When James awakens in the morning, the sun has already begun to lighten the day. Miko is snoring peacefully off to the other side of the campfire and he finds Jiron walking around the outer edge of the camp in amongst the trees. He looks over to James as he sits up and comes over when he waves at him.
“Good morning,” Jiron says to him as he approaches.
“Everything okay?” James asks.
“Oh yeah,” he assures him, “just walking around a bit. I hate sitting in just one spot for very long. How’s your leg?”
James straightens it and says, “Better. I think it may not hurt as much today.”
“Let’s hope not,” he says. Sitting down next to him, he asks, “How far do you think it is to Cardri?”
Shrugging, James says, “I couldn’t even begin to guess. It took us over a week to make it to the mines, and that was on good roads with horses. Trudging through this,” he continues as he gestures to the swamp, “who knows?”
“Would like to see Tersa again,” he tells him.
“So would I,” agrees James. “I’d really like to find some place to just rest and not have to worry about being eaten by some damn rhino-lizard, or have to sneak through an area filled with the Empire’s forces.”
From across the campsite, Miko’s voice says, “I’d like that too.” Sitting up, he glances over at them. “I hate the swamp, give me a good old city any day.”
“If we keep forging on through to the north, eventually we’ll get out of here,” James assures him.
“I hope so,” he says as he gets up and comes over to them. Sitting down, he asks, “How much longer are we going to be in this damned swamp anyway?”
“Like I was telling Jiron,” James says, “I don’t know. All I do know is that they don’t last forever.”
“Then let’s stop sitting here talking and get going,” Miko says as he gets back up.
James reaches over and grabs his walking stick. Using it for support, he gets to his feet without nearly the amount of pain that maneuver had caused him the day before.
Holding the stick loosely, he waits for Jiron to get up and lead the way.
“You feeling better?” Miko asks as they continue on their way.
Nodding, James says, “Much better, actually. Don’t think I could run any distance, but the constant pain and throbbing seem to be easing.”
“That’s good,” replies Miko. “I was worried about you.”
“I was worried about me too,” he says with a slight smile.
They travel for several hours before they hear Miko’s voice coming from where he’s lagging behind, “I’m hungry.”
“Might be a good time to stop and eat,” James says to Jiron who’s up a ways trying to find the way through.
Jiron stops and comes back to them. “I was hoping to find a clearing where we could build a fire,” he tells them. “We’ll stop then, okay?”
“Sure,” James says to Miko’s dismay, “we can wait a little while longer.”
Just then, Miko’s stomach lets out a loud growl.
James and Jiron turn and stare at him, then break out in laughter.
“Well,” he says, “I’m starving. We haven’t eaten all day!”
“Just a little while longer,” Jiron says, “and then hopefully we’ll run across a spot where we can build a fire without worrying about setting the whole area aflame.”
He glances to James and they both smile when they remember the last time they’d set the woods on fire.
Miko sees them and asks, “What?”
“Oh, nothing,” James replies.
Taking the lead again, Jiron once more makes his way through the trees and undergrowth, searching for the way out. With the waterway on his left for a guide, he’s able to maintain going in the correct direction. Without it, they’d soon be turned around and lost.
After trudging through the swamp for a while, they begin to see another waterway off to their right. As they continue moving north, the other waterway moves closer to the one they’re following until they join where a larger river has split into two branches.
To their dismay, they find themselves on the inside of the fork. In order to continue, they’ll have to cross one of the waterways. The area on the inside of the junction of water is relatively flat and clear, so they decide to stop there and find something to eat while they consider how they’ll get across.
James picks up some small rocks from the ground and quietly goes into the brush to hunt for lunch. Jiron and Miko begin building a fire while he’s gone. He returns several minutes later with three dead animals that Jiron takes from him and begins preparing for the fire.
Miko walks over to the water and says, “How are we supposed to cross this?”
From where he sits by the fire, James hollers, “Swim, it’s not that far.”
Turning back to him, Miko exclaims, “But what about the fish? They’ll eat us for sure.”
“We’re not even sure if they’re in the main waterway,” he says.
Jiron picks up some of the innards of the animals and gets up. Walking over to the river, he announces, “Only one way to find out.” He throws the bloody mess into the water.
They watch it for a second and he says, “See, nothing to…”
Then suddenly, the water starts to broil as the fish begin consuming the innards.
“See!” Miko cries out.
Jiron glances over to James and says, “That’s going to be a problem.”
“Yeah, I was hoping they’d not be in the main river,” he says.
Coming back over to them, Miko plops himself down and asks, “Now what?”
James looks to him, and says, “Let’s just eat while we think about it. There’s bound to be a way.”
While the animals are cooking, they continue pondering the situation.
“How about a raft?” suggests Miko.
“What would we use?” Jiron asks him. “No logs or large limbs to use, and nothing with which to secure them together.”
“We could try to swim fast?” James offers much to the horror of Miko who shakes his head violently.
“Just kidding,” he says to Miko who flashes him an ‘I’m not amused’ look.
“There’s got to be a way,” Jiron says.
“I’m sure there is,” says James. “And not one that requires us to enter the water, either,” he adds for Miko’s benefit.
“Could you get us there with magic?” Jiron asks.
“I don’t know, maybe,” he says. “But if something should happen to break my concentration, we would fall to the river below.”
They sit there in silence for a while longer until the animals are fully cooked. When they’re ready, Jiron hands each of them one and they set to with a hearty appetite.
During the course of the meal, Jiron suddenly asks, “How about a bridge?”
“That would take too long to build,” James tells him.
“No, no, no,” he says. “I mean a natural one.”
“That would be nice,” James says, “but I don’t see any around here.”
Jiron glances toward him and says, “But you could make one.”
“How?” James asks him.
He points down where the other fork of the river continues on and says, “Look, there’s a tall tree down there on this side of the river that might span the water.”
“How are we to cut it down?” Miko asks. “We don’t have any axes or anything.”
Nodding toward James, he says, “He could knock it down with magic. After what I’ve seen you do to buildings, this shouldn’t be too hard.
Looking at the tree in the distance, he slowly nods his head and says, “Might be able to arrange that. Give me a moment to think about it,” he tells them as he finishes up with his lunch.
Once he’s done, he tosses what’s left into the river and watches as the little fish consume it. Then, with the other two watching, he walks over to the tree and begins to figure out the particulars of what he’s going to do.
It definitely looks tall enough to span the water after it falls, providing it falls in the correct direction. That shouldn’t be a problem, he just needs to direct the magic to steer it that way. Ready to try, he motions the others to stand back several yards behind him as he begins to concentrate.
Miko watches him as he stands there, five feet from the base of the tree. Suddenly, the base pops as bark flies in all directions. The top begins to topple and at first it looks to be falling more along the river than across it. But then, as if a giant hand grabs it, the tree swings more toward the opposite shore. With a loud crashing, it lands with the top of its branches well on the other side of the river.
They come over to where he’s standing, congratulating James as he watches the water passing just under the trunk of the tree. “Good job!” exclaims Miko.
“If we’re careful, it’s unlikely we’ll fall in,” Jiron says as he climbs up onto the trunk. “Let me go first, and if it’s safe, you two can follow,” he tells them.
Miko and James stay next to the trunk while he makes his way across the water to the other side. The trunk is fairly stable, the branches beneath it forming a secure contact with the riverbed.
They watch as Jiron makes his way through the limbs to the other side and finally comes to stand on the opposite shore. “No problem!” he shouts back to them.
“Wanna go next?” James asks Miko.
Nodding, he climbs up onto the trunk and makes his way to the other side. Once he’s there, James begins his way across and finds carrying his stick with him will be impossible. So he tosses his walking stick into the water and goes on across. The multiple branches extending away from the tree give him ample handholds with which to maintain his balance, even with his injuries. There was one heart stopping moment when his injured leg lost its balance and he almost fell. But by grabbing a couple branches in a death grip, which renewed the pain in his side, he was able to right himself and continue on.
Reaching the other side, he climbs down from the trunk and joins them by the river. Miko hands him another walking stick he’d found while James was crossing. He takes the stick and says, “Thank you.”
“Should we continue following it?” Jiron asks, indicating the main river from which the one they’d been following had split off.
“I would think so,” he says.
Without another word, Jiron turns and begins looking for the best path to take. With the river flowing steadily on their left, they continue on through the swamp. By nightfall, the swamp had begun to change from an area filled with stagnant pools to a more pleasant, forest type area.
“I think we may be finally getting to the edge of the swamp,” Jiron announces when they stop for the night.
“It looks like it,” agrees James. “The air is fresher and there’s not nearly the amount of annoying bugs to deal with.”
They make camp at the edge of the river and James goes into the woods, soon returning with several animals for dinner. By this time, the others have a good fire going and they relax around it as their dinner is cooking. The evening passes uneventfully, each taking their turn at watch.
When the sun rises in the morning, James is happy to find his leg beginning to itch. Knowing that’s an indication of healing, he tries not to scratch any of the scabs off. His side is doing better as well, some of the scabs are beginning to flake off around the edges. The strain he put on the wound when he almost fell into the river seems to have had little lasting effect.
His leg barely aches when he rests his weight on it when they’re ready to go. Not bothering with a walking stick any longer, he’s able to keep up with Jiron. They make better time than they had the day before.
As they continue on throughout the day, the swamp gradually disappears and a forest takes its place. Not having to worry about backtracking around pools of water where those flesh eating fish might be living, they’re able to cover more distance.
Maintaining a northerly course as they follow the river out of the swamplands, they continue on for several hours. The ground becomes firmer and soon the only water they find is that of the river next to them and the few small streams that flow into it. They all become more relaxed as they continue on, more comfortable in the more familiar setting of the forest.
James is feeling so good in fact, he breaks out in song, “Zip a de do dah…”
After several choruses, Miko asks him, “What’s that song about?”
Smiling, James explains, “Just a fun song from where I come from. It basically means happy to be alive, or at least that’s how it’s always made me feel.”
“Could you teach it to me?” he asks.
“Sure,” James says and then launches into another round.
Miko has trouble at first, but then he catches on fast and by the third iteration has the words and tune down fairly well. Jiron even manages to join in after the second time around and they go through the forest singing.
They’ve managed to make good speed through the rest of the day. When it begins getting dark, they again make camp, with James hunting for food while the others get the fire going.
Once he’s returned with a couple animals and they’re sitting around the fire, he says, “This is nice.”
“What is?” asks Jiron from where he’s turning the spit.
“Just being in the forest, no one trying to kill you,” he says wistfully. “I’ve always liked being out among the trees, it’s always brought me peace.”
“Not me,” says Miko. “The forest gives me the creeps.”
Laughing, James replies, “That’s because you’re a city boy. Spend more time out here and you’ll come to appreciate them.”
Miko looks at him doubtfully and says, “So far, they’ve been nothing but trouble.”
“I suppose it could seem that way,” Jiron joins in. “If we weren’t here in the Empire, at least I think we’re still in the Empire, then it would feel different.”
“Maybe,” he says, still not convinced.
When the meal is over and they’re getting ready to settle down to sleep, Jiron offers to take the first watch.
Miko turns to him and says, “If the woods are such a great place, why are we bothering with a watch?”
“Can never be too careful,” he replies.
Figuring he’d made his point, Miko turns over and eventually falls asleep. James and Jiron sit up for a little while longer, talking.
“He sure can be negative sometimes,” Jiron says quietly to James.
“I know,” he replies. “Has to do with his life I would imagine. Being alone on the streets where everyone tries taking what you have, doesn’t tend to build trust.”
“I suppose,” Jiron says. “I was on the streets too and am not that way.”
“True,” replies James. “But what would you have been like if Tersa hadn’t been alongside you, or if that guy hadn’t gotten you started in the fight pits.”
“I see what you mean,” he says. Then he smiles and laughs quietly.
“What?” James asks him.
“Oh, I was just remembering a time after I’d been in the pits for a while,” he explains. “Kehlan, that was his name, was on his way to get me for another fight. He said he always wanted to take me to them, not for us to just meet there. Anyway, he was coming toward me when from out of nowhere, a tomato sails toward him and hits him right in the side.”
Starting to giggle a little more, he says, “You should have seen him, he was mad and was looking around to see where the tomato had come from. When he saw who it was that had ruined his blue vest, he starts yelling at them and ran toward them. Most likely intending to beat them up or something, but he never got the chance.”
“He didn’t take three steps before he slips in a mud puddle.” Beginning to laugh more, he continues, “He gets up, mud all over him and looks around for his hat. He sees it sitting in the road a few feet away. Just as he was getting up to retrieve it, a horse comes along and puts his hoof right on the hat and begins walking away, with the hat still stuck to his hoof.” Laughing so hard now, tears begin running from his eyes.
James begins laughing too as he continues, “Finally the horse puts its hoof in a mud puddle and the hat doesn’t come back out. Kehlan gets up, covered in mud and goes over to retrieve his hat. When he pulls it out of the mud puddle, the hat is completely ruined. There’s a hole in it, not to mention the mud and other stuff stuck to it that had been in the mud puddle.”
“He actually put the hat back on after shaking it and getting most of the mud off,” he says, laughing more. “He looked around but the kids who had thrown the tomato were no where to be found.”
Laughing, James looks over to where Miko is sleeping and is happy to find that their merriment hasn’t awoken him. He sits there a while, listening to the fire crackle and pop as he continues thinking about Kehlan. The picture of him walking around in a dirty, soaked hat and a blue vest with a big red stain on it keeps him chuckling for a while.
Then suddenly, it all stops. Blue vest? And a hat? He looks to Jiron who’s poking the fire absentmindedly with a stick. Could it have been? “Just what did Kehlan look like?”
Looking up from the fire, he says, “Oh, not much to talk about really. Looked sort of ordinary, he might’ve come from one of the kingdoms further north, I think. He was short though, didn’t come up to my shoulders as I recall. But that didn’t affect his fighting abilities, never saw anyone who could fight like him. He used to say, ‘It’s not the size of your opponent, but his skill that will take you down’. And he was right.”
Sitting back, again lost in thought, James considers what he’d just heard. It had to be the little guy! But why? He stares over to Jiron as he tries to think things through. He fights like no other I’ve ever seen. Maybe Igor arranged it so I’d have help along the way? Or is there something more to it? Whatever the reason, I’m glad to have had him with me. I doubt if I could ever have survived if I hadn’t.
He settles down to sleep for he’s taking the mid watch which is the worst one for getting enough rest. You don’t get enough before your shift and you have a hard time going back to sleep afterwards.
Finally though, he does manage to fall asleep.