Chapter 4 Village life and Modem:

Amid the chaos and despair, the unfolding scenes of relief and gratitude were powerful. Kane swiftly scanned the area, noticing people buried beneath layers of snow. Without a moment's hesitation, he dashed to their aid, joining the efforts to uncover those trapped. Some were caught unawares, while others were entombed under collapsed structures from the avalanche.

The hours spent buried were agonizing. Survival odds seemed slim, yet hope lingered faintly. Those rescued had cultivated arts related to ice, snow, or cold, granting them a slight advantage against the freezing cold and frostbite.

As Kane and his fellow villagers toiled relentlessly, survivors gradually emerged from the snow's icy grip. Faces as pallid as the snow around them emerged, bodies chilled but resilient. Kane and others, their hands shaking from cold and strain, swiftly tended to the survivors' immediate needs.

Beside him, a middle-aged woman, her face etched with the strains of her ordeal, received Kane's compassionate care. "You're safe now," he reassured her softly. "You're not alone. We're here to help."

Another villager offered warm tea and broth, offering respite from the bone-chilling cold. "Sip it slowly," he advised. "It'll help warm you up inside."

A young man's hand emerged from a splintered roof, signaling for help. Axes swung, breaking the wood to free him. As he was pulled through the hole, a woman's tears of joy flowed at the sight of her son.

"It's you!" she exclaimed, embracing her son. "I thought I'd lost you."

"I'm here, Mom," the young man replied, shivering and choked with emotion. "I'm okay."

Kane's relentless efforts filled his father with pride and warmth. Approaching his son, he laid a reassuring hand on Kane's shoulder. "You're doing an incredible job, Kane," his father praised, pride resonating in his voice.

Kane's hands ached from the repeated exertion. The frigid temperatures seeped into his bones, draining his energy. Yet, the thought of people still trapped kept him moving.

"There's someone else under here," a villager shouted, motioning towards a collapsed structure. "We need to get them out now."

Kane's fatigue faded, replaced with a sense of urgency. He sprang into action, joining the rescue efforts.

The sound of pounding axes and cracking wood echoed through the air, punctuated by the groaning and creaking of the damaged structure.

Kane's heart pounded as he watched the building's precarious teetering, fearing the worst for those trapped inside. As the structure threatened to collapse, the survivors were carefully removed, their survival a miracle.

After a couple more hours of digging around, more people were uncovered, but as time progressed not many found still had any breath.

Kane and his father breathed heavily with the villagers in the center of what was once a peaceful village.

An elderly man could be heard saying, "This mountain's fury is unlike anything we've ever seen," an elderly man lamented, his voice tinged with sadness. "Many were lost, and many more were left to struggle and endure."

The elderly man walked up to Kane and his father with an outstretched hand, “Thank you two immensely, more would probably be lost without your help. I’m Chalk an elder of White Cap village or at least what’s left of it.”

Kane’s father grasps Chalk’s hand and is pulled into a hug. Patting each other’s backs Kane’s father introduces them, “I’m Caine and this is my son Kane. We’ve come to your village every now and then once the merchants are around, I’m so sorry that we’ve come under such circumstances.”

“No such sorry necessary, they are with Goddess Andrea now. May she guide them safely into their next lives.” - Chalk says putting his hands together.

Kane felt a pang of grief and sadness at the mention of the lost lives. He couldn't imagine the pain and suffering the survivors must be going through.

"Is there anything we can do to help, Chalk?" Kane asked, his voice filled with empathy.

Chalk looked at Kane with a hint of surprise, his expression softening. "You've already done more than enough, son. But if you're willing, we could use help clearing the paths and rebuilding the village."

Kane nodded, his determination unwavering. "We'll do whatever we can to assist," he replied. He looked to his Caine who was willing to go with what his son wanted.

The villagers' spirits lifted at the prospect of aid, a sense of hope returning to their shattered lives. Kane and his father spent the next few days working tirelessly, lifting debris, clearing paths, and helping wherever needed.

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During these few days of help, Caine asked around trying to figure out if anyone knew of the cause of the avalanche. Most people assumed it was just a force of nature, one man believed it was a punishment of the gods, but a surviving hunter said that he saw tracks of what seemed like dozens of men going up the mountain.

The hunter's words piqued Caine's interest. He knew that the mountains were treacherous, but he couldn't imagine why anyone would venture up there during winter. With the village on the road to recovery, Caine decided to investigate further leaving his son with Chalk.

He set out early in the morning, following the hunter's trail up the mountain. The climb was arduous, the snow and ice making each step a struggle. Caine felt his muscles burning, but he wouldn't relent. He was determined to uncover the truth.

As he climbed higher, the tracks grew more pronounced, leading him further up the mountain. Caine felt a sense of unease as he followed them, his mind racing with potential scenarios.

At last, he reached the summit, turning around the world stretching out before him in all directions. The view was breathtaking, but Caine's attention was focused on the series of tents at the top of the mountain.

Focusing energy on his eyes his view became clearer. Armored men were scattered around and an insignia was found everywhere on the men and tents, a horned fox with wings.

Realization dawned on Caine's face, these were soldiers of Modem the kingdom to the east. What were enemy soldiers doing this far from the border on the Razor mountain range?

Caine's heart raced as he watched the enemy soldiers moving about. He knew that Modem was notorious for their ruthless tactics and their desire for expansion into neighboring lands. But what could their presence at the top of the mountain mean?

Caine spent the next few hours observing the enemy camp, noting their movements and trying to uncover their purpose. As the sun began to set, he knew he had to make his way back down to White Cap. He couldn't risk being caught by the enemy soldiers.

The descent was treacherous, the snow and ice making it difficult to keep a foothold. But Caine was determined, his mind racing with the information he had gathered.

As he made his way back to the village, he knew that he had to share his findings with Kane and the other villagers.

When Caine finally arrived at White Cap, he was exhausted, but he knew that he couldn't rest.

Caine shook his head, still catching his breath. "No, it's not monsters. It's enemy soldiers," he paused to take a deep breath. "Modem soldiers, at the top of the mountain."

Shock and fear spread through the village at Caine's words, their worst fears confirmed. Kane's eyes widened in disbelief, his mind struggling to process the information.

"What are they doing here?" one of the villagers asked, their voice shaking with fear.

Caine shook his head, "I don't know. But we need to be prepared for anything I think they may have had something to do with the avalanche."

Chalk looked at Caine with a determined expression, "We'll need to inform the neighboring villages. They'll need to know about this."

Caine nodded, "We can head out tomorrow at first light. We need to come up with a plan to defend ourselves."

Kane stepped forward, his voice filled with determination. "I'll go with you, Dad."

Caine began to say something when he was interrupted by a villager. "What's that in the woods!"

Looking toward where the villager was pointing, figures could be seen in the woods slowly spreading out and surrounding them.

Caine's eyes widened at the sight of the figures. They were dressed in white, their faces hidden behind white masks. The only true identifier is the Horned Fox with wings on their shirts. Immediately recognition hit the villagers, those were the Modem soldiers, and they seemed armed and ready for battle.

“We’re surrounded, it seems whatever it is they’re doing up there they don’t want anyone else finding out. Everyone get ready for battle, we will all rush south and try to break through.” - Chalk said quickly

As everyone was readying themselves to charge south, bright lights began to form in two places. Two balls of fire formed in the sky and were sent flying towards the village from opposite directions.

Kane's heart raced as he watched the balls of fire getting closer. Caine quickly pulled him into his arms and dove behind the closest building. Other villagers also scattered, trying to find anything to be used as cover.

The impact of the fireballs shook the ground beneath everyone's feet, sending debris flying in all directions. After getting back up, they saw that the Modem soldiers took advantage of the time the people took to find cover against the fireballs to rush into the village.

"They have Champion (Level-Three) tier individuals! We can't win this fight, everyone just fight will all you have and try to escape." - Yelled Chalk

Chalk may be an elderly man, but his limbs began to glow with a light blue. Moving with a speed you wouldn't expect of an old man, Chalk rushed to the aid of some villagers quickly grasping the head of a Modem solider and twisting it.

"Focus on the old man! He's the only elite (Level-Two) tier individual, without him, they don't have a chance." - Modem Soldier

"I'll rush in that direction! Once they are distracted with me you all take that chance to run." - Chalk said to the White Cap villagers

Chalk still covered in light blue, charges in one direction. "Don't let him get away!" - Random Modem Soldier

Caine and Kane released more arrows toward the enemy Modem soldiers. "You heard him! Get out of here!" - Kane's father said before he and Kane began charging towards a side that seemed to have weakened.

Shooting arrows as they ran forward they were able to take injure some soldiers blocking their way. Once they got close enough they put away their bows and attacked with their bone daggers.

Villagers followed Caine and Kane's lead breaking through weak points and dispersing just trying to escape.

Some Modem soldiers let out angry yells and followed Caine and Kane through the trees, but the two had more experience in the woods than their foreign opponents, allowing them to momentarily widen the distance between themselves and the enemy.

Modem and their own arrows flew through the air, zinging off of tree bark and landing on wet leaves that littered the forest floor.

All around them were dense trees shrouded in darkness. No longer seeing any other villagers, Caine and Kane fought alone and kept descending the mountain.

Suddenly, the faint sound of wind rushing could be heard. Out of nowhere, a Modem arrow flew towards Kane, Caine quickly pushed Kane out of the way and took the full force of the arrow upon himself.

In that moment all time seemed to slow down as Caine's body was thrown back from the impact of the arrow. A look of sorrow crossed Kane's face as he watched his father fall to the ground below. He stumbled back and groaned in pain as he saw the Modem soldiers catching up.

The footsteps behind them grew ever louder, Modem Soldiers had finally caught up with them.

Kane reached for his father, only to be pushed away again "I'm fine, now run!" - Caine said with determination in his voice knowing they were outmatched in terms of power and numbers.

Kane hesitated for a mere second before sprinting southward through gritted teeth he ran forward hoping against hope that his father would make it out alive.

Just then something strange happened; Caine's body began emitting a red light that shone from within him like an aura alighted with flames. His power had broken through peak level one and reached level two.

The Modem soldiers were stunned as Caine stood and faced them. He was exhausted and injured, but all he could think of was buying time for his son. With a few shallow breaths, he rushed towards the enemy with his dagger in hand ready to fight head on.

He dodged the first attack, countered by shoving his own dagger into the throat of one soldier before being stabbed by a few more. But it didn't matter, Caine had to buy Kane time to escape.

He stumbled forward looking for weak points in the enemy lines while dodging arrows and sword slashes raining down upon him from every direction.

Caine did all he could to ensure Kane got away unscathed and, as his energy drained from him, he found himself surrounded by bodies.

He could tell more adversaries were soon to arrive. Multiple arrows and swords penetrated his body, but despite the pain, Caine allowed himself one last glimpse of his son's retreating frame before collapsing.