Chapter 85

Chapter 85<~> Chapter 85

We had been travelling for about six bells now and my legs were starting to get sore and restless. The uunas were a nicer ride than horses but if you sit in one place for too long your butt starts to fall asleep and your legs get sore holding you in place. I don't have any memories of horses but I can distinctly compare them to uunas. I'm not sure if it's a memory thing or a skill thing though, I just know some things about horses compared to uunas.

I looked over the horizon. The plains had gotten quite a bit more boring since the forest had receded completely. They were just hills of grass with the occasional rock or tree to break up the view. There was absolutely nothing to look at but the clouds. I had been lucky I had found people so quickly after coming to this world because I could not imagine walking along this road on foot.

The roads were very high quality though, much better than I would have expected. I didn't realize it at first but the 'dirt trail' that we were following was actually packed and reinforced earth magic. Other than the loose dust at the top, the path was perfectly smooth almost the entire way, clearly the result of magic because I wouldn't know how something like this would have been possible otherwise. Despite being an old styled wagon with no shock absorption the carriage caravan travelled down the road with minimal problems.

Tarklin led his own uuna over to mine, matching the speed of the uuna I was riding. "How is Nikka treating you?" he asked nodding to the uuna I was riding.

I patted the uuna's neck. "She's a good girl. Very well trained."

"I'm glad to hear it, it really is a relief that you know how to ride. We're going to be stopping soon for a quick lunch and to rotate our riders. Go ahead and join Bella on the wagon she's riding for the rest of the day after we stop. I'll be handing Nikka off to someone else for the rest of the day."

"Sounds good," I said with a smile.

Nearly everyone got off and stretched their limbs once we stopped. Several people took the opportunity to run off and pee behind the solitary tree we stopped near. I had to wait a little bit to hand Nikka off to the next rider before I could join my friends. Bella, Morrigan, and Torien were all chatting by one of the wagons when I finally got to meet up with them.

"Hey everyone, how are you guys holding up?"

"Pretty good!" Morrigan said with a bright smile.

Torien was stretching and seemed to be in bright spirits as well. "It's funny how tiring it can be to just sit still and watch the world go by."

"You two seem to be in a good mood. Do you really enjoy travelling this much?" I asked.

Morrigan looked a little sheepish. "Well... this is the first time the two of us have ever traveled like this outside of a locked wagon. I know it probably doesn't seem like it would make much difference but being able to sit up with the coachman, being tasked with protecting the caravan from monsters and bandits, wearing a servant's collar band..." She gingerly touched the decorated band that was covering most of her slave collar. "It's a really different experience, we're not just more cargo, we're here for a reason."

Bella had been pretty quiet since I joined her on the wagon. She had been so talkative to Kiara this morning but now that it was just us she seemed more interested in watching the clouds. Her distance made me feel a bit anxious but I didn't really know what to do. I didn't think I did anything wrong... perhaps I shouldn't have brought up her mother again? Could I just be overthinking this?

I sighed. I felt more comfortable riding the uuna earlier today. Something that should have been so foreign and new felt well practiced and comfortable. Instead a situation that should have been comfortable and relaxed made me feel anxious and on edge. I wasn't sure if she was mad at me or just tired or something.

"Bella... are you mad at me?" I asked hesitantly.

She turned to me and looked confused. "No? What would I be mad about... oh. No, I'm not mad at you, I just have a lot on my mind right now."

I felt relieved. "Oh good, you just looked so talkative with Kiara this morning and I thought maybe I had... that you were upset about the thing we talked about earlier."

She smiled gently. "It's alright, I'm not mad about that. Like I said, I just have a lot on my mind. The only reason I was talking so much to Kiara this morning was because we only just met. Why? Are you jealous?" she asked with a teasing remark.

"Jealous?" I thought about it for a second. Was I jealous? I don't think so, I'm just concerned about Bella right?

She laughed. "Don't take it so seriously. I was just teasing." She stared at the clouds and was quiet for a few moments before speaking again. "It was a nice distraction... getting to know her a bit. A lot has been going on the last couple weeks. It was just kind of hitting me how different my life is now. Running into... that woman just brought to my attention how different I am now. Not just on the outside, everything is completely different now."

I placed my hand gently on her leg and she leaned against me slightly. I glanced at the coachman who was clearly making a conscious effort to stay out of whatever the two of us were talking about. I could tell he was the type who didn't care about what we were doing as long as it didn't affect him.

We didn't talk much over the next few bells, even as the sun set. Traveling like this was pretty exhausting. Even if the carriage and the uuna had been smoother rides than I was anticipating it was still a bit long and boring. It wasn't until a few bells after sun down that we were finally signaled to pull over and stop.

The coachman lead the two uunas into what looked like a small castle. The building was some kind of outpost that had been created using terra magic. Now that I had seen it a few times, it had a bit of a characteristic look to it. The walls were often in large singular shapes, as if concrete had been poured through giant unwieldly molds and formed all at once. Magic made the stone flow into new shapes like it was liquid and you got a few interesting artifacts in their construction as a result.

The outpost looked empty, left alone for anyone traveling through. But the small team that was sent in to clear the rooms actually came out with a pair of new people. A large and muscular rabbit demi-human woman wearing a steel slave collar stood next to a young woman who looked like a noble wearing a torn and dirty dress. Something strange was going on.

Before I could ask my party members what they thought about the situation Tarklin called me over. I sighed. I should have expected this. I started to walk over, wondering what crazy thing I was getting involved in now.