Chapter 383: Chapter 367 – Ground Zero

 

“Few historical events left marks in such a way that the landscape of the mainlands were permanently altered. The Great Gap of the Borean mountain range was one such exception, as it was unlikely for that geographical feature to go away anytime soon. The dwarves of Kingdom Down Under themselves seemed content to leave the Gap and the lake that formed within as a monument to remind themselves of what hubris had cost their people in the past.” - Cinna-Dahl Edmuntae, elven historian.

“Hurry it up! Push the birds as hard as you can!” yelled the old elf who led the caravan. He looked just as distraught and worried as his dwarven counterpart after they witnessed the mountain’s disappearance, and exhorted his crew to drive their wagons as fast as they could towards the mountain range, all thoughts about the health of their beasts of burden put on the wayside in the emergency.

 

They were uncertain whether their rushing would be of any use, or whether there was anything they could do to help out at all once they were there, but as merchants who had traveled the route for centuries, they knew things Aideen did not. The Void working that swallowed the mountain likely also hit part of the valleys between it and the neighboring mountains. Valleys that were the primary trade route on the north side of the Kingdom Down Under.

 

There was a sort of camaraderie between fellow merchants who shared the same routes for so long, people who likely had known each other as lifelong friends and rivals. Given the general activity of the trade route, the merchants from Aideen’s caravan knew that there was likely some people in the valleys when the incident took place, so they rushed to render whatever aid they could.

 

A sentiment that Aideen didn’t disapprove of.

 

“Trademaster Goras’anoviel, if you can afford to give me five minutes of time with the birds when they grow tired, I can heal and reinvigorate them,” she offered to the elvish caravan leader. While in her youth she wouldn’t have been able to reinvigorate others, she had learned some tricks over the years that allowed her to achieve a similar effect, partly by flooding the circulatory system with certain substances the body naturally produced.

 

Of course, such a method of invigoration had its side effects, but Aideen could care less, as those side effects were ones she could directly heal away later on. She was not the most familiar with the biology of the large birds used by the caravan as beasts of burden, but she could make some educated guesses based on similar creatures she had seen or interacted with in the past.

 

“That would be greatly appreciated, madam!” replied the old elf without taking his hands off the reins. The old elf had driven the lead caravan personally throughout their journey, apparently a role he had undertaken for centuries. Emboldened by her words, he pushed the eight large birds that pulled his wagon even harder, while the rest of the caravan scrambled to keep up with him.

 

Halfway through the journey, they had to take a quick break, as the birds were already exhausted. As Aideen requested, they gathered the tired birds in one place, and Aideen made good on her promise as she walked through the birds, briefly laying her hands on each one. Within moments, each of the bird she touched grew energetic and spirited once more.

 

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“Give them some feed. I might have reinvigorated their bodies, but without enough food to fuel the exertion they would exhaust themselves once more before long,” said Aideen to the caravan drivers while she worked her way through the flock.

 

The caravan drivers quickly reacted to her words and brought out large sacks of feed for the great birds. The feed was surprisingly mixed, since the birds were omnivorous. Various sorts of dried grains were mixed with some sorts of grass and leaves, as well as dried insects of various sorts and pieces of what looked like dried meat.

 

Clearly the birds weren’t picky eaters. They quickly started to devour the piles of fodder set before them, though the tired ones only pecked at the food slowly. Once Aideen got to them and reinvigorated the beasts, however, they regained their spirit and appetite. Before long they had gobbled up the pile of fodder placed before them to the last.

 

It did not take that much time for the caravan drivers to tether the birds back to the wagons. The rest stop had taken less than a half hour in total, even including the time taken to feed the birds. Once they were tethered securely to the wagons once more, the caravan continued their journey towards the mountain range at top speed.

 

One fortunate thing about the incident was that it took place relatively early in the morning, so the caravan reached the entrance of the valley pass it would have taken shortly past noon. The way they rushed their beasts of burden allowed them to make the trip in half the normal time, even though they had to rest their birds once more upon their arrival.

 

Once they arrived, Aideen refreshed the birds once more, as she healed the side effects they suffered from overworking their bodies while reinvigorating them once more, though mostly to help them feel less fatigued. Fortunately, they had no need to make a further rush, as there was already a gathering of several merchant caravans in the valley entrance.

 

Apparently they were not the only ones that had rushed to the scene. One of the caravans looked like they had just exited the valley not long before the incident happened, and had converted their wagons into temporary hospices. Other caravans shared a more rugged look, often showing signs of damage to their wagons, and injuries on the occupants. They had clearly been in the valley when the incident occurred, and while it had not directly affected them for the most part, the sudden disappearance of the mountain had caused some small rockslides and avalanches to occur, which caught them on their way out.

 

Without a word, Aideen quickly jumped off the wagon she was in and headed to the injured to help.

 

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