The Dragon Keeper trwc-1

by Robin Hobb

  He had never spoken so firmly to her. For a long moment, she regarded him in silence. Her mouth worked and he feared she would cry. He didn't want to make her weep, only to be sensible. She glanced over at Leftrin. The riverman had folded his arms across his chest; his face was set like stone. Even the stubble on his unshaven cheeks stood out stiffly. He looked, Sedric thought, like an indignant bulldog.

  When her gaze came back to him, she was pink all around her freckles. Her voice was low, not shrill. She declared stubbornly, 'You may do as you wish, Sedric. As you say, it's a foolish quest. I won't argue with you there, for I can't. You're right. It's insane. But I'm going.'

  He stood stunned as she turned away from him. She put her hand out as if groping blindly and suddenly Leftrin was there, offering her his arm. She set her hand on his grubby jacket sleeve and then he was leading her away, leaving Sedric staring after her. He clutched his precious case with the preserved bits of dragon in it and weighed his options. In his anger, he wanted to just do as she had suggested; leave her there and go home himself. Leave her to her own foolish decision and let her find the disaster she was so eagerly courting.

  But he couldn't. He couldn't go back to Trehaug, let alone Bingtown, without her. Certainly not back to Hest, not even if he had dragon flesh and scales worth a fortune preserved in his case. It would take time to change those things into money, time and discretion. And returning to Bingtown without Hest's wife would be the most indiscreet thing he could ever do. He'd have no way to explain it. It would focus attention on him, attention he could not afford to attract to himself just now.

  He realized abruptly that they had nearly reached the barge. Ropes were being untied, and the polemen stood ready to shove the barge back out into the river. He looked up and down the mudflats. The dragons were gone. At the river's edge, the keepers were dragging small boats down to the water. In a very short time, he suspected this area would be deserted. 'Alise!' he shouted, but she didn't even turn her head. The sound of the river and the endless wind carried his voice away. He cursed then and began to walk toward the barge as swiftly as he dared. 'Alise, wait!' he shouted as he saw her start up the ladder dangling over the barge's stern. And then he began to run.

  Day the 7th of the Grain Moon

  Year the 6th of the Independent alliance of Traders

  From Detozi, Keeper of the Birds at Trehaug

  to Erek, Keeper of the Birds at Bingtown

  Enclosed in a sealed scroll case, from the Traders' Councils at Trehaug and Cassarick, an accounting of the initial expenses of mounting the expedition to move the Dragons, with the Bingtown Council's share of said expense shown separately.

  Erek,

  Your missive concerning the cost and availability of a hundredweight sack of peas to improve the health of the flock at Trehaug has still not been delivered to me. Please re-send the information.

  Detozi

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Currents

  The dragons hadn't halted at the river's edge. Some had plunged into the shallows. Others had tried to walk on the flotsam-littered bank until the undergrowth and river debris had forced them out into the water. But all of them moved steadily and doggedly upstream.

  The keepers, including Thymara, had hastened to their small boats and followed. She had hoped to be paired with Tats. It had been a selfish hope; he was well muscled and experienced with small boats and she knew he would do his share of the work and perhaps more. Jerd had been waiting at the shore, standing by one of the small boats. She waved cheerily at Tats as they arrived and called out to him, 'I've already loaded your rucksack, slowcoach. Let's go! Your green dragon was one of the first ones into the water.'

  'Sorry, Thymara,' Tats had muttered, red-faced.

  'Sorry for what?' she'd said, but it was a moment too late for him to hear it. He was already hastening to push Jerd's boat out into the water. Nearly all of the other boats were already loaded and pushing away from the shore, each carrying two or three dragon keepers. Rapskal sat alone and dejected in the sole remaining boat. His face brightened the moment he saw her. 'Well, I guess we'll be partners, then,' he'd greeted her. And as annoyed as she'd felt with the situation, she still found herself nodding. Tats' 'sorry' was still rankling in her breast. He'd known that what he was doing was rude enough to rate an apology to her, but it still hadn't dissuaded him from doing it. The scum-rat.

  'Let me get my gear,' she'd told Rapskal, and had run back to their deserted campsite. She'd grabbed her pack and returned to the canoe. Rapskal sat in it, paddle poised, as she shoved it out into the river. She'd leapt the water and landed in the narrow boat, making it rock wildly but keeping her feet dry. Seizing her heavily-waxed paddle, she pushed them out into deeper water. A spare set of paddles was under her feet. Not for the first time, she wondered how long their paddles would stand up to the river, and how long their boat would last. The river had been mild of late, its water dark grey. Like every child who had grown up in the Rain Wilds, she knew the water was most dangerous when it ran milky white. Then anyone who fell into it might be scalded and blinded from a single dunking. The dark grey water that flowed past her paddle today would do no more than sting, but its touch was still to be avoided.

  This was her first time to partner with Rapskal in a boat. To her surprise, he proved to be competent, digging his paddle in rhythm with hers. He guided them deftly around snags and mud bars as she provided most of the power that pushed them along. They kept to the edge of the river and the shade of the leaning trees, moving where the current was slowest and soon caught up with the others. Greft, she noticed, had joined Boxter and Kase in one of the larger boats. Their paddling was uneven; Greft was using his oar mostly as a tiller. She and Rapskal moved easily alongside them and then passed them. She felt a small thrill of satisfaction at that. Rapskal grinned at her conspiratorially, and she felt an irrational lift to her spirits.

  The boats of the other keepers were arranged in a straggling line before them. Sylve and Lecter shared a canoe, as did Warker and Harrikin. Alum and Nortel seemed well matched as paddlers. Tats and Jerd had moved up to lead them all, not that leadership was necessary. The trail the dragons had left was unmistakable, both in the river shallows and on the boggy bank. They had trampled the brush into the mucky shore of the river, and in the shallows, their deep footprints streamed a deeper grey water into the slow current.

  'They're moving pretty fast, aren't they?' Rapskal observed enthusiastically.

  'Right now they are. I doubt they'll be able to keep it up for long,' she replied as she paddled doggedly. The dragons steadily and swiftly increased their lead. She was astonished to see them move so rapidly. She had expected the small swift boats to keep pace with them easily, but every time she glanced up, the dragons were farther away. Even the silver and the brown dragon were lolloping along after the others. She noticed that the silver was holding his tail above the water, and hoped he'd continue to do so. It bothered her that she hadn't finished bandaging his injury. It bothered her even more that Skymaw had left without even speaking to her. Apparently she meant little to the blue queen.

  'Did you see your dragon today?' she asked Rapskal. She was settling into the rhythm of paddling again. First, she knew, her muscles would ache. Then they'd ease into the exercise and for a time, all would go smoothly. What she dreaded was when they'd begin to ache again, because no matter how they hurt, they could not stop paddling until they went ashore for the night. A few days of travelling by boat had toughened all of the dragon keepers and taught them the basics of water-craft, but she had a feeling that her body would hurt a lot more before she was completely accustomed to this. She leaned harder into her paddling.

  'Course I did.' Rapskal timed his words to his efforts. 'After I ate, I went and groomed Heeby. Then we did our flying exercises. Then I watched Heeby eat. It made me mad. The big dragons take the best food. She doesn't get as much to eat as they do. When we stop tonight, I got to catch her a fish or something. But I think
that's going to be a problem. If the dragons go this fast, so we have to paddle all the time to keep up, when are we going to have time to hunt or fish for food for them?'

  'There's supposed to be some food on the barge for us, and some dried meat for the dragons. We don't know how long they'll keep up this pace. Maybe they'll stop in a few hours and we'll have time to hunt.' She shook her head. 'There's a lot we don't know yet. I guess we'll learn as we go along.'

  'I saw the hunters get on board the barge back there. They're supposed to help us get meat for the dragons each day.'

  'I didn't see them. I'm glad they got here before the dragons decided to leave. But if the hunters are on the barge back there, how are they going to hunt anything?'

  'That's a very good question. What's that ahead of us?'

  She squinted against the sunlight bouncing off the river. 'Looks like a big snag sticking out into the water, with a lot of driftwood piled up against it.'

  Rapskal grinned. 'We'll have to go out in the current to get around it.'

  'No. Let's hug the shore. If we have to, we'll portage around it. I don't want to get out in the current.'

  'Are you scared?' Rapskal sounded delighted at the prospect. When she glanced over her shoulder at him, he turned his wide grin on her. When he smiled, all his strangeness seemed to melt away and he became simply a very handsome Rain Wilds youth. She still shook her head at his challenge.

  'Yes, I am scared,' she replied firmly. 'And we are not going out into the current. Not until I'm better at managing this boat.'

  But suddenly, partnering with Rapskal instead of Tats did not seem such a poor trade.

  Leftrin waited until Alise was aboard the barge before he started up the ladder. He knew he needed to focus his mind on the final loading of the barge and shoving the Tarman back out into the current. No one had expected the dragons to stampede off like that. The plan had been that the barge would lead the way, followed by the keepers in their canoes guiding and encouraging the dragons. Now the dragons were completely out of sight and the last of the canoes would soon vanish around a bend in the wandering river. And here he sat, on shore still, with a cargo of dried meat, hardtack, salt pork and pickled breadleaf still being loaded. If any of the young keepers overturned their canoes, there would be nothing he could do to help them. And from what he'd seen of the youngsters, mishaps seemed more likely than not.

  Well, all he could do right now was worry about them until he had all the stores safely stowed. Then he'd have to get his barge back out into the water and headed upriver. He tried to push Alise out of his thoughts. Now was no time to be wishing that he could sit her down in the galley and offer her a quiet cup of tea and some talk. He'd been so proud of her for standing up to Sedric when he tried to bully her into backing out of her adventure. She'd kept a stone face and a stern resolve all the way back to the barge. He followed her up the ladder, wondering if he'd have time to let her know how impressed he was.

  But as he stepped onto his deck, he encountered not only a heap of unstowed cargo but three strangers lounging against it. Alise had frozen where she was, just off the ladder, her back to the barge's rail. Instinctively he moved between her and the men. He sized up their scattered goods in one glance. Spears and bows, one a heavy bow for distance shooting. A carefully folded net. Several quivers of arrows. Hunters' gear. These would be the fellows they'd been waiting for, the hunters hired by the Council. One turned toward him, grinning, and only then did he recognize Carson. He'd grown a beard. The big man put out a callused hand to him, saying, 'I'll bet you're surprised to see me here! Or maybe I was exactly what you were expecting. This is just the sort of misadventure that always finds us, so it's no coincidence we've both signed on for it.'

  Simple words spoken between old friends, yet they suddenly made Leftrin's heart sink. He desperately hoped there was no meaning layered beneath that greeting, that his use of the words was a true coincidence. He didn't want Carson to be the one that the note had warned him to expect. Not Carson. He forced an answering grin to his face and asked him, 'Now why would I be expecting a drunken sot like you on my clean deck?'

  'Because drunk or sober, I'm the best damn hunter this river has ever seen, and I'm exactly what you're going to need to keep those dragons from eating each other or you before this is all over. This is Davvie here, an up-and-coming bowman who still needs his arse kicked from time to time. He's my nephew, but don't let that stop you when it comes to arse-kicking time. And this fellow is Jess, who I only met this morning, but he seems to think he can keep up with me. I'll soon teach him better.'

  The first was a youngster near fresh-faced as a Bingtowner but with the shoulders of a good archer. He bore a strong resemblance to his uncle, with the same unruly brown hair and dark eyes. He shook Leftrin's hand and met his eyes with an honest grin. If Carson was up to something nefarious, Leftrin would wager that Davvie had no knowledge of it. He still gave the boy a serious look and told him firmly, 'You see that Skelly? The deckhand with the long black braid down her back? Well, she may look like a girl but she's not. She's my deckhand and my niece. And that means that, to you, she's not a girl.'

  Davvie looked properly daunted but Carson just shook his head, a smile twitching the corner of his mouth. 'I guarantee you, Leftrin, there will be no problems with Davvie in that department,' he said as the lad ducked his head and blushed.

  Jess was an older man with greying hair above grey eyes who scowled at Carson's deprecating introduction and offered Leftrin only a curt nod. Leftrin instantly disliked him, and felt a thrill of distrust go through him as well. He didn't offer the man his hand and Jess didn't appear to notice that lack of courtesy.

  Carson demanded abruptly, 'And aren't you going to introduce me and explain what a fresh flower like this is doing on your stinking old barge?'

  It seemed impossible but he had briefly forgotten that Alise was standing there behind him. He glanced at her then grinned as he confronted Carson. 'Stinking barge? Not until you came on board, Carson. Alise Finbok, I'm afraid I have to introduce you to an old friend of mine. Carson Lupskip. Hunter, braggart and drunk, not necessarily in that order. Carson, this is Alise. She's aboard as our expert on dragons and Elderlings, is newly arrived from Bingtown and happily willing to advise and educate us on this voyage.'

  He'd thought his words would make her smile. Instead, she ducked her head and abruptly declared in a husky voice, 'You must excuse me. I've a few things to do before we depart.' And before he could say another word, she scuttled away to her quarters and slipped inside, shutting the door firmly behind her. He suspected it would be dark and hot in there, but off she'd gone anyway. And even knowing as little of women as he did, he suspected she sought privacy for weeping. Damn him for a fool. He should have known that the confrontation with Sedric would upset her. He was just as glad the man wasn't going to be accompanying them. She'd get over her doubts a lot faster without him around. He wanted nothing so much as to follow her and reassure her, if she would allow such a thing. But he couldn't, not with this threesome cluttering up his deck with their gear and themselves. When he turned back to Carson, he found his old friend regarding him knowingly.

  'Is she expert on more than dragons?' he asked teasingly.

  'I wouldn't know,' Leftrin snapped back at him. Then, embarrassed, he tried to soften it with, 'Welcome aboard, Carson. Maybe tonight we'll find some time to catch up on old news. For now, please, all three of you find yourselves some space in the deckhouse and stow that stuff where it won't be underfoot. Swarge! Did the rest of our cargo come on board yet? Because at the rate those dragons were travelling, we'd best be after them.'

  'They won't keep up that pace for long,' Carson predicted. 'By afternoon—'

  The hunter stopped speaking abruptly, staring past Leftrin. The captain turned to find Sedric awkwardly climbing over the rail of the barge. He gripped his supply case to his chest with one arm while he struggled. 'What do we have here?' Carson asked quietly. A slow smile spread a
cross his face.

  'Oh, him.' Leftrin fought for neutrality in his voice. He spoke to Carson alone, saying, 'He goes where Alise does. Supposed to look after her.'

  'That must be inconvenient,' Carson muttered quietly.

  'Just shut up,' Leftrin replied with feeling.

  Davvie had darted over to the ladder and attempted to help Sedric by taking his case for him. The man scowled at the lad and held tight to it as he clambered awkwardly over the railing. As he straightened up, he brushed at his clothing, and then came directly to the captain, demanding, 'Where's Alise?'

  'She's gone to her quarters. We launch soon. You'd better round up your gear if you want it to go ashore with you.' Leftrin kept his voice flat.

  The Bingtown man stopped and stared at him. He didn't quite grind his teeth but he clenched them for a moment. 'I won't be going ashore,' he grated. He turned away from Leftrin and said meaningfully over his shoulder, 'I wouldn't leave Alise alone on this barge.'