The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 981: Wagons In The Sand

The shopkeeper grabbed the wagon by its drawbars and rolled it so it was facing the open gates, then followed Karl back in so he could help Rae fix the building.

She already had it nearly finished, it only took a few more finishing touches to get it just right.

”We did the floor between the levels, as it was damaged, but I wasnʼt sure how polished you liked the surface. I just reset it to the slightly textured tiles that I am used to. It prevents slipping on wet stones after a shower.” Karl offered as they completed the work.

”That will work just fine. I donʼt actually live in the apartment over the shop, I live across the street with my wife and in-laws.” He explained, with a gesture towards the back alley, away from the gates.

”Ladies, our ride awaits. Thor, you can go check out the new carriage now. Itʼs ready whenever you are. Rae might have to make a custom harness for you, but other than that, we can leave any time.” Karl instructed.

Thor smiled and jogged out back before transforming into a reduced size version of himself, suited to the carriage.

Everyone else climbed inside, while Karl took a seat on the driverʼs bench and opened the sliding panel into the carriage.

”Do we have enough seats for everyone?” He asked.

”More than enough. There are even folding tables in here so that we can work as we travel, as long as we donʼt mind the bouncing.” Dana called back.

Thor nodded in satisfaction and pulled the carriage out of the yard and to the gate, where the guards waved goodbye to them before returning to their inspections of the incoming wagons.

Thor carried on up the road for most of an hour at a casual trot that was just slow enough not to severely jostle the ladies on the road. This carriage was better than any of the wagons they had bought before, and he could make excellent time without causing anyone discomfort.

[There is a path here, I can sense the beasts that the army took this way. We should follow this path.] Thor announced as they topped a ridgeline.

[Follow your instincts. We should find something good if we follow the army.] Karl agreed.

The wagon paths were clear to anyone who passed by. The long grass had been damaged and torn from the ground by the armyʼs passage, a column of recovering destruction surrounding deep parallel ruts from the wagons.

Once they were off the road, the Butterfly decided that they needed a bit more of a visual impression, and summoned illusions of ten giant mountain goat riding Dwarven soldiers to serve as the escorts for their carriage.

It made them look more like proper merchants, or perhaps some sort of dignitary, as there was only one wagon. But it also let the butterfly see more of the world directly through her illusions, instead of from her space.

She still wasnʼt speaking, but it was the first time that Karl could recall her taking an active part in their daily activities, without any sort of threat or prompting.

It was a good sign that the evolved Glasswing Illusionary Butterfly was beginning to stabilize her power.

The skies turned shockingly clear and blue as they moved away from the city, and the grassland gave way to sand and hard packed clay, baked by the sun. If it ever rained here, this whole region would become a soupy nightmare to travel over, but for now, it was almost like travelling over a developed road.

Then, the sand got softer and deeper, and it was time for modifications.

”Lotus, can you make covers for the wheels? Something half a metre wide, with a ridge down the middle, so the wagon doesnʼt slide sideways too badly.” Karl requested.

That wouldnʼt work on a regular road, but out here in the sand dunes, it would keep them from sinking their wagon to the hubs.

Lotus climbed out of the wagon, then shielded her eyes from the sun while Dana closed the door behind her. Remi had made ice for them, to keep the interior of the carriage cool, though she had retreated to the [Tiny World] to work in her lab.

She was way ahead on the orders for the store, but as they were headed north, they would likely lose access to the Guild functions soon, due to distance.

Karl spotted something on the horizon. Many living creatures, all at the Royal or Monarch power level.

”Thor, turn that way and see what we find. I canʼt tell what they are from here.” He instructed.

Hawk exited his space to fly over and start scouting for them. If there were snacks on the horizon, it was time to get out of bed. He was pretty well stocked on mice for now, but they had mentioned something about juicy water element buffalo yesterday.

The heat of the desert was comforting on his wings as he soared over the sand, but what he found was highly disappointing.

[Itʼs just Dwarves. It looks like theyʼre stuck in the sand.] Hawk complained.

Karl laughed, and encouraged Thor to keep moving. They could get some information about the area from the group, and if Thor couldnʼt pull their wagon from the sand, nothing could.

Thor stopped at the top of the dune, in case there was a hidden oasis or something at the bottom, which would lead to them also getting their wagon stuck in the sand.

Karl stood up on the seat so that the Dwarves could see his bright white and black fur outlined against the blue sky.

A young man was sent up the hill to greet them, and Karl noticed just how rough they all looked.

”Merchant, thank goodness you stumbled across us. We were attacked by a Sand Worm, and we lost half our beasts. Weʼve tried shovelling the wagons up out of the sand, but the remaining mountain goats donʼt have the power to get them across the soft sand.” The young man explained.

That was precisely why Karl had asked Lotus to widen the wheels.

”Well, we can help you pull them free, but where were you going? Those wagons arenʼt going to do well in the soft sand.” Karl asked.

”East to the road. Normally, this path is pretty good, but we were chased south off the rocks, and now weʼre stuck.”

Karl nodded in understanding. ”So you came from the west? How are things that way?”

The young man shook his head. ”The army is low on supplies. We are the backup supply caravan because the regular run didnʼt return last week.”

”Alright, give me a minute to get set up, and I will get you back to the stones.”

Thor took that as a good sign, and called Rae out to untie him, so he could use his harness to pull the whole caravan out of the sand. He could see the path that they must have been following, and it was only a few hundred metres away. Still too far for the four surviving mountain goats to pull the linked wagon train.

Twenty wagons at once. It was a good day to be Thor.