The sled was a large wooden platform with the leading edge curled up to help it slide over the grass. It was plated underneath with scuffed but highly polished metal, and had a pair of small wheels at the rear. The sled was packed with several large barrels and boxes.
On a peg near the sled hung the strangest garment Lorit had ever seen. It consisted of a pair scaly leather pants and a jacket that were sewn together to make one garment. The sleeves ended in gloves that were attached to the garment. Near that, a leather hood and a pair of goggles hung from another peg.
“This is your protective gear, for when you have to get off the sled in the grass,” Hois explained. “You’d be sliced to ribbons by the grass if you walked through it unprotected. This is made of lizard skin and will offer you protection.”
Lorit examined the clothing and then the sled. The barrels were filled with water and supplies. One of the smaller barrels was packed with salted meat, another with travel bread and yet another with roots and greens.
“I hope everything is to your liking,” Hois said.
“Yes,” Lorit remarked. “This is more than I could have hoped for.”
Lorit and Hois returned to the office just as Chihon and Kinem were stowing the transit sight and map.
“I think I can find the way,” Chihon said. “It’s tricky, but not impossible.”
“She’s a quick learner,” Kinem said, inclining his head towards Chihon.
“How much for the team?” Lorit asked. He was worried that even with the Pirate’s golds they might fall short.
“Normally, a team like this goes for close to five hundred golds,” Kinem said. “That would be one hundred fifty each for the lizards. Another hundred fifty for the sled, and thirty more for the provisions,” he said. “I can give you a discount, for taking care of that scum who accosted you yesterday. How about four hundred for the whole thing?”
Lorit whistled, “That’s a lot of golds.”
Chihon put her hand on Lorit’s shoulder and said quietly, “We’ve just come into a windfall.”
Lorit considered for a moment. He’d learned how to make golds, but conjuring this many golds would take a lot out of him. It would take almost all of the golds they’d taken from the Captain.
“Considering that you’re already giving us such a discount, I think it’s a fair price,” Lorit answered. He extended his hand towards Kinem who shook it vigorously.
“You won’t be disappointed,” he exclaimed. He looked up at Hois, “Can you hitch the team, and bring her around front?”
“I will be right back,” she said and scurried back into the barn.
Hois pulled up in front of the livery just as Lorit and Kinem finished counting the golds. They walked out into the early morning sun and examined their purchase. The two lizards were twice as long as Lorit’s outstretched arms, not including the tails which were half again as long. They were yoked together by a heavy wooden beam with metal loops that encircled their powerful necks.
“Once you get into the grass, you can remove the wheels,” Kinem instructed Lorit. “Until then you need them to travel the roads.”
Lorit and Chihon mounted the sled, sliding onto the small bench located near the front, and picked up the small chains that ran to the cheek rings in the lizards. Lorit gave them a slight snap as he'd been instructed. The lizards lurched forward with their twisting side-to-side gait and the sled lurched after them.
They were soon out of town and headed down the dirt road that would take them to the Plains of Grass. They turned off the road onto the hay field as shown on Kinem’s map. Soon shafts of Plains Grass began to show up occasionally between the uncut hay. When they started to become more common and thicker, Lorit pulled back on the reins and halted the lizards.
They detached the wheels and allowed the sled to come to rest on the fresh hay. They stowed the wheels and returned to the sled. With a jerk of the reins, the lizards started their gate once again.
Soon they were surrounded by Plains Grass almost chest high on Lorit. Only the raised bench allowed him any view above the grass itself. The grass stretched on endlessly. Lorit understood why navigating the Plains was so difficult. An endless sea of grass stretched out in front of them with nothing but gently rolling hills to break up the monotony of the surface.
The young man stood before the High Priest. He had only just been assigned to Nebrook and was pleased with his promotion to under priest. He was no longer an acolyte and had been entrusted with a mission of great importance by Torl, the High Priest.
“Father, I have failed you. They are gone, departed this morning. They are in the Plains of Grass. I found a man by the name of Honynt who had a run in with the Wizard. He said they were looking for transport to Veldwaite.”
“What else did the man tell you?” Torl asked.
“He said they were seeking transport to Veldwaite and that they had plenty of golds to spend on a team. I heard that Kinem sold them a sled and team of lizards and helped them off. I fear we have missed our opportunity.”
Father Torl shook his head. “That’s too bad. We were entrusted with a duty to stop this Wizard before he left our city. This will have to be reported to Quineshua.”
Father Torl leaned across his desk. “Tell me son, have you ever traveled by magic?”
Plains of Grass
By the sixth day, Lorit had the routine well established. He and Chihon took turns driving the lizards. They needed remarkably little attention. Each morning and afternoon Chihon took sightings on the mountain peaks. She plotted their position and progress on the map. He was grateful that she’d taken on the responsibility of navigation.
They stopped four times a day to water the lizards. This task required them to circle the lizards around in a tight circle until there was a flat spot in the grass. Lorit would have to get off of the sled and set troughs out with their water. This meant that Lorit had to don the heavy lizard skin garments before he could dismount and attend to their care.
Occasionally Chihon took on this chore just to stretch her legs. She said it helped her work out the cramps from sitting too long. Lorit knew she was just giving him a break from the hot and sweaty job.
Each day seemed much the same as the one before, as they crossed the endless sameness of the Plains. The hissing of the sled as is slid across the grass was a constant background to their conversation.
About an hour before sunset Lorit circled the lizards just as he’d done so often before. He pulled the reins tighter and tighter to position the sled in the center of the newly flattened grass. He pulled the reins to signal the lizards to stop, and donned the garment that protected him from the razor sharp blades of grass.
Lorit pounded the stake into the ground that would keep the lizards from wandering off during the night, while still leaving them enough room to graze to their fill.
Lorit spread out the lizard skin carpet that formed their campground and protected them from the grass during the night. He laid out the blankets and the packs in preparation for the evening meal. With the protective skin on the flattened grass, Lorit stripped off the heavy lizard skin garment, walked over to the sled and held out his hand to help Chihon down.
“I’m glad we’re finally stopping for the night,” she said. “This has been a particularly rough day. I don’t know why, but I think I’ve had enough of the endless sea of grass already, and we’re not even half way there yet.”
“I am, too,” Lorit said. He hauled out the fire pit that stood above the lizard skin carpet on its wooden legs. He stacked a small amount of dry wood into the pit, ordering it into a neat pile. He held his hand over the wood and willed it to ignite. Flames licked out and warmed his hand.
After dinner, they cleaned up and stowed their gear. They always started as early in the morning as the lizards woke up and often skipped breakfast preferring to eat on the go rather than take more time than necessary. It was full twilight and the stars were just starting to show.
Lorit noticed the lizards were showing signs of agitation. Usually they calmed down and were sound asleep by nightfall, but tonight they seemed upset. Their tongues darted in and out, and they breathed heavily. They slashed their tales back and forth.
“I wonder what’s gotten into them,” Chihon said. “They seem to have caught the scent of something.”
“Kinem said there was nothing dangerous out here,” Lorit reminded her. “I hope he wasn’t mistaken,” he added, looking around. All there was to see was the tall grass surrounding the matted down circle created by the lizards and the sled.
One of the lizards raised its head and hissed angrily. It tugged at the stake as if trying to get away from something. Its tongue darted in and out quickly while its head swayed from side to side.
“There’s definitely something out there,” Lorit said. He probed with his senses, to see if he could make out what was disturbing the lizards. He could feel vague shapes heading their way. They appeared to be traveling in a single file line. He couldn’t make out what it was, but it was moving steadily their way.
“I feel something headed our way,” Lorit said. “There are several of them, and they're all headed straight towards us, in a nice neat line.” He probed for more detail but could make out nothing more.
“Can you tell what they are?” Chihon asked. “I can sense something, too. I’m not sure what it is. It has an odd feel to it.”
“Listen,” Lorit said.
He extinguished the fire with a wave of his hand, plunging the campsite into darkness, save for the glow of the stars. He listened intently for any noise the approaching creatures might make.
He quieted himself, trying to hear anything that would indicate what it was. He heard nothing outside of the rustling and hissing of the lizards, who continued to taste the air searching for the intruder as Lorit did.
Lorit could sense the creatures coming closer. As the procession approached their campsite, it turned and started to surround them. Soon Lorit could sense them, fanning out in a circle, until the campsite was entirely surrounded. He prepared himself for whatever might come out of the tall grass, gathering strength into himself he steeled himself for a fight.
He strained to discern what the creatures were doing, but nothing happened. Whatever they were, they’d encircled the campsite and were now standing, unmoving in the tall grass, waiting.
Lorit probed more directly toward one individual. He could feel that it possessed power that he wasn’t familiar with. They felt powerful, much more powerful than the priests, but not the same. It was almost as if they possessed a different kind of magic, one that Lorit had never seen before.
He sat waiting, tense in preparation for whatever might come, but nothing came. The night wore on, but still nothing happened. Lorit could sense the creatures surrounding the campsite, but they were as still as the dormant lizards, who had slowed down and had finally gone quiet when the night cooled off.
“I don’t think they’re going to attack us at night,” Lorit said. “They seem to have quieted down. Maybe they’re like the lizards. Maybe they go dormant at night.”
“I don’t feel comfortable about this,” Chihon said.
“I don’t like it either, but I think we may need our rest before tomorrow,” Lorit said. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep? I’ll wake you later, when I get tired, so I can sleep a little later on.” Lorit motioned towards the blankets.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I was resting this afternoon while you drove.”
“I’ll be fine,” Lorit said, “Just get some sleep.” He wanted to spend more time probing the creatures himself. There was something peculiar to them that he could not identify. Not threatening, but powerful.
He watched and waited half of the night before he woke Chihon and took her place on the blankets. He fell fast asleep, confident that they were safe for the remainder of the night.
Lorit came awake as Chihon shook him gently, whispering, “They’re moving again.”
Lorit reached out with his senses to find the creatures encircling the camp, moving slowly closer. He could still make out the strange feeling that he’d detected earlier. He was convinced that these were not animals, but intelligent people.
Suddenly, in one motion, they were surrounded by two dozen short, stocky men. They were all dressed in short leather skirts, carrying spears. They looked, to Lorit, like short squat children, with closely cropped white hair. Their skin glistened in the early morning light as the lizards did, light reflecting off of scales that covered their bodies.
They stood silently, watching Lorit and Chihon out of two dozen identical pairs of blue green eyes. None of them moved beyond the first step they'd taken into the circle of matted down grass.
“Don’t do anything that might startle them,” Lorit said quietly.
One of the lizards raised its head and hissed at the strangers. It thrashed its tail about in agitation. One of the men broke from the circle and approached the lizard. He held out his hand as he neared the beast. It quieted down and stopped thrashing. It withdrew its long forked tongue. Soon, it settled down and went about grazing as if nothing were amiss.
Lorit remained motionless, watching the men. After what felt like an eternity, one of the men stepped forward. He stood out from the others by his ornate garb. He wore several rings around his neck made of gold. Lorit decided he must be their leader.
He approached Lorit, who remained seated on the blanket. He stopped in front of Lorit and placed his spear blunt end into the ground. He leaned on it as he peered into Lorit’s eyes, as if looking intently for something.
Finally, he straightened up and pointed to the sled. “You get on,” he said with an accent so thick that Lorit almost missed the words.
When Lorit did not move, he pulled his spear from the ground and repeated, “You get on.”
Lorit raised his power, and visualized the short squat man frozen in place; he cast the spell he'd used so successfully on the Captain.
The man just repeated his gesture. “You get on,” he said once again. He pointed at Lorit and then Chihon. “Wizard no magic on Arda'um. You get on,” he insisted.