Chương 18: Toward Bellhaven

Snow still clung to the shadows. It survived beneath the trees, against the northern walls of the cottage, and in the deeper grooves Shale had carved through the fields while repairing the damage from the battle. Everywhere else, winter had begun surrendering in uneven patches. Meltwater threaded through the yard in narrow streams, exposing flattened grass and dark soil beneath the retreating white. The thaw should have made the morning feel warmer.

Instead, Roy found the damp cold more intrusive than the clean bite of winter. It crept beneath his coat while he stood beside the wagon, inspected the final row of crates, and attempted to decide whether he trusted the ropes. Roy pulled the nearest knot tighter. The wagon bed had been divided according to a plan he had revised six times. A narrow section near the front held bedrolls, cookware, preserved food, spare clothing, and enough basic tools to survive several days away from the cottage.

Two sealed barrels stood along one side. They held emergency grain and dried vegetables in case the journey lasted longer than expected. Everything else was cargo. Crates filled with Greenbind occupied most of the available space. Some held the viscous material in sealed ceramic jars. Others contained hardened sheets and strips that Roy had prepared in advance, allowing him to demonstrate its usefulness without waiting for the liquid form to cure.

Greenbind had already repaired cracked timber, sealed leaking roofs, reinforced wagon wheels, and held together portions of their cottage that should have required nails they did not possess. Roy suspected Bellhaven would find uses he had not considered, which made it their safest product. A voice came from the opposite side of the wagon.

"Are we bringing anything besides green paste?" Roy looked over the cargo. Talia stood with both hands tucked beneath her arms, studying the stacked crates with open skepticism. Her boots had sunk slightly into the mud, but she appeared not to notice.

"It is not paste," Roy said.

"It comes in jars."

"So does honey." Talia considered that distinction.

"I still think it looks like paste." Roy pulled the rope across the uppermost crate and secured it to the iron ring set into the wagon's side.

"We are bringing travel supplies as well."

"I can see the travel supplies. They occupy enough space for perhaps one additional person."

"That is because we are traveling with Shale rather than a horse. We do not require room for feed." Talia stepped closer and peered between two crates.

"What about the black soil Clover can make?"

"Blackloam."

"And the soft brown material Aurelia used inside the cabin for bedding?"

"Mulchweave."

"Yes. Those." Roy tested the rope again.

"We are not bringing either." Talia frowned.

"Why not? You said the Blackloam made plants grow faster."

"It does more than that. The small patch we treated recovered from the battle damage weeks ahead of the rest of the field." Blackloam had been one of Clover's more useful discoveries. The Rotbloom Drake processed spoiled food, ash, medicinal waste, and other organic matter into several different materials depending on what was provided and how much sunlight he received. Blackloam resembled rich, nearly black soil, but a thin layer spread across damaged ground had produced visible results within days.

Seeds sprouted more quickly, wilted plants recovered, and the soil retained moisture without becoming waterlogged. Calling it fertilizer felt insufficient, though Roy had yet to invent a better term. Talia gestured at the wagon.

"That sounds valuable."

"It is valuable to farmers, gardeners, and anyone maintaining enough land to justify the cost. Bellhaven may contain many such people, but finding them will take time."

"And Mulchweave?"

"Soft, dry, resistant to rot, and surprisingly warm. It can be used as animal bedding, wall insulation, packing material, or anything else that benefits from a flexible plant fiber."

"That sounds useful too. So why are we taking almost none of it?"

"Because we will be in Bellhaven for a few weeks at most," he said.

"Blackloam requires the buyer to trust claims they cannot verify immediately. Mulchweave is easier to demonstrate, but it serves specific needs. Greenbind can repair a cracked chair, a broken cart, a damaged roof, a leaking barrel, or nearly anything else placed in front of me." He tapped one of the crates.

"I can demonstrate it within minutes. Once people see it work, they will understand why they should pay for it." Talia looked across the wagon again.

"So you chose the material most likely to turn into coin quickly."

"Exactly."

"And if no one wants it?"

"Then Bellhaven contains far fewer damaged objects than any of my previous visits." Talia nodded solemnly.

"That seems unlikely." Something moved beneath the wagon, causing Talia to jump backward. A moment later, Garrick slid out from under the chassis with a tool in one hand and mud across the back of his coat. He rolled onto one knee, then stood without favoring either arm. The injury from the boar one month prior had healed cleanly.

Aurelia's Second Seal had allowed her to repair the bone more completely than she could have managed before, though Garrick still spent the first two weeks wearing a sling and being threatened whenever he attempted to use the limb. He rotated the shoulder now.

"Finished." Roy crouched beside the front of the wagon.

"You checked both braces?"

"Twice."

"The distance between the shafts?" Garrick gave him a flat look.

"You measured it yourself."

"I measured it before you installed them."

"And then you measured it again while I was installing them." Roy inspected the work anyway. The wagon had originally been designed for their horse. The shafts sat too narrowly for Shale's broader chest and too high for the Burrowback Drake's lower, heavier posture. Roy and Garrick had removed the old assembly and built a wider frame reinforced with Greenbind, metal brackets, and transmuted timber. It was not elegant, but it did not need to be.

Shale could pull more weight than the horse ever had, and the altered harness distributed the pressure across the thick ridges of his chest without restricting his forelegs. Roy pressed one hand against the brace, and nothing shifted.

"You did acceptable work." Garrick stared at him.

"Thank you."

"That was praise."

"It sounded painful." Talia pointed toward the empty enclosure beside the barn.

"Would using the horse not have been simpler?"

"Simpler, perhaps." His answer seemed to carry sorrow. The horse had not been well for weeks. At first, they assumed the winter had weakened her. She had eaten less during the coldest days and shown little interest in leaving the stable while Shale occupied the adjoining section. After the adolescent dragon's attack, the condition worsened. She startled whenever Nimbus floated nearby. She refused food if Clover entered the barn. Even Kindle's presence had begun making her restless before he became a Remnant.

The drakes were not cruel to her, but that appeared not to matter. Something in their scent, the Weave, or the instincts of an ordinary animal told the horse that she shared a home with predators she did not understand. Aurelia had treated fever, exhaustion, and several episodes of distress. Her healing corrected the symptoms, but the cause remained around the horse every day. Keeping her had stopped being kind as soon as winter ended.

"Orion took her to Bellhaven," Roy said. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Talia blinked.

"He took the horse?"

"Several days ago… To find her another home." The words did not feel better for being more accurate. Their horse had carried all three siblings to Bellhaven after their parents died. She had hauled lumber, grain, tools, and every other thing the cottage could not provide. During difficult years, the distance between their home and the city had been measured as much by her endurance as it had by the road. They possessed little that felt permanent, and the horse had been one of them.

Roy had spent most of Orion's departure pretending the decision was purely practical. That did not make it painless.

"Do we know whether he found someone?" Garrick asked.

"No." Orion had planned to seek out a farmer, merchant, or family whose animals appeared well cared for. He refused to leave her with the first buyer offering a coin. Roy trusted his judgment, but he disliked not knowing the result. Talia looked toward the empty enclosure.

"Selling her feels wrong." Roy gave her a brief glance.

"Yes, but keeping her here was making her sick." Talia pressed her lips together.

"That feels wrong too."

"Most decisions involving something you care about do not become pleasant merely because one option is less selfish." Garrick rested against the wagon.

"Orion will find someone good."

"I expect he will." Roy returned to the wagon before the conversation could become more difficult.

"Where is everyone else?"

"Aurelia is still inside the barn," Talia said.

"She has been locking things for long enough that I suspect she is saying goodbye to each individual door." As if hearing her name, the barn door opened and Aurelia emerged with Shale at her side. The Burrowback Drake had recovered to full health. One scar along one shoulder remained visible beneath the earthy plates, but his gait no longer showed pain. He lumbered into the yard, glanced toward the muddy road, and released a low groan of disapproval.

"You are not being asked to dig through snow," Aurelia told him. Shale looked at the wagon, then at the road. His expression did not improve. Clover followed from the barn, leaves rustling along his back. The Rotbloom Drake appeared rounder than he had a month earlier, though Roy suspected most of the difference came from the healthy growth surrounding his bark-like hide. Nimbus floated above him. At her current size, she stood somewhere between a large dog and a small pony.

Her pale blue body bobbed gently in the air, and her restored wing-fins moved as though she were swimming through an invisible current. Aurelia had tasked her with carrying emergency water, which Nimbus appeared delighted by. Kindle walked behind them. He no longer needed to be carried every moment, which felt like progress. His body remained thin and pale, with most of the black and ember-orange coloration stripped from his scales.

He could cross the cottage, explore the barn, and climb into Aurelia's lap without help. Longer distances exhausted him, and changes in temperature affected him more severely than the other drakes. Aurelia had wrapped a small insulated covering around his torso. Kindle tolerated it because the alternative was being tucked inside her coat. He reached the edge of the yard, paused, and sat. Aurelia locked the barn door, checked it twice, then returned and lifted him. Kindle made no effort to protest.

Roy looked toward the cottage. All shutters had been fastened. The chimney cap had been secured. Food that might spoil had been removed or sealed. The hearth contained no active flame, though several logs had been prepared in case they returned to colder weather than expected. The barn and cabin were set. The fields had seen some repair, although the crater had not yet been erased completely. A month of work had made the property livable again. Leaving it unattended still felt like tempting the world to damage it.

Garrick seemed to share the concern.

"Is it safe to leave everything like this?" Aurelia adjusted Kindle against one arm.

"It is not the first time we have locked the cottage and traveled to Bellhaven."

"For several weeks?"

"Not often," she glanced toward Roy.

"After our parents died, we had to leave for a while. There were documents, arrangements, and people in the city who insisted we could not simply remain here without proving we were capable of doing so." Roy remembered the hearings more clearly than he wanted. Adults who had never seen the cottage had discussed whether three siblings could survive within it. Orion had answered every question as though irritation alone could force them to approve.

"There have been other trips since," Aurelia continued.

"We have never gone with an entourage like this… I am not sure what the result will be."

"We could not leave them here," Roy said.

"Even if we trusted the locks, abandoning Kindle while he remains vulnerable would be cruel. Nimbus would attempt to follow us. Clover requires supervision around anything remotely compostable, and Shale would likely create a second road to Bellhaven rather than wait." Shale lowered his head. He understood enough to look offended by the suggestion. Garrick looked toward the road.

"What happens when people see them?"

"We find out."

"That is your plan?" Roy rested one hand against the wagon.

"Bellhaven will learn about the drakes eventually. We can hide them for a year, perhaps several, but not indefinitely. Shale cannot pass as a horse. Nimbus floats. Clover produces materials no ordinary creature should be able to create." He looked toward Kindle.

"And I will not treat any of them like something shameful that must be smuggled beneath a blanket." Kindle lifted his head slightly. Roy continued.

"It is better that Bellhaven sees them when we are prepared to explain than through rumor after someone discovers we concealed them." Talia crossed her arms.

"What explanation are we giving?" Roy paused.

"We found eggs, they hatched, and now they are part of our household." Talia waited. Roy looked at her.

"What else do you want?"

"Something that makes it sound less impossible." Garrick laughed, the sound eased some of the tension. Roy turned toward Shale.

"Bring him forward, Garrick." Garrick collected the left side of the harness while Roy took the right. Shale allowed them to guide him between the widened shafts, though he watched each buckle with suspicion. The custom harness settled across his chest and shoulders. Roy secured the first strap, checked the second, then moved beneath the frame to inspect the lower connections. Garrick mirrored him on the opposite side.

"Too tight?" Garrick asked. Roy pressed two fingers beneath the strap.

"No. Tighten the rear brace one notch." Garrick did as Shale shifted his weight. The wagon creaked but remained level. Roy stepped back.

"Walk forward." Shale took three steps. The wagon rolled through the mud with less resistance than Roy expected. Clover trotted beside one wheel, studying its rotation.

"Stop." Shale stopped. The wagon rocked once, but nothing loosened. Garrick grinned.

"It works!"

"It was designed to work."

"That does not usually prevent you from being pleased."

"I am reserving judgment until we reach Bellhaven." Aurelia approached the wagon with Kindle. Roy cleared a space between the travel crates and one of the Greenbind boxes. He had lined it with Mulchweave to create a warm, padded hollow. Kindle climbed from Aurelia's arms into the nook. Clover attempted to join him.

"There is a separate space for you," Roy said. Clover looked at the adjoining gap that contained less bedding. The Rotbloom Drake squeezed beside Kindle anyway. Kindle opened one eye, considered the intrusion, and allowed it. Roy pointed at both of them.

"You are responsible for keeping the cargo secure." Clover placed one foreclaw against a crate. Kindle lowered his head onto the Mulchweave.

"I will interpret that as acceptance." Nimbus floated to Aurelia's side. The Cloudbelly Drake had stored enough water to serve the entire group during the journey, with additional capacity reserved for emergencies. Her body swayed under the weight, but she seemed comfortable. Talia poked Nimbus's side. Nimbus chirped.

"Do not encourage her to release any of it," Roy said. Nimbus spun in the air. A small stream escaped her mouth and struck the ground near Roy's boots.

"We will ration what she carries," Roy said.

"Not use it for entertainment." Nimbus peeked around Aurelia's shoulder. Roy suspected the instruction would survive less than half a day. He climbed onto the driver's bench. The seat had been reinforced to accommodate long travel and the extra strain of the altered wagon frame. Roy collected the reins, though Shale responded better to direct instructions than traditional guidance.

"We will rotate," Roy said.

"I will drive first. Garrick can take over later if the road remains clear." Talia climbed onto the rear corner of the wagon, using one crate as a step. Aurelia remained beside Nimbus.

"You are walking?" Roy asked.

"For now." Roy nodded.

"We should expect two days. The winter thaw will have damaged the road. Mud will slow the wagon, and we do not know whether any trees fell across the route."

"Shale can move trees," Talia said.

"He can. Stopping to do so still requires time." Roy looked over the group. Traveling openly with four drakes would have seemed absurd two months earlier; now it felt like the simplest part of the journey.

"Final check," he said.

"Food?"

"Loaded," Talia answered.

"Tools?" Garrick tapped the side of the wagon.

"Secured."

"Medical supplies?" Aurelia lifted the satchel at her hip.

"Enough for the journey and several disasters after."

"Let us attempt to avoid requiring all of them." Roy looked toward the wagon bed.

"Cargo?" Clover sat upright with one paw against the crate.

"Guarded," Talia translated. Kindle made a quiet sound from the bedding. Roy allowed himself a small smile.

"Then we are ready." He gave Shale the command to move. The Burrowback Drake leaned into the harness, and the wagon rolled. Its wheels crossed the muddy yard, cut through the softened ground near the gate, and reached the narrow road leading away from the cottage. Aurelia walked beside Nimbus. Talia and Garrick settled near the rear of the wagon. Clover watched the fields recede from between two crates, while Kindle remained curled in the warm hollow Roy had prepared.

At the gate, Aurelia stopped briefly and looked back at the cottage. The morning light caught the repaired roof, the stone hearth chimney, and the timber walls they had nearly lost during the blizzard. Within sat the chest where four impossible eggs had changed the shape of their lives. The property appeared quiet. Smaller than it had while they were fighting to save it, but larger than it had when surviving there meant only the three siblings.

Aurelia rested one hand against Nimbus, then she turned and continued forward. Roy faced the road. Orion waited somewhere in Bellhaven, hopefully with news that their horse had found a safer home. Beyond him waited markets, craftsmen, officials, strangers, and questions Roy could not yet plan around. He tightened his grip on the reins, and the cottage disappeared slowly behind the trees. A system message opened in front of him. [New Communal Quest Chain Begun.] [New Quest Chain Will Override an Active Side Quest.] Roy understood. The responsibility to deliver Talia and Garrick safely to Bellhaven had not vanished. It had been absorbed into something larger, something that now included the entire household and whatever waited at the end of the road. The final message appeared as Shale pulled the wagon toward the thawing horizon. [First Quest Objective: Reach Bellhaven.]