Dragon Clan #2: Raymer's Story

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Raymer woke first. Dawn was still a while off, but he’d heard something. Instead of opening his eyes or getting up to investigate, he lay still and listened. Quint snored softly on his left, and Ander’s heavy breathing was on his other side. He tried to continue his breathing without a break.

But something had been there. A sound that was out of place. He didn’t hear it now, but he strained to listen as his hand inched closer to his staff.

He stopped moving his hand. His open eyes didn’t see anything, but he dared not turn his head to look around. There were no more nearby forest sounds. He inhaled and smelled a whiff of something else out of place.

It was gone. He slowly drew in a deep breath and searched for it again. There, his nose found and identified it. Garlic!

Someone had eaten food cooked with garlic and was now close enough to him that he could smell it. Nobody can remain quiet forever. Stomachs churn. People swallow or clear their throats. Joints creak or pop.

Behind him. Three, maybe four steps away a foot shifted.

In a single motion, Raymer rolled, threw his blanket into the air behind him where the sound came from. He grabbed his staff and rolled to his knee. The staff was in the first defensive position, ready to block, jab, or strike. His mouth was open to shout a warning to Quint and Ander, but he froze.

The night was empty.

Raymer said, “Wake up. Somebody was here.”

Quint was on his feet before Raymer stopped talking, and Ander soon followed. Quint held the knife, and Ander’s fists were balled, his eyes searching for someone to fight. But there was nobody.

“Where is he?” Quint asked, turning in a full circle.

“I don’t know. I heard a foot shift and smelled garlic.”

Ander sniffed, “Not now.”

“Stay here,” Quint ordered and melted into the darkness.

Raymer moved to Ander. “Place your back to mine.” They watched the darkness while protecting each other.

“Nothing,” Quint said as he returned. “We set a guard for the rest of the night.”

Raymer noticed Quint hadn’t asked foolish questions or doubted his word. He said, “I’ll do it.”

Quint and Ander climbed back into bed and soon the soft sounds of them sleeping drifted on the air. The stream made soft rustling sounds and a coyote howled in the distance. He listened for what should not be heard. No twigs snapped, no clothing brushed against shrubs, and no leaves crunched under feet. Insects buzzed and chirped, frogs croaked. He listened for them to stop, indicating a man passed nearby, but all sounded proper.

Can you smell garlic if you dream? He reviewed what he’d heard, and smelled trying to convince himself he had been mistaken. But it could have been just a sneak thief. Still, why would a thief be out here where there were no people to steal from?

He considered building the fire again for warmth, but doing so would ruin his night vision, and at the same time illuminate him if any watchers lurked in the darkness. They might or might not be out there now, but they had been. At first light, he’d search for signs.

Dawn was closer than expected. Raymer still sat thinking as the sky to the east turned lighter. Vague shapes started to define. A fire would no longer be a disadvantage. A few coals glowed under the ash in the fire pit and a handful of tinder and kindling soon had a fire cheerfully burning.

He turned to look at the two sleeping. Something caught his eye. It was lighter in color and behind them. Before leaping to his feet to investigate, he carefully examined the area and found more. Standing and turning, it appeared a ring of lighter vegetation surrounded them.

Raymer saw no obvious danger, so stepped to the nearest patch and bent to examine it. In the dim morning light, he touched it and pulled his hand away in wonder and confusion. It was just a pile of feathers. Probably chicken feathers. He moved on to examine other locations and found the entire campsite surrounded by a ring of feathers.

Quint came to his side.

“Feathers scattered all around us,” Raymer explained.

“I guess we have two explanations. Either chickens got into a silent fight all around us, or someone placed them there.”

Raymer nodded. “Dragon Clan.”

“You think so?”

“It’s the sort of thing we do to scare people off. We don’t threaten them. It’s easier to let their imaginations run wild.”

Quint stood and stretched. “You’re probably right. If I was normal, which I’m not, this would have me running home with my tail between my legs.”

Ander had sat up and listened. “If it happened to me, I’d run home and tell the biggest lies you ever heard.”

All three laughed. The simple trick would scare most people. Raymer said, “There will be more.”

“They’re probably watching us right now,” Quint said. As the light increased, he moved to follow the trail of feathers, searching for footprints or anything else of interest. As he passed his blanket, he reached for another apple.

Raymer warmed his hands and feet near the fire, lost in thought. His family rarely inflicted any pain on intruders in the Raging Mountains, but if their first attempt to frighten them off didn’t work, there were more options. Most families kept several on hand and ready to scare off intruders. But, not everyone scared off easily, and there had been cases where other measures were taken, even direct conflict.

Ander sat beside him. “What now? Turn back?”

“These are my people.”

“They don’t seem to like you,” he smiled. “Maybe if you climb a tree and shout out to them who you are it will help.”

Raymer nodded and started to gather his things. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I was joking.”

“I’m not.”

Ander waited while stirring the fire and asked, “Is there any danger from them?”

“Probably not. At least not yet. I’m trying to anticipate what they’ll do next. If I can out-think them maybe, I can prevent whatever they have planned for us.”

Quint returned. “Not even a single footprint.”

They gathered their belongings and again Raymer took the lead. From the scant directions, he’d been provided, half a day’s march would take them to a great split in a solid appearing granite cliff. The split was at an angle, so wouldn’t be seen until they were almost upon it.

The split was supposed to be wide enough for five or six to walk abreast, and the bottom was choked with brush and small trees. It was kept that way so that any people finding it, which would be few, would never enter.

His next landmark was again, keeping Bear Mountain on his right and locating the solid cliff directly in front of him. However, he believed he’d encounter the Dragon Clan before intruding much closer. Now that they knew the three were moving directly at their home, he expected more drastic action than scare tactics.

The path wound its way along the stream and finally across. Quint said his feet were better, but he limped and refused to wrap cloths around his feet, saying it would slow him up. The boots Raymer and Ander took from the soldiers helped them, but Raymer felt a blister forming, and since the day was warming and his feet were in good condition, he removed his boots and stored them in his rolled blanket.

“Keep a sharp watch,” he called over his shoulder. “I think they will try to run us off again before mid-morning.”

“Why?” Ander asked.

Raymer said, “Because that’s what I’d do back home.”

The trail they followed twisted up the side of a small mountain. When they reached the crest, they came to a place where they could see over the tops of the trees. Raymer pulled to a stop. To their right was Bear Mountain, tall and half the slopes white with snow. Ahead was yet another shallow valley, and at the far side was a solid granite wall that extended south for as far as Raymer could see.

His next landmark was along that wall somewhere. A half day’s walk. A fair sized river split the valley ahead. From where they stood, Raymer decided they would have to search for a ford, or swim.

He pointed, “Somewhere along that cliff is a crack in the rock that goes off at an angle. You can’t see it until you’re almost on it. Beyond that is our destination.”

Quint said, “So far your information has been exactly right. If we can get through there, we should be on the east side of the mountain, and from there to Northwood should be an easy trek.”

“If the Dragon Clan lets us pass,” Ander said, his eyes shifting around, as he searched for hidden people.

Quint said, “I think I spotted one of them a while ago. Off to our left.”

Raymer turned and handed Quint his blankets along with everything else he carried except for his staff. Then he shucked his shirt.

“Good idea,” Quint said. “Show that ugly thing off.”

Ander said, “I get it. When they see your tattoo, they’ll know we’re friends.”

“They’ll know I’m a friend. You two are still a question,” Raymer said. “This is like getting a door open a crack, but it isn’t letting us in. Not until we do some explaining. When they come at us, drop your weapons. All of them.”

“Before we know what’s happening?” Ander asked.

Quint answered, “Do as he says. Our presence here is a threat to those living up ahead, and if I were in their situation, I’d kill all of us and ask questions at our funeral.”

They descended the slope under the shade of spreading maples and ash, with a few oaks to break up the monotony. As underbrush thinned, they could see quite far in any direction. While turning his head to say something to Quint, Raymer caught his first glimpse of a stranger.

He said nothing about the sighting, but he did ask Ander to fall a few more steps behind so that anyone out there could plainly see his back. They made it all the way to the river before they rounded a bend in the trail and came face to face with two young, muscular men.