“When one of them dismounted and drew a wicked looking knife, I knew I was in trouble and tried to get out of there. I turned and ran but was soon overtaken. I fought with them, but they overpowered me. They tied my hands behind my back and with their knives, cut my clothes off of me. Stripped naked, they hauled me up into the back of the wagon. Two other people were there, one was a young girl. I…” Overcome with emotion, he stops his narrative.
James lays a hand on his shoulder and says, “I understand. I’ve run across these slavers before and I know the kind of people they are. You needn’t tell me anymore than you feel you must.”
Dave brings his eyes up off the floor and gazes into his friend’s as a smile comes to him. “That first night was the worse. The things they did to that poor girl…” a shiver runs through him. “Anyway, we traveled for days. I gradually began to be able to understand basic commands. They captured several more, and when they had ten of us tied and naked in the back of the wagon, they made for the slave market.”
“We traveled for days and that covered wagon got extremely hot while the sun was beating down upon it. When we at last came to the slave market, we were separated and ushered into pens. I was there for three days before it became my turn up on the slave block.”
“My first master was none too pleased to discover I didn’t speak the language and beat me often. Within days, he sold me to another who treated me even worse. I longed to die, just to end the humiliation and agony which had become my life. But I simply couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
Lifting up his tunic, he shows James the patchwork of scars, the result of being beaten and tortured by his former owners. From neck to waist, he can see where his friend had been cut, burned and who knows what. Dave twists and he can see his back is even worse. “I’m sorry,” is all he can think to say at the horror his friend must have endured.
Replacing his tunic, he continues, “Finally I was sold to an inn and worked there until I heard him play ‘Home on the Range’. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing at first. Then something came over me and I had to reach him, to see if he was real. In the back of my mind I knew I would be facing a beating, but I couldn’t stop myself. I rushed through the crowd and made for the stage where he was playing. But I didn’t make it. They stopped me before I could reach him and dragged me out of there. I was beat to within an inch of my life.”
“As I lay there in my pen later that evening, pain throbbing in every part of my body, Perrilin came to me. You know the rest.”
Tears in his own eyes, James comes forward to give his friend a hug. “You’re safe now.” Glancing back to Perrilin, he says, “Thank you for bringing him here.”
“I take it you know him then?” asks Perrilin.
“All my life, he’s my best friend,” replies James.
“How did he come to be here?” Ceryn asks.
“I’ll tell you sometime, but right now I just want to get him back to The Ranch,” he says. “You’re both welcome to come too.”
Perrilin shakes his head and says, “I can’t. As much as I would like to find out more about this, I have an engagement that can’t be put off any longer.”
“I’ll come by in a few days,” Ceryn tells him.
Getting up, he brings Dave to his feet as well and says, “Thank you both again.” Leading Dave outside he says, “Let’s go.” He hears the other two get up and follow them outside.
Indicating one of the other horses, Perrilin says, “Your friend can have this one.”
“Thanks,” James says. Helping Dave onto the horse, he then mounts his own.
As they ride back to The Ranch, James glances over to his friend. Glad to have him with him again, yet saddened by all that’s happened to him. He may never know the extent of the pain he went through, and he’s not really sure he wants to.
After getting back onto the main road to Trendle, Dave breaks the silence and asks, “How have you been?”
“Not too bad,” James replies. “I have a place and some friends here. I’m sure you’ll fit in just fine.”
“I want to go home,” he says sadly.
“I know, I’d like to as well, but I’m afraid we’re stuck here,” he says. Feelings of guilt assail him as they reach the outskirts of Trendle. Where his friend has had the worse sort of experiences since coming to this world, he’s actually thrived. He comes to the conclusion he’ll put off telling him about his magical ability until it’s absolutely necessary. Not sure how he’ll react to that.
“This is the town of Trendle,” he tells Dave as they pass through. “Not much more than a farming community, but it’s a nice place to live. The people are good, if a bit stand offish at first. You’ll like it here.”
Dave looks around but makes no comment.
After leaving Trendle, they soon come to the lane leading to The Ranch. Devin has the duty of guarding the entrance today. When he sees James coming, he takes his horn and blows a single note.
James pauses upon reaching him and asks, “What was that for?”
“They wanted to know when you showed up,” he replies with a smile.
When he glances to Dave, James says, “This is my friend Dave. He doesn’t speak the language yet.”
Devin gives Dave a nod who nods in return.
Getting the horses moving again, they make their way down the lane to the house. Indicating the construction going on, James says, “I’m having a new house built as well as a few other buildings.”
“Doing well then?” Dave asks.
Sighing, James replies, “Yes, actually.” Almost everyone has come out to see what’s going on, they’re all anxious to find out what went on over at Ceryn’s.
A quiet muttering can be heard as they approach, many casting glances to Dave riding beside him. As he comes close, James says, “This is Dave, a friend from where I come from.” At that, he can see several of them react in surprise, the ones who know the full tale of his past. “He doesn’t speak the language yet, but I want each of you to treat him well.”
To Caleb, Illan says, “Take their horses.”
“Yes, sir,” he replies and steps up to take their reins as they dismount.
“Ezra has dinner ready for you,” Roland tells him. “When you have a minute, we need to go over a few things.” As James gives him a questioning look, he adds, “Nothing pressing.”
“Okay,” he says and then to Dave he asks, “Hungry?”
“You bet,” he replies.
Leading him through the front door, James takes him through to the kitchen where Ezra has two plates set out, each overflowing with food. Someone must’ve forewarned her about Dave, maybe saw them coming down the lane from the road.
As he sits down to eat, he can hear Illan from the other room telling everyone to go about their business and to leave him alone with his friend. Miko, Jiron and Roland join him at the table. After a brief round of introductions, he gives them a brief rundown of what Dave told him.
James can feel the awkwardness in the room and realizes the dynamics of his group have just changed with the introduction of an important person from his past. None, even Dave, are sure of how to act or what to do. But he hopes that will change over time.
To Roland he asks, “What’s going on?”
“Delia returned with the money from the sale of those knives you made,” he begins. “Got twelve hundred golds for the lot. She also dropped off another sack of crystals, it’s out in your workshop. Surprised you didn’t pass her on your way through Trendle, she just left.”
“I gave her some of those gems Fifer and I collected,” adds Jiron. “She’s going to try and find that gem cutter Alexander mentioned next time she’s in Bearn.”
“It looks like our money problems are over,” Roland says happily.
To Jiron he asks, “Where’s Aleya?”
“She and Errin are out hunting,” he explains. “They’ve become rather good friends and have appointed themselves the hunters of the group. Makes sense as they
’re the best with bows we have.”
“She’s picking up her letters pretty quickly too,” adds Roland.
“How is the class going?” James asks him.
“Most are doing well,” he says. “I’ve started them off with basic letters and we’ll progress from there.”
Nodding, James continues eating as he mulls over the information they are giving him. From the front room, he hears Tersa begin a song as the evening gathering commences. Finishing his meal, he says to Dave, “Every evening, we have a get together in the front room where people sing songs or tell stories. Let’s join them.”
Looking slightly out of place, Dave hesitantly says, “Okay.”
They get up and make their way to the front room where James sees his favorite chair vacant as well as another someone placed next to it for Dave. Taking their seats, they settle back as Tersa finishes her song.
After a song by Jace about a farmer and his cow, Jorry and Uther begin another of their improbable tales. James does his best to translate for his friend while they relate the events of a journey to save a merchant’s daughter from a band of slavers.
During a lull, he relates Dave’s tale one last time to those gathered so they will better understand what’s going on with him. As well as to squash any wild rumors which may be in the making.
By the end of the evening, Dave has begun to visibly relax. The stories and songs, though in a language he’s unable to comprehend, helps to bring him into the group. When at last it’s time for it to end, James offers to share his bed with his friend. When they’re in his bedroom alone and the door closes, Dave turns to James and says, “I’m glad I found you.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed as he begins pulling off his boots, James replies, “Me too. I’m really sorry you went through what you did.”
“Hey,” interjects Dave, “you didn’t do the things that were done to me, and I don’t want you to feel blame. It’s not your fault.”
James just continues getting undressed in silence. Then both he and Dave crawl under the covers and they spend the next hour talking of home, the things they miss the most, that sort of thing. Eventually, sleep comes and takes them away.
Chapter Three
_________________________
AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
A cry in the night startles James out of a dead sleep. Dave is thrashing around in the bed next to him caught up in some nightmare. He turns to him and shakes him vigorously as he says, “Wake up!”
The door to his room bursts open as Jiron rushes in wearing nothing but his nightclothes with both knives drawn and ready.
Dave sits up and lets out another scream as he snaps awake. “He’s just having a nightmare,” James says to the crowd who’s gathered at his door. “Go back to bed.”
“Thought someone was dying in here,” comments Jiron as he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.
Dave’s eyes dart around for several moments as if he’s not aware of where he is. Slowly, his breathing begins calming down and his eyes settle on James. “You okay?” James asks.
“Yeah,” he says, voice quavering. James can still feel him shaking from whatever nightmare he just experienced. “Thought I was somewhere else for a minute.”
“Where?” James inquires.
Turning his eyes to James, he says very quietly, “I don’t know. It’s fading.”
“That’s the way with some dreams,” says his friend. “Just try to go back to sleep.”
“I’ll try,” replies Dave.
What happened to him in the Empire must’ve really screwed him up. Worry about his friend keeps James from falling asleep for awhile, but eventually he makes it.
The next morning, he wakes up before Dave and gets dressed quietly so as not to wake him. Going to the kitchen, Ezra prepares a plate of food and sets it before him on the table.
From where she’s cleaning up at the washbasin, she asks, “How is your friend?”
“Alright, I guess,” he says. “Did he disturb you last night?”
“I think he disturbed everyone last night,” she replies.
“Sorry about that,” he apologizes. “He went through a bad time in the Empire.”
“I understand,” she says.
He eats in silence and when he’s through tells her that he’ll be out in his workshop should anyone need him.
Once out the back door, he sees where Illan has the recruits doing morning exercises as they begin their daily drill. Glad he’s not one of them, he walks across to his workshop and goes inside.
The sack of crystals Delia brought is sitting atop his workbench. He checks and finds them similar to the ones she brought before. Next he goes over and makes sure the receiver crystal isn’t aglow. A glow would indicate someone or something has disturbed the hiding place of the Fire. He’d hate to think what that would mean. Satisfied it has remained undisturbed, he goes back to the problem of what he learned in Saragon.
If the old man’s family hasn’t unraveled the mystery in the centuries it’s been in their keeping, what hope do I have?
Knock! Knock!
“Come in!” he hollers.
The door opens and Dave walks in. “Good morning!” James says cheerfully.
“You too,” he replies. The cheerfulness that he once knew in his friend is nowhere to be found. The harshness of his recent past has subdued his spirit measurably.
“What are you doing?” he asks as he comes over to the workbench. Looking around, he takes in the sack of crystals on the floor next to him and the other things James has in his workshop. Reaching down, he picks up one of the crystals out of the sack and takes a look at it.
“Just some thinking,” James replies.
“You always did do a lot of that back home,” he says.
James considers what to tell his friend about his life here, what he’s up to and what he can do with magic. “True,” he says. “I want to show you something.”
Putting the crystal back in the sack he asks, “What?” Turning to look at James he sees him holding out his hand, palm up. Suddenly, a glowing orb appears, springing to life upon his hand. “Whoa!” Dave exclaims as he leans closer to look. “How did you do that?”
James cancels the orb and it disappears. “Remember that ad I showed you in the lunch room?”
“Yeah,” he replies.
“Remember how it said ‘Magic! Real Magic! Ever wanted to learn?’?” he asks. “Since coming here, I’ve been able to do magic. I even brought Rocky to life.”
“Rocky?” questions Dave, not entirely understanding what he’s talking about.
“Sure,” he says. “That stone construct you always used to use during our role playing games.”
“Oh, right,” he says. “How do you do it?”
“Just concentrate, think what I want to do, and it happens,” explains James. “That’s the basics though it is a little more complicated than that.”
“Can anyone do it?” he asks. “Could I?”
“Maybe, I don’t know,” he says. “Most of the people of this world can’t. You need a calm mind and concentration, I don’t know if you’ll be able to right now in the state you’re in.”
Holding out his hand, Dave concentrates on forming something similar to the glowing orb he saw James make. After several moments, nothing happens. Lowering his arm, he gazes to him with a frustrated look. “Can’t do it.”
“Maybe once you’re life has quieted down you’ll make it happen,” encourages James. He can see his friend’s disappointment at not being able to summon the orb.
“Maybe,” he says. “What else can you do?”
“A lot,” he replies. “Whatever I can imagine, provided I have enough power to do it, I can.”
For the next several hours, they sit and talk about this world, magic, and some of James’ experiences since coming here. He doesn’t mention the Fire or some of the other stranger occurrences he’s encountered, like spirits of dead priests and headless torsos.
After lunch, he takes Dave back to the workshop where they spend the rest of the afternoon just being together and talking of old times. It seems that reminiscing about the past brings him a better mood, or maybe it’s just being away from the others.
That night during the evening gathering, Dave seems a little more animated, as if his old self is once more trying to assert itself. A smile actually comes to him during one of Tersa’s songs.
Seeing his friend come alive more and more gives James encouragement that the devastation wrought upon him by his time as a slave may not be irreversible. On their way to bed after the evening winds down, he actually hears his friend humming one of Tersa’s songs to himself. He goes to sleep feeling much better about things than he had the night before.
Get out!
A cry startles him out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night. Then another scream followed by the sound of a scuffle. Thinking they’re under attack, he grabs his slug belt and races out the bedroom door.
In the light of a candle held by Roland, he sees Jiron on top of someone outside of Tersa’s door. One of his knives is held to the throat of the man on the floor. As he comes closer, he sees it’s his friend Dave.
“What happened here?” he demands as the others in the house come to see what the commotion is. Illan and Fifer both have their swords in hand believing an attack was in progress.
Everyone starts talking at once. “Quiet!” he shouts, cutting through the noise. Everyone becomes quiet as they look at him. Turning to Jiron he asks, “What happened?”
“Your friend here was about to accost my sister!” he says with vehemence.
“I didn’t do anything James,” exclaims Dave. “I swear!” He may not have understood what Jiron had said, but the accusation in his voice was unmistakable.
From the doorway to her room, Tersa says, “He came in here and grabbed me!”
He sees the pleading in Dave’s eyes and the anger and promise of violence in Jiron’s.
The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five Page 3
