Winding Stream

They pushed on deep into the night; everyone was at least level 15 and could handle the rough travel as long as there were some breaks for those that were weakest physically.

Only the individuals who had the Attributes to handle the dangerous travel had elected to flee with Baron Wei Jin in the first place. The adventurer parties and trade caravan would not have accepted members who could not maintain a decent pace while crossing through the pass.

Their movement through the rough terrain was aided by several individuals, like Esteban the Aeromancer, who had Abilities or Spells that could buff stamina regeneration, movement speed, or temporarily boost certain attributes.

They couldn't boost all fifty individuals in the group, but they could buff the slowest ones; the whole group could only go as fast as the slowest person.

Despite the willingness of everyone to travel further into the night, Baron Wei Jin and Callum decided it was better to get some rest before pushing hard the next day. All of the former prisoners were suffering from the 'Mild Malnutrition' malus; others had more severe debuffs.

While some people set up a cold camp, Callum and some others went out hunting. Amarok led the small party that included Callum and Esteban; they did not want to send more than one hunting party to ensure that Esteban could hide their trail.

Thanks to Amarok's superior senses, the hunting party found and killed two deer and an elk; all three kills were secured by Amarok driving the prey back towards the rest of the party.

By the time the hunting party had returned, most everyone else was already asleep; they had eaten some of the plundered food. An individual with the Butcher Class took the kills and went to work.

The hunting party and butcher were excused from watches that night and were able to sleep the rest of the night through.

Callum woke soon after daybreak and discovered Amarok wasn't sleeping by his side. He followed their mental connection through the camp and soon spotted him curled up on top of a gnome Callum had met yesterday, Folxi Deeproot.

Satisfied that there weren't any issues, he let them be and wandered over to Baron Wei Jin's fire; multiple fires were lit when the sky started to brighten. He constantly glanced up at the sky as he walked through the camp.

A much healthier looking Baron greeted him and invited him to join the small gathering around his fire.

After exchanging pleasantries, Callum said, "I think we're going to get a winter storm today. It's going to start snowing early to late afternoon, and I think it's going to last for a while."

"That'd be the perfect time to lose our pursuers if that happens," Captain Xinyi replied.

"Sergeant, can you go find Yyvard Beito and bring him here?" Jin turned to Callum, "He's a Farmer and should be able to give us confirmation about the storm."

Callum didn't have an issue with that and patiently waited for Yyvard to join them. He no longer had his Farmer Class Abilities; his prediction relied on instinct and decades of weather watching. Yyvard could give them more accurate information.

A tall man followed Sergeant Ravi Sardar to the fire and was introduced as the promised Farmer. Yyvard listened to the question about the weather before closing his eyes in concentration.

"The temperatures will drop dramatically and it will start snowing around midafternoon. The snow will continue into the night and total snowfall should be at least one foot (30cm) my lords."

Yyvard was thanked and dismissed as the group started to discuss the changing weather and how it would impact them.

"I don't like the bit about the temperature drop, our people are already struggling with the cold as it is. We simply don't have enough cold weather gear as it is and now it's going to get even colder," Wei Jin said.

"We can lose them in the snow," countered Captain Xinyi.

Callum ignored the discussion as he tried to remember the topography of the pass and the side valley his castle was in. They had covered a lot of ground and visited multiple hilltops when they were searching for the enemy camp and avoiding the numerous patrols.

"If we turn North, we should come upon a large frozen stream a little bit before the storm starts. The stream is mostly snow free and will eventually wind its way close to our destination," Callum interjected.

As he spoke, Callum glanced around the fire to ensure everyone was following along.

"I say we walk on the frozen stream. Esteban and a small party should continue heading in the direction we're going in order to lay a false trail, before they double back and rejoin the rest of the party."

They discussed some of the details before settling on Callum's plan; they would break camp in fifteen minutes. The group broke up in order to tell their people to be ready to move out on time. Most everyone was already up and getting ready to start the day's journey.

_____

As predicted by Yyvard, the weather started to get colder as a heavy bank of grey clouds rolled in to block out the sunlight. No snow had started to fall yet, but it was clear that it was only a matter of when and not if.

When they reached the stream, most of the supplies were taken off the sleds and put upon people's backs in order to lighten the load on the sleds. Groups of people picked up each of the sleds and carried them down the winding stream.

Carrying the sleds for the first hour or two of the journey on the ice was Captain Xinyi's suggestion. By carrying the sleds, they would ensure that the metal runners did not leave any visible marks upon the snow that could give away their change in direction.

Two full parties, twelve people total, continued traveling in their original direction. This smaller party was handpicked and they moved at a much faster pace; in one hour, they covered twice as much ground as the larger group would have.

They entered a small valley that branched off the main pass and were lucky to find a windswept rocky ridge. Terrel and a Scout classed soldier carefully left some small marks on bare rocks and moved others as if someone had accidently disturbed them.

Mission completed, they quickly returned to the frozen stream. The entire way back, Esteban cleared their prints from the snow and instead left traces of magic behind; anyone who followed the magical traces to the stream would continue to follow them into the small valley.

By the time they reached the stream, visibility had dropped due to the steady snowfall. They carefully navigated the slick ice; Terrel and the Scout trailed behind everyone and fixed any damage to the ice.

Callum curiously watched as Terrel carefully grabbed some loose snow and smeared it over a tiny crack. Next, he leaned in close and melted the snow by breathing on it and smoothing the ice out; it would soon refreeze in the cold and leave no visible mark.

Callum was impressed by their level of attention to detail and complimented both of the trackers.

They continued to travel down the stream for many hours until they eventually caught up to their main force. Eventually, Callum spotted the ruined bridge, signaling that it was time to leave the frozen stream and climb up the hill to the castle.