Geometric growth and parallels drawn
Thus, the air in the group was cleared, and the peace was restored. When Cael's team continued on their journey, both Cael and Tarek were much more cheerful than they were after just leaving the city.
And like Cael promised, they went towards Tarek's family home. It wasn't far. Although the Mattoni Empire was huge, most of the settlements huddled near the major rivers, since the land anywhere else wasn't suitable for farming. There, only nomad tribes, barbaric and not, lived.
Tarek's hometown was somewhat aside from the route towards the capital, but not far. It stood on the edge of the desert and had a population of a couple thousand people at most. This was three times smaller than Cael's home city.
Tarek's family lived in a massive house that could fit several families, one of the richest in the city. They were clearly well-off, despite Tarek himself not visiting them for a couple of years by now.