Dragoniers

The Road To Garter

This town really felt a lot like my village in many ways. The only thing that set it apart was the fact they were all strangers and the terrain and views around were different.

The room I was staying in wasn't much larger than the one on the Dragoniering Ship. Enough room for the bed, a small table with a lamp, a little room to walk and a single shelf. Clearly just a guest bedroom, but it beat roughing it in the woods and having to pay for a room at an Inn. I fell asleep as I thought over that letter Dad left for me.

I wish I knew the names of some if the Hunters he was traveling with so I could just ask them what happened to my Father. Who knows though, maybe Dad didn't return because they threatened me in some way, like if he tried to escape or contact anyone. The Letter could have been his warning, in a way, to stay away or something. The only way to know is to find out what happened though.

In the morning they made breakfast and after eating I gathered my things. As I said good bye to the family and thanked them for all of their help the wife handed me a rather large sized container. She had put the leftover soup from the night before in it and insisted I take it. After some arguing I agreed to take it if she'd at least let me pay for it. I gave her two coins for it, since she refused to take any more than that.

I set off towards the North road out of the town. Alan gave me a map of the area so I was pretty sure I knew the best way to get to Garter, but as it was quickly clear it wasn't going to be an easy trip.

The road from Kershaw to Garter is obviously not a frequently used road. It was grown over quite a bit and was more of a path than a road at this point, but I pressed on using my sword from time to time to cut down some weeds in the way. This trip would take longer than I anticipated if it's like this all the way through. Actually glad Alan's wife gave me some food, looks like I'm going to be camping at least once out here.

A few hours later the clouds started rolling in. Great looks like it's going to storm tonight too. I'd better hurry and find a good spot to make camp. I really wanted to at least get past the slope on my right before the rain started and everything turned to mud.

After another hour or so I was past the hill and found a spot where the road was wider and decided to set up camp right here. The rain was already coming down so I needed to get camp set up quickly. Once I got everything set up I decided to eat some of the now cold soup. Even if I had time to set up a fire the wood around here would be too wet to burn.

It rained throughout the night and into the morning, but finally broke around 10 A.M.. I packed up camp and kept moving. It was slow going with all the mud, but once I got the hang of the footing it was a bit easier. The path eventually came to an actual gravel road and I knew I was getting closer. Still a few miles left to cover and a few hours left of daylight.

I spotted a small pond and decided to try and wash the mud off my boots and clothes. Though it was away from the road so I'd still be walking through mud, but at least it wouldn't be as caked up. The water was pretty cold but I managed to wash most of the mud and dirt off and headed back to the road.

I made it to Garter a little after nightfall and looked for a place to stay. I got weird looks from most of the people still out on the street. They probably don't get many visitors this late and definitely not from the direction I just came from. I found an Inn that had rooms available and also got a nice hot meal. This town actually had a natural hot spring so I also got a nice hot bath.

Once in my room I cleaned and sharpened my sword and made sure it wasn't chipped or damaged. Unfortunately it was the only blade I had so I had no choice but to use it. Maybe I'll find a cheap machete to buy in the morning. Exhausted I decided to head to bed. I'll talk to people about my father tomorrow.

After falling asleep I had a dream about Nirosa. She was telling me that she got my message and would protect the Dragon Whisper as best she could, even though he can't hear her. It amused me to hear how annoyed she was about him not being able to hear her, but I'm sure that does make it difficult though. I apologized for putting that on her, but figured an Elder dragon would be a little safer than a non-elder one and she was the only Elder Dragon I really knew. She said she didn't mind, but that I had promised not to give her name away to dragons or people.

"I'm sorry, it was the only option I could think of.  Too many Whisperers are enslaved or killed and I had to do something. They did promise me that they wouldn't share your name, I trust them and they trust me. I won't do it again unless I absolutely have to, but I shouldn't have to do that again," I replied.

"I understand. If they do share my name though are you prepared to handle it, to do what you need to, Prince of Dragons?" She asked.

"I will take care of it however I need to. I've been wondering why you all keep calling me Prince or Prince of Dragons, is there a reason?” I asked, but never heard a response as I was woken up by a loud crashing sound below. Was that all just a dream or was I really able to communicate through my dreams? I got up, grabbed my sword, and went to find out what was happening downstairs.

There was a little bit of a traffic jam on the stairs as we all went to find out what was going on.