The star of Morcyth ms-5

by Brian S. Pratt

  The miner glances from James, to the others and then back again, he can see something is going on. “We’ll be there tomorrow,” he answers.

  “Good,” says James, his spirits again high. Not even the tension between Dave and Jiron is able to dampen his mood now. His goal is about to be reached.

  Evening finds them winding their way down to the bottom of a deep valley with a river cutting its way through. “That’s the river we’ll follow to those ruins,” the miner announces. “If we leave first thing in the morning, we should be able to get there by late afternoon.”

  “It doesn’t look all that far,” Uther says as he gazes to Kiliticus in the distance.

  “Don’t let its size fool you,” he says. “It’s further than it looks.”

  “Damn,” mutters Jorry in awe.

  Another hour finds them nearing the base of the valley and they hunt for a good place in which to make camp. Once found, they set up camp.

  The valley acts like a funnel for the wind coming off the mountain. They build a large roaring fire to ward off the chill and spend a very cold and uncomfortable night. The person on watch never wanders far from the fire and makes sure to keep the blaze going well throughout the night.

  As the morning brightens with dawn’s approach, they quickly get underway. Everyone is anxious to get there, find what they came here for and then get out. They definitely don’t want to be here should snow begin falling. The trip back, over the terrain they just navigated would be most treacherous indeed if covered in snow.

  Two hours after dawn, the sun finally rises over the peaks to the east. The sun does little to warm the riders as they make their way along the river. Throughout the day, Kiliticus continues to rise ever higher as they draw nearer.

  The river, beside which they’re riding, is little more than a glorified stream. There are two places where they have to leave its banks in order to make it around boulders jutting out of the ground. The whole valley is a rugged wilderness, a place James feels sure few people have ever been.

  After a brief stop for a bite to eat around noon, they head out again and ride another hour before the lake at the base of Kiliticus comes into view. Sitting as it does at the base of the mammoth mountain, it appears small by comparison. But as they approach, it’s revealed as being fairly large.

  The miner brings them to a stop and when they’ve all gathered near says, “If you look on the far shore of the lake, you will see the ruins.”

  Sure enough, when James looks he can make out several structures. Excited, he urges them onward and they move as quickly as they can. It takes a little over an hour before they reach the southern side of the lake, the area from which the river they’ve been following issues forth.

  James takes the lead in his impatience and hurries around the lake. The ruins grow ever closer and his excitement and anticipation mounts. He glances back to the miner and asks, “Where exactly did you see the symbol?”

  He points to the largest structure situated in the middle of the ruins. “It lies within that building.”

  Kicking the sides of his horse, James bolts forward.

  “James, wait!” Jiron hollers but he doesn’t pay attention in his excitement. Kicking his horse into a gallop, he and the others race after him.

  The ruins are the size of a small village. There’s even evidence of a dock which had once extended out upon the water, small pilings protrude from the water. All the buildings are moss covered and overgrown with vegetation. Many of the buildings have plants growing within their interiors, as well as a few trees growing right through what used to be the roofs of two of them.

  Jiron scans the area for any dangers, but doesn’t find any. The only danger he feels they’re likely to find would be some large predator that may have made one of these buildings its own.

  James flies around the dilapidated buildings until finally arriving at the large structure in the middle. He brings his horse to a stop near the front entrance and dismounts just as Jiron arrives next to him.

  “You shouldn’t run headlong into unknown territory like that,” chides Jiron as he gets down from his horse. The others arrive and begin dismounting shortly after.

  “Sorry,” apologizes James. “I just got caught up in the moment.”

  The building before them has to have been a temple at one time. No statues or other adornment are visible but the feel of the place brings them to that conclusion. The front doors are closed tight and blazoned upon each is the Star of Morcyth.

  “This is it,” breathes James. Excitement rising like an irresistible tide, he steps forward toward the three steps leading up to the doors. Jiron moves to go around him but he lays a hand on his arm and says, “Not this time.”

  Jiron nods and allows James to be the first to enter.

  James takes the steps to the door with the others following close behind. Hand trembling in anticipation, he reaches out and takes hold of the door handle. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he turns the handle and opens the door.

  The ravages of time have not spared this building either. The door opens several inches before stopping. Turning back to the others, he says, “Feels like there’s something blocking it.”

  “Push harder,” Uther suggests just as Jorry asks, “Need any help?”

  Turning back to the door, he shoves hard with his shoulder and the door suddenly bursts into the room. Something hits him in the leg, a little sapling is growing before the door and had snapped back after the door was pushed over it. “Just a tree,” he says to the others.

  Inside the building, one of the large windows has been broken out and a pile of leaves as well as other dead vegetation lie beneath it from where the wind deposited them over the years. The room he walks into is a large central meeting area. It looks nothing like any church or temple he’s been in before. This may have served as more than just a meeting place to worship Morcyth.

  Tables and chairs are situated about the room, many having fallen prey to insects and lie rotted upon the floor. Off to one side is what has to be the altar. It’s made of wood and shows the wear of time as everything else does.

  Jiron makes his way toward it and asks, “Doesn’t this look familiar?”

  James comes over and takes a closer look. It’s a roughly four foot high pedestal with a small platform atop it. Upon closer examination, the platform has the Star of Morcyth engraved within it. Glancing back to Jiron he shakes his head, “No, I can’t place it.”

  “It’s the same as the one we found back in the City of Light when we first met,” he explains.

  “Right, under your hideout,” he says. Now it comes to him. When he and Jiron first met, they ended up having to flee through an underground secret passage which the medallion had opened. There they found a room with a marble pedestal with a crystal platform on top similar to this one. Only that one, instead of having the Star of Morcyth engraved within it, had an open space within it in the shape of an inverted pyramid.

  He reaches up and tries to remove the platform but it is an integral part of the altar and doesn’t budge. The one in the City of Light had revealed a secret door when removed. He tries putting the Star diagram of his medallion on the Star of the platform but that fails to yield any results.

  The others have spread out to search the building, Fifer and Qyrll take the stairs to the upper level and return shortly. “Nothing up there but a couple rooms filled with moss covered furniture.”

  “Let me see,” says James and he takes the stairs up. Two rooms sit across from each other at the top of the stairs and after a brief examination, turns up nothing.

  As he comes back down, Jiron says, “I don’t think you’ll find anything in here.”

  “Why not?” James asks.

  “Remember the riddle from Saragon?” he replies. “It said ‘At the foot of the king, bathe in his cup.’ Seems to me the ‘cup’ would be the lake out there.” He then points out the open window to where they can see the lake a short ways away.

&nbs
p; He contemplates that for a minute, and after another quick glance around the temple says, “You may be right.” He then turns to Fifer and says, “Take the others and see if you can find a building we can use as a headquarters while we search the area. Get the horses settled in and gather wood, we may be here a while.”

  “You got it,” he says. Taking Qyrll, Jorry and Uther with him, he takes care of it.

  Leaving the temple, James and the rest move toward the lake. Jiron turns to the miner and asks, “Is there another way out of here?”

  “Why?” he asks.

  “In the event the Empire’s forces show up, we may not have the option of returning the way we came,” he explains.

  “I’m not sure,” he admits. “I only came here once and that was years ago.”

  Glancing around at the area surrounding them, he hopes there may be another way out. The fact that the Empire’s soldiers had been camped around Ironhold makes him nervous. Despite not having seen any evidence of them being followed, he knows they’re out there somewhere.

  At the water’s edge, James comes to a stop and looks around. He mumbles to himself, ‘At the foot of the king, bathe in his cup. Pull his beard to make him sit up.’ Gazing first one way and then the other, he doesn’t see anything which could remotely be considered a beard.

  The water doesn’t even come to the edge of the mountain. Rather it ends several hundred feet before, most of the buildings sit between the water and where the mountain begins its rise.

  “Maybe you have to get into the water,” suggests Jiron.

  Turning to glance at him he exclaims, “Are you crazy? That water must be at or near freezing. I wouldn’t last more than a minute.”

  “Yeah,” adds Dave. “Think next time.”

  Jiron turns a cold stare toward him which is returned with equal intensity. His hand is flexing upon a hilt of one of his knifes and only the presence of James prevents him from killing Dave on the spot. Getting his anger under control, he returns his attention to James and says, “It did say ‘Bathe in his cup’.” Gesturing to the water he adds, “That seems to be the only thing around here which could be considered a cup.”

  James brings his gaze to the water and a shiver runs through him as he contemplates the idea of entering its frigid depths. “Man I don’t want to do that,” he says. “If we can’t come up with another theory, I’ll do it tomorrow. Until then, let’s try to figure another way.”

  “As you will,” he says.

  The sound of someone approaching from the town causes him to turn and see Fifer walking toward them. “We found a building which will suffice,” he says. “It has all four walls still intact and most of the ceiling. It’s large enough for us as well as the horses, might’ve been an inn.”

  “Good,” says James. Glancing to where the sun is reaching toward the peaks to the west, he turns to Jiron and says, “We better make sure to post a watch tonight. Don’t want the Empire getting the drop on us now, not with us being so close and all.”

  “I figured as much already,” he says. “Two to a watch.”

  They follow Fifer back to the building he’s staked out for their headquarters. It does look like an inn, there are several rooms off the ground floor but they’re all planning on staying together in the common room. Better to keep warm that way.

  Once there, James tells the miner that he’ll no longer hold him should he wish to depart.

  “If it’s all the same with you guys, I’d just as soon stay,” he says. “With all the talk of the Empire being out there, I wouldn’t want to head back alone.”

  “You’re more than welcomed to stay,” James assures him.

  James and Dave have the first watch. They figure Dave will be okay on watch as long as he’s with his friend. No one else would have him any way.

  Bundling up tight, he and Dave leave the inn after having a quick meal and set about finding a spot from which they can keep an eye on what’s going on. A nearby building with an upper story will work out perfectly. One wall has caved in and most of the upper area has as well. From up there they have an unrestricted view of almost the entire settlement.

  “Can’t we have a fire?” asks Dave after ten minutes of freezing in the cold breeze.

  “We dare not risk it,” replies James. “Besides ruining our night vision, anyone in the area will know we’re up here.”

  Teeth chattering, Dave says, “I don’t care, I’m freezing!”

  “Relax, it’s only another hour before we go get Jorry and Uther for their watch.” The darkness is beginning to settle in and it isn’t long before they can’t see much more than shadows.

  Their watch passes uneventfully and Dave is quite happy when they return to the warmth of the inn and wake Jorry and Uther for their turn at watch. James explains to them where the lookout they found is and they’re soon out the door.

  Dave settles in by the fire, dropping off to sleep quickly. James on the other hand sits up for awhile as he tries to figure out another way other than getting into the water.

  Chapter Thirty

  The following morning, the only alternative James could come up with is constructing a raft and floating out upon the surface. If that fails to produce any results then he’ll brave the icy water.

  It takes them some time to construct a raft large enough to support him safely. Miko suggested for him to use his magic in the effort but he was simply too concerned with there being another mage in the area who might pick up on it. If a mage was with the Empire’s force, who knows what he would do should he detect magic being used.

  So it took longer than it could have but they finally put one together before lunch. James is more than happy to put off going out there while they take a break and have something to eat.

  “What are you looking for out there?” Jorry asks during their meal.

  “I don’t really know,” he replies. “On the face of it, it seems kind of dumb.”

  “Prophecies are often that way,” agrees Uther. “They make no sense until it’s time for them to be understood.”

  “I guess we’ll just have to see,” he says.

  “…a thin, white blanket. You then walk with a lantern underneath and it makes the glowing apparition appear.” From across the room James hears the miner, who has yet to tell anyone his name, explain to Qyrll how he produced some of the spectral effects. “You have to make sure you are far enough away so no one will see through the disguise.”

  Nodding, Qyrll says, “Makes sense.

  James just shakes his head at them. Qyrll has been after the miner for his secrets on haunting Ironhold and he’s been more than glad to share them. Seems he’s been out of contact with people for a long time and Qyrll’s keen interest makes him feel good.

  When at last the meal is over and James can put it off no longer, they all go down to the lake where the makeshift raft sits. Uther was there securing the last few logs together while the rest finished their lunch. The whole thing looks rather dubious. Having put it together without the aid of an axe has left many branches sticking out at odd angles. To James it looks like a giant porcupine, at least there will be plenty of handholds to keep him atop it.

  Jiron plans on coming along and has a long stripped pole which he’ll use to move the raft away from shore. Lying in the center of the raft are two wide strips of bark which they’ll be able to use as paddles when the pole is no longer effective. Moving to the raft, Jiron boards it first while Jorry and Uther hold it steady.

  “Hurry up man,” Jorry says from where he stands in the water. “I think my feet are going numb.” He makes his way on and then holds onto a protruding branch while James comes forward.

  Stepping carefully, he makes his way onto the raft and takes his place in the center. Once he’s seated firmly on the logs, he nods to Jorry and Uther who release the raft and hurry out of the water.

  Taking his pole, Jiron begins pushing them away from shore. “How far should we go?” he asks after they’ve moved out a dozen yards or s
o.

  “Middle, if we can,” he replies.

  “Don’t think my pole is going to be able to reach the bottom much longer,” he tells him. The depth of the water has steadily increased, especially once they’ve moved fifty feet from shore. Suddenly, the pole sinks almost to the surface of the water before Jiron brings it to a stop. Pulling it up, he lays it across the raft.

  Picking up one of the pieces of bark they’ll use for paddles, he hands it to James and says, “Looks like we use these from here.”

  James takes the ‘paddle’ and moves to the side opposite Jiron and begins paddling. At first they start to spin as either he or Jiron paddles harder than the other, but then they get a good rhythm down and start moving in a more straight line toward the middle of the lake.

  As he paddles, he glances back occasionally to those still on the shore and the mountain behind them. They remain there, staring at their progress across the lake. The sun riding high in the sky keeps the chill at bay. At times water splashes onto him from when he dips his paddle in the water and he realizes just how cold this water is, freezing may be an understatement. They paddle until the raft reaches roughly the center of the lake and then they stop.

  “Now what?” asks Jiron.

  “I haven’t a clue,” he says. “For all we know that line may simply be there to throw people off. Nothing ever said that every line of a prophecy has to mean something.”

  “Can you give it to me one more time?” asks Jiron.

  “Sure,” he replies.

  When the Fire shines Bright,

  And the Star walks the Land.

  Time for the Lost,

  Will soon be at Hand.

  At the foot of the King,

  Bathe in his Cup.

  Pull his Beard,

  To make him sit Up.

  Seven to Nine,

  Six to Four.

  Spit in the Wind,

  And open the Door.

  “Hmmm,” muses Jiron as he contemplates the words. “The second verse refers to the king in every line. Seems important.” He then turns his attention to the mountain which dominates the entire area. Kiliticus rises immensely behind their comrades on the shore.