“I didn’t say who my father is; He’s the King of Zebulon.”
“Ah, the Lord of Steel. Great weapons are said to exist because of your country’s industry,” Darr said.
“Yes, well, those weapons are the burden of my existence. I’m promised in marriage as part of a treaty so my father can acquire iron ore and other natural resources,” she said. “He values the weapons more than his daughter. I’ll be forced to bed a man I can’t stand to be in the same room with. My life won’t be that of respect and appreciation, as most predestined marriages. I might as well be a common whore. That’s all that man wants from me, flat on my back and birthing his ugly babies.”
“So, you ran in search of a true mate, instead of a life of duty in an arranged, loveless marriage,” Thalin said knowingly. “Classic female plight and response.”
“No, you’re incorrect, sir. I fled to help the dragons,” Charlotte said in a terse and tight tone. “I don’t care about my future, but rather the future of the Old Ones.”
“Did she just say dragons again?” Gadlin asked Thalin, who simply nodded at his friend.
Chapter Four
“Yes, I have met a dragon,” Charlotte said. Gadlin shuddered. “So did I.”
“Were you as shocked as I was that they weren’t as ferocious as in the fairytales of our childhood?” she asked, her eyes dancing and sparkling in the firelight.
“Are you serious?” Gadlin exclaimed. “The dragons I met were far worse than any fairytale.”
Charlotte looked puzzled. “I’m sure we’re not talking about the same creatures. The dragon I met was quite civilized.”
“Civilized?” Gadlin exclaimed, looking horrified.
Wandalor interjected, “Maybe we should let her tell her story.”
“I disliked being cloistered in the keep. I would sneak out and get fresh air whenever my maid was occupied and my father was busy with business. Halfway down the stairs I stopped and looked out the porthole window at the night sky. The moon was full and bright, and glimmered off the distant wave on the shore of the ocean. As you know, the kingdom of Zebulon is on the coast of the Derkasing Sea. The waves were calling to me to come out and walk the soft, white sand. I knew I shouldn’t venture out at that late hour, especially unchaperoned. I thought I shouldn’t risk the fury of my father. He’s known for his gentleness or for being calm,” Charlotte said with a shudder.
“I tried and failed at resisting the urge to go out into the night air. The peacefulness lured me to the depth of the darkness. I crept down, out to the back hall close to the servants’ quarters. In the kitchen I heard the clatter of dishes being washed and the chatter of maids gossiping. I had no desire to stand and listen to the help discuss my future as if they had any say in the outcome. I pushed hard on the heavy wooden door leading out to the back garden. The night air struck my face, hard and clean. The perfume of my mother’s roses were sweet as I walked through the gate and onto the twisting paths of the garden.
“Just beyond the gate was the fountain of cherubs, flowing quietly and gently. I continued forward to the opening of the great maze. The maze was created for my mother’s amusement and desire for adventure. It had tall walls of thick shrubs, and many a guest has gotten lost in the turns and dead ends. The ivy twisted and turned in the branches.” The men nodded, all but Thalin. I would not get lost, he thought.
“I loved to run through the maze and pretend I was lost, but I knew every turn so well I could walk the maze in my sleep. I reached the familiar corner that opened up to a large garden with a stone wall on three sides. In the clearing there are stone benches here and there. Hanging from a great oak tree was a simple swing made from a plank of wood and two large ropes. There were large topiaries. One was a fifteen-foot-tall lion that stood on hind legs, ready to pounce. The other was a unicorn, also on hind legs, taller than the lion.” Charlotte smiled. “The unicorn was my favorite.”
She continued her story. “I ventured over to the swing and pulled on the rope to test it. After a few strokes of my legs, I decided it was safe to push it harder, faster, and higher. I laughed out loud at the sense of freedom that flying gave me.
“Suddenly I felt a rush of wind behind me that caused the swing to soar higher still. The wind pushed again and this time I heard a rustle behind me. I abruptly stopped and asked who was out there. I received no answer. I heard a crackle of leaves as if under the feet of some heavy creature. I thought maybe it was a bear, but I knew that was a silly assumption. There hadn’t been bears in the area in years. I tiptoed to the tree line of the forest and went into the trees. Most likely it was a deer or another woodland animal I had disturbed.
“Then I saw it standing there, staring back at me. The creature was tall, but the eyes looked almost human. It stood completely still. ‘I am sorry, Your Grace’ a deep, manly voice said, yet something strange rang from the tone. I backed out of the trees, never taking my eyes off the creature. I spoke in a steady voice, though I was shaking. ‘Please step forward; I need to see you more clearly,’ I said.”
Charlotte softly continued, “Slowly the thing moved through the brush and trees. The moonlight bounced off the shiny skin of the creature. It was deep garnet, like the most brilliant of rubies. The eyes were soft blue and full of kindness. Then it spoke. ‘I did not mean to give you a fright, dear princess,’ it said. I jumped but said, ‘I have never met a talking dragon before.’ Did he just smile? I thought. ‘You have met my kind before, but have never heard them?’ He did smile, I was certain. I said again, ‘I have never met.... seen a dragon before.’
“The noble dragon bowed his head and introduced himself. ‘I am Varain. My home was destroyed by troops from the East. As you know, a dragon’s carcass brings a large profit these days.’ He continued to speak of a great conflict where his family were killed and sold, even his children. He concluded his story by saying, ‘Maybe your father the great King of Zebulon will allow me to sleep in his cattle house during the daylight tomorrow and I will continue my journey after sunset.’ I asked him then, ‘How do you know who I am?’ Varain looked down to the stones I was standing on. The coat of arms was displayed on the stone work. I had forgotten where I was standing.’
“Then I said, ‘Well, Sir Dragon, you surely have heard of my father’s famous temper. I am out tonight without his consent. He would not be pleased if I woke him with a dragon trailing me.’ He nodded. He had heard of my father in detail. He said, ‘I wish to cause you no trouble, Miss. I will be on my way.’ Varain turned to go. ‘Wait!’ I shouted, and explained I had a friend who might give him a place to sleep.
“He followed me out and around the maze. No need to try to fit a large dragon through that puzzle. We headed down the large hill toward the shore. After a little while I heard a voice behind me: ‘Miss?’ But I kept walking, not really listening. I had found a talking dragon. How amazed my friend would be. ‘Miss...Miss? Wouldn’t flying be faster?’ Varian asked.
“He pushed out his chest and spread his huge, beautiful wings that glittered red and gold on the underside, in the folds. I asked him if I could touch his wings. Varain nodded and dipped one of his wings low where I could reach it. I took a slow step towards him, reached out, and touched it. To my surprise the inside of his wing was soft and velvety under my fingers. Soft as fine silk. He lowered his neck. I reached up and climbed on to his back. He said, ‘Hold tight, princess. We cannot have your royal bones broken by a fall.’ And with that Varian took to the air.”
Charlotte looked around at the faces of the travelers. They all sat staring back at her, enthralled by her story. After a second, the realization that she had stopped speaking hit them and they all began to speak at once. All except Wandalor, who was tapping a smoking pipe on the bottom of his boot.
“Why were you not terrified? Most women would have been scared senseless,” Darr opined “He spoke? To you, a female? That is highly unusual,” Thalin said.
“You touched it?” Johan said.
“Not only did she touch
it, she climbed on the thing’s back and let it take her.” Gadlin was repulsed.
“You all seem to have a stereotypical mindset about females, in particular female humans. You are wrong, Wandalor; I do not believe I have much in common with you and your companions. I bid you goodnight.” Charlotte prepared her sleeping gear close to the fire and settled in for the night.
Wandalor let Charlotte slip into her bedroll before he spoke. “Then let us tell you who we are and where we come from. perhaps then you will see we are similar.”
Charlotte, her back to the fire, sighed. She was not raised to be rude, and they had given her safety, warmth, and listened to her talk of dragons. Slowly she turned over and propped chin on her hand.
“I will listen,” she said, and Wandalor smiled at her.
“Very well. Johan, you should tell your story first, as you usually fall asleep before any of us,” Wandalor said.
Johan didn’t argue. It was true, he liked sleep more than most, so he began to speak as he stifled a yawn.
Chapter Five
“So, you want to know how I came to be in his employ?” Johan queried.
“One thing at a time,” Wandalor cautioned.
“Well, it’s a long and complicated story. There are a lot of people involved. However, I’ll boil it down to the bare necessities so that you’ll easily understand. Sound like a plan?” Johan asked.
“Don’t insult her, or us,” Darr growled.
“First off, I was in the city of Dakar. I was working as a stevedore. You know, one of the guys who moves cargo off the ship, onto the pier and off the pier, into a warehouse. I was working as part of a four-man group. We had all been friends for a number of weeks, working on the pier, and we weren’t getting paid much. We were getting paid weekly, and very little. One of the guy’s names was Marco, and there was Nicholas too. Oh, and there was Guy. There was nothing really remarkable about any of us. Other than the fact that we were four men who worked well as a crew. We understood each other. We were all human except for Guy, who’s half-Orc. Now understand, Guy wasn’t his real name. We couldn’t say his orc name so we just called him Guy, and he answered.” Johan looked around the fire. He saw that his friends and the woman were actually listening, so he continued.
“Somethings about half-orcs that not everybody knows is that half-orcs are rarely the result of loving unions, and as such are usually forced to grow up hard and fast. They’re constantly fighting for protection. Half-orcs as a whole resent this treatment, and rather than play the part of the victim they tend to lash out. They’re unknowingly confirming the biases of those around them. A few feared, distrusted, and spat upon half-orcs. A few manage to surprise their detractors with great deeds and unexpected wisdom, though sometimes it’s easier just to crack a few skulls. Others opt for trying to blend into human society, constantly demonstrating that they are not monsters. Their need to always prove themselves worthy encourages other half-orcs.” Charlotte broke in, “Orcs are well known, Johan, by anyone schooled past the age of five.”
Johan ignored her and continued his story. “My crew and I were given the ticket to unload a new ship that had come into port. The ship’s name was The Kellerman. Now, I don’t expect any of you to know who that is or for it to have any significance to you. It’s just one of those details that sticks out in your head that later on you remember. That’s what we did, we unloaded the ship of all of its cargo. There were people getting off the vessel as well. They had booked passage there to Dakar. One of the last people to get off of the ship was a woman whose name was Christiann— Chris, as she would like to be called. It turned out that Chris had hired someone on the vessel to act as her bodyguard. The man’s name was Chang. Now Chris was a rare beauty. She had jade green eyes, light colored skin, and straight black hair. She was short, but not like a dwarf.” Johan looked at his friends and could see the question. “She didn’t carry any weapons.” They nodded, so he continued.
“She had to have been half-Elf. I never really got close enough to her to examine her completely, even if I wanted to. She spoke mainly to Marco. Marco came to us and said that after we had unloaded all the cargo this woman wanted to hire us as bodyguards. She booked passage to Dakar so that she could take ownership of something left to her by a family member. She indicated she wasn’t going to be in town very long and would be getting on a vessel within the next week. Marco told us that working for her for one week, we’d make what we earned in six months of working on the docks. I was in. Six months of pay for one week of work? There was no way I could turn that down. So, after we had unloaded the cargo, her man Chang essentially turned her over to us. He waited around on the docks next to her while we finished up what we were doing. When Marco walked over, Chang walked off and disappeared into the crowd. We escorted Chris to an inn off of the market, named The Shattered Star.”
“From the outside it looked delightful; beautiful and intimate. Large and small stones and thick hardwood logs made up most of the building’s outer structure. It was hard to see through the small stained-glass windows, but the happiness and joy from within could be felt outside. As we entered the tavern through a decorated metal door, we were welcomed by laughing voices and a sense of home. The bartender was extremely busy, but still managed to welcome us with a smile. It was as lovely inside as it was on the outside. The walls were full of paintings, all in a different style.”
“Johan, why do you think we need to know what the inside of a tavern inn looks like? We have seen many,” Darr groused.
“Because women want details like that. I know women, Darr,” Johan said. “Fine, I’ll get to the point.”
“The tavern was packed with people. Soldiers seemed to be the primary clientele there, which often led to exciting evenings. Several long tables were occupied by separate groups who, after having had quite a few drinks, tried to prove which group was the best. The other, smaller tables were occupied by people who were playing games. Judging by their laughter, they were either telling jokes or great embarrassing tales. Even most of the stools at the bar were occupied, though nobody seemed to mind more company. We’d heard rumors about the tavern, Shattered Star. It was famous for something, but we couldn’t remember what. Though, judging by the number of cups, tankards, and glasses on the tables, it was probably the fine alcoholic drinks. We managed to find a seat and prepared for what was to undoubtedly be a great evening. Our employer got a room and then she got two more rooms; one on either side of her room. We were to stay there at the inn. We lived in Dakar, but she wanted us right there. Who am I to say no to a free room and food?”
“City boy,” Thalin said under his breath.
Johan ignored Thalin and kept talking, “The next day we all got up and went downstairs to the main room, Chris was down there already, having breakfast. We all sat and had a pleasant conversation, filling Chris in about the town over breakfast. Presumably, we were telling her things she didn’t know. She finished eating then showed Marco this piece of paper, which he scrutinized. He then returned to Nicholas and Nicholas is like, ‘Yeah, I know exactly where this is located.’ Guy and I are sitting there, just waiting for what I don’t know what. I was very young. This was the first time I had ever done anything other than what I was supposed to be doing, working as a stevedore.” Johan’s friends raised their eyebrows in disbelief.
“That’s right, that was my first adventure. Nicholas, the other man in our group, then seemed to take over the lead. Marco walked next to Chris, and Guy and I took up the rear. Nicholas walked us through the normal part of town and up towards Snob Hill; just like what it sounds like— a place where people make money. The shop owners live up here. Blacksmiths aren’t shop owners; we’re talking goods merchants, people who own ships. At any rate, he walked up to the house of Althis, who owned the shipping company that owned The Kellerman.”
“Nicholas knocked on the door and this well-dressed elf with long blond hair opened it. He was wearing fine clothes. He was completely clean, from his
head to his toe. I was in awe, and shocked when Nicholas showed the elf the piece of paper. Nicholas looked at Guy then at me, and said, ‘You two wait here.’ The clean elf then led Marco and Chris inside.
“They were inside the home for about ten minutes when Guy walked over to me, looking me up and down. He then grunted and pulled out from his belt a dagger and handed it to me. Think about this, I’m a bodyguard, but unarmed until Guy, the half-Orc, gives me a dagger. So, thinking like anybody would when I put the dagger in my belt, I felt more secure having a knife. Five more minutes went by then Marco, Nicholas, and Chris finally came out the front door. Chris held a satchel over one side with the strap going over her opposite shoulder and her hand resting on it. She said, ‘Okay let’s go back to the inn.’
“We walked back to the Shattered Star. Along the way, we went through the market. Chris instructed Marco and Nicholas to take her to a couple of different stalls. I noticed that Marco and Nicholas both had a certain chemistry with Chris. I watched them for a while, trying to figure out what it was they had that I didn’t. I looked at Guy and wondered about him, too. I realized that he’d done this kind of thing before. As a half-orc, he’d made his way in the world before. He kept his head down and was careful not to clumsily bump into anyone. Guy watched his surroundings and moved with purpose. I tried to look as confident as he did. When we would stop at a stall, Marco and Nicholas would kind of act as a wall or a shield as Chris walked over to the owner of the goods to quietly negotiate some deal for an item. Guy and I were outer protection for her. We couldn’t hear or see what they were talking about, and it really wasn’t our business. I really didn’t make a big deal out of it. My job was to keep her alive, and that’s what I intended to do.
“We got back to the inn and Chris went directly to her room. I went to the bar and asked for water from the barkeep. He looked at me funny, so I told him that I was doing some work. He grunted at me and handed me a cup of water. Guy got water as well. He also got a rag from one of the wenches and wiped down one of the tables. Then he wiped down the chairs. The orc sat down at a table so that he had a good view of the door and waited. Chris came down and sat at the clean table.
The Travelers' Song Page 4