Aileen traveled in the dense forest for three consecutive days. Although Wind Riding Technique did not consume much magic power, she still felt tired after maintaining it for a long time. Whenever more than half of the magic power was consumed, she would find a hidden place to rest and restore magic power with Cold Jade Marrow in her hand.
At noon on the fourth day, she finally saw the tall city wall of Black Stone City. This important northern town was made of black rocks, and the city walls were covered with traces of time and war. There were many people lining up to enter the city, mostly caravans and adventurers.
When it was Aileen's turn, the guard immediately became respectful when he saw the eighth-level magician badge on her chest.
"Dear Master Magician, the entry tax is one silver coin." The guard bowed and said.
Aileen paid the money and asked casually, "Is there a caravan going to the southeast in the city?"
"There are a lot of caravans recently." The guard enthusiastically pointed the way, "You can go to the caravan station in the west of the city to inquire."
Walking into Black Stone City, Aileen was a little uncomfortable with the noisy people. There were many shops on both sides of the street, and the sound of hawking was endless. She found a hotel that looked clean and asked for a single room.
After settling in the room, Aileen took a comfortable hot bath and put on a clean magic robe. She was a little uncomfortable sleeping on a soft bed for the first time in more than half a year.
Early the next morning, she arrived at the caravan station in the west of the city. It was even more lively here. Caravans of all sizes were loading goods, coachmen were shouting, and the neighing of beasts of burden could be heard one after another.
Aileen found the manager of the inn, a middle-aged man with a goatee.
"I want to find a caravan going to the southeast." Aileen said.
The administrator looked at her magic robe. "Going to the southeast? That's far away. The nearest one is Grey Hawk Caravan. It will depart in three days and the destination is Golden Lily City, the capital of Central Province. Once there, you can transfer to other caravans."
"Can you take me to see the caravan leader?"
The administrator took Aileen to the backyard of the inn, where a burly man with a scar on his face was counting the goods.
"Captain Barton, this magician wants to take a ride to Golden Lily City."
Barton turned around and saw the magician badge of Aileen, his eyes lit up. "Eighth level magician? Welcome! I am Barton, the captain of Grey Hawk Caravan."
"My name is Aileen." Aileen nodded slightly, "I heard you are going to Golden Lily City?"
"Yes." Barton said while rubbing his hands, "Our caravan has twenty trucks and fifty guards. It would be safer if a magician could accompany us. The travel expenses are easy to negotiate."
Aileen thought for a while, "I need a separate carriage. Don't disturb my practice."
"No problem!" Barton agreed readily, "We happen to have an empty bus that you can use alone. How about I charge you ten gold coins for the toll?"
The price was quite fair, and Aileen nodded in agreement. She paid a deposit of five gold coins in advance and agreed to meet at the inn on the day of departure.
In the next two days, Aileen purchased some necessities at Black Stone City: new magic materials, a few magic notebooks, and some changes of clothes. She specially bought an ordinary-looking wooden box, carefully hid Cold Jade Marrow at the bottom of the box, and covered it with clothes.
On the early morning of the day of departure, Aileen arrived at the inn on time. Grey Hawk Caravan was already ready to go. Twenty trucks were lined up in a long queue, and guards were riding horses to patrol in front and behind the convoy.
Barton personally led Aileen to a carriage. "This is your carriage. It has been cleaned. If you need anything on the road, come to me anytime."
Although the carriage was not big, it was very neat. Aileen put the luggage and the team set off slowly.
The caravan traveled south along the wide official road. Aileen spent most of the time practicing in the carriage, meditating with Cold Jade Marrow in hand. The cool breath exuded by Cold Jade Marrow made it easier for her to enter a deep meditation state, and the accumulation of magic power was significantly accelerated.
Occasionally when the convoy takes a break, she will get out of the car to do some activities. The guards all respect her and often take the initiative to help her get water and prepare food.
On the fifth day of departure, the caravan spent the night in a small town. Barton came to Aileen to discuss. "We have to pass Black Wind Canyon ahead. Bandits are often there. I may need to trouble you to take action at that time."
Aileen nodded. "I will pay attention."
The next day when I entered Black Wind Canyon, I met a group of bandits. There were about thirty people, all of them a ragtag group.
The guard captain was about to lead his men to fight, but Aileen stopped him. "Let me do it."
She stepped out of the carriage, waved her staff lightly, and several water balls condensed in the air, then turned into ice arrows and shot towards the ground in front of the bandits. The ice arrows penetrated deeply into the rocks, emitting a dense cold air.
"Magic!" The bandits backed away in horror.
Aileen said loudly, "If you don't want to die, leave immediately."
The bandit leader wanted to say something else, but Aileen waved his staff again, and a Water Tornado formed around him, rolling him into the air and falling heavily. When the other bandits saw this, they immediately dispersed.
Barton breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you for taking action. Although these bandits are not strong, if we really fight, we will inevitably suffer casualties."
"It takes a little effort." Aileen said calmly, and returned to the carriage to continue practicing.