Ch. 86 Patches complained all the way

Patches complained all the way, and Mia had already grown accustomed to it.

In fact, with Mia around, the discomfort of being in the rain was only temporary.

As long as she could find shelter, Mia would immediately help her companions dry their wet clothes and hair.

On this point, Mia kept personal matters separate from official ones; she even looked after Patches.

On the fifth day of the journey.

“Ahead, Gatefront Village.”

Mia stared at the sign in front of her, its writing barely legible.

The young girl looked at the prairie ahead, which ended at the cliffs of Stormhill.

She looked at the sign again; it only bore the words she had just read, without even a single number to indicate distance.

“Does that village have no name?” Mia asked.

“Forgotten,” Wilden replied.

He sized up the sign in front of them.

“This was placed not long ago. It seems others have forgotten as well.”

“Not long ago?”

Mia turned her head, wanting to make sure she hadn’t misheard.

But Wilden had indeed used those words.

Yet this sign was covered with marks from exposure to wind and sun.

The color of the wood was hard to distinguish, and its edges were full of uneven cracks.

Even the writing on it was missing quite a bit; one had to strain to decipher it.

“Are you sure this is ‘not long ago’?”

The subtext was: Translate for me what exactly ‘not long ago’ means to you.

“Yes.” Wilden nodded as if it were a matter of course. “Looking at the weathering, it should be about forty years old.”

“Oh, so that’s ‘not long ago’.”

You call forty years ‘not long ago’?!

“Then how many years is ‘a long, long time ago’?”

“Before the Shattering War began?” Wilden tried to recall. “It should be four or five thousand years.”

He paused for a moment, likely understanding where Mia’s shock was coming from.

The Soldier added.

“It was from that time on that it became difficult for people to Return to the Erdtree, so the concept of time was thoroughly destroyed.”

Mia suddenly felt a lump in her throat.

She seemed to have a vision: countless years later, in some tomb, a skeleton would sit up and slap itself: ‘Why did I ask such a question back then!!’

The shattering of the elden ring and the outbreak of war were undoubtedly a thorn in the hearts of all natives of The Lands Between.

“Well… let’s keep going.”

Mia changed the subject.

Stormgate sat at the end of their line of sight, but because it was so far away…

She couldn’t see it clearly.

And the ruins before the gate were just black dots the size of ants on the prairie.

“How should we pass the gate later?”

Compared to the concept of time, this question was clearly more pressing.

“Is there a small path or something?”

Wilden shook his head. “As far as I know, there isn’t one nearby.”

Unless one was a mountain goat, it was impossible to find a foothold on the nearly vertical cliffs.

As for other paths… it wasn’t that there were none.

“If we head north and walk for another four or five days along a small path, there will be gentler terrain where we can ascend Stormhill.”

“…What do you think?”

Mia asked for Wilden’s opinion. “Should we take the detour or find a way to pass through the gate directly?”

If it were up to Mia alone…

She would lean towards finding a way to pass the gate.

Because the current situation was different from before the Mongliu Bridge; the detour before Mongliu, including settling the business at Mengliu Cave, only took half a day.

Mengliu Cave was very close to the bridge.

But it was different now; if they took a detour, it would take another four or five days.

Mia, who had long felt bored with the journey, only wanted to reach their destination quickly.

But if they were to pass the gate, Wilden’s help was indispensable.

Mia was not a leader who liked to act unilaterally and bring trouble to others. Just like before the Mongliu Bridge, Mia was worried that Wilden would come into conflict with other members of the Royal Army because of her.

So, even though she really wanted him to help them sneak through the gate…

Wilden had to agree personally.

“Me?” He was stunned, seemingly not expecting Mia to ask him that.

He then replied, “I have no problem with it.”

Mia breathed a sigh of relief.

That’s good.

“What’s going on?”

Patches looked bewildered by the conversation between the two, which relied entirely on their mutual understanding.

He had never experienced, nor heard of, the business of pretending to be a prisoner to deceive the Tree Sentinel.

“We’re taking a detour, right?”

Patches also knew there was a gate there.

“No,” Mia shook her head.

Patches’ face stiffened.

“If you want to force your way through, go by yourself, don’t drag me in!”

After shouting, he assumed a posture ready to run for his life.

Melina grabbed the collar of his clothes, like catching a husky by the scruff of its neck.

Mia said crossly, “Who said I was going to force my way through!”

The restrained Patches turned back. “Then what are you going to do?”

“Sneak through.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

As she spoke, Mia dismounted and let Torrent return to the Spectral Steed Whistle.

Then she took out some rope.

“Come here.”

“What are you doing?”

It seemed that because he was always tricking people, Patches didn’t trust the words of others.

Mia looked at his wary appearance with a mix of irritation and amusement.

She explained, “To sneak through, we must disguise ourselves as Sacrifices captured for Grafting. Of course we have to be tied up.”

Seeing that Patches was still very resistant.

Mia added, “Don’t worry! I’ll be tied up too; no one is tricking you!”

“For real?” Patches asked tentatively.

“For real.” Mia nodded.

“Alright then.”

Patches swallowed hard and handed his weapon to Mia, who put the items into her storage space.

Then he extended his hands to let Mia tie him up.

He had already planned that as soon as something felt wrong, he would immediately flee for his life.

He had plenty of ways to break free from ropes; even a dead knot wouldn’t stump him.

While Mia tied the knot, she said, “Melina, can you turn invisible for a while? Then don’t come out until I call you.”

Melina nodded obediently.

Mia did not tie Patches’ hands with a dead knot.

It wasn’t until she also had Wilden tie her up that Patches felt a bit more at ease.

“Alright, that’s about it. Let’s go.”

Mia took a breath.