Chapter 136 - Galena
Sophia let out a sigh of relief and stepped back, closing the door of the carriage. It only took them a couple of minutes to pass the bridge and enter the forest near Galena.
It had been raining for almost a full day without a break and the conditions of the roads were greatly affected by all the water. All the dirt roads were more like quicksands at this point so the remaining journey which should have only lasted an hour or so took more than three hours.
The carriage slowly emerged out of the forest and entered the farming lands outside the town. Although Galena was considered a third-grade town, due to its proximity to the many forests and mountains, a lot of people visited the place every few months to hunt and look for treasures.
That's why there were many guilds and hunter unions here. The locals preferred to call it a city even though it wasn't qualified to be called one.
As the carriage got closer, the boys peeked out of the side windows to catch a glimpse of the 'majestic' Galena castle that was the core of the city. The entire 'city' was made around this castle and was the abode of the city lord who was probably the only profound realm cultivator in thousands of miles.
The city lord was either selected by the government or the Mei clan and was the ruler of the entire area. Here, his word was the law.
"Mom, why are there so many people here?" Damian asked upon seeing the multitude of people either just standing under a tree or camping out in the open.
Jacob frowned as he passed by the many families that were huddling together in the cold rain. "Why aren't they going inside?" he wondered but his query was soon answered as they reached the closed city gate.
There were rows of fully armored guards standing there intimidatingly. Other than the 30-meter radius around the city gate, all the other areas were littered with tents. in total, there were probably more than Fifty thousand people there.
Jacob stopped the carriage some ways back, got off, and walked towards the gate.
"Halt! The gates are closed and no one is allowed entry!" shouted a bearded guard from more than 15 meters away, stopping Jacob in his tracks.
"But what about the evacuation order? We left our homes to come here, to seek shelter in the city. Why are you not letting anyone pass?" he yelled back from afar.
The guard frowned, "It is the city lord's order. No one is allowed entry until the rain stops. After that, if you have the gold then you're most welcome to pass through," he said scornfully and then looked away, indicating the end of the conversation.
Jacob wanted to ask a few more questions and inquire about Felix's whereabouts but it was quite obvious that he was not going to get a proper response from these people.
He went back to the carriage and moved it to an empty spot on the outer edge since every other place was taken. He explained the situation to Sophia who had a hard time wrapping her head around this. She wanted to go talk to the guards herself but everyone else stopped her.
"They have no right! Even though he is the city lord, the evacuation order has been issued by the highest authority in the kingdom. He has no choice but to obey. I'm gonna file a complaint with the internal bureau once this is all over. And gold for entry? That's not a thing even under normal circumstances let alone right now. This is illegal on so many levels. Are they not afraid of consequences?" Sophia couldn't sit still and kept talking to herself for several minutes before calming down.
"Just because some moron in the palace thought this was a good idea, does not mean I do as well. You boys will study until we can get back. Here, I brought all of your books," she waved her hand and a pile of books fell on the carriage floor, baffling even her husband.
"But mom! The rain and the order and the monsters and the..." the boys tried to reason with her but she did not budge. Then came the pleading but still bore no fruit. She was harsher than most military generals.
It was already morning but looked no different than the middle of the night. The dark clouds covered the entire sky and not a single ray of sunshine passed through. If not for the watches, there was no way to tell it was the middle of the damn day.
The Miller family spent most of the time in the carriage because of the heavy rain. And after them, not a lot of other people arrived. They were in the last batch.
Their 'neighbors' were loners that looked like cultivators and hunters. The boys wanted to go talk to them but were stopped by their parents. Who knew the background of these people. And they had always heard of stories about temperamental cultivators that would start massacres for no reason at all so it was better to keep to themselves.
Half a day later another person arrived. He had long black hair there coming down to his back and was taller than 99% of the people here. It looked he had been in a tough fight as he was naked from the waist up and whatever was left below that was in tatters.
There were closed up scars all over his body which made him look very menacing. He didn't talk to anyone or even take cover from the rain and simply sat on a nearby rock with his head down, letting the raindrops fall on him ceaselessly.
The only noticeable thing was the small container beside him. There were a couple of cute little baby animals in it. One was a full white kitten and the other a pup. Neither of them woke up for even a second and simply slept through everything.
***
It had already been three whole days since the evacuation order was issued but there was no change in the weather. Instead, it seemed to be getting even colder and many people had to go out to hunt for food and gather firewood, which was easier said than done in this rain.
The Miller family was also in a dire situation. Their food supplies were running dangerously low and the carriage was not enough to keep the cold out.
Sophia was 5 months pregnant and it was very dangerous for her and the baby to stay in such cold weather for an extended period of time. Jacob went to talk to the guards several times but returned without an answer.
"The city lord's orders," they said. "Our hands are tied," they said.
Another day passed and there was an extremely loud commotion a few hundred meters away from the Miller family. Several beasts had come out of the jungle and attacked the civilians. Although they were taken care of relatively quickly, there were still some casualties.. An entire family was eaten alive before the guards reached.