The way that Davin woke up was never something he could ever imagine, the massive head of Truck had pushed into Davin's tent, pulling it from the ground, the rush of cold air as he was exposed to the elements was not something that he would want to try again any time soon.
"Truck…." Davin groaned as he tried to cover his head from the light and the cold.
"He has been waiting for you to get up for at least three hours," Hugh yelled over to Davin, Truck started to sway his head in an attempt to knock the tent from his head.
"I'm up…" Davin groaned again, pulling himself to his feet. "I hope that you aren't always an early riser."
"Cut him some slack, I think that was the first good night's sleep he has had in at least a day," Hugh said as he picked up the discarded tent.
"I have to agree, He has been in a much better mood since he awoke," Cadence said as they loaded their tent into the trunk of the wagon.
"What do we want to do with him anyway?" Hugh asked bluntly, arms crossed staring at the massive dino.
"He and Nibbles seem to get along okay, so why not take him with us? I could ride him." Davin said as he shrugged deeply, smiling.
"Until we get a proper saddle, I do not think that that would be very comfortable." Cadence looked over the big creature, its large rocky protrusions sticking out all over his back.
"I'm sure if I stack a few blankets it won't be so bad," Davin said optimistically.
"Can sure give it a try if he lets you." Hugh chimed in, a light laugh in his words.
After several attempts and a lot of repositioning, Davin had gotten settled in on top of Truck, sitting near the peak of his back, each step as Truck walked caused long sways reminding him of the one time that he had ridden an elephant at a carnival. Cadence led Nibbles and the cart out of the woods, following the path that Truck had made on his way in, to which Truck easily picked up on following, staying far enough behind the cart so that if Cadence had to reposition or backtrack he wasn’t in the way. The felled tree that Truck had knocked over in order to get away from the road was a bit more difficult for the larger lizard to get passed, Davin opting to hop off so that he didn't get launched off if there were any problems. Walking on the paved road was a much smoother of an adventure, the heavy footfalls of Truck echoed through the empty forest, their pace slow as they were getting a feel for traveling in their new formation, Truck's swaying was one of the more difficult parts for Davin, mostly because there wasn't anything to hold on to. In an attempt to stay on top of him, Davin spread himself out over Truck's back, to which that seemed to help.
Davin didn't know that he'd fallen asleep, he had only known that he woke up as a result of Hugh yelling his name several times.
"I'm up, I'm up," Davin said as he lifted his head from the back of the dinosaur.
"We're almost to Fork in the Road, might want to pull yourself up so you don't look like a corpse on the back of that thing." Hugh laughed lightly at the joke.
"Good point, the last thing we want on our hands is a riot." Pulling himself up, and sitting, crossing his legs to give him a sturdier position.
"I do not think that there will be a riot, Rangers, and Druids coming into towns with strange animal companions is not unusual," Cadence said as they also sat up a little higher on the bench seat next to Hugh.
"You do make a good point, I doubt this will be the wildest thing people have seen," Davin said as he patted Tuck on the back.
The small rest stop town of Fork in the Road was a far more lively place than it had been since the last time that they were through. Since the caravan that they were with was all going to the one destination, but now it was a bustling mess of chaos, the more open center of town was being used as a switch system, and many of the wagons were parked in lanes and marked with flags. Many of the people milling about were drinking warm beverages as they watched as the others were pulling tarps back to look into the wagons, verifying the loads, and placing a new flag. As they pulled closer one of the workers milling about jogged up to them.
"Transfer or small group?" The blue-skinned individual asked.
"Small group," Cadence stated.
"That lane there, just passed is the stables." Pointing to the empty outermost lane.
"Thank you," Cadence said as Hugh started to drive the wagon again.
Having only been to the stables to buy Nibbles and a cart, Davin hadn't had much reason to explore too deeply, but with their own animals and cart, they had to go further in than Davin expected it to be. Quickly greeted by another worker.
"Two and a cart?" They asked as they looked over the group.
"Yes," Hugh answered.
The attendant grabbed the lead of Nibbles and began to guide him deeper into the massive stables, leading him to a walled lane that was more than wide enough.
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"They will be here, how long will you be staying?" Asking as he pulled some large planks off the wall and slotted them into brackets that closed off the path.
"Should be just long enough to get something warm to eat and get them fed too," Davin said as he looked over to Hugh and Cadence who nodded in agreement.
"And did you want us to see about getting a seat for that one?" The attendant pointed to Truck.
"If you have something that will fit? Don’t plan on staying long enough to get a custom saddle." Davin patted Truck as he climbed down, leaving the blankets on top of him.
"We might, not the first time we've had a creature his size, I think we have one meant for tortoises." He continued to put up planks making a fence that surrounded them.
Hugh and Cadence got off the cart and began undoing the harness. "You don’t need to do that, They don’t mind the weight especially if they're just eating." the attendant stated as he pulled out a wooden placard from one of the nooks on the wall and then pulled a matching tag from it. "They'll be here, when you want to leave just talk to the one of us that should be by the door."
"Huh, valet parking, fancy," Davin said as he chuckled.
Hugh and Cadence looked at Davin like he was spouting nonsense again and instead of asking they just shook their heads and shrugged.
The attendant went about his business, getting feed for the animals and re-filling a trough that was next to the wall. Making their way out of the massive stable, seeing a variety of animals that Davin had never seen before and a man that he was more familiar with, but not to the scale of the ones here. They were reminded how cold it was when they stepped across the threshold, the brisk breeze held back by some magical effect that Davin could guess.
"I want to get back south as soon as possible, so just a hot meal and then back on the road, I think would could make it back to…." Davin trailed off. "Hey, Cadence what was the name of the town we met you in?"
"Malach?" Cadence asked, seemingly confused. "We were there just a few days ago, how have you forgotten its name?
"Eh, less forgetting and more never learned it in the first place, we weren't in a good place when we came to town, and it didn’t come up after that…." Davin shied away, looking anywhere else.
"Ah, that is a fair point, you were only a few steps away from a 'respawn' as you have put it." Making their way to the same inn as before.
Davin shivered. "Yeah, that wasn’t the best night."
"I can agree, now let's get some hot food, and a few drinks and get back on the road," Hugh said while he gave an exaggerated shake to emphasize how cold he was. "I'd love to get back to spring as soon as we could."
"Agreed." Davin and Cadence said in unison.
When they had settled at their table, a kettle of stew set above the flames, a pile of rolls, a kettle of hot water, and a mess of bowls, to which they began eating with relish. Warming their bones from the last few days that they'd been on the road, soft groans spread over the table, all of them enjoying the thick stew, reminding Davin of the difference of an all-day stew.
Davin pulled out the ledger to take a look, knowing that if he'd tried to read it on the road it would have been far more difficult while on top of Truck.
Twenty-fifth entry:
I sense it with you, but it is different than it was before, I will have a better look when you make it back to the bastion, be safe on your travels, I do have a new destination for you after you have returned. -C
Davin passed the ledger to his friends, they looked it over as they ate. Once they were done with their food they only lingered a little longer before they all looked and nodded to one another, pulling themselves up and letting out a collective groan. The walk back to the stables was done with a little more enthusiasm, the prospect of making it back to spring in another day or two. When they got back to the stable there was a large saddle stagged just outside the stall that Nibbles and Truck were still munching on some food. Davin ran his hands over the saddle, it was a bit dusty, but nothing that would bother him in the long run, he tried to lift the saddle to see if he could, but it was just heavy enough that he couldn’t get it off the ground.
"We haven't tested it on him yet, he seems to be particular about those around him." The attendant said as he moved from the opposite side of the stall.
"Oh? He didn't hurt anyone did he?" Davin asked, a rush of fear running down his spine.
"Oh, no, we just couldn't get close enough to try, that tail is a bit of a menace." The attendant pointed to the swinging tail.
"Ah yeah, he is still getting used to things." Davin moved into the stall. "Truck, I need you to hold still."
The large lizard turned, its tail swung slowly, Davin had to duck below it the stall wall taking a hit from the tail. Ducking under the tail as Truck swayed it back and forth like that of a dog, having to jump up and climb on top of Truck to get him to calm down. When Davin hopped down in front of Truck, he instantly calmed down, nuzzling into Davin's chest. Davin laughed as the dinosaur sniffed and snuffled into his chest.
"Now while he's distracted," Davin said to the attendant.
The attendant jumped into action, picking up the large saddle with little to no effort, setting it down on top of Truck, checking the clearance, and making some marks
on it before pulling it off again. Pulling out a strange large knife, and sliced into it as if it was a hot knife through butter. Setting it back on Truck the fit nearly perfect, settling onto the back of the dinosaur, the attendant gave the saddle a bit of a push, as to which nothing happened, as if held by magic.
"Done, should be all set." The attendant moved away, pulling down the rest of the planks that closed off the stall.
"What do I owe you for the saddle?" Davion asked as he climbed up.
"I've been sitting on that one for ages, so I'll take five onyx tokens for it, that just covers the basics for anything, it was paid for already, some nonsense about a stray soup pot." The attendant shrugged, a bit of a smile on his face.
"Done, I doubt that I'll see a deal this good again." Davin climbed up into the saddle, easily dropping into the oversized seat, the supple leather cradled him. Satisfied, Davin got down, pulled out the few tokens plus a tip for all of the great service, and passed the tokens over.
"Pleasure doing business with you." Shaking Davin's hand.
Hugh and Cadence climbed into the seat of the wagon, Nibbles still chewing on a bag full of food.
"Okay, you guys lead the way." Davin climbed back into the saddle, as the cart started to move, having barely enough time to settle into his seat before Truck started to move.
The path out of town was a much smoother ride, the saddle making a world of difference, the uneventful trip south had Davin nearly asleep in the saddle, the gentle sway of Truck's steps nearly lulling him asleep.
When they stopped for the night, they were all exhausted, pushing themselves to make it to the next clearing. Hugh quickly started a fire, the group circling closely, the chill in the air less than it had been, now that they were moving south, but the long day on the road drained them of the extra energy that they would normally have, Davin made a quick meal that was much more simple than most of what Davin had made, but he was exhausted, and sleeping was very high on his list of priorities.