“Are you sure you want to cut through the Thrush?” The halfling Kelding asked, his voice tainted with worry.

“We live in the Thrush, Kelding,” I replied with a toothy smile, causing him to take a step backwards. Benson laughed and Tenia frowned.

“I know you live in the Thrush, but The Mire is between here and New Hidet,” Kelding said while straightening his back and tie in an attempt to regain his dignity.

“Oh Kelding, you worry too much. They’ll be fine,” said Cardinal Reyes as he handed a his recommendation letter to Tenia.

“As the Cardinal said,” I quipped in, “We’ll be fine. Just make sure to keep the deliveries of Lodestone coming to our warehouse. I’ll take inventory of it when we return, and if any is missing I’ll be taking it out of your hide.”

The halfling looked particularly nervous when I called him out. Somehow he managed to find out why the guildmaster continued to cower in her home. Since then, Kelding had been rather polite in our dealings. He constantly fidgeted and glanced over towards Benson, as if to burn the beastman’s form into his memory.

“Miss November,” the Cardinal raised his voice a bit, “I’ll be seeing you in the Capital for the Grand Assembly in three months.”

“Yes. I’ll see you then, Cardinal Reyes,” I replied with a wave.

For appearance’s sake, Tenia rented a carriage to travel most of the way with. She planned to cut loose the horses once out of sight, store the carriage, and then travel the rest of the way on foot.

Benson and I rode on the back of large geldings. The brown fur of my horse shimmered in the morning sun. Benson’s mount possessed a darker almost-black coat, with a few stripes running down the side.

Surprisingly, I managed to avoid embarrassing myself when riding the mount. My body moved as if it had been horseback riding for years, despite my lack of experience in the subject. Thankfully I didn’t need to find out of my skill extended to bareback riding too.

The horses came from Farrier and Kelding picked them out for us. He said something along the lines of, ‘The best horses come from Farrier,’ with quite a bit of pride.

It would be a shame to have such well raised horses die in the wilds, but I didn’t know how to care for or raise them myself. Benson knew a little about rearing the animals, but he wasn’t confident in being able to keep them either.

Benson suggested putting them down to prevent suffering, but I decided the most humane option would be to release them in the Thrush. Perhaps they could find a way to survive on their own. At least they’d have a chance that way.

Tenia was the first to leave. Armed with the new staff I made, I doubted she’d have any trouble in her journey. I told her about the failsafes. I opted not to disable them because it would ruin the Landstrung Wasp materials, and I didn’t have much to replace it. It was still a fantastic staff, it just couldn’t ever be used against me with offensive spells over a certain Tier.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

She handled her carriage with the grace of a master, and slapped the reins down. I waved as she disappeared down the Westerly Road towards Farrier. She waved back. Benson gave her a ferocious grin and a thumbs up.

Shortly after Tenia vanished from sight, Benson and I mounted our own horses and set off down an old foliage-ridden road to the north of town. Kelding and Reyes saw us off. The farmer Abraham, his wife Mary, and their son with the overly familiar name Robert saw us off as well. They all waved their hands to us with the exception of Robert, who waved his stump.

Benson and I rode the horses through the woodlands. Most monsters avoided us outright. Over the past week they had learned Benson’s smell. To them he must have smelled as death walking.

After an hour’s ride, and when Benson signaled that our pursuers had stopped following, we dismounted. I stripped the saddle from the horse and stored it in my inventory. Benson did the same.

I walked to the front and met the horse’s stare. “I’m sorry,” I said aloud, wishing the animal could understand me.

“We should kill them,” said Benson. “They could make way back to Golden Thrush and cause a panic. If our horses showed up without rider or saddle, we’d be presumed dead. They won't survive long in the forest anyways. The only reason they’re alive now is because they’re with us.”

My heart sank in my chest. Benson was right. I desperately wanted him to be wrong. These animals had done nothing wrong and, in my opinion, didn’t deserve such a brutal fate…

But Benson was right. I let my own weakness cloud my thinking. Silently, I pulled a 3rd tier sword from my inventory.

“I can do it, Mistress,” Benson said as he put a hand on my shoulder.

“No,” I replied. “If I’m the one condemning them, it’s the same as killing them myself. I should do it.”

I raised my sword up and met the eyes of the horse. Benson held its reigns. It didn’t flinch. My heart wept, but my hands stayed steady.

“It’s just like killing wyverns,” I said aloud to steady my own emotions. Then, like a thunderbolt, I dropped the blade. There was no finesse or skill in the cut. My body possessed a fair deal of force purely from my level, and that was enough to end the horse’s life in one strike. I could hear my heartbeat in my throat as the animal’s blood soaked the forest ground and its body twitched.

It felt easier to kill the second horse. My mind still reeled in abject horror at what I’d done, but I knew I did the right thing. I didn’t have the stomach to skin or partition the animals, though. I wanted to bury them, but Benson simply remarked that horse meat could be eaten in an emergency and set to cleaning them. I didn't help and opted to wait a short distance away.

Shaken but not deterred, we continued our journey north.