Mavyn reached for his slingshot.

"This is not the time for that," a voice spoke. "We are not here to harm you."

"Who are you?"

"You are from Poligren?"

"Yes." Mavyn pushed himself up on one elbow and tried to pick out the voice's eyes. "Tell me who you are."

"There will be time for that tomorrow." The voice hissed a little. "Now we must move. Another day in the desert will kill you."

"You know the way out?"

"We know every part of the Forgotten Desert."

Mavyn stood and dusted his clothes. The eyes remained low to the ground. They were just dark shapes in the darkness. With Islip gone, there was just enough light to create shadows but no features.

"How will I follow?" he asked.

"I will let you see."

Just as he was about to ask, a strange sight came before his eyes. The desert was just below his hairy snout. He watched as the head turned from side to side.

"This is Phater," the voice said. The creature was long and low to the ground. It had four legs spread out far on its body. Skallins. They always traveled in groups of four, for safety and to capture larger prey.

“You’re ...” Mavyn struggled to say it.

“Yes. We are.”

“I thought you were just a myth.”

“All myths start from reality.” The voice growled slightly. “We must get going. Get on Phater.”

Mavyn climbed onto the stiff fur and lost the leader’s sight. He was always reminded of scorpions and cats from the stories his grandfather read him during childhood. Skallins were, of course, much larger than either. They were also much stronger and faster. His legs were spread wide and only his feet hung off the sides.

“Hold on,” Phater said.

Before Mavyn could grab any fur, they were rushing over the sand. He was able to lean forwards and almost laid down on Phater’s back. The rush of air through his hair and over his body replenished his strength at first, but not long after, he began to lose his grip on the skallin’s hair.

Slowly light crept back into the sky. As it did, outlines formed out of the blackness; they eventually turned into shapes and then features. A forest was growing out of the night. Abruptly the sand ended and the trees began. They plunged into the greenery. Inside, the air was dense with moisture. Mavyn felt his tongue coating with saliva, the first he had tasted in two days. Vines hung low to the ground and undergrowth climbed towards the sky, reaching higher than he could see in many places.

They stopped in a marshy area. The skallins were half covered by the water and looked like mossy rocks protruding.

“What are we doing?” Mavyn asked.

“This is where we camp until tomorrow,” the leader spoke. He was clearly older than the other three; his teeth were green and the fur over his eyes was turning white.

“What do we eat?”

Phater held up a wriggling fish.

“I need a place to cook.”

“Some many wishes for a half-dead man.”

“What’s your name?”

“And questions too.”

“Haven’t I earned that?” Mavyn stood and threw down his pack.