Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six (35 page)

They practice the gestures until they turn
in. Jared has the gestures down and the other two now know how to
react depending on what he does.

Jiron takes the first watch with James
following after for the mid watch. When he awakens James for his
turn at watch, he again asks about the red flashes and the
caravans.

Bringing him away from where Jared is
blissfully snoring, he puts some distance between them before
stopping. He casts a quick glance over to their sleeping comrade
and then in a whisper says, “Back when I first began planning for
this campaign, I wanted to really hurt the Empire’s infrastructure.
At first, I thought about taking all those from The Ranch and
destroying factories, bridges, etc. But then I realized that
wouldn’t be feasible. There was no way the Empire would sit still
and allow us to do that.”

“I figured what we would be able to
accomplish would be limited in nature and not do the sort of damage
that I wanted. Then I started thinking about Delia and her caravan,
about how they go all over. That’s when I got the idea to plant
seeds of destruction in the wagons of various caravans.”

“What is that suppose to accomplish?” he
asks. “Destroying more caravans isn’t going to hurt them all that
much.”

“Not just the caravans, no,” agrees James.
“But what if those seeds of destruction would wait until they
encountered certain things?”

“Like what?” Jiron questions.

“I have it so that what I planted in the
wagons will continue to draw minute quantities of power from their
environment and store it,” he explains. “Now don’t worry, the draw
is so small that I seriously doubt if any passing mage would detect
it. The seed will continue to grow in power until it encounters one
of three things, then explode.”

“The first thing is a bridge,” he says, “When
it detects that it’s over flowing water it blows, hopefully taking
out the bridge. And, when a bridge is destroyed, that avenue over
the river will be gone. All caravans will have to find an alternate
way across.”

“And each time they do...” Jiron prompts.

“Ker-Pow!” James says dramatically. Then he
glances over to the sleeping form of Jared and relaxes when another
snore comes to them through the night. “Eventually, most of the
ways goods are transported within the Empire will be severely
handicapped.”

“The second trigger will be coming into close
proximity of iron, such as swords. I’m not talking about a couple
hanging at the hips of guards, no. I’m talking about a company of
men in armor.”

“The third trigger is if the wagon comes in
close proximity to live magic, or a mage who is currently working
magic.”

“That could take them by surprise,” comments
Jiron approvingly.

“I hope so,” he says. “Another by product of
all this is the confusion that it will bring. Bursts of power going
off at different points within the Empire, none knowing just what
is going on.”

“Be hard to pin down exactly where you are,”
grins Jiron.

James grows somber as he nods. “True. The
only problem I have is with the innocents that will be killed by
the wagons.”

“But many more will die if the Empire isn’t
stopped, or at least slowed down,” counters Jiron. “Don’t be
sorrowful about what you have to do in war. Your intent is not
malign in nature.”

“True,” replies James. “You better get some
sleep. Morning isn’t too far off.”

“Alright,” he says and then they return to
the campsite where Jiron climbs into his bedroll.

James paces throughout his watch. The vision
of the innocents he will kill running through his mind.

The morning dawns bright, forecasting another
scorcher. They make an early start to take advantage of the
coolness while they can. Far on the horizon ahead of them,
mountains rise out of the desert.

“That’s where we’ll find Ki,” states James.
Looking up from a small map Lord Pytherian supplied him, he glances
to Jiron. “Should be there by nightfall if we keep a steady
pace.”

James has felt probing attacks ever since
leaving the inn as someone tries to break through and find him. It
doesn’t feel as if whoever is doing the probing is all that serious
in finding him though. More like just checking on the off chance
that the shielding cover is no longer there. The fact that they
haven’t tried to punch through since the first time has him a
little worried.

They continue to make good time as they ride
along the road. Traffic here is steady but not heavy. Whenever they
encounter a caravan, James continues to plant the seeds beneath the
wagon beds. By the time the sun begins its descent to the horizon,
he’s managed to plant more than two dozen in different
caravans.

Late in the afternoon, another caravan
approaches them and they move to the side of the road to let them
pass. Just as he had with others, he plants a seed in the second
wagon. The wagon rolls on for half a minute before he feels a
minute tingling sensation. A cry comes from behind and he turns to
find the wagon’s bottom has broken out and iron ingots are spilling
through the bottom.

Jiron glances at him and he jerks his head
indicating they should get out of there fast. Moving quickly, they
leave the merchants to the mystery as to what happened to their
wagon.

Once they’ve moved far enough along, Jiron
rides close and whispers so Jared will not overhear him. “What
happened?”

“It was the iron in the ingots the wagon was
carrying,” he explains.

“But I thought you said it would explode,”
says Jiron.

“It did,” James replies. “The spell didn’t
have time to gather much power. When it gathered enough to begin
seeking evidence that would trigger it, it encountered the iron. So
it blew. But since it didn’t have time to accumulate very much
power, all it managed to do was break the boards lining the bottom
of the wagon.”

“Not very effective,” observes Jiron.

“I couldn’t make it gather power any quicker
or those it was gathering from would sense something not right,” he
explains. “Not to mention that any mage in the area would be sure
to detect what was going on as well.”

“I see,” Jiron tells him. “Just be more
selective about which caravans you do.”

“Right,” agrees James with a grin.

Directly ahead to the southeast, the mountain
range that has been steadily growing all day is now rising high in
the sky. Somewhere at its base lies Ki. Another hour finds them at
a crossroads where their road ends at another moving north and
south along the base of the mountains. Checking his map, James
indicates they should take the branch to the south.

Turning onto it, they continue until the road
ends at another going east and west. Here they turn to the east and
it isn’t long before the road winds its way to the small town of
Ki.

“Let’s get a room and then do a little
reconnoitering,” suggest Jiron.

“I’m for that,” agrees Jared.

Ki, as it turns out, isn’t really much of
anything. On one side of town lies a complex with many smelters
belching black smoke into the air. The rest is just a smattering of
homes and a lone two story building sitting at the edge of town
with a sign outside depicting an iron ingot.

“Is this the inn?” James asks indicating the
two story structure.

No other building in town even looks close to
being an inn. They have Jared go inside to see about a room while
the other two wait outside. He isn’t inside long before he returns
with a smile on his lips. “Got the biggest room they have,” he
brags. “It’s actually two rooms joined together and there are four
beds.”

“Excellent,” praises James.

They make their way around back to the
stables and soon have their horses settled in. A stableboy is there
and produces a bucket of grain and another full of water for each.
James flips him a copper as they turn to head for the inn. Their
room lies on the second floor at the end of the hall.

Just as Jared said, the room is actually two.
The first room off the hall contains two small beds, a table and
two chairs, as well as a dresser. To one side is another door
leading into a much larger room.

With two large beds, a larger table, wardrobe
and dresser, it’s about half again the size of the first room. The
feature of the second room that perks James up is the bathtub
setting near one wall.

“Alright!” he exclaims when he sees it.
Suddenly his whole body begins to feel dirty and the itchiness of
his scalp magnifies tenfold. “Jiron you stay in here with me,” he
announces. “Jared, you get the outer room all to yourself.”

“Fine by me,” he says, pleased.

“Go down and see about arranging for dinner
to be brought up and a bath afterwards,” he tells Jared as he sets
his bag of crystals on the floor by his bed.

“Yes, sir,” he says and leaves the room.

Laying down, James sinks into luxurious
comfort. “Wonder how much this is costing us?” he muses.

“Don’t know,” replies Jiron as he sits on the
other bed. When he feels the softness, he lies down too and adds,
“But it’s worth it.”

“Ain’t it though,” sighs James.

“I’m rather surprised to find a room such as
this here in a town like Ki,” Jiron says. “An outer room for
servants and a bath here in the main room just seems odd.”

Shrugging, James replies, “I don’t care why,
just glad it’s here.” They lay there for a few more minutes until
Jared returns.

“They’ll have it up in a few minutes,” he
tells them. “The proprietor said to let them know when you want the
bath.”

“Thanks,” says James. “When the food arrives,
have them bring it in here and we’ll eat together. It’s the only
table large enough for the three of us.”

“Very well,” replies Jared as he returns to
the outer room and leaves them alone.

Ten minutes later James is snapped awake when
Jared and the servers from the inn come in with their dinner. Roast
beef, tubers and two loaves of bread make a mouthwatering aroma.
Getting up, he makes his way over to the table where dinner is
being laid out.

As soon as the servers have everything on the
table they make a hasty retreat and shut the door behind them.
Jiron notices their quick exit and asks Jared, “What did you tell
them?”

Gesturing to James he grins and says, “That
his lordship there is a servant of Dmon-Li.”

“Lordship?” asks James.

“Added that,” he admits. “People act
differently when they think they’re dealing with royalty or someone
of importance.”

“Indeed,” adds Jiron as he gives himself a
heaping portion of the roast beef.

They eat in silence as each savors the
succulent meat and the fresh baked bread. Once they are done, Jared
is sent down for servers to come and retrieve the dirty dishes. He
also arranges for the bath to be filled at the same time.

“You should stay here while Jared and I take
a look around,” suggests Jiron.

“But what if someone comes or one of the
servers asks me something,” he counters. “What am I to do
then?”

“Don’t worry,” assures Jared. “I’ll make sure
they leave you alone.”

A knock comes to them from the outer door and
Jared leaves the room to answer it. Several lads are there with
buckets of steaming hot water. After dumping them in the bathtub,
they each take some of the dirty dishes with them as they leave.
Another two lads enter after the others have left and begin doing
the same, one of whom brings in a cake of soap and a couple
towels.

Once they have the bath sufficiently filled,
James removes his clothes and gingerly enters the steaming water.
In no time at all, he’s lounging back with all but his head
submerged under the water. He closes his eyes and begins to feel
the tension and stress melt away.

“We’ll be back,” whispers Jiron to him as he
grabs Jared and leaves the room.

On their way down the stairs to the common
room, they come across one of the servers on his way up with a
bucket of water. Jared lays a hand on his arm and tells him
something. The lad gives him a nod, turns around and hurries back
down the stairs.

When they leave the inn, Jiron asks, “What
did you say to him?”

Jared flashes him an amused grin and says,
“Only that his lordship is relaxing and it would be unwise to
disturb him. Also that the last one who did was invited to ‘attend’
a service at the temple. I doubt if anyone will so much as go near
the door while we’re gone.”

Laughing, Jiron claps him on the back and
they head down the street.

With the mountains to the west, the streets
of Ki grow dark quickly. They wander from one end of town to
another, finally finding a road that will take them up into the
mountains. Deciding this is the most likely place for the mine to
be, they follow it.

As they leave the town behind, the ground
begins to rise as the road makes its way up the side of the
mountain. About the time the lights from Ki disappear around a
bend, the sound of a wagon is heard coming toward them from up
ahead.

Moving off the road a ways, they wait in the
shadows as it draws near. It’s actually two wagons full of ore
coming from the mine, which tells them they are on the right road.
They wait until the wagons pass and are further down the mountain
before returning to the road.

The road continues on and finally works its
way into a box canyon. They slow when lights appear coming from up
ahead. A tall wooden wall, similar in nature to what James and
Jiron found surrounding the mine on the island, blocks off the
canyon from one side to the other. The road continues straight
toward it and passes through a gate.

The wall itself is easily twenty foot high
and guards carrying crossbows can be seen walking along the top.
Jiron pulls Jared to the side where they crouch and watch for
several minutes.