During the aftermath of the fighting, Miko and the Brothers manage to save many of the fallen. The area where they healed the wounded reminded James of a scene right out of MASH as the wounded were brought to them.
Armor and weapons from the dead Empire soldiers are cleaned up as best they can be and then are given to the newly formed units of crossbowmen and fighters. By the end of the afternoon, what wounded that could be saved has been. Devin puts up James’ tent so the leaders will have a place to meet to discuss their next course of action.
“What do you mean you’re leaving?” exclaims a weary Miko. Exhausted and wearing a fresh clean shirt as his other had been stained beyond repair with the blood of the wounded, he gazes at James in disbelief.
“I’m taking Jiron and Jared further into the Empire while the rest of you follow Illan back to Madoc,” he explains. Even though he had told them that he would be taking everyone from The Ranch with him when he split off from Illan, he came to the conclusion that a small group would travel faster without attracting as much notice.
“I’m coming too,” he states very matter-of-factly.
Shaking his head, James replies, “Not this time.” When he sees Miko ready to begin another tirade about coming along, he holds up his hand to forestall him. “Illan will need the Star to keep as many of his men alive before they make it back to the safety of Madoc.”
“But…” he begins to say then stops.
“You are more than just the kid I found on the streets of Bearn now,” James tells him as he lays a hand on his shoulders. “There are times when duty, especially duty for others, will force us to abandon our own wishes. They need you.” Gazing into his eyes, James pauses a moment before adding, “I doubt if they will be able to survive to return to their families without you.”
Emotions war within him from anger to helplessness as he comes to grips with what James just told him. After a prolonged silence, he at last nods his head in defeat. Patting his shoulder once again, James turns to Brother Willim who nods as well. Just before the meeting, he had explained things to the brother.
Returning his attention to the others assembled there, he says, “I’ve checked the surrounding countryside and it doesn’t look as if any other forces are on the way. I plan on sneaking out once night has fallen when any searches done with magic will be less effective, I hope.”
“Now, what’s going on with Korazan itself?” he asks.
“Fairly quiet, all things considered,” replies Illan. “Ceadric?” he says.
“The foraging parties we’ve sent into the areas surrounding the slaver compound have met little resistance,” he explains. “There have been isolated incidents where bolts have been fired at us, but those are relatively few.”
“Since our presence has been kept here on the east side of town, our scouts keeping an eye on the north and south road tell us that some brave souls are leaving the city and making their way to safety.”
“Send Nerun and his riders to the north to halt any further people fleeing in that direction,” Illan tells him. “When we leave in the morning, we’ll be taking the north road. Don’t want a bunch of civilians getting in our way.”
“Yes, sir,” he says.
“Delia,” James says turning to her. “There are still several dozen crystals left that you will be taking with you. Make sure no one but you touches them until it’s time for their use.”
“What are they?” she asks.
“Similar to the ones I used to breach the walls,” he explains. To Illan he says, “You can use them to blow any bridges you come across on your way north too.”
Nodding, Illan grins and says, “We’ll do that.”
“But won’t that make it hard for you to get out of the Empire?” Miko asks, worried.
“We’ll be returning another way,” he replies. “With any luck we’ll meet up with you by the time you reach the border.”
“Still an army or two between us and Madoc,” Ceadric interjects.
“True,” replies Illan. “But with any luck, Lord Pytherian and the Alliance will have softened them up some before we encounter them.”
“Maybe catch them between our force and his?” offers Ceadric.
“That’s the plan,” Illan says.
“Where are you planning on going?” Delia asks.
James looks to her for a moment and says, “Oh, just some places south of here that the Empire would hate to lose.” Then to Illan he adds, “On your way north, free as many slaves as you can. They may not be able to fight well, but every bit helps.”
Illan stands up and says, “We all have things to see to before we leave in the morning. I suggest we get to them.” And with that the meeting breaks up. Ceadric heads out to find Nerun and have him close down the northward migration of civilians. James takes Delia to the pack horses where he separates the crystals he’s planning on taking with those he’s leaving for her.
Jiron on the other hand has something else on his mind. It doesn’t take him long to locate Aleya, she’s with other archers working to fletch arrows damaged during the battle. It took them some time but they managed to retrieve a good portion of those used.
As he approaches, the talking ceases as she and the others turn toward him. “Uh…” he begins then stops.
“Yes?” she asks when he fails to continue to talk.
“Can I see you a moment?” he asks. When she nods he adds, “In private?”
An arrow lies in her lap, the arrowhead slightly skewed from where it had struck armor. “Give me a sec,” she says.
He waits patiently while she works on the arrow. Once the arrowhead is again secured firmly in the correct position, she puts it in her quiver which is propped against the pack lying next to her. As she comes to her feet, Jiron leads her away to a spot of relative privacy away from the hustle and bustle of the camp.
Coming to a halt, he turns to her and says quietly, “James and I are leaving this evening.”
“What?” she asks. “I thought we were all going together?”
He takes her by the hand. “So did I,” he replies. “I’m not sure exactly where James is leading us but I do know it’s further into the Empire. You and the others are going to begin the journey back to Madoc.”
Sadness comes to her eyes as she gazes into his. “I understand,” she assures him. “You be careful.”
Giving her a crooked smile he says, “I will.” Pulling her close he wraps his arms around her and happily feels hers wrap around him. “I love you, you know,” he whispers into her ear.
“I do know,” she replies with an emotional catch in her voice. “I love you too.”
Their embrace lasts for several minutes until the stillness of the moment is disturbed by James clearing his throat. They both turn to see him there a few feet away, a slightly embarrassed look upon his face. “I hate to break this up,” he says, “but the sun is almost down.” He glances from Aleya to Jiron and says, “We need to get ready.”
Jiron nods his head. Then to Aleya he says, “Would you mind helping me?”
“Not at all,” she replies. Arm in arm they walk over and begin getting Jiron’s equipment ready for travel.
He, James and Jared assemble their equipment for travel and for the time being leave it inside James’ tent. They will wait for the protective cover of night before they transfer their things to their horses, in case anyone is watching. Once everything is ready, they get something to eat. Jiron and Aleya go off away from the others to have some privacy while they share their meal.
“Just when things between them are improving, they are thrust apart again,” comments Delia as she takes a seat on the ground near James.
“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” James says dramatically.
“What?” she asks.
He grins and looks at her. “The drama club at school put on a play and that was one of the lines that sort of stuck with me.”
“Oh,” she says in that slightly confused manner that they all have when he talks about things from his past. Never quite understanding just what he’s talking about. During the meal, he uses his mirror before it gets too dark to see if any hostile forces are on the way. Other than some patrols and scouts keeping an eye on them, there’s nothing out there of any size. Illan glances at him when he’s through and James gives him a shake of his head. Illan nods understanding and returns to his meal.
The sun finally sinks below the horizon before they finish their meal. Those from The Ranch gather together around the fire to have one last social time before James and the others take off. Jorry and Uther begin another of their tales. It must be the fact that James and Jiron will be heading into danger that keeps Scar and Potbelly from picking the story apart as they usually do.
When the story, which was a doozy about some underworld figure they ran afoul of and got the best of, finally ends, the stars begin to come out. “It’s time,” James announces as he gets to his feet.
Devin and Moyil move to help him transfer his equipment to his horse and Terrance helps Jiron. By the time they have changed into native attire and are ready, a similarly dressed Jared joins them with his horse all set for travel. James mounts and waits while Jiron says goodbye to Aleya.
A tight embrace, then a quick kiss before he swings into the saddle. “You come back to me,” she tells him.
“I will,” he assures her as he looks down into her eyes. “You just stay alive until I return.”
“Until we meet again,” Illan says as he comes forth. “Good luck.”
“You too,” James replies.
“Give ‘em hell!” Scar says from where he and Potbelly stand with the rest of those from The Ranch.
James gives Scar a quick nod and then pats his pocket wherein two glowing crystals lie. For what he’s about to do, he may need the added power. “You ready?” he asks Jiron and Jared.
Jared gives him a nod and Jiron says, “Yes.”
“Alright then.” Summoning the power, he casts a spell which should render him undetectable by magical means just as he had with the Fire. This was one reason that he decided to leave at night. In the event someone is keeping an eye on him, it may not be readily noticeable that he left the main force. But when they do, they will try to break through the spell shielding him, just as they had with the Fire.
He waits a moment to see if anything develops. When nothing does, he nudges his horse forward and turns to the south, Jiron and Jared follow.
“Good luck!” Delia hollers as they begin to move away from the camp.
Angling away from the walls to prevent their leaving from being noticed, they stay off the main southern road that runs along the large lake to the west. Tears of the Empress it’s called and the reflection of the moon overhead off its water gives them a guide in the dark.
Jiron moves ahead of James and Jared and keeps alert for any scouts or sentries that may be in the area. James keeps just within visual range of him and slows down when he sees him come to a stop.
“What’s going on?” asks Jared quietly.
“Shhh!” James says as he watches Jiron dismount from his horse. Moving further ahead, he disappears in the dark. Sitting there anxiously for several minutes, James begins to grow worried until he sees Jiron reappear in the moonlight. Mounting his horse again Jiron glances back at them, waves for them to follow, and then resumes moving ahead.
Jared glances questioningly at James but remains silent. When they reach the area just past where Jiron had stopped, they find a riderless horse standing by a motionless form on the ground. “He’s good,” Jared mumbles.
James nods silently in agreement as they continue to follow Jiron south. The incident with the scout isn’t repeated and after little over an hour, Jiron slows down and has the others join him. “I think we’re past whatever sentries and patrols were watching Korazan,” he says. “Now, just where are we heading?”
“Two days to the southeast lies Ki,” he replies. “According to the intelligence Lord Pytherian’s agents gathered, there’s a large iron mine in the mountains close to it. It’s a relatively small town and doesn’t have much of a garrison.”
“Going to do the same thing there as you did at the island?” Jiron asks. He remembers how James had utterly destroyed the Iron Mines at Sorna when he caused a massive volcanic eruption to completely engulf the island. Intelligence gathered by Lord Pytherian said a whole chain of eruptions sprung into being and have since played merry hell with shipping in the area.
“Hardly,” he says. “Going to try to collapse it, make it unusable for quite a while. If they lose the iron from there, they will only have one other mine of any size in operation or so the reports said. The other one is too far south for us to reach and have any success in making it back to Madoc again.”
They ride for another hour or so before coming to where the road forks to the southeast. Skirting around the town that sits across the juncture, they move to follow the new road to the southeast.
Throughout the night, they continue to follow the road. Other than them, no one else is traveling so late in the evening. Two hours before sunup, they come across a small village straddling the road. Little more than huts with goat farms, there is at least an inn.
“We should stop here,” James says when the inn comes in sight.
“Are you sure?” Jared asks. “If we’re found out, it’s all over.”
“I doubt that will happen,” Jiron says, joining the discussion.
“All you have to do is go in and get us a room,” James tells Jared. “Tell them we’ll send someone down in the morning to let them know when we will want breakfast sent up.”
“Alright,” says Jared, a trifle skeptical.
The inn has a lone lit candle in the front room. They pull up to the rail outside where James and Jiron wait while Jared goes inside. He isn’t long in returning and indicates he’s obtained a room. They take their horses around back to the stables. Only one horse is all there is within the stables and they have their choice of stalls. They pick three close to the entrance. Once their horses are settled in, they take all their bags with them up to their room.
As they reach the door to their room, James’ orb appears. Opening the door, the light from the orb reveals a single bed. They both look at Jared. “Sorry,” he says apologetically. “It was all they had.”
“All they had?” responds Jiron in amazement. “The stables are nigh on empty and this place hardly seems a major stop along the road.”
“It’s okay,” assures James as he enters through the door. Once the door shuts behind them, they stack their bags against it as an alarm.
“You take the bed,” Jiron offers James.
James nods and takes a seat on the edge while the others make themselves comfortable on the floor. “It’s a couple hours until dawn,” he says. “When it’s light enough, someone may realize I am no longer with our main force. Things could get interesting when it does.”
“How will we know if they do?” Jared asks.
Jiron chuckles and says, “Believe me, we’ll know.”
Before getting comfortable James removes the two crystals he had in his pocket as well as another from the sack of crystals. The power stored within these three crystals will aid him to ward off detection in the event an attempt is made to locate him. Setting them on the bed next to him, he lays down.
“Good night,” Jiron says from his position by the door.
“You too,” replies James as the room plunges into darkness with the vanishing of the orb. Only the glow from the crystals remains.
Crack!
Jared comes awake at the noise and quickly looks around the room. The light from the rising sun is just beginning to shine through the room’s window. Jiron is sitting on the bed next to James who is surrounded by a faint glow.
“What’s happening?” he asks as he gets to his feet. Coming over to the bed, he discovers a glowing crystal gripped in James’ right hand, another lies on the bed next to him. His other hand moves to the edge of the bed and drops a plain white crystal to the floor where it breaks into two halves.
“They’re trying to locate him,” whispers Jiron.
“Is he okay?”
“So long as the glow remains, he’s fighting them,” explains Jiron. “Keep an eye on the door, wouldn’t want anyone coming in just now.”
Moving to the door, Jared puts an ear to the door and listens. “No one’s out there,” he says.
“That’s a relief,” mutters Jiron.
“Why?” Jared asks as he returns to the bedside.
“You see, when mages work magic, others who are nearby can sense it,” Jiron explains. Gesturing to James, he says, “This has been going on for awhile and if there had been one near, they would have been here by now.”
“You mean he could attract a mage from the Empire?” he asks.
“Yes.”
They watch him as he lays there and combats those seeking him. The glowing crystal in his hand gradually loses its glow until…
Crack!
…its glow completely disappears and shatters in his hand. After dropping it on the floor with the other, he takes the remaining crystal in hand and the battle continues.
“Doesn’t look like much is happening,” comments Jared after several more minutes.
“If they knew exactly where he was, it would be more dramatic,” Jiron replies. “Now they know he’s missing and are trying to punch their way through whatever deception he’s got going.” Turning to gaze at Jared, he continues. “Think of it like there’s a pebble hidden beneath a large blanket and you have to keep poking the surface of the blanket until you discover where it is hiding. Once you locate where the pebble is, then you use all your force to tear through the blanket until you have the pebble.”
“I don’t understand,” he says.
Jiron smiles at him and says, “I didn’t either at first. But he’s explained it to me often enough that I think I get what he means.”
The glow from the crystal in James’ hand flares as the light within begins to drop dramatically. Muscles in James’ body start to twitch as he struggles against the power of those searching. His breath becomes more labored as sweat beads across his forehead.
“What should we do?” Jared asks, the sight of what’s transpiring on the bed is starting to unnerve him. Battle hardened though he is, magic is an altogether different matter and has always unsettled him.
“Wait,” replies Jiron as he grabs a cloth and begins dabbing the sweat from James’ brow.
Suddenly, another loud ‘crack’ is heard as the last crystal shatters completely. “That’s not good,” mutters Jiron.
Jared picks up James’ sack and begins to open it thinking to get him another crystal.
“Don’t!” yells Jiron as he snatches the sack from his hands. “We don’t know which ones he can use. Take out the wrong ones and you could kill us both.”
Gulping, Jared stares at the sack as if it contained live vipers.
A moan escapes from James and both turn their gaze to him. Sweat is now streaming down his face, breath coming in ragged gasps. It doesn’t look as if he’ll be able to hold on for much longer.
A cry, a massive spasming of his muscles and then he flops back down only to lie still. Whatever was going on has obviously stopped.
“Is he dead?” Jared asks in a shaky voice.
Moving closer, Jiron lays his ear to James’ chest. After a brief moment, he hears the lub-dub of his heartbeat. Glancing to Jared, he says, “He’s alive.”
Sighing, Jared comes forward. “Thank goodness,” he breathes with relief.
“Go downstairs and have them bring food and ale up to us,” Jiron tells him. “When he wakes up, he’ll be ravenous.”
“Okay,” he replies and then exits the room, closing the door behind him.
Jiron rests on the bed next to his friend, still worried about the outcome. Did they find him or not? Have to wait until James comes to before he finds out. Getting up, he moves to the window to keep an eye out.
High atop the Tower of the Magi, Kerith-Ayxt stops his impatient pacing as Aezyl, Mage of the Third Circle enters his tower. “Well?” he asks.
“He’s nowhere to be found milord,” Aezyl.
“How is that possible?” he shouts in anger.
“We do not know,” the mage replies, head bowed in submission. “Twenty slaves died in the attempt, but we were unable to find him.”
“Fools!” he cries as he moves across the room to the window overlooking the School of the Arcane. Not so much seeing as thinking, he tries to come to grips with Aezyl’s failure. A Mage of the Third Circle is no meager practitioner of the art, but someone of great power. Few ever manage to ascend from the Second, most who make the attempt fail to survive the tests.
A rogue mage on the loose, and one who is able to counter whatever they have to throw at him. Where did he come from? That’s an answer many would like to know. A number of Mages of the Fourth Circle have already fallen to him, and none of the others wish to challenge him.
The last three he sent to kill him were but Mages of the Second Circle, though each had great talent. They were promised ascension to the Third if they killed this mage, this was to be their test. He witnessed the battle which had taken their lives and couldn’t believe the relative ease with which his mages were dealt with.
Since the disastrous battle at Lythylla when their forces were completely annihilated, he’s had a mage keep a constant eye on him. It cost the life of a slave every six hours to maintain the magic necessary, but slaves he has in plenty.
Until this morning, all was going well. Then, when the sun rose over Korazan, he was gone. Black Hawk and his army were on the move along the north road, most likely heading back to Madoc. But where the mage was is anyone’s guess.
“Milord?” the Mage of the Third Circle asks.
Turning back to face Aezyl, Kerith-Ayxt says, “Convene the Assembly of Masters.”
“Yes milord,” he says with a bow. Backing from the room, he leaves to carry out his master’s command.
Once Aezyl has left the room, Kerith-Ayxt says a word of power and a wall disappears revealing a room on the other side. Moving into the room, he crosses over to the far wall where several shelves are lined with aged tomes. Removing one extremely old tome whose cover was made from the skin of a king, or so the story goes, he places it on the small table beneath the shelves.
Sitting down, he creates light with a thought and takes great care when he opens the fragile tome. Yellowed pages that have survived millenniums turn slowly under his fingers until he finds what he’s looking for.
Aekion, the Seeker. A powerful being from the plane of fire that has done the bidding of the High Lord Magus in the past, though not during the reign of Kerith-Ayxt. His predecessor had told him the tale of the last time the Seeker had been summoned centuries past to deal with a grievous threat to the Empire.
The summoning of such is not without its risks and never to be undertaken except in the direst of need. While the Assembly of Masters gathers in the Great Hall, he commits to memory the words and gestures of the spell. Even the smallest slip and the summoner will be taken as Aekion returns from whence he came.
He studies the passage until the bell tolls signifying that the Assembly of Masters have gathered in the Great Hall. Closing the book, he returns it to the shelf and then leaves the room. Speaking the word of power once again, the wall materializes.
He makes his way down to the bottom of the tower and crosses the courtyard to where the Great Hall lies on the far side. The summoning of Aekion takes three days. First the Hall must be prepared to hold him. Second, the plane of fire is accessed and a way created for Aekion to pass through. Lastly, the summoning of Aekion.
Each task takes its toll from the summoner and he must rest between each. For to attempt to summon Aekion in a tired or weakened state would surely mean the death of the summoner.
Entering through the massive door, he finds the masters and those of the Fourth Circle who are about to attempt to become full masters assembled. His footsteps echo through the massive rotunda as he passes through their ranks to the center of the Hall. Coming to rest on the Sigil of Power, he turns to the assembled mages and says, “We have work to do.”