Magnifico

We will miss Phox

The next morning, Sun woke up, cleaned himself up, and started packing his stuff. Viruz and Jonas would later do the same but they had a hangover, they would later wake up tired… When Sun came outside the tavern, he saw Cryx cleaning the tables and chairs in the tavern. While cleaning and drying a table, Cryx saw Sun coming inside the tavern from the back entrance.

“Good morning Sir” Sun greeted.

“Good morning General! You are up?”

“Yes, I am. How was your night?” Sun asked.

“Never slept so good like I did last night” Cryx grinned.

“That’s very nice. I slept well too I believe that was because I slept early.”

“I don’t believe you will be going today. I just wish you won’t but this one is beyond my power. Do you care for a drink?”

“Drink? Huh? No. I still haven’t recovered from the one we drank last time. I still want to travel with my eyes clear and sharp” Sun laughed. Sun offered to help Cryx clean up the place but Cryx refused and asked him to sit tight while he handles the cleaning himself.

Jonas and Viruz immediately came inside the tavern fully prepared to leave. They had taken their bath and worn their clothes.

“Morning Sirs!” Jonas and Viruz greeted the General and Cryx. They both replied to them while both of them went to a chair and sat down at a corner inside the tavern.

“Ok since you don’t want a drink then I should get you a portion of food. Is that alright?”

“Now you are talking, Cryx” Sun grinned

.

Cryx served a sumptuous meal for the three men and made sure it was prepared deliciously. He brought a bowl of hot white rice with chicken sauce mixed with sweet potatoes. Served it in three different silver-coated plates. After eating the meal, the three men brought their horses outside the tavern and was ready to leave. They have not mounted their horses yet so they were holding their horses by the rein. Thomas and most of the men that were present at the tavern the previous night arrived. Thomas came close to Sun and hugged him. He also shook hands with Jonas and Viruz.

“Where are you headed?” Thomas asked.

“We will be riding westward. We are going to the city of Zaphra” Sun answered...

“I have never been there but you do have a long journey ahead of you. You must hasten up because Zaphra is three days far from Phox or maybe more.”

“That wouldn’t be a problem. We will try our best Thomas, you don’t need to worry” Sun said as he holds his horse by the rein and pats his horse twice by the rein gently. Sun jumped on top of his horse while Jonas and Viruz did the same.

“I wish we will see again General. I wish today never came though. You guys will be missed,” Cryx said.

“My thanks also go to you both, Jonas and Viruz. Thank you for the role you played here and also, do everything you can to protect the General. He is a good man and he deserves your protection. Good luck to you all” Thomas said.

Sun turned his horse around, mounted on it and Viruz and Jonas did the same. They waved at the small crowd while they waved back at them as they continued to gallop outwards, into the lands of Zaphra. This journey would take them three to two days if they ride fast or four days if they ride slowly according to what Thomas told them and they were aware that there was no room for an unnecessary delay that might derail their chances of succeeding or getting hold of Kylian before he makes his way to another kingdom. Zaphra is a place none of them has ever been to before so they will certainly experience a delay due to unforeseen circumstances so delay on their path is inevitable. Hours of continuous riding, they got close to a small stream down a vegetated plateau, so beautiful such that the grasses in the fields seemed as if they were carefully cut and made to have the same heights. It was already evening and they were all seriously exhausted and couldn’t ride further because if they do, they may tamper with the health status of their horses. The horses bear the brunt of the strenuous work involved in their travel and the horses pass through lots of stress than they do because they sit on the horses while the horses in return carry them. Being in haste means making the horses go through hell because they want to arrive at their destination early. When they got to the streamside, they demounted and went to the stream to drink. They also brought their horses close so they could drink too while they fill their jars with water. They decided to pin their tents in this area because it seemed comfortable and there was less disturbance because no one was seen around there.

“I think we will sleep here tonight,” Sun said as he brings down his bag carefully on the floor.

Jonas rolled on the floor, his back overlapped on the floor while he looks at the cloud. He smiled and said, “Even without you saying it General, I’m already tired.”

“Not as tired as I am Jonas,” Viruz said as he sits on the floor too, relaxing.

“Really?” Jonas said as he looks at Viruz.

“Of course” Jonas replied...

“Well, I understand. We all should be tired. I am exhausted as well and I need to rest. Tomorrow will be a long day too.”

Sun left and entered deep inside the stream where he took his bath, washed, and dried some of his dirty linens. He came up to the ground and spread the linen while he later made a makeshift fishing gear, went back to the water, and luckily caught three fishes with it. Viruz had gone out to bring dry firewood which would be used to make fire close to the tent they will sleep on. Sun dragged out the three well-sized catfish he had killed and he brought it over to the ground. Viruz and Jonas had it deliciously prepared which they ate for dinner. Viruz did most of the cooking and the mixing of spices, he was good at it and his cooking has always been delicious and tasty. Later in the night, the fish was served. The fish was served hot, well flavoured, and kind of had a salty taste but with a sweet aroma. Sun was served the fish, it was dished in round three plates of soup.

“Hmm. This is wonderful guys” Sun says as he leaks his finger while eating the fish that was served by Viruz.

“Well, Viruz didn’t do much of the work though. I did virtually everything. It was only water that he fetched for me while I was preparing the fish so, you should be thanking me, General, specifically and not him,” Jonas said as he covers his face to look at Viruz who was already smiling.

“Haha. Jonas, I didn’t know when you became a cook. Viruz deserves all the praises because he earned it. He knows quite well how to cook unlike you who has lived all his entire year as a King. So it is possible you can't cook anything except boiling of water,” Sun said as he chuckled.

“You just finished me, General. Boiling od water? really? I can do better than that,” Jonas laughed.

“The fish is delicious though but not as delicious as the last meal we ate in Phox,” Viruz said sharply.

“I must be honest with you, that meal was superb. Cryx made sure that he left us with a memory of Phox we can’t easily forget. I already miss them” Sun added.

“Maybe one day, when all things had settled, we will pay a visit to the people of Phox again,” Jonas said.

“That’s correct. I wish that day will surely come” Sun said.

“Me too” Viruz added.

“I am already tired. I need to sleep now. Good night all,” Sun said. He stood up and went inside the single tent they had set out for the night. Jonas and Viruz would later do the same but they had to finish their dinner first.