Common small pterosaurs; up to 9 centimeters long and wingspans of 50 centimeters. Short tails, short muzzles with needlelike teeth; insectivorous. Like almost all fliers, covered in short fur. —THE BOOK OF TRUE NAMES The road marched at an angle up one side of a narrow, densely wooded valley. Hours after the intense dawn rain the air still lay thick and heavy as a feather-felt blanket. Moisture beaded on big splayed leaves. Steam rose from the backs of dray beasts, nosehorns and horses, and wisped from the sodden slouch hats and feather yokes of the drovers who kept them trudging up toward La Meseta. The humid air muted their whipcracks and curses. The wheels of heavy-laden wagons crunched on the broken seashells that covered the road. The morning’s rain kept the dust down, but on the right-of-way, the smells of sweat, urine, and dung almost choked Jaume. With relief, he turned the cream-colored marchadora he rode at the brisk amble she was bred for off the road into a clearing on a level stretch.
