The trip turned out to be very pleasant, even considering that Draco did not know how to ride. A saddled grey gelding was waiting for him in the stable. A powerful animal with a very gentle disposition. Given the boy's athletic abilities, jumping onto the horse's back was no problem, and he managed to sit properly quite easily. Although the dragon had to admit that he felt strange with such a massive body beneath him. He even caught himself clutching the grey's sides tightly, causing the horse to turn his head in disapproval and look at his rider reproachfully.
During the ride, the gelding followed step by step behind the silver-red bess ridden by Darius. It seemed that the horse quickly realised that its rider had no idea how to handle the reins and relied on the guidance of the war beast. Thanks to this, all the restless pulls and accidental squeezes were ignored.
The route of the trip was quite long. First, they circled the walls of the estate, during which the sergeant talked about safety considerations, changes and goals, but Draco wasn't listening. The dragon was more interested in the wild, forest wilderness that began almost within arm's reach. Not a well-kept park, but a real forest. Trees, bushes, masses of plants and animals, which watched the group of riders with equal interest from a safe distance.
Later, they took a narrow forest path to the clearing that one of the woodcutters had mentioned to the master earlier. Work was in full swing there. There were a lot of people milling around, some resting, others cutting or processing trees, and still others packing the hewn trunks onto carts. Another transport was leaving just as they arrived. Supervisor Firsk quickly approached the Earl, immediately listing what needed to be done, where and when, in order to improve work efficiency. However, the issue of distance from the manor house came up very often in all the arguments. The people, elves, vampires and representatives of other races working around bowed respectfully to Darius as they passed him. Draco looked around with
