Chapter 39: On the Road to Capstan Part 2: Riding Lessons

"Is he… is he dead?" One of the stablehands ventured cautiously.

As the seconds ticked by with no movement forthcoming, the party began to relax. "I think it's over mun," Lofty declared, though he had the sense to speak solemnly instead of victoriously. The atmosphere became one of sombreness as the stablehands lowered their heads to mourn the manticore's passing, and the air became filled with the sound of sniffling and barely stifled sobs.

A few of the other manticores emerged from their stables and approached their fallen companion hesitantly. They nudged his body with their hands and crooned at him in questioning. When it became clear to them that he was no longer among the living, their crooning became one of mourning. The other manticores were drawn over to comfort them, as well as some of the stablehands.

The party exchanged looks. "Those poor manticores," Tani uttered sorrowfully with an expression to match. She lowered her head and mumbled quietly, "I hope that wasn't their dad…"

Jing Li approached the party. He spared a woeful expression at the fallen manticore before speaking. "You have our gratitude for taking care of this matter, Lady Ya Ya, Your Majesty. We only hope that someday a cure for such an affliction can be found."

"As do we all," Ya Ya replied sombrely.

"If only we had an idea of the cause responsible for such a malady," Aranella added and shrugged apologetically as she continued, "But I'm afraid that eludes as well."

Roland folded his arms and looked down at Lofty as he asked. "You're sure it has nothing to do with Doloran?"

"Positive, mun," Lofty replied with a nod. "It's like I said, the darkness infecting the tainted monsters, and the darkness that was inside Pugnacious' heart," he shook his head, "just aren't the same see." He folded his arms and frowned as he continued. "If I had to explain it, it's like the taint is… well… older somehow."

He frowned as the others exchanged puzzled looks. "Older?"

"Yeah, mun," he nodded, "like a wine that's been ageing for a really long time."

"I see…" He blinked. His frown deepened as he looked away in thought. A darkness older than even Doloran, he wondered. Could the source of this other darkness be somehow connected to the Horned One? Perhaps Allegoria had been experimenting with or studying it and had inadvertently caused the Horned One to appear? Or maybe it was no accident and they had got more than they had bargained for when they had summoned it? He was drawn out of his musings when Ya Ya spoke.

"You have our condolences for your loss, Jing Li," she said. "And we must apologise for leaving you to deal with the aftermath so abruptly, but we have business to attend to in Capstan-Upon-Hull as I previously explained."

"Yes, of course," Jing Li replied though with a sigh. "The journey down to Capstan is a long one and you would of course wish to leave at your earliest convenience."

"Indeed," she nodded, "And I am certain that you," she gestured towards him, "would prefer us not to linger and intrude upon your grieving."

He conceded the point with a lowering of his head. "I suppose you're right. Very well. Then let us introduce you to the manticores that you will be riding today, and see about getting you on your way."

"Thank you, Jing Li," said Evan, inclining his head in gratitude.

"In order for you to gain their trust, we are going to have you feed and groom them," he continued. "Once you are done with these tasks, we will show you how to put on their riding gear. Each manticore is able to carry two people, so your party will be splitting into three teams of two riders. You will all be instructed on how to steer your manticore should someone need to take control of the reins from another." He gestured ahead of him towards the manticore stables as he said, "If you would please wait by the stables, we will bring over the manticores and the food."

So the party moved away to wait by the stables as instructed.

"As Jing Li said we will be riding in three teams," said Ya Ya. "So we should decide who will be in each while we are waiting."

"That's a good idea," said Aranella. She assumed a thoughtful posture that Roland mirrored as she examined the party.

"We should try to split our teams into those with as much equal weight distribution as possible," said Roland. "Unfortunately Batu here," he gestured to Batu who sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "makes that slightly difficult." Aranella hummed in agreement. "Since Tani and Evan are around the same weight, then one of them should ride with him." She hummed her agreement again.

Evan and Tani exchanged looks. He raised a hand to his chin as he asked her, "Do you really think so?"

Tani placed her hands on her hips. "I'm pretty sure I weigh more then you actually." Evan yelped as she punched his arm. "You've got no muscle." He clutched the arm as she placed a hand on the top of her head then moved it over Evan's in order to measure the difference in their heights. "And I'm taller than you."

"You're probably right," Roland conceded. "But you're forgetting to take Lofty into account as well."

She raised her eyebrows in realisation. "Oh, that's true."

Lofty put his hands on his hips. "Oi. Don't you go forgetting about me now, mun!"

She smiled down at him apologetically. "Sorry, Lofty. I won't do it again."

He folded his arms. "I can't believe you did it in the first place. I'm unforgettable, mun."

Tani giggled. "You can say that again."

"So it's up to us then?" Evan asked, one hand raised to his chin. "To decide who we want to ride with?"

"More or less," Roland nodded, "but one of you," he held up a finger, "should be riding with Batu for the manticores' sake."

"Aye." Batu spread his hands at Evan and Tani with an imploring grin. "So who be wantin' te ride with ol'Batu then?"

They both exchanged looks again and spoke in unison. "I don't mind." Evan sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as she giggled. "Ah…"

"We have four days," she continued. "So we can always swap around if you'd like. I'll go with Batu if you want to ride with Aranella this time."

He nodded. "Yes, all right. I'll ride with Batu tomorrow."

She nodded. "Sounds like a plan," she said before turning to Batu with a grin. "It looks like it's you and me then Boss."

He returned the grin with one of his one that nearly went from ear to ear. "Aye," he nodded and raised a fist for her to bump her own against. "Just like old times, when ye were still learnin' te fly."

Roland looked to Ya Ya and gestured towards her as he said, "Looks like you're with me then."

"Indeed," Ya Ya smiled. "I have experience with riding a manticore so I can take the reins this time if you would prefer?"

"Please," he replied gratefully.

Jing Li and two other stablehands lead over three of their manticores. "Here are the manticores you will be riding," he said. He shrugged apologetically as he continued. "They were not my first choices, but I had to make some changes in response to what has just happened," he heaved a heavy sigh before continuing, "as I'm sure you can understand." They nodded and he looked to the manticores as he added in explanation. "They are from the stock kept by the stables at Capstan and are still in the process of integrating into the pack, something that would seem to have served as a blessing at this time." He turned back to the party. "Now then, if you have decided who will be riding with who I will introduce you to your manticores." Once the party had split into their three teams, Jing Li started with Roland and Ya Ya. "Lady Ya Ya, this is Longma. He is not the best suited for beginners such as your riding partner as he can be a bit stubborn at times, but as you have previous experience with riding you should have no trouble with him."

"I see." Ya Ya looked to Roland as she raised a hand to her chin in thought. "In that case it might be best if I lead him the whole way."

"Sure," Roland replied. "I don't mind."

"He will respond to your directions if you are decisive and assertive," Jing Li clarified. "Otherwise Lady Ya Ya can always assume control if he's being particularly difficult."

"Right," he conceded with a nod. "I guess we'll see."

Jing Li went to the next group. "King Evan, this is Linma. She has a very mild temperament and is therefore perfectly suited to beginners such as yourself and your attendant."

"That's a relief," Aranella sighed. She rubbed the neck of her neck as she continued. "I lack any kind of experience with handling livestock of any kind, so this will be my first."

"Ding Dong Dell does not tame manticores as I understand," Jing Li observed with a tilt of his head.

"We do not actually have manticores to tame. So you can imagine our surprise at beholding our first wild manticore."

"Ah," he nodded slowly. "Well that certainly explains it. And yes, I'm sure you were. I can say I felt the same upon seeing my own for the first time. We are taught about them in school of course, but the lessons simply cannot," he shook his head for emphasis, "prepare you for their sheer size."

She chuckled. "Indeed."

"Pah," Lofty scoffed, his tiny arms folded across his chest. "That's nothing compared to my true, Kingmakerly appearance now."

"So you keep saying."

But Evan raised his fists in anticipation. "I can't wait to see it, Lofty. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait."

Lofty placed his hands on his hips, puffing up in pride. "It sure will be, mun! It sure will be."

"Your Kingmaker is quite a character, especially considering his diminutive stature," Jing Li commented.

Lofty shook his fist at him. "Now listen hyur you!" he objected as Aranella folded her arms and said, "Now that is something we all agree on."

Jing Li managed a smile before moving onto Tani and Batu. "This here is Tianma. She may require a bit of a firm hand though not for stubbornness but for being easily distracted. She has a reasonably amiable temperament otherwise, she just needs some help staying on track. But she will also require a modicum of understanding as well. If you become frustrated or lose your patience with her you will lose her cooperation."

"Right," Batu and Tani chorused, nodding in understanding. "Don't worry," Tani continued, smiling at Tianma in reassurance. "We won't do that."

Two more stablehands appeared carrying three buckets of food between them. In each bucket was some raw meat as well as two prongs made out of wood. Jing Li nodded at the two stablehands after they had placed the buckets down. They nodded back and left to return to their duties. "Before we begin, we will have the manticore's become familiar with your scent. Simply present your hand to your manticore one at a time, and allow them to smell it to their satisfaction."

Ya Ya presented her hand to the manticore who sniffed at it curiously before crooning what sounded like a greeting and she smiled. "And hello to you, Longma."

"I'll go first," said Aranella as Evan hesitated. She gingerly held out her hand and tried not flinch back as Linma sniffed at it with more curiosity than she thought was warranted.

Batu gestured for Tani to go ahead. "After you, lass."

Tani grinned. "Thanks, Boss." She had to restrain herself from thrusting out her hand to the manticore as she didn't want to frighten it. Tianma moved in to sniff the hand and she had to restrain herself once more but this time from trying to pet it.

Then it was Roland, Evan and Batu's turn. Roland calmly held out his hand and had to wait patiently as the manticore sniffed at it for easily twice as long as he had Ya Ya's. When Longma pulled back, he licked his nose.

"You must smell very different to the humanfolk from Capstan," Ya Ya commented with some amusement.

"Yeah, I'm sure I must," Roland replied as he wondered if the manticore could tell that it wasn't just another nation that he was from, but another world as well.

Evan cautiously held out his hand and Linma sniffed it. She looked from Evan to Aranella and tilted her head to one side, rohw'ing in either puzzlement or confusion. "I wonder what she thinks of us," he wondered aloud.

Aranella gestured in suggestion. "I'd imagine we must have a similar scent to a certain extent given that we're both humanfolk from Ding Dong Dell." She folded her arms. "But no doubt your grimalkin heritage must be confounding her too." Evan hummed in agreement.

"Don't forget about me down by hyur, mun," said Lofty. Linma looked down at him and he gestured for the manticore to come closer. Linma titled her head and prr'd in curiosity, and dropped to all sixes for a closer inspection. Lofty had to backpeddle away when she tried to paw at him with a paw that was almost the same size as he was. "Oi! None of that now!" he objected. "I ain't one of youer toys!" She desisted after he sought refuge behind one of Evan's legs.

"Higgle pig hig?" The higgledies asked, but none of the manticores reacted to their presence.

"No luck, mun," Lofty replied. "Doesn't seem like they can see you." The higgledies deflated at that.

Batu chuckled as Tianma's whiskers tickled his hand.

"Very good," said Jing Li. "Now that you are all acquainted," he gestured to the buckets of meat, "go ahead and feed the manticores with the provided tongs." The party picked up a wooden tong each and pulled out a chunk of meat. The manticores crooned in delight and took the offered chunks of meat in their large paws. While they held the meat in their hands, they took bite sized chunks out of it which they swallowed whole, and every last scrap that could be fished from the bucket disappeared down their gullets.

"Gosh, they ate everything," Evan commented, looking into the empty bucket with an expression of mild surprise and disbelief.

"They must've been hungry," Tani agreed.

"Aye." Batu looked down at Lofty with a grin, his hand on his hips. "They be'avin' an appetite te match yours, Yer Mighty One."

"As if!" Lofty scoffed. "There's no one that can match me for appetite, mun! I could eat circles around this lot!"

"Excellent," said Jing Li once the manticores had moved onto licking their paws and washing their faces, signifying the end of feeding time. "Now we will move onto grooming. You will find a stiff bristled brush for their fur and a scrubbing brush for their scales hanging on the walls inside their stables. Please choose which of you will be doing which."

"I want to do the brushing!" Tani declared as she raced to be the first to grab the stiff bristled brush from off the wall of the nearest stable.

"Oh, me too!" Evan cried, as he ran into another.

"Evan," Aranella sighed. "I don't think you're tall enough for that."

"Aye," Batu agreed with a nod. "An' you as well, lass," he said to Tani.

Evan and Tani both aww'd in disappointment. "But we want to brush their fur," they whined.

Jing Li stepped in. "You need not worry about any height problems, as the manticores can be instructed to sit in order to overcome this. You will be needing to learn it anyway in order to be able to get into the saddle, so if you would all please watch me, the command is simply thus." He raised a hand to Tianma's face and lowered it as he commanded, "Sit." Tianma immediately stopped washing her face and sat. He smiled, "Good girl," before turning to Aranella, Batu, Evan and Tani. "And there you see the problem is solved."

Aranella gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Yes, I do see."

"So can I brush her fur now?" Tani asked.

"Aye, lass," Batu replied. "It don't be seemin' like an issue no more."

Roland turned to Ya Ya who spoke before he could even open his mouth. "Would you mind if I did the brushing, Mr Roland? I've always found it be very soothing."

He smiled and gestured for her to go ahead. "Not at all."

"Thank you."

Once everyone had made their decisions and had the correct brush in hand, Jing Li spoke again. "Very good. Now that you're ready to begin grooming, those of you who are brushing their fur, begin with their manes before moving onto the rest of their body. Those who are scrubbing their scales should begin at their tails." He raised a finger. "Scrub against the direction the scales lay in and scrub them gently." He shook his head, "You will not need to apply a lot of force to remove the dead skin and dirt."

Everyone then went to their manticores to begin the grooming. Longma stopped washing his face when Ya Ya commanded him to sit and he obediently sat, seeming to anticipate what was coming next. As she brushed his mane, he gripped her arms with his large paws and angled his head to direct the brush strokes. Almost immediately, a low rumbling noise could be heard emanating from deep within his chest.

As Ya Ya groomed his mane, Roland knelt beside his tail and gently scooped it into his lap. It was completely compliant and its eyes were half lidded in pleasure. It raised its head in mild curiosity and its forked tongue licked the air millimetres from his face before it sank back into his lap. Deeming this permission to begin scrubbing, he did thus, running the brush gently back and forth along its back and its eyes slid fully closed. "They sure love being groomed, huh?" he commented conversationally as he worked.

"Wouldn't you?" Ya Ya replied easily. "It's essentially a full body massage they receive every day."

He smiled. "Yeah, good point," he conceded. "That would be nice."

"In times like these I find myself envying the manticores."

"Heh. I'll bet; A life of simplicity and no responsibilities. Who wouldn't be envious of that?"

She chuckled at his rhyme. "Indeed."

"So how much riding have you done?"

"I used to do a fair amount of riding before I became Second Roller, when I had more freedom and time on my hands." Her expression became wistful as she continued. "These days much like reading, I ride when I can squeeze it in. But it's been a while since my last excursion; The last time I was here they had yet to add Longma, Linmaand Tianma to their stock."

"I see."

"And what of you, Mr Roland? You said you had no previous experience with riding, and I over heard Aranella say that there weren't any manticores in the lands controlled by Ding Dong Dell. Does this mean the same is true of Broadleaf? That you have nothing of the like in Autumnia?"

Roland contemplated the question. Since Ya Ya was going to be travelling with them now in order to represent Goldpaw in the Treaty of Alliance, he would have to strongly consider levelling with Ya Ya about where he was really from, at least before they set their sights on Broadleaf. But not here, he decided, not yet. "We do have something similar," he lied, having no idea if that was actually true, but for the following statement made an educated guess considering they were a nation founded on the principle of technological advancement. "But we replaced them with technology. So now instead of manticores, we have machines to take us from place to place."

Ya Ya's eyes lit up in fascination. "I see," she replied earnestly. "Since you intend for Broadleaf to be recruited to join the alliance, then I should very much like to see that for myself."

"Well, given that Pugnacious has chosen you as Goldpaw's representative, I'm sure you will. But first thing's first; We've gotta get Hydropolis on board, and to go there we need a boat."

"Yes, of course," she nodded. "We must focus on our priorities."

Once the grooming was finished, something that took about half an hour, they moved onto the riding gear. The head collar was tightened and secured to the manticore's horns, with the reins being attached to the outer sides. Next was the saddle blanket to protect the manticore's back, then the saddle itself. Each saddle sat two people and were long enough to accommodate a second pair of handles for the second rider to grip onto, and were padded to raise the riders up so they could see over the manticore's head. The saddle was secured to the manticore by two straps that looped under its belly and was buckled on the lefthand side.

"Now we shall move onto the riding instruction," said Jing Li once all the manticores had been geared up. "Please lead your manticores and follow me." They followed him back towards the entrance gates, to the open stretches of land they had hurried through on their way to the stables. "Lady Ya Ya," he said. "If you could go first in order to show the others how its done?"

"Yes, of course," Ya Ya replied. She instructed Longma to sit so she could climb onto the saddle, then took the reins in her hands and with two clicks of her tongue, commanded Longma to rise.

"Well remembered," Jing Li complemented with a smile. "Now, please demonstrate some basic controls by directing Longma to walk down to the first jump obstacle and then back." Ya Ya nodded and squeezed name's sides with her heels, not so hard as to be painful but hard enough to be felt, and name began to walk. "As Lady Ya Ya has just demonstrated," Jing Li spoke, gesturing after Ya Ya and Longma, "some gentle pressure to the manticore's sides will command them to walk; You do not need to kick them in the sides, or squeeze very hard. One will instruct them to walk, two squeezes or a second while walking will increase their speed to a trot, and three or another while trotting will increase their speed to a gallop. A fourth squeeze while galloping will increase their speed yet further to their topmost speed, but this isn't something they can't keep up for very long and is therefore something to be restricted to emergencies."

The group muttered their understanding and resumed observing Ya Ya ride. She had by now reached the first jump obstacle and pulled on the reins, instructing Longma to turn. He resisted at first displaying the stubbornness that Jing Li had warned them about, but Ya Ya asserted her authority and he obeyed, turning away from the jump obstacle and walking back to where the party was. "As Lady Ya Ya has again demonstrated, and I'm sure you may have already guessed, to turn the manticore you need only pull on the reins in order to turn their head in the desired direction." He shook his head, "You will not need to tug them very hard to increase the turn, simply pull and hold and then release when they have turned the required amount. Pulling on both ends will instruct the manticore to either stop or reduce its speed. Once again you do not need to pull hard, only as long as needed."

Ya Ya pulled back on the reins once they had returned and Longma stopped. As she hopped down from the saddle, Jing Li looked around at the others. "Now, who wants to go next?"

Tani's hand shot into the air. "Me!" She declared, waving her arm around. "Me, me! I want to go next!"

Batu chuckled. "Go ahead then, lass."

Tani commanded Tianma to sit and eagerly clambered into the saddle. She grabbed the reins in her hands, a grin plastered over her face and clicked her tongue twice, instructing Tianma to stand.

"Do you need me to go over anything?" Jing Li asked.

"No thanks," she replied shaking her head, the grin not leaving her face. "I'm good." She squeezed Tianma's side twice and they were off at a trot.

Jing Li watched after her with his eyebrows raised before turning back to Batu to remark, "Your daughter is quite… precocious for her age."

Batu threw back his head and laughed. "That she be!" He declared with pride and added, "She takes after'er mother, she does."

Roland went next, followed by Aranella, then Batu. Then it was Evan's turn. They watched him timidly direct Linma down to the first jump obstacle where he stopped the manticore, turned her, then started her walking again.

"It might be best if I took the reins today," Aranella concluded once he had dismounted.

"Yes please," he agreed.

Once everyone felt confidant enough – or at least as confidant as they were going to get – to ride the manticores without supervision, it was finally time to saddle up and begin the journey down to Capstan-Upon-Hull.

Jing Li took them through some pre-riding warm up stretches for the ride ahead before they actually climbed into the saddle. "Safe travels, Lady Ya Ya, and to you and your party, King Evan," he said, inclining his head in a parting bow. "I would see you to the gates, but," he looked back at the stables, "I'm afraid the day has given us a rather unpleasant matter to attend to…"

"We understand," Ya Ya reply. "But thank you for instruction, Jing Li. And farewell."

He inclined his head once more. "And to you, Lady Ya Ya, King Evan."

Ya Ya turned in the saddle to speak to Roland after Jing Li had departed. "Mr Roland, if you could keep an eye on the others while we ride?"

"Sure thing," he nodded.

"Thank you." She raised her voice so that the others could hear her. "We'll be camping the first and third nights," she informed them. "There is a lodge halfway where we can stay for the second night, and by the forth we should've hopefully arrived in Capstan. Are we all ready to depart?"

There was a chorus of confirmation. "Let's get this show on the road, mun!" Lofty called back.

"Higgle pig!" The higgledies seconded. Runcible was perched on Roland's shoulder, Wiff-Waff was sitting in Evan's lap with Lofty, and Frumious was clinging to Batu's headscarf.

"And so we shall." She squeezed Longma's side and they began to walk, Stable hands held the gates open and Ya Ya waited for the last manticore to pass through before she picked up their speed to a trot. Roland glanced up at the sun to gauge the time. It was still hanging fairly low in the sky, so he guesstimated it to be around nine in the morning; A little later than they would've liked, but the battle with the tainted manticore had meant that it couldn't be helped.

Ya Ya lead them down to the trail that headed south past Goldpaw and down to the coast, and waited until they were all on it before increasing the speed to a gallop; They were finally, truly on the way to Capstan-Upon-Hull.

Roland took in the sights along the way while making sure to keep an eye on the others as they rode. Goldpaw passed slowly by on the right and though it was some distance away, the city's multitude of colours could still be seen and admired, until the trail curled away, putting the nation behind them.

The path took them past expansive paddy fields owned and cultivated by Goldpaw.

Workers could be seen working in the fields, tending to the rice crops, and soldiers were patrolling the perimeter to keep the monsters away. A skirmish broke out between a small group of soldiers and the local grimchilla not too far out of their way, so they decided to stop and assist before resuming their travels.

The road continued on, and as the sun moved through the sky, the mountain range that ran down the western side of the Calmlands passed lazily by on the right.

Roland began to notice that the further south they went, the more trees with red leaves began to pop up on either side of the trail with increasing frequency. They were naturally occurring rather than as a result of the trees beginning to shed their leaves, but it made him wonder for the first time exactly where in the year they were all the same. It had been cold enough even in the northern part of the Summerlands for him to have been running around in his heavy greatcoat without needing to take it off, so did this mean they would need to prepare for winter in the Heartlands in the not to distant future? He'd have to bring this up with the others when he was able to and if he remembered.

Eventually they came to another bridge, one that crossed a small river, the waters flowing leisurely beneath. Unlike the one that spanned the lake in front of Goldpaw, this was a drawbridge and made of wood. The bridge was raised and lowered by cranks on either side of the pulley system, and was a job that required two people on each crank. As they were approaching the bridge, four sailors were raising it to allow the passage of a line of small sailing barges carrying a load of barrels up the river to Goldpaw. Roland was surprised to discern that the crew of each of the sailing barges were humanfolk, or were at least predominantly; He caught sight of the odd dogfolk sailor here and there as well.

"What are they transporting?" He asked out of curiosity, since they had no other choice but to wait for the time being, until the boats had passed through and the bridge had been lowered.

"Fish," Ya Ya replied simply. "Or mostly at least; They may be bringing some other varieties of seafood as well. Those sailing barges are from Capstan-Upon-Hull. A portion of the fish caught by the fishermen at Capstan are loaded into barrels, then the barrels are sailed from Capstan and up the river where they are then sold to Goldpaw. Otherwise it would take at least four days to transport over land."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I had wondered about that."

She tossed a smile over her shoulder. "Well, now you know."

"How often does the supply run happen?"

"Supply depending, they run fish and other seafood up to Goldpaw once every five days."

"I see. And how long does the trip take?"

"About two days or more, weather depending.

"Right." He was following the river back up to Goldpaw as a thought was occurring to him. "You know, since you have a more direct route to Capstan, do you not use it to run a ferry service?"

"Oh we do actually. But it's currently closed for routine maintenance. And will be for another few weeks or so."

"Oh, I see."

"Of course if it wasn't and was still running, we would've been able to shave two days off our travel time."

"Wouldn't that have been convenient?" He remarked wryly.

She chuckled. "It certainly would. But perhaps you could bring King Evan and Miss Tani back to Goldpaw when the ferry service resumes, so that you may all experience it for yourselves?"

He smiled. "I'm sure they'd like that. And maybe we will."

Ya Ya turned the manticore and raised her voice so the others could hear. "As we're waiting, I thought we could stop here for lunch if you're all hungry," she suggested.

There was an enthusiastic chorus of confirmation. "Thought you'd never ask, mun!" Lofty shouted back. So they dismounted the manticores and hobbled away to one side.

"Me achin' legs," Batu whined while Roland silently thought the same and the others wordlessly added their agreement.

"Yes," Ya Ya smiled. "Riding can be a surprisingly strenuous activity as I'm sure you've discovered."

"Aye," he replied gruffly. "They not be like the skimmers at all."

"I'll show you some stretches to help before we eat," she offered.

"Please," Aranella replied so Ya Ya took them through some stretches that had them wincing and gasping but also managed to loosen some of the tension in their muscles. They eased themselves to the grass once they were done and pulled out their lunch.

Aranella had bought some bread and bread rolls at the market and had prepared them some sandwiches filled with slices of meat, cheese, some kind of leafy vegetable and tomatoes which she passed out to the others. Ya Ya on the other hand had pulled out some steamed buns. They all ate and quenched their thirst in silence and after they were finished took a moment to massage their still aching muscles.

Ya Ya looked back at the bridge. The small procession of boats had long since passed and the bridge had been lowered. "Are we ready to continue?" She asked.

"About as ready as we'll ever be," Aranella replied.

"How much farther do we have to go today?" Tani asked.

"You see that small copse of trees to the south there?" Ya Ya asked as she pointed ahead.

Tani shielded her eyes to look. "I see it."

"I'm hoping to make it that far today. It's sheltered by the trees so that makes it a good spot to set up camp. And we should arrive there before sundown, so we'll have time to recover from the day's riding."

"Sounds good," said Roland. They packed up and were on their way once more.

A/N: The manticores take their names from the longma, the tianma and the qillin, of Chinese mythology.