The Dragonslayer's Sword by Resa Nelson

Author:Resa Nelson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mundania Press LLC

Chapter 18

* * * *

By mid-day, Randim's caravan of wagons reached their first destination: the sea shore.

Astrid spotted the brigands’ camp, bordered on one side by the shore, on another by a half-circle of tall dune grass.

Astrid looked for Lumpy and Broken Nose. She knew they weren't here. They'd opted to sell her to Randim for their own personal gain instead of returning her to these brigands. That was weeks ago. A few weeks’ journey could take one far in the world. Far enough to escape trouble.

Astrid envied them.

She followed the lead of the other blacksmiths, who walked and stretched while Randim conducted business with the brigands’ leader, a stocky man with narrow eyes and a relaxed manner. He didn't look familiar, although several other men did.

After Randim finished talking to the brigand leader, he called out to his blacksmiths, “Load ship!"

Astrid kept in the midst of the blacksmiths, hiding among them as they unloaded and carried the strange things they'd forged to a ship by a wooden dock stretching into the ocean.

Trep walked beside her on the dock. Oddly enough, he wore the leather gloves he used for blacksmithing.

He groaned, his armful of tools clattering on the dock when they slipped from his arms. He knelt, covering his pale face with both gloved hands.

"Trep!” Astrid put down her own load, kneeling by his side as the blacksmiths walking behind them gathered round. “Are you all right?"

"Dizzy,” Trep said, his voice faint and fragile. “Sick, maybe."

Without hesitation, Astrid divided his load and hers among the surrounding blacksmiths. “What do you want to do?” She asked Trep.

He pointed toward the ship ahead.

Astrid's eyebrows arched in surprise. “Wouldn't you rather stay here? Get some rest?"

Trep gazed ahead at the ship. “I like the sea. Fresh air. It revives me."

Sure enough, as soon as Astrid helped Trep board the ship, his eyes brightened and his face glowed as he took a deep breath.

Astrid smiled. “You've returned to yourself."

Trep looked surprised for a moment, but he relaxed into a smile. Still sitting, he bent his head toward her, bowing slightly, holding his hands together as if in prayer. “Thank you, Astrid."

Astrid took a small step back, alarmed by Trep's odd words and actions. If she didn't know better, she'd swear he wasn't Trep at all.

"Are you ready to go to Tower Island?"

Astrid turned at the sound of Randim's voice. He walked toward her, his shoes thumping across the ship's wooden deck. Because they'd spent no time in the smithery today, Randim's face looked freshly scrubbed. In the absence of the soot smudged around his eyes, they looked less smoky and mysterious. Astrid thought she saw a depth of concern in them.

"Yes,” she said.

Randim called out to the captain, and they set sail.

For the next few hours, Astrid sequestered herself as well as she could on the narrow and crowded deck, tucking herself in the least busy corner she could find. She tried not to think about where she was going or what she was about to do.

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