Marcus reprimanded Ava kindly, saying, "Oh, hush, Ava, and let me do my job." Even though he was irritated, his voice had a note of concern.
Ava had been putting on a brave face ever since she had been hurt, and she continued to do so.
She brushed off the seriousness of her injury with a dismissive wave of her hand and a sardonic grin, claiming that it was nothing more than a superficial scratch. But Marcus was more discerning.
He could see the tightness around her eyes and the slight grimace she made whenever she moved her arm despite her calm demeanor.
She gave the impression that the wound, which consisted of a deep cut running the length of her forearm, was not as severe as it was.
While concentrating hard on the task, Marcus muttered, "I swear, you're more difficult than any enemy we face. You are worse than a child!" He then used a soothing herbal mixture to clean the wound, being careful not to move her arm around too much while he did so.
After that, he secured it with a fresh bandage, which he tied with the ease that comes with experience. He could sense her unwinding as the calming effect of the herbal concoction took over the throbbing pain she had been experiencing.
"Stop dismissing every wound you get from now on, Ava," he said, his tone turning serious. "Even the smallest cut can turn fatal if not treated properly. Remember that."
As a warrior, he was well aware of the significance of projecting an image of strength before the adversary.
But as a friend and fellow villager, he was more concerned about Ava's well-being than putting on a bravado. It was his top priority, and he always ensured she was aware of that fact.
"Garrett, Erik, did you find anything useful?" Alexia inquired as she shifted her focus from the group of exhausted fighters to the supplies left behind by the fallen soldiers.
As he rose to his feet after examining one of the Frantian soldiers' bodies, Garrett simply shrugged. "There is not much to them besides their weapons and a few throwables."
After cleaning the dust off his hands, Erik nodded in agreement. "Yeah… not much worth noting."
They could only hear the sound of the wind and the far-off calls of the various creatures as the silence descended once more upon them. Erik finally broke the silence while everyone else was deep in thought. "I wonder if finding these guys' camp would be beneficial?"
Ava perked up when she heard his suggestion. Her eyes shone with the indomitable spirit that she possessed, even though she had a bandage wrapped tightly around her injured arm, and her face was pale due to the blood she had lost.
She chimed in, surprising Erik with the force of her voice as she said, "That's not a bad idea." They may have more supplies or maybe even information."
"Yeah, that was what I was thinking about," the young man said. "However," Erik added, his gaze turning serious, "We need to make haste. This area is often crossed by flying thaids."
As soon as the creatures were mentioned, Alexia's eyes widened slightly. They did not want to come into contact with such Thaids because they were large, carnivorous beasts with acute senses that had a taste for uncooked meat.
"I thought they didn't appear a lot during winter," Marcus said, his tone of voice giving the impression he was skeptical.
However, without conscious thought, his hand moved to his Axe and rested against the weapon's hilt.
"They don't," Erik acknowledged, "But it's still a risk. The trees, bare due to winter, offer no shelter from prying eyes above. Flying Thaids or not, being exposed is never a good idea."
His words lingered thickly in the icy air like an unspoken reality they had all experienced and were too familiar with. Their prior involvement had exhausted them, and the altercation was likely to attract attention they would have preferred to avoid.
The members of the group indicated their concurrence with a head nod. It was very obvious that they needed to leave the area as soon as possible.
The ragtag group regained their composure and started searching for the enemy's base camp as soon as they were ready. Their breath became visible in the bitterly cold winter air, but it faded gradually as they proceeded further into the landscape covered in snow.
The afternoon sun cast long, stretching shadows across the unbroken swaths of snow; the winter scene's starkness instilled awe and trepidation in those who witnessed it.
Each step they took with their clunky boots left deep impressions in the fresh snow, and the crunching snow reverberated throughout the otherwise quiet winter air. In the dim light of winter, the bare branches of the trees looked hauntingly beautiful, despite their eerie appearance.
The winter-bare trees provided little shelter from the biting cold, and the branches, devoid of foliage, did little to shield them from the gusts of wind that occasionally blew down from the nearby mountains. Despite this, their skeletal forms had a natural elegance, which stood defiant in winter's unrelenting grasp.
Erik led the way, and his eyes moved around the area with a purposeful gaze. His sense of direction was impeccable, his intuition almost uncanny, a trait honed over months of wilderness survival and information he injected into his brain.
Garrett plodded along behind him, his attention divided between the tracks they were following and the new weapon he had acquired. In the dim light of winter, the soldier's longsword, an exquisite piece of craftsmanship, glistened with a chilling gleam.
Ava continued to keep up her pace despite being in pain due to the wound. Her bright eyes darted around the landscape, her curiosity mixing with a healthy dose of caution. Marcus stayed in the back and brought up the rear. His powerful presence served as a source of reassurance for the other group members.
He'd look behind them every once in a while, his blue eyes scanning the path they'd just come from for any indications of pursuers or potential dangers. In the meantime, Alexia maintained her position close to the center of their formation.
She kept her keen archer's eyes fixed on the horizons in the distance, remaining vigilant for any sign of movement.
After what seemed like hours of trudging through the endless winter wilderness, they finally found signs of recent activity. It didn't take the group very long to find the soldiers' tracks in the snow, and once they did, it wasn't hard to tell that the soldiers had been there recently.
All of the signs pointed to a recent encampment, including a slight disturbance in the snow, a makeshift firepit that was barely covered, and the faint scent of woodsmoke that was lingering in the air. Their rivals had been in this area not long ago, either.
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