“How badly had I been burned?” Garret asked with a sincere tone to his voice.
Garret’s question was followed by robust laughter from all three of his companions. Seth laughed so hard it brought tears to his eyes, and Sara was forced to lie back down, gasping for air when she finally stopped laughing. Ashton’s laughing on the other had did not last long. He was directly in front of Garret when the man’s mood turned from one of sincere concern to one of anger. The change in his friends face had stopped Ashton’s laughter in its tracks.
Seth and Sara had finally stopped laughing, and both apologized quickly to Garret. They explained their amusement to the fact that though Garret had thought he had been burned, in actuality he was simply bruised and sore from the previous day. Even Garret got a laugh in retrospect.
Ashton took turns healing both Seth and Sara, and then suggested that they should eat before they returned to the road. They all agreed, and gathering their supplies, sat together for a quick breakfast. While finishing up his food Seth mused about how much had already happened that day, yet they had only been awake for less than half an hour. Today he was sure would be an interesting day.
The day passed quickly without anything else out of the ordinary. They rode their mounts a bit slower than they had the day before. Each of them remembering, all too well, the consequences that would await them tomorrow. They passed several people on the road, and noted that many of the people they passed were around their own age. Houses too began to appear in the afternoon, spread apart from one another at great distances at first, ever growing closer and closer as the group traveled. They rode much of the day in silence, simply enjoying the ride. It was a cool day, but not uncomfortably cold. As afternoon approached the land leveled out, and again the river had come near to the road and traveled parallel to it as far as the eye could see. Farm lands lay barren all around them as they rode, having already been harvested for the season. The sky was clear and the sun shone bright already past its peak, descending slowly.
The four companions rode their mounts side by side in a wall of thundering hooves. The Afternoon was growing late, but they still had a few hours of light to ride with. They had slowed their pace to a trot for a while, allowing the horses, and their back sides a short reprieve. They had not yet stopped to eat this day and so decided together, to find a place to let the horses graze for a while and eat a late lunch. Riding for about a quarter of an hour more they found a place where the land had not been plowed for crops, and so grass grew thickly enough for the horses to graze. There was only one scraggly tree in the grass, a tree the horses could easily uproot if they desired, but having no other option, the companions tied all four horses to the small tree. They left the horses liberal slack so that they might graze enough to fill their bellies. While the boy’s tied up the horses, Sara spread out Seth’s blanket on the ground, preparing a place for the four of them to eat. The young men returned carrying with them food, and seated themselves on the blanket with Sara. They took their time eating to allow the horses to graze, unsure how much such a large animal was supposed to eat. Finishing their meal the group continued to sit upon the blanket for a short while. Without any formal decision to leave they each stood after some time anxious to get going. Seth returned the blanket to his pack, and the four walked together to retrieve their steeds. Untying them from the tree the four friends led their mounts across the road to where the river flowed a short distance away and allowed the animals to drink. After the beasts’ thirst appeared to be satiated, they led them back to the road and climbed back into their saddles to continue while they still had light.
Garret placed his foot in the stirrup of his mount. He knew it was his mount because it was the tallest of the four. He had picked this one for that very reason. Lifting his body high into the air he swung his other leg over the saddle and into the other stirrup. Standing in the stirrups he looked on down the road to the horizon. Shimmering just over the horizon, Garret could see six identical objects, evenly spaced from one another. Oblivious to the danger of doing so, and wanting to get a better look at what he was seeing, Garret removed his feet from the stirrups and precariously climbed up to stand atop his saddle. Looking again to the distance, this time with a better vantage point, he could more clearly see the objects. Not only could he see the objects he could now identify as towers, but he could also see the wall that connected them.
Garret’s three companions watched him climb dangerously on top of his saddle. They each watched him quietly not wanting to startle him or his mount. They had each assumed correctly what it was that he was doing, but none of them knew why he was doing it. They all remained silently, still watching, when he climbed back down into the saddle.
“So?” Seth said questioningly
Garret pulled on his reigns, turning his mount back around to face his companions. As he turned everyone noted the smile on his face, but waited for him to answer his brother’s question.
“We’re there.” Garret stated coolly, the smile still remaining on his lips.
“We’re where?” Again it was Seth who asked
“Here.” Garret answered jokingly.
“Ok then bro, then where exactly is here?” Seth asked perplexed.
“Valdadore.” Garret simply stated, the smile returning to his face, then continued. “If you look carefully you can see six triangles on the horizon all spaced the same amount apart from one another.”
Seth, Ashton, and Sara each looked to the horizon at this statement, and one by one returned their eyes to Garret, each nodding their agreement. Once each of them had let him know that they too could see the objects he continued.
“When I stood up I could see that each of those triangles is the top of a tower, and connecting the towers is a wall. I think it is Valdadore. It must be, there aren’t any other towns or cities between Raven’s hold and the capital that I can recall hearing about.”
“How far away do you think it is?” Seth asked his twin.
“Well at the pace we were keeping this morning I would say maybe four hours. That’s assuming the walls here are the same height as the walls of Raven’s Hold. If they are taller that means it is further away and so will take longer. However, if we pick up the pace, like we were doing yesterday or maybe even faster if the horses can take it, I would say two and a half maybe three hours tops. That would get us there right about sunset.”
Seth looked up noting the suns position in the sky. The sky was still clear, and they did have about three hours of light left. Looking across the sky from the sun Seth also noted the two moons shining pale in the still lit sky. The first was already well in the sky, the second just coming over the eastern horizon.
“Well I guess we better get going then.” Seth said. “Seems to me even if your off by a few hours both moons will be out tonight so if we have to travel in the dark we should still be able to see.”