Dragon Clan #4: Gray's Story

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The road to Shrewsbury didn’t get any better as they neared the town. They discussed what they had learned from the young man. When a woman and a small girl approached, each carrying a basket, they initiated a talk with them by asking the distance to the town.

Anna spoke to the girl while Gray asked questions of the woman, who was reluctant to share any information. She seemed afraid. Her eyes darted away. She seemed anxious to leave, but her girl and Anna were giggling and talking.

Gray said, “I heard there are constables who question people visiting.”

“Not many people come to Shrewsbury these days. If it’s a sea trip you’re looking for, Fleming has ships that sail everywhere. We have only a few. You should go there.”

That was the third time she’d pointed them to Fleming instead of her home. Gray glanced down and found her basket contained a few mushrooms. She tossed a cloth over them as if it was a crime to gather wild mushrooms.

Anna stepped closer. “We’re also looking for information about our brother. He is older than me, younger than Gray, and is called, Axe. He came here looking passage a year ago, and we have not heard of him since.”

The woman who had not introduced herself or her daughter, said, “Please excuse us. We have to get home before dark.”

Gray and Anna watched her leave, neither of them speaking for a long time. Finally, Gray said, “I sort of made a mistake. If she mentions us, they’ll wonder why we didn’t go right into town.”

Anna said, “Considering what she said, and what she didn’t, it would be a mistake to barge in there until we have a better idea of what’s happening.”

She was right. Gray came to a decision. “If those two walked here, the town cannot be far. We stand too much of a chance meeting others if we stay on the road, ones we don’t wish to meet.”

Anna pointed to a small hill on the left of the road. “That looks like the highest point in the area. I’ll bet we can see Shrewsbury from up there. If not, we’ll be able to find a hill that will give us a view of the town.”

As one, they turned and left the road, leaving no footprints behind for others to follow. Once away from the road they found a thin trail winding alongside a stream. Later they crossed the stream and followed a larger animal path that took them in the right direction. Finally, they climbed the slope of the hill, getting a better look at the countryside with once they were above the treetops on the valley floor.

The road they had traveled was easy to see, and it wound around the base of the mountain. The side of the small mountain itself blocked any view of the sea or town. When they reached the top, Gray expected to see all, and then determine where they should camp and watch the town without discovery.

The climb was long, the hillsides not too steep. Tired legs and breath came in pants came long before reaching the top. They didn’t speak, conserving their air for the next step, and the next.

Anna grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him down. His first reaction was to object and resist. He half turned and saw her expression, one of almost primal fear. He dropped to his knees and then to his stomach beside her.

She held a finger to her lips and then pointed to the top of the hill, not more than a hundred paces away. It was almost dusk, and a man knelt as he built a fire in a deep pit surrounded by rocks knee high. The pit would hide the fire and flames from below. His back was to them. Gray realized it was a lookout.

He must have seen the two of them out on the road. Even in the dim light, he could follow the road to where they had been walking from shortly after mid-day. He couldn’t have missed them. His report would tell his superiors they were coming. When they didn’t arrive the superior would naturally wonder why.

Gray whispered, “We go back the way we came.”

“He’ll see us.”

“No, the fire he’d building will ruin his night vision. We’ll get back into the trees and be okay.”

Anna said, “Why didn’t he see us earlier?”

“I think he did, but we were on the road. No reason for alarm. If he finds us up here, that changes. Move.”

She went first, going slow at first and then faster as the tops of the trees provided more cover. The light was almost gone when they reached the road. Gray spoke in a normal voice, “I think we should just make camp off the road at the next stream we find.”

A short time later they found a stream and with the last of the light of the day followed it upstream until they came to a small clearing. They gathered enough wood for a small fire and settled in for the night.

Gray said, “It was a lucky thing you saw the lookout.”

She laughed, “I know. That would have been hard to explain, us being up there. But you and I stand duty on watch, and we should have known better to avoid the most obvious place to set up a watchtower.”

“So we adapt our plans. We head into town in the morning and search for a shipping company right off. We’re looking for passage to find our brother. I think it would be more natural for you to ask about Axe, to see if he came this way. Act like a tearful little girl who wants to find her big brother.”

“We also need a store. Our supplies are almost gone.”

Gray agreed with a nod of his head. “I suppose that when we find out about the next ship and get some food, we can always set up a camp in the forest until the ship arrives. We can think of reasons to go into town and snoop until the ship arrives.”

The conversation ended soon after. Both had walked all day. They were tired, and looking forward to a few days of rest. Gray tossed more wood on the fire and fell asleep.

He woke with the sun and sat up, ready for the day and what they might find. He was eager to begin.

A deep voice off to one side growled, “About time. Thought you were going to sleep all damn day.”

Gray spun, his hand going for the knife on his hip. It was gone. He looked up to find a stout man sitting on a log, Gray’s knife sticking out of the log alongside Anna’s. He didn’t see her ankle-knife there so assumed she still wore it. She was asleep on the other side of the dead fire.

“Who’re you? What do you want?” Gray asked, not bothering to keep his voice soft. “We don’t have anything to steal.”

“If that’s true, how’re you going to pay for your passage to the islands?”

Anna was sitting up now, looking wide awake. She pulled her knees to her chin, where her hand was near the blade on her leg. She looked innocent and childlike.

Gray considered the question. The only way he could know of their intended passage to the islands was from the woman who had been ‘hunting mushrooms.' She must have told him of their trip.

Gray understood what had happened. The lookout on the mountain had warned people in town that there were visitors on the road, and the woman and girl were sent to meet with them and find out why. That explained the woman’s nervous behavior and her rush to return to town. It also explained why she repeatedly pointed them to Fleming. When Anna and Gray didn’t arrive, the man sitting with them had gone looking. Finding them would have been easy.

“We’re searching for my brother, Axe,” Anna said, her voice rising near the end as if she was near tears.

“He isn’t here.”

“Never said he is,” she spat like most twelve-year-old girls do when someone says something they think is stupid.

The man rose, anger clear on his face. He stood, at least, half a head taller than Gray, and he was twice as big around. Standing that way was intended to intimidate. Instead, Gray realized he and Anna could easily outrun the heavy man. Sure, he’d lose a fight with him, but the option of running evened things up a bit.

Standing and facing him defiantly, Gray said, “You have my knife.”

“Yes, I do.” A thin smile let them know he expected them to grovel.

The attitude offended Gray, as it was intended to do. Anna climbed to her feet, also. The blade that had been strapped to her leg was now in her hand. Gray noticed the blade was held behind her hip where the intruder couldn’t see it, as she eased a step to the side, putting more distance between her and Gray.

Gray held out his hand. “Give it back to me.”

The eyes flicked from Gray to Anna and back again, who took another step closer when he looked at Gray. “I’m the constable.”

“Don’t care,” Gray said, deliberately drawing his attention by moving close enough to almost reach out and touch. He refused to show fear. “I’ve done nothing wrong and want my knife.”

“I’m in charge here.”

His eyes told the tale. He was bluffing. Gray calmly reached by him and removed his knife from the log, hoping to divert the constable’s attention long enough for Anna to return her blade to her leg-sheath without being seen. Gray slid his knife into the scabbard and reached for Anna’s.

Feeling better, Gray realized he’d humiliated the constable in calling his bluff and needed to make up for it. He said, “That was pretty good work. You came in alone without waking us and took our knives. That was better than most could have done.”

The constable glared, but then relented and tried to take control again. “You two still have answers to give me.”

Anna snorted and threatened to laugh. “What? You’re twice as big as us and probably nobody ever tested you before. Make us mad and we’ll tell everyone you’re a little girl inside.”

The worst thing she could do was make the constable angrier. Gray said, “Hey, we’re sorry, but you took us by surprise, good sir. Ask your questions and we’ll be glad to answer. What happened here goes no further.”

He gave a stern look of warning to Anna, then faced the constable again. “What do you need to know?”

“Why didn’t you continue into Shrewsbury last night?”

“We met a woman and her daughter on the road. She said there was no inn. We decided it would be better to sleep here and go to town this morning.”

The constable paused, then shrugged. “That’s it?”

“Simple as that,” Anna said. “Besides, it was almost dark when we got here. We didn’t want to stumble around in the dark.”

“You’re here to book passage. Why this town?”

Again Anna spoke for the two of them. “Our brother Axe was supposed to come here more than a year ago and sail to the Marlstone islands. Our father’s brother lives there. We haven’t heard from him since.”

“I said that he never made it here. I know every person that came through, and nobody by that name was here.”

Anna continued, “Tall, brown hair, and beard?” The description would fit nine of every ten men.

“I said, no.”

“When we came north through Triston Town, the innkeeper there knew him by name. He carried a lute and sings,” she continued. “So if he was there in Triston Town, he should have come here next.”

The constable looked almost apologetic. “I’m sorry. He never made it here. Perhaps highwaymen or worse took him after he left Triston Town.”

She placed both hands on her hips and spat at the ground, never taking her eyes off of him. “And maybe he heard that you people in Shrewsbury are rude and unwelcoming, so he continued on to Fleming and caught a ship there, even though it’d be a longer voyage. I know that’s what we should have done, and then nobody would sneak up on us and steal our knives.”

“I didn’t steal your knives.”

“Well, I sure didn’t give you mine, so that’s stealing to me.” She stamped her small foot and turned to look at Gray. She winked where the constable couldn’t see it. “Who do we report this crime of theft to? Who do you work for?”

“I work for the mayor, and I didn’t steal your knife.”

“So you say, I’ll tell you. . .”

Gray said, using his sharpest voice, “Anna! Quiet down, I’ll handle this.”

She screwed up her face and said, “Well, you’re not doing such a good job of it, so far.” Then she spun and walked to the other side of the fire and started packing, throwing one item after another into her pack with the exaggerated motions of a twelve-year-old girl.

“Is she always like that?” the constable asked softly.

Gray said, “Often enough. Now, what else can I help you with?”

The constable said, “I’ll make my report, but I think that’s about it.”

Gray caught Anna’s eye and felt a touch of evil might teach her a lesson. “Would you like to escort us to town? Show us around?”

An expression of distaste had flashed before he tried to conceal it. Finally, he said, “I don’t know how you put up with her, but I think it’s best if you escort the girl. I’ll go on alone.”

Once he was gone, Anna burst into laughter. Gray watched and waited for her to get control of herself. Then she said, “A man that big is scared of a little girl.”

“A girl who never stopped mentally attacking him.”

“Is it my fault if he can’t outwit a twelve-year-old?”

“You’re fourteen.”

“I look twelve, so that settles it.”

She set her jaw and stood glaring at him as if he’d done something wrong. Gray allowed a smile but was worried until he realized that all young girls that age are impossible to reason with. They know everything. His smile increased.

“What’re you laughing at?”

Gray knew better than to be honest. In order to placate her, he said, “He was scared of you.”

She rolled her eyes at him.

Gray packed his few things and tossed his pack over his shoulder. The constable had taken their knives but not the bows. It had only been a lesson to teach them who was in charge, to intimidate them. That seemed to be a theme with the constable.

Anna said, “I hope others in town are nicer than him.”

“I’m beginning to think they won’t be. There’s a pattern here. Let’s me think before we rush in there.”

“I see what you mean. They closed the inn, shut down other businesses, and guard the road, so they know who is coming.”

Gray sat on the fallen tree near where the constable had sat earlier. “If the others are arriving here, and the roost of the greens suggests they are, they might want to keep people away until they’re ready to do whatever they are going to do.”

“There’s also the ship, the Lady Marion to consider. You said it operated at a loss.”

“But comes here directly from Breslau,” he added.

They sat in silence as they thought. Anna paced as he sat. She came closer. “The only thing that makes sense is that there are a lot more of the others here than we suspected.”

“Or this port is preparing for an invasion. The warehouse storing crates of who knows what, having rooms at the inn for soldiers, food, whatever else they need. This might be a place to land an army.”

Anna said, “Why bring the greens here? That does not make sense.”

Gray stood, knowing the answer and wishing it was not true. “What if their dragons can sense us. They’d know who is Dragon Clan. They could lead the others right to us!”

“They didn’t know us back at their roost. I think you’re wrong this time.”

“We don’t know that. What we do know is that they didn’t react, but not if they can sense us. But neither do our dragons react unless we call them down to help. Or in the few cases of those bonded. When we spot any dragons flying, they don’t change directions or react to us. They act just like the greens.”

Anna’s face turned ashen. “If only one of the greens has bonded with a man, he can direct the dragons to find our homes, identify us if we scatter, and point the king’s army right to us. There’s no way to hide.”