The Song Of Sword And Magic

Chapter 51: Mount Dagger

[Translator — Asuka]

[Proofreader — Karane]

In the end, it was Fern who broke the suffocating silence. “So, where’s the next destination Hersey told you?”

Coming to her senses, Niss rubbed her eyes and gazed at the mercenary. “Hersey told me that the third sacred seal is kept on Mount Dagger.”

“Mount Dagger!” Stan and Rae exclaimed at the same time.

“I know that place. It’s located further in the North of Doyle—somewhere even the Northerners aren’t willing to go.” Stan muttered.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Fern said as he fished out a map from his clothes and laid it on the table. After looking at it for a while, he pointed at a mountain range in the Northeast of Sara. “Mount Dagger is right here!”

“My goodness. We’ve just left Wolfsburg. Is this where we’re going?” Standing up, Niss clenched her fists and placed them on the table to support her weight.

“If Hersey didn’t say it wrongly, or you didn’t mishear him, then yes, it’s where we’re going.” Fern heaved a sigh and started looking for any possible route from their current location to their destination.

“Stop looking, Fern. I know how to get there. There are only two routes we can go from Doyle to there.” Stan pointed at somewhere on the map. “We should be around here now.” He then moved his finger up into the North. “We’ll just go North from here. After leaving the Northern border, we’ll reach the Permafrost Plains. It has another name—the Land of the Dead.”

“The Land of the Dead… It sounds terrifying.” Niss hugged herself as though she had been frozen all over.

“It does.” Stan pursed his lips. “From there, we’ll keep going East until we reach Mount Dagger. When the Dark Tide isn’t rampant, this is the route the Doylans would take to reach Mount Dagger, even though not many people would go there normally.”

“Aside from the terrible name, this route looks good to me. Are we going to take this route?” Fern raised his head to look at the knight.

“I’m afraid we can’t.” Stan shook his head. “The Northern border is the first defence against the Dark Tide, so it’s been heavily guarded for the past centuries. Moreover, the terrain there is dangerous, and there’s a fortress between the two mountains. No human or fiend can ever pass through it.”

Fern snorted. “If what Hersey said was right, we’re supposed to be on the wanted list now. Therefore, we can’t go through the fortress.”

“Yes, Fern. That’s akin to surrendering ourselves to them.”

“Can we climb up one of the mountains and go over there?” Fern wasn’t willing to give up as he pointed at the mountains on both sides of the fortress.

“That’s impossible. The cliffs are very steep, and we don’t have the necessary equipment to climb up the mountain. Moreover, the climate on the mountains is unpredictable as a snowstorm might strike at any moment. Given the current weather, we’ll be frozen to death if we stay on the top of the mountain.” Stan moved his finger across the Northern border. “The border is lined with a mountain range. Other than the fortress, there’s no way we can go to the other side. This is one of the reasons Doyle could have fended off the Dark Tide for centuries.”

***

Fern heaved a sigh and placed his palms on the table. “Alright, let’s talk about the second route.”

Stan pointed at their current location again and made a curve toward the East. “We’ll go East and reach the border between Doyle and Sara. After that, we’ll go Northeast and move across Sara. This way, we can reach Mount Dagger as well.”

Unable to imagine the current situation in Sara, Niss said worriedly, “But Sara has fallen. I’m afraid the place is filled with fiends and zombies now.”

“No one knows for sure. I’ve only been there twice. Since the demise of Sara, I’ve never gone there again.” Stan shook his head with difficulty as he didn’t have a better solution. “Moreover, it isn’t easy to get across Sara. Apart from the threat of the Dark Tide, the ice swamp in the territory could kill anyone who is unprepared at any moment. It’s in the winter,  so the snowstorms could strike anytime. If we step into the snow-covered flatland without any preparation, we can only pray when a snowstorm hits. So, it’s very dangerous to get in there without a local guide.”

Hearing that, Fern subconsciously took a look at Rae, who was gazing at the table. “What should we do then? Rae, do you have any suggestions?” he asked probingly.

Rae came to her senses when she heard that. Knowing what he was trying to say, she cleared her throat and said, “Alright, it’s come to a point where I shouldn’t hide it from you any longer. In fact, I’m a Sara citizen.”

“What? No way!” Stan looked at her in disbelief. “Just like the Doylans, the Saras are supposed to have blonde hair and blue eyes!”

“Yes, I used to look like that, until I learned dark magic.” Rae replied impassively.

“I see. Now I understand why Moses said he couldn’t bear to see you cry in front of a mirror every day.” Niss could understand her feelings since she was a girl as well.

With a helpless smile, Rae tucked her black hair behind her ear. “Yes, Niss. Can you imagine what I looked like when I had blonde hair? I can’t remember it myself. My appearance was changing by the day, but there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

“I’m sorry, Rae. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Niss pouted.

“It’s fine. I’m used to it now. I think I look good with black hair. Don’t you think so?” Rae flashed a smile at the mercenary.

Fern smiled at her in response and gave her a thumbs up.

After a moment of silence, Stan stared at Rae and said resolutely, “Rae, please accept my apology. My country owes it to the Saras. I’ll do my best to find out the truth for you.”

Rae appeared to be dejected, but she still consoled the knight by saying, “It’s fine, Stan. It’s not your fault. It was Byron who chose not to save Sara.”

Wanting to cheer everyone up, Niss said with a smile, “Rae, you’ve hidden your identity so well. We totally had no clue about it.”

Rae smiled and lifted her chin at the mercenary. “He already knows it.”

“You mean Fern?” Niss turned to look at him. “Fern, how did you find out about it? That’s incredible. But why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

“It’s no big deal, so there was no rush to tell you about it. Moreover, Rae didn’t want me to expose her background.” Upon hearing her compliment, Fern curled up his lips bashfully.

“Rae, now I know why you told me that the more you talked to Fern, the more he could figure out about you.” Niss was amazed by the mercenary’s observational skills.

***

“Alright. Rae, do you think you can lead us to get across Sara?” Fern picked up his bota bag and filled Rae’s cup.

“After Moses left, I returned to Sara and spent most of my time there. Also, I was still there for the first few days of Sara’s demise, so you don’t have to worry about it.” Rae replied confidently.

“It’s decided then. You’ll lead us to move across Sara and head for Mount Dagger. We’ll embark on our journey tomorrow. It’s too late now, so we’d better stay one more night here and get prepared. The food that Hersey had given us wouldn’t be sufficient.” Fern dropped all the stuff from the bags on the table. “The food can only last us for two more days. Also, it isn’t easy to find food in the winter here.”

“Niss, do you want to catch fish with me? I need a helper.” Stan smiled in a relaxed manner. “We can cut the fish and clean them thoroughly. In this chilly climate, they can be stored for a few months.”

“Just like what we did before, right? I’m going with you!” Niss leaped off the chair excitedly as she was looking forward to it. 

“Then I’ll look for some nuts or stems that are edible for our journey.” Fern kept the map and moved away the tables and chairs that blocked the door.

“I’ll go with you as I’m familiar with the plants around here.” Rae finished her tea and rose from the chair.

***

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