Chapter 78: Chapter 78: The Road
Once Kraus was gone, Siderius moved the items in his cloth sack to the satchel. The cloth sack was fragile and it wouldn’t be able to withstand the road. It was better to use the durable satchel.
Siderius collected quite a few herbs for the journey for extra protection. Most were healing herbs that might be useful without the need to use the Spirits. The most important herb was the dried body of the Firevein plant.
Aside from being the main ingredient for Arvenox, the Fire element of Fire could be useful in constructing a protective sulfur seal. It might come in handy on the road.
Siderius also brought with him a substantial amount of materials. Some were raw materials while others were residues or byproducts from his alchemy reaction.
The journey from Mucktown toward Scalize took two long days in total. That was calculated with the speed of a horse in mind and the traveler took only small breaks.
However, for a more relaxed speed, that journey might take three to five days in total. Slower if the weather was horrible.
Siderius brought with him a bag of food which he had hung on the side of Red.
As for the items that Kraus had bought for him. Hay bales were rationed for Red. In case they wouldn’t come across any suitable grassland. The tasty oats were for training specifically.
Siderius intended to get familiar with the horse on this journey. A few days should be enough for them to get to know each other. The horse brush could also help with that as well.
Siderius didn’t climb on top of Red but instead was leading him by the leash. He let the horse walk alongside him, not in front or behind.
The horse was bigger and had a longer stride. Whenever it would get in front, Siderius would pull the leash to stop it.
Red looked at him a few times when he did this and it looked annoyed. It reached his head back and let out a sharp neigh, stating its warning.
Siderius’ gaze was there to meet its eyes. A cold gaze that told the horse to know its place.
Red wasn’t able to understand human language. But it caught on to Siderius’ intention very quickly. The horse didn’t protest any further and kept walking. However, this time it walked according to Siderius’ speed, no longer dared to outspeed him.
The first day of travelling came by just like that. The road was empty and no soul was in sight. There was only the woods on either side and the occasional squeal of the crows from up high.
This road was a road humans took. Animals would instinctively avoid it. Trades weren’t that good in Mucktown either. All of that contributed to the barren wasteland that Siderius was seeing.
Dusk came. Before settling down on to a place to rest, Siderius stopped at some water streams to let Red wet its throat.
Siderius sat on a stone opposite of it, observing the horse. Red lifted its eyes up a few times, looking around and stared at Siderius then resumed drinking water.
It had, at least, accepted the presence of Siderius around it.
Once Red was done, Siderius led it away. He diverted away from the main road and chose a spot that was hidden away. The spot would not be discovered by travelers on the road unless they went deeper into the woods to check.
Siderius tied Red’s leash on to a tree. As for himself, he quickly constructed a small campfire and placed the sleeping bag next to it.
Siderius filled his stomach with a few pieces of hard bread then laid down on the sleeping bag to rest. His hunter uniform provided good heating. Combined with the heat from the campfire, Siderius was fairly comfortable.
After examining everything and making sure the area was safe, Siderius closed his eyes.
A peaceful night without anything happening.
Siderius woke up to the sound of birds and sunlight piercing through the leaves. The first thing he checked was Red.
He turned over to take a look at it. The horse was still there and everything was the same.
Siderius stretched his body gently then began to pack everything.
Because he was on the road, Siderius didn’t waste his time doing meditation. He approached the horse and took out the hay to feed it.
He didn’t shove it to Red’s mouth however. Siderius held the hay with a little bit of distance away from Red, allowing it to initiate first contact with him.
Red was hesitant. But its stomach didn’t leave it with much of a choice. After a few minutes, the horse approached Siderius and ate the hay he was holding.
Siderius used this chance to pet the side of the horse. As the horse chose to approach, it already knew that Siderius might touch it so the horse didn’t have any reaction.
Red let Siderius caress its thick red fur willingly.
"Good boy. Good boy."
A tiny advancement in their relationship. It was a good sign that this horse could be trained properly.
After Red ate its meal, Siderius also had his breakfast. It was the same hard bread as last night. These pieces of bread were hard to eat and tasteless. But it could stay fresh for a long time. A perfect ration for travelers.
Siderius opened the map and checked his direction before continuing on the road. The path to Scalize was easy to find and there were only a few turns here and there.
Originally, Siderius would like to have a guide. But after what happened in Mucktown, he decided it was best to stay alone on the road.
He could easily survive on himself even if he’s lost. Revealing his whereabouts, however, was far more dangerous.
The Rottin Woods grew larger and larger the farther he went away from Mucktown. The trees became denser and the grass thicker. The road was barely visible and was only noticeable because the grass on it couldn’t grow due to the amount of time it had been trampled on.
Siderius continued training Red while traveling on the road.
It had learned to walk with his speed and beside him. However, Red still forgot this from time to time. Siderius was sure to remind it every time.
He did it in a gentle way and with a soft tone, making sure to build a connection with the horse. Siderius was the leader in this relationship but they were companions, not owners and slaves.
Around half-day, Red no longer forgot to walk faster than Siderius. He moved on to teach it some basic commands.
The first thing was ’Stop’.
On their journey, Siderius would sometimes stop suddenly and pull the leash.
"Stop!" He combined his speech with his action.
Red was slow to react but it would stop eventually. Each time, Siderius would have a handful of oats to reward it for its cooperation.
Soon, Red learned that every time its human said stop, it would need to stop as well.
The horse was very obedient and easy to train. Probably because of its time with the previous owner.
At night, Siderius went with the usual routines. He found natural streams or rivers to feed Red. And he would scout the area for a good place to rest.
According to the map, he wouldn’t see any inn for at least two more days with his speed. However, there was a monastery nearby. He was probably able to reach the monastery tomorrow night and found an actual place with a roof to sleep.
Suddenly, Red’s noise echoed through the area. It was a high-pitched, panic neigh that could only be heard when a horse was in fear.
Siderius snapped his head toward Red’s direction.