Here, There Be Dragons

by LeRoy Clary

  Tyler nodded, watching the dog that insisted on traveling fifteen or twenty steps ahead. It would warn them if it encountered people. They might have time to disappear into the underbrush if nothing else. He looked for a small hill or knoll that provided a clear line of sight to the path.

  The dog had stopped with them as they considered their next step. Now it growled.

  Tyler moved off the path and forced his way into the dense green wall growing beside the path, seeing Bender doing the same a few steps away. They halted a dozen steps off the path and crouched, barely able to see, so assuming the reverse was also true and they would be safe.

  I hope the dog doesn’t lead them right to us. Tyler held his breath as he listened, and watched. He felt something touch his leg. Glancing down revealed the dog, teeth bared as it watched four men pass, all dressed alike but not in any uniform he’d ever seen. They carried long, wide blades, hanging from their hips, not straight but double-edged. They were slightly curved, heavy, and it would take a strong man to wield one.

  Each of the four carried similar swords as they marched in step. The dog remained as still as Tyler, as if understanding the danger. Bender was looking his way but motioned for Tyler to remain as he slipped out to the path and studied the footprints.

  Returning, he knelt beside Tyler and said, “They didn’t have backpacks or supplies, so they came from somewhere close. I say we follow them.”

  “They’re going the wrong way.”

  “There is no right way until we find what’s going on,” Bender told him.

  He was right. Following the four men would provide more information than all their guessing, and knowing that the others were in front of them provided a measure of safety. Once, two or three years earlier, Tyler and Bender were sent to scout a Queensland stronghold. They had found a pair of Queensland scouts and followed them a full day until they located their camp. They had earned a weekend pass for their efforts.

  Bender took the lead, as usual. Once on the wide path, they hurried ahead, Bender a hundred steps in front, and the yellow dog at Tyler’s side. Tyler kept watch behind, as well as to the sides of the path, always picking out the next place to dart into if needed. He always tried to have an escape route planned.

  The path rounded the base of a hill and then ran near the river bank where it was soft and muddy. The path later turned inland and followed a small tributary until reaching higher ground. The water there ran fast and white, churning over rocks and a few small waterfalls, reminding Tyler of the place where he’d crossed over the dead pine tree.

  Bender suddenly dived off the path. Tyler didn’t know why, but he managed to slip off and disappear almost as fast, his arm resting on the dog’s neck to keep him quiet. A lone woman approached. She wore a dun-colored dress that fell to the tops of her feet, and from her gait, she was young, no more than a girl.

  Bender stepped out on the path behind her, unseen. He moved silently after her, keeping pace. He held a fist into the air to warn Tyler to remain hidden. Tyler waited until she was almost to where he was, and as Bender’s fist fell, he stepped out onto the road in front of her. She spun, ready to sprint away, but saw Bender behind.

  She said, holding her hands up defensively, “A patrol is due to pass here anytime.”

  “It just went by. You saw it,” Tyler said.

  “Another. They patrol all day long.”

  “We’re not going to hurt you,” he said, knowing how weak the statement sounded. It was exactly what someone intending to hurt her would say. He chuckled, drawing a slight scowl from her. “That sounded so stupid I’m ashamed of myself.”

  Bender drew closer and stopped a respectable three steps from her, but still blocked her retreat. She said, “What’d you say?”

  “We’re not going to hurt you.”

  Bender shook his head as if disgusted. Then he flashed the smile he only shared with pretty girls. He said, “My name’s Bender, and the inept fool standing before you is called Tyler. We were going downriver when our boat started sinking. All we want are a few nails. Can you tell us where to find a blacksmith or someone who might spare them? We can pay.”

  “They’ll catch you, you know.”

  Bender said, “I don’t even know who ‘they’ are.”

  “The Cabots. They watch the river and have at least ten boats on the banks with men to row fast enough to catch anyone. You can call me Prim, if it matters.”

  Bender shrugged. “We didn’t do anything. We have little money and are just passing through.”

  “You’re young and strong enough to work in the gold mines.” Her head looked behind Bender and then turned back around to look beyond Tyler.

  Tyler decided the girl couldn’t be more than fourteen or fifteen, that awkward age where a girl was no longer a child but not yet a woman. Still, she held information about the area and the people she referred to as Cabots, information that might help them escape and survive. He said, “Others are coming to patrol this road?”

  “Soon. Their patrols are regular. Lots of them.”

  Bender said, “Then, we had better be on our way. Thanks for the warning.”

  Tyler nudged the dog to the side of the path and into the underbrush, seeing Bender move the same way. When they were almost out of sight, the girl spun and raced after them.

  “Move quicker, I just saw a glimpse of them.” She ran past Tyler, then leaped behind a pile of brambles taller than her head. She came to a stop and held her index finger to her lips, telling them to be quiet.

  Four more men dressed alike in uniforms marched past. When they were out of sight again, the girl said, “We can talk, but just for a short time.”

  “Another patrol will be along?”

  She nodded. “You need to do whatever it takes to get away from here as fast as you can run.”

  “Why?” Tyler asked, his voice sounding more scared than he intended.

  She ignored him and addressed Bender. “Up in the mountains are iron, silver, and gold mines. The Cabots began to mine them as a family, but later they captured men and women. They chain them to each other to do the work. They keep them alive if they dig enough ore. The Cabots feed them and keep them penned up in their mines. That’s where my family is. Over time, they got so big they started paying others to help capture slaves to keep the mines working, instead of just the family. They even pay bounty hunters to bring in people.”

  “How many Cabots are there?” Tyler asked.

  “Hundreds. I mean the soldiers, not the family. I know nothing of them.”

  Bender said, “To watch over a few mines?”

  Her face turned harder. “Mines. Dozens. Hundreds of Cabots guards to work the men and women in them, and more to capture replacements, usually from men they catch on the river. Like you.”

  Tyler said, “If we walk downriver, how many days until we’re in the clear?”

  “Three or four, if that was possible. There are mountains too steep to climb on your left, a river on your right, and only a little land between. There are watchpoints all along the river. The other side of the river is worse.”

  “Why?” Bender asked.

  “Rewards. They pay savage bounty hunters to bring in more workers, but they only let them on the other side of the river. They have traps set and ambushes. Nobody makes it there, and many die.”

  “Why are you telling us this?” Bender asked.

  “They killed my parents. Now, they have my two brothers. I can’t help them, but maybe I can get away and do something. Warn people. Like you.”

  “You’re a captive, too?” Tyler asked arms crossed over his chest. “Then how come you’re out walking alone?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not free. I can’t go upriver or down, or across. They will kill me. I’m out here hunting for berries because I cook at their compound, so they let me gather them, but they watch.”

  Bender passed a familiar look to Tyler, the one that said he was in love again and was about to help the poor girl with all h
er problems. But this time he might be right. Tyler said, “Can you hunt berries again tomorrow?”

  Prim nodded, but looked scared.

  “Meet us right here.” Bender said, “How far to the compound?”

  “Just around the next bend.”

  “Are they always patrolling in teams of four?”

  “Only when on patrol. I really have to get back, or they’ll beat me.” Prim turned and headed away, then turned back and said, “Tomorrow. Right here.”

  Bender watched her go, then said, “After the next patrol passes, we’ll cross to the other side of the path.”

  “I assume you have a good reason?”

  “If not a good reason, I do have a reason. The Cabots are patrolling between the river and the path. I want a look at their compound, and that will be safest if we come in from the backside.”

  Tyler pursed his lips together and then said, “You want to capture a prisoner or guard to question. That’s the only way to get more information, and why you asked her about them traveling in quads.”

  “All true. Keep your voice down. I think I hear another patrol.”

  Four more men marched past. Tyler kept his eye on the dog, pleased that as long as it was with him, it didn’t bark, growl, or cause problems. If it did, he wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of it. At least that’s what he told himself.

  They crossed the path and immediately started climbing the side of a small mountain. They made their way to the top, and down the other side. By noon they reached a place where they could see into what the girl called the compound. It looked little different than any military encampment they’d ever seen.

  The single difference was that there was a smaller compound inside the larger. It had a wall of sharpened poles with the butt end buried in the dirt forming an impassible wall. Inside were four small huts made of logs. One gate in front allowed guards to enter or depart. Another stood at the rear.

  They watched as a squad of four men escorted a fifth into the smaller compound, and into the hut with a plume of smoke rising. They held the prisoner upright, but it was obvious he’d been severely beaten. His feet drug, leaving twin rows in the dirt as they half-carried him inside. When he emerged a short time later, he wore chains around his ankles. They took him to one of the three remaining huts and then left him.

  Tyler said, “A blacksmith shop, or at least enough of one to put chains on people. That could be us down there.”

  “The girl saved us. We’d have walked right up to them and asked directions.”

  “Do you have a plan?” Tyler asked.

  “Nope. I don’t even know why we’re up here. How could I have a plan?”

  Tyler turned to face him. “You do know that I can tell when you’re lying to me, right?”

  “No, you cannot.”

  “Can too. And you are lying right now.”

  Bender said, “See those latrines down there that are built over the stream? What do they tell you?”

  “That I’m glad we didn’t stop for a drink when we crossed it a while ago. We were downstream.”

  “That too, I guess. No, what’s the one thing a man always wants to do alone?”

  “Let me guess. Use the latrine. So, while some poor twit is trying to take a dump, you and I are going to snatch him, drag his butt off into the forest and beat the crap out of him? And yes, the puns were intentional.”

  Bender said, “Don’t apologize. I thought they were funny. What do you think of my plan so far?”

  “I have a problem with it. If we take him and he ever gets back to his people, we’re going to be wearing chains for the rest of our short lives. They’ll chase us down. How do we prevent that unless we kill him?”

  Bender said, “That man they beat and put in chains? What kind of life will he have? How long will he live? Also, how many have gone before him? Hundreds? Thousands? What about them?”

  “First, nobody ever appointed the two of us to save the world. Next, do you know that when you’re trying to win an argument with me, you do it by asking questions I can’t answer?”

  “Do you know you never answered even one of my questions?” Bender said.

  “Alright, I know where you’re going with this. Every one of those guards down there knows what they’re doing to innocent people. They’re guilty of killing people and deserve to die as much as the family who pays them. Every one of them. But why do you and I have to get involved?”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Bender said, “We have to get involved for a couple of reasons. First, it’s the right thing to do. The other is that if it were not for our good luck in meeting up with that girl and my charms in winning her over, we’d be down there right now. In chains. Our lives over.”

  “Do we have to kill them all?” Tyler asked, then he glanced at the stream and said, “We could, I guess if we poisoned the water.”

  “And where would you get the poison? I sure don’t know. I think we should just kill one of them, to begin with, but it was a good idea to kill them all. It shows you’re thinking.”

  “Then we hide the body so they can’t find it?” Tyler added.

  “No, that’ll be too suspicious. They’d search until they found it and be on alert. We’ll question him, then return him to the compound and leave his body there, like one of their own did the deed. Put some dice in his hand or something to make it look like he got caught cheating.”

  Tyler said, “Where are you going to get dice?”

  “I said, or something, didn’t I. I was trying to make a point that you obviously missed. We set it up, so it looks like he was gambling.”

  “But we must kill him, first.”

  “Come on; we’ve both killed,” Bender said.

  “In battle. This is different.”

  “Well, this is worse than battle in many ways. Back then, we were fighting for things we didn’t even believe in, and those other soldiers we fought? They were good men, just like us.”

  Tyler said, “I see your point. These are not good people.”

  Bender said, “Three women just entered that long building,” he pointed.

  “Smoke from the far end. Probably the kitchen and a place to eat. The women work there, I’ll bet.”

  “There are more women than I expected,” Tyler said. “Our camps were never like that.”

  “Easy work, women, food. What more do these Cabots need?”

  Tyler said, “No children that I’ve seen. No dogs or other animals, but we know there must be a kennel.”

  “There might be farms nearby. They probably raise the farm animals by using the kids for labor, and that keeps the women in check. Maybe they let them see their kids now and then.”

  Tyler’s thinking took a leap. He allowed it to follow the thread and it unraveled the fabric of the idea. “Almost military. But those are worker-bee Cabots down there. They do what they’re told. Someone is behind all this.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that, but the girl, Prim, said it’s the Cabot family.”

  Tyler said, “Listen. We should take turns napping the afternoon away again. Tonight, we go to work in the dark.”

  They rested and watched and learned. The forest concealed them, but the distance prevented them from hearing conversations or observing details. Tyler’s dragon woke and howled. He opened the flap, and the creature bounded out and began exploring the clearing while chirping and growling with each discovery.

  Bender’s dragon responded, and he released the other dragon. They ran to each other and sniffed, then began hunting as a pair, but each looked to its ‘mother’ every few steps for assurance. Instead of fighting, they joined forces, and that was even scarier. The yellow dog had retreated to the edge of the meadow and watched them with a wary eye.

  They were not the same size. Bender’s dragon was slightly smaller and far more aggressive. Tyler decided it must be a female. It took the lead and located a bug to devour in a single snap of its powerful jaws. Tyler’s dragon appeared so upset at missing the snack an
d both men laughed. The dragons snapped at a fly passing by, and both missed. Then Tyler’s dragon spotted the dog and crouched down in an attack stance, head forward on the end of the long neck, tail standing straight behind.

  It advanced quickly to the dog. The dog leaped to its feet, but didn’t retreat. It bared its teeth and stood its ground.

  The dragon stood on two hind legs and watched the rise and fall of the dog’s chest from four steps away. It spread tiny wings and then assumed a rigid stance, all four feet solidly placed on the ground. It attacked.

  The dragon shot across the expanse of the small meadow in a blur. It dived at the head of the dog, twisting and turning as it locked the mouthful of tiny sharp teeth on the left ear of the dog. Bender’s dragon came alert and raced to join the other dragon. Tyler and Bender scrambled to intercede.

  The dog howled in pain, rolling and snapping at the air, but missing the dragon. It leaped to its feet and shook, trying to rid itself of the attackers. One dragon flew off, half of the dog’s ear in its mouth. The dragon swallowed the ear and charged back into the fray. The other dragon had a mouthful of fur on the back of the dog’s neck.

  Bender leaped at the dog and managed to slap the second dragon away, while Tyler got into position between the dog and the first dragon. When the dragon darted ahead, intent on reaching the dog, Tyler kicked out, striking it solidly on the back. The dragon rolled over a few times and landed on its feet, shook itself, ready to rush the dog again, but Tyler was again between them, arms extended and ready to kick again.

  Bender hissed, “Let go,” as he struggled with the dragon still holding onto the dog’s neck. The dog howled in pain. Then it rolled and managed to free itself from the bite of the dragon. The dog turned, ready to fight, blood streaming down its face from the ear that used to be there.

  Tyler said, “Maybe we should feed them.”

  “Maybe we should have thought of that before they decided to eat the damn dog.”

  “Or us.”

  Bender had the food sack tied by strings to the outside of his backpack. He opened it and said, “When we go down there tonight, we need to scout around for food for them, too.”