“Things could get a little difficult,” agreed Pug.
Nakor squinted and said, “Then things might get difficult soon.” He pointed to the distant horizon beyond the milling, angry riders who were still firing arrows at them.
In the distance another band of riders was approaching at speed, and from the banners being carried by heralds at the front, Pug assumed someone of importance was coming to investigate this problem. He said, “Well, if I tell you to run, don’t hesitate.”
Nakor said, “I run very well when I need to.”
As the new band of riders pulled up, those already surrounding the protective sphere moved back, allowing a group of a dozen riders to come close and inspect the two humans. Pug recognized the leader, Jatuk, the Sha-shahan of all the remaining Saaur.
The young warriors fell silent as their leader reined in his mount. The leader jumped down from his horse and walked to stand just inches the other side of the energy barrier. “Why have you humans come to trouble the Saaur?” he demanded.
Pug glanced at Nakor, who shrugged.
Pug looked at Jatuk and said, “Why do you war upon us, Sha-shahan of all the Saaur?”
“I make no war upon your kind, Black Robe.”
“There are three hundred dead soldiers of my King back there who would argue that,” Pug replied.
“If they could still argue,” Nakor added.
“They refused to depart,” said Jatuk. “They were told we claim these grasslands.”
Pug said, “If I lower this barrier, may we talk?”
Jatuk waved his hand in agreement. “We camp here!” he shouted, and instantly the fifty or so riders surrounding the two humans dismounted and started to organize a camp. Several led horses away and drove stakes for pickets while others began building fire pits. Still others rode off toward a nearby river, to carry water back.
Pug let the barrier lapse, and Jatuk said, “I remember you, Black Robe. It was you who brought me Haman’s dying words, of our betrayal at the hands of the Pantathians. I will speak with you in truce, and you may leave freely when we are done.”
“Me too?” asked Nakor.
Jatuk didn’t deign to answer, merely waving away the question as he turned his back on the pair. He walked to his horse, held by another Saaur warrior, and with a gesture indicated he wanted his travel pack. The warrior complied and handed down a bag that a human would have been hard-pressed to carry.
Pug was again staggered by the scale of the Saaur. The average warrior topped out at twelve feet tall, with a few slightly taller. Their horses were close to twenty-five hands compared to the seventeen or eighteen hands of a heavy Midkemian warhorse. Pug was also impressed at their efficiency in setting up camp. He reminded himself these were originally a nomadic people, who despite having constructed great cities on their homework! of Shila, had remained nomads at heart. The majority of the Saaur roamed the great grassy plains of Shila, thousands of horsemen and their families and herds accompanying them on their endless trek.
A demon attack had ended that great civilization. Of the millions of Saaur who had dominated their homeworld at its height, less than ten thousand had survived on Midkemia. Pug assumed that the last few years of warfare had kept their numbers low, but knew they were a people facing a grim future if they couldn’t find a respite from warfare.
A fire was built and Jatuk motioned for Pug and Nakor to join him. His reptilian face was surprisingly expressive, and the more Pug watched those giant warriors the easier it became to see individual differences. A warrior took the role of Jatuk’s servant, providing him with a wooden bowl of water for him to refresh himself with. He washed face and hands, and at the end ran a damp towel across the back of his neck. That gesture was the most reassuring thing Pug had seen of the Saaur, for it was the most humanlike display he had seen that didn’t involve bloodshed.
While traveling through the destroyed world of Shila with the spirit of the last Lore Master of the Saaur, Haman, Pug had come to learn a lot of the people of that world and their history. He doubted human and Saaur could ever be close friends on Midkemia, but he thought with some work, they could become respectful of one another, leaving each other alone for the most part, as humans and elves, and humans and dwarves, tended to. He knew humanity didn’t need another enemy like the moredhel, goblins, or trolls, especially not an enemy as physically powerful and determined as the Saaur.
Jatuk said, “We placed the heads of those men who would not quit the grasslands on poles to stand as warning. Yet you ignored the warning to seek us out. We are tired of your kind, Black Robe. We have known nothing but death and loss since coming to this world.” He motioned to the northeast, up the vast Thunderhell. “This is land we understand. There are rolling plains, water, the cattle we have taken thrive here.”