Chapter 3 Part 7

He ran to the cellar and collapsed into a corner. He didn’t know what he felt, but it was agony whatever it was.
Sara came down a short while later and knelt in front of him. “I got him into a bed and gave him something to make him sleep.” She paused seeing the pain showing on his face. “I didn’t think you were this close to him.”
He grabbed her hands in an almost desperate grip. “I was there. I saw her die.”
Shock blossomed on her face. “Oh damn… What… What happened?”
“The mage raped her, passed her to his men, and fed her to the dragon.”
Her legs went weak and she fell to the floor. “Dear gods. Oh dear gods… Drew. . . ”
He stared at the floor. “This has to end,” he said in a voice made of stone. He looked up at her sharply, his eyes flaring. “I need to know what else this dragon is hiding.”
Sara felt unsettled and a little frightened. Who was this man fate had thrust into their midst? Her simple view of the world and of a rebellion to the tyranny controlling her life had been somehow transformed into a horror of dark powers far beyond her most haunted imaginings.
Her voice felt small and hesitant. “What can I do?”
Zachary stood and helped her to his feet. “Well darlin’, I’m thinkin’ it’s time we paid the Baron a visit.”
Her eyes went wide, and she started to tremble but she held fast as he quietly outlined his plan.

They did what they could for Drew. They set him up with a room, and spread the word around the inn that he’d taken ill. Sara brought Emma over to stay with her own children. Finally, Zachary went to the brewery and the Red Feather and made sure business was running.
It took about three days for Drew to pull himself back together. When he did come back downstairs, he was somehow changed. He seemed much darker and his voice seemed to be made of steel. The three of them met in the brewery office with the usual noise going on.
Drew’s voice was harsh as he stared at Zachary. “Just how is a damned wedding announcement going to help get information out of the Baron?”
“We’re goin’ ta deliver it in person. I want ta try and arrange the time so that the Baron isn’t home and we have ta wait. Hopefully that way I’ll get the chance ta see the inside o’ his house. ”
“And what good’ll that do?”
Zachary sighed. “Drew I’m not sure. But there’s somethin’ wrong here. Dragons are just too smart. You don’t just run up at ‘em and attack. Especially not one that’s had decades ta prepare its defenses. ”
Drew’s face clouded with frustration and he punched the wall. “Damn it!”
Sara put her hand on his shoulder. “Drew we’ve been friends for what, ten years now? You took over your fathers business just like I did. My father died from pneumonia and yours from a bad fall. The point is both died because they were worked to death by men like The Dragon and The Serpent. ” Her voice became harder. “Me and damn near every other woman in this city have lived like brood mares so that this thrice damned dragon can feast on our flesh and blood. I…”
He interrupted her bluntly. “You think I don’t know that? My sister went with the mage and now my wife. ” He looked at both of them hotly. “You think I don’t know what that means?” He shook Sara off and grabbed Zachary by the front of his coat. “Tell me. You’ve been to that camp. Is she still there?”
Zachary met his eyes and in a firm voice said, “No. In fact I saw the dragon kill her. ”
Drew stood in shock moment, before his grip and voice became somehow desperate. “Are you sure? I mean is there any chance I can…”
Zachary gently took Drew’s hands and in a soft voice said, “I’m sorry Drew, but yes I’m sure.”
The brewer stood still for a few seconds trembling quietly. He looked over at Sara and asked with a broken voice, “Can Emma stay with your kids for a while?”
“Of course Drew. She can stay as long as needed.”
He slowly pulled away from Zachary and sat down. His voice was soft but resolute. “Ok then. You two are going to go check out the Baron.”
Zachary took a seat of his own. “Yep, and I have a job for you if you’re up to it.”
The brewer looked at him. “Yes.”
“Ok, good. I want you ta stir up a commotion that will attract a lot of guards. But not something that’ll get ya dragged away. And I want it ta happen about the same time Sara and I go to the Baron’s house.”
Drew thought a long time. “Ok, how’s this. I’ll load up a wagon with casks of brew slop and arrange for an accident that’ll make a big mess in a main street. I’ll have some people there to make a big fuss and tie up the whole street.”
Zachary raised an eyebrow. “That’d be perfect.” He looked back and forth between them. “How many people are involved in this rebellion?”
Drew and Sara looked at each other. Finally Sara said to Drew, “He’s on our side. In fact I guess I’m about to marry him.”
The Brewer barked a short laugh. “Ok, any guy good enough for you to marry is ok by me.”
Sara smiled ruefully and looked to Zachary. “We have about two-hundred people involved. Drew and I and a city guardsman friend of ours are the only ones who know them all, but they’re split among us. Drew knows folks that our friend and I don’t, and I know folks that that they don’t.
Zachary smiled, impressed. “Very good setup. Now I s’pose I’d be right ta figure that your friend knows what’s been going on?”
Drew nodded. “Yes. We keep in touch through old Deke. His smithy does work for the city guard.”
“And some of the guards that patrol past the inn are working with us too,” Sara added.
Zachary thought a moment than asked Sara, “I gather that Thomas knows what’s happening, but do any of your other kids know?”
She nodded. “Yes, Billy works with us, as well as two of my boys that are livin’ on farms outside the walls. The four littlest ones don’t know yet.”
“Ok then. It’s nice ta know we have some help. Things will no doubt get hairy soon.”
It was Drew who lifted an eyebrow this time. “How’s that?”
“We already know that the Dragon’s Breath are watching us. The mage knows that someone has been using magic, and the Baron has been making himself a nuisance. That tells me somethin’s gonna break soon.”
Sara and Drew both seemed a bit sobered by that.
“Me and Sara’ll head for the Baron’s house about ten in the mornin’. You arrange your accident for then.”

Drew turned his newly repaired and heavily loaded wagon onto Main Street. He got no more than about four more blocks when a pair of carts trying to maneuver around each other blocked the street and forced him to wait. Both carts were overloaded, one full of potatoes, and the other a large wooden cage full of live chickens. A small crowd of people waited with their bundles and watched.
The chicken cart finally managed to get around the potato cart when its horse suddenly bolted. People scrambled to get out of its way as it tried to flee past the brewer’s wagon. Unfortunately the wagon was too wide for the cart to pass. With a loud crash the cart hit Drew’s wagon and flipped on its side. The cage broke and panicked chickens ran everywhere.
Just before his wagon was hit, Drew pulled a string that ran under the seat. The other end of the string was attached to a pin inserted into a metal strut. Normally this pin was flattened on each end to hold it in place, but it seemed that this particular pin had somehow not been flattened on the far end. It slipped easily out of its place.
Impact. The heavily loaded wagon had no pin in the metal strut that held the rear axle in place. Therefore the strut promptly came apart and let the axle collapse. The rear of the wagon suddenly dropped about a foot letting the precariously loaded casks spill into the street.
Since Drew did not normally use good casks for hauling away the waste products of brewing, many of the casks broke, spilling their foul smelling contents into the street.

Confusion reigned. Panicked chickens, agitated horses, and excited people seemed to fill the crowded street to overflowing. A nearby city guardsman jumped in to help. He grabbed the reigns of the struggling carthorse and worked to calm it down. As he patted and cooed to the beast he somehow managed to smear mud over a welt on its hindquarter. The horse began to quiet down and the guard looked over to a boy across the street and nodded. The boy winked back as he put a small blowgun tube away.
Drew stood in his seat and marveled at the chaos around him. After a moment he caught the eye of the chicken farmer and they shared a quick grin before they began yelling at each other.
A pregnant young woman tried to make her way past the downed wagon but slipped and fell to one knee. The young man with her asked if she was all right as helped her up. She claimed she was fine and they continued on. She walked away rolling up a piece of string tied to a metal pin.