—Jolt.
The main carriage jerked lightly as it came to a stop, the others trailing behind forming a perimeter as they filled into the clearing.
"This is our last stop, right?" Thorsten asked, turning to face Rowena after scanning the area outside the window,
"Yes. After this, the next stop we'll be making is at the castle."
He hummed lightly as he digester her words. "Then I'll go stretch my legs a bit before then."
With those words, the carriage door swung open to reveal the resting knights and their grazing steeds.
A few curious gazes turned their heads in his direction, but Thorsten paid them no mind as he glared intently at the only hurdle between him and his leisure… the three steps leading off the carriage.
Crossing the deceptively short distance to reach the ground proved to be much harder than the reverse. But that simple task had proven more challenging than everything he had done since his transmigration.
Stairs were already somewhat of a nascence due to him having to adjust himself to the oddly draining task, but with time, the treks had become just another daily task.
That was, of course, something that only applied to the uniform and evenly spaced stairs he had grown accustomed to in the palace.
What he was dealing with now was an entirely different ball game; loose, unevenly spaced stairs coupled with the depth perception of someone who'd have nightmares from seeing the long shadows of a sparrow perched on a windowsill.
The memory of the first time he tried to leave the carriage on his own was still fresh in his mind—mostly because it happened only a few hours ago.
For some reason, the grass that was less than a meters descent looked as though one missed-step would result in a fall ten times as far.
This distorted view had him frozen and unable to move while he stood dizzy eyes in the doorway.
That was, until Rowena gently lifted him up and cleared that impossible distance with her outstretched arms, and then placed him on the grass without uttering a single word.
And although he was grateful for her assistance, a part of him felt as though he had lost in that moment.
To have tasted defeat at the hands of a doorway left a bad taste in his mouth, especially when he would have to face much more harrowing things in the future than simply heights.
"Would you like a hand, young master?"
Rowena's concerned voice was almost like a lifeline, but it was something he ultimately had to reject for his own peace of mind.
Thorsten turned towards her with a reassuring smile, who it was meant to reassure between the two of them was an entirely different matter.
voice laced with concern from behind, but this was something he wanted—had to—do on his own.
"No, thank you… I'll be fine."
The latter half of his reply may have sounded a bit shaky, but the determination in his eyes left Rowena with no other choice but to let him try.
Although she did silently scooch closer to him; making sure that if he did fall over, she'd be there to catch him.
Thorsten took in a deep breath to compose himself before taking the first step, the wood warping lightly underfoot as he eased his weight onto it.
His short legs required him to have both legs on a step before he could even consider moving onto the next.
So, after fourth steps, with the final one being a small drop of a gap of one and a half, Thorsten finally made his way off the carriage on his own.
He stood there with a triumphant smile as he felt the solid earth beneath his feet, and with what sounded like an applause at his achievement.
Confused, he turned towards its different sources, only to see several of his armoured escorts looking in his direction with proud gazes and raised thumbs.
"I knew you could do it, young master." Rowena's congratulations were like the final cherry on top, and for the first time since waking up there, he felt truly embraced.
Thorsten lowered fixed his eyes on the ground and headed in the opposite direction with stiff, robotic movements as though he was fleeing.
Although, in a way, that was exactly what he was doing.
'I'm too old for this…' He let out a dejected sigh, one that had an entirely different meaning to the caretaker still in the carriage.
Rowena narrowed her eyes at the knights, the intent behind her gaze clear without her having to say a word.
In the face of her unspoken reproach, a few lowered their heads shamefully while others busied themselves with polishing their helmets or simply studying the closest objects they could reach.
The ones who still had their helmets were spared from the brunt of it, but one thing that all the knights did, almost in unison, was silently apologise to the young master within their hearts.
Rowena sighted at them, but a small, pound smile flipped her frown as Thorsten's celebratory pose reared its head in her mind.
From her perceptive, the recent urgency and independence was a good thing, and even if he was embarrassed about it now, he would look back to that moment fondly in the future.
Unbeknownst to all of this, Thorsten was stood at the edge of the encirclement, enjoying the cool breeze while basking in the waning suns warm rays.
After being couped up in the palace for so long, the beauty of nature was something he was able to appreciate doubly so as he took in the sights before him.
It was a picturesque sight, one that was as breathtaking as it was simple; a landscape of gently sloping, rounded hills that stretched out as far as the eye could see.
Shrubs, and the occasional trees, were seen growing out in small patches were the only distinct foliage within sight.
The wall of tree's that stretched out into the distance long after they left the walls of Mutteroak was now a distant memory, the space it left behind filled by a lush landscape of rolling hills.
Far into the distance, Thorsten could still make out the familiar peaks of the mountain's head seen from the palace's gardens peaking their heads over the horizon.
Thorsten let out a long, relaxed exhale that was swallowed by the passing wind.
'It's peaceful.'
That was the only though going through his head as he felt himself being almost rejuvenated by the tranquil scenery before him.
Seeing it from the carriage window was one thing, but physically experiencing it was another thing altogether; feeling the suns warm on this face, the cool breeze on his face as it blew his hair up, and the give of the earth beneath his feet.
He wondered if this is what it felt like to be a tree; living once life at the whims of the world around them.
The rustling of the distant leaves and the gently swaying of the grass beneath his feet reached his ears in a way that sounded like they were all instruments at the mercy of the flowing wind.
It was a chorus of gentle, charming notes strummed by the dancing currents to an enchanted melody only it knew as it flowed over the gentle slopes.
But that tune was slowly increasing in its intensity; becoming harsher as if to announce the dark clouds rolling in from the distance.
Thorsten hummed a thoughtful note at the sight, his mind drifting to something he had discussed with Rowena before they left.
"I wonder if it'll also be raining at the castle?" He muttered, turning in the direction of their destination.
Although the city they were traveling to was much larger than Mutteroak—according to what Rowena had told him—it was only the final checkpoint until they reached their destination.
Greypond was, among other things, mostly known for their trade of velvet-stalk. A valuable component for both medicine and alchemy as a stable, cohesive binding agent.
But that leaves of that same flower were more familiar to him; one brewed, they boasted an incredibly smooth texture and rich, earthy aftertaste.
He hadn't been much of a tea person himself, but even he was able to appreciate its depth of flavour and aroma.
Mostly, as he'd had to at least develop an inkling on how to tell apart the different types of tea's and understand the ways in which they were prepared as a part of his etiquette classes.
Just with the thought of velvet-stalk triggered hours of surprisingly tense lunches spent on the correct postures and behaviour during formal lunches. With another set of social cues that applied only during informal lunches.
Thorsten let out a small sigh as if casting those memories into the wind, running a tired had over his face to clear away the stray hairs.
He was slightly confused with himself and on his instead of focusing on the teleportation gate, he had somehow ended up on the topic of tea instead.
Before retailing his train of thought, he made sure to add a mental note to avoid having lunch with anyone that wasn't his family.
'Now then—teleportation gates,' he thought to himself.
They were the most convenient mode of inter-city travel [Records of the Heroes Rise], albeit a costly one.
Vast gate complexes built around bilateral teleportation arches, forming a strictly managed web of interconnected passages between the Empire's major cities and trading hubs.
And under the Mage Associations management, it had been developed into the largest man-made means of travel in the world.
The closest thing that came to mind was the Kingdoms Alliance's spatial leap technology, but other than knowing that they existed, there wasn't much else that he could recall.
'Huh, well I… think that's it?' Thorsten blinked slowly as the realisation that he didn't know much on the topic dawned on him.
In hindsight, there wasn't much that came to mind for him to dwell on.
Portal travel, for the most part, was just there for the players convenience.
Sure, it was stated that they played an important part in the empire's economy—but that was never properly elaborated on.
He was sure that there was something regarding it in one of Thorsten's storylines, but he'd have to consult his notes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating that.
Thorsten pondered over it for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders in defeat.
The topic didn't arouse much in him but a mild curiosity. Other than that, he was rather impartial to them.
'Maybe it'll change my mind when I see it in person?'
He held out that though simmer for a moment, his mind blanking for a short while until a sharp chill brought his mind back into focus.
'It's getting cold.' Thorsten shivered slightly as the once cool breeze had taken on a chilling edge, carrying with it the distinct, earthy aroma of rain.
According to Rowena, they would still be on the road for about an hour, so he still had some time to let the anticipation build.
'Who knows, maybe I'll be able to recall some things along the way.'
Thorsten took in one final, deep breath of the fresh air after deciding to retreat to the carriage's warmth.
By the time he reached its steps, the escort had already begun preparing to depart.