Heyna's Tale - Chapter Eight

The Dragon's Lair

The tunnel was ringed around with lights. As the Tachizame moved through, rows of white lights flashed as the boat came abreast of each ring, tracking it’s movement. When the Kelpie reached the first bank of lights it flashed red.

“It must be some type of warning system.”

“Mechanical. We can’t hide from that.”

“Be at ease,” Eeeaouuu spoke in their minds. “Turbulence alerts. They are watching for large swimmers and other boats. We can calm the water.”

The lights did not flash again as they continued to follow the Tachizame into the dragon lair. The lights went out behind them as they moved forward. Ahead, the tunnel stretched on and on. The wake of the Tachizame roiled and churned the water so that they could not see past the under sea boat to what lay beyond.

They traveled for so long that Heyna began to wonder if the tunnel was just a pass through that went clear to the other side of the city. She needn’t have worried. Eventually the light brightened and then became blinding as they entered a vast, open harbor. Tachizame surfaced. The Kelpie surfaced. The Fennec cast a wide glamour that disguised them. To any nearby dragons they appeared as ripples in the water.

Above them, cranes and gantries soared over the harbor, and far above those, Heyna could see the faceted dome that protected the city. All around, there was bustling activity. Scores of boats at dock, loading, unloading, being serviced, leaving and arriving. By the Trees! The stench made Heyna’s eyes water. Live fish, dead fish, rotting fish, fish was almost all she could smell! But it was the dragon stink that made her stomach churn.

Ryujin moved about, focused on their tasks. Their whistling voices rang out in the open space creating a cacophony that roared in Heyna’s ears. The Tachi slowed and came to a stop at a wooden pier.

She watched the under sea boat anxiously. Crew spilled out of the hatches and made the Tachizame fast to the pier with huge ropes. On the conn, first Ak’ne, then Screeble himself appeared. Screeble shouted at his crew to look lively, or he’d do horrible things to them.

“Thank you, Eeeaouuu!” Heyna said to the Kelpie. “We will see you again, if we ever get out of here.” To the Fennec, Heyna said, “Okay, you know what to do.”

“Wait!” Sronban said. “There are too many people! How can we glamour them all?”

“We can do it together,” Tooly said. “Just like the teams on the Misty Isle. Together we are stronger.” Then he scratched his chin. “Don’t worry, we’ll get most of the ones within a hundred yards or so. Anyone farther away will just see a blur. If they’re curious and move into range, they’ll get the glamour. Focus on the casting. Use Heyna’s vision as a guide.”

“Right! Okay! I can do this,” Sronban said reassuring herself.

The Kelpie deposited them on the dock. Heyna felt like she was still moving on the ocean, and swayed a bit. The others were just as wobbly for a moment.

“Whoa,” Tooly said.

Heyna steadied herself as the Fennec changed the glamour. Then they began walking down the dock toward the Tachizame. As they approached, Ak’ne noticed them and poked Screeble with sharp claw, before bowing low.

“Ow! What’s yer trouble… Oh!” Screeble did a double take. He stared hard in their direction suspiciously. Then he bowed low as well. What he, “saw,” was Her Royal Highness Princess Riri approaching with a guard and a slave. He shouted to his crew who immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed as well. All around, workers paused and bowed low. Screeble watched from the conn as the princess nodded to him.

What Screeble saw, what all the bystanders saw, was a carefully crafted glamour, based on Heyna’s experience in the Dreki islands. They saw the Princess Riri, adorned in a spun gold gown with crimson trim. Blackwood and jewelwood were at her wrists, crest and throat. A Gryphish dagger at her waist completed the stunning ensemble. A tall Ryujin warrior walked by her side wearing Gryphish armor and blades, and carried a hand cannon. He clanked softly as he marched. An Erda slave with the royal seal branded into his hide, and wearing an iron collar and chain was in attendance carrying luggage.

No one spoke to them. Heyna was familiar with royal protocol from the interminable lectures that Beetah had given the servants before the meeting in the Dreki islands. It was death to speak to royalty unless spoken to. She was happy to see that everyone around them was behaving in the expected way. Sronban now appeared as Riri and was being accorded the appropriate respect.

Screeble’s eyes followed the Princess. He shook his head again as though he didn’t quite believe his eyes, but then bowed lower. Heyna watched him closely. He betrayed no inkling of recognition of her. It was like her dream. He looked right at her and didn’t see her. But something in his demeanor worried Heyna.

The entourage sauntered towards a large arch in the direction that passengers seemed to be walking. As they passed the bow of the Tachizame, Heyna saw Screeble straighten up and talk to Ak’ne. He pointed in their direction. Ak’ne nodded, and went below.

There continued to be bows all around as they approached a great arch. Beyond, was a vaulted hall where dragons were queued with their luggage. They waited for their turn in front of counters where clerks checked their identification. Heyna saw a few Dreki sprinkled about the lines of mostly Ryujin dragons. Everywhere, Erda slaves attended their masters and mistresses.

Heyna felt the same distress that she’d felt in the royal Dreki audience chamber when she sniffed the air and smelled the slaves. No scent glands. She was alarmed when two slaves looked in her direction. They were sniffing the air too.

“Mistress!” she said. “The air.”

“Indeed, the air stinks on the docks,” Tooly replied out loud.

“No, the Erda, they can smell me!”

He replied in her mind, “Oops! Good catch! I’ll shut it down. Didn’t think of that. Sorry.”

The slaves sniffed again. Tooly added the right scent to the glamour, and the slaves turned back to their tasks.

“Now they’ll smell what they think they ought to smell.”

“That was close,” Sronban whispered.

They walked right on past the lines of dragons. Some were having their luggage searched. Some were complaining about taxes and duties for the goods they were carrying. All turned and bowed deeply to the, “princess.” Sronban, Tooly and Heyna walked serenely towards an exit that others were using.

A liveried functionary stepped in their way and indicated another door to their left. Armed guards stood on either side of the door. Heyna squeaked and hoped the glamour covered the sound.

“You dare?” Sronban said to the official. He immediately prostrated himself on the floor.

“Your pardon, Majesty! I only meant to indicate that transport awaits. Forgive me.”

“Of course,” Sronban smiled, “You may rise.” He stood and led them through the door with the now obviously nervous guards. Outside, Heyna gasped. Thirty slaves with iron collars strained at the traces of a closed carriage, awaiting the order to move. An Erda driver sat at the top with a whip in his hands. A Ryujin guard sat beside him. Another guard held the door for the princess and bowed low.

I’m not going to panic, Heyna told herself.

“Whatever you do, don’t run,” Tooly’s voice was in her head. “Don’t worry. Stick to the plan!” Heyna wanted to kick him.

The plan was to get out of the harbor, find someplace quiet as a base from which to reconnoiter. Then to locate Jaasi and Xico, get them and get back to the Kelpie in the harbor. Now, this carriage was going to take them who knows where. Heyna trembled. They hadn’t thought this through. Of course, royalty would be met with special treatment. Choosing Riri as the representation of the glamour was a stupid mistake. Heyna cursed herself.

Sronban hesitated before the carriage.

“Hold,” Sronban said. The party halted.

“Majesty?” the functionary blurted. “If something is amiss please direct me and I will rectify my error and submit myself for punishment.”

“No… Nothing is amiss. It is… a nice evening. I think I will walk,” she said. The retinue all stared in shock. Sronban reinforced the glamour, “I will walk and this is not unusual for me,” she said. The security detail immediately backed off. “You are dismissed.” The retinue disappeared. “You!” Sronban pointed to a guard. She spoke in the dragon’s mind. “Take us someplace out of the way. Someplace where we can hide.” The dragon seemed dazed, as though he were sleepwalking.

“This way,” said the guard in a monotone, and led them into the street.

All around them people were bowed in their direction. They held the bow until the, “princess,” was just a blur. Some peered curiously from a distance, but none approached. The team moved away from the busy port and turned down a side street. Heyna looked nervously about as they walked.

Low buildings of white coral blocks lined curved and twisting streets. Heyna could make no sense of the design. Streets seemed to turn and branch with no rhyme or reason. Some were wide boulevards, some just alleys between buildings. They were all paved with large granite flagstones.

No building was taller than four stories, with the tallest crowded around the harbor. Municipal buildings were smoothly finished and marked with signs. Homes were of rough cut blocks with a natural veneer that seemed to be the style. Light spilled from many of the buildings. That light mixed with the blue-white lights that glowed from lamp posts and illuminated the streets. Far above, the dome, faceted like a giant jewel, kept back the ocean, and reflected the street lights. The effect was to make the dome look convex instead of concave, like an inside out umbrella.

Dragons noticed them and bowed as they passed, then turned back to whatever they were doing. Slaves prostrated themselves until they were out of sight. Heyna saw one dragon kick his slave when she lay too long. Tooly cast an extra bit of glamour that made any witnesses quickly forget their passing.

Eventually the lamp posts became fewer and farther between. The streets darkened and the buildings became less elaborate as they moved into a poorer neighborhood. Some buildings were without proper doors or windows at all. Ryujin clustered in groups around doorways and at intersections. There were no slaves. These dragons did not look prosperous. They did not bow to the, “princess,” either, but stared sullenly from beetled brows.

“Ain’t right,” Heyna heard someone mumble.

“She don’t belong here. Her and her slave.”

A crowd started to follow at a distance. Their grumbling grew to a dull buzz. The party hurried on. Tooly, changed the glamour to match the population around them. Heyna became a Ryujin sailor.

“Good idea,” Sronban said out loud.

“Er… What was that about?” Tooly asked.

“They are the dispossessed. The mass of the less useful and the useless,” the guard said in his hypnotized monotone. “They are the inevitable poor, as it is written.”

“Inevitable?” Heyna asked.

“Must be true,” Tooly said. “He can’t lie while he’s glamoured.”

“Didn’t see any of those on the Misty Isle, Heyna said.

“No, we take care of our own. That’s deep in our culture.”

“And to the deep with the rest,” Heyna said with only a hint of resentment. She thought of what the Kelpie had said about ruling and ruled. Inevitable? Was it really? Or was it just a few at the top stealing from all those below?

“Let’s keep moving,” Sronban said.

Their pet guard did not seem to notice the change in their appearance. He led them on until they came to a large, isolated building that might have been a warehouse. There were no dragons about. They could see through the barred windows that it was now empty. The heavy iron doors were locked.

“Here,” Heyna said.

“Get us in,” Sronban said to the guard. Without hesitation, he pulled out a steel baton and snapped off the padlock.

The little band went in and examined the space closely. It was dry, with a high ceiling and a mezzanine level all around. Old crates and empty boxes were strewn about. Heyna smelled fish, of course, but she also smelled some edible wood, and… rats. They wouldn’t go hungry.

“This will do,” she said. Sronban turned to the guard.

“Where is princess Riri now?” The guard looked confused for a moment.

“Er… She is supposed to be touring the other domes. Today she is said to be in Saidai.”

“When is she expected back?”

“A few days, but you can never be sure with her highness.”

“Where are the slave pens? Draw a map.” Tooly indicated the side of a large crate. The glamoured guard scratched a crude map with one claw.

“Here is the city. We are here,” said the guard in his glamoured monotone. He sketched out a circle and some streets. “The slave pens are here.” He drew a path.

“How do we get in?”

“Through the guard post and past the auction yard to the cells.”

“Where would high value hostages be kept,” Heyna asked.

“Hostages? Ryujin do not have hostages.”

“Okay… Where would they keep Quetzalcoatl that they have kidnapped?”

“We do not kidnap.”

“Guests. What about guests?

“Our guests would be at the palace.”

“Show us on the map.”

“The palace is here.” The guard sketched some more. “This is the route from where we are.” He drew a path.

“Okay, my friend,” Tooly said. “There are rats in this building. Catch some and bring them to me.”

“Rats?”

“Rats.”

“Rats, yes. I will bring you rats.” The guard shuffled off.

“That’s handy,” Heyna said.

“It’s getting tiring,” Sronban said. “My head hurts. I feel like my gem is stabbing me.”

“Let me take the glamour,” Tooly said. “You’ve just ascended. I’m way more experienced. I’ll take the guard. You get some sleep, and by the time you wake, roast rat will be on the menu.”

“We all need rest,” Heyna said. “But let me scout around. Turn me into a guard, and I’ll point our friend in the right direction. We also need water.”

Heyna sniffed out a rat nest and helped the guard bag enough rats for a meal. These rodents were much, much smaller than those on Ueytlalli.

There was a water tap in a maintenance room and she filled their water bottles. She scented some of the crates. Some were edible. She gathered enough chips for a meal and washed them.

She gathered more wood. There was no fireplace, so Heyna laid a fire in the center of the wide stone floor. She ate her supper while Tooly prepared and roasted the rats. Heyna wrinkled her nose at the smell, but she was getting used to it.

“I hope that we can find you more than bugs and rats to eat,” she laughed.

“We eat fish too.”

“Dead fish. Raw.”

Heyna made a gagging sound and they all laughed.

“What are we going to do with him?” Tooly pointed at the guard.

“I suppose that we could take him with us. Riri should have more than one guard,” Heyna said.

“Yeah, no. Not a good idea,” Sronban said. “We should ditch Riri. Pick another Ryujin. We need to keep a lower profile.”

“We also don’t want to be challenged,” Heyna said. “If we don’t choose someone of high enough status, the doors of the slave pens might not open.”

“My head still hurts,” Sronban said. “The princess attracts too much attention. I’m seeing the limits of the glamouring.”

“Heyna’s right. We need those doors to open, no questions asked.”

“What if Riri’s already in the palace? Or if, Misty Mother forbid, we run into the princess while we’re out in the city?”

“We should include a carriage in the glamour. It’s not likely that Riri would be out and about on foot.”

“Right,” said Sronban.

“So, what are we going to do with him?” Tooly asked again. “Take him with us?”

“Agreed.”