his pocket.
Approaching the front door cautiously, Jiron indicates they should go around the side and see if there is a back entrance which may afford them a better entry. James turns to follow him as he begins heading around the side.
As they follow the side of the tavern, no opening presents itself. After turning the corner to the rear of the building, they find another door. Apparently the only other way in besides the door in the front, this must lead to the office where they talked with Orlander earlier.
Jiron motions for James to halt as he puts an ear to the door. After a moment he whispers, “Don’t hear anything.” He puts his hand to the door handle and attempts to open the door only to find it locked.
Pulling a knife, he begins working on the lock while James keeps an eye out for anyone approaching. A soft ‘click’ can be heard following several tense moments and Jiron turns the handle and then slowly opens the door.
The other side is dark. The only light being what is filtering in past them through the door. They move inside and Jiron closes the door behind them just as a soft light springs into being on James’ hand. Jiron turns to find his glowing orb resting upon his palm.
“We better hurry,” James tells him and receives a nod.
They start moving into the room when they come to a quick halt. It is indeed the office in which Orlander had met them but that isn’t what stops them. Resting upon the desk in plain view are the three necklaces, situated as if on display.
This can’t be good. James glances to Jiron and can see his worries reflected in the eyes of his friend. “Just grab them and let’s get out of here,” he says.
Jiron nods as he moves to collect the necklaces.
Standing there nervous, he waits while Jiron goes to the desk and picks up the necklace designating him as a Shynti and puts it around his neck. He then picks up the medallion bearing the Star and tosses it over to James who does the same. The necklace with the three dots and lines almost connecting them he puts into his pouch.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” James says as he extinguishes the orb and moves to the back door.
As he opens the door, light springs to life outside as the shutters from several lanterns are pulled back.
Chapter Twenty Four
“I thought you might try something like this,” Orlander’s voice comes from the dark behind the light. The other door leading from the tavern to the office opens behind them and the red haired thug comes in with the rest of his cronies, swords drawn and menacing.
James and Jiron stand there in hesitation as they take in the situation, Jiron has his knives out.
“No one steals from me,” Orlander says as he steps into the light. His face is contorted with anger as he advances, sword in hand. The rest of the men out there with him begin advancing as well. “Kill them!” he shouts.
Jiron grabs James and jerks him inside the office, slamming the door shut just as several crossbow bolts thud into the other side. Turning quickly, he moves to engage the half dozen men coming in through the inner door.
“You can’t hope to win,” boasts Red as he and the others move to intercept.
James pulls himself off the floor and drops the bar to secure the outer door as Jiron’s knives clash with that of Red’s sword. Turning to the fight, he begins flinging stones and the thugs drop quickly.
Those on the outside start pounding on the door in an attempt to force it open.
The confidence Red felt at the outset is rapidly diminishing when his cohorts begin dropping like flies and the man he’s facing with the two knives counters every attack he throws at him.
As the last of the other thugs falls, James asks Jiron, “Need any help?”
Laughing, Jiron replies, “Not with this.” Having taken Red’s measure, he launches a series of attacks. Red tries to defend himself but winds up leaving himself open and one of Jiron’s knives thrusts between two ribs and pierces his heart.
Staggering backward, Red falls to the ground and the light fades from his eyes as Jiron puts his foot against his chest and removes his knife.
Wiping his blade clean on the dead man’s shirt, he turns to find James over by the strong box in the corner. “What are you doing?” he asks. “We’ve got to get out of here!”
Lifting the lid, James reaches in and removes a bulging sack. After a quick glance within it, he tosses it to Jiron. “I was willing to be content with simply retrieving our possessions,” he says. Removing another pouch, he puts it into his shirt and says, “But after this, I’m not.” Tuning to Jiron he adds, “Consider this recompense for ‘pain and suffering’.”
The pounding upon the door continues and Jiron moves to the door leading into the main section of the tavern and glances out. Slamming the door shut, he presses his shoulder against it just as someone slams into it from the other side. “Not this way,” he says. “What do you plan to do?”
Coming over to the door Jiron is holding, he lays his hand against it and applies a holding spell. When he’s sure it is set properly, he has Jiron move away and the door continues to hold against the incessant beating from the other side.
The lantern one of the thugs had upon entering the office lies on the floor tipped to one side. James moves over and grabs it. Glancing to the ceiling, he gets an idea.
Climbing up onto the desk he reaches up and is able to touch the ceiling. With his hand pressed against the ceiling, he casts a spell and then gets down from the desk quickly. “Move back,” he warns Jiron who joins him in moving to the other side of the room. After a couple seconds the section of the ceiling he had touched suddenly explodes outward leaving a jagged hole roughly two foot in diameter.
“That’s not big enough for us to get through,” observes Jiron.
“Don’t be dense,” says James as he returns to the desk. Brushing aside the debris from the explosion he clears a spot for him to again stand upon the desk. Reaching up to the hole he takes hold of one of the blasted boards and pulls. With a creak and then a crack, the board breaks off, widening the hole.
Glancing back to Jiron he gives him a grin as he repeats the process again. When the hole is wide enough, he motions for Jiron to precede him through.
Climbing onto the desk, Jiron jumps up and manages to wriggle through the opening into the crawlspace above. Reaching down his hand, he says, “Take my hand.”
“Just a moment,” James says as he gets down from the desk. He glances over from one door to the other and can see they’re not about to last much longer. The doors themselves are surviving the impacts well but the walls around them are beginning to show signs of cracking. Taking the lantern he smashes it into the floor, the oil within catches fire as the flame begins to burn the pool of oil. He then removes papers and some of the debris from the desk and piles them on top of the flame.
As he climbs back onto the desk, the fire begins to burn fiercely and is starting to spread. “Do you think that was a good idea?” asks Jiron as he starts to choke from the smoke moving through the hole in the ceiling. It’s acting like a chimney and is funneling all the smoke right past them.
“Maybe not,” admits James as he takes Jiron’s hand and makes his way up into the crawlspace.
The crawlspace isn’t very large and they’re forced to move along on their hands and knees in order to make their way from the hole. Moving quickly, they traverse the length of the building and reach a vent in the side of the tavern leading outside. Jiron grabs hold of it and manages to pull it loose.
When the vent comes free, the opening accelerates the venting of the smoke which in turn causes the fire to burn hotter.
He glances outside and finds they’re in an area currently free of people. “I think we made it,” he says as he glances back to James.
Coughing from the effects of the choking smoke, James replies, “Just hurry.”
Turning around, Jiron exits through the vent feet first until he’s all the way through and hanging by his hands. Then he lets go and lands on the ground outside. Pulling a knife, he rubs his eyes with his other hand in an attempt to clear the tears the smoke had produced.
