“Mine too,” he says.
Ten minutes later, they come to where a series of hills rise more steeply. Moving off the road, they find a space behind one of the hills which will prevent them from being spotted by anyone traveling upon the road.
Leaving the saddles on the horses in case a quick getaway is required, they find some grass and water for their steeds before settling in themselves. Taking turns at watch, they rest throughout the rest of the day.
At one point, a rider is heard riding fast from the north. Jiron moves to the top of the hill overlooking the road. The rider turns out to be a lone soldier leading a spare mount. He watches him race past their hiding spot and quickly disappear down the road to the south.
Nothing else of note happens before the sun goes down and they’re on their way once again. Following the road in the dark isn’t too hard, what with the stars overhead and after an hour or so, the moon as well.
They stay to the road as they continue moving through the hills, they need the speed it will afford even though it may mean encountering unfriendly forces. From up ahead, they begin to see lights from a town. “Must be Mountainside,” suggests Jiron.
James nods in agreement as they slow down and approach the town with caution. Before coming close to the outlying buildings they leave the road and make their way around the outskirts.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” whispers Jiron after they’ve progressed a little ways around the town.
“What do you mean?” asks James as he looks around to discover what he’s talking about.
“There’s no one on the street,” he says. “Not even soldiers, and that seems strange.”
“It is the middle of the night,” replies James. “Everyone’s probably in bed or about to be.”
“I don’t know,” he says. “It’s not that late.”
Keeping their eyes open, they continue to circle around the town, leaving plenty of room between them and the outlying buildings. James pays a closer attention to the town and he begins to understand what Jiron’s talking about. Nothing is moving on the streets of the town. The lights coming from the windows don’t even have the occasional silhouettes of those within moving around. It’s as if the whole town is deserted.
Suddenly from ahead of them, shutters of a dozen lanterns are removed and they’re bathed with light. “Stay right where you are!” a voice from out of the lights commands. “Move, and you’ll be fired upon.”
“James?” questions Jiron quietly.
“Wait!” he replies.
A man moves out from the dark, an officer of the Empire’s army and approaches them. “You are under arrest,” he says.
“On what charge?” asks James.
“Being enemies of the Empire,” the officer replies.
James begins laughing. The officer looks at him like he’s lost his mind. “What’s so funny?” he asks somewhat annoyed.
“I don’t think so,” replies James as a shimmering field suddenly springs up around them. To Jiron he says, “Take him, please. Make sure you don’t kill him.”
As Jiron swings down from his horse, bolts begin striking the barrier and bouncing harmlessly off. The officer draws his sword as he begins backing away from Jiron until his back encounters the barrier.
Turning around, he touches it in fear, realizing he’s trapped inside. Spinning around, he stands ready to defend himself.
“Drop your sword,” Jiron tells him, “and you won’t be hurt.”
Light suddenly erupts all around them as brightly glowing orbs appear in the sky, illuminating the entire area. A cry erupts from the gathered soldiers surrounding them. In the light, they can see there are only about thirty or so soldiers surrounding them.
Trapped within the barrier, as well as the display of magic in the sky around him, drains the officer’s will to fight as he looks into the eyes of Jiron. Lowering his sword, the officer remains quiet as Jiron removes it from his hand.
From the back of his horse, James says to the officer, “Tell your men to drop their weapons or I’ll kill them all right here, right now!”
“You’ll never get back to Cardri!” says the officer defiantly.
“How do you know that’s where we intend to go?” asks Jiron, somewhat taken aback at his knowledge.
The officer glances from one to the other before replying. “A rider came through here earlier saying you two may be coming this way,” he explains. “He stopped here only briefly before continuing on, alerting our forces to the south of your presence. They’ll be ready for you.”
“Damn!” exclaims Jiron. He glances back to James who arcs an eyebrow questioningly.
Jiron shakes his head as James repeats his demand for the officer to order his men to drop their weapons. “I’ll not ask again,” he threatens. When the officer hesitates…
Crumph!
…the ground a little way away from the edge of the barrier explodes upward, peppering the nearby soldiers with dirt and rocks. There were no soldiers in the vicinity, James only wanted to demonstrate his power in the hopes of resolving the situation without bloodshed, if possible.
The officer looks at the hole in the ground, thankful that none of his men had been there at the time. Defeated, he calls out to his men.
James watches as their weapons begin falling to the ground. “Now, have them begin moving back that way,” he says, indicating back down the road to the north.
The officer again calls out and his men begin walking toward the north, some moving quicker than others.
“What are you going to do with me?” he asks.
“Nothing,” replies James. “I’m not a killer, despite what you may have heard. Once they’re far enough away, we’ll leave.” He sees the surprise in the officer’s eyes at that. Leaning forward slightly, he adds, “If you follow us, then I will kill you.” His serious expression leaving no doubt that he will follow through on his threat.
Jiron gets back on his horse and watches as the soldiers continue moving away to the north. He glances to James and can see sweat beginning to form. The exertion of continuing the shield, the orbs in the sky and all they’ve been through the last few days are starting to take a toll.
James sits and waits while the men move further away from their weapons. When they’ve gone far enough to suit him, he says to the officer, “Please don’t follow us. I would really hate to have to kill you and your men.”
The orbs wink out, plunging the entire area into darkness once more. On the ground around them, a few of the lanterns that were left by the departing soldiers still give off some light, so they’re not completely in the dark. He was about to cancel the barrier when he suddenly feels the tingling sensation forewarning of nearby magic. Then the feeling spikes and from the north he sees a red glowing blob flying straight for them.
“Look out!” he cries as it hits the barrier.
Magic is sucked out of him in staggering quantities in order to keep the barrier stable. The red blob begins oozing down the side when the barrier suddenly gives way. The red blob, no longer held up by the barrier, falls directly on the officer.
With a scream of agony, the officer is enveloped by the blob and James looks in horror as the red substance begins dissolving his flesh away.
“Ride!” he yells to Jiron and they turn their horses south, riding as fast as their horses can go.
“What was that?” asks Jiron as he bends low over the neck of his horse to gain as much speed as he can.
James is unable to answer as spots begin to dance in front of his eyes and he fights merely to stay conscious. That took far too much out of him.
“James!” cries Jiron next to him. “Stay with me man!”
The coolness of the rushing air gradually brings him away from the edge of unconsciousness. Behind him, he knows whoever was the source of the red blob is still doing magic for the tingling stays with him.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” he tells Jiron when he again has control of his voice.
“Why?” he asks. “What was that?”
“I don’t know what it was,” he replies. “But the magic felt familiar. I think it was another warrior priest, though I’m not for sure.”
“Damn!” he exclaims.
