Chapter 29. In the Open
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This hike was much different compared to their escape from Mountain View. Their backpacks were filled to the brim with useful tools, gadgets, food for Lila, and batteries for Aira. It wasn't that Lila prepared for their escape poorly, she packed enough stuff for them to survive in the forest and get to the ancient facility. But they weren't offered much time to prepare for their flight.

Once again, Aira could only admire the ingenuity of the humans of this world. They had to find so many solutions for problems that were so easily solved with magic in her past life. Even now, when she didn't have to rely on food to replenish her energy reserves, she enjoyed all the small tools and contraptions that made hiking so much easier. Even things like collapsible tents that weighed almost nothing or those magically warm sleeping bags they borrowed from the ancient facility's warehouses.

It was two days since Aira and Lila left their temporary home. They crossed the ridge, and a vast valley opened before their eyes on the other side. They could see an unexplored area mostly covered with forests and a large river that cut through the woodland before they began their descent.

Now, according to Lila's calculations, they covered almost half of the way to that river.

"By the Elders' breath, how do you not know how to read the stars?" Lila said, shaking her head. "Don't tell me you didn't have moons or a sun back in your world!"

"Truly, I never needed anything like that," answered Aira. "I either used a skill, or quests helped me to find my destination. And we have only one moon in my world. Not that it changes anything."

"One moon?" Lila repeated, her brows shooting up. "Well, root me sideways, that's strange. Anyway, we're shadowfooting it northeast. The city's somewhere on the other side of this valley. But we've got that big river waiting to bite us in the bramble first."

"Do the old maps offer any crossings?" asked Aira.

"They do," Lila replied. "But I didn't catch sight of any bridges from up there. By the roots, it's still early enough in spring that the ice might hold, but this river could be colder than cliff shade and twice as treacherous when it warms up."

 

***

 

Aira stood by her vow to keep probing their surroundings with her Energy Manipulation skill as often as possible while not draining her reserves. Still, while she was able to ensure that there were no humans in their vicinity, it was hard to focus on any specific energy signatures. The forest was teaming with animals of all sizes. When Aira tried to force her probing powers, it felt like she was staring into a bright fire without blinking.

At the same time, if she didn't try to focus too much and blanketed a wider area with her senses, Aira could find congregations of energy patterns of some distinct types. Most probably, those were human villages and towns spread all over this area.

Following the animal trails and avoiding human signatures as much as possible, the two women started traversing the valley. Nature was slowly returning from its slumber like a warrior who had received an almost deadly wound during a fight but still survived and was ready to return to their training habits. The air was filled with the mixed scent of the last decaying foliage from the previous year and fresh sprouts of the new year's plants.

The trees were almost ready to sprout, with a hint of damp bark and the faint promise of budding greenery mingling with the lingering coolness of winter. It was almost possible to forget the gruesome events of the past few days and the sadness of leaving what became their home. Still, there was some snow in places, and small ponds they found on their way were covered with ice, giving Aira and Lila hope for a safe crossing of the grand river ahead.

Avoiding humans was a strange quest both for Aira and Lila. One always preferred a direct confrontation to any other way of handling problems, and the other was still conflicted by her break-out with human society. Still, one thing was undeniable: avoiding other people was safer for them. At least for now.

While their route toward the grand river was a bit more circuitous than they'd prefer, one day later, they came out of the woods to the shores of the stream they saw from the top of the ridge.

Nature continued to wake up from winter, and small streams of meltwater ran toward the river, with every passing minute eating away the ice near the shores. Birds were cheerfully chirping, welcoming the warmer weather. Still, the ice cover on the surface of the water seemed intact. Hopefully, that feeling would prove to be correct during the crossing.

There was another risk in crossing the river, its vast surface and whiteness made anyone who ventured forward visible from afar. And Lila's information about the neighboring settlements didn't go as far as this valley. They could face anything here, from help to open aggression.

Nevertheless, they didn't have much choice but to continue their journey. The unidentified energy signature Aira, suspected to be an undead, had reached the river a while ago and crossed to the forests on the other side to continue their movement. It was increasingly more evident that they had the same destination in mind, the ancient city from Lila's stories.

Cautiously testing the edges, Aira and Lila stepped on the ice. It crackled softly under their feet, the soft popping spreading and echoing in all directions. But for now, there was no one in the vicinity who could pose any danger to the pair crossing the river.

"Spirits in the shadows, this thing is huge!" Lila exclaimed, staring at the river. "I don't think I've ever seen one this wide before."

"How long would it take to cross it? What's your estimate?" asked Aira.

"Twenty minutes? Maybe more if the ice gets squirrelly. It seems solid now, but let's not stick around to find out otherwise. Shadowfoot it, and let's make this quick. Do you feel any humans sniffing around nearby?"

"Nothing too close to us," said Aira. "But there are humans around us. And our mysterious friend is approximately a day ahead of us. He moves faster than you. And that only confirms to me that he has magic."

"Alrighty, let's move it!" said Lila and confidently began to move away from the shore.

 

***

 

Almost as expected, it took a bit less than twenty minutes to get to the middle of the river. Crossing the ice surface appeared more treacherous than trekking on land. Thick layers of snow covered ice pilings and cracks. Aira and Lila often had to step cautiously, slowing their movement down.

The ice shield of the river continued to make echoing crackling sounds, reacting to the pressure put on it by the two women.

"Somebody is moving in our direction on the opposite shore," said Aira as they started getting closer. "And they are moving fast. They aren't moving on foot."

"Riding, maybe?" Lila guessed, narrowing her eyes. "Or using some kind of vehicle? We've got a few of those back in Mountain View, but we weren't fancy enough to get them on patrol."

"It's hard to say yet," said Aira. "I don't have any reference points. But the overall energy signature is too massive for a human."

"Looks like we're stuck in sap," muttered Lila. "Let's keep moving and see how the leaves fall when we get there."

Soon, they heard the sound of a two-wheel vehicle rushing along the river's shore. A lone person sat in the saddle.

"Should I do anything about it?" asked Aira. "I can reach out and incapacitate that person."

"By the roots, don't you dare," Lila warned, her voice low. "Let's try keeping this as smooth as a valley stream for now."

"Alright," said Aira. "But let's be ready."

The person continued riding toward the point where Aira and Lila planned to get onshore. As soon as they reached the spot, the figure stopped and dismounted.

It was hard to see in detail from that distance, but it looked like the newcomer slowly approached the shore.

A few seconds later, Aira and Lila heard a shout coming through:

"It ... the terri... ry of the ... clan! You ... not a... d en... r! ... y onl... permit... of ... lea... clan!"

"Can you understand what they are shouting at us?" asked Aira.

"All I caught was 'clan,' 'not,' and 'permit,' nothing more," said Lila. "By the bark, though, they don't sound too thrilled we're here."

"Well, as you said," said Aira. "It's not like we have any options. Let's move and hope we'll be able to deal with this person when we get to the shore."

They waved to the person on the shore and continued their crossing at a bit faster pace as if nothing had happened. Now that they were confronted by an unknown ranger or whoever that was, the last superficial shreds of safety were lost.

The human, and after it dismounted, the energy signature definitely marked the person as a human to Aira, shouted something else, and then started moving erratically right at the edge of the ice. But again, it was hard to see what the human was doing there.

Moments later, however, they felt a crackling sound reaching them through the ice. A second passed, and a muffled sound reached them through the air: "Thump!"

And then even more: "Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Before Lila could say anything, Aira focused her Energy Manipulation skill on the person hammering the ice and sent a powerful arcane pulse toward them.

Even from this distance, they saw the figure start slowly folding on the shore. But before it was down, another "Thump!" rang through the ice. And right after that, a series of much louder crackling sounds echoed through the surface. A first crack began spreading almost at the speed of sound from the shore in the direction of the two people crossing the river.

"Fast! Let's move aside from the crack!" shouted Aira. "It's going to break!"

They ran diagonally, trying at the same time to move away from the crack and inching closer to the shore.

The sounds of cracking ice were becoming deafening. But even more disturbing was that the cracks began to spread in all directions, sprouting away from the initial fault line.

In a few places, there were so many cracks already that whole segments of ice were becoming separated, shifted by the river's flow.

Aira and Lila continued running. Slowly getting closer and closer to the shore. The ice continued cracking and moving, but it all seemed to happen to the side of them.

They covered almost half of the remaining distance, and Aira felt a renewed hope they would get out of this mess dry and safe when another series of loud cracks sounded near them. Ice under Lila's gave way, and the human went under it momentarily.

"Lila!" shouted Aira, desperately trying to catch Lila's hand at the last moment. But the green-haired woman was taken by the stream so fast that it would have been impossible to grasp her even with the boosts Aira could buff herself with.

With her arcane senses, Aira could feel Lila under the thickness of the ice, but the current was so fast that it was hard for Aira to overtake Lila.

Meanwhile, precious seconds passed. Lila didn't have much time.

 

Agility: ??? + 15 [(Base Stat + Level) / 3]

 

Boosting herself a bit more, Aira was finally able to get ahead. She took out her makeshift warhammer from her belt, then, with all her might, she jumped high in the air and brought the hammer's power down on the ice.

A series of cracks started spreading all around Aira. Pieces of ice crumbling under her feet and being washed away.

Only at the last moment was Aira able to jump away and avoid being dragged by the current herself.

Still, more was needed to help Lila. She was continuing to move forward with the river's current.

Aira probed again, sensing Lila's diminishing energy. She was giving away too much to the coldness of the river. Lila's life force was fading away.

But then, Aira sensed another energy signature under the water approaching Lila. It couldn't be a human. And it was unlike that pattern emitted by what was supposedly an undead.

An animal?

It seemed that it was intrigued by the underwater human but wasn't ready to approach yet. Was it waiting for Lila to die first?

Aira couldn't allow that.

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