Chapter 25: The Trial Begins Now
The hard wood below roughened his tailbone with its constant rattling, forcing Rowan to bring his arm back to prop himself more upright.
It'd been a long day as the carriage he was within trailed behind the long caravan of soldiers, his breath bit back with remembrance of his cloak and its functionalities.
He hadn't even had the time to properly clean or practice hygiene, their voyage starting hours before daybreak to allow or their ensuing battle to occur during noon.
Rowan looked forward, imagining the question 'are we close' but deciding it best to stay still, a man unrecognizable sitting just a few feet to his left.
The king had told him that there wouldn't be any carriages that he could inhabit alone--no, it would've made their ploy far too obvious. Instead, he occupied the king's carriage himself, the only ones present being Viral, a man donning a while cloak and long staff, and the king himself.
"Hm, this is quite the training exercise that you've built," the man said, directing his gaze to Viral who sat to the front.
"Don't credit me, credit the men who reigned in the rabid beasts occupying these lands. It was a struggle, that, to properly evacuate its citizens and restrict the beasts' roam to just the town, although it's been getting more and more difficult to amass such a large group of soldiers to uphold their Seido."
"Barriers, huh? Either way, I'm sure the gods would be happy to know your involvement in the heroes' development. You will gain entry into the ethereal realm with your current trajectory, as long as your allegiance is pledged to the church."
"Why, of course, Pope. Before you, the State is but a settlement for your control. We have only made it as far as we have because of the gods' involvement."
Good, good, your intentions are in the right place."
The Pope turned his shoulders to learn more to his left, where the front of the carriage was, where animals donning horse legs but the upper torso of bipedal creatures pulled.