Chapter 30

They had found a path, but it brought new troubles with it. Many outlaws knew that merchants enjoyed taking this route through Twin-Horn Mountain, so they often came here to wait for "business." Over time, the area around Twin-Horn Mountain became infested with bandits. The government frequently dispatched troops to suppress them, but there was nothing in the area save for a dirt road and wilderness—either barren hills or dense forest. Whenever the soldiers appeared, the bandits would simply vanish into the deep mountain. Years passed, and very few bandits were ever caught, while more and more soldiers ended up lost in the hills. The troops all knew that bandit suppression in this area was a thankless, exhausting chore. As a result, they just went through the motions. No one was truly willing to risk their life searching for thieves in the vast mountains; they would wander around for a couple of days, return to report that the bandits had been frightened away, and consider the job finished.