangs. Right now, they're in control of our section, and are planning to reorganize everything. Forced recruitments and residence fees start tomorrow."

One of the fourth-years spoke up. "What do you mean by forced recruitments?"

"The leaders agreed on two new rules. The first was that each group agreed on was requiring a tax or toll to stay here, as well as physical labor to support the camp based on each person's abilities."

"Could we move to another section?"

"No. The second rule was that inhabitants stay in their own sections. Even if we leave camp then come back, we have to live in our original section. The groups are wary of spies and losing talents. Residents can move around sections for business reasons, but they must work and live in their own section."

"Then maybe we should just leave? It's getting way too crowded and dangerous here anyways. Dealing with the magic beasts would be better than the schemers and backstabbers here."

Chris nodded. "I thought the same way. So, I went to a secret meeting with some groups who want to leave. A couple of trustworthy mercenary groups are leading an expedition across the mountains. There is a price, but as Nafriton students we can offer our skills. Start packing. We're moving out tonight."

Late that night, several factions began to make their moves. Some fled the camp, while others gathered their forces to take it over. The Nafriton students snuck themselves and their horses out of camp. They just packed up their stuff and left.

They met up with a crowd of merchants, mercenaries and refugees about a mile from the main camp. Aayla looked around to see their new travel companions. Everyone was calm, wary and ready to leave at first light. No one was shiftily eyeing others' things or causing a ruckus.

The mercenaries leading the expedition were the Brass Shield Mercenary Group and the Crimson Bulls. The Brass Shields operated out of Forest Waypoint for decades and had an excellent reputation as a defense specialized group. They had hundreds of members spread out across northern Chinebar.

The Crimson Bulls were a fairly young and ambitious group, but their leader had a decent head on his shoulders. Compared to other mercenary groups, they were medium sized but had stronger than average members.

With their reputations and skills, the mercenary groups could easily keep the expedition safe and in line. They had carefully screened the people in the camp to extend invitations to other groups. Their members were gathering normal citizens who wanted to leave at that very moment.

As soon as the remaining mercenaries returned, the expedition would leave. Not all of the civilians could travel with the group. However, they would take as many as they could support. Larger groups would scare off the weaker magical beasts, even if many weren't capable fighters.

The remaining members returned just before dawn, with a group of malicious eyes following them. The expedition rode away with the fastest speed from the camp. Hopefully, the other factions would be too busy taking over the emptied parts of camp to bother with them.

However, the leaders didn't want to take that chance and left with their alert fully raised. After a few hours, no one followed behind them. The expedition slowed down to a more reasonable pace. The long journey through the mountains had begun.

The foothills slowly rose into towering mountain peaks. Snow drifts rose from a few centimeters to several meters. As the name suggested, the Glacier Mountains were once covered in enormous glaciers. Only a few still remained, but the ones that retreated cut deep valleys into the earth.

The icy mana still remained embedded in the mountains. There was never a day when snow didn't cover the mountain range. Magical beasts grew up to be ferocious and perfectly adapted to the snow. The farther inside in the mountain range, the fiercer and more desperate the magical beasts.

As the days passed, magical beast attacks became more frequent. The expedition didn't let any go. They would take all of the free food that they could get. The group rarely slowed down for more than a few hours.

They had to ascend the south side and cross the mountain pass before any of the stronger magical beasts decided to have a human meal.