Chapter 144: Journey 2

Carriage outside, we quickly went about moving the mountain of bags outside. Somehow, they roped me into helping. His mother showed a surprising degree of strength; she lifted several bags at once, seeming unencumbered by the task. Jengal, on the other hand, used his extreme agility. What he lacks in strength, he makes up in pure speed. Whatever genes run through this family, they are potent.

With startling speed, all the bags are outside and loaded onto the back of a large metal carriage. It is a combination of spruce, with metal supports and small decorations. Neither expensive nor poor, it is just spacious and well built. Having a sizable internal cavity for people; and a large boot for bags. Which happens to be a hairs-breath away from max capacity, thanks to the quantity of bags Jengal and his mother are bringing.

It isn’t long before we are comfortably seated in the carriage; moments later, we are off. The suspension is half-decent, the cobbled road reduced to a subtle vibration. “So, how are we getting to the capital?” I enquire, wishing for more details.

His mother replies, “first, we will make our way through a few towns until we reach a major city. Within, we will pay a spacial mage or perhaps some kind of transporter of the magical variety to teleport us to the capital. They can generally; only be found within big cities. The knowledge on how to teleport and travel quickly is carefully guarded. This results in an expensive and rare form of travel.”

“How can you afford it if it is expensive?”

“Thanks to my husband's occupation, before his death. We are privileged to a sizable discount. It is not impossibly expensive under normal circumstances, but this allows for us to use it on occasion.”

“I see; thank you for clarifying.”

“No problem, darling.”

“So, what do you guys do during long journeys?” I ask.

“Talk, enjoy the sights, sometimes play games like I spy,” Jengal says.

“That seems boring.”

“It can be.”

Mentally noting to make some board games. Taking out a deck of cards and a table, I set it all down. “Let’s play, go fish!”

They lean forward in interest as I remove the jokers and shuffle the deck. Giving each of us 7 cards, “this game is simple. Look at your cards; the goal of the game is to complete the set. When it is your turn, you ask someone if they have said card. If they do, they give you all their cards of that type. If they don’t, they say go fish. This means you grab a card from the facedown deck in the middle. When all the cards are gone, whoever has the most complete sets wins. You can only ask for cards you have, and cannot peek at other people's cards.”

“This seems interesting,” Jengal says.

We begin to play, to which I find them both very poor at it. It isn’t long before they figure out how to play. After the third game, I start to struggling, eeking out wins by a hair. By the 5th game, I lost too Jengal, and the sixth, to his mother.

It took a while, but we eventually got bored of the game. Prompting me to try and remember other card games. I never did learn poker, a shame. And then it hits me, “UNO.” Which got some curious looks from them. Placing a crafting table, I make a deck of UNO cards.

“New game,” I say with energy.

“This one is simple too.”

“Hear that? even you can play, Jengal.”

“I am not simple.” He sulks.

Showing the UNO cards, “this one uses a different deck. The goal is to get rid of your cards; the first person to do so is the winner. If I place a red 5, you can place either a red or a 5 on the card during your turn. If you do not have the card, you draw one. Different cards exist with special effects. Plus cards, give the next person, in turn, an extra card. Reverse changes the rotation of turns. Skips allow you to skip the next player, jumping straight to the person after.”

They found this game a little easier to pick up and lasted far longer. We all enjoyed playing it for a while. “Damnit, Jengal, stop giving me cards,” I say in annoyance.

“Payback for last game.”

“I only gave you 4 last game; you have given me 10 this game.”

“Still, payback.” He says smugly.

“Yeah, yeah,” rolling my eyes.

“Break it up, you two.” Jengals mother says while comfortably sitting at 1 card.

“You can only say that because you are about to win.”

“Nonsense, it is anyone's game.”

Setting down a blue onto the pile, “prove me wrong.”

She just chuckles, setting down her last card. “I win.”

“Again,” Jengal says in annoyance.

“What can I see; I am just too good for you two.” She turns to me, “Aeternum, can I keep that deck? I like this game.”

“Sure, keep it.” Letting her collect up the cards.

Looking out the window, I see the passing countryside. Hand on my chin in boredom, “traveling is mentally exhausting.”

“Not everyone can do whatever they want. It takes all willpower to not become gold diggers.” Jengal says.

“You are already getting things of great value.”

“Says someone who builds islands when he is bored. You are beyond comprehension.” He says, shaking his head.

“Hey, I’m planning some kingdoms or something next.”

“What are you planning?”

Standing up, “to never be bored!” I announce to the carriage. I hear a muffled chuckle from the driver. Sitting back down, a smile on my face.

In a far calmer and quiet voice, Jengal speaks. “Do you think I could do what you do?”

“I don’t see why not. What is stopping you from grabbing an ax, taking the wood, and making a house? What about fishing to gain experience, then enchanting. Forests have ancient secrets; dungeons are everywhere.”

He lowers his head slightly. “I see your point, but outside is dangerous.”

“Do you know where I started?”

“No?”

“I was in the middle of a forest, only the clothes on my back. I found some flint, made a knife. I used that to make a hatchet; I gathered wood, harvested berries for food. I didn’t always have a golden bag; I had to string some long grass into a bag. I had the advantage of recipes, but you have safety. I am not saying go into the wilds and get yourself killed; just work hard. I still remember the first zombie that attacked me. I had to chip away at it, getting hurt and narrowly avoiding death. Next, I made a better weapon, the fights got easier. Here I am now, proficient in combat and a lovely home.”

Jengal is at a loss for words. Eventually, he speaks, “sorry, I didn’t know that happened to you. I just assumed…”

“That I had a town? No, I had a massive forest . Did I have people? No, I had to dangerously teleport to find people.” Slight annoyance slipping into my voice.

He fumbles about, blood rushing to his face. My annoyance disappears, leaving regret. “Look, I am sorry about cutting you down like that. What happened to me, it doesn’t matter. Just know, you have a world to explore. I can teach you to fight; god, I can find you a hell of a combat partner. I trapped a wither skeleton once; they are killer swordsmen.”

“Thank you, Aeternum.”

The touching moment was ruined by his mother going, “Awe…” We both turn away, his mother helpfully adds. “You still have your father's sword. It would do him proud, learning to use it.”

Poor Jengal doesn’t know what to do. He opts to just sit and look out the window, a valid option.

An hour later, the carriage comes to a stop. A quick glance out the window tells me why; the sun Is setting. “I take it night travel is a bad idea.”

“Yeah, monsters are out and about.” Jengals mother says.

“How do we stop them?” I enquire.

“Wards,” she says simply.

Stepping out of the carriage, I see the driver placing stone rods in a square around the carriage. “Wards huh?”

Turning back around, Jengal and his mother are already out. They are carrying a large cylindrical bag. “What are you guys doing?”

“Setting up the tent.”

I just laugh; “yeah, I prefer luxury.” Walking outside the wards, into an open stretch of land. Removing my geochest, I place down my tower. Turning back around, seeing Jengal, his mother, and the driver all standing in a line gobsmacked. The driver elbows Jengal, whispering, “who the hell is this guy?”

“Rich…”

“I can see that!” The driver replies, creasing his brows.

“Well, you guys gonna sit around or come in?” Jengal and his mother come in; the driver needs to feed the horses before entering.

“Wow, this place is amazing.” They both say in sync.

“Glad you like it; I worked hard to make it comfortable. Sit down; I will prepare dinner. They sit down without complaint, still looking around. Heading into the kitchen, I ponder on what to make.

Steak sounds nice. Taking out a nice fillet of beef, they make a great steak. I seasoned them with garlic, salt, pepper; before setting them to the side. Now, what side? How about some chips; they are always a winner. Quickly making an air fryer, I toss some rustic chips inside. It will take about 30 minutes for them to cook, time for another side. Mushy peas, I love them. Taking some peas, I place them in a saucepan. Taking some garlic cloves, I crush them, sprinkle salt, and dice them extremely small. Tossing them inside, I take out some mint. Curling the leaves into cylinders, I slice them into paper-thin cuts. With them added, I toss a knob of butter in before heating them. On a low flame, I allow them to heat up to about 60 C. Once they are up to temperature, I take a masher and lightly crush them. Homemade mushy peas, with steak and chips.

Setting the peas to the side, I turn to the steaks. Melting some butter in a pan, I allow it to lightly brown before laying the 4 large steaks down. I don’t touch the steak, allowing a crust to form. Flipping it, I do the same on the other side. Taking a moment to seal the edges. Next, I place them in the oven at medium heat. They are too thick to solely do in the pan, so I will oven cook them until medium.

Once the steaks are done, I wrap them in foil with butter to rest. Tossing some butter into the peas and reheating; before serving up the chips. Lightly salting and vinegaring the chips; before putting the whole plate together.

Taking the plates back into the main room, I see Jengal, his mother, and the driver waiting patiently. Setting down the food, I take my own seat.

“Please enjoy,” I say to my guests.

“You really have a stocked kitchen back there?!” Jengal says in a half question.

“Hell yea, wanna see it after dinner?”

“Of course.” He says.

The driver doesn’t say anything; he doesn’t need to. His face is just utter disbelief.

Without further ado, we all dig in; the steak is nice and tender, might have made a little too much.

Or at least I at first thought that; until I watched Jengal lick his plate. Peering over, I see it is cleared.

“Jengal, seriously?! That was enough to feed 2 people; how?”

“I like food.”

“I can see that.”

His mother just laughs, finishing her plate too at a far more normal pace. Me and the driver both leave at least half our plates. Patting his shoulder, “don’t worry, they are on a different scale.” I say, laughing.