“Yes,” he replies. “But we’re too exposed here in the river. When morning comes, anyone glancing in this direction is sure to see us.”
“Good thought,” says Jiron and they commence angling toward the northern bank. Dripping wet, they leave the river and do their best to wring the water out of their damp clothes.
“Shall we follow the river?” Jiron asks.
“I was considering it,” he says. “Though let’s stay some distance away to avoid being seen. And first chance we get, we’ll need to acquire some horses.” Looking to Jiron, he asks, “How far is it to Saragon?”
He shrugs as he says, “Don’t know. Never went very far out of the City of Light.”
Finished with emptying the water out of his boots, James laces them back on before getting to his feet. The squishing in his boots is a real problem. Besides being uncomfortable and annoying, he’s afraid of getting foot rot.
“You ready?” he asks Jiron.
“Just a moment,” he says as he goes over to their raft and begins untying the rope. Once he gets the logs untied, he pushes them back in the river where the current takes them and they soon disappear down the river. He ties the rope back around his middle again and then turns to James, “Now we can go.”
Setting out, they begin to move along the bank of the river, steadily moving away until they can just barely see it in the moonlight. Keeping the river on their right, they make their way to the south for several hours before the lights of a town appear ahead of them.
As they approach, they’re able to tell that the lights they are seeing are coming from campfires spread throughout what’s left of the city. The light reveals the city is all but destroyed. A once sizeable town has been reduced to a broken, charred remnant of its once former glory.
“Pleasant Meadows,” James tells Jiron in a hushed whisper.
“What?” he asks.
“Pleasant Meadows,” he repeats. “At least I think it is. Miko and I had come across people fleeing the Empire’s sacking of the city before coming to the City of Light. This town ahead of us could very well be it.”
“I’ve heard of it,” Jiron tells him. “They used to make good knives there, though it doesn’t look like they do anymore.”
“No,” agrees James.
Patrols are riding the perimeter and sentries can be seen positioned throughout the town. “Why would they need all that for a town so far behind their lines?” asks Jiron. “Unless there’s something there they’re protecting?”
“I don’t know, maybe” agrees James.
“Perhaps we should investigate,” suggests Jiron. “It might be important.”
“It could also prove dangerous,” counters James. “We don’t need to get ourselves killed without a good reason. Besides, how would we even get in there? They have the whole place cordoned off pretty well.”
“I don’t know,” he admits.
“Jiron, we have more important things to worry about right now,” insists James.
“Okay,” he says as he looks at the town longingly. His curiosity is definitely getting the better of him.
“Now, let’s make our way around to the other side, but keep your eyes open for an opportunity to acquire some horses.”
Moving away from the river, they circle the town, giving the patrols a wide berth. The opportunity doesn’t present itself to acquire horses by the time they’ve arrived on the other side of the town.
The sky begins to lighten as they leave Pleasant Meadows behind. “We’ll need to find some place to hole up until night again,” announces James.
“Haven’t seen anything yet,” Jiron replies.
As they continue along, the sky continues to brighten until the sun finally crests the horizon. They come across an orchard and move within the trees to better hide themselves. The fruit hangs heavy on the branches, testament to the fact that the farmer is no longer around to pick it.
James pulls one down and munches on it as they continue to move through the orchard, Jiron does the same. From out of the trees ahead of them, a blackened structure appears. Burnt down and destroyed, it probably used to be the home of the farmer whose orchard this is. Fortunately it still has two of its four walls remaining. “This could afford us some protection,” James offers.
“True,” agrees Jiron.
They advance on the house slowly, keeping a constant look for anyone who might still be in the area. Jiron draws James’ attention off to the side where three skeletons lie, their meat having been picked clean by scavengers. “Don’t think we have to worry about the farmer coming back,” he says gravely.
James nods as they continue their approach. In the corner of the house where the two remaining walls meet is a dresser which seems to have escaped the worst of the fire. The only damage it sustained was some scorching by the heat as well as some damage when a crossbeam had struck it when the ceiling collapsed.
It takes a few minutes, but they get an area cleared away in the corner large enough for them to lie down and get some rest. Taking turns at watch, they spend the rest of the day there in the corner of that burned out farmhouse.
Having taken the second watch, Jiron walks through the orchard around the farmhouse as he keeps an eye out for intruders. A noise causes him to stop in his tracks as he cocks his head, trying to locate where it had originated. The noise comes to him again. He plasters himself against the nearest tree as he looks off through the orchard.
Moving through the trees are five men on horseback, soldiers of the Empire. And they appear to be heading straight for the farmhouse where James is still sleeping. Moving quickly, he races for the farmhouse, trying his best to remain unseen by the horsemen.
Suddenly, a cry erupts as one of them catches a glimpse of him running through the trees. A glance back shows the horsemen quickly moving to overtake him. “James!” he yells as loudly as he can. Dodging between the trees, he alters his course to lead the horsemen away from the farmhouse. “James!” he cries again.
A knife appears in his right hand as he races through the orchard. From behind him, the men on the horses are calling to him in their language, but whether or not they’re ordering him to stop, he can’t tell.
His meandering flight through the trees has succeeded in leading the horsemen away from the farmhouse. One of the horsemen behind him cries out as he falls off his horse, his right shoulder blasted away by one of James’ slugs.
The remaining horsemen abruptly come to a halt as they try to discover from whence this new attack is coming from. Jiron looks back at the horsemen and can see further behind them where James is standing by the broken wall of the farmhouse, as he cocks his arm back to unleash another of his deadly missiles.
Now with both knives in his hands, Jiron turns back and races to attack the mounted horsemen. The odds improve again as another soldier is knocked off his horse by the force of a slug blasting out of his chest.
The soldiers turn as one and race toward James, intent on seeking retribution for the death of their comrades. Their swords in hand and war cries on their lips, they ride to kill this lone man standing by the burnt out farmhouse.
Jiron races behind them, falling behind as he sees them rapidly closing the gap between them and James. Another soldier is taken out as a slug exits what used to be his skull, his companions don’t even stop. Hell bent on James’ death, they kick their horses into even greater speed.
Crumph!
The ground under them suddenly erupts, horses scream in terror as they’re thrown into the air. Bones snap and break as the horses fall back to the ground, smashing their riders beneath them.
Jiron reaches the scene, but the battle is over. The soldiers lying under the horses no longer move as the animals thrash and cry out. Taking up one of the soldier’s swords, he’s quick to put the injured horses out of their misery.
He looks up to see James approaching. “You okay?” James asks him.
Nodding, he replies, “I’m fine.” Looking around at the dead men, he continues, “Wonder what brought them into this orchard?”
“Who knows?” replies James. He goes over and takes the reins of one of the remaining horses and says, “At least we have horses now.”
