James glances to Jiron and Miko who both shrug, Dave gives an emphatic negative shake of his head. “Are you ready to leave right now?” he asks once he’s returned his attention back to the couple.
Bobbing his head, the young man asks, “Yes sir. Our wagon is around back.” The girl doesn’t look very happy about this but will not gainsay her man.
“Sure,” he replies. Holding his hand out, he adds, “Name’s James.”
With relief evident upon his face, the young man takes his hand and replies, “I’m Kerrin and this is my wife, Gayle.”
“Nice to meat you,” says James. “If you wouldn’t mind going to get your wagon, we would like to leave as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir,” the man says. “Right away and thank you.” The woman gives him a slight courtesy but still doesn’t look happy about the situation.
As the couple goes to get their wagon, James and the others begin mounting. “Are you sure this is such a good idea?” Dave asks.
“What are you worried about?” exclaims Jiron with a grimace. He hates the negativity which always seems to come from him lately.
“Relax Dave,” James says. “It’ll be nice having them along. The more we have, the less likely anyone will trouble us.”
“True,” Uther interjects. “Not to mention giving us something better to look at than Jorry’s sorry mug.”
Turning to his friend, Jorry says, “I wish you would retire that sorry old joke. No one laughs anymore.”
Uther glances around the group and sees them all staring at him, some with disapproving expressions. He says, “Very well.”
Just then from around the corner a wagon turns onto the street, the couple is seated upon the seat. “You know that wagon is going to slow us down a little,” Miko says.
“Some,” replies James with a nod. “But I just couldn’t say no.”
As the wagon draws near, the riders take up position around it and they make their way through town, toward the entrance of the pass.
This pass isn’t nearly as steep as the Merchant’s Pass had been. The road rises much more gradually as the mountains are not as tall. For the first couple of hours they steadily rise toward the summit which looks to be a day or two away.
Riding along, James casts glances back to the couple on the wagon behind them. The man always gives him a cheery smile while the woman simply looks scared. She looks as if she thinks they are going to fall upon them and attack them at any moment.
Miko is riding beside them and is regaling them with stories of their exploits. James smiles at the embellishments which have already crept into the often repeated tales. At least he’s not making any mention of anything important, like the fact he can do magic. He knows James doesn’t like that little tidbit to be talked about, so glosses over those parts. Try as he might, nothing Miko does seems to put the girl at ease. If anything his stories are only making her more nervous.
Maybe it’s the heavily tattooed Qyrll that has her spooked. He does make a rather menacing sight. Qyrll generally keeps his hood over his features since he realizes the reactions people in this part of the world have to him. So it wasn’t until they were an hour into the pass when the hood came off for one reason or another. She gasped in fright when she saw his visage and the others tried to put her at ease but to no avail. Her husband grew nervous for a time but his good natured personality resurfaced and came to accept Qyrll as non threatening.
Near the end of the day, a river appears. It flows through the pass ahead of them alongside the road and then turns more northerly before disappearing into the mountains again. From where the river disappears to the north, the sound of a mighty waterfall can be heard.
They continue along the road as it makes its way along the banks of the river for another hour until the light begins to fade with the coming of night. Finding a suitable spot, they make camp at the edge of the river under the cover of a cluster of trees. Their overhanging branches afford them some protection from the rain that’s still coming down. It’s been falling continuously all day and even though they’ve worn rain gear, it has managed to infiltrate and soak a good portion of their clothes underneath.
Other than the occasional drops of water which make it through, the area under the trees is relatively dry and large enough to accommodate them all. Off to one side they stake the horses near the wagon and then begin setting up camp.
When Kerrin notices them taking their food out in preparation to fix their meal he says, “You let us handle dinner tonight. It’s the least we can do for you allowing us to travel with you.”
His wife gives him a glare behind his back which says feeding them is the last thing she wants to do.
James notices the look on her face and says, “We don’t want to be a bother.”
“It’s no bother,” Kerrin assures him as he turns to his wife. “Is it dear?”
As he turns to look at her, her expression changes from one of annoyance to that of willingness. “No,” she says. “No bother at all.”
Before James can come up with a way to turn him down, Uther says, “That would be wonderful.”
“Good, good,” the man says and then turns back to his wife, giving her a smile. She smiles back until he begins walking from the trees to hunt for firewood, then her smile disappears. With a brooding expression, she goes to the wagon and begins removing several pots in which to cook their dinner.
Jiron comes up behind James and says with a grin, “I don’t think she wants to cook for us.”
Glancing back to him, he replies, “I got that feeling as well. But it’s too late now, Uther’s gone and accepted for us. Set up the watch for tonight, we can’t afford to be caught unawares if bandits make an appearance.”
“Already taken care of,” he says. “Uther gets the first watch and you’ll take the last. Everyone is taking a turn but Dave.”
James arcs an eyebrow at that. “Why?” he asks.
“We don’t trust him to stay awake,” Jiron replies. Lowering his voice, he adds, “Actually some of us just don’t trust him at all.”
“I know,” James says sadly. He glances over to his friend who has staked out a spot with his bedroll near the center of the trees. Lying down on his back, he has his arms crossed behind him under his head as he stares up into the trees. James goes over and sits down next to his friend.
“You okay?” he asks.
“A little depressed is all,” Dave admits. “Homesick.”
“I know how you feel,” he says.
Turning on his side, he props his head on one hand and looks at James. “I miss the arcade,” he says. “Not to mention tv, pizza and milkshakes.”
“Pizza we might be able to manage here,” James says. “Maybe a pepperoni one when we get back to The Ranch.”
Perking up a little, Dave says, “You think so?”
Grinning at his friend, he says, “I don’t see why not, it’s just dough, sauce, cheese and toppings. In the winter we may even be able to do milkshakes.”
“Or snow cones,” adds Dave with a grin.
“Now sure what to flavor them with but we’ll figure something out,” he says.
“Would be nice to have some things from home like that,” Dave says. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”
“That’s the spirit,” James says encouragingly. “Since we’re stuck here, we may as well make the best of it.”
“When life gives you lemons make lemonade?” asks Dave with a grin.
“You know it,” agrees James with a nod. “Remember that time…” It’s an hour before Gayle has dinner ready and all the while he and Dave reminisce about the old days back home. Seems they’ve been doing that a lot lately. Those are the times when Dave seems to perk up the most and be his old self.
Gayle finally calls everyone to eat. She’s made a stew with plenty of meat and vegetables. They bring their bowls over and are given a hearty portion, then take position around the campfire.
“We are very grateful that you have
allowed us to accompany you,” Kerrin says as he takes his place near his wife.
“Glad to have you with us,” James assures him.
Through a mouthful of stew, Jorry says, “You make a good stew ma’am.” The others offer their praise as well.
“Thank you,” replies Gayle, a shy smile coming to her face.
“My Gayle is one of the best cooks anywhere,” Kerrin says as he gives her a one armed hug about the shoulders. “Don’t know what I would do without her.” She blushes from his words and lowers her eyes as she continues eating.
“May I have more?” Uther asks, holding his bowl out.
“Of course,” she says as she gets up to ladle more into his bowl. “Anyone else?” she asks when his bowl is full. Miko of course comes to his feet quickly and gets more. Qyrll stands and comes forward with his bowl as well.
She glances to his tattooed face coming toward her and gets a nervous look on her face.
“I would like some more too if you don’t mind,” he says to her.
Her hand has a slight tremor in it as she ladles more stew into his bowl. “Thank you,” he says when his bowl is again filled and retakes his seat. All they have to go with the stew is some slightly stale bread. But you dip it into the stew and it’s edible.
By the time the meal is over, night has settled in and the temperature continues to drop. They throw more wood on the fire to keep the chill at bay as they begin to settle down for sleep. All that is but Uther who has pulled the first watch.
James lies his blanket down next to Dave, Miko settles in on his other side. Soon they’re all fast asleep.
Suddenly awakened by a tugging sensation, James comes awake. He opens his eyes and the world swims in front of him. He looks up to see Kerrin standing above him, his hand around the chain securing the medallion around his neck. He tries to stop him but his movements are lethargic, his muscles not responding well to his commands.
“Get the rest of their money,” Kerrin says.
“Yes dear,” he hears Gayle reply.
“You did good work,” another voice says. James scans the area and finds the voice belongs to another man. He starts in shocked recognition when he realizes it’s the older gentleman from the inn back in Feld. The one who had warned them about the bandit attacks in the pass.
“Was easy enough,” replies Kerrin as he finally manages to remove the medallion from around James’ neck. Holding it up, he mumbles to himself, “Might bring a couple silvers.”
He then reaches down and removes the pouch from James’ waist which contains the crystals. At first excited when he opens it thinking he’s found a stash of gems, he’s quickly disappointed when he finds all there is are some common crystals of little value. “Don’t you know what real gems are?” he asks James. Grunting in disgust, he dumps out the crystals on the ground next to him and continues rummaging through his pouches, removing all things of value. The necklace James had found in the underground temple near the fortress of Kern goes into Kerrin’s pouch as well.
When at last he finishes with James, he moves to Dave and begins going through his things.
“Gather the horses,” the older man says. James notices the younger one from the inn is there as well and begins putting the reins on their horses and securing them in a line to the back of the wagon.
Unable to move other than small movements, he tries to look around the campsite. He finds most of the others are passed out, Jiron seems to be the only other one besides him even conscious. He fears the others may be dead, no way to be sure.
They must have drugged us! His eyes come to rest on the stewpot and the realization hits him that that must be how they did it. But Kerrin and Gayle had eaten too, maybe they had taken the antidote before they consumed it.
Gayle is remaining by the wagons while the three men continue removing everything of value from their victims. Once Kerrin is finished with Dave, he stands back up and moves to the wagon to deposit the items he’s removed. The older gentleman joins him and together they help to get the horses secured in a line behind the wagon.
When they at last have all of them tied behind the wagon, Gayle points to James and the others as she asks, “What are we to do with them?”
“Can’t leave them to come after us,” Kerrin says to her.
“You’re going to kill them?” she asks aghast.
“You don’t worry about that,” he replies.
James tries to move after hearing that but whatever drug they used on him has almost completely immobilized him. All he can manage are weak movements which don’t get him very far and exhausts him in the process.
Out of the corner of his eye his gaze settles on the crystals spilled on the ground next to him. Hope springs to him as he sees the one wrapped in cloth lying not six inches from his hand.
The last horse is secured in line and he hears the older gentlemen say, “You and your wife take the wagon and horses. We’ll meet up with you in a few minutes.” As the wagon begins to roll away, the unmistakable sound of a sword leaving its scabbard can be heard followed shortly by another.
James sees them moving toward them, intent on ending their lives. He again focuses on the crystals lying next to him and with a sheer force of will begins inching his hand toward the crystal with the embedded spells. His finger finally comes into contact with it just as they reach the unconscious men lying on the ground. He watches in horror as the older gentleman raises his sword to end the life of one of his comrades.
In a bare whisper, he says “Leech” and can feel power being absorbed from him by the crystal. Then before the sword can fall, he cries out in a gasp, “Incinerate!” More power is sucked from him as a red flare flies from the crystal toward the man.
The light from the flare causes him to pause a moment in his swing and that’s all the time it needs. Striking him, the flare erupts in a flaming ball. Screaming, the man begins running around, a veritable human torch.
Startled, the younger man cries out, “Father!” Running to his aid, he attempts to put out the fires to no avail. Finally his father slumps to the ground, and lies still as his screams of pain come to a stop.
With a cry of rage, the son stands up and with a primal scream runs toward the nearest of the drugged men, intent upon venting his anger.
“Shield radius twenty!” can barely be heard as James gasps another command to the crystal. Springing up around the men lying on the ground is an invisible barrier.
Aaaaaahhhh!
A cry of pain and agony rips through the night, drawing James’ attention. The son had been caught by the creation of the barrier and a portion of his face, chest and one leg had been severed off by it. Falling backward away from the barrier, he collapses to the ground where he writhes in agony until finally dying.
James says one last command before succumbing to unconsciousness, “Maintain.”
Chapter Twenty One
When he at last awakens again, morning has come. The rain has stopped and the sun is just beginning to break through the cloud cover. Sitting up, his head begins to spin and realizes how weak he is. That’s when he feels the drawing of power from him by the crystal while it maintains the barrier around them.
“You okay?” he hears behind him.
Glancing back he finds Jiron walking toward him. Nodding his head, he asks, “You?”
“Still a bit dizzy but otherwise fine,” he replies. He sees James glancing at the others and says, “They’re all still alive but unresponsive. I think they may have been affected more than
you and I.”
“Gayle must have put something in the stew,” he says as he comes to his feet. “Any sign of her or Kerrin?”
Shaking his head, Jiron says, “I don’t think so.” Then he motions over to one side of the camp and adds, “We have one stiff over there that’s charred beyond recognition. At the edge of the barrier next to it is what’s left of some guy your barrier cut in two. May be them.”
“Cut in two?” James asks.
/> “Yeah,” he says. “Come here and I’ll show you.” Reaching down a hand, he helps him to his feet. They make their way over to where the man had been sliced by the materialization of the barrier.
Turning away from the grisly sight, he says, “It’s one of the men from the inn.”
Instant recognition comes to Jiron who points over to the burnt corpse and before he can say anything, James adds, “That’s the other one.”
“Then they were in it together from the start?” he asks.
“It looks that way,” he says and then begins making his way to the others where they lay on the ground, making sure they’re alright. He finds them all asleep but unresponsive just as Jiron had said.
“We got a bigger problem,” he tells him.
“What?” Jiron asks.
Turning to face him, he pulls down the collar of his shirt and says, “They took the medallion.”
Jiron gasps in shock. This is the first time he’s ever seen him without it. “What are you going to do?”
“Get it back,” he says.
“They’re going to be long gone by the time the others are ready for travel,” he states.
“Be that as it may, I have to retrieve it,” he asserts. No longer seeing the need to maintain the barrier, he returns to where the crystal lies on the ground and picks it up. Holding it in his hand he says “Cancel” and it disappears. He rewraps it in the cloth and then gathers the other crystals, putting them all in one of his pockets.
When the barrier goes down, Jiron moves and collects the two horses which are still tied to a nearby tree. They must have belonged to the two dead men. Bringing them closer he secures them nearby and then starts a fire in the now cold fire pit.
Over the course of the next several hours the others begin to regain consciousness. When they find out what happened they’re all set to go and extract their vengeance upon them. The last one to come out of it is Miko, probably because he had eaten the most of the drugged or poisoned stew than the others.
During this time, it has been determined that Kerrin and Gayle proceeded further into the pass rather than return to Feld. The ruts created by the wagon are still visible in the mud and they head further up the pass.
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