Colonia Gallia

Astra was taken to a place on the deck, where she smelled something that had been fried in oil. Someone had left her a large bucket of squid pieces. She picked up one, wrinkled her nose, and nibbled at it. The squid was rubbery, but it had been spiced with an herb that made it palatable. As Astra was hungry, she ate the food in the bucket quickly. She thought about reading the minds of some of the men, but decided that this might be too risky. She would not want to lose the pendant, and did not want to pick a fight that she felt that she would lose. She stared into the bucket, letting her ears do the work of informing her what was happening. She heard two sets of these footsteps approaching her. Now the jingle of a chain. Then something fumbling her anklet. Next, a metallic click of some sort of lock. More fumbling of chains. She was now under the control of the two men. She heard another, lighter set of footsteps gradually getting closer, and then heard a voice.

"Do you have her, Jay?"

"Yes, lieutenant. Have you any further orders, sir?"

"No. Just stand by."

The lieutenant turned to Astra and spoke.

"Do you hear me, Astra?"

"Yes," she said.

"You will want to add 'sir' when you speak, for your own good. You have no control over what happens to you, but you can change where you go. There are many people who will be interested in you - cranks that hack around with magic, peddlers of miracle cures, and the like. Probably they will find it easier to kill you and part you out. Dragon livers, scales, and other bits and pieces will fetch a good price. And the hacks will be afraid of you, so they will want to kill you so that you can sleep at night."

The lieutenant continued, "But see, we don't want to do that. There is an important man - believe me, someone we want to impress, who might like to have you alive. And I will tell you, I have seen people who call themselves mages and wizards, but most of the time they are just hacks and puffmen. But this guy is the real deal. And I will tell you something else. There is some money there, even though he doesn't show it off. He is as good as you are going to get in Colonia Gallia. But he is very picky. So if it looks like you are going to cause trouble, the man he sends might not go for a deal, at any price. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Sir. But I have a question."

"Ah. For you information, ask for permission to speak."

Astra gritted her teeth and supressed an urge to sigh or roll her eyes. "This, too, shall pass," she thought. She said, "Permission to speak, sir."

"Granted."

"Not that I would do it, but what is to prevent me from running away? Um. Sir."

"The city watch has been alerted to your presence. As a matter of fact, we will need to register you with them. The ruby pendant will help you with your sickness, but it is not strong enough for you to overcome the power of the anklet and assume a dragon form. And, uh, you don't want to get lost in Colonia Gallia."

Astra heard a grunt of affirmation from the two husky men.

"Permission to speak, sir," Astra said.

"Permission granted."

"What you say concerns me, as I am still in human form, and may be that way for some time. Is Colonia Gallia a lawless city? Sir."

"Hmm. I suppose that you would not want to go into the parts of it. But most of the city is safe. The archeron of Colonia Gallia runs an open city, but the city watch keeps crime under control. The problem is that, um, the way city is laid out is confusing unless you live there. You'll see."

The lieutentant turned to the two men and ordered them to board the ship's boat and row to shore. One man led the way, and one man trailed Astra. She had trouble walking with the chains. She felt a pull from the lead man. So one of her chains was somehow attached to him. She shuffled up some stairs to the deck, and followed one of the men into the boat. This gave Astra an opportunity to see Colonia Gallia

The harbour was magnificent. She swept her head from left to right. Colonia Gallia lay on a huge oval cove, most of which lay to her right. For a second she thought that she was looking a huge military camp on land, but no, it was a huge flotilla of rafts, boats, and sailing ships. It appeared that some people lived in the boats, as she saw open fires, wash drying, and other signs of the routine of domestic activity.

Once the boat had landed and she could get a better look at the base of the cliffs surrounding the harbour, she noticed how little land there was at the base of the cliffs surrounding the great cove. Wind and water had worn a great groove at the base of the cliff that was higher than she was. She was trying to make out how deep the groove was when a man approached. He had a red moustasche, closely cropped hair, and green eyes. He had a stout stick in one hand, and wore a brown linen shirt. Was this her new owner?

"Good afternoon. Ship's Lieutenant Escaudo of the Stony Brook registering Astra. She is potentially dangerous magical cargo."

The man with the stout stick looked behind Astra, presumably at the lieutenant, and then at Astra, and frowned, but not in anger. He brought out a wax tablet and stylus, and said something in Barque, a language that she could not understand.

"The dragon?" he asked.

"Yes."

The watchman wrote something on the tablet, and stole another look at Astra. He made some more marks on the tablet, and then addressed the lieutenant.

"She was the one that killed Minestus?"

"So I have heard. But she is well under control. Honestly, we are more worried about her getting sick than losing control of her. There is a certain man who will want to have a look at her."

"I imagine. Where will she be exhibited?"

"The Scallop Chamber. It is secure, and we reserved it. Here is the permit." The lieutenant handed the watchman a small metal coin with a hardened wax core, into which was scratched some more marks.

"Everything's in order. Wait here while I get two of the watch. We will need them to weed out the gawkers if nothing else."

"Gawkers?"

"Oh, yes. Word travels fast."

The lieutenant thought for a moment, and then told the watchman, "I have an idea. If we charged the curious a fee, what would I have to do to keep it legal?"

"There is a license involved, but I think that I can expedite the paperwork."

"Fine. I know that there are expenses for the city. I would like to keep this simple. Will the city take a share of the admission fees instead of charging a fixed rate?"

"At fifty percent, yes, we could make such an arrangement."

"That works for me."

The two men shook hands, and the watchman and the lieutenant went their separate ways.

Astra noticed that the man with the stick and the lieutentant talked, and then the lieutenant handed the man a small metal disk. From the tone of the conversation, there did not appear to be a problem. While Astra was waiting, she looked at the base of the cliffs surrounding the cove. The groove was full of people coming and going. They appeared to be quite busy loading and unloading cloth, food, furniture, and small items that she didn't know. There was a strong smell of fish and smoke in the air. There was a lot more to the grove and the cliff then met the eye, because she saw some large slabs of wood come out from the grove, with men loading it on the cart. She used a person for comparison. The groove was three or four people high, maybe higher in spots. She couldn't gauge how high the cliff itself was - at least a hundred paces, but it could have been quite a bit more. Ah! There were opening part of the way up. It's like there was a mirror there, reflecting the sun. And another. And another lower down. That one was not a mirror - it was a pane of foggy glass. And then she saw another opening without glass, but rather it had a balcony and some heavy curtains. She noticed some wooden items leaned up against the wall behind that balcony, and a large clay pot with a plant growing in it. Someone was growing food.

She heard another watchman speak to the lieutenant in the same unknown language. The keeper before her followed them, and she, of necessity, followed him into the groove.

The groove cut quite deep. They passed some people loading polished marble tiles onto a cart, and into one of the caves. She felt clammy as she entered, but not that cold. The caves were lit with a dim light, but it was bright enough to see. Recessed into the walls of the passage were lanterns. Astra thought, "The oil that they burn smelled like perfume in a way. Well, not perfume, but maybe what perfume was before the perfumer worked on it."

They came to a fork, and they were led in direction that went to the right, and up. Then there was a crossing. They went left from there. They passed a hollow with some people talking, but Astra did not look in. It did not take long for Astra lose track of where they were going. She now saw the lieutenants point. She thought of a poem, the Lay of the Colossal Cave, and the refrain, "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike," and how appropriate it was to this place.

At last, they were led into a large hollow. There was a hole in the ceiling, through which a diffuse light shone. Astra could see a woman removing a pane of glass from one of the recesses in the hollow, and she was filling a lamp with some liquid, and then lighting it. Astra noticed that there were a number of scallop shells embedded in the rock of this cave, and that there appeared to be a number of brass scallop shells lining the hole. Astra was led under the light, and was ordered to sit on the floor. Her two keepers and the watchman also sat. The lieutenant left the room.

After some time, one of the watchmen met the lieutenant. A queue of people were forming. They each gave the watchman a coin, and then filed in. Astra looked at those that were in front. It was too dark to see very far. These men had strange dark marks on their skin, with strange shapes or something that looked like a script of some sort. There were tattooes on faces, arms, chests, and legs. Their clothing was garish, brightly-coloured, but in the men that she was looking at, ragged and worn. There was a lot of cheap jewelry. The audience looked mostly male. Astra now tried to read the thoughts of one of the men, but she did not know the language. She did get this unsettling feeling that she was not going to like what they had planned for her.

The lieutenant rose, and spoke in Barque.

"Good day, wise and powerful men of Colonia Gallia. I am the Ship's Lieutenant of the Stony Brook. On a voyage from the North Capes, we were hailed by one of the ships of the Lords of the Sea. The tale that they told was a terrific one, destined to become legend. Minestus is no more! And his conquerer has been conquered!"

The lieutenant did embellish what he had been told. Minestus was a well-known but distant figure in the mind of the men of the coast, a dragon that lived "out in the interior", but whose movements and history were uncertain. Astra's defeat of Minestus was a firey ariel combat that lasted fifteen minutes, with the issue in doubt until the last minute. The lieutenant continued with a riveting tale of how twenty ships of the Lords of the Sea faced the Iron Ship of the Lady Dragon. Among this dragon's minions were forty knights of the lands beyond the sea, a powerful sorceress, whose beauty was dwelt upon at irrelevant but titillating length, a cunning and ruthless gang of gnomes that hurled themselves into the enemy ships and ate the wood with their bare teeth, and ferocious harpies that would tear into men with their sharp talons. Finally, after the dragons minions were killed or driven off, the Iron Ship was captured and the dragon's magic was contained. The dragon was ready to serve one who would dare to take her on.

And then, he walked up to Astra, and said, "And that dragon, now bound to her human form, is here! Gentlemen, look. Ask questions. We ask six hundred pikas. But with these sixty gold pieces, one gets something that is, you will agree, priceless."

There was a murmer in the crowd as the men talked to each other. now most of the men did not have two gold pieces, much less the sixty asked for. They paid there 10 millipika piece just because of the rumours, and the hopes that there would be something interesting. The few men who were serious about purchasing were thinking, "Six hundred pikas would buy a good part of the top of the Gallia Table. (The Gallia Table surrounded the cove, and the land on top of it was the most valuable part of the city.) And how could I be sure that this is not a fraud? And if it is not a fraud, how could I hope to control her?"

One of the men rose, and said, "Can you prove that she is a dragon?"

The watchman that was not taking the coins said, "Ah, city regulations forbid that. First, you must prove that you have enough knowledge, not only to know that she is a dragon, but that you can control her."

The men looked at each other and murmered again. How does one prove that she is a dragon?"

One of the tattooed men came forward. "I believe that I prove it. There is a mark that all dragons have when they assume human form. If one will permit me to inspect ..."

The watchman barked, "Hands off! If you want to engage in that sort of activity, go to the Glade of Joy! This is for serious scholars and bidders only."

Astra noticed that the crowd suddenly thinned after the watchman said something to a man who was starting to approach her. There were only four men in the room now, the serious mages. Three sat up front, and one leaned against the back of the hollow, in the shadows. These men wore clean and understated linen, and were free of the cheap jewerly and tattoos. One, a man with a full gray beard and long hair, rose, and said, "If I could convince myself that she were authentic, I would not take her. I know my limits. If you can do away with her, I would advise it. A live dragon is a very dangerous thing."

A younger man in a red hat rose. "Celestine, I disagree. I will admit, that I don't know enough about dragons to be able to tell. It is fortunate that she does not know Barque, or she might turn on us. What I advise is that we pool our money and knowledge, and have the city manage her. Her knowledge and power, properly harnessed, could be a boon to the community."

The third man in the front, a man with an ermine collar, remarked, "Lieutenant, have you talked with her? Does she understand the mariners' speech?"

"Yes, yes. Quite clearly."

"Interesting. May I ask her a question? I know bits of the speech, but it would be easier if you could translate."

"What is your question?"

"Was she born a dragon?"

"No, I was not. The form that I have now is what I was born with, and I was quite human. Minestus laid a curse on me, but it somehow turned. I received his power, and the dragon form, and he was doomed to be a human. Sir."

"Well, don't go spreading that around. I gave the groundlings a better story of the combat. It sends them away happier. I will translate back for the three in the front. Our man understands your language, by the way."

"Permission to speak, sir?"

The lieutenant hesitated, and then said, "Permission granted."

"Is the important purchaser the man leaning against the back wall? Sir."

The lieutenant stared, and said, "No. But he could well be his agent. Your eyes are amazing."

When the lieutenant informed the men of Astra's birth, Red Hat lost interest, as he could see value only in a pure-bred dragon. He and Celestine left, their curiosity satisfied. One the man in the ermine collar and the man in the back of the room remained.

1. Astra receives another question about her background.
2. Astra tries to read the thoughts of the man in the back of the room.

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