The rented horses' hooves clopped steadily against the dirt road as Wade and Rowan made their way beyond the walls of Hiving.
The city slowly receded into the background, its towers shrinking against the horizon, while rolling fields stretched out ahead of them in waves of green and gold.
The morning air was crisp, carrying with it the scent of freshly turned soil.
Farmers were already at work in the distance, bent over their crops or guiding oxen along plow lines.
Wade shifted slightly in the saddle, the leather creaking under his weight.
"You know," he muttered, "riding sounds a lot more romantic until you're actually doing it for an hour straight. My legs are killing me."
Rowan chuckled from Wade's side, his own horse snorting like it could understand their conversation. "You'll get used to it. Or, at least, you'll stop complaining as much."
"I doubt that." Wade winced as his horse trotted over a dip in the road. "If I'm not sore tomorrow, I'll count it as a miracle."
