Racing the Storm

Chapter 16

The trio left the alleyway as soon as they knew no people would see. Devon remained in the lead, his long legs keeping him in front of the other two. The docks were already bustling as the ships began to come in. They were being tied and walkways were being lowered so that the cargo could be transported. 

"Alright just act like a dock worker. If a ship with the tree on the sails show up we'll definitely notice," Devon whispered. The other two grunted in acknowledgment and split in their own separate directions.

Thalia lurked, joining a line to help get baskets of fruit off a ship. She was far enough down the line that she could see everything else coming in so she felt no worries about not seeing the particular sails they were looking for.

Noah got closer to one. He helped to unload cattle from a ship. The animals wobbled on the ramp and a few jumped to avoid it, nearly crushing Noah in the process.

Devon had not chosen a ship but instead chose multiple. As the traders came in Devon was helping to pull them the rest of the way and tie them down. His arms were already burning with the effort. His rough hands would definitely have rope burn if he did this for much longer.

The trio worked and worked and then Thalia saw it. 

In the distance two large ships with spikes jutting from the hall and a large tree drawn on the sails. The mark was distinct though the details she recalled seeing in the artwork before could not be seen from far away. She could also make out the red color on the sails. Blood red seemed like a bold choice for an underground dragon smuggling system. 

Thalia was so focused on the ships coming in she dropped a crate of fruit on the toe of her boot. It narrowly missed her toes. A few of the udilla fruits inside the crate fell out, rolling a few times before getting caught in a groove and stopping. Someone shouted to scold the one who dropped the crate so Thalia quickly picked it back up and carried on passing the fruit, keeping her eyes on the incoming ships.

Devon saw it too and got ready to haul one in. He silently hoped the others could get away from their posts because this would be their only chance to get to wherever the dragons were being taken.

During a break in fruit-passing Thalia hurried away from the line, stopping by Noah's boat. He struggled with a pig and suddenly made eye contact with the brunette girl. Thalia beckoned with her hands for him to hurry up. The pig who's lead was currently in Noah's hand leapt, landing on his foot. Thalia winced watching as Noah's face contorted with pain. He struggled not to cry out, instead taking advantage of it and limping over to Thalia.

They both made it just in time to see Devon and one other worker tie up the ships. They hid close to the next nearest ship watching as men dressed in fancy armor and colors jumped off the ship. One by one more men came out of the hull. Behind each set of two men were cubes with big blankets thrown over them to conceal the contents. The cubes were placed on a slab of wood with wheels, so clearly the contents were heavy.

Thalia moved to follow only to be blocked by Noah's hand on her stomach. Her brown eyes burned holes into the boys soul but he remained calm, pointing to the still flowing numbers.

"Just wait until there are less. They won't notice us then," he whispered.

Thalia decided to listen, pressing back against the wood of the smaller ship behind them. Devon shot a glare to Noah over her head but deep down Devon knew it was smarter to wait.

The men started coming less frequently and that's when the trio rushed as quietly as possible to file behind one of them. They could all hide behind one of the cube easily so long as no one got behind them. They walked on their tip toes to reduce the amount of noise that came from their footsteps. The walkways were stone, the bottoms of their boots much studier than normal shoes. They would have tapped quite distinctly if none of the riders knew how to walk silently.