Bringing her to arms length from him, he looks in her eyes and says soothingly, “It’s okay. Take Arkie into our bedroom and shut the door. Fifer and I have work ahead of us this evening.”
She nods her head and takes Arkie from the room, the pups follow them.
Fifer turns from the window and says, “It’s grown dark out there again. I think it’s over.”
“Give me a hand to get the dead out of here and buried,” Roland says.
“You got it,” he replies. Together, they begin hauling the dead out of the house. It takes some doing, but Roland digs a hole out in the woods and Fifer brings the dead over one at a time.
Chapter One
There’s a crispness to the air as the camp makes ready to get underway. High in the mountains as they are, there are still remnants of the winter snow lining the road. When word reached him the pass was clear and should remain so, James immediately mobilized and got underway. Of course as in all things, it snowed in the mountains for twenty four hours the day they left The Ranch but the bulk of the snow had managed to melt away before they arrived.
As the various sections of the camp are broken down and put away, he gets his own equipment and tent ready. Devin has been given the duty of assisting him in the setting up and breaking down of his tent and belongings. Basically, all he’s responsible for is what’s on his back. Devin takes care of the rest including saddling his horse.
He glances over to where the others are busily packing away those items that were used the night before. The camp has begun to set up in three distinct areas due to the number of people he’s brought with him. One area is the ‘command area’, that would be his tent and Illan’s which is in the center of camp. Next is Delia’s area where she has her slingers and archers. Finally, Jiron’s group sits on the opposite side of the command area where he has the pit fighters, those who had been Delia’s caravan guards, and what’s left of Miller’s band.
“Almost ready sir,” Devin tells him as he finishes cinching the straps securing James’ saddle to his horse.
“Thank you Devin,” he replies.
Illan comes toward him leading his horse, “Shouldn’t take much longer before we’re ready to ride.”
Nodding, James glances to him and says, “Good.”
“We might make Illion this evening,” he tells him.
“I know,” states James.
Illion. That’s where Orlander resides, the dealer in stolen goods who swore to kill him after their last encounter. Surprisingly, he didn’t make any attempt to make good on his threat of vengeance all winter. James had been sure he would have, so vehemently had he threatened him.
Caleb and Jace have pack horse duty today, the recruits rotate through that duty. Their job is to make sure the pack horses, and there’s quite a string of them, are ready to go when everyone else is. Also to ensure they are fed and watered. Some of the items carried in the packs upon them are unknown to most of those traveling with James. He made it clear that it would be unwise and possibly unhealthy for anyone to become overly curious and take a look.
He sees Tersa over with Aleya and Errin where they’ve finished packing away their belongings and are in the process of saddling their horses. She has a slug belt around her waist, the slots are full of iron slugs and a sling hangs from a clip. At first he was concerned about her decision to join the ranks of Delia’s slingers. This was no pleasure excursion they were embarking upon. Though now he’s come to except the fact that this is her decision.
Everyone had been told, just prior to their leaving that they were moving to tackle the Empire. James made it clear to them that some, if not all, may not make it back home alive. It filled him with pride when every last one chose to come. For some it was payback for what the Empire had done to their homeland. The others saw it as a grand adventure sure to become a bard’s saga. Not so James. He knows war to be pain, sorrow, and death. Nothing glorious or wonderful about it, just something which has to be dealt with.
“Would you leave me alone?” Potbelly’s voice reaches him from across the camp. He and Illan glance over to see where Scar is standing next to him. What is said by Scar to Potbelly couldn’t be made out but Potbelly’s face turns into a grimace as Scar turns and walks away.
“I missed their incessant bickering,” he says with a grin to Illan.
“Wasn’t Jorry and Uther enough for you?” he asks back.
“Almost,” he replies.
“Think what we brought with us will do the trick?” Illan asks after a moment’s silence.
“I hope so,” replies James. “We’ll see when we get there.”
Of everyone who’s accompanying him, Illan knows the most of what is ahead for their group. He’s the unofficial general, and except for James, his word is law. After him, James has divided the remainder into two groups. One group is comprised of those utilizing missile weapons under Delia and the other consists of the fighters under Jiron. Miko just sort of hangs out with James.
Miko has begun to mellow out over the summer. Perhaps having the Star in his possession is affecting him, James isn’t sure. It was decided that the Star would not be hidden away, rather it rests within a pouch hanging at Miko’s hip. Since they’re going to war, the healing Miko will be able to do could become invaluable.
When he first came to possess the Star, he healed Fifer of a serious injury which was about to take his life. Since then he’s used it twice. Once was for a woman in Trendle who ran afoul of a pack of wolves near the fringe of the forest. There had been rumors of what Miko had done floating around town and since the local priest was away on temple business, they sought him.
Just as happened with Fifer, he prayed to Morcyth, a nimbus surrounded his head, and a glow materialized and healed her.
The second was on James himself. After an experiment went bad, he was covered in burns and wasn’t breathing. Miko brought the Star and healed him. He was leery about doing it, the warnings James had said about only those of this world could touch it and live. But as it was this or he dies, he tried it and it worked. His burns healed and he survived.
“We’re ready,” Jiron says as he rides forward. Delia and her group are climbing into the saddle as well.
James glances over to Caleb and Jace and receives a nod from them saying the pack horses are ready. “Let’s go,” he says. Leading the way, he returns to the road from where they made camp and begins the descent through Dragon’s Pass down into Madoc.
The sun is low on the horizon when James begins walking through the streets of Illion, the people he passes are in a state of agitation. Worry over what the Empire will do and whether they will move in this direction has them all on edge. Many are already evacuating, over the winter they heard the tales of what the Empire’s forces are like from the few refugees who managed to make it out. None want to experience the horror of what they heard.
Though there is fear and worry, the people still must continue about their daily routines, those who aren’t fleeing that is. Many are still upon the street, some returning from shopping, others trying to learn the latest word from the south. Off to one side, James spies a group of kids playing some game as they race around. Grinning to himself, he’s glad they are able to find joy while they can. If what he plans works out the way he hopes, these people will have little to fear.
He works his way through to the seedier part of town, over to an area he has been in once before. A burnt out husk of a building is all that remains of what use to be Orlander’s tavern. He’s surprised it hasn’t been torn down yet, you’d think Orlander would have built another in its place.
Glancing around, he tries to locate Orlander or those who may know of his whereabouts. He intends to talk with him to reconcile the situation, heaven knows he has enough who wish him ill.
Ahead near what looks to be an abandoned home are five street thugs just hanging around. He makes his way toward them and they quickly take note of his approach. One disengages from the others and comes forward to meet him.
“Excuse me,” James says as he comes to a stop several feet away. “Could you tell me where I might find
