Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li: The Morcyth Saga Book Three (41 page)

Each puts as much as they can in the various
pouches and packs they’re carrying, except for the pouch with the
Fire that Miko is carrying. They leave that one alone.

Jiron again takes the lead as they push for
the next ridge in the distance ahead of them. It takes them the
better part of the morning to reach it, and when they reach the
top, they come to a halt.

The view is breathtaking on the other side
of the ridge. The mountain gradually makes its way down to the
rolling hills at its base, where they extend several miles further
before turning into grass covered plains. Far off to the north they
see a green forest that stretches to the horizon. A couple riders
are moving along the plains between the hills and the forest. From
this distance, they look little more than specks.

“The trees will give us some cover as we
move down to the hills below,” announces James.

“But past the hills, there’s nothing to hide
us from the enemy,” says Fifer. “Not until we make it to those
trees way over there.”

“Then we better make it down to the hills
before dark,” suggests Jiron. “And then we could try to cross over
to the trees before dawn.”

“Alright then, let’s move,” James says.

They begin to move down the side of the
mountain toward the hills below. Keeping within the cover of the
trees, they’re able to avoid detection during their descent. It
takes them until late afternoon to make it all the way down to the
low lying hills.

The trees begin to thin among the hills the
further toward the edge of the grasslands they go. Near the end of
the hills, they have to move quickly from one grove to another in
order to avoid being seen by the riders moving out on the plains.
The sun is almost down to the horizon as they make it to the last
grove of trees before they end completely.

James turns to the others as they settle in
amongst the trees and says, “A short rest break will do us good
before we try to cross the grasslands to the forest.”

Miko rests against the bole of a tree and
says, “I’m for that.”

Jiron moves to the edge of the trees and
looks out upon the plains, now currently devoid of any riders.
James comes up beside him and asks, “What are you thinking?”

“Just that we have come a long way,” he says
with a sigh. “I can’t believe all the things we’ve gone through
since leaving the City of Light.”

“I know,” replies James. “If we make it back
to Cardri, I’m going to find someplace and just rest for a
month.”

Jiron looks sidelong at him and chuckles, “I
doubt it. You don’t seem the type to just sit back and let the
world go by.”

Shrugging, James says, “Perhaps not, but I
do like to just have nothing to do once in a while.”

“What about Miko?” he whispers softly,
nodding his head in Miko’s direction.

“He’ll probably stay with me, I like having
him around,” admits James.

“He is a good kid,” Jiron adds.

“Yeah, he is,” agrees James.

“How long should we wait before we make for
the trees over there?” asks Jiron as he points to the forest
several miles away.

James glances to the setting sun and
replies, “Probably a couple more hours, at least. Make sure we have
the cover of night before we make the attempt.”

Turning back to the others, he says, “Then
we should try to get some rest.”

They go back to where Fifer sits, sharpening
his sword. Nearby, Miko has already fallen asleep, his snores
sounding loud amidst the quiet.

“James, you go ahead and sleep,” offers
Jiron. “I’ll keep watch until it’s time to go.”

“Thanks,” he says as he lies down. With the
sun over head, it’s awhile before he’s able to fall asleep.

Jiron awakens everyone once night has
fallen. Even though he hasn’t had much sleep, he’s still alert. He
knows that when he finally gets a chance to sleep, he’ll be out
hard. “Let’s get moving,” he says as everyone stirs groggily,
trying to come awake.

“How long has it been dark?” asks James.

“A little over an hour,” he tells him.
“Unless we run into someone, it’s unlikely we’ll be spotted.”

“Anyone out there?” asks Miko as he stares
out over the plains.

“A lone rider occasionally, but that’s it,”
Jiron replies.

“That’s good,” says Miko.

Once everyone is ready to move, Jiron leads
the way as they leave the cover of the trees. James is glad the
moon hasn’t risen yet to reveal them to any enemies who may be in
the area. If they hurry, they can be to the trees in a couple of
hours.

A half hour into their trek to the trees,
they hear a horse approaching from the east. From the sound of it,
it’s only a single rider but he’s moving in their general
direction.

“I think he’ll pass fairly close,” Jiron
whispers to James. “We should try to get the horse.”

“Why?” asks James, leery of giving away
their position.

“We need horses if we’re going to break
through the lines,” he replies. “This is a start.”

“Alright,” agrees James. “Just be
careful.”

Jiron glances east toward the sound of the
approaching rider. Taking Fifer with him, he positions them where
he believes the rider will pass. Suddenly, the rider appears before
them in the starlight and James watches as Jiron and Fifer jump
him, pulling him down from the horse.

A cry breaks the silence of the night and is
quickly silenced. Jiron and Fifer return with the horse.

Jiron again takes the lead, Fifer leading
the horse as they continue across to the forest. Two hours later,
they enter the outer fringe of the forest. Everyone relaxes now
that they’re within the covering shelter of the trees. The density
of the trees increases the further into the forest they move.

“How far do these woods go?” James asks
Fifer.

“Not really sure,” he says. “The soldiers
that had taken Lord Pytherian had gone around them. I do know
there’s a range of mountains on the other side, though. We’ll have
to move eastward around them to continue north.”

“What’s past there?” ask Jiron.

“To the north of the mountains are more
plains and that’s where the Empire’s forces were when we left,” he
says. “If they’ve pushed north, they may be closing in on Lythylla,
the capitol of Madoc. That’s where the Patriarchal Council
lies.”

”The capitol would indeed be a prize,” adds
James.

“Yes it would,” agrees Fifer. “If it falls,
then all of Madoc is lost.”

“That’s why they captured Lord Pytherian
when they did,” reasons James. “In anticipation of the attack on
Lythylla.”

“If that’s the case, then let us pray Lord
Pytherian succeeds in making it through the lines. For he is the
only one that can keep the alliance together.”

They continue on through the forest for a
couple more hours before they begin to see lights from a couple
campfires in the distance. Jiron motions for them to stop as he
continues on, moving silently toward the fires.

James and the others sit and wait until they
hear his return. When he gets closer, he whispers, “Empire
soldiers, ten of them sitting around a couple fires. They have
sentries posted, but not this way, looks as if they don’t expect
anything coming from this direction.”

“Can we get around them without being seen?”
asks James.

“Probably,” he says then glances at all of
them before adding, “question is, should we.”

“What do you mean?” Fifer asks.

“If we’re nearing their main force, we’ll
need horses to move quickly enough to get through,” he explains.
Pointing back to the soldiers, he says, “They have the horses we
need, and they’re in a small enough group that we have a good
chance of surviving the fight.”

He can hear James sighing in the dark. Jiron
knows he doesn’t like to kill unless necessary, but he hopes he’ll
recognize the necessity of it now.

“You’re right,” James says, much to Jiron’s
relief. “We need the horses. But, I’m going to restrict myself to
slugs only so if they’re any mages in the area, they won’t come to
investigate.”

“No problem,” replies Jiron. “Fifer and I
can take out most of them anyway.” He turns to Miko and says, “It
might be a good idea if you stay back and guard James, just in case
they get by us.”

Nodding, Miko says, “I can do that.”

“Good,” states Jiron, giving a sidelong
glance at James.

“Should we give them some time to fall
asleep before we fall upon them?” asks Fifer.

Shaking his head, Jiron replies, “No, we
better do this quick and fast before others show up.”

“I agree,” adds James. “If we’re to do it,
let’s do it!” He bends over and picks up several stones, when Jiron
asks him what he’s doing, he replies, “Just saving my slugs.”

Fifer ties the reins of the horse to a
nearby tree limb before they begin making their way further toward
the encamped soldiers. Moving silently, they manage to work
themselves within a dozen yards of the camp.

The soldiers are relaxing around the fire,
talking and joking as they have their evening meal, obviously
believing there’s no reason to be vigilant. Two sentries stand away
from the others, but glance backward from time to time to talk to
the others.

James looks to Jiron who nods his head. He
places one of the stones in his hand, takes a breath, and then
throws the stone toward one of the sentries. Releasing the magic,
the stone rockets forward and strikes the sentry in the back and
explodes out his front.

Before the man even begins to fall to the
ground, another stone flies and takes out the other sentry.

A cry comes up from the camp as they see the
men fall. They’re looking to the north, thinking the attack
originated in that direction. They begin to fan out away from the
camp, swords drawn and at the ready.

Jiron and Fifer begin moving toward the camp
as another stones flies and takes out the soldier closest to them.
When he cries out and falls, the others turn to glance at their
dead comrade and somehow fail to notice Jiron and Fifer moving
toward them in the darkness.

Moving as silently as possible, they creep
up behind two soldiers who have lagged behind their comrades.
Moving quickly, they take the two soldiers out as another stone
flies from the darkness behind them, killing another soldier.

The remaining four turn around and see Jiron
and Fifer standing there, bathed in the light from the campfire,
their dead comrades on the ground behind them. One soldier lets
loose with a battle cry and then they all rush forward.

Jiron and Fifer move together, side to side
to support each other as the soldiers attack. Fifer’s shield blocks
a blow from one sword as his sword deflects the sword from the
other.

After deflecting a thrust from one of his
opponents, Jiron kicks out and connects with the man’s knee. An
audible crack is heard as the man cries out and falls to the
ground, his knee cap shattered.

Another slug flies out of the woods and
takes one of Fifer’s opponents through the head, blasting off
everything above the jawbone. The grisly sight stumbles backward
and falls into one of the fires as its clothes and hair begin to
burn, filling the area with a nauseating odor.

With only one opponent left, Jiron easily
deflects the man’s sword as he thrusts with his other knife
catching him across his exposed throat. The soldier stumbles
backward as blood fountains from his severed jugular.

Fifer blocks and holds his opponent’s sword
with his as he strikes out with his shield, knocking the man
backward. Stumbling, he falls over his partner who’s cooking over
the fire, and hits the ground.

Following after him, Fifer strikes down
while the man is unable to defend himself and plunges his sword
through his chest, piercing his heart.

Looking around, Jiron only sees the dead and
the dying. Mercifully, he goes around and puts those who haven’t
died yet out of their misery.

James and Miko come out of the forest
leading their horse. “Everyone grab a horse and let’s get out of
here,” James says as he pulls the man off the fire and begins
kicking dirt on him to put it out.

Miko goes over to where the soldiers had
their supplies and takes several pouches with food. He ties them on
the horse he’s leading and then mounts up while he waits for the
others.

James feels bad about the attack, but
realizes there was little choice in the matter. He goes over to
where the soldiers have their horses picketed and saddles one
quickly. Jiron and Fifer do the same.

When the horses are ready, James and Jiron
put the fires out to hide the evidence of their attack until
morning. Mounting, they turn their horses again to the north as
they move through the trees.

They don’t travel long before the trees open
up onto plains again. They turn and follow the tree line as it
moves to the northwest. As the moon clears the horizon, mountains
can be seen ahead of them to the northwest.

“Are those the mountains you were talking
about earlier?” James asks Fifer.

“Yeah,” he replies. “On the other side is
where the Empire’s army was when we last went by.”

“How are you doing?” James asks Jiron.

“Tired, but alright,” he replies.

“Let’s go another couple hours,” James
announces, “and when the sky begins to lighten, find a spot to hide
throughout the day and rest. Tomorrow night, we can make the
attempt to pass through their lines.”

“I’m for that,” Jiron says tiredly from
where he’s riding next to him. The rigors of the last few days, not
to mention lack of sleep, are definitely taking their toll on
him.

They continue to follow the trees and soon
the terrain turns into hills as they get closer to the mountains.
When the sky begins to lighten, they search for somewhere to hide
and rest until night.