"How much longer?" Eranae asked, sitting on the ground against the bark of a thick conifer tree.
"This evening," Pearl slurped some water from his waterskin, "I hope."
Then he too sat down beside Eranae, throwing his travelling pack to the ground. They had been walking continuously for eight hours now, without a break. That was a tiring amount of walking for even lifesingers. But it was the only way to make up for the time they had lost at Nanarin.
Pearl had depleted an excruciating amount of his lifesong by forming and controlling a shape from water just at Fourth Cadence. After that, he had to rest in his cot for a whole day to heal the broken bones and recover some amount of lifesong. Eranae had transferred some of her lifesong into him to facilitate more enhanced regeneration, otherwise they probably might have spent two or three more days at Nanarin.
That prospect was quite tempting, because killing of the beast had led to some sort of celebration in the village the next day. The people were in a jovial mood and saw Pearl and Eranae as heroes, especially Pearl since the volunteering hunters spread the word of what he did. Nanarin hadn't had a lifesinger for nearly three generations, the last one being Alderwoman Maple's grandfather. Hence they were persistent in being grateful to the two. Some villagers, especially the ones who had lost someone to the night warg, brought Pearl and Eranae gifts. Most of them were food items but someone had given them a well-made fur jacket which was quite ideal for Pearl's body proportions.
Maple had visited the two on the morning after the hunt to pay them the silver and check on Pearl's injuries. Other than that, the village's council of elders had gifted them a bronze shortsword that was wickedly curved towards the inside. It was, as the elders said, a token of appreciation that was more than just mere payment for doing a job. Eranae had refused accepting the weapon when the elders told that the shortsword belonged to the village's last lifesinger. But Pearl, having a better understanding of Nanar customs, took it on behalf of them both and promised the elders that he will keep it as a memory of Nanarin.
The two left the village in the morning that followed so as to not get too attached to the fame and luxury. Three days had passed since then. Pearl and Eranae had covered a good distance in such a small time. They walked for twelve to fifteen hours a day, thanks to their strength which was enhanced by lifesong. This allowed them to cover great distances but also left them exhausted when they stopped to rest.
Now, it was the time of early afternoon and the two had stopped to take a water break. If Pearl's navigating skills were up to the mark, they would reach the city of Ilnanar by evening.
"You hope?" Eranae asked him, her voice hinting a slight frustration.
"I have visited the city only twice before." Pearl reminded, "I won't mislead you into believing that I am a hundred percent sure."
"Sorry," Eranae apologised, "I keep forgetting you are as new to this just as I am."
"I think," Pearl stood back up, "If we keep going on this uphill trail, we should get to the main road in at least an hour. There we will probably find more travellers going to or coming from the city."
"That sounds reassuring." Eranae got back to her feet and stretched her limbs to prepare for another long walk.
Pearl picked up his travelling pack and pulled out a brown woolen cloak.
"Wrap this around Rel," Pearl told Eranae, handing her the cloak.
"You do realise that I'm not the weapon itself." Rel spoke in his mind.
"It's the same thing." Pearl thought back, sounding disinterested, "Go back to sleep again."
"No it's not the same thing, Pearl." Rel scolded, "That's like saying…" And then she went on explaining about her essence and spiritual nature and whatnot.
"It's better if we don't draw too many eyes on the road or in the city." Pearl said to Eranae, ignoring Rel.
"Alright," Eranae took the cloak, "Elaia must definitely have some agents in Ilnanar so it would be safer to conceal the macana."
Elaia Empire, Pearl had almost forgotten about that. It was after Rel or more specifically, Rel's vessel, the macana. Eranae hadn't yet told him everything about herself but she had implied that they were to protect the weapon from reaching in Elaia's hands. She had also implied that the Elaia wouldn't hesitate in killing them even if they surrendered, which Eranae was persistent that they wouldn't at any cost.
Pearl needed to find out more about Eranae as well, and he was sure that he could do that in Ilnanar by asking the right questions at the right places. Considering those things, he continued walking along the narrow forest trail until, after about an hour, they reached a clearing. That was the main road. A paved path, wide enough to accommodate three carriages, lead the way to the fjord in which the city was built. It was lined by fields of light violet flowers that stretched all the way to the city walls. Southern lavender was one of the few flowers that grew naturally in the region of Ilnanar due to the warmth provided by the fjord.
As they walked down the paved path, they saw a man struggling to remove his cart that was stuck in the mud on the side of the path. The cart was drawn by two large rams, the common beast of burden around these parts. Even those laboured trying to pull the cart out of the mud.
"We should help him." Eranae suggested.
"Yes," Pearl said after thinking for a moment, "We might be able to hitch a ride from him."
Eranae sighed at that, but said nothing. Afterall, that reasoning made sense. They went to the cart and helped the man pull it out of the mud. The man thanked them and agreed to give them a ride to the city since the cart was mostly empty other than a single stack of expensive fur. The man was a hunter travelling to the city to trade the fur for grain. That was a common profession around here.
As evening drew closer, the cool breeze from the sea grew stronger and stronger. About half an hour before the sun was about to set, the cart finally rode into the fjord. The narrow inlet of sea between high cliffs was enough to take away anyone's breath and the lavender fields outlining the small collection of houses and buildings only added to the region's beauty. Pearl turned to Eranae who gawked at the stunning scenery with wide eyes.
"We are finally here."