“Get in,” he says, motioning for James to enter the cab.
He looks around at his sleeping friends and says, “I can’t just leave them, I’m on watch.”
“They’ll be fine,” he tells James.
“Are you sure?”
Giving James a look of annoyance, he says again, “Get in.”
James climbs into the cab and shuts the door. With a roar, the little creature hits the gas and they drive away into the dark. He sits there as the truck rolls on, the creature turns the radio on and a George Strait song comes on. “Where are we going?” he asks.
“Going for pizza,” the creature tells him.
“Pizza?” he asks. “There’s pizza here?”
“Just have to know where to look,” the creature smiles as he continues down the road.
Road? James looks and suddenly realizes that they’re on a blacktop highway. Up ahead he sees the lights of civilization approaching. There’re not many buildings, the one closest to them has a sign out front that says ‘Mama’s Pizza.’
The creature pulls the truck into a parking spot outside Mama’s Pizza and parks it. Shutting the engine off, he gets out. Before he closes the door, he looks back at James who’s remained in the cab and asks, “Coming?”
“Yeah,” James says, as he gets out of the truck. Theirs is the only vehicle in the parking lot out front of Mama’s. The place looks a little rundown, similar to what his grandfather would’ve called a greasy spoon. He joins the little creature where he’s waiting at the door and they enter together.
The little creature opens the door and allows James to enter first. Once inside, he points over to a fat, dark haired woman behind the counter and says, “That’s Mama.”
She looks over to them as they enter and gives them a big smile, “It’ll be ready in a few minutes,” she says. He gives her a nod and then leads James over to a table where they sit down.
An old tv is mounted to the wall over by mama who’s watching it with rapt attention. James is surprised to see she’s watching an old episode of Star Trek.
“She’s a Trekkie,” he tells him. “You should see her collection in the back room.”
James turns back to him and asks, “So why are we here?”
“For pizza, like I said,” the little guy replies. “I wanted some and I hate eating alone. It’s better with someone who is able to enjoy it with you, wouldn’t you say?”
“I suppose,” he says.
James watches as the little creature takes the salt shaker and pours a little salt on the table. Using great care he positions the salt shaker on its edge within the salt pile and then slowly removes his hands, leaving the salt shaker cocked to one side. He looks across the table to James with a satisfied smile on his face and asks, “Not bad, eh?”
“You sure don’t act like a god,” James tells him.
“Never said I was, just work for one,” replies the creature, as he continues to admire his accomplishment.
Mama goes into the back and comes out shortly with an extra large pepperoni pizza. She carries it over and places it on the table between them, then fetches a pitcher of soda with two glasses. “Enjoy,” she says before returning to watch her show.
Taking a big slice, the creature says, “Go ahead and help yourself.”
James watches as he takes an enormous bite, sauce trickling down the side of his mouth. Grabbing a slice for himself, he takes a bite and admits to himself that this is pretty good pizza.
“This is the one where they have to recharge the dilitium crystals,” she says from the counter. “I love this one.”
The little creature just smiles at him as he continues to eat. James sits there quietly while he eats and ponders why the creature had brought him here. Maybe it’s for company as he said, though James considers that highly unlikely.
“You’re more talkative this time,” he observes.
“That a problem?” the little guy asks through a mouthful of pizza.
James shakes his head and says, “No, just thought you weren’t supposed to answer questions.”
“Can’t you just relax and enjoy yourself?” the creature says, a little annoyed.
“Okay, okay,” James replies. “You never told me your name.”
“Its true pronunciation, you’d be unable to manage,” he says. “Just call me Igor.”
“Igor?” James asks about ready to laugh.
“Yes, Igor,” he replies. “As in Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant.”
“Alright,” James says, “Igor.”
They sit and continue eating the pizza, James is amazed at the speed with which Igor consumes each slice. He’s barely had three before Igor removes the last slice for himself. Giving out with a loud, satisfied belch, Igor sits back in his chair while James finishes the last couple of bites.
When the last bite enters his mouth, Igor stands up and asks, “Shall we?”
James swallows the last bite and asks, “We’re leaving?”
“Yes, it’s time to take you back,” replies Igor.
Getting up, James takes his glass and drains the rest of it before following Igor outside.
“Come back again,” Mama says from behind the counter as they leave.
On the way back to the truck, Igor pauses as he looks down at a mud puddle by his feet. James pauses before entering the cab as he notices him there. Bending over, Igor picks up something shiny out of the puddle and holds it up for James to see. “A nickel,” he says happily. “You never know what treasure you’ll find, even in the dirtiest of places.”
“That’s true, I suppose,” James says as he opens the cab door and gets in the truck.
Igor gets in, starts the motor and backs out onto the road. Heading back the way they had come, he soon has the truck speeding into the night.
They both remain quiet until James asks, “Did Cassie have to die?”
“Everyone dies, James,” he says, glancing over to him. “It’s just a matter of when.”
“But they were so happy together,” James replies. “Couldn’t they have had some time together?”
“Not for me to say,” Igor tells him.
Soon, James sees the fire from their camp up ahead and Igor brings him right into the middle of it by the campfire. Looking out the window, he sees everyone still sleeping, the roar of the truck motor not even causing them to stir. “See you later,” Igor says as he stops and lets James out.
James opens the door and gets out of the cab. Before shutting it he pauses, glances back and asks, “When?”
“When it happens,” Igor says with a smile. “Good luck,” he says just before James closes the door. Then with a roar, the truck gets going and James watches until the tail lights have disappeared into the night.
James continues his watch as he ponders the meaning of these visits. Why does he keep showing up? Is it just for a visit like he says, or is there more to it? And ‘Igor’, what kind of name is that for a being like him? The pizza was good though, he thinks as he belches, bringing forth reminiscence of pepperoni.
He begins to grow tired and realizes his time at watch is about over. Moving through the sleeping bodies to where Stig is sleeping, he wakes him up for his turn at watch.
In the morning when he awakens with the dawn, he goes over to where the truck had been and isn’t too surprised when he finds no tire tracks in the dirt. Shaking his head, he joins the others in preparing the caravan to get underway. It’s not too long before they are once again on the road, heading southwest along the river.
Throughout the day as they continue down the road, they come across little hamlets and villages with increasing frequency. At one point, they have to pull over to allow a long column of soldiers to pass on their way north.
“Must be heading to Madoc,” Yorn says, commenting to Jiron as they watch them pass.
“Probably,” states Jiron. “Hope they get cut to pieces,” he says, barely above a whisper.
Several heads nod in agreement.
&nbs
p; Once the column has passed, they’re able to bring their wagons back onto the road and continue on their way. The amount of traffic on the road slowly increases as the day progresses, and soon James can smell the familiar scent of the sea. “We’re getting close to the ocean,” he tells them.
“Azzac, the Empire’s capitol, is on the ocean,” Roland says.
“Must be getting close to it then,” he figures.
After another mile, the great city of Azzac comes into view before them. Larger than any city they have yet seen, it sprawls along the river for over a mile before it meets the ocean. A large wall surrounds the city as it stretches miles in both directions down the coastline.
Upon the water beyond the city are dozens of ships tied to the long line of docks. More are out upon the sea, some leaving and some preparing to dock. “This place is massive!” he exclaims.
“Unbelievable,” he hears someone mutter from behind him.
“Hopefully we can get in and find out where Miko is fast, then be on our way,” Jiron says.
“Man that’s right,” agrees Shorty.
“James,” Delia says, “it looks like there’s a place for caravans to the north of the city.”
Looking to where she’s indicating, he sees the caravansary and angles in that direction. At the caravansary, an official looking man flanked by two guards comes forward to greet them. “Welcome to Azzac, strangers,” he says. “If you could show me your letter of travel?”
James takes it out and offers it to him and the man takes it. The official looks at it, sees the name and seal at the bottom and then returns it to him. “There’s a tax of three coppers per wagon to stay here,” he tells him.
Taking the coins out of his pouch, he hands them over to him.
“Thank you,” the official says. “Find any place you like to set up camp.” He then turns and walks back to a tent set up along the road to the caravansary.
They find a good spot near the river and set up camp. Delia takes Roland with her to deliver several packages that are marked for here. She takes Scar and Potbelly along as well.
“You be careful,” James warns her. “If there is anyplace we’re most likely to be discovered, it’s here.”
“Don’t fret,” she assures him. “I’ll be in and out fast.”
James watches as she drives the wagon into Azzac, worried about the ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ running through his mind.
After they’ve finished getting everything settled in, James takes out his mirror and tries to locate Miko. Jiron and Tersa come over and sit by him as he makes the attempt. They look at the mirror and watch as Miko’s face begins to appear. As he broadens the scope, they discover that he’s still riding in a wagon. As he expands the scene even further, they’re able to see a large expanse of ocean off to his right.
“So he’s still following the coast south?” Tersa reasons.
“It looks like it,” agrees James. “At least he’s alive and appears to be doing okay.”
“As long as he’s not dead yet, there’s still hope,” Jiron adds.
“That’s right,” he says. “Let’s get Delia’s deliveries done and get the heck out of here.”
Stig comes over and asks, “Do you think we might be able to go in and have a drink?”
James just looks at him and says, “After the last time? I don’t think so.”
“We’ll be careful,” Stig says.
“No,” James tells him, “not here. Down the road maybe, but not here. Too dangerous.”
“James’s right,” Jiron says.
Disappointed, he goes back to his fellows and breaks the news to them. Jiron and James can hear groans coming from them as he tells them his reply. Here the seat of the enemy’s power? He would have to be mad to allow it.
Three hours later when the daylight begins to fade, Delia has yet to return. James has been pacing around the last hour, dread growing with every passing minute. “Something’s wrong,” he tells Jiron when he comes to a stop next to him.
“Not necessarily,” he says. “She’s been gone longer than this before.”
“If she waits much longer she may run the risk of having the gates close on her,” James says.
“Do the gates close here at night?” Jiron asks.
“I don’t know, but there’s always the chance,” he replies.
“What should we do?” he asks.
“Let’s go and find her,” James suggests.
“Good, I’m tired of just sitting here,” he says.
“What about the rest of us?” Tersa asks nervously.
“Just stay here with them,” James says indicating Stig and the others, “and we’ll be back as soon as we find them.” He then goes over and explains to them what he and Jiron are about to do and then they begin walking toward the gates to the city.
“We don’t even speak the language,” Jiron says.
“Hopefully that won’t be a problem,” James tells him. “I’ve seen many northerners here so hopefully we won’t stick out too much.”
“Where are we going to start looking?” Jiron asks before they reach the gate.
“Not sure,” he replies.
At the gate, they’re looked at by the guards, but other than that cursory examination, are allowed to pass through into the city.
“Going to do that bubble thing again?” Jiron asks.
“Maybe,” he says. “Let’s look around first through the merchant’s district and see if we can’t locate them that way.” He feels a tingling sensation and looks around. Sure enough, he sees a mage walking through the crowd on the street. He points him out to Jiron as he pulls him close and whispers, “He’s doing magic of some sort. I can feel it.”
Considering that fact for a second, he whispers back to James, “Will they be able to sense you if you do magic?”
James nods, “I would think so.”
“Then maybe we shouldn’t do the bubble thing,” he says.
“Only if we have to,” James replies.
They walk through the streets, looking for any sign of Delia and the others. They pass many merchant’s establishments but fail to find any clue as to their whereabouts. By this time it’s becoming fairly dark and they see two people with long poles, each with a flame at the end, begin walking the streets. They go from streetlamp to streetlamp, lighting the lamps hanging there to give the people on the street light to see by.
“This is hopeless!” Jiron exclaims, “They could be anywhere.”
“I agree, we’ll never find them this way. The city is just too large,” he says.
James leads Jiron into an empty side alley where he takes out his mirror that he brought along and begins concentrating on Delia. They both gaze into the mirror as her features begin to form. James hears Jiron gasp when they see her sitting on the floor in a small room. The others are there with her and the looks on their faces tells them they’re not happy.
“They’re in trouble!” says Jiron.
“It would appear so,” James replies. “I told her to be careful!”
He expands the view, hoping to see where they are being kept until finally managing to get a bird’s eye view of the estate wherein she is being held. He tries to expand it even further when Jiron touches his arm and whispers, “Mage!”
James looks out of the alley to the street where he sees a brown robe walking toward the alley entrance. He stops the spell and immediately the brown robe pauses, turning his head first one way and then the other. It seems almost like he’s searching, trying to rediscover the source of the magic. James and Jiron hold their breath and remain pressed against the side of the alley as they watch the mage there in the street, until he finally turns and walks down the street to their right.
“He knew you were doing magic,” Jiron whispers.
“Apparently so,” James replies as he sticks his head out the alley to watch the brown robe continuing down the street away from them.
“Let’s go,” he says. “I got a pretty good look a
t where they’re being kept. It’s a large estate with plenty of grounds surrounding it.”
“Sounds like someone important,” Jiron reasons, “or rich.”
Stepping out of the alley, they follow the street as it moves closer to the river and the castle. Estates of that size are most likely to be located in that area, hopefully.
They proceed for a few more blocks before coming to the inner wall. A single gate stands open with two guards watching as people pass through.
“Doesn’t look as if they’re stopping anyone,” James says hopefully.
“Maybe it’s because they already know them?” Jiron suggests.
Shrugging, James says, “Only one way to know for sure.” He steps out, followed closely by Jiron and begins to walk toward the gate, heart beating rapidly in anticipation of a confrontation. The guards see them approach but don’t stop or question them as they pass through.
Once through to the other side, James breathes a sigh of relief. They continue down the street, now in a much more affluent section of town. Not too far past the gate, they come to where the street splits. One section continues on toward the keep and the other moves away from the keep. The street moving away from the keep looks to head toward an area with estates.
James glances to Jiron and indicates the area away from the keep. When he sees Jiron nod in agreement, he turns to follow that street.
“Which one is it?” Jiron asks after they’ve traveled down that street and have begun to enter the estate area.
“I’m not sure,” he replies as they continue down the street. Then, on a hill off to their left he sees the estate that was in the mirror. “That’s it!” he exclaims as he points it out to Jiron.
“You sure?” he asks.
“Absolutely,” James replies.
The estate has a stone wall going all the way around it’s perimeter with but a single gate for an entrance. The gate has a well lit guardhouse with a guard keeping watch. The area between the wall and the house is fairly clear except for a small area containing plants and bushes, probably for the lady of the house.
“Let’s go around back and see if there’s a better spot to try to get in,” Jiron advises.
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