NaNoWriMo snippet 5

The rest of the day went quietly enough. The donkeys were quiet patient beasts willing to follow the humans. The day was warm but there was a light breeze that was keeping the travellers fresh. It was some time before Onyx realised that his master was calling the breeze, just a small request.

At the end of the day, they reached a small settlement. “You wait here with the donkeys. I’ll go see if I can come to some sort of agreement about beds and food for the night.”

“Surely we should have a room for the night. What if it rains? We wouldn’t want to be sleeping in the open then.”


Master Dervin smiled. “Come on lad, use that brain of yours. Do you think I ever get wet unless I happen to want to?” Onyx suddenly remembered the day the bullies cornered him. There wasn’t a drop of water on his master, though the rest of the population was getting wetter by the minute. “The donkeys don’t mind rain though a big thunderstorm might spook them. So it’s only a small effort to keep the area for the two of us dry. I suspect though, this little place could use a bit of weather. We’ll see.”

He handed the lead rope of Lady Evelyn to Onyx and walked over to what was obviously the busiest building in town. And from the sounds drifting out, it had to be a tavern. Onyx waited standing patiently for some minutes when he noticed how sore his feet were. He envied the donkeys and their hard hooves. Since he had no idea how long his master would take, he decided to have a seat on a nearby barrel. The donkeys followed and soon Onyx was as comfortable as he could expect to be given he was still outside waiting.

Onyx was beginning to think he was going to fall asleep where he sat. Walking wasn’t that tiring but moving most of the day wasn’t something he was used to now. Finally he spotted Master Dervin returning from the tavern.

“Right, so we have a place for the donkeys to rest for the night, and we have a room and a bed for the night. Tomorrow I’ll earn our keep with a little magic.”

Onyx slid off the barrel and discovered how sore his feet were. He handed the lead for one donkey back to his master. “Donkeys first?”