The Tale of Five Heirs

Chapter Six, in which the dragon tamer joins our "elite team"

Skeena sat on the prow of Harold Blacken's ship, The Smoking Carcass. There was no one on this side of the deck and an elevated cabin blocked the view from the other side. A fairly safe location.

Skeena pulled the Imp out of her pocket and placed it on her ear. "What can you tell me about Yago Elldown?" she asked in a whisper.

The squeaky voice took a moment to reply. "There were rumors a few years ago that a man named Yago Elldown lived in a yurt sixteen macrounits east of Fort Bruster."

"Well, were the rumors true?"

"Probably? A woman named Ashi Pottoe went looking for him, and she did find a yurt sixteen macrounits east of Fort Bruster, and she did hear that there was somebody inside it, and she did enter the yurt and..." the Imp trailed off.

"And what?"

"And then I don't know what happened."

"How can you not know? You know every detail up until that point! You must have heard it from this Pottoe woman so—"

"Blah blah blah," said the Imp in a childish mocking way.

Skeena took a deep breath. This is how it always went with the Imp. She would have to get her information from the source. Drawing her dagger Skeena edged around the raised cabin in the middle of the deck. She could hear Kelvin and Yago talking on the other side.

"So if you're a dragon tamer," Kelvin said, "would you happen to know how effective saltbush is in calming and controlling dragons?"

"I've never used it myself," Yago responded, "but according to Norray's Thirty-Fourth Letter to Agatha it's highly effective."

Skeena was now in sight range of Yago. She began to sneak towards him from behind, stealthy as a shadowcat.

"Ha!" Kelvin said triumphantly. "That's where you're wrong. Norray wrote about the effectiveness of saltbush in his last letter to Agatha. He never returned from that mission, and most scholars believe that his death was the result of his overconfidence in the effectiveness of the salt— ah!"

Kelvin said "Ah!" because at that moment Skeena stood up and stuck her dagger so close to Yago's neck that it was nearly touching. "Who are you and where do you come from?" She demanded in a tone she thought was fitting for the occasion.

Yago just smirked.

"Um, Skeena?" Kelvin said hesitantly, "Watch out."

Skeena glanced downwards to see Yago's left hand casually holding a small knife pointed at her stomach. This really pissed her off but she hid it flawlessly.

"That really pisses you off, doesn't it?" Yago said.

Still holding the dagger in her right hand, Skeena smoothly and casually flicked a needle thin knife out of her left sleeve and pointed it at the middle of Yago's chest.

"Answer my question!" she said in a voice she was sure conveyed utmost confidence and badassery.

"Oh dear," said Kelvin.

Skeena glanced down towards her stomach nervously. Yago was still holding the knife there. She still had him two weapons to one. She looked back up, only to find that Yago was holding a fork in his right hand and pointing it at her forehead.

Enough was enough. Skeena flicked her right boot outward and off in a well practiced motion. Her collapsible crossbow tumbled to the ground, where it opened and loaded automatically. Skeena spun it around with her heel so that it was facing up at Yago's crotch and placed her big toe lightly on the trigger. Now it was her turn to smile.