fandomania | The Adventure continues...

"Mommy! Monny! You've got to come look at what Orlando made!"

Intrigued and not wishing to continue the conversation, I slowly walked over to the glade where Orlando and the childrent were playing. Right in the middle stood a full-sized wooden wagon.

Astounded, I asked, "But where did this come from?"

"AS THE CHILDREN SAID, I MADE IT."

"But how? Building a wagon this size usually takes weeks."

"TRUE. I MADE IT WITH A FEW PIECES OF WOOD AND A FEW SPELLS AND THERE IT IS."

"Oh my... But will it hold together?"

"YES, AS LONG AS NO COUNTER-SPELL IS SPOKEN. IT IS AS SOLID AS A TRADITIONALLY MADE WAGON."

"But who will pull it? Are you planning to propel it by magic?"

"NO. LOOK OVER IN THE BUSHES THERE, YOU WILL SEE AN OX, PERFECT FOR PULLING THE WAGON."

"An ox? Where did it come from? Did you make that also?"

"NO. I 'BORROWED' IT FROM A LOCAL FARMER. I WILL RETURN IT WHEN WE NO LONGER NEED IT. NOW STOP PROTESTING. YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO WALK FAR AT THE MOMENT AND I HAVE FOUND THE PERFECT SOLUTION. YOU CAN RIDE WITHOUT HURTING YOURSELF. YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF YOUR BABY WITHOUT HAVING TO STOP SO OFTEN. WE CAN ALSO CARRY OUR EGGS AND SUPPLIES IN IT. WHY DON'T YOU LIKE IT?"

"But I love it, Orlando! It is wonderful! You are truly an amazing being. Thank you!"

After breakfast, Orlando and Donal filled the wagon with everything and created a place for Jayzon and I to sit. Donal climbed onto the seat with little Reuel. Orlando and the girls followed behind with the hatchlings. And we continued on our way again.

Our hatchlings:

Our eggs:

The wagon didn't like going over rough ground, so we were forced to travel by the main road. Donal and Orlando consulted the one map that I had. There didn't appear to be any other track or road we could take and be less noticed. We talked it out and decided that, if questioned, we were Haveners fleeing the destruction of that city. We would pose as a family, with Orlando being my father. The girls seemed to understand why, but I wasn't so sure about Reuel. That was an awful lot for a three year old to handle. So I tried to approach it with him as a game.

The hatchlings and eggs would be referred as, as much as I hated to, our "livestock". We had to fit in with the local practices as we passed through. We had a long talk with the hatchlings to make them understand the necessity and to reassure them that this wasn't the way we thought of them. Once they understood that this was a form of play-acting, they fell into their roles. Sometimes doing too good a job. Little Fels was acting so much like an animal that I almost believed he was. All of the hatchlings antics were so amusing that I spent most of the morning, laughing and giggling.

We passed a few travelers who were going east. Most went past us with only the occasional look. A couple of people stopped and asked for news and gossip of the road. We managed to get some better information from them than what we could have gleaned from our map.

Riverford was the name of the next town, some thirty miles ahead. It was built around the only navigable ford on the river Lagorist for many miles around. The other fords in the valley were east of Haven and way out of our way. They also warned us that the townsfolk were rather hostile to people with dragons.

We also asked for information about the North Lag Pass, but none had ever travelled it. One man said that he had heard that it was still snowing there even though it was in the middle of spring.

A few miles later, we ran into a military patrol blocking the road.

"Halt! Everyone out of the wagon! Please state your names, bring out your travel papers, and prepare to be searched."

There were about twenty-five men in the squad. Some were mounted on horses. Some had dismounted. They were wearing leather cavalry armor and were heavily armed.

Reluctantly, we got down from the wagon.

"What is the matter, Lieutenant? Why have you stopped us?"

"There are bands of escaped slaves from Haven marauding the valley. We are patrolling the area in search of them. They have been stealing from and killing the good citizens of this valley."

"I can assure you that we are not harboring or hiding any escaped slaves," Donal replied.

"That is for us to discover," snarled the lieutenant. "Who are you and why are you traveling?"

"I am Jahn Baskin." Donal lied smoothly, "This is my wife, Mara. Our children, Sala, Elys, Lisa, Jahn Jr. and baby Robin. My father-in-law, Lando Rizian. We are Haveners. I am an apothecary. Our home and shop were destroyed along with the town. We have no place to live. With everything there in chaos, we decided that it would be better to move to another town, where we can live safely and I can set up shop again."

"Were you the apothecary on Green Street?"

"No. There is no apothecary on Green Street. Green Street is, or was, a residential street. My shop was on Broad Street."

The lieutenant seemed satisfied with Donal's answers. He signalled his men to search the wagon. "You seem to have a lot of dragon eggs and hatchlings."

"Yes, they are an important ingredient in many potions and remedies. They don't work well unless everything is freshly harvested."

The lieutenant seemed to accept that.

All of a sudden, the baby started to cry. He was hungry. That was not something I wanted to deal with at that moment. But the more I ignored him, the louder and more insistant he became. In annoyance, the lieutenant shouted, "Shut that baby up!"

I tried rocking him. I gave him his pacifier. I tried everything that I could to quiet him, but he wouldn't. Angrily, the lieutenant snarled, "Shut him up or I will shut him up permanently!"

"I am trying! But he is hungry and I don't want to feed him now."

"Why not?" he asked suspiciously. "Have you something to hide, like a slave tattoo?"

"No!!!! But I am a modest woman!!!" I blushed. "I don't want strange men looking at me!!!"

"No? Now we will have to check ..." and he moved his right hand towards me.

"Keep your filthy paws off my wife!!!" shouted Donal, as he tried to jump the lieutenant. But before he could, four soldiers restrained him and wrestled him to the ground. Several other soldiers grabbed me, while the lieutenant drew a knife and cut my garments all the way open, exposing my naked body to everyone. He leered at me and said, "Hmmmmm... Nice... Are we going to have some fun with you!"