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journey.”
    As Pancras bowed and exited the
throne room, he reflected with dismay that Dolios was not only the god of
travel, but also of luck, both good and bad.
     
    * * *
     
    Kale reached under his hat and
scratched his head as he circled the wagon and team of horses Princess Valene
provided for them. The chestnut-colored horses clomped toward him, stomping and
snorting, their breath plumes of smoke in the cold morning air. Edric grunted
as he climbed onto the bench at the front of the wagon. His stubby legs kicked
as he struggled to maintain balance while reaching down to grab the reins.
    “You know how to drive one of
these?” Pancras regarded Edric as he offered Delilah a hand to help her into
the wagon. Kali boosted Delilah up, even as the sorceress tried to brush away
the other drak’s helping hands. She grabbed onto one of the wooden rails that
arced over the bed of the wagon. A canvas cover was rolled up and secured to
one side of the bed, intended for use as protection during foul weather. Kale
hoped they’d seen the last of rain or snow for a while, but the puffy,
rain-laden clouds drifting overhead threatened to dash those hopes.
    “Sure. My sister used to have
one, though hers was drawn by a mule instead of two horses. She ditched it when
the wheel broke, but she kept the mule. I might be rusty, but I think it’ll
come back to me.”
    Pancras offered a hand to help
Kali into the wagon. Kale gave her a boost and then passed their belongings up
to be stowed away. He had doubts about Edric’s ability, given that the dwarf’s
feet dangled in the air above the floorboard, but he kept his misgivings to
himself.
    “Up here, Longshanks.” Edric
patted the bench next to him as he eyed Pancras. “I’m going to need your long
arms and legs until we can modify this thing to fit me better.”
    After Pancras helped Kale up and into
the back of the wagon, he took his place up front next to Edric. The wagon
lurched forward as Edric cracked his whip. Unprepared for such a jolt, Kale
fell backward and grasped at the rails for support. Kali grabbed his arm and
helped him as he righted himself.
    She glanced toward the front of
the wagon. “I still think we should detour to my village and see about getting
some proper mounts for the rest of us.”
    Pancras looked over his shoulder
at her and nodded. “Agreed. We’ll move faster on separate mounts, and we’re
traveling light enough that this wagon is overkill. What’s our route, Kali?”
    Kali clambered past the drak
twins and stood at the front of the wagon. Her head barely came to Pancras’s
shoulder as she stuck her snout in between the dwarf and the minotaur. “Turn
south where the road splits. There should be a marked trail branching off from
that after a ways that leads back toward Almeria. It cuts through some farms
outside the south side of the city. We’ll have to stay on the trail overnight,
but we should reach Honeywater by tomorrow night.”
    “Honeywater? That’s the name of
your village?” Delilah snorted. “Home of the Firescale draks?”
    Kali glared at the laughing
sorceress. “There’s a lake and lots of beehives.” She turned to watch the road
and lowered her voice. “At least there were before the humans started enslaving
us. The lake is still there, but few tend the hives these days.”
    Kale elbowed his sister in the
ribs. She clicked her teeth. “What?”
    “Lay off, huh?”
    Delilah leaned toward her brother,
her voice a hissing whisper. “It’s a stupid name!”
    “No stupider than ‘Twilight
Dungeon.’ Who lives in a dungeon? You live in a place like that, and you’re
asking for people to start trouble!” Kale had years to think about it.
Drak-Anor was a much more respectable name. It even meant “Home of the Draks.”
He liked to think he and Delilah contributed to Sarvesh’s suggestion of that
name.
    Delilah huffed and crossed her
arms over her chest, scowling at Kale. “Yeah, well, you’re not wrong about
that,