Dragonoak Read Online Free Page B

discount, lest we take our business elsewhere, the
rest of us moved the crates and barrels and cages onto the ship and
below deck. When Tizo had said we'd be picking up livestock, I'd
been expecting a dozen or two chickens, but sure enough, there were
a handful of pigs there, too. They squealed as we jostled them
around, and I winced in sympathy as I walked backwards along the
dock, knowing that they weren't going to enjoy being on the
sea.
    Tizo
insisted on personally delivering Reis' letters, and luckily for
the Eloans, it was too early in the day for any of the crew to be
tempted by the prospect of making trouble. We headed back to the
ship and waited there, some of the crew sweeping feathers from
around their feet and picking them out of their hair, others
yelling beneath deck in an effort to shut the unsettled animals
up.
    “Hey,
get over here, Felheim,” a woman named Cal called from across the
deck. I tore my eyes from the endless ocean and did her the favour
of looking her way, but didn't go anywhere. She was surrounded by a
group of three women, all of them interested in whatever she'd just
shared with them. When I didn't move, she didn't risk having me
ignore her for a second time, and said, “Heard a rumour about
you.”
    I'd
never got along with Cal. She was under the impression that she'd
win Reis' favour by being aggressively loud-mouthed, and after
years, still hadn't figured out that boasting alone wasn't going to
earn her any respect.
    “So? I
heard you can't swim. You don't see me gossiping about it,” I said,
shrugging.
    “Who the
hell—” Cal began, and forced herself to stop. Acting defensively
was only going to retroactively make it true. “Heard you killed a
dragon.”
    I
tensed, but not for long. It wasn't the first time I'd heard
something of the sort, and making an effort to roll my eyes, I
said, “Not everyone in Felheim is a Knight, you know.”
    “Yeah,
but,” Cal took a few slow steps towards me. “That healer reckons
she knows a necromancer. Now, it obviously ain't the dragon-born,
and I can't see whatserface with the axe ever needing that kind of
power. Which don't leave us with many options.”
    “She
knows a lot of people,” I said, fighting not to avert my gaze. “And
if I was a necromancer, why would I bother working a job like this
with you?”
    Cal let
out a sharp, incredulous laugh, and a few of the others who'd been
eavesdropping gave up any notion of subtlety to stare at us,
awaiting Cal's reaction. In all my time in Mahon, I'd done what I
could to avoid getting into fights; a black-eye instantly healing
over wouldn't exactly strengthen my case.
    Cal
lifted a hand and slapped me against the side of my arm.
    “You
ain't bad, Felheim,” she said, laughing obnoxiously, “Should look
into getting a couple of tattoos, though. You still look like you
sailed into Mahon by accident.”
    Shrugging her off, I went back to staring out at the ocean,
not moving until Tizo returned to the dock. I helped pull in the
gangplank, and Tizo whistled as we set off, proud of the bargain
she'd managed to strike.
    Back in
Port Mahon, there was an air of unease around the docks,
interspersed by apprehensive excitement. More ships than usual had
gathered, all awaiting whatever retaliation Gavern would subject us
to, and when Tizo saw the faces of captains she hadn't spoken with
in months, she decided she ought to be defending the port and
strengthening her connections.
    “Here,
go toss this in the temple, would you?” Tizo asked, once we'd
unloaded the cargo, and threw me a pouch of coins left over from
the trade. “Let Reis know I delivered their letters,
too.”
    I often
found myself at the temple, though I'd yet to work out exactly what
it was I was hoping to find. The Priests there never lectured
anyone, never tried to lure anyone over, as the members of the
House of Light in Isin had. Though I supposed that they had the
advantage of people being pious here. I would sit and speak