After a night filled with dreams of a new home and some form of steady security the sun let its beams of light shine down on the slumbering camp members who were awoken slowly, many full of energy to tackle the new task at hand that was upon them.
And so, just like the rest of his fellow refugees, Alvar emerged from his slumber with a giant yawn that threatened to dislocate his jaw if he kept on stretching it further open. Slumping back down onto his makeshift bed Alvar gazed at the dark blue ceiling of the tent for a few moments while his mind came to live all the while.
After he had regained some of his mental faculties Alvar turned his head slightly to his left where his snoring friend Veli was still cutting down a whole forest by the sounds of it. Stretching his left leg over to his friend without any further motivation to move the rest of his body for such a dumb task, Alvar swiftly kicked his friend into the side once, than twice and after the third time simply gave up with a sigh. He would just have to wait until it got too hot inside the tent from the rising sun until his friend finally decided to grace the rest of the camp with his presence.
Turning towards the entrance of the tent Alvar grabbed himself his mantle of linen and his sword which he took with him where ever he went and slowly left the tent, still groggy from having stayed up so late last night due to the talk with the emissaries at the bonfire.
Once he had pulled back the flap that held the entrance to the tent close somewhat Alvar finally could move into a standing position and while stretching himself upwards towards the sky let out another yawn, accompanied by a few cracks signalling the tiredness of his joints that was cleansed from within him by his stretching.
Walking around the slowly awakening camp Alvar marched over towards the cooking stations and got himself some food for breakfast from one of the adults that must have been up for a few hours by now already, judging by all the food the women had prepared all the breakfast by the time most of them woke up.
After thanking the women and left them to their tasks Alvar marched over to a nearby tree that was refunctioned to a bench of sorts and sat down in order to enjoy his breakfast in the peaceful atmosphere the early morning provided him.
While he did so more and more of the camps members emerged from their tents and, just like Alvar had done, grabbed themselves some breakfast and joined their friends to eat in their company.
After Alvar had finished his breakfast he marched back towards the 'kitchen' and handed over his used bowl before swiftly marching over to his tent where Veli was still snoring away without a worry in the world.
Crawling inside Alvar began to gather his things into his small bundle and with his leathery armour in hands crawled back out of the tent where he began to put said armour on. After a few minutes he had clothed himself fully and without worrying about Veli began to dismantle the tent right over his friends head as he already knew, not like most members of the camp, what they would be doing today.
To get a small head start on the others and to spare him the hectic of their departure Alvar decided to do what needed to be done now instead of later. That Veli was still asleep wasn't his problem. After all he had tried to wake his friend but the moron never woke up to any of his tries so far, yesterday being the only exception.
While Alvar was busy dismantling their tent the rest of the camp not yet informed about todays agenda were called together and in no uncertain terms told of the plans for the day. To say the camp members were excited was the understatement of the century in Alvar's opinion causing the lad to grin slightly when he saw the children jump around the camp like kittens on a sugar high.
While Alvar stored the last remains of the tent in another bundle he heard some grumbling besides him and with a turn of his head came upon the scene of Veli finally waking up from the dead. Though judging by the boy's expression not with a good mood which spurned Alvar on to widen his grin even more in the process.
"What the bloody…? Oy, Alvar! What the hell happened to our tent?!" Veli grumbled when the sun's rays pierced unforgivingly into the eyes of the newly awakened lad who groaned under the brightness of the morning.
"Don't know. I woke up just like you this morning." Alvar responded with a shrug while he kept on tightening the bundle with the tent inside, all the while humming a soft melody expressive of his good mood.
"Wha—I swear, if this is another one of your shenanigans I'll loose my shit before I've had any breakfast!" Veli grumbled while he stood from his bed with wobbling legs and let out a giant yawn.
"You really are a moron sometimes. Of course I didn't wake up with the tent missing this morning. It was I who took down the tent while you were chasing skirts in your dreams all morning like usual!" Alvar said after he had finished tightening the bundle at his feet and stood up to face his friend with a small grin on his face.
"I knew it! What the hell man? I've had such a nice dream! Why do you always have to ruin my dreams when they are about to get good, huh?!" Veli asked while pointing his finger accusingly at Alvar who only smirked in response causing Veli to slump forwards in frustration after seeing how entertaining this whole mess was to Alvar, even though Veli only wanted to sleep! Was that really so much to ask of the world?
With a grumble and some mumbled curses Veli turned around and began to pack his things into his bundle after which he stalked of without another comment to Alvar in order to get his breakfast and enjoy at least some form of normalcy this very morning.
Alvar meanwhile began to hum his soft melody once again after he had finished packing everything and decided a small practise session was in order to complement the already splendid morning. The day promised to get good if he was to judge the future by the past and who was he to ignore the advice his elders had always given him? Thus, Alvar stalked of and after training some, the time had finally come for the camp to hit the road.
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With all of their things slung over their shoulders or laid onto a makeshift sledge the adults pulled behind them the entourage of refugees made their way through the thick foliage of the forests at the foot of the Shiverpeak mountains, as silently as possible as nobody was eager to be targeted by an ogre or some other kind of monster that roamed these woods.
Alvar and Veli were both walking at the front with vigilance, at times throwing furtive glances at the surrounding vegetation, just like all the adults and some children were doing. If they had learned one thing in the weeks of their stay inside these woods than that some of the creatures living inside of it were stealthy buggers that knew only too well how to trick those not suspecting anything while traversing the thick trees and bushes.
His sword slung over his shoulder in its sheath Alvar carried a round shield on his left arm while the spear he had picked up in Hoelbrak that night was held easily in his right, able to thrust forward like a snake at its prey at only the slightest sign of trouble.
Veli meanwhile carried a shield as well on his left arm and held a mace made of wood and iron in his right hand, a weapon made to crush and grind to dust all that had the misfortune to be hit by it.
Of course, the mesmers of the group had thrown some spells into the air as well to hide the groups presence but it was harder to fool monsters and animals as they were more in tune with their instincts than humanoids.
Luckily the group did not encounter any monsters on their way out of the forest and thus soon pushed through the last line of trees that made up the border of the Shiverpeak mountains and its bordering forests.
Stepping out of the green jungle like forest Alvar took in the sight before him with wonder and fascination. Standing atop a small hill his eyes roamed over the landscape that laid below his feet and seemingly stretched into the far horizon without end.
Endless hills and valleys covered in lush green grass nearly bursting from its abundant vitality stretched as far as the eyes could see, now and then interrupted by some kind of road that meandered through the hills like a snake of made of sand and stone alike, inviting all those travelling on it with an unspoken promise to traverse its body to the ends of the known world.
Stepping forwards Alvar made his way over to the nearby road and threw a glance back at the emissaries with a question in his eyes to which they only responded by pointing towards the west, causing Alvar to turn back around and start marching onto the road.
Following him was the group of refugees who, just like Alvar observed their surroundings with awe as they had never before such lush and healthy fields that were just perfect to groom cattle on it or sow fields of wheat or other kinds of grain.
On they marched. Minutes soon turned into hours and the initial fascination of the landscape disappeared just like shadows under the suns glare, replaced by boredom and fatigue as the had been marching for hours already.
Thus, the adults decided it was enough for the day and called the group together to erect a small campsite near the road. With the usual bustling of children and adults alike the camp, or a more suitable version for their short stay, came to be, ending the day with a comfortable bed and a filled stomach for all those present until they would rise the come morning to keep on travelling until they would finally reach the first settlement of Humans.
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Gerdi was decidedly not happy with her current situation. After she had felt elation for a short moment at the sight of her comrades bringing down the foolish Norn and their city Hoelbrak, her mood had only plummeted as she was carted of and smuggled out of the city.
Now she found herself joining a group of snot-nosed kids and adults, that should have perished in Hoelbrak, travelling south and thus away from her master… Something she really didn't like.
But, as she had thought one night, now that she was here and part of the last surviving Norn of Hoelbrak, she may as well make the best of her situation and gather as much intel on the fools as possible.
After she had made that decision she had found out one morning with glee that they were headed towards Divinity's Reach, the capital of the remaining Humans. Now she found herself a new goal. She would find out all of the Human's weaknesses and inform her master about them so that, when he came down to claim the rest of Tyria, the capital of the Humans would fall like a house of cards when exposed to a hurricane!
Only the security check in Divinity's Reach worried her but she had been taught well enough that she mused she may be able to fool the Human guards but if not she would simply have to cut her way out of the city so that she could finally join her master in the Shiverpeak mountains. But all in due time…
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