Two days of trekking through the lower elevations of the Marius Mountains had led 250 soldiers, both Black Shield and Free Army to a wide gap in the range, about half a league in length. It too rose up in elevation like the peaks that surrounded it, though not nearly as high, before descending on the southern side. The main difference was there were no rocks or boulders that obstructed a traveler’s path or posed dangers, having been cleared away in favor of a winding gravel road to allow for foot and wheeled vehicle travel. After all, this was how northern slaves were transported to the south. Light Pillars were exclusive to the military and an exceptionally small number of other Titanians gifted enough to learn how to harness them.
The Anbieter had confirmed with his Martian ally that only a couple of slave trading expeditions were to cross the mountains on that afternoon. Still, in order to mitigate the risk of being seen moving hundreds of people at once, he had divided the 1000 or so soldiers under his command into four group of about 250. They each departed the base a few hours apart. For obvious reasons, they wore their civilian clothing instead of their uniforms. The Anbieter himself along with Stefan, Anwen, Meinrad, and Detlef were part of the last group to have left. They each carried at least 40 pounds of clothing, equipment, and rations on their backs. So when they finally set their eyes upon the entrance into south Yeupis, they were eager to cross it, although this would manifest in different ways.
“Ah, so this is Haldor’s Pass!” an amused Anwen said as she stepped onto the road the spanned it, walking in front of everyone else, but not too far ahead of them.
Stefan breathed heavily as the peak of the pass was within his sights. It would only take about an hour to walk up to it, but he wanted to cross it in a flash. His chance to get at his mother’s killers were on the other side. That, plus another week of walking. The waiting had begun the moment he gazed upon Kallista’s corpse, and he was growing tired of it.
“Easy there, my boy,” the Anbieter said, putting a hand on his shoulder as they hiked up together. “I can sense your restlessness.”
“I know.” Stefan said, producing a lopsided kind of smile. In the past month, he’d grown to admire the head of the Black Shield greatly. Despite his lack of combat knowledge, he had constantly encouraged Stefan to hone his skills, but never to overexert himself. He was a spiritual guide of sorts to Stefan.
“Oh God, my legs ache.” Detlef groaned, his neck hunched forward in discomfort.
“I guess long hikes aren’t much of a doctor’s thing, are they?” Meinrad laughed, slapping the other boy’s shoulder teasingly.
“It’s not the first time I’ve done this!” Detlef yelled in complaint. “How else do you think I reached the base from the Glacial Lands?”
“Ah, right…” Meinrad sighed. After a couple of seconds of silence, he continued. “I… forgot that everything from there to the Mountains is just flat land.”
“You joined the Shield way after I did. You should be able to remember that a little clearly.” Detlef pointed out, listening to the hesitation in Meinrad’s voice.
“My bad… I’m just a little tense right now,” Meinrad admitted. Why would he not be? The biggest excursion in the Black Shield’s existence was upon them. “But you know what’ll help me feel a little better?”
Meinrad stepped in front of Detlef suddenly, almost causing the young doctor’s face to slam into the other boy’s back.
“What gives?”
“Hop on my back,” Meinrad offered, bending forward slightly while turning the straps of his rucksack around so that it rested on his chest instead of his back. “I need a little resistance on me to get my gears moving again.”
“Gears moving?” Detlef sighed. “It’s been two days since you last trained.”
“Your legs hurt, don’t they? I can get you onto the other side of the pass. The way down from the peak won’t take as long as the way up. Trust me.”
“I’m going to have to pass on that, Meinrad.”
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“You won’t get this chance when we meet up with Klaudia again. You wouldn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of her, would you?”
Detlef’s cheeks burned as Meinrad said the girl’s name. Jay had brought along Leon and a few, more experienced medics with the soldiers who were still somewhat injured from the previous month’s ambush attacked, including Klaudia, so they would have about a half day’s worth of rest while they waited for the last convoy to arrive. By that point, and with the help of Leon’s Contracted healing, they would be at full or near-full health.
“Ah, I know that feeling, Det,” Meinrad said like he was an older brother, even though they were the same age. “Now throw away your pride and get on.”
“Fine.” Detlef groaned and complied with the boy’s request.
Some time later, Anwen allowed the Anbieter to lead the way. She realised that the ally waiting for them on the other side of the pass probably wouldn’t be too keen on meeting with a teenage southerner girl as the first of the last people crossing it. But a feeling of uncertainty had also crept upon her. She wasn’t sure what else she expected to see, so she would leave that up for the Anbieter to handle.
“I feel weird, Stefan.” she said to the boy, who trailed her by half an arm’s length.
“Why?” he asked. The restlessness in his body had barely dissipated, but he figured he could distract himself from thinking about it by striking up a conversation with his longest-known friend.
“Do we even know what we’re gonna see in front of us when we get to the other side of the pass? Jay told me it would be nothing to worry about, but something feels… not right.”
“Well, if Jay said you have nothing worry about, try not worry.” Stefan said monotonously, shrugging.
“You’re so helpful!” Anwen cried sarcastically, before jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow.
“I’m just trying to be rational here. I’m sorry.”
Anwen’s hands curled into fists at her sides listening to Stefan. There had been subtle tension between the two of them ever since the discovery of his mother’s death. The conversations between them decreased, although when asked about it, Anwen would answer that he wanted to give her friend space to heal. In truth, however, it was because she was afraid that the reality of Stefan’s relationship with Gareth would slip out and cause him to loathe her.
“Rational? What do you mean, rational? What do you do that’s rational? Spending 10 hours a day swinging a sword, firing a gun and making a couple barriers? Eating so little that I can hear your stomach growling behind closed doors? Are those rational? Make it make sense, Stefan!”
“You’re the one who doesn’t make sense! You barely talk to me anymore and when we do, it’s to pass on a message from the Anbieter telling me to tone my training down. You don’t ask me how my day’s going, or if I even like the food they’re giving out. What’s rational about that?”
“You’re mad, Stefan! You’re angry and bitter about everything that you’ve been told!” Anwen cried, her frustration only becoming more apparent. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself in the process of trying to wrap your head around this. No one does! Even Gareth would—
She slapped a hand over her mouth, realizing the name she tried not to bring up for over a month in his presence had indeed come out.
“Even Gareth?” Stefan said, stopping dead in his tracks. “Even Gareth would what? Lie to me? Keep the truth from me for more than half a year? Come on, Anwen. What would he do? Please, tell me.”
“I’m—I’m sorry, Stefan I didn’t mean to—
“Enough!” an irritated voice belonging to the Anbieter yelled sharply. “You two have been bickering so greatly that you don’t even realize we’ve crossed over the peak.”
Meinrad, who was prepared to put Detlef down anyway to intervene in Stefan and Anwen’s argument, lowered him to the ground.
“You mean… we’re in south Yeupis?” he asked the Anbieter.
“Officially, yes,” the Anbieter said. “But for the next half-league, we’re technically in no man’s land. The border post is just down the road, and our ally will meet with us somewhere in between. He’s already met Jay and the others.”
“No way…” Detlef said, as he saw rolling green hills as far as the eye could see. A slight, cool mist filled the air, a sign of the south Yeupisian winter. Or, at least as close to a winter south Yeupis could get. “We’re finally here.”
“We are,” the Anbieter said. “But until then—no, from now on, we don’t need attention coming our way. So you two keep it down until we’re safe.”
That’ll be a long, long time, Meinrad remarked.
“I’m sorry, sir.” Anwen apologised humbly.
The Anbieter began moving again, and so did the soldiers behind him. As Anwen took a step, Stefan grabbed her wrist, holding it tightly.
“Once everything settles down,” he said, whispering into her ear as they both walked. “You’re going to tell me everything Gareth told you when you both left the barn that day. I know he told you a lot. No matter how long that’ll take, I’m going to hear those words from your mouth.”
“I’ll tell you everything,” Anwen finally muttered. “Just be patient. Trust me on that. Please.”
Stefan acknowledged her pledge by letting go of her arm, then spacing himself from her by about three yards.
“Hey, you two alright?” Meinrad asked.
“Yeah, we’re fine,” Anwen shrugged, rubbing her wrist which had become pale white with Stefan’s grip. “Don’t worry about us.”
“Of course.” Meinrad nodded, slowing himself down to move from her side.
She’s right, Meinrad thought. I don’t need to worry about them. They’re not my problem.