"We're about half a day away from Star Plum Town."
"That precise? Shave his goatee off! I thought we'd been going in circles in this damned fog!"
During their last rest before reaching Star Plum Town, Tang Qi gauged the time by the cycle of day and night and realized that a week had passed since they left Dragon Gold City.
He still remembered that the migration from Star Plum Town to Dragon Gold City had taken a full twenty days.
But they had detoured north then, and the large convoy, unfamiliar roads, and other factors had all added up, inevitably slowing their progress.
Now, with [Guide] aiding him, Tang Qi could find the fastest route through the fog on instinct alone. They traveled light, and aside from the frenzy of beast transformations on the night of the twin moons, they had encountered no particularly troublesome obstacles. Their current pace was perfectly reasonable.
"What if those Beastfolk haven't fallen apart from the food shortage yet? What do we do?"
Gravel spread Green Mushroom Sauce on his rye bread. Anbi had made the thick sauce from tree sap and mushrooms gathered along the way. Its fresh, mild flavor helped cut the rye's bitterness.
They had to ration the Star Plum Wine. Instead, they added two slices of wolf meat and a washed fern leaf, then swallowed it all down with sweet spring water. It made a passable light meal—one couldn't ask for too much while adventuring.
"Then we make full use of this chief's leadership skills. Have her keep her Beastfolk in line so they don't get in our way while we deal with that old Goblin."
Tang Qi looked at Shivana.
Perhaps wary of the restraints imposed by the "Pact," she expressed her refusal through ten thousand different emotions within