Finishing their farewells, the group eventually dispersed, allowing Edol, Willow, and Pierre to finally depart. Edol and Willow rode side-by-side, chatting as they went, while Pierre took the lead, his gaze fixed on the path before them.
"Willow, I don't think I've heard any distance measurements around here. Is there a way to know how far we have to travel, other than just saying that it's two days on horseback?"
Willow pondered for a moment before shaking her head. She had never attended any local schools and had instead been educated by her father. It was a much higher quality education than what was given out for free at churches or small schools, but even then, travel had always been measured as an amount of time.
There were, of course, measuring units dedicated for smaller distances. Trying to create decent buildings with no measurements would be impossible.
"It wouldn't really make sense to measure distance with anything other than time though, right? Even if you know how far away the next city is, you can't just ride straight there. Detouring to bridges or avoiding untravelable lands takes time, right? Time is a much more constant and reliable way to measure distance!"
Edol couldn't disagree with the girl's reasoning. Even back home in the UK, many people would give a travel time instead of the distance in kilometers when asked for directions.
Time seemed to crawl past slowly as they walked, and Edol learned a lot about the surrounding area. When Willow eventually got tired of describing the layout of the country and her favorite cities to visit, she changed the topic to hobbies. Then to work as a merchant. It wasn't until the sun started to fall behind the horizon that she halted her speech.
Some people might find the constant chatter annoying, but Edol definitely didn't. Perhaps due to her father's teaching, Willow had a knack for talking and explaining things. Traveling next to her was like listening to a long podcast- perfect for the road.
It was clear that Pierre was considerably less enthusiastic, as the hunter had pulled away from the duo at some point, staying just out of earshot as he led his horse forward.
At the end of the day when the troop finally stopped to rest for the night, Edol practically fell off his horse. Pierre had been completely correct about how Edol would feel after the ride.
Previous to the last week, Edol had never ridden a horse. Every day after training with Sal, the Brit headed to the stables and began learning how to ride. These endeavors were considerably more successful than his attempt at learning the spear, but he still wasn't an expert at riding, and his legs had yet to acclimate to long periods on horseback.
Thus, when Edol tried to dismount from Apperot at the end of a full day of riding, he instead ended up sprawled on the ground.
"Ow. My legs. I can't move, will sleep here."
Edol instantly gave up on making camp.
"Come on, ya wuss. Do you think I collapsed on the ground after riding for the first time? You look pathetic."
Ghost hopped down from Willow's shoulder, casting a scornful glare at the prone Edol.
Willow and Pierre both seemed fine after the ride and began taking sleeping bags out from their bags.
Ghost opted against helping Edol, instead fluttering his wings and hopping up into a maple tree standing above their campsite.
'Urg, I'm going to have to get up, aren't I.'
Even while lying still, Edol's legs still felt as if they were aflame. The Brit was sure that if he were to remove his clothing, the skin beneath would be a mess of bloody blisters.
Suddenly, Edol's body moved on its own.
~Drag.
~Drag.
Feeling pressure on one of his feet, Edol opened his eyes and glanced down. Apperot's pitch-black head was lowered, and his teeth were gripping Edol's boot.
"Apperot, I love you. I'll give you an extra carrot in the morning."
The horse's teeth lifted for a moment, before latching on the Edol's other foot and continuing to drag the boy.
'Horses really are the best! Apperot cares about me more than that stupid bird. Hm. Why does it feel like I'm being dragged in the wrong direction, though?'
Edol opened his eyes again, only to see the canopy of the maple tree was further away than before.
'Apperot must want to keep riding towards Edain, not even stopping for the night. What a dutiful horse!'
"Sorry Apperot, but we've got to stop for the night. Continuing on without rest wouldn't be good for your health!"
Edol patted the horse's head, then pulled himself up into a sitting position.
'Whelp, it hurts, but nothing like back when I was fighting Ghost. This much pain is child's play for me!'
Edol hopped to his feet, the pain flaring in his legs dwarfed by the memories of the torture he went through in hell.
'I should probably clean and bandage my legs before I sleep. They'll be all better in the morning!'
Edol led a shocked-looking Apperot back to the camp before pulling out his sleeping bag and a canister of water.
Upon seeing Edol walk around like nothing was wrong, Willow and Pierre's jaws dropped open.
For a moment, they considered the possibility of Edol secretly being a healer, but quickly dismissed the theory, knowing that the Brit had an earth legacy.
"Edol? How are you walking right now? I was about to come over to help you, but…"
Willow's sentence trailed off, and Edol grinned.
"It's fine, I've got good pain tolerance. This much is nothing!"
Ignoring the dumbfounded looks on his companions' faces, Edol strolled to the opposite side of the tree, washed and bandaged his legs, then returned to his sleeping bag.
Willow and Pierre still looked a bit concerned by Edol's actions, but they both decided to put aside their thoughts and rest. The group had already decided to leave early in the morning so as to arrive before dusk the next day.
'Time to sleep! I can't wait to see Edain tomorrow!'