Dragon Clan #3: Fleet's Story

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Fleet filled his canteen and water jugs after lying on his stomach and filling his belly with all he could handle. Tessa found the stream exactly where Sawyer had told her, and they made a camp surrounded by cattails and tall grasses. The ground closer to the stream held moisture from water seeping below ground, but just a few steps away it was dry and firm.

There was daylight left, but the stream angled away from the road, and they decided to spend the last of the day where they were. The morning would take them to Fleming.

Fleet grew introspective, reviewing what he knew and the implications of his sensitivity to the dragon that he could still feel but hadn’t seen in days. Was it following? Was it staying out of his sight on purpose? He didn’t know, but felt confident that if he were in trouble, the dragon would swoop down and defend him. In case it had feelings, he closed his eyes and pictured them together when she was roosting.

He let the memory flood over him, the warmth from the ground of the volcano that emitted steam and rumbles, and the bite of the thin air. The dragon could see the entire flank of the mountain. It felt safe.

“What are you doing?” Tessa asked, sitting near him, but with no fire tonight. They had mutually agreed they were too close to the road and didn’t want to attract the attention of thieves, muggers, and worse.

“Thinking. I was back home, on the slope of our mountain where the dragons roost.”

“You looked peaceful. A smile on your face but your eyes were closed.”

“I like it there. I was trying to send a peaceful message, I guess. So I imagined a peaceful scene.” The words were out of his mouth as if by their own accord.

Her expression hardened. “Who were you sending this message to?”

She was Dragon Clan. If anyone could be trusted, it was family. Telling a lie would be as bad as . . . Well, telling a lie. Their relationship would never be the same. “I was seeking a black dragon that has followed me this whole trip.”

“The one that flew over the drylands and warned us about you?”

“Warned? No, it announced me. But, yes.”

She fixed him with a stern eye. “Is it near us?”

“I can feel it. Can’t you?” The question was intended to throw her off, make her believe that he thought she could feel it too. It was also intended to feel her out for how sensitive she was to the dragon touch.

“No. I have not felt the touch of a dragon since we left Oasis.”

In an instant, he decided to reveal part of what he believed to be true. “At home, I attended and fed the dragons. One allowed me to stroke her. I think this is the one. I can feel her presence when other clan members cannot. This is all new to me, so I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“You’re bonded?”

“Not like Raymer, but I’ve heard of different levels of bonding, too. Camilla told me that she heard that sometimes bonding takes place over time, if at all. I have nobody to talk with about this. Someone who knows the truth.”

“You are doing fine on your own.”

“You can help. Tell me when you feel a dragon and that will give me something to measure by.”

“I can do that. I’d be interested to know, too.”

“This is a hard land.”

“Perhaps. But there is a stark beauty that I see. I’m afraid I’d always be scared if I visited your forests,” she said.

“Scared?”

“I wouldn’t be able to see fifty steps away. Who knows what might be hiding only a few steps away. I would always be looking for bears, lions, or the king’s men. Out here, I feel they cannot get close to me.”

Fleet pulled his blanket around his shoulders and let his mind wander. There was a peacefulness in the desert, he enjoyed. There was also the feeling of calm as he watched a far off storm approaching at home. The sky would grow dark, the air still. And then a whisper of breeze changing to wind. And the storm would strike.

Glancing around, he understood the comparison his mind was making. Since reaching Oasis there had been the calm, and when he and Tessa left it was like the breeze picking up. This evening was when the sky turned black and tomorrow morning the wind would blow. Reaching Fleming was the storm.

“Still trying to reach out to the dragon?” Tessa asked. “You’re so quiet.”

“Tomorrow is an important day. We might not find the others, but we’ll be in the right place, and the hunt will be on. I’m excited.”

“Excited or scared?” she asked in a voice that betrayed her own fear.

Fleet realized that she had never been to a city either. She was more scared than him. Although twenty years older, her culture at Oasis had kept her from traveling. Forests and cities scared her. He had been thinking only about himself.

“I have been to several villages to the north, the castle at Warrington, and villages to the south like Nettleton and the Summer Palace. Camilla says I’m slow and awkward in social situations, and maybe I am, but ask me anything.”

Tessa shrugged. “My experience is so limited that I don’t have the background to even know what to ask. My biggest fear is that I’m going to do something so stupid I give our identities away.”

Chuckling, Fleet said, “Camilla made me act like I was slow, bordering on stupid. I did a lot of keeping quiet and mumbling words that nobody understood.”

“Perhaps I should pose as your servant. You could conduct your business, and I would say little and observe.”

Fleet waited before laughing softly.

“What’s so funny?” she asked. “I’m serious. I couldn’t slip or make a mistake. I’m terrified of not knowing how to act, or how to do the most common tasks. People will notice and talk.”

“No, you misunderstand. I think it’s maybe a good plan. We’ll think about it, but I like it. My laughter was about the idea of meeting with Camilla and trying to explain that you acted like the slow one . . . while I was the one who did all the talking.”

He fell asleep with a smile on his face. Well before the sun came up, he awoke and waited for Tessa to do the same. Her idea had taken root in his thoughts and the more he considered it, the more he liked it. Plus, he was grateful that she had come up with the idea because if he had, he didn’t think he could have presented it to her.

She stirred, and he stood, letting her know he had arisen in case she was lying awake waiting for him. They ate little, and again she took the lead, but Fleet would have to reverse that, soon. He said, “When we reach the road you will walk a step behind me. Always. Never look me directly in my eyes, and do not look directly at others. I will not introduce you to any people we talk to, other than to dismiss you as my loyal servant. You will never correct me when another is around.”

“Six gods dancing on a rainy day! What monster have I unleashed?”

“This idea works well on many levels. You may hear talk from other slaves or servants that would not be repeated for my ears. Plus, if you are in the wrong place, or where you shouldn’t be, you can just say your master sent you. That will usually be the end of the subject.”

She walked a while before turning and saying, “The ‘others’ are part of the Dragon Clan, one way or another. We don’t know how, but they will never expect one of us to surrender to being a servant. It will almost make us invisible to them. That is if they are in Fleming and seeking us.”

The road was just ahead as the sun peeked over the hills. In the distance, two wagons hauled hay, one behind the other. A man walked with a woman they took for his wife, also leaving Fleming as the wagons were doing.

They stepped onto the hard-packed dirt of the road. It was wide enough for a single wagon, and the twin ruts identified that many wagons had rolled over it. A strip of grass grew down the center. As they walked, they came to the first of many pull-outs where one wagon could stop and wait for another going in the opposite direction to pass.

Another wagon approached, the bed empty but for a few sacks containing grain or something else needed on the farm from the city. A man sat high on a bench seat and called ‘good-day’ as he passed them.

Tessa started ahead, but Fleet said, “Walk behind me.”

He walked a step ahead, keeping her to his side and behind. They might as well get used to the new relationship. As they continued, there was a stand of trees. A clearing held an old man cooking over a small fire. He looked up, smiled, and said, “I haven’t enough to offer a warm meal, but I have extra apples. Would you like a couple?”

He held an apple in his hand, raised to throw it to Fleet. The offer was too good to pass up. Fleet said, “We love apples.”

The red orb flew through the air, and Fleet managed to catch it while laughing. A second one flew, and he made a lucky grab but held on. He said, “Can I ask how much longer it is to Fleming?”

“You’ll see it from the top of the next rise.”

“Thanks for the apples.”

The old man waved them off and continued cooking. Fleet handed an apple to Tessa, saying, “I’m giving you the lumpy one that I suspect has a worm inside. That’s the way us masters do things.”

Her voice was as smooth as a mountain lake on a summer morning. “Do masters ever find knives buried in their backs, placed there by servants eating wormy apples?”

“Never,” he said quickly, then laughed.

At the top of the next rise, the city came into view. Fleet had expected to find something similar to Castle Warrington or the Summer Palace, a walled fortress with all inside the protective walls. What he saw was a spread of buildings of all sizes, constructed of varied materials, and streets traveling along lines that followed a stream or hillside. None looked to intersect squarely, as the streets did in the two cities he’d visited. Instead, they wove a pattern reflecting the natural surroundings.

They paused to take it all in. Smoke poured from hundreds of chimneys and sat in a gray pall over the city. Beyond lay the Endless Sea, or, at least, bay. The masts of ships in the harbor stood taller than any building.

The noise, smoke, stench, and activity stilled their feet. Despite their agreed upon stations in life, they stood side by side in awe, fascination, and disgust.

Tessa recovered first. “I suppose that we must go down there.”

“Have you ever been to an inn?”

“No. But I’ve heard of them.”

“Yes, and I’ve heard stories of the sailors in the Northwoods Province. They’re a rough crowd, and I think we will be staying at an inn well away from the waterfront.”

“Inns cost coin.”

“We have no worries in the area. I have enough for both of us. In fact, I have enough to buy a small farm, so we will eat and sleep well.”

“Yes, master.” She poked him in the ribs.

Fleet tried to walk in a confident manner, arms swinging loosely, and his chin held high. A single glance behind showed Tessa, head down, fists balled. She was not angry. She was scared. They met more people leaving the city. Some exchanged greetings, others ignored him.

Several times they came to cross roads. Each time more people emptied onto the main road like streams feeding a river. Soon there were people, and a wagon loaded down with carrots and turnips, ahead. More people walked behind one group containing three older girls who believed they could sing. Their strident sounds convinced the other travelers that silence is better than a song.

As had been the case at the two royal castles he’d visited, Fleet expected to find the king’s men guarding the city gates and inspecting all who entered or departed. Instead, they passed a few smaller farmhouses, all with barking dogs, and then larger houses, also with barking dogs, but fewer cows, pigs, chickens, and sheep.

They came to the first building that was so tall it had two floors. A woman sat at a window above them and called friendly insults to people passing that she knew. She also made comments to others, but said nothing to Fleet.

The road turned to mud before turning to stone. All were cut to roughly the same size and placed in an offsetting pattern. The ground sloped to the sea. All waste on the road eventually found its way to the bay.

A man stood at a handcart selling meat pies. Fleet headed for him. While hungry, he knew the man would also provide information.

“Pie for you, sir?”

“How much?”

“Two for a thin copper, or a snit each.”

“I’ll take one for my servant and me. Can you tell me where I can find a good inn? Clean. Good food, and not too close to the port?”

Handing him two pies, the man said, “I take it you’re not rich?”

“Not even a consideration,” he said, taking a bite after handing the other to Tessa.

“Then you’d be looking at Red Bear. Follow this street until you come to the city guardhouse and jail. Turn left, and you’ll see it after a bit. Tell them ‘John the pie maker’ sent you, and maybe they’ll spot me a mug of their cheap ale.”

“If we’re there I’ll buy your ale, and not the cheap stuff. Thank you for your service, good man.” Fleet strolled off as if he owned the city, while Tessa stuffed meat pie into her mouth. He’d wager she had never eaten one before.

The guardhouse was obviously the place where sloppy city-soldiers, charged with keeping the pickpockets and petty thieves to an acceptable minimum, stored their clients. The guards were outside eating rounds of bread with slices of cheese and sipping mugs of hot cider. They looked like all needed a bath, and their uniforms, such as they were, didn’t match another in sight.

Fleet made a sharp left turn and as he walked, he looked for the flash of red he knew he’d see. Three blocks away he found it. A smallish building tucked between two larger ones. A sign painted with a red bear hung over the door.

He pulled the door open and was greeted with a large, open room. Instead of the low ceiling and worn benches he’d seen before, this held probably twenty small tables, and chairs for each. Paintings, not very good ones, but paintings instead of blank surfaces, displayed on the walls. The few people seated were clean and dressed well.

A heavy set woman near fifty sat in an alcove to his right. She eyed him and decided he met their standards. “Can we be of service?”

“My servant and I need a room for a few days. Maybe longer, I have not decided. Are your rooms private and clean? Quiet?

“You want all three? That will cost extra,” she laughed.

Fleet didn’t. “How much?”

Her eyes grew devious. “A full silver.”

“Of course, that price includes meals for the both of us,” he said, his tone indicating there was no option.

A hesitation. “Well, sure. But not drink. That costs extra.”

“I’ll see the room before I pay.”

“Certainly, I’d expect no less.” She stood and walked with a limp. At the rear of the room were three doors. She opened the one on the right to reveal a set of narrow stairs. They followed her up them to a hallway lined with doors. She opened one.

The room held a single bed, a sleeping pallet on the floor, and a chair. A window stood open, letting fresh air try to remove some of the stenches of vomit. Fleet walked to the window and looked out at the wall of the building next to it. “Do you have a room facing the front street?”

“I thought you wanted quiet.”

“Do you have one?” He had allowed his voice to show irritation that she questioned him.

She did have one in front. She waddled to another room and opened the door. It smelled far better. He went to the window to find a view of the street in both directions. “This will do fine. Tessa, unpack our things.”

“A silver,” the woman demanded.

“I’ll be down and settle with you soon. Is it possible to get some water in a pitcher and mugs up here? I’ll pay, of course.”

The smile returned to the woman. She turned and left.

Tessa said, “What was that all about? Why not pay her now?”

“I was establishing that she cannot order me around. And I did not want her to see where I keep my money.”

“Why not?”

“She could sell that information to a thief for half the profits.” He reached behind his back and pulled a small purse from inside his waistband. He pulled two silvers, a large and a small. “I’ll overpay, and she will want to do whatever, so she can keep the small silver. Besides, if John the pie maker appears, I want ale for him. He will be a good source of knowledge about the city if we treat him right.”

“I am so glad that you are in charge.”

He shrugged. “You know I’m just making this up as we go along, right? Separate anything valuable and it goes with us, today. All else stays in this room. Come along, it’s time we go exploring.”

“Yes, sir.”