The Dragonwalk Highway: The Fellowship of Thirteen

15 - The Decimation of the Fellowship

The meeting point for the supply drop was an abandoned chateau on the outskirts of Lockhaven. The shell of a building had once served as the royal family's home during their visits to Lockhaven. That was before Grog and the desolation of the highway. Now it was just a burned out husk of a building, a corpse with no soul. It was located on the north end of town nearest to the Hundred Year Storm which shook and rattled the building with each clap of thunder that rumbled overhead.

It was all quite ominous.

Zelda, Oron, Mo, Melthiar, Sheena, and the remaining Red Shirt waited in the former dining room of the building for Lozen's men to arrive with the agreed upon supplies. Quint and Stormy had left earlier that morning to pick up the new wagon from Lozen's lair and begin loading it with supplies. The plan was to leave immediately after the exchange, take the long way around the storm and avoid having to pass through the woods where the Arachnites lived. Frederick was on the roof of the building checking his scrolls for the safest passage through the woods. He claimed the poor lighting in the building hurt his eyes and had not returned.

Melthiar marked the time with each labored breath. He slowly stood and glanced out the window at the sun.

"They're late," he said. "I don't like this. The venue. The vibe. It's all wrong."

"These are criminals and thieves," Oron said. "Punctuality ain't much of a concern. Money is. They'll be here."

"Still," Mo interjected, "it could be a sign this deal was not meant to be. Not too late to back out and go on our merry way. Not too late..."

The creak of the door opening in the foyer echoed throughout the chateau. The storm grumbled and groaned.

"Too late now," Oron said.

Half a dozen of Lozen's thugs entered the dining area led by one of his lieutenants, Wide Willard. Wide Willard was a mountain of a man as wide as he was tall. He was completely void of body hair (not even a nose hair) and stank of cheese that had been left out in the sun for too long. The masked thugs carried several crates and barrels and eventually two more thugs shoved a much larger wooden crate into the room that was as tall as a man and as wide as three.

The Princess stepped forward and did her best to look tough. Everyone else stood behind her and tried to look tough, too. Even Sheena was outfitted in Melthiar's bow and arrow and doing her best to scowl.

Willard bowed to the Princess as his men lined up behind him. "Greetings, Princess Zelda. My master, Lozen the Deceiver, sends his apologies he could not be here in person, but he's assisting your servants with the wagon personally. He has asked me to act on his behalf."

The Princess steeled herself. Already things were not as planned. Even more troubling than the plan being altered was that they knew who she was. Zelda had assumed Oron had kept her identity a secret. She did not allow Willard to see her fear. She swallowed it, buried it, and turned her face to stone.

"Is everything in order?" she asked. "The weapons, the food, everything?"

"If you have our payment we have what you seek."

Sheena handed the Princess two sacks of drecs.

"Two hundred drecs, as agreed upon."

"It's four hundred now," Willard said. He grinned, displaying his yellow teeth that seemed to glow in the dim light. "For next day delivery."

Zelda's expression did not change. She had expected a move like this from common thieves. She could afford it, even as ridiculous as the amount was.