Chapter 54: A Chance Encounter (Part 2)
Just as I planned to skedaddle a bit further, someone appeared, carrying a torch and headed my way from the campfire direction.
Spring nights in Silgaya fall quickly; before you know it, dusk has arrived, the sky darkening, with the pine forest looking all foggy. The sun has dipped, and the bright moonlight spills through the gaps in the pine needles, illuminating the mist with a glimmering glow.
I intended to veer left, skedaddle out of the forest, follow the river, and head towards the campsite near the mountain’s foot, then hop up a peak for a closer look. But lo and behold, I barely made it three hundred meters before people from the camp came into view. I glimpsed the torchlight weaving through the fog about two hundred meters away, along with the faint sounds of chatter.
“What’s the deal… it’s already dark, and we have to patrol the forest…”
“Stay alert, they say there are silver wolves lurking in this pine forest… don’t let your guard down.”
“Silver wolves? Ha! When has the Second Knights Order ever been scared of those?”
“One or two aren’t scary, but they tend to show up in packs; remember why the caravan chose to go around the forest and take the long route through the rivers? Don’t you have any sense?”
…The Second Knights Order?
These aren’t merchants; these are the Second Knights! What are they doing here?
Caravan?
Are they transporting goods?
I decided to halt and raised my head, pinpointing a sturdy branch above. I jumped up “whoosh” and crouched between the forks, simultaneously pressing down my hood to hide my petite frame in the thick pine needles, straining my ears to listen closely.
“I’m not too worried about the silver wolves… they come in packs, but we aren’t on our own. If they do show up, we could use a few as practice for our knives… I remember silver wolf pelts are pretty valuable, right? Not that those guys are anything to fear… but what do you think is going on over there?”
“Who knows…”
“Aren’t we just about to go check it out?”
Looks like it’s a little patrol squad, quite a few of them, torches lined up in the forest—at least twenty troops heading toward the direction I accidentally made noise earlier, probably to see what was up.
Sure enough…
They’ve picked up something’s not right…
“Meteor? Falling star?”
“Couldn’t be…”
“Maybe it’s just some passing Pope Knight hunting for snacks…”
“Let’s hope it’s nothing dangerous…”
“Ugh… can’t we just have a peaceful night resting? The boss is really something… making us trek all the way over here to check…”
“Why worry about these trivial matters? Even if the whole forest exploded, it wouldn’t affect our deliveries. If we go check it out, who knows what trouble we could run into… we’re almost at Silent Fortress; sometimes it’s better to avoid extra issues…”
“He really loves to fret…”
“Yet it’s us doing the running…”
“And if anything happens to the cargo we’re escorting, no one’s going to take responsibility… Ugh, seriously. A few drinks and now my brain’s all foggy…”
Gradually, their chatter faded with the torchlight, disappearing into the distance.
They left…
I lingered a bit longer in the tree, gazing in the direction they had gone until the torchlight was swallowed by the fog. Then, I jumped down from the branch.
They’re headed to Silent Fortress…
And from what they said, it sounds like they’re transporting goods?
What kind of goods would need the Second Knights Order’s attention?
Could it be…
What Rect mentioned?
My mind immediately jumped to that thought, but I shook it off: if the cargo was from Woodward Forest heading to Silent Fortress, it should have come from farther north, and I’m on the castle’s southern side.
These folks, like me, are heading to Silent Fortress from somewhere down south, so it’s impossible for them to be a team coming all the way from Woodward Forest. It makes no sense to take such a long detour to get here.
But aside from that, if the Second Knights Order is involved and they need so many Church Knights for the transport, what could it be…?
I thought for a moment, deciding not to take the long way anymore, and strolled straight toward the mountain’s foot.
No matter what…
They must have salt, right?
Before long, the pine trees began to thin out around me, and peeking past a few tree trunks, I could see the foothills outside the forest. The flicker of the campfire became clearer, so I stopped, not wanting to blunder out of the forest, and scrambled up a nearby boulder. The rock was tall enough to surpass the treetops, and with its slant, I could hide myself quite well, giving me the best view nearby.
Squatting atop the rock, I peered towards the mountain’s foot, a few dozen meters away.
Oh…
That is indeed a caravan.
Ahead, at the mountain’s base, a curvy little dirt road stretched from the river on the right of the pine forest; it wasn’t narrow enough for two war chariots to pass side by side without a hitch, leading right to the back of the mountain ridge.
This is a mountain detour, and I bet following it leads straight to Silent Fortress…
On the mountain side of the path, not more than a hundred meters from me, lay a clear, flat spot where the campfire was set up. I counted seven fire pits, and quite a few people were gathered around them, wearing Church Knight armor, loud voices buzzing, as if they were drinking. Some were roasting something to eat.
On the left side of the fire, I could see at least twenty tents crammed into that little space, most were the distinct white military tents of the church, though there was one that was a dull gray, but just one.
So they’ve got merchants along, too…?
No, wait, they don’t seem like merchants.
Then I noticed a fire pit near the gray tent where five or six ragged half-grown kids gathered around, along with a woman, probably in her thirties, roasting potatoes. As I looked over, the woman was pulling blackened potatoes out of the fire with a stick, blowing on them while handing them to the eagerly watching kids.
Refugees…
That woman and the children—must be refugees from the south.
Are they traveling along with the caravan to Silent Fortress?
Ah…
Suddenly, I recalled the document about refugee resettlement I had secretly seen in Alectine City, in the Vice Captain of the Second Knights Order’s room.
Could it be that the woman and children here are the refugees meeting the criteria to be sent to Silent Fortress?
It’s likely…
They might have encountered each other on the road, and after understanding the situation, picked them up, or maybe they’ve been pre-selected somewhere; taking advantage of the knights’ escorting goods to Silent Fortress for a ride…
Under the completely dark sky, I frowned, biting my finger in thought, moving my gaze away from the refugees toward the horned horses tied outside the camp and the nearby parked wagons. There seemed to be quite a few horned horses, but only two wagons piled with some cargo boxes.
The boxes weren’t too big, and their quantity wasn’t overwhelming, covered with white cloth, but they seemed hefty.
The rain has passed, but some roads remain muddy; I noticed the wheels of both wagons sank deep into the mud, leaving clear imprints, and three horned horses were hitched to pull the wagons…
What could possibly be so heavy?
Metal…?
I mused to myself, but then realized something else.
Aside from the refugees, most of those in the caravan were Church Knights…
So can I still waltz in and casually ask them for salt?
Hmm…
I was a bit distressed, tilting my head while pondering for a bit, then I suddenly had a bright idea. My eyes lit up.
I could just sneak a little!
Wait for nightfall when they’re all tipsy and drop their guard… hmm, I reckon that could work; I’ll go scout for some dinner—salted roasted meat tonight!
Who cares…
Let’s go for it.
…Huh?
Suddenly, just as I was about to scout for someone carrying salt, I casually scanned past the refugees and the campfire, then noticed…
Hey, wait…
Did that spot… just gain an extra person?
