- "Those beasts are very... high," Peri said suspiciously, regarding the indifferently munching camel from the ground.
- "Ah, but they are resilient and peaceful animals - and horses don't just have what it takes in the desert," explained an irritatingly cheerful half-orc,who was part of a chain that rented camels to be replaced with fresh ones in the later tradeposts on the Golden Way. The tired ones would then be taken care of and rented to someone who was going the other direction so that there was a steady supply of camels in both ends.
- "Really?" Winski said. "How come the Tuigan horde managed to ride from the desert and almost conquer Thesk, then?"
- "Ah, those were war horses of light cavalry, half-wild animals grown up on the arid plains. By all means rent horses from the Tuigans once you reach them, but trust me on this. You will need camels."
So they packed their supplies on the sixth camel, and mounted their new steeds with wobbling feet.
- "Oh, and when you ride in the desert don't forget to cover your head. And always fill your waterskin when you can. On the other hand, the nights are freezing."
They thanked for the advice and continued the journey.
- "So now it begins in earnest," Peri mused. "The Golden Way."
Sarevok had been quiet and pensive since they began the journey from Telflamm.
- "I can't stop thinking that Tamoko rode this same way to the West. It was just as unknown and mystical to her as Kara-Tur is to us, perhaps even more so as we have, at least, heard her stories. Every tradestop and roadside inn we stop, I wonder whether she had a drink there, if her eyes regarded the same sloping hill as mine..."
- "You will have much more to ponder once we reach Kozakura," Peri said. "We will meet her family and all..."
- "Kozakura is an island, right?" Imoen wanted to know.
- "Yes, or more correctly a state consisting of dozens of small, volcanic islands," Sarevok explained. "The biggest one of them, Shinkoku, is where the emperor and all the big samurai clans live... Crane too. But the smaller islands have many sorts of inhabitants, beasts, ghosts, spirits..."
- "First there is the desert to pass, and then Shou Lung. The Shou have a good reason to think that we from the West are the barbarians. Shou Lung is probably the most powerful nation on Toril, and they have such an old civilization... such a treasure trove of science and philosophy!" Winski explained, getting a dreamy expression in his eyes. "There are unfortunately few books from Shou Lung available in Faerun, but once I get there... and their alchemists!"
- "I wonder how Ilmater will be received there," Jelena pondered.
- "You know what was funny?" Imoen said. "I have never seen people react so well to orcs and half-orcs than in Thesk. They were friendly, even respectful. Usually they are sneered at if not some overzealous knight skewers them on sight."
- "There's a reasonable explanation to that, as to most anything," Winski smiled. "When the Tuigan Horde... isn't it funny that it is a horde and not an army when the would-be conquerors look different from the defenders and are considered beneath them... yes, the Tuigan Horde invaded a big part of Faerun, there was a so-called Western Alliance which managed to stop them in Thesk. Now, a big part of this alliance was a troop of Zentish orcs, and this way they earned the trust and even admiration of the people of Thesk. They are accepted as equals there, and many abandoned Zentharim for a life of farmers and merchants."
- "That makes me think..." Imoen said. "If people were not so sure that orcs are evil and will rob and kill them, then perhaps they wouldn't, at least not so often."
- "I suppose so," Peri said. "But that is a cold comfort for someone who meets an orc, decides to act without prejudice, and notices that the prejudice would have been justified in that case."
- "Sadly you are right," Jelena nodded. "But perhaps people who have nothing to fear from an orc, or even from an army of them for that matter, could try to make a difference. You should know how it is when people shun and hate you for something you can not help."
- "I do," Peri said. "But you know, thinking about such things makes my head hurt. Many orcs ARE bandits and bloodthirsty killers, as it never occurs to them to be something else. So, it is often good for the health of common folk who have no martial skills or protection to be a tad prejudiced. What might be good for the whole, may not be so for an individual person in an individual situation. Then again, all this upholds the status quo. I'd rather have my head hurt for the right reason. Like drinking too much beer."
Jelena didn't answer. She just couldn't think like Peri, with the ironic resignation. She felt that she had to believe in her ideals, no matter how impossible they seemed to achieve. Ilmater, give me the wisdom to appreciate also small victories, she thought.
Sarevok shrugged the discussion off and gazed at the shimmering horizon. Tamoko... I am traveling to your homeland now. No more distractions. Those chopsticks were troublesome... and I have a suspicion that they are not the most alien and demanding thing awaiting me there.
