When she turned around, she saw that one of the carts had gotten stuck; the ground beneath its wheels had turned soft and muddy, making it impossible to move forward. She realized with a pang of frustration that she’d been so lost in thought after finally relaxing a little that she hadn’t even noticed the change in terrain.
Luckily, there were no monsters nearby. Still, Mary almost wanted to slap herself for letting her guard down at a time like this. There was no time to dwell on it, though.
The people were already struggling to push the cart free, but the more they tried, the deeper the wheels sank into the mud. Gritting her teeth, Mary rushed over to help, determined to get the caravan moving again before anything, or anyone, could take advantage of their delay.
"Wait, don’t just push blindly! The wheel’s only sinking deeper into the mud!" Mary shouted through the mindlink, her voice sharp and commanding. The young warriors froze mid-action, panting as they struggled against the weight of the cart.
The horses were snorting and straining, their hooves slipping on the wet ground, unable to pull forward.
Mary quickly scanned their surroundings. "You two, gather some thick branches or logs! Planks would be better, but if we don’t have any, then we’ll make do with what we can find. We’ll place them under the wheels to create a bridge so the caravan can get through!"
"Yes, ma’am!" the young warriors chorused before splitting into two groups. One group fanned out to gather what Mary had asked for, while the other stayed behind to guard the caravan. It didn’t take long before the search group returned, their arms full of thick branches and logs.
Working quickly, they laid the materials across the muddy ground, creating a makeshift bridge sturdy enough for the wheels to cross. Once everything was in place, Mary gave a firm nod to the coachmen.
"Move forward!"
The coachmen urged the horses on, and this time the caravan rolled across the muddy stretch without trouble. It took nearly half an hour, but at last, they managed to get everyone past the obstacle safely.
"Once everyone’s across, clear the logs and hide them by the roadside," Mary ordered firmly. She wanted to leave just enough traces for Addison and Zion to follow later, but not so obvious that anyone else, especially an enemy, could easily use the same path.
Better to make things difficult for pursuers than risk leading them straight to the caravan.
"Understood, ma’am." The young warriors nodded and kept watch as one wagon after another crossed safely. The animals were carefully led to step over the branches and logs laid out as makeshift support.
But then, one wagon veered off course, missing the path they had reinforced. The warriors on standby immediately rushed to assist while the others worked to keep the rest of the animals from following in the same direction.
A few of the young warriors pushed from behind, struggling to steady the tilted wagon, but the ground there was far softer than expected. One of them ran forward to help, only to sink into the mud up to his knees with a startled cry.
"Ugh." The young warrior groaned, glancing down at his mud-caked trousers before looking up at the wagon that was starting to tilt. He didn’t have time to worry about the muck clinging to him; instead, he pressed his shoulder against the side of the wagon and pushed with all his strength, while the others on the opposite side pulled to steady it.
"Here, let me help!" another young man shouted as he jumped into the mud beside him. "You guys on the other side, keep pulling! And Mr. Coachman, on my signal, have the horse pull harder!" He then glanced toward the warriors managing the livestock, making sure they kept the animals from straying into the soft ground.
"One, two, three—push!!!"


"Run! Move forward as fast as you can! Warriors, protect the old and the young!" she commanded through the mindlink, her tone urgent and commanding.

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