“Kristo?” Jiron say questioningly, “Doesn’t sound like an empire name to me.”
“It’s not,” Kristo replies. “My parents moved us here long ago from our home further to the south.”
“Ah,” replies Jiron.
They continue on up the coast for several miles and when they can no longer see anyone on the shoreline, they have him turn and head west, further out to sea.
James has always liked being out on the water, and with no one trying to immediately kill or capture him, he’s able to sit back, relax and enjoy it. They continue on for another hour out to sea before turning to the south and the island.
By this time, the sun begins its descent toward the horizon. “How far is it to the island?” James asks Kristo.
“Not exactly sure,” he says, “but probably several hours away.” Glancing at the sun, he says, “Be dark by the time we get there.”
“Will that be a problem?” James asks him.
“Definitely,” he says. “I’ve never been there so don’t know the waters or where the dangers are. We could just sail right into a reef or the side of the island before we were even aware it was there.”
“Just sail until dark and then drop anchor,” he tells him. “In the morning, we’ll continue the rest of the way.”
“Are you sure?” he asks. “This isn’t a deep sea ship, just a coast hugger. If we’re caught in a squall, we’re going to go under.”
James glances to the sky and at the clouds beginning to turn pink. “Pink at night, sailors’ delight.”
“What?” asks Jiron.
“Oh, just a saying from home,” he says. “‘Pink at night, sailor’s delight. Pink in the morning, sailors take warning’.” He gestures to the clouds overhead and says, “It just means if the clouds turn pink at sunset, then the sea should remain calm through the night.”
“Is that true?.
“Don’t know,” he replies with a shrug. “It’s just a saying I picked up somewhere.”
Kristo just shrugs as they look at him, “Don’t ask me.”
They continue sailing until dark and then Kristo drops the anchor as they await the coming of morning. James and Jiron take turns keeping watch on Kristo and the boat throughout the night, not wanting to take the chance that Kristo might do something.
When the sky starts to lighten with the dawn, they have Kristo raise anchor and lower the sails. The wind begins moving them and before too much longer, they’re once more rapidly making their way across the water toward the island, hopefully where Miko is.
Using his mirror to locate other ships in the vicinity, James has Kristo steer around them, keeping a safe distance between them to avoid detection. “Jiron,” James says after one such check.
“What?”
“We’re coming up on the island,” he tells him. “It should become visible pretty soon.”
“And?” he asks.
“I’ve been searching the area and I think I’ve located where Miko would be,” he says. “There’s a compound on the northern section that looks to surround a mine entrance. To the south is a series of buildings with smoke coming from them. I think they may be processing whatever is coming out of the mines.”
“Iron,” interjects Kristo.
“What?” asks James.
“They’re most likely iron smelters,” he explains. “They mine iron ore on the island, it’s one of the Empire’s main sources of iron, or so I hear. Those buildings are most likely smelters where they extract the iron from the ore.”
“Anyway,” continues James, “there are two docks, one to the north and one closer to the smelting complex. They both have guards stationed there so we wouldn’t be able to use them without notice.”
Turning to Kristo, Jiron asks, “You have any ideas?”
Surprised at being asked, he says, “Me? Why would I help you? You break into my estate, kidnap me and steal my boat.”
Shaking his head, Jiron says to James, “Any other place we might make landfall, far enough away to avoid notice?”
“I haven’t examined the island that thoroughly yet, maybe,” he says as he turns back to the mirror and begins a more precise examination of the island’s coast.
After several minutes, he looks up and says, “There is an inlet on the southwestern side of the island, not very big. It would allow us to drop anchor near shore without being detected. A forest separates the inlet from the smelters.”
“Perfect,” Jiron says in satisfaction. “Can you direct him there?” he says, indicating Kristo.
“Definitely,” he replies. Turning to Kristo, he says, “Steer us to a more westerly direction until I tell you to swing south.”
With a slight movement of the tiller, Kristo steers in the desired direction. “That’s good,” says James when the boat is heading in the right direction.
They continue on the westerly heading until James determines the ship is at the proper position and then has Kristo swing due south. A half hour later, the island comes into view and James points out a large outcrop of the island and says, “The inlet is just to the right of there. You can’t see it very well but it’ll open up as you swing around it.”
Sure enough, a small inlet extends some way past the outcrop. Kristo steers the boat around the outcrop and into a small, hidden cove. “Drop anchor,” James tells him.
He furls the sails and drops anchor, bringing the boat to a stop.
James looks over to the shore, twenty feet away and says, “This will do nicely.”
Jiron grabs some rope and comes toward Kristo. “What are you going to do?” he asks nervously as Jiron approaches.
“Tie you up so you won’t take the boat and leave,” he explains. “We’ll need you to get us off the island.”
Taking him over to the railing, he has him sit with his back to it and proceeds to secure him to it. When he’s done, he tests the ropes to be sure Kristo won’t be able to get free. Nodding satisfactorily, he says, “That should hold you until our return.”
“What am I to do if you don’t return?” he asks before Jiron places a gag in his mouth to prevent him from hollering for help.
“Just pray that we do,” he tells him, receiving a glare in return.
Standing up, he turns to James and asks, “Ready?”
“Sure,” he replies as he goes to the rail and stands up on it. Jumping off, he dives into the water, Jiron hitting the water just after him. They swim over to the shore and then climb out. James is shivering slightly from the coldness of the water.
“Now, let’s go find your friend,” Jiron says as they enter the forest.
Chapter Twenty Eight
After days of working in the mines, his hands have toughened up and the sores have begun to form calluses. A friendship has developed between Nate and him, each helping the other as needed. Even though the work is hard, he finds himself proud when his team achieves their quota for the day.
There are dozens of teams throughout the mines and a rough score is kept as far as how well each team consistently meets their quotas. His team, while at first having been low in the rankings due to the loss of men and the new ones joining, is now steadily climbing toward the lead team spot. Essin, though tough and strict, has been fair in his dealings with his men.
Since coming to join Essin’s team, there have been two cave-ins, including the one that occurred on the first day. The second one, the team caught beneath the falling rocks hadn’t been so lucky, they were crushed and killed.
