Chapter Twenty Eight
It’s been over an hour since they left. Where are they? Pacing around, James is worried about what may have happened to them. To add more to his already worried mind the spirit from Ironhold makes two other appearances in different parts of town, always a lone spirit and always on top of a building.
No one is getting much sleep tonight, not with the racket going on when the spirit appears. It’s been twenty minutes or more since the last spectral appearance and a few of the others have fallen asleep. The only one other than himself who’s still awake is Miko. Try as he might, he can’t bring himself to relax enough to slip away.
James glances in his direction every once in awhile to see if he’s managed to fall asleep, and each time he sees his eyes wide open.
The silence of the night is broken by the sound of something moving toward the camp through the trees. Miko hears it too and sits up, his hand on the hilt of his sword which is resting on the ground next to him. He glances to James and begins getting up when Qyrll and Jiron enter the firelight.
“Glad you’re back,” James says in relief. “I was getting worried.”
“Sorry,” apologizes Jiron. “It took us some doing to move close enough for Qyrll to be able to understand what they were saying.”
By the time they take their seats at the fire, the others have awoken and moved closer to hear. “What did you learn?” he asks Qyrll.
“From what I heard, they are but one band of many situated in the hills surrounding Ironhold,” he explains. “They are waiting for something, no one said for sure exactly what. One of the men was complaining about something not being here yet, couldn’t tell if it was more men, one man or what.”
“So if we attack them,” James says, “it would be safe to say the other bands will go on the offensive right away.”
Nodding, he replies, “I think so. If they were discovered, their first inclination would be to attack.”
Looking around the assembled faces, he summarizes their situation, “Either we attack one band and face what’s out there now, or we wait for whatever else may be coming.”
“That would seem to be the choices before us,” agrees Jiron.
James sits back and thinks on the situation for a minute. The others remain quiet to give him time to think. He glances to Dave but he knows what he’ll say, ‘Leave’. The others want to attack, he’s sure of that. They’re men of action and don’t like the idea of waiting.
“If what they’re waiting for takes another day or two to get here,” he says, “we may be finished and on our way home.”
“I don’t think we should count on that,” Fifer states.
“He’s right,” agrees Jiron, the others nodding in agreement.
James sits and contemplates the various options before him. He can see the logic in an attack, but his inclination is to avoid direct confrontation if at all possible. “Right now, we do nothing,” he tells them. Around him he can see them reacting negatively to his decision, all that is but Dave.
“We’ll keep an eye on the band near us through the night and tomorrow we find another place to hole up, maybe in one of the mines.” He glances to the others a moment before saying, “It would be more defensible should they attack.”
“With no way out,” Miko warns.
Turning to him, James replies, “I know. But it’s still better than sitting out here in the open. If anyone comes up with a better idea, let me know. Now let’s get some sleep while we can.”
He no sooner says the last word before another wail comes from Ironhold.
“What was that?” Qyrll asks as he gets to his feet and moves to where he can look out over the town.
“The ghost of Ironhold,” Fifer says.
“He’s been going on that way for some time now,” Miko explains.
The others come to stand near him and see the spirit atop another building on the far side of town. Qyrll makes to move toward Ironhold and James puts a restraining hand on his arm. Qyrll glances to him and sees him shake his head.
“Might not be a good idea to go down there,” warns James.
Mixed desires war within him but he finally sighs and stays put. The spirit stays active for a few more minutes and then again disappears.
“It’s been doing that since shortly after you guys left,” Miko says.
“I really didn’t think the tales we heard were actually true,” admits Jiron. Glancing to James he says, “Think that’s the miner Miko saw?”
“Could be,” replies James. “Though from what Miko said, it wasn’t glowing or making any sound.”
“It’s possible it will only do that at night,” suggests Qyrll.
“Perhaps,” nods James.
They stand there a moment longer before the cold drives everyone but Qyrll back to the fire. Since it doesn’t look as if he has any intention of going to sleep right away, Jiron hollers for him to wake him when it’s his turn at watch. Qyrll nods in reply but never takes his eyes off the darkness concealing Ironhold.
As the night progresses, the visitations of the spirit diminishes until finally coming to a halt sometime after midnight.
Dawn comes, cold and crisp. A high pressure system must be keeping the clouds at bay, the sky is a dazzling crystal blue and frost covers most everything.
When James gets up he sees Miko over near the fire where he’s been trying to keep warm during his shift at watch. Glancing around he notices Qyrll is nowhere around. Coming to Miko he asks, “Where’s Qyrll?”
“He went down to Ironhold,” he replies. “Said something about wanting to investigate where the ghosts appeared.”
“What?” he exclaims. “How long ago did he leave?”
“About a half hour or so,” Miko tells him. “Said not to wake you, that he would be back shortly.”
“Damn!” curses James. He quickly moves around and gets everyone up, telling them that Qyrll has gone into town. “Get up and get ready, we’re going after him.”
“Why?” asks Dave. “He’s a big boy and can take care of himself.”
James glares at him and says, “Just get your horse ready.”
“Alright, fine,” he replies and then gets up to do just that.
It’s just a few minutes before they’re ready to ride. Moving away from the campsite, they head down the trail to town. As soon as they’re upon the main road, they hear coming from behind them several horses as the travelers from the plateau begin making their run through Ironhold.
The first one to reach them gives them an odd look, he knows they didn’t come from the area to the south as he and the others have. Not bothering to stop, he races on past in a hurry to get through Ironhold as quickly as possible.
One thing James has noticed is that those traveling through Ironhold don’t talk. It’s almost as if everyone is afraid to disturb the tranquility of this place. Or of disturbing what may lurk here.
“There he is,” Fifer says, pointing to a building not too far away.
James’ eyes follow where Fifer is pointing and finds Qyrll atop one of the tall buildings.
“I think that was one the spirit walked last night,” suggests Jiron.
Nodding, James says, “You may be right.” Moving through the streets toward the building Qyrll is on, he finds his horse tied to the rail before the front door and comes to a stop next to it. Dismounting, he hands his reins to Miko and says, “Hold this.”
Taking the reins, Miko says, “Okay.”
Jiron and Fifer dismount to accompany him to the roof. They make their way inside and take the stairs up to the third floor where they find a ladder leading to an open hatch. Climbing the ladder, James gains the roof to find Qyrll bending over and examining a section of the roof.
From the ladder he asks, “What do you think you’re doing?”
Qyrll glances up and sees him there in the hatch. Getting to his feet, he makes his way over to them. “Wanted to see if the ghost left any evidence of its passing.”
“Why?” asks James as he moves down the ladder to allow Qyrll room to descend.
“To know if it was real or not,” he replies. As he steps off the ladder and onto the floor of the third floor hallway, he adds, “Didn’t find anything though.”
“Spirits don’t leave footprints,” Jiron tells him.
Nodding, Qyrll says, “Now I know for sure.”
They make their way back down to where the others are waiting outside. On the way Fifer asks, “Why are you so interested in this anyway?”
Shrugging, Qyrll replies, “I don’t know. It fascinates me for some reason.”
“I can understand that,” says James. “Where I come from there are all manner of people who hunt for ghosts and such things. Why, there’re even tours you can take that will bring you to the most haunted areas.”
“Really?” asks Qyrll, intrigued. “I’d like to do that.”
“Most of them are just shams to get your money,” he admits. “Though there are a few that are legitimate I suppose. Never been on one myself.”
Returning to the others, they mount their horses and make their way through town to the last section they have yet to search. After a brief warning to be alert, they split off into their pairs again. James gives Jorry and Uther a stern gaze warning them not be up to any shenanigans today. They assure him they’ll behave, probably the sight of the spirit the night before had a sobering effect on them.
The morning goes by and still nothing is discovered. James is beginning to become discouraged at the lack of anything to do with Morcyth. Ellinwyrd had to have led him here for a reason and one to do with what he learned at Saragon.
At noon when they return for the noon meal, Fifer says, “I think I saw someone on a hill to the south watching us.”
“Probably one of the soldiers,” Qyrll says.
“I’m sure they’re keeping their eye on us,” Jiron replies.
“I hope they don’t do anything,” wishes Miko as he glances to the surrounding hills.
“Wouldn’t think it likely until whatever they are waiting for arrives,” says Qyrll. “They seem content to watch us from a distance and as long as we continue as we are, I doubt if they will do anything.”
“Let’s hope not,” says James. “Tomorrow we’ll begin checking the mines and then if nothing is found, we’ll leave.”
From where Dave sits, he can hear him mumble, “Should leave now.” He glances over to his friend and only receives a glare in return. All day his mood has steadily deteriorated and James isn’t sure why.
When they’re done with the noon meal, they once again split into pairs as they search the few remaining buildings. So far, the miner Miko encountered the day before has yet to put in an appearance.
Miko and Jiron head off for a building which looks to have once been a temple of some sort, though now the years of disuse have turned it into a dilapidated building. Slightly askew on its foundations, it sits cocked to one side. The windows which at one time must have been beautiful lie shattered in the street.
Coming to the entrance, they find a pair of double doors. The one on the right sits closed, the one on the left has fallen off its hinges and lies across the front steps. Stepping carefully around the fallen door, they move inside.
It’s not a very large building, merely two stories high. The interior actually has a couple plants growing through the floorboards near one of the broken windows. Whatever furnishings it once had, have long been removed, most likely when the town was abandoned.
“Sad,” Miko says as they walk across the floor.
“Sad?” questions Jiron. “What makes you say that?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he replies. Glancing to him, Miko says, “The place depresses me. Do you think this could have been a church to James’ Morcyth?”
“Never know,” he says.
At the back of the temple they find two sets of stairs, one going up to the second floor and another leading down into darkness. Jiron glances to Miko and asks, “Up or down?”
“I’ll take up,” he says.
Jiron nods and turns to descend into the darkness.
On his way up the stairs, Miko is careful to make sure the steps will support him. On several different occasions over the last few days some of the buildings they’ve searched have been rotted, termites or other such insects having robbed the wood of its integrity.
He places his feet gingerly on each step before moving to the next. One step cracks and he immediately removes his foot. Stepping over the suspect step he continues up until finally reaching the upper rooms.
This area is smaller than the one below as most of the second floor is taken up by the upper reaches of the service area below. There are only three rooms here and he makes his way first into one and then another. The second room looks to have been living quarters of the priests, four beds are spaced evenly about the room. Two chests sit at either end of the room and he moves forward toward the one closest to him.
In the back of his mind he hears James telling him not to open chests as they may be booby trapped. He remembers that one occurrence in the swamp when a trap sent him flying across the room when it exploded in his face.
Disregarding James’ voice of caution, he continues toward it. I can’t imagine there would be anything dangerous with a chest here. Even though he feels that way, when he reaches it he slows down and hesitates a moment before reaching for the lid. Taking hold of it, he flings it open while at the same time jumping backward. The lid flies up, hits the wall behind it and then slams shut again.
Miko waits a moment and when nothing fatal happens, goes back over and opens the lid slowly. The inside of the chest is empty. He reaches in and feels around the sides and bottom but fails to feel anything which might indicate something hidden. Disappointed, he closes the lid and turns to walk over to the other chest.
As he moves across the room to the other chest, he looks at it closely. It looks just as the other had so it’s unlikely anything will be wrong with it too.
Three feet from the chest, the floor suddenly breaks open slightly and his foot crashes through. “Aaaaaahhhh!” he cries. Pain erupts from where his foot is wedged in between the broken boards.
“Jiron!” he screams. He tries to pull his foot out but that only increases his pain, the jagged edges of the broken planks are cutting into his skin. He starts to panic when he sees drops of blood begin to well from where the wood is imbedded into him. “Jiron!”
Down below in the basement, Jiron walks with a makeshift torch. He found a chair and broke it apart. Using one of its legs, he tied an old cloth around it and then used flint to strike a spark to light it.
The basement is fairly empty, some old boxes and crates. He rummages around for several minutes before he hears Miko’s cry from upstairs. Pulling a knife, he races back up the stairs to the ground floor then takes the steps leading to the second floor.
His foot hits the one step which Miko had bypassed before and it breaks in two beneath him. Losing his balance, his foot sinks through the step and he falls upon the stairs. The torch goes flying out of his hand as he stops himself and comes to land a few steps above him.
“Jiron, help me!” he hears Miko cry out again.
“Coming!” he hollers back. Pulling his foot out of the hole, he finds only a few scrapes on his calf and then gets to his feet. Stepping over the hole in the stairs, he picks up his torch and races the rest of the way to the top.
“Where are you?” he hollers as he reaches the top.
“In here!” Miko yells, a touch of fear in his voice.
Running down the hall, he bolts through the door to the room where Miko is stuck and comes to a stop as he sees him there. “What happened?” he asks as he sheathes his knife.
“The floor gave way and my foot’s trapped,” he explains. “Help me out of here will you?”
Grinning despite the gravity of the situation Jiron comes over to him. Miko’s leg is sunk into the floor to just below the knee and he take
s note of the jagged edges biting into him. He puts out his torch so it won’t catch the building on fire and then kneels down next to him.
Blood is now flowing from a couple wounds. He tries to pull his leg out but that only drives the wood in deeper and elicits a cry of pain from Miko. “Don’t!” he cries.
Next he tries to push the boards away but that hurts just as bad. Not sure just what to do, he looks at Miko and says, “I need to get the others.”
A haunted look leaps to Miko’s face as he realizes Jiron is suggesting leaving him here alone. “Don’t leave me!” he exclaims.
“I don’t see that I have a choice,” he says. “I could get you out but not sure how much pain and damage I would cause in the process.” He gets to his feet, “I won’t be long.”
“Jiron,” Miko says pleadingly.
“I’ll be right back,” he says as he races from the room.
Taking the steps two and three at a time, he hits the bottom running and is soon out the front door, racing to where James and the others are searching. “James!” he hollers as he runs through the streets.
“James!” he cries again.
“What’s wrong?” Fifer asks as he and Qyrll dash around a corner to see what he’s yelling about.
“Miko’s hurt,” he says.
Just then James and Dave enter the street further down and run toward them. Uther and Jorry come running down a side street. “Where’s Miko?” James asks.
Turning back the way he came, Jiron says, “He’s hurt. His foot broke through the floor and it’s wedged in there pretty bad.” Breaking into a run, he leads them back to the old temple. “Need help to get him out.”
The others follow him as he races back down the street. When the temple appears down the road ahead of them, they see Miko being led out of the front by someone who looks just like the miner he mentioned seeing days before.
“Miko!” James cries.
The miner stops dead in his tracks and glances their way. He begins moaning and wailing as he reaches out toward them with one hand.
Jiron takes in the scene, Miko having his hands tied behind him and a gag in his mouth. “The miner is no ghost!” he exclaims, drawing both knives as he bolts forward.
The star of Morcyth ms-5 Page 36