A change in leadership

I was surprised at their reactions and really grateful at the same time. I had not expected that they would be so supportive of me.

After leaving the city we started following the road until we came close to the forest. Cleo held the map and was the one who would lead us from this point on. Not only was she good at reading the map, she was also good at planning the trip as she explained our way and where we should make stops.

Soon we entered the forest and started walking through it. The forest wasn't very thick and there was enough sunlight to see around. After walking for around 4 miles or so we finally stopped. I was tired and Turek was even more so since he was carrying our supplies. Cleo seemed to just as energetic as before. I decided that it was time for me to carry the supplies from this point onwards. I didn't want Turek to be completely tired by the time we get to the Kura herb.

"Are you two alright?" Cleo looked at the two of use and asked with concern. We must look like we are in bad shape.

"Just give me 2 minutes. I need to drink some water" Turek took out the water pouch and drank some water.

He handed it to me and I finished the pouch. The pouch held less water than I thought. We only had 3 pouches of water. I didn't expect that one of them be gone so soon.

"Do you want some water Cleo?" I asked Cleo who was still looking at us with concern.

"Sure", she took a sip before handing me back the second pouch. "We are 1⁄3 of the way to the Kura herb mountain. It should take us 2 more hours to get there. It can be shorter but I think we should stick to the safe route"

Two more hours. Well It's not that bad. I had walked almost 3 hours yesterday as well. I know I can do that much. Turek on the other hand…

"Turek, I will carry the supplies now alright?"

"Sure Ren. Here you go"

I took the supplies from Turek and we started walking again. We had not faced any dangers so far. It seemed Cleo really was as good as she said.

We took a break after 1 more hour of walking and had some of the food. Cleo still didn't look tired and drank only a few sips of water. Most of the water was used by me and Turek.

I was starting to get concerned about the water. We only had 1 pouch left for the journey to the mountain and then back to the town. We needed to find more water. Just when I was starting to get nervous I heard Cleo say

"We are at the river. Finally! Alright, let's fill up those water pouches!"

I saw that a river was slowly coming into our view. As we got closer I was amazed by the view. The water was really clean and the view was beautiful. I had never seen such clean water. I was a city boy who had never ventured out in the wild. This was my first time seeing something like this.

"It's so beautiful!" said Turek excitedly. It seems even he hadn't seen such a view before.

"I know right? I brought us this way since I knew we would need to fill up on water. We are not actually going to be crossing this river, so you guys don't need to worry about that. We will be following this river for around 1 hour before leaving it to climb the Kura herb mountain. Once there, we should gather the herb and come back the same way"

It really was good to have Cleo on the team. I would not have been able to plan this quest so well. It seemed obvious to me that she planned it this way just for the two of us. If it was just her, she might have been already at the Kura herb mountain collecting the herbs.

I was starting to realize that I really shouldn't be the leader of this team. Cleo was older than me. She was smart, strong and experienced with forests. She thought of the party even when this was only our first time together. It should be her that is the leader of this team. I decided that I will bring it up at the appropriate time. Maybe I wouldn't even have to bring it up since she seems more natural as our leader anyway.