Fires of Prophecy: The Morcyth Saga Book Two (13 page)

There’s a company of the Empire’s soldiers
garrisoned here and when they enter the outskirts of town, an
officious looking man steps out of a building just ahead of them.
James’ pulse begins to beat faster when he realizes the man means
to intercept them. As he approaches he raises his hand, signaling
for them to stop.

“Greetings,” he says to them as they roll to
a stop.

“Good day to you as well,” James replies,
giving him a small bow.

“What brings you through Arakan, good
merchant?” the official inquires.

“Traveling through to deliver some goods in
Korazan,” James replies nonchalantly.

“Do you have a letter of travel?” the
official questions. “Anyone not of the Empire requires one to be
allowed to pass through our territory.”

James reaches into his shirt and brings out
the official looking letter and hands it over to him. His heart
racing, he glances to Jiron and sees his right hand on a knife as
he stares intently at the man as he reads the letter. He knows if
it’s not what James had been hoping it was, they’ll have a fight on
their hands.

The man reads the letter and then hands it
back to James, saying, “Very good, all seems to be in order. Hope
you enjoy your stay here in Arakan.”

Everyone visibly relaxes as James takes the
letter back. “Do you have a carpenter here in town?” he asks.

“We do have a blacksmith who doubles as our
carpenter in emergencies,” the official says. “You’ll find him
further down the road and a little off to the right. You can’t miss
him.”

Signaling Delia to get the wagon moving
again, he says, “Thank you, sir.”

“You’re most welcome,” he replies as he
turns to walk back to the building he came out of.

“A carpenter? What for?” Jiron asks.

“I want some shade to keep the sun off me,”
he explains. Already the back of his neck, not to mention his nose,
cheeks and arms are all beginning to turn red. He can feel the heat
burning into them.

They go down the road and soon hear the
sound of metal being hammered. Turning off the road toward the
sound, they come to the blacksmith’s shop. They find him working
under an awning, hammering some hot metal as he turns it into a
horseshoe.

When he sees them approaching, he hammers
the metal a few more times, inspects his work and then lays the
horseshoe atop the anvil. He places the pincers he was using to
hold the horseshoe on a nearby table and then comes over to greet
them.

“What can I do for you today?” he asks.

“Was wondering if you might have some long
boards and nails I could purchase?” James asks. “And maybe the use
of a hammer for a few minutes?”

The man nods, and says, “Got what you need
out back,” he replies. “But if there’s any hammering to be done,
I’ll do it. Follow me.” He leads them around the side of the awning
covered area to where he has piles of rough cut boards along with a
pile of scraps. “What will you be needing it for?” he asks.

James gets down and walks over to him,
“We’re not use to the intensity of the sun down here, so would like
to create a framework above the wagons which we could secure some
blankets to, in order to have some shade.”

He looks at the wagons and says, “I got the
stuff for that, it’ll cost a gold and seven silvers.”

“Alright,” James says as he opens his pouch
and takes out the money, handing it over. “How soon can you have it
done?” he asks.

“About an hour,” he replies. “I have to
finish the shoe I’m working on before I start.”

“Is there a place where we can eat while we
wait?” he asks.

The blacksmith points back the way they came
and indicates a two story building. He says, “You can find
something over there at the Cracked Pot.”

“Thank you,” James says as he returns to the
others. “It’s going to be about an hour,” he tells them, “so we may
as well get something to eat while we wait.”

They get down from the wagons, Jiron and
Tinok secure the horses to a hitching post near the blacksmith’s
shop. They then walk over to the building the blacksmith had
indicated and find an old pot with a sizeable crack running down
the side hanging out front. Opening the door, they enter the common
room and sit at a table near an open window through which a slight
breeze is blowing.

Once seated, a girl comes over and starts to
talk to them in the Empire’s language. James holds up his hand and
says, “I’m sorry, but we don’t speak your language.”

“Sorry,” she says with an accent as she
switches to their speech, “but we don’t get many who don’t speak
our language.”

“That’s alright,” replies James. “What’s
available?”

“We have roasted goat or sliced goat placed
between chunks of bread,” she says. “The goat is a silver each, and
the other is four coppers.”

“Sliced goat?” James asks to everyone. They
all nod their heads and he says, “Okay, five of those please, and
ale all around.” He digs out two silvers and hands them to her,
“Will this cover it?”

“Yes sir,” she says, placing the money
within a pocket. “I’ll have it out in just a few minutes.” She then
turns and heads to the kitchen to prepare their meals.

“Sure is hot here,” Jiron comments to no one
in particular.

“You said it,” Tinok responds. “I’ve never
seen it like this before. I mean, sure, back home it got hot, but
this is insane.”

“Just make sure to drink lots of water so
you don’t get dehydrated,” James tells everyone.

The girl returns from the kitchen with a
tray laden with a large heap of sliced meat and three loaves of
bread balanced on one hand, while in the other she has a pitcher
and five mugs. Jiron gets up to help her as it looks like she’s
about to lose it.

“Thank you,” she says gratefully, smiling at
him as he takes the tray from her and places it on the table.

He gives her a slight bow and says,
“Anything for a pretty lady.”

The girl blushes, then places the pitcher
and the mugs on the table. “If there’s anything else you require,
just let me know.” She then returns to the kitchen.

“Stop bothering people,” Delia says to Jiron
sternly.

“What?” Jiron exclaims. “Can’t a guy give a
girl a compliment?”

She just glares at him.

James takes his knife and cuts off two
slices of bread and then takes a slice of meat, placing it between
them. Taking a big bite, he’s reminded of a hamburger from back
home, though the flavor is a little stronger than what he’s used
to.

Everyone begins taking the bread and making
‘goat burgers’. The break from the trail is nice, what with being
in the shade and a nice breeze coming in through the window. They
finish eating before the hour is up and relax around the table
until it’s time to return to the blacksmith’s. Tinok takes the last
of the bread and stuffs the remaining goat inside it as he leaves
the table, eating it on the way over.

They’re surprised at what awaits them back
at the blacksmith’s. Not only did he construct a frame for each
wagon, but has also installed an off-white cloth covering for each
as well.

Seeing them enter, he comes over to them and
asks, “How do you like it?”

“Very nice,” James replies admiringly. Not
only will anyone sitting on the driver’s bench be out of the sun,
but it covers the entire wagon as well, shading the holding
area.

“You’re mounts looked thirsty,” he tells
them, “so I took them over to the well and gave them water.” He
indicates a well off to the side with a two foot trough sitting on
the ground next to it.

“Thank you,” James says.

“You’re welcome,” the blacksmith says as he
leaves them to go back and work on more horseshoes.

They get back on the wagons, Jiron on his
horse, and resume their journey to Korazan. The shade provided by
the covering helps immensely to alleviate the worst of the sun’s
heat. Though it’s still incredibly hot, at least they’re no longer
at risk of severe sunburn. Jiron though, doesn’t seem to be
bothered by being out in the sun on his horse.

After riding for a ways, Delia asks, “What
would you have done if that paper turned out to not to have been a
pass?”

James shrugs, “I don’t know, that would have
depended on what he did.”

“Think we’ll be able to play this off in
Korazan?” she asks.

“Hope so,” he replies. “Not sure what else
to do if it doesn’t.”

They continue on in silence, every once in a
while passing a caravan or other travelers going in the opposite
direction. After one of the caravans passes, Jiron slows down until
the wagon James is riding upon comes abreast of him and then asks,
“Did you see those men in the caravan, the ones wearing only a
brown loincloth?”

“Yeah,” James said, “I noticed them.”

“I think they were slaves,” he tells him.
“The people who were captured when the City fell were dressed
similarly when they were being marched south.”

“Thanks,” James replies, “I didn’t know
that.”

Jiron gives him a quick nod then resumes his
place at the front of the caravan.

As time goes by more and more travelers
pass, some having slaves accompanying them, others not. Whenever he
sees them his anger blossoms, even though he is impotent to do
anything about it. He would free them all if he could, but doing
that would bring down the wrath of the powers that be. Miko must be
his first and foremost concern right now.

Not having reached the next town by the time
the sun begins to near the horizon, they decide to pull over and
make camp off the road a ways. The wagons are pulled in close to
one another and the horses are picketed in a group nearby. They set
about making camp when Tinok comes over to James with his water
bottle and asks, “Have you got any extra water? Mine’s all
gone.”

“A little,” he replies. “I was trying to
make it last.”

“Can I have some?”

“Sure,” he says, handing him his bottle.

As Tinok drinks the last of his water, he
begins to realize they may be in trouble. Out in this heat, they’re
not going to last long without water. Then he glances over to the
horses and realizes they’ve not had any water since the
blacksmith’s earlier in the day.
They must be really thirsty by
now.

He looks around the horizon for a source of
water, but only scrub brush can be seen.
This could be bad
,
he realizes. Calling them all together, he asks, “Who has water
left?”

Cassie and Jiron raise their hands, while
Tinok and Delia shake their heads.

“Seems we’ve gotten ourselves in a
situation,” he says. “We’re going to die out here if we don’t find
some water soon, not to mention the horses.”

“What are we to do?” Jiron asks. “We’re
miles away from anywhere and,” he glances around the horizon, “it
doesn’t look like there’s any water to be found.”

“There’s always water,” he tells them, “it’s
just a matter of getting to it.”

“I don’t see any water around here,” Tinok
says as he looks around the horizon.

“It’s beneath us,” he explains, pointing to
the ground. “Under the surface.”

“How are we going to get it?” Tinok
asks.

“Magic?” Delia guesses, looking
questioningly toward James.

He nods his head, “Magic. Now what I plan to
do is to search with magic beneath the ground and when I’ve found
it, get it to come up to the surface.”

“Neat,” Cassie exclaims.

“Just stay here and watch for anyone
coming,” he says to them. He then turns and walks away from their
camp, looking for a depression or hole where the water would be
able to pool once he managed to bring it up. It wouldn’t do to
spend all that time and energy to bring it up only to have the
water run off and be absorbed back into the ground.

He eventually comes across a place not
thirty feet from camp that will suffice, and then sits down next to
it. He begins concentrating and the magic flows out of him, down
below the surface as he searches for water.

Surprisingly, he finds water not very far
below the surface, only about twenty feet or so. He sends his
senses further down and discovers that there’s a sizeable reservoir
there. Coming back to himself, he gets up and walks back over to
the group, informing them of what he’s found. His head is dizzy
from the heat and the effort it took to find the water.

Incredibly hot and thirsty after the ordeal,
he asks “Cassie, could I have the rest of your water?”

She nods and then hands him her water bottle
which he drains completely. “Thanks,” he says as he hands it back
to her.

“Now what?” Jiron asks.

“Give me just a few minutes to rest and I’ll
attempt to bring it up.” He goes over and sits down on a wagon,
taking advantage of the shade the newly acquired covering gives.
Even though the sun is about to go down, it’s still fairly hot.

Once he’s rested and no longer feels dizzy,
he gets down from the wagon and walks back to the area where he
will attempt to bring up the water. Standing next to the depression
he begins to summon the magic, sending it below the surface to
where the water lies.

He takes his time, finding fissures and
cracks, weak spots that can be loosened and widened, making a way
for the water to reach the surface. Little by little, as he widens
a crack here and breaks through stone there, he begins to sense the
water being forced to the surface by the pressure below.

Once he’s created a fissure halfway to the
surface the ground begins to shake, breaking his concentration and
ending the spell. He stumbles as the shaking increases, cries of
confusion come from the others who are watching him from over near
the wagons.

Suddenly, the ground cracks open and water
geysers out of the ground, shooting twenty feet in the air before
falling back down into the depression. The area rapidly fills with
water as it continues surging out of the ground.