Chapter 84

"Do any of you know how to ride an uuna?" Tarklin asked us.

At the question I recalled those weird six-legged horselike animals with the cat heads and then remembered I actually had [Uuna Riding] at level 13. Despite not having used it once it was still my third highest skill. That's a little sad to think about to be honest.

"It's been a while but I can ride an uuna," I said.

Tarklin smiled. "Great! You'll be able to go on uuna rotation then. That will make things a lot easier. Anyone else?" he asked looking at my party but they all shook their heads. "Ah, too bad. Still it's rather lucky that even one of you can ride an uuna at Iron rank. It wouldn't hurt for more of you to learn. On another occasion of course, unfortunately we won't have much time to teach you on our travels this time."

We were almost to the caravan of trading wagons that was preparing to leave. There were four wagons with open tops that were filled with lumber and different types of minerals, there was one that looked almost like mobile barracks, and one that was reinforced with metal beams and braces. The last one had visible locks on the outside and guards standing by the wagon at all times.

I noticed an area with penned up uunas. Two for each wagon and eight more that were saddled for riders for a total of 20. "I've never asked, how long does it take to get to the capital from here anyway?"

"One or two weeks roughly, depending on weather. It's not that long of a trip but there aren't many towns on the way to the capital on this side of the country. Most of our nights will be spent in the wilderness till we get closer to the city that Baron Norrin Morrister lives in. This land is technically under his barony until this area becomes more developed and the area is given to someone else as a peerage. He manages it on paper but it's so undeveloped that it mostly just means his men are the ones that collects the kingdom's taxes for Traehall and nothing more."

I nod. "Thanks for the information."

"Certainly, I wouldn't want to leave you unfulfilled." He finished that off with a flirty smile. I honestly couldn't decide if his flirting was welcome or a huge turn off. On one hand he was pretty attractive, on the other that comment... it was a little gross. I decided to ignore it and keep walking forward.

He led the four of us to a slightly older heavyset man dressed in pretty comfortable looking traveling clothes. He didn't scream wealth, but he did look it.

"Salvor, we have the extra hands guild master Raksha'va promised she would send our way."

The man looked over the four of us and nodded. "Good, they look like competent adventurers. It was worth the small delay in our trip. Luckily my men also had some last minute things to take care of this morning as well. Are the rest of your men ready to go Tarklin?"

"I believe we are. I'll do a last minute roll call and then we can begin leaving when we're sure everyone is present."

"Very good, I'll go talk with everyone to make doubly sure everything is accounted for."

The next half a bell went by quickly as we were all gathered and our names were called off. I had met everyone this morning and I wasn't any closer to remembering many names but I got the impression Morrigan was trying hard to remember them based on her concentrated look during roll call. After that we walked around and checked all of our cargo.

In one of the wagons there was a crate full of fresh vegetables grown here in Traehall that would make the bulk of our food supply rather than just rations for the entire trip. Tarklin assured me that they would refresh it before it ran out in one of the few towns we would be visiting on the way. That suited me, nothing but rations for the entire trip would have been tough. I don't mind the taste of the jerky and trail mix but I also didn't love the idea of that being lunch and dinner for two weeks straight.

Once everything was accounted for, he pulled me from my party and led me over to the uuna pen. "We'll have you ride an uuna on the way out of town to get an idea of how good you are with them. If everything looks good we'll put you in rotation and everyone here will love you that much more."

I wasn't afraid of the giant... animals, even if they were quite intimidating looking. I could feel the familiar instincts from [Uuna Riding] guiding me. My hands checked the straps on the saddle one by one before I pulled myself onto it. I wasn't sure what kind of material the saddle was. At a glance I had thought it was leather but sitting on it was cool and soft like a mixture of wood and rubber. My hands checked the straps one by one up here as well before picking up the reins and guiding the uuna out of the pen.

Riding an uuna was pretty cool, they were a little bit taller than a horse but their six legs made them a much more stable and smoother ride. Their heads would block your view when they were standing tall but their necks went down and almost aligned with their bodies as they moved, keeping the sight more clear than a normal horse would while moving. I did a quick lap around the uuna pen and returned to Tarklin who looked both parts happy and relieved.

"Oh perfect, you weren't merely boasting when you claimed to be able to ride an uuna. You don't know how much easier this makes the trip. We can now do standard rotations through riders now rather than being short the entire time."

I nodded but I wasn't clear on what the problem really was. I figured it might look weird if I asked questions about it while also having been this proficient in riding them. I patted the side of the large animal and it knelt on the ground settling into a sitting crouch.

"I can ride one but I really don't know your formations. What do you want me to do?"

"Ah right, you'll be in the back corner on the port side. You'll be able to see the other rider on the starboard side and the person riding in front of you. Just stay aligned and you'll be fine." I quirked an eyebrow at the port and starboard designations, not used to hearing it outside the context of ships. "The other three members of your party will be split on the wagons and the merchant's coach. Do you have any instructions for how they should be split up?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Let them choose, if they hesitate ask Belladonna to choose. The um, deerkin woman."

"Good, we leave in a few minutes, get to position and start moving when you hear my horn." He held up some kind of animal horn that was fashioned into a signal instrument. I had no idea what it sounded like of course but I decided to just roll with it. I'm sure I'd figure it out.

He walked off to talk with the others while I coaxed my steed into position. I could tell she was a female and had a good temperament. The knowledge I'd gained from [Uuna Riding] came to me as if I had always known it, a really odd feeling when I hadn't actually known any of it. I gently patted the side of my uuna, giving it positive reinforcement for being so well behaved.

I ran my thumb down Mimi's hilt. From horseback... uunaback?... I wouldn't be able to effectively use my longer two handed sword, I would normally have to rely on a one handed sword but the one on my belt... wasn't actually real. I hadn't really thought about buying a new sword since I liked my slightly cursed two handed sword better anyway but I realize now that thinking was a bit of a mistake.

-- "Hey Mimi, are you still scared of me wielding you as a sword? I don't think I can use my normal weapon from up here very easily and I might need to defend the caravan while riding..." --

I could feel a mixture of unease coming from Mimi but it coalesced into a cautious confidence.

-- "You can use me as a sword but if I break you need to make sure you gather all of the pieces. And if I warn you, you need to stop! I should be harder than a lot of other things but being used this way is a little scary." --

I let my side of the bond fill with acknowledgement and reassurance. -- "Don't worry Mimi, I won't swing you at anything I think could hurt you. If you are worried about anything tell me right away." --

-- "Okay! I'm trusting you! Make sure you don't break me!" --

I could still feel the apprehension but there was trust behind the emotion. Eventually I hoped she would be able to join us as a party member on a more permanent basis but maintaining a normal form for too long seems to take a lot out of her. She had been resting a lot since our dinner out together and even while in her sheath, she has mostly been quiet until I talked to her through our link. She was still only passively collecting mana to refresh herself, she hadn't mastered the technique Morrigan had shared with her yet.

A large dull horn bellowed out from the front of the caravan. My uuna stood unbidden, recognizing the sound. I patted her on the side and flicked the rains to get her moving. The six legged beast loped along in tandem with the others, taking to the fairly fast pace with ease. The wagons rolled forward, being pulled by teams of two uuna and seemed to drag them without any trouble. The wagons were the old kind, no form of suspension and they jiggled and jarred along the trail that made me a little sick just watching it.

Bella was alone on the wagon immediately in front of me. She was sitting with another woman who I recognized as one of the guards and a male coachman who was with the merchants. I couldn't see them from here but I assumed Morrigan and Torien were sitting together on the carriage up ahead. I looked off to the side at the thinning forest that transitioned to plains outside of Traehall as we left. I was finally moving on to the next step in my journey in this new world, letting myself see and explore more of it.

I smiled at the thought. It hasn't been all that long but my time here was so much more densely packed than I felt was normal. I couldn't remember any specifics but I faintly recalled long lonely days sitting at a desk. Days, weeks, and months melting into an eternity of repetitive motions, making me feel like nothing but an automaton.

I pushed aside the unusual melancholy and refocused on the world around me now. It smelled faintly of pine needles and grass. I could also smell the uuna I was riding on, they had a mild scent that wasn't unpleasant, especially as far as animals go. The warm sun felt good in the slightly chilly air. The outside temperature was something I hardly noticed anymore. My new constitution shrugged off the elements and I haven't felt overheated once since waking up here.

Bella was chatting happily with the people sitting next to her. I couldn't hear what they were saying or look at their faces from this angle but Bella looked like she was enjoying her chat. It made me smile, she had changed quite a bit too since I had known her. She used to be much more shy even around the twins when we first met. Now she seemed to be laughing and talking to brand new acquaintances without any trouble.

I flicked my reins, getting the uuna under me back on track. She had started drifting off course while I was lost in thought but was back in formation in moments. I patted her gently on the side as I smiled.