just a dream.”
From outside the tent James can hear the sound of the others muttering as they head back to their tents. He takes his head from his hands and sees Jiron, Delia and Miko there just within his tent. “I appreciate your concern,” he tells them, “but I’m alright.”
“You gave us quite a fright,” Delia says, worry still in her eyes.
“Was it a vision?” Jiron asks.
“I don’t know,” he replies. “I can’t recall.”
“Dreams of that intensity usually are,” Miko says in a tone sounding very sure of what he’s saying. “Try to hang onto the memory next time, it could be important.”
“I’ll do that,” he says. To Jiron he asks, “How far away is dawn?”
“Still a couple more hours away,” he replies. “You should try to get a little more rest if you can.”
Laying his head back on his cot, he glances over to them and says, “I doubt if I’ll be able to right away.”
“Get what you can,” Delia tells him and then gestures for everyone to leave the tent.
“I’ll try,” he assures her as they file out through the tent flap. The last thing he sees before the tent flap closes is Devin’s face gazing in at him with concern, then the flap closes.
Lying on his cot, he tries to recall the dream but is unable. After awhile, he yawns and actually returns to sleep for a little bit before the call comes for the camp to awake.
Chapter Fourteen
Despite repeated questioning by the various members of their group, he’s still unable to recall anything but a vague feeling of unease about the dream of the night before. Finally he just quits trying.
It doesn’t take them long to pack everything and be on their way shortly after sunrise. James continues checking his mirror frequently for any forces which may be heading in their direction. The force behind them that had trailed them throughout the day before continues to keep a discreet distance behind them. From what the mirror shows, their number has swelled dramatically through the night. Their plan must be to crush Black Hawk between their force and those waiting for them at Al-Zynn.
James scrolls the mirror as far south as he can and finds units moving in the general direction of Al-Zynn. It appears all is going as planned, the Empire believes they intend to sack Al-Zynn and are moving every available unit there.
They keep a moderate pace, neither rushing nor being too slow. As best they can, they try to maintain a course that will take them a little west of Al-Zynn rather than directly toward it. If the Empire realizes they are not entirely on a straight heading, with any luck they will simply write if off as they don’t know the exact way.
By late afternoon, James has been able to acquire Al-Zynn in his mirror. The flurry of activity surrounding the town shows that they believe an attack is imminent. Troops are moving toward it from all directions, including a sizeable force from the direction of Korazan.
“Hope that’s the majority of the garrison at Korazan,” Illan says when James informs him what is transpiring there.
“With any luck, they won’t realize what we are up to until it’s too late,” replies James.
“When they do,” comments Jiron, “everything at Al-Zynn will be sent after us. They aren’t likely to allow us much time at Korazan for what we intend.”
Nodding, Illan says, “That’s why we are only hitting the slaver’s compound, killing all the slavers and freeing the slaves. Those who wish to come with us we’ll arm with the weapons found at the compound.”
“Can’t imagine anyone wishing to remain behind,” states James. “They would only be made slaves once more.”
“Never know,” Illan replies.
All day long there are no further opportunities for attack. The caravans and patrols must have been diverted to prevent them from falling to them as they head south. By early evening, it’s determined that Al-Zynn is a little over four hours away. Scouts have reached the city and reported back that breastworks are being dug between where their force now lies and the walls of Al-Zynn.
James turns to Illan and asks, “From their perspective, would it seem reasonable for us to stop here, seeing as how our scouts have returned and reported what they saw at Al-Zynn?”
“Yes it would,” he replies. “Now that we ‘know’ what we are up against, it would be reasonable for us to stop and assess the situation.”
“Very well,” James says. He checks his mirror for hostiles in the area and finds more units stationed in and around the town of Al-Zynn than previous. To the east and west of their position is fairly clear, the only units he discovers are smaller bands on their way to reinforce the town. The force that’s been following them remains at the same distance they’ve been since the chase began.
“Looks like we may be okay until the morning,” he tells Illan as he puts his mirror away.
“By then it will be too late for them to do anything,” Illan replies. Raising his voice, he hollers out to the rest of the riders following along behind, “Bring ‘em to a halt! We stop here tonight.”
As Devin begins to take his tent down from the pack horse to set it up, James tells him not to bother. “No tent tonight,” he tells him. Lowering his voice he adds, “We’re not going to be here all that long.”
“Yes, sir,” he says.
They get fires going and cooks begin working on dinner. Bedrolls are laid out nearby and it isn’t long before everyone has had a quick meal. Other than the sentries and the scouts riding the perimeter, everyone turns in early, well before the setting of the sun.
Before climbing into his bedroll, James checks the status of the various forces before and behind them. The one behind has stopped and made camp as well, the forces by Al-Zynn still look to be on alert and ready. He grins as he puts the mirror away and then lies down to sleep.
It isn’t long before a tired looking Devin awakens him. “Illan said it was time,” he says. When he sees James stirring and then gives him a nod, he gets up and begins to prepare James’ horse for travel.
With eyes longing to close after such a short rest, James sits on his bedroll as he tries to come completely awake. The camp is a flurry of activity as everyone readies themselves for travel. Despite the hustle and bustle there is relatively little noise as they ready for a quick push to the west to take the enemy by surprise. If they can get away without anyone noticing, by the time sunrise comes they’ll be many miles away before the enemy realizes what happened.
Earlier, Ceadric had some of his men comb the countryside surrounding the camp in an attempt to locate any of the enemy who may be keeping an eye on them and take them out. A few men with fast horses will remain to keep the campfires lit and to give the overall appearance that they are still here.
Despite the number of men and horses being prepared for travel, the noise level remains subdued. Unless an enemy scout is close, they may not notice anything out of the ordinary. The number of campfires they usually have were reduced by two thirds to lower the light level in the camp in the hopes of keeping their move more secret.
Illan appears out of the dark and walks toward him. “We will be ready to ride shortly,” he says as he comes to a stop near him.
“Any sign of enemy scouts?” James asks as he gets to his feet. Once up, Devin comes and collects his bedroll to secure it behind his saddle.
“Ceadric reported that a half dozen or so were taken out earlier,” he replies. “He thinks they got them all.”
“Let’s hope so,” James states. Glancing around the camp, he sees indistinct shadows moving about as the men make ready to ride. A horse rides close and Delia comes to a halt before him.
“Our folks are ready,” she tells him then glances over to where Devin is finishing securing his bedroll. “That is, when he has your equipment stored.”
“Good,” he comments with a nod. Terrance appears with a plate of rations which he takes with a ‘Thank you’ and commences to eat. To Illan he asks, “How far is it to Korazan?”
“A day or so,” he says. “Are you sure you still want to go through with your plan?”
