Ki greeted both of them. "I am back.. so what has happened to you two since I have been away?"
Rayleigh frowned and began explaining. "Well.. they all ran off planning to escape the mountain and left us behind. With each new group of enemies emerging all over the place, we had to find a place to hide.
We did come across some that we had to fight until we found this place to hide. Luckily our small battles did not draw in more of their people so they were not able to find us."
As she had explained, when they were left to fend for themselves, Rayleigh and Lumi found a small place to hide out.
It was not a good enough position to hide so they had to find somewhere else.
Unfortunately there were several patrolling enemies coming by from time to time.
Lumi and Rayleigh made use of their foxes to scout the area since their white fur made it slightly easier to blend in with the white snow on the mountain and their small size was a big help to them.
It was fine at first to help them slip through some of the patrols but they eventually ran into some enemies along the way.
They could not just stay where they were and needed to find somewhere better to hide out until Ki came to find them.
In order to not be discovered by any others after they had been spotted, they leapt into action utilising their connections to their foxes and unsheathing their swords.
One enemy after another were cut down with the combined efforts of the two girls and their foxes.
Their quick efforts caused them to not draw a large amount of attention to themselves since most of the enemies attention was focussed towards the northern nobles that tried to escape the mountain.
They eventually stumbled upon an opening which they and their foxes could squeeze into which became the place where Ki had found them.
Rayleigh went on to explain. "We found something while exploring a little into the place we have been hiding in. I believe that it is some underground cavern within the mountain."
Lumi stood to the side and nodded quietly to show that she had confirmed the words of Rayleigh. "…"
Ki knit her brows and said. "Now is not the time for such things since we need to get out of here. If it involves something important then we can always come back to this later."
There was a trace of impatience in her voice as if she was trying to figure out how to best solve the current situation.
They would have to leave the mountain just like the others but it would be very difficult to do so without fighting the way down the mountain.
Ki was not ready to go exposing her power to others unless she was prepared to silence them.
The eyes and ears of the Central Lands Capital forces were everywhere so it would not be surprising for them to have people working as spies for them.
The Orthodox Alliance or the Martial Alliance held far too much power to be ignored and she did not feel confident enough to reveal herself to them or those that could inform them about her.
Ki had never been the one to stand at the forefront of any big battle since it was not really her style in her previous life so it became a habit of her to plot behind the scenes and lay low.
As much as she wanted to rush through the enemy forces to get back to the Northern Capital, it was much too risky since too many would be able to identify who she was by who she was with, how she dressed and so on.
Even if she dressed up to hide her identity and others, she would have to bring the dogs with her too while it would be difficult to explain how she was able to escape once others got back to the capital.
It would give others even more reason to suspect that it was her that charged through the enemy lines unharmed.
Ki was in a conflict towards what she would do but she had to leave the mountain eventually whether it be by force or waiting for things to play out.
Just as she was pondering over such things, Rayleigh spoke up again. "There are flowers growing inside. You should find them familiar."
Ki was stepping away until those words were spoken which caused her to halt in place.
She turned back around and looked curious. "Flowers?"
Rayleigh went on to explain. "These flowers seem to be very similar to the ones from my previous sect treasury. You should know the ones I am talking about."
Those words caused Ki to look towards the opening they exited then a smile appeared on her face. "Alright it wouldn't hurt to explore for a little longer."
One of the main reasons why she was in a hurry to leave was so that her parents did not worry about her if they were informed about what happened on the mountain by others who managed to make it back before her.
She did not wish to worry her parents who were waiting for her return.
Although they trusted in her ability to protect herself, they were not fully aware of what she was capable of.
If she suddenly went missing during such a large incident then it was only right that they would worry about her safety.
As much as she wanted to reassure them, she could only remain in place for the time being and there was something else that had helped in her decision to stay.
She then asked. "How many did you see?"
Rayleigh pondered before answering. "There were quite a few growing near the entrance so I do not know how many are further inside and how far this place goes."