Departure

It’s the day to depart for Gan. Albus and I had all our belongings ready for the adventure. It is 3:00 right now. Today, we leave the house at 4:00 with Dad to the west gate of the city. It was hard to fall asleep. I’m anxious to be out there and learn more about this world.

“Miss Cato, wake up, it's time to get ready and eat breakfast.”

“Okay, thank you, Albina.”

My backpack is ready. Since Gan is supposed to be cold, I have a base layer in my backpack. I also pack three briefs, three pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, two sports bras, one extra shirt, and my long dark purple jacket, which has two layers with a waterproof exterior layer. Eugina made all of our jackets with Mom’s spoils of adventuring.

I open my closet and take out my adventurer garments. Pink briefs, socks, pink sports bra, black high-waist cargo pants, and beige long-sleeve top are ready. Downstairs, I have my belt with my weapons and backpack. All set.

When I got to the kitchen, everyone was at the table waiting for me.

“Now that Cato is here, let’s eat! By the gods!

“For the gods!”

We are all chatting at the table while eating. We are only missing Paulus, but he will be coming on weekends to keep studying with Albana. We are having fruit, Teran bread, scrambled eggs, avocado, honey, and bacon. This is the usual breakfast at home. Albus is quiet, but he's now a lot more comfortable than when he first arrived. He used to be shy and polite about eating. However, now he eats with a smile on his face, his eyes shining every time he takes a bite.

“Are you happy to go on this journey, Albus?”

“Mm-hmm.” He nodded with bread in his mouth.

Albus is two years younger than me, but he is pretty reliable. He is timid, yet helpful. He always listens and follows instructions. I wish Paulus were more like Albus in terms of shyness and helpfulness.

“Albus, remember to take care of Miss Cato, even at the cost of your life.” Said Albana

“Yes, mother.”

“You don’t have to go that far, Albus. I will be there too.” Said Dad.

Albana and Albus have spent most of their lives in slavery, so they don’t know any better than to be utterly loyal to their master. That worries me a little. Will they fulfill all our requests? Out of everyone, I would be most worried about Mom. I can imagine Mom saying, “Albus, show me your strength by killing that puma with your bare hands, and you better not use magic. I was killing a bigger threat at your age.” Mom can be a little extreme sometimes. However, Paulus can be selfish too. I need to keep an eye on those two.

“Once you two enter Orion, remember you will be able to use magic. Practice as much as you can. I want to see progress when you come back. Otherwise, expect hard training.” Said Mom.

“Yes, master!”

We gathered at the entrance of the house, kissed and hugged each other, and said our goodbyes. As far as I know, there is no way of communication in this world when you are away from home. Every time you leave home, we kiss and hug because we don’t know what will happen. We say goodbye with the hope of seeing our loved ones once again. And when we meet again, we rejoice at being able to see each other. Life is so different when you don’t have a smartphone to text or call the people you love. I guess it helps me appreciate the family I have and the time I spend with them more.

“Mom, I’m gonna miss you! I love you.”

“I love you too,” said Mom, blushing with a smile.

“I can stay if you want. I don’t need to go.”

“Honey, you need to learn about the world. You have opportunities I wish I had. Also, you can’t leave your Dad alone.”

Opportunities, that's something I felt I didn't have back in my old world. If you were unlucky to be born in a country with bad public education, no equality in health, no economic growth, and to be worse in a family that did not have the experience to guide their children through the best path, or, like in my case, you were born a woman, you were at a disadvantage since birth. Where is god's justice? In my case, as the older woman in the family, I had no help from anyone, not even my parents. I was there to help the rest. However, even though our family had the resources, I was on my own. 

“Okay, please wait for us. Don’t go finding another family.”

“I will try, but you know what, if I find a better husband or daughter,” said Mom, smiling.

“Anto! Don’t scare the kid.”

She can be so mean sometimes. “Meanie!” I said, and we left.

…

We are around fifteen wagons moving together west, with two deer pulling each wagon. The deer is a majestic creature. They have a red coat, large antlers, and are about seven feet wide and six feet tall. We have been on the move for eight hours, and we are getting close to Wood Crest. Wood Crest is known for the black ursus.

“Dad, why are we not using horses instead of dee- these beasts?”

“Because red cervus are better in the mountains. We will cross Wood Crest, but also the kingdom of Orion, and it will be hill after hill until we get to the capital.”

“I see. When are we stopping?”

“We will stop soon to rest. The first day is the easiest because of the plain terrain, but tomorrow it will be harder because of the mountains.”

We stopped after another two hours. Our pace is slow, but steady. Wood Crest is a mountain range covered in forest. For today, everyone has fresh food from home, so there is no need for hunting. We stop a couple of hours before sunset to check the wagons and the cervus, and then secure the area to sleep. The adventurers will be taking turns to protect us during the night. For today, we go to bed early. Tomorrow will be another day of traveling.

We continue on the road for a couple of days. The deeper we got into the mountains, the more beasts we saw. However, the adventurer easily killed each predator that tried to get close to the wagons. Dad told me that it is easy to kill a beast with magic when you don’t need to take the materials from it, because you can just go all out to destroy it. However, the skills of an adventurer are seen when they slaughter and have the materials of the beast in perfect conditions.

Every day, we would train with Dad around the camp. Some adventurers joined us and practiced fighting with Albus and me. Dad knows some of the adventurers since he has worked on their weapons before. Most of those adventurers are slaves. From time to time, some merchants with their children would come by to say hello. However, most of them stayed away from Dad. Some people believe the superstition that people with low magical ability bring bad luck.

We continued on the road, and after 10 days, we finally crossed the border into Orion. On the border, there was a huge military base where soldiers from both kingdoms stayed. From this point on, we can use magic. Tomorrow, we start with the hunting lessons.