91 - northbound route

After a weekend of rest and relaxation, Thor and his team came back to the wilderness of the broken wind.

Having learned their lesson from the previous trip, they departed in the middle of the night this time.

Arriving in the morning, the wagon stop was quite crowded.

Smoke from breakfast was rising here and there, and noisy voices could be heard.

"Here we are, Moo-chan!

"Huh?　I was sleeping with Tor, why are you outside?"

Thor and his friends get off the carriage and head for the table set up in a wooden box in the center of the room.

They soon found the guide who had led them there.

Garudo, who was chewing on a hard cookie with a blank expression, notices Thor and the others and his eyes flicker slowly.

"...... You've got a lot of motivation this early in the morning, don't you?"

"Last time we turned back halfway. This time I'd like to make a little more progress."

"Your perseverance hasn't changed at all. Saralisa is changing her clothes right now. I'd be happy to show you around if you like.

"You sure?　That would be great."

Having a veteran shieldman with you is reassuring in times of need.

Thor and his friends take their seats at his urging and are served breakfast.

"So, this time, we are thinking of going the northern route, which I have heard is considerably less sandy.

"...... It is true that there is no sand at all in the north. Then I'll pass."

Is it a bad idea to go northbound?

"No, not necessarily, but it's not a good match. Well, you'll see.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Thor. ......"

The conversation was cut short when Saralisa approached from behind.

The Soukei woman was wearing a hood over her head, so we could not see her expression, but from the tone of her voice, she seemed to be in good health.

Good morning. Please take care of me today.

"Good morning, Saralisa."

Nice to meet you!

"I'm looking forward to seeing you."

Thor and the others, after getting ready and putting their luggage on their backs, set out to the north.

They silently continued through the wilderness, which was unobstructed except for the shadow of what appeared to be a rocky mountain in the distance.

White sand swirls underfoot, blown by the wind, but the firm ground is still easy to walk on.

The group, with Thor at the head of the line, walked on in high spirits.

After about an hour, Thor noticed a small discomfort.

The size of the rocky mountains had not changed much.

He increases his pace a little.

Two hours later, the rocky hill is finally approaching.

I had thought it would be of a certain size since I had seen it from quite a distance, but it is surprisingly small.

It was about the same size as the carriage we had ridden in.

However, as soon as they were downwind from the rocks, Thor noticed a clear difference.

The wind had died down.

When he peeked out from behind the rock, he felt considerable resistance.

He had been under a lot of pressure from the headwind, which had unwittingly increased in strength.

"The wind has gotten a lot stronger before I knew it..."　

"Oh, really!　I thought it was kind of hard to walk."

"It's hard to tell because it's blowing in the same direction."

Unlike the center, the wind here is apparently only in one direction.

The last time was tougher in terms of fatigue, but this time was more troublesome in terms of walking difficulty.

"Tomi, Tomi, Mu can't go on. If we don't give him a piggyback ride soon, he'll be in big trouble.

The child started to say something similar to the previous case, but it was unavoidable.

This time, we brought a sled to carry back the white hard copper.

The flat sled on his back must have been greatly affected by the wind.

As Thor looked at Moe, who was swaying unsteadily, he thought of the reason why Garudo had declined to guide him.

"I see... No wonder it's so tiring to walk with a shield on your back..." he said. Here, Tor-chan will just carry the sled for you."

"Mwah. Torchan's stingy!"

Thor pats the head of the child who is clinging to his waist and shaking his head, and asks the guide who has followed him to the end of the line for his opinion.

"I'm sorry to start so early, but even one piece of advice would be helpful."

"Yes. ....... I think Thor and Sola will be fine. The other two are walking ......."

"Oh, no?"

Saralisa says that a dashing walk with a straight back is fine for the city, but not for this wilderness.

The trick is to take small steps and lean forward as if to let the wind carry you.

"Also, you should walk with your knees and ankles, with a little inner thigh, so you don't get tired. ......"

Tall and his friends started to walk into the wind again, trying out the walking style they had learned.　

The air was now so forceful that they could clearly feel the pressure of the wind.

Thor changed his course to a zigzag so that he could catch the wind with half his body.

He takes his time to reach the next rocky peak.

The further he went, the stronger the wind became.

There was almost no sand except for the flying sand, so we could see an endless stretch of finely cracked ground.

The rest was just rock and rock and rock.

They are called tuff, and their surfaces are flat and hardly uneven.

Many of the rocks are sharply pointed toward the windward direction, as if they were carved by the wind.

The way they jutted out from the earth seemed somehow like the sharp edge of a thick, white blade.

We continued on for several hours, resisting the wind.

When Thor and his companions finally arrived at the site near noon, they were met by a landscape lined with a row of sharp rocks.

The rocks, each more than the height of an adult male, jutted out from the ground at intervals.

"This place is called Senbougahara, isn't it?"

"Huh, it's going to be a lot easier to get around."

"Huh?　And the wind has slowed down?"

Maybe it's because there are so many rocks.

"Well then, when we get to that big rock in the middle, we'll take a lunch break."

"You want some food?　Tor-chan!"

Several large rocks were visible from the edge, towering in the middle.

Thor and his group approached them via the white rocks.

"It looks like we're playing hide-and-seek!

"Well, if you ask me, that's true."

From the outside, it may look like they are playing with each other as they move quickly from rock to rock against the wind.

Then, Moo raised a small voice.

"There he is, To-chan!"

"...... yeah, I thought it was about time."

The child pointed to the rock to which he was about to turn next.

Thor, sword in hand, quietly walks around to the other side of the rock, his footsteps silent.

But there is nothing there.

"............ where are you?"

"There you are, To-chan."

He glanced at Moe's words for a moment, and then something unexpectedly popped out from under the rock.

Thor immediately flips down his cloak.

However, the string-like object easily pierced through the blue-striped snakeskin, which boasted of its maximum protection.

At the same time, something falls to the ground.

It was Thor's left arm, which had been cut off.