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[color=6ecff6]“It’s not overwork, it’s normal work!”[/color] was Katya’s response, before she was unceremoniously dumped into the wagon. Geez, just because Ettamri was a warrior didn’t mean that she needed to show off THAT much. Priests were strong, after all. With their smashing staff work, they were the ones that protected the weenie mages when no one else could. Pouting, she crossed her arms, sat on a bag, and simmered…at least until Oscar showed weakness. The smugness in her smile could practically be cut with a knife as Katya said, brimming with triumph and definitely directing a few smirks Ettamri’s direction, [color=6ecff6]“Gee, aren’t rangers supposed to be tougher than priests? My, my, no helping it, I’ll lend you my strength, Ranger-man!”[/color]

With that, she quickly and steadily got to work lifting with Oscar. Though their efficiency was obviously due to the larger man’s physical strength, Katya’s form was, without having to overtly strain herself, fairly good. Days of running up and down the stairs leading up to the church, especially in such slippery conditions, had given her quite a solid core, and once the group got a good pace going, the wagon was filled up fairly quickly. After all, with two and a half meatheads, fifty bags of grain was child’s play. The wood groaned under the weight of it all, but seemed sturdy enough, and soon after, Renault lashed it down with tarp and rope…only for Oscar to swoop in and correct the mage’s poorly-done knots.

By then, Ettamri had finished with her evaluation of the work horses left in the stables, and came to one conclusion: they were equally substandard, and made her wish her old steed hadn’t turned into a skeleton. Still, life on the frontier wasn’t meant to be luxurious at all, and there was nothing to it but to make do with what they had. Dragging a dappled horse and a chestnut horse with her, the flame-haired warrior secured both to the wagons and off the party went.

Onward into the white unknown, the endless expanse.

…

Who needed a map anyways?

No one, not when Ettamri had the distinction of actually being one of the people in Andeave who had travelled to Fort Stalwart on foot. Never mind that heavy snow had blanketed much of the landmarks she could have used, while the constantly gray skies obscured the mountains in the distance, or that travelling on foot opened up far more options than travelling with a wagon could afford. After all, surely Oscar could handle it, being a ranger who was an expert at travelling in the wilderness, and navigating rough terrains with his great experience…even though he had never gone as far as this journey would require.

But it would be fine. They had Katya, the bestest priestest, who was currently sitting on the back of the wagon and half-singing, half-humming a song that had no end because she only knew how to endlessly loop the chorus part.

Despite all this though, the first leg of the journey was largely pleasant, the main road still well-marked by footmarks, easy enough to follow. Monsters usually roamed within the forests, the denser vegetation serving as shelter from the worst of the cold while also setting up ambushes for prey, animal or human. On the open snowfields, the party remained relatively unmolested, the pale winterscape spreading out wide enough to swallow them whole. To their right side was the treeline that lead to the forest. Pine trees prevented it from being a total skeleton forest, but it certainly looked dense, and prior experience with monster hunting was enough to remind them all of how uneven the land was there, tree roots popping up all over the place. To their left were the now frozen swamplands and meadows. Though occasionally giant toads would have popped up to terrorize the grazing fields, it was truly winter now; the ice-cold winds that whipped through the place was sufficient to drive lesser creatures into hibernation. Safer prospects, but there was the constant possibility of the ground suddenly giving way too, feet or wagon wheels sinking into cold mud.

Then again, soon enough, even their forward path would be troubled. As the sounds of the river drew closer, the more far-travelling members of the party would definitely recall the fairly wide watercourse that sliced the main road right in half. Approaching closer, it was clear that the cold weather hadn’t been able to freeze the river right over, while the simple log bridge that some would recall had bridged the expanse a week or so ago was now gone, an indent in the snow being the only sign that it was once there.

Etono’s party made regular deliveries to Fort Stalwart. Perhaps there was another bridge they could use, either in the swamplands or the forest? Or maybe these waters weren’t so deep as to be uncrossable on wagon and horse?

Well, there was one thing that was certain.

At 30 meters wide, certainly none of them were [i]jumping[/i] across.

[i]Or was that a challenge?[/i]