he believes the rider will pass. Suddenly, the rider appears before them in the starlight and James watches as Jiron and Fifer jump him, pulling him down from the horse.
A cry breaks the silence of the night and is quickly silenced. Jiron and Fifer return with the horse.
Jiron again takes the lead, Fifer leading the horse as they continue across to the forest. Two hours later, they enter the outer fringe of the forest. Everyone relaxes now that they’re within the covering shelter of the trees. The density of the trees increases the further into the forest they move.
“How far do these woods go?” James asks Fifer.
“Not really sure,” he says. “The soldiers that had taken Lord Pytherian had gone around them. I do know there’s a range of mountains on the other side, though. We’ll have to move eastward around them to continue north.”
“What’s past there?” ask Jiron.
“To the north of the mountains are more plains and that’s where the Empire’s forces were when we left,” he says. “If they’ve pushed north, they may be closing in on Lythylla, the capitol of Madoc. That’s where the Patriarchal Council lies.”
”The capitol would indeed be a prize,” adds James.
“Yes it would,” agrees Fifer. “If it falls, then all of Madoc is lost.”
“That’s why they captured Lord Pytherian when they did,” reasons James. “In anticipation of the attack on Lythylla.”
“If that’s the case, then let us pray Lord Pytherian succeeds in making it through the lines. For he is the only one that can keep the alliance together.”
They continue on through the forest for a couple more hours before they begin to see lights from a couple campfires in the distance. Jiron motions for them to stop as he continues on, moving silently toward the fires.
James and the others sit and wait until they hear his return. When he gets closer, he whispers, “Empire soldiers, ten of them sitting around a couple fires. They have sentries posted, but not this way, looks as if they don’t expect anything coming from this direction.”
“Can we get around them without being seen?” asks James.
“Probably,” he says then glances at all of them before adding, “question is, should we.”
“What do you mean?” Fifer asks.
“If we’re nearing their main force, we’ll need horses to move quickly enough to get through,” he explains. Pointing back to the soldiers, he says, “They have the horses we need, and they’re in a small enough group that we have a good chance of surviving the fight.”
He can hear James sighing in the dark. Jiron knows he doesn’t like to kill unless necessary, but he hopes he’ll recognize the necessity of it now.
“You’re right,” James says, much to Jiron’s relief. “We need the horses. But, I’m going to restrict myself to slugs only so if they’re any mages in the area, they won’t come to investigate.”
“No problem,” replies Jiron. “Fifer and I can take out most of them anyway.” He turns to Miko and says, “It might be a good idea if you stay back and guard James, just in case they get by us.”
Nodding, Miko says, “I can do that.”
“Good,” states Jiron, giving a sidelong glance at James.
“Should we give them some time to fall asleep before we fall upon them?” asks Fifer.
Shaking his head, Jiron replies, “No, we better do this quick and fast before others show up.”
“I agree,” adds James. “If we’re to do it, let’s do it!” He bends over and picks up several stones, when Jiron asks him what he’s doing, he replies, “Just saving my slugs.”
Fifer ties the reins of the horse to a nearby tree limb before they begin making their way further toward the encamped soldiers. Moving silently, they manage to work themselves within a dozen yards of the camp.
The soldiers are relaxing around the fire, talking and joking as they have their evening meal, obviously believing there’s no reason to be vigilant. Two sentries stand away from the others, but glance backward from time to time to talk to the others.
James looks to Jiron who nods his head. He places one of the stones in his hand, takes a breath, and then throws the stone toward one of the sentries. Releasing the magic, the stone rockets forward and strikes the sentry in the back and explodes out his front.
Before the man even begins to fall to the ground, another stone flies and takes out the other sentry.
A cry comes up from the camp as they see the men fall. They’re looking to the north, thinking the attack originated in that direction. They begin to fan out away from the camp, swords drawn and at the ready.
Jiron and Fifer begin moving toward the camp as another stones flies and takes out the soldier closest to them. When he cries out and falls, the others turn to glance at their dead comrade and somehow fail to notice Jiron and Fifer moving toward them in the darkness.
Moving as silently as possible, they creep up behind two soldiers who have lagged behind their comrades. Moving quickly, they take the two soldiers out as another stone flies from the darkness behind them, killing another soldier.
The remaining four turn around and see Jiron and Fifer standing there, bathed in the light from the campfire, their dead comrades on the ground behind them. One soldier lets loose with a battle cry and then they all rush forward.
Jiron and Fifer move together, side to side to support each other as the soldiers attack. Fifer’s shield blocks a blow from one sword as his sword deflects the sword from the other.
After deflecting a thrust from one of his opponents, Jiron kicks out and connects with the man’s knee. An audible crack is heard as the man cries out and falls to the ground, his knee cap shattered.
Another slug flies out of the woods and takes one of Fifer’s opponents through the head, blasting off everything above the jawbone. The grisly sight stumbles backward and falls into one of the fires as its clothes and hair begin to burn, filling the area with a nauseating odor.
With only one opponent left, Jiron easily deflects the man’s sword as he thrusts with his other knife catching him across his exposed throat. The soldier stumbles backward as blood fountains from his severed jugular.
Fifer blocks and holds his opponent’s sword with his as he strikes out with his shield, knocking the man backward. Stumbling, he falls over his partner who’s cooking over the fire, and hits the ground.
Following after him, Fifer strikes down while the man is unable to defend himself and plunges his sword through his chest, piercing his heart.
Looking around, Jiron only sees the dead and the dying. Mercifully, he goes around and puts those who haven’t died yet out of their misery.
James and Miko come out of the forest leading their horse. “Everyone grab a horse and let’s get out of here,” James says as he pulls the man off the fire and begins kicking dirt on him to put it out.
Miko goes over to where the soldiers had their supplies and takes several pouches with food. He ties them on the horse he’s leading and then mounts up while he waits for the others.
James feels bad about the attack, but realizes there was little choice in the matter. He goes over to where the soldiers have their horses picketed and saddles one quickly. Jiron and Fifer do the same.
When the horses are ready, James and Jiron put the fires out to hide the evidence of their attack until morning. Mounting, they turn their horses again to the north as they move through the trees.
They don’t travel long before the trees open up onto plains again. They turn and follow the tree line as it moves to the northwest. As the moon clears the horizon, mountains can be seen ahead of them to the northwest.
“Are those the mountains you were talking about earlier?” James asks Fifer.
“Yeah,” he replies. “On the other side is where the Empire’s army was when we last went by.”
“How are you doing?” James asks Jiron.
“Tired, but alright,” he replies.
“Let’s go another couple hours,” James announces, “and when the sky begins to lighten, find a spot to hide throughout the day and rest. Tomorrow night, we can make the attempt to pass through their lines.”
“I’m for that,” Jiron says tiredly from where he’s riding next to him. The rigors of the last few days, not to mention lack of sleep, are definitely taking their toll on him.
They continue to follow the trees and soon the terrain turns into hills as they get closer to the mountains. When the sky begins to lighten, they search for somewhere to hide and rest until night.
