Chapter 137 - Initial Struggles

The first steps of the large group were slow and slightly faltering. It was hard to see in this environment and even circulating mana did not fully relieve the damp chill of the white fog obscuring their view. As it was, they were moving at a pace matching the slow crawl forward of their scout, Lesley. No sound besides that of their breath and light footfalls were audible, the fog seemingly acting not only as a smokescreen but likewise as an insulator.The children kept to their assigned positions, weapons firmly held in hand, none willing to speak in case they were to attract something out in the hidden depths around them. Even the horses seemed to remain silent, as if nervous but unable to act on that feeling. The adults likewise remained silent, none riding their steeds both to ensure the horses would remain as calm as possible and also to ensure that the horse would not lead them astray from the group, knowing that finding their way back in such a landscape would be difficult for even someone well trained.As time passed the children were beginning to grow tired from the constant stress, their eyes warily peering around them as if to try and see if there was anything new or different. Unfortunately all they found before them were more fog and twisting, dark tree trunks. Lesley had yet to tug on the rope even once and it had already been what felt to be hours, though nobody would really be able to tell in a place as monotonous as their surroundings.Eventually Jien, who was keeping a close eye on his teammates raised his hand and clenched his fist. This simple gesture was all the others needed to see to let out a silent sigh of relief. Olivia gave the rope wrapped around her waist a firm tug, paused for a moment and then gave one more firm tug. Back when they had been preparing to start their march it was Olivia who had made this suggestion to call Lesley back, something that Jien had not thought of in his first plan.After she had completed her signal, she stood still since she was the only guidepost for Lesley to make his return. Jien settled onto the slightly damp forest floor, using a leather traveling cloak from his pack as a barrier. Once he was seated Rosalind was the second to take action, quickly sitting down next to Jien, using his cloak the same way and leaning against him while shivering. Bernard kneeled down beside the pair and Barret quietly took the other side. Olivia and Lesley being the last to join the circle while still tethered together.The teachers created and outer circle around the children, both as a security perimeter and to assist them in keeping what heat they could both for their own sakes and those of the children. This forest was not a hospital environment and though they were here to drill the noble children in many topics they could not allow them to get seriously ill or be drastically injured. Not only would it slow the progress of the group overall it may very well end the bootcamp.Morale was an important factor in many situations, those pertaining to safety being one of the greatest. If you were struggling to survive and lost your morale it could be the same as signing your own death warrant. While the adults were here to instill many harsh lessons on the children, young as they were, in preparation for the battles they would join in their teenage years and potentially after, they were not here to crush their will to survive.Once everyone had gathered and managed to stop shivering due to the tight circle allowing for a sharing of body heat Jien began speaking once again his tone low and serious. "Our first priorities are of course shelter, food and water." he stated calmly. "So far our exploration hasn't led us to any results for shelter, luckily we can create that if the need comes to it using the wood from the forest. Water too shouldn't be too difficult if we use the fog itself to condense drinking water, though we would need to think of an efficient way to accomplish this." At this point Jien frowned slightly. "My biggest concern for us is food at this stage. Given that Lesley hadn't signaled us it appears that he has yet to spot anything usable as of yet.""Luckily we have some food supplies prepared but we won't be able to survive off of these for long. We will need to figure out our next steps and a good source of food before our supplies run low." In the end Jien could only let out a deep sigh. "We will rest here for a short while, use your cloaks to cover us to assist with keeping warm and then stop circulating mana. We will need to conserve our energy for the next march."With that said Jien pulled an hourglass from his pack and placed it on the ground between them resolutely. "We will take an hour's break and then move once more. If we can't find a good spot to settle at that point, we will make a short-term camp to sleep and continue after we all get some rest."