The rest of the day is, as with the previous day, extremely uneventful. We continue to progress along the dry, flat road, always parallel to the mountains to our north as we pursue their easternmost point.
No monsters still, even the vicious beasts are smart enough to keep far away from a major roadway being traversed by hundreds of trained soldiers. Though 'major' is perhaps a bit strong an adjective; only once have we thus far seen another traveler, a merchant traveling on foot, with rare goods from the monster territory beyond our destination.
He actually gives us a warning regarding the monster territory. "The monsters are behaving strangely," is all he says, not the most helpful of warnings, but a warning nonetheless. After bidding us a safe trip and wishing us luck on our task, whatever it may be, he continues on.
The evening comes and goes, and night arrives. At midnight, our group sets up camp for the second time since our departure. After the tired soldiers have begun to dig into their rations, I approach Lector.
"Master?" I ask him.
"Yes, my apprentice?"
"The other scouts need not participate in scouting for now. I am more than capable of surveying the surrounding territory on my own, they are tiring themselves out unnecessarily."
"Yes, that is certainly the case. When assigning scouts, Reinhart simply felt as though it would not be right to give the entire job to one soldier. However, considering that you have already taken on a role during every scouting shift entirely of your own accord, I see not why the others are necessary. Considering that you already work separately, it is not as though we will be sacrificing safety. The only issue is that they may be left quite unhappy…"
"I thought of that as well, master, which is why I did not bring it up before. However, I talked with one of the scouts earlier, he seemed to be in favor of the idea. He also believes that the other scouts would come to agree with the decision. I don't think we will see much issue in this."
"Very well then. I assume that you intend to keep watch again tonight?"
"Yes, such is the plan."
"You know, you seem to be taking on every task for yourself. You already are the only one keeping watch, now scouting alone as well…"
I shrug, before saying "I am powerful enough for it, master. I am only behind yourself and Reinhart in ability, I am greatly superior to any troop here. My skills, namely my flight and vision enhancement abilities, are perfectly tuned to such tasks, as well. Considering that you, as our commander, cannot undertake such a task, it makes sense that I should do it. Only you could do a better job, and my abilities allow me to outperform any other to such an extent that they add nothing through their assistance. Add to that that you provide me with a method to avoid sleep entirely, and I am perfectly suited for such a role."
"True enough. Well, I am going to retire to my tent for a few hours, come to me if you see anything suspicious. Otherwise, good night."
Lector heads toward his tent, something that only he and Reinhart are afforded. As he does so, most of the soldiers finish with their rations and lay out their bedding on the ground. Perhaps not the most appealing, but the strangely thick dust on the dry ground makes such arrangements rather comfortable.
Of course, I am sure that the dust sticking so thickly to the soldiers as to darken their skin and dye their clothes is anything but comfortable, but as someone able to fly, such is not my problem.
Once most of the soldiers have fallen asleep, I fly up into the clear night sky. Dry air dissuades fog, and with my enhanced vision, seeing in the dark is not much more difficult that seeing during the day.
After quickly determining the area within twenty miles of us to be safe in all directions, I return to the ground a couple miles away from the camp and move to practice my magic-swordsmanship integration.
Though I have not gotten nearly so much time to practice the last couple days, with the exception of flight and DNTI, which I have active at all times, as well as skills like magic sensory and sight enhancement, which I have been practicing continuously, I have been able to make up for the lack of proper practice in these four-hour periods. By extending time five-fold, I can get the equivalent of twenty hours of practice in four, an impressive feat. Of course, it isn't [really] twenty hours, more like four [really] compact hours in which I can do things much faster than I otherwise would.
My practice consists of the rather basic task of going over forms to lock them securely in my muscle memory, with the much more complex task of integrating wind and earth magic into my movement and all types of elemental magic (or at least those useful in combat) into my battle style.
A whirlwind of elements forms around me as I employ every method at my disposal to formulate and practice moves to most easily dispatch my opponent. I imagine what they might do in any circumstance, how they may respond to any attack, and I work to come up with the best solution.
I must account for the great variety in my potential opponents, a variety primarily derived by what magic they may use. If I am pitted against a straight magic user who casts a lingering dispel magic spell on me, how would I react? Obviously I would close the distance as soon as possible to escape the radius of the spell, or, if it is attached to me, to bring my opponent into its radius. I would then employ my sword to dispatch my enemy.
And what if the enemy were to cast a normal dispel magic spell on one of my spells? My methodology relies upon casting many small spells on a constant basis to maintain motion and pressure, with some stronger ones to actually attack the enemy. If a stronger spell were to be dispelled, that would simply be one attack thwarted, such would be fine. If it were one of my weaker attack spells that forms an aura around me, such would also be fine. The most critical would be a targeting of my movement spells. Though I cast many every second, if the right one were to be torn away, I may well tumble to the ground.
It is for considerations like these, among many others, that I prepare responses to. There are almost too many potential scenarios, but I figure that the more that I can prepare for, the better a position I will be in. And so, my night of practice is quickly eaten through.
Of course, I do not neglect my duties of keeping watch. Every half hour, I am sure to check the area around our camp again, making sure that nothing, man nor beast approaches.
Once the time to wake up comes around, the still-dark four in the morning, I enter Lector's tent.
"Anything to report?" he asks.
"No, nothing. It is time to depart."
I leave the tent to find Reinhart leading an effort to steal the soldiers from their peaceful dreams. Once everyone is ready to leave, Lector addresses us.
"It has been decided that all scouting work is to be left in the hands of Anetor, with the intention of saving our other scouts from unnecessary exertion. Now, let us be off."
[And that is what I so appreciate about my master. Simple, to the point… truly perfect in nature.]
To my surprise, the only complaint is a bit of grumbling my enhanced hearing picks up from one scout, a complaint that is outmatched by several relieved sighs.
With little delay, the force again takes to the road, returning to their task of covering ground as quickly as possible.
Another day passes by, time in which I do little but train my passive abilities as I fly massive circles high above the soldiers. By midmorning, I notice a rather drastic shift in terrain, a shift that the soldiers arrive at a few hours later.
The dry, dusty plain has transformed into a dense forest growing from the much damper earth. Despite it being midday, a thin fog hangs over the forest, giving it a rather gloomy atmosphere. To the north of the forest are the mountains. To the forest's south is… an ocean. I remember this location on the map. Once you reach the northeastern corner of Eroen, there is a point at which one may pass through an area of land bordered by Eroen to the west, the monstrous forest to the east, a sharp rise into the mountains to the north, and a sharp drop to the ocean to the south.