Chương 19: Within Patrol Range

By evening, the road had become more mud than road. Roy had expected the thaw to damage the route toward Bellhaven, but not for every low stretch of ground to resemble a shallow riverbed. The wagon wheels sank several inches whenever Shale pulled them through a depression. Where patches of snow remained beneath the trees, meltwater ran steadily across the path in narrow streams. They had changed positions throughout the day. Roy drove until the muscles between his shoulders began to ache.

Garrick took the bench after midday, and Talia spent part of the afternoon beside him, providing directions she did not know and commentary he had not requested. Aurelia walked with Nimbus for most of the journey. The Cloudbelly Drake drifted beside her with enough water stored inside her pale body to make every turn produce a quiet slosh. When the path widened, she darted ahead and circled back, apparently unburdened by the weight. Clover and Kindle remained in the wagon.

Clover treated the cargo as an obstacle course. Kindle slept through most of the roughest sections, curled within the Mulchweave-lined hollow Roy had built between the crates. The journey was familiar without being easy. Calling the path a road was generous, even on the best days. Few people lived beyond the town in this direction, and fewer still had reason to pass near the cottage. They had not seen another traveler all day, but Roy preferred it that way.

Explaining one drake at a time would have been difficult enough. Explaining four of them beside a wagon filled with unfamiliar materials would require more patience than the road had left him. The light continued to fade. Garrick leaned forward on the driver's bench and peered between the trees.

"We could keep going for another hour."

"No," Roy said. He walked beside the wagon, one hand resting against the frame whenever the wheels lurched. Mud covered his boots nearly to the ankle. Garrick glanced toward him.

"We still have light."

"We have enough light to find somewhere to stop. We do not have enough to identify a washed-out section before Shale steps into it." Shale released a low sound from the front of the wagon, which Roy chose to interpret as agreement. Talia leaned over the rear rail.

"How far do you think we are?"

"A few miles."

"Could you not estimate from the landmarks?"

"I did."

"And?"

"A few miles." Talia sat back down. Aurelia smiled without looking toward either of them. Roy studied the land ahead. The trees opened slightly to the eastern side of the route. A raised patch of ground sat beyond a shallow ditch, bordered by several dead trees and a long ridge of packed earth left by some older shift in the landscape. It wasn't great, but it would keep them above most of the runoff. Roy raised one hand.

"Stop here." Garrick pulled gently on the reins before remembering Shale did not require them.

"Shale, stop." The Burrowback Drake halted; the wagon rolled another foot through the mud before settling. Roy walked around the front and examined the ground. The raised patch was uneven, but dry enough to work with. The earthen ridge would block some wind, though the cold already carried a faint wetness suggesting they had drawn closer to Bellhaven.

"This will do," he said. Aurelia looked toward the darkening sky.

"It will need to." They began dismantling the day. Roy and Garrick unlatched the wagon shafts from Shale's harness. The Burrowback stood patiently through the first strap, then attempted to walk away while Garrick still held the second.

"Wait," Garrick said. The drake stopped. Garrick moved out from beneath the shaft and frowned at him.

"You could wait five breaths." Shale looked toward the dead trees.

"Food after shelter," Roy said. The drake's tail struck the mud once as Roy removed the final strap.

"Level that section," Roy pointed toward the raised ground.

"Pack the outer edge and mound the loose soil along the north and west sides. Leave the center open." Shale stared at the area. Roy repeated the gesture.

"A wind shelter. Not a tunnel." Shale began digging. His foreclaws entered the earth with a force that would have required several men and most of the remaining daylight. Mud and soil rolled aside beneath broad sweeps of his limbs. He pushed the wetter ground outward, then compressed the firmer earth into a low wall along two sides of the intended camp. Within minutes, the uneven clearing became a shallow earthen hollow.

The wall did not have a roof, but it would block most of the wind and provide enough raised ground for bedrolls. Shale stepped into the center, turned once, and sat. Nimbus floated over the newly packed ground. Aurelia touched one hand to her side.

"Can you dry it?" Nimbus chirped. She lowered herself until her pale stomach nearly brushed the soil. A soft current moved through the hollow as water rose from the ground in fine streams. It began lifting into Nimbus as mist. The mud darkened, then lightened as the worst of the moisture disappeared. Aurelia stepped onto the ground and tested it with one boot.

"Dry enough." Roy nodded, turning to Shale.

"Now you may find something to eat." The Burrowback turned immediately toward the trees.

"Dead wood only," Roy added.

"Do not take anything living!" Shale continued without acknowledging him. Roy watched until the drake reached a cluster of dead trees beyond the shallow ditch.

"He understood," Garrick said.

"He understands most instructions, but he ignores the portions he dislikes." Talia and Aurelia had already begun unloading the camp supplies. They removed the bedrolls, cookware, medical satchel, and one of the prepared firewood logs. Clover hopped from the wagon and followed the food crate, nose lowered as though he had been placed in charge of inspecting it. Kindle emerged more slowly. He climbed from the Mulchweave hollow, paused at the edge of the wagon, and studied the distance to the ground.

Aurelia approached before he attempted the jump.

"I know you can do it." Kindle looked at her.

"I also know you will exhaust yourself proving it." She lifted him, and Kindle offered no resistance. That was the difference Roy noticed most after the past month. Kindle remained frail, but the shame had faded. He no longer attempted to remove himself from the others whenever he needed help. He accepted warmth, food, and assistance without treating each one as evidence that he had become lesser.

Aurelia carried him into the shelter and placed him beside the packed fire pit Roy and Garrick had created near the center. Talia arranged stones around it, and Aurelia set the prepared log inside. She rested one palm against the bark. [Kindle's Hearth Activated] Weave entered the wood. The log blackened from one end to the other. Thin orange lines opened beneath its surface, carrying heat through it without producing an open flame. Warmth immediately spread across the shelter. Garrick lowered the food crate.

"What are we eating?"

"The same stew we prepared yesterday," Aurelia said. Garrick looked disappointed.

"The one with turnips?" Talia sat on one of the bedrolls.

"You ate two bowls last night."

"I was hungry."

"And you will be hungry again tonight." The fire became the brightest point along the route. No lamps appeared in the distance. No wagon wheels sounded from the road. The only movement beyond the camp came from Nimbus drifting along the top of the earthen wall and the occasional shadow of Shale among the trees. Roy sat near the fire. Aurelia divided the stew into wooden bowls. Talia handed them around, while Garrick cut several thick pieces from the remaining bread. Clover took all the vegetable scraps happily.

Kindle ate a smaller piece of wood beside the fire. Roy accepted his bowl and examined the shelter. It was not comfortable, but it was substantially better than any camp they could have built before the drakes. The household had begun treating impossible advantages as ordinary logistics.

"We should set watches," Roy said. Garrick looked up from his stew.

"Do we need them?"

"Yes. We have not seen anyone all day, but that does not mean nothing is nearby." Talia nodded toward the darkness.

"We have Shale."

"We do not currently know where Shale is." A distant scraping sound came from beyond the trees. Roy continued.

"Garrick and I will take the first two shifts. Aurelia needs rest after walking most of the day."

"I can take one," Aurelia said.

"You can take the final shift if necessary." Aurelia narrowed her eyes. Talia lifted her spoon.

"I can take watch with Garrick." Roy looked between them.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because two people talking through the entire watch defeats some of its purpose."

"We can be quiet!" Garrick looked doubtful. Roy divided the night into four approximate portions. He would take the first, Garrick the second, Talia the third, and Aurelia the final stretch before dawn. None of them seemed satisfied, which suggested the arrangement was fair. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. They ate for several minutes without speaking. The day's travel settled into Roy's body now that he had stopped moving. His feet ached.

His shoulders felt stiff from alternating between walking and controlling the wagon. Talia broke the silence.

"What is Bellhaven actually like?" Roy looked at her.

"You have asked before."

"You said it was a town by the lake." Garrick leaned closer to the fire.

"I have been wondering too." Neither of them had seen a settlement the size of Bellhaven. A town of five hundred people might as well have been a capital. Roy considered where to begin.

"Bellhaven is built around a sheltered inlet along the lake," he said.

"The water curves inward enough to protect boats from most storms, which is why the settlement grew there." Talia listened closely.

"Is it large?"

"Compared to where you lived, probably. Compared to an actual city, no. Most of the town sits along the lakefront and the rising ground behind it. The docks occupy the southern edge of the inlet. Fishing boats leave early, sometimes before dawn, and return throughout the day."

"Does everyone fish?" Talia asked.

"No. Bellhaven would collapse within a week if everyone attempted the same work. The fish have to be cleaned, smoked, salted, stored, and transported. Boats require repair. Nets tear. Timber comes down from the surrounding forest. There are small farms farther inland, clay pits, and a quarry several miles north."

"That sounds larger than five hundred people," Garrick said.

"It is dense rather than large. Most businesses are family-run. A single household may fish, repair nets, preserve its own catch, and trade with neighbors." Talia looked toward their wagon.

"Would they buy Greenbind?"

"Boatwrights might. So would coopers, builders, farmers, and anyone tired of replacing the same cracked object."

"What about the government?" Roy hesitated.

"You are going to have to speak to someone when we arrive."

"That is why I asked."

"Bellhaven has a reeve and a small council. They handle trade disputes, taxes, property concerns, and most decisions affecting the town."

"Are they elected?"

"Not in any simple way. The council seats are held by representatives of established trades and families. The reeve is chosen from among them."

"That sounds like the people with the most coin decide who has authority."

"Coin, land, influence, or enough relatives to become inconvenient." Garrick frowned.

"Do you trust them?" Roy considered the question more seriously.

"I trust Bellhaven to protect Bellhaven." A sharp crack sounded beyond the trees, followed by the ground trembling. A second later, something large crashed through branches and struck the earth. Talia froze with her spoon halfway to her mouth as Garrick turned toward the darkness. Roy continued eating.

"Shale found dinner." Another scraping sound followed as the Burrowback began tearing into the fallen wood. Talia lowered the spoon.

"Does he always do that? That tree sounded enormous."

"He is also enormous." Aurelia looked toward the direction of the crash.

"He had better not bring the entire thing into camp." Roy doubted Shale would bother carrying it farther than necessary, so he resumed the explanation.

"The garrison operates from the road gate and several smaller posts around the town. Bellhaven is not constantly threatened, but the lake draws smugglers, thieves, and occasional raiders."

"Do people know about the Weave?" Talia asked.

"Everyone knows Awakened exist. That is not the same as understanding them."

"Will they know what your Classes mean?"

"Some will. Our Classes are not inherently threatening. Architect and Caretaker are more likely to be welcomed than feared."

"What about Protector?"

"Orion will manage… or attempt to manage." A shout came from the direction of the fallen tree. At first, Roy assumed it was some noise to do with Shale's much that sounded similar to a human voice. Then a second voice joined it.

"Do not move!" Another command followed.

"Stay where you are!" The camp changed instantly. Roy set his bowl down, Garrick rose, Talia grabbed her bow from beside the bedrolls, and Aurelia lifted Kindle and looked toward Nimbus, who had already descended from the earthen wall. The voices continued.

"Circle around! Keep your spears forward!" Roy crossed the shelter and climbed the packed ridge. Lantern light moved between the trees. Several figures surrounded something large near the fallen tree. Shale.

"Oh, no," Aurelia whispered. They ran. Roy reached the ditch first and nearly lost one boot in the mud. Garrick caught his arm, pulled him free, and continued ahead. The lanterns became clearer. Six guards had formed an uneven half-circle around Shale. Their clothing bore Bellhaven's lake-and-gate emblem. Four held spears. One carried a short sword, while another kept a crossbow trained on the drake's chest. Shale remained beside the uprooted tree.

Chunks of dead wood lay around his foreclaws, and his body had gone rigid. A guard stood closest to him, shouting instructions as though volume might transform confusion into control.

"Do not move!" Shale's eyes shifted from one human to another. Roy understood the problem immediately. The guards had commanded him not to move, which Shale took literally. He also had no idea who they were or why they had surrounded him.

"Stop!" Roy called. Several guards turned. The crossbow remained trained on Shale.

"We are approaching!" Roy shouted.

"Do not attack him!" The nearest guard looked toward the group running through the trees.

"What is that thing?"

"He is with us."

"That is not an answer!" Shale's claws entered the soil only an inch. The first instinctive motion of digging, but the guard nearest him saw the ground shift.

"He's burrowing!" The man lunged with his weapon ready to strike. Orion appeared between them. One instant, the space in front of Shale was empty. The next, Orion stood there with one hand locked around the guard's wrist. The short sword stopped before it completed the first half of its swing. The guard stared at him. Orion's grip tightened just enough to prevent movement.

"Do not." The word carried no shout, but it stopped everyone more effectively than the earlier commands. Shale ceased digging as the other guards raised their weapons toward Orion. Roy reached the edge of the clearing.

"He is my brother!" One of the guards looked toward Roy. Recognition crossed the man's face.

"Roy?"

"Lower the spears," Roy said.

"That creature is a dragon!"

"Technically, a drake." The guard stared at him. Roy decided the distinction had not helped. Aurelia arrived beside him with Kindle in her arms. Nimbus floated over one shoulder, while Clover pushed through the brush behind Talia and Garrick. The patrol saw the rest of them, and their formation tightened. Two of the guards possessed visible status markers. [First Seal] The others showed only names and Health.

None appeared eager to test whether their training could compensate for the difference between themselves and Shale. Orion released the guard's wrist. The man retreated immediately.

"What are you doing out here?" one of the Awakened guards demanded.

"Traveling to Bellhaven," Roy said.

"With dragons?" An answer would produce no useful response. Fortunately, they were not given time to ponder it in detail. A pale light appeared overhead as a narrow column descended from the dark sky. It struck the ground between Orion and the nearest guard, separating them. The light formed a solid vertical barrier, bright enough to force the patrol to shield their eyes. Its glow spread across the trees in silver-white bands, resembling moonlight concentrated into a single line. A figure stepped from within it.

The man was broad through the shoulders and old enough for gray to dominate the close-cropped hair along his temples. A weathered cloak hung over fitted armor marked with the same Bellhaven emblem as the patrol. He carried no visible weapon, but he did not need one. A status appeared above him. [Edric Vane] [Fourth Seal: Guardian] Roy felt the difference before he understood it. Edric's presence pressed against the clearing without hostility.

It was the awareness of standing near someone who could control the entire situation if he chose. The garrison captain looked at the patrol first.

"Lower your weapons." The spears dropped, and the crossbow turned toward the ground. Edric looked toward Orion, then Roy, then Aurelia. His eyes lingered on each of them in a way Roy recognized.

"Protector," Edric said.

"Architect… and Caretaker." The guards shifted. Two glanced toward Roy again with new caution. Edric grunted.

"Those are not Classes commonly chosen by people planning indiscriminate slaughter."

"They were assigned," Roy said. Edric's eyes returned to him.

"Yes. They usually are." His gaze moved to Shale. The Burrowback remained beside the tree, claws still embedded in the earth. Edric studied Nimbus, Clover, and Kindle next. His expression did not reveal surprise, although that did not mean he felt none.

"I remember the three of you," he said.

"Or, at least, I remember reports involving three white-haired siblings living beyond the southern ridge and refusing several sensible offers to relocate."

"Those offers were not sensible," Orion said. Edric looked at him.

"You would be Orion."

"Yes."

"You appeared beside my patrol without warning and seized one of my guards."

"He was about to attack a member of my family." The captain glanced toward Shale.

"That brings us to the obvious question." He gestured toward the drakes. Roy exhaled slowly.

"It is a long story." Edric examined him for another moment.

"I suspected as much." The light barrier faded. Darkness returned to the space between Orion and the guard. Edric turned toward the patrol.

"Anyone injured?"

"No, Captain," the nearest guard answered.

"The creature did not attack?"

"No. It started digging." Shale looked toward Roy.

"He digs when frightened," Roy said.

"He also digs when bored, hungry, instructed, curious, or presented with ground that appears insufficiently disturbed." Aurelia closed her eyes briefly. Roy continued.

"In this case, frightened." Edric looked at the uprooted tree.

"And the tree?"

"Dinner." The captain rubbed one hand across his beard.

"Of course." The response carried exhaustion rather than humor. He looked toward the road.

"There is an estate on the outskirts of Bellhaven. Half a mile from the western boundary. It was recently released back into the town's possession."

"What does that have to do with us?"

"I am not bringing four unknown draconic creatures through the gate in the middle of the night. The estate has enough distance from the nearest homes to prevent immediate panic. It has walls, outbuildings, and sufficient ground for your companions." Shale pulled one claw from the soil. The captain noticed.

"I will escort you there. Once you are settled, I will summon the reeve and the relevant council members. You can explain this story once, properly, rather than repeating fragments to every guard and frightened resident between here and the lake." Roy felt every eye in the clearing turn toward him.

"We came with simple intentions," he said.

"Trade, supplies, and perhaps a temporary stay." Edric looked toward the wagon barely visible through the trees.

"Simple intentions are more convincing when they do not arrive behind a creature large enough to uproot trees for supper."

"He is not aggressive."

"I believe you. That does not remove the need to understand what he is, where he came from, or why three newly Awakened siblings are traveling with several drakes." Roy folded his arms.

"And if we return them to the cottage?"

"No," the word came immediately.

"You would leave with creatures now known to exist within Bellhaven's surrounding territory."

"We live outside your jurisdiction." Edric's expression hardened.

"Jurisdiction becomes an argument after we know whether those creatures can burn a village, poison a lake, or attract larger dragons to the region." Kindle shifted in Aurelia's arms. Orion stepped slightly closer to her. Edric noticed but did not react.

"We do not intend to separate you from them tonight," he said.

"If that were my goal, this conversation would sound different." Roy believed him. The captain's Fourth Seal made the statement more warning than reassurance.

"You are asking us to enter Bellhaven custody," Roy said.

"I am asking you to stay on town-owned property while the council determines what questions must be answered."

"That sounds similar."

"It is similar." Edric's bluntness made the offer easier to trust than false warmth would have. Roy looked toward the others. Talia held her bow lowered but not put away. Garrick stood beside her. Aurelia kept Kindle close, with Nimbus hovering above one shoulder and Clover pressed against her leg. Orion remained between Shale and the patrol. None of them wanted to separate, and the estate prevented that. Even if it did not remove the threat of what Bellhaven might decide afterward. Roy looked back at Edric.

"We remain together."

"For tonight, yes."

"And our cargo remains with us."

"So long as none of it explodes."

"It does not." Roy looked toward Shale. The Burrowback withdrew his remaining claws from the earth and waited. They had reached Bellhaven's influence earlier than expected. A patrol, a misunderstanding, and a Fourth-Seal Guardian who had already decided their arrival belonged before the council. Roy had wanted Bellhaven to meet the drakes on the household's terms, but those terms had lasted less than one day. He extended one hand toward Edric.

"We will go to the estate." Edric looked at the offered hand before taking it. His grip was firm.

"Good." The patrol relaxed by a fraction. Edric released Roy's hand and looked toward the camp beyond the trees.

"Gather your people and your wagon." His gaze returned to the drakes.

"All of them." Roy nodded. For the moment, that was going to have to be enough.