Vladimir brushed the hair out of his eyes for the fifth time, trying to ignore the sweat dripping down his face. The intense heat forced him to pull his heavy hood over his face in an attempt to hide from the sun. His horse sighed and panted, her thick hide pestered and stung by myriads of tiny insects. How did I get myself into this? he thought disgustedly. This far into the Unclaimed Lands he would find few settlements. Even the bloody shade is scarce. He had seen no sign of the vast forests reputed to cover the face of the Unclaimed lands. Even though the sun was slowly lowering itself in the sky, the heat showed no sign of letting up. Far ahead he could see a copse of trees, vast canopies spreading blessed shade for yards.

He gently kneed Lightstepper, encouraging her to a brisk trot. Where hora trees grew, water could be found.

The shrill cry of a hunter eagle welcomed him to the shade of the hora trees. The rush of a spring made his mouth water, and Lightstepper whistled eagerly. Vladimir laughed and let her canter to the shallo spring. He slid out of the saddle, wrappinf the reins around the saddle horn as the horse plunged her nose into the chill water. The hunter eagle screamed again, closer this time. Vladimir kneeled by the horse and lifted a handful of crystal clear water to his lips.

Something brushed his ear. Thinking it an insect of some sort, be brushed at it with his free hand. To his surprise, it was no insect. It felt hard, sharp. He turned his head, slowly, to find himself eye to eye with a sword. The face behind the sword was yet another surprise. It was a tall flame-haired warrior woman with feral smile on her face. He swallowed, and glanced about, looking for Lightstepper. She had been caught by another warrior, this time a man, but clad similarly. The woman pressed the sword against his throat, forcing him to his feet. Yet another warrior stepped up and took his weapons.

"You trespass," the woman said. Her eyes were bright emerald and intelligent. Her voice was faintly accented, but Vladimir could not place it.

"Forgive me, Lady, but I am but a weary traveler, pausing in my journey to quench my thirst," he said. "I saw no marks to forbid me from this place."

"It is warded by magic. We need no marks. How did you pass here?

Vladimir fought a smile. He wore a talisman prepared by a wizard to null the effects of magic. He was not about to share his secret with the likes of these, however. Every advantage he could manage would help him free himself. "I know not. I only saw trees, and stopped for water. "Please, I beg of you to forgive me."

The woman laughed, a rich, bold laugh. "No matter. How you got here is irrelevant. What matters is that you trespassed into our safe haven and now you must be punished."

She gestured with the sword. He now saw that there were at least seven warriors, perhaps more, waiting with bows and swords drawn and ready. If he made a single wrong move, likely as not he would die. Damn. What now? he thought. He followed the woman, and found himself surrounded by fighters. There would be no escape.

A hunter eagle appeared in the sky, apparently the one that had been calling in the oasis. It landed on the earth in from of the warrior woman, and with a twist unlike anything Valdimir had ever seen before, it began to change. The creature grew to manytimes its already larger than average size, and began to lose feathers and grow hair. In the space of a breath, the eagle was replaced by a tall woman, clad like the others, with short-cropped black hair and a mischeivous smile. His jaw felt as though it would touch his feet. Kelai! These people are Kelai! he thought. Kelai were creatures of legend to the average person, but Vladimir had studied them extensively, fascinated by their innate ability to change forms into any creature that they had seen.

The two women conversed for a moment, and the black-haired woman shifted her form into a hunter eagle once more, and flew away. He stared, gape mouthed, until he felt a sharp prick on his back. One of the men had poked him with an arrow to get him moving. He started forward, mind racing. Never had he dreamed to meet a Kelai! When he started on his long journey, he had no thought of where he was going. He had thought that he would know when he got there. It seemed that he had found his destination. Whether or not it would be his final destination remained to be seen.

The sun beat down on him, and he wished he could ride Lightstepper. The warriors were leading her behind him. It was still scorchingly hot. He noticed that all the warriors had a peculiar tattoo on their bodies. Peeking over the collars of their tunics was a stylized dragon's head, shimmering green with red eyes. It adnorned their left shoulders, and he saw scaled tails emerging from beneath their sleeves, The tattoo apparently wrapped itself around their arms, wrapping around to the wrist. Their jewelry spoke of fine artisans, with delicate wire-work wrapping around ears, fingers, and necks. It was all very fine filigree and delicately curving lines. Everything was sinuous and snake-like, hinting at motion even when the wearer stood still.

After an eternity walking in the sun, Vladimir found himself being herded into a small tent, nestled in the midst of an entire tent city. People milled about, children played, and more warriors greeted his escort. None took special notice of him, however, and he was told to wait, and left in the tent.

As far as he could tell, there was no guard at the tent door. I'm in the middle of the desert, they have my horse, and I don't know where I am. They don't have to guard me. They know I'll stay here or die in the wasteland. Clever. The tent was sparsely furnished, with furs piled in one corner, presumably for a bed. There was a simple closed lamp, and a low table with a mat next to it. He recalled from his studies that Kelai rarely used solid furniture. Everything they used was easily pack and portable.

The tent flap rustled, and the same redheaded warrior entered the tent carrying a flask. She smiled, surprisingly warmly considering she had only a short time ago threatened his life.

"I brought you a drink. Go ahead drink it, if we wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already," she said lightly.

"I'm conforted," Vladimir took the flask from her and drank deeply. The water was cool, and refreshing. "Thank you. Where is my horse?" he asked.

"I like that. The first words question you ask is for the welfare of your mount. She's fine, watered and fed and corraled with her own kind," the warrior replied.

"Good. How do you know I'm not simply trying to find out where she is so I can escape?"

"Where are you going to go? We can find you. We aren't worried about you escaping." She shrugged her shoulders.

"So I've noticed. So how long am I to be a prisoner?"

"Until your sentencing. You will most likely be assigned as a laborer for a time, then we will release you. As a price for trespassing, we will breed your horse, and keep the foal. You'll work for as long as it takes for her to foal. She's with our horses to pick her mate."

"Interesting custom, but fair. When shall I be sentenced?"

"Dawn, tomorrow morning. I can't tell you any more though. I am here to tell you that you have free run of the camp until then. If you have money, you may visit our shops."

"Do you always let criminals run around loose in your camp?"

"You are hardly a criminal. Had you stolen something, or Creator fobid, killed, you would be dealt with very harshly. You crime here is ignorance, not evil."

She moved toward the tent flap and paused. "I will see you on the morrow," she said, and vanished.

He leaned back into the furs. He would be too uncomfortable wandering around the Kelaiin camp, and the danger of getting disoriented in the tents was too great. He decided to take advantage of the opportunity to rest. He closed his eyes, and fell promptly asleep.

******