The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five (33 page)

Looking at Jiron, his eyes almost get a
pleading look, “Pain in the dark. The biting and tearing. Voices,
voices saying words you don’t know, but yet do. I…” His eyes dart
around, almost as if he’s looking at something that’s not there.
“They come for you. They are coming for you but you can’t escape.
Wh…” He backs up several steps and then…

Noooooooooo!

…a blood curdling scream is ripped from his
throat and the crowd nervously edges back from him.

James is suddenly there running past a
shocked Jiron as he comes to his friend’s aid. “Dave!” he cries as
he grabs his shoulders. “Dave, it’s James,” he says as he looks
into Dave’s panic stricken eyes.

Noooooooooo!

Dave’s scream again echoes through the
night. James strikes him across the face with the palm of his hand
and it seems to bring him back to the here and now.

His eyes focus on James’ face and he asks in
a raspy voice, “James?” then passes out.

James is quick to catch him before he falls.
Looking to Jiron he says, “Help me get him up to our room.”

Nodding, Jiron comes over and between them,
they carry him up to the room James and he are sharing. Removing
the wet clothes from him, they lie him down on one of the beds.
Again they see the patchwork of scars and burn marks from his time
as a slave. James looks to Jiron and asks, “What happened?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” he says. “We were
arguing and then he started talking about his time as a slave and
then things went from bad to worse.”

“He must have had a flashback,” explains
James. Using a finger, he pushes a lock of Dave’s hair that had
strayed across his face to the side.

“A flashback?” Jiron asks.

Nodding, he says, “In his mind he was
reliving his time as a slave.” Looking up, he sees the others there
gathered in the doorway. “I think he’ll be alright,” he tells
them.

“You need anything?” Miko asks.

“I don’t think so,” he replies. “Maybe some
ale for when he wakes up.”

“I’ll get some,” he says and leaves to head
downstairs.

To Jiron, he says, “It might be best if you
all weren’t here when he comes out of it.”

“You going to be okay?” Jiron asks.

“I think so,” James assures him. Then
looking to Dave, he says, “Him I’m not so sure about.”

Jiron moves to the door and before he leaves
says, “If you need something I’ll be in the room next door.”

“Thanks,” he says.

Jiron closes the door and James can hear
them outside as he relates to the others the gist of the
conversation he and Dave had out front of the inn and what happened
after.

A minute later a quick knock on the door and
Miko walks in with a pitcher of ale and two glasses. “Thanks Miko,”
James says.

“Anything else you need?” he asks, casting a
quick glance at the comatose Dave.

“Nothing right now,” he replies.

“Alright.” He moves to the door and pauses
before opening it. “Are we still leaving in the morning?” he
asks.

“Maybe,” replies James. Nodding to Dave he
says, “We’ll have to see.”

“I’ll let the others know,” he says as he
opens the door and walks out.

When the door closes, James creates his orb
for light and then sits there with his friend.

He must have fallen asleep for the sound of
sobs wakes him up. Dave is there, lying in a fetal position sobbing
into his pillow. “You okay?” James asks him.

Dave’s eyes glance to his friend and another
sob wracks his body. James gets up from the chair he’s sitting in
and takes his place on the bed next to his friend. “It’s okay
Dave,” he says.

“I’m sorry James,” he says between sobs. “I
don’t know what came over me!”

“I understand,” he replies soothingly. He
puts his arm around him and pats him on the back.

“You’re all I have here,” he says
despondently. “I want to go home.” His sobs are beginning to quiet
down.

“Don’t worry Dave,” James assures his
friend. “I’ll always be there for you.”

“No matter what?” he asks.

“No matter what,” he says with
conviction.

The rest of the night they stay there in the
room together, talking of old times. They tell each other favorite
scenes of old movies, remembrances of food long gone, and things
they once did together before that fateful trip downtown. Sometime
around midnight they finally fall asleep and when they wake up in
the morning, Dave seems to be more of his old self. Still wearing a
solemn expression, he at least can crack a smile when James tries
to joke with him.

It’s a little after sunup when they leave
their room, the others have already congregated downstairs. When
they join them Dave is quiet, casting occasional glances to Jiron
and the others while he eats.

“Everything okay?” Fifer asks.

“As well as can be I suppose,” James
replies.

“We leaving?” Uther asks.

Nodding, he says, “As soon as we finish
eating.”

Standing up, he says, “Me and Jorry will get
the horses ready.” Jorry comes to his feet and together they cross
the common room and exit through the door leading to the stables
out back.

Much to James’ relief, no one makes any
mention of the events of the night before. They finish their
breakfast quickly and are soon on the road. The rain from the night
before has stopped, leaving the world wet and soggy, their horses
splatter mud as they move along the road. The sky above still
threatens possible rain with dark, ominous clouds.

Taking the road leading north, they soon
leave Crystal City behind them and after but a half hour, the lake
as well. Coming to a crossroads just north of the lake, Fifer tells
him they need to continue along the north road, that it will lead
them to the northern pass.

“A fellow back at the inn said the road
would follow along the Three Sisters,” he explains. “It’s a series
of three lakes set against the foot of the Silver Mountains
connected by a single river.”

“Wonder why it’s called Three Sisters?” Miko
asks.

“Who knows how anything gets its name?”
Jorry says.

An hour after the road begins curving to the
east, they see the first of the Three Sisters to their east, the
spires of the Silver Mountains rising majestically behind it. The
lake looks to be of fair size, nothing as grand as Crystal
Lake.

“Might be a good spot for fishing,”
announces Uther.

“Perhaps when we have time we can do some
fishing there next summer,” James says. “A campout would be fun.”
Looking to Dave he asks, “Wouldn’t it?”

“Sure,” his friend replies.

Throughout the rest of the day they continue
along the road, passing the second sister and reaching the third by
nightfall. Raindrops have peppered them occasional while they rode,
but not with the intensity of the night before.

With the light failing, James decides to
pull off the road and camp at the last of the sisters. It’s neither
the largest nor the smallest of the three, perhaps a mile or more
across at it’s widest. Trees dot the area and they find a suitable
spot to make camp along its shores.

While Miko takes his crossbow along with
Uther and Jorry to scare up some dinner, he and the others begin
gathering what dry firewood as can be found. “Not much to start a
fire with around here,” comments Fifer as he brings in his first
load.

“We’ll get a fire going then set wood around
it to dry,” Jiron says. He was fortunate to have found a section of
moss hanging from the underside of one of the trees that is
relatively dry and is using that as the base for the kindling.

Taking out his flint, he strikes a couple
sparks and then gently blows as he tries to coax a fire to life. At
first a small amount of smoke appears, then a fire catches and
begins to consume the moss. Putting several smaller relatively dry
pieces on, he gradually gets a fair sized fire going.

When Miko and the others return with a small
game animal, the fire is going well and enough firewood has been
gathered to last through the evening. By the time the animal is
roasting over the fire, the sky has grown dark and the occasional
baying of wolves can be heard from the nearby mountains.

Dave appears to be doing better, his jovial
mood having returned which soothes the worries James has had over
his friend. If there was a way to get him home, he would send him
there in a heartbeat. As for himself, ever since Dave raised the
question as to whether he wanted to return home or not, he’s begun
to wonder.

Despite the ruggedness of this world and the
small fact that several groups out there are bent upon his
destruction, he rather likes the life he’s living. And Dave’s
right, here he is someone. Back home he’s just another teen looking
for a job with little prospects for a future, job market being what
it is and all.

Do I really want to go home? No, I don’t
think I really do.
It surprises him that he thinks that way,
there are many things from back home he misses. His family for one,
sure they were a bother, but whose family isn’t? They loved and
cared for him and he hates what they may be going through on
account of his disappearance. He wouldn’t mind returning briefly if
for no other reason than to put their minds at ease.

Computers. Man does he miss his computer and
all the games. Aside from reading, that was the one thing he really
liked to do. Empire building was his favorite type of game and it
occurs to him he may have inadvertently been doing the same thing
here.

Starting out with nothing, he now has a
place to live, a small army and enough money to do what he wants.
However, the stakes of the game have changed. Where before on his
computer he was out for either world domination by conquest or for
accumulation of wealth, here he wishes to simply be left alone. Of
course that doesn’t look as if it’s going to happen for quite some
time.

When it’s time to bed down for the night, he
finds a spot under a tree which will afford some protection from
the rain should it begin again in the night. Dave takes a spot
close to him and is soon out. The others take turns at watch
throughout the night, they don’t bother James with it and they
don’t trust Dave to do it.

Uther has the first watch and his moving
around the camp is the last thing James sees before succumbing to
sleep.

The next morning they rise to another dismal
day of rain. The tree under which James had spent the night kept
most of the rain from him though he is still slightly damp from
what did reach him. A quick breakfast and they’re on their way.

Several hours after they leave the last of
the sisters behind, they come to a small community situated at a
crossroads. Not much more than an inn and a chandler’s shop, they
continue on through, taking the road heading to the northeast. Just
before they pass the last of the buildings, Uther pauses and asks
one of the locals how far it is to the pass.

“You should reach the town of Feld in a
couple hours,” the man tells him. “It lies just before where the
road begins its climb up into the mountains.”

“Thank you,” Uther says and then they
continue along the road out of town.

“We should make Feld in time for the noon
meal,” Jorry announces.

“Might be a good time to find out what to
expect before we start through the pass,” James says. “Whether we
should expect trouble or not.”

“We should always expect trouble,” states
Jiron. “As soon as we become complacent and think we’re safe,
that’s likely when the Empire or others will strike.”

Sighing, James nods his head and says,
“You’re right.”

They make good time, but the road is fast
becoming a muddy mess and they all have a coating of mud from where
the horses have kicked it up on them. Jiron isn’t as bad as the
others since he rides point for the most part.

The road continues to follow the base of the
mountains and as the miles pass, the trees become increasingly
denser. When noon has come and gone, and Uther has begun to
complain about the lack of sustenance in his stomach, the town of
Feld finally appears through the trees ahead of them.

They find an inn and after securing their
horses, make their way inside. The inn is fairly clean and orderly,
they find an empty table to the side of the room large enough to
accommodate them all. A serving girl comes over once they’ve taken
their seats and soon has them all set with a platter of their
special, roast squirrel. Bread and a few vegetables, as well as
ale, rounds out the rest of the meal.

Two men who have the look of locals are
seated at the table next to them. James turns in their direction
and says, “Good day gentlemen.”

They glance at him but make no other
comment.

“We are planning on heading through the
pass,” he tells them. “Would either of you know how the conditions
up there are?”

One of the men, the older of the two nods
his head and says, “This time of year it shouldn’t be too bad, the
snows have yet to fall. That usually doesn’t happen for another
month or so.” His friend grunts in agreement.

“How long will it take to make it through?”
Miko asks.

“Two days, roughly,” the younger of the two
states. “But we’ve heard tales of travelers being accosted going
through lately.”

“Accosted?” James asks. “As in robbers?”

“That’s right,” the older gentleman replies.
“Not everyone who goes through is troubled however.” He eyes their
group a moment and then adds, “I doubt if anyone would bother a
group such as yours.”

“True,” agrees the younger. “It looks like
you know how to take care of yourselves.”

“We appreciate the information,” James tells
him.

“No problem,” the older man says. “Good
luck.” He then turns back to his meal.