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Not moving at all had been driving him insane, and he felt guilty for every hour of sleep he scraped up. He also hated himself for putting Mercury through that even though he was such a good, tough boy. Maybe he had a little unicorn blood in him just like Galahad. Mercury appeared faintly satisfied as he looked out over the grassy plains. It was about damn time someone carried him around.
Jari forced himself to sit against the side and not say anything even though they weren’t moving fast enough in his opinion. His exhaustion finally made him doze off, and he snapped awake near sunset when he heard a snap.
He jumped as the man peered at him and snapped his fingers again. “I can’t go this way anymore. I need to head west now to get home, so you’re on your own if you’re going south.”
He could be lying, but he likely didn’t need to go the way Jari was heading. He set the ramp up, led Mercury down, and reloaded it back in. He was about to pull coins from his pocket, but the man flicked the reins.
“Yah!”
“I said I’d pay!”
“Keep your damn money! Crazy man. That's the last time I haul a horse like a damn load of stone. Yah.”
The patient horses started west. Jari mounted Mercury and continued south.
***
The Prime River, winding like a fluttering ribbon through Zora and parts of Nova, was an obstacle. A flat-bottomed boat was waiting at the end of the ruts. Others had joined it, and it was the only safe way over in that area. The river was so wide there, Jari couldn’t see land on the other side.
They definitely could have managed this if they’d knocked Aurelius out or gagged him to ensure he remained quiet. Anyone ferrying someone across the water likely wouldn’t bother checking carts.
A few others needed to cross, and the bird fairy owner seemed to be waiting for a wagon in the distance. Jari wanted to tell him to forget the wagon so they could get going, but that would likely get him thrown off. The owner of the ship had a few sailors who were a hefty bunch. They’d toss Jari in the mud without a second thought.
“Have you carried a cart lately?” Jari asked the ship’s captain as he sat on his ramp and puffed a pipe.
“Plenty.” The feathers coming from the side of his head twitched in the breeze.
“Have you carried a boxcart lately? It would have had at least two men, but most likely five or six. And they wouldn’t have opened the back for anything.”
The man let out a plume of smoke. “I had one box a few days ago.”
“How long ago?”
“Aw, shit. My days all run together. When you’ve been doing the same damn thing for twenty-five years, you start forgetting stuff. I inherited this business from my Fat-”
“What were they like?” Jari interrupted him.
The owner scowled. “Rough but quiet, and they didn’t give me any trouble.”
“You never check carts?”
“No. I don’t care what people carry. Did these guys do something to you?”
“Maybe. Did they say anything? Where were they headed after the river? Names? Anything?”
“I didn’t hear anything like that, and it’s not like I was pasted to their sides the whole trip. For Elira's sake…do you know how many people I’ve seen at this job? I ain’t got time to be getting to know all of them.”
That must have been Aurelius’s moving prison. With the Prince drugged or gagged, not a single passenger or sailor would have guessed a thing.
Jari had to wait with his horse while the wagon was guided up the ramp. After an eternity, they cast off. Mercury ate oats and didn’t mind the rolling deck. Jari tried to doze off against the side since he had nothing else to do except think, and that was dangerous. A kid cried and grated on his fried nerves.
Days of little sleep, hasty meals, and hating himself for even stopping to piss were wearing him down. Once he had Aurelius,he might very well throw the Prince over his shoulder for real that time, ignore his complaints, take him far away somewhere, never leave his side again, and sleep for a day straight.
Unless Aurelius was dead or already broken down. Who knew what the men might have done to him if they decided they needed a few minutes of entertainment? He almost screamed at the kid to shut the fuck up. Instead, he curled up against the deck in the corner he’d claimed for himself and plugged his ears with his fingers so he could try to sleep for five fucking minutes.
He got about two. An old, rundown inn sat on the other side of the river. Some of the travelers headed for it, and others left to continue their journey. Since Aurelius was probably going to King David, and straight was the best way for the most part, he headed that way. A road curved, and sure enough, a set of ruts left it and headed straight south.
He saw a house in the far distance at some point, and later, he passed a small town. The group seemed to have avoided actually going anywhere, so if they needed food, he assumed they stopped and sent a pair off to do the fetching.
