[Episode 6] Spire and the Dragonwood Affair

[Novelette] Tales of Stonehaven [1,840 words]

Spire and the Dragonwood Affair is the first of five novelettes in The 5th Compass series. Captain Silverblade, the most feared and hated pirate in all of Stonehaven, has put her life in the hands of four of her most trusted pirates. Their mission is to each take possession of an enchanted compass and hide them where no one can ever find them. This is the story of Spire and how he got on with hiding the compass given to him.

Spire was angry at Stubs, but he knew if they were to make it safely to shore, he had to show them a safe area where they wouldn’t be spotted. He directed them towards Suicide Shore. It was too rocky and dangerous for a ship to anchor itself too close and Lord Baylish’s men never checked this area as only a fool would think to sneak into Dragonwood from this location.

“Spire, are you sure this is safe? The water seems awfully choppy and those rocks…” Wendynn knew how upset Spire was but he hoped he wouldn’t intentionally lead them to their deaths.

“I won’t speak on most of what Stubs said earlier, but he was right about one thing. Lord Baylish is a dangerous man. I did work for him and I did steal from him. He is not likely to forget me or what I did. Just as I’m not likely to forget what he did. This is the only area that he would never look. We’ll be safe.”

“Seeing as you aren’t well received in Dragonwood perhaps it would be best if I take two men with me to find a safe place for the compass? The quicker we hide it, the quicker we can leave.”

Spire smiled, his lips nearly disappearing from how wide it became, “What a great idea. Pity I didn’t think of it first.”

“Really?” Wendynn eyed him strangely. It wasn’t like Spire to agree with him so easily. The two men despised one another, especially as they both harbored feelings for Silverblade. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing.” He smirked at Wendynn and knew that was the wrong look to give, but he couldn’t help it. Smirking was his defense mechanism when he was telling a lie. Rather than continue to speak, making it more and more clear to the listener that he was lying, he’d just smile. Most of the time it worked. This was one of those times.

“Fine. Stubs, I think you should stay behind. Just in case,” Wendynn said, giving Spire one last stern look. “I’ll just take two men with me, so we don’t call too much attention to each other.” He looked around at the men who all wanted a chance to leave the ship and go ashore. Many of them haven’t been on land for a long time.

Wendynn walked amongst the men, taking deep breaths as he passed each one. He finally settled on the two who he felt had the least amount of odor seeping off their pores. He knew there was no time to make them look less like a pirate, but maybe if they didn’t smell so bad no one would notice them.

He held out his hand and waited for Spire to give him the compass. He hated to part with it, but he knew if he were to have any chance of sneaking off the ship, he needed to hand it over.

Once Wendynn and the two pirates were off the ship, Spire squinted his eyes, pretending the bright sun was affecting his eyesight. “Sunny day, isn’t it?” He pointed up to the sky.

“Yup,” Stubs answered, never taking his eyes off Spire. He didn’t need to look towards the sky to know just how sunny it was. He also didn’t need a bolt of lightning to strike him to know that Spire was up to something.

“I think I’ll retire to my cabin.”

“Good idea, Cap’n.”

Spire sulked all the way to his quarters and slammed the door behind him. He wanted the freedom to walk around Dragonwood. When he left it, it was not because he wanted to but because he had to, and he missed it. He especially missed her. And the thought of being so close but not getting to see her or talk to her was driving him insane.

Spire picked up the pillow on his bed to throw it against the wall in frustration. Under it, he saw the jug of ale he acquired from a Pradore ship and smiled to himself. This jug of ale would be his escape. He grabbed it, uncorked it and took a swig. He didn’t swallow it, just swished it back and forth in his mouth then spit it out before going in search of Stubs. He didn’t have to look very long to find him, lounging on a barrel near his door.

“Stubs!” he shouted and stumbled towards him, holding the jug by the neck and waving it about in the air. “Join me, won’t you? I hate to drink alone.”

Stubs raised an eyebrow at Spire who he never knew to share his good alcohol. “I don’t think I better.”

“Oh, come now, Stubs. This here is me best ale.” Spire winked at him and bent over so Stubs could smell his breath. One thing he could not deny was just how drunk Spire appeared to be. Whenever Spire slurred his speech and could barely put a sentence together, it usually meant he was one more drink away from passing out.

Stubs looked over Spire’s shoulder to make sure none of the other men were around to see before he grabbed the jug and took a long swig. He handed it back and wiped his mouth on the arm of his sleeve, smacking his lips and blinking hard. He was not expecting just how strong it was. Perhaps he took too much because he threw caution to the wind and didn’t notice when Spire handed him the jug freely.

Four more swigs from the jug and Stubs started to sing an old pirate song his mother taught him when he was young. It’s a song he always sang whenever he was completely smashed. Spire sang along with him, but not nearly as passionately or loudly. It wasn’t long before the men who were sleeping below deck came out to see what was going on. Some laughed at the sight of Stubs singing while others joined him in merriment. It was easy for Spire to sneak away unnoticed.

Climbing down the rope ladder he laughed as Stubs sang a new verse, he knew his mother would approve of.

They had left the ship close enough to land that Spire only had to wade through the waist high water, keeping clear of the strong waves and sharp rocks, before he reached the shore. With the sun warm on his back he knew it would be setting soon. Evening had always been the perfect time to find Isobel. Her overprotective brothers would be out looking for trouble; rustling up the men who owed their mother money and beating them till they handed over what whatever they had.

Spire took a deep breath and trudged through the sand, quickly reaching a much firmer ground to plant his feet upon. This part of the shore was familiar to him as it was close to where he lost his friend. Memories of that fatal day kept his mind focused on the task at hand as he walked onward, listening for any unfamiliar sounds.

Dragonwood was not a pleasant place for any man, wanted or not, to visit. Its name came from the belief that bones of dragons became buried deep in the ground. No one dares to dig in search of the bones. They fear it will anger and awaken Zoldir, who everyone believes was silenced when her precious dragons became extinct. No one wants to wake the sleeping God, least of all Spire, who remembered having to talk his friend out of digging in an area known for having the most dragon skeletons.

Once Spire was a safe distance away from his ship and men, he relaxed and strolled through the woods. Before long he happened upon a man in front of a small cottage with an ax, chopping a deer to pieces.

“Lovely day,” Spire said cautiously. In Dragonwood no one could be trusted, least of all strangers armed with an ax. The way he would determine if someone would harm him or be willing to talk was by making a general statement about the weather. Seemed harmless on the surface but he had vivid memories of being punched and even once slapped by a woman just for commenting on the weather.

The man wiped the droplets of sweat formed on his forehead and spit on the ground beside Spire. He raised the arm that gripped the axe tightly up in the air and rested it on his shoulder. “I reckon it is a lovely day. Who might you be?”

“Name’s… Stubs,” Spire said, extending his arm towards the man hoping he would shake it. “Where might a man in search of food and shelter go?”

The man looked at Spire oddly but shook his hand just the same. It was difficult for Spire not to wipe the man’s sweat off on his pant leg. “You’re not gonna find a place like that here. Don’t you know where you are, boy?”

It was a long time since someone called him ‘boy’ and he wasn’t sure he liked the tone. But he remembered where he was and thought it best to hold his tongue till he got the information he needed from this man. “I came here on a ship that stranded me if you can believe it.” The man raised his eyebrows and Spire knew he was not buying his story. He had to change tactics. “I have a valuable item and I heard there might be someone here who would buy it from me.”

The man dropped his axe in the dirt; the blade sliding easily into the ground. “Why didn’t you say so? I think I know where you can go to unload something. What is it you got?” The man looked Spire over from top to bottom, trying to see if he could identify what he wanted to sell, but nothing stuck out to him.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. Just give me a name and point me in the right direction and I’ll do the rest.”

The man folded his arms and laughed out loud. “You don’t seriously think you’re going into town dressed like that do you? They’ll smell you coming from miles away. We don’t take kindly to pirates in Dragonwood, but I’m sure you knew that already or you wouldn’t have come here. No one comes here by accident.”

Spire looked down at what he was wearing and knew this stranger spoke the truth. All of it would have to go if he had any hope of making it to Isobel in one piece. The man was slightly larger around the middle than Spire and a hair taller, but desperate times. “I couldn’t trouble you for a change of clothing, could I?”

“How much?”

Now this man was speaking Spire’s language. He promptly placed several coins in the man’s open palm and together they entered his home to see what he could find that was moderately clean and could fit.