The rain lessened throughout the morning until shortly after noon, when it stopped altogether. Then when the sun broke through the clouds, it brought much welcomed relief to the soddened pair. James and Miko maintained a quick pace as they tried to catch up with the remaining bandits.
They picked up the trail about mid-afternoon when they encountered a swath of grass that had recently been trampled. “I think we found them”
“Looks like it,” Miko agreed. “What are we going to do when we find them?”
“Play it by ear.” James gazed toward where the trampled grass led.” We won’t know what our options will be until we do.”
“I suppose,” he said. “Are you feeling any better?”
“Some,” replied James. “I should be recharged somewhat by the time we find them.”
“Recharged?”
Chuckling, James clarified, “It’s a word from where I come from. It means that I will be able to do magic again.”
“Oh, that’s good”
A large group of tents with a makeshift corral set off to one side appeared out of the horizon not long before dusk. The number of tents indicated a far larger group than they had anticipated. James had them enter a copse of trees from where they would be able to observe what was going on inside the camp, yet still be far enough away so they wouldn’t be discovered.
“I think those are the horses,” Miko said, indicating the herd inside the corral.
“You are probably right,” agreed James. “But this is a far larger group than I anticipated. It looks like an army camp.”
Glancing questioningly to James, Miko asked, “How do you figure?”
“Several things,” James replied. “First of all the tents are lined up uniformly, in rows with the larger tents in the center. Second, they have patrols walking a perimeter around the encampment,” he pointed out three men who walked around the camp at distinct intervals.
“What do we do now?”
Thinking for a second, he replied, “Not much we can do, but it’s beginning to look as if the ladies will not be getting their horses back. Unless you think we should go down there and ask for them?” Seeing the look of apprehension on his face, he couldn’t help but add, “Or attack?”
“Good heavens, no!” Miko exclaimed. “They’d kill us for sure.”
“Most likely,” agreed James. “We’ll hang out here for a while and see what’s going on.”
“Why?” Miko asked. “I mean if we are no longer planning on getting the horses back, what’s the point of staying here longer than we need to?”
“You see, Miko, I hate leaving things unanswered, and there are still several questions I’d like answers to.” James leaned back against a tree and opened a saddle bag, took out a handful of travel rations to munch on while he watched the camp. He handed some to Miko.
“Like what?” Miko asked between bites.
Considering the question while he chewed, James replied, “If that is an army of some kind, whose is it? I doubt if it belongs to Cardri. After all, why would the bandits take horses that they stole to them? And if it isn’t, why are they here in the first place?”
“Mercenaries, maybe?” Miko suggested.
“Perhaps, though it doesn’t feel right,” James said. “Look at it like this. Suppose the bandits that sacked the caravan and those over there are part of a much larger force. Remember that Madoc is under siege and has requested Cardri’s aid. What if these are working under orders from the Empire to sow fear here in Cardri? What would the result be?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Miko.
“If the stability of Cardri is in question, then the king would be unlikely to send a large force to help Madoc against the Empire. After all, he needs to care for his own first.”
“But wouldn’t the Empire run the risk of going to war with Cardri if they are found out?”
“Most definitely,” agreed James. “This brings me back to the questions that need answers.”
“So we are to just sit and wait?” Miko asked, not liking it.
“For the moment, yes,” James replied, turning his attention back to the encampment.
Miko watched for a while before asking, “Why do you care?”
Glancing over to Miko, he asked, “Care about what?”
Pointing to the encampment, “Them. I mean, after all what does it have to do with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You are not from here, why does it matter to you?” Miko clarified.
“Some of those down there did a horrible thing when they killed all those people at the caravan,” explained James. “I would wish to hinder them for no other reason than that. Besides, people of good conscience must not stand idly by while bad people do bad things.”
“I understand,” Miko said, “I think.”
Smiling, James said, “Trust me, we are doing the right thing.”
They watched until the sun began to settle closer to the horizon. Three horsemen soon emerged from the camp, riding hard to the north. Inside the camp, they saw activity as the tents started to come down.
“Looks like they are breaking camp.”
“Now what?” asked Miko.
“As much as I would like to know what those in the encampment are doing, I think we should go after the riders,” he said. He quickly mounted his horse to follow them once they rode past. Miko moved to mount his as well. They waited, hidden in the trees as the men first came abreast, then moved past, their hiding spot not more than a hundred feet away. Once they were well past, James and Miko emerged from the copse to set out after them.
James felt in his pocket to make sure his stones were there. He was glad to have picked them up earlier. Maintaining a good pace, they kept a discreet distance behind the riders, just within visual range.
“Looks like they’re heading for the bandits’ camp where we rescued the women,” James hollered over to Miko.
Miko agreed.
Suddenly from up ahead, horns blared and they saw the three riders turn and head back toward them at a full gallop. Coming into view behind them was a line of uniformed horsemen.
James brought his horse to a stop and dismounted.
“What are you doing?” Miko asked anxiously.
“Going to slow them up a bit.” He handed Miko his reins. “Here, hang on to this for a second.” He then faced the riders who were coming fast.
Concentrating, he took one of his stones and threw as he cast his spell. It flew unerringly toward the rear rider and struck dead on, knocking him from his horse.
He took another stone and did the same to a second rider. This time the rider’s foot caught in the stirrup and was dragged for quite a distance before the horse came to a stop.
By this time, the remaining rider realized James and Miko were there and made straight for them. James threw a third stone and this time nailed the horse not the man. The horse crashed to the ground and threw the rider free.
The man hit the ground at a roll and was on his feet not far from them. He looked at James and then back at the rapidly approaching cavalry. The man reached into his shirt and put something into his mouth. A second later he gripped his stomach and fell to the ground.
“What happened?”
“He poisoned himself,” James explained. “Guess he didn’t want to be taken captive.” They waited until the cavalry approached.
“Stay where you are!” one of the men commanded. Several held lances and lowered them, covering James and Miko. The riders encircled the pair, leaving an opening to allow another to pass through their ranks. This rider was an older man, with hair slightly gray at the edges. His uniform was of better quality than that of the others. Must be an officer, James thought to himself.
“Now, who might you two be?” he asked as he drew close, looking down at them.
James answered, “My name is James and this is my friend, Miko.”
When he heard their names, he nodded and said to one of his men on his right, “L
ieutenant, see to the dead riders and send out scouts. I want to know where they are and fast.”
“Yes, sir,” replied the man next to him who began to bark out orders.
The leader dismounted. “Greetings, James, I am Captain Varos of the King’s cavalry.” He extended his hand and James shook it. “So, would you happen to know someone by the name of Rylin?”
“As a matter of fact we do, Captain,” James replied. “We helped him rescue two ladies from bandits earlier.”
“Thought you might be them. We ran into him and the ladies back at the caravan. They said you had gone in pursuit of another group of bandits who had taken off with their horses.”
Nodding, James said, “That is correct. We found them, but they met up with a larger band and any chance of recovering the stolen horses was gone.”
“Oh? How many were there? Where did you see them?” he asked intently.
“There were over fifty men and their camp was further south, about ten miles or so,” James explained. “They broke camp about the time we started to follow these here.” He gestured to the dead men. “I think the main body was probably going to head south, though I am not positive.”
”Lieutenant!” the officer bellowed.
The lieutenant approached, “Sir!”
“These men say their encampment was about ten miles to the south and that they broke camp not too long ago, possibly heading south. Send scouts to have a look and have the men ready to ride in five minutes.”
“Yes, Captain!” the lieutenant saluted and proceeded to carry out the orders.
Another rider came up and saluted, “Captain, we searched the bodies but found nothing on them. One looks like he was poisoned.”
“Very good,” the captain replied and the man went back to his duties. “Poisoned?” the captain asked.
“When I knocked his horse down with a rock, the man came to his feet. He glanced at you and your men coming and then reached into his pocket and ate something. Shortly after that he fell over dead.”
“Too bad, I would have liked to have questioned him.”
The lieutenant returned and reported, “Captain, the men are ready.”
The captain mounted. Turning to James he said, “Thank you for your help.” To his men he said, “Let’s ride!” and they raced southward at a gallop.
Watching them ride out of sight, Miko asked, “Should we follow?”
“I don’t think so.” He glanced at the dead bodies and then mounted his horse. Miko did the same. “There is likely to be a battle when they meet and I would rather not be around when it happens.” They headed northward until the early evening.
Once the light faded, they made camp. After a quick dinner of rations they watched the night sky slowly darken, until only the light from the fire remained. The stars formed a brilliant pattern in the heavens above.
“Look!” Miko cried out as a shooting star left a blazing trail across the night sky, slowly dissipating into nothingness. “That’s an omen.”
“Hardly,” James rebutted. “That is simply a rock falling out of the sky, hitting the atmosphere and the friction caused by its speed through the air burns it up which causes a blazing trail.”
“What?” Miko asked with a confused look.
Chuckling, James said, “It’s just a rock falling out of the sky. There is nothing mystical about it.”
“I don’t know,” Miko insisted. “They are supposed to herald that something of import is about to happen or has.”
“For who?” James questioned.
“I don’t know, somebody somewhere I suppose,” Miko reasoned. “It’s got to mean something.”
James said, “Not everything has to mean something. Sometimes things occur and that is all there is to it. I am sure that something somewhere is happening to someone that could be called extraordinary. But I am sure that it would be happening even without a sign from above.”
“Don’t you believe in signs and omens?”
“No, not really,” James explained. “Everything has an explanation, if you just know all the facts about it. It’s when you see only part of whatever is happening that you create mystical and often implausible meanings behind them. I know that rocks are flying through space out there all the time and that they do occasionally fall from the sky, creating a blazing trail across the heavens.”
Not convinced, Miko argued, “The gods are always sending omens and portents. We just have to be alert and understand them when they happen.”
Thinking about magic and the things he had seen since coming to this world, he said, “Perhaps you do have a point, and I’ll concede that it may actually be a sign sent from above for a specific purpose. But since we have no way to know what, where, or who, I doubt if it’s going to do us much good.”
“I suppose you’re right about that,” Miko agreed. Changing the subject, he asked, “Are we going to see how Rylin and the women are making out?”
“I think so,” James replied. “At least we will tell them what is happening with their horses. They may get them back if the Captain is successful in battle. At least he knows who they belong to.”
“Do you really think there will be a battle?” Miko asked.
“Perhaps,” James answered. “The Captain can’t just let them get away with attacks on civilians within their borders, so if he thinks he can win the day, then I’m sure he will attack. And if not, then who knows what he will do, maybe send for reinforcements so he can launch a successful attack. We may never know.”
“Think we’ll find what you’re looking for over in Madoc around the Sea of the Gods?”
“I really don’t know,” James said, “but it is all I have to go on. Hopefully we can find out something more in Trademeet before we head through the pass. Maybe someone there will have some recollection of hearing a story or tale from their grandparents about it. We’ll see.”
James went to the fire and added a few more sticks and then returned to his blanket. “We better get some sleep, we have a ways to go tomorrow and I’m tired.” He pulled the blanket over him to keep away the coolness of the night.
“Good night, James.”
“You too, Miko.” They lay there for a while, just listening to the night until slowly drifting off to sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
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