Heading north, the ruts of the chariot and tracks of horse hooves eventually lead us to a road. There must be a fairly large and established settlement around here for there to be a road.

Then the road bogs down into a mire of rancid fly infested mud. Poor Roisin is up to her knees in it before she finally comes to a stop. I try to gently urge her to go on but I feel her straining under me. It dawns on me that she's stuck!

With swarms of flies buzzing around us, its hard to keep calm. I begin to panic. If I get down off Roisin's back to try to extrract her from the gluey mess, I might get stuck too. We'll both perish here in this miserable mudhole. Starving to death or being eaten alive by flies, neither is a good death to consider. I flail my arms uselessly. It only stirs them to buzz louder and bite us with more ferocity.

Desperate, I hop down. Have to at least try to save us! I land with a gooshy plop but find that I can actually take a few steps if I move slowly. Just a little ways off I see there are tidal flats by the water. If we can make it that far, we're clear of this muddy mess.

Roisin is fighting the biting flies. She is trying to kick her way out of the mire. Every twitch or wiggles pulls her deeper into the slime. Agonizingly slow, I work my way through the goop so I am standing in front of her. I stroke her head and whisper softly to her. I sing her an old lullabye to calm her. She shudders as the flies continue to swarm but at least she stops thrashing her legs. I keep singing. Then I gently pull her forward.

"Husheen, my Roisin, easy now! Slowly, slowly!"

It takes a very long time. Step by step, she slips the gruesome clutches of the mud. At last she's able to move freely again. I lead her across the tidal flats to the water and let her wade along the shore to wash the nasty stench of mud from her legs and belly.

While we are refreshing ourselves, I hear the noise of a chariot approaching. Roisin lifts her head and pricks her ears, curious about the fine team of horses that has suddenly appeared. The driver is as fine looking as his horses. He reins them in and jumps out of the chariot to greet me with a graceful bow.

"Good day, lady! You look like you could use some help."

I smile a welcome. "Aye, I do. My pony is exhausted from escaping the mud and the flies."

"Why not leave her here to rest and graze for awhile? You and I can finish the race as a team. We'll come back for the pony as soon as we finish!"

At first I'm reluctant to leave Roisin but she certainly deserves a rest. After her horrible adventure in the mud, she seems perfectly content nipping at the sweet grass along the edge of the road. I give her a pat and tell her I'll be back soon.

I am honored when Bisclavret trustingly tosses me the reins to his chariot. Away we go!