know about this.”
“James might not be out for hours,” he says to Miko. “We should follow them and see what they’re up to. If we lose them, we might never find them again before whatever they’re planning comes to fruition.”
“Alright, but let’s be careful,” Miko says. He then follows Jiron as they move back to the corner of the street where he peers around to watch the group of men. The group is breaking up and most of them are moving together down the street away from where he’s watching.
“They’re moving,” he says just before stepping around the corner as he proceeds to follow them. With the amount of people on the streets, it’s fairly easy to keep them in sight without being spotted.
Ol’ One Eye and the others are moving deeper into the city. As the group progresses down the street, the others with him begin to break off as they go down various side streets until finally only One Eye is left. When they come to realize where he’s heading, they can’t quite believe it. As he approaches the gate to the castle area, the guards on duty nod to him in acknowledgement before passing on through.
Jiron indicates an alley and they move into it, all the while keeping the gate in sight. “This can’t bode well,” he says to Miko. “If he has access to the castle, then there must be someone of rank here in the city behind his activities.”
“Could whatever he’s planning be what the army across the river is waiting for?” asks Miko.
“Could be,” agrees Jiron. “We better get back to the warehouse and wait for James to return.”
“What if One Eye decides to do something?” asks Miko.
“Nothing we can do about it right now,” replies Jiron. “We’re going to have to hope we can contact James before he does.”
“We should tell someone!” he insists.
“And who would we tell?” Jiron asks. “If we tell the wrong person, we’ll be silenced and then no one will know what’s going on.” Pointing back up to the gate, he adds, “Those guards up there knew him, or at least had seen him often enough to recognize him. I wouldn’t know who to trust other than Lord Pytherian.”
“I guess you’re right.” Not happy about it, Miko tries to think of an alternative to just sitting and waiting but is unable to come up with anything. Sighing, he looks to Jiron and nods.
They make their way back to where their horses are tied and then ride back to the warehouse. As they approach, the guards who had bothered them earlier in the day about being in the warehouse, are leaving from a side door. Pausing until the guards move further down the street and out of sight, they return to the warehouse where they get comfortable as they wait for the return of James and Fifer.
The closing of the door brings him back to consciousness, or something close to it. Opening his eyes, he quickly shuts them tight again as he shuts out the nauseatingly swirl of the room. His head feels foggy and he can’t think straight.
A moan next to him tells him Fifer is in the same state as he, maybe worse. Hands suddenly grab him and sit him up straight on the couch he’d been lying upon. A hand slaps him hard across the face, and then someone pulls open his eyelid as he stares at his pupil.
The blurry face of the man is somehow familiar but he can’t quite recall from where. His mind won’t focus long enough to draw out the memory.
“They’ve taken too much,” the voice says with impatience. “They’ll be worthless for hours!”
“Forgive me,” another voice begs. “We didn’t know what they were going to eat so we laced everything. That they were so hungry was unexpected this late in the morning.”
“Let me know when they’re able to talk,” the first voice says commandingly.
“Yes, sir,” the second voice says, distraught over the dissatisfaction of the other. “First thing.”
Suddenly the door opens and closes, and James is again resting in blissful silence.
“Where are they?” asks Jiron from where he’s pacing back and forth in front of the warehouse window. He again stops his pacing as he looks outside, night has long since fallen and he’s getting worried.
“Maybe we should inquire at the gate for them?” Miko asks for the third time.
Jiron turns from the window and says, “Alright.” When he sees Miko going for the horses, he says, “Leave the horses here, they’ll just get in the way.”
Miko stops and comes over to him as he opens the door to leave. Outside on the street, the crowd of people from earlier in the day has dwindled dramatically and they are able to move more rapidly than before.
Keeping their eyes open for One Eye, they move quickly toward the gate where they’d been turned away the night before. “Damn!” Jiron silently curses when he sees the same guard on duty from the previous night.
When the guard sees them coming, he gets a smirk on his face as he moves to meet them. “Back again?” he says. “I thought I told you guys you couldn’t pass through.”
“I understand that,” Jiron says, trying not to provoke anything. “But earlier, two of our friends were admitted to the castle area. We were to meet them but they failed to return. Could you tell us if you’ve heard anything about them?”
“You mean those other two guys that were with you the other night?” the guard asks.
“Yeah, that’s them,” replies Jiron hopefully.
“Sorry, haven’t heard anything,” the guard replies. He looks over to the other guards and asks, “You guys hear anything?” The others just shake their heads no.
“Don’t know what to tell you,” the guard says.
“Thanks anyway,” replies Jiron as he turns to leave. The guard watches them until they turn the corner and pass out of sight.
Miko says, “Now what’re we going to do?”
“I don’t know, but we’ve got to find out what happened to them,” says Jiron. “Wish I could do that mirror thing that James always did,” he tells Miko.
“Yeah, that would be nice right now,” agrees Miko. They walk a ways in silence before Miko says, “If Miller and his men were in the city, where would they be?”
“I don’t know,” replies Jiron, “probably back in the castle area. Why?”
“I don’t think they’d be there,” Miko says. “This place is overrun with guards and soldiers of the various alliance factions. They would have to be billeted somewhere out in the city, only the highest ranking soldiers would be permitted within the castle area.”
Jiron stops and looks at Miko as he contemplates his words. He begins nodding his head as he says, “You may be right. If that were the case, wouldn’t they be put in a cheap inn?”
“Most likely,” agrees Miko.
“Let’s try searching for them,” Jiron states. “It’s all we have to go on.”
An hour and fifteen less than desirable establishments later, they still hadn’t found them. The last place had tested even Miko’s limits on cleanliness. James must be rubbing off on him.
The next inn they come to is near the north gate. As they approach they find several soldiers and mercenaries standing around outside, which gives them some hopes they’ll find them inside. Jiron swings the door open and steps inside just as a bottle smashes into the door near his head. Instinctively ducking, he looks around the common room at the brawl going on. To their amazement and relief, Miller’s band is right in the middle of it.
One man, the proprietor most likely, is shouting for them to desist but only gets socked in the jaw for his efforts.
Everyone but the participants in the brawl move to the side of the room, giving them some space. Those that were outside come in to watch the fight, calling out to the various fighters as they encouraged them on to greater endeavors. Jiron can see money changing hands as some of them bet on the outcome.
Miller’s band appears to be getting the better of the others as they’ve more men left standing, so Jiron and Miko just stay on the edge of the crowd. Miller and one of his men tosses one of the other combatants through the air, bystanders scramble out of the way as the man sails through the door and out into the street.
Miko waves at Miller when he sees him looking in his direction, distracting him just as a fist connects with his jaw. Flailing backward, he trips over a table and lands on his back. Rubbing his jaw, he gets to his feet quickly and rejoins the fight.
The last of the opponents fall fast until only Miller’s band is standing. A cheer erupts from the crowd and everyone moves back to where they were before the fight erupted. Miller comes over to them and says, “You made it? I really didn’t think to ever see your faces again.” He looks around and says, “Where’s that layabout, Fifer and
