I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 109: More Suspicious Than Monsters

Chapter 109: More Suspicious Than Monsters

That morning and afternoon was probably the travelers’ best sleep in a while. Perhaps it was because they didn’t wake up to dire wolf cubs in their faces.

Occasionally one would wake up and then simply roll over and find sleep once more. Since the others were unmoving, they decided to be as well.

It also helped that the thick evergreen trees around casted shadows that made it so the sun wasn’t directly over them. The clearing they slept in was small and secluded.

They naturally rose over time starting with Sir Gunnar who was satisfied to simply walk along the edge of the forest and see if anything had changed in the night. It wasn’t until an eagle overhead let out a ferocious cry that the others started stirring and were fast to their feet out of paranoia that things were going to much the same to the previous time they woke up.

Relieved to see that Sir Gunnar was near the forest and he was unaffected by whatever had just happened, they allowed themselves to settle down and make a breakfast of porridge that they hoped would hold them over the entire evening and night.

While they ate, Sir Gunnar spoke up.

"I believe we will all have to go down the mountain in the same direction," he admitted. "There was a rockslide where we were before. I imagine going down will be far more dangerous than going up."

"Fine with us," Sir Sven said with a shrug. "There’s even a rope in a particularly steep part tied to a tall rock that will help us on the way down."

"Sounds much easier than what we dealt with before," Irene muttered.

"Perhaps I won’t have to almost die this time around," Felix added, waving his spoon as he spoke.

He received a glare from Irene, but she didn’t argue because she knew he was right. It could have been a lot worse.

The others merely sent shocked expressions to the others but shrugged them off. There would be time for stories later.

The apprentices then helped the knights clean up their area and they buried their fire so it wouldn’t spread even though that area of the mountain still had wet grass that was unlikely to burn. It was time to get on the trail and hope that they made good time since that part of the trip was much faster. If they could travel the hardest and steepest part when the sun was out, it would be for the best. Even if the sun would be on the other side of the mountain, it was good enough for them.

To Irene’s amusement, much of the path forward was spent sliding on their backsides or knees because the trail was crumbly and it was steep enough anyway. Luckily, riding pants were thick through the backside so they wouldn’t get worn from a saddle. It was multi purpose for them at that moment.

Only when they seemed to get to a cliff’s edge did Irene feel the familiar worry that she experienced the night before.

"We’re meant to climb down this?" she asked, shocked that they would even attempt something like that.

When she crawled her way forward, she did see that there was remnants of a trail but the steepness of it made her feel a bit sick.

"Grab the rope," Sir Gunnar said. "We will be fine."

Considering the knights wore armor and would likely be safer in such a fall than the apprentices, they opted to go first and show the younger travelers what they had to do multiple times in the past.

Felix was next to try once Sir Phillip was at the bottom and, even as cautiously as he went, there were still a few points he slipped.

"Would you like to go next?" Irene asked Leif who was peering over the edge with her.

"You ought to go," he said. "I want to make sure everyone gets down safely first."

The girl raised her eyebrows but said nothing of it. When the path down was clear of others to the very bottom of the rope, she took her turn precariously sliding while also holding onto the thick braided rope.

Her heart was racing until her boots touched the less steep ground. She then turned to see Leif attempting his own way down.

The reason he was so hesitant in the first place and willing to go last became glaringly obvious by how terrified his expression was as he made his way down. Each slip made a gasp escape his lips. His blue eyes practically bugged out of his head as well.

When he was finally on the ground and taking up a spot next to Irene, he placed his hands on his knees and seemed to catch his breath.

While the others didn’t say anything and simply moved on, Irene waited for her friend.

"Not a fan of heights?" she asked.

Leif stood up straight and he seemed a bit on edge, wondering if she was going to make fun of him.

"I was raised in the plains on a farm," he uttered. "There’s no way to get used to such high peaks when you’re on flat ground all the time."

"Same here, actually," Irene admitted. "I’ve never spent so much time around mountains even though they are quite close to where I grew up in the north-central region. I suppose we’ll have to get used to it. It isn’t even Felix’s first time up the mountain."

"Ah, yes," he admitted. "My first year as an apprentice, I was in the plains and not up the hills. For some reason, I got roped in with the two of you to join Sir Gunnar on all of the most daring missions."

Irene was happy when the other apprentice finally cracked a smile. Since he was teasing her she pushed at his shoulder.

"Well, soon enough we’ll be back on flat ground," she responded before walking forward.

In a short while, they caught up to the others but only because they had stopped in their tracks. Since the sun was setting, there wasn’t much to see, but Sir Gunnar was worried about something else.

"It smells like burning wood," he realized. "Couldn’t be on the mountain, could it?"

Since he was answered with only uncertainties, they pressed on a bit more quickly.

However, once they started around the bend and down to the original trail that split off, they finally saw smoke rising into the air and they began sprinting forward despite how precarious it was while going down hill.

The group stopped to see that the cabin they weren’t able to use was in a burning heap. All that was left was the brick and stone fireplace. The rest of it had been burnt and collapsed.