The Tribes of K'haren - Completed

Chapter 14.3

Zar'gno, the cyan winged dragon, disappeared for a while but the others remained with their prisoners. When Zar'gno returned, he spoke hastily to the others and all of a sudden, Nume felt herself once more being lifted up in the air. She looked around and saw that her friends were facing a similar fate. The dragons flew away at a very fast pace now and they were heading away from the dragon king.

Nume felt as if she'd been beaten up because she was shaken around within the cage made of huge claws. Somehow she was sure she'd end up being bruised all over. Why did the dragons fly so much faster and less careful now? She didn't have a clue. But then again, there was a more important question at hand: Where were they being taken?

Once they had left the mountains behind them, the dragons slowed down a bit and started talking to each other.

'He didn't allow it... said they had to be gotten rid of... could be dangerous...' Zar'gno muttered loudly.

'... have run away... jewels...' another dragon spoke, Nume could only catch a few words.

They were now approaching a landscape that Nume could faintly remember. She had been there with the tribe once when she was still a child. It was one of the bigger markets in the north and Nume could very well remember the caravans that left from there on to travel through all of K'haren. But why would the dragons be going there? This was outside their kingdom, phraio tribes lived here.

When they landed in the middle of an open field next to the tent rows, Nume slowly started to understand. The field was the same one she'd landed on last time, just with a herd of gseirut instead of a group of dragons... And she remembered the market being full of goods. There had been many odours in the air and the desperate calling of animals that were to be sold was to be heard everywhere. But now it was rather quiet, Nume could see some phraio and assumed that it had to be the whole tribe. After all, dragons landing next to the tents will attract some attention.

To Nume's surprise, nobody started shouting or running around. Nobody even drew a sword. They were all calm. An old man approached them slowly, asking Zar'gno what he had for them.

'Two phraio from another tribe, there's a bounty on their heads, a half-dretho who will serve you well as a man hunter once you have taught him to obey orders, and a goat. Well, I was told he is called faun. To me he looks just as delicious as any goat though...' Zar'gno coldly stated.

'Let me see.' The old man demanded. The dragons released their prisoners from their claws. It was not as if they had a chance to flee now anyway. But Nume was still surprised by the gesture, after all, Raf had not been disarmed at any time...

The old man slowly walked past them, eying them all up. He stood still in front of Kran, thinking hard for a moment.

'Ah, Torein, isn't it? What was your first name again? Something with K...' the man finally shouted.

'Kran Torein.' Kran automatically answered. He seemed to remember the man.

'Very well. I hear there is a bounty on your head, is that true?' Kran did not reply to the question. 'I take this as a yes.' The old man concluded. Then he looked at Nume.

'I see.' He muttered. 'Oh how foolish youth can be... risking your life and even your tribe's welfare for love...'

Nume sighed, not even attempting to correct the old man. It was not as if anybody would believe them anyway.

'But I do see what you have found in her...' the man said, approaching Nume now. 'She might actually be worth more on the marked than when brought back to her tribe...' The way he looked at her made her feel sick. When he reached out a hand for her hair, Nume backed away and spat to his feet.

The old man looked very shocked, he'd probably never seen a woman being rude in any way. For a moment, it looked as if he was going to get angry but then he laughed out loud and roared something about better returning her home where her parents could teach her to behave.

Nume felt so incredibly angry when she heard that but she didn't exactly want to be sold to some stranger either so she stayed quiet. The man talked a little to Raf, who tried to offer him money to let them go, and Tarlequin but Nume didn't listen anymore. Then they were taken away and the dragons received a bag filled with something heavy. Looking back, Nume could see Zar'gno looking after her and for a moment she thought he might actually be sad. But how can you tell with a dragon? Other than his membranes being pressed tightly to his body, nothing about him really looked different to before.

Moments later, the dragons flew off and quickly disappeared in the distance. Nume looked at the tents feeling somewhat sad again. Maybe it was a good thing for them to return home, even if being sold there. Maybe their parents would forgive them... And the dragon king said the prophecy was no longer needed so what was the point in them travelling around in the first place?

When she felt the sadness grow inside her heart, Nume decided to focus on the details to distract herself. She noticed that the tents were built with heavier material and the stakes were rammed into the ground so they wouldn't easily fall down during a storm. It made sense for the tribe since it didn't travel as often as theirs did. They mostly stayed in the same area where others could easily find them to trade with them.

Nume was so lost in observing details that she didn't even notice where they were being taken until the metal bar door was being shut with a creak.

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