4th period study hall immediately found the error in fleeing on the desert, which was a mostly flat and barren plane. The forces sent after them were a tiny fraction of the city’s total barracks, but even one horseback soldier had the capacity to kill them all. So, they immediately ran to walk by the greenery of the river, hiding in the lower parts of the incline. It wasn’t perfect and none of them spoke, too paranoid to do anything to impede their sense of hearing, but it let them survive, even if for just a moment.
Their run slowed down to a methodical crawl interspersed with occasional breaks by the river to hydrate. Even after they’d gone past the point where they couldn’t see the city anymore, they set up watches out of paranoia that they’d be ambushed. Nobody wanted to let their guard down entirely, though they did loosen up a bit.
Of course, as the immediate worry of being found by a soldier and being shot at subsided, the longer term worry of hunger began to crop up. What were they going to do? They had money, yes, but that was worthless if they couldn’t spend it anywhere. They had some food from the market, but that wasn’t going to last forever. Plus, there was no telling if they were going to be hunted in other cities as well.
“Hey.” During one of their breaks, Aurum and Pin walked up to Echidna. Before the latter could say something abrasive or walk away, Saltine said, “Look, I’m just going to say sorry. Teach was right saying that taking your stuff to sell was a dick move. I know it won’t make up for anything, but here.” Aurum handed over an iron necklace with a glowing gem. “It’s enchanted to protect, hope that makes up for it not being gold.”
“I must apologize as well for my actions in aiding her. For that, I must give you this. It surely fits someone of your gravitas.” Pin gave a formal bow while presenting his gift: A black cape made of durable fabric.
“...” Echidna silently took the gifts before cracking a smile. “Your apology is accepted, mortals! Of course, I must reflect as well. I did not act as was befitting of my stature and I know you were merely hastily capitalizing on an opportunity! Such behavior is to be encouraged, not resented! For that, I offer my own apology.” Of course, she did nothing without the dramatics.
“Oh, uh, yeah. So uh, let’s start over?” Aurum gave an awkward smile.
“I would wish the same.” Even if only to preserve the peace.
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“Yes!” Echidna accepted it with gusto.
Meanwhile, Teach was consulting with Jack, who was obviously the expert in survival, about where the hell they were heading at the moment. He was actually still carrying Rosa, who was still sleeping.
“So, it looks like there’s going to be going near the mountains soon.” Teacher sighed. “This is a mess. I should probably ask Echidna why she was being chased, but that’s honestly not important at the moment. She can tell us later.”
“If we want to survive in the long term, we should probably begin hunting animals. Though Hailey has a distaste for it, Veni would be willing, and ultimately I do not think Hailey’s love of animals is strong enough to let us starve.” Jack didn’t like that they’d have to step on her toes like that, but it was ultimately out of their hands.
“Only a few of us can eat the meat, though, so tell him to get something small. We want to see if we can digest the animals here.” Now that they weren’t being fuelled by adrenaline and the desire to not get shot at, Teach was reckoning with the fact that they were going to have to contend with the wild once more. They’d had plenty of close calls in their previous trek, though they were lucky enough to avoid any actual confrontations. Hailey managed to scare off any animals that came by by making a lot of noise and being large. But the greenery became denser as they went further and there was no telling what would come next.
Meanwhile, Mina, Gallows, and Yolk were all talking as they kept watch.
“It seems that many people can read, but paper isn’t too common. I see more tablets and stuff.” Clay and heavy to carry far less content, which was just an awful trade-off, in her opinion.
“Well, there’s also the guns that those soldiers had!” Now that they weren’t being shot at, it was much easier for him to get excited over the prospect of magic firearms. “I mean, imagine the things you could do with one of those! A laser musket, think about it!”
“Heh, that’s pretty cool, but what about a laser revolver?”
“Ooh, now that’s awesome!”
Ok, it was more like Gallows and Yolk were talking while Mina muttered to herself, unable to make her voice louder than a mouse’s squeaking out of timidness partially created by how loud the other two were.
“Hey! Guys!” Veni suddenly ran in, bow on his back, followed by Hailey. The two of them had gone ahead, deciding to act as scouts. Veni because he had and was proficient with the bow while Hailey was simply strong and durable. “We found something up ahead!” Hailey nodded excitedly in agreement.
“Really?” Teach walked up, confused at what could make them act like they were. Veni wasn’t exactly happy to be paired up with Hailey while Hailey didn’t have a high opinion of Veni either. But now the two were practically in sync! “What did you find?”
Hailey spoke first. “A farm.”
“W-what?” Everyone went silent upon hearing the news. They’d expected to be stranded in the wild for another few weeks before finding anything even remotely close to civilization. But now, they had another chance to get back on their feet! They might even sell them some more food since they had gold!
“Yeah! I saw the farmer tending his fields. He looks friendly enough.”
“Alright class, we will be heading out immediately! Veni, Hailey, lead the way!”