Anna woke up the next morning when the soft light of predawn lit the world. The shrimp people were still sleeping with the exception of a few guards who were patrolling just outside of camp.

She went to a boulder in the camp and perched herself on top of it, turning to the east to watch the sunrise. The shrimp people began to crawl out of their tents and then started to break down the camp. She got off the boulder, walked over to the tent she’d slept in and started to help the shrimp person she’d stayed with pack up its things.

After gathering up the few things the shrimp own and placing them outside of the tent, they started to roll up the mats that covered the ground. Once finished with that, they took down the tent itself which was nothing more than a large hide stretched over beams made from a wood-like substance she’d never seen before. She helped the shrimp person roll up the tent with the beams inside, then she casually lifted it into the air before carrying it to the beetle. The shrimp person stared at her for a moment, clearly shocked by her feat of strength.

It recovered quickly and walked over to the beetle with her where they started to attach its belongings to the complex harness that covered the outside of the beetle’s body. The tent went into a large bag that hung on the side of the harness, and then the shrimp climbed on top and pulled the back to the top using straps. It then tightened the straps, securing the tent in place near the center of the beetle’s back.

The mats went into a bag just behind the tent, and the rest of the shrimp person’s belongings were placed in various other bags around the harness.

Once finished, the shrimp person put the bridle back into the beetle’s mouth, and then they climbed up into the seat. The shrimp person tapped her on the arm while they waited for the rest of the caravan to pack up. It started to squeak, click, squeal, chip, as well as snapping its claws.

And it’s talking to me. Well, this is going to be a pain in the ass to learn. Not that I know what pain feels like or anything, but whatever. It’ll still be hard.

She started to imitate the sounds it was making. It paused for a moment and then started to make each sound again, allowing her to copy it. Unfortunately, she couldn’t quite imitate a few of the sounds it made, but it seemed that the shrimp person understood her all the same.

After a few minutes of this, they got back on the road, leading the caravan once more.

As they traveled, her companion pointed out things and made sounds in its language. She imitated the sounds as best she could while pointing at whatever the shrimp person had been pointing.

The shrimp people got back on the road, and the next few weeks passed quickly. She managed to learn enough of their language to speak and even tried their food, something that she’d regret for all eternity. She got used to the simple routine the caravan kept until one day, early in the afternoon, strangely, her companion pulled his mount off the road suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing. The trade town is nearby, but we won’t make it there until night, and the gate will be closed. It is better to camp here than outside of the wall,” the shrimp person replied.

“Why’s that?” she asked.

“Many prey upon travelers in the trade town, and there are no guards outside of the walls,” it replied.

I guess it’s the same here as it is back in the human kingdom.

“I understand,” she said.

“Good, now let’s get the great beetles fed,” it replied.

“Alright,” she said.

They got off the beetle, the shrimp person took out the bridle, and they walked next to the beast as it searched for the root plants.

Once it found a large growth and pulled it up, the other beetles walked over and joined in the feast. She walked with the shrimp person to the camp and started to help set up tents and anything else that was needed.

They set up a large tarp and everyone in the caravan sat under it to keep the sun off. She sat quietly and listened to their conversations, smiling to herself when she heard them talking about the same kind of things everyone she’d ever been around talked about.

People really are people no matter what they look like.

One of the shrimp people started to talk about their children and how one of them was going to be coming of age soon. The others seemed to get excited about this and started talking about what they should get for this young person in celebration.

I wonder what they’d think if they knew I was six? Wait, am I six? I mean, I should be if I was only asleep for a little while, but if it was a long time, then I don’t know how old I am anymore!

She frowned at the thought of not knowing her own age. She’d always assumed that she’d always know because of her perfect memory.

How could I let this happen?! There has to be a way to find out how old I am again, but how? Oh, I know. I just have to find the others and ask them… Shit! I don’t want to talk to them again, but I really want to know how old I am. I know, I could ask anyone back there, not just them! Okay, I just need to go back at some point and ask someone what the date is. It doesn’t matter who. I know I was born the twelfth day of the fourth month in the year, ten thousand eight hundred fifty-two by the human calendar.

The smile returned to her face when she remembered she also knew her birthday according to the dwarven and elven calendars as well.

As they sat, a group of travelers passed by. They were tall and thin, stick-like people with two legs and two arms. Their bodies were covered in tan-colored scales, their heads were round and had huge bug eyes with mouths that split apart like the annoying colorful lizards that could be found all over the barren landscape. Like everyone else she’d seen in the last few months, they were nude with a few belts covering their bodies.

There were about thirty of them, and each of them had a long spear or other polearm in their hand as well as a variety of other weapons hanging from their belts.

“Who are they?” she asked.

“Hunters from the trade town,” the shrimp person replied.

She nodded. The group of hunters stopped, and one of them walked over to their tarp. The shrimp person she’d been riding with got up walked over to the hunter and started to gesture with one set of arms. The hunter gestured back, and after a few moments, it nodded and walked back to the group before they all walked away. The shrimp person came back and sat down again.

“What was that about?” she asked.

“They wanted to know if we’d seen any game, so I told them of the pooks we spotted,” the shrimp person replied.

“That’s right, you did say other races like to eat them,” Anna said.

Pook was the name of the large round creature that chased her after she’d repaired her bag. According to the shrimp people, they would swallow anything they could fit in their mouth whole, including other pooks, and were responsible for the deaths of many travelers. Learning that the hunters were after them amused her for some reason.

It really is a pook-eat-pook world out there.

She watched the hunters disappear into the distance before going back to listening to the shrimp people talk.

Hours later, a few of the shrimp people retrieved their jar of putrid food from one of the giant beetles and brought it over to the tarp. The moment they set it down, she stopped breathing, having no desire to ever smell that foul substance again.

They took the lid off and started to scoop it out with their claws. She watched them eat, doing her best not to recall the taste. Thankfully, the shrimp people weren’t like other races and didn’t chat while eating, so it didn’t take them long to fill themselves.

Once they finished, they packed away the jar and then headed off to their tents to sleep like usual. She followed the shrimp person she’d been riding with into its tent, laid on the mat next to it, and drifted off into her dream world moments later.

“It is time to wake,” the shrimp person said.

She opened her eyes, sat up, and looked around for a moment before crawling over to help the shrimp person pack its things. With her help, it didn’t take long to break down the tent and pack everything away.

Once they finished, they got on the beetle and waited for the others before getting back on the road. A few hours later, the wall of the trade town came into view. Just like the shrimp person had predicted, it was a large stone structure standing roughly thirty feet high and made from the reddish-brown stone that was common in the region. She glanced around and noticed that there were no rocks or boulders anywhere near the town.

Well, I know where they got the stones to build the wall. It’s actually a good idea. They get a wall, and whatever is trying to attack them loses a place to hide. It’s kind of like the small towns on the frontier of Therondale when they cut down the forest all around their wall, I guess.

The beetles lumbered up to the strangest gate she’d ever seen. It wasn’t really a gate, simply a narrow path that led through the wall. It zig-zagged hard to the right and then left. After that, they walked across a short draw bridge made from thick bones and was held up by huge ropes.

Once they were past the gate, they found a dozen or so armed guards waiting for them. The guards were all the same race as the hunters, and they, like the hunters, were all holding long spears. The shrimp person next to her began to gesture at the guards who gestured back. The shrimp person took a pouch from one of its belts and held it up.

One of the guards came over to the side of the beetle and leaned on its spear. The shrimp person opened the pouch, counted out a few colorful gemstones, and gave them to it before closing its pouch and putting it away. The guard looked at the stones for a moment before gesturing for them to pass.

As they walked into the town, she looked around and noticed that just about everyone was one of the tall, thin reptile people like the hunters she’d seen the day before.

The town itself consisted of huge stone buildings that were square and usually two stories. It was laid out like any other small town with a main road passing through it and small streets branching off here and there.

The shrimp person took the main road for a while before turning down one of the side streets and heading to a large fenced-in space where dozens of different creatures were pinned up. They rode right up to the gate and stopped.

The shrimp person climbed off and walked over to a rough stone building where a few of the thin reptile people lounged in chairs. The shrimp person gestured to them, and they gestured back. They went back and forth for a few minutes before one of the reptile people got up and stretched. It walked over to the gate and pulled it open, allowing the shrimp people to lead their beetles into the closed-in area.

She followed along, and when they were all through, the reptile person walked in after them and closed the gate. It then led them to a large empty pen where they brought their beetles. Once inside, they started to unload the massive creatures, making a huge pile of goods near the pen’s opening.

Wow! That’s a lot more stuff than horses can carry!

A few minutes after they finished unloading the beetles, a few reptile people showed up with hand carts and started to load the goods onto them. Once they finished, the shrimp people followed them out of the fenced-in area across the street to one of the larger buildings where they went inside through a huge opening.

Oh, it’s a warehouse! Well, that makes sense I guess.

The reptile people walked to the back of the building where they started to unload the carts. The shrimp people waited at the front, and a reptile person walked over to them and held out a thin piece of hide attached to a stone tablet along with a thin charcoal stick. The shrimp person took both and began to write in a strange language on it.

It took a few minutes, but when it finished, it handed the tablet and charcoal stick back to the reptile person who looked it over. It walked away, heading to a large board on the wall where it placed the tablet into a small holder before taking a long stone marker and bringing it over to the shrimp person. The shrimp person took it and stuffed it into one of the many belt pouches it had before turning and walking out of the warehouse. The other shrimp people followed, and once they were all outside, they gathered around.

“We will meet here in five days. Do not be late. If you get into any trouble, I will be at the Smoldering Spring Inn,” the shrimp person she’d ridden with said.

The other shrimp people agreed and then scattered.

“Come with me,” it said once the others had left.

“Okay,” she replied.

They walked away from the warehouse, heading into the town