Under the Oak Tree

278 Chapter “We will make camp here for the night.”

As soon as the words were out of the Temple Knight’s mouth, Ruth leaped off Riftan’s steed. Sidina chortled, evidently finding the sight comical. Maxi, on the other hand, did not feel amused at all. After sullenly staring at the back of Riftan’s head, she climbed down from Rem and surveyed the ravine.

The rock walls on either side arched inward as they rose, almost obscuring the sky completely. The narrow passageway leading out blocked the violent gusts raging outside. Though it felt cramped for a party of nearly two hundred people, the fact that it sheltered them from the wind and snow was enough to make it a lavish sanctuary.

“Maximilian, can you check for monsters hibernating underground?” Anton yelled as he helped Calto dismount.

She sensed Riftan turning to look at her. Pleased by his disgruntled expression, she made a point of ignoring him and nodded happily.

“Yes.”

“I’ll help,” Armin said, hopping down from his horse.

While the pair scouted the ravine with tracing magic, the knights and the other mages began setting up camp.

Maxi extended her mana web as wide as possible and did not rest until she had scoured deep into the earth. By the time she sat down to rest by the campfire, her hands felt frozen solid. She was holding them up to the flames to thaw them when Sidina, who was on dinner duty that night, shoved a large bowl of stew in front of her.

“Here, this is for Sir Riftan.”

Maxi instinctively accepted the bowl and was about to take it to him when she came to a halt. Why bother with someone who had chosen a prickly nettle of a man as his riding partner over her?

Returning the bowl, Maxi grumbled, “W-Why are you giving me his ration?”

“Why? Because you always take his food to him.”

“Well, not anymore,” Maxi replied, raising her voice loud enough for Riftan to hear. She pretended to poke the fire with a twig.

Rolling her eyes, Sidina shrugged and called for Ulyseon, who was securing a tent to the ground. She handed the bowl to the young knight, who promptly rushed off to deliver it.

Maxi watched Riftan out of the corner of her eye. He accepted the bowl, his face impassive, and settled near his tent. The sight quelled her boiling anger, and a strange sense of sadness took its place.

Once upon a time, he would have been beside himself trying to appease her. Maxi’s throat tightened as she recalled his tortured face after a few days of her refusing to look at him. Perhaps too much had changed in three years. She stared forlornly into the crackling fire for a while before fetching her supper and shoveling it down by the spoonful.

From that day on, Maxi stopped trying to close the distance between them. She did not wish to pine after someone who made it abundantly clear he did not want her company. On the odd occasion they ended up interacting, she could see him forcing his replies. It was so painful to watch that she endeavored to keep out of his way as much as possible.

Noticing the change in her, Hebaron quietly approached and said teasingly, “My lady, have you given up chasing around the commander like a duckling?”

At Maxi’s glare, Hebaron theatrically hunched his shoulders and pretended to be intimidated.

“My word, it seems you’re livid with him this time.”

“Sir Hebaron… You seem to be finding this situation incredibly amusing.”

The knight’s grin waned slightly at Maxi’s barbed tone. Scratching the back of his head, he said sheepishly, “It was not my intention to tease, my lady. I genuinely wish for the two of you to—”

“How much longer do we have to go?”

Riftan’s sharp voice cut through whatever Hebaron had been about to say. Looking ahead, Maxi spotted the back of his head, which rose above the group of knights. Though he was some distance away from the Temple Knight commander, she could tell he was angrier than a wild dog stung by a bee.

“We’re nearly out of firewood and food,” said Riftan, his icy voice echoing around the ravine. “We’ll be stranded out here if the snow gets heavier.”

“We are nearly there,” Kuahel said, sounding annoyed. “We should be at the Plateau before the day is out.”

Hebaron heaved a sigh as he watched them. “I fear swords will be drawn if this continues. Our commander has been more irritable than usual lately.”

He gave Maxi a meaningful look as if to blame Riftan’s ill humor on her.

She could not help the doubt creeping onto her face as she replied, “He must be on edge… because the path is becoming more perilous.”

Riftan was not the only one in less than high spirits. After an all-day trek through the winding ravine, a rocky mountain path covered in sleet had awaited them on the other side. Following the Temple Knights’ lead, the expeditionary party had climbed the steep slopes while navigating the wagons through the uneven terrain. It was no surprise that the mages were visibly worn out.

To make matters worse, they had been forced to use firewood to melt snow so they could water the horses, burning through their supply much faster. Since food and firewood would be difficult to come by at the Pamela Plateau, the mages and the knights were becoming increasingly concerned over their dwindling supplies. Hence Riftan’s displeasure was understandable.

“I do not wish to trouble him further…” she said listlessly, “when I’m the reason he joined this grueling expedition in the first place. And… I’d rather not cause another scene.”

Hebaron opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself. Maxi pulled her hood down and urged Rem forward.

The sky was overcast, and snowflakes mingled with the wind. Another heavy snowfall was on the cards. After gazing up in dismay, Maxi swept her eyes across the steep mountain slopes — which looked as if they had been chiseled into formation — the bottomless ravines, and the snowy summits.

Gauging distances within the fog that carpeted the mountainside proved incredibly challenging. Some summits, seemingly far away at first, turned out to be much closer, while others were further than they appeared. It felt as if they were lost in a vast maze of snow, ice, and rock.

After riding for some time, Kuahel stopped at the edge of a steep valley. “We must descend here.”

Maxi’s eyes widened as she peered over. Though thick fog obscured the base of the valley, she could tell it was a long way down. How were they supposed to descend such a sheer slope? She was turning to the Temple Knight commander in apprehension when she heard Riftan’s incensed voice.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“We could circle the mountain, but that would take fifteen extra days. This is the fastest route,” Kuahel replied irritably, then turned his head to the mages. “Can you lower the wagons with magic?”

“That won’t be too difficult, but if we were to be attacked by monsters on our way down…”

“You can scout the area with magic and take your time with the descent. The Temple Knights will make sure the way ahead is clear first.”

Calto scanned the faces of the other mages with a hesitant expression before nodding. “Very well. We shall lower you and your men now.”

“No, we can get down on our own. We will await you at the bottom, so lower the wagons to where the lights are.”

Maxi stifled a shriek as Kuahel Leon launched down the slope that was not much different than a cliff. The Temple Knights galloped into the shrouded valley after him. Her jaw dropped of its own accord at their unfathomable riding skills.

“It’s nothing the Remdragon Knights can’t do, my lady,” Ulyseon grumbled.

When the young knight rode closer to the edge to prove his assertion, Riftan promptly stopped him.

“The mages will go first. We will descend once everyone else has reached the bottom.” He then turned to Ruth, who was riding with Garrow, and barked, “You will go down with the mages.”

“Why would they need another when there are nineteen of—”

Riftan’s frightening glare cut short Ruth’s complaint. Sighing, the sorcerer slid off Garrow’s horse.

The mages began lowering the wagons when the Temple Knights’ fires flared to life at the bottom of the valley. Levitation was a simple spell, but they were forced to use more mana than normally required because of the scarcity in the area. The mages took turns in an effort to conserve their energy.

When all of the horses and wagons were safely at the bottom, the mages descended the valley in groups of four. Maxi ended up in Lucain, Kiel, and Ruth’s group. Just as she was about to set off, someone grabbed her shoulder. She looked up to find Riftan bending over on Talon.

“You will go down with me,” he said woodenly as though commanding a subordinate.

Maxi blinked. Why would he ask her to ride with him after barely acknowledging her presence for days? A hint of nervousness rose on his face when she only stared back wordlessly.

“What are you waiting for? Get on.”

...

His grip on her shoulder tightened. She frowned, too upset with him to readily accept his offer. Taking a leaf out of his book, she gently pushed his hand away and kept her tone somewhat cordial.

“Th-Thank you, but I shall have to refuse. I can… make my own way.”

Riftan stiffened ever so slightly. For a brief moment, she regretted rejecting him. She slid on a mask of indifference and turned away. Soon after, she climbed down the valley with the other mages. Even though Lucain summoned a ball of fire to light their path, it was still not enough to pierce through the haze. Maxi began to feel a creeping fear as the fog thickened to the point where they could not see their own hands in front of their faces.

Again, regret at not taking the ride with Riftan pricked at her, but she quickly pushed it from her mind. She slowly picked her way down, trying her best not to slip.

At long last, her foot touched the bottom. Her whole body felt tense from the nerve-racking descent, and she sank to the ground in exhaustion. When she finally looked up after catching her breath, she saw Kuahel Leon mounted on his chestnut horse, a blue flame burning in his hand. He regarded her briefly before returning his gaze to the valley.

After confirming that all the mages had reached the bottom, the Remdragon Knights began their descent. Despite being at a safe distance from the landing spot, the mages still leaped back in fright. The sight of dozens of knights galloping down the slope at an earth-rumbling speed was frightening to behold. They rode down in five to six successions of twenty men, and Riftan was the last to charge through the fog.

He looked around to make sure everyone was whole, then asked, “Where to now?”

Kuahel pointed up ahead. “We’ve arrived.”

Maxi squinted, but she could only vaguely make out gray boulders and sheer walls through the fog. Where were the ruins? Suspicion began to creep in. The Temple Knights stepped forward one by one and started lighting fires around the valley floor. Eventually, the flames revealed the hazy outline of a disintegrated stone structure.

A pillar carved from stone lay on the ground, bricks scattered around it. Calto walked over to the rubble to study it closer.

“Are these… the ruins left by the dark mages?”

...

“Part of them,” Kuahel replied calmly before spurring his horse forward.

For a moment, Maxi was struck dumb. The Temple Knights’ flickering lights revealed dozens of white stone buildings around a large reservoir that glistened like jade.

She was taking in the unexpected magnitude of the ruins when Riftan dismounted. He crouched down on one knee in front of the reservoir. Removing his glove, he dipped his hand into the water.

“It’s a hot spring.”

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