Chapter 10 IC: Old World, New Frontier
The night passes without event. The forests obnoxious cacophony of sounds gradually become a lulling background song, like the crashing of waves or the patter of rain drops on a roof, and in fact the quiet just before dawn serves as an alarm for many of the group. As the group prepares to breakfast and then break camp Zelpuz and Yuu do a quick check of the wagons to ensure nothing is amiss, and Vanyra attempts to get a few extra hours of rest before resuming her scouting.
The morning's journey mirrors late afternoon of the previous day, relatively quiet and with few travelers. When encountered the travelers are always mounted or on wagons, typically wagons hauling raw materials of sorts, lumber, metals, fine metallic powder, etc. Vanyra's advance patrolling has not encountered anything of concern near the road, though the occasional large predator (at least she assumes they are predatory) is seen further back into the forest, keeping their distance.
Near midday the order is given for a prolonged rest, which is welcomed by all. While comfortable enough sleeping in the wagon camp and pulling guard shifts at night is not conducive to a restful state. During the 4~5 hour stop a meal is had, Zelpuz and Yuu continue working with the sensors and making a bit of progress but not enough, and Vanyra takes a well deserved catnap after her meal.
The afternoon journey allows everyone to better take in their surroundings and the oncoming traffic is almost non-existent. The distance between forks in the road is becoming ever more distant as they travel further towards the foothills, which they can now see ahead, and far beyond them the reaching peaks of the Zhen Falas mountains. The final destination lies just beyond the first set of foothills, in the shadow of the mountains, a remote area indeed judging by the current population density.
The same routine is performed as the sun begins its dive towards the western horizon. The sensors continue to present troubles to Zelpus and Yuu, though just before the start of watch shift they believe they have an idea to try tomorrow.