Toll

Alf saw that Ki seemed to be ready to go now that she had learned the basics of the northern influences so he spoke again. "Our journey will be short to reach the border from here especially now that we all have a form of transportation. I just ask that you stay within the group and do not attract any attention to yourself. Keep your hood up and lower your head when passing through the border area and fortress to avoid revealing your face."

Ki nodded. "I understand, then for now we will just act as guards within your group."

Even if she did bind her chest and wear thick clothing to keep her figure hidden and a hood to hide her face there would be times when one glance from someone could cause a calm and peaceful situation to turn bad.

Whether it was herself who had her own kind of charms or Lumi who held most of the northerners traits but was very beautiful or Rayleigh who later grew up to become the snow fairy each of them had their own beauty that would make those of the opposite gender wish to own them and those of the same gender have a feeling of inferiority or jealousy.

While passing through the northern warlord sects fortress they all must carefully hide their appearance and stay within the group as instructed to avoid any conflicts taking place and having to defend themselves.

It's not that Ki did not fear them but once the subordinates of the sect begin to suffer losses then they would send out their more powerful warriors or most of their people to overwhelm the group.

If there were too many too fight off she would have a hard time keeping the others alive and if they send out their unrestrained realm martial artists then she would have no choice but to run away or find a way to overcome the odds but she may end up seriously injured if attacked by many above her current realm.

Besides it wasn't in her best interests to provoke the northern influences when she came to establish connections and trade.

Ki got back onto the sled and once again said. "Hike!"

The three sleds followed behind several sleighs and mounted guards belonging to the mercenaries of the group.

Soon the group arrived at the the border and not much time had passed in order for them to exit the forest area and arrive at the icy walls that separated the north from the central lands.

After arriving at the main gate Ki could tell that it had been long abandoned and no one bothered to maintain or watch over the entrance anymore for years.

Ever since the unorthodox sect entered through the gate and overwhelmed those originally stationed there, they quickly made their move and attacked the divine ice sect from behind.

The gates and the passage leading to the sects grounds had long been abandoned and left undefended so that anyone could pass through.

After passing through the gate the group found themselves walking down the path while the steep mountain walls were at both sides and kept them from venturing onto another path.

They had no choice but to continue forward until they reached the tall walls of the fortress that had previously been breached and now was rebuilt crudely.

The fortress was built as the walls were a circular shape going around the sect grounds and on the outside there were two roads leading towards the small pathways around left and right side of the sect.

Upon reaching the path up ahead was a smaller wall than the fortress along with a gate which was manned by a couple of people.

Ki and the snowflake group took the right path so they had the sect walls to their left and the steep mountain walls to their right.

As they approached the walls a man lazily looked down and yawned then began to scan through the people at the gate.

He turned to one of the people by him who dressed in thick clothing and metallic armor who carried a long pike in his hands. "Go check them."

The man looked a little battle hardened and had a bloodthirsty look in his eyes but as he received his orders from someone higher rank than him he became subservient. "Yes. Right away."

Ever since the Northern warlord sect took over the fortress they put some of their less useful members on the gates outside of the fortress.

There was two ways to get through the border, one was to pass through the sects fortress directly or the other was to go around either side and pass through the outer gates however ever since they took over they rarely opened the fortresses gates unless it was for their allies.

As for the other gates they sent several men to watch over them and switch during shifts in order to exploit the travellers or merchants passing through.

The man climbed down from the wall and slowly made his way towards Alf who had taken the lead in approaching him. "Your purpose for passing through?"

Alf took out a signed and stamped document and showed it to him. "Here is my merchant pass and documentation issued by slate city."

The man could not make out the words but recognised the stamp and insignia of the merchant group and the city so he nodded. "You should know our rules. Anything you are transporting through must have some of it given at the gate in order for you to pass through safely. After all you would not want any trouble.."

Alf calmly read the man's emotions and recognised that this type of man may be difficult to deal with so he did not wish to act out of line or give him any excuses. "Yes, right away."

He came back with a bag full of food, drink and other supplies and passed it over to the man without delay as if he had prepared it beforehand.

The man inspected everything and then looked pleased with what he had gained but a subtle glint of greed appeared in his eyes. "It's good… but.."

Among the group he had noticed the three people within them that had not seemed to of contributed towards the passing fee.

Most of the goods that were contributed mainly came from the sleighs but the three people on the dog sleds seemed to have something covered up within their sled.

The man's predatory eyes locked onto the sleds and the three people and then spoke. "I believe you are still short.. you must be hiding something within those sleds over there from us."

A hint of panic flashed in Alf's eyes for a second as he saw the man's intentions. "We don't want to make any trouble. These people are just new people that we were tasked with escorting to slate city and they are new to the rules so I hope you do not misunderstand."

It was obvious that the man was making trouble and wishing to receive more benefits but those on the walls still held power and authority over those who wished to pass through.

If those passing through refused to pay the toll for passing through then they would be directly challenging the authority of the sect who now has control of the fortress.

If their prestige was damaged and they let others know that they were lenient on any person passing through then others would think they were pushovers.

At the same time their lesser members had the backing of the sect and the fortress so could do many things behind the scenes to satisfy their own desires or whims.