One month ter……..

  'Did I make a wrong turn?' Draco thought, thhly iing his map.

  The map wasremely detailed and was missing a lot of parts, so he relied mostly on the ndmarks on the map to guide them through the journey.

  It had been a month sihey left their forest home, where they had been isoted for the past four years.

  Over the past month of their jouro Orario, they had passed through several settlements, some marked on the map and some weren’t.

  Seeing how somewhat accurate the map had been so far, Draco didn't think that it was necessary to buy a new one i settlement they had passed.

  Additionally the maps he had seen iown were even less accurate in parison to the one he currently had.

  "Draii, shouldn't we get moving? It will be getting dark in a few hours," Vasileios said while adjusting his new cloak.

  They had bought several thick bck cloaks iown they had just passed.

  Several other things were bought, but they were mostly things that Cir, Dimitra, Eleni, and Vasiliki had somehow vinced him that they needed.

  Draco wasn't very keen on spending much of their Valis before settling in Orario, but his sisters and Cir were quite vocal with their disforts along the way.

  He simply obliged with their requests because he felt like he owed it to them.

  He just viewed it as a form of luxury after living in the forest for 4 years.

  "Are we lost?" Cir asked, seeing as how Draco kept cheg the map.

  "Ahem, maybe," Draco hesitantly admitted.

  He was the only one who could read maps, so they had trusted him to lead the way.

  "Sigh, what do we do now?" Dimitra asked, crawling from ihe carriage up to him on the reins before resting her head over his shoulders to view the map.

  "Hmm, isn't Orario to the west of our current location? If we tinue heading that way, shouldn’t we reach it?" Dimitra said while pointing at the map.

  "Sigh, I wish that was the case my genius little sister. Sadly, we have to follow something called roads to get to our destination," Draco replied, patting her head as she pouted on his shoulders.

  "If I fly around a bit, I find out where we currently are. Michalis, you take the reins, I will be ba a bit," Draco said, unfurling his wings before taking off into the air, with the map in hand.

  2 hours ter …….

  Fwoosh!!

  Draco returned, nding onto the carriage.

  He had flown around the surrounding area until he found several ndmarks that matched those on his map.

  "Did you find out where we are?" Eleni asked.

  "Yes, we're currently around here," Draco replied, pointing at the location on the map.

  There were barely any pces with actual names on the map.

  "So, we have to head this way then cross through this desert, stly these biomes before reag Orario," Draco expined.

  "That looks very far. Will we make it there within a month?" Eleni asked, her brow furrowing with .

  "I don't know. Two months was a rough estimate I made, but if we don't get lost, I think we make it," Draco replied, his tone heavy with uainty.

  'There is also the option of taking the sea route, which looks way shorter, but only the gods know what lies in the sea,' Draco thought, his mind weighing the pros and s of each path.

  "The sea route?" Cir chimed in, leaning forward in her seat.

  "That could be a much faster way to reach Orario. What do you think, Draco?" she said.

  ‘Did she read my mind’ Draco wondered.

  He then paused, sidering the idea carefully.

  "The sea route would indeed be quicker, but it's also much more dangerous. We'd be at the mercy of the waves and whatever creatures lurk in the depths. And we have no experieh seafaring." he replied.

  Dimitra shuddered, her eyes widening.

  "The sea? Draii, I don't think I could stomach the rog of the waves. What if we get seasick?" she asked.

  Draodded sympathetically.

  "That's a valid , Dimitra. By taking that route, we'd have to find a suitable ship and crew willing to take us. Additionally we will have to deal with sea monsters" he replied.

  Vasileios spoke up, his brow furrowed in deep ption.

  "Uhm, shouldn't we be safe on the sea route since we have the bck dragon’s scale with us?" he remarked, his voice tinged with a hint of uainty.

  “Ah” the group collectively gasped in realization, the significe of Vasileios' suggestion dawning upon them.

  Draco let out a quiet sigh, aowledging his own ht.

  ‘I feel quite foolish for not sidering that. But will the bck dragons scale alone be enough to deter the sea mohat escaped from the dungeon?’ he wondered, his expression pensive.

  He also couldn't help but smile, grateful for Vasileios' level-headed approabsp;

  "That was a wise suggestion, Vasileios," he praised, his tone sincere and appreciative.

  Vasileios' cheeks flushed with a hint of embarrassment, his gaze averted.

  "It's nothing big, I'm sure you would have eventually thought of it," he said, his words ced with a touch of sheepishness.

  Draco approached Vasileios and ruffled his hair affeately.

  "Don't sell yourself short, and be more fident," he enced, his voice warm and reassuring.

  “No fair” Michalis and Nikoos, uo resist the temptation, jumped in to join in the hair-ruffling, much to Vasileios' apparent disfort.

  Vasiliki let out an exasperated sigh, muttering under her breath, "Sigh, why are boys so... ?".

  Clearing his throat, Draco redirected the group's attention.

  "Ahem, anyway, let's keep a for the port city and see what information we gather about the sea route. The sun will be setting in a few hours, and we o find a safe pake camp for the night," he suggested, his tone pragmatid focused.

  The group murmured their agreement, with Michalis, Nikoos, and Vasileios trailing behind, still pyfully engaging with one another.

  As they tiheir jourhe ndscape unfolded before them - a tapestry of rolling hills, sparsely scattered vegetation bed in snow, and the occasional rugged outcropping of robsp;

  Draco couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia for the familiar forest they had left behind.

  Vasiliki's voice, tinged with boredom , broke the silenbsp;

  "Draii, how much farther do you think we have to go?" she asked, her expression weary.

  Draco sulted the map, trag their estimated path with his finger.

  "If my calcutions are correct, we should be close to a vilge. Assuming it still exists," he replied, his brow furrowing slightly with uainty.

  Cir, perched atop the carriage, leaned forward, her gaze focused in the distanbsp;

  "Is that a vilge?" she muttered, her voice tinged with curiosity.

  "Hmm, what did you find? A settlement?" Draquired, his i piqued.

  "I'm not sure. It seems more like a fortress, with walls and scout towers. I see people on the walls," Cir expined, her expression puzzled.

  Draco's brow furrowed deeper as he pulled out the map once more, scrutinizing their intended path.

  "That's odd. There should be a vilge, not a fortress, along this route" he mused, his mind rag to recile the discrepancy.

  If they wao reach the port city quickly, they had to pass through a vilge along their current route.

  Cir's voiterrupted his thoughts.

  "Draco, I think they've spotted us. The gate is opening, and it appears they're sending out some men on horses to approach us," she said, her tone cautious as she desded from the carriage's perch.

  Draco paused, his gaze hardening as he pted his move.

  “Rex, let's see what they have to say first. But arm yourselves, just in case," he instructed, bringing the carriage to a halt and stepping out onto the snow-cround with his bare feet, the frigid wind whipping through his hair.

  Draco walked a distance ahead of the carriage, folded his arms, his posture projeg an air of fidence, as he waited for the approag horsemen.