Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six (27 page)

James turns to Illan and asks, “From their
perspective, would it seem reasonable for us to stop here, seeing
as how our scouts have returned and reported what they saw at
Al-Zynn?”

“Yes it would,” he replies. “Now that we
‘know’ what we are up against, it would be reasonable for us to
stop and assess the situation.”

“Very well,” James says. He checks his mirror
for hostiles in the area and finds more units stationed in and
around the town of Al-Zynn than previous. To the east and west of
their position is fairly clear, the only units he discovers are
smaller bands on their way to reinforce the town. The force that’s
been following them remains at the same distance they’ve been since
the chase began.

“Looks like we may be okay until the
morning,” he tells Illan as he puts his mirror away.

“By then it will be too late for them to do
anything,” Illan replies. Raising his voice, he hollers out to the
rest of the riders following along behind, “Bring ‘em to a halt! We
stop here tonight.”

As Devin begins to take his tent down from
the pack horse to set it up, James tells him not to bother. “No
tent tonight,” he tells him. Lowering his voice he adds, “We’re not
going to be here all that long.”

“Yes, sir,” he says.

They get fires going and cooks begin working
on dinner. Bedrolls are laid out nearby and it isn’t long before
everyone has had a quick meal. Other than the sentries and the
scouts riding the perimeter, everyone turns in early, well before
the setting of the sun.

Before climbing into his bedroll, James
checks the status of the various forces before and behind them. The
one behind has stopped and made camp as well, the forces by Al-Zynn
still look to be on alert and ready. He grins as he puts the mirror
away and then lies down to sleep.

It isn’t long before a tired looking Devin
awakens him. “Illan said it was time,” he says. When he sees James
stirring and then gives him a nod, he gets up and begins to prepare
James’ horse for travel.

With eyes longing to close after such a short
rest, James sits on his bedroll as he tries to come completely
awake. The camp is a flurry of activity as everyone readies
themselves for travel. Despite the hustle and bustle there is
relatively little noise as they ready for a quick push to the west
to take the enemy by surprise. If they can get away without anyone
noticing, by the time sunrise comes they’ll be many miles away
before the enemy realizes what happened.

Earlier, Ceadric had some of his men comb the
countryside surrounding the camp in an attempt to locate any of the
enemy who may be keeping an eye on them and take them out. A few
men with fast horses will remain to keep the campfires lit and to
give the overall appearance that they are still here.

Despite the number of men and horses being
prepared for travel, the noise level remains subdued. Unless an
enemy scout is close, they may not notice anything out of the
ordinary. The number of campfires they usually have were reduced by
two thirds to lower the light level in the camp in the hopes of
keeping their move more secret.

Illan appears out of the dark and walks
toward him. “We will be ready to ride shortly,” he says as he comes
to a stop near him.

“Any sign of enemy scouts?” James asks as he
gets to his feet. Once up, Devin comes and collects his bedroll to
secure it behind his saddle.

“Ceadric reported that a half dozen or so
were taken out earlier,” he replies. “He thinks they got them
all.”

“Let’s hope so,” James states. Glancing
around the camp, he sees indistinct shadows moving about as the men
make ready to ride. A horse rides close and Delia comes to a halt
before him.

“Our folks are ready,” she tells him then
glances over to where Devin is finishing securing his bedroll.
“That is, when he has your equipment stored.”

“Good,” he comments with a nod. Terrance
appears with a plate of rations which he takes with a ‘Thank you’
and commences to eat. To Illan he asks, “How far is it to
Korazan?”

“A day or so,” he says. “Are you sure you
still want to go through with your plan?”

Nodding while chewing a mouthful of food,
James then swallows and says, “Yes. A nation the size of the Empire
can lose soldiers and hardly bat an eye. But you mess with its
economy and they’ll feel it.”

“As you will,” replies Illan and then his
attention is taken by the approach of two of Ceadric’s men.

Finishing his meal, James walks over to one
of the campfires set away from the tents where some of those from
The Ranch are congregating while they await the order to get
underway. Terrance is one and he hands his empty plate back to
him.

Stig looks up at his approach and grins. “Is
it time for a little payback?” He has his mace in one hand while
absentmindedly thumping it in the palm of the other.

Of all those associated with James on this
venture, only the pit fighters whom he had bought out of slavery
are completely in favor of taking out the slaver compound. The
indignity and abuse they endured while in their hands demands
retribution.

“Shouldn’t be too much longer,” he replies.
They stand there sharing the fire until the word comes a few short
minutes later that all are ready. Devin approaches him with his
horse in tow and holds the reins while he mounts. Once mounted,
James begins moving toward where he knows Illan will ride at the
head of the column.

He doesn’t get very far before the force
begins to move away from the campfires still burning in the dark
without a word. James glances back to the men left behind to
maintain the illusion they are still there as they walk to and fro
in the fire’s light. Returning his attention back to the fore, he
quickly moves through the riders to join Illan and Brother Willim
in the lead. The rest of the Hand of Asran rides further back in
the column with the others.

As the campfires disappear further into the
distance behind them, his anxiety peaks as he waits for any
indication the move has been found out. But as minute after minute
passes uneventfully, he begins to relax.

A force this size doesn’t exactly move
silently and the noise from the horse’s hooves seems to reverberate
throughout the night. The tack on the horses prone to jingling has
been muffled with cloth to prevent it from making any sound.

They ride in silence for several hours,
scouts reporting in periodically only to report that no other
forces have been sighted ahead of them. When the sky begins to
lighten and still no sight of the enemy has been made, James
realizes they may have just pulled it off. By now, their pullout
had to have been detected by the enemy. The enemy scouts that were
posted around their encampment will not be reporting back in and by
now others have most likely been sent to investigate. The men who
were left behind to make it appear they hadn’t left were to leave
and race to catch up when the sky first began to lighten.

“Should be to Korazan by early tomorrow if we
keep a steady pace,” Illan says, breaking the silence. He glances
to where James is riding beside him and asks, “Can you check for
hostiles?”

“Sure, but they’ll know where we are,” he
replies.

Shrugging, Illan says, “Doesn’t matter much
now. They know we didn’t go north or south, east would be
pointless, so they’re going to send everything this way. Probably
will try to crush us quickly with all they have.”

“Alright,” agrees James and then reaches for
his mirror.

“Scouts say there’s a road ahead of us a mile
or two running north and south,” he says as James gets his mirror
into position.

Nodding, James gazes into the mirror and lets
the magic flow. The image clarifies and he sees their force from a
bird’s eye view. Scrolling the image, he first looks to the west to
see what’s ahead. It doesn’t take long to find the road that the
scouts reported. “There’s traffic upon it,” he says to Illan.
“Regular people and a few caravans.” Glancing to Illan he says, “I
don’t think they were expecting us to move this way.”

With a grin, Illan replies, “Good.”

Returning his gaze to the mirror, he scrolls
the image still further. As the image moves further from his
position, the drain of magic increases. “Doesn’t look like anything
ahead of us will present much of a problem,” he says. “There are a
few forces on the move but nothing we can’t handle.”

Moving the image, he begins to scan
clockwise. To the north rides a band of horsemen heading in their
direction, looks to be two score doubtful if they would even try
anything against so overwhelming an army. About an hour behind them
to the east he finds those riders they left behind at the camp
riding hard to catch up. Two to three hours behind them follows the
force from Al-Zynn, easily twice the number of those riding with
James. The force is entirely made up of cavalry, three brown robes
ride with them.

“Our riders made it safely away,” he tells
Illan. “They’re about an hour behind us.”

“That’s good news,” he replies.

From behind, Ceadric asks, “What about the
force from Al-Zynn and the one that was following us?”

“The army from Al-Zynn rides several hours
behind our men, and they’re twice our number with three brown
robes,” he says as he scrolls the image to locate the force that
had been trailing them. “The others are moving to join with
them.”

“Three mages?” Brother Willim asks.

Nodding, James turns his gaze to him and
says, “Three.”

“That will make things interesting,” he
says.

“Where do they get them all?” James asks as
he returns his gaze to the mirror to check to the south.

“They periodically test children and those
who show an inclination or talent toward magic are taken to their
School of the Arcane,” explains Illan. “From what we understand,
not many make it through the training process.”

“I take it that it’s not exactly a voluntary
choice?” he asks. The south looks fairly clear of any immediate
threat so he returns his mirror to his pack.

“Actually, most desire the prestige and honor
that goes with being a mage for the Empire despite the risks
involved,” Ceadric adds. “I suppose a few don’t want to go and
they’re probably the ones who fail to survive.”

Just then they see ahead a scout returning.
As he pulls up to ride beside Illan he says, “The road is just
ahead.”

“Are they aware of our approach?” Illan
asks.

“Not yet Black Hawk,” replies the scout.
“People are still traveling along at a normal pace.”

James gazes to the horizon ahead in the
morning light and can just begin to make out those traveling upon
the road.

Illan turns to Ceadric and says, “Take your
riders and secure the road. Take out any caravans but leave the
people alone. We’re not here to kill innocents.” He glances to
James and receives an approving nod.

“Yes, sir,” Ceadric replies. Behind him ride
two of the four men he’s designated as Raider Captains, both rode
with Illan in his earlier campaign. One is Nerun, a grizzled old
timer who still retains his strength and wits. The other is Wylick.
Six foot six with just a peppering of gray in his hair, he still
gives an imposing appearance. The other two captains ride further
back with their men, protecting the rear of the column.

Turning back to them he says, “Nerun, take
your men to secure the road to the north. Wylick, you take the
south.”

“Yes, sir!” Wylick says before he hollers to
his men and they race to the south. Nerun and his men gallop to the
north.

James watches as the two bands of riders,
over two hundred strong each, near the road. The travelers soon
take notice of the approaching riders, at first thinking they are
forces of the Empire. But then when they finally realize they
aren’t, panic ensues as they begin racing for their lives.

Neither of the bands of men strike down the
civilians without provocation. A few are taken out when they try to
fight them off in a futile gesture. By the time Illan, James and
the others reach the road, it’s been cleared and secured. To the
north the sound of breaking wood is heard as Nerun’s men begin
destroying a twenty wagon caravan.

One of Nerun’s men returns down the road with
one of the wagons trailing along behind him. When he reaches Illan
he comes to a stop and says, “Nerun thought we might want to save
this one.”

“What is it?” Illan asks.

The driver of the wagon, another of Nerun’s
men pulls back the tarp and reveals a hundred crossbows with
accompanying boxes of bolts.

“Nice,” states Ceadric approvingly.

“Get them distributed among the packhorses,”
Illan tells them. “We can’t afford to linger here.”

“Yes, sir,” the rider says. Then he and the
wagon move to the center of the column where the packhorses are
kept for safety. With the help of others they begin the
transference of the crossbows and bolts.

“That’s going to come in handy,” states
Jiron. Having come up behind James while they were paused on the
road, he saw the wagon load of crossbows as it headed for the
packhorses.

“More is always better,” agrees James.

By the time they’ve been transferred, the men
who were left in camp finally join up with them. While waiting to
resume their progress toward Korazan, James goes over to Brother
Willim and the rest of the Hand.

“The force from Al-Zynn rides a few hours
behind us,” he says as he draws close.

Two members of the Hand nod as Brother Willim
replies, “That’s not going to leave you much time at Korazan.”

“I know,” states James. He glances from
Brother Willim to the others and then his eyes settle back on
Brother Willim. “I have an idea of how to slow them down.”

“Oh?” says Brother Willim questioningly.