Chapter 275: The Fire Dragon part 2
About nineteen days before the fire dragon was slain, Bart yawned as he saw the edge of the horizon start to get brighter with the approaching dawn. He'd like to go back to sleep, but with him having the last watch, he knew he wouldn't get that luxury. Though, his only comfort was that he would be exempt from all morning chores, including cooking.
He wasn't sure why, but whenever he put his hand to try cooking, with just a campfire and single pot for cooking, something always seemed to go wrong. He couldn't be sure if it was the ingredients he used, if it was the utensils or the fact he couldn't regulate the heat of the fire precisely, or if it was something else altogether.
He remembered being able to cook for himself and his parents without trouble, though typically that didn't happen often then. So, whenever he had the chance to avoid it altogether here, he jumped at the chance. No matter what else it cost him.
The night had been uneventful again. Tough with the announcement of Patricia and Patrick having encountered the fire dragon the day before, he couldn't help but wonder how close they were to them. Or if they were farther away than they would like.
Owen had been leading them, though Bart often wondered what he was using to determine the direction they were heading. As it often felt like he was choosing directions at random, and more than once he was rather confident that they'd started traveling in circles.
Given the fact of what Owen's ability was, Bart held no illusions that Owen wasn't aware of Bart's failing opinion of him. While Owen was good at advice for other problems, he didn't have the best sense of direction. Although, to be fair, it wasn't as bad as some characters in stories he'd heard about. If his parents had allowed it, he might have seen some of those, but since he knew they'd never allow that, he couldn't say how that would look like. For someone to have an even worse sense of direction than Owen.
Still, at least Owen seemed capable enough to remain optimistic and would lead them to water or any food they might need. Although, they'd still have to either pick the food, such as tubers or wild berries, or make sure the water was safe to drink, such as boiling it before letting it cool enough so they could drink it without worrying about any microorganisms in the water. Still, Bart was confident it could have been worse.
At the moment, none of them really knew where they were, just that the hills had gotten a little bigger and were a little rockier. However, Bart wasn't sure if they were in a mountain range or something else. While he knew a good amount from books, his firsthand knowledge of things was typically lacking. Not that he felt ashamed of that: there was only so much he could learn from books anyway.
As the horizon continued to get brighter, Bart felt his eyelids growing heavy. Even though he knew they'd be moving out right after they finished their breakfast, he figured he could at least sneak in a short nap during that time before the others woke him up. It wasn't like he'd be expected to do anything at that time anyway.