“How far is it to Chalcedony?” I asked Isobeau as we slowed when the Kyr strained to pull their loads up an incline. She and Arion had been on the trail ahead but came back along the line, checking on the carts.

“Well, a single woman could walk the distance in a day, maybe two” she said, “but…” she looked ahead, “we are not a single woman, are we.”

“If you were to estimate, how long?” I pressed, unsure why I even needed to know...