City of the Rats

Perhaps some will consider that I am wrong to include Muddlets in this book. Muddlets are not “monsters” in the sense of being savage or wicked. They do not have teeth, claws, spines, or poison. They eat only grass, moss, apples, and certain leaves. And they are by all reports very good-natured. Nevertheless, they are such strange, self-willed creatures that I decided they deserved a place in this collection. They have carried many unknowing riders into danger.

Wild herds of Muddlets once roamed the Plains country, especially in the area now known as the Plain of the Rats. According to The Deltora Annals they numbered many, many thousands, and to be caught in a Muddlet stampede was a terrifying and life-threatening experience. Over the years, as towns and villages grew and the Plain of the Rats was eaten bare by the multiplying rats, herd numbers grew less. Wild Muddlets are now rarely seen, though they still exist.

Muddlets have extraordinary speed and strength. For thousands of years they have been captured by Plains people for use as beasts of burden. But they do not make reliable domestic animals. However tame they may seem, they cannot be relied upon to do anything other than what they wish. No matter what their training may have been, for example, they will bolt at the sight of any small, furred animal. They will also ignore all instructions if they smell their home field or over-ripe apples (their favorite food), even plunging into deep water, over cliffs, and into quicksand to reach their goal.

Despite this, Muddlets are still used by some Plains folk. The Ra-Kacharz of Noradz are among those who still keep a Muddlet herd. But any traveller who may be tempted by the Muddlets’ low price should think twice before following their example. Muddlets are not beasts to trust.