#43 - Abnormal herd of wild horses

Brad's decision completely caught Moon off guard.

In his previous understanding, Brad worked for the church every day.

Herding horses, cutting grass, cleaning stables, bathing horses...

These tasks filled Brad's days completely, and he had to squeeze out time even for rest.

Before, the only time they could talk was when Brad drove the horses to graze on the grassland near the farm.

Moon had even jokingly said to him: Unless the 'Mad King' strikes back, the monastery will never give servants a holiday.

"You weren't quite right this time."

Brad carefully folded the map and put it into the inner pocket of his chest before looking at Moon again.

"Friar Layton said that distinguished guests will be visiting the monastery in the next few days. In order not to disturb the guests' rest, all the servants have been given a holiday."

"All the servants! Then who will take care of the guests?"

"Who knows, maybe the friars themselves."

After saying this, Brad couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, I hope this guest never leaves."

Moon joked, then looked at Brad seriously.

"Are you sure you want to go with me? There are troops stationed in that place now."

"Of course!"

Brad clapped the hands that had just finished eating the roasted sweet potato, and then stood up.

"I used to graze horses there, and I know many side roads. As long as we bypass the troop's station, it will be fine. Besides, you can't understand this map anyway."

Brad's reasons were sufficient, which made it impossible for Moon to refuse.

In the end, he could only borrow two farm horses from Neil, claiming that he was going to Brad's hometown.

After repeatedly assuring that he would return as soon as possible, the two set off on their journey north.

Going from Siling to the foot of Snow Eagle Mountain would take at least ten days on foot, which was an unsafe period for Moon.

If he didn't return on time, he would have to go to Hogwarts in the wilderness.

This was something Moon didn't want to try yet.

However, with horses to travel, the time was greatly shortened.

"What does this symbol represent?"

When resting on the first night, Moon pointed to the [♪] symbol on the map and asked Brad curiously.

"This should represent the discovery of something wonderful, which is the mysterious herd of horses you are looking for."

"If you could avoid using the word 'should,' perhaps I could trust you more."

Listening to Brad's tone, Moon increasingly felt that this trip was full of uncertainty.

"Don't say that. You've heard our family's story. When you can see a place with music, it means we've discovered the ultimate secret."

The ultimate secret Brad was talking about was the channel their family used to have to help others match horses.

However, can music be seen?

Moon wondered in his heart, sitting closer to the fire.

They were resting in a wooden house where horse herders often spent the night, because it was not far from the main road, so it was still relatively safe.

The fire crackled, and Moon picked up a knife and focused on splitting willow branches.

Seeing this, Brad didn't interrupt, but instead seriously studied the map.

Perhaps he had used up all his bad luck in the previous period, Moon perfectly split the two willow branches in his hand.

On the second day of departure, they could already see the towering Snow Eagle Mountain in the distance.

This mountain was also the dividing line between the Gracia Federation and the Melani Empire.

After approaching the foot of the mountain, Brad led the way far away from the main road.

Further ahead was the military area, and they had to detour at this time.

However, some things cannot be avoided just by wanting to avoid them.

In the afternoon of the second day, Moon and Brad still discovered traces of the army.

This was a place marked with [Y] on the map, and Moon and Brad saw a group of soldiers on horseback chasing a herd of reindeer from the top of the distant valley.

"Look, the map is correct. This is the habitat of reindeer."

Brad lay on the ground, looking very happy. He proved that his family's map had no errors.

Moon originally questioned using a [Y] to represent a herd of reindeer, even though Brad kept explaining that animals rarely leave their gathering places voluntarily.

"Okay, you're right, but we have to leave now."

Moon realized that this location was too close to the hunting army below, and they had to detour again.

......

When the sky was approaching dusk, Moon and Brad finally found a herd of wild horses drinking water by a small stream.

"That's not right, this [♪] shouldn't represent them."

Brad stood on the opposite bank of the river, carefully recalling the content of the family legend, and constantly looking at the dozen or so wild horses on the opposite bank.

Although Moon didn't know how Brad understood the map, he was very sure that the horses opposite were not the magical creatures he was looking for.

Recalling the records about unicorns he had seen in the Hogwarts library, Moon suggested that the two continue searching upstream along the stream.

As the two continued to move forward, the plants on both sides of the stream gradually changed from grassland to dense forest, and the water volume gradually decreased.

When the two stopped to rest, the herd of wild horses that had finished drinking water downstream had already followed.

However, the herd did not stop, but kept moving forward along the direction of the stream.

"They're not quite right!"

Brad blew out the fire in his hand, his eyes fixed on the departing herd of horses.

"What's wrong?"

"They shouldn't come to the forest. There's nothing to eat here, and it's not open enough, which will limit their movement and make them easy to be eaten."

Hearing Brad's explanation, Moon also carefully looked at the herd of horses.

There were also two foals that had just been born in this group. They often stumbled over tree roots and rocks in the forest.

"Let's go, follow them and see."

Wild animals are smarter than people, this is the knowledge that Zalan taught Moon.

The fact that the herd of horses could make such an abnormal move meant that not only would there be no danger in the forest, but there would also be benefits.

Putting on their packs again, the two led their horses and followed the herd.

This time they didn't go too far. After arriving at a small meadow in the forest, the herd stopped moving forward.

Here, three sides were all dense trees, and one side was a gentle slope of a mountain.

And the stream not far away originated from the spring on that mountain.

"Apart from being the source of the stream, there doesn't seem to be anything special about this place."

Moon came to this conclusion after observing for a week.

"No, it's too clean here ~"

Brad sniffed gently, his brows furrowing unconsciously.

After being said so by Brad, Moon also noticed the abnormality.

This small meadow was not big, but it was home to a dozen horses.

However, there was no smell of horse manure on the meadow, and you could even smell a faint fragrance of grass.

"Look, these horses are actually lying down to rest."

Moon had heard Brad say before that wild herds of horses usually stand when they rest.

Only in this way can they react quickly when they encounter danger.

But here, all the horses were lying on the grass, and even the two foals were chasing each other and playing here.

As the questions became more and more numerous, Moon felt that the answer was approaching him.

Aren't magical creatures also impossible to explain with common sense?

Just as Moon and Brad were observing the herd of horses, a clear and melodious neigh came from behind the opposite hillside.