Vendetta's Rise (The Dragon Realms Saga: Book 1)

Chapter 37

The horse trotted down the puddle-spotted path toward Ravenshore. At it's rear, it pulled a cart used to haul newly gathered recruits for the Black Rabbits.

Inle balanced a knife on his fingertip before spinning it into the air and catching it. He did this repeatedly when he was bored. Elucard had pointed this out on several occasions. Jetta took inventory of her herbs, medical supplies, and instruments. Elucard, taking hold of the reigns, smiled pleasantly in the cool spring day.

It was his turn to head into a village to recruit potential Rabbits. This was a task that a First Blade had to be familiar with. He was excited at the responsibility, but also at the prospect of returning to Ravenshore. It had been six years since he was a useless kid destined to be a fisherman. If it were not for the Black Rabbits, life as he knew it would have been drastically different and far more boring.

A large wooden wall with a pair of armored guards posted outside, came into sight. Elucard, bewildered by this unfamiliar sight, halted the cart.

"Master is this Ravenshore?" Inle asked, lifting his head just above the rim of the cart.

"Elucard, why is there a wall around our village? Who are those men? They don't look like White Cloaks," Jetta spoke with a mixture of curiosity and surprise in her tone.

Elucard scanned the perimeter. Several men in polished bronze armor adorned with the Dawnedge insignia marched back and forth along a tall wooden wall. This was very discomforting to the new First Blade.

"Inle, Jetta, throw on your traveler's cloaks," Elucard ordered. Jetta was right, these men were not White Cloaks. They were different.

"Are we still recruiting?" Inle asked as he pulled up his hood and removed his mask.

"No. We are on a new mission now." Elucard's eyes remained fixed on the armored sentinels as he spoke. "We're investigating the changes made to Ravenshore. Find out who these men are, when they got here, and how long they are staying. Jetta, you and I are going to ask our families. Try to find out as much as you can. Meet up at the local tavern called the Rusty Hook."

The two teammates nodded with understanding.

***

The old docks creaked under the Elucard's feet as the salted air pelted his eyes and nostrils. Spotting the rickety old fishing vessel, Elucard watched motionless as he saw his father tying a heavy rope onto a post. The grizzled elf hadn't changed one bit. His crimson beard covered his sea worn features. A heavy woolen coat hung on his body as he hopped past Elucard.

His father didn't bat an eye at the man staring at him, but he ordered him around nonetheless. "You going to stand around looking useless all day, or are you going to grab that batch of fish? Your mother is making a stew and she's going to need something to put in it."

Elucard snapped out of his nostalgic daze, "Pa?"

"You better hurry it up. I ain't going to wait all day," his father said, gruffly.

Elucard, still confused, shouldered a string of fish and followed the old man to his former home.

***

Elucard followed River into the small cottage. The familiar smell of his mother's cooking floated through the air and a fog of memories clouded Elucard's head.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it, Elucard?" River asked in a low voice before calling to his wife. "Salene, set a third plate, we have a visitor."

A sing-song voice chimed from the kitchen, "Is Lyra Breezelark paying us another visit?" Salene walked around the corner, cleaning her hands with a dish towel. When her eyes locked onto him she dropped the towel and stood frozen in the doorway.