Interested, Fifer comes over and watches as the surface of the pool begins to shimmer and suddenly focuses on an aerial view of them.
James scrolls the image westward and it isn’t long before they see the large force of foot soldiers moving to the northeast. The image suddenly moves further to the northeast and they see Lord Pytherian where he’s stopped at the edge of a forest taking a short break. If the army continues on its present course, they’ll run right into him.
The image disappears as James stands up and says, “It looks like they’re moving straight for Lord Pytherian.” He glances to the others gathered around him and continues, “We’ll need to convince that army to come this way.”
“How?” Jiron asks.
“We’ll attack,” he states.
“You’ve got to be kidding, right?” Fifer says in disbelief. “The four of us, against that?”
“I’m not saying that we’ll wade in with guns ablazing, no,” he tells him. “But, we could convince them to alter their course enough to bypass Lord Pytherian. Or at least slow their progress down.”
“How?” Jiron asks, intrigued at the prospect.
“Come close enough so they’ll send someone to investigate us,” he explains. “Then take them out. I’ll use magic so if there’s any mages within the group, they’ll know I’m here. That should give them reason enough to come after us.”
“You going to be up to that?” Jiron asks him.
Shrugging, he replies, “It’s an hour or so before we get to them, I should be okay for a little magic by then. Besides, if we don’t turn them this way, Lord Pytherian may not be able to get safely through the lines. He’ll be rushed to make it through with this force nipping on his heals and that could prove disastrous for him.”
“Then let’s get moving,” Jiron says as he walks over toward where the horses are picketed. Mounting, he waits while the others get up on their horses and then leads them along a route which should intersect with the route the army is taking.
Once they’ve left the hills behind, it isn’t long before they see the dust on the horizon the army kicks up as it marches. “Let’s maintain this distance,” James says after they’ve moved a little closer to them. “We’ll just move along parallel with them until they take notice.”
Keeping the Empire’s forces in sight, they maintain a leisurely pace. Their force is primarily foot with some cavalry mixed in. It takes a full ten minutes before the army finally realizes they’re there. Suddenly, they hear a horn blast and six horsemen break off from the main group as they gallop toward them.
“Seems we finally got their attention,” Jiron states.
“Took them long enough,” replies Fifer. “I thought we’d have to holler over to them to let them know we were even here.” Jiron gives out with a bark of laughter at that.
“Look,” Miko says, “the foot soldiers are beginning to move in this direction.”
“This might just work,” says James. He waits for a minute or two to allow the riders to come closer before he releases the magic.
Crumph!
The ground beneath the riders explodes upward, creating a large dust cloud. When the dust cloud dissipates, they find all six riders lying broken and still amidst their dead steeds.
More horns sound from within the host and suddenly the bulk of the riders break into a gallop northward as the foot turn and begin moving directly toward them.
“Where are they going?” asks Miko as the riders move out of sight to the north.
“Most likely trying to cut us off so the foot will have a chance to catch up with us,” replies James.
“But aren’t they worried about you doing more spells against them?” he asks.
He begins to feel the prickling sensation of magic and says, “They have a mage with them, and if he’s been following all that I’ve done, he should realize I haven’t much left in me.”
“Oh,” grunts Miko.
“Shouldn’t we be moving now?” asks Fifer as the foot soldiers begin closing the distance rapidly.
“Absolutely,” says Jiron as he turns back to the east. They all break into a quick gallop, making sure not to outrun the foot soldiers as they race for the mountains.
When they’re finally back among the hills, they make sure to pass over a hill from time to time to allow the pursuing army to keep track of their position. They continue this strategy for another hour, managing to keep the army behind them at a constant, yet safe, distance.
Suddenly from the north, horns begin sounding. From behind them, horns can be heard answering them. Topping a hill, they look to the north. James hears Fifer gasp beside him when he sees a force of riders approaching, with some foot soldiers mixed in. A force over twice the size they’d seen break off from the pursuing army earlier. “I guess we know where those riders had been going,” James says.
“Yeah, to get reinforcements,” adds Jiron.
They watch as a large contingent of horse and foot begin entering the hills from the north. Numbering over a hundred horse and three times that number of foot, James realizes their plan may have worked too well.
“No more piddlefarting around,” he says as he turns his horse due east. “Let’s get the hell out of here!” The others follow as he rides down off the hill and begins racing through the hills.
They go no more than half a mile when a road appears between them as it makes its way eastward. Coming onto the road, they’re able to increase their speed as they fly toward the mountains.
From behind them, they continue to hear the horns of the two armies calling to one another. Scouts can be seen behind them from time to time as they crest hills in order to better direct the pursuing armies.
Up ahead of them in the road is a cart drawn by two mules, making its way toward them. Without stopping, they swing around it and continue down the road. The driver glances over his shoulder at them as they quickly disappear around the next hill. When he turns back, he’s startled to see the hills beginning to swarm with the Empire’s forces as they close in.
“Maybe this idea wasn’t so smart!” James hollers over to Jiron as they race along the road.
“It worked though,” he replies. “They’re definitely not heading toward Lord Pytherian now.”
Behind them, they can see dozens of riders upon the road in pursuit. To the north, horns can still be heard as they call to those in hills to the west. The cavalry must be pacing them as they keep them bottled up for the foot soldiers.
The hills begin to grow steadily steeper until they finally meld into the mountains. The road now winds its way between two steep sides of the mountain, with no way to go now but forward.
Turning a corner, they come to a junction, either straight ahead along the main road, or they can follow a smaller one that winds steeply up the mountain to their right. Deciding on speed, they continue to follow the road which continues straight ahead.
Ten more minutes pass when suddenly a small village appears ahead of them. They pause momentarily at the edge of the village to determine where to go. The villagers watch them but make no move to approach.
The village is nestled in among the sides of the mountain, the only way to go now is to follow the road as it leaves the village to the south. With the horns behind them getting louder, they kick their tired horses into a gallop as they race through town to the southern road.
From where it exits the village, the road begins to dwindle in size as it begins to curve to the right. Further down, the road, soon narrows into a small path with ruts made from the many wagon wheels that have rolled through here. They’re forced to slow their horses as the footing begins to get uneven with all the ruts and they run the risk of a misstep.
The horns still sound behind them, almost as if they’re trying to drive them forward. Whether they are or not, they no longer have any choice but to go on.
Suddenly, the road ahead of them enters a box canyon with steep sides. At the end of the road is a mine entrance, a dead end.
“Now what?” asks Fifer, dismay in his voice. The others pause as they consider what to do.
From the mine entrance, several men walk out holding picks and shovels, eyeing them suspiciously. They don’t look very friendly as they walk toward them. The one in the lead begins shouting something to James and the others as he brandishes his pickaxe.
On the road behind them, they hear the clatter of horses as the riders who’ve been herding them come into
