A Bronze Rising: While he was Gone
#21 of A Bronze Rising
Quite a few things happened while Tobias was away
I was not idle during the months that Tobias spent away. The estate of the late Knight was, piece, by piece, landscaped and turned into a lovely park. Cobblestone paths wound their way through trees I carefully removed from the forest and had planted for aesthetic effect. Around the many turnabouts and dead ends, I placed many towering pines so I had my desired privacy among several possible hiding places. Despite the vastness of the estate for a mortal man, in the end, it was little more than a garden for me, but I was well pleased with it when it was finally complete.
Not all of the estate was given over to my private garden, however. In the northern section, the old stables still stood along with the small house where my herdsman and his family lived. He raised a new generation of cattle for me, but it still wasn't enough. Where there had been only five animals before, there were now twelve, but eating even one would severely affect their population growth, or so the herdsman constantly informed me. The sheep and pig populations were healthier, but slowly declined as I ate them one by one and the herdsman's efforts were concentrated on the cattle. Horses ran about as well, but I was prohibited from eating them as well as they were too valuable as draft animals for the constant construction going about.
The quarry that I had broken in did not quiet even after the construction of the amphitheatre and the cobblestone paths for my garden. With wealth flowing about the village like water, the wealthier citizens took into their minds to have real cobblestone streets for the village center as well as a new stone church. While I was weary of breaking new ground, or stone rather, for the humans who worked at the quarry, the quarrylord was actually willing to pay me a large sum of money for the service. Seeing as my chest of coins was reduced to a scattering of bits which rattled around the bottom, I took the job and continued my labor. As I exposed new stone, the quarry enlarged and yet more stone was able to be procured without my direct aid. The foundations of the church were laid in September, a month before the harvest.
Around the same time, a team of prospectors traveled into the town. They caused a sensation in the village with their plans to strike and open an iron mine in the vicinity. The blacksmith had long since run through his usual yearly supply of iron which had to be carted in over the mountains, and even with recycling of metal bit and pieces that cropped up from Sir Ronald's manor, he was hard pressed to turn up even a set of horseshoes. Richard informed me that the blacksmith had "invested" quite heavily in the new prospectors, which I took to mean, he gave them money to start their enterprise in return for future compensation. Richard told me that it might be wise for me to do the same seeing as I was so interested in improving the industry and construction of the town. I was hesitant though. My coin supply was mostly gone, so an investment would mean turning over a significant portion of my large chest of gold bars and jewels. I had not been planning to dip into that egg of wealth, especially so soon. "I don't suppose they would accept payment in artwork and bolts of silk?" I asked Richard.
They did not, as it turned out, but I matched the blacksmith's contribution anyway and the duo struck a path into the hills with a team of newly purchased donkeys. In time, I would not be disappointed with my "investment."
With all of the space of the estate now in use and suiting my expectations for the moment, I began turning more and more thought to a permanent den. If I one day attracted a mate, she would not be satisfied to lay in the open, even in a pleasant garden such as I'd fashioned. Unfortunately, the hill itself was largely clay as I'd discovered early on with my futile attempts to dig out a subterranean domicile. After a large portion of the hill collapsed on my head after just twelve feet in, I realized that I would have to construct a home elsewhere. It was probably for the best. The estate, though indeed isolated from the rest of the village would probably still be too close to other humans to really feel safe, especially with young children.
Children... if there was one thing I desired more than a land to call my own, it was the need to see the skies above the valley filled with little bronze wings. In that way, I could best contribute to the legacy of my people. I sighed though, at the thought. It seemed very far off. I had not even seen another dragon since coming here and there was always so much to do...
The Harvest ceremony was a wild congregation which I observed from the air as I circled the village square. The humans demonstrated all sorts of odd behavior and quasi-religeous customs which seemed completely at odds with the rather sterile religion for which the actual church was being constructed. The men dressed in masks, their bodies covered in straw and ran about scaring children. Women dressed in wolf skins and howled at the moon and were surprisingly frisky with the men. Spirits flowed as freely as water. There were games, axes thrown at targets; it was obvious that the targets were once dragons but had been hastily repainted to resemble a caricature of Sir Ronald breathing fire. The music was all encompassing even at a significant height. A part of me actually desired to be amongst them, to partake in the revelry, and especially to drink spirits with the rest of them. But I knew I couldn't. As for the latter, I could drain the entire village supply of liquor by myself. At the Witching Hour, the Wicker Man was wheeled out and set ablaze. The crowd cheered and impulsively, I submitted my own cry, roaring from the heavens. The crowd went silent below, but then erupted in an even louder cheer. I roared again and our voices, for an instant, intermingled into one.
It was November when Tobias returned, mere weeks before the snows promised to close the mountain passes. I spotted him while out hunting far to the east of the village, actually quite close to the area which had been set ablaze earlier that year. New trees and growth flourished and it was one of my preferred hunting grounds as there was not as much cover for animals moving across the new vegetation. Tobias was traveling along the single road which led out of the village and towards the town of Anorton, now the westernmost settlement of Lyrond. From the air I saw that his entourage was greatly increased, two stagecoaches rumbled along behind him and his three bodyguards, all on horseback. Following this was a wagon carrying supplies, now nearly emptied, and a few more guards. I angled my wings and flew towards the company, eager to see what fruits the mission had brought.
As I came close, however, one man sitting on the roof of a coach gave a cry and raised his crossbow at me. I hissed and Tobias immediately started shouting commands. The bolt missed me by a mile, but I was outraged to be treated with such indignity. I landed on the road and stopped the convoy