Eventually—after another hour of grueling walk out in the open—they finally reached the 7-meter wall, though the snow had accumulated enough that there was only three or four meters left exposed.
They just knew which level of sentry and walls they were based on the thickness of the wall and the diameter of the sentries.
Not that any of them were really analyzing right now, of course. They were just sparkling to see that they had arrived to safety.
Finally here! They thought, hope flickering in their tired eyes. They were really pushing themselves now.
But then…they paused.
Seeing the wall was one thing, but…what next? Where's the gate? What if it was still a distance away? Their energies were already spent…would they be able to reach the gates? And after that? Where would they go after entering?
This was another reason why it was extremely rare to have refugees during the Extreme Cold. Ignoring the difficulty of travel, they could be stuck outside the walls!
