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Carrion pointed at the chart, “That’s the largest city. The capital, I’d guess. Also called Breslau. Not very inventive, if you ask me.”

“A good place to stay away from,” Captain Jamison said, his voice as stern as if he was directing his crew to hoist a sail. “No place to hide the ship and I’m not about to sail into the harbor of the capital city. We’d all be in chains or worse. The King’s palace is there, sitting on a bluff overlooking the harbor. A tan structure, at least, five levels high.”

“Where would you suggest we land?” Carrion said, “You were here years ago, so you have an idea of what would be best.”

“Do you really have to go ashore would be my first question?” the Captain asked, furrowing his brow in concentration as he looked at the chart. “Staying on board and sailing back to Racine could be best in my opinion.”

“We have to go there,” Tanner said.

“Then I suggest that I lower a small boat for you at night, and you can row. If I sail in close to shore, in a place where the water is deep enough for the ship, like here,” the Captain pointed to a small peninsula just below the main city, “you could row ashore and hide your boat.”

“That wouldn't hide the ship, come daylight,” Tanner said.

“If I sail far enough out into the bay during the day nobody will see me. That bay is large enough to be a small sea. Every night I can sail close to shore again, and you can hold up a lantern for me to spot.”

Tanner said, “What if a fisherman, or worse, a naval ship spots you?”

The Captain smiled almost eagerly. “There’s nothing I can’t outrun in these waters. Then, after another day or two, I can double back and pick you up.”

Carrion said, “Anybody else on this ship that’s been to Breslau? We can use all the information we can get. Otherwise, it sounds like a plan.”

They didn’t tell him about Carrion’s dragon or their purpose in going ashore. To his credit, the Captain didn’t ask them questions. He sat and talked about all he could remember, which was little that was helpful. He didn’t know anyone near the port who could help them. He speculated on other items. Only once did he mention a green dragon that patrolled the capital on a daily basis.

A green fighting against Carrion’s red didn’t stand much of a chance of victory. Reds were generally larger, stronger, and more intelligent. At least, that’s what Carrion had told him and when it came to his red, Carrion wasn’t against exaggerating.

But in any dragon fight, both sides were bound to be injured. A serious injury to the red could cause problems of it returning across the sea. As it was, the journey would be at the limit of what a dragon could fly. A strained wing muscle, torn wing, or infected wound could be life threatening for a dragon needing to re-cross the Endless Sea.

Worse, was the possibility that there were several dragons in the city. A Royal might call on another green to join in the fight. Perhaps two or three. But a fight between dragons would tell the Royals that at least one of the Dragon Clan was nearby. It would be enough to enrage the Royals, or so Carrion believed.

But Tanner knew Carrion was as determined as he to enter the city. They were traveling further from their homes than anyone they knew, and the trip shouldn’t be wasted.

“So, after we’re done with our business ashore, we row out to sea each night and light a lantern?” Tanner asked, sounding skeptical.

Captain Jamison placed both of his palms on the chart and leaned forward until his nose was a hands breadth away from Tanner’s. “Here is where we find how our six gods dance, so I’ll tell you this only one time, my friend. Had you not purchased my debt, The Rose would belong to Captain Brice, and I’d be drinking myself stupid until I ran out of coin, which would not have been long. Will I be there to rescue you? I promise that if I draw breath, I’ll be there.”

“I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“You didn’t. That’s the pity of it. I was so far down in the gutter I had to look up to see my shadow. You changed that, you and Carrion, and, of course, Devlin.”

“Devlin would like to remain as one of your crew,” Tanner said. “I’ve been waiting for the right time to mention it.”

“You’re asking my permission? Well, I’ll tell you. There are only a few men who take to the sea like that boy, and I’d hire him on any ship where I was the master. That is the same answer without knowing you were involved. He’ll captain his own ship one day soon.”

The planning continued into the night. The bottle of cider remained capped. But in the end, little else was decided—or needed to be. There were too many variables. Too many unknowns. But they discussed them as best they could and in the end, the plan was much the same as in the beginning.

The following morning Carrion pleaded illness and remained in his bed as Tanner asked for food to be delivered to their cabin so he could care for Carrion. In reality, Carrion was flat on his back, eyes closed, appearing almost dead as he joined minds with the red dragon he’d bonded with years earlier.

Tanner always wanted to ask questions about everything that happened, but Carrion usually shrugged off most of it. What Tanner did understand was that they enjoyed the company of each other. Carrion could see, hear, feel, and taste all the dragon did. He could ‘ask’ the dragon to do something, but couldn’t ‘make’ it.

However, he could influence the dragon and convince it to do things. For instance, he had once convinced the red to pass up making a meal of a farmer’s goats. The farmer needed his goats to earn a living, so Carrion put the idea into the hungry dragon’s mind that goats do not taste as good as deer, and the meadows of a nearby mountain usually contained tasty deer.

Carrion had also told Tanner that he simply enjoyed melding their minds. He described seeing through the eyes of the dragon as if flew high in the air, the cold wind rustling on the leather wings and stinging its eyes.

The bonding between the two of them lasted a lifetime, and from all Tanner had heard, the pair were inseparable. When one of a bonded pair died, the other often did shortly after. Tanner considered all those things and more, as he watched over the helpless body while Carrion was mentally elsewhere.

They had discussed it the day before. Carrion wanted to fly the dragon to Breslau and begin exploring through the eyes of the dragon. He planned to begin after arriving and making concentric circles around the capital, each shrinking in size.

The plan would take days; they didn’t know how many. But to keep the crew from asking questions, the illness story had been conceived. It gave the excuse for both of them to spend days in the cabin. However, it was boring for Tanner. His days were spent inside the tiny space, making sure nobody or nothing attacked Carrion.

Tanner decided there is probably nothing in the world as vulnerable as a bonded man who was inside the mind of a dragon, and he wondered if he killed Carrion, would his mind remain with the dragon, or would he die? He spent nearly half a day thinking about it, but he also decided that he would not ask Carrion for the answer. It would be better if his friend didn’t know he spent the time plotting what would happen if he murdered him.

Well after dark Carrion sat up, his eyes tired. He said, “He’s there. Roosting. Tomorrow he will need to eat and recover, then we can begin our search.”

“The important thing is that he made the flight all the way across the ocean.”

“Near the end it was questionable. He’s a strong flier, but if it were much further he couldn’t have made it.”