A verlpax was a creature straight out of a fantasy, there was no doubt about that. Its fur-covered body came in different colors from blue to black, with crystalline spikes protruding from its jaws and head creating a natural-like armor. The wings on its back were more like a decoration than anything else as the creature could not truly fly. However, the wings did allow the verlpax to accelerate at twice its normal running speed for a short duration.

While the beast was tall and seemed ferocious, it was pretty docile and an herbivore. It ate mostly grass but could consume anything that wasn't meat. Fruits were the creatures' favorite snack, especially ones that were juicy and they liked to chew on trees.

There were a lot of pros to having a verlpax, but the cons made the creature expensive. One was that it could eat a lot and without proper training would go wild and rampage throughout the city. Another one was that the verlpax was blind at night, and would refuse to move since it couldn't see a thing. There were a few more that Richard learned about, but he was just excited to have one for himself.

When he first requested to see a verlpax up close he never imagined that he'd have the option to own one right then and there. The thought never crossed his mind.

Now he had one, a young one that was only two years old. Verlpax weren't considered adults until they reached the age of three and grew to their full height.

However, this one was his own as long as he finished the request Issac gave him. Which he did after he was motivated to finish the sword as soon as possible. It did not take Richard much longer to create the replica, which in his opinion was better than the original.

There were some slight alterations to make the sword viable in combat and Issac seemed to enjoy it. Whatever use he would have for it was none of Richard's concern, as he was glad to have a mount of his own. Food would be an issue, but Richard had a plan for that as well.

Now here he was weeks later with the carriage finished his first prototype. It fitted the verlpax nicely. His was a male that was dark in color with red eyes, he gave him the name Dale. Simple and easy to remember.

Dale's been trained to be around humans and could understand some of what people were saying due to their body language. Verlpax were good at reading body language from what Issac told him.

So when Richard finished placing the harness on Dale that was made from metal and leather he smiled. Everything was finished with the carriage, all that was left was to take it out for a test drive and make sure nothing broke along the way. He knew that these creatures were much stronger than horses so he had to build the carriage to be a bit heavier than normal. Which was fine by him since it was made of sturdier material.

The carriage itself was less than half the size of the road here in Evergreen. Richard used a flat piece of wood to measure the road then estimated the halfway point and went a few more inches in so if two of these were on the street at the same time they wouldn't bump into one another.

Hopping into the driver seat Richard grabbed the straps and gave it a gentle whip down. Dale did not enjoy the harness at first but after a week of wearing it and going through the motions, he became a bit more accustomed to it. Although the verlpax was still a bit lazy when receiving commands.

Such as now. Dale turned its large head to look at Richard and gave a big yawn. He was supposed to go forward as they practiced before.

Richard clicked his tongue, he disliked it when things did not go his way. The same could be said for anyone, but it really irked him. Again, and again he did the same motion but the verlpax refused to budge. Instead, the creature looked around and found one of the logs Richard planned on using sometime in the future. It chopped down on it and started chewing it like candy.

He wanted to pull his hair out, but he took a deep breath to calm himself. Patience was a virtue, Richard had to remember that.

After trying for thirty minutes, or what seemed to be thirty minutes Dale finally moved forward pulling the carriage along with him. A lot of it was made from steel but honestly, Richard felt that they were going at a decent pace. Faster than a horse, maybe ten miles an hour if he had to guess.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

He saw the people that were on the streets looking at him with interest. This invention of his was new, something that they'd never seen before. Well, he hoped they hadn't seen it before or else his plan might have to change a bit.

The carriage had a seat for the driver and one other person, while the box was empty. It looked more like the end of a pickup truck than anything else, with a roof on top. This type would be used to move material, lots of materials. But, he also had the idea to put some seats on top with a covering and have the back fold down to reveal a truck for people to store their belongings. That idea was a ways away as Richard wanted to primarily transport goods.

He had Dale go towards Gregor's workshop, and they made it there without any incident. It was fast, and best of all it beat walking.

"What in...!" Gregor began as he spotted the carriage Richard made. He was outside working since the beast tide was still ongoing.

When Richard had him make some parts, he thought that Richard was planning on coming up with something different, but he wasn't expecting this. He knew Richard wanted to make some kind of transportation but this, this was beyond what Gregor imagined.

"Magnificent isn't it?" Richard smiled.

"This is what you were talking about?" Gregor asked.

Richard nodded his head.

"Yeah. Put all that in the back and hop up here." Richard said as he pointed to the arrows that Gregor finished.

Gregor ordered Andy his apprentice to load them up and Gregor grabbed a bunch of arrows only to toss them in the back. When they were all in the back of the carriage Gregor took the seat next to Richard. The view from up here was something else, considering Gregor was naturally short. He's always had to look up at others, but now they'd have to look up at him.

He was glad Richard made some steps allowing him to come up without any hassle. He wished the seat was a bit softer, but one couldn't have it all.

Richard had Dale move forward and this time the verlpax listened. They had to turn a corner to turn around so they could head south towards the gate.

"Is it supposed to be this fast?" Gregor asked.

"Yeah, it can go faster but he's just lazy. Maybe once things calm down and there is open land I can see how fast this creature can truly go." Richard replied.

Gregor caressed his long beard as he was deep in thought.

"If you can make it to a safe place without the verlpax being eaten, then this could come in handy." Gregor said casually.

Richard nodded his head as he knew that was a problem. Besides looking fierce-some and having a fast speed, the verlpax were helpless. Other animals such as the Tyran hunted them down for food. One verlpax could feed an entire family for a year, so some people even ate the beasts. Richard learned all of this from Issac.

"I've thought about that, and right now I'll have to raise some capital before the tide's over with. After it's goodbye Evergreen and hello someplace else." Richard said.

Gregor raised his eyebrow and looked at Richard.

"You're leaving?"

"Not for long, but yeah. I want to explore and learn more about the surrounding cities. You should tag along, it'll be worth it." Richard responded.

Gregor shook his head. "I don't know, who'd watch over my workshop? And what would I even do?"

"Well, I plan on moving products from one place to another. So, you could do the same, you might even come across some rare ore orr something. I'm going to move light at first so there will be more than enough room if you're interested."

Gregor thought about it for a second but shook his head.

"Bah, you're better off asking some others. Especially if you plan on heading east or south, they could restock. You know lots of stores have recently closed due to the shortage, and people are afraid to go out themselves due to the dangers. If this contraption you've made can carry them far and safely, they'd be more than willing to pay for the fee." Gregor told Richard.

It was something he thought about, but hearing it from Gregor only solidified the idea. He wanted to supply the people here in Evergreen with their needs, creating a customer base here. As word got around there would be more people looking for merchandise in the neighboring towns and they'd pay Richard for it.

But, he still needed some money to start the business, and he had to make sure the carriage would withstand the rough road ahead. While he could make another sword and sell it for some money, that would take time. It might be best for him to find an investor, but that would be a hassle in itself.

First test, then he'd either make another weapon he could sell for a lot of money or try something else. He still had not forgotten the idea to sell the lord a ballistic he could mount on the wall. The schematics could be drawn up in a short amount of time, but no one would buy it without seeing if the product could do as stated. Meaning Richard would have to create one first before he could sell the design.

That would be more time-consuming than a sword so that was something for later.

If there was a military auction or something then he could show it off in front of countless lords and they could bid for it. However, there wasn't, nor was that concept thought of.

Richard still had to find what he would buy here in Evergreen that he could sell to other cities.