“Yeah I can see it now, ‘It’s true! We were there when Miko the street brat became the High Priest of Morcyth!’” he says imitating Potbelly’s voice which only makes everyone laugh all the harder.
“You got one now that Jorry and Uther aren’t going to be able to top!” laughs Stig.
The few people they pass on the street pause in their work to watch the group of men riding down the street, laughing uproariously. A few of them simply shake their heads and return to their work.
Still scanning those they pass in the hopes of seeing an old friend that managed to survive the fall of the City, they continue working their way to the gates. Face after face go by, yet none that any of them recognize. As the gates come into view ahead of them, they have all but given up hope of finding anyone they know.
Then, when they reach the gates, a voice calls from the crowd congregating near the opening. “Shorty!” a woman’s voice cries out.
Turning toward the sound of the voice, Shorty comes to a stop as he scans the crowd for the source of the voice. Then he sees auburn hair tied back with a green ribbon. “Millie!” he cries. Dismounting, he races through the crowd toward her.
The others have come to a stop and watch as he reaches her and envelopes her in a very friendly hug. James glances questioningly to Jiron who explains. “That’s Millie. Shorty and her had a thing before she married some shopkeeper.” Turning to Scar he asks, “Do you remember his name?”
Shaking his head, Scar replies, “No. All I remember is the binge Shorty went on after she told him she was to wed someone else.”
Breaking off the embrace, Shorty asks, “Did what’s his name make it too?”
She gives him playful pat on the shoulder and says, “You know his name is Rulen. And yes, he made it. When we heard the Empire was being pushed back, he wanted to be one of the first to return and get the business up and running again.”
Slightly saddened that she isn’t his, yet happy that she’s alive and in good spirits, he says, “I’m glad for you.”
Reaching out, she gives him another big hug and then asks, “Can I see you later? Rulen could use help in getting the business back up and running.”
Shaking his head, he says, “No.” Nodding back to where the others are waiting for him he adds, “We were about ready to leave town.”
“I’m sorry,” she says. “Shorty, I’m glad you made it.”
“As I am for you,” he replies. Emboldened by the fact that he’s leaving, he grips her in his arms and kisses her smack dab on the lips. “May be back someday,” he tells her as he releases his grip.
“Come see us when you do,” she replies.
“I will,” he assures her. Turning back to his friends, he says to her, “If I don’t see you again, I wish you all the happiness.”
She follows him to his horse and waits while he mounts. “Fare you well, Shorty,” she tells him. “I missed you.”
“Let’s go,” says Jiron as he begins moving once more toward the gates.
As Shorty’s horse starts to follow the others, he turns in his saddle and waves goodbye. Millie stands there and waves back.
Finally, they reach the gates and pass through. Once past the crowd by the gate and on the road, Jiron quickly has them up to a gallop. Behind them, the walls of the City of Light quickly fall away in the distance, until finally disappearing altogether.
Throughout the rest of the day they ride hard until their horses, even with trading off with their spares, begin to show signs of exhaustion. They spend a night of relative quiet and are again off before first light.
The days of hard riding are beginning to show. Their horses are starting to weary faster so they’re forced to slow the pace and add a couple more rest breaks throughout the day. Some time before noon they pass the city of Reardon, only slowing down to work their way through its streets and the people upon them. Then once past they again resume a pace as fast as the condition of their horses will allow.
There’s no time to waste, the clock is ticking. They now must find Tinok!
After spending two more nights on the road, the walls of Al-Ziron appear before them in the late afternoon. Their horses are all but spent and they desperately need the replacements Illan promised them when they left just over a week ago.
Squads of riders patrol the countryside and they come across two with Raiders who had accompanied them to Korazan earlier in the summer. They report that the area is clear and the delegation from the Empire has arrived. Talks are already underway to halt the fighting permanently.
A cessation to the fighting is now in place until the conclusion of the talks. Whether it will become a permanent situation will depend on the skill of the representatives of the two sides. The last patrol they encountered sent a rider to inform Black Hawk of their approach. So when they draw close to the walls of Al-Ziron, they are met by Illan, and the two remaining brothers of the Hand of Asran.
Brother Willim is surprised to see the priests still here.
“I thought they were taking your fallen brethren back home?” asks Stig.
“They were,” he replies. “The fact that they are here cannot bode well.”
As the two groups meet, Illan says, “I didn’t expect you for a couple more days.” Then he takes in the thinness of the horses. “Rest assured, I have fresh mounts ready for you.”
“Thank you,” says James.
Just as he’s about to continue, Illan holds up his hand. “We need to talk in private,” he says quietly. Glancing to Brother Willim he adds, “You too.”
“Very well,” Brother Willim says.
“Trouble?” asks Jiron nodding over to the tents of the Ambassador’s party.
“Not here,” he says with a shake of his head. Turning his horse around, he leads them through the gates of Al-Ziron. “Are Delia and the others safely within Cardri?” he asks.
“Yes,” replies James. “Then we had a side trip to the City of Light.”
“Interesting?” he asks.
“Oh yes, very,” says James.
“I’d say,” adds Scar from where he’s riding behind them.
Once inside the main courtyard, guards come and take their horses. “Follow me,” Illan says as he leads them into the keep.
As they begin removing their things, Illan says, “Leave them. They’ll be taken to your rooms.”
Everyone but Miko takes his advice. Miko removes the saddlebag containing the Book of Morcyth and carries it with him. He plans on never letting it out of his possession.
Within the fortress they move down the somewhat familiar halls. As they pass down one of the hallways, Ceadric makes his appearance from out of a doorway and holds it open for them. Nodding to Illan, he stands there as they pass through.
On the other side of the door they find themselves in a large room with many tables and chairs. Once they are all in, Ceadric closes the door and stations himself outside to prevent them from being disturbed.
Illan moves to the far side of the room and takes a seat at one of the tables. The others take seats in the other chairs close to him. Brother Willim and the other two priests of Morcyth sit together at the table adjacent to his.
“Now,” says Jiron, “why all the secrecy?”
“Is the Empire up to something?” asks Stig.
He sits back a moment, then says, “I’m not sure.” Pausing for only a moment, Illan continues. “The day you left, one of my Raiders was found dead in one of the hallways. There was no discernable cause of death. No wounds from weapons,” then he gestures to the two priests of Asran, “and they said it wasn’t poison.”
Brother Willim and his brothers begin whispering together as the others assimilate what he just said. “They were kind enough to postpone their journey to return their fallen comrades until the following day. Unfortunately, by then two more had died, again within the keep and no discernable cause of death.”
“After the first death, a thorough search was made and the keep was locked down, no one
allowed in or out. The brothers joined the search that first day but nothing was found. By this time the Ambassador from the Empire arrived.”
“Were they somehow involved do you think?” Potbelly asks.
“Nothing points in their direction, but you can’t dismiss the coincidence of my people being killed and their presence here,” he replies.
“Have you spoken to the Ambassador about the situation?” Jiron asks.
Shaking his head, Illan says, “No, it could possibly be taken as an implied accusation. At this stage in the negotiations, we can’t afford to do anything that would adversely affect the talks.”
“But people are dying,” insists Brother Willim. “Surely you could talk to him about aiding you in ferreting out the killer?”
Again Illan shakes his head. “Our negotiator, who by the way is Councilman Tethias and one of the members of Madoc’s ruling Council, says that we should not mention it in any way.” Seeing the suspicion arise in James’ eyes he adds, “Don’t worry, his House is currently at odds with that of the former Councilman Rillian.”
“That’s good to know,” states James.
“We do have the Ambassador and his people under constant surveillance,” Illan tells them. “We know that he has been informed of the deaths, though he has yet to comment upon them.”
Just then the door opens and Ceadric sticks his head in. Illan gives him a nod and servants come in bearing food and drink. “Thought you might be hungry,” he says.
“Yes, thank you,” affirms Scar.
The servants hurry about their work and platters of beef, bread and cheese are sitting before them. Pitchers of ale arrive too. Once everything has been placed upon the tables the servants quickly leave the room and Illan relates to them the rest of the events while they eat.
“The morning of the second day, another died but this time there was a witness,” he explains. “One of Hedry’s archers, Galin, was on his way to meet with him when one of the new additions to the Raiders entered the hallway further down. The man waved to Galin and took three steps when what looked like an arm reached from the wall and touched him.”
“Staggering, the man gave out with a groan and remained there with the hand on his shoulder for no more than a second before the hand let go. Then he sagged and hit the floor. When Galin reached him, he was already dead.”
“And there was no one else in the hallway?” asks Jiron.
“No, there was not,” states Illan matter-of-factly.
“Did Galin get a good look at the arm?” James asks.
“He said the hallway was dark with but a single candle at either end,” he replies. “Said he didn’t really pay much attention to it, that at first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Possibly a trick with the shadows.”
“Shadows?” asks James. He looks to Illan and who nods his head. “Could it be one of those shadows that tried to kill me on the way to Korazan?”
“There have been three other deaths since,” he says. “Another attack was witnessed. The witness said that the wall came forth and enveloped the servant.”
James sits back and thinks while whispered murmurs pass between the others in the room.
“My brothers say they have not sensed the presence of evil or anything magical the entire time we were gone,” Brother Willim states. “They have searched the keep from one side to the other but thus far have been unable to locate it.”
“We’ll be able to find it,” bursts out Scar. Patting Miko on the shoulder he says, “We have the High Priest of Morcyth here.”
Illan’s eyes widen as Miko blushes slightly. He glances to James who nods his head then launches into a brief description of what happened in the City of Light. When he’s done, he looks to Miko with a grin, “So what do I call you now?”
“Miko will do nicely,” he replies.
“We’ll need to…” begins James when Miko suddenly stands erect.
The Star of Morcyth suddenly bright in his hands he turns for the door. “Someone has died,” he announces.
“How do you know?” Jiron asks.
“I felt his passing,” he replies.
Green auras spring to life around the brothers as Miko reaches the door. Pushing it open, he strides into the hallway. Pausing only a moment, he moves to the right past a startled Ceadric with the others right behind and hurries down the hallway.
“Another has been killed,” Illan tells Ceadric as he leaves the room. Nodding, Ceadric draws his sword and falls in with the others.
The light emanating from the Star fills the hallway with brilliant light. “Can you sense the shadow?” James asks.
“Yes,” he replies. “It’s above us and on the move.” Quickening his pace, Miko passes stunned servants and guards as he hunts the shadow. One guard of the keep had to practically jump out of his way to prevent from being run over.
Reaching a flight of steps going upward, he turns into the stairwell and proceeds to the next floor.
“Can you sense anything yet?” James asks Brother Willim.
Nodding, he says, “We do now.”
Hurrying along the hallway, Miko comes to a stop before a closed door and opens it. “We’re near,” he says. “Its pace has quickened.”
“Could have sensed our magic approaching,” suggests James and Brother Willim nods in agreement.
The door opens up onto a storage room filled with boxes, crates and barrels. Moving into the room, the light from the Star blazes forth revealing every nook and cranny. Across the room from them stands another closed door.
“We must hurry,” Miko says as he runs to the other door.
“Can’t be much further until we reach the outer wall of the keep,” Illan says as he enters the storage room.
Jiron beats him to the door and has it open for Miko to pass through. The light from the Star reveals another storage room that’s practically empty. A dark shape is moving across the floor and is almost at the far wall.
“There it is!” exclaims Miko.
With a shriek, the shadow races from the burning light of the Star. Passing through the wall, it seeks to escape.
The glow surrounding the priests of Asran suddenly intensifies tenfold. “Got it,” says Brother Willim.
Moving to a small narrow window in the wall, James and the others look out to see the shadow enveloped by a green glow hovering far above the ground. As the brothers work to send the shadow back to whatever hell it came from, it lets out with an ear shattering scream. Inch by inch the green glow surrounding the shadow shrinks until finally it winks out.
“Great,” breathes Illan in a less than happy tone.
“What?” asks James.
Indicating out the window to the ground below, he says, “That’s the Empire’s Ambassador’s camp.”
Everyone in the camp below is staring up at where the shadow had been held by the brothers. All of a sudden, a group of men break from the crowd and make for the gates to the keep.
“He’s coming,” comments Jiron.
Illan immediately moves from the window and says, “Ceadric, take them somewhere out of sight until the Ambassador returns to his camp.”
“Right,” he says.
“Why?” asks Shorty.
Gesturing to James he says, “James here is the most wanted man in their Empire. According to what our agents have discovered, they’ve issued a hundred thousand gold piece reward for your death. It appears they don’t even want you alive.”
Leaving the room, Illan begins to return the way they came while Ceadric takes the others the rest of the way. Coming to a stop Illan says to Brother Willim, “I’ll need to borrow your brothers.”
“Why?” he asks as everyone pauses in the hallway.
“The Ambassador knows something happened,” he replies. “He already knows these two have been here for awhile. If we put forth that they were the ones that destroyed the shadow, it might quell any further questions.”
Brother Willim nods to his two fellow priests wh
o then move to stand with Illan.
“When he’s gone I’ll send word,” Illan tells them. “Until then, stay low and get what rest you can. I know you must be exhausted.”
“That’s an understatement,” jokes Shorty.
To Ceadric he says, “Meet me in the Hall when you have them stashed away.”
Nodding, Ceadric resumes leading them down the hallway. He hurries along until coming to another hallway branching off to the right. Moving into it, he leads them all the way to the far end where they come to a flight of stairs going up. The stairwell is dark so James creates his orb to light the way.
“You are putting us in the tower?” Scar asks.
“That’s right,” replies Ceadric. “At least until the Ambassador returns to his camp.”
Ascending the flight of stairs, they pass one level and leave the stairwell on the next. A short hallway extends from the stairwell with but one door on either side. Coming to a stop at the doors, he turns and faces the others. Indicating the two doors, he says, “These must have been designed for visiting dignitaries. Beyond each door is a suite of rooms with sufficient beds for all of you.”
“Thank you,” James tells him.
Nodding, Ceadric says, “I must return. It would be good if you could stay within your rooms until morning.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” he says with a yawn. “We’re all about dead on our feet.”
“Then I shall leave you to your rest.” And with that Ceadric moves to the stairs and begins making his way back down.
James, Miko, Brother Willim, Jiron and Aleya take one set of suites while the rest take the other. As it turns out, they are identical in the way they are laid out. A large room designed for entertaining guests lies beyond the door from the hallway. Three other doors lead to rooms containing beds, tables, and dressers. Two of the rooms have two beds each while the third is much larger. Most likely for the prominent member of the guests staying here, it has but a single bed larger than the others as well as the addition of a walk-in closet.
“Nice,” comments Miko after checking out the rooms.
The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven Page 8
