For'Ten was in viewing distance of the town now. He had left only an hour after Ed. He had considered waiting the whole two hours but decided it was best if he came in after him. Ed was a human and would stand out even in a port town. The smell of salt in the air confirmed that the ocean was closer than it looked with all the fields and houses blocking the view.
As he made his way into town he walked through the main street. For'Ten had put his own hood up. He doubted anyone would recognize him this far from the capital but he didn't want to run the risk either way. He knew he carried himself with an air of authority and it made normal people suspicious. It made criminals even warier.
It didn't take long for him to see the remains of an arrow in the dirt pointing towards two buildings. For'Ten eyeballed them and saw that one was a tavern or bar of some sort. If anyone were watching, that would be the best place to start.
For'Ten walked into the bar and ducked through the doorway. The bartender looked up at the man and cursed his luck. First, some damn mages walked in and now this mountain of suspicious-looking flesh came waltzing in.
"What can I get you?" He said while leaning against the bar.
"Looking for a friend," For'Ten put his hand up to about Ed's height. "He's about this tall and dressed like me. He should have been here not too long ago."
The bartender sighed. "Yeah, he was here. Just left with two regulars. Skinny guys, one is taller and the other is short and half dead."
For'Ten raised an eyebrow at the descriptions but guessed it must be accurate. "Any idea where they went?"
The bartender looked at For'Ten and weighed out the risks. Ratting out patrons was a quick way to lose business, but having this giant demi-human wreck the building would be even worse for business. If people died, or couldn't have a mug, they would stop coming altogether.
"I don't know, but try the docks. That's normally where people who look like them stay."
For'Ten nodded and read between the lines. He had dealt with places like this before and knew the barman was probably trying to save his business. "Thank you," he said as he threw a few coins on the counter.
The bartender nodded and pocketed the coins.
For'Ten walked out the door and looked at the street. The nearest major intersection was a few blocks up. When he got there he stopped and looked down the other three directions. He looked each way before deciding to head west. To the north, he could see more businesses but less shady people. To the east, it all looked like houses. He wasn't going to waste his time that way.
After he turned and started walking he could get the smell of salt every time the wind picked up a little. He took this as a sign that he was heading in the right direction. He noticed that the humans and demi-humans alike were giving him a wide berth. He knew he stood out. Everyone this far south was races of demi-humans that had more in common with the sea or its domain. Seeing a minotaur down here was a rarity. They normally lived in the mountains or down on the plains. The ocean was no place for his race. Their hoofs didn't hold onto decks of boats real well.
He hadn't caught sight of Ed yet but his knightly instincts told him to get as close to the docks as possible. If he had stayed to eat he probably only had a twenty to thirty-minute head start. That was enough time to hide someone but not do it well. That worked to his advantage. Panicked criminals made mistakes. And For'Ten lived or died by those mistakes.
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Away from town people were muttering. There was a shadow crossing the plains that couldn't be real. Everyone knew that the dragon races were dead. So the shadow of what looked like one was taken as an omen.
Those that saw it ducked inside their homes. The old tales of burning cities and death that followed them still bore a huge stigma. Even if they were dead, these people weren't willing to risk having the giant be real and destroy everything they knew.
On the back of the dragon were two passengers. One of them was covering his eyes and trying not to vomit, in his mind people were meant to walk the ground. And he was one who very much loved the ground. The other person was laughing with glee and holding on at the shoulders. If they could have been any happier it would have been a surprise. They crossed over the whole continent almost as fast as if they had used forest walk.
Loran was enjoying herself so much she almost forgot she was supposed to be giving them directions on where to go. It was okay because Morgan had a good idea of where to go. The map had them marked as outside of one of the northern port towns. Morgan was going to drop his guests a respectable but safe distance away before he climbed far enough up to not be noticed. If he was too close to the ground it might cause a panic. And he was familiar with what a dragon induced panic looked like. Anyone of his race who lived this long knew how to avoid a panic.
"I am going to swing down and drop you off in that clearing." Morgan turned his head. To bear the weight of both of them, he had released his full dragon form. Under any other circumstances, he would release his wings and tail and just fly like normal. He needed the extra muscle this time.
Ostrand nodded vigorously. "I miss the damn ground. Remind me to never do this again."
Loran looked at him and smiled. "Don't be a sourpuss. How many other people get to say they flew on a Dragon?"
Ostrand snorted. "How many did and lived to tell the tale you mean? I am not for this. I would have rather walked!"
Loran laughed. "You would have rather stayed home you mean."
The badger nodded and sighed. "I don't know how I agreed to this nonsense."
Morgan felt the urge to smile but let it go. He had been watching his door and passing messages so long he had forgotten what joy humans and demi-humans could be. His latest experience had only been with politicians and no one enjoyed them.
When he landed he had come to the ground as quickly as possible. He didn't want to spend too much time in the air so he had dived in with his wings pulled in slightly. At the last minute, he had spread his wings to slow them down before he landed with a flap of his whole wingspan.
The air stirred the dirt and dust up and disguised their landing. As soon as his feet hit the ground his two passengers jumped down as instructed.
Morgan used his own natural magics to pull his body back into his more human form and shrunk the size of his wings. When the dust settled the man she had met before was back before her. She sighed a little. She had wanted to get a better look at him in his dragon form. The white and gold must have looked incredibly regal.
"Let me check my map real quick!" She reached into her bag and pulled out the map. Morgan was holding his wings out on either side of him instead of tucking them in. He expected to fly off here in a minute. She read the notes on her map and sighed. She hadn't updated Ed that they were coming this way at the urging of Cai-Pel. The forest spirit couldn't make it this far across the land. There weren't enough trees to support him and the water spirit here was not very friendly.
"No updates. It still shows them headed toward that one city. The dots he has placed down have not changed." She rolled it back up as she turned towards Ostrand. "Looks like we get to walk into town."
Ostrand snorted. "That's far better for me than flying."
Morgan laughed at them. "That is the first piggyback ride I have given in nearly a hundred years. I hope you enjoyed it, Loran. Ostrand is just too much of a land-based creature. Maybe he would have enjoyed it more if I carried him in my feet."
Ostrand contemplated being carried across the sky in the claws of a dragon and imagined that is what a cow must feel like before being eaten. "No thank you, back was fine by me."
Morgan shrugged and smiled. "You both walk into town. It should take you an hour to get there if you hurry. I am going to fly over, at a suitable height of course. Hopefully, they will mistake me for a bird."
Loran nodded, "Be safe Morgan. You sure you know what For'Ten looks like?"
He smiled and dismissed the concern, "I have met him, the other one should stand out if I can make out auras from this high up."
Ostrand shook his head. "Auras, magic, divine powers, dragons, what have I gotten sucked into."
Morgan looked at Ostrand. "Too late for that question, you are already here sir."
Ostrand sighed with defeat, "I know, damn you both."
Morgan and Loran laughed. "Okay, let's go." She looked at Ostrand who started walking.
Morgan nodded before stretching his wings out and taking off from the ground in one huge flap of his wings. Soon he was a bird-sized spec in the sky. That meant he was higher than she had ever imagined and she hoped it kept him safe.
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Ed was being walked between buildings and off the main roads. Sailors knew to keep to themselves. Not all ships were involved in piracy but they all acted like they were. It was safer to keep up the act and hopefully, the other ships will leave you alone. If you looked like easy prey you were sure to get picked on.
When they finally stopped walking Joust pointed to a large warehouse across the street. "That's our stop. The boss is inside. You should keep the talking to a minimum."
Skeletal Ed knew what to do, "You will stand with me." He whispered to Ed who couldn't fight the compulsion when he was so close.
Ed only nodded and stood where he was. Joust smiled and walked across the street before going inside.
The warehouse was fitted out like a house on the inside. These particular pirates kept a safe house in every city along this side of the coast. This one was one of their back-ups. The main house in the city of Ark was compromised right now so they had to move a little farther north.
Joust walked through the front door and into the main hall. Other sailors walked around the house with a busy purpose. They had jobs that needed to be done and you didn't fail to complete your own work. You worked when the boss told you to.
Joust found the man he was looking for. It wasn't hard to find him as he was older than everyone else by a large margin, so he tended to stick out. "Hey old man!" Joust called across the hall.
The man looked over at Joust and recognized him. Everyone here had some kind of unique skill. This old man's skill was survival. Joust and the Skeletal Ed were unique because they had very specific skills. So they were exempted from most of the menial day to day labor.
"Joust you better have something important for me, I have a short temper today." The man said walking over with a scowl on his face.
"Cheer up Hector. Ed has something outside that the Boss will want to know about. I found him in town where the boss sent me. And yeah this guy came walking in. He is like us but not. The boss needs to meet him before Ed's skill wears off."
Hector shook his head. "The boss knows these things. How I don't know. Why didn't you bring him in?"
Joust shook his head. "I can't. His skill amplifies things. With this many of us in here, it would cause mayhem. Hell with him sitting a few feet away from Ed he had everyone in the bar confessing to every question he asked."
Hector blinked for a second. "Okay smart choice, let me go find the boss and find out where he wants you to take him." Hector ran off in another direction and left Joust standing in the middle of the room.