They pick up the trail about mid afternoon when they encounter a swath of grass that has recently been trampled. “I think we found their trail,” announces James.
“Looks like it,” Miko agrees. “What are we going to do when we find them?”
“Play it by ear,” he answers. “We won’t know what our options will be until we do.”
“I suppose,” he says. “Are you feeling any better?”
“Some,” replies James. “I should be recharged somewhat by the time we find them.”
“Recharged?” queries Miko.
Chuckling, James clarifies, “It’s a word from where I come from. It means that I will be able to do magic again.”
“Oh, that’s good,” says Miko.
A large group of tents with a makeshift corral set off to one side appears out of the horizon not long before dusk. The number of tents indicates a far larger group than they had anticipated. James has them enter a copse of trees from where they will be able to observe what’s going on inside the camp, yet will still be far enough away so they won’t be discovered.
“I think those are the horses,” Miko says, indicating the herd inside the corral.
“You are probably right,” agrees James. “But this is a far larger group than I anticipated. It looks like an army camp.”
Glancing questioningly to James, Miko asks, “How do you figure?”
“Several things,” James replies. “First of all the tents are lined up uniformly, in rows with the larger tents in the center. Second, they have patrols walking a perimeter around the encampment,” he points out three men who appear to be walking around the camp at distinct intervals.
“What do we do now?” Miko asks.
Thinking for a second, he replies, “Not much we can do, but it’s beginning to look as if the ladies will not be getting their horses back. Unless you think we should go down there and ask for them back?” Seeing the look of apprehension on his face, he can’t help but add, “Or attack?”
“Good heavens no!” Miko exclaims. “They’d kill us for sure.”
“Most likely,” agrees James. “We’ll hang out here for a while and see what’s going on.”
“Why?” Miko asks. “I mean if we are no longer planning on getting the horses back, what’s the point of staying here any longer than we need to?”
“You see Miko, I hate leaving things unanswered, and there are still several questions I’d like answers to.” James leans back against a tree and opens a saddle bag, taking out some travel rations to munch on while he watches the camp. He hands some over to Miko as well.
“Like what?” Miko asks in between bites.
Considering the question while he chews, James replies, “If that is an army of some kind, whose is it? I doubt if it belongs to Cardri. After all, why would the bandits take horses that they stole in their own territory to them? And if it isn’t, why are they here in the first place?”
“Mercenaries, maybe?” Miko suggests.
“Perhaps, though it doesn’t feel right,” James says. “Look at it like this, suppose the bandits that sacked the caravan and those over there are part of a much larger force. Remember that Madoc is under siege right now and has requested Cardri’s aid. What if these are working under orders from the Empire to sow fear here in Cardri? What would the result be?”
“I don’t know,” admits Miko.
“If the stability of Cardri is in question, then the king would be unlikely to send a large force to help Madoc against the Empire. After all, he needs to care for his own first.”
“But wouldn’t the Empire run the risk of going to war with Cardri if they are found out?” asks Miko.
“Most definitely,” agrees James. “Which brings me back to the questions needing answering.”
“So we are to just sit and wait?” Miko asks, not liking it.
“For the moment, yes,” James replies, then he turns his attention back to the encampment.
Miko sits and watches for a while before asking, “Why do you care?”
Glancing over to Miko, he asks, “Care about what?”
Pointing to the encampment, “Them. I mean, after all what does it have to do with you?”
“What do you mean?” he replies.
“You are not from here, why does it matter to you?” Miko clarifies.
“Some of those down there did a horrible thing when they killed all those people at the caravan,” explains James. “I would wish to hinder them for no other reason than that. Besides, people of good conscience must not stand idly by while bad people do bad things.”
“I understand,” Miko says, “I think.”
Smiling, James says, “Trust me, we are doing the right thing.”
They sit and watch until the sun begins settling closer to the horizon. At which point three horsemen emerge from the camp, riding hard to the north. Inside the camp, they begin to see activity as the tents start coming down.
“Looks like they are breaking camp,” James observes.
“Now what?” asks Miko.
“As much as I would like to know what those in the encampment are doing, I think we should go after the riders,” he says. Getting up, he quickly goes over and mounts his horse to follow the riders once they have ridden past. Miko moves to mount his as well. They wait upon their horses, hidden in the trees as the men first come abreast, then move pass, their hiding spot not more than a hundred feet from where they are watching. Once they are past and have moved further north, James and Miko emerge from the copse to set out after them.
James feels in his pocket to make sure his stones are there; glad to have picked them up earlier. Maintaining a good pace, they keep a discreet distance behind the riders, just within visual range.
“Looks like they’re heading for the bandits’ camp where we rescued the women,” James hollers over to Miko, once he realizes where the riders are heading.
Miko nods his agreement.
Suddenly from up ahead, they hear horns blaring and see the three riders turn and head back toward them at a full gallop. Coming into view behind the riders is a line of uniformed horsemen.
James brings his horse to a stop and dismounts.
“What are you doing?” Miko asks anxiously.
“Going to slow them up a bit,” he replies. Handing Miko his reins he says, “Here, hang on to this for a second.” He then turns and faces the riders who are coming fast.
Concentrating, he takes one of his stones and throws it as he casts his spell. It flies unerringly toward the rear rider and hits, causing him to fall backward off his horse.
Taking another stone, he does the same to a second rider. This time the rider’s foot gets caught in the stirrup as he falls and is dragged along the ground before the horse comes to a stop.
By this time, the remaining rider has seen James and Miko and are making straight for them. James throws a third stone and this time nails the horse not the man, knocking the rider to the ground.
The man hits the ground at a roll and is on his feet not far from where James is standing. He looks at James and then glances back at the cavalry rapidly approaching. The man reaches into his shirt and then puts something into his mouth. A second later he grips his stomach and falls over to the ground, not moving.
“What happened to him?” Miko asks.
“He’s poisoned himself,” says James. “Guess he didn’t want to be taken captive.” They stand still and wait until the cavalry approaches.
“Stay where you are!” one of the men commands as the riders approach. Several hold lances and lower them, covering James and Miko. The riders encircle the pair, leaving an opening to allow another rider to pass through their ranks. This rider is an older man, with hair turning slightly gray at the edges. His uniform is of better quality than those of the others. Must be an officer, James thinks to himself.
“Now, who might you two be?” he asks when he draws close, looking down from the back of his horse.
James answers, “My n
ame is James and this is my friend Miko.”
When he hears their names, he nods and says to one of his men on his right, “Lieutenant, see to the dead riders and send out scouts. I want to know where they are and fast.”
“Yes, sir,” replies the man next to him who then turns and begins to bark out orders.
Turning back to James and Miko, the leader dismounts and hands his reins to another rider. “Greetings James, I am Captain Varos of the King’s cavalry.” He extends his hand and James shakes it. “So, would you happen to know someone by the name of Rylin?” he asks.
“As a matter of fact we do, Captain,” James replies. “We helped him rescue two ladies from bandits earlier.”
“Thought you might be them,” he explains. “We ran into him and the ladies back at the caravan. They said you had gone in pursuit of another group of bandits that had taken off with their horses.”
Nodding, James says, “That is correct. We found them too, but they had met up with a larger band and any chance of recovering the stolen horses was gone.”
“Oh? How many were there? Where did you see them?” he asks intently.
“There were over fifty men and their camp was further south, about ten miles or so,” James explains. “But they had begun breaking camp about the time when we began to follow them.” He gestures to the dead men. “I think the main body was probably going to head south, though I am not positive.”
”Lieutenant!” the officer bellows.
The lieutenant comes over to him, “Sir!”
“These men say their encampment was about ten miles to the south and that they broke camp not too long ago, possibly heading south. Send the scouts out in that direction and have the men ready to ride in five minutes.”
“Yes, sir, Captain!” the lieutenant salutes and proceeds to carry out the orders.
Another rider comes up and salutes, “Captain, we searched the bodies but found nothing on them. One looks like he was poisoned.”
“Very good,” the captain replies and the man goes back to his duties. “Poisoned?” the captain asks when he turns his attention back to James.
“When I knocked his horse down with a rock, the man came to his feet. He glanced at you and your men coming and then reached into his pocket and ate something. Shortly after that he fell over dead.”
“Too bad, would have liked to have questioned him,” the Captain says.
The lieutenant returns and reports, “Captain, the men are ready.”
The man who was holding the captain’s horse brings it and the captain mounts. Turning to James he says, “Thank you for your help.” To his men he says, “Let’s ride!” and they race southward at a gallop.
Watching them ride out of sight, Miko asks, “Should we follow?”
Shaking his head, James replies, “I don’t think so.” He glances over at the dead bodies and then mounts his horse, Miko does the same. “There is likely to be a battle when they meet and I would rather not be around when it happens.” Getting up to speed quickly, they head northward until the sun starts dipping below the horizon.
Once the light begins to fade, they make camp. After having a quick dinner of rations and then lay out under the stars as they watch the night sky slowly darken, until only the light from the fire is all that remains to keep the darkness at bay. The stars form a brilliant pattern in the heavens above. “Look!” Miko cries out as a shooting star leaves a blazing trail across the night sky, slowly dissipating into nothingness.
“That’s an omen,” he says.
“Hardly,” James rebuts. “That is simply a rock falling out of the sky, hitting the atmosphere and the friction caused by its speed through the air burns it up which causes a blazing trail.”
“What?” Miko asks, confused.
Chuckling, James says “It’s just a rock falling out of the sky. There is nothing mystical about it.”
“I don’t know,” Miko insists. “They are supposed to herald that something of import is about to happen or has.”
“For who?” James questions.
“I don’t know, somebody somewhere I suppose,” Miko reasons. “It’s got to mean something.”
Turning on his side, James says, “Not everything has to mean something. Sometimes things occur and that is all there is to it. I am sure that something somewhere is happening to someone that could be called extraordinary. But I am sure that it would be happening even without a sign from above.”
“Don’t you believe in signs and omens?” Miko asks him.
“No, not really,” James explains. “Everything has an explanation, if you just know all the facts about it. It’s when you see only part of whatever is happening that you create mystical and often implausible meanings behind them. I know that rocks are flying through space out there all the time and that they do occasionally fall to earth, creating a blazing trail across the heavens.”
Not looking very convinced, Miko argues, “The gods are always sending omens and portents, we just have to be alert and understand them when they are happening.”
Thinking about magic and the things he’s seen since coming here to this world, he says, “Perhaps you do have a point, and I’ll concede that it may actually be a sign sent from above for a specific purpose. But since we have no way to know what, where, or who, I doubt if it’s going to do us much good.”
“I suppose you’re right about that,” Miko agrees. Changing the subject, he asks, “Are we going to see how Rylin and the women are making out?”
“I think so,” James replies. “At least we will tell them what is happening with their horses. They may get them back if the Captain is successful in battle. At least he knows who they belong to.”
“Do you really think there will be a battle?” Miko asks.
“Perhaps,” James answers. “The Captain can’t just let them get away with attacks on civilians within their borders, so if he thinks he can win the day, then I’m sure he will attack. And if not, then who knows what he will do, maybe send for reinforcements so he can launch a successful attack. We may never know.”
“Think we’ll find what you’re looking for over in Madoc around the Sea of the Gods?” he asks.
“I really don’t know,” James says, “but it is all I have to go on. Hopefully we can find out something more in Trademeet before we head through the pass. Maybe someone there will have some recollection of hearing a story or tale from their grandparents about it. We’ll see.”
Getting up, James goes over to the fire and adds a few more sticks to it then returns to his blanket on the ground. “We better get some sleep, we have a ways to go tomorrow and I’m tired.” He lies down and pulls the blanket over him to keep the coolness of the night away.
“Good night, James,” Miko says.
“You too, Miko,” replies James. They both lie there for a while, just listening to the night and slowly drift off to sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
_______________________
Early the next morning finds them on their way back to the road where they originally found the raided caravan. After several hours of riding, the road appears ahead of them in the distance but there is no sign of the caravan.
“Maybe we came to the road in a different spot,” suggests Miko.
Nodding agreement, James looks down the road in both directions and says, “But which way?”
“Can’t you just do that compass thing and find out?” Miko asks.
“Probably,” James replies, “but it might be better not to use magic for a while, I’m getting kind of worn out from doing so much of it.” Thinking for a bit, he makes his decision, “We’ll head in the direction of Trademeet and if we don’t find them, then at least we will be heading in the right direction for where we want to go.”
“I suppose we could leave a message for them there, letting them know what’s going on,” says Miko.
“Good idea, we’ll do that,” he agrees. Turning their horses east, they set off at a canter, slowly eating away t
he distance.
Around noon they reach the spot where the caravan had been raided. Yesterday’s rain hadn’t been able to remove all traces of the blood soaked into the ground from the bandit’s attack as yet. And a hundred feet or so off the road rose a mound of fresh turned earth.
Indicating the mound James says, “Must be where they buried the bodies of the guards and drivers.”
“Looks like it,” Miko agrees. “Guess they managed to hook the bandits’ horses up to the wagons and are already on their way to Trademeet.”
“Hope so,” says James. “It shouldn’t take us too much longer to catch up with them, I would think.”
Riding fast, they leave the area of the battle and hurry down the road. They didn’t get far before a lone rider appears on the road ahead approaching them from the east. When he draws near, James slows and greets him, “Good day to you sir.”
The man slows as well and stares suspiciously at James all the while resting his hand upon the pommel of his sword. “Good day to you as well,” the man replies, not relaxing his grip on his sword.
“We were wondering if you could tell us if you had passed a caravan further down the road, heading east?” he asks. “There would have been a man and two women in charge of it.”
“Aye,” the man replies. “I passed a caravan some time earlier this morning. It had an escort of the kings’ soldiers with it, if that be the one you’re referring to.”
“Yes, that would be the one,” James says.
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