For safety's sake, Andrew didn't stop to rest, but continued to ride north.
They rode through the entire night until dawn, when both horses were so exhausted they collapsed, and Andrew and Christina finally halted.
To be precise, the whole group, except for the physically robust Christina, including Andrew and Turuk, were already extremely exhausted.
They stayed on a small hillside to rest temporarily.
Andrew leaned against a tree trunk, breathing heavily. Turuk looked fearfully at the two horses lying on the ground.
The desert had ended at some point, and hills, mountains, and one oasis after another began to appear around them.
Not far away, a small stream was even flowing.
Turuk hurriedly ran to the stream, fetched some water, and brought it back to the two nearly dead horses. One of them even snorted blood.
The first rays of morning sunlight appeared, revealing their destination—Udoven, a northern city-state built against the mountain.
