Shea perked up at that news. Perhaps the endto this whole tedious visit was in sight.
“Gentlemen, please,” the white haired elderinterrupted. “Let’s not make hasty decisions. Perhaps we shouldcall it quits for the day and meet again tomorrow when we’ve had achance to rest and consider what has been said.”
No, not again. Tomorrow would lead to thenext day and then the day after that. She couldn’t take much moreof this.
They were stalling. She knew it. They knewit.
All she wanted was for this to be over so shecould gather her team and head home. That or for Dane to releaseher from the tedious boredom of having to listen to these men droneon and on about nothing important.
Dane’s arms relaxed from across his chest,and he nodded once. Shea drooped. Looked like they were going to behere at least another day.
The men murmured polite goodbyes as theystood. Dane and the rest of the group from Birdon Leaf filed out ofthe room.
Shea trailed behind absently listening as theother three discussed how to spend the rest of the day now thatdiscussions had been derailed. Again.
The door closed firmly. Shea glanced back atit. None of the elders had joined them, which meant they had allremained behind. Perhaps to discuss how they should handlenegotiations tomorrow?
Shea would have thought it would be morebeneficial to do that with all parties concerned, but what did sheknow. She was a simple guide.
Lost in thought, she trailed further andfurther behind her group, losing sight of the rest before she knewit. Oh well. She doubted they’d notice she was missing.
Time to herself had become a luxury sincereaching Goodwin, as Dane thought it would be useful to have hersit in on the discussions. She hadn’t minded at first. Ten dayslater, she did.
Shea wandered in the opposite direction ofher lodging, enjoying the feel of the sun warming her face and theslight bite of a stray breeze. It brought with it the fresh smellof damp and earth.
It would likely rain during the night. Shecould smell it in the air. It didn’t feel like it would be a heavyrain, just enough to soak the ground.
Her feet whispered across the cobblestonestreets as she found her way to the market. Stopping at a stall,she bought a piece of fruit and carried it with her as she headedto the well maintained decorative wall framing the square.
Hopping up onto the waist high barrier, shesettled onto the cool stone and turned her attention topeople-watching before biting into the peach. She wiped her chin asa little bit of juice escaped and then licked the small trickle ofliquid off her wrist, savoring the rare treat.
She hoped Dane was able to include fruit asone of the goods to be traded. She’d come to enjoy the manyvarieties the Lowlands offered. It was one of the things she’d misswhen they finally headed home.
This town was three times the size of BirdonLeaf in both population and the number of buildings. Like BirdonLeaf, it had a large outer wall that encased the main town, thoughmany farms fell in the outlying territory. It was primarily afarming village, but it also performed a robust trade with otherLowland settlements.
That’s why the trade proposal had been metwith such excitement.
Most of the buildings were made of stone anda clay-like plaster that dried to a creamy white. All the roofs hadthe grey tint of slate, while the streets were smooth cobblestonethe likes of which had never graced a Highland village.
The town proper was surrounded by massivestone walls. Spreading out from the stone center, acre upon acre offarmland stretched until finally giving way to a dense crop oftrees.
Every spring the region funneled the springmelt, feeding the rivers and streams that spread over the land likespidery veins into irrigation channels that traveled over miles offarmland. This enabled them to grow a decent crop even when droughthit.
They even had a market where people could buysupplies.
It wasn’t the nicest or biggest town theLowlands had to offer, but it would seem luxurious to the men inShea’s party. Shea had been many places and seen many things. Thiswasn’t the best of what she had seen, but it wasn’t the worsteither. She’d guess it was middle of the road. Nice enough, buthungry to be one of the trade meccas.
The town’s atmosphere was strange today, Sheanoted. A couple eyed her as they gave her a wide berth. Now thatshe thought about it, the fruit merchant had seemed a bit subduedas well. Normally, he was much more vocal in his welcome.
People had begun avoiding the spot where Sheasat, until an invisible circle separated her from the rest of thesquare.
It was as if a pall hung over the town. Fearcoated the houses, and Shea felt eyes watching her from thewindows. It had been in the elders’ faces as well. A tightness whenthey argued and a reserve that was not normal for a simple tradenegotiation. It was as if they were waiting for something.Something bad.
Shea tossed the core of the peach behind herinto one of the bushes.
She got up and walked slowly towards theclosest stall, stopping and perusing the goods. The two men in deepconversation with the owner abruptly fell silent once they noticedher. Giving the owner a chin dip, they departed.
Shea watched them go. Not her imaginationthen.
