THE NEXT DAY passed quietly. Bert learned quickly that the guards didn’t really want to be there. He overheard snippets of conversation between them and they all hoped to be sent anywhere else as soon as possible. They were from all over, and had no loyalty to the cause in particular, but worked for various groups of the animal-named men Bert had already run into. There was at least one Crow, quite a few Eels, Badgers, Bucks, Hawks, Bears and the leader was a Lion, or at least wore a patch of a lion on his cloak.

  Sana had improved and seemed like her old self. She said her head still hurt, but it seemed on the outside and not on the inside anymore. Bert wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but knew enough about healing to know that was better.

  Like the guards, the people of their cage were a diverse group as well. Most were from Keelwick or the lands beholden to it, but others had been carted here from all over. They had become more friendly over time, in a way that people with their backs up against the wall seemed to out of necessity. Rather than fight for shade, the group had begun to share food and water and give comfort to those in need. While sharing food, tears had been spilled over lost family members and homes now sitting empty. Bert, Sana and Reed made no secret of their desire to break out, but kept their ideas to themselves.

  “Would you come with us?” Bert asked the man—Edward—as they warmed up their gruel on a hot rock next to the fire. Edward was the man who had been with his wife in the wagon that had brought Bert here. He was a warm man once he opened up. He had been frightened for his wife as she was with child. He would do nothing to risk the baby.

  Edward considered it for a moment. “I think we would follow if there was no risk of danger, but that is all.”

  Bert and Edward had talked about this before, but it still surprised him. “Why would you want to bring your baby into the world here in this cage?”

  Edward smiled a wry smile at this. “Where do you come from, Bert?”

  “Wyrmgate,” he answered quickly.

  “A nice town, good king, or at least it had been for many seasons,” Edward said quietly. “We’re from Deepdelve.”

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  Bert shook his head. “I haven’t heard of it.”

  Edward laughed. “Not a place anyone would ever visit. The town sits on the edge—literally—of an enormous pit. Each day, we went down on ropes or platforms attached to ropes and dug for ore. Load it up, dig some more. Do the same thing over and over until you go up the ropes yourself. Back in so much pain you can barely bend over to take off your boots. Face covered in so much dirt, you cough it up when you wake at night. Men look like they’re graybeards by the time they’ve seen twenty winters.”

  Bert sat quietly and nodded his head.

  “Most of us are always in a cage, son. It’s just not always visible to the eye.” He paused to let it sink in. “Here, I have seen some workers housed near the other end of camp. They have more freedom and a roof over their head. It’s a better life than most live in Deepdelve. I can pick berries as long as they want while my wife and child-to-be can be safe. I’m sure you’ve heard there’s war brewing. I’m not a brave man. I don’t want to fight and die so some king so-and-so can rule over some other king. I’ll be quite happy here picking berries while others pick up their comrades’ broken bodies from some field to bury. Or maybe they’ll see I am a good worker and send my family off to some other task. I can work a forest, build carts, work a forge. Safety and food for my family are all I’m interested in right now. Let the royals fight their fights and step over the bodies of peasants on their way to whatever it is they want.”

  Bert simply nodded, not sure what to say. He couldn’t argue with Edward’s opinion. It was right. For him. Bert had seen the result of war, and Edward was correct. The lowfolk bled and died while their betters sat behind the battle and watched. Edward had simply moved from one cage to another, like he said.

  However, Bert knew better. He knew Cat would not be like the others. She didn’t want a war, she wanted a peace. She was working to stop the larger war: one between men and dragons. It seemed an unnecessary fact of life that men would war with one another. Bert had no thoughts on how to stop that. But, he knew he could be a part of stopping one with dragons.

  “Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Edward. I can’t say I agree in all things, but I understand your position. I must say that I have seen these men in other towns, including Wyrmgate, and they are up to something much worse in their overall mission. Picking these berries is just a part of their desire to bring a war between men and dragons. I must escape and do my part to help stop that.”

  Edward simply smiled at this. “Ah, to be young, wide-eyed and full of ideas of that you can change the world. I understand, Bert. I was young once too. I have seen enough to know this cage is just as good as most, and better than many. No, we’ll stay. At least until the child has grown enough.”

  Bert was annoyed that Edward thought he was just some kid thinking he was a part of things, but didn’t want to say anymore. He sat quietly with the man and worked with him to heat up the food for his wife.