“Not now Miko,” James says, still trying to come up with a counter to what Serenna had just said.
“James,” he says again with a slight tenseness and sense of urgency to his voice.
James looks back toward Miko and then the crowd. The crowd is staring at him in a less than friendly manner.
“Be gone demon!” Serenna cries out. “Bother not our city!”
“Maybe we should go,” Miko suggests nervously.
The crowd grows ever more edgy. Fearing it could easily transform into a mob, he nods and they turn to proceed back the way they had come. The crowd parts for them as they leave. Every eye is on him as they make their way from the marketplace. As they leave the area, they hear Serenna once again speaking to the crowd though they are no longer able to make out the words. The crowd within the marketplace cheers loudly to something that she says.
Shaking his head, James leads them out of the city and once again they head east toward the Merchant’s Pass.
Chapter Seventeen
_______________________
Riding out of Willimet, they remain quiet for some time. Miko is worried about his friend who has fallen into a dark, brooding mood. After the outskirts of town are no longer visible behind them, James suddenly stops his horse in the middle of the road and cries, “That bitch!”
Miko comes to a stop and looks back toward him saying, “Don’t take it too much to heart, James.”
“What? What did you tell me?” he yells, turning his attention on Miko. “Not only was that story a complete lie, but she forced me out of there so I couldn’t even reveal it for the lie that it was. And after I gave her fifteen gold pieces to get a new crystal ball because I felt sorry for her.” Glancing back down the road toward town he yells, “I want my money back!”
“Now just calm down,” Miko says as he brings his horse closer to his friend. “There is not much you could have done, not with that crowd believing everything she was saying.”
James gives him an ugly glare, but Miko continues anyway. “Just why are you so mad? Because you were made out to be a wimpy momma’s boy in front of the crowd? So what?”
James turns his horse around and begins to head back toward Willimet.
Miko quickly turns his horse and rides past, then turns to block his way back to town.
“Get out of my way,” James growls at Miko as he brings his horse to a stop.
“No,” Miko tells him, “I won’t. And you’re not going to go back either, not with the way she had that crowd believing everything she said. You’ll never have the chance to get close to her.”
“Look,” he continues while James listens, “let’s finish what we set out to do. Go and find this temple. Then afterward we can come back to deal with her if you still want.” Seeing James considering his words, he adds, “Remember, we have to make it to the City of Light before Saragon falls and the Empire advances further north.”
James stares at him for a second, emotions playing across his face, then slowly nods his head and says, “Alright, we will deal with her should we come back this way.” Turning his horse around yet again, he resumes their trek east toward Trademeet.
Seeing his friend turn about, Miko breathes a sigh of relief as he gets his horse moving and hurries to catch up. He wasn’t sure what more he could have done had James been set on returning to Willimet.
For the rest of the day, Miko rides in silence while James continues brooding about the way he had been treated and how she drove him out of town. His mood gradually improves and by late afternoon comes to the realization that going back truly would have been the wrong decision, maybe even a costly one.
Sunset finds them still on the road in the middle of nowhere with naught more than grass and low hills as far as they can see. Just before the sun dips below the horizon, they make camp atop a nearby hill.
After supper while they are relaxing around the fire, James hears a rumble off in the distance. “Looks like a storm may be coming in,” he tells Miko.
“Great,” moans Miko as he stares toward the storm on the horizon. Shortly, flashes of lightning begin to appear. “What are we going to do?” he asks.
“Get wet I suppose, not much else we can do,” James says as he stares out across the grasslands. Except for the occasional tree, there is nothing which could be used for shelter.
Pointing off in the distance where two lone trees grew Miko says, “We could take shelter under those trees over there. At least we could stay dry a little bit.”
Shaking his head, James says, “Not in a thunder storm. Lightning can hit the treetops and travel down to the ground where we would be. People have died from being struck by lightning, I would rather get wet.”
Miko looks longingly at the shelter the trees would provide, but trusts in James’ judgment and stays put. “Maybe it won’t reach us until tomorrow,” he hopes.
“Maybe,” James says not sounding as if he believes it. “There’s a good way to tell, though.”
“How?” Miko asks.
“Watch the storm and when you see a flash of lightning, start counting slowly. Stop when you hear the rumble of thunder. Do it every time, and if you are able to reach a higher number the second time, then it’s going away from you. If on the other hand, your count is short before hearing the rumble, it’s coming toward you.”
Miko watches the storm and waits for a flash of lightning. Flash! “1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7… 8.” Boom!
Miko looks over toward James who says, “Now, if your next number is a 9 then the storm is moving away, if it’s a 7 then it’s coming closer.”
“What if it’s the same?” he asks.
“Then it’s most likely moving across the horizon, neither toward nor away from you.”
“That makes sense,” Miko says and once again looks toward the storm. Flash! “1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7… 8… 9” Boom! Smiling he turns toward James, “It’s moving away!” he exclaims happily.
“Maybe,” concedes James. “However you should wait a few minutes before trying it again, some storms cover a wide area and the lightning could appear within different areas of the same storm.”
Miko sits anxiously by the fire, counting to himself in-between flashes. “James,” he says after several minutes of counting.
“Yes?” answers James.
“Couldn’t you do magic to make the storm not come over here?”
“I don’t know, maybe,” he replies, “but that would be selfish of me.”
“Selfish?” asks Miko. “What do you mean?”
“If I were to move that storm so it passed us by, then I could also be moving it away from farms that desperately need the rain for their crops to grow. That could cause hardship on people for my own comfort. No, I refuse to influence the weather for so selfish a reason as that.”
“Not many people consider others before themselves,” says Miko.
“I found that to be true where I come from too,” James agrees. “You have to live by your principles, in all things. If you don’t, then there is no limit to how far you may stray.”
“Yeah, I can understand that,” Miko replies.
Flash!
James looks over and can see Miko silently counting till the crack of thunder.
Boom!
“What’s the count?” he asks Miko.
“Still 8,” he replies, looking relieved. “Looks as if it’s going to miss us.”
“Whether it will or whether it won’t, we need to turn in,” James says as he throws a couple more logs on the fire to keep it going further into the night. “We still have a long ways to go.”
Miko settles down in his blanket, drawing it over him as he continues watching the storm. James lies there as well, thinking about Willimet and how Miko probably stopped him from doing something stupid. It isn’t long before Miko begins to snore. He looks over toward the storm, watching the lightning as it flashes in the night, still concerned about it moving this way. Finally, he drifts off to sleep.
The morning dawns dark, the sun unable to pierce the dark clouds stretching from horizon to horizon. They awake to blankets damp from a light sprinkle that fell during the night. Not enough to soak but enough to make everything wet. The thunder storm has long since passed, for which Miko is very grateful. Taking just enough time for a quick breakfast, they are soon on the road.
Shortly after they head out, a light rain begins to fall. They break out their ponchos that they acquired some time earlier in Cardri.
The rain continues all morning, with a kind of an on again off again pattern. The cloud cover remains constant, with nary a break to allow the sun through. A little before noon, the rain begins increasing until it becomes a steady downpour that soon turns the road into mud, and the ditch running alongside into a small stream.
“I hate the rain,” complains Miko. “Can’t we find someplace to wait it out?”
Glancing around at the endless grasslands extending in all directions, James says, “Where would you like to start?”
Looking sullen, Miko hunkers down in his poncho and stays quiet.
With no great desire to stop in the rain, they eat their meal in the saddle, stopping only shortly to give the horses grain and a break from their weight. Later on as the day progresses, James notices what looks to be a caravan stopped in the road ahead. By the number of wagons, it’s a big one.
“Maybe we could ride in a wagon and get out of the rain?” Miko suggests, looking hopeful toward James.
James shakes his head, “They would be too slow and I seriously doubt if they would let strangers in with their goods.”
As they approach the caravan, things begin to look a bit odd. First of all, the wagons weren’t moving. As they draw closer, James begins to see why; none of the wagons have any horses.
“Trouble,” he says to Miko.
“What are we going to do?” Miko asks.
“See if we can render aid, they may have been hit by bandits,” he says as he quickly brings his horse toward the end wagon. “Keep your eyes open and holler if you see anything.”
Approaching the rear wagon, they find the driver slumped over, two arrows protruding from his back. Cautiously moving alongside the wagon train, they make their way toward the lead wagon. More dead drivers begin to appear, either slumped over on their wagons, or lying upon the ground next to them. Near the center of the column they come across twelve slain guards, testimony to a battle which had raged here. Their bodies were hacked and stabbed, many having been pierced with arrows.
Proceeding on, they continue toward the lead wagon where they discover a man who obviously must have been the merchant in charge of the caravan if his fine clothes were any indication. Six arrows protruded from his lifeless body and his lifeless hand still grips the stock of a crossbow. He didn’t go down without a fight.
A smashed chest sits on the ground by the wagon, its top had been smashed open. James looks inside only to find it empty. “Looks like it was bandits that hit them,” he says. Turning to Miko he continues, “Check all the bodies, see if anyone is still alive.”
Moving back down the caravan, they go about the grisly task of searching for any survivors who may require their help. They check dead body after dead body and begin to think that there is no one still alive. It wasn’t until they reach the middle of the caravan where all the guards lie slain upon the ground that Miko yells out, “James, over here! We’ve got a live one.”
Hurrying over, James reaches him just as Miko turns the man over onto his back. It’s one of the guards. A large bump protrudes from the guard’s forehead, which on a cursory examination, appears to be his only wound. Suddenly, the man’s eyes flutter open and he tenses up when he finds James and Miko standing over him.
“We are not going to hurt you,” James says reassuringly. “We are not with those that attacked you.”
“Who are you then?” the man asks.
Gesturing to himself, he says, “My name is James.” Pointing to Miko he continues, “And this is Miko.”
“Name’s Rylin.” Propping himself against a wagon wheel, the man looks around at the dead bodies. “Is there anyone else alive?”
“You are the only one we have found alive so far,” James replies. “It looks as if they took the horses and smashed open a chest by the lead wagon.”
“Damn bandits,” he curses and starts to rise.
“Hold on there,” James says as he tries to keep him down. “You have a nasty bump and need to take it easy.”
Knocking James’ hand away, Rylin climbs to his feet where he wavers unsteadily. He brings his hand up to his head and feels the bump on it. “I don’t care,” he says and then starts walking toward the lead wagon. As he passes by the wagons, he gives the dead bodies a cursory look before continuing to the next.
Upon reaching the lead wagon, he stops when he spies the dead merchant lying on the ground and quickly scans the area. Turning to James and Miko he asks, “There were two women with us, the merchant’s wife and his daughter. Did you see them?” He waits anxiously for an answer.
“No, all we found were dead guards and drivers,” James replies. Miko nods in agreement.
“The bandits must have taken them,” he says as he climbs up onto the wagon and scans the horizon. “Damn, can’t see anything in this rain.” Rylin then collapses into the driver’s seat with a sad, stricken look on his face.
“We could try and find them,” suggests James. “When did they hit your caravan?”
“It was about an hour after we started moving this morning,” he pauses for a second, thinking. “Their attack came fast and five minutes into it, I was knocked from my wagon and must have hit my head on a rock when I fell. After that, I don’t remember anything until I came to with you standing over me? How long was I out?”
“It’s a little after noon now, so probably a couple of hours,” guesses James. “If they took the time to loot and steal the valuables, not to mention the time expended to take the horses, then they couldn’t have left too long ago. Perhaps we could catch up with them.”
“How?” he asks. “The rain has washed away any tracks that could have told us which way they went.”
“Miko,” James says, “go get my compass please.”
Nodding in understanding, Miko races back down the line of wagons to where their horses waited and returns quickly with James’ homemade compass.
“What is that gonna do?” Rylin asks, curiously hopeful.
“With your help, tell us which way they went,” he explains. “Now, if you could find me something that one of the women used to wear, or have with them often?”
“Why do you want that?” he asks.
“If I have something of theirs, it will help me to locate them.” Looking at Rylin and seeing he still failed to comprehend, James adds, “With magic.”
“You don’t look like a mage,” he says.
“I can’t do it without something of theirs,” James says, getting somewhat irritated at the man. “Are you going to help or not? You’re wasting time we can ill afford to lose.”
Getting up, Rylin rummages around inside the wagon and returns with a green scarf. “Sheila, the merchant’s daughter, used to wear this often. Will it do?” he asks as he hands it down to James.
“Let’s see,” James replies as he takes it. Wrapping the scarf around his hand, he holds the compass nestled within it. Closing his eyes he concentrates, thinking of the owner of the scarf and wanting to find her. He lets loose the power and the compass slowly swivels to the south, away from the road and into the grasslands.
Showing it to Rylin he points toward the south and says, “She’s that way.”
“Is she alive?” he asks earnestly.
“It doesn’t tell me that, just where she is,” he responds. “Even if she’s dead, we can still deal with the bandits.” Turning to Miko he says, “Bring our horses.” Miko hurries to comply and soon returns with the three animals.
As he and Miko make ready to ride,
Rylin asks, “What about me?”
“Get on behind Miko,” James says, trying to ignore the look he flashes him. Once Rylin has mounted, James turns his horse in the direction indicated by the compass. “Let’s ride quick and see if we can catch them.” Without waiting for a reply, he kicks his horse into a gallop and they race off the road into the grasslands with James leading the way.
The rain steadily worsens, increasing until it’s a heavy downpour and reducing visibility to mere feet. It doesn’t take long before the ground begins showing signs of the bandits’ progress. The grass becomes increasingly trampled and the mud rain-soaked earth begins to show hoof prints. No longer needing his compass, James puts it away and concentrates on the trail before them.
“We must be gaining,” James says when they pull alongside him.
“Yes, I believe you are correct,” agrees Rylin. “How far behind do you think we are?”
“Not sure,” admits James. “Though I’ve never done any tracking before, I doubt if we are very far behind them.”
Not understanding Miko asks, “How do you know?”
Pointing to the trail they are following, James says, “The rain hasn’t had enough time to be able to remove the signs of their passing. Therefore, they can’t be too far ahead.”
“That makes sense,” Miko says looking at the signs of the bandits passing.
“If this rain continues as it is, we may end up riding right into them before we even know they are there,” says Rylin.
“That’s a chance we’ll have to take,” James says. A moment later, he comes to a stop and dismounts for a moment. Scanning the ground, he picks up several stones and places them in one of his pockets.
“What do you need those for?” Rylin asks.
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