They find an inn with enough room for all of them, though it’s pretty pricy. Fifer and Keril, the youngest member of Miller’s band, went to relieve Yern on the walls. James and Miko have their own room while the rest are crammed into two others.
Once within their room, Miko lies down on one of the beds while James sits facing him on the other. “I’m so tired,” Miko says as he glances over to James.
“Understandable,” replies James. “You’re going through a lot.”
“What’s happening to me?” he asks, voice revealing a trace of fear.
Lowering his voice, he says, “It’s the Fire. That gem you’re carrying.”
“What?” he asks. “How?”
“I’m not really sure,” James answers. “But every time you’re in a battle, it appears that the Fire is taking over. When the Fire has control, you are unbeatable on the battlefield.”
Miko’s eyes widen in wonder as he continues, “Today, your sword was moving so fast I had a hard time keeping track of it.”
“Unbelievable,” Miko breathes.
Nodding, James says, “I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen it myself. There’s something else going on too.”
“What?” asks Miko, worriedly.
“You’re growing,” he says. “Since you’ve been carrying the Fire, you’ve grown almost six inches. Heck, you’re almost as tall as I am now. Plus you’re gaining muscle mass faster than normal.”
Miko looks down at his arms and chest as he moves his hands over them, feeling the muscles beneath. He looks to James and asks, “What should I do?”
“When we get back to Cardri, we’ll find a place to hide it and you could possibly go back to normal once you’re rid of it,” he tells him. “At least you won’t change any more, I hope.”
“You hope?” he asks. “What does that mean?”
“It means that I really don’t understand what’s going on,” he explains. “I believe the Fire is some sort of a focal point of Dmon-Li here on earth. What it does, how it does it, or what it might do in the future, I have no idea.”
When Miko casts him another look full of worry and fear, he says reassuringly, “But as long as we keep you out of battles, nothing seems to happen. All the changes take place while you’re in battle and under the influence of the Fire.”
He lays his head on the pillow and says, “Okay.”
“Get some rest,” James says to him. “Not sure just what’s going to happen next, but we’ll need our rest.” He glances over and sees his eyes have already closed.
James lies back and rests his head on the pillow. Though he’s tired, thoughts of Jiron run through his mind as well as concern for Miko. Korgan is still on the loose as well, at least his plans were foiled, this time. Going to have to track him down if he’s still here. Not just because he’s a danger to the city, but because he owes him.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Suddenly brought out of a deep sleep by someone knocking on the door, James holds his head as a headache blossoms to life. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, he looks over to Miko, but he’s still asleep.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Getting up, he goes over to the door and opens it. “Yes?” he asks.
Outside the door is a boy about eleven or so. His clothes mark him as a page from the castle, he’d seen a couple of them when he’d been marched through the castle on the way to the dungeons. “Are you James?” the page asks.
“Yes,” sighs James, “I am.”
“Your presence is requested at the castle,” he says.
“By whom?” he asks.
“Lord Pytherian, sir” he replies.
“Alright, let me get ready,” James tells him.
“He said it was urgent,” the boy says, urging him to hurry.
Glancing back at Miko who’s still sleeping, he says, “Let me tell someone where I’ll be so they’ll not worry.” Stepping out into the hall, he goes to the next door and knocks.
When Uther opens it, he says, “I’ve been summoned to the castle.”
Coming instantly alert, Uther asks, “Trouble?”
“I don’t know,” he replies. “The page said it was urgent. Lord Pytherian wants to see me.”
“Do you think we should come with you?” he asks.
Shaking his head, he says, “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. Besides, you weren’t requested, just stay here and wait for Jiron. When Miko wakes up, let him know where I’ve gone.”
Uther glances at the page standing behind him and then says, “Okay, good luck.”
“Thanks.” Turning back to the page, he says, “Alright, let’s go.”
With the boy in the lead, they leave the inn and work their way through the streets to the castle area. “What’s the enemy doing?”
“Rumor is they are waiting for reinforcements,” the page explains. “They’ve also begun constructing defensive fortifications and from what I’ve been told, it looks like they intend to stay out there for a while.”
“Since they can’t take the city, they’ll just maintain a presence there?” he asks.
“That’s what they’re saying,” he replies.
They pass through the gate leading into the castle area and when they get to the courtyard, he notices how they’ve turned it into an area for the wounded. Tents have sprung up and everywhere are men with bandages or lying on cots.
When they pass one tent, he’s startled when a man suddenly screams inside. The pile of amputated arms and legs lying just outside the entrance gives testament as to what is transpiring inside. James just shudders as he thinks of what these people are going through.
He feels a great sense of relief when they come to the castle’s entrance and they’re able to leave the scene of misery behind them. The page takes him down a long corridor and then up a flight of stairs to the next level. Then down another hallway where he stops before a single door.
“He said to wait in here,” the page says as he opens the door.
Where have I heard that before! Stepping through the door, he enters a room. A large table with several chairs sit in the middle of the room. The door the page is holding open is the only way in or out. Before closing the door, the page says, “He shouldn’t be too long, make yourself comfortable.”
“Thanks,” James says as the page closes the door. He walks around the room but other than the table and chairs, nothing else is in here. Taking a seat, he takes out a slug and places it in his hand, just in case. He isn’t going to be too trusting again.
Ten minutes later, the door opens and he looks over to see Lord Pytherian framed in the doorway. “See that we’re not disturbed,” he says to the guards who’ve accompanied him.
“Yes, milord,” one of them replies as he moves to enter the room. The guard shuts the door once he’s inside.
James knows he should stand, but he’s just too tired.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” he says as he takes a seat across the table from him.
“The boy said it was urgent,” he replies as he replaces the slug in his belt.
Lord Pytherian notices him returning it and raises an eyebrow.
“After the last time, I don’t plan on taking any chances,” he explains.
“Understandable,” he says.
James asks, “So what’s the urgency?”
“One of our agents who has been watching Councilman Rillian suspects there may be an attempt made to either kill or capture you,” he replies. “We’re not sure when, but we do know it’s being worked out as we speak.”
“Why don’t you just arrest the councilman and be done with it?” he asks.
“Only by order of the Council can that happen, and he has powerful friends,” he explains. “There are some on the Council who believe, but they’re unwilling to act without proof.”
“So now what?” James asks. “You’re going to leave a known traitor on the ruling body of Madoc?”
“As I said, it’s not in my power,” he replies. “But since we know, and he knows we know, his actions will be much curtailed. He won’t do anything, or be a party to anything that might change the will of the Council.”
“But he’s coming after me!” James exclaims. “What do they plan to do about that?”
“Nothing,” he says.
“Nothing!” he cries out. “How can they do nothing?”
“In their eyes, it’s a private matter, not one that affects Madoc as a whole,” he tells him. “Actually, if something should happen between you and Councilman Rillian, then it would fall to me to deal with it. So that’s what I’m doing.”
“What are you doing?” asks James.
“Letting you know about it so you can take measures against it,” he says. “We owe you that much. Though I’d suggest you leave Lythylla as soon as possible to avoid any such attempts.”
“But Jiron is still out there with the enemy,” he reminds him.
“I know,” Lord Pytherian says. “That’s not working in your favor either. True, Jiron stopped the Parvatis when we needed him to. But he also went with them to their camp, some see that as a questionable act.”
Seeing the look on James’ face, he says, “I know, but there are those who will always believe what they want to believe.”
Sighing, James nods his head. “What about Korgan? Has there been any word since the attack?”
“No one has seen him,” he tells him. “We think he’s left the city since they know we know about him. Councilman Rillian definitely doesn’t wish to be connected to him.”
“I suppose not,” agrees James.
“Where do you plan to go from here?” he asks.
“We’re heading to Cardri,” he replies. “Jiron’s sister and others are waiting for us there.”
“How do you plan to get there?” he asks.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead,” admits James.
“Maybe I can help you out there,” Lord Pytherian says.
“How?” asks James.
“It would greatly speed your trip if you sailed across the Sea of the Gods rather than made your way around it,” he explains. “I’ll send a letter to the inn where you’re staying that you can take with you. It’ll request that whoever reads it to help you in any way possible. With it, you should be able to get someone to ferry you across to the other side.”
Nodding, James says, “That would be quite helpful, thank you.”
“Like I said,” he says, “it’s the least we can do. I’ll have it over there by nightfall.”
“I don’t plan to leave until Jiron returns, anyway” he says. “But once he does, we’ll be gone.”
“Good,” he states. “I would hate to have anything happen to you before then.”
“So would I,” replies James.
Getting up, Lord Pytherian extends his hand to James who stands as well, taking it. “I must be off, there’re still things I must take care of,” he says, indicating the meeting is over.
“Thank you again, milord,” James says.
“You’re welcome, and good luck.” He goes over to the door and opens it. Stepping out into the hallway, he turns to the right and the guards fall into step behind him.
The same page that had brought him here steps in through the open door and says, “If you’ll follow me sir, I’ll take you back.”
“Very well,” James says as he comes around the table and follows the page out the door. He’s led back through the castle along the same route that he’d been taken on his way in. It doesn’t take them long to return to the inn and at his door, the page says goodbye before promptly returning to the castle.
He opens the door a crack so he can peek in to make sure Miko is still there. When he sees him sleeping on the bed, he sighs in relief and closes the door. Moving down the hallway to the next door, he knocks and it’s opened again by Uther.
Opening the door wide, he steps aside to allow James to come in the room. Everyone’s there except Jiron and the ones on the wall watching for his return.
“What happened?” Illan asks.
James relates what Lord Pytherian had told him. He can see their faces get red when they find out nothing is going to be done about anything. “We should take care of this ourselves!” Uther shouts.
“They kill Miller and we’re just supposed to walk away?” Yern asks incredulously. “I don’t think so.”
He can see everyone there is thinking the same thing: Revenge!
“Can’t you look in that mirror thing of yours and find out where this Councilman Rillian is?” asks Jorry. “Or maybe Korgan, the one eyed man?”
“Before I do,” James says, “I don’t want us to do anything until Jiron comes back. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Illan says, the others nodding their heads.
“Okay,” he says as he pulls the mirror out of the pouch at his hip. He takes a seat in one of the chairs and places the mirror on the table as everyone gathers around to look.
“Find that councilman first!” insists Uther.
James concentrates until the mirror begins to coalesce into an image of Councilman Rillian sitting at a table with six other important looking men. “Must be the Council,” he guesses.
The image begins to change as he starts concentrating on Korgan. When the image clarifies, they see him riding a horse through the grasslands. “He could be anywhere by this time!” he hears one of them exclaim. He lets the image go and the mirror reverts back to normal.
“It doesn’t look as if there’s anything that can be done now,” James states. He leans back in the chair and contemplates the remnants of Miller’s band. “What do you all plan to do now?”
They look at each other and Uther says, “We haven’t really thought about it.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Illan adds. “Miller was our leader, our heart and soul.”
“What are you going to do?” Jorry asks him.
“When Jiron returns, we’ll probably start heading back to Cardri as fast as possible,” he tells them.
“Why?” asks Uther. “I mean, Madoc could use you and what you can do.”
“I know,” he says, “but they’ll have to get along without me. There are other things that I must do.”
“Like what?” asks Yern.
He looks from one face to another and says, “I’m not entirely sure. I’m still trying to figure that out, but I’m sure it’s not to embroil myself in this war. I feel that to be true.”
“Will it be to the detriment of the Empire?” asks Uther.
“I don’t know,” replies James. “But since I’ve started on this path, I’ve done nothing but hurt them, though.”
“Yeah, that’s the truth,” Jorry says and then breaks out into a laugh that’s shared by all.
“We’ve been talking while you were at the castle,” Illan says. “If you wouldn’t mind, we’d kind of like to stay with you for a while. Miller’s gone so all we’d be doing is joining the regular army and none of us are cut out for that. Of course I can’t speak for the ones on the wall waiting for Jiron, but I’m sure they’d go along with it.”
James considers it a fraction of a second before saying, “I’d be more than happy to have you come along.”
“Great!” says Illan and the others offer other exclamations of jubilation as well.
“But, if you’re to follow me, that means what I say goes,” he tells them. “Will there be a problem with that?”
They all shake their head no. “In that case, I want you to forget about Councilman Rillian.” He sees their faces scowl and their expressions turn dark. “There may be a time of retribution, but that time is not now,” he tells them firmly. Looking from one to the other, he asks, “Okay?”
He gets their grudging agreement and then says, “We’ll need horses. Can someone go back and retrieve yours from that burned down inn?”
Uther gives him a grin and says, “Already done. They’re out in the stable behind the inn. We have Miller’s and Shyn’s as well, so we just need two more so everyone will have one.”
“The horses I came here on are who knows where,” James says. “Somehow, we’ll need to procure two more.”
“Not a problem,” Jorry says. “When the time comes to leave, I’m sure we can get them.”
Yawning, James gets up and says, “I need to get some sleep before we go. If they return with Jiron, get me up. And put someone in the hall to watch out for whatever Councilman Rillian may have planned.”
“Right,” says Jorry. “We’ll take care of that.”
“Good,” he says as he heads for the door. Once through the door and he’s on his way back to his room, he can hear them as they discuss what he just said. He’s glad they are coming with him, especially since Jiron’s shoulder is hurt so badly. It’s going to take him a while to fully heal and recover.
Before he opens the door, he can hear Miko’s snores coming from the other side. Smiling, he opens the door and enters. Closing the door behind him, he goes over to his bed, kicks off his boots and lies down. When his head hits the pillow, he realizes just how tired he is. It isn’t long before he’s asleep.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Startled awake by someone at the door, James sits up in bed. The room is dark, night has already fallen. Glancing over to the other bed, he notices that Miko is no longer there.
Getting to his feet, he goes over to the door and finds Fifer there when he opens it. Suddenly excited, James asks, “Jiron’s back?”
“In a way,” he replies moving into the room. He goes over to the candle on the table and quickly lights it.
“In a way?” asks James, perplexed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Sitting in a chair at the table, Fifer explains. “A group of Parvatis had escorted him back to the gates,” he begins, then starts to chuckle. “Apparently there was some disagreement about them doing that among the rest of their army. I thought they were going to begin fighting each other right then and there.”
“But the Parvatis are a sizeable part of their army so got their way in this. I’m sure there’ll be a reckoning at some time in the future about it. Anyway, as they were approaching, those of us on the wall began thinking they might be starting an attack. But then we realized the force approaching us was small and we could see Jiron among the ones in front.”
“Henri, who had been stationed on the wall just for this, hollers to open the gates and let Jiron in. Everyone was ready for a surprise attack or something like that, but Jiron walked toward the gate by himself and the Parvatis just turned around and walked back to their camp.”
“Where’s Jiron now?” asks James.
“Henri took him up to the castle to talk with Lord Pytherian about the enemy’s camp,” he replies. “Said he’d be back in a little bit.” Pulling out a letter with a seal at the bottom, he hands it to James and says, “This came from Lord Pytherian while you were sleeping, we didn’t want to wake you.”
Taking the letter, James says, “Thank you.”
“Uh, one more thing,” he says, looking a little embarrassed.
“What?” asks James as he puts the letter in his pouch.
“It’s Miko,” he begins.
“What? Is he gone?” James suddenly asks, worriedly.
“No, nothing like that,” he assures him. “It’s just that he makes us kind of, well, nervous.”
“In what way?” inquires James.
“It’s just that he is changing awfully fast, growing up quicker than normal,” he explains. “It’s kind of weird.”
“I know,” replies James, “it worries me too. But I assure you that he’s harmless. I know what’s going on but there’s nothing that can be done right now.”
“He fights way better than he aught to,” he says.
Nodding, James says, “I know, that’s a part of it as well. Just assure everyone that Miko is harmless, just as long as we keep him away from any fighting. Okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” he agrees, not sounding entirely reassured.
“By the way, where is he?” James asks.
Gesturing to the wall behind him, he says, “He’s in there with the others.”
Getting up, James says, “Well, we may as well all wait for Jiron’s return together.” Yern stands watch out in the hallway and nods to him as he leaves his room.
Fifer gets up as well and follows James out into the hallway and over to the other room. From outside the door, James can hear Miko’s voice. Opening the door, he finds Miko standing with his back to him as he’s talking to the others.
“…the torso came toward us and Jiron kept slicing it with his knives but nothing he did slowed it down. Then James holds up that medallion of his and a bright light shone from it. The light somehow caused the torso to die, how I haven’t a clue. Then…”
Noticing the looks of his audience, he glances around to see James standing there. “Oh, you’re awake?”
“Yes I am,” replies James as he enters the room. Fifer and Yern follow him in.
“I was just telling them about that place we found back in the swamp,” he explains.
“Yeah, I heard,” he says. Looking to all of the faces gazing at him, he says, “It’s called the Star of Morcyth.” Pulling the medallion out of his shirt, he shows it to him.
“It’s one of those things I am trying to find out about,” he explains.
They come closer, looking at it and he asks them, “Has anyone seen or heard of anything like this before?”
Every one of them shakes their heads no. Once they’ve had a good look, he returns it to within his shirt. “How long has it been since Jiron was taken to the castle?”
“Fifer returned back ten minutes ago,” replies Illan. “So it hasn’t been long.”
“We have the horse situation taken care of,” Uther tells him. “We now have enough for all of us.”
“How did you do that?” he asks.
Gesturing to Miko, he says, “After he came in here, we started talking and the conversation got around to horses. He said that there might be two where he and Jiron had left them. When he and I went to look, sure enough, they were still there.”
“Great,” James says approvingly. “Now we just need Jiron back and we’ll be able to get out of here.” Moving over to one of the beds, the others scoot over, making room for him to sit down.
Miko glances over to him with a questioning look on his face and he says, “Go ahead and continue.”
“The torso fell to the floor and looked like it just melted away…”
Over the next hour they swap tales and James learns more of these people who’ve decided to tie their fates to his. Of course, Miko’s tales of his exploits made him feel uncomfortable. He did a somewhat accurate job in relating the details, only once or twice embellishing the story for effect.
By the time Miko had launched into the tale of them working their way through the mine after rescuing Lord Pytherian, they hear a knock on the door to James’ room. Everyone becomes instantly silent as they glance from one to the other. They hadn’t forgotten Lord Pytherian’s warning that Councilman Rillian may try something.
James gets up and motions for them to be quiet, several of them grab their swords as he makes his way over to the door. He hears the knocking again as he slowly opens the door a crack to look out into the hallway.
“Jiron!” he cries when he finally sees who it is. The page from the castle had brought him to the inn. Throwing open the door, he comes out into the hallway.
Turning in his direction, Jiron says “I thought we’d missed you.”
Shaking his head, James says, “No, just in here with the others while we waited for your return.” Waving him over, he says, “Come on in, we’ve got a lot to talk about.”
“Thank you,” he says to the page who then turns and heads back to the castle.
Once they are back in the room and the door is shut, James asks, “Okay, what happened.”
“When I got to the gate, I held aloft the necklace,” Jiron begins. Smiling, he continues, “You should’ve seen the look on that Parvati’s face when he saw what I was holding. Shock would be too mild a word.”
“Coming to a stop, I could hear ‘Shynti’ being said several times. He asked me how I’d gotten it and while we were there talking, the other forces behind them were screaming at them to let them by. But they just ignored them, it almost seemed like we were old friends who hadn’t seen each other for a long time. It was a weird moment out there by the gate.”
“When I realized the gates were shutting behind us, I told the Parvati leader that I had to go back inside. He asked if I would come back to his camp. I was assured of safe passage back and having dealt with them before, I knew they would keep their word. So I told Jorry and Uther to return within the walls before the gates closed.”
“When they took me back to their camp, the other enemy forces at first thought I was a prisoner. They became quite agitated when they learned that not only was I not a prisoner, but that I was going to be honored and returned unharmed. The others almost fell on the Parvati’s right then and there. One poor bastard actually called them traitors, his head fell to the ground before he took another breath. After that, there was no more talk of them being traitors.”
“We had a feast together, and I told them of our time in their homeland. Many of them haven’t been back for quite a long time. When it was over, they walked me back to the gates amid loud protests from the other groups. I asked them why they were doing this and possibly antagonizing the Empire. They said because I was Shynti, as if that explained everything.”
“Back at the gates I was wondering if they’d even let me in with a force of Parvatis standing next to me. I was sure surprised when the gates actually opened up and saw Fifer standing there.”
“Then Henri showed up and said that Lord Pytherian requested my presence at the castle. I told Fifer to come back here and let you know what’s going on while I was meeting with him.”
“Basically, he asked me about troops, the makeup, how many, stuff like that. When he was satisfied I’d told him everything I knew, he had that page bring me here.”
“What’s a Shynti?” asks Uther.
“A very special person to the Parvati,” he replies. “It basically means I’m one of them and that honor is seldom, if ever, given.” Turning his attention to James, he asks, “What now?”
“Now we leave Lythylla,” he replies. “Councilman Rillian, we hear, is making plans against us and I want to be out of here before he executes them.” He brings out the letter Lord Pytherian had given him and continues, “Lord Pytherian wrote this letter for any and all to render us what aid we may require in getting to Cardri. He said to go to a city on the Sea of the Gods and get someone there to ferry us across to the other side. From there we should be able to make it to Dragon’s Pass in no time. Trendle isn’t far from there, I understand.”
“Good!” exclaims Jiron. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen Tersa.”
“I suggest we leave first thing in the morning,” says James. “Let’s post a watch in the hallway against unwelcome visitors.”
Just then, they hear a floorboard squeak outside their door. Everyone becomes silent for a moment and then they hear it again.
Uther gets up and slams through the door. A grunt is heard from the other side as the door knocks a man against the far wall. “Get him!” Jorry cries as everyone springs into action.
The man rolls and comes to his feet fast. Without pausing, the man shoulders Uther out of the way as he races for the stairs, Uther and the rest hot on his heals.
He takes the stairs four at a time and at the bottom, makes with all speed for the front door to the inn. Ramming the closed door with his shoulder, he bursts his way through. Once outside, he dodges down a side alley and quickly loses his pursuers in the dark.
They hunt for him for several minutes before they finally give up and return to their room. “Do you think he heard everything?” Jiron asks.
“I don’t know,” replies James. “Maybe.”
“That tears it!” Uther exclaims. “Now they’re going to know our plans.”
“Perhaps, but if we move quickly enough, it might not make any difference,” states James. “Forget about waiting until morning, we leave now. Get your stuff together, we meet at the stables in five minutes.”
Having all of his things already on him, he waits while they gather their packs. Then they go down to the stables where they begin saddling their horses. Once they’re all saddled and everyone is mounted, they move out and head for the northern gate. The streets are fairly empty this late at night enabling them to reach the gate in no time at all.
The gates are closed for the night and a squad of guards is stationed there. When they approach, one of the guards comes forward and says, “Gates are closed for the night, you’ll have to leave in the morning.”
James produces the letter form Lord Pytherian and shows it to him. “We have urgent business and need to leave tonight.”
The guard takes the letter and gazes at it for a moment then nods his head. Shouting to someone in the gatehouse, he says, “Open it up!”
When the gates begin to swing open, he hands the letter back to James and says, “Good evening to you sir.”
Returning the letter to his pouch, James replies, “You too.”
Once the gate has opened wide enough to allow them to pass through, they leave the city. After the last rider has passed through, the guards close the gate behind them with a thud.