As I sheathed my sword, something inside of me wanted to shake. But I held onto my nerves. Not the time to show it, here in front of Rhoal and his soldiers. I resisted, too, the urge to wipe my sweating hands on my pants.
“Come, relax for a little while me and my men make preparations. Of course, with a few extra days to prepare…”
“No,” I said, “It must be today.”
“Of course, of course. Must not let it wreck any more damage. Now, please have a seat while we gather our best weapons and supplies.” Rhoal was a plump merchant, with styled hair and soft skin. I didn’t think he would survive the battle, but his participation would be very important and if he wanted to risk his neck...well, I could respect a man willing to take risks for his gains.
Hana and I were sat in a waiting room, with a plush couch and fancy decorations. One wall was covered with a bookshelf which held mostly books, plus a few apparent glass baubles. Odds and ends. Hana was examining them when a maid came in and delivered a tray of tea with cookies.
“Thank you,” I said to her. She blushed and nodded before hurrying out the door.
“What did you say he trades in?” Hana asked.
“I’m...not entirely sure.”
“You’ve gotten into business with a man, and you don’t know his business.”
“Hana…” I said, annoyance creeping into my voice. She held up her hand.
“I’m just stating the obvious, trying to keep you thinking. He’s lending you house guards who barely seem to know how to fight.”
“I thought they fought well.” I picked up a cup of tea and a cookie. I dipped the cookie and tasted it. Slightly sweet with a strong butter flavor.
She sighed and went to sit on the couch. “You defeated all three. Somewhat brutally. I thought you were going to kill that one at the end.”
I ate the cookie and sipped my tea as I thought back on the moment. A bloodlust seemed to have overtaken me. It had threatened to fill me. Only having my end goal pressing on my mind had stopped me from slicing the man’s neck.
“Military training. The fighting took me, but the discipline did, as well.”
“I didn’t think you’d fought that much.” She wasn’t touching the tea. She was just staring at me, watching my face. I stared back. I hope it was stoically; I had trouble telling my own expression, these days.
“It would be rude not to at least try the tea. As you pointed out, I threatened one of his guards; I think we should try not to insult him again so soon. It would, as I’ve said before, be good to work well together.”
She leaned back and picked up her tea. We sat silently while we waited for Rhoal and his guards to finish preparing.
-----
We were loading up a few supplies in a couple of wooden wagons pulled by horses. There weren’t very many to load up; a few days’ supply of food. A couple of tents. We were practically going dragon hunting in luxury. If he’d actually had enough horses for everyone to ride, I’d have felt downright pampered.
Even with the first two less than full, he was still bringing one that was entirely empty, in anticipation of a large haul from the dragon’s hoard. I thought the dragon would have a few interesting items and a few handfuls of gold, but he seemed eternally optimistic.
“I do my best to at least appear to be obeying local laws, so instead of a dragon hunting troupe, you are my bodyguard and your sister…my dear, what do you do?” Rhoal asked.
“I’m a baker,” she answered quite simply. “What do you trade in?”
He tilted his head. “Mostly animals of unusual sorts. You’ve met my Fang and Beak. Dear things. I’d bring them along, but Beak is still being trained and will most likely not end up in combat anyway; he’s quite a lazy guard griffin. Fang, meanwhile, would be completely useless against a dragon.”
A few feet away, Fang whimpered.
“Oh, you big brute. Your bite wouldn’t pierce the dragon’s scale, I just want to leave you here and keep you safe.” From his tone, I would have that he was talking to a baby rather than an overgrown wolf. But Fang wagged his tail and scratched his paw on the ground.
“My dear, we’ll just say that you’re my cook, should the question arise. It is not likely to; but again, if anybody asks, I am leaving early for my travels, out of fear for the dragon. That’s why I’ve hired an extra guard and a…burly cook.”
“Burly?” Hana asked indignantly.
“I have actually told a few people already,” I pointed out.
“Oh, dear heavens. How many?”
I told him. He nodded.
“Well, we are leaving as...well almost as quickly as possible. Hopefully there won’t be any need to have a discussion with the guards.”
-----
She appeared to be a gnome. At least, she was little more than half my height, probably less, and had curiously large head with lumpy features that gnomes have. Her hair covered her ears and head in thick waves, making it difficult to see the tell-tale ears. I suppose she could have been a small human. A small, ugly human.
Her wagon was set up behind her, opened up to show shelves full of various and sundry items, from kitchen items to books and glassware.
“One moment, friends. See my wares, please. Wandering hands watch themselves. I do.”
Dain had come with Hana, Rhoal and I. The other guards had stayed with the wagons, outside the market. As we looked through her wares, Dain commented that there was a particular lack of anything that could be used for attack.
“I have this,” Rhoal said, and nodded at us with a smile. He went and sat near the tinker and began to watch her.
“Watched pots never mend. Do you care?”
“That pot’s been mended many times, dear tinker. I think you just want us to get a good look in the hopes that we’ll want more.” While Rhoal spoke to her, Hana was looking at the titles of the book spines and Dain was examining some small metal contraption. I was looking at the medical supplies. Bandages, herbs, a few elixirs.
“Done, nearly. Have you something specific to seek?”
“We are going on an expedition, seeking items to trade. But with a dragon about, maybe it’s not so safe.”
“Seeking dragon protection? Are my wares too humble?”
“I hope only my coin is not too pitiable,” Rhoal replied.
Hana elbowed me and whispered, “He doesn’t seem as confident as he did before.”
Dain, hearing that, whispered back to her, “Gnomes prize humility. They also have excellent hearing.”
Hana picked up a book and began examining it. I looked at Dain. “You’re more worldly than you used to be.”
“It happens when you travel.” He shrugged.
“Purchasing the book, my dear? Reading takes a moment alone.” The gnome woman was standing next to Hana, and Rhoal here with us. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a copper coin.
“Purchasing that takes more.”
“Then I’d like to rent it a few moments more,” she answered. The gnome shrugged and took the coin.
“Roosillana, if you’d be so kind. A view of the wares you mentioned would be most appreciated,” Rhoal said, slightly bowing.
Roosillana, now that I knew her name, politely motioned for us all to step back from the wagon. She opened a drawer from below the shelves and beckoned to Rhoal. She pulled from the drawer a small box and opened it. Inside was a cloth holding in place four metal balls about half the size of my fist. She closed it after a moment.
“Be delicate in their handling. Throw them far away and run. Creates loud noise and flash of light. Does little against dragon, but may confuse it a few moments. Assuming you throw it right,” she said.
“I am humbled. Greatly you smile on me.”
“Smiling on you is beyond my worth,” She set it on a little table to the side. “Setting this aside to see what else I might have.”
I spoke up and held a little box out that I had filled with some of the bandages and elixirs I had found. “We could use this,” I said.
“Of course, that is if you gift us with it. We would be grateful, of course, and offer you what paltry money we can afford.
Roosillana smiled and nodded at him, then took the supplies from me and set them next to the first box. There were a couple of other items. Fire starters, a burn salve I had missed. Four steel spear tips. More expensive than I would have guessed she would have.
She looked at the gathered pile. “Such meager, little help this is! I am embarrassed to offer it to you.”
“We are so weak, any help seems mountains!” Rhoal pleaded. Hana coughed the way most polite people roll their eyes. I glared at her over Roosillana’s head. She shrugged.
“The woman is right! Such a little pile! Listen, I have one more thing to offer. I have so little to offer, let me offer you this.” She went around to the side of her wagon and pulled out a key that was hanging around her neck. She used it to open another drawer. She closed the drawer and brought us two small sticks the length of my hand and a little thicker than my thumb.
“So dangerous, perhaps I am wrong to offer these. Can I do anything else? I cannot, but please be careful.”
Rhoal reached down and picked them up, examining them closely. Hana spoke up.
“What are they?” she asked.
“Fireworks. Travelled months to find them. In the sky they are beautiful; in the sky they are…mostly safe,” She touched the first box, “These here must hit something hard to activate. These,” she held up the fireworks, “need only heat. Explodes much farther, much faster. Knock a bear against a wall, and hurt both. Not all fireworks do, but these are special.”
She put the fireworks on the table, hidden from sight of the few remaining market people. The sun was hanging low, and threatening to start setting
“And here is all I can offer you. I hope you find these of some meager assistance.”
Rhoal made an offer, and Roosillana made a big show of how she couldn’t send us off with this stuff, and would put it away. Rhoal offered a little more, and suggested that a little more burn ointment would make the pile so helpful. They went back and forth, each seeming to argue the other side, while the price and what gets included was pushed toward their own direction.
Finally, they settled on a price which included more bandages and a first kit. When it was gathered up, we thanked Roosillana for her time and we went on our way. Finally on the road that would lead by my house, then to Grem and finally, the dragon.
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