The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five (43 page)

Throughout the rest of the day, the riders
fight off the cold as they steadily progress northwards. By the
time night again falls there have been no sign of inns or anything
else which would provide them some comfort through the cold of
night.

Finding a place near a few lone trees on the
plains, they make their camp. At least they’re fortunate enough to
find enough wood for their campfire to last through the night. They
again rotate the watch, the threat of the Empire still very real.
With any luck, Orlander has remained back in Illion.

Another cold morning, even colder than the
last has them shivering before the fire roars to life. They take
just enough time to warm up and eat some of the rations acquired
yesterday before they set off again.

The sky is a crystal blue without a hint of
clouds. They ride for several hours before the sun has managed to
warm the air enough so their breath no longer fogs. James is
thankful for what warmth the sun gives them.

Trees begin to appear with more frequency
and ahead it looks like the road enters a forest. Close to noon a
town appears straddling the road ahead of them. As it turns out, it
sits at a crossroads just within the forest.

“Let’s get something to eat and find out
which way Ironhold lies,” James announces when the town first
appears.

“I’m for that,” agrees Miko
enthusiastically.

The town looks to be not very large, mainly
servicing the traffic moving along the two roads which converge
there. Off to one side sits a large sawmill with piles of stripped
logs awaiting their turn.

“Be interesting to see how they do it here,”
Dave says to his friend.

“Sure would,” agrees James.

They approach the town and find an inn
sitting on the outskirts. Looking it over, James nods and says,
“Let’s try this one. Looks clean.” Pulling up, they dismount and
secure their horses to the rail out front and make their way
inside.

Over to one side is a table large enough to
accommodate them so they make their way over and take their seats.
Shortly a serving girl comes over and takes their order. Instead of
regular ale, James and the rest opt for mulled ale with a hint of
spice to better warm themselves from the cold of the road.

“Wonder how far Ironhold is from here?” Miko
asks.

“I don’t know,” replies James. Turning to
the table next to them where a man and a woman are sitting, he
says, “Excuse me.”

They both turn to look his way and the man
asks, “Yes?”

“Do you know which road to take to reach
Ironhold?” he asks.

“Ironhold?” the man asks surprised. He
glances to the lady and then turns a serious look back to James.
“Why would you want to go there? It’s said the place is haunted by
spirits.”

“What?” asks Miko.

“That’s a bunch of hogwash,” Uther says.
Jorry just snorts.

“What do you mean?” prompts James, trying to
ignore the reaction of his comrades.

“I heard that some miners went up there in
an attempt to reopen the mines and were never heard from again,”
the woman says.

“Never?” asks Miko, fear creeping into his
voice.

“Now don’t exaggerate dear,” the man chides
her. “Most of them were found.” Turning his attention back to James
and the others, he continues. “They disappeared for a time and all
but two were found lost in the mountains. They claim a spirit came
and took them away, leaving them lost in the woods. No mention was
ever made of the fate of the remaining two.”

James glances back to the others and can see
emotions ranging from the fear in Miko’s eyes to the disbelief in
Uther’s. “Has anyone been up there lately?” he asks the man as he
turns his attention back to the couple.

Shaking his head, the man replies, “Not that
I’ve heard. None dare even go near there. Those that pass through
do so quickly without stopping.”

“James,” Miko says, “maybe we shouldn’t go
there.”

“Your friend is right,” the woman tells him.
“It’s a bad place.”

“Be that as it may,” asserts James, “we need
to get there.”

“Then take the north road out of town
through the forest and it will lead you there,” explains the man.
“The road continues past Ironhold to the northern kingdoms but no
traveler dares to spend the night there. Those that have tell of
strange sights and sounds.”

“We’ll keep that in mind, thank you,”
replies James.

“Just be careful,” the woman says, concern
in her voice.

“We will,” James assures her.

Turning back to the others he says, “Seems
an interesting place.”

“Interesting?” asks Miko. “Cursed more like
it.”

“Relax,” Uther says with confidence. “Most
likely it’s simply the wind howling through the trees or
something.”

“Sure,” adds Jorry. “There’s no such thing
as spirits.”

Laughing, Jiron draws every eye to him as he
says, “Well let me tell you about…” He then goes into the tale of
complex in the swamps which everyone must have already heard a
dozen times. He reminds them of the spirits of the dead which they
encountered there. “So don’t go discounting tales of spirits so
easily,” he concludes.

Uther and Jorry don’t look convinced. Sure,
they’ve heard the story many times but never put much credence in
it. After all, some of their tales are just as scary but truth be
told, most of them are not altogether true.

“Do you still think it wise to go there?”
Dave asks.

“Wise or not, that’s where the trail leads,”
he replies.

Turning back to the couple he asks, “Pardon
me, but do you know how far it is from here?”

Over his shoulder, the man says, “Couple
days I think. Not for sure though, never had the occasion to travel
there.”

“Thank you,” James says as he turns back to
the others with a grin. “Not that much farther.”

“Great,” mumbles Miko next to him.

Leaving the crossroads behind, they take the
northern road through the forest where they’re told Ironhold will
be found. Dave and Miko are dead set against going but follow along
as they have no choice since they’re unwilling to abandon
James.

Following the road through the trees affords
them some protection against the bite of the wind. The further
north they travel the denser the trees lining the road become and
the thicker the canopy of leaves above them.

Their horses’ hooves crunch with every step
as they ride through the layers of dead leaves the coming of fall
has deposited upon the road. A few lone travelers are encountered
coming from the north but none are talkative and keep to
themselves.

By the end of the day they’re still within
the forest. When the light begins to fade they find a clearing
alongside the road and make camp. At least this night the trees
will keep the elements at bay and hopefully James won’t freeze
again.

Once camp has been set up, James says, “Get
a fire going, I’ll go find us some food.”

“Can I come?” Dave asks.

Nodding, James gives him a grin and says,
“Sure.” Miko comes along as well. As he enters the forest, he bends
over and picks up several stones which will do nicely. Putting all
but one in his pocket, he keeps the other one available in his
hand.

“Are you going to kill something?” Dave
asks.

“Shhh!” James says to his friend. Then he
nods and whispers, “Yeah.”

“I thought you wouldn’t ever kill anything?”
he asks.

Shrugging, he replies, “Back home I never
would. Here it’s a matter of survival. Now be quiet and keep your
eyes open.”

They slowly creep their way further between
the trees until Miko lays his hand on James’ shoulder to get his
attention. Pointing off to the right, he directs his gaze to a
small animal sitting upon a fallen tree.

“Right,” breathes James. Cocking his arm
back, he lets loose the magic and throws the stone. It flies
through the air and strikes the creature in the head knocking it
off the tree.

“You got it!” exclaims Dave as he breaks
into a run toward the fallen animal. James and Miko follow.

They find the animal with half its head
blown away. “Gross,” Dave says as he bends over and picks it up by
its tail. Blood drips from the opening.

“Take it back to camp,” James tells him.
“I’ll try to get another before it gets too dark.”

“Alright,” he says and heads back to
camp.

Shortly after Dave leaves, James bags
another animal. He and Miko then return to camp where the animals
are dressed for the fire.

The night passes quickly and in the morning
they have a quick breakfast, finishing off the remnants of the
roasted animals of the night before. Once done, they mount up and
return to the road and continue north.

All day long, the forest alongside the road
remains constant. An hour or so after noon, they begin to notice
the odor of wood smoke in the air. Shortly after that a cluster of
buildings appears along the road out of the forest ahead of
them.

“Wish we could’ve stayed there last night,”
complains Dave.

“Would have been nice,” replies James. The
others just give Dave an annoyed glance.

The village ahead of them doesn’t have all
that much going for it, a few main buildings such as an inn and a
chandler’s shop and not much else. Scattered amidst the surrounding
forest, houses can be seen here and there.

One man is leaving the inn and James rides
near and asks, “How much further is Ironhold?”

The man pauses and glances up at him. “About
a day and a half,” he replies. “When you reach the foothills you’ll
know you’re close.”

“Thank you,” James says and then continues
on through. Glancing back, he sees the man hasn’t moved from his
spot, merely standing there and staring at them leaving. The way
he’s acting gives him the creeps.

Jiron notices him as well and says, “Wonder
what that’s all about?”

Shrugging, James says, “Maybe he just wants
to remember the fools going to Ironhold.”

Laughing, Jiron nods his head. Jorry and
Uther join in.

“What’s so funny?” Miko asks.

“Nothing,” replies James and breaks into a
chuckle as well.

They pass through the village and return to
the forest. The rest of the day is pretty much as it has been and
they finally make camp as the light begins to fade.

James again takes Dave out into the forest
and they manage to bag a large animal similar to a deer back home.
It’s too encumbering for one to carry so together they bring it
back to camp.

Along with the roasted meat from this kill,
they also finish the rest of the bread and some of the cheese they
had bought from the farmer earlier. Seeing their dwindling supply
of food, James wishes he had thought to buy several more day’s
worth in that small village they passed through earlier.

What can’t be helped must be endured.
Through the night, they keep the fire going and the one on watch
continues roasting the meat so they can take most of it with them
when they leave.

Early the next morning they break camp and
return to the road. “We should be there before night, I think,”
James announces.

“I can hardly wait,” moans Dave.

“Cheer up,” his friend tells him. “Doubt if
anything will give us trouble there.”

“You know,” Dave says as they ride along,
“in the horror movies back home, the person who always says things
like that is usually the first to die.”

“So?” asks James. “Those were just
movies.”

“I just think you should approach this with
a little more gravity than what you are,” he says.

“Don’t think that just because I am not
visibly worried that I am carefree,” James tells him. “On the
contrary, I’m not. The tales concern me and I intend to use extreme
caution and vigilance while there.”

“I hope so,” says Dave.

They ride throughout the day and sometime
after lunch the forest begins to thin out and the terrain turns
into rolling hills. “Must be getting close,” says James.

Not long after the hills appear they come to
a junction. Either they can continue straight or take the road to
the left. James continues on straight and from the rear he hears
Qyrll say, “We should take the road to the left.”

Coming to a stop just past the left hand
road, he turns his head back and asks, “Why?”

“We’ve been gradually turning to the east,”
he explains. Pointing to the road branching to the left he says,
“That one leads almost due north.”

“Are you sure?” Dave asks.

“Absolutely,” the Parvati replies.

“I think he’s right,” adds Jorry. Uther nods
agreement.

Taking a moment, James looks around and
notices the way the shadows are falling and begins nodding his
head. “I think you’re right,” he agrees. “This way it is.” Turning
his horse around, he returns to the other road and they begin
following it.

They’re soon to realize this is the right
way to go, the trees continue to thin and they catch glimpses
through the trees of the mountains ahead of them to the north.
Nestled somewhere within them lies the old town of Ironhold.

As they continue through the hills, the
trees thin but don’t disappear altogether. Steadily, the hills
become steeper and the road meanders first one way then the other
in an attempt to follow the gentlest way.

Two hours after they left the other road,
the hills open into a sort of plateau before the road reenters the
mountains further ahead. A caravan is camped off to one side, other
travelers are scattered throughout the area.

“Wonder what this is all about?” asks
Jiron.

“I don’t know,” James replies. Giving the
area a better scrutiny, he notices many spots which are currently
unoccupied which once had been used. Sites of old campfires are
seen throughout the plateau area.