The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven

by Brian S. Pratt

  “These are friends,” Perrilin tells him.

  The man gives them a quick nod then moves into the next room.

  “Who is that?” Jiron asks. “And who is following you?”

  “Not here,” he says and then motions for them to follow. He leads them through the door that the other man had passed through and into the room on the other side. A woman and two children sit on a bed pushed against one wall and eye them as they pass through. Neither they nor Perrilin say anything. From a table near the bed, Perrilin picks up one of the candles burning there and takes it with him.

  Once they’ve passed through into the hallway, he leads them down to a doorway on the left. Opening it up, he indicates for them to precede him inside. The doorway is twice as thick as the average door and made of solid wood. As James and the others move inside and Perrilin shuts the door, he notices that all noise from outside of the room is gone.

  “Quiet room?” he asks.

  Perrilin nods as he takes a seat at one of the chairs sitting around a lone table. The others take seats as well. “We found that such a room comes in handy when you wish not to be overheard,” he explains.

  “Is it magical?” asks Reilin.

  Shaking his head, Perrilin says, “No. Just built very thickly.”

  “Now what is going on around here?” Jiron asks.

  “Let’s just say that some of my associates and me don’t exactly have the good will of the powers that be,” he says.

  “What do you mean?” Jiron asks, obviously not satisfied with the answer.

  Perrilin gestures to the Empire type clothes Jiron is wearing and says, “As someone who himself is trying to not draw attention, I’m sure you’ll understand if I decline to say more.”

  “Your business is your own,” says James. “Though I would like to know why you gave us the note.”

  “Earlier I saw you going into the slaver compound,” he tells them. “And then later when I saw you leave, you had the look of someone with a great deal on their minds. So I had a boy I knew give you the note and hoped you would take the chance and come.”

  “Why?” asks Jiron. “Sounds as if you have enough troubles without getting yourself involved with ours.”

  Perrilin gazes at him a moment and says, “There was a time when I was in trouble and someone came to my aid. Can I do less to repay the debt I owe?”

  “You don’t owe me any debt,” James tells him. “Your help in introducing me to Ellinwyrd was payment enough.”

  “Nevertheless,” he replies, “I still feel onus to help you now.”

  “Maybe he can help,” suggests Reilin.

  Jiron looks to James who nods. “It can’t hurt and I definitely trust him,” James says. Then turning to Perrilin, he adds, “We need to talk with the slaver named Buka.”

  Perrilin grows quiet at that. “Why?” he finally asks. “Do you plan to kill him?”

  Shaking his head, James says, “No. All we want is some information.” He then goes briefly into the final dream he had of Cassie and Tinok, what she said about the fate hanging over him, and of the trail they’ve followed thus far in search of their friend. When he finishes, he has Jiron take out the necklace and show it to him. “This is all we have to go on,” he concludes. “The last person we talked to said that he got it from Buka a slaver here in Cyst. Now, we need to find out what Buka knows.”

  “Do you know him?” Jiron asks.

  “Oh yes,” he says with a nod. “He is the Guildmaster of the slavers in this area. A very powerful person whom it isn’t wise to cross.”

  “Can you think of a way for us to talk to him?” James asks.

  “It isn’t as simple as you are making it out,” he says. “No one simply goes up and talks to Buka. Very few around here have even seen him.”

  “We heard he is presently within the slaver compound here in Cyst,” states Jiron.

  “That well may be true,” nods Perrilin. “From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t leave here often.”

  “Can you be of any help?” asks Jiron. “If what James was told in the dream is true, then Tinok has less than two weeks to live.”

  Shaking his head, he says, “I don’t have any connections within the slaver guild I’m afraid.”

  “Do you know what he looks like?” James asks.

  “Yes,” he replies. “But I don’t know how that is going to be of any help.”

  Jiron looks to James. “Is it?” he asks.

  “Maybe,” he replies. Removing his mirror from its pouch, he says, “I’ve never done it quite this way before.”

  “Done what?” Perrilin asks suspiciously, his gaze upon the mirror.

  “Try to find someone,” he explains as he sets the mirror on the table between them.

  “With magic?” he asks.

  “How else?” James says.

  “Is it going to hurt?” Perrilin asks.

  Shaking his head, James replies, “No. What I want you to do is to visualize Buka in your mind, close your eyes if you need to.”

  Perrilin nods his head and closes his eyes. When he has Buka’s image clearly depicted, he asks, “Okay, now what?”

  “Nothing,” replies James. “Just keep the image in your mind as clear as you can until I tell you to stop.”

  “Alright,” he says, eyes still closed.

  James then turns his attention to the mirror on the table and concentrates. The magic begins to build as he formulates what he wishes it to do. And that is, to find the person Perrilin is concentrating on.

  “Is this going to work?” Reilin asks Jiron.

  “Shhh!” Jiron says irritably. “Don’t disturb him.”

  James lets the magic flow and it almost seems as if a thread of it attaches itself to Perrilin’s forehead. Of course it doesn’t actually do that, it just feels that way. Then all of a sudden, the image in the mirror coalesces and they see a large man gone to fat sitting on a bed in a room with two naked young women.

  “Is that him?” James asks.

  Perrilin opens his eyes and nods. “Yeah, that’s him,” he says.

  “I can see why he doesn’t get out much,” Reilin states. Jiron nods his head in agreement.

  “You can stop thinking about him now,” James tells Perrilin, “I’ve got him.”

  “Now what?” he asks as he gazes at the people in the mirror.

  James begins scrolling the image in small increments and then moves the image upward until the room disappears and an aerial view of the slaver compound comes into view.

  Jiron pays extra close attention to the image, committing to memory the exact location of the room in which Buka is in. Finally he says, “I’ve got it.”

  “You sure?” James asks.

  “Oh yeah,” he replies. “I can find that room now.”

  Canceling the image, he replaces the mirror back in his pouch.

  Reilin gets a sly grin on his face and says, “From the looks of things, I’d say he’ll be in there for awhile.”

  “Looks that way,” agrees James.

  Perrilin glances from Jiron to James then back again. “You aren’t thinking about going in there are you?” he asks.

  “Can you think of a better way to find out what we want to know?” responds Jiron. Then he turns to James and says, “Shall we?”

  “Yes,” he replies as he stands up. To Perrilin he says, “I appreciate your help in this.”

  Perrilin rises and looks to them for a moment. Then says, “You’re welcome. Just be careful.”

  “We will,” James assures him. “Now, can you lead us out?”

  He nods and moves around the table to the door. Opening it, he steps into the hallway and leads them back the way they came. A young man is now within the room with the woman and two children. When Perrilin enters the young man stands up and says, “It’s all clear.”

  “Thank you,” he replies.

  The young man moves ahead of them to the door they originally entered the building through and throws the bolt open. Then h
e swings the door open for them and stands there holding it as they pass through. Once they are out and on the street, the young man closes the door and plunges them into darkness.

  Perrilin stops and turns to them. “It would be best if we parted ways here,” he says. “Never know who may be out and about.”

  James nods and extends his hand. “Thank you for your help,” he again says.

  Taking the hand, Perrilin grins. “Until we meet again,” he says. Then he turns and quickly walks down the street.

  “Now let’s go find this guy,” Jiron says.

  “Not yet,” James tells him. “Let’s find the others first and then we’ll pay Mr. Baku a visit.”

  Jiron nods and then heads down the street in the general direction toward where they left the others. As they go, James wonders if Buka will even remember Tinok, not to mention what happened to him. He’s not sure what Jiron plans to do in that event, but he would hate to be in Buka’s place should that be the case.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  _________________________

  They work their way through the city until the outskirts come into view. Moving quickly, they reach the last of the outlying buildings before the road once more enters the desert.

  James brings them to a halt and then after scanning the area for a second, leads them to a spot near the building’s edge where light is spilling from a window. Moving near the light, he pulls forth his mirror and brings Miko’s moon illuminated image into view. Expanding it slightly he finds the others still together, most of them are sleeping.

  “Good,” he says as he puts his mirror back into his pouch, “they’re alright.” Then he removes the strip of cloth he uses to search with and soon is on his way into the night. Following the direction indicated by the cloth, they hurry across the moonlit landscape.

  When Cyst is five minutes behind them, a shadow moves to intercept them which turns out to be Scar and Potbelly materializes out of the night a moment later. James’ orb springs to life on his palm. “Everybody up,” he says as he enters the camp.

  “We know where this Buka is,” Jiron says as he bends over to give Miko a shake to bring him back to consciousness. “If things go bad, we may need to get out of here in a hurry.”

  “What?” asks a bleary eyed Miko as he sits up and looks around.

  “Where is he?” Brother Willim asks.

  “In the slaver compound,” Reilin says. He moves over to where the horses are tethered and begins to put the saddle on his.

  “You’re going to storm the place I take it?” Aleya asks.

  “Not exactly, no,” Jiron assures her. “Just slip over the wall and have a little conversation with him.”

  “Just like that?” She eyes him disapprovingly.

  “No other way I’m afraid,” he explains. “From what we learned this night, he isn’t going to be too helpful as it is.”

  She lays a hand on his shoulder. “Didn’t you tell me that you gave your word not to harm him? That you would leave him as you found him?”

  “Yes, I did,” he acknowledges.

  Raising her voice she exclaims, “Then how are you going to convince him to tell you what he knows?”

  “We’ll figure a way,” James says as he comes up behind them.

  She looks from one to the other and shakes her head.

  “Not much night left,” Stig says as he joins them. “An hour, maybe two.”

  “Then we best be on our way,” replies Jiron. With a last look to Aleya, he walks past her and over to where his horse waits for him. Taking the saddle from the ground, he begins readying his horse.

  Several minutes pass before they are all in the saddle and ready to ride. James extinguishes his orb and Jiron takes the lead. Heading back toward Cyst, he angles toward the wall encompassing the slaver compound. Many buildings have sprouted around its walls, and Jiron brings them to a halt before they draw too close to them.

  Turning to the others, he says, “The rest of you wait out here while James and I go in and talk to Buka.” He and James then dismount.

  “Aren’t you going to need me?” asks Reilin.

  Shaking his head, Jiron replies, “Not this time. As Guildmaster of the Slaver Guild, I would expect him to be able to speak our language.” He hands the reins of his horse to Shorty.

  “So would I,” agrees Scar.

  As James and Jiron make ready to return to Cyst, Potbelly says under his breath, “I’m tired of always staying behind.”

  “You got that right,” Scar says with a nod.

  Jiron glances to James and rolls his eyes, otherwise ignoring the pair. “Shall we?” he asks.

  “Better get this over with before the sun rises,” he says. Off to the east, the sky remains dark. The onset of dawn still has yet to makes its initial appearance. Moving quickly, they leave the others behind and are soon making their way through the outlying buildings.

  In no time at all, the wall of the slaver compound appears ahead of them out of the night. Lights are seen within the compound and they make it to the wall without being noticed. This early in the morning, very few people are awake.

  The wall is twelve feet high. Jiron makes a running jump and leaps toward its top. Barely reaching the upper lip, he grabs hold and makes sure his grip is secure before he pulls himself up to look over the other side.

  Hanging there, he looks over and finds no one in the immediate vicinity on the other side of the wall. Pulling himself up the rest of the way, he stays as flat against the top to avoid being outlined against the light any more than is absolutely necessary. There’s no ramp or walkway on the other side either, just a similar drop to the ground as on the outside.

  Once he’s gained the top, he swings over and lands on the other side. He then plasters himself against the base of the wall to see if anyone may have noticed his entry. When no one comes to investigate, he unwinds the rope from around his middle and throws a section over the wall to James. He takes a secure hold when he feels James taking up the slack. Then the rope grows taught as James begins climbing the other side.

  The rope goes taught, then becomes loose. Grows taught again then goes loose. When he feels James try for the third time to scale the wall, Jiron sighs and says quietly, “Tie a loop at the end and I’ll pull you over.” He feels two quick tugs on the rope and shakes his head. He had forgotten how inept James is at things like this. When it comes to magic, he’s almost unparalleled in what he can do. But physical stuff such as scaling a wall? Forget it.

  “All set,” he hears from the other side as the rope is tugged twice in quick succession. He begins taking in the slack, and when the rope becomes taught starts pulling James toward the top. It’s a hard pull with James’ weight on the other side. Hand over hand and inch by inch he gradually brings him closer to the top of the compound’s wall.

  As he comes near the top, James reaches up and takes hold with his right hand. As soon as he has a secure grip with one hand, he lets go of the rope with the other and helps Jiron by pulling himself up. “Okay, I made it,” he says as he climbs onto the top. Taking his foot out of the loop, he tosses down the rope.

  On the ground, Jiron begins coiling the rope once more around his middle under his jerkin. He keeps one eye on James’ progress in getting down from the top, and the other on the immediate vicinity. So far, no one has made an appearance.

  He no sooner gets the rope securely in place than James drops down to the ground next to him. “Ready?” he asks. James gives him a nod and then they set out toward the building wherein they saw Buka with the mirror.

  The room in question is within one of the larger buildings in the compound and not too far from where they crossed over the wall. They keep in the shadows of the wall as they steadily work their way closer. Two men’s voices suddenly come out of the dark ahead causing them to freeze and plaster themselves against the wall.

  Standing still, they listen as the men’s footsteps approach closer. As they come nearer, Jiron is able to discern the t
wo dark outlines of the men. It doesn’t look as if the direction they are walking will bring them very close to where James and Jiron are hiding. The dark outlines gradually change to more distinct forms until the two men pass them not more than five feet away. Too wrapped up in their own conversation, the men never even glance toward the two motionless figures in the shadows. Finally, the men move further down and enter through a doorway in one of the buildings.

  Detaching himself from the wall, Jiron whispers, “That was close.”

  James nods in agreement as they resume their progress. Keeping between the wall and an adjacent building, they hurry along. Coming to the end of the building, they pause for a moment. A ten foot open area separates where they stand and the building wherein they believe Buka to be.

  Jiron scans the area quickly. When he’s sure no one is nearby, he runs across the open area to the nearest door with James right on his heels. At the door, he again pauses to make sure their dash to the door went unobserved. Satisfied that they continue to remain unnoticed, he tries the door and finds it unlocked.

  Light comes from within as he opens the door a crack. Peering inside, he finds the door opens onto a well lit hallway. With lit candles spaced in wall sconces every ten feet or so, there’s little chance of remaining hidden should someone make an appearance.

  “We better hurry,” urges James. The sky to the east is beginning to lighten with the coming of dawn. If they want to have any hope of making it out safely, they best be done in short order.

  Jiron nods understanding and opens the door. Doors line both sides of the hallway, two on the left and three on the right, another door sits closed at the end. “It’s through the one at the end,” Jiron whispers to him. Entering the building, he ignores the other doors and heads directly for the one at the end. Upon reaching it, he places his ear to the door.

  After listening for a moment, he turns back to James. “I don’t hear anything,” he informs him. Placing his hand on the door’s handle, he slowly opens the door to find another hallway on the other side. Like the one they just passed through, it too is well illuminated by candlelight.