Despite being a much shorter distance overall, almost half of the time they were going to be spending on this journey was in the mountains on the way to Ertiseda. It was difficult terrain on land, and once they got to the river, their pace would improve exponentially. Still, Kareets estimates of how much time they would require did end up being inaccurate. Based on their size, weight, and body structure, Kareet did not expect that they would be particularly adept at mountaineering. Certainly, they could not keep up with a Tekeri’s pace, but what she had not planned on was exactly how much endurance they seemed to have. Even those who did not have too much physical conditioning were able to keep marching on for much longer than Kareet would have thought. They were able to get by with fewer breaks than they had planned on. 

[hr]

Upon reaching Ertiseda, Kareet and J’eon would find it seemingly a much different place from when they had last seen it. The small, peaceful village was now host to a sizable force of soldiers from Lenkik. Their camp was outside the bounds of the village, but the number of tents they had collected there was almost enough to match the size of the village itself. In any case, none of them would be staying in the village for long. In fact, they made a point to take a wide path around the village. The arrival of the Humans would be announced in time, but until then, Kvarr had requested that they try to avoid letting rumors spread unabated. 

The barge the group was guided to was one of the many that had been used to ferry the soldiers from Lenkik. It was a simple vessel that emphasized having ample space for cargo and passengers. It was largely wooden with some metal reinforcements.There was a canvas canopy that could be raised over it in case of inclement weather, but otherwise it was open to the elements. It had more than enough space for all of its passengers and all of the supplies they would need, but it was hard to say that it was going to be “comfortable” for any of them to spend the next few days confined to a riverboat. Hopefully, no one on board was uncomfortable with crowded spaces. 

The barge had plenty of oars and seats along the sides for rowing, but those were meant as a backup to the primary means of propulsion. At the stern was a sizable paddlewheel powered by a mechanism operated by a pair of Lightning mages. There were a set of gears that translated motion from a single, large spiral spring at its center, connected to a large gear. A Lightning mage could easily apply tension to the spring, which would steadily release its energy into the mechanism.