Two days passed after the five came across the pond they had chosen to stop and rest at. Refreshed, their strength had returned and they ventured on with determination. The five reached the top of a large hill. They were welcomed with a view of the miles upon miles of the grass sea. "I can truly say, I enjoy moments like this. The unexpected beauty of the world." Francisco rejoiced. Kira felt her heart yearn for the days her clan would migrate with the changing of the seasons. When they would cross the baron flats, her father would tell stories of their great heroes. Spin tales of their gods creating the world, the smell of the dirt that lingered on the wind. The heat from the sun would become captured within their clothes and gear. How the women would hum songs as they traveled. She could almost hear them. "Kira!" Shouted Diomede as he and the rest of the group continued their way down the hill. Kira quickly closed the distance between herself and the group. "Say, Clayton, what communities are on the way to your home?" Francisco asked from the middle of the group. "If I'm not mistaken there should be two towns, Haststad and Fungal Grove, I don't recall which one we will reach first." Clayton yelled from the back of the group as Kira walked past him. She turned and asked, "What are they known for?" "Well Haststad breeds and trains horses, I'm hoping we can get a carriage to quicken our journey." Clayton stated. "I can make a pretty good guess what Fungal Grove is known for." Lily stated with a chuckle, as she kicked a rock into the tall grass along the path. "Their mushrooms are used to make some powerful concoction." Diomede shouted from the front of the group. An hour passed, and the five crossed over another large hill. At the bottom was an overturned wagon, with its contents spilled across the ground. An older man poked him out from around the wagon, revealing a head full of black hair with strands of white and gray, along his face were mutton chops matching in color. "Hello there travelers, would it be too brash for me to ask for a bit of help?" The five stopped, Clayton and Lily moved in front of Kira and Francisco, obstructing the view of their appearance, while Diomede stood in front of everyone standing stall and speaking loudly so the attention would fall on him. "Yes, I don't see why not my.." Diomede paused for a second thinking of what to say, "My Squier and I will aid you." Clayton's face curled with confusion as Diomede turned to him. The pair moved down the hill to provide aid to the older man. Francisco turned and grabbed Kira's hand and began tapping with his finger. He tapped a rhythmic pattern on Kira's hand, her form shifted to a young tan-skinned girl, with a head of amber-brown hair. "Quickly now," Lily whispered while she continued to shield the non-human appearances. Francisco patted his stomach and his form shifted to an elderly man, his false head was bald and his face was full of a snow-white beard. Kira's form shifted to that of a dark skinned woman with black hair tied into a bun. The older man extended out his hand, "Thank you, I have been stuck like this since sun up, I am Gareld Layer." Diomede grabbed hold of Gareld's hand and replied, " I'm Sir Eithen Markwood, and this is Eric Murk my Squier." Diomede replied as he shook Gareld's hand. Diomede and Clayton reached down grabbing the wagon's side. The pair squatted and lifted the wagon, pushing it to the point where the full weight rested on the wheels. The wagon groaned and the creaking sound echoed from its wooden limbs. The wagon's weight shifted to the other side and pulled the wagon upright, it snapped out of Diomede and Clayton's hands. It rocked from the shifting of the weight and began to settle. "Oh thank you for helping me, the damned thing lost its grip going up that hill and I slid back downs and whipped around. Damn near lost Randy over there in all the commotion." Gareld said as he loaded his wagon the the goods that littered the ground. Diomede's attention was captured by the horse Randy. It was a brown and white spotted Hackney, Clayton noticed Diomede's fixated attention on the horse. He nudged Diomede's side, "You alright, not afraid of horses are you?" Diomede didn't reply, he simply walked over toward the horse. The others helped reload the wagon. "Well I thank y'all for the help, now I just need to attach Randy back-" Gerald stopped as he watched Diomede approach Randy. "Oh please sir Eithen, please Randy is an old horse but he is a mean one too." Gerald shouted as he climbed down from his wagon. Diomede paid the man no mind, he reached out his hand. Randy watched as Diomede approached him. Within Randy's eyes Diomede could see the years the horse had lived, he saw the miles the horse traveled every destination that the old horse was pushed to reach. Diomede felt a small pull, "Oh yeah, I know that look from anywhere." Diomede whispered as he placed his hand on Randy's grayed muzzle. Randy pushed against Diomede's hand as if he were confirming Diomede's connection. Diomede grabbed hold of the rains that hung from Randy's month. Diomede led the horse to the wagon and attached him in place. "Well I'll be, Randy ain't never been so calm, say are you from Haststad?" Asked Gerald. "No I'm from further south, just know how to handle animals." Replied Diomede. "Well I need to head back and restock, I can give y'all a lift if you'd like for the help and all." Gerald said as he climbed on the side of the wagon. "Yes, That would be a welcomed change of pace." Diomede stated as he signaled the others to climb into the wagon. Clayton climbed up front and sat beside Gerald, while Francisco helped Lily and Kira into the wagon. Diomede Turned his attention to the sky and scanned for any signs of the Roc they had seen a few days ago. "What are you looking for?" Gerald asked in a loud bolstered tone. "Trying to see if that Roc was near, we saw it a few days ago but since then we haven't seen it." Gerald began to laugh, "You really are from the southern area, that old bird flies through here once a week." Gerald said as he adjusted his rains. "He has all of the grass planes to fly over looking for things to snatch up." Diomede's gut felt uneasy and tugged at his side. He reluctantly climbed into the back of the wagon and sat down on top of a crate. "Alright, Randy let's get back to town." Gerald shouted as he made a clicking sound with his mouth. Randy burst with motion and trotted down the path. Clayton scanned the grass along the path, his eye closed by the bright rays from the sun, remained as sharp as an eagle's. " Ya know lad, there ain't much out here to be worried about." Gerald whispered into Clayton's ear. "Thank you for the reassurance, but I would rather be prepared than blindsided by something." Clayton replied while he continued scanning the grass. "Say, y'all are coming down from Blue Stream ain't ya?" Gerald asked, "That's where I was headed until my little accident back there." Clayton kept his face from Gerald to hide the pain he felt building inside of himself. Kira snapped her head to the front of the wagon, she felt the same grief weigh on her heart. She watched as Clayton's face reflected his pain. "Yes we did." Clayton replied. Gerald didn't notice the hint of grief in the Young Knight's reply. "By chance did you come across a man fishing by the river?" Clayton's heart sank, like a rock tossed into the ocean. Gerald continued, "He would have been an elderly man, fishing for the golden bass that supposedly lives in the river." Kira covered her face, to hide the tears that began to swell in her eyes. Francisco noticed Kira and nudged Diomede's leg. Diomded turned his gaze from the sky and met the bard's. Francisco motioned his head toward Kira, she had fully buried her face into her hands. Diomede's head spun to the front of the wagon once the conversation reached his ears. Diomded attempted to move to the front to interject himself between the two. "Unfortunately we didn't stay too long in town, we traveled up from the path that sits on the edge of town." Clayton replied. Gerald let out a large laugh, "I tell ya, the old bastard has been trying to catch that fish for so long, you would think the thing owed him a gold coin." Diomede stopped in his attempt and slowly moved back to his seat, he placed his hand on Kira's back, the touch helped distract her from Clayton's feelings of grief. Francisco pulled out his lute and began to play a small tune while the group rode. The tune surprised Gerald, and he began to hum along with the tune, swaying back and forth. Diomede sat back and leaned close to Francisco, "How are you holding up maintaining the spell?" Francisco continued playing his Lute, "I am fine, the spell isn't too difficult as long as we don't get too active." Diomede nodded in confirmation and laid back against the inside of the wagon. Diomede gazed at the sky, it was clear and the breeze from the wagon traveling down the path washed over him. The music that Francisco played and the vibrations from the wagon all added to the relaxing condition. Diomede felt his eyes become heavy, and his body become calm. He drifted into a deep sleep as the wagon continued.