The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 126 - Into the Valley of Winter (Patreon)

“Rise and shine!” Lysander bellowed as he burst into the room. “Grab your cloaks because we’re heading into the mountains!”

Piper gasped and dove deeper under her blankets. She hadn’t used [False Face] yet, and her shadeling features were on full display. Thankfully, she slept with the covers over her head to stay warm, so Lysander hadn’t seen anything.

How the heck did he even open the door? I double-checked the lock last night.

Scowling, she hurriedly cast [False Face] and immediately gained a level.

Ding! Your spell, False Face has reached Level 38.

To receive a level that easily meant that she’d been dangerously close to being exposed as a demoness. In the future, she’d have to start using [Enduring Casting] on herself overnight, even when she thought she was safe.

I’ve grown way too complacent here, she thought, mentally kicking herself for letting down her guard.

Piper hurriedly cast [Truth Shroud] before peeking out from beneath the covers to target Ophelia with [Shroud of the Damned]. She tweaked her friend’s Berserker class to show it as level 49. After all, Ophelia had said that she was close to reaching level 50.

“I said get up,” Lysander shouted, shaking Piper’s bed with both hands. “I’ve seen zombies crawl out of their beds faster than the two of you.”

Ophelia pushed herself into a sitting position and glared murderously at the man. “What sort of creep breaks into someone’s room?”

“Watch your mouth, gravebait,” the big man shot back. “I’m trying to teach you how to stay alive.”

Piper pulled down her covers to look at the man with one eye open . “We just survived an attack by elementals the other day,” she pointed out. “I think that means we can survive most things.”

Lysander chuckled. “Is that what you believe? Let’s find out if you’re right.”

Piper didn’t like the way he said that, and she sleepily swung her feet over the side of the bed. With a yawn, she pulled the blankets up around her throat and stared at Lysander pointedly. “Do you mind? I’d like to get dressed.”

“I’ll be in the hallway,” he said. “You have two minutes to get dressed before we leave.”

Ophelia ran a hand through her hair. “Do we need our armor?”

“Only bring your clothes and knives,” Lysander said. “Nothing else.”

“Nothing?” Piper repeated, her eyebrows rising slightly.

“Did I stutter, gravebait? Let’s get moving.”

The moment Lysander had left the room, Piper leaped to her feet. She didn’t know what they were doing today, but she had a feeling she wasn’t going to like it. The way Lysander thought they were going to have issues meant it wasn’t a standard quest.

Piper pulled on her dress before swinging her cloak around her shoulders. Then she stepped into her boots. Frowning, she glanced over at her armor and her newly acquired longbow and mace. She didn’t like the idea of leaving the villa without her weapons, but Lysander had said to leave her gear behind.

Once she was fully dressed, she opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. She watched as other aspirants were groggily herded out of their rooms. Obviously, they weren’t the only ones being tested today.

Ophelia peered around blearily, her hair sticking out in every direction. “What do you think they’ll have us fighting?”

“I have no idea.”

Several minutes later, they spotted Zenos weaving his way through the crowd of aspirants. He reached their side and grinned. “I believe we’re going to have survival training today.”

Ophelia let out a groan. “Does that mean I won’t get to sleep in my bed? And we’re going to miss lunch and dinner? This is the worst day ever!”

“Really?” Piper looked askance at her friend. “The worst day ever?”

“You know, aside from that day the ooze tried to eat me. Or the day the vampire tried to eat me. Or the day the demons tried to eat me.”

Zenos’ mouth dropped open. “A lot of things sure want to eat you.”

“Probably because I’m so cute.” Ophelia flashed him a grin.

Piper giggled. “You know, Ethel was only being nice when she said that to you.

“I am to cute!” Ophelia protested.

“Who’s Ethel?” Zenos asked with a confused look on his face.

Ophelia crossed her arms. “She’s my mom.”

The young man turned to look at Piper. “You call your mother by her first name?”

Piper cursed herself for making such a stupid mistake in front of the man. She should have referred to Ethel as her mother to prevent any suspicion. Now she would have to explain why she wasn’t calling her mom.

“I’m… sort of adopted,” she said slowly. “After I lost my family, they took me in and raised me on the farm.”

“Ah, I see. Such things are pretty common these days.” He grinned. “If we grow strong enough, we can make sure no one else is orphaned like you. Someday, we might even become Sorrowguards.”

“Sorrowguards?”

“The personal guards of the Undying Emperor. They are among the most dangerous in the empire, and a single one is said to strong enough to defeat an entire demonic army.”

Piper had heard the term in passing before, but she’d never had anyone explain it to her. She immediately decided she never wanted to meet a Sorrowguard. They sounded like bad news and would probably have Thronefall armor like the bloodthirsty inquisitor, Elissa.

Lysander appeared at their side. “Listen up,” he said, getting their attention. “We’re heading deep into the mountains where you’ll have to survive with only what you have on your backs for the next five days. This will teach you to live off the land.”

Ophelia raised her hand slightly. “Can I choose to stay behind?”

Lysander’s expression darkened. “What do you think?”

“Yes?” Ophelia said hesitantly, with a mischievous smile. “I mean, I came from a farm in the mountains. I think I have the whole living off the land thing covered.”

Piper rolled her eyes at her friend’s claim. It had almost been impossible for Alfred and Ethel to get their daughter to help out back home. And the young woman had never gone on a single hunting trip with Alfred.

In her opinion, Ophelia had about as much knowledge regarding mountain survival as Piper did when she first arrived in this world. Which was zero.

Lysander crossed his thick arms. “Just for that, I’m not leaving any rations for the three of you.”

Piper shot a glare at her friend. Sometimes, she really wished Ophelia would learn to be quiet. But if she did that, then she wouldn’t be Ophelia. So, she’d just have to accept the good and the bad.

Without another word, Lysander spun around and marched toward the double doors leading outside. Someone had already unbarred them, and they were open a crack.

Piper followed the big man outside, and a blast of cold air hit her in the face like a smack. During the night, dark clouds had rolled in, and tiny flakes of snow spiralled down from the sky.

Beside her, Ophelia stopped short and made a strangled sound. “Snow already! This is crazy. They want us to freeze to death.”

She shrugged in reply. “I think they just want us to learn to live off the land.” Thankfully, she already had a good grasp of how to survive. And she could use that knowledge to help the others.

Her friend wasn’t the only one complaining, and she heard other aspirants grumbling as they followed their chaperones. Most of them were from noble families, so they really weren’t prepared for living rough in the mountains.

Piper trudged after Lysander, who had continued moving away from the building. She pulled her cloak around herself tightly. As she walked, she stuck out her tongue to catch a flake on it.

With a smile, she glanced over to see Ophelia doing the same. They shared a smile, and both giggled when Zenos tried it a minute later. The man frowned and shook his head as if he couldn’t understand why they’d done it.

No one spoke as they climbed the steep slope leading up toward the towering peaks. After a few kilometres, they entered a dark forest, the sounds strangely muted as they picked their way through evergreen trees. As they ascended the slope, the woods slowly thinned out until only a handful of conifer pine trees clung to the rocky soil.

The sun slowly rose as they continued to move, and Piper’s stomach began to grumble. She’d grown accustomed to large breakfasts at the villa. Before long, her hunger had sharpened to a dull ache. Hopefully, she could scrounge up something to eat when they arrived at their destination.

They walked for the rest of the morning, moving through a narrow mountain pass before descending into a heavily wooded valley with a burbling stream pouring into a mirror-like lake.

Lysander turned around and gestured at the valley. “This is your home for the next five days,” he said. “The other guides and I will remain at the entrance to make sure nothing nasty wanders into the valley. But other than that, you’re on your own.”

Zenos frowned. “How are we expected to feed ourselves when it’s fall? There’s not going to be much to forage.”

Do you think all adventurers spend their time living in comfy villas?” Lysander shot back. “Part of being one is learning to survive off the land. If you’ve paid attention to your survival classes, then you should have no problems.”

“Uh… I only arrived a few weeks ago,” Zenos said slowly while raising his hand. “I haven’t attended any classes yet.”

“Lucky for you, you have group mates.” With his final words, Lysander spun around and strode away. As he moved, he pushed through other groups of arriving aspirants. Apparently, they were all going to live in this valley for the next week.

Once he was gone, Piper turned to address the others. “The first thing we need to do is build a shelter. It’s going to get cold tonight, and we need something to keep us warm.”

“No way,” Ophelia said, rubbing her stomach. “The first thing we need to do is find some food. I’m starving.” She pointed at Zenos. “You find some bees and steal their honey.” Then she pointed at Piper. “And you need to catch some eels and then build a fire.”

Rolling her eyes, Piper turned back to Zenos. “Ignore her. Trust me, we need a shelter before anything else.”

“Hey!” Ophelia called out as they started to walk away. “If you’re not going to do what I say, how are we going to have honeyed eels for dinner? I’m talking to you!”

Piper bit the sides of her cheeks to prevent herself from smiling. Sometimes Ophelia was completely ridiculous. But she was right that they needed to find food. While they were building the shelter, she’d keep an eye out for food sources.

The three of them ranged out, looking for somewhere suitable to find shelter. After nearly two hours of walking, they found a shallow cave near the mountain face. A soft layer of leaves covered the floor, which should make a comfortable bed.

Piper pointed at the sides of the opening. “We should build a wall of sticks here to create a barrier that will keep in the warmth. Afterward, we’ll use pine branches on top to insulate it. The fire should go near the entrance.”

Zenos grinned. “I see you’ve done this before.”

“Alfred… my Dad, showed me when I was younger. There was always a chance we’d get stuck in a winter storm while hunting, so he wanted me to know this stuff.”

They went to work, finding fallen branches to build a wall to enclose the cave. It took several hours, but when they were finished, they had a nice, cozy spot to spend the night.

Ophelia plopped down on the ground. She looked at Piper plaintively. “Now, can we please find some food?”

“I’ll see if I can track some game,” Piper said. “And maybe I can forage something along the way.” She had seen a stand of leafy trees near the lake. Some of them may have nuts or fruit on them.

Zenos peered quizzically at her. “How are you going to hunt game with your bare hands?”

Piper grinned and cast [Shifting Veil] followed by [Phantom Flesh]. A spear materialized in her hands. “Because I’m an illusionist,” she said. “And that means I get to cheat a bit.”