Minho hadn't realized how rough it would be to travel on a horse for as long as they had, and at the speed they had taken. He had simply clung to his horse and hoped it would continue to follow the other two and that he wouldn't fall off, and to his surprise, he was able to stay in the saddle and didn't slow down until Felix's horse stumbled and they all decided that it was safe to slow to a more easy gait for the animals. Eventually slowing to a trot, Chris turned to look behind them, noticing with great relief that whatever had been chasing them was gone now, leaving a blue sky in its wake. 

His heart was beating fast as he glanced at Minho with an apologetic grin. 'Are you okay? I know that's not what you were expecting from a day traveling."

Minho laughed, the sound coming out more rough than he had been expecting. "I...Yeah, I'm okay. That was quite the ride, though." Even though his horse was good, he was having a hard time speaking at the trot, but was trying to make the best of it. "Um, what the hell was that thing? It's like this big, angry cloud chasing us or something. Like, what the ?"

Chris shook his head, glancing as Felix, who was simply watching them as he rode. "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it was after the rings, for whatever reason."

Minho rolled his eyes, marveling at the luck they had. "So, like a ringwraith or something...great. Just great."

"A...what?" Felix finally spoke, sounding very confused. "I'm sorry, but I don't think we have those here."

Minho shook his head, grinning. "They're from a book in my world, so no, I don't think you have them here in Lavenrya. They're a work of fiction, so it's unlikely." He sincerely hoped he was speaking the truth, though he did know that this darkness that had been chasing them had been real, and it felt definitely evil. He was beginning to regret visiting the escape room, given the danger that he might now have drawn himself into. 

"I see," Felix said, still looking curious, but confused. "No, I don't think we have them here." 

"Yeah, but you have this other thing, and that doesn't give me much comfort," Minho smiled at the younger man, trying to lighten the situation. "Do you think maybe we could stop for a little while? My legs are really sore." 

Chris looked up ahead of them, noticing that there was no sign of anything but trees and a road a short distance away, so he knew they still had quite a bit more traveling time ahead of them and they hadn't gotten a chance to eat anything before starting out. "Yeah, I think it's safe to stop and eat and whatever else we need to do right now. It'll give our horses a rest, also." 

Minho glanced at him, definitely sharing the sentiment. "Yeah, I agree. If we stop and refresh, it'll be better for us all, including the horses." He pulled back on the reins, noticing that his mare seemed relieved to be slowed to a walk. He reached down and patted her sweaty neck, happy to have helped her out, as well. He noticed that Chris had seen the action, a quiet smile spreading across his lips. 

Once they were all off of their horses, Chris told them it would be safe to take the saddles off for a while and let the horses truly rest for a little while, so Minho helped them unsaddle and put the halters on in place of the bridles, staking the animals out to eat. This gave them some time to rest, as well, finally getting a chance to eat some much needed food. When they were settled around the small fire Chris had lit and eating the bread and jerky they had with them, Minho decided it was time to get some answers to questions he had been wanting to ask for a while. Taking a drink of his freshly made coffee, he smiled at Chris and Felix. 

"I've been wondering something for a little while now. What's the big deal about the mages? Why does everything have to be run by them? What do they have that no one else does? If we have power, shouldn't we be able to simply keep it?" 

Chris sighed, noticing that Felix had become uncomfortable at the mention of the Tower of Levanter. "Well, as I told you, they have to keep track of everything,and make sure nothing bad enters the country to hurt anyone. When I worked for them in the past, they had mages that had betrayed them, so that's why it's so important to keep an eye on it all."

Minho frowned, noticing the tension in Chris' demeanor when he was speaking. "I see...kind of. So why did you stop working for them, then? Was there