Haladras

Eleven

Inside the forest, Skylar was again reminded of how incredibly alien this planet was to him. The night before, the woods stood dark and eerie. Today, they felt transformed. Darkness no longer draped the forest floor nor hid creatures within deep shadows. A thin mist sat upon the ground, lightly shrouding the blue-green shapes of ferns and lavender-dappled shrubs. The reddish bark of tree trunks rose tall and majestic out of the mist, from where branches, strewn with moss, hung like furry arms. A quiet stillness pervaded the scene, calming Skylar's nerves as he trailed behind Grim's noiseless footsteps.

His thoughts cleared by the beauty and serenity of his surroundings, Skylar forgot his previous danger and remembered the others. Where had they gone? He was about to ask Grim when the guide suddenly struck off from the path which he'd been following and made for a thick cluster of trees and undergrowth. The vegetation looked no different than any of the other dense areas of the woods. As they drew near it, however, Skylar distinctly heard the low murmur of voices and the grunting of some creature or beast wholly unknown to him.

He followed Grim, who navigated his way through vines and branches until he came around the far side of the trees. When as last Skylar caught up to Grim, he found the reticent guide standing at the threshold of an opening, like a crude doorway into the trees and bushes. Grim motioned for him to enter.

The opening led them into a small clearing within the trees, no larger in girth than the quarters where they had slept the previous night. The clearing was likewise occupied as that room. Krom, Endrick, and Lasseter were all inside, packing the saddle-bags of several beasts, which resembled the one which had nearly trampled him under-hoof.

There were five of these shaggy animals, tethered to the trees, lazily chewing feed supplied by a makeshift trough of branches and bark lashed together with vines.

"That one is yours," said Grim, indicating a beast with sable hair. "Best saddle her up and pack your things, my prince."

Skylar nodded, then approached the feeding beast from behind. For several moments, he stood beside the animal, unsure what to do. Finding something that looked like a saddle resting on a nearby tree limb, he laid it across the animal's back. The animal briefly lifted its muzzle from the feeding trough and turned it in Skylar's direction, flicking its tail. The animal gave no more protest than that, and soon returned both its head and tail to their prior positions.

"Are you planning to ride facing her rear?" asked Endrick, having looked up from his own saddle. "Not that she would mind. But you might look a trifle odd."

Skylar looked at the saddle of Endrick's animal, then back at his own. Endrick grinned and nodded. Flushing slightly at his mistake, Skylar picked up the saddle and turned it to face the opposite direction. It was obvious, now that he inspected it more carefully, that this was the proper placement for it.

"That's the way," said Endrick. "Don't worry, my first time saddling a paqua I forgot to tighten the straps. As soon as that paqua took a turn, the saddle slipped and I went crashing to the ground. I still bear a scar just above my right eyebrow where I hit a stone."

"Paqua," replied Skylar. "Is that what they are? I think my cloak is made out of their fur."

"Likely so. Paquas are only good for their fur, and sometime for carrying burdens. They only know one speed: slow. Don't expect this to be a fast-paced journey."

Soon the paquas were all saddled and ready. The companions led their mounts out of the clearing and along an unmarked trail. After a short distance, the narrow path ran into a broad road. There, they mounted their paquas and set off deeper into the forest.

The companions journeyed along their wooded path in silence, except for the occasional subdued song from Grim. None of which were songs Skylar had ever heard before, yet somehow they whispered familiar memories to him. In one Grim sung of a place called Elydar. And such an inexplicable yearning it produced within Skylar's heart that he ventured to ask the companion where Elydar was. Grim kept on singing, as though he could not hear him, as though his mind and heart were in another place and time.