Dragon Clan #4: Gray's Story

by LeRoy Clary

  She ran to inspect the camp site, selected a place for her bed, and started gathering sticks and branches. She pulled larger branches, some as big around as her arm and as long as she was tall, to the fire pit.

  When Gray set up his bed and looked at the growing pile of wood, especially the larger limbs from trees, she shrugged. “Push-wood.”

  “I know what push-wood is. Let it burn in the middle and when it burns in half, push the two ends together.”

  “Smarty. Tessa told me to do it this way while I was on watcher duty.”

  “She told me, too. Also, when we were on duty.”

  They laughed. With the fire burning cheerfully as the day ended, Anna said, “We may as well start acting our parts. We use our real names, and our missing brother’s name, Billy.”

  “No. Axe.”

  “Or course. Your real brother’s name,” Gray said, understanding at once. “That’s better. We know what he looks like and how he acts. Okay, you can barely remember our mother. You were too young, but I do. We didn’t see our father much because he was always soldiering for the king.”

  “Axe was not a good enough farmer to grow the wheat and rye to sell and pay our taxes,” Anna added with a gleeful voice as she stirred the fire and placed the first of the long branches across it. “Besides, our ground was not the best for a farm. Not enough water.”

  Gray said, “Half a year ago the taxmen came. They burned the farmhouse and the barn, then sent us away.”

  “But I rescued the milk cow and dog. I was a hero,” she giggled.

  “Don’t get too many details into the story.”

  She stiffened and snapped at him, “Not enough detail is as bad as too little. I saved the dog and cow, and we took it to where we’ve lived for the last months. With our grandma.”

  “But she lives on a small farm and can’t support us. Axe had left before the tax collectors came. He had heard from a knife sharpener there was work in Shrewsbury so went there.” Gray liked the story. It had enough detail. More than enough on some facts, but Anna was right. The little lie about her saving the dog and cow was enough to sell it to anyone listening.

  Anna said, “We haven’t heard of him in a year, so we decided to find him.”

  Gray paused, considering the story from all aspects and found one flaw. “I have two gold coins hidden with my things.”

  Anna shrugged.

  Coins were not used in the family, and she didn’t understand the implications. Gray said, “One gold coin will buy a small farm. Two, a large farm with good animals. If we’re poor, I cannot chance them being found, or our story rings false.”

  “You have others? Besides gold coins?”

  “Silver, small and large. Copper, and snits.”

  “Snits?”

  “Copper coins cut into slivers for small purchases. A slice of meat with bread costs a snit,” Gray explained.

  Anna stared into the fire and held out her hands to warm them. “Easy enough. We hide the gold coins before entering Shrewsbury. We can always collect them when we leave, or fetch them while were there if we need them.”

  The obvious solution made him cringe inwardly. He should have thought of that. She would think him dense if he kept on making mental errors like that.

  “I do have to repeat a request,” she said. “I really wish you’d stop testing me with silly things like you just did. You were going to hide the coins all the time but wanted to see if I would figure it out. Either that or you wanted to make me feel good. Stop it. Treat me like an adult.”

  Gray nodded. If she only knew, he hadn’t presented her with any tests.

  The following morning dawned bright and clear. They were barely on the road when the first traveler, a young man, approached them. He was going in the other direction. After greeting them, he asked about the road to Fleming. Gray provided information and in return asked about Shrewsbury.

  The young man said, “It’s a tough place. Can’t even find food to eat for two days. The constable inspects everyone new, and they don’t take to outsiders. Just a warning for you folks.”

  “Is there an inn?”

  “Used to be one. It got bought about three years ago and closed. Now travelers got no place to stay, so most don’t go there anymore.”

  Three years ago. Right, when the others first arrived. Gray handed him the last hard biscuit from his pack, as well as a few dried grapes. He nodded for him to continue talking.

  “Most other businesses quit about that same time, so there’s no work to be had. That’s why I’m heading to Fleming.”

  The young man needed a break. The sole of his boot flapped, and his clothing was almost rags. Gray said, “When you get there, find the Red Bear Inn. Inside, ask for a man named Bear and tell him that Gray said you’re a good man to work for him. He has jobs.”

  The young man’s eyes came alive. “You mean it? There might be work?”

  “I think Bear can always use a good man.”

  Suddenly the young man couldn’t wait to depart. They watched him leave, walking much faster than he had when coming towards them.

  Anna said, “That was nice of you. Will Bear give him work?”

  “I think so.”

  “The others came and closed the inn, bought up the businesses, and have the constable checking out new people. This is not going to be as easy as we thought,” Anna said.

  “We should get there late today, but I expected to stay at an inn and poke around for a few days. I think our plans just changed. Our story too.”

  “What’re you thinking?”

  “We spend a day or two camping outside the town. Watch. Learn. When we go in, we look for passage to the Marlstone Islands.”

  “The reason we’re going there?”

  “Same as before. Axe was supposed to go there for work if he found none in Shrewsbury. Our father has a brother there.”

  “I like it. We can learn until our ship is ready to depart, but we may have to wait for days before the right ship can take us.”

  “I have a friend who will be at a bookstore. Her name is Kelby. If anything happens to me, you go see her and tell her who you are.”

  “Gray, you really are impressing me. You act like a dolt, but you actually know what you’re doing.”

  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.”