We rode north until it was sunset, passing over low hills and through patches of forests until we reached an area of rolling plains. There was no road, and we ran across no one, once we left the river. I wasn't sure what I expected - maybe a rudimentary form of hotel? - But it wasn't to see Batu unloading one of his horses in the middle of a field.
"We're stopping here?" I asked.
"We are."
I climbed off my horse and grimaced. My legs were sore and my ass hurting from the day on horseback. Not much of a fan of camping, I watched Batu begin to build a fire with grasses, small branches and what looked like dried cow poop.
I sat opposite him with a groan.
"Can you hunt?" he asked.
"No."
"Fish?"
"No."
"Shoot a bow?"
"No."
"Cook over a fire?"
"No."
He glanced at me then the horses. "Can you manage to take their saddles off, ugly one?"
"Yes." I was almost relieved he wasn't upset that I had no real value whatsoever in this place. "How is your arm?"
He shrugged.
I rolled my eyes and got to my feet. Limping to the horses, I stripped off their saddles and bridles with no grace. It was hard enough trying to remain on my wobbly feet. I wasn't able to lower anything to the ground without my legs feeling like they were going to buckle.
The horses moved away and began munching on grass. Batu had stopped near a stream, and one headed to it for water.
"Will they run away?" I called to him.
"No. They follow me wherever I go."
Like really big puppies. I wasn't totally convinced animals I knew to be pretty independent were going to remain, but this was his world. In the morning, he'd be healed anyway, so he could chase them down.
I went to the stream and knelt beside it, loving the peaceful sound of rushing water. I rinsed my face but feared drinking from it without asking Batu about its quality. Tugging off my over tunic, I shivered in the cool evening breeze and peeled off my bandages to clean my wounds. After my first adventure, I'd learned to be a little less prissy. I could bathe with a bowl of water or a stream. There were no copper pots out here for bathrooms, and I guessed I was about to become a little less prissy than before by going to the bathroom in the wild.
My arms didn't seem infected in the last light of the day. They hurt, though, and I had a stress headache.