Two Weeks

Two weeks.  Erica told him it would take two weeks to get to the Valley of Death even with the castle's new speed.  The valley was remote, surrounded by high mountains with wild geothermal activities. Hot springs, geysers, and even one active volcano.  What this created was a no fly zone other than a single navigable path.  He was more than a little shocked by the fact that a magic flying castle had to worry about updrafts and air currents caused by something like geothermal activity.  Even more, so that Erica knew about it. She confessed to having consulted Nee and Ara about the castle's capabilities previously in preparations for what may come.  She even let him know the castle had a maximum flight limit. Apparently no trip to the moon for him.