wings tell of a draconic
heritage unseen in generations. You should be proud. You should embrace your
heroism and not be ashamed of it.”
Kale doubted his wings were
connected to a draconic heritage, especially since they developed because of an
accident with a chaos rift. He saw them as a useful aberration and nothing
more. Kale kept quiet and let Kali do most of the talking as they made their
way to the stables. The anticipation of seeing his nailtooth lizard mount was
more than enough to push the old drak’s admonishment to the back of his mind.
Pancras assisted Edric with his
pony while Delilah directed her lizard in tentative, looping circles around
them. The nailtooths’ green scales glistened in the morning sun, and their
hissing and snapping rose above the din of the busy city market. A smile spread
across Kale’s face. The nailtooths were unlike any of the cave lizards his
sister and he encountered on Deep Road or in any of the other caves and caverns
near Drak-Anor.
“They’re so small!” Compared to
Pancras’s horse, they seemed pint-sized, though they were still larger than any
of the draks. Leather saddles and saddle bags were strapped to their backs, and
a petite drak cooed at them as she held them in check.
Kali took the reins of her lizard,
placed a foot in the stirrup, and hoisted herself into the saddle. The lizard
hissed and stomped its feet, but it made no move to throw her. She tugged on
the reins and spun it in a circle before stopping in front of Kale.
“The trick is to not hesitate and
be confident. Show them who’s boss. They’re less skittish than horses, and
despite all their hissing and snapping, they won’t eat draks.”
Kale took her word for it.
* * *
As trepidatious as she was
earlier to ride a hissing, toothy lizard, Delilah found her backside hurt much
less than being at the mercy of the wagon. After a few hours of riding, she
became confident it was a superior form of travel to walking.
When Chana first told Delilah the
nailtooth was named Fang, she bit her tongue to prevent sarcasm from spilling
forth. The lizard had two teeth that had grown together as one, making it
appear as if it had one giant fang when the others did not, but Delilah thought
it was a mundane name, like a too-obvious one invented by her brother. At
least his lizard has an intimidating name: Blackclaw .
Although she was loath to admit
it, Kali’s instruction in the finer points of lizard riding proved helpful. By
the third day, she and Kale appeared as comfortable in the saddle as they did
walking. The rolling plains of Etrunia took them through barren farmlands.
Patches of hard dirt peeked through the dusting of snow that would soon melt
and be replaced by splashes of green as the weather warmed and life returned.
As they rode, the isolation of being surrounded by austere fields almost
convinced Delilah they were the only people in the world. She distracted
herself by conjuring boggins for their lizards to enjoy chasing down and
devouring.
An advantage to crossing Etrunia
over the open plains instead of following the trade roads meant they
encountered no patrols and no brigands. Frankly, Delilah worried more about the
patrols than thieves. She could fight a marauder, but Pancras frowned upon
blasting random patrols of guards and soldiers, like the ones they encountered
at Bramblevale Keep last year.
“As long as we keep the mountains
to our right and head toward Greyhawk Point, we won’t have to worry about
becoming lost.” Pancras wheeled his horse about as he addressed the group. They
rode abreast for now, though most of the time they proceeded single file. The
sun hung past its zenith and slipped behind a bank of wispy clouds high in the
sky. Each day was longer than the previous. Even to Delilah, each felt a little
warmer than its predecessor.
“What kind of gambling do they
have in Muncifer?” Edric shifted in his saddle. For all his earlier protests
about how he disliked
heritage unseen in generations. You should be proud. You should embrace your
heroism and not be ashamed of it.”
Kale doubted his wings were
connected to a draconic heritage, especially since they developed because of an
accident with a chaos rift. He saw them as a useful aberration and nothing
more. Kale kept quiet and let Kali do most of the talking as they made their
way to the stables. The anticipation of seeing his nailtooth lizard mount was
more than enough to push the old drak’s admonishment to the back of his mind.
Pancras assisted Edric with his
pony while Delilah directed her lizard in tentative, looping circles around
them. The nailtooths’ green scales glistened in the morning sun, and their
hissing and snapping rose above the din of the busy city market. A smile spread
across Kale’s face. The nailtooths were unlike any of the cave lizards his
sister and he encountered on Deep Road or in any of the other caves and caverns
near Drak-Anor.
“They’re so small!” Compared to
Pancras’s horse, they seemed pint-sized, though they were still larger than any
of the draks. Leather saddles and saddle bags were strapped to their backs, and
a petite drak cooed at them as she held them in check.
Kali took the reins of her lizard,
placed a foot in the stirrup, and hoisted herself into the saddle. The lizard
hissed and stomped its feet, but it made no move to throw her. She tugged on
the reins and spun it in a circle before stopping in front of Kale.
“The trick is to not hesitate and
be confident. Show them who’s boss. They’re less skittish than horses, and
despite all their hissing and snapping, they won’t eat draks.”
Kale took her word for it.
* * *
As trepidatious as she was
earlier to ride a hissing, toothy lizard, Delilah found her backside hurt much
less than being at the mercy of the wagon. After a few hours of riding, she
became confident it was a superior form of travel to walking.
When Chana first told Delilah the
nailtooth was named Fang, she bit her tongue to prevent sarcasm from spilling
forth. The lizard had two teeth that had grown together as one, making it
appear as if it had one giant fang when the others did not, but Delilah thought
it was a mundane name, like a too-obvious one invented by her brother. At
least his lizard has an intimidating name: Blackclaw .
Although she was loath to admit
it, Kali’s instruction in the finer points of lizard riding proved helpful. By
the third day, she and Kale appeared as comfortable in the saddle as they did
walking. The rolling plains of Etrunia took them through barren farmlands.
Patches of hard dirt peeked through the dusting of snow that would soon melt
and be replaced by splashes of green as the weather warmed and life returned.
As they rode, the isolation of being surrounded by austere fields almost
convinced Delilah they were the only people in the world. She distracted
herself by conjuring boggins for their lizards to enjoy chasing down and
devouring.
An advantage to crossing Etrunia
over the open plains instead of following the trade roads meant they
encountered no patrols and no brigands. Frankly, Delilah worried more about the
patrols than thieves. She could fight a marauder, but Pancras frowned upon
blasting random patrols of guards and soldiers, like the ones they encountered
at Bramblevale Keep last year.
“As long as we keep the mountains
to our right and head toward Greyhawk Point, we won’t have to worry about
becoming lost.” Pancras wheeled his horse about as he addressed the group. They
rode abreast for now, though most of the time they proceeded single file. The
sun hung past its zenith and slipped behind a bank of wispy clouds high in the
sky. Each day was longer than the previous. Even to Delilah, each felt a little
warmer than its predecessor.
“What kind of gambling do they
have in Muncifer?” Edric shifted in his saddle. For all his earlier protests
about how he disliked
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