When the early hours of the morning reached, Eugene woke up energetic and ready to hit the road again. He had a quick bath and went down to the ground floor to get a small breakfast. This time, he was sure to ask for something that was below five copper.
With his stomach filled with warm food, he walked out of the guest house and approached the automobile which had remained undisturbed through the night.
"Sahar." Eugene called out the name of his avian companion and the young Desert Eagle poked his head out of the front window.
"Caw?" Sahar jumped out of the window and landed on the driver's seat, tilting his head. It was actually still quite early and the first rays of sunlight had yet to reveal themselves.
"We have to get moving early. We have a lot of ground to cover before we can say that we are truly safe." Eugene said as he climbed onto the driver's seat and placed Sahar on his shoulder. The Desert Eagle let out a low croon before jumping back into the automobile to get some more rest. Eugene had no problem with that and let him do as he wished. He could handle things on his own for now. Sahar could help his scout ahead later.
Vrooom!
The engine of the automobile started up without any problems. Eugene had already confirmed the magic fuel levels and he would not need to change the cylinder for the next few hours at least.
The denizens of Pitfall Town watched as their august guest drove away. It was unknown when next they would see someone with such wealth pass through this town again.
.
.
The automobile vibrated slightly as it drove over a bumpy stretch of road. The dry, empty paths had long since been left behind. Now, Eugene was driving through a pathway that ran through a forest. But the trees were sparse and he could clearly see the space around him.
To the left was a drop where water ran freely in a river, while to the right, trees and greenery spread out. The sound of nature was incredibly pleasing to Eugene's ears. He hummed an old song that his father had taught him when he was a younger child. It gave him pleasant memories to recall of his father while making sure he had something to do.
"Caw!"
Eugene looked up and spotted the familiar figure of his avian companion. With a steady flap of his wings, Sahar landed on Eugene's shoulder. He shook his head to tell Eugene that there was nothing worth noting ahead.
Over the past couple of days, they had come to understand each other a bit even though there was technically no way for them to communicate effectively. Eugene was not capable of casting a spell that would allow him to understand animals but he was able to achieve some sort of rapport with the young Desert Eagle.
"Hmm..." Eugene hummed to himself. It was well into the afternoon at this point. They had stopped for a brief moment when he had changed the magic fuel cylinder a while back, but they had not stopped for a food break yet. He decided that it was about time to do so.
Without wasting time, Eugene stopped the automobile by the side of the path. He had parked by the forest; who would even think of parking by a dangerous cliffside?
"Can you go and hunt something for us? I can work on starting up a fire to roast it." Eugene asked Sahar.
"Caw!" The avian companion eagerly responded before taking off into the air and leaving Eugene to his devices. Eugene went ahead to bring out a few important things before gathering some stones and wood to make a small fire.
"I'll need water to wash the meat." He hummed before stuffing the important things back into his spatial ring. He was going to be climbing down the cliffside to get some water from the running river. Thankfully, it was not that large so it would only take a few minutes to climb down and back up.
With a pot of water by his side, Eugene brought out another pot and some other things needed to make a quick meal before starting up the fire and putting some of the water to boil.
It didn't take Sahar long to come back with an animal that was twice his body size in his grip. He dropped the large squirrel-like animal before Eugene before letting out a victorious cry. It was almost as if he wanted Eugene to take note of his efforts and reward him with a greater portion of the food.
"Hahaha. I think you brought too much meat, buddy. Don't worry, your share will be really big." Eugene laughed. He got to work skinning the dead animal and cutting it up while passing portions to Sahar every once in a while.
Soon, the meat had found its way into the pot that was boiling with many other ingredients and condiments. A pleasant aroma wafted through the air and made Eugene's stomach grumble. He was about to taste the bubbling stew when he heart a rustle in the distance. Even Sahar was alert. He immediately took off into the sky, wanted to see what it was that had made the sound.
Whoosh!
Just as Sahar reached the sky, an arrow shot into the sky, threatening to take him down. But Desert Eagles were not notorious for nothing. With blisteringly fast reactions speeds, Sahar dove to the side and dodged the arrow before performing a nosedive in the direction it had come from.
"Come back, Sahar!" Eugene called back his companion. He did not want the young and underdeveloped bird to face whoever it was that had tried to attack them.
Sahar did as he was told and swerved at the last moment, flying back to Eugene and landing on his shoulder.
"As for you in the trees. You can come out now." Eugene said, turning to the tree that the arrow had come from.