The Dragon Keeper

“It does,” the captain said flatly. “She was there when I made my deal with the Council. Think I would have agreed on this trip if she hadn’t said she’d heard of the place and that it did exist? I only took the contract because I thought that she’d be along as a guide, not just to the possible location but to the dragons.”



Sedric glanced at Alise, but she seemed content to let Leftrin speak for her. Sedric focused his words on her anyway. “You may have heard of the city, but that doesn’t mean you know the way. Come, Alise, be your calm, sensible self about this. You’re a scholar, not an adventurer. Even the dragon that can speak to you told you nothing; you said so yourself. And the silver and Tats’s dragon don’t seem promising sources of information, either. If you are honest, you have to admit that you’d gain more from spending a week in Trehaug, touring the underground city. There is a treasure trove of material there for you to study and translate. Why not return there with me and put your time to something that will not only increase our knowledge of Elderlings and dragons but will gain you the respect you deserve from those who know the most about these creatures?” Even if they had to spend a few days in Trehaug to placate her, that would be better than setting off on a harebrained journey to parts unknown. He knew that once they boarded that barge and departed upriver there would be no easy way for them to return, save on the barge itself. And that stubborn old goat of a captain was not likely to turn back until he’d given the task an honest try. “Alise, it’s not safe,” he went on desperately. “How can I accompany you on this journey, how can I allow you to go? You’ve all admitted you don’t know where you are going, or how long it will take to get there, or even if the city still exists. This is a ridiculous journey.” He firmed his resolve and ended his lecture with, “We aren’t going. That’s all there is to it.”



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 Alise’s 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 Alise and Leftrin 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, Trehaug



To Erek, Keeper of the Birds, 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 expenses shown separately.