CHAPTER 287: HER FAMILY’S LANDS

The next morning felt easier to wake up than the past few.

Rather than the monotonous journey of traveling across a plateau, Irene and Sammy were going to be able to scale down the mountains and truly test their abilities. It was also the first time Irene had stepped foot on Sunstoian land. That thought in itself made her feel giddy to see the place where her family had come from.

While she had plenty of oats to spare, Irene realized she should camp earlier that day because she needed to start hunting her dinner. Seeing that there were grouse present in the valley they would eventually be inside of, she hoped that luck would be on her side that evening.

When she was fully dressed and the horse had its saddle on once more, they began to head out. She still couldn’t ride the horse because the descent down was just as steep as the other side, but because the foothills were a lot higher, Irene believed she would be able to reach it by the time she needed to camp, or at least she hoped.

"Almost there, almost there," she muttered to the receptive horse who turned to acknowledge her.

Even though they couldn’t understand one another, she felt satisfied that she was acknowledged by the horse each time. He was probably calling her strange because he couldn’t understand a thing she was saying, but at least he was receptive to her ramblings.

As they went lower and lower, Irene couldn’t keep from musing about her ramblings to the horse. PErhaps she would have to break that habit before she returned to the knighthood. Others would probably find her odd if she talked to her horse as if he could respond. The only other person who did something like that was Leif, but they were both younger then so it made more sense.

The girl shook her head. It was time to focus on the trail ahead because it was starting to get more dangerous.

The rocks in that area were precarious. Snow hadn’t been kind to that region.

As she looked around, seeking the safest journey down, there were signs of rockslides and avalanches all around. It was hard to decide if she would have rather dealt with monsters than that.

Around midday, the sun was beating down on them and Irene had to undo her coat because it was getting warm despite the expanse of snow ahead of them. She was relieved to see that even here the sun could be warm overhead. Although she imagined it would be one of the last times she could think that once they were in the depths of the valley.

Occasionally looking deeper in, she could see harsh winds rush through and push around the grainy top layer of snow that had frozen, still in small pieces because the wind never allowed it to fully settle. She merely hoped that there wouldn’t be a wind storm while she didn’t have some sort of shelter.

Since the sun was high, Irene turned to her horse who she still held onto.

"Would you like to take a break to eat something?"

The horse looked at her instead of where he stepped.

As soon as his hoof hit a loose stone, the animal began to slide and he let out a noise she imagined was out of fear.

Even though the sun felt nice beating down upon the two of them, she realized this was one of the bad things about it. The hill was going to be weaker as the snow got heavy and wet.

Irene’s eyes widened, but she had no choice except for letting go of his reins. There was no way she could save something that was nearly ten times her weight.

He slid feet first and Irene could only watch helplessly.

However, he only slid for around twenty feet before he stopped, having pushed all the snow in his path ahead down, he lay on top of a cushion of snow.

Revealed underneath him were yellowed grasses which hadn’t been present on the mountains at all. Rather than a verbal response to her inquiry if he wanted to take a break to eat, the horse merely turned his head and began chomping on dry grasses. Shaking his head as he did to break the grass from its root.

Irene’s heart had been racing. The momentary stress of the situation caused her to crouch on the rock she stood atop for a moment. Her hands went onto her forehead as she calmed down.

Not only her packs on the horse but the horse himself would be disastrous to lose. That much had been so evident her entire trip. He wasn’t merely a means of transportation, but her only company. Even the journals she had begun to write and enjoy were on the top of his back.

Rather than dwelling any longer in what could have been, Irene followed the horse down where he settled. He seemed satisfied eating while laying practically on his side in the snow.

Since he wasn’t bothered by it, Irene took out a few pieces of jerky and ate those down. She found dried fruits and nuts as well and ate them with water since the temperature made it more brittle than usual.

When their break was over, Irene gently pulled Sammy’s reins.

"We must be more careful. It’s still too steep to ride," she explained.

Her eyes then went to their present surroundings rather than the view around them. She wasn’t going to risk a worse fall than what they had just experienced.

Their walking was slow, but it turned out to be just fine.

Even though this area was completely camouflaged from a higher viewpoint because its snow blended into the snow of the valley, Irene started to realize that they were coming upon foothills. As the sun moved further in the sky, it was evident that there weren’t anymore cliff faces or rocks. It must have been all grass underneath.

It also made her wish she could experience this region in the warmer weather, monsters be damned.

Knowing it was finally safe, she turned to the horse and stepped one food into the stirrup.

"Shall we ride?" she asked him.

Considering where she stood, he seemed more giddy but more serious at the same time.

When she hoisted herself onto his back, she squeezed her knees. "Forth!" she shouted.

He took off surprisingly well.

Even though the snow was still deep, the horse had fluffy feet that seemed to help him stay on top of it. It became unbelievably clear why he came from a line in the very valley ahead. Not only could he withstand the cold, but he was made to travel.

It was no wonder her father pushed her towards this horse when she realized it was time to let Sorrel go.

Without a hood and the air whipping her face, Irene felt happy as her hair flapped behind her. Their pace was much faster than before. However, as she told herself before, she knew she needed to camp early and hopefully hunt something.

So far, the only vegetation Irene had seen outside of the dry grasses was a small forest of evergreen trees west of where they were traveling. Since it wouldn’t burn much energy for them to go across the foothills rather than down it, she decided they would head in that direction. Birds tended to like trees, after all.

When they were still a ways out from the forest, Irene slowed Sammy a great deal so he wouldn’t initially make them lose any prey that might be available to them.

Finally at the tree line, Irene slipped off of the horse entirely.

Wordlessly, she scratched his head, telling him to stay there before she crept further into the trees. She pulled her hood over her head, knowing that her fiery red hair would make her a visible target. A hunter’s best skill was to camouflage.

She then took out her bow.

The girl walked deeper into the small forest, realizing quickly that it made everything a bit darker. Since it was impossible to be silent each time her boots went through the top layer of crunchy snow, she decided to plant herself at the base of one of the trees.

So her body heat wouldn’t cause the snow to melt, she was forced to crouch. It was a position she was familiar with. One reason for her size that she was always grateful for was her flexibility. It also seemed that women had more flexibility than men.

As she grew older, there were a few silver linings she found in being a woman on the battlefield rather than a man.

Once she was completely silent, the forest started to come alive. It was likely how it was before she stepped foot inside of it.

Her green eyes remained on the ceiling created by the treetops, expecting that her game was going to be the grouse she had seen before, but soon presented to her were small, quick footsteps of something gliding on top of the snow.

A mountain hare.

The girl had to be faster than a bunny as she pulled her bowstring tight and released.