Dragon Clan #6: Anna's Story

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“If you plan to live out the day, you’ll put away the knife and be out the door before I get to your table.”

Everyone turned to look at the huge man filling the door to the kitchen, a man so tall he had to duck and turn sideways to enter.

Anna said, “Raymer. Would you like a mug of ale or beer?”

The three men at the table had all moved a full step closer to the wall as if that would help them. Raymer took two steps closer and said to the one who pulled the knife. “This is your lucky day because if you want to fight it will have to be with me and not that little slip of a sidewinder over there. Why are you lucky it is with me? Because I’ll just kick your butt up one side and down the other. Her? She’ll slit your stomach open, and when your intestines fall out, she’ll use them to wrap around your neck and choke you. That’s Anna if you’ve never heard of her.”

All eyes turned to Anna. She fought smiling and lost.

Raymer said, “See? She’s enjoying this. She provoked you so she would have a kill today. I don’t think she has killed a man in almost a week.”

One of the men eased down the side of the wall and out of the front door. Another took a tentative step in that direction. The one who had the knife in hand grumbled, “You didn’t hear what she said.”

Raymer backhanded the man as the last word issued from his mouth. He ended up smashing his back against the wall and sliding down as if his legs had no bones. “That’s for being provoked. Learn to keep your temper. Now, either get out of here or die.”

The barmaid was standing at the door to the kitchen, her eyes wide and knees looking weak. Anna strode to her, “All the rooms are rented for the night, you said? You just said that to make me leave. You lied to me and were rude. I don’t like those things. Worse, you’d send a young girl to sleep out in the dangerous night because of a patron that didn’t like her? You’d do that, and you think you’re so noble. Well, I have a few more things to say to you.”

“Get out of here,” the woman screeched.

“That’s another thing we’re going to talk about.” Anna pulled her new knife and tested the edge with her thumb, never taking her eyes off the woman. She pulled a silver coin and held it up for inspection. “I am renting the Inn. All of it. For the entire night.”

“What?” the woman asked, her voice weak and soft.

“I’m renting this Inn tonight. All of it. One full silver should cover it and then some. With that, I want you gone so I don’t have to look at your face. Please lock the front door, then stand out there and turn away any who want in.”

“Y-you can’t do that.”

Anna said, “I’m paying a fair price. The alternative is for you to find other work because this Inn will be a small pile of ashes by morning if you do not accept my offer.” She turned and went back to the table. “But, feel free to call the constables and tell them a little twelve-year-old girl is paying you more than a fair price for the use of the Inn. When one of them gets here, I’ll sit on his knee and tell him what a mean old lady you are.”

The woman fled by the kitchen door, not locking the front as Anna had asked. The silver coin was placed in the center of the table.

Raymer joined her. “Making friends with strangers is something I’ve heard people from your village are good at.”

“Not all of us.”

Raymer said, “We sail tomorrow morning. Early.”

“Tanner has things all arranged?”

“Yes, I just came to get you and Thief. We can sleep on the boat. I think Carrion will arrive before long. Did you feel the touch of his dragon a short time ago?”

“No, but I was so mad I could have missed it.”

“And your anger was probably the reason the dragon ventured so close to the city to begin with.” Raymer didn’t have a mug and didn’t see the serving woman, so he stood and walked into the empty kitchen. He found a mug and bottle of red wine. Back at the table, he placed it in the center. “The dragon was coming to rescue you, I think. Hopefully, Carrion called it back. It still needs rest.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. We needed a place to meet and talk about our plans and there’s no place on the ship large enough. Now everyone can meet here, especially since we’re alone and will serve ourselves all night. Want anything?”

“No,” Anna said.

Thief said, “You were going to fight that man?”

“My temper has been a little short, lately. I should have just left them to their Inn.”

“Well, that’s no fun,” Raymer said. “Anything new?”

Anna told him about the man who had shoved Thief down in the alley and checked his back for Dragon Clan. Raymer said, “I’m not sure what it means, but it can’t be good.”

The man who had served Anna and Thief earlier entered via the front door, angry and followed by two town constables, badges worn prominently on their chests. He was not put off by Raymer’s size.

“This is the man,” he declared, pointing to Raymer. “Arrest him.”

Both constables slowed when they saw Raymer, even more so when they noticed his insolent smile. Taking him would cost them a beating and maybe teeth. They were used to arresting drunken sailors, not a man who was a head taller than them, with arms like tree stumps. Even more unusual, Anna, who still appeared to be a young girl, stepped between them and Raymer, holding up one palm for them to halt, and the other hand on the hilt of her new knife, an obvious threat.

“Move out of the way, miss.” One of them warned.

Anna said, “This is for your own good, sir. I assure you no city rules have been broken, and we’re willing to discuss it with you in a peaceful manner, but take another step and you’ll deal with me. I will be treated fairly, or I will fight.”

“You?” The other asked in an unbelieving voice.

“She’s the dangerous one,” a man standing outside the doorway in the darkness said.

It was the man she’d run off earlier. But it stalled the constables for a moment. Anna took the opportunity to speak. “No laws have been broken, constables. I informed the woman who was serving us earlier that I wished to have the entire Inn for my friends and me tonight. She did not object.” Anna pointed to the silver coin in the center of the table.

The waiter scowled and shouted, “You never talked to me about it. I’m the owner.”

Anna turned to him and asked, “Sir, did you ever identify yourself to me as the owner? No, you did not, and the woman who was here did not object to me renting the Inn for the evening, so if you have any objections, I suggest that you speak to your worker, not me.”

“My wife,” he corrected.

“Then I assume she has the authority to either rent me the Inn or object and refuse. I made her an honest offer, and she did not object. So, as far as I’m concerned, I have this place all night.” Anna turned to the constables. “Now that we have cleared that up, and I have legally rented the building for the evening, would either of you care for a mug of ale or perhaps fine wine? Anything to eat?”

“Cleared up?” The owner shouted. “Nothing is cleared up and I want you out of here!”

“Hold on. It sounds like this woman, eh… girl, did rent the place.” One constable said.

The other nodded, “If she damages the Inn call on us again, but I suggest you collect your silver coin, far more than you would have earned this night, and leave. You don’t want to accuse someone falsely of stealing it, do you?” His eyes returned to Anna, “We can’t enjoy a mug while on duty, miss, but we have the early shift this evening.”

“Our meeting is not expected to last that long. Please feel free to return after your shift, and bring the other constables, too. Just one other thing, I do not want any of the regular customers in here tonight. They were rude to me earlier, and I’d appreciate your help in keeping them away. You’ll be preventing trouble if you’re here to keep them out, and your captain will surely think well of that.”

“You can’t do that,” the owner shouted.

“That includes him,” Anna said, jamming a thumb in the owner’s direction.

“Come on, now. Time for you to leave. A deal is a deal,” the first constable said to the owner, taking his upper arm firmly and turning him to face the door.

Anna called after them, “See you later, boys. Did I mention all your ale and wine tonight is paid for by me? And your food, too.”

Raymer smirked and said, “You killed my entertainment for the evening.”

“Sitting in a cell is entertainment?”

“I didn’t think I would end up there. But then you interfered. Still, I appreciate your style in keeping the owner out of his own Inn. If you don’t mind, I’ll go down to The Rose and tell them we met here.” Raymer stood and walked to the front door. He paused on the top step and said in a loud voice, “The Inn is closed to all of you deadbeats until tomorrow. Anybody making trouble will answer to me or the constables.”

Anna chuckled and listened to a few gripes, but the small crowd dispersed and then she turned to Thief. “Well, you haven’t said much, have you?”

“You talked. For all.”

“Is that a compliment? If not, pretend it is. Are you hungry?” At his nod, she stood, “Let’s go into the kitchen and see what’s there. He eagerly followed her. They found a stew bubbling in a large black pot hung over a low fire, as well as two thick slabs of meat roasting. Several blocks of cheese were next to jars of nuts, dried fruits, and vegetables.

Thief sliced cheese while Anna tried her new knife on the meat. The blade was sharp enough to cut slices so thin she could see light through them if she held them up to the open rear door. Remembering Thief’s incident in that alley, she pulled the heavy door closed and barred it.

They carried plate after plate into the dining room after pushing four tables together on one side. They pushed the tables on the other side together, also, thinking they would get their food and carry it to the other tables to eat. Since she’d managed to run off the owners, everyone would fend for themselves. She didn’t know how many would attend, but she hoped Carrion would arrive, and that would make five. Captain Jamison six, and any others Raymer invited. She selected bottles of wine and carried two casks of ale and a tap to the tables.

Tanner entered and smiled. “Heard about you taking on a pair of constables.”

“All lies. Ask them for yourself, later.”

“They’re returning?” he asked, looking astounded.

She gave him her sweetest smile. “Well of course they are. I invited them, and their friends to join us later.”

“You are one of a kind, Anna.” He helped himself to a mug and filled it with white wine.

Anna had tasted red and found it dry. “Does white wine taste like red?”

“Not at all,” he poured a little into a mug.

She tasted it. Sweet, plus a little tart. A taste she might grow to enjoy. “When are the others arriving?”

“They were right behind me. Are you aware there are eight or ten men standing outside in the street? They don’t look very happy. A constable won’t allow them to come closer.” Tanner said.

“If they cause us any problems I’m sure the local constables will be more than happy to help us.”

Carrion entered. He limped, but otherwise looked healed and happy. “This is where we’re throwing the party, I hear.”

Anna gave him a hug and asked about his dragon. Then he passed a few words with Tanner, and Anna watched as he went to Thief and sat beside him speaking as if they were the oldest of friends. Thief smiled at something he said, and Anna felt warm all over.

Captain Jamison entered next, along with a boy who wore tattoos of dragons on both arms. Anna recognized both from their descriptions. The Captain was almost as she’d pictured him, and after a brief introduction, he joined Carrion. He hadn’t seen Carrion since they had sailed to Breslau, and they fell into deep conversation.

The boy interested her most. He was a crewman on The Rose, a Crab from Breslau. His name was Devlin, and he also sat near Carrion, although remaining quiet and respectful. He asked Thief a few questions and seemed very glad to talk to Carrion. Together, the four of them laughed, talked, and ate.

Tanner remained at her side, helping with the food and table. The only one missing was Raymer, and who could tell where he might be, or how long before he would arrive. She leaned closer to Tanner, “Raymer?”

“There may be a problem.”

She had almost expected Raymer to get into some sort of trouble. She raised her eyebrows, asking for more information.

“The man who was spying on you? It seems the same one was watching The Rose. One of the crew spotted him and reported it to the Captain.”

“And?”

“Raymer went with a sailor in a small boat. They rowed well around the docks, staying out of sight, and Raymer was going to try to sneak up on him.”

“That sounds like him.” She went to the table and joined with the others, listening to stories she didn’t believe, and most of which began with phrases like, ‘you won’t believe this’ or ‘I’m not gonna lie’ when all at the table knew not to believe most of it. Even Thief understood and laughed with them.

The second keg of ale was tapped and the stories taller and louder, when the door opened. It was now dark outside, and those who had been out there had either gone home or back to their ships. Raymer walked inside, with a smile, larger than any Anna had seen.

He paused at the door and growled, “I found that low-down skunk who’s been sneaking behind us and pulling up our shirts.”

The room stilled. Like all of them, Anna wondered what Raymer had done to the man. Raymer drug out the answer, then reached outside and pulled a man into the room. “This is him. A worthless sort of human if you ask some . . . But not me! This is Dancer, from the Bear Mountain Family.”

The man was perhaps forty and moved with the ease and grace of a warrior. He turned, despite Thief and Devlin being in the room, and pulled up the back of his shirt to display the evil-looking tattoo. Then all the other Dragon Clan returned the demonstration of respect and showed theirs.

Anna had recognized the name instantly. Dancer was Fleet’s father, and he had accompanied Raymer to Castle Warrington when they defeated King Ember’s army. Dancer was known as a fierce warrior. Raymer had his arm around him as if they were brothers.

But his entrance solved the mystery of who had assaulted Thief and searched him for the mark of the Dragon Clan. Everyone had suspected it to be an agent of the King or one of a Triad or bounty hunter. Finding it was one of their own relieved unspoken fears.

Dancer was not as outgoing as Raymer, but few were. Only Carrion qualified in that arena, and Raymer still won. Soon, Dancer made his way to Thief and shook his hand. Then he moved from one to another introducing himself.

More wine and ale flowed. People ate. Raymer drew attention to himself again and pointed to Dancer. “All of us know why we are here and what we’re attempting. All but Dancer. We’d like to hear from you. What are you doing here?”

Dancer stood, looking embarrassed, but determined. He said, “When my son told me about all he’d found I wanted to come see for myself. Then I heard of others and their tales. I heard of how our King is so stupid he may lose his kingdom—and maybe he should. But not to people invading our lands.”

Several cheered and more than one mug was raised in salute.

Dancer went on. “My son is grown, my wife died years ago, so nothing was holding me back. I came to fight for Bear Mountain and all the Dragon Clan.”

More cheers and laughter sounded. Dancer sat again, face still a little flushed. Raymer gulped more ale and called for attention again. He pointed to Anna. “Let’s hear what you have to say.”

Knowing she couldn’t get out of it, but resenting how Raymer put her on the spot again, she stood and moved to where she could see them all. Like Dancer, she didn’t shout. “Looking at you, I see heroes. I see people who refuse to accept defeat, even when our King is unaware of the coming invasion. Quint, the future Earl of Warrington, is at the King’s palace now, and if he feels he must, he will seize the throne in an attempt to save the kingdom.”

Several had not known that, and the cheering stopped. She waited to let it sink in and then continued, “Also at Princeton Castle is the Earl of Princeton and his son, Edward, son of Witten, and the future Earl of Princeton. Both Earls are friends of the Dragon Clan, and both have considerable influence, as well as power. Since King Ember has no daughter or son, either of the two Earls and their offspring, rise to the top of the line of succession, with Quint’s father at the top, but he will refuse the throne. In other words, we can expect that both Earls will abdicate to their sons, one of which would become the new king, probably Quint.”

Now they sat in stunned silence, not even tasting their ale or wine. Nobody ate from the plates piled high. It seemed as if all waited for her to continue. “A supporter of the Dragon Clan on the throne would be wonderful, but no matter who is King, the successful invasion by Breslau probably means the end of our Dragon Clan. They already have one of our own, and maybe more. The boy Stinson hates us, yet he wears the same mark on his back, as we do. There is no doubt he had told them everything he knows. There is also no doubt they will use that knowledge to destroy us.”

“Why? Tanner asked softly.

Anna was glad of the question. “They are coming here for land, I think. For room to expand. Most of Breslau lies on a large river, large enough for huge shipyards, but away from the river is an arid desert. They live and grow food on the banks of the river, but all that land is not in use, or able to be used.”

Dancer said, “They could dig canals and irrigate.”

“They already have. I think there’s a limit to how far they can expand to either side of the river and they may have reached it. At some point, they simply need more land to grow enough food.”

Raymer said, “They think in the long term, and that’s where they present the most danger. The Marlstone Islands were taken piece by piece. Breslau went in and bought a business here, a farm there. After twenty years, they own almost all of it and now refuse any ships to port there. Water and food are essential in sailing to Breslau because of the distance.”

Carrion was looking at the low ceiling, thinking. Without preamble, he said, “That means they have been planning this invasion for twenty years.”

“At least,” Anna confirmed. “When I sailed from Shrewsbury to Fleming the Captain of that ship shared with me that all maps, charts, and ships' logs have been destroyed, stolen, or gone missing for even longer than that. Destroying them effectively hides Breslau from the rest of the world.”

Captain Jamison muttered, “I can vouch for that. Any charts of what’s over there are hard to come by. When I was young, there were available charts at every port. Then they disappeared.”

Dancer said to Carrion. “You’re right. This thing has been planned for at least twenty years. Destroying the maps and charts, buying the Marlstones, and don’t forget them buying most of Shrewsbury and building the breakwater and port to accommodate the ships carrying troops. They probably have spies in every city and at every market, let alone watching the roads.”

Thoughtfully, Carrion said, “If it was me, I’d bribe a few lower ranking officers in the King’s army and as they rise in ranks, hold the threat of treason over their heads. Maybe buy a small farm for the parents of a lieutenant and wait for him to get promoted to general. No telling how many officers you can buy in twenty years.”

Then Raymer added, “When they invade, half the officers might order their men away from fighting. Breslau can win the war easily.”

The talk died down. There was more drinking than eating or talking. Tanner caught Anna’s attention. “So what do we do?”

The overwhelming odds and defeatist attitudes had worn on her. She had begun the venture with so much enthusiasm and excitement, but now she had sunken to the depths of throwing an innkeeper out of his own establishment. Breslau started planning and laying the groundwork before she was born. How could she hope to make a difference, let alone stop it? Looking at her feet, she said, “Hey, you’re older, experienced, and three of you have fought in battles. I’m just a little girl. Why ask me?”

Everyone laughed. Their reaction struck hard at something deep inside her. She lifted her head and looked at them. All of them, one at a time. She saw they waited for her next words as if she was going to say something profound. She chose the words carefully. “I’m going to fight.”