Chapter 19 - A Small Encounter
The morning sun rose higher, casting a warm glow over the forested landscape. It was as if the Green Sea itself welcomed the travelers with its dappled light and a cool mountain breeze rustling the leaves. And the wide hard-packed dirt road soon found takers.
Ash stretched his legs ambling along behind the wagon, while Rasp contently stayed under cover chewing on his special crystal. ...grind grind grind... The situation seemed fine for now, but he didn't know how the dragon would react to resting in a confined space all day. Yesterday went well enough though.
The captain had talked with him earlier and there was simply too much livestock with the caravan for the dragon to run about freely. Or fly. Because of that, there was a lot of rules they'd have to follow once Rasp wanted to stretch his wings.
But until then, there was nothing to do but to keep an eye on Rasp and keep his newly issued leather armor equipped. That, and monitoring his partner's hunger. ...grind grind grind...
The tailgate was down and Ash's eyes drifted to the other contents of the wagon. Besides what he was wearing, everything else the boy owned sat in the wagon. Precious little, all said and done. A medium satchel containing small dragon-scales shed by Rasp, his spare clothes, the pearlescent horn he hadn't done anything with yet, and a new brand new rucksack.
Oh yeah! The sight of his stuff suddenly reminded him to gingerly pat his chest. Reassuring himself that the papers provided by the general were still safe. Letters of introduction, one for the houseleader of the Ollu dragonhouse, and one for the headmaster of the mage academy. He had been strictly warned not to lose them.
As the wagon temporarily rolled under a canopied tree branch, Ash stretched his arms wide and enjoyed the shade, a slight reprieve from the rising sun. He had truly missed this sense of freedom over the past month.
Having his special scouting permission revoked had been a bitter pill to swallow. Especially since the new plan laid out by the instructors hadn't been comparable at all. A boring routine of walking under the inner fortress walls for hours with Rasp overhead in the midday sun was not as fun as a shaded walk along a mountain creek. Not even comparable.
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So he was now fully appreciating the fact he wasn’t stuck backtracking a single route for hours at a time. Even if the alternative involved eating dust behind Rasp’s cart.
...grind gr- The grinding sensation from within the wagon ceased as Ash’s wide movements drew the Rasp’s attention, causing the boy to gaze back.
Ash snorted in amusement at the dragon’s sudden attention and dropped his arms. “Oh, am I more interesting than your rock now? Not already bored are you?”
After a short pause and a small sneeze, Rasp disregarded the teasing human and went back to chewing with renewed gusto. ...grind grind grind...
Guess not haha. The dragon’s actions only made Ash’s smile grow wider. If Rasp could behave this well throughout the entire trip, it would be a smooth journey.
A childish voice piped up beside Ash, “Hey, are you a dragonrider?”
...grind gr- “Guh!”
Surprised, the dragonboy whirled to the side. Ash's startled reaction drew chuckles from the soldiers in the following wagon and he felt his ears heat up.
Only to find an innocent looking kid off on the edge of the dirt road. He had bright eyes, a tanned face with freckles, and tousled sandy hair. He couldn't have been older than eight or nine by the boy's estimation, a pretty accurate one considering he had been raised alongside other orphan trainees from a young age.
The child was trotting along, curiously looking up at Ash. He repeated the question, “Are you a dragonrider?”
Scratching his chin in embarrassment, Ash replied, "Why do you think I'm a dragonrider?"
"My dad said a boy joined with a dragon, and only dragonriders have dragons," the kid explained.
Ash couldn’t fault the reasoning, even if it was wrong. For the moment... “I do have a dragon, but I’m not a dragonrider. I haven't flown yet.”
The little civilian demanded, “Why don’t you fly?”
“My partner isn’t big enough yet.”
“Oh, so that’s why!”
He doesn't have to sound so chipper about it... Ash felt a strong urge to spank this brat. The kid was unknowingly prodding Ash’s sore spot, but he resisted his urge after a short mental struggle. Outwardly maintaining his cool Ash asked, “So who are you?”
The kid skipped along, “I'm Rews Dessur. What’s your name? And where’s your dragon?”
Rews Dessur? Isn't this the Dessur caravan? Is he related to the the guy in charge?
“Hello Rews. My name is Ash Wartorn. As for my partner, he's resting in there”. Ash pointed to the covered wagon before quizzing the child, “So how does your dad know about my dragon?”
Rews didn't respond immediately, as he jumped a few times, failed attempts to peer into the cart before answering. “My dad leads the caravan. He knows about everyone. It's his business.”
Ash nodded while the kid bragged about his dad. Makes sense. He must have been the person Captain Thorne had to talk to yesterday during my nap.
"Well, very nice to meet you, Rews," Ash said politely, extending his hand to the young boy. The boy solemny shook it.
Looking at Rews' eager face, Ash grinned as he predicted what the energetic boy really wanted to ask.
“Can I see the dragon?”