“I’m glad we came,” said Alfric. “It was a good time.”
“Well, we should get going,” said Verity. “I get hungry after a set. Normally I had Cynthia leave my food up in my room, but we still have to walk across town.”
“Let’s go then,” Alfric said with a nod, standing up.
They left once Verity had taken a small covered dish from the kitchen. Again, Isra found herself watching the bard, but this time there wasn’t the excuse of watching a performer at work.
“Can I carry that for you?” Isra asked as they walked.
“Oh, thank you,” said Verity, handing it over. “You enjoyed the music?”
“Very much. I do wish I could have heard it without the other noise.”
“Tavern music is meant to fade into the background,” said Verity. “And at certain moments, it’s meant to catch your attention and let you get lost in it. It’s meant to fill in gaps in conversation. I can’t say that I’m all that good at it.”
“You were spectacular,” said Isra. “Beautiful.”
“Well,” said Verity, blushing. “Thank you. But I just play what I want to play without thinking too much about what I’m doing or why. It’s a very relaxed way of doing it and probably not what’s best suited to a busy tavern, but Cynthia has never told me to do anything different, and if I don’t have any pressure on me.” She shrugged. “I would rather play something that’s beautiful to me.”
“You’d make the songbirds jealous,” said Isra.
Verity smiled. The other three were walking slightly ahead, engaged in their own conversation. “I suppose you’re going back to your home soon? It’s getting late. I have a lantern you can borrow, if you need.”
“I can make my way in the dark,” said Isra. “It’s one of those things I had thought everyone could do.” She was silent for a moment, feeling the warm dish in her hands. “If there’s a bed, I may ask Mizuki if I could stay the night. I already packed my bag and left it there.”
“There’s a bed,” said Verity. “You’d be in the room with me, where Mizuki’s sisters used to sleep.”
“If that’s not a problem,” said Isra, feeling flushed. The ale hadn’t quite left her, it seemed.
“I have to warn you,” said Verity. “I do have a tendency to sing in my sleep.”
Isra smiled. She was quite looking forward to it.
Chapter 22 — The Journey More Than the Destination
Mizuki was finding that she didn’t actually like traveling that much. Six miles was a long way to walk, especially if you were going to do a dungeon at the end of it. The dungeon was also a mile and a half off the warp point, so that was seven and a half miles. Then after the dungeon, there would be another six miles of walking, either to Liberfell for the night or all the way back to Pucklechurch. She liked walking, but she didn’t like it that much. The one big bonus was that she was with people she found herself somewhat comfortable with.
She was also very slightly hungover, though it had helped that they’d set off later in the day, after a light breakfast. She drank lots of water and chewed an herb Isra had given her, which helped.
“We should have gotten a cart,” said Mizuki. “Or a mount. We have the money.”
“And you know how to ride, ay?” asked Hannah.
“No,” said Mizuki. “But it can’t be that hard.”
“The birds are hard,” said Alfric. “And there are limits on how much weight they can carry, though you might be able to manage it, actually. The lizzo are finicky and slow. A good mount is one of the most sought after of the beasts you could find in a dungeon.” He glanced over at Isra. “With your abilities, I’m hoping that if we come across the opportunity, we might be able to capitalize on it.”
“You’re not s’posed to take animals out,” said Hannah. “Not unless you have the equipment for it to make sure it won’t get loose. And anything a person could possibly ride, we wouldn’t be able to fit in the book.”
“I know, I was thinking down the road,” said Alfric. “I’ve heard that in Kiromo they’ve been trying to breed bigger sheep, strong enough to pull a cart, but I don’t think they’ve had much luck. And in Tarbin they have cats, but they’re mostly for show. Most likely we’ll have a travel entad before any of that becomes relevant for us. Maybe we’ll even have one later today.”
“I hope so,” said Mizuki. “I am not looking forward to the walk back.”
“I think I’ll go to Liberfell after we’re done in Traeg’s Knob,” said Verity. “I have the money to spend the night there, and I told Cynthia that I wasn’t coming back. Besides, it would be nice to see a bit of a bigger city.”
“It’s nothing in comparison with Dondrian,” said Alfric.
“Nothing is anything in comparison with that monster of a city,” said Hannah.
“Well, are we all going to Liberfell?” asked Mizuki.
“Those of us that are still alive at the end of the dungeon,” said Hannah with a little laugh.
“Hannah,” said Alfric.
“Oh, just a joke,” she said. “This one is in the middle of nowhere, should be easier than Pucklechurch was. Obviously I don’t expect anyone to be hurt, and if they are, I expect me to be able to patch them.”
“From what I’ve heard, the warp point is at the top of a hill,” said Alfric. “So at least on the way to Liberfell, we’ll have a downhill stretch.”
“It’s a popular place for sleddin’,” said Hannah, “if you can stomach the walk in the winter.”
“Yeah, I used to do that when I was little,” said Mizuki. “Not many people live in the hex, and the warp point is in a nice place. You just sled down, then warp back to the top. Kind of terrifying though. And obviously it’s late spring.”
“Sorry,” said Verity. “What’s sledding?”
“You don’t have that in Dondrian?” asked Mizuki. “You just, uh, slide down a hill, usually on a—do you know what a sled is? It’s like some wooden boards with metal runners.”
“And people do this for fun?” asked Verity.
“It’s loads of fun,” said Mizuki. “The biggest hill near Pucklechurch isn’t really good for it though. You need a bigger one, like at Traeg’s Knob, which is all the better because you can just warp up instead of having a hike.”
“There’s a handful of houses near the warp point,” said Hannah. “Not so much of a town though, just a waystation. Some of it’s public, a place to warm yourself on a trip, or if you’ve come for the sleddin’.”
“We don’t get much snow up north,” said Verity. “A dusting in the middle of winter, usually, but nothing more than that. My first winter here, I was shocked by how much it built up.”
“And yet you didn’t wear pants,” said Hannah, shaking her head.
“I’m wearing pants now,” said Verity, lifting up her dress to show that indeed, she had pants on beneath it. It was not, in Mizuki’s opinion, the most flattering outfit. Mizuki had pants too, but she hadn’t wanted to walk in them, not when it was going to be a mildly warm day. She had bought a pack and put the pants and a few other things into it, along with her gloves, boots, and a thicker shirt. She also had the helmet she’d gotten from the blacksmith, which she’d almost left at home because of how stupid she looked in it, but better to look stupid than to be stupid.
There were similar changes all around. Perhaps it was Alfric, or perhaps it was Hannah, but they were all treating it like they were an actual dungeoneering party. The helm had been more expensive than Mizuki would have liked, but she was very easily getting into the habit of thinking that money wasn’t a real concern.