Dragon Clan #4: Gray's Story

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Anna and Gray exchanged horrified looks. She was correct. A bonded person of the others could see through the eyes of a dragon. He or she could order the dragon to locate Dragon Clan families and even individuals of the Dragon Clan. The others could then tell the king’s army their location.

Anna was right. There was no way to hide.

The invasion had to be stopped here at Shrewsbury. The danger of them entering Shrewsbury was that if the bonded member of the others was there, he or she could identify both of them and prevent them from the mission.

Gray said, “We can’t go in there, yet.”

He opened his pack and removed the ink, pen, and sheets of paper he’d brought with him. He sat and sketched out his ideas and discoveries on a single sheet of paper if they were indeed true. He made it clear that part of it was only supposition. He fought to keep it short and to the points.

He made a copy and handed it to Anna. “There is a bookstore. Inside is a girl named Kelby, very pretty. She’s from Fleming. Make sure it is Kelby, then give this letter to her, but don’t let anyone else see you do it.”

“Why two copies?”

“In case, only one of us has the opportunity to pass it off.”

Anna was stubborn. She said, “Why wouldn’t you . . .”

She didn’t finish her sentence. Gray might be taken captive, placed in a cell, or even killed. Her expression showed she understood.

Gray stored his writing materials without meeting her eye. He stood. “We need to go. They’ll wonder if we don’t get there soon.”

Anna folded her copy and slid it inside her shirt. She slung her pack and walked beside him, her mood depressed and near angry, but she held her words. Obviously, she was thinking dark thoughts.

The road was empty again. Gray watched for the mushroom picker but didn’t see her. The road made a wide bend around the mountain they’d climbed the afternoon before, and soon the sun sparkled off the water in the distance. Ahead grew trees and a few low hills, but no sign of Shrewsbury until a few fingers of smoke rose to their right.

The road took them in the direction of the smoke, and in a break through the trees, roofs were visible. Gray noticed both of them were walking slowly. He tried to think of something funny to say, but nothing came to mind. Ahead was the object of their mission. Anything they found out, even the smallest detail, might help their family, and the entire Dragon Clan. Humor didn’t have a place.

The docks came into view. There were three, none in the best of shape. However, there was a finger of rock that extended far out into the water. It was made of thousands upon thousands of rocks piled on top of others. It protected the narrow mouth of the bay from waves coming off the Endless Sea.

The bay itself was a long, narrow v shape. The water looked deep. The rock construction at the mouth allowed ships to pass in the deep water and anchor behind it. Everything appeared normal at first look until Gray noticed a stream of men hauling small wagons holding more rocks to the end of the construction.

The top of the breakwater must have a flat road for the carts. But why was it still under construction? He looked above the rooftops to the docks. At first, they had not looked to be in good repair, but he changed his opinion. From the colors of the timbers, there were new cross braces, new pilings, and a new deck had been built over the old.

A single conclusion leaped to mind. The port was being expanded to handle more ships. Yet, the port was considered small, and most merchant ships now avoided Shrewsbury. Why expand it if the traffic was diminishing?

The answer was clear. The port expected to handle a lot of ships at one time. At present, only one ship was tied to the pier.

Anna said, “I see it, too. They’re getting ready for a fleet to land here.”

The first people came into sight. Gray said, “Act twelve. And be cheerful.”

“Twelve-year-old girls are only cheerful when we’re making fun of cute fourteen-year-old boys. Otherwise, we’re snarky and bitchy.”

“Watch your language.”

“Bitchy is the only word that fits.”

The houses they passed were ill-kept, unpainted, and the gardens needed attention, and the people looked, for lack of a better word, dispirited. They held no laughter, smiles, or energy. Their clothing hung on them loosely; their shoulders slumped. Even their dogs didn’t bark.

“Depressing,” Anna muttered.

The road took them by more houses and to a commercial street that ran along the waterfront. Businesses had once occupied the buildings on both sides. Now, at least, half of them were boarded up. None looked prosperous. Others didn’t invite shoppers with offers of sales or products.

They entered the first and found it sold drab dresses, shirts, and hats. A few bolts of plain material were stacked where hundreds should be. Half the shelves sat empty. One bored clerk watched them enter but didn’t offer to help. They glanced around and left.

Another store offered supplies to ships. They looked inside the door without entering and found it much the same as the clothing store.

A third store offered groceries. They entered and found staples for sale. No treats or luxury items. Odd for a store at a port not to provide at least some imported items. A pale woman reluctantly offered to serve them.

Gray said, ignoring the lack of offerings displayed, “We will need to stock up on our food, but for now, we’re looking for where we can find out which ships are due and where they sail. We also need to buy passage.”

“Well, I suppose you can ask the harbormaster about tickets. He’s down the street a few buildings. You can’t miss it. The doors under a sign with a big ship on it if you can’t read.”

Her lackadaisical answer was the most helpful and friendliest words they’d encounter since entering the dreary town.

On the way to the harbormaster, Gray saw the bookstore he’d been looking for. He led the way into it, finding a man with a white beard reading a thick book. The middle shelves were filled while the upper and lower ones were empty.

“Help you?” He didn’t’ look up.

“Just making sure you’re open. We’ll be back after we complete some business down the street.”

“Are you sure we can’t help you?” Kelby said as she stepped from behind a curtain that led to a back room.

Gray felt his heart jump, both from seeing Kelby again and from knowing he could pass on his warning to her in case something happened to him.

She rushed to them, “My name’s Kelby. Let me show you our selection. What are you interested in?”

“Travel books. We’re booking passage to the Marlstone Islands on the next ship.”

She took his arm and steered him to a shelf where the old man couldn’t see them. Anna slipped her hand inside her shirt and passed the paper to Kelby, who placed it on inside her waistband as casually as if she was tucking in her shirt. She pulled a book free and said, “This is a diary of a man called Lector who traveled to the Marlstones and beyond. I think you might like it.”

Gray didn’t miss her emphasis as she shoved it into his stomach and nodded that he should purchase it. “I’m a fast reader. Do you have more?”

She smiled and reached for another. “As a matter of fact, there is one other. It is a history book, but you may like it because there’s information on far off lands. In fact, my father highly recommends it.”

He accepted the book, his heart still beating fast, either because of the promised information in the books, the successful passing of the letter to her, or the faint brush of her fingers against his. “Thank you. I’ll get started on them right away. Meantime, I’ll check back with you in case you find another.”

“You’re welcome to browse all our books at any time. We may even give you a mug of hot cider.”

Anna said in her most snarky voice, “I assume I’ll get some cider, too?”

Kelby kept her eyes on Gray. “Of course, honey. Bring him back. I’ll be waiting.”

“I’m sure you will,” Anna said, grabbing Gray’s arm and pulling him.

“Wait, I have to pay.” He protested.

“Pay us next time,” Kelby said. “You have some reading to do.”

Gray stuffed the two books into his pack and stepped outside, almost running into the constable.

“Well, you finally managed to get here, huh?”

Anna spoke before Gray could. “We’ve been here a while. A good observer would have seen us at the dress shop, the grocery store, and here, of course.”

“I knew that,” the constable growled.

Anna smiled sweetly, “Of course you did. I’m sure we all believe you.”

The constable turned away from her and looked at Gray, his eyes almost pleading for help. “Where are you heading?”

“The woman at the grocery suggested we see the harbor master about tickets for our passage.”

“She don’t know nothing. The harbor master tells ships where to anchor and such. You want to go to the ship’s office across the street. Walk with me.”

Gray, trying to remain friendly said, “Thank you, sir. Do you happen to have a younger sister?”

“My best friend did. She was just like the one behind us. Always being prissy and know-it-all.”

“I appreciate your understanding. Is this the place?”

The constable nodded and held the door open for them, then followed them inside. A counter ran along one wall, chairs filled the remaining space. A man sat on a stool behind the counter doing paperwork.

He looked at Gray with a half-smile and asked, “How can I help?”

“My sister and I want to go to the Marlstone Islands.”

The clerk reached for a small stack of papers and sorted through them until he found the one he wanted. He ran a finger down a column. “Here we go. There are no regular passenger ships that sail from here, but there are cargo ships that permit passengers. The Pearl is due to arrive later today or tomorrow, and will depart after transferring cargo, usually a half-day job for her.”

Gray was searching for a way to sail on the Lady Marion, if possible, but with the constable at his elbow, he felt restricted. He asked, “Can you give her ports of call?”

“She’ll sail north to Fleming, about five days, then four or five days. Maybe two in port, then on to the Marlstones; five, maybe six days.”

“I have a weak stomach when it comes to the ocean. Might there be another vessel that sails directly there?”

“There is, but you missed her by two days. The Lady Marion, but she will not return for close to forty days, and you don’t want to wait that long, I’m sure.”

“No others?” Gray asked, gathering as much information as possible, but knowing he had missed the ship he wanted by only two days.

“There are two more, each about ten days apart, but each of them also sail to Fleming first. The Lady Marion is the only ship that sails from here directly there.”

“Then we need to take the Pearl. What is the cost of passage for two of us?” Gray asked.

“Be needing separate cabins?” the clerk asked, his eyes on a form he was beginning to fill out.

“No,” Anna said, just as Gray was about to ask for two. She said, “This is my brother, and we do not have the coin for silly things like two cabins when we’ve slept in the same room our whole lives.”

“Food? Or will you bring your own? I have to warn you, the Pearl is a good ship, but she’s a working ship, and the food is basic and maybe not to your tastes.”

“We’ll bring our own food,” Anna said. “Are you the only one that works here?”

“That I am.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Almost five years.”

She looked at the constable and wrinkled her nose at him, then turned back to the clerk. “Just over a year ago, my brother was supposed to secure passage to the Marlstones. His name was Axe, tall, thin, brown hair and usually carried a lute.”

“Nope.”

“How can you be so sure?”

The clerk looked up. “In the last year, only six people have booked passage. I can describe each of them to you, but I assure you that none comes close to the description you gave me or gave me that name to sail under.”

Gray kept the constable in view from the corner of his eye. Anna’s questions had helped their credibility. If she had failed to ask about her brother it would have told the constable, there was a problem. He was glad she was there because he had forgotten all about it.

The clerk continued, “It’s no pleasure craft you’re booking onto. You do not wander around the decks. You stay inside except when the Captain allows you out, and you either carry your own bedpan to the rail or pay a sailor to do it for you. The Captain is your God until the ship docks. Do what he says or he might put you over the side.”

Anna said, “You might want to work on your presentation.”

The clerk said, “Young lady, I would like you to arrive at your destination, but if you have that attitude with the Captain of the Pearl he may do us all a favor and have you thrown overboard. Before I sell you passage, you will look me in my eye and promise to behave.”

“I notice you are not making my brother do the same.” She snapped, lips pursed.

“That’s because I expect him to complete the voyage.”

The clerk stared at Anna until she relented. “I promise.”

The constable chuckled and said, “Well then, that was worth coming in to see. I have things to do, but I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

“Not if I see you first,” Anna said before the door closed.

They could hear the constable laughing as he walked down the street.

The clerk said to Gray, “You might want to talk to your sister about her attitude.”

Gray chuckled and said, “Listen, there’s an extra copper in it for you, if you’ll talk to her and manage to convince her to be polite.”

“No thanks. I have a daughter just like her that keeps me busy. Your fare is here,” he pointed his finger at a total on the sheet of paper in front of him.

Gray pulled two large silvers from his purse and placed them on the counter. The clerk counted out change. “You’ll need food for at least twelve days. Don’t cut yourself short.”

“Water?” Gray asked.

“Provided by the ship. I’d suggest you take plenty of wine, or you’ll get sicker than you’ve ever been. When you see the Pearl arrive just come back here, and I’ll take you to the ship. Bring whatever you want to take with you. No pets or animals.”

Gray glanced around. “Sir, I’d like to thank you for treating us like humans. You’re the first to do so since we arrived.”

The clerk leaned over the counter. “Between you and me, I really don’t want to live here. The shipping company placed me here five years ago. I’ve been trying to transfer for the last three.”

Gray wanted to ask another personal question but didn’t know how to phrase it at first. “Your first two years were good?”

The clerk turned back to his paperwork, but muttered, “Things were different.”

Gray didn’t want to press the issue because it would probably make the clerk feel like he was being interrogated, which was true. Gray glanced at Anna, who had mercifully remained quiet during the entire exchange, and motioned to the door. He said, “When we see the ship pull in we’ll be back.”

Outside, Anna said, “What a nice man. You didn’t have to bribe him to keep me quiet. I was just playing my part for the constable, you know.”

“And doing very well. He was glad to leave us. I’d hate to have him hanging around us all the time, so keep it up. But only when he’s around.”

Anna said, “No inn, no place to eat, and almost nobody on the street. I get the feeling half the people have moved away, and the rest are scared.”

“Who are those people building the breakwater?”

“You’re trying to find the others. If they’re half as smart as I think, they’re not in public. I’ll bet that some are in abandoned buildings. I saw two men with carpenter tools going into one. Why? That don’t make sense.”

Gray noticed a curtain at a second story window flutter as if someone was watching. He moved his eyes up and down the empty street and found the single dry-goods store. “We need to place an order.”

They walked back to the store and inside found the same droll, pale woman stood behind her counter, her eyes not even noticing them as they entered and closed the door. They walked ahead, and her eyes found them. A small shudder and she said, “You’re back.”

Gray said, “We need food to last at least fifteen days. We’ll be on a ship in a few days.”

The woman nodded, but didn’t move.

“We’ll also need food for while we’re waiting. Maybe a tarp and a couple of blankets,” Gray said.

When she didn’t react, Anna walked around the counter to the shelves and selected several items, placing them on the counter. When the pile contained perhaps ten items, the pale woman noticed and offered to help. Anna told her to point to the locations, and she’d gather the items.

Gray left Anna and stood outside the door. Across the street, another woman hung wash on a line, as if in slow motion. Even the clerk selling them passage had acted slowly. Only the constable had any energy.

The answer was clear. Everyone was listless, depressed, their eyes dull, and they lost concentration. They were drugged. All of them. The only other person who reacted properly was Kelby, and she had probably only arrived a day or two ago. The one common item would be the water.

They’d passed a well when entering the village. He looked down the street and found another in the center of the road, splashing over a small fountain. He and Anna wouldn’t be drinking it. He’d heard of drugs in fountains, and even poisons occurring naturally, but didn’t believe this was an accident. It was part of the pattern.

He stuck his head back inside and called, “I’m going to the bookstore. Be right back.”

The bookstore was only a few doors away, but he felt unfriendly eyes watching him. He entered and found the old man with the white hair studying something on the floor. He didn’t look up.

Gray called, “Kelby. Are you here?”

She came from the back room, all smiles and eager to talk.

He said softly, “Everybody in this town except the constable moves slow and is depressed. I think they’re drugged. Probably by the water. That’s the only common thing I can think of that would affect them all.”

Kelby’s face fell. “I thought the owners here were just old. I haven’t been anywhere in town, not that there’s anywhere to go.”

“I don’t know for sure it’s the water, but don’t drink it. I have to get back.”

Gray hurried outside. Anna was standing beside the door to the store. She said, “I have two boxes of supplies. There are more we’ll want, but for now, we need to go check out our new house.”

At Gray’s confusion, she took his arm and steered him to a doorway across the street and down a few steps. She opened it and revealed a stairway. At the top was a second door, and inside was a small sitting room. It had the smell of a room left unused for a long time, but it was clean and far better than sleeping in the forest.

Throwing the windows open for fresh air, Anna said, “She rented it for a small copper. Is that a problem?”

“Not only is it not a problem, but it's also wonderful. This damp air would have had us miserable when our blankets got wet. Besides, I like being up here with a view of the street.”

Anna said, “As for me, I’d like to slip into that building the carpenters went into. Something is not right.”

“I think everyone here is drugged. Maybe the water.”

“That would make sense. Drug the whole town and suggest some leave. What buildings that remain behind can be used by the others. We still have water in our bottles, but when that’s gone, we’ll refill from a stream.” Anna was busy setting out her belongings.

“I hope the ship arrives soon. This place scares me.”

Anna said, “We need to watch out for anyone who is not drugged. They are probably constables or one of the others.”

That idea had never occurred to him. Now all he needed to do was to figure out how to get a look at the back of someone not drugged. If it had the dragon birthmark, it would confirm his suspicions. The problem was how to do it.