The gate guard led them to a house only slightly less shabby than the ones they had passed up to this point. A banner hung outside the door. Even in the dim torchlight, they could tell its colours were bright yellow and dark purple. Kurt did not recognise it, and neither did Martin.

“Could be foreign,” the boy suggested. “The King’s looking for anyone willing to come here and start businesses, like you and mama did.”

“Yeah,” Kurt answered with a shrug. It was as good a guess as any he might have put forward.

The human turned his attention back to the scaled guard and Janus, who were walking just a few steps ahead of them. The guard had not looked happy when the runner caught up with him, and they had talked too quietly for the man to hear. Kurt had briefly feared that Janus might start a fight. The young runner was far too quick to anger and definitely reckless when it came to approaching problems. He seemed to have his humours under control now, at least. Kurt continued to worry about what might happen, until he heard the scaled guard laughing at something the runner said. It must have been a hell of a joke, for the male bent over as they walked along. As he righted himself quickly, a lot of the tension and anger in his face seemed to have vanished.

“He probably offered to get him drunk,” Martin whispered when Kurt asked his son what he thought the pair were talking about. There was something in his son’s tone that sounded hostile, so Kurt kept quiet and looked away, as guilt nagged at him. He had not been much of a father most of the boy’s life.

The guard knocked on the door of house, still chuckling drunkenly to himself. After a voice called him in, he opened the door, stuck his head in, and yelled something Kurt could not understand. Laughing still, he turned and ushered the trio in.

Inside they found a spacious room with a desk and chairs around it that looked home-made. The desk was covered in letters, scrolls, a half-eaten dinner, and a couple of empty bottles. A map of what looked to be the area hung from a wall behind the one chair that was occupied. He was much older than the guard, his facial plates more developed, sharper. His clothes were humble, but clean and neat. His scales were a deep, dark purple and something about his eyes made Kurt think of polished gold.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” he said. “My name is Sydera. I am the Director of this colony.”

The director’s guests introduced themselves in short order, and this time, Janus did not wave his star stone around quite so much. The guard was sent away, though not before he leaned over and whispered something into the runner’s ear. Janus grinned and nodded. The guard withdrew, leaving Kurt wondering just what had passed between the males earlier that he could not hear.

“So, what brings a member of the Order here?” Sydera asked, his golden eyes fixed on the runner. “Are you in pursuit of a witch?”

“No, though I was part of an investigation. It was back in Eichen. My friends and I are heading west. We have been given a job by Prince Siegfried.”

“Yes, your friends,” the dragon man said with a slight nod.

His eyes fell on Kurt then, and the man could not help but flinch. He had heard something about older scaled, though he had never seen one, and knew nobody who had. They rarely left whatever town they grew up in, becoming more territorial with age. He could not help but squirm a little under the scaled’s brilliant eyes. He suddenly felt naked, in every way it was possible to be naked, and wanted to look away. He did not, though when Sydera’s gaze shifted to Martin, Kurt felt himself let go of a breath he had not felt himself holding.

“Since when do hunters have friends?” asked the dragon man.

“We’re not friends, exactly,” answered Martin, very quickly. “My father and I are part of the King’s staff. We are clerks to the Order. We keep the records, and file reports made by hunters after they finish an investigation. We look after the libraries that belong to the Order as well.”

“Sounds important,” smiled Sydera. “So why has the Order sent you off west without a horse between you?”

“The horses are all dead,” replied Martin, clearly ready for this.

Kurt had to wonder just then whether his boy’s silence up to this point had really been out of contempt for Janus, instead of coming up with excuses for a grilling such as this. He felt like a fool then for not considering what might have happened if they were brought before someone not so easily intimidated as the guard outside.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Sydera’s golden eyes bore down on the boy, but Martin did not flinch.

“There was a witch, back in Eichen,” Martin said quickly. “There was a battle, and many were killed.” All of it was true, of course.

“That is unfortunate,” nodded the dragon man. “My condolences to you all, if you lost anyone. So, you are going to make your report?”

“Ye – ” began Janus, but Martin quickly cut him off.

“Of course not! The King’s in up north in Gozer! Why would we go west if we’re reporting to him?”

Sydera’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, and for a second his focus was not on the boy to Kurt’s left, but the still runner to his right. As his gaze flashed past Kurt’s, the man could have sworn it looked as if those orbs were filled with flowing, molten metal. He flinched, and was certain he could detect Janus flinch too, before that gaze returned back to Martin.

“What’s west of here, child?” Asked the dragon.

“Hafenstrand,” was the immediate answer. “The Order has records there we have been tasked to go through. Janus here is to search the city for any accomplishes of the witch that may have escaped.”

“Yes!” the runner said then, quickly. “Yes! I’m to search the port!”

“No,” said Sydera, firmly. “You are not going west to search the port for a witch. If I were the betting sort, I would wager you are going to the port with intentions of leaving the country. I would also lay bets that none of you are associated with the Order. If I were to guess, I would say that you are outlaws of some sort, who – ”

There was curse to Kurt’s right as Janus stood up, nearly knocking his chair over as he did so. He was snarling then, his hands moving down to the grips of his weapons.

Sydera looked up at the tall, lanky wolfman, unimpressed. He snorted then, and his large nostrils belched thin strands of what looked like smoke. His dark throat seemed to thicken, and for one terrifying second, it seemed to Kurt as if Sydera’s mouth was full of fire.

Janus had taken a step towards the dragon man’s desk by then, but not another. His eyes were wide with fear, and the weapons in his hands shook in his grip.

“Sit, dog,” growled Sydera. “Or I’ll cook you and feed you to your cousins outside.”

Janus obeyed, returning knife and hatchet both to the belt at his waist. He sat down slowly, his now empty hands kept open, and then kept them on his knees. No one spoke for a long moment. The air seemed so thick with fear just then that Kurt felt as if he could reach out and touch it.

“I’ve lived a long time by your years,” the dragon man told them, smoke winding up from his flaring nostrils. His throat began to decompress as he spoke, and the flames flickering between his teeth died as he continued. “The Elves were freshly gone when I was just hatched. I know lies when I hear them, for I’ve heard many. I know hunted people when I see them, too.”

“Please,” Kurt heard himself say then. “We mean you and yours no harm. We haven’t hurt anyone. We just want to get away from here.”

Those golden eyes fixed on him. Kurt felt a trickle of ice slither down his spine, despite Sydera’s breath causing him to break out in a sweat.

“My people came down from our homes to be here,” Sydera explained, his tone commanding, yet calm. “This land was granted us by your King. Humans fear these woods. My own people did as well, and would only settle here if an elder came with them. I am that elder, gentlemen.”

“Why would the King grant land to the scaled?” asked Martin.

“These woods are vast, and virgin, child,” Sydera answered, leaning forward as he explained. “Sturmwatch is poor, but there is much here that could make it rich. I chose this spot because the timber is good, and the river is near, and that river flows to Hafenstrand. We have only just begun sending our first shipments of fresh timber down to the coast. The shipyards there are hungry for it, and there is yet another shipyard being built. This one is to supply a company your King has given trading rights to bring goods from the whole eastern ocean. In a few years, if fortune favours us, there will be whole new industries formed here, bringing revenues to the Crown, and much wealth to this region. People will come here, to Drachenzahn, to seek their fortunes. Work will breed more work. Wealth will come, and all will benefit. I don’t expect outlaws to understand what work means, but this project matters to me, as it does to your King.”

“I understand it,” Kurt said then. His farm was gone, as dead now as Sabine, but one did not simply forget twenty years of toil and sweat and dreams. Sydera’s vision was grander than his had been, but his success had bred more work and his farm had grown beyond what either he or Sabine could have dreamed of. “My wife and I took land and money from the King to start a farm south of Gozer. We worked hard, and we made something of ourselves. We wanted our children to have something more than we did.”

“What happened to it?” asked the dragon.

Kurt wanted to speak, but the light in here was no longer casting Sydera in formidable shadow. He was suddenly back in the barn, where his friends had been laid out under blankets in row after row, their feet sticking out absurdly from under whatever cloth Theo could find to cover them. Bader. Frederich. The workers, and their wives, and their children…

“It was all destroyed,” Martin answered. Kurt covered his head in his hands. He did a decent job of holding off most of the tears.

There was silence. Kurt wiped his face clean after an awkward moment. When he could see again, he found that the burning in Sydera’s eyes had faded.

“I won’t risk what I am building here,” the dragon began slowly. “But I’m not without compassion. You will stay, and you will work. In two days’ time we will have another barge ready to go down to the coast. If no one comes looking for you by then, you may take that boat down. I will pay you for your services. If someone comes looking for you before then, I am going to hand you over to the authorities.”

“Thank you,” Kurt croaked.

“I’ll arrange quarters for you tonight,” Sydera declared. He stood up and gestured for them to follow as he headed for the door, indicating that this meeting was concluded. He continued speaking over his broad shoulder as he crossed the small sitting room. “Meals as well, if you’re hungry. Your work will be assigned in the morning. Do what you’re told, and we’ll have no problems. Any questions? No? Good.”