Dragon Clan #7: Shell’s Story

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Shell turned to find a crowd of people on the street, the usual workmen, sailors, longshoremen, and gawkers. But one in the distance had his arm raised, waving it wildly as he shouted.

“Quester! You made it,” Shell called back.

Camilla recognized the name, and River stood aside as the two men hugged and spun each other around. Shell introduced them while drinking watered wine and eating a lesser version of the apple pie they had the night before.

They watched the ships and activity while telling all that had happened until Shell sat upright and turned to River. “Where is our ship?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” River said, pointing down the far end of the docks where the activity was far less. A short time later they stood looking at the Lady for the first time. The name said it all. The ship was trim for a deep-water vessel, her masts tall, and her sides high. A single row of portholes ran from bow to stern. At the stern rose two more decks.

A man near the ladder from the pier to the ship waved and called to them. It was Captain Spanner. He rushed them aboard, pointing out the beauty and functionality of the ship as he took them on a tour.

River asked, “Do you have a crew?”

“I have a cook and a good one at that. I’ll hire the rest, but with a good ship and cook, a crew is easy.”

Camilla said, “They should know our destination, and the danger, but you can’t tell them until we leave port, so how will that work?”

He smiled. “I know these men on the docks. Some I wouldn’t trust with your mug of ale; others are as loyal as an old dog. I know who is who. And which are good men at sea and which are laggards.”

“We have the money to pay them,” Shell said, “so you can go ahead and make your offers.”

Camilla nodded and added, “Standard pay, but a bonus at the end of every cruise, as determined by the Captain. A generous bonus. You decide how much.”

Shell said, “See that raised deck on the stern? I’m going to need you to buy some timber. I want a platform built there, flat, wider than the ship, if possible. A temporary structure, but strong.”

“If I may ask why?” the Captain asked.

“To carry a small dragon.”

The smile the Captain wore faltered. River frowned but said nothing. Camilla managed to keep her face passive, but her eyes took on a new glow.

Shell said, “And a wolf.”

“My ship is going to carry animals?” Captain Spanner said in a sharp tone.

“Good idea,” Shell said. “Make some pens for sheep, at least a dozen.”

“Sheep?” The Captain asked.

“The wolf and dragon must eat, you know.” Shell managed to conceal his glee by pretending to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.

The Captain shrugged, “Consider it done. I guess this means you were able to buy the ship and pay my debts?”

Camilla said, “All taken care of. I’ll have the paperwork soon.”

“When were you thinking of sailing?” The Captain asked. “I need a crew, provisions, a damn deck built on the stern, and supplies. A lot of supplies for the trip I believe you want to take.”

Shell said, “You can begin getting things ready today, but I think at least five or six days before we depart.”

The others seemed to agree by virtue of none disagreeing. Shell said, “Inns are too open, too many people listening, and we need a place to meet and talk. Is there somewhere on the ship where all of us can gather and be comfortable?”

Captain Spanner laughed and pointed to an open hatch. “Down there is one of the cargo decks. A little modification here and there will give us a room to hold a hundred. Cookie can bring food, you can sleep in the cabins aft, and I can send for wine, tables, chairs, and anything else we need.”

Three days later, newly hired crew crawled over the ship replacing, repairing, splicing, and cleaning. They were a cheerful lot of men, handpicked by the Captain. Each knew the basics that the ship would sail across the sea to forbidden lands, and most let it be known they didn’t like a nation across the Endless Sea telling them where they could sail, let alone the coming war.

Two more Dragon Clan were found wandering the streets like lost lambs. Both were from the Drylands Family, an older man called Chess and a girl a year or two older than Camilla, but much stronger. She wanted to race the sailors to the tops of the masts even though she’d never seen one before. She had wild dark hair that refused to be tamed and eyes as wild as the hair. She never seemed to sit in one place for long. Chess called her Sophia.

Word came from Racine via another Dragon Clan member called Prince, a tall, thin boy from the Highlands Family. He had gone to Racine to join with the others and missed the ship by a few days, so he headed for the larger port of Fleming in hopes of finding a ship to carry him, but he never expected to find six other Dragon Clan outfitting a ship.

The various tasks began to fall into the hands of those best qualified to do them. Shell found himself meeting with the Captain to discuss the route across the sea. While few maps existed, Captain Spanner had traveled to Breslau when a young man. He claimed to remember much of it. He drew a sketch of the huge circular bay, the main river, and other items he could recall.

The original plan had been to land north of the city at the gateway and travel across land to the city of Breslau, but Captain Spanner disagreed. The land was too arid, too hot, and desolate. No food or water, in short, but mountains and heat to contend with.

“How would you do it?” Shell asked.

“You seem to know more about it than others, so you got your information from somewhere. Did you hear about another city that is built on the tip of the point where the bay opens up?”

Shell had heard the stories. Travelers were lured there, first. Traps waited. Two Dragon Clan had escaped only because a dragon picked them up in its talons and flew them away. He nodded that he did know of the place.

“Well, as you can see from my drawing, from that point you can see all the way to the other on a clear day. The bay is this big circle inside the two pincers, so what Breslau has, is a giant bay protected from the ocean weather, but with only one way in or out.”

One way in or out. Shell studied the paper. The bay was as large as his hand, fingers spread out. The opening was his thumb and forefinger, an inch apart.

The Captain touched the tip of the point of land on the north side. “This is where the abandoned city is. A few hundred residents and soldiers, unless they’ve changed.”

Again, Shell had heard the stories, and it hadn’t changed. “We have six Dragon Clan, and maybe a few of your men to help. What can we do?”

“You have my ship. It can carry more than cargo. It can carry a small army. Now, from all I’ve heard, Breslau is going to sail to Shrewsbury soon, in an armada of troopships. Suppose we allow them to sail out of their harbor and into the ocean?”

“What good does that do to let them sail here?” Shell asked, understanding that the Captain was trying to explain something he didn’t understand.

“Well, a hundred men could easily capture the city here at the point. A dragon could keep ships from sailing into, or out of the bay, which would be useful.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Shell said, not convinced.

“And a point to remember for later discussion, but let me ask another question. If Breslau sends all their armies and their damn green dragons to Princeton in a mass invasion so they can defeat us, who is going to stay at home and protect them?”

“For the captain of a shipping company, you sure seem to hear a lot,” Shell said.

“Captains discuss things over ale. We’re a small group, one for each ship you see, so we depend on each other for information. For instance, were you aware that the Earl of Princeton has a son called Edward? Or that Edward sits at the head of an army not a day’s ride from Fleming?”

Shell grew wary. Edward was once in the village of the Dragon Clan at Bear Mountain when Camilla escaped. They allowed him to leave and since then he had helped the Dragon Clan several times. He asked, “Why is that important?”

“If a messenger went to Edward and said there are rumors the Breslau army is leaving to invade us at Shrewsbury before the end of summer, he would take his army south to turn them back. His army could bottle them up before they leave Shrewsbury where the path between the mountains is narrow.” The captain paused.

Shell said, “The ships might just sail back to Breslau.”

The captain chuckled. “Perhaps. But if I raise a hundred fighting men to sail with us, and you have a dragon at your command, we might keep any of their ships from returning home, and blockade any supply ships trying to leave that bay of theirs. The entrance is a natural place for that.”

Shell stood. “I like your plan and have to go put part of it in motion. We’ll talk again, soon.”

He rushed off and found Camilla with Quester, a staff in the hands of each. They were in the cargo hold, but the rap of the staffs carried throughout the ship, as it had the day before. Shell watched Camilla block all the blows Quester tried, without effort. Then he stepped closer and said, “I have a plan, thanks to our Captain.”

“Does it include you taking any more, wild animals across the sea?” she quipped.

“Maybe. But it does include you making a trip for a few days. We’ll hold up the Lady’s departure, of course.”

“Where am I going,” She asked.

“First, let me outline a plan.” He sketched the idea and saw that she and Quester instantly liked it, in principle. But he saw them hesitating, too. He said, “We need maybe a hundred good fighting men. And of course, we need the King’s Army to travel down to Shrewsbury to bottleneck the troopships, and the men landing there.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Her tone had shifted from flippant to unbelieving.

He smiled. “I propose sending you to visit an old friend of yours. Edward, the son of the Earl of Princeton, is leading an army less than a day’s walk from here.”

“He’s a good man. I remember him well.”

“Do you think he will remember you?”

She snorted, then giggled. “He owes me.”

“I remember the story. Will you go see him?”

“Of course. And I’ll bring back your hundred fighting men, the King’s soldiers, instead of you trying to scrounge them on the docks. Quester can escort with me. And Pudding.”

“Do you think the Earl will do it?” Shell asked.

“Edward? He’s a doll. Where’s his army located?”

“The Captain will tell you,” Shell said. He reached out and found Pudding. He’d have sent Pudding to protect Camilla even if she hadn’t asked. Then he sat on the railing of the ship and watched the activity around him in amazement. The new deck to carry the red dragon, assuming it wanted to travel with them, was almost finished. Only the strongest dragons would fly all the way across the Endless Sea without resting, but his small red wouldn’t have to. It could rest while riding part of the way. A pen constructed below that roost would hold sheep to feed the dragon, and of course a wolf.

The sails were patched, ropes tested and replaced, food had been brought aboard, and the Lady had a competent crew. Each of the Dragon Clan had taken on duties and worked as hard as any of the crew. More importantly, instead of a vague plan, thanks to the Captain, he had one more defined.

Another ship filled with Dragon Clan had already sailed to Breslau, and he wished it success, but he intended to follow his plan. Six Dragon Clan members against a whole nation of invaders. It didn’t seem fair, but leaving one or two of his Dragon Clan in Fleming to even up the sides didn’t appeal to him. He smiled at the old joke.

But one item stood out beyond all the others. Life was about to get more interesting. The smile turned to a chuckle. He was up to it.