Dragon Fire - Book 2 [discontinued due to rewrite]

Chapter 18

To her surprise, Jeff returned the next day and the day after that.

He seemed keen to get her on her feet and marched her round the hamlet for as long as she was able.

And every day she made it a little further.

After two weeks when the weather had remained cold and looked like it would not be changing any time soon, she finally made it to the edge of town.

Here the rocky ledge ended and the Deadlands spread out over flowing plains, only broken by a dirt track, cut into the rocky earth that trailed off into the distance. On a particularly clear morning, Marcie could see further than before and spied a river in the far distance and what looked like a town on its shore.

Dara caught her looking and flew as low as he dared over the hills towards the river, showing her the collection of buildings and the tiny people flitting about. The river looked wide, and boats drifted across and down its length.

It appeared a much larger settlement than Blackstone and the track led straight to it. Marcie marvelled at the sight and the promise of yet more to explore, if only her leg would allow her.

Her increased mobility meant that the next time the supply cart came through she was there to see it. She felt the excitement in the air as soon as she woke up and watched the miners scurry around, hauling baskets and buckets of their wares into the main square and laying them out on blankets, much as the traders did back in The Forgotten Village.

The weather had been relatively dry the last few days so the men had been hard at work, digging as much Jet out of the mines as they possibly could in the short amount of time and the women had even roped the children into helping, something they grumbled about as it meant less time to play but which they did with some skill.

Marcie had helped as much as she could, when the walking became too much and her leg ached unbearably. She sat up on her cot, polishing and smoothing while Cassia toiled away with her tools. The last few nights, Cassia pulled out some nobly candles and they worked into the early hours of the morning.

The result was that the day of the market finally arrived and Marcie blinked eyes bleary with lack of sleep and her rump seated in a hardy wicker chair, the leg was raised on a stool and throbbed gratingly.

The children all hovered by the entrance to the hamlet, eagerly waiting for the wagon to arrive. Their absence gave the grownups some peace to set up their wares uninterrupted. They lay rugs upon the ground much as the Traders did and lay out their creations upon them. Marcie saw, for the first time, jet carved by other than Cassia.

While Cassia appeared to specialise in beads with a few pendants and others made bracelets, rings, even decorative plates, bowls and ornate headdresses.

Black Pete strode around the square, inspecting the works and grunting in appreciation, his son an ever present shadow. He stopped by Cassia wares and his eyebrows rose,

"That's a fair decent haul you got there Cass" He sounded impressed, "Peoples struggled more en most rain cycles"

Cassia preened with pride, "Well this time I aint doin it all by myself am I. Got a helper" she put her hand on Marcie's shoulder,

Black Pete smiled widely behind his beard, "Good job you two, an here I thought the northern lot were gonna take all our business through sheer volume"

Marcie leaned round his bulk to watch the latest members of the hamlet. The northeners set up their own stall quietly and slightly removed from the others, the many children, all who looked the same because of their strange furs, handled their wares with extreme care. Auntie Jan, huge with solid handsome features and iron grey hair hanging in thick ropes from under her hat, supervised with short impatient snaps in the northeners strange harsh language.