Age of Unalloyed Gold

Chapter 02 - We Rise

The next thing he knew, he was in front of Ordina Liturgical Town. They were at the very end of the Consecrated Snow Fields, a remote place that was very difficult to access, ccovered by snow and blizzard,

One would need two halves of the secret medallion to be granted access to The Secret Path to the Haligtree, which was also a pain. To only then be able to traverse the snow fields, get to Ordina, and at last, the portal to the Haligtree.

He looked ahead, and Malenia was there, waiting for him. Mighty powerful, far more imposing than a Tree Sentinel. Majestic, beautiful. It took him a few seconds, but he could take his eyes off her and call Torrent his noble and faithful steed.

Far humbler than Malenia's since Torrent was a small, enchanted horse with horns, but certainly, it was just as reliable. Baron would have never made this far without it.

Torrent was, in fact, the first creature that welcomed him in the Lands Between, like it knew from the very start that Baron would be the Tarnished prophesied to conquer the Elden Throne.

He looked around for a moment and asked her to follow him. Walking a bit towards the west, he saw the faint silhouette of a dead tree's trunk, which was the point of reference he was looking for. They started to leave the city behind, meeting a group of Albinaurics archers that began to shoot arrows in his direction.

Their giant wolves were also unsettled by his presence, but Baron sprinted Torrent and passed through unscathed. Malenia was right by his side. They continued past the frozen stream and soon arrived at the first tree trunk. From that point, he started to move slightly to the left, in the south direction. The little detour on their route would be necessary to avoid Baron's worst enemies.

The blizzard would become thinner at this point, allowing the knight to see more dead trees. The second point of reference was the larger of them, seeming to be located at the center.

Baron asked himself what could have caused all those trees to lose their upper half but ended up shrugging since he could not find an answer. The extreme climate would be a possibility.

On the ground, red flowers bloomed, painting a beautiful carpet of crimson buds in the white snow. Baron, however, thought those flowers had a meaning to be there.

Since they surrounded the portal that would take them to Mohgwyn, they could be a sort of guide to the path of blood, meaning they were in the right direction.

Two bloodied dogs tried to be on their way, but the poor creatures died without even knowing what hit them.

Baron recognized that place; they were very close now. He slowed their pace as they turned west again, walking around fallen trunks and stones. He took a quick break to look to the right and observe them, his worst enemies.

The two Runebears were entertained by scratching what was left of those trees, entirely oblivious of their presence. Since he knew the vigorous and giant creature was ferocious and remarkably aggressive, he thought it would be better to leave it alone.

Wildlife could be far scarier than the demigods, sometimes.

He looked past the bear, a little more to the left, identifying the final reference point. Another trunk has fallen as though it was forming a bridge somehow. That was the last reference he needed. He walked with Torrent as stealthily as possible, and Malenia got the message, following in the same manner.

Baron sighed in complete relief upon the fact that they were able to pass without alerting the giant bears. They could possibly take down the bears if they wanted to, but the risk was too high.

Right at the cliff's edge, he took a hard left, revealing a little portion of land hidden behind the rock formations of the snowy mountain. The red flowers were present, marking the place they would find the way gate.