Talk To Dragons

Their remaining time on the road was full of anxiety. They kept a brisk pace with the light, and for night they pulled much farther off the road than they had before. They took turns sleeping in short intervals so that the other could keep a watch for any pursuers. Thankfully, the morning came without incident.

After a meal so that the sun could light up the forest in earnest, they woke up Becky and made their way back to the road. As the wagon neared the edge of the trees to return to the dirt path, Violet noticed many armored men on similarly equipped horses coming their way. She stopped Becky a good distance from the road, but the fancier-looking knight in front saw her and stopped the group.

The armored men looked her way in silence. Their faces could not be seen behind their closed helmets but Violet could feel their eyes judging them.

"Witch!" the fancier knight called to her. "Come here, please! So that we may talk plainly!"

Violet clicked Becky forward at a slow pace until they were close enough to speak normally. As she came to a halt, she noticed many of the knights nervously rest their hands upon their swords.

"I am Rodiger of the Fozen Guard," the fancy knight introduced himself. "What do they call you, little witch?"

"I am Violet," she answered. "And this is my companion, Engel. What do you want?"

"We are looking for precious cargo that has been lost along the road. Have you come from West Lane?"

"We have. There's a carriage that was stripped by bandits further down, if that's what you're after."

There was a murmuring among the knights and they were quickly hushed by Rodiger.

"Any signs of violence?" Rodiger asked.

"I didn't see any blood," Violent replied. "Just no horses, people, or items of any kind. A clean wagon stuck in a hole. When we came across it we were attacked by two bandits. An archer and a swordsman. They demanded our horse and wagon but we escaped them. I would guess that they had more men at a camp somewhere."

"What if she's lying?" one of the knights proposed. "What if that's the carriage she has there but she's cloaking it with her magic?"

"She's too young to be able to do anything like that," another knight replied. "Only the old ones can do magic like that."

"Quiet, men," Rodiger hushed them.

"So, you're from Fozen then," Violet said. "Is it far? We're on our way there. Passing through."

"By that wagon you should be there within the hour," Rodiger said. "But they'll be hesitant to let you through the walls with our current incident."

Reaching into his saddlebag, the fancy knight pulled out a wax-sealed scroll of parchment and tossed it to Violet.

"That will get you into Fozen," Rodiger said. "Just don't open it. That will make it suspicious."

"I appreciate it," Violet replied. "I hope you find your precious cargo."

Rodiger gave the little witch a nod before leading the men down the road in a hurry, kicking up plenty of dust.

"Finally, a lucky break," Engel said. "Fozen is close and we have official permission to enter. What could go wrong now?"

"Please, don't jinx it," Violet said with a laugh.