Riding out of Willimet, they remained quiet for some time. Miko worried about his friend who had fallen into a dark, brooding mood. After the outskirts of town were no longer visible, James suddenly stopped his horse in the middle of the road and cried, “That bitch!”
Miko stopped and looked back toward him saying, “Don’t take it too much to heart.”
“What? What did you tell me?” he yelled, and turned his attention on Miko. “Not only was that story a complete lie, but she forced me out of there so I couldn’t even reveal it for the lie that it was. And after I gave her fifteen gold pieces to get a new crystal ball because I felt sorry for her.” He looked down the road toward town and yelled, “I want my money back!”
“Now just calm down,” Miko said as he brought his horse close to his friend. “There was not much you could have done, not with that crowd believing everything she said.”
James gave him an ugly glare, but Miko continued anyway. “Just why are you so mad? Because you were made out to be a wimpy momma’s boy in front of the crowd? So what?”
James turned his horse around and began heading back toward Willimet.
Miko quickly rode past, and then turned to block him.
“Get out of my way,” James growled.
“No,” Miko told him, “I won’t. And you’re not going to go back there either, not with the way she had worked up that crowd. You’ll never have the chance to get close to her.”
“Look,” he continued while James listened, “let’s finish what we set out to do. Go and find this temple. Then afterward we can come back to deal with her if you still want.” Seeing James considering his words he added, “Remember, we have to make it to the City of Light before Saragon falls and the Empire advances further north.”
James stared at him for a second, emotions playing across his face, then he slowly nodded. “Alright, we will deal with her should we come back this way.” They resumed their trek east toward Trademeet.
Miko breathed a sigh of relief as his friend turned about. He got his horse moving and hurried to catch up. He wasn’t sure what more he could have done had James been set on returning to Willimet.
For the rest of the day, Miko rode in silence while James brooded about the way he had been treated and how she drove him out of town. His mood gradually improved and by late afternoon he realized that going back truly would have been the wrong decision, maybe even a costly one.
Sunset found them still on the road in the middle of nowhere with naught more than grass and rolling hills as far as they could see. Just before the sun dipped below the horizon, they made camp atop a nearby hill.
After supper while they relaxed around the fire, James heard a rumble off in the distance. “Looks like a storm may be coming in.”
“Great,” moaned Miko as he stared toward the horizon. Shortly, flashes of lightning began to appear. “What are we going to do?”
“Get wet I suppose, not much else we can do,” James said as he stared out across the grasslands. Except for the occasional tree, there was nothing that could be used for shelter.
Pointing off in the distance where two lone trees grew Miko said, “We could take shelter under those trees over there. At least we could stay dry a little bit.”
James shook his head. “Not in a thunder storm. Lightning could hit the treetops and travel to the ground where we would be. People have died from being struck by lightning, I would rather get wet.”
Miko looked longingly at the shelter the trees would provide, but trusted in James’ judgment and stayed put. “Maybe it won’t reach us until tomorrow.”
“Maybe,” James said not sounding as if he believed it. “There’s a good way to tell, though.”
“How?”
“Watch the storm and when you see a flash of lightning, start counting slowly. Stop when you hear the rumble of thunder. Do it every time and at the same speed. If you are able to reach a higher number the second time, then it’s moving away from you. If on the other hand, your count is short before hearing the rumble, it’s coming toward you.”
Miko watched the storm and waited for a flash of lightning. Flash! “1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7… 8.” Boom!
Miko looked over toward James who said, “Now, if your next number is a 9 then the storm is moving away, if it’s a 7 then it’s coming closer.”
“What if it’s the same?”
“Then it’s most likely moving across the horizon, neither toward nor away from you.”
“That makes sense,” Miko said and once again looked toward the storm. Flash! “1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7… 8… 9” Boom! Smiling he turned toward James, “It’s moving away!” he exclaimed happily.
“Maybe,” conceded James. “However you should wait a few minutes before trying it again, some storms cover a wide area and the lightning could appear within different areas of the same storm.”
Miko sat anxiously by the fire, and counted to himself in-between flashes. “James,” he said after several minutes of counting.
“Yes?”
“Couldn’t you do magic to make the storm not come over here?”
“I don’t know, maybe. But that would be selfish of me.”
“Selfish?” asked Miko. “What do you mean?”
“If I were to move that storm so it passed us by, then I could also be moving it away from farms that desperately need the rain for their crops to grow. That could cause hardship on people for my own comfort. No, I refuse to influence the weather for so selfish a reason as that.”
“Not many people consider others before themselves”
“I found that to be true where I come from too,” James agreed. “You have to live by your principles, in all things. If you don’t, then there is no limit to how far you may stray.”
“Yeah, I can understand that.”
Flash!
James looked over at Miko silently counting till the crack of thunder.
Boom!
“What’s the count?”
“Still 8,” he replied, looking relieved. “Looks as if it’s going to miss us.”
“Whether it will or whether it won’t, we need to turn in,” James said as he threw a couple more logs on the fire to keep it going further into the night. “We still have a long ways to go.”
Miko settled down in his blanket, drawing it over him as he watched the storm. James thought about Willimet and how Miko probably stopped him from doing something stupid. It wasn’t long before Miko began to snore. He looked over toward the storm, watching the lightning as it flashed in the night, still concerned about it moving his way. Finally, he drifted off to sleep.
The morning dawned dark, the sun unable to pierce the dark clouds that stretched from horizon to horizon. Their blankets were damp from a light sprinkle during the night. The thunder storm had long since passed, for which Miko was very grateful. They took just enough time for a quick breakfast, and were soon on the road.
Shortly after they headed out, a light rain began to fall. They broke out their ponchos acquired some time earlier in Cardri.
The rain continued on again off again all morning. The cloud cover remained constant, with nary a break to allow the sun through. A little before noon, the rain increased until it became a steady downpour. The road turned into mud, and the ditch running alongside became a small stream.
“I hate the rain,” complained Miko. “Can’t we find someplace to wait it out?”
Glancing around at the endless grasslands extending in all directions, James asked, “Where would you like to start?”
Looking sullen, Miko hunkered down in his poncho and stayed quiet.
With no great desire to stop in the rain, they ate their meal in the saddle. They stopped only long enough to give the horses grain and a break from their weight. Later on as the day progressed, James noticed a caravan stopped in the road ahead. By the number of wagons, it was a big one.
“Maybe we could ride in one and get out of the rain?” Miko suggested, looking ho
peful toward James.
James shook his head, “They would be too slow and I seriously doubt if they would let strangers in with their goods.”
As they approached the caravan, things looked a bit odd. First of all, the wagons weren’t moving. As they drew closer, James saw why; none had any horses.
“Trouble.”
“What are we going to do?”
“See if we can render aid. They may have been hit by bandits,” James said as he quickly brought his horse toward the end wagon. “Keep your eyes open and holler if you see anything.”
They found the driver slumped over, with two arrows protruding from his back. Cautiously moving alongside the wagon train, they made their way toward the lead wagon. More dead drivers appeared, either slumped over on their wagons, or lying upon the ground next to them. Near the center of the column they came across twelve slain guards, testimony to a battle which had raged there. Their bodies were hacked and stabbed, many having been pierced with arrows.
Proceeding on, they continued toward the lead wagon where they discovered a man who must have been the master in charge of the caravan if his fine clothes were any indication. Six arrows protruded from his lifeless body and his hand still gripped the stock of a crossbow. He hadn’t gone down without a fight.
A smashed chest sat on the ground by the wagon, its top broken open. James looked inside only to find it empty. “Looks like it was bandits that hit them. Check the bodies, see if anyone is alive.”
Moving back down the caravan, they went about the grisly task of searching for survivors. They checked dead body after dead body and began to think that there was no one still alive. It wasn’t until they reached the middle of the caravan where the guards laid slain upon the ground that Miko yelled, “James, over here! We’ve got a live one.”
Hurrying, James reached him just as Miko turned the man over onto his back. It was one of the guards. A large bump protruded from the guard’s forehead, which appeared to be his only wound. Suddenly, the man’s eyes fluttered open and he tensed up when he found James and Miko standing over him.
“We are not going to hurt you,” James said reassuringly. “We are not with those that attacked you.”
“Who are you then?”
“My name is James.” Pointing to Miko he continued, “And this is Miko.”
“Name’s Rylin.” Propping himself against a wagon wheel, the man looked around at the carnage. “Is there anyone else alive?”
“You are the only one we have found so far,” James replied. “It looks as if they took the horses and smashed open a chest by the lead wagon.”
“Damn bandits,” he cursed and started to rise.
“Hold on there,” James said as he tried to keep him down. “You have a nasty bump and you need to take it easy.”
Knocking James’ hand away, Rylin climbed to his feet where he wavered unsteadily. He brought his hand up to his head and felt the bump. “I don’t care,” he said and then headed for the lead wagon. As he passed wagons, he gave the dead drivers a cursory look before continuing to the next.
Upon reaching the lead wagon, he stopped when he spied the dead merchant lying on the ground and quickly scanned the area. Turning to James and Miko he asked, “There were two women with us, the merchant’s wife and his daughter. Did you see them?”
James shook his head. “No, all we found were dead guards and drivers.”
“That’s right,” Miko agreed.
“The bandits must have taken them,” he said as he climbed up onto the wagon and scanned the horizon. “Damn, can’t see anything in this rain.” Rylin then collapsed into the driver’s seat with a sad, stricken look on his face.
“We could try and find them,” suggested James. “When did they hit your caravan?”
“It was about an hour after we started moving this morning,” he paused, thinking. “Their attack came fast and not long into it, I was knocked from my wagon and must have hit my head on a rock. After that, I don’t remember anything until I came to with you standing over me. How long was I out?”
“It’s a little after noon now, so probably a couple of hours. If they took the time to loot and steal the valuables, not to mention the time removing the horses from their harnesses, then they couldn’t have left too long ago. Perhaps we could catch up with them.”
“How? The rain has washed away any tracks that could have told us which way they went.”
“Miko,” James said, “go get my compass please.”
Miko raced down the line of wagons to where their horses waited and quickly returned with James’ homemade compass.
“What is that gonna do?” Rylin asked, curiously hopeful.
“With your help, tell us which way they went,” he explained. “Now, if you could find something that one of the women used to wear, or had with them often?”
“Why do you want that?”
“If I have something of theirs, it will help me to locate them.” Seeing that Rylin still failed to comprehend, James added, “With magic.”
“You don’t look like a mage.”
“I can’t do it without something of theirs,” James said, getting somewhat irritated at the man. “Are you going to help or not? You’re wasting time we can ill afford to lose.”
Getting up, Rylin rummaged around inside the wagon and returned with a green scarf. “Sheila, the merchant’s daughter, used to wear this often. Will it do?” he asked as he handed it down to James.
“Let’s see,” James replied as he took it.
Wrapping the scarf around his hand, he nestled the compass within it. Closing his eyes he concentrated, thought of the owner of the scarf and wanting to find her. He let loose the power and the compass swiveled to the south, away from the road and into the grasslands.
Showing it to Rylin he pointed in that direction and said, “She’s that way.”
He stared off to the south. “Is she alive?”
“It doesn’t tell me that, just where she is,” he responded. “Even if she’s dead, we can still deal with the bandits.” Turning to Miko he said, “Bring our horses.” Miko hurried to comply and soon returned with the three animals.
As he and Miko made ready to ride, Rylin asked, “What about me?”
“Get on behind Miko,” James said, trying to ignore the look the boy flashed him. Once Rylin had mounted, James turned his horse in the direction indicated by the compass. “Let’s ride quickly and see if we can catch them.” Without waiting for a reply, he kicked his horse into a gallop and they raced off the road into the grasslands with James leading the way.
The rain steadily worsened, increasing until it was a heavy downpour, reducing visibility to mere feet. It didn’t take long before the ground began to show signs of the bandits’ progress. The grass was increasingly trampled and the rain-soaked earth began to show hoof prints. No longer needing his compass, James put it away and concentrated on the trail before them.
“We must be gaining,” he said when they pulled alongside.
“Yes, I believe you are correct,” agreed Rylin. “How far behind do you think we are?”
“Not sure,” admitted James. “Though I’ve never done any tracking before, I doubt if we are too far.”
Not understanding Miko asked, “How do you know?”
Pointing to the trail they were following, James said, “The rain hasn’t had enough time to be able to remove the signs of their passing. Therefore, they can’t be too far ahead.”
“That makes sense,” Miko said looking at the signs of the bandits passing.
“If this rain continues as it is, we may end up riding into them before we even know they are there,” said Rylin.
“That’s a chance we’ll have to take,” James replied. A moment later, he came to a stop and dismounted. He picked up several stones and placed them in one of his pockets.
“What do you need those for?” Rylin asked.
“Ammunition,” James answered, grimly.
“Ammunition?” asked Ryl
in, “What’s that?”
“When we catch them,” James explained as he swung back into the saddle, “you’ll see.”
Mounted again, they set off after the bandits. Another hour passed and the rain continued its relentless downpour. The trail became clearer and more distinct now that they had narrowed the gap. Even with the torrential deluge, they had little trouble making it out.
Then, from out of the rain ahead came a woman’s scream. “Sheila!” shouted Rylin. Kicking their horses into a gallop, they raced forward hoping to arrive in time.
No sooner had James reached a full gallop, than indistinct shadows appeared out of the rain before him. Unable to stop, he rushed headlong into the bandits’ camp, knocking down two before he even realized they were there. As the bandits hit the ground, his horse slammed into the side of a tent and the unexpected impact vaulted him from the saddle. He hit the tent and it collapsed beneath him.
“To arms! Intruders!”
James rolled and cleared the side of the collapsing tent, gaining his feet. He looked around and saw men running toward him with swords drawn. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the stones. With magic directing his aim and adding velocity, one missile struck the nearest attacker square in the chest. The bandit looked in startled surprise at the hole before he collapsed to the ground, dead.
Three more men bore down on him so he turned and ran, keeping distance between them. He concentrated, then stopped suddenly and spun quickly toward his pursuers, casting his flashing light spell. The brilliance of the flash caused them to pause just long enough for him to throw three more stones in quick succession, taking them out.
“To me!” he heard a commanding voice pierce the air. “To me!”
A clash of metal off to his right signaled Rylin’s entry into the battle. Following the sound, he found the caravan guard hard pressed as he battled two bandits. Using his last stone, he nailed one of them in the side, dropping him to the ground. Rylin stepped back a moment and glanced over to see James, who was but a shadow in the rain. He acknowledged him with a nod and then continued the attack on the remaining bandit.
James moved in the direction from which the commanding voice had earlier called out. Darting around another tent, he spied a group of men heading toward him. One was covered in armor and wielded a long sword, obviously the leader. They headed toward the sound of Rylin’s battle with the bandit.
He waited too long. One of the approaching bandits saw him as he stood by the tent and hollered, pointing him out to the others. The leader yelled for them to charge and they surged forward, swords drawn.
Seeing a dozen men bearing down on him, James ran, angling away from where Rylin was battling. He hoped to give him time to finish his opponent before help arrived.
Another shape materialized out of the rain and he prepared another spell. Then he realized it was Miko leading the horses and mule.
“Are you okay?” Miko asked before he saw the raging, sword waving men emerge out of the rain behind James.
“Get the hell out of here!” James yelled, and then turned to face the men. He concentrated on the ground near the leading edge of the attackers and let loose a massive surge of power just as the men entered the targeted area.
Crrrrumph!
The ground erupted, throwing men, mud and rocks high into the air. James cried out at the pain caused by unleashing so much power at once. He dropped to his knees, but refused to give in to unconsciousness.
Surveying the damage through the rain and falling mud, he saw most of the men were unmoving. From behind the scene of carnage, three men, including the leader, walked around the crater. Coming toward him cautiously, the men gained confidence when they saw him on his knees.
James grabbed a stone from off the ground as he climbed to his feet and faced the approaching men. “Stand back!” he yelled, putting more strength and confidence in his voice than he really felt. “Lest you wish to die.”
“You’re the one to die, mage,” the leader said as he continued his approach, a smug smile upon his face. “You can’t have much left in you after that, not if it left you on your knees.”
Coming off his knees through a sheer force of will, James stood straight and tall, praying that they wouldn’t collapse. “Die then,” he yelled. He threw the stone at the leader while he cast his spell. There was no familiar out- surge of power and the rock bounced harmlessly off the leader’s armor. His magic had been all but depleted and the effort to draw on the little remaining to him caused dots to dance before his eyes.
Laughing, the leader said, “Take him boys.” His two men came at James as he tried to flee. But his weak legs gave out and he dropped to the ground. Turning, he saw his death coming at a run.
Thwock!
A crossbow bolt flew out of the rain to strike one of the men in the shoulder, spinning him backward. The bandit cried out in pain as he hit the ground. James saw Miko throw down the crossbow and draw his knife. Miko came to James and stood before him.
The other bandit, seeing who it was that shot his partner said, “I’m going to gut you boy. You’re going to die slow and painful.”
Miko stood ready and didn’t back down. James could see that the boy’s legs were shaking. He was scared to death, but still held his ground.
A fast-moving shadow emerged from the pouring rain and slammed into the man approaching Miko, knocking him to the ground. Rylin quickly regained his feet and slashed down, catching the bandit in the neck, practically severing his head from his shoulders.
Roaring in rage, the leader rushed Rylin and launched into a series of blows, causing him to retreat in the face of such an onslaught. Rylin successfully blocked the leader’s attacks, doing all he could just to hold his own.
Hack! Hack! Slash!
It was soon obvious that Rylin was outclassed. The leader was by far the better swordsman and he was protected by armor where Rylin was not.
Miko approached the battle in an attempt to help the caravan guard, but only received a back- handed cut for his efforts that slashed open his upper left arm. Out of commission, he backed away from the fight. He tore a strip of cloth off his shirt and used it to stem the flow of blood, tying it as tightly as possible.
James watched Rylin blocked blow after blow, never once able to go on the offensive. The two combatants moved around the camp, the leader able to have Rylin go in any direction he wanted simply with the pattern of his blows.
“James, what are we going to do?” Miko asked, blood still leaking from under his makeshift bandage.
“I’ve no strength left in me.”
Miko extended his right hand toward James and asked, “Can you use mine?”
Looking at Miko through the rain, James said, “I don’t know what that would do to you. It may kill you.”
Miko glanced over at Rylin then said, “He’s not going to last much longer. If we don’t do something soon, we’ll all be dead.” He reached over and took James by the hand. “Just do it!”
Nodding, James concentrated, envisioning the power flowing from Miko into him and then through him. He looked at the battle where Rylin, obviously exhausted, was having greater difficulty in blocking the leader’s blows.
Suddenly, Rylin cried out as the leader scored along his side opening a shallow cut. The leader shouted in triumph, “Aha!” when he saw the blood from Rylin’s wound. Blow after blow the leader rained down upon him, continuously pushing him backward.
The leader maneuvered Rylin close to the man Miko shot with the crossbow who still laid upon the ground. The man, though in pain, reached out and grabbed Rylin’s ankle which caused him to lose his balance. Rylin stumbled and fell. The leader saw his chance and raised his sword to finish it.
Feeling the power flowing from Miko to him, James released it and felt it being sucked out of his friend at an alarming rate. Miko’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and then he slumped unconscious to the ground. James kept a tight hold of his hand so the contact wouldn’t break. He direc
ted the power to the upraised sword of the leader, increasing the disparity of polarities between the sword and the clouds above.
Flash! Boom!
A giant bolt of lightning flashed from the sky to strike the end of the sword. The resulting explosion blasted the leader into the air. The bandit on the ground was charred as both he and Rylin were lifted into the air and tossed several feet away.
The leader, when he hit the ground, no longer moved. Wisps of smoke drifted upward from his body and a hissing sound could be heard where the rain came in contact with the heated metal of his armor.
James was relieved to find that Miko was still breathing. He then made his way to Rylin.
“What was that?” Rylin asked, a little shaky. He, too, smoked in several places.
“Lightning,” James replied a bit shaky himself. “Are you okay?”
Rylin gave himself a once-over and said, “I think so. Is it over?” He pressed his hand over the cut in his side to stem the flow of blood.
“I don’t see anyone but us moving, so I think it is”
Helping Rylin to his feet, James said, “My friend is over there,” pointing to where the boy lay in the grass. “He’s out, but alive.”
“Thank goodness,” Rylin sighed, leaning on James for support. “Now, let’s find the women.”
They returned to the collapsed tent where the battle started. There they found a lump under the canvas, and it wasn’t moving. Thinking the worst, they pulled back the tent and uncovered a bandit. The man’s neck was bent at a wrong angle, obviously broken, and his pants were down around his ankles.
Rylin quickly scanned the camp through the rain but saw nothing other than the dead bandits. “Sheila!” he cried. “It’s Rylin! It’s safe, they are all dead.”
James looked around as well and soon saw two silhouettes appear out of the rain, coming toward the camp.
“Sheila!” Rylin cried and ran to them, James followed.
The women, though shaken and upset, seemed to be alright. Sheila was wrapped in a blanket and her mother had her arms around her. She had a lost look about her.
Rylin turned to her mother and asked, “Is she okay?”
“One of the bandits was just about to have his way with her,” she explained. “He had stripped her and was…about to…,” overcome with emotion, she stopped. Getting hold of herself, she continued. “Then something hit the side of the tent, knocking it over.”
Rylin put his arm around her to offer comfort when her eyes suddenly widened at something behind him. She looked as though she was ready to bolt. Seeing her reaction, Rylin turned around expecting an attack but only found James walking toward them.
“It’s okay,” Rylin assured her. “This is James, he helped rescue you.”
Relaxing somewhat, she said, “Thank you for helping us.”
“You’re welcome. I hope you and your daughter will be okay.”
“I think we will,” she said. “It may take some time for my daughter to get over this, but she will. She’s a strong girl.”
“Maybe we should put the tent up again,” James suggested, “so the ladies can have shelter?”
“No,” the mother said adamantly. “We will not stay in that tent. Besides, we need to see about our caravan.”
“How?” Rylin asks. “The horses are gone.”
She shook her head and said, “Our horses were taken by several of the bandits to the south while this group continued this way. If we can get them back, then maybe we can bring in our caravan to Trademeet and salvage something from all this.”
Seeing the doubt in Rylin’s eyes, she continued, “With my husband dead, we need the money from those goods to survive.”
“James!” Miko’s cry interrupted the conversation.
“Over here!” James hollered back. Shortly they saw him approach through the rain.
“Oh, you’re hurt!” Sheila cried out when she became aware of Rylin’s blood soaked shirt. “Let me help you.” Taking him by the hand she led him to a tent that still stood and rummaged around, coming up with several strips of cloth. Removing his shirt, she inspected the cut and decided it was not too deep. She then wrapped the cloth around his side tightly, and secured it with a knot.
“Thanks, ma’am,” Rylin said when she was finished.
“That should do for a while. Just be careful from now on, okay?”
“Alright, ma’am, I will.”
Sheila found her clothes in the tent and with her mother’s help, got dressed while everyone else looked the other way.
While Sheila dressed, James said to Rylin, “Miko and I can go after the bandits and see if the horses can be recovered, though I will need to rest for an hour or so before I leave. I pretty much wore myself out during the fight.”
“Perhaps I should go with you as well,” Rylin offered.
James shook his head. “You need to stay with the ladies and watch over them. You can defend them better than either Miko or me. And we certainly don’t want to leave them alone and unprotected.”
Rylin glanced over to the mother who agreed with the plan. “Alright, but how will we know if you are successful?”
“If we are, we’ll take them back to the road and meet you there,” James explained. “Take the bandits’ horses with you and if we don’t come back, use them as best you can to get the caravan to Trademeet.”
“Those are not draft animals,” the mother said, looking at the nearby picket of horses.
“Better than nothing wouldn’t you say?” James countered.
“I suppose so,” she agreed, though not entirely happy about the situation.
“Miko,” James said, “search all the bandits, especially the leader. See if there is anything that may tell us why they are here.”
“What do you mean?” Rylin asked as Miko rummaged through their belongings and inspected each of the dead bodies.
“The leader seemed too professional to simply be a bandit,” James explained. “Also, if they were merely bandits, why did they split their forces and send the horses south? It just doesn’t feel right to me.”
“I see your point,” Rylin acknowledged.
While Miko searched the dead, Rylin and James tied the bandit’s horses in a line, bridle to saddle. Three saddlebags were found to be filled with gold and other valuables.
“This must belong to the ladies,” James guessed when he saw the fortune, “taken from their caravan.”
“Most likely,” Rylin agreed.
The rain began to lessen though still a constant nuisance. Miko returned from his search and said, “Couldn’t find anything on anyone. There was some paper on the leader but it is ash now, couldn’t make out any writing.”
“Alright, let’s get our stuff and we’ll go look for the horses,” James told him. “Also, let’s take the tent with us; it may come in handy should the rain continue.”
“Alright, James,” Miko said as he turned to the tent in the mud.
Rylin, having already assisted the ladies to mount, came over to James and said, “Thank you for your help in rescuing them.”
“We couldn’t just leave them to their fate,” he replied. “I hope Miko and I are able to get the horses back for you.”
“So do I,” he said. “We’ll wait on the road for a day or so before continuing on toward Trademeet. If you manage to get them, try your best to find us.”
“We’ll find you,” James assured him. They walked to Rylin’s horse and James gave him a hand mounting.
“Goodbye, ladies. We’ll see you in a couple of days.”
As Rylin got the line moving, the mother said, “Thank you again, James. I can’t begin to express my gratitude for you helping Rylin to save us. Should you ever need anything, the House of Ellinize will help you.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” He stood back a bit and waved as they moved northward to where the caravan sat abandoned.
Miko waved to them as they began to leave. “Everything set?” James asked him.
“Ye
ah, I got the tent on the mule.”
“Then let’s go.”
“What is that?” he asked as they approached the horses. On the back of the pack mule was the tent all right, but it looked like it was stuffed and tied up there without any effort made to compact it.
He looked over at Miko and asked, “Never folded a tent before?”
Shaking his head, Miko answered, “No, I’m a city boy.”
James untied it from the horse, and then laid it on the ground. “Here, give me a hand and I’ll show you how to do it properly so it will be a much smaller package to handle.” Having never folded this particular type of tent, it took him a couple of tries. They eventually got it down to a manageable size and secured it on the mule.
Then they mounted and rode after the other band of bandits.
Chapter Eighteen
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