Ewe - The modest estate sat overlooking the market square a quarter mile away. Trees shaded the shrub-lined driveway. The sun was setting behind a bluff that encircled the town on three sides. A middle aged man busied himself next to a four wheeled carriage. Orange light reflected off the glass windows and polished metal surfaces. The black lacquer finish reflected only thin ribbons of the fading sun.
“Your tea is ready.” Claudia called out from the front door of the cottage. The woman’s worn expression was softened by her lightness of spirit. Her padded form was once the envy of her contemporaries. A comfortable lifestyle devoid of laborious activities kept her looking years younger, something Ewe (Her husband of twenty years) failed to notice. It would be many seasons before her luster would fully fade.
“I’ll be a moment, my dear.” Ewe called out without shifting from his focused preening over the wheeled transport.
“You’ll wear the polish down to the wood if you keep at it like that.” Claudia’s tone carried no judgment to the uninitiated. Ewe chagrinned against the suggestion that his activity was anything but normal. The strain on their well rehearsed relationship was something neither of them loved, but pride prevented capitulation by either of them.
“The boys will be arriving soon.” he said. “I want the coach ready for the meeting.” Ewe turned to see his wife disappear through the cottage door, closing it softly behind her. Ewe had spent years squirreling away coins in anticipation of purchasing one of the new alchemy carriages. His colleagues and some of his well-to-do clients had been driving them around town for several years now. The expense was manageable for a solicitor, but it meant that some other luxuries would have to be sacrificed. That time of sacrifice was behind Ewe now and he wanted to revel in his new acquisition.
Ewe opened the door and reached inside to check the parking brake. The metal teeth of the rudder-lock were secure. Ewe, satisfied, turned toward the house letting the door of the coach close behind him.
An argument with his only son Sigismund left the couple with an empty nest and only intermittent correspondence with their son. Ewe and Claudia had spent years in a quiet composed battle of wills.
“Father.”
Ewe tuned to see his son on the chipped stone drive. Behind him several friends were engaged in youthful conversation. The moment was not lost on Ewe. His son had assembled a group of companions as varied as the light through a stained glass window. An antechamber deep inside Ewe harbored a jealous thought and as quickly dismissed it.
“Sig! Are we ready?” The pride on Ewe’s face was unmasked in ways that may have prevented the rift had he been capable of the emotions back then.
“Ya, is there room for us all?” Sig ask out of politeness knowing full well the compliment of the coach.
Sig was still unaccustomed to his father’s new tide of acceptance. He still navigated his father’s emotions with trepidation. It was too soon to accept the behavior as normal. A misstep could crack the surface and send him tumbling back to the discord that had kept them apart these past years.
“You’ll be meeting with Lord Westergaard at the Silverstone Inn. Appearances matter.” Ewe said as he appraised the passengers in his carriage. Danin, was the most enigmatic of the group. A Dwarf of few words and a comforting smile. The high polish on his work boots betrayed his desire to be presentable. The lot of them were making the most of their well worn threads.
“I’ll pull the carriage up the dive near the front doors. If you could inquire as to the meeting location, I will park the carriage and wait for your meeting to conclude.” Ewe only faltered slightly when he spoke, as driving jostled for cognitive real-estate within his practiced speech center.
Ewe released the brake after turning the control key. The wheeled machine trundled to life, edging down the dive at Ewe’s urging. The comfortable rolling cage purred down the back lanes, emerging onto larger back streets and eventually the main artery through town. Conversation during the ride was sparse until they neared the ferry. Ewe fussed over the carriage as the boat pilot instructed him on proper tie down technique.
The caste of everything was of a higher grade on the other side of the canal. Stone and slate buildings pressed up against the cobbled streets. Venerable trees asserted their ancient claim to the land in creative ways, forming an unlikely alliance with the ordered streets and stone walls.
Ewe nursed the accelerator arm of the coach enough to maintain forward momentum. Chanted glass street light illuminated the path as it angled upward along a tree lined street.
“Father, how would you feel about coming into the meeting and making introductions. This meeting was your idea after all.” Sig smiled warmly after making the invitation.
“I suppose I couldn’t hurt to shake a few hands and get this meeting off on the right foot.” An eager grin spread across the driver’s face. “Find out where we are meeting while I park the car.’
Ewe pulled the carriage out of the single lane drive in front of the bright yellow hotel. An army of servants and security choked the exterior of the posh hotel.
Ewe regarded shaking hands with lord Westergaard as a rare and welcome treat. Watching his son open the meeting filled him with pride. Not wanting to spoil the moment he withdrew to the lobby. He had expected to occupy one of the padded chairs in the lobby and sip on an overpriced cocktail. Instead he found himself pacing the plush carpets. The sound of his shoes on the hardwood floors was too much a reminder of the percussive nature of his pacing. He did manage to acquire a drink, but it did nothing to abate the nerves he felt. Ewe wished he had stayed and conducted the meeting. At least he would have his fingers on the pulse of the negotiations.
“May I freshen you drink Sir.” The gloved servant filled his empty glass with the golden liquid well passed the point Ewe was accustomed. Perhaps it would take the edge off his nerves.
“Thank you, that's more than generous.” Ewe smiled and fished for a few coins.
“Very good sir.” The servant said as he breezed through the airy chamber.
Ewe was remarking to himself that the hearth was over-hot for this time of year. A rosy warmth colored his face and his judgment.
The door to the private sweet eventually opened. Sig and his friends wore expressions that alluded to a successful meeting.
“Well?” Ewe’s heart was aflutter to the point that the words nearly came out as a squeak.
“It looks like we have reached an agreement.” Sig said with a controlled exuberance. “It is not inked yet, but it looks like we are in.”
“Fantastic! My boy. I had every confidence in you.” Ewe set his empty glass on the clerk’s desk as he gave his son a firm handshake that he would have loved to convert into a hug, but years of cultivated behavior overrode his inclination.
“We should celebrate your success.” He lowered his voice slightly. “Perhaps someplace that doesn’t hold its beverages in such high esteem.” Ewe finished his thought and turned toward the door. “I’ll get the coach, meet me outside.” The doorman politely greeted him as he departed the elite establishment. Soft glowing lights set in the cobbled lane washed him in a blue light as he fumbled for his key.
Ewe didn’t see the Dwarf cloaked in layers of hard and soft leather and crowned with a floppy brimmed hat. He failed to notice the long lens disappearing into a lapel and he was completely unaware of the heavy chain manacle that rested heavily in old Dwarf’s pocket. His solicitors training and the liberal amount of spirits flowing through his system kept him blissfully unaware of the fleshy blight only a few feet away.
The coach slid smoothly to a stop in front of the hotel. Bromm, Sig, and Danin stepped into the coach. Bromm, who had previously been quiet had changed his bearing.
“Do you see that coach across the street?” The closed cabin of the coach adopted Bromm’s intensity. “It appears we have an unwelcome interloper” Bromm nearly hissed the words.
Sig and Danin rose to the fever in the cabin. Ewe dropped the brake release and urged the coach forward. The cobbled roads transferred through the springs and coils increasingly as the crafted cabin navigated the maze of coaches and foot traffic. Though the front glass Ewe could see the tail lamps of a horse drawn coach. The driver stood on a rear platform cracking a whip across the passenger cabin. The snap of the whip was audible even through the glass. The old style conveyance leaned dangerously as it careened down the arching hill.
The fever in the cabin easily attached to Ewe’s fertile mood. In the handful of months he had owned the Alchemy Coach he had only ever used the first five notches on the throttle control. He had only used the fifth notch today to urge the heavy coach up the street will a full compliment of passengers.
Don’t let him get away. Was all Ewe heard as he slid the guide rod into the sixth slot. The wooden spokes and wheel frame were wrapped in steel bands to absorb the pounding of the cobbled stone streets. Ewe had paid extra for a thin compound to be applied over the metal bands. This compound reduced the shock transfer from the road and afforded additional traction, to a point.
Ewe could make out the coat tails of the driver ahead of him as they passed under a street lamp. He was gaining on them, but not fast enough. Ewe found it easy to press the control lever to seven. A strange whine came from under the cabin as the motivator reached an untested level of performance. A dial attached to the control lever displayed a needle pressing well into an area warning of over taxation of the engineering. Ewe’s eyes never noticed the gauge. He was focused on a sharp bend in the road ahead. He was gaining steadily now. A deep catacomb in Ewe opened and a long imprisoned part of him was stretching its legs for the first time in memory.
The horses had worked up a lather in the short sprint from the hotel. Whickering announced their protest as they charged down the road toward the docks ahead. The driver cast a wary glance over his shoulder. The horseless coach behind him was navigating the corner as speed that would have toppled his coach. Sparks flew from the wheels as the carriage entered the corner. Flint and steel would have been envious of the show. Two of the four wheels remained planted through the corner. What madman must be behind the wheel? The driver mused as he returned his attention to his own vehicle.
The passengers in the coach braced themselves against the lacquered walls as the carriage skittered under control. Ewe looked down to see the control lever was sitting squarely on eight. The well lit area where the ferry docked was closing in at an alarming rate.
“This may get a little tight.” Ewe said to no one in particular.
“Can you bring me along side the other coach?” Bromm’s challenge triggered the last barrier breaking in Ewe’s bridled self.
“Hold on tight!” Were the last words uttered before the Gerrari Coachwork's Alchemical wagon shuttered to a stop alongside the knackered and prancing horse drawn coach.
“Do you need any help with the coach?” Sig said evenly despite the harrowing journey.
“No, thank you, catch up with your friends, I’ll prepare for the ferry arrival.” Ewe smiled sympathetically and pulled the coach door closed.
Ewe felt his hand trembling and balled it up in an attempt to coax the tremor away. A dozen people waited at the ferry landing. Ewe watched as his son’s companions pressed toward the edge of the pier. The mist that has condensed on the inside glass of the cabin obscured his view, but not so much that he couldn’t see the focus of their pursuit. The ferry landed causing those assembled to part.
In the few minutes it took for the ferry to dock, his trembling had subsided. Urging the coach onto the ferry captured the bulk of his attention. The door opened again as Sig took the seat next to him.
“The others want to wait on the ferry.” Sig mater-of-fact tone helped calm him.
“Did you find who you were looking for?”
“Yep.”
“So is everything all right?” Ewe’s tone suggested he didn’t want any more excitement tonight.
“It should be fine.” Sig replied.
Bromm climbed into the carriage a moment later. “A bit brisk out there.” was all he said.
The ten minute ride across the channel was filled with an awkward silence. Ewe busied himself checking the coach and preening. The ferry docked and the tie-downs were released. Ewe urged the carriage onto solid ground.
“Will your friend be rejoining us?”
“I don’t think so. He’s pretty near the inn anyway.”
In a moment they were rolling up the broad road. Bromm turned in his seat a looked out the back window. He pulled a spy glass from his coat and held it up to the window. Then without preamble he shifted in his seat and reached for the door handle.
“You don’t have to come to a complete stop at the corner, just slow a little.” Bromm had triggered the door handle before Ewe could reach for the brake lever. His feet were on the ground and moving as the coach slowed.
“I Could have stopped!” Ewe called after him. “Are you planning on joining your friends?” Ewe said to sig, who was only slightly less surprised at the expediency of his friend’s exit.
“No, I think I’ll ride with you.”
“Ok,then.” Ewe said with a tremor or concern.
Less than a block later the carriage came to a halt. The one remaining passenger closed the door behind him and melted into the night.
Ah youth. Ewe thought to himself. Well, I best get home and clean the carriage. Maybe Claudia would put on a pot of tea before bed.