By the end of the day, he’s able to at last see Korazan in his mirror. Still hours away, if they travel a couple more hours by nightfall, they will be within striking distance for the following morning.
At this point, Illan begins sending out groups of eight riders whose purpose is to find and detain anyone who might raise the alarm. If they can strike with surprise in the morning they’ll not lose as many men.
“There’s a force of men camped on the north side of town,” James tells Illan.
“How many?” he asks.
He studies the image a moment then says, “A couple hundred.” He glances over to him and adds, “Most are foot soldiers.”
“Good,” he states. Turning to where Ceadric rides just behind them, he waves him closer. “Time to send them in.”
Ceadric nods and moves further back into the column. Shortly after that two riders, wearing the regular garb of those living in the Empire, detach themselves and race for Korazan. Dressed as one of them, these two men will attempt to find out strengths and deployments before the morning’s attack. James felt very fortunate to discover that several of the Raiders had a working knowledge of the Empire’s tongue.
When the scouts report that Korazan lies about two hours away, Illan calls a halt. Cold rations and no fires is the order this night. No chances will be taken that might alert anyone as to their whereabouts.
While waiting for Devin to bring him his dinner, James takes out his mirror and does one final check. The force pursuing them still remains far behind and isn’t looking as if they are going to catch up to them any time soon. Elsewhere it still looks like nothing else is heading their way.
“You okay?” Jiron asks as he approaches.
Looking up, James sees him carrying two plates of food, he hands one to him. Taking the offered food, he says, “Just worried.”
Jiron sits on the ground opposite him. “Aren’t we all?” he questions as he takes a bite. “We aren’t exactly in a safe environment.”
“It isn’t that,” he explains. “Remember when we were on the way to rescue Miko, the whole area seemed to be practically teeming with soldiers.” When he sees Jiron nod he adds, “Now there doesn’t appear to be anyone around. It feels like they are up to something.”
“Perhaps,” he says through a mouthful of food. “It could also be that most of their forces are either in Madoc or over to the east taking on the Kirkens. Keep in mind too that since I met you, you’ve managed to reduce the numbers of their army by quite a lot.”
“Still, it just doesn’t feel right,” he insists. They eat in silence a moment while they each mull it over.
“What are you doing here?” Delia asks as she joins them.
“What?” asks James.
“Not you,” she replies and then points to Jiron, “him.”
James arcs an eyebrow at him and grins. He knows what she’s talking about.
“That poor girl is sitting there all alone and here you are,” she says accusingly. Turning her head, she draws Jiron’s gaze over to where Aleya sits by herself. Her head turns briefly in their direction when she takes notice looking her way, then returns to her plate of food.
“If you don’t get over there right this very minute I’m going to send Scar and Potbelly over there to keep her company,” she tells him.
“Don’t do that,” he says as he gets to his feet. “She already has enough problems without adding them to it.” With a nod to James, he leaves them and makes his way over to her.
Delia sighs after he leaves them and sits in the spot he just vacated. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with that boy!” Glancing over her shoulder, she sees Jiron has taken a seat next to her and is engaging her in conversation.
James can see the smile playing across her lips as she turns back to him. “Some of us take more effort than others,” he says.
“You got that right,” she replies. “But I think Jiron is heading in the right direction. At least he wants to do right.”
“That he does,” he agrees.
Just then he sees Devin approaching. “I laid out your things over there,” he says, pointing to an area near the center of the encampment.
“Thanks,” James replies.
Nodding his head, he excuses himself and then makes his way over to join the rest of the recruits at their meal.
He and Delia sit there and talk about inconsequential things as the light continues to fade. Before it becomes too dark, they each say goodnight and make their way to their respective bedrolls.
As James lies down upon his he thinks about what’s going to happen tomorrow and prays he thought of everything. Laying his head back, he gazes up at the stars beginning to appear in the sky above and lets his mind wander. He knows part of the reason for tackling Korazan tomorrow is in retribution for the slavers’ role in the death of his best friend Dave. The other part is simply that slavery is an evil blight upon the world and one which should be every good man’s duty to hinder and stop.
It takes awhile, but he’s able to finally subdue the thoughts running through his mind and fall asleep.
Sitting up in the dark, he looks around, unsure of what woke him. The night is peaceful, the stars overhead giving some light with which to see. Making a quick survey of the sleeping forms around him, he realizes that he is the only one awake except for the shadow of a sentry walking the perimeter. All is as it should be but here he sits, wide awake and all traces of sleep gone which is unusual.
A soft breeze blows across the slumbering forms, ruffling his hair with a gentle caress. Taking another look around, he still fails to discover anything out of the ordinary so settles back down to sleep. That’s when he notices a light emerging from an old tear in the front of his tunic. The sight of the light sends a shiver down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Grabbing the chain holding the medallion bearing the Star of Morcyth, he pulls it out of his shirt. Light bathes the immediate area as it clears his collar. This is not good! He gets to his feet and holds aloft the medallion, turning full circle as he gazes around the camp. Light only comes from the medallion in certain circumstances, so far all of which have been bad.
Continuing to cast quick glances around the camp, he quickly moves over to where Miko lays. Kneeling down beside him, he lays a hand upon his breast and shakes him. “Miko!” he whispers urgently.
“Wha…?” Miko asks groggily until he sees the light coming from the medallion. Snapping awake, he turns his eyes on James.
“I don’t know,” he replies. He’s about to say something else when Miko suddenly grabs him and rolls to the side.
“Attack!” he yells as he rolls with James quickly. When he comes to a stop, James is behind him and the Star of Morcyth is in his hand. “Up! We’re under attack!” Holding the Star high, he gets to his feet as the Light seems to enfold the shadow.
James looks around him and sees a shadow being held at bay by the light coming from the Star. Suddenly, green light flares from the side as Brother Willim and the Hand summon their power. “James!” Brother Willim shouts, “Behind you!”
Turning, he finds another shadow almost upon him. Holding up the medallion before him, he bathes the shadow in its glow. Not nearly as effective as the Star, it slows the creature but doesn’t halt its progress. He sees one of Ceadric’s Raiders charge it with a sword. “Stop!” he calls to the man but the man pays him no heed. Striking out with his sword, the man attacks the shadow. When the sword comes into contact with it, the man spasms violently before falling to the ground where he lies still.
“Together!” Brother Willim orders the rest of the Hand as a greenish glow surrounds the shadow before him. Stopping in its tracks, the shadow begins to shrink in on itself as the glow surrounding it becomes more pronounced.
Lights spring up around the camp as men quickly light lanterns and torches. “Ceadric!” shouts Illan as he quickly gets over his shock.
“Sir!” replies Ceadric.
�
��Send out men and see if an attack is imminent,” he orders.
“Yes, sir!” he replies. Grabbing several men standing nearby, he begins organizing scouting parties.
The shadow before Miko also begins to shrink as the light from the Star intensifies. A ring of onlookers surrounds them as Miko and the Hand battle the shadows, both are now half their original size. For a moment the shrinking halts then all of a sudden, they wink out. As they disappear, so too does the light from the Star and the medallion. The greenish glow surrounding the Hand remains as they keep vigilant.
A blazing orb springs into life above them bathing the entire area with light. A quick look reveals no other shadows in the area. The light also reveals two lines of dead bodies, each line the path taken by one of the shadows. In their passing, they killed all they touched.
“You okay?” Illan asks as he comes to James’ side.
“I think so,” he says. “If it weren’t for Miko’s quick thinking, they may have had me.”
Illan casts a quick glance to Miko and says, “Good job.”
“Thank you,” he replies as he begins moving toward the body of the Raider who fell when he attacked the shadow. The light from the Star flares briefly but winks out a moment later. Getting up, Miko looks to them and shakes his head, then begins moving to the nearest of the unmoving men on the ground on the off chance he can still be of help.
“This wasn’t an attack on us,” Jiron says.
“No,” agrees Illan, “it wasn’t.”
The two lines of dead bodies lie in an almost straight line from the edge of the encampment. It’s quite obvious that they knew who they were after and where he was.
“From this point on,” Illan says, “you have a guard near you while you sleep.”
“My brethren and I will be honored to have that duty,” Brother Willim says.
Illan gives him a nod just as Ceadric returns.
“No one else is out there,” he reports.
“Keep the men out,” he tells him. “I want a revolving pattern around the camp in case more are on the way.”
“What should the men do if they encounter one?” Ceadric asks.
They look to James who says, “Call for help and stay away. They are helpless where these shadows are concerned.”
Nodding, Ceadric turns to begin carrying out his orders.
To the rest of the camp Illan hollers out, “Get back to sleep. It’s over.” When the men begin returning to their bedrolls he glances to the orb shining overhead and says to James, “Don’t need that anymore.”
Canceling the spell, the orb winks out. Light from dozens of lanterns continue to illuminate the area. “Weren’t those things the same as we saw in Willimet?” Jiron asks.
“Exactly the same,” he replies.
“They could have wiped out everyone before they were noticed,” Delia says from where she joins the group.
Nodding, James replies, “Definitely a good portion if that had been their goal. But they were after me.” And that’s what worries him. He feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to find Brother Willim there.
“Don’t worry,” Brother Willim says. “Now that we know what we’re up against, they’ll not so easily get that close to you again.”
“That’s right,” another of the Hand offers.
“Thank you,” he says.
“We still have several hours until dawn,” Illan states. “I suggest we all try to get what sleep we can.” He’s talking to everyone but his gaze is on James.
“Wylick!” Illan hollers.
“Yes, sir,” comes the reply as the tall captain approaches.
“Get a party of men and bury the dead,” he says.
“Yes, sir,” the captain replies as he begins organizing the burial detail.
Nodding, James returns to his blankets, though after such a close call he doubts if he’ll be able to sleep. Captain Wylick and his men get busy carry the dead out of camp and gather them in one area. Then they begin digging a large grave for all of them.
Brother Willim and another of the Hand remain up and as the lights from the lanterns and torches wink out, a soft green glow can be seen emanating from them as they patrol the camp. The glow gives comfort, allowing the mind to rest and sleep to come.
Chapter Sixteen
In the early light of dawn, they make ready to get underway for their assault on Korazan. James takes out his mirror and checks on the force trailing them. Still over half a day behind, they shouldn’t pose a threat. Then over to the west he brings Korazan into view. The gates of the city remain shut, a line of civilians stands outside waiting to enter.
Scrolling to the south, the road there leading to Korazan has minimal traffic, none of which is military in nature. To the north he finds two riders, each trailing a mount as they ride hell bent for Korazan.
“Illan!” James exclaims.
Coming to his side, Illan looks at the image in the mirror of the two riders. “They’re going to alert Korazan of our approach. How close are they?” Widening the image, James is able to determine they are less than a half hour away from the city. “No way to catch them before they get there.”
“At least they’ll have little warning,” offers James.
Illan nods. “There is that,” he says. The two men sent into Korazan the day before have yet to report back which worries him. “Ceadric, get the men moving.”
“Yes, sir,” he replies. “Mount up!” he hollers and the men start climbing into the saddle. When everyone is mounted and ready, he turns back to Illan and says, “Ready.”
“Move ‘em out,” Illan says as he nudges the sides of his horse to get going. James does the same and as soon as they have taken their place at the fore, Ceadric calls for the rest to follow.
They steadily pick up the pace until the entire company is galloping toward Korazan in the hopes of arriving shortly after the ones riding to warn them. A half hour into the ride, they meet up with the two men who had gone to gather information the day before. Illan calls a brief halt while they report.
“All they have is a skeletal garrison,” one man reports. “Word is the rest left several days ago and headed east.”
Illan nods in understanding as the second rider adds, “A couple hundred men at arms and maybe fifty crossbowmen is all we’ll have to deal with.”
“Any mages?” James asks.
Shaking his head, the first rider says, “Not that we heard.”
“There was one there that left with the others,” the second rider explains. “But word on the street is that there isn’t one now.”
James glances to Illan and says, “That’s good news.”
“Appears your plan worked,” comments Jiron. “Most likely the mage they’re talking about lies dead on the road behind us.”
“Let’s hope so,” agrees James.
“Any word about reinforcements heading to Korazan?” asks Illan.
“No,” the second rider replies.
“Very good,” says Illan to the two spies. “Grab a quick bite to eat, we’re leaving shortly.” They both give him a salute and then move back toward where the pack animals are held to get some food.
Turning back to James, Illan says, “By the time we get there, they will have little time to do more than man the walls and shut the gates.”
“I’m sure they will send out riders requesting reinforcements from the nearby garrisons,” Ceadric adds. “Not that they will get there in time.”
“Probably,” agrees Illan. “It’s what I would do.”
James takes out his mirror again and they gather round as he brings Korazan into focus. “The riders have arrived,” he says when they find the gates closed, soldiers lining the wall facing their approach and all signs of civilians outside the walls gone.
“So it would seem,” breathes Illan. They take a few moments to size up the enemy’s forces as well as the slaver compound just within the eastern wall. When they are through, James puts the mirror away and they get going onc
e again. In less than an hour the walls of Korazan come into view.
When they reach about a hundred yards from the walls, James brings them to a stop. Illan arranges their forces for the coming assault while James moves back to the pack horses and finds the bag with the crystals he needs for the attack. Removing the bag, he attaches it to his belt and returns to the front line. Dismounting, he hands the reins to Devin who stands there with spear in hand, the same spear James had given him during his first time in Trendle.
“You ready?” he asks Illan as he rejoins him at the front.
Illan nods and replies, “All set.” He motions for one of the Raiders standing behind him to come forward. To James he says, “Jared can speak the Empire’s tongue well.”
“Alright then,” he replies with a nod to Jared, “let’s go.” With that he and Jared step forward and begin making their way to the walls, if he figured it correctly, the slaver compound should be on the other side. As they draw closer to the walls, a shimmering field springs up around the pair. “Whatever you do, stay close,” says James.
“I will,” Jared assures him.
Several bolts are loosed at them before a command is hollered by someone on the wall. The bolts arc toward them and are deflected by the barrier. James hears Jared sigh with relief when the bolts fail to find their mark. “Nothing can get through to us in here,” he says.
“Yeah,” replies Jared, “I saw that during the battle at Lythylla. It’s just unnerving seeing them flying toward you.”
James brings them to a halt when they are within a dozen feet of the wall. Still no tingling indicating a mage is working magic, perhaps what the spies had said was in fact true, no mage is within the walls.
Jeers reach them from those manning the walls. The men up there see the numbers arrayed against them and know that such a force will stand little chance in breaching their defenses. James glances up at them just as a wad of spittle flies toward them and hits the barrier. “What are they saying?” he asks Jared.
“That we should go away and not to waste our lives,” he says, though from the redness of his face James doubts if they’re using those exact words.
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