“Then about a month ago she was at The Split Navel with her sister, sometimes she picks up work there to help feed herself and her son. Well anyway, she happened to be going through a rough time and needed coins. So she asked around and finally Gryll had agreed to purchase it for far lower than its value. But she didn’t argue, she desperately needed the coins. That was the last and only time she had met Gryll.”
As Reilin draws his narrative to a close, James looks at the girl huddling with her child. By this time her sobs have subsided and she sits there just holding her son protectively. Sadness for her situation prompts him to reach into his money pouch and remove a fistful of coins. He moves across the room toward her and she cringes back away from him. Stopping halfway, he sets the coins down upon the floor then returns to where he was.
In amongst the copper the glint of silver and gold can be seen. James had even managed to scoop up one of his few remaining gems, for a green sparkle can be seen lying at the edge of the coins.
Her eyes widen at the sight of what for her must be an absolute treasure. Just then, the door behind them opens and Shorty walks in with Jiron right behind.
“I found him several streets over,” Shorty says.
“So have you found out anything?” Jiron asks.
Not wishing to have her story rehashed again, he gives them the gist of it. Jiron starts to move toward her, but James puts a hand on his shoulder and says, “Let me. I think she’s beginning to trust me.”
Jiron looks to see the panic that has returned to her eyes when he began to approach and nods. “Alright,” he says and then backs up.
“Tell her the coins are for her and her child,” he says. When Reilin translates and her eyes light up, James nods for her to go ahead and get them.
She started to set the boy down until he began to start fussing. So with him in one arm, she goes over and scoops the coins into her tattered dress then returns back to her position with her back in the corner.
“Now, ask her if she could tell us the name of the man who gave her this necklace and where we might find him,” he tells Reilin.
Nodding, Reilin asks her and then waits for her reply. After she’s through, he turns back to James and says, “His name is Azku and the only city he ever mentioned was Morac. That was where he was going when he left here.”
“Morac,” says James. “That place sounds familiar.”
“It should,” Jiron tells him. “We went through it during our search for Miko.”
Nodding his head, he says, “Right. It’s further south of here.”
“Everything is leading us south,” observes Shorty.
“It does seem that way doesn’t it,” agrees Jiron.
“What can you tell us about him?” James asks her through Reilin.
“Not much,” she admits. “He’s slightly shorter than you, dark hair. I think he is a merchant of some kind though he was never very specific about it.”
“Did he say anything else that might help us in finding him?” Jiron asks.
“There was one thing,” she says. “He mentioned having to meet someone there when he arrived. I think the name of the place was The Cracked Ladle or something like that.”
Turning to Reilin, James says, “Tell her that we thank her for her help.” As Reilin starts talking to her, he adds, “And tell her that if she ever makes it Al-Ziron, to speak to the lord there and tell him that James would consider it a favor if he were to find her work.” It’s not much and she may not be able to make it that far, but he can’t just leave her in her present situation.
He adds the final message and her face lights up and she nods. “Now,” James says, “Let’s get out of here.”
Shorty opens the door and they file into the hallway. Just as James exits the room, a roar comes from the end of the hallway they originally entered from. Turning toward the noise, he sees the girl’s sister charging them with club in hand. “Forget her,” he hollers when he sees Jiron moving to intercept.
Racing down the other way, they flee the oncoming woman. When the roaring stops, James glances back to find the other sister standing in the hallway with her son, blocking the woman’s path.
The door at the other end of the hallway opens onto one of the streets of Inziala. “Which way is the inn?” James asks. Completely turned around, he has no idea which way to go.
“It’s this way,” Shorty says as he indicates they should move down the street to their right.
“You sure?” James asks.
“Pretty sure,” he replies.
Gesturing for him to take the lead James says, “Lead on.” With Shorty in the lead, they make their way through the dark, deserted streets until the inn finally appears before them.
Once there, they go to the stables where they find everyone but Stig asleep in the stalls. James hadn’t thought they were gone all that long.
“About time you guys showed up,” Stig says as they enter. “I was getting worried.”
The sound of his voice awakens the others and Potbelly asks, “Did you find out anything?”
“Yes we did,” replies Jiron. “I’ll tell you on the way out of town.” Even though no apparent search is going on over the incident at The Split Navel, they have no desire to tempt fate by remaining in Inziala any longer than they have to.
It takes but a minute for everyone to mount their horses. Then with Jiron in the lead, they leave the stables and make their way onto the street. The clip-clop of their horses’ hooves echo through the night. Moving quickly they reach the outskirts of town and have soon left Inziala behind as they take the road to the south.
Once past the last building, Jiron gets them up to a quick canter where they stay for an hour and then pull off the road for a brief rest stop until morning.
Chapter Seventeen
As the sun makes its way above the horizon, they break camp and make ready to ride. Jiron takes the lead with Reilin close behind in case they are approached along the road. The day goes by rather uneventfully. They pass through many small towns and when the sun begins its descent back to the horizon, the town of Jihara appears in the distance ahead of them.
“Should we stop there for the night?” asks Reilin.
Jiron gazes at the position of the sun and shakes his head. “There are still a couple hours of daylight left,” he says.
Pushing on, they reach the walls of Jihara and work their way through its streets. Once on the south side, they resume their quick pace and leave it behind. Jiron keeps the pace quick until well after the sun has set and the stars have come out. When the horses begin to droop from the steady pace he’s kept, he leads them off the road and they make camp. In the morning, they are again on the road before the sun even rises.
During the hour after they leave camp, James has Reilin ask a fellow traveler on the road how much further they have until they reach Morac. The traveler tells them they should reach it before late afternoon which greatly boosts Jiron’s moral. The sooner he gets to the bottom of what happened to Tinok, the quicker he’ll be able to track him down.
Anticipating that they will reach Morac before the end of the day, Jiron keeps them at their speedy pace. Hour after hour the miles fly by until two hours after noon when a city appears out of the horizon ahead of them. “That has to be it,” asserts Jiron.
As they draw closer to the walls, James all of a sudden starts chuckling to himself.
“What’s so funny?” asks Miko.
James glances at him and then over to Jiron. He can see Jiron’s ears burning slightly with the memory of their last visit to Morac. “Should I tell him or do you want to?” he asks.
“You can,” he replies. “This is the one story you love to tell.”
“I do don’t I,” he states with a grin. “On our way to rescue you from the mines, we passed through here. This was just after Cassie died and Jiron’s friend Tinok left. Yes,” he says, “the same one we’re searching for. Anyway, Scar, Potbelly and several others took Jiron into town to get the recent events off his mind. To make a long story
