A pattern developed for Ed and For'Ten. They found that if they ran for about an hour they could cover 60 to 100 miles depending on the terrain. They also decided it was worth taking a break and letting their bodies relax.
For Ed, it was a strain on his mana but good control practice. For'Ten was in a similar boat but it was stamina that was the issue. The centaur half of him was just getting warmed up but his minotaur lower half was ready for a break. It was meant for sheer leg strength. Ko'Loss had made some enchantments on his personal items to lower his overall weight. Still, his body didn't know about sprinting this fast at long distances.
From the capital to the eastern shore was several weeks travel by foot. So far they had covered half the distance in just 3 days. Along the way they had stopped in each small village they had run into. For'Ten used his authority to claim they were just doing a tour of the countryside for security purposes.
This gave them an acceptable reason to stop and lurk around for a while before heading out of town. No one suspected a thing when a knight showed up in disguise.
Every town had been the same. They all had little houses and a chapel. Some sort of town square with benches. All sorts of demi-humans went about their lives with normal routines. They ate and drank. They bought and sold. It was an Idyllic life. It wasn't much different than life in the north. Ed was sad that humans and demi-humans didn't realize they were more alike than different.
In a grassy clearing along the merchant road, Ed and For'Ten sat having lunch. The sun was lazily making its way across the sky. Ed was checking positions of souls and updating the map for themselves and Loran.
From what he could see Loran appeared to have found one. They were down to nine dots. The one was moving quickly between the north somewhere near Ganel and the western woods. Ed was getting better and judging distances. This dot was moving so fast it was hard to get a read on. If it was a flying creature then getting it to come in contact with the disc would be the issue.
Ed pulled out his map and put a note to confirm she had found one and inform her the other was still moving. He marked their location on the map with an E and rolled it back up.
"No changes?" For'Ten said?
"Actually Loran found one," Ed said with a smile.
"Well, that's promising but surprising. I expected she would have had a harder time since she doesn't have you to locate them."
"I thought that too but I am guessing she had some kind of plan on how to do this. Or she knew something we didn't. Either way, I won't complain." Ed shrugged and held his hands up. He was stumped too but he wasn't going to argue with results.
For'Ten bit off a small chunk of lunch and chewed. He talked while he chewed. "What about us? Still headed the right way?"
Ed nodded and took his first bite. He chewed silently for a while before swallowing and speaking. "Everything is still spread around. The largest concentration appears to be in the port. I get the feeling that probably four souls are near the ocean somewhere."
For'Ten just tipped his head in, "Makes it easy to know where to go. They haven't left port?"
Ed shook his head. "Seem to be very slowly moving up the shore but still very close to where they started. They might just be cruising from port to port. Of course, I've never seen a boat so I have no idea what speed they should move at."
"Good point," For'Ten nodded his head. "So what direction now? Follow the merchant's road?"
Ed shook his head, "No that takes us through to The Oracle. We want to avoid that if we can. The gods will be keeping an eye on it. We want to keep our distance. I say we cut south and skirt the marshlands before heading across to the river. If we could find a place to cross the river soon we could try heading straight to the coast and south. It's a mixed bag either way." He passed the map over to For'Ten for him to inspect.
They discussed routes and agreed to follow the river to the next town. If they could find a pass over they would try that. Ed had suggested trying to jump it. A good running start and one full leap over if they could.
For'Ten laughed at the idea of them jumping it in one full leap. It was possible but they had no idea what the nearest narrow bend was. It was safer to find a village and ask questions before they go jumping into rivers like idiots.
After lunch, they napped until the sun was starting to climb south. It was the heat of the afternoon but the weather was starting to turn and the wind had a bit of a bite to it. Even though the layers they occasionally felt the sting of autumn setting in.
They both got up and nodded. "The last one to the next village has to carry the other one's bags..."
Ed was about to protest the unfair nature of that bet before For'Ten took off at breakneck speeds. They darted off the roadway to avoid any road travel and bounced between trees and rocks. When a clearing opened up they went full speed across the grassy plains.
More than once a cow was chewing and stopped to look up when a man and minotaur came through like a flash of lightning.
One man fishing in a pond saw two grown men skipping in the distance. He laughed at the two men, calling them idiots before his brain registered how fast they were moving. He put his pole down and brought in the line. He decided it was time to go home and take a nap. His eyes were deceiving him.
The next town over was a village of Felis people. Ed had paused and realized that they had gotten dangerously close to Ashra's home village. They wouldn't recognize him now that he was back to himself. But he didn't want to run the risk. Two human males this far south would raise some questions. And some would automatically assume it was him.
When they made it into town the sun was firmly in the dinner position. The shadows were getting long and the air was firmly chilled now. They stopped running just out of town and walked the rest of the way in.
There was no guard at the gate. Towns in this area rarely needed them as every citizen was armed and trained on what to do. They simply walked into town and found that grandest building in the square. That was normally the town hall. This town was no exception. The square had a garden and fountain. At one corner sat a house that stood out. It was wood and brick. The rest of the houses were stucco and wood. This made it the obvious choice for travelers to stop.
For'Ten reached the door first and opened it for both of them. They passed through the door single file. The woman sitting in the reception area was using a brush to clean her fur when she saw the shape walk in. The setting sun only gave a silhouette through the frame. She almost dismissed the visitor until she realized that the sun was completely blocked by the man behind him.
For'Ten walked ahead of Ed and moved toward the woman. She suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise at the sight of him. He was huge by the standards of other villagers, he had human features but oxen legs. She assumed he must be part of the Minotaur races.
"Can I help you and your master?" She said as calmly as she could. The fact that he moved ahead of Ed gave her the impression that he was Ed's muscle.
"That is my traveling partner Ed and I am For'Ten. We need to see the village chief please." For'Ten pulled up a flap on his chest to expose his knight's insignia. The woman recognized it and nodded before getting up from the couch. She wore nothing, her fur covered her whole body. And unlike Ashra she had a full tail. She had snow-white fur with little spots of black and orange across it. She moved like a house cat. Ed was intrigued by what species she was. Her face was a pure mix of human and cat.
Ed watched her leave and felt For'Ten looking at him. "It's rude to stare you know."
Ed shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked at For'Ten. "Can't I admire the diversity of the species without looking like a pervert? No one knows what I am." The fact that he was human was being hidden. Outside of Erust running around and committing miracles, all other humans were considered to be deviants when it came to Demi-humans.
The chief was an older fellow. His posture was slightly bent forward and he moved slower than the female who just left. He carried that aura of authority you would expect of someone in charge.
"Please take a seat," the old man motioned to a table and chairs across the way from the sitting area. It was probably a kitchen table but worked for formal occasions.
For'Ten nodded and pulled a seat out. Ed found a chair to the right of For'Ten and sat down quietly. He left his hood up and kept quiet.
"I am For'Ten. I am a captain with the Knights of the Glass Capital. I am doing a survey of the lands and have come to get a status report." For'Ten had turned on his charm and was oozing knightly grace. He had to because right now he looked and smelled nothing like a knight.
"Inspections Eh?" The old man stared off into space for a minute obviously thinking of something. "You've come about the stories of the prophet I guess?"
For'Ten looked the man over before speaking, "I was tasked with assessing our security. But I am also supposed to get the stories of what happens in the various towns." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a small notepad. For'Ten had insisted on bringing it as a form of a journal. His nature as a guardian and peace keeper compelled him to be able to keep notes on things he didn't want to forget.
The man began to tell stories about the Prophet and his trip to the south. He passed along stories of the battle with the rogue divine. He finished with stories of his travels north to spread the word.
Ed shifted in his seat. This meant Erust was on the move. The fact that he seemed to be moving north provided proof that the sabotaged Finder was working.
"Where is he now?" For'Ten quizzed the man.
"He crossed the river a few days ago on a barge and is headed up the coast. He said he is searching for someone. He stops in each village for a day or two and performs miracles. Most people are grateful that he comes into town. Although we don't really believe in his gods, we appreciate it when they do try to help out this far south."
Ed coughed and broke into the conversation. "I know that belief in the northern gods isn't popular down here. Why do you think he would waste the time to help the villages out?"
For'Ten cocked an eyebrow at Ed. It wasn't in the plan for him to speak and expose himself to scrutiny.
The old man smiled and rubbed his hands together. "That's easy. He may be human but he's married to one of us now. His bride has given him an understanding of the value of each town helping each other out."
For'Ten nodded. "Thank you, we were unaware of that fact. Does he seem the least bit dangerous?"
The old man laughed, "Good gracious no! He and his wife are pleasant as can be. Even the tall music man they bring with them is well mannered. He stops in each town and teaches the children a new song to enjoy. Several women eyed him over but he politely declined. Shame really, we could use a learned scholar like that bard."
Ed coughed to hold in a laugh. The memory of Rennish passed out drunk in a barn was hard to compare to what this man was telling him. He was surprised that Rennish wasn't mounting everything female in the area.
"Thank you. Finally, do you have a barn or an empty house in town we may use for the night? We can camp out of town if we need to but it would be nice to be indoors for once."
The old man snapped his fingers and got up. "We just had a death in town a few weeks ago. The family home is empty. You can use it for tonight. There are two beds. We plan to empty and burn the contents if no one claims them in a few days. Enjoy the lodgings as our guest tonight."
He came back to the table with a key and a couple of loaves of bread. "This isn't much but it will give you something fresh to eat instead of road rations. Need anything else?"
For'Ten shook his head. "Thank you, we will return the key in the morning before we leave. If you think of anything else please tell us."
Ed nodded his thanks and got up from the table. The old man nodded to them both and then watched them leave the house. The two of them found the only house with no fire coming from the chimney and tried the key. The door opened with a slight creak and they went in for the night.
In the town hall, the old man stood by the window looking out at the two men. His fir was a dull ivory white from age. The woman was his daughter and she walked back into the room a few minutes after they left.
"Do you believe them poppa?" She said standing by his side looking at the house as she saw a light come through one window and then another.
"Oh, they are knights all right. Thankfully this is just a courtesy visit to speak to the local lands. No invasions, no extra taxes. That short one though. He was peculiar. He smelled of one of our kind."
The woman nodded. "He wasn't feline but he smelled of one, he was married to one at one point. Do you think the Prophet stole his wife and that's why he as a grudge?"
"Good gracious girl, what makes you think he has a grudge? He's too damned quiet to have a grudge."
She shook her head and walked away from the window. "He has a grudge against that prophet for some reason. May just be because the prophet is human. Maybe he did steal his mate pair. Either way, he was one of us at one point."
The old man stared at the house and wondered for a second what the story was. He wasn't going to pry into his life. The less that their town did to piss off the knights the better. They were the only thing close to a completely neutral response force should they get invaded or worse. No one wanted to lose that support.