The Dragon Blood Guardian *COMPLETED*

Exchange

We would have reached the telegraph office by dinner time had the farmer, Myra Orgetti, actually taken me there first. She thought I was sun sick and wouldn't be capable of differentiating between a telegraph office and the sheriff's office, which is what she initially presented to me. After a few threats of starting a war over something as trivial as a barley field, the sheriff acquiesced to my request so long as I made my telegram under his watchful eye. Needless to say, Farmer Orgetti bit her tongue once the funds were wired and an official apology was sent.

I, however, never got an apology in return, but the sheriff did let me go and even retrieved a shopkeeper from his dinner in order to help me with my wardrobe problem. A filthy frock and lack of shoes wouldn't have stopped me from continuing my quest to retrieve Princess Cecily, however, a docked boat would. Despite having a full wallet again, thanks to an additional transfer from the palace to replace what I'd lost on the train, I could not bribe my way into pushing the departure time of any of the boats docked in town since they had to wait for the tides to come in. With a few hours to waste while a crew was retrieved and ship prepared, I selected a new set of clothes from the bleary eyed shopkeeper.

Discarding the dress completely, I opted for a pair of sturdy trousers, a mid-calf leather boot, and an airy tunic. With an outfit more suited for chasing down a princess, I paid the store's owner a handsome sum, well over the worth of the clothes, and then took what time I had left and went to the inn, where I rented a room so I could rinse myself clean of the previous days' trials. There I let the warm water loosen all the knots in my back and ease the pain still emanating from my bruised ribs. I could have fallen asleep in that tub, except duty called and after a quick dry, I dressed in my new clothes and hastened down to the docks.

There beneath the rising moon and the flickering street lamps, the last crates of wheat and barrels of pomegranates were loaded into the ships. My particular vessel hadn't planned on returning to Zinya so soon after having left it the previous day, but a pouch full of gold bought me a bunk in the crew's quarters and covered whatever loss the crop in their holds may suffer with an extra day tacked on to their journey.

I rose from my stiff cot while the moon still hung round and yellow in the sky, though the gold tinge of sunrise had begun to pool along the ocean's edge. The night crew labored beneath the stars and I felt the captain's eyes on my back as I walked over to the bow and sent my gaze to the distant horizon. I didn't see the first signs of the port until the crews began to shift. The night watch slipped into their quarters while the men and women who slept beside me inched their way onto the deck with lazy stretches and sagging eyelids. The sun had only just begun to emerge from its watery blanket, its glow softening the harsh gleam of the moon along the lapping waves, by the time the morning crew took their positions.

"What is it you plan to buy in such a hurry?" The captain drew up next to me, chewing on the tip of a pipe that didn't appear to be lit.

"I'm not looking to buy," I answered, my gaze unwavering as the specks darting across the docks began to take human shape.

"Of course, you are," he replied with a deep belly laugh. "Everyone comes to Zinya to buy something and Zinya has everything you could hope to buy."

"I'm not looking for a thing," I said with a twist of my lip. "I'm looking for a person."

"Yeah, they have those for sale too," he answered with a shrug. "Man or woman? Or I suppose men or women or both... I don't particularly judge..."

"I'm looking for a man and I don't plan on exchanging money." I turned away from the fast approaching dock and headed towards the center of the deck, where several crew members were already preparing the lines to fasten us in place. "He stole something from me and he will return it if he wants to live to see tomorrow."

"Ah, see you are buying something," answered the captain with a laugh. "Gold, blood, mercy, whatever, an exchange will be made. That's how it always works in Zinya. I don't judge mind you." He pulled up beside me, barking some orders to his crew as he did. Then, he took a breath and looked out at the port town. There we saw the merchants scurry towards the markets, the previous night's revelers snoozing happily in the streets, and the flags of the many ships dancing playfully in the sea breeze.

"Keep in mind," he said in a more serious tone, "that this is a place of business. Everything must be square. A transaction must be sound, no matter what the product or the currency. You can't take a man's life and his money when you've given nothing in return. Not a balanced deal." He cleared his throat and bounced on his heels while I gritted my teeth and balled my fists. "Now if you granted him mercy, if you promised not to track his sorry hide from here to the mountaintops of Ylinthe, in exchange for whatever he'd taken, then you'd be square and no harm will come, but this is a free port of Nikenji. Their rules are theirs alone and they don't take kindly to theft."

"He stole from me," I said through a clenched jaw.

"He stole outside of these lands and as far as the people of Zinya are concerned, whatever it is, he's got ownership now. Their rules of honor only apply within their boundaries."

"I will get what I've come for." I turned to face him, my eyes hard and my lips thin. "I'm not concerned beyond that."

"You're free to do as you wish, but Zinya promises one thing and one thing only, that it is a safe place for commerce. Break that rule and the Ravens of Zinya will see to it that you never break it again." The captain withdrew his pipe and looked into the empty bowl with a sigh before stuffing it in his pocket. "Things don't work here like they do in Drackenridge. You're a ways from home."

"And so is my princess," I mumbled. However, as the plank was lowered to the dock and the way clear for my departure, I took a breath and shook away the tension threatening to reverse whatever progress I made in that delightfully warm tub. "I will take heed of your words," I said, turning to him with a stiff smile. "If you could grant me one last kindness, would you know where I'd find an exchange for rare jewels?"

"That sounds pricey," he said, scratching the back of his neck as he looked over the port. "Most of the more expensive transactions happen in the upper district." He pointed to where a sharp rise peeked up over the stucco buildings lining the dock. There, gleaming white structures, with open rooftop terraces and colorful cloth shading their expansive balconies, overlooked the more meager parts of town.

"Thank you captain," I said, withdrawing my purse and retrieving a few more coins to bestow upon him for his generosity. "I wish you safe travels."

"Aye," he said, gratefully taking my coins and seeing me down to the docks, "and I hope you find yourself a fair exchange so the Ravens of Zinya do not follow you home."

I felt a nerve pullat my shoulder, hunching me from his dark warning. Recovering, I gave him a slight bow and mademy way towards the center of town.

***

If you're enjoying the book, please consider supporting the author by purchasing it on sylviangould.com or Amazon. You'll also get an exclusive extended epilogue!

ePub and PDF version: sylviangould.com/store/the-dragon-blood-guardian-epub-amp-pdf

Kindle version: amazon.com/dp/B07P6YPYNK

Paperback version: amazon.com/dp/1798411156