The old man blinked incredulously. “You want a big one?” He looked to Minx once more, smirking. “I mean, suit yourself, but she doesn't look strong enough to draw my bigger models.” He took a large bow from his collection, testing the tension himself and inspecting the grip. The elegantly-carved limbs had been decorated with neat filagree patterns and the string appeared meaty and responsive. “Try this on for size,” he said, handing it to her.
Minx took the weapon and stepped toward the counter, inspecting its craftsmanship. She ran the string between her fingers, then motioned to the barrels of arrows behind the counter. “May I have an arrow to test?”
The old man plucked a blunt-tipped arrow from his stores and slid it across the counter. “Just be careful now—don't hurt yourself. That's a tough bow to draw, little miss!”
Easing down her hood, Minx nocked the arrow with practiced ease and then turned on her heels, drawing the mighty bow effortlessly. Her two fingers fitted snugly around the back end of the shaft, she exhaled and let the arrow fly, sending its blunted point sailing into the stone wall opposite her. The tip struck the rocky wall, leaving behind a divot of pulverized stone, and the wooden shaft split for the force of her delivery. Lowering the weapon, Minx glared at the shopkeeper.
“All right, that's enough showing off,” interjected Kaleb, stepping toward the counter. “How much for the bow and a full quiver?”
The old man rose to his feet, stammering about the prices and very obviously jarred for his dismissal of the Fae huntress. “F-For an archer of your skill, I'm sure we can agree on a very good price, indeed. And I'll throw in the arrows, f-free of charge!” He motioned to a number of hand-made leather quivers stashed to the right of the counter. “Please, select a quiver and I'll fill it.”
Minx ultimately chose a dark brown quiver marked with the same attractive filagree pattern as her new weapon, and once it had been filled to capacity with the shopkeep's choicest arrows, she removed her cloak long enough to sling it over her head and fix it to her back. Evidently pleased with herself, she slid the necessary coinage across the counter, donned her oversized hood and started out of the armory with her new weapon held low. Kaleb followed, sparing the bowyer a faint smile. You just had to rile her up and test her, huh?
The two of them joined Vevne outside, promptly resuming their trek without a word. The streets were crowded at this time of day, with rowdy tavern-goers and weapon seekers filling out the narrow strip. The market they were looking for would take them more than a mile from this spot, to a place where the crowds thinned out and many businesses appeared closed. They stepped purposefully from the succession of bars and weapon shops, made their way onto a main strip, and kept to it for several minutes. Finally, cutting to the left at Vevne's direction, they started into a new branch of town beyond the network of grimy houses they'd earlier explored.
Kaleb looked at the tall buildings on either side of them, their windows veiled with discolored fabrics and their signage weather-beaten. Here and there, people shuffled through the streets, coming and going from low, crumbling arches set between the buildings. But it was not what he saw that made him slow down and grow tense. Something on the wind aside from the chatter of passersby struck him and he had no choice but to stop and investigate.
There was something in the air.
The strange dragon scent had returned. And this time, it seemed, it had come with more strength than ever before. It struck him like a perfume, shook his senses violently. His surroundings momentarily faded from notice as he studied the scent.
Minx noticed his sudden halt and tugged on Vevne's cloak to stop her. “What's wrong, Kaleb?”
He was annoyed. He'd encountered this scent a few times now, had been baffled by it in every instance, but he still couldn't figure out why it left him so perplexed. It's a dragon's scent, all right... But it's unlike any dragon's scent I've picked up before. What's different about it? “It's that scent again,” he replied stiffly, looking skyward as if expecting the smell's maker to fly overhead.
“The weird dragon scent?” asked Minx. “Can you tell where it's coming from?”
He studied the air awhile longer, eyes closed. “No,” he finally admitted, shaking his head. “But it's got to be coming from somewhere nearby. It's strong.” He shot Minx a firm glance. “We need to be on guard. I don't know what it means, but there's every chance that if we meet the owner of that scent we could be in for some sort of trouble.”
She nodded. “OK, Vevne, let's keep going.”
The tusked woman gave a little bow and then continued quietly through the street.
I first picked up this scent back in the glade, where I met Minx—and where Mau had only recently gone missing. And then I picked it up again around the time we entered Karn. Now, as we close in on Mau, I'm smelling it again. That can't be a coincidence, can it? Kaleb was momentarily lost in his thoughts as he fell back into step behind the other two. No... this scent, whatever it is... it's tied up with Mau's disappearance somehow. I'd bet on it.
Their progress through town led them to a wide plaza whose entrance was almost completely blocked by wagons. The owners of said wagons were busy packing their goods inside, preparing to ship off to other sites, and just beyond them were the skeletons of large and elaborate stands where only hours ago these same salesman had been hawking their wares. “They're getting ready for another auction,” explained Vevne. “The merchants
