Maybe you could start a draft for the letter while we're on the job? So you don't forget to write to them when we get back, Rowan suggested to him. If Nich started writing the letter while they were traveling, Rowan would be able to take her potions in private a little more easily. Speaking of which her throat was starting to ache and it felt like acid was gnawing at it. Was it really time for another dose already? She looked at Nich, We've been walking for a while. Want to take a little break right now?
"Yeah, I guess that might help." Nich tried to think of what he should put in the letter to his friends. He scratched behind his ears again, and looked back over to Rowan when he caught writing in the corner of his eye. "Mm? Yeah, we can take a quick break if you want to." He looked around and found some smooth rocks to sit on so he could pull a notebook and a writing utensil out of his bag.
Thank you, Rowan gave a quick bow of the head as she glanced around. She turned away and as she walked she made a small spell circle and murmured a spell beneath her breath fighting for every word to come out. When she was done an image of her walked and sat down on a nearby log, and Rowan, her actual self, was invisible. She then made her way into the forest coughing up blood as she went. Rowan was trying to stay as quiet as possible, so she could take the potion and then replace her image as unnoticeable as possible. She pulled out the glowing violet vial and downed it in one go causing the acidic feeling to disappear.
Luckily for Rowan, Nich seemed to be pretty preoccupied and distracted for the moment. He scribbled down a few lines in his journal, writing ideas and rewriting things to try and figure out what exactly he wanted to write before he started on an actual draft of the letter. After a few tries, he started writing out a proper letter, which he planned to transfer to a nicer piece of paper when they returned to town. While he was distracted, he didn't seem to notice Rowan.
Rowan coughed a few more times, no blood coming up, and then walked over to where her image was on the log. She then released the spell circle that was on the image and replaced the image easily. She pulled out an old worn leather book from her bag and opened it up to her notes on the potion she had just taken. She summoned a quill from seemingly thin air and began to think up ways to increase the potency of the potion. There wasn't a lot she could do on the road, but she could do some thinking to improve it on the road.
Once Nich had written most of the letter, he closed his journal and stuck it back in his bag. "Alright, do you want to get back on the road soon or rest a little longer?" He asked Rowan, looking over to her curiously as he toyed with his own pen. He spun it idly between his fingers and lay back on the rock he was sitting on, humming softly to himself. "I'm good to go whenever you're ready."
Rowan looked up at him. The quill in her hand vanished and she put the book back into her bag. She gave a little nod as she stood up from the log smiling. She wrote out in the air, I'm ready to go! Let's try to make it to a town before nightfall? She knew they wouldn't make it to Aurelius before nightfall, but they could at least sleep in a bed.
"Yeah, I've been through here before. There's a town a few miles from here in the right direction." Nich pointed in the right general direction and then started to lead the way. "There should be some places we can stay for free or cheap. And… I think we'll be close enough to get to the right place by tomorrow, yeah? As long as we keep good pace."
We definitely should be able to make it, Rowan wrote back to him as she followed after. She hadn't been this way many times, but she had gone through it enough times to have a good sense of pace. After all, Aurelius was some sort of home to her. She stayed on its streets for the first month or so after she escaped from Ash, And if we need to pay I have a bit of gold on me.
"I've got a bit of money too, so we should be alright. And it's possible that the innkeepers like me enough to let us stay for free." Nich shrugged and continued on. Although his calves were prosthetics and couldn't feel strain, his thighs were starting to ache after a while, although he didn't show it. He was definitely looking forward to taking off the prosthetics and being able to lay down and rest once they got to the town.
That would be really nice, Rowan nodded with a little smile. She didn't know how far out he had connections from the initial town and guildhall. She figured it wouldn't be that far, but given his seeming popularity, it made sense for him to have more connections than she thought. Rowan tapped her fingers on her thigh, which was definitely a habit, as she kept walking. Her legs did hurt quite a bit, but otherwise, she could walk for a while longer.
Nich nodded, smiling softly. "I try to make friends pretty much everywhere I go. It definitely comes in handy in situations like this, and it's generally helpful while traveling." He subtly rubbed at his leg with one hand, starting to feel where the prosthetic connected to his thigh. "We should be there pretty soon."
I hope so. I'm exhausted from all this walking, Rowan wrote making sure the word exhausted was overly large and funky to emphasize exaggeration in tone. Writing had some benefits over speaking, but not many. She kept her head up front looking out for any signs of trouble, or a town. A town would be great, I'm glad we didn't run into any monsters today.
Nich laughed softly and nodded. "Yeah, I'm getting tired as well… these things start to hurt after a while of walking." He shook one leg from side to side a bit to display it for emphasis. He could see the town, but it was still a ways off. It wouldn't take much longer to get there, but it would definitely feel like a while. "Mhmm. I tried to stay to more open areas so we'd be less likely to be ambushed. The vast majority of attacks around here are in the forest."
I would think so, Rowan wrote back a humorous smile on her lips. She would think the metal legs would eventually hurt, even if he didn't get the muscle pains she was currently having. She spotted the town in the distance and felt the humor fade to gratefulness, And I thank you for that. But I think we should try to take the most direct route tomorrow, even if it's not exactly the safest. The sooner we get there the better.
"Yeah, sounds good to me. Definitely want to get there as soon as possible." He stretched a bit and yawned, resting his hands on the back of his neck as he walked. "Maybe we can rent some horses for the way back so we don't have to do so much walking. It's faster, too. We'd probably get back home in less than a day depending on how fast we went. Have you ridden horses before?" He asked.
I have not, Rowan replied with a little shake of her head. She never had the chance to, first being "raised by Ash", and then she was constantly on the move. There wasn't a whole lot of time to learn in between the two, and Ash never thought to teach her anyway to truly leave where she was anyway, which included riding horses. Rowan tapped her fingers a few times, But I would be fine with learning.
"It's not too hard, really. I might teach you to trot, but we probably wouldn't go further than that. Cantering isn't super safe if you don't know what you're doing." Nich smiled reassuringly. "And you'll have a saddle and reins and stuff. Riding bareback is way harder. I've fallen off of a lot of horses that way." He laughed again, growing increasingly aware of the aching in his legs.
I definitely don't think I want to try that immediately, Rowan replied looping every word. They made it to the edge of town and she quickly moved to hide her face a little bit. There weren't any eyes on her yet, but once she started writing she was sure there would be at least a few. She took a deep breath, Know where any inns are?
Nich noticed Rowan's nervousness and shifted so that he obscured her from the public's view, but was still able to read what she said. "Yeah, there's one pretty close to here where I know the innkeeper. Even if she doesn't let us stay for free, we'll probably get a reduced price." He shrugged. "It's a pretty nice place, and it'll be good to sleep in for the night."
Lead the way then, Rowan wrote back to him. Her writing was smaller than usual, but the point got across. She noticed how Nich was taking the time and effort to hide her from the eyes she was so afraid of. A soft smile slipped onto her face as she went to write again, And thank you.
Nich smiled softly over at Rowan as he led the way to the inn. "Of course. It's no problem." They soon arrived and Nich started chatting with the hostess until he had seemingly charmed his way into a free room. "Alright! Time to get some rest, yeah?" He said cheerfully, turning to Rowan.
Yes, please, Rowan wrote out with a happy smile on her face. She realized that the two of them would end up sharing a room, but there would be two beds in the room. And, she could probably take her next potion while he was fast asleep. Her throat felt fine at the moment, It's on the second floor first right, right?
"Yeah, it is." Nich spun the keys to their room around one finger, humming softly as he led the way to where they'd be staying for the night. Upon entering the room, it appeared pretty simple, but comfortable. Two beds, a dresser, and a window. Nich went ahead and sat on a bed so that he could start on detaching his prosthetics.
Rowan let him open up the door and placed her bag with a few glass clinks next to the base of the other bed. She let out a long sigh and started to softly hum a tune under her breath. Not so she could talk, but rather so she maintained what was left of it. She tapped her finger on her thigh along with the beat before she broke off into coughs. It wasn't as bad a fit as it could have been it told her to stop humming for the night.
