Together they hurry along back to the building where the dead miner had been encountered. When they approach, James says, “You all stay here, Miko you come with me.” With Miko right beside him, he goes up to the open door leading into the kitchen and stops before entering.
“Now,” he says as he turns to Miko, “just where did this miner appear?”
Pointing to the spot, he replies, “Right there.”
Entering through the door, James comes to the spot and examines the floor carefully. If the miner had left footprints they were obliterated by Jiron and Miko walking over them when they left. He stands there a moment with his eyes closed but fails to pick up anything such as coldness or a sense of danger, things he heard always accompanies the supernatural.
Turning back to Miko he says, “Whatever it was, there’s nothing here now.”
“I tell you I saw it,” insists Miko defensively.
“I’m not saying you imagined it,” James tells him. “I’m just saying there’s nothing here now.”
With a tremor of fear in his voice, he asks, “What are we to do?”
“Let’s go have lunch while I think on it,” he says. “After that we’ll see.”
“Alright.”
They leave the house and rejoin the others. “There’s nothing there now,” he says when he draws near. “Let’s go back to the horses and have lunch. I want to comb this area after we eat.” The idea of searching a mine is forgotten after Miko’s encounter with the miner.
Moving down the street toward where they left the horses, Qyrll moves next to Miko and asks, “What did it look like?”
Qyrll seems to have a rather keen interest in this sort of thing and practically grills Miko about the subtle details. By the time they’ve returned to the horses, he brings his questioning to a close, for the moment satisfied he’s learned all there is.
Jorry and Uther have returned in the meantime and are filled in on what just happened.
They remove the food for their meal from their horses and take it inside a nearby inn where they sit at a table near a window. James sits there in silence while he eats, the others talking quietly among themselves.
Suddenly from outside, they hear the horses neighing and then see them racing away down the street. “The ghost!” cries out Miko as they all race out of the inn into the street. Weapons at the ready, they find the street deserted except for their fleeing horses.
“Fifer, Miko, you two go after the horses,” James says. As they race down the street after them, he says to the others, “Fan out and see if you can find anything. Dave, you stay with me.”
Qyrll returns his sword to its scabbard as he moves out quickly, Jiron right behind him. Jorry and Uther go down a side street. James motions for Dave to follow him as he goes over to where the horses were tied to begin their search from there.
Moving quickly, he races down side streets and ducks into buildings only to end up finding nothing. By the time Fifer and Miko return with the horses, they’ve all returned to the inn.
“Nothing,” Jiron says to James when they return. Jorry and Uther have likewise turned up nothing.
“What spooked them?” Fifer asks.
“Ghosts, that’s what,” replies Miko. Ever since his encounter with the miner, he’s been constantly on the lookout, head turning this way and that.
“I think we all need to be extra cautious from this point,” James says. “We still need to find what we came here to find.”
After securing the horses again, they return to the inn and finish their meal. Once over, they head back to the place where Miko saw the miner to start the afternoon’s search from there. “If any of you see anything out of the ordinary, call for me right away,” James tells them.
“You can count on that,” Miko assures him. Jiron just grins at his enthusiasm at carrying out that command.
“I still want us to meet back here every hour until dusk,” he tells them and then they head out to continue their searching.
Miko’s miner and the action of the horses have them all spooked, including James. He wouldn’t let the others know but he’s actually quite worried about the whole thing. Back in his world, these things wouldn’t bother him nearly as much. But here where gods are active and magic works, who knows what could happen.
Throughout the rest of the afternoon, several of them think they may have seen the miner out of the corner of their eyes, moving across a window of a nearby building. But each time after they called for James, a closer look revealed nothing.
When the sun at last hits the top of the western peaks, they call it a day and return to the same place they made camp the night before. While the rest get the camp set up and a fire going, James takes Dave and sees if he can’t bag something for dinner. Their store of rations is dwindling and he doesn’t want to run out before doing something about it.
Shortly after the camp disappears behind them in the trees, movement from up ahead catches his eye. Moving forward, they make their way through the trees until they see a deer-like animal standing still ahead of them. Its head swivels from side to side as if it’s trying to find something.
“He may have caught our scent,” Dave suggests in a barely heard whisper.
“I think you may be right,” replies James just as quietly. Removing a stone from his pocket he slowly gets into position and then cocks his arm back. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he aims for the deer and releases the magic as he throws the stone.
The deer must have noticed his movement, for at the last second it jumps away. Its hindquarters are thrust to the side when the stone catches it off center, ripping a chunk out.
Dave jumps up and races after the deer, knife in hand. It isn’t dead, only injured. James rushes after.
The deer, though faltering in its stride due to its injury, still manages to lead them on a merry chase before finally collapsing from loss of blood and exhaustion. Dave comes up on it first having moved ahead of James during the chase. The deer raises its head off the ground as he approaches, it tries to get to its feet to run away but is too week and stumbles back to the ground.
Reaching its side, Dave strikes out with his knife across its throat and ends its misery. The strike sends a splatter of blood droplets across his face. When James reaches him, he looks a gruesome sight with his face covered in blood as well as part of his clothing.
Dave turns at his approach and says, “Let’s get this back to camp.”
“Right,” agrees James. “Then maybe you need to wash up a little.”
Looking down at himself a moment, he then glances to his friend with a grin and asks, “I am a mess aren’t I?”
“Oh yeah,” affirms James. He takes the hindquarters and Dave takes the fore, together they raise the animal off the ground and that’s when James comes to the realization that he doesn’t know which way camp is. In all the excitement of chasing the deer, he got turned around. “Do you know which way is the camp?” he asks.
Dave glances around a moment and then says, “Uh, no.”
Trees in every direction as well as rolling hills, every direction looks the same. The light is fading fast and if they don’t find their way back soon they may not get back until morning.
“Which way?” asks Dave.
“Let’s set this down and I’ll figure it out,” he says. Setting the deer down, he picks up a small stick from the ground and rests it on his palm. Concentrating on Miko, he releases the magic and the stick swivels upon his palm until coming to rest pointing off to his right.
Nodding in that direction, he says, “They’re that way.” Releasing the magic, he drops the stick back to the ground and then bends over to pick up the deer. Grunting from its weight, he and Dave begin hauling it back to camp.
They slowly work their way through the trees as the light continues to fade, winding their way between two hills. It isn’t far before the smell of smoke from the campfire reaches them and they breathe a sigh of relief. Following the direction from which the
smoke is originating, they continue around the hill until the light from the campfire comes into view.
He’s about ready to call a greeting when he stops in his tracks. Grabbing Dave, he pulls him down against the side of the hill. “That’s not our camp,” he whispers to his friend.
“Are you sure?” Dave asks.
“Yes. There are more people there than there should be,” he explains.
Letting the deer lie on the ground, they make their way to the top of the hill to overlook the camp. Upon reaching the crest, they gaze down and find over a dozen men sitting around a campfire. They’re too far away to hear what the men are saying but who they are is apparent. The armor some of them are wearing reveals them to be from the Empire.
He glances to Dave and can see that he’s reached the same conclusion. They stay there a few minutes and watch the activities of those in the camp below them. There are fourteen men at arms and two dressed in civilian attire. The men keep their armor on and the horses remain saddled.
The area in which the camp lies is a depression between two hills which would hide them from anyone passing through. Unless of course they stumbled upon them as James and Dave did.
Having seen enough, he indicates with a nod for them to return back down the hill. He and Dave slowly and quietly make their way to the bottom.
“What are they doing here?” Dave whispers.
“Only one thing would draw them this far from the Empire,” James replies.
“You?” he asks.
“Can’t think of anything else,” he states.
“But how would they know you’re here?”
“I don’t know,” he replies. “Magic probably.” This is getting irritating! Going to have to figure a way for them to stop tracking me. “We better hurry back and tell the others.”
Leaving the deer where it lies, they move away from the hill and then circumvent the camp with the Empire’s soldiers before continuing to follow the general direction the stick had indicated. About the time the light has completely faded, they see their campfire ahead of them through the trees.
When they emerge from the trees, Jiron is the first to notice them and comes to his feet in alarm. “What happened?” he asks.
James at first isn’t sure what elicited that reaction until he glances to Dave and sees that the deer’s blood still covers him. “He’s fine, just splatter from an animal,” he explains. “But we’ve got real problems.” He then tells them of the men camped less than a mile away.
“How in the world could they have tracked us here?” asks Fifer.
“Magic is the only explanation I can come up with,” he says. “What I don’t understand is, if they know we’re here, why haven’t they attacked yet?”
“They looked like they were settling in for a wait,” adds Dave as he begins cleaning the blood off. He glances at James then continues, “They kept their armor on and their horses remained saddled as well.”
Jiron gets a thoughtful look and then shakes his head. “It doesn’t make any sense,” he says. “They’ve never hesitated before.”
“They could be waiting on something,” suggests Qyrll. “Or somebody.”
“It’s possible,” James says.
“What if they were part of the force you encountered by Illion,” offers Fifer. “They may have reinforcements on the way.”
Remembering the creatures he fought, he doesn’t like the sound of more possibly being on the way. “It didn’t look like they were going to do anything tonight,” he tells them. “Let’s get some rest and post a sentry, not only to keep watch here but to keep an eye on the woods between here and there.”
“Good idea,” Jiron says. “If they move, we need warning.”
“Why don’t we just leave?” Dave asks. Every eye turns to him. “Hostile forces camped less than a mile away and you all want to just hang out until they attack. I don’t get you at all.” He glares back at them in turn.
Turning to his friend, James says “What would you have us do? If we leave we would pass right by them, and you can be assured they’ll have the pass south watched. It’s either here or go into Ironhold.”
“Why not attack?” offers Uther. “If they are in fact waiting for reinforcements, then the odds will only get worse the longer we wait.”
“You got that right,” adds Jorry.
“I don’t like attacking without cause,” objects James.
“Without cause?” Jiron asks incredulously. “They are the Empire’s soldiers and we have had hurt after hurt because of them. I lost my city because of them. Many of those we care for have died and been enslaved because of them. If that isn’t cause enough for you I don’t know what is.”
“James,” Miko says. “If these are soldiers of the Empire then we should take them out before they possibly join up with others. Even if they aren’t planning on doing that, their destruction is our duty anyway. They are our enemies.”
“He’s right,” agrees Fifer. Qyrll nods in agreement as well which surprises James as he’s from the Empire.
“You all are a bunch of bloodthirsty killers,” Dave says from where he stands behind James. “All you talk about is death and destruction. You won’t be satisfied until we’re all dead.”
Jiron steps forward with a hand on the pommel of one of his knives, anger building behind his eyes. He opens his mouth to tell Dave off when James holds up his hand forestalling his tirade.
“I see the wisdom in what you are saying,” he says. Then adds to include Dave, “What you’re all saying.” Turning to Jiron and the others, he says “But what you all need to realize is Dave and I come from a world where the arbitrary killing of your enemies is frowned upon, extremely discouraged you might say. It’s hard for me to go and seek the death of a group of people that are no immediate threat.”
He pauses a moment to let that sink in. Many there who have traveled with him for awhile will understand what he’s talking about. Then he says, “I need to know for a fact they plan to come after us.” Looking to Qyrll he asks, “Would you be willing to find out?”
Looking surprised, he says, “They will think it odd for me to suddenly appear among them all alone. I don’t think they would tell me anything.”
“I don’t mean that,” James clarifies. “Just sneak close and try to overhear what they’re saying. Could you do that?”
“Perhaps,” he says. “If they’re not vigilant and lax in the posting of sentries.”
“Good. Then take Jiron with you and see what you can learn,” he says.
Smiling at the prospect of having the Shynti with him, he nods his head. “I would be honored to have him accompany me.”
James gives them a general idea of where to find the enemy camp. Then when Qyrll and Jiron are about ready to head out, he adds, “Don’t take too long.”
“We won’t,” Jiron assures him, then they leave the camp.
The others murmur among themselves, all the while casting glances over to where Dave remains standing near James.
“Come with me,” James says to his friend as he leads him away from the fire and into the night. When they leave the proximity of the fire, the cold makes its presence felt. They pull their jackets closer together as they move further away from the others. Once they’ve reached a spot where they won’t be overheard, he comes to a stop.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Dave begins before James has a chance to start. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. All they talk about is killing and death.”
“That’s not true,” counters James. “We are in the middle of a war. Those on the other side are continuously seeking to make our lives difficult in any way they can. Given the world in which these people have grown up, I think their responses are true to form.”
“But they’re going to get us all killed!” insists Dave.
“We could sit on our butts and that will still happen,” says James. “We grew up in a relatively safe environment where conflict to this degree simply was not a factor. If
we were in one of our campaigns we used to play in the chess room, what would you be doing?”
Considering the question for a moment, he then says, “Probably arranging an attack to avoid possible future complications.”
“Remember,” James tells him, “this world is similar to that of our role playing, more so than I would have thought possible. That’s probably why the advertisement in the newspaper said role playing a plus.”
Nodding, Dave says, “I see your point. But I am still going to caution you against actions which I feel are wrong.”
Laying his hand on Dave’s shoulder he says, “I wouldn’t want you to do otherwise. I need a voice of reason in this chaotic and hostile world.”
Giving his friend a grin, he says, “You got it.”
“Now, let’s go back to the others,” suggests James. “And this time, don’t go calling them blood thirsty killers.”
“I won’t, promise,” Dave assures his friend.
As they’re walking back to the fire, a sound comes to them from the darkened town. A wailing sounds in the night as if a spirit is writhing in torment. They rush to the edge which overlooks the town and see a light atop one of the buildings. From this distance it’s hard to make out just what it is, but it looks to be the size of a man and it’s moving.
“What the heck is that?” Dave asks.
The others join them as he says, “I don’t know.”
“It’s a ghost!” Miko exclaims.
“Could be,” agrees James. Too bad Qyrll is missing this. He would’ve loved it.
The light continues to pace back and forth along the roof as the wailing continues. It lasts for ten minutes before the light and wailing disappear.
A hushed silence falls over the companions as they stand there in the dark and cold a moment. When it doesn’t look as if the spirit will be returning, they make their way back to camp.
As James takes his seat and begins warming his freezing hands, he considers the predicament they’re in. On the one side they have a hostile force most likely bent on their destruction. On the other is a city with free roaming spirits. At least the spirits mostly come out at night, mostly.
The star of Morcyth ms-5 Page 35