“I never asked about the bow you purchased,” Bear said when Kelby had departed.
Without thinking, Gray said, “In case I need to fight one of the green dragons.”
“Six gods dancing, why would you want to do such a thing?” Shailer asked.
Gray had backed himself into a corner with the purchase of the bow. He intended to protect the red that accompanied him from the drylands if a green attacked the red. A strong longbow and arrows had helped Tessa and Fleet, but unless he outright admitted he was Dragon Clan how could he explain?
No Dragon Clan admitted who they were unless under the most extreme circumstances. While the two men with him might suspect him, it was not the same as knowing. Besides, it was the second law, coming only after the family comes first.
He said, “You believe the green dragons roost in those mountains on the peninsula north of Shrewsbury, and I’m going to visit them and find out. At least, I’m going to find where they roost, but I need to protect myself in case I’m spotted.”
The statement sounded weak and like a lie even to Gray, but he clamped his mouth shut and waited. It was easy to tell that neither fully believed him. He covered up his nervousness by pretending to sip ale.
Shailer said, “I believe I have more bad news. Outside of Shrewsbury is the remains of an old monastery of a militant sect. It sits on a hilltop, almost a fortress. For three years the new owners of the monastery have had supplies from one ship transported there.”
“The Lady Marion, of course,” Bear said.
“I have no way of knowing what is in those crates,” Shailer said. “But I suspect weapons.”
Bear sighed and looked off to the small window high on the wall. “The fact that you could even uncover that little information is incredible, so don’t belittle yourself. I doubt if Gray or myself would have ever discovered it.”
Shailer said, “When Gray reaches Shrewsbury how will he convey to us what he finds?”
“Send someone with him?” Bear suggested. “I have some good men.”
Gray was about to shake his head and tell them he didn’t want a partner. He couldn’t take anyone to Oasis with him. Besides, working with people, not of the Dragon Clan opened him to far too many risks.
However, Shailer spoke first. “Two people together are almost as easy to kill as one, and then there is no messenger to let us know what happened. I have a better idea. There’s a small chandler in Shrewsbury that sells supplies to ships. He has a limited supply of books, charts, and maps. We’re old friends. He would be grateful for the help of a temporary clerk.”
Bear set his mug down so hard it sloshed, and he looked for a towel to wipe it as he said, “Kelby could do it. She would naturally write home and place the letters in the hands of trusted sailors.”
“Exactly. Gray could enter the chandlery as any customer might do, pass on his information and she would relay it to us. She knows the masters of several ships and officers on others. She knows who to trust. Nobody would connect the two.” Shailer said as if that solved it all.
Gray was not as sure. “What if one of those sailors opens her letters? If he is not as trustworthy as she believes? Wouldn’t that place her in danger?”
“Gray, our lifetime work here is with rare books and maps. Paper and inks. Puzzles and ciphers. There are a hundred ways to write one thing and mean another in code, but most can get confusing, and they are obviously passing on secrets to anyone seeing them, even if they cannot read the code. It’s far simpler to use ink that fades as it dries. Place the real message between the lines of ink. She’ll tell of how homesick she is, and how much she misses her loving father. I will bring out the hidden words as I read the letters.”
“Tessa, a woman at my home, says the best place to hide is in plain sight.”
Bear said, “It’s settled, then. What else?”
Shailer told Gray the name of the shop in Shrewsbury and added that Kelby would sail there by the next ship, a more comfortable and longer trip. It would take her only four or five days. While traveling fast on foot, Gray could arrive in three because the distance across the land was shorter than sailing out into the Endless Sea and around the peninsula.
However, Gray would spend at least five days on the side trip to Oasis. He would leave in the morning. Kelby might need a few days to pack and prepare. He realized nobody had discussed it with her, but on reflection he decided that a trip to another city, with intrigue and mystery added in, was not something many women would pass up.
There was not any further news to share. Shailer would speak to Kelby later. Bear and Gray left the store and wandered down Front Street, pausing to watch the activity on the docks and piers. The arm in arm walk with Kelby would have to wait until another time. Perhaps in Shrewsbury.
Gray was about to mention eating at one of the many outdoor cafes overlooking the port activity when Bear took his upper arm in a claw and whispered. “Do not look behind us. We are followed. Nod your head as if we just shared a private moment.”
Gray did as requested. Not looking behind was harder than expected. “Is it Prater? Or Caldor?”
“Prater. I thought I had spotted him before we entered the book shop but wasn’t sure. Now I am.”
“What do we do about it?”
“Nothing. It will be done for us.”
“What does that mean?”
Bear placed an arm around Gray’s shoulders and laughed as if one of them said the funniest thing. “While I am not what the Crown would call a rich man, I do have means. As such, I have to take precautions, one of which is security. I’m pleased that in your time with us you have not spotted my people protecting you.”
“Your people?”
“Gray, there are those who would rob me because they recognize I’m the owner of the Red Bear, and I have a certain reputation for earning coin. I keep at least two good men with me all the time, even when I sleep.”
Gray was stunned. Again he had missed important information. In Fleming, there seemed to be secrets within secrets, and he saw few of them. “They have followed us everywhere?”
“And at the inn. Since you did not tell me of them, I have to assume they are doing their jobs as I wish. Prater will soon understand how worthy they are.”
“You’ll confront him?”
“On my terms,” Bear said, a smug smile on his face. “You and I will go back to my inn where I will go to a small building behind the inn and meet with Prater while you enjoy some of the excellent stew we have today. There is a jar of preserves I had set out just for you. Sweet and tart. You’ll enjoy it.”
“A small building?”
“My men will show him the way. All he has to do is follow the knifepoint one of them will hold against his ribs.”
Gray found he didn’t like the answer. Not because of any love for Prater, but because the incident would draw more attention to his mission. He shared these concerns with Bear.
“A wise interpretation of the coming events, my friend. But please give me more credit. I will question Prater’s actions not because of you, but me. Why was he following me? Did he intend to rob me?”
“I see. You’ll make it personal for you. He’s not the first to attempt taking your purse. In the process, you will have to ask him other questions. Who can vouch for him? Where does he live? How does he earn his keep?”
Bear said, “You catch on fast. Caldor’s name will surface and then I will have to meet with him, also. Satisfying myself that Prater is no danger to me will take a few days, all of which is the time he cannot follow you to wherever you may go when you leave here in the morning.”