The wilderness wind carried gritty snow and a savage chill, howling across the boundless wasteland.
Beneath the fine white snow, the distant edge of the Emerald Forest loomed like the back of a lurking giant beast, casting a shadow that made the heart race.
A silent procession advanced toward the horizon.
At the center of the convoy was a covered wagon. Ahead on either side of it, a dozen or so free riders raced across the gently rolling wilderness like arrows loosed from a bow, their bodies rising and falling with every jolt.
The riders weren't arranged in neat ranks. Instead, they kept a loose formation that still allowed them to respond to one another, staying alert in every direction as the convoy's eyes and vanguard.
Their sharp eyes peered through the cloth covering the lower halves of their faces, constantly scanning the road ahead, the flanks, and every shadow that might conceal a threat.
At the rear of the convoy came the heavy supply wagons. They were piled high with bulging sacks, oak barrels, and supplies tightly wrapped in oilcloth, all secured with thick ropes. The pack beasts pulling the wagons snorted clouds of white breath. Their steps were heavy, but they kept close behind the convoy, which had deliberately slowed its pace.
The air seemed frozen.
Only the muffled rumble of wheels over frozen earth, the crisp clatter of hooves, the howling wind, and the pack beasts' labored breathing broke the silence, blending into the ponderous rhythm of the great convoy's march.
Inside the covered wagon, the adventurers sat with their eyes closed, regulating their breathing.
Once they left town, their safety was behind them.
They had to be mentally and physically prepared to fight at any moment.
"Creee!"
A piercing cry with a metallic edge rang out