Getting off the mountain proved to be quite easy yet really frightening.

Apparently, all you need is two Yeti allies that tear the thugs that guard the way up the mountain to pieces.

The only downside is the noise the thugs make as they die quite violently.

The sound of screaming, crying, sobbing, throwing up, hastily shouted orders and pleas for mercy or for help, divine or from their comrades.

Sadly enough for them, the gods seem to be preoccupied or just uncaring since as sudden the attacks started, as fast did the attacks and the slaughter end. The once tranquil white snow is now painted red with blood and body parts are just about strewn out everywhere.

Interestingly enough, the battlefield is already starting to shrink since the yetis have started snacking on the various body parts. Which is, in fact, a rather gruesome sight because of the 'interesting' eating habits of the yetis.

Shredding pieces of meat straight from the bones using their ridiculously sharp teeth or sucking and licking various body parts out of their armoured containers.

Oh, and the fact that they eat with their mouths open and do their sucking and licking with slurping sounds as if they were eating a bowl of stew or soup doesn't help either

Mary-Ann pushed all of it, the sight, the smell and the sound, from her mind and made it further down the mountain and into the pine forest. With all the frightful elements behind her, she is now in a tranquil forest of pine trees where the faint breeze makes the green pine needles sway and carries with it the fresh scent that is associated with them.

With a thump on every second step, Mary-Ann moves towards the east using her spear as an impromptu walking stick.

Not that she needs it, mind you.

If her course holds true and if she keeps heading to the east, she should come across the road that skirts the great pine forest of the dragon mountains and which acts as the main trade road between two allied kingdoms.

Once she finds herself on that road, she should be able to take the only major side road to get to the capital.

She made good time, yet she still needed three days to make it out of the forest and onto the main road.

During the night, she made a crude shelter out of branches and slept in her sleeping bag which she placed on a bed of pine needles to make for softer sleeping arrangements. Fortunately for her, she was undisturbed in her passage through the forest. All she encountered were some bunnies, some deer and some wildfowl. She did see a pack of wolves in the distance but they had plenty of easier prey to hunt so they left her alone.

By the time she left the forest, she was completely covered in dried up sweat, grime and traces of pine resin.

There should be plenty of small villages of just even travel outposts with inns along the road and with a bit of luck, she will be able to make it before nightfall. Just the thought of being able to sleep in an actual bed and to be able to take a bath reinvigorates her and makes her take longer and more energetic strides.

Multiple hours pass and it's only when dusk starts to fall that she finally spots the telltale signs of a garrisoned outpost.

A wooden palisade surrounding a cleared and flat area that is just of the side of the road. Faint traces of smoke, originating from various chimneys and campfires, rises up over the palisade. Which is a good sign.

To much smoke could be a sign of an accidental fire or a raid by bandits and not enough smoke could again be a sign of bandit activity or a disease/magical disaster.

The one saving grace of being so filthy and being 'just' the niece of the king is that no one should be able to recognise her or should be able to identify her as royalty. Soon after and right before it was truly dark, she came to the gates.

The gate is flanked by two men, one on either side, both wearing leather armour and carrying spears. On their hips, a short sword can be found that is only that much bigger than a big knife.

These men look at the surrounding area with a fresh look in their eyes, aided by the light of torches that lines the road for about fifty metres. Around their necks, they have a wooden whistle that, should any trouble arise, be able to call for reinforcements even in the loudest of storms.

These men and the others that are garrisoned here are proud soldiers of the Kingdom Of Ralomar. Even though these men are not the best of the best that the kingdom has to offer, they are still worth twice as much as any regular soldier of the allied kingdoms and are on par or even slightly better than the average soldier of the Empire Of Light. In fact, the kingdom spares no expense to keep the men well equipped, well fed and well trained. Even though there is no current active hostility between the empire and the kingdom, there has been some in the past and this, combined with the occasional monster attack or bandit attack is reason enough to condone the expense.

It is under their watchful and calculating gazes that Mary-Ann enters the outpost.

On her left stands the barracks with its training area so that if anything were to happen and if the guards were to call for help, reinforcements would be almost instantly there.

On the right side stands a large storage area combined with stables, used to store the carts, wagons and beasts of burden of the merchants that pass through here for the night. The storage area and barns are under constant surveillance to ensure that all thievery is kept to an almost non-existent level. This allows the merchants and their guards to sleep unburdened in the Inn. The more people that don't need to keep watch on their goods, the more people that spend their coin on drinks in the in as well.

On the opposite of the gate stands the inn. This is a three-story building which consists of the main building and two wings in which guests can be housed. In between the wings and in front of the main building is a quaint little courtyard with benches that surround a fountain. Faint music can be heard coming from the door to the bar room as wandering artists often stay in these inns for weeks on end.

Upon opening this door, Mary-Ann is greeted with the smell of stale beer, sweat and unwashed bodies, shards of drunken conversations and hot air from the combined effects of the roaring fireplace and the heat given off by the high amount of patrons.

With a minimal amount of shoving and elbowing drunkards, Mary-Ann makes it to the bar. With a quick wave, she signals the barman, a veritable mountain of a man with a big black beard and hands so massive that they could be mistaken for shovels.

"What can I do for ya, lassie?"

"I would like to hire a room for the night. And if it is possible, I would also like to take a bath and have some dinner and a drink delivered to my room."

"A room for the night would be ten coppers, a bath would be five coppers and a meal and drink to be delivered to your room would be three coppers."

She pulled out twenty coppers from her coin purse and threw them on the counter.

"Here's twenty, have the maids deliver some extra buckets of hot water and plenty of soap."

"Sure, lass, extra hot water coming right up. Here's your key, you are in room 15 of the western wing. The food should be there in about ten minutes and the bath should be there in around half an hour."

With a nod to the barkeep, Mary-Ann takes the key and strolls towards the west wing, shoving and elbowing drunkards out of her way. The hallways are lined with panelled wood and the doors are numbered with shining brass numbers.

Reaching the door carrying the number fifteen, she opens it with the key and strolls in.

The room is quite plain and in it, a bed with plenty of blankets and pillows, a window on the opposite side of the hallway, a bedside table, a chest at the foot of the bed and a table with some chairs.

The middle of the floor is covered in a soft and red rug.

She leaves her spear right next to the door and drops her backpack on the table.

When her food arrives, it joins the backpack on the table.

The food is quite simple, a pork stew with some vegetables and served with large pieces of bread. To wash it all down, she is given a mug of dark brown and frothy ale. While she was still eating, someone knocked on the door.

After a shouted "Come in", two maids walked in and carrying between them, a large wooden bathtub.

They quickly left and returned shortly after with buckets of water, both hot and cold. They left and returned another time to get the extra buckets of water she ordered. With a small curtsy, they left her to finish her meal and to bathe in privacy.

Quickly wolfing down the rest of her food, she finishes and just about rushes to the bath.

First of all, the buckets of cold water go in it to serve as a base and to ensure that there is plenty of water in the tub.

After that comes some of the buckets of hot water to bring the bathwater to a comfortable temperature. With just a bit more of hot water, the water reaches a barely bearable temperature. Now that she is happy with the temperature, she starts to undress and slowly lowers herself in the tub. A sigh of contentment makes it past her lips as the warm water covers her body like a comfortable and warm hug.

After a half hour of just soaking, she finally picks up the soap the maids left and uses it to lather up her body and to wash her hair. When she is clean, or at least as clean as she could get with washing like that, she leaves the tub and wraps herself in a towel, which again was left behind by the maids.

With only the towel to protect her modesty if anyone should barge in her room, she throws her clothes in the tub and adds the rest of the slightly cooler hot water. Making use of the bar of soap, she shrubs her clothes to remove most of the filth and the dust from her travels from them. Once they are as clean as they can get with what she has to work with, she wrings them out and hangs them over the chairs to dry.

With a full belly and a clean and fresh body, she crawls into her bed and under the covers.

Soon enough, the exhaustion brought on from her travels and her recent experiences overwhelms her and she promptly falls asleep.

When morning comes, she swiftly puts her clothes back on, grabs her backpack and her clothes and makes her way back to the bar. She greets the barkeep with a smile and drops the key on the counter.

"How much would it be for breakfast?"

"That would depend on what you want, If you want some simple yet filling fare, you can get a bowl of oatmeal for a copper or a breakfast plate filled with bacon, eggs, sausages and bread for three coppers."

Just hearing him talk about sausages and bacon makes her drool slightly and makes her stomach grumble.

"I would like the breakfast plate, please. And, if possible, a cup of the strongest tea you have."

She says as she hands over five coppers.

With a sweep of his hands, the barkeep swipes the coppers of the bar and says to her:

"One breakfast plate and a cup of our strongest tea coming right up. The food should be ready in about ten minutes or so and if you find yourself a seat, I will bring over the tea quite shortly."

After a hearty breakfast and a nice warm cup of tea, she sets out once more on her journey towards the capital.

Her great-grandfather, a now long deceased king, had once decreed that there should be enough outposts or villages along this trade route to ensure that travellers could stay at an inn every night, even if they are on foot.

Only under the most unfortunate of circumstances would a person have to camp next to the road and in the wild where it might not be safe at night.