Chapter 27: Don’t Worry

The rest of their first day went by rather peacefully. Eveline ended up sleeping for almost two hours before finally waking up. By then, the village they had stayed in was already far away from them.

Instead of farms and small houses, all Caelan could see now were endless fields, forests, and the occasional mountains in the distance.

Every now and then, they would pass another carriage or a group of travelers heading in different direction. There were also people who were travelling with goods on them.

Looking at them was the thing that made Caelan’s day interesting.

It was easy to forget that Aurelith was a dangerous world when he had spent the past few weeks doing nothing but earning money and doing farm work.

"Are those adventurers?" Caelan asked as a group of armed people passed their carriage. They were wearing normal clothes that they didn’t look like they were soldiers.

Eveline glanced outside to look at what he was saying. When she saw it, she immediately nodded.

"Probably. There are a lot more of them near the capital."

"I see..." Caelan nodded.

Maybe he could learn more about them once they arrived in the capital that Eveline has been mentioning for weeks.

The hours continued to pass with them just seated inside the carriage. Sometimes Caelan and Eveline would talk. Other times, they ate the food she had bought or simply watched the scenery outside.

To keep it simple, it was fucking boring.

Caelan didn’t know how people could travel alone for days. If Eveline wasn’t here, he was pretty sure he would have lost his mind from boredom already.

At least having someone to talk to made the journey a little more bearable.

But as more hours passed, Caelan noticed that the light coming through the windows was slowly getting dimmer. He moved the curtain slightly and looked outside. The sun was already beginning to disappear in the sky.

"It’s getting dark."

Eveline leaned closer to the window and peeked too.

"It is."

Caelan glanced toward the road ahead. There were noticeably fewer travelers now compared to earlier. Most of the people and carriages they had passed were nowhere to be seen.

Not long after, the carriage began slowing down.

"We’ll stop for the night!" the driver suddenly called loudly from the front.

"Here?" Caelan raised an eyebrow as he glanced outside again.

There was nothing around them except trees. Lots and lots of trees.

"We won’t reach the next town before nightfall," the driver explained. "It’s better to stop here and continue tomorrow morning because the gates will close." The driver guided the carriage away to a clear area at the side.

Caelan slowly nodded at that. He understood it. But he still wasn’t excited about sleeping in the middle of a forest, though.

"Looks like we’re camping," Eveline said.

"Looks like it." Caelan opened the carriage door and stepped outside. The moment his feet touched the ground, he immediately stretched his arms above his head.

"Ahhh..." After sitting for almost the entire day, his body felt stiff.

"My back hurts." Eveline climbed out after him and stretched as well.

Caelan turned toward the driver, who was already unhitching the horses and tying them near a tree. The sun was almost fully down by now, but there was still ample of light.

"We should start a fire before it gets completely dark," the driver turned to them.

"I can get some wood," Caelan offered, knowing that Eveline wouldn’t be able to do that.

"If that’s the case then I’ll prepare our things," Eveline offered a hand.

"I will secure the carriage first and feed the horse."

With that, the three of them started setting up their small camp for tonight.

Caelan walked around the area and gathered whatever dry branches he could find. He made sure not to wander too far into the forest though. He wasn’t stupid enough to do that.

When Caelan returned, Eveline had already brought out a tent, several blankets and some of the food she had bought earlier.

"So this is why you bought so much stuff." Caelan slowly dropped the branches beside her before turning to the things.

"See? I told you we’d need all the things I bought." Eveline looked at him proudly. She had been travelling since she was a kid, so she knows already what happens in it.

Sleeping on forests was normal since the horses and the people needs some rest too. That was why she bought some tent to set up. In the past, there were other people taking care of this. But now, it was only them.

The three of them had to work hard if they want a nice sleep for the night.

After Caelan dropped the wood, the driver took care of it and made a small fire. They quickly set up the tent too, and put some blankets inside.

By then, the sun had completely disappeared. The forest around them had become almost entirely dark, with their small campfire being the only source of heat and light nearby.

Once everything was finally prepared, the three of them gathered around the fire. Eveline brought out some of the food she had bought earlier and placed it between them.

There wasn’t anything fancy. Just some bread, dried meat, fruits, and a few other things that could last throughout their journey.

"Here." Eveline handed Caelan a piece of bread along with some dried meat.

"Thank you." Caelan immediately took a bite.

After spending most of the afternoon sitting inside the carriage and then gathering wood, he was surprisingly hungry. Even the driver was starving.

The three of them ate quietly for a while, but Caelan couldn’t help but glance toward the darkness.

During the day, the forest looks nice. But it was completely different at night. He couldn’t see anything beyond the light of their campfire.

"You don’t have to worry too much," the driver suddenly said. "This is one of the main routes toward the next town, so merchants and adventurers pass through here regularly. Most dangerous monsters don’t stay near the road."