When Dumar caught up with the lizard like Pat'nathoor, he encountered another surprising and odd creature inhabiting this place.
M'thar had entered the stable which was home to the biggest animal Dumar had ever been near. It stood at least seven feet from its foot to the top of its head and was built like a cross between a camel and puma.
Rough yet shining hair, which M'thar was vigorously brushing, covered the animal, giving it a light golden-brown appearance. Each of the four legs ended in a two toed hoof-like foot, with a long and wickedly sharp talon protruding partially from each toe.
Muscles twitched in response to the brush strokes M'thar drew across its fur, giving Dumar a perfect view of the bulk this animal was made up of.
The big man followed the lines of this proud looking creature from foot to head, taking in as much detail as possible. This, evidently, was the source of the scent of blood, a meat-eating creature with which M'thar was apparently extremely familiar.
Its head was rounded with piercing green eyes staring forwards, ears protruded almost sideways from either side of the skull and the large nose sampled the air like an inverted triangle of black leather.
Its lower jaw hung slightly open revealing an array of dark grey teeth which would interlock perfectly to produce a vice like grip on whatever they were placed. A black tongue lay within the cage of teeth, working back and forth slightly as the animal breathed.
The odour of blood and meat mingled with the pungent scents of straw bedding and animal faeces, the musty smell of the animal announcing it was male. Dumar whistled in a low range causing the animal to flick its ears towards him sharply.
"Beautiful is he not?" M'thar asked with something like a father's pride.
"I've never seen anything like it," Dumar said, quickly adding. "Him," when M'thar glanced in his direction. "What kind of animal is he?"
M'thar looked over at the large man again, as if attempting to gauge whether Dumar was playing a joke upon him.
"This is Teghime, a full blood riding palta."
"You actually ride this thing?" Dumar asked with some surprise.
"Not a thing, Dumar, a him," the large creature cocked his head to one side and did his tongue flicking over eyes trick. "You do not have animals such as this where you come from?" Dumar shook his head.
"It...He looks similar to some of the animals I've read about but I'm fairly sure he'd be quite unique back home."
Those two words, back home, made Dumar think he was beginning to believe what Grethron had been telling him.
M'thar either did not, or pretended not to, notice and hung the brush on a hook from where he had apparently taken it before guiding the Palta outside.
Once free of the stable, Teghime raced around the grassy area, muscles bunching to generate power which then propelled the animal forward at incredible speed.
As he approached the wall which of the outer boundary at full speed Dumar thought he was going to crash headlong into the stonework and glanced at M'thar briefly to see if he feared the same.
Fixing his attention back on the palta, however, Dumar noticed the animal had leaned away from the wall and was wheeling around in a tight cornering manoeuvre utilising the long claws he had seen earlier to good effect.
Teghime ran headlong the entire length of the wall and curled his body into another of the extremely tight turns, churning up divots of soil as he did so. The animal raced towards Dumar and M'thar, only slowing enough at the very last moment to enable him to stop.
M'thar waited for only a heartbeat before leaping astride the animal who seemed to rejoice in the contact. The lizard like creature buried his clawed fingers into the fur at the nape of the palta's neck and barely had time to grip with his thighs before the great golden beast leapt sideways and ran full tilt across the grassed arena.
Dumar felt a small smile cross his lips as he witnessed the odd pairing of Pat'nathoor and palta almost dancing across the grass.
Dumar wondered how M'thar was able to maintain such control over the great animal as the pair seemed to be working in perfect unison, both lizard-like creature and panther/camel hybrid performing in a ballet like display of rider and ridden.
Teghime ceased his acrobatics and both he and M'thar turned to face Dumar across the expanse of grass.
Chest heaving, the massive creature lowered his head between his front paws in what Dumar assumed to be a prelude to a charge. The big man took a few steps forward and dropped into a running stance himself, increasing his respiration rate and heartbeat in preparation for his own run.
The palta leaped forward, all four feet leaving the ground before breaking into a full charge towards Dumar. A fraction of a second later Dumar began his own mad run towards the unusual rider and mount.
A feeling of elation dropped over Dumar's consciousness as he felt the wind on his face, the pound of his feet on the dry grass.
He could smell grass pollen, dusty soil and the ever-present wood smoke but his lungs relished the apparent cleanliness of the air. Arms and legs pumping in unison, Dumar raced across the slightly uneven surface watching as the palta and its rider grew rapidly in size.
A grin spread across Dumar's face as he relished the exercise and slight feeling of danger that was beginning to build within him.
He had been placed in dangerous situations before, however these had all been monitored, controlled and forced upon him. Briefly, Dumar wondered if this was what freedom felt like; the ability to choose his own fate, to make the decision to charge at a massive carnivorous animal with an alien lizard on its back.
Before he knew it himself, Dumar was laughing; deep, belly laughs he had never known before.
Abruptly, time seemed to slow for Dumar. A clarity of vision he had only experienced in close combat training assaulted his conscious thought.
He saw everything as if in slow motion, the ripple of muscles beneath the palta's furry hide, a string of saliva streaming from the side of Teghime's mouth, catching the sunlight as it flew lazily sideways, his own hands as they appeared and disappeared in his lower peripheral vision and the almost comical sight of M'thar astride the Palta, mouth set in an odd grimace of worry.
At the last possible instant Dumar leaned to his right and with a thrust of his powerful legs dived forwards.
Whether it was M'thar, Teghime or blind luck, the mounted palta veered off to his right also, allowing a hand's breadth between his front legs and Dumar's body.
Dumar tucked his right shoulder downwards and landed hard but rolled to his feet, spinning to face M'thar as he did so.
Still grinning the big man jogged across to where the lizard like creature was slipping from the palta's back.
"Dawa!" M'thar hissed. "You are of unsound mind!"
Dumar continued to grin and chuckled at his words.
"That was fun!" He declared as he checked the semi-automatic was still in the makeshift holster he had fashioned.
"Fun!" M'thar retorted in an angry growl. "If you call running headlong at a full blood palta fun you are insane," the Pat'nathoor attempted to calm himself. "You could have been killed," He added chidingly.
Dumar snorted in derision.
"If what your dad tells me is true, I've already been dead once. How bad can it be?"
The lizard like creature shook his head and made his way over to Teghime who nuzzled his shoulder.
"Come, Teghime," he commanded and walked across to the stables alongside the animal.
"You're miffed," Dumar said in a flippant tone when he reached Teghime's stable. "What's up?"
M'thar regarded the big man with his usual unreadable expression as he fiddled aimlessly with numerous items in the stable.
"I am sure you have not been informed of my history," the Pat'nathoor said. "As the last of my race, I hold all life precious and reckless endangerment of one's own life makes me...angry, I suppose," he added.
Dumar raised his eyebrows and his voice.
"And yet you were more than happy to ride him straight at me! How can that not be seen as reckless endangerment?"
"That was entirely different. You would have been in no danger," M'thar retorted.
"Utter bollocks!" Dumar shouted, making M'thar and Teghime look up sharply. "Anything could've gone wrong as you two were charging at me."
The two large, muscular beings faced each other for a few tense moments.
"You are correct," M'thar eventually conceded. "I wished to show off Teghime's prowess and did not pay enough attention to the situation."
Dumar cocked his head and raised his eyebrows.
"Fair enough. Buddies again?" He asked.
M'thar stared at the big man as if confused.
"What are buddies?" He rasped.
"Friends, comrades, amigos," Dumar explained with a quizzical expression.
M'thar shook his head.
"You have an extremely odd way of speaking, Dumar," the lizard-like creature observed. "Also, as I barely know you, it would be difficult for me to count you as a friend. However," M'thar continued as he glanced at Dumar. "Maybe we could be..." The big creature hesitated. "Amigos?"
Dumar's face split in a grin and he let out a laugh.
"Now you're getting it, dude."
M'thar sniffed before asking.
"What is a dude?"