Piercing blue eyes stared at them through a mop of black loosely curled hair. The man was middle-aged with mild wrinkles and wore unremarkable brown overalls that had been hastily put on. On either side of him stood two large men armed with steel spears, pointed accusingly at the pair of boys.

"I recognise you two from earlier today..." The large man said, taking a few steps closer. "We wouldn't let you have our provisions so now you've broken in to take them without asking 'ey?"

"We're not here for provisions, we're just here to free these queens," Enkerai retorted.

"What you're doing is wrong!" Oré added, "You have no right to lock them in here away from their families!"

"What do you know about our right?!" The man snapped. Lights were beginning to turn on in windows and a crowd of pyjama-clad townspeople began to form behind the men.

"I know what's not your right." Oré said, "And it's not you're right to mistreat living creatures. It is against the will of the One."

"Who cares about the will of the One? All I care about is this here town and these here people. So now put those animals back and we might just let you off with a slap on the wrist." The man held out his hand and the two men either side of him lowered their spears.

"Never!" Enkerai shouted and slapped the grooperd closest to him on the thigh, it reared up and bulldozed right through the men and the townsfolk behind him and continued sprinting. The rest began to follow it. As they ran, the large beasts let out a cry that sounded like a cross between a high pitched roar and a bark. From the outside of the wall, a large cacophony of squeaks could be heard and the sound slowly began building in intensity. The towsnfolk scattered, many scrambling to the safety of their houses.

"You stupid brat!" The man screamed, grasping a spear from the man to his left. He swung it at Enkerai, "What have you done?"

"What you should have done a long time ago," Enkerai said, dodging backward to avoid the blade. Oré leaped forward and in one swift move pulled the staff from Enkerai's back and knocked the incoming spear sideways. In that short opening, the first grooperd Enkerai had released charged the three men from behind, having circled back upon hearing Enkerai shouting. The grooperd knocked the men to the floor, leaving them in an unsightly heap of arms and legs, and came to a halt beside Enkerai and Ore. It knelt down beside the boys.

"You want us to get on?" Enkerai asked it, "Are you sure?"

"Why are you asking if it's sure? Just hurry up and get on!" Oré shouted amidst the cries of outrage emanating from the villagers. They clambered onto the smooth but patchy back of the queen grooperd and clung on tightly as it galloped into the night towards the cries of its younglings.

"Should we direct her?" Enkerai asked.

"No, it seems to know where it's going." Oré answered, "What we need to worry about is the gate!"

Enkerai smiled, "Don't worry about that," he held up a key ring, with three keys on it, "I snatched this off the big one when the queen knocked him over. He seemed like someone in charge so one of these is bound to work."

"Smart thinking," Oré nodded.

They galloped for a few minutes before reaching the western gate, where they had knocked initially. There they found the grooperds waiting and wandering around aimlessly, uncertain about how they could reach their young. They began to become even shiftier when the roar of the reorganised angry villagers became audible from behind them.

"Rai, hurry and open the gates," Oré shouted to his friend. Enkerai jumped off his ride, and ran towards the door, trying two keys before finally opening the door to let the grooperds out. As the great oaken doors creaked opened, Enkerai half expected to be overwhelmed by a flood of tiny grooperd younglings, but instead, the grooperds parted ways, allowing the queens to pass through.

"The queens must have warned them of the dangers inside," Oré reasoned, jumping to the floor and patting the queen he had been riding one more time before it trotted out into the night, a sea of grooperds following in its stead.

"Hey, Oré," Enkerai called, "Look."

In front of them, standing solitary, like a sentinel, was the tiny grooperd with the lightning pattern on its side. It stood for a second then squeaked a few times.

Enkerai knelt and rubbed its head with his finger, "It's okay. We did what anyone would have done. No need to thank us..." Enkerai paused to think of a name, then looking at its unusual marking continued, "Lightning. Yeah, no need to thank us, Lightning."

It squeaked again and then bolted off into the darkness, its lanky legs propelling it forward at a high speed.

"You really think it came back to thank us?" Oré said doubtfully.

"No, it came back to get another bite of your face." Enkerai laughed.

"There they are!" The shout came from behind them as the mob of villagers turned onto the road leading to the gate.

The man from before stepped forward, this time unarmed, "Do you realise what you've done?" he asked, "My job as mayor is to keep this town and its people safe. The grooperds ensured that, but now you've doomed them to the dangers of the world – bandits, Pojema, and leeches like you!"

"You would feed your people on the suffering of others, rip mothers away from their children to serve your goals?" Enkerai responded, "You're no different than the bandits!"

"The means does not justify the end!" Oré said, "You are the monsters here!"

"Why you-!" The man began.

"String em up!" A shout came from the crowd.

"Send them to the Players!"

"Throw them off the wall!"

The villagers started drawing closer.

"Rai," Oré said, backing away, "I think it's about time we got out of here."

"Best plan I've heard all day," Enkerai responded, as he turned and the pair ran off into the star-speckled night.