Zozeko had stared at the small scroll in his hands, his wing claws twitching in disbelief. He read and re-read the astounding message several times before he realised that, yes, it really was written in his native tongue.
It would seem that his Lord had finally remembered his existence — damn his hide — and had a request. That in itself was enough to upset Zozeko's day, but it was the very nature of the request that confounded him.
"The Naharar's birthday approaches! His Magnificent Lord Ciro has heard of an Elysian creature thought to be the Eye of Xanth. My apprentice tells me this creature, the sahayem or "desert eye", is native to the Scorpion Desert and has many properties that would appeal to His Excellency. In his wisdom, he has granted you this task, Azat Zozeko. Do not fail.
And so, after half a day of disbelief, two days of taxing his brain in search of a way to ignore the "request" and a final day of petitioning his captain for shore leave (which coincided with their arrival in Espur), Zozeko had made his way to the nearest anka station in search of passage to the desert. He now stood beneath the canopy of a large tent where a fellow passenger bartered (loudly) with a local merchant, waiting for the noon heat to pass.