85: Caravan

Caravan

After bidding farewell to the only people he knew in the city, he set out. He was planning on going to the city along with a couple of merchants. He was planning on picking out the merchant when he got to the place they normally convened at. It was the same place that Daphne had gone out from, so he was familiar with the location.1

It was very close to the Outer Gate on the other side of the city. It was facing away from Valkyr's Forest and so it didn't experience any of the action that the Beast Wave caused. Because it was on the other side of the city, he had to walk for a while to get there. He got to a square that was filled with caravans. 

He walked to the place where all the merchants were staying and walked up to one of them.

"Hello, are you going to Eldridge by any chance?" He asked.

The person shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. But you should go to him. His name is Joshua. His caravan is going to Eldridge today." He pointed at a bearded man in his late thirties.

Leo walked up to the person and talked to him.

"Hi, I heard that you are going to Eldridge." He said.

Joshua nodded. "Yes, I am. You are?" 

"I am Leo. I was wondering if I could come along with you to Eldridge."

Joshua thought about it. "We have a few spots open, but you might need to pay to tag along." He said.

Leo nodded. "That isn't an issue. How much do you think I need to pay?" He asked.

"I can keep it low because you are just a kid. How about 20000 Starcoins?" He asked.

Leo nodded. He immediately handed over 20000 Starcoins to him. "How am I supposed to get there? Will I have to walk or ride a horse?"

Joshua was surprised by the immediate nature of the transaction. As a merchant, he expected a bargain but Leo was very straightforward. "Well, you will be riding a horse. If you can't then we can put you on the back of someone who can ride one."

Leo frowned. He liked to have his own space. "I've never ridden a horse before. Maybe I can try and see if I get the hang of it. Can you point me to the horse I will use?" He asked Joshua.

Joshua smiled. "We leave in an hour. You have to be very natural with horse riding if you can learn that quickly. But give it a try." He said and pointed at a black horse in the nearby stable. 

Leo walked to the stable and went to the horse. The horse hadn't yet noticed that Leo was beside him and was grazing on the hay in front of it. Leo touched the horse slowly with his hand. The horse flinched slightly and looked at him before turning back. It saw that Leo wasn't a threat and wasn't bothered by the touch anymore.

Meanwhile, Joshua called a couple of his merchant friends and started spectating his efforts.

"He said he will try to learn how to ride a horse in an hour. I think this will be hilarious," Joshua said.

Leo then jumped up and landed on the back of the horse in a smooth motion. The horse's back was almost his height but he was able to jump with ease, shocking all the spectators. It was even more surprising because the horse didn't even have a saddle to use as support.

Leo then leaned forward at the horse and whispered.

"Here is how it works. You will slowly walk out of the stable while making sure I don't fall off." He said. His mouth wasn't next to the horse's ears, but his magic carried the sound. This was the second time he used sound transmission in real life.

The horse somehow understood the human language. Or maybe it was just following his gestures because it knew that he was much stronger than it. It followed his lead. He gently pulled its head to the side of the exit. It turned to that side and exited the stable.

Meanwhile, everyone who was watching him was shocked. "Joshua, are you playing with us? This man is so skilled with the horse. He can ride it without any saddle or rope. How do you expect us to believe that he has never ridden a horse before?" 

Joshua's mouth was open. "I... I don't know. Maybe he was lying?"

Leo calmly beckoned the horse to move around the square slowly. While doing this, he was experimenting with new ways to sit comfortably on the horse. He was expecting a very long journey and wanted to be able to sit and rest during the entire time. 

After getting the hang of it, he took the horse back to the stable and left it there. He got off and went to Joshua.

"It was easier than I thought. This means I can ride alone, right?" He asked.

Joshua nodded. He was just about to ask if Leo had indeed never ridden a horse before, but he just confirmed that he hadn't. 

Leo went to the side and just leaned all the wall and waited for the caravan to move. He wasn't the only person who was young there and going along with the caravan. But he was the only one who was standing still without moving. He looked like he had fallen asleep while standing, but he hadn't.

A pair of eyes had been watching Leo ever since he walked up to Joshua. They were inspecting his every move and scrutinizing them. When Leo leaned on the wall and stopped moving, the owner of the eyes finally acted. They walked up to Leo silently.

They got close to him and reached out their hand. Leo on the other hand wasn't acting at all. It was as if he hadn't even noticed the person was in front of him.

"Hi, I'm Madison." The person with the outreached hand said.

Leo finally opened his eyes. He knew that the person in front of him was offering a handshake, but he wasn't supposed to know that if he had his eyes closed. That was why he didn't bother opening them all of a sudden and initiating contact. It would only serve to startle the girl in front of him.

The girl was a blonde haired green-eyed 5' 4'' female. She was pretty slim and was wearing an all-leather outfit. The leather was hardened and would offer a decent amount of protection against normal attacks.

Leo immediately noticed her similarity to Joshua. Joshua was also blonde, but he just didn't have green eyes. There were also some features between the two that looked similar. When he looked toward Joshua to compare, Madison confirmed his suspicion.

"It's rude to look away when someone is talking to you. But yeah, I'm his daughter." She said. "So, what's your name?" She asked.

Leo looked at the hand and then up at the girl. She looked the same age as him and seemed pretty jovial. 

Leo smiled and took the hand. "Hi. I'm Leo."

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