"How are the things inside?" Blanc asked as he climbed out of the pool and into the cavern.
"Mostly dry," Celine concluded as she placed a hand in all the bags.
"Perfect," Blanc replied, "Now do a final check on your items, see if you didn't miss anything before we get too far away."
"Did you do a count on all the arrows, Brother?" Kael asked.
"Yes," Blanc nodded, "We have sixty-four left."
"Did we lose fourteen arrows over the course of a week?" Celine muttered.
"I have the arrowheads of about ten, but I didn't get to remake them, so, at the moment, yes. I have also done some quick maintenance on the rest of the weapons, so we are mostly good, on both weapons and food," Blanc explained.
"I have everything," Miyanna said, after checking her bag.
"So do I," added Lune.
"My books are dry, so I am good to go," Kael said.
Celine giggled at Kael's words, but she also confirmed that nothing was missing.
"Nothing seems to be out of place," she concluded.
"In that case," Blanc said, placing the bag on his back and the sword in his left hand, "If there is nothing else, we can start heading towards the rock path."
And as they began walking through the long corridor, their conversations continued as they talked about mundane stuff such as their food provisions, and which foods they mostly missed.
But an hour into their walk, the conversations slowly turned to more serious matters.
"Say," said Blanc, "Which bags carry the ropes?"
"Mine and Miyanna's," said Celine, "Confirmed it before we began walking."
"But are those ropes enough?" Miyanna wondered.
"More than plenty for both purposes," Blanc began, "We just need to make sure that once one walks on the path, they remain calm. We have safety measures, but it's always best not to need them."
"Easier said than done," Miyanna sighed.
"No need to worry about it," Blanc said, "We've been through worse, just take it as yet another challenge we need to face, but instead of a fight with beasts, it's a fight against your own fears and doubts."
"Is that how you see it, Brother?" Lune asked.
Blanc chuckled as he shook his head gently, "No, Little Flower. I am terrified, I said that as much to the rest of you as I did to myself."
"Did it help?" Kael wondered.
"Let's hope so," Blanc replied, "But let's rest a bit, passed the halfway point, better to conserve our strength for what matters instead of these corridors."
"Good point," Celine agreed, as they stopped at one of the smaller caverns they entered the day before.
Where another question surfaced in Lune's mind.
"If we manage to get inside the Moose Path," Lune began, "Are we looking for something specific, such as where the turtles were here?"
"No," Blanc shook his head, "The taiga is filled with strong beasts. Moose, bears, wolves, lynxes, wolverines, and foxes. Beasts that are very resistant to the cold but also very durable, not to mention some of the most beautiful beasts there are. But some birds would be most useful to us as well, such as owls, ravens, and hawks."
"It does sound like you thought of this for quite a while, my love," Celine giggled, "But I think it's time we start walking again."
"Better to know what we are up against and what would offer us advantages," Blanc replied as they all got to their feet and headed back into the corridor, "I expect that, by the time we leave, if everything goes well, the harsh coldness of the taiga would not be much of a threat for us to get by."
"Will it be that bad at the beginning?" Miyanna asked.
"Worse, I fear," Blanc sighed, "While the humidity and the warmth were annoying, they were not as deadly as the coldness of the taiga. That coldness, if one of us were to fall into a frozen lake, for example, would kill you quicker than a bear would."
Kael and Lune coughed at Blanc's words, a sudden reminder of a time they felt was lifetimes ago.
But the conversations kept on going, only coming to an end right before the rock path stood in front of their eyes.
"Hmmm," Blanc muttered, looking at the rock path in front of them.
When he looked at it, the gut feeling that it was not safe to pass hit him again.
"It looks a bit different from yesterday," Celine said, examining the path from inside the corridor.
"Before we pass, I think I'll go back up and throw boulders at it again, just to be safe," Blanc thought for a bit, as he placed his bag and weapons on the ground. "You all stay here, start getting dressed, and I'll yell from above when I get there, okay?"
"Be safe," Miyanna said, "And throw the damn rocks properly and away from us."
"As my Lady commands," he laughed as he passed them in a hurry, heading towards the large cavern where the tunnel awaited.
And before he knew it, he was back in the river, swimming towards the shore at great speed.
Once he left, he rushed into the rainforest looking for a decent-sized boulder, and once he found one, he picked it up atop his shoulder and began rushing to the edge, right above the path.
"I'm here, can you all hear me?" Blanc yelled.
"Yeah," resounded back from below him.
"Take a few steps back, let me know when you're done," he yelled again.
"We're done," yelled Celine.
With confirmation, he prepared himself, and with a groan, hurled the large stone right towards the rock path, which, just as yesterday, snapped at the moment of contact and fell into the gap, towards the violent river.
"You want us to walk on that?" Miyanna yelled.
"Watch!" Blanc yelled back as pieces of rock on both sides of the Gardens broke off and remade the rock path, "I'll throw another one!"
And they repeated this process over fifty times, with Blanc breaking the rock path even more times than yesterday, just to be clear to him and all below that it was safe to cross.
And with a sharp exhale, tired and sweaty, he yelled, "I'm coming back down, prepare the ropes!"