Ten days had passed since Shiao Yi and Dominic entered the Kingdom of Landis.
Once they crossed a small border village, a dry and reddish-brown land stretched endlessly before them.
The sparse wiry grass clung stubbornly to the cracked soil. It was poor land and clearly it's unsuitable for farming. It was no wonder that the people of Landis lived by herding sheep and cattle across the plains.
Even the main road was barely worthy of being called one; it was more like a faint trail that has been beaten down by travelers over time.
Using the information they had gathered in the village about nearby ruins and old churches, they left the main road and guided their horses toward the open wilderness.
The path they followed was little more than a series of hard-packed patches, just enough to tell that others had passed this way before.
Dominic's beloved horse, Marengo, was far larger and stronger than an ordinary steed.
