Blood of Dragons

‘There were some wonderful places up near the foothills. Smaller, but with sweeping views. Closer to hunting.’ Carson added the last in a lower voice, knowing that hunting was not really one of the criteria that topped Sedric’s list. He turned his eyes toward the hills and cliffs that backed the city and stared wistfully at their forested flanks.

‘Closer to the wild lands. And farther from everything else,’ Sedric pointed out with a wry smile.

‘From the river, perhaps,’ Carson countered. ‘But closer to everything else that we need right now to live independently. The hunting is good in the wooded hills; the dragons prefer to hunt the more open lands. And there are trees that may bear nuts or fruit. There will almost certainly be wild berries. The supplies that Captain Leftrin brought back from Cassarick won’t last for ever. We shouldn’t be waiting until they run out before we worry about it. We should be stocking up on meat now, and scouting for other food sources.’

‘I think I’ve heard this before,’ Sedric said quietly, and Carson suddenly stopped in mid-breath.

Then he laughed. ‘I know. I say the same things over and over again. Usually to you, because I sometimes think you’re the only one listening to me. The others act like children, thinking only of this day, this hour.’

‘The others listen, too. They’re just enjoying a brief respite from daily hunts and work on the dock and every other task you urge them to undertake. They are young, Carson. And suddenly they have tea and jam and ship’s biscuit again. Give them a few more days, and then I’ll help you persuade some of them to go on an extended hunt again. But for now, can’t we take a bit of time for ourselves? There’s a house I want to show you. I think you’d like it.’

‘A house?’ Carson cocked his head and grinned. ‘Or a mansion?’

It was Sedric’s turn to shrug ruefully. ‘Well, any house in Kelsingra is bound to seem a mansion to you. The Rain Wilds taught all of you to build small. But there’s a street of houses I walked through a few days ago that intrigued me. And yes, they are large, even by Bingtown standards. But the one I went into had garden rooms in it, with transparent ceilings. So, although we might be a long way from the forest or foothills, we might be able to grow food right in our home.’

‘If we had seed— Oh, very well. Let’s look at it,’ Carson conceded as Sedric shot him a long-suffering look. ‘I suppose you are right, and Leftrin did say that he did put in an order for seed and chickens and so on. I just never imagined myself tending a garden. Or raising birds to eat.’

‘I never imagined myself as an Elderling,’ Sedric countered. ‘Carson, I think we are going to have a lot of years to explore many kinds of lives. We may farm, or raise cattle …’

‘Or hunt.’

‘Or hunt. Here. I think this is the right street. Kelsingra is so big and so spread out. Every time I think I’ve learned the city, I find another street to explore. Up this way, I think. Or was it downhill from here?’

Carson chuckled tolerantly. ‘Did you notice if there was a view? If so, that would be uphill.’ He halted and watched Sedric look up and down the street. He straightened the collar of his tunic. He had to admit that the clothing Sedric had chosen for him was comfortable. And warm. And weighed less than his leathers. He glanced down at himself, at his legs clad in a blue that reminded him of a parrot’s wings. Elderling garb. At least the boots were brown. They were so light, he felt as if he had nothing on, and yet his feet weren’t cold and the stones underfoot didn’t jab him. The wide brown belt he wore was of Elderling make, as was the sheathed knife he wore on it. The blade wasn’t metal. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it had been razor sharp from the moment he drew it from the sheath and it had stayed that way. It looked like blue, baked pottery to him more than anything else. Yet another Elderling mystery.

The more the keepers explored the city, the more artefacts they found. True, most of the houses and shops and buildings were empty, as if the people who had lived here had packed and left. But in some sections of the city, they were finding mansions and homes that held all sorts of Elderling items. Most items of wood had crumbled to dust, and scrolls and books had likewise decayed. But some of their fabrics had survived, especially of the sort that his tunic was made from, and it was not unusual any more to see keepers ringed and necklaced as if they were wealthy Bingtown Traders. It made Carson uneasy, though he had difficulty expressing why. Just as deciding which house to take over as their own made him uncomfortable. He and Sedric had been sharing chambers above the dragon baths, and even these had seemed a sybaritic luxury to him. He wasn’t sure that he understood why Sedric wanted a large and elaborate home. But he deserved one, if that was what he wanted.