Yngvild and the Forest of Dreams

Road to Estreham

The gates of Minhaton proper lay on the other side of the river. A massive stone gatehouse towered over the river, three stories high and two taut chains joined it to the wooden drawbridge that sat on stone piers in the river. It was wide enough for two waggons, although the wide gateway into the town was closed by two sturdy iron bound gates.
On the near side another smaller gatehouse lead to a wide open area inside a wall. Two stone buildings guarded the stone pier of the bridge. They sat diagonally to the bridge and funnelled anyone that approached towards it. A loose wooden barrier lay across a paved section of road leading to the bridge. A short queue had started to form while the guards checked people and cargo. There were a couple of wagons, and several people with handcarts with vegetables in them.
Over the river on either side of the gatehouse a stone wall surrounded the town of Minhaton. Mostly just blank wall, there were a few arrow slits near the bridge, but practically no windows at all. Downstream, where the two parts of the river met, was another tower, and slightly built up fortifications. I could see some people on the ramparts. Above the wall a hill with a keep on it dominated the town. At the confluence of the rivers the lower part of the wall was sheer rock jutting out of the water.

As we got closer to the bridge end I realised that there were several guards. Four were moving through the queue, in pairs looking at the cargoes. A couple of guards stood behind the barrier, armed with halberds. It was almost full daylight by now. Looking away from the town the road that came from the south was more lively than our river hugging approach from the East. A number of waggons and pack trains were either moving towards Minhaton, or getting ready to move from their overnight stop.
The doors opened as we reached the end of the queue. The barrier was swung to the side and the front of the queue ushered forward on the left of the bridge. A couple of the guards made the rest of us move to allow the outgoing traffic to flow. Even this early in the morning there was a stream of pack horses, waggons, horse riders and people on foot going south.
We shuffled forward until a pair of guards turned their attention to us. Erik was up front in the wagon with Noren in the back. Olaf and Jerre was leading the pack horses with Inibrakemi and I at the back. I was too far back to hear the conversation with Erik and the guard. The second guard had a look in the back of the waggon before walking down the pack horses and looking in some of the packs they were carrying. It was just a cursory check, he barely paused in his walk along the train.
'This all your horses?' the guard gestured at the horses in front of us when he got as far as Inibrakemi and me.
'Yes, just those.' Inibrakemi answered.
'Where you going?'
'Wherever the boss takes us.'
'You aren't the boss?'
'Not me, Olaf's the boss.' Inibrakemi pointed a hand at Olaf.
'So if I asked him, where would he say you were going?'
'Somewhere up river towards the Cobre Mountains where they need to trade.'
'Got any plans to stop in town?'
'No, straight through.'
The guard nodded and walked back up the line to his partner. Erik had dismounted and was talking animatedly by the side of the waggon.
I craned forward to listen more carefully. Erik was saying that Noren was sleeping because he'd been on watch all night.
The guard we'd spoken to stopped by Olaf for a moment and waved to his partner before speaking to Olaf.
'What do we do if it's not all good?' I put my hand on Jafnadr.
'Relax Ingwald, the boss will handle it.' Inibrakemi out her hand in my sword arm. 'Watch and see.'
There were shaking heads and serious looks up front. Erik looked worried.
'Maybe we should go join in?'
'Wait. Look calm.'
'Listen to her, getting involved now will just raise suspicion.' Jafnadr said.
The other pair of guards came down the line as the waggons in front of us moved onto the bridge. They stopped behind Erik.
'Maybe they're already suspicious?' I thought.
'If they are talking will be easier than fighting. Look at those walls.'
The other pair of guards carried on past us to the caravan behind us. I took my hand off Jafnadr and realised that I'd been holding my breath.  I let it out slowly.
Our guards waved Erik back onto the waggon and we started moving forward. They led us onto the bridge and raised a yellow flag as we passed by.
'Don't stop in Minhaton for anything.' the guard said as we passed him.
'No problem.' Inibrakemi said.
Ahead a couple of guards stood waiting in the gateway across the bridge. One carrying a spear with a yellow flag mounted on it climbed onto the waggon as it passed through the arch. The other fell in behind us with his loaded crossbow.