Darius had become a Slave of the Black Dragon Castle more than thirty years ago. It was said that initially, he had been passing through Ankera town to do business when he was deceived, captured, and sold into the Black Dragon Castle. Therefore, regarding the route to go to Ankera town, he barely still retained a little impression in his old memory.
Jasmine did not trust Darius's ability to remember the road very much. To avoid the situation of not being able to find the way home, they traveled very slowly along this journey. Furthermore, every time they passed a certain distance, she instructed the guards to leave behind a clear mark, for example, tying a small strip of red burlap cloth onto a large bush, or clearing a patch of empty ground and arranging a small pile of stones in an easily visible triangular shape on that empty ground.
As for the direction to go to Ankera town, even if Darius did not remember clearly, Jasmine did not worry about not finding it. This was because Ankera town was located at the intersection between the border of the Dry Wood Forest and the Kingdom of Winchester. They only needed to travel forward along the edge of the Dry Wood Forest, keeping the forest on their left hand, and eventually, they would walk into the range of Ankera town.
Moreover, the closer they got to Ankera town, the more they could discover traces left behind by adventurers, such as the ashes of old campfires or living waste. When that time came, they could simply find someone to ask for directions.
Having Darius to point the way, observe the wind direction, and look at the moss growing on rocks was merely to guard against the unexpected, just in case.
Leaving the Black Dragon Castle, the journey along the way could be considered smooth. The small animals with ferocious temperaments in the wilderness would also not appear to attack them during the day; they usually hid in caves to avoid the sunlight.
At noon, they found a small stream with water flowing with a murmuring sound and a clean water source to sit and rest. Jasmine also climbed down from the jolting carriage to exercise her muscles and bones; her back ached as if it were about to break in two.
The condition of the roads, being completely without a path like this, was truly too difficult to travel. Every time the wheels rolled over a stone, her whole body would bounce up. For Jasmine, it was truly a nightmare; just sitting for half a day, she felt as if her entire body was about to be shaken apart into pieces.
This time, going to Ankera town, she definitely had to go find a Dwarf craftsman with exquisite skills to make shock-absorbing springs out of good metal to install on the carriage.
Jasmine did not want to lose half her life from the shaking every time she went out for a trip; she just did not know if the technology of the Dwarves in the small town was capable of making suitable springs or not.
The lunch break time was not long. Jasmine did not allow people to light a fire to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. They carried boiled water that had been cooled, stored in leather bags. For lunch, they ate dry bread and fried soybeans.
As for the dish of fried tofu the Cook had prepared, it was already cold. The layer of lard on top had congealed into white patches; looking at it made one lose the desire to eat because of the greasiness. Jasmine intended to wait until evening to light a campfire and heat it up again to melt the lard before eating.
However, on the first day out, Jasmine's food was still more abundant than that of the Slaves. The old Butler had prepared a large multi-layered food box for her. Inside, there was a bowl of bean sprout soup that had been kept warm; it still possessed some heat and had not cooled down completely.
There was a small portion of fried meat seasoned sufficiently with pepper and salt spices. She did not know how the Cook preserved the Wild Boar meat, but smelling it, it had surprisingly not spoiled yet and still retained an attractive fragrance.
Additionally, there was a loaf of toasted bread that was golden and softer than the type for the Slaves, and a portion of berries that had been pan-seared with a little rock sugar.
Jasmine had been shaken by the carriage until her head was dizzy and her stomach was churning with nausea. She did not want to eat or drink anything, so she only reluctantly drank a few mouthfuls of bean sprout soup to quench her thirst. She divided all the other food among the guards so they would have strength, and then she walked around the area to breathe the fresh air.
The Bull-man saw this; he devoured half a loaf of bread and a small handful of fried beans in his hand, then held his spear and followed beside Jasmine like a shadow to prevent any mishaps from occurring.
Jasmine also did not go too far; she only walked around the stream, watching the clear water flowing past the crevices of the rocks, wanting to see if there were any plants around that she knew were edible to supplement their menu.
"Angus, are there no fish in this stream? The water is so clear." The stream water was very clear and only knee-deep; one could clearly see the colorful rubble and green moss at the bottom, but absolutely no silhouettes of swimming creatures were seen.
This stream branched off from the river in the forest of the territory. If there were fish living in the stream, then fish should also be found in the river, yet Jasmine had never seen the Slaves catch fish and bring them back.
"There are none." The Bull-man scratched the back of his neck, his eyes looking vigilantly around the bank of the stream. "Even if there were fish, they have been caught by the bears."
"Bears? There are bears here?" Jasmine was startled and frightened, subconsciously taking a step back from the water's edge.
"Mhm." The Bull-man nodded, pointing at a large footprint printed faintly on the mud by the stream. Previously, when picking up firewood in the forest, he had once encountered a giant bear. "Moreover, not only are there bears, but Deep Forest Wolves also like to catch fish to eat, and there are otters and wildcats too; they are all excellent hunters."
The fish were coveted by too many animals, becoming a source of dispute for ferocious beasts. The Slaves did not dare to compete with them; if they were not careful, they might replace the fish and become food for other animals because they did not have enough strength to fight back.
Hearing this, Jasmine also did not dare to go too close to the stream anymore, feeling a chill run down her spine. However, she discovered a small bush of unripe berries at the resting place. The fruit was bright red, looking somewhat like wild raspberries. The Bull-man said this type of berry was edible and had a sweet and sour taste, so Jasmine immediately told people to pick them all and wrap them in leaves. Only then did she pack up to continue on the road.
However, the carriage had not been traveling for long when dark clouds completely covered the sun...