Russel's POV
Yeah, I basically solved the mystery of the pestilence in this town; or rather, me and my friends solved the mystery of the pestilence in this town. That's because they did their part in catching the culprits last night. As a result of our hard work and part, at the town plaza, the mayor and the other officials and town guards, as well as the townspeople, gave us a big reward consisting of money, free food straight from their fields, and other things. We were overwhelmed, especially Cassius, Alder, and Taryn, who didn't expect that at all. So, to tone things down, I asked them to lower the amount of our reward because it was way too much for us to handle. The entire town was confused about why we would ask that, but Cassius insisted they do it. So, they did so, and we accepted it, alongside some medals of bravery awarded by the mayor himself.
"Oh, man…" my mind said, "…I earned more as an unexpected and sudden hero than as a bus driver!"
After that, the entire town ended the event and went back to their normal lives. The 5 culprits are now in jail for their crimes, for now. So, we were happy that this curse-like, man-made pestilence is now over.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Azalea asked me.
To that, I began to think about it, before remembering my occupation as a bus driver.
So, I turned to them. "Let's go somewhere else, maybe further south and towards east."
"What?" Adrian asked back in confusion.
"Let's go to our next destination south from here," replied I in response, "in a place called Fernlay City."
My party and group were surprised by my response, and Cassius was impressed by it, indicating that he might have known that place there.
"That place?"
"We'll go there?"
"Yes." I nodded back positively. "I read that it was a hub for pottery, weaving, and crafting. It would be a good place to go to and explore."
So, my party and group began to think about it for a while.
And then, they eventually agreed with his plan, thinking about the possibilities there.
[Third person POV]
Russell was happy to hear that. "Okay, let's check out of the inn and hop in my bus." So, all of them did so, and at the field across the street from the inn, after his party and group put some of their belongings and stuff in one row of the bus baggage compartments, Russell opened the door of his bus using his ignition key. "Okay, let's hop in and put our stuff there."
Cassius and his two friends, meanwhile, hopped on their horses instead of having a ride in Russell's bus.
Russell saw that and asked them, "Um, are you guys not going to ride in my bus?"
"No, we have our own horses here," Alder replied while positioning himself on his brown horse.
Cassius and Taryn did the same thing, before putting their stuff on their horse saddles.
"We'll just follow wherever you go," Cassius added.
"Just go ahead and we'll follow behind," Taryn added as well.
Russell got that fast and nodded in agreement. "Okay."
His group then hopped in, and he hopped in.
The May party then put their remaining, lighter stuff in overhead compartments above their seats while the dragon family settled in a row of seats a few rows from the first row on the left.
Russell then settled down in his driver's seat and buckled his seatbelt.
John, at the same time, went into its little compartment in the front and settled there like a dog going to rest up.
Once everyone settled on seats, Russell grabbed his series of paper signs from a compartment in the middle part of the dashboard and began searching for the sign that said "Fernlay City". Then, he did so and displayed it on the windshield, showing its message to those outside and in front of the bus. Once that was done, he used his ignition key to start the engine and closed the door. "Okay, first off to the markets for any potential passengers."
And so, he shifted his gear to Drive and left the field and towards the town's markets. There the bus parked at a field outside of the perimeters of one of the marketplaces, waiting for any potential passenger to notice the sign and hitch a ride. Cassius and his group are on their horses waiting for the bus to leave the town, and they will follow them behind. The wait was brief, and some people from the markets and the nearby districts took notice of that. Cassius and his two friends saw that but didn't do anything so that group of people would interact with Russell and his group. So, one of those people knocked on the closed bus door.
Upon hearing that, Russell opened the door. "Yes?"
"This thing is going to Fernlay City, right?" that person, a tanner, responded back.
"Yes, we will go there. Are you, too?"
"Yes," another person, a seamstress, "can we hitch a ride there?"
"Sure," Russell happily replied back, "all of you?"
The woman nodded to say yes. "Yes, all of us."
"Okay, hop in."
And so, the group, which consisted of 9 people, hopped in and took seats in the back. That group felt the comfort of a leather, soft seats, and May's party and the dragon family confirmed that as well. With that Russell saw that his bus was almost full and closed the door, before shifting his gear to Drive and leaving the area. Cassius and his two friends noticed that and started following it from the behind on horseback. Both the bus and Cassius's horseback group then left the town and towards south on a paved road. All of them will go to Fernlay City, which is 15 kilometers away.