They see many people moving outside the walls but none seem to take notice or even care that they’re there. Suddenly, horns can be heard coming from the city. They turn in panic, expecting soldiers to boil from the gate in pursuit. Instead, they hear answering horns sound from a large force of men consisting of both foot and cavalry approach the city from the east.
Turning south, they gallop until the city and army are no longer visible. They then slow a little to save the horses and again turn more easterly.
“Think that was a force coming back from Madoc?” asks Jiron.
“Maybe,” replies James. “Of course it could be one coming back from a battle with the Kirken Federation as well.”
“Either way, it would be best to avoid that city,” suggest Jiron.
“I agree,” Miko adds.
“We better head for the mountains and try to keep as much distance from those forces as possible,” James tells them.
“Good idea,” says Jiron.
Moving quickly, they continue pushing for the mountains to the east. The mountains continue getting larger on the horizon until they reach the foothills at their base.
“Man, can we stop?” James hears Miko ask in a tired voice from behind.
“Give us a minute or two to find a good spot,” he tells him. “And then we’ll rest until dark.”
Miko nods tiredly as they continue further into the hills. When they finally find a spot to make camp, he gets off his horse and in less than a minute, has laid out his blanket and fallen asleep.
“Never seen him that tired before,” says James. “He didn’t even eat anything, and that’s odd.”
“We have been pushing hard with little rest the past few days,” comments Jiron. Even he is showing signs of fatigue.
James glances over to the sleeping Miko and says, “Let’s split the watch and let him sleep.”
Nodding, Jiron replies, “Okay with me.”
They get the horses taken care of and then build a small fire to roast a couple rabbits that James kills. He is surprised when Miko doesn’t wake up to the smell of the rabbits roasting. When they’re fully cooked and ready to eat, he goes over and wakes him up.
“Tired?” he asks him when he gets up and comes over to the fire.
Nodding his head, he replies, “Yeah, I feel more tired than I ever have before.”
“We’ve been on the go for a long time, it seems,” James tells him. “I think we’re all reaching the point of exhaustion.”
From the other side of the fire, Jiron adds, “You’ve been taking the mid watch as well, which really plays hell on your sleep.”
“I suppose so,” he says. He eats the remainder of his portion of the rabbits in silence, then promptly returns to his blanket and in no time at all, his snores can be heard.
“He could be getting sick,” suggests James.
“Maybe, but he seems okay, just tired,” replies Jiron. “I don’t feel that tired actually, why don’t I take the first watch?” The dark circles under his eyes belies that statement.
James is more than happy to allow him to take first watch. Lying down away from the heat of the fire, he pulls his blanket over him to shield him from the sun. As exhausted as he is, it takes a while before he’s finally able to fall asleep under the heat of the midday sun.
Several hours after James had fallen asleep, Jiron begins to hear the sound of horses coming their way through the hills to the east. He moves to the top of a nearby hill and looks out at the approaching riders.
There are eleven riders, all looking like they just came from a battle. Bandages and blood soaked clothing can be seen on each and every one. They don’t really have the look of the Empire’s men and he lies there upon the hill, watching them as they move closer.
Suddenly, he gasps when he recognizes one of them. He backs down from the hill and begins to move around it as he makes to intercept their path. When the riders are close, he steps out in front of them.
They come to a sudden halt and begin to draw their weapons when Jiron looks at the one he recognizes and says loudly, “If you ain’t the sorriest piece of meat ever to be hauled out of the pit!”
“Jiron!” the rider cries out when he recognizes him. “He’s a friend!” he hollers to his comrades as he gets down from his horse and rushes over. Wrapping his arms around him, he gives Jiron a big hug.
“Easy, Fifer,” he says, “You’ll break my back.”
“I thought you dead!” Fifer exclaims. “How’d you escape the City?”
“That’s a long story,” Jiron replies. He motions over his shoulder and says, “My camp is over that way, would you and your friends care to join us?”
“Us?” Fifer asks. “Who else is with you?”
“No one you’d know,” he explains.
When Fifer’s comrades come over, he turns to them and says, “This is Jiron. We fought in the pits together, the deadliest man with two knives you’ll ever see.” Then he turns back to Jiron and asks, “Is Tinok with you?”
“He was, but we got separated some time ago,” Jiron tells him as he begins to lead them back to where James and Miko are sleeping.
“At least he survived the fall of the City,” he says. Gesturing to one of his comrades, he says, “This here is Miller, he’s our leader.”
Jiron gives him a slight bow, “Glad to meet you.”
“You as well, Jiron,” Miller replies. “Fifer here has constantly told us about the pits and the fighters there. It’ll be good to have you as one of the team.”
James is awake and looking anxiously in their direction when they round the hill. When he sees Jiron smiling and unconcerned, he visibly relaxes and returns the rock to his pouch.
Miko starts awake, at first disoriented but then comes to his senses. When he sees the band of men coming toward them he at first fears attack, but then like James, relaxes when he sees Jiron’s calm demeanor.
“James, Miko,” says Jiron as they reach the camp. “This here is Fifer, a friend from the pits.” He claps him on the back and then indicating the leader of the group, saying, “And this is Miller, the leader of this band.”
“Greetings,” James says. Miko remains quiet, unsure how to take all this. “Just what brings you all this way into the Empire?”
“We’re on the trail of a force traveling south,” Miller says. “You wouldn’t have seen them, have you?”
“As a matter of fact we did, earlier today,” replies James. “There’s a town to the east a few hours away, I believe they were heading toward it.”
Miller and Fifer exchange glances that tell James this news was not what they had hoped to hear.
Turning to Jiron, Miller asks, “Now that you know our business, would you mind telling us yours?”
“We rescued James’ friend Miko here from slavers,” Jiron explains. “Now we’re just trying to get out of the Empire.”
“Why are you pursuing that army?” James asks.
Fifer looks to Miller who nods his head. Fifer turns back to them and says, “Several days ago, there was a major battle between the forces of the Empire and those made up of Madoc’s forces as well as allies who’d come to help.”
“Our general, Lord Pytherian, was captured when the Empire made a bold attack on our flanks. A force of cavalry had cut their way through the lines and before anyone could stop them, had broken through to the command area and taken the general.”
“And you’re trying to rescue him?” James asks.
Nodding, Fifer says, “We must. The alliance is beginning to fall apart without him. Most only joined because he was in command. Without him, the opposition to the Empire in this area will simply disappear.”
“It’s worse than that,” interjects Miller. “Suspicion has been growing that one faction or another had a hand in his capture. If he’s not returned, there may be conflict between the different members of the Alliance as they begin accusing each other of the deed.”
“Join us!” exclaims Fifer. “We must get him back or the Empire will expand unchecked until all of Madoc lies under its thumb!”
“What do you plan to do?” James asks.
