The rest of the night was uneventful, other than a couple of squirells fighting and some deer running past. All was quiet and peaceful. But instead of enjoying the peacefulness of it, It just made me think of the events that are coming. I tried going back into my inner world but when I concentrated on it, I just felt like I was pushing my head against a wall. When I stopped trying I got a weird message from kevin,

"Sorry, the world you are trying to enter is not available at this time, Please try again at your earliest conveinence."

The voice sounded feminine and made me irratated for some reason, which made me wonder just what kevin was doing in there. Hopefully he was doing what he promised and not just having fun with girls. I gave up and focused on training my mana. Strengthening my body with it first then working on controlling it. Ever since that core showed up and my inner world formed, my mana control was getting better gradually. Right now though, I was having some trouble circulating mana around my body. It kept getting sucked into my inner world, I tested it to make sure by spreading some mana near it. It flew into the small pebble very fast. I guess whatever he is doing in there is consuming alot of mana. I let more mana flow nearby thinking it might help his endeavors when the pebble flew into the core. Absorbing it entirely and scaring the hell out of me. I thought I was dying as I felt empty, like all the energy in my body was sucked out in an instant.

My mind went blank and I passed out.

**************************************************************************************************

Vylet was sitting next to Malady, watching the blurry scenery pass by. Malady was driving so Vylet was trying to get comfortable being in a cart going so fast. She had never gone this fast before and was trying not to puke everywhere. Her gaze lazily dragged across the scenery watching the creatures pulling the carriage move their blurry limbs. She was bored to the point of not caring about the speed anymore. Anything was better than sitting in silence.

"What do you think these creatures are called Malady?"

"They are called Drilds, a long time ago they were used as beasts of burden. Almost all of them were bred in captivity for this. They were bred to be fertile and strong. After a while some escaped and became feral, causing massive problems as they bred until they were a massive herd of aggresive animals. They were pretty much hunted to extinction after that, the ones we have here are undead. Probably forgotten by some irresponsible necromancer."

She wasnt expecting an exact answer like that.

"Oh"

They sat in silence for an hour, neither of them tried to start a conversation. Vylet was afraid for her new friend, the minotaur girl was the only of her kind so vylet had no frame of reference. But she was sure that her growth and new knowledge was not normal.

The sky that was once clear was now filled with dark and foreboding clouds, heavy and threatening to let it rain at any moment.

"Im going to pull over, this storm is going to be bad."

She nodded at Malady, looking ahead for a good spot. But no matter where she looked she didnt see any good camping spots.

Malady noticed her looking around and smiled softly.

"Dont worry vylet, there may not be any good spots to camp but we can just stay in the carriage. Its built for things like this you know."

Vylet didnt even bother asking her how she knew this and just nodded again. Watching silently as Malady pulled the carriage over to the side of the road. Hiding it in some bushes next to the road that were just taller than the carriage itself. Both of them got out of the driver compartment and got into the main part of the carriage. Vylet was happy they werent on the road anymore, her stomach had finally stopped churning and settled. She sat down and wrapped herself in her jacket to keep warm. Malady had walked to the center and opened a small compartment in the floor, pulling a large cylinder out of it. The bottom of it was made out of rock and from what vylet could see it was hollow. Malady went back outside and filled the cylinder with dry wood, making it back inside just before the rain started.

"What is that thing you pulled out?"

She responded, but she kept working instead of looking at Vylet.

"It is a small fire pit for indoor use. This thing was built by dwarves for the royalty of another kingdom. A very specific dwarf, that had ideas no one really understood. One of them was the ability to make camp without leaving the carriage."

She demonstrated by pushing on the roof, opening another small compartment that looked like a metal box with several windows in it.

"This is to let the smoke out so we dont suffocate. Something about a gas he called...umm. Carbon Dioxide?"

Vylet was unfamiliar with this gas.

"What is carbon dioxide?"

She paused for a bit, thinking about how to answer.

"Lets just say it is a poison if you breath too much of it."

"That dwarf was smart"

Malady laughed.

"Not really Vylet, He was an ok inventer, he only started making amazing things after he met someone called....Kevin I think."

Malady had set some of the wood she had collected aside and started a fire in the small cylinder. Vylet noticed that Finch was passed out on the bed. Thinking very rude thoughts about the lazy elf, she pushed him over to the side of the bed. Giving her and Malady enough space to lie down on the bed together.

She dropped herself on the bed and looked at the fire. Malady put down some meat and bread in front of her and walked away to make herself one.

"fank- You" She said through a mouthfull of bread.

"No prof-blen" She said through a mouthful of meat.

They both giggled at each other and warmed themselfs with the fire. Eventually they got tired and got into bed, falling into the soft embrace of sleep.

A single small snowflake fell on the carriage that night. Signalling the beggining of winter.