Preparations and Departure.

As the morning light shone through Veritas' fair and smooth face, he steeled his resolve to prepare for the long harrowing journey.

It was right outside the castle where the carriage stood. This would be his main mode of transportation through the long days of his travels. 

Wearing a pure white mantle and marble steel armor, a sword sheathed on his waist, and a bright bracelet on his hands, Veritas stood still and stared at the horizon that is Elrod.

The cold breeze of morning air swept through him, swaying his mantle against the winds. 

Before he left, he had to say his farewells to his parents. They were behind him, casually waiting for the moment that he departed.

"Is everything ready?" Aletheia asked softly.

Veritas scouted the insides of his carriage, he then saw a few things that was essential for his trip.

First, there was food and water to keep him energized in the long run. His food could last at least a month or so. If it ran out, he would have to hunt for survival.

'I have to ration them well.'

Then, the various potions that his Mother concocted for him. These were of high-level and could even cure fatal wounds! There were at least 12 high-leveled potions, 24 mid-leveled potions, and 30 common-leveled potions. This could be deemed useful as he was going to fight the Gargoyle Knight.

Beside the potions were backup gear in the rare case that he lost his armor or blades. There were at least 2 sets of armors and 3 spare swords that he could use. 

There were also the common essentials that he needed for his daily life. These are hygiene products, clothes, and many more!

Lastly, the devices that the head of Intelligence School of Knowledge gave to him proved to be quite useful in the future. Sienna gave these prototypes to the King and Veritas asked to utilize them in his trial. 

Seeing as everything is complete, Veritas turned back once more towards his parents. 

"Mother.. Father.. I shall be going soon."

He bowed lightly, arms in his chest, and gestured to leave.

"Stay vigilant, Veritas.." Julius wished him well.

"Come home safe." Aletheia said softly. 

Veritas nodded and headed towards the carriage. There was no driver holding the reins so Veritas was to drive the carriage himself. 

In a matter of seconds, he drove off to the direction of the Southern Gate in Silver Borough. He made a mental note of the path he was going to take. After he exited the Southern Gate, Veritas needed to search for the forest that housed the Ruins of Orph.

But before that, he needed to stay in the Southern City of Alfar. It was the major city closest to the Ruins of Orph, and it would greatly lessen his burden of hunting in the wilderness. 

'These next few days are going to be trifling..' 

In the upcoming days, many things could happen such as bandit attacks, creature encounters, and even assassination! 

However, Veritas knew that he was capable enough to fend off those attacks. He only needed to stay wary of the surroundings. 

For a few minutes, he strolled through the busy streets of Gold Borough, seeing the people living their normal lives. He felt longing as he was going to miss this peaceful sight.

Veritas smiled wryly and gazed softly at the scenario right in front of him.

Then, he soon reached the entrance to Silver Borough. 

Many guards saw the appearance of the noble Prince and let him through inside. 

The Silver Borough was considerably different from the Gold Borough. First of all, the buildings of Silver Borough were a pebble compared to the boulder that is Gold Borough. 

Gold Borough had tall buildings that seemed modern, developed by the Intelligence School of Knowledge. While Silver Borough looked like a different age in time. There were taverns, vintage houses, inns, and many more!

It was as if Veritas had traveled through time itself. 

There were still various technological advances such as the existence of lampposts, glowing lights, metal cranes, and etc..

With his speed, it only took Veritas half an hour to reach the Southern Gate. It was only a straight road so he paced a considerable amount of time. 

The sun was now shining brightly at the streets of Elrod, and many people were soon occupying the streets.

Veritas was glad that he departed early in the morning, avoiding the traffic upon the streets. 

Once he exited, Veritas felt that he could finally breathe fresh air..

The scenario changed significantly as the fields of grass reflected the light of the sun. It looked ethereal and peaceful, as if one could lay down on the grass indefinitely.

Thus, seeing the straight road ahead, Veritas knew that he could trust the horses for a couple of minutes. These were highly trained horses of Beasttamer Pathbearers. So, leaving them without guidance could be viable for a couple of hours!

Veritas caressed the horse's manes and went inside the carriage to assess his materials and rest.

He was still curious about what the devices given by Sienna could do. He went through the materials and brought out the box full of items. 

There were 3 items in total.

One, was a metal ball that seemed warm to touch. Veritas already knew what this item does due to him inspecting it early this morning. 

It was a ball of light. One press of a button underneath the ball could make it glow radiantly. Moreover, it could float in the air so Veritas deemed it very useful when exploring the Ruins of Orph. 

Not only that, but it could potentially be used as a distraction for foes. 

The second item that Veritas saw is a small disc with a gaping hole in the middle. He didn't know this gadget's purpose or use, so Veritas made a mental note to try it out later. 

It could potentially be a device that explodes so trying it in the carriage was not ideal!

The last item was a pear shaped metal ball with ridges in its body and a long pin was on the top. Veritas was greatly warned when using this device by his Father.

He said not to test it out as it could cause great destruction when the pin at the top was removed. He had to keep it safe at all times due to the fact that it made a big explosion. 

Veritas thought that it could be vital when battling with the Gargoyle Knight, so he convinced his Father to give it to him.

After examining the items inside the carriage, Veritas decided to rest for a little while before guiding the horses once more. If everything went well, the horses would traverse through the path and make its way towards the crossroads.

It was a really long way towards the Southern City, it would take days to even arrive there! But, the safe road made by the Wielders proved to be effective as there are Knights patrolling around.

Every now and then, Veritas looked outside and saw a couple of Knights and Wielders assigned to specific posts.

There were only a few of them but that was enough to keep the bandits away.

After resting for a while, Veritas got back to the horses and made his way towards the crossroads. 

It took a few hours for him to arrive there. 

The scenery around him switched around the long stretches of grass, farmland mires, and small villages in the horizon. 

But once Veritas arrived at the crossroads, he saw a tall gate that housed many carriages alike. There were also small huts and houses that could be seen in the distance. 

It seemed like this could be considered a resting point for many travelers.

Veritas thought that it was a good time for him to take a breather and for the horses to rest their hooves. 

So, he stopped at the crossroads and parked his carriage near the others. 

He saw many adventurers, mercenaries, knights, and Wielders. However, Veritas needed to be careful due to his status of being the Prince. He stayed inside the carriage and fed his horses. 

The sun shined brightly yet the breeze still felt cold. The clouds gathered in the bright sky as the sun stood at the peak. It was now beginning to turn noon. 

Seeing this, Veritas expected to arrive at a remote village by the time that the sun had set. He would stay there to pass the night and continue once more at dawn. 

By doing this, he deemed his trip to go smoothly.

He brought out a map and searched for the markings he made prior to when he left. He saw a red mark on the crossroads, followed by a trail leading up to a remote town. Then, a trail at an adventurer camp, which then led to another town. Ultimately ending up in the Southern City of Alfar. 

Veritas carefully thought of the time it would take to reach his red points, concluding that it would take at least 4 days, if nothing goes wrong..

"I should take my time to rest.."

After feeding the horses and himself, Veritas laid down comfortably and rested. As a few minutes had passed, he stood up and planned to leave the crossroads.

The carriage drove off the peaceful scenery of the crossroads. Grass upon grass covered the horizon, sharing it with the lush trees in the background. Many carriages stood still yet there were also those that drove off in the same direction of Veritas. 

Veritas yawned at the warmth of the sun, he felt sluggish and sleepy yet he needed to stay awake to guide the horses. With nothing to do but drive, Veritas words were lost in the wind.

"So boring.."

He spent a couple of hours traversing through the long roads of Elrod.