The Legend of The Fool's Errand

In a far-off land lost to a long-forgotten era, a servant was sent by his master to retrieve a carthorse and bring it back to his master's farm. The servant traveled from dawn to about midday until he finally reached the nearest town, but there were no carthorses for sale. The stubborn servant continued to the next town; However, there was no carthorse to be found there either. The waning sun was beginning to dip low on the horizon, so the servant used the little money he had on his person to stay in a quaint inn. The next morning, the servant ventured to the next town, and begin a search once again. He went from vendor to vendor, from farmhouse to farmhouse, and could not find a carthorse for sale. He was about to despair when a young gentleman strolling down the beaten path approached him. The man gestured to the servant, speaking in a language foreign to the servant. The servant pointed to an empty horse harness in his bag, mimicked a galloping horse, and shook his small pouch of coin. The foreign man instantly understood and led the weary servant to his home. As the servant was led inside, the foreign man stepped towards a robed figure holding an ornate staff. They spoke a few words in an exotic language and then faced the servant, who offered the men his money. They earnestly accepted the money and led the servant into another room. As the servant entered, he noticed that this room was no stable at all. It seemed to be some sort of magical study. The robed man started murmuring an incantation in the direction of the servant, ghostly tendrils of smoke curling off the body of the servant. He let out a gasp and attempted to leave the room, but it was far too late. As the smoke cleared, the previous form of the servant was no more: He was now an enormous warhorse. The two men forcefully led the polymorphed servant to a stable, and the next morning the servant was sent off to war. The servant had traveled to such a far-flung land that being polymorphed into a warhorse and sent to battle was a common request of military recruits. Without even knowing their misdeed, the two foreign men had inadvertently sent a man to gruesome and unwanted death on a distant battlefield, and this was all because of a difference in culture and language...