Chapter 76 - The trek back
[Quest completed: Cleared The Howling Gale’s Haunt (1/3)]
{Skill points awarded: 7}
Scarlett skimmed over the quest completion window before her. It hadn’t appeared until after they’d exited the dungeon this time. She’d long since given up on figuring out the mechanics behind this particular facet of the system. The timing seemed entirely arbitrary to her. Even if it wasn’t, she had a hard time discerning anything from it.
Her eyes returned to roam over the vast vista in front of her. The entrances to the boss room had been closed off, so instead, they’d exited through the passage at the back. It had led up to a small hollow near the edge of the mountain, sheltered by a thick snow overhang. Here, the spires of the Whitdown Mountains stretched out before them, the last rays of the setting sun glittering across the white sheets that covered much of the mountain tops. Haetrach—she believed that was what Fynn called the tallest of the peaks—in particular, towered above the rest.
Her gaze lingered for a moment on the gargantuan mountain, as she wondered what the easiest way of ascending it might be. Though it was still some time before she had to bother with all that. She looked back at the others behind her.
“How are you faring?” she asked Fynn. The young man was carrying Shin over his shoulders.
“I’m fine,” he answered, moving his hand to push away some locks from his eyes. “He’s not heavy.”
Scarlett raised an eyebrow. While she didn’t doubt Fynn’s strength, Shin was almost as tall as him and wore armor. No matter how ‘light’, it looked like an awkward way of carrying the young Shielder. Couldn’t be especially comfortable either, having metal pressing against your back like that.
Still, someone had to carry Shin, and if Fynn wasn’t complaining…
She sized up the rest of the group. They’d taken a few hours to rest up after beating the boss, but some of the exhaustion still remained with them all. She certainly didn’t feel ready to climb down a mountain. Thankfully, Rosa was up and about again, and while the woman looked about as tired as Scarlett felt, she appeared to be in a much better condition than before. No haunted looks left and right all the time, at least. She was even back to cracking jokes and telling odd stories, none of which seemed especially forced.
That was a true godsend. Without Rosa’s magic, Fynn was probably the only one who could make the trek back down by himself right now. The young man in question didn’t look like he’d just been in a trance for over two hours, or a boss fight before that. Things were relatively calm on his end, and apparently the ancestors had stopped speaking to him now that the trial was completed as well.
They probably wouldn’t show their presence much for a while, which was all well and good as far as Scarlett was concerned. She had no real way of getting back at them for what they did, so for now, it was best if she just didn’t have to bother with them at all.