It was a very strange feeling to take a nap in the grass. Normally, it was considered far too dangerous, but with eight hunters keeping an eye on me and a certain Saursune occasionally trotting by, it seemed safe enough.

Or that's what I kept trying to tell myself, but old habits were hard to change, and every flutter of grass against my arms woke me from my fitful doze.

Eventually, I sat up with a sigh. The tiredness had abated enough that I was bored. Getting to my feet, I grabbed a carry net and began collecting plants, although there wasn't much this close to the crystal.

As I knelt down to pick the leaves off some small edible plants, a faint rustle made me look up as the pale brown Saursune returned. He lowered his head and sniffed the plants in my hand. With a glance at me, he nudged my knees with his nose.

Somewhat confused, I stood up, now able to see all eight of my hunters watching in concern, but not coming closer. The Saursune slid his neck under my hand and paused when it reached his shoulder.

I recognized the silent request, but pretended to look confused when he glanced back at me. Tilting his head, his tail pressed against the back of my legs, and I took a step forward. Since he was heading toward one of my hunters, I walked beside him. When I let my hand fall to my side, he looked back at me, but since I didn't stop, he kept going.

The hunter cautiously stepped to the side to give the Saursune plenty of room. My new "friend" kept half an eye on him but didn't seem to mind the hunter's presence. Eighty paces later, the crystal was out of sight, as were half of my hunters. My footsteps hesitated.

The Saursune paused and examined my expression. Spinning around, he loped back the way he'd come. My worry skyrocketed as he headed directly for the hunters. I took a step forward in concern, then blinked as the Saursune used his head to give them a shove toward me.

Soon, the Saursune had gathered five hunters and herded them over like a sheepdog. Once they were beside me, he continued zigzagging behind us, with occasional nudges to keep us moving. The hunters were tense, but they wisely kept their hands away from their knives and bows. The other three hunters appeared on the trail behind us just in time to watch us get herded deeper into the thickets.

"Isn't the farm this way?" I asked, suddenly uneasy despite the Saursune clearly wanting us to go in this direction.

"Yes," Cruz replied, tight-lipped as we let ourselves be herded.

What had I gotten myself into? Trading some energy for two sheep was simple enough, but what was happening now?

"Is this how the other Saursune herded you?" I quietly asked Cruz.

His eyes flickered to the Saursune as it veered to the left, urging us to pick the right side of a branching trail. "Yeah, although that one stayed farther back."

The thickets came to an abrupt end at the edge of a pasture. We all stopped, not wanting to go near the waist-high fence that had been built from branches in an intricate design.

The Saursune trotted past us and pushed against a section of the fence, opening a previously invisible gate. Circling behind us, it took him more than a few nudges and an exasperated snort to get us through the opening.

Leaving the gate open, the Saursune herded us another hundred paces into the field. The knee-high greens were thick, lush, and surprisingly hard to walk through. These plants were a far cry from what I'd been picking by the crystal.

The Saursune circled in front of us, grabbed a huge mouthful of plants, and pushed it against a carry net hanging from Cruz's hand. Gingerly, he took the offering, and I recognized many of the plants as highly desirable greens. No wonder the two sheep he had brought were so plump. With a deep hum, he trotted around us in a wider and wider circle before loping off across the pasture.

Cruz examined the greens he'd been given. "Unless I'm mistaken, I think we have permission to collect plants in this spot."

"That's my guess too," I agreed as I bent over to pick some stems, carefully leaving enough that the plant would regrow without issues. "I didn't expect to be herded over here like this. Maybe it's because he keeps sheep and always takes them to greener pastures?"

Another hunter scratched his head. "Maybe. At least it won't take us long to fill our carry nets."

The hunters began collecting plants while keeping an eye open for the Saursune.

"By the way," I began, "how are we going to explain this? Can we tell the truth?"

Brielle replied, "As strange as the truth sounds, others would assume any other explanation is a lie. Plants like these obviously came from a tended field or pasture."

Someone else commented, "The Saursune is coming back."

We all stood up as he jumped over the fence with a basket dangling from his jaws. He trotted over and set it down by us. I blinked and took a step forward in partial disbelief. It was our basket, with a dozen carry nets inside. Even as I stared at them, the Saursune circled away from us in a widening pattern, then trotted away again.

"Those nets were on the ground by the crystal," I murmured.

"Didn't you put some dried grasses in the basket?" Brielle asked me.

"I did. He must have dumped them out, which is kind of funny. Almost like he deemed those old stems weren't as nice as what's in his pasture."

She scratched her head. "We could be here for a while. Does someone want to go reassure Tib, Rachelle, and Gertrud that we're okay?"

"I can try," Cruz volunteered. He gave a lop-sided grin. "If the Saursune objects, it won't be the first time I've been herded somewhere. At this rate, I'm going to have to put a bell around my neck."

A couple of others chuckled at the reference to the time he'd been herded back after getting lost. I was surprised to hear him making jokes about it but also relieved that he wasn't completely terrified.

"Here, everyone dump your carry nets into mine," he said. "Maybe the farmer will think I'm just taking it back to the crystal for safe keeping."

Once his net was full, he began jogging back and disappeared among the thickets. We kept working while frequently glancing at the thickets. Soon enough, Cruz was jogging back with empty hands. The Saursune trailed behind him, but as soon as the hunter went through the gate, the farmer disappeared into the thicket again.

Cruz slowed down and picked plants as he got closer. He glanced back. "Well, he was definitely making sure I returned. And he didn't want the other three to leave the crystal. He stood there and pointedly looked between them and the sheep."

"How quickly did he find you?"

Cruz snorted. "I barely reached the crystal before he showed up. He stood to the side and watched. I didn't stay long since I didn't want to aggravate him."

"Wise plan," I murmured, somewhat amazed at how fast the hunters' fear had turned to cautious tolerance. "I'm still surprised he let us come in here."

"I also see why so many groups keep sneaking into fields and pastures. If common greens are this nice, I can only imagine what their crops are like."

"This isn't a typical pasture," another hunter commented. "Most are similar to really nice meadows, whereas this one has mostly stem plants and leafy greens that are rich in nutrients. This stuff will recover if stepped on, whereas crops won't, so don't expect to be let into a field anytime soon."

"I'm grateful enough for this," she murmured.

We focused on picking what we could before the farmer returned. Occasionally, we saw the Saursune in the distance, although he didn't come this way.

Everything was edible. We didn't have to sift through it—we could just pull handfuls free. Despite having twenty carry nets, they were soon filled with the succulent plants surrounding us. We had gathered more in a couple of hours than what three full groups could manage in an entire day. We ate our fill before cautiously leaving the pasture. The short walk to the crystal had us glancing around with every rustle in the thicket.

The other three hunters looked relieved to see us. They ran over to help us carry our haul. We told them what had happened as we walked to the crystal.

"—the carry nets were full, so we came back. We closed the gate behind us since it didn't seem polite to leave it open."

"We stayed near the crystal," Clyde reassured us. "There was no point in trying to follow once Cruz told us you were in the pasture and safe enough. Not when the Saursune made it clear that we were supposed to remain by the sheep."

A few flies buzzed around the wooly carcasses, so I suggested, "Why don't I take two people to the Guard Station with all of this, and an hour later, give you a lift to the village? There's no reason for this much food to sit here in the heat."

The hunters nodded.

Rachelle murmured, "It doesn't feel right to keep collecting plants here after he let us gather so much in the pasture. We haven't collected this much in months. Can you take a few of us to help another group?"

"I like that idea," I said. "Those who want to remain here can gather wood or something."

Cruz and Brielle volunteered to stay behind, and they helped the others get a grip on all the carry nets and sheep. An armful of greens was left for us to snack on later.

"This is going to be interesting to explain," I murmured as various hands settled on my shoulders.

"We'll do the explaining," Clyde reassured me. "You can take the other four to Roxanne."

"Okay. Guard Station."

The air hazed around us, and as soon as it cleared, frowns appeared on the guards' faces at the sight of our haul.

As the six hunters carried everything over to the wall, I raised my voice before the guards could make any accusations. "Don't judge until you hear about how a Saursune herded us like sheep into the pasture. You might want to warn anyone who goes near a pasture or farm in case it happens to them."

The disapproving scowls were replaced with confused blinks. Four hunters jogged back. With a salute to the guards, I silently ported to the crystal Roxanne was at. I silently wished Clyde luck with his explanation.

As the haze cleared, Roxanne and Andre sat up when they saw me, and I waved for them to remain sitting. Their sleepy blinks, a big basket of grain, and a lumpy sack confirmed they'd already had a visitor.

"We got a huge haul," I told them. "I don't need that many hunters now, so I brought a few to help you out or let your groups range farther out."

Roxanne glanced at the sun. "We can come help collect if there's that much there."

I shook my head and gestured to my hunters. "I'll let them explain. Smooth Stone Thicket."

I ported back to the two I'd left behind. Hopefully the farmer would be content with our trades and not try anymore new tricks.