Free The Dragon of Time: Gods and Dragons by Aaron Dennis Page B

white, thin fur
pulled a long cart built of wooden planks. Behind the cart was
another car, also built of similar planks. The two men guiding the
horses wore tan robes with cowls over their heads to protect
themselves from the scorching sun. Upon scrutiny of their hands,
Scar noted one had bronze skin, a Kulshedran, the other had
slender, light hands. Scar looked at his own skin, it was still a
few shades lighter in pallor.
    “Greetings,” Labolas said to them.
    “Aye,” the Kulshedran said and pulled his
hood back.
    He was an old man with a ring of long, gray
hair pulled neatly back. Though the top of his head was bald, the
pony tail hung down inside the robe. His eyes were the color of
walnuts and showed very little life.
    “Are you all seeking passage?” the cart
master asked.
    “We are headed to Tironis. I am Captain
Labolas Sulas. These two Dracos are traders, Alistair and
Eileen.”
    “We’re goin’ as far as Oros,” Alistair
announced.
    The old Kulshedran smacked his lips. Scar
noted the silence and wondered about the implication. For a moment
it seemed as though the old man was displeased. He looked at the
mercenary and a furrow creased his bronze brow. Then the other
person on the cart leaned to the old man and whispered something.
The old man nodded.
    “Ten pieces for each of the Dracos for a ride
to Oros,” the Kulshedran started. “Twenty pieces for a ride to
Tironis, but…this other one…who, what is he supposed to be?”
    Scar arched a brow.
    The robed figure spoke with a deep whisper
loud enough for all to hear, saying, “A paladin probably. Looks
like one of Garnabus, the Mad.”
    “I’m no paladin. My name, my name is Brandt,”
Scar said with uncertainty.
    “He’s coming with me to Tironis, so forty
pieces?” Labolas asked.
    The robed figure finally removed his cowl to
reveal yellow hair and very faint facial features. He was a man,
yet he lacked the strong jaw and chin shared by the Dracos and
Kulshedrans. Slight wrinkles creased his flat brow. No hair grew
beneath his small nose. His eyes were sky blue with a sort of fold
over the top eyelid. They were slightly slanted.
    “Money is money, Relthys,” the light man said
to the Kulshedran.
    Again the old man smacked his lips before
replying, “I don’t like trouble, Shinji. You’ll handle that aspect
should it present itself, I presume.”
    Shinji smiled and added, “I don’t think there
will be any trouble.”
    “Why would there be trouble?” Scar
demanded.
    “The unknown usually presents trouble,”
Shinji retorted as he slid thin fingers through his short hair.
    Scar grumbled and looked to Labolas for a
clue, but he was busy counting out forty copper coins. He handed
them to Relthys. Eileen paid him as well, and the Dracos
immediately set about loading their crates on the rear car. Relthys
gave a motion to climb on back. Once they all loaded the crates,
the four travelers sat on benches built into the sides of the front
cart. A thin cloth tied to the four corners of the car shaded them,
but the day was stifling hot.
    Before taking back to the road, Relthys
climbed off with some difficulty and disappeared inside the
longhouse. Shinji looked up at the sky and pulled the cowl back
over his head. He mumbled something to the horses.
    “Who does Shinji follow?” Scar asked Labolas,
who sat across from him.
    Eileen was next to Scar and Alistair was next
to Labolas. While Labolas looked over the cart’s supplies, mostly
dried fruits, salted meats, water, cloths, and oils, he answered
the mercenary’s query.
    “My guess is Naga.”
    “Who is Naga?”
    “Those who follow Naga claim that their
Goddess is the true creator of life as it originates in water and
all must have water to sustain it,” Labolas said.
    “They are not our enemies,” Alistair
added.
    “Why would they be?” Scar asked.
    Labolas frowned as he shrugged.
    “Because each tribe believes that their God
is the true God,” Eileen confided.
    “I am still