“I understand full well how much you all dislike him,” he replies.
The rest of the evening they sit and enjoy the music and tales the bard relates. When James finally can’t fight off sleep anymore, he heads up to his room. As he clears the stairs and begins walking down to the door, it opens and a girl comes out.
He freezes for a moment as she makes her way toward him and then moves quickly down the stairs. Muffled sobs can be heard coming from her and tears dot her cheek. Confused and speechless, he stands there as she disappears down the stairs.
Moving quickly, he comes to the door to his room and opens it. Dave is lying in bed and turns to look at him as he enters the room. “What happened?” he asks his friend.
“What do you mean?” replies Dave.
“You had a girl in here,” he says.
“So?” replies Dave. “Just because you’re happy being a virgin doesn’t mean I am. Relax, she got paid.”
“She was crying when she passed me by out in the hall,” he says accusingly.
Shrugging, Dave says, “Don’t know why, she enjoyed herself well enough earlier.” Lying back on his pillow, he says, “Now if you’ll excuse me I’m quite tired.” Closing his eyes, he lies there quietly.
James stays standing by the door staring at his friend for a minute then moves over to his bed and undresses before getting under the covers. With a final glance over to his friend, he blows out the candle and tries to go to sleep. Sleep is long in coming, the memory of the sobbing girl keeps him awake.
The following morning, they head out early. “Should reach Trendle by the time it gets dark if we keep a quick pace,” announces Illan as they leave the outskirts of town.
“That would be nice,” James says with a grin.
Breaking into a fast trot they take the road to the northwest. Three hours out of town they come to a crossroads and take the northerly direction which will take them through Osgrin on the way to Trendle.
Ironhold. James ponders the significance of that lone word Ellinwyrd had inscribed on the scroll. What significance does it play? Where is it? He hopes Ceryn will be able to help him in discovering the answers.
Shortly after noon the party makes it to Osgrin where they find an inn to have their lunch. During the meal, Jiron suddenly says, “Wonder if there’re any assassins here?”
The others with him chuckle at that, all but Qyrll, Miko and James. Qyrll doesn’t understand, but Miko and James do all too well. “Enough of that,” James scolds him.
“Sorry,” he replies. The last time Miko had been here he overheard what he thought was an assassination plot aimed at James but which in fact was a betrothal party on their way to a wedding. The others still give him a hard time about it now and then despite James’ efforts to get them to stop. At least it’s fairly harmless jesting and Miko doesn’t seem to mind as much as he had.
After leaving Osgrin, they continue north, next stop hopefully will be Trendle. Illan informs them it’s still many hours away but that they should be able to make it by dark if not before.
As it turns out, they reach the outskirts of Trendle just as the sun hits the horizon. The people on the streets pause as they see him ride through, some offering greetings or well wishes. He returns them and continues on.
Passing the Squawking Goose, the favored inn of most of the townsfolk, they see young Devin coming out in the company of his family. His face turns pale as he sees them riding toward him.
“Why James,” Mary says once she sees him approaching, “thought you were out of town for awhile?”
“I was,” he replies. “I’ll be in town for a short while before I have to be off again.”
Illan is eyeing Devin who’s withering under his gaze. Obviously he isn’t supposed to be in town.
Corbin notices Illan’s gaze and says, “Today’s Devin’s birthday. We went out to your place and asked Yern if we could take him into town to celebrate. He said it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Illan’s face softens slightly as he says, “Just return before too long.”
Relaxing with relief, Devin replies, “I will sir.”
“I wish we could stay to share your celebration,” James says. “But we’ve been on the road for several days and are extremely tired.”
“I understand,” Corbin says. “Nice to have seen you again.”
“You too,” he says. Then to the two girls he adds, “You two, too.”
They just giggle and cast him shy glances.
Kicking his horse into a trot, he heads down the road out of town and to The Ranch. The shack for the guard stationed at the end of the lane leading to The Ranch has been completed. A lit lantern hangs from a post nearby to shed light on any who approach.
“Ain’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Jorry says as he steps from the guard shack.
“How’ve things been?” James asks him.
“Quiet,” he replies. “Still get the curious every now and then but it seems to be tapering off.” He notices Qyrll there but the darkness prevents him from being able to see his features well.
“Good,” he says.
“How did things go in Cardri?”
“Tell you later,” replies James. “I’m for bed.”
“Good to have you back,” he says as he returns to the guard shack.
Heading down the road, he sees Errin and Aleya sitting on the front steps fledging arrows. When they see him coming down the lane, Errin bolts to her feet and rushes into the house. Shortly, Roland and everyone else come out to greet him.
“Welcome back,” Roland says as James and the others come to a stop. He casts a glance toward Qyrll but doesn’t comment. James can see the others taking in his tattooed visage in uncertainty.
Errin and Caleb come to take the horses. James hands Errin his reins and says, “Can’t tell you how glad I am to be back.”
To Errin and Caleb, Illan says, “Take the horses to the barn and get them settled in.”
Taking the reins from him, Caleb says, “Yes sir.” They then lead the horses to the barn.
“Let’s go inside and I’ll give you a brief rundown of what happened,” James says as he makes for the door.
“Something wrong?” Yern asks.
“You could say that,” replies Jiron.
Everyone moves inside the house and takes their usual positions in the front room for when they have the evening gathering time. After settling into his chair, James gestures to Qyrll and says to everyone, “This is Qyrll. He’s a Parvati from a land deep within the Empire. Fierce fighters but loyal to their friends.”
Launching into what happened at Cardri, he as well as the others relate the events which ultimately culminated with the rescue at sea. When he’s done, Yern just shakes his head and says, “You can’t go anywhere without something major happening to you.”
Turning toward him, James sighs and replies, “It looks that way.”
“What are they going to do now?” Tersa asks from where she sits with her brother. She sits next to him on one side while Aleya sits on the other.
“Who?” he asks.
“Cardri,” she clarifies.
“I doubt if they’ll do anything,” he explains. “After all, they did as requested and handed me over. As much as that upset me, I don’t hold any ill will toward them. They only did what they did to insure peace. I can understand that mentality. From their point of view, what happened on the open seas is none of their concern. I don’t think we need fear any reprisals from them.”
“What about the Empire?” interjects Jorry.
“That’s an entirely different matter,” he says. “I expect them to continue in their efforts to do me harm. Since the political maneuver didn’t work I think it’s likely they will try something more direct again.”
Nodding, Illan adds, “I agree.” He then looks around to the others, “We need to be more vigilant from here on out. Assassins or another kidnapping plot may be in the offing.”
“What should we do?” Tersa asks nervously.
“Don’t go anywhere alone,” replies James, “unless it’s close to The Ranch. And by close I mean within sight. If someone goes into town, they take another with them. Tomorrow I plan to go see Ceryn early in the
