Chapter 1676: A Quest Completion
The woman nodded.
"Of course," she said. "I got a message that my brother has returned from the war. I need to get back as soon as I can so I can meet him. He will only be back for so many days."
"Your brother is taking part in the war?" Ning asked.
"Yeah," the woman said. "He's a big deal in the army and can't stay away for too long. So I don't have much time to meet him."
"Oh!" Ning said. "I see. I hope we arrive there quickly then."
The woman nodded.
An hour later, they arrived at the massive river that the woman had told them about. The bridge on top of the river was also nearly 50 meters wide.
Ning stopped the cart by the side of the road and looked at the massive flowing river. "The current at the center is quite strong."
"It is," the woman said as she got off. "I will be fine. Don't worry about me."
She rushed toward the river and began washing her face and her body.
Ning looked at her from far away before turning back toward Shara. "You okay back there?" he asked.
"Yes," Shara said, her eyes half-closed. She seemed sleepy, or maybe just bored.
Ning ignored her and looked back at everything. As he lost himself to such random thought a peculiar feeling filled him for a moment before settling in nicely.
'Hmm?' he thought, surprised by the sudden feeling. 'My power is back?'
Ning looked down at the river and the heavy flow that dragged everything away. "Surely not," he said, getting down from the cart. He walked out a bit and looked underneath the bridge, but she wasn't there either.
"Oly? Are you there?" Ning shouted out but got no response back at all.
"What do we do?" Shara asked. "What if she's-"
"What's going on?" Oly's voice came from the side.
Ning turned his head around and saw the woman coming out of the small bushes that were to the side of the river.
"What were you doing? We were worried you got taken away by the river," Ning said loudly. "Oh... I'm sorry. I just really needed to go relieve myself. I thought you were watching so you knew where I was going," she said.
Ning sighed. "Alright, get back on the cart. We will leave now," he said. 'It looks like it will rain at any moment now.
Oly looked at the overcast sky. "Rain would be bad," she said. "The road around Jameen all
get so muddy."
"Can we leave now?" Shara asked.
"Yes, yes," Oly said, going to the back of the cart. She didn't immediately get in, however, and instead reached around the packs her horse carried and pulled out something.
It was a small paper bag that she took into the cart with her. She opened it and revealed a few thick slices of bread along with a small glass jar with some sort of jam on the inside.
She took out a metal spoon that was next to the jam and bread and began slathering it onto the bread. She paused right before she ate and turned to look at Ning and Shara who were looking toward her.
She gave an awkward smile. "Do you, perchance, want some?" she asked.
"No, it's alright," Ning said, but he could feel his stomach growling. What he had Shara eat could not be considered anything but just sustenance.
Seeing the delicious food, they began to realize the depth of their own hunger now.