They returned to the courtyard, where Hessa told her to drop off part of the baggage on the wagon. She kept one saddlebag and carried it on her shoulder. Then, she looked around for a while, before she approached an elderly man sitting on a wagon, consulting a large scroll and scribbling on a wax tablet. He was thin, dressed in faded dark blue, linen clothes that appeared expensive until Nua noticed how badly worn they were. His hands were soft and stained with ink, he was wearing small, round eyeglasses and a knitwear cap on top of his head.

“Come, I’ll introduce you to some people”, Hessa said. “Ezekiel, this is Nua, my helper.”

“Nice to meet you”, said Nua.

“Oh, a new one, and about time”, the man nodded. “I’m Ezekiel, the caravan’s stargazer. It means that I read the constellations to lead us in the wild. Hessa here”, he pointed with his stylus “Goes ahead and tests my routes in practice.”

“How come – about time? There were other ones?” Nua blurted.

“They weren’t keepers”, said Ezekiel and adjusted his glasses. “Isn’t she too petite, Hessa? Are you that desperate?”

“City folks are short”, the huntress stated, “But cunning.”

“If that’s what you’re saying. Do you have a moment? I need to consult you on a detail or two.”

“We’ll talk after dinner. Come on, Nua. Let’s look for Idris.”

They walked away, heading in the direction of the stables. Nua noticed a large group of armed people in front. Unlike the soldiers stationed at the junkyard, who sported identical lamellar armors and gladii, these warriors couldn’t be more different from each other, like a flock of exotic birds. Nua saw them wearing thick leathers or bronze, spears, javelins, or swords of different lengths and curvature, with a dazzling parade of colorful capes, jackets embossed or embroidered with patterns she couldn’t read from the distance, and headgear decorated with feathers.

“Why do they dress like that?”, she asked Anki.

“Mercenaries, probably”, the king answered. “They choose their gear themselves, and each of them is his own advertisement. This sort of diversity can turn out disastrous or great in battle, depending on the leader.”

“Don’t let Ezekiel discourage you”, Hessa said meanwhile, “He likes to mess with new people. You’ll find captain Idris more approachable.”

The huntress walked straight to one of the tallest men, towering over the rest of them. He was easily as big as Flavius, shaved bald, and just like the prince, he had an impressive beard, coiffed and neatly trimmed. Nua suppressed her instinct, which told her to run.

“Nua, this is captain Idris.”

“Hello there”, the man looked down. He doesn’t have the eyes of a killer, the girl thought. Or he just behaves in front of Hessa. She didn’t believe in powerful men being nice to the weak; all her life proved the contrary. “I guess you want to show her Maximus? Let’s go to the stables.”

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This time, Nua entered the building from the opposite end, so the stable boy she remembered was nowhere in sight. There were others, scurrying around, carrying feed, or cleaning the animals. The stalls were meant for musushu, and sure enough, they approached the biggest one, an enormous black-and-white spotted drake with an impressive crown of horns.

“This is Maximus”, said Idris, then handed Nua a round sticky object. “Here, give him this snack. This way he’ll know that you’re a friend.”

Nua froze in shock, then looked at the musushu. It was watching her, sniffing. Its head was twice as big as hers and its jaws could break bones. She glanced at what she was given. It was a ball made of barley and dried fruit, held together by a sticky substance, probably sweet. In any other circumstances, she would eat it herself.

“Hold the palm open”, Idris instructed. “Like this.”

Her heart pounding, the girl obeyed, and slowly extended her hand toward the drake’s maw. Maximus leaned in, presenting a menacing array of teeth. She had the time to notice that they grew in rows, one behind another, and figured that she was inches away from losing her fingers, but the steed gently plucked the barley ball and withdrew. Then, he gave out a loud snort.

“Who’s the good boy?”, the captain patted the drake’s neck. Nua thought that she peed a little.

“You need to get used to them”, said Hessa. “You’ll be cleaning them every day, and checking their feet for the stones that got stuck between their claws. You’ll practice first with Maximus. He is very patient, a good boy indeed. My Shadow is a mean harpy. Just don’t tell her that face to face. I prefer a helper with both her hands intact.”

Nua blinked, still frozen. The drake’s hind claws were longer than her palms.

“She likes mutton jerky and pressed figs.”, the huntress added. The musushu were apparently fed better than Nua for all her life, but right now, it was not her most important concern.

“Anki”, she subvocalized. “I know why the others left.”

“It’s just a domesticated animal, Nua. You’re going to do fine.”, Anki reassured. “They probably left because of the ghouls.”

“You are not making it sound any better.”, she rubbed her face with the non-sticky hand. “Wait. Anki, can you teach me about the musushu? Have you ever been riding animals or just machines? You weren’t probably cleaning them, though.”

“Nua. I had my own stable of thoroughbred drakes for recreation, and any good rider needs to take care of their own steed, even if they have stable service to help them out. It creates a bond. Don’t worry. This, at least, I can help you with. Although I think that you won’t be lacking teachers in that department. I am wondering, though, about the desert monsters.”

“No kidding.”

“Some of them descend from the experimental or military hybrids that I remember,” the spirit said. “Like the scorpion people, for example. Others, however, emerged on their own. I will be glad to learn about them and classify them. I have gathered bits and snippets of knowledge about this new world. Still, there’s a lot I do not understand. Try to get into the good graces of that Ezekiel. He looks like a scholar.”

“I don’t think he likes me.”

“He doesn’t believe that you will last. Prove him wrong.”

“It’s… I… can I, really? Not that far ago, a cleaning job was too hard for me. I’m not strong. And I can’t risk with ether, yet. I do quick mathematics in my head, and so they think I’m smart. But I’m not that much smarter.”

They were following Hessa again, going deeper into the stables. Anki hovered in sight.

“First of all, you do not appreciate the speed you’re currently learning at. With all the new experiences and the healing, your brain is like a sponge. In a good way, that is. And if we’re speaking about strength… there’s something you’ll be having here, that so far, you needed to replace with ether.”

“What?”

“Honestly”, Anki said, “You must’ve been very distracted not to pay attention when Hessa mentioned dinner. My nose tells me it’s not the barley gruel.”

The girl looked at the floating blue blob, amused.

“Figuratively, Nua. Figuratively speaking.”