Chapter 27

The following two days of travel were uneventful. Alex was tired from the moment she woke up to the moment her head hit the ground. Her body ached all over. However, she did notice that Koa had slowed down his pace and had the team stop for rests more often.

The other thing Alex noticed was his lack of bed. Or rather, him giving his sleeping mat and blanket to Alex. She felt guilty, but anytime she mentioned anything Koa either said he didn't need it or simply ignored her. Finally Adamend, had approached her.

"You really do not need to mind him, young lady."

"Huh?" Alex watched Koa's back as he continued to lead the team through the woods.

"About his sleeping, or lack thereof. He's an elf. Elves don't really need sleep more than a few hours a week. And Koa is, well, unique."

Alex turned to look at Adamend for a moment. "What do you mean by unique? I mean he's a bit weird, I guess."

Adamend shook his head. "Elves have a resting state. It's sort of like sleeping with their eyes open. And when they do actually sleep like humans, it's more like regenerating."

"So you mean, he really doesn't need to sleep? Like at all?"

"I wouldn't say that. Koa did spend more time than usual sleeping in your world. But he was also constantly feeding mana to an illusion stone. He will likely need to sleep in the next day or two. He is probably aiming for the Trader's Lodging."

"Is that like a hotel or something?" Alex asked, she was starting to run out of breath.

"Hotel? You mean an inn. Yes, and no. It's more like a small meeting place with an inn at the centre. There are a few cabins and shops. I wouldn't call it a town, though. Most of the folks there are temporary and there is not mayor."

"So it's like a truckers stop. I get it. We have things like those in my world too. Like a resting stop for traders."

Adamend nodded, pleased that Alex understood.

"So how much further is it?" Alex asked. She was dying for a shower or bath. And a bed sounded like heaven.

"We'll get there by sundown if we keep this pace." Koa called over his shoulder. It surprised Alex a bit. Koa usually ignored the conversation.

She looked up at the sky and tried to guess how much longer that would be. They had recently stopped for lunch and the sun was now passing the middle of the sky. She guessed it would be somewhere around 2 pm. That meant there would be three or four more hours.

"Okay Alex, you can do this." She hyped herself up thinking of the wonderful bath and warm bed she would get at the end of it.