already passed through and disappeared further into the mountains. A breeze blows through bringing the cold air down off the mountains. The peaks all have snow accumulations already and James is hoping it doesn’t drop any lower until they leave.
He brings them to a halt about a mile from the outskirts of Ironhold and waits until the caravan has passed through to the other side. When the last wagon rolls out of town, he nudges his horse forward and they make their way down.
It’s an eerie feeling riding into a deserted town in the middle of nowhere. He’s sure the feeling of unease they are all feeling is being magnified by the memory of what the man told them the night before. Every shadow holds a monster, every noise a creature bent on their destruction.
The first building they come to looks to have been an inn at one time and James brings them to a stop before it. Dismounting, he says, “We should split up in order to cover more ground quicker.”
“Split up?” questions Miko. The look on his face says he’s not liking this idea at all.
“We want to be out of here by night don’t we?” James asks him. When he sees him nod his head, he says, “Alright then. I’ll take Dave. Fifer, you go with Qyrll, and Miko, you stay with Jiron.” Jorry and Uther look to him questioningly but he returns a gaze telling them he shouldn’t have to tell them they’re paired. They always are.
The pairs form up as he takes out his medallion. Holding it up before them, he says, “We’re looking for anything with this symbol on it. Understand?” He shows it to everyone and receives a nod from each in reply.
Putting it back within his shirt, he says, “Meet back here by the horses in an hour.”
“You got it,” Jiron says as he grabs Miko and heads deeper into town.
Before Fifer and Qyrll leave, Fifer says, “We’re not going to be able to search the whole town before dark.”
“I know,” he replies. “This could take a couple days.”
“Days?” he asks.
“Don’t worry, we’ll leave town before it gets dark and then return in the morning,” James assures him.
“Okay,” he says. Then he and Qyrll leave for the center of town.
Turning to Dave, James says, “Shall we?”
“Let’s,” he replies. He appears more at ease now that it’s just him and James, the others always put him on edge.
They move along the outskirts and begin checking the buildings starting with the inn where their horses are tied. The front door has long since fallen off its hinges and lies on the floor within. Dust covers everything, including the fallen door. Other than small animal tracks, there’s no sign of anything or anyone having been inside for a long time.
“Check upstairs,” he says to Dave as he nods toward the stairs. “I’ll check around down here and meet you up there.”
“Alright,” he says as he heads to the stairs.
While Dave begins searching the rooms on the floor above, James looks through the rooms on the bottom floor. Room after room, he finds nothing out of the ordinary and no indication of Morcyth.
Aaaaaahhhh!
“Miko!” he cries when he hears his scream. He rushes out of the kitchen and enters the common room just as Dave comes to the top of the stairs.
“What was that?” he asks, his voice cracking due to his nervousness.
“I don’t know,” replies James as he rushes out the door. Turning down the street toward where he heard the cry, he takes out a stone and readies it. He turns the corner and sees Jiron standing there with Miko.
When Jiron sees him running, he rolls his eyes heavenward and nods to Miko.
“What happened?” cries Fifer as he and Qyrll come running from the opposite direction.
Miko turns toward them and holds up a rat’s skeleton. “Sorry.”
“When he opened the door it fell on him,” Jiron explains.
Sighing, James flashes Miko an amused look then turns to return to the inn. He meets Dave on the way back and he explains to him what happened, at which Dave grins.
Back at the inn, they take a quick moment to finish the search and then continue on to the next building. Hours go by and no one finds anything of note. They meet back by the horses periodically to check in, primarily making sure no one comes up missing.
Throughout the day people continue to pass through going either to the north or to the south. Though they take notice of James and the others wandering through Ironhold, they speak not a word to them, simply rush through as if they didn’t want to linger any longer there than necessary. Which they probably don’t.
During a search of an old tannery, Miko walks into its back room and a door begins to slowly open on its own. He stands there, fear rising as his feet stay frozen in place. Wanting to run but unable to, he’s only able to stand there and watch the door open. Suddenly from the other side, Jorry and Uther jump out and yell “Boo!”
Miko yells in fear as he jumps backward three feet, landing awkwardly. Losing his balance he falls to the floor.
Jorry and Uther laugh as they leave the room. Miko gets to his feet just as Jiron enters, the sound of the other’s laughter still can be heard from outside. “You okay?” he asks.
Miko glances to him, face red from being scared as he was. “Yeah,” he replies.
Jiron glances out a side window and sees the duo passing by. Jorry looks back and sees Jiron staring at him and gives him a grin. Face turning into a frown, he turns back to Miko and says, “How would you like to get them back?”
Brightening at the idea he replies, “Man, would I!”
“Alright then,” he says. “Come with me.” With Miko in tow he leaves the building through another exit and works his way to a point where he can keep an eye on the pair as they move along the street without being seen.
When they finally enter a building to begin searching, Jiron pauses and turns back to Miko, saying, “Okay, here’s what we do…”
“I don’t think there’s anything here to find,” Jorry complains to Uther. Other than the fun they had with Miko, so far Ironhold has just been a rather boring place.
“I know,” replies Uther. “Maybe we can get Miko again later.” Chuckling at the thought, he makes his way upstairs with Jorry right behind him. The building they find themselves in used to be an inn.
He and Jorry met shortly after the fall of the City of Light when they joined with Miller and his band. Both having gone through hardship and sorrow, they felt a bond between them almost from the beginning.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if there was something to find once in a while like coins or something,” he says. They have found some, but not nearly enough to satisfy his need for diversion.
Jorry stops at a door while Uther continues on to the next. Opening it, he walks into a room with several beds and over to the side is an upright wardrobe. He gives the room a casual once over and then moves to the wardrobe.
Just before his hand connects with the handle, the doors swing open and two figures leap out at him with a roar. Clothed in tattered remains with faces black as coal, they give him such a fright that he cries out and staggers backward. His leg hits one of the beds and he falls over, his back hitting the floor.
Getting to his feet quickly, he bolts for the door just as Uther comes running to see what the problem is. Bam! He runs right into Uther and they both collapse to the floor in a heap.
“What happened?” cries out Uther as he and Jorry quickly untangle themselves and get to their feet.
“Ghosts!” cries Jorry in fright.
Just then laughter can be heard coming from the room he just fled. “Ghosts huh?” Uther says as he draws his sword and approaches the room. Coming to the door, he glances through and there sitting on one of the beds are Jiron and Miko laughing hysterically. Turning back to his friend, he says, “It’s just Miko and Jiron.”
Jorry comes to stand in the doorway beside Uther and looks on them in anger. Miko sees his expression and doubles over in a more intense spasm of laughter.
“Payback huh?” Uther says, sheathing his sword.
Jiron grins at them with tears in his eyes. “You could say that,” he says.
From below the sound of feet running across the floor and then hitting the stairs comes to them. In a second,
