And if it isn’t, why are they here in the first place?”
“Mercenaries, maybe?” Miko suggests.
“Perhaps, though it doesn’t feel right,” James says. “Look at it like this, suppose the bandits that sacked the caravan and those over there are part of a much larger force. Remember that Madoc is under siege right now and has requested Cardri’s aid. What if these are working under orders from the Empire to sow fear here in Cardri? What would the result be?”
“I don’t know,” admits Miko.
“If the stability of Cardri is in question, then the king would be unlikely to send a large force to help Madoc against the Empire. After all, he needs to care for his own first.”
“But wouldn’t the Empire run the risk of going to war with Cardri if they are found out?” asks Miko.
“Most definitely,” agrees James. “Which brings me back to the questions needing answering.”
“So we are to just sit and wait?” Miko asks, not liking it.
“For the moment, yes,” James replies, then he turns his attention back to the encampment.
Miko sits and watches for a while before asking, “Why do you care?”
Glancing over to Miko, he asks, “Care about what?”
Pointing to the encampment, “Them. I mean, after all what does it have to do with you?”
“What do you mean?” he replies.
“You are not from here, why does it matter to you?” Miko clarifies.
“Some of those down there did a horrible thing when they killed all those people at the caravan,” explains James. “I would wish to hinder them for no other reason than that. Besides, people of good conscience must not stand idly by while bad people do bad things.”
“I understand,” Miko says, “I think.”
Smiling, James says, “Trust me, we are doing the right thing.”
They sit and watch until the sun begins settling closer to the horizon. At which point three horsemen emerge from the camp, riding hard to the north. Inside the camp, they begin to see activity as the tents start coming down.
“Looks like they are breaking camp,” James observes.
“Now what?” asks Miko.
“As much as I would like to know what those in the encampment are doing, I think we should go after the riders,” he says. Getting up, he quickly goes over and mounts his horse to follow the riders once they have ridden past. Miko moves to mount his as well. They wait upon their horses, hidden in the trees as the men first come abreast, then move pass, their hiding spot not more than a hundred feet from where they are watching. Once they are past and have moved further north, James and Miko emerge from the copse to set out after them.
James feels in his pocket to make sure his stones are there; glad to have picked them up earlier. Maintaining a good pace, they keep a discreet distance behind the riders, just within visual range.
“Looks like they’re heading for the bandits’ camp where we rescued the women,” James hollers over to Miko, once he realizes where the riders are heading.
Miko nods his agreement.
Suddenly from up ahead, they hear horns blaring and see the three riders turn and head back toward them at a full gallop. Coming into view behind the riders is a line of uniformed horsemen.
James brings his horse to a stop and dismounts.
“What are you doing?” Miko asks anxiously.
“Going to slow them up a bit,” he replies. Handing Miko his reins he says, “Here, hang on to this for a second.” He then turns and faces the riders who are coming fast.
Concentrating, he takes one of his stones and throws it as he casts his spell. It flies unerringly toward the rear rider and hits, causing him to fall backward off his horse.
Taking another stone, he does the same to a second rider. This time the rider’s foot gets caught in the stirrup as he falls and is dragged along the ground before the horse comes to a stop.
By this time, the remaining rider has seen James and Miko and are making straight for them. James throws a third stone and this time nails the horse not the man, knocking the rider to the ground.
The man hits the ground at a roll and is on his feet not far from where James is standing. He looks at James and then glances back at the cavalry rapidly approaching. The man reaches into his shirt and then puts something into his mouth. A second later he grips his stomach and falls over to the ground, not moving.
“What happened to him?” Miko asks.
“He’s poisoned himself,” says James. “Guess he didn’t want to be taken captive.” They stand still and wait until the cavalry approaches.
“Stay where you are!” one of the men commands as the riders approach. Several hold lances and lower them, covering James and Miko. The riders encircle the pair, leaving an opening to allow another rider to pass through their ranks. This rider is an older man, with hair turning slightly gray at the edges. His uniform is of better quality than those of the others. Must be an officer, James thinks to himself.
“Now, who might you two be?” he asks when he draws close, looking down from the back of his horse.
James answers, “My name is James and this is my friend Miko.”
When he hears their names, he nods and says to one of his men on his right, “Lieutenant, see to the dead riders and send out scouts. I want to know where they are and fast.”
“Yes, sir,” replies the man next to him who then turns and begins to bark out orders.
Turning back to James and Miko, the leader dismounts and hands his reins to another rider. “Greetings James, I am Captain Varos of the King’s cavalry.” He extends his hand and James shakes it. “So, would you happen to know someone by the name of Rylin?” he asks.
“As a matter of fact we do, Captain,” James replies. “We helped him rescue two ladies from bandits earlier.”
“Thought you might be them,” he explains. “We ran into him and the ladies back at the caravan. They said you had gone in pursuit of another group of bandits that had taken off with their horses.”
Nodding, James says, “That is correct. We found them too, but they had met up with a larger band and any chance of recovering the stolen horses was gone.”
“Oh? How many were there? Where did you see them?” he asks intently.
“There were over fifty men and their camp was further south, about ten miles or so,” James explains. “But they had begun breaking camp about the time when we began to follow them.” He gestures to the dead men. “I think the main body was probably going to head south, though I am not positive.”
”Lieutenant!” the officer bellows.
The lieutenant comes over to him, “Sir!”
“These men say their encampment was about ten miles to the south and that they broke camp not too long ago, possibly heading south. Send the scouts out in that direction and have the men ready to ride in five minutes.”
“Yes, sir, Captain!” the lieutenant salutes and proceeds to carry out the orders.
Another rider comes up and salutes, “Captain, we searched the bodies but found nothing on them. One looks like he was poisoned.”
“Very good,” the captain replies and the man goes back to his duties. “Poisoned?” the captain asks when he turns his attention back to James.
“When I knocked his horse down with a rock, the man came to his feet. He glanced at you and your men coming and then reached into his pocket and ate something. Shortly after that he fell over dead.”
“Too bad, would have liked to have questioned him,” the Captain says.
The lieutenant returns and reports, “Captain, the men are ready.”
The man who was holding the captain’s horse brings it and the captain mounts. Turning to James he says, “Thank you for your help.” To his men he says, “Let’s ride!” and they race southward at a gallop.
Watching them ride out of sight, Miko asks, “Should we follow?”
Shaking his head, James replies, “I don’t think so.” He glances over at the dead bodies and then mounts his horse, Miko does the same. “There is likely to be a battle when they meet and I would rather not be around when it happens.” Getting up to speed quickly, they head northward until the sun starts dipping below the horizon.
Once the light begins to fade, they make camp. After having a quick dinner of rations and then lay out under
