Ash nodded slightly, "How are we going to get to Golden Arches? I understand it's rather far from here," she responded.
Gardenia smiled slightly, "Well, we have a couple options and after discussing it thought it best to let you decide," her gaze moved to someone that was approaching from behind Ash, "And here come Fi and Fel to join the discussion."
Ash turned to greet them before looking back towards Gardenia and Yarrow.
Yarrow was the one to speak, "The first option is the most simple. All four of us have been there, so we can use the teleportation array to take you with us."
"By simple, he means boring," Fel grumbled.
Gardenia laughed slightly, "The second option is that we journey there as a party, camping along the way."
"Impractical," Fi responded.
"Indeed," Gardenia said with a small sigh, "What with the flame boar and the possibility of needing to respond to another new dungeon, it seems unwise to be unable to return to town for the several day stretches that we will encounter."
Ash spoke up, "With my abilities, we could. If we don't get somewhere with a teleportation array, I can bring us back here any time we need and return to where we left later."
"Isn't that taxing for you?" Yarrow's gaze was concerned.
Ash shrugged slightly, "Likely less so with my mastery over magic growing stronger. Beyond that, the practice will be useful to strengthen my abilities as well."
Fel grinned, "And we can get you some more combat training on more suitable targets while we're at it."
Ash nodded in agreement, "I want to be strong enough to be useful when the flame boar heads towards town," she grumbled.
"Well," Gardenia said gently, "Now that we've made our decision, I think it would be best to prepare our mounts to make the journey just a bit swifter."
Ash asked about supplies but found that they already had everything, including their armor, ready to go. They had only been waiting on Ash's decision and had the feeling that she would also prefer to journey there on foot. Ash followed and watched as they got ready to go, each of them gently caring for a different large creature that seemed more than happy to see them.
They walked on foot to the city center, stopping at the guilds to inform them that they were making the trip to Golden Arches and might be out of contact for as much as two weeks. Ash grabbed a few quests that could be completed anywhere and had generous turn in times. With the teleportation arrays in each city, they'd be able to make sure any items arrived safely.
They stayed on foot as they exited the city, there were too many people about to risk running through on their mounts and they had yet to decide who Ash was riding with. The obvious answer was Yarrow, but they didn't want to make assumptions.
Once they had broken away from other travelers and were walking down a much more quiet path, Ash spoke up, "How far is it to the next city traveling by mount?"
"Next city's pretty close," Fel responded, "We'll be there by afternoon even if we take a generous amount of time to rest for lunch."
Ash nodded and surprised them all by changing, her magic weaving around her to let her speak, "I need the exercise," she explained at their confused gazes, "And it has been a very long time since I've been able to enjoy a good journey in this form."
The darkened horns on her head weren't even visible anymore past her mane, making her look just like a Starlight unicorn save for her color-shifting eyes. If there was any time where it was safe for Ash to travel in her unicorn form, it was the immediate present. All of the races knew about Starlight unicorns and that they were capable of shifting into a bipedal form. Ash was not likely to be hunted by any people and would change back to normal and ride with one of them for the last leg of the day's trip.
They nodded and started out slow, each of them cautiously glancing at Ash from time to time to make sure she wasn't tiring. After a while, though, they were moving at full speed and Ash was just fine. She was used to long journeys, making one that spanned her entire world every year. By the time they stopped for lunch, she was barely winded though she still flopped down in her elven form to rest.
They ate and chatted, enjoying the break while each of them took turns making sure their mounts were also properly tended to. Ash stood and stretched as they were all getting ready to leave, grumbling slightly at sore muscles. She made a long journey once a year, but it was at a bit slower of a pace than this one.
Yarrow motioned for her to join him. She nodded slightly, deciding that she'd have to work her way up to being able to do what their own mounts already could.
Once she was seated and they were on their way, she sighed slightly, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to ride…it feels uncomfortable to ride another creature when I'm just as fast as they are most of the time," she explained.
Yarrow nodded his understanding, "If I were as fast as Blackthorne, I'm sure I would think much the same."
All too soon, they had arrived at the next city over. It was fairly large, though smaller than Redwood Stars. They found somewhere pleasant to eat dinner and then made their way to the teleportation array to head back to Redwood Stars.
Ash paused before entering, thinking for a few moments, "Do we all want to just meet up at my place in the morning?"
They discussed it and everyone agreed, if only out of curiosity as to what a Starborn Unicorn's home was like. Since they were all on her friend's list as Acquaintances, they could quite easily ask to visit her. With a small smile, she headed to her grove while they all teleported to Redwood Stars.