The Eternal War: The Dragon's Valkyrie

The Spring Solstice

The sun had already set when Saidy and the dwarves rolled passed the farms into the town of Muttle. Torches flickered in the eastward breeze, and the prevailing smell of salt continued to thicken the further west they went. Saidy remembered this smell wafting over the sands in the east. The ocean must've been close.

The past few day's they'd followed a river west past farming communities that weren't even big enough to be a spit on the map. More than a few times, Saidy found herself to sloshed to think, trying to keep pace with the dwarves' tradition of drinking every time one of them had the idea. After the third morning, she'd decided she no longer wanted to taste another drop of alcohol for as long as she lived.

Saidy felt herself being pulled from the conscious realm as the wagon continued with a rough rumble down the dirt road. Her eyelids felt like stones had been tied to them and gravity had been polarized to her feet as they were pulled them closed. However, a sudden turn of the wagon seemed to help her evade the call of sleep for a moment more. The stop that followed made her forget entirely of those stones that defied gravity.

"You're late!" a low voice grumbled.

"Aye, but we're not late for the festival!" Revvil replied.

"You were supposed to be here a week ago. I paid for punctuality!"

"You paid for quantity and quality! Punctuality was a courtesy because of the quantity!"

"You'll get two-hundred and fifty, no more."

"Then you'll only get one and a half barrels, not a drop more!"

Saidy poked her nose over the wall of the wagon to see who Revvil was arguing with. She saw a tall, burly man with short brown hair and a thick, trimmed beard. His face reminded Saidy of the ocean's surface when the wind picked up.

"I ordered three barrels!"

"And I told you it'd be five-hundred drakes!"

"You said you'd be here last week!"

Saidy looked around the wagon. The other dwarves seemed to be growing annoyed with the banter. The journey had been a long one, and they were all eager to lay their heads in a bed tonight. They'd been looking forward to it. Saidy was among them as well.

Revvil grumbled. "I'll take my goods to another tavern then, and you'll no longer be known as the sole proprietor of Le'Diran Fire Wine!"

The man stared at Revvil for a moment. "Get it unloaded and ready tonight." He threw a pouch of coins into Revvil's chest, turned, and walked into his tavern. "And you'll find somewhere else to stay for the night. I'll not tolerate this again!"

"Alright lads, you heard the man. Let's get these barrels unloaded and find us a place to sleep!"

The other dwarves groaned at having to haul the heavy barrels of wine. Saidy tried to help, but she couldn't seem to get a grip on the round barrel when a dwarf was already on either end.

"Don't worry about it, lass, just make sure no one tries to make off with our supply." Golag huffed as he and Sam heaved a barrel around the back of the tavern.

"But..."

"Truly, lass, only two people to a barrel. It's okay," Sam said with a soft smile.

Saidy sighed and kicked a stone the few feet back to the wagon, hoisting herself onto the back and kicking her legs as they dangled to keep her eyes from shutting. It was a moonless night, and the stars weren't shy to shine against the black canopy. Saidy hadn't realized how late it was until she saw the pink glow of the sun begin to illuminate on the eastern horizon.