Return of the Stormcriers

CHAPTER 9- GREETINGS BROTHER

  "It's free!" Jahn called out to the driver as they eased their grip, placing the carriage's wheel firmly upon the solid ground. The carriage rolled forward, bouncing wildly over the uneven earthen road. Mud flew from the wheels as they threw off the remnants of their prison, splattering the face and clothes of Matt and the guards. He spat a sticky black glob from his mouth and used the inside collar of his already ruined shirt to wipe his face as best as he could. The hard grains of dirt scratched across his face as he mostly succeeded in smearing the mess rather than wipe it away. He closed his eyes and raised his face to the sky, hoping that the rain would wash off what remained. He imagined he appeared as some sort of disgusting swamp creature, more dirt and grime than man; he chuckled at the thought. A pang of sadness stabbed at his heart as, not for the first time, he wished his brother was with him so that he could share his childish imaginings. The world was empty, he decided, if one did not have a trusted companion in which to share it with. For his entire life, Mark had been that companion, sharing in all of his youthful hijinks and adventures, triumphs and failures. Being as close in age as they were they had been nearly inseparable from the moment they could both walk.

  "A group of carriages is approaching! I can not see them well in this cursed rain, but they look fancy. It may be a group of wealthy merchants!" One of the guards at the forefront of the caravan shouted over the wind. Matt opened his eyes and lowered his vision toward the horizon, trying to make out the newcomers through the darkness. All he could see were the small specks of light, no doubt from covered lanterns, lighting the way of this approaching group as they made their way through the storm, joining onto the main road from a southern offshoot at a pace that would lead to their convergence at the point of the two road's intersection. The carriages they hung from remained obscured by distance and gloom. During the duration of their travels, Matt had been surprised that they had not come across any other groups of travelers or bastions of civilization. The closest they had come was when Nathan had ordered the caravan to take a side road around a small town that had stood in their path for as the prince had said,

'I do not wish to make the local people uncomfortable by rolling a royal procession down their main street. No, better to keep to ourselves and circumvent the town entirely.'

Matt understood the wisdom in Nathan's words. If this town was anything like Clearfield, a visit from a member of the nobility, even a mere passing visit, would have thrown the populace into an uproar. Shopkeepers would feel pressured to offer gifts of their wares, the town leadership would wish to honor the Prince, out of respect for Nathan's position and out of a personal desire to gain the favor of someone so powerful. The party would have been delayed a day's travel at the minimum, if not more.

  "Tell the drivers to stop our carriages; weapons out," Captain Gattis commanded. The message was relayed to the drivers and the carriages came to a halt. The men unsheathed their swords and took up defensive positions around the caravan. The other group was now close enough to see, but any emblem or crest they might be riding under was lost in the deep shadows of the storm.

   Are they afraid they could be bandits? What bandits could have transportation as fine as that? Matt wondered. The Captain appeared strangely jumpy for what was almost certainly an ordinary encounter with another group of travelers. It was obvious that he took his duty as Captain of Prince Nathan's guard extraordinarily seriously. He was taking no chances.

  Could this have something to do with the parchment that Nathan had been reading earlier in the week? Something must be terribly wrong in Verden. Dragons had attacked his home, and he was certain Prince Nathan had been reading about nothing good on that paper, despite his attempts to pass it off as a boring report. Not for the first time he wondered what had brought the Prince so far from Stormcliff. He had originally thought that he may have come to investigate reports of dragon sightings, but Nathan had been caught off guard by Matt's revelation of the dragons' return. Whatever the reason for the trip, it was much more than a royal holiday, the caravan was equipped for speed and protection, not pleasure.