ever been popular in the town. Though, being so thoroughly shunned was not something I enjoyed. After a few minutes of deliberation, I knocked on the front door.
Gorn Tudor was Morrense’s nephew, and a friend of mine just like his uncle. He was married to a farmer’s daughter three years prior, and he already had two sons with another on the way. It was Gorn himself who opened the door, furry eyebrows narrowed in a rather unfriendly manner. His two-year-old peered up at me from between his father’s legs.
“Hullo,” I mumbled awkwardly at them, and Gorn’s stern face melted into a welcoming smile.
“Naitlya!” Opening the door wider, he welcomed me with a firm pat on the back that sent me staggering inside. Gorn was friendly, but always seemed a little unsure of how to act around me. Instead of treating me like the lady I was, he always found it better somehow to act like I was a young man. It had taken me years to get used to his rough nature. “I see my uncle passed on my message.”
“In a way, yes,” I agreed, and settled myself at the wooden table in front of their fireplace. The rest of Gorn’s home was a lot like that table: sturdy and manly looking. However, I could see from the knitted covering on it that his wife was slowly adding her own feminine touch.
“Usually I wouldn’t be so uppity ‘bout it,” The man admitted, settling himself on the opposite bench. His toddler wandered over and continued to stare at me. “It’s jus’ that the nature of this rumor isn’t like the others I’ve heard.” He paused for a moment, cracking his thick knuckles. Seeming very unsure of how to phrase what he was going to say next, he coughed and asked, “How familiar are you with dragon-kin, Naitlya?”
The question surprised me. “Just about as much as anyone, I suppose… Why?” I found myself chewing nervously on my lip. Some part of me really did not want to hear about this rumor anymore, but curiosity quashed that fear.
“Well, some strangers came into town today – big guys, not very friendly types – and bought some hammers from Ol’ Will down the street. Now he says they were really nervous, and to make some big guys like that shake it had to be something really bad, so he asked them what their trouble was. Will didn’t get the answer out of ‘em easily, but when he put a few pints of ale in ‘em they were pretty much ready to say anything.”