Hawkridge

Chapter 5

Longbranch wasn't the friendliest looking town what with the forty hand high fence wrapped around it, save for the four main gates, a holdover from the Irridell settlers who'd originally colonized the region. Might've looked ugly, but the East was too dangerous for the luxury of changing fortifications that had worked since the town's founding a couple generations back. Not quite an old town by the standards of the East, it was like a younger brother to the coastal cities that had sprung up when the Eastern continent was first being settled, and still learning to walk compared to the ancient cities across the Golden Sea like Irridell in the Ethiliscent Empire.

The tops of a handful of the taller buildings were visible over the fence as he and Old Man Alder spurred their drakes to greater speed toward the easternmost gate. It was closed, without a guard in sight, but that wasn't surprising. The only thing further east of Longbranch in this region was Drake Iron Ranch, and Old Man Alder kept a tight schedule. No need to waste a man guarding something that could simply be kept locked up 'til market day.

"Hail the town!" Old Man Alder shouted, whipping off his rancher hat to wave it high overhead. "Hail the town! Open the gate!"

Serpent had outpaced Skidmark long ago and held a several hundred stride lead, much to the reddish brown drake's irritation and he was nearly upon the gate with no sign of slowing. Colt's eyes widened in spite of the dust cloud the green racing drake had kicked up as he closed with the solid wall of wood. They were going to crash!

The gates loomed before them, closed tight enough to be a wall. A stream of light broke through between the gate and the wall as the barrier creaked open less than a hand.

"Clear the way!" Old Man Alder shouted and barreled into the gate.

It swung open with a crash, hurtling inward to a chorus of panicked shouts and tumult. Colt urged Skidmark to greater speed, trying to catch up to the boss, but by the time he'd arrived, Old Man Alder had made his way near about to town square and was surrounded by a sea of people. Folk of every age poured from the buildings, their curiosity adding to the commotion. Colt brought Skidmark up to a sharp halt before he could run over the people who'd filed into the street in Old Man Alder's wake.

"He knows how to make an entrance," Aephyr said. "Pay attention, Colt. He'll have his fighters and the sheriff at his back soon enough."

"In all this?" Colt asked. "How's anyone even gonna hear him?"

"How can they not?" Aephyr responded. "Watch. Learn."

Even with half the town spilling into the streets, nobody wanted to stand in the way of a plains drake, and Colt made his way through the sea of bodies to town square. If Aephyr said anything else on their way through, he couldn't hear it over the roar of questions and shouts thrown at Old Man Alder, and less frequently at himself. With so much noise it was a wonder anyone had any idea what was happening. Which Colt supposed, they didn't.

A bolt of lightning roared up from the crowd, lancing from the ground to the sky, leaving the air smelling oddly burned. It was over in an instant but that was all it took for silence to fall. Serpent reared back with a roar that hit like thunder after the flash, turning all attention to Old Man Alder, who rode the drake easily as if the massive creature hadn't just lifted him roof-high off the ground.

"Dramatic," Aephyr murmured. "You'll need a mount like that."

"Will you be quiet," Colt whispered, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed. Thankfully it seemed several others were in the process of shushing their neighbors as well and weren't inclined to pay attention to a boy on a wheezing old lizard when there was magic and Old Man Alder center stage.