The coach was divided into two equal compartments. In one of them, we placed most of our miscellaneous goods and Uncle Albert. In the second compartment, we placed our mattresses and blankets and lay there.
Uncle Albert's compartment was towards the front so that he could talk to the coachman and give directions anytime he wanted.
Alongside our carriage, a footman was riding a black horse to guide, control, and feed the horses. Through my little square netted window, I stared at him. I wanted to replace him. I was jealous of his skill to ride against the wind and into the sunset.
However, when the night fell through and the chill wind blew, I stopped wishing for that.
Both I and Rowan weren't able to read due to the dark and already had enough sleep, and therefore, ended up gawking at each other, perplexed and embarrassed.
I was aware that he would be able to deal with that for a prolonged period, but it wasn't the same for me. Soon, I found the silence becoming uncomfortable and therefore, took the initiative to change that.
"So um, Rowan, how's your potioneering going?"
"...Good"
"Oh, how did those saplings grow? Did you take them?"
"...no"
Each question that I asked, he took some time to consider each and answered in a soft voice that resembled a whisper to me.
That wasn't going anywhere and was only making everything more cringe-worthy. In my final attempt, I decided to ask him something that wouldn't have a one-word answer,
"So, why do you want to learn potioneering? What makes you passionate about it?"
"...money"
Oh well, after that, I learned my lesson and curled up into a ball in another corner with my blanket as I tried to catch another wave of sleep.
Closing my eyes for a while, my mind started wandering into my dreamland again as I began to dream of all the beautiful possibilities that extended before me.
Suddenly, I realised another fact about the carriage. Throughout our journey, we had taken a few rests to eat but still, it was in motion most of the time. However, I didn't experience a single hiccup during my rest.
A high-class shock absorbing system was probably fitted inside that absorbed all the shakes, trembles, and jerks the carriage would have made on uneven ground.
Moreover, a private carriage with a coachman and a footman also wasn't someone just anyone could hire.
Over the stops, I had come to know of the two. They were natives of Tafilat city, lower-middle-class people that toured around to earn their fortunes.
At first, I thought that they were probably hired through an organisation that rented carriages for long distances but surprisingly, they were father and son, and the carriage belonged to them.
In this huge world, they had no one else to depend on but each other. Therefore, to ensure that life didn't become monotonous for them and the money kept coming in as well, the father, who drove rented carriages for a local organisation, sold all his fortune to start an independent carriage service for the nearby cities. Surprisingly, this was going to be the longest journey they undertook since they started owning a carriage as well.
Somehow, as I thought of my day and the days to come, sleep naturally came to me with open arms.
When I opened my eyes again, sunlight was shining brightly on my face through the netted window. It was warm but not hot, and that told me that it was still early morning.
The carriage had stopped, and there was a hubbub of noises outside. Rubbing my eyes and yawning, I saw Rowan reading his potioneering book again without glimpsing outside.
"Where are we?" I asked him curiously once my head cleared up a little. Since there was a crowd of people outside, I assumed that we had reached the first leg of our journey.
"Take a peek outside." He mumbled nonchalantly and continued reading. I didn't understand what he meant but guessed he said that probably because he didn't know.
Instead of going outside, I followed his advice and took a peek out the window. Adjusting my eyes to the brightness outside, I was baffled by the sight outside. From the interlocked road to the long line of bizarre carriages outside, everything was unfamiliar.
People were talking loudly about various things in various postures, probably bored after waiting in line for a long time.
The walls of the city ahead of us were probably twice as thick and thrice as tall as Silvermore City. The attire of the people there was far richer than those I had seen before I slept.
Moreover, the amount of sunlight outside meant that it wasn't morning as I had expected, instead it just wasn't as warm.
The most distinguishable change in scenery that I noticed wasn't any of that, but the presence of intimidating steel armoured knights keeping order outside and regulating the entry of the people inside the city.
They wore thick breastplates that probably weigh half my weight. Despite all that, they didn't look as troubled as one would've expected them and instead carried on with their tasks in a leisurely yet disciplined manner.
"W-Where are we? I-Is this the… capital?"
Rowan flipped another page, not taking his eyes off his book, and replied, "No, this is Tafilat City."
"WHAT?" I almost jumped back a few steps upon hearing that. I had been hearing one thing or the other about Tafilat City since I was young because it was the city closest to ours.
A lot of my neighbours and the shopkeepers that I had interacted with had come from there. Most of my father's clients had come from there as well but I didn't know until that time that our neighbour was so affluent.
Moreover, it made me think that if the city that I thought wouldn't be much different from Silvermore City was already like that, how would Vernaris City, the capital of dreams that I had heard so much about look like?
It took us another two hours to be granted entry. Thankfully, I had my books to keep me company.
We got off and stretched our bodies while the footman and the coachman went somewhere to park the carriage. We were supposed to enjoy ourselves, have delicious food, shop for interesting stuff, rearrange our supplies, and leave but how could I have enjoyed myself when Uncle Albert took me and Rowan along with him to visit random pawn shops?
We didn't know where he was taking us first, but we trusted him enough with that decision. He scrutinized the stuff on display at the pawn shops, then visited the shops that sold potions and other miscellaneous goods and brought a few unknown potions.
I wanted to ditch him a few times but held that urge back when my father's nagging face appeared in my mind, telling me to stay together with Uncle Albert and avoid strangers.
In contrast to the evil image of the strangers they had painted for me, I could only see misery accompanying those 'evil' faces. It was far too obvious with most of them.
The people of Silvermore were dressed worse and had their heads straight when they walked, unlike the people in Tafilat whose chins were pointed up and lips turned downwards.
The receding sunlight seemed to be taking their hope away, yet like ants and bees, they didn't stop with their work. It made me feel pity for them but how could I have helped them with anything when those miserable seemed to be more affluent than me in everything? Afterall, it wasn't money these people lacked but more money, and vigour.
Finally, when the evening was about to come, Uncle Albert took us to a desolate tavern. I didn't know if he knew about that because their food was cheap or he just liked the tranquillity there.
Perhaps, it would only grow boisterous by the night. I didn't have to care about that because I was busy dealing with the attentive and hyper-active waiters surrounding our table.