The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (24 page)

“A day or so south of that town lies
Korazan,” announces Stig. “Should be interesting to see what
they’ve done to the place since we left.”

“Could your friend be there?” asks
Reilin.

Jiron stops dead in his tracks. He never
even thought of that. If something had happened to Tinok, he could
very well be sitting in a slave pen at Korazan. Glancing to James
he asks, “If he is, could you see him in your mirror?”

“A day away?” he muses. “Possibly.” Taking
out his mirror, he concentrates on Tinok. Again, the mirror remains
placid, the only thing he sees in it is his own reflection.
“Nothing,” he says. “Still, it could be that we’re still too far
away. I’ll look again before it gets dark tonight.”

“Okay,” Jiron says.

After the break, they return to the road and
continue their way south. The city on the opposite side of the
river they saw during the break continues to grow until they reach
where a branching of the road moves toward the river.

A wide bridge once spanned the river where
the road crosses over, but now it’s just two broken ends jutting
from the ground on either side. Wagons and people have formed a
bottleneck while they wait for their turn to cross. Two of the
makeshift bridges span the water similar in nature to the one they
encountered earlier. One of the bridges is used for traffic coming
from the town and the other for those going the other way. A single
wagon is making the crossing toward the town while a dozen people
use the other on their way to the road James and the others are
on.

“Wonder what would have happened if that
bridge that broke loose further up had made it this far,” supposes
Scar.

“I doubt if those two bridges there would
have survived the impact,” James says.

“How long do you suppose it is going to take
them to get the bridges we destroyed rebuilt?” asks Jiron.

“Years, I would think,” replies James.

As they move on past, they keep watching
those who are there at the bridge waiting to cross. It’s obvious
those in line are not happy about the speed with which the
crossings are taking place. After several single wagons cross, one
at a time, James tells the others that it’s probably due to the
unstable nature of the makeshift bridge. Too much weight at one
time could cause them to break away like the other one did
earlier.

The bridge and the people waiting to cross
soon disappear behind them. Not much further after that they come
to where a road from the east joins with theirs. At the junction,
the river bends sharply to the east and the road moves to follow
it.

“I remember this place,” Potbelly suddenly
announces. “I figure Korazan is only another day and a half’s ride
away.”

“You sure?” asks James.

“Oh yes,” he replies. “A sharp turn in the
river followed by a town on the other side. Last time we came
through here I was commenting to Scar how this would be a good
defensible spot if someone was trying to cross over to the
west.”

“That’s right,” Scar says. “You brought it
up because of the time up in Rycklin…” For the next half hour, he
and Potbelly regale everyone with a tale of daring-do that, aside
from being the usual unbelievable fare, is quite interesting. At
least it helps to pass the time.

They’re able to maintain a quick pace
throughout the day and have covered many miles before the sun
begins to set. With no inn or other suitable locale available, they
pull off the road and make camp next to the river.

While the others are collecting firewood and
preparing the meal, James removes his mirror and tries to locate
Tinok. Still no luck. He glances back at Jiron who was watching the
mirror over his shoulder. “I don’t think he’s in Korazan,” he says.
“I should have been able to find him by now if he were.”

Crestfallen, Jiron sighs and goes over to
where Aleya has laid out their bedrolls off to one side. James
watches as he sits next to her and leans his head against her
shoulder. Memories of Meliana come to him as he watches her put a
comforting arm around him.

Putting away his mirror, he wonders what
she’s doing right now. He sure misses the way she felt when they
were in each other’s arms. It seems so long ago that he last held
her, could she have found someone else by now? A woman isn’t going
to wait around forever. When this business with Tinok is over he’s
going to find a way to either go and see her or have her come to
him.

Not for the first time he wonders how his
grandparents would react if they knew he was in love. He really
believes they would have taken to Meliana, she’s a real nice
woman.

“You okay?”

Snapping out of his reverie, he looks up to
see Miko approaching with two plates of food. “I’m fine,” he
replies. “Just thinking of home.”

“Me too,” he admits. Handing James his
plate, Miko sits on the ground next to him. “The guys back in Bearn
wouldn’t know it was me now.”

“Not likely,” James agrees. The fare this
evening is a simple stew made of dried beef and some old tubers
that Brother Willim had produced. Where he got them no one knows
and none felt like asking.

They sit and eat in silence for awhile.
James glances at his friend and can see there’s something on his
mind. “So,” he begins, “how is being a High Priest?”

Miko finishes off a piece of tough beef as
he thinks of his reply. “Frankly,” he says after swallowing, “it
scares me to death.”

“You seem to be handling it well so far,”
James says encouragingly.

“It’s not what I’m doing now that bothers
me,” he admits. Then he turns to face his friend and in a hushed
voice he says, “I am responsible for increasing Morcyth’s presence
on this world. How am I to do that?”

“Does the Book of Morcyth tell you
anything?” he asks.

“I haven’t had much time to read it at any
great length,” he explains. “I sort of skip around to see what’s in
there.”

“And?” prompts James.

“And it’s full of rules, rituals and some
other stuff I have no clue as to what it’s trying to tell me.” He
takes half a tuber and sticks it into his mouth whole while he
watches James for his response.

Trying to keep the smile from breaking out
at seeing Miko work that tuber from one side of his mouth to the
other in an attempt to reduce its size, he says, “Relax. Rather
than being scared, be happy. Maybe even excited.” At Miko’s
scoffing expression, he adds, “Think of it this way. Out of the
millions of people on this world,
you
were
chosen to be Morcyth’s representative. That’s got to make you feel
pretty special, at least a little.”

Finally managing to get the tuber down to a
reasonable size, he finishes it off quickly. “It does,” he admits.
“I just don’t want to let anyone down.”

“Can’t,” James tells him. “Do what the book
tells you, never go against what you think is right, and you’ll do
fine.”

“I will,” he says.

“Then you’ll have no problems,” James states
matter-of-factly.

Then the grin that James remembers from
before Miko began to be changed by the Fire makes an appearance.
“Well, there is one problem I’ve been having lately,” he says, the
grin getting wider.

“And what would that be?” asks James.

“I have an unbelievable craving for tarts,”
he says then breaks out into laughter. James joins in and they
finish the rest of their meal while rehashing old adventures, both
fun and otherwise.

The following morning they hit the road
before the sun crests the horizon. Traffic upon the road gradually
increases with the rising of the sun. By the time noon has come,
the level of travelers reaches those they encountered the day
before.

Small villages become more frequent the
further they go. Most are little more than clusters of buildings
that cater to travelers. Usually consisting of an inn, a tavern and
a dozen or so other buildings that are quite likely the houses they
live in. Less than half of these areas have a chandler’s shop of
one kind or another. At one such spot, they take their noon meal
and resupply their depleting stock of trail rations.

Once seated within the inn’s common room and
have placed their order, Reilin asks their server how much further
is Korazan. “You should arrive there before nightfall,” she
explains. Then she takes a moment to give them a closer look.
“You’re not from the Empire are you?”

After a brief confab with the others Reilin
replies, “No. We are from Cardri looking for trading
opportunities.”

“I thought so,” she states with a knowing
nod. “You might want to stay clear of Korazan.”

“Why?” Reilin asks her.

“Earlier this summer, they had a bad time
when Black Hawk’s army came through,” she explains.

“Bad?” he asks.

She nods her head in reply. “They say he and
his men pillaged and burned down half the town,” she goes on to
explain. “One man from Korazan who came through here afterward said
that Black Hawk left so many dead that the streets were literally
flowing with blood.”

“But why should that have anything to do
with us?” he asks.

“You’re from the north,” she says, as if
that should explain everything.

“Right,” he says. When their server leaves
he relays everything she said to the others.

“We can’t bypass Korazan,” insists Jiron,
“no matter the risk. Tinok might be there!”

“I don’t think he is,” replies James. “If he
were, I should have been able to find him by now.”

“I say we go to Korazan,” Jiron says, his
gaze turning to meet the eyes of everyone. As if to dare them to
say no.

James thinks a moment then says, “How about
this.” When he has Jiron’s attention again he continues. “We have
been trusting my cloth trick to lead the way, correct?”

“Correct,” concedes Jiron.

“Then let’s do this,” he explains. “We
bypass Korazan. If, when we are on the south side and the cloth
points back toward Korazan, then we go. Otherwise we continue to
follow wherever it may lead.”

Jiron mulls that over in his mind. He knows
James’ magic is seldom, if ever, wrong. Nodding, he says, “Very
well. If once we are on the far side it still points south, then I
will forget about Korazan.”

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief. The last
thing anyone wanted was to return and spend any amount of time
there. If there was any place where they may be recognized, it
would be at Korazan.

“Then I suggest when we come close, we leave
the road at that time,” Stig says. “If we go to the city and skirt
around its walls, it could seem suspicious.”

“I agree,” nods James.

When their meal of goat, bread and a root
reminiscent of a carrot arrives, they dig in with gusto. At one
point in the meal Shorty mumbles under his breath, “…flowing with
blood.”

“What?” James asks.

Looking up from his plate, Shorty didn’t
realize he had spoken aloud. “Sorry,” he says. “It’s just that we
barely even went into town. The way they make it sound, we killed
half the people and left their bodies rotting in the streets.”

Scar laughs at that. “Pay it no mind,” he
replies. “In a few years the story will grow to that we killed half
the town and bathed in their blood.”

“Probably,” agrees Potbelly. “Remember that
time with Oofa?” Scar nods.

“Oofa?” asks Jiron. “I don’t think I heard
that one.”

“Oofa was a man who often came to the Pits
to watch me fight,” he explains. “He was a self proclaimed
aficionado of the Pits. Claimed he knew everything about
everybody.”

James and Miko give each other a knowing
glance and grin. Potbelly may not realize it, but he and Scar come
off as just that type every now and then.

“One night, he took me out to dinner,” he
continues. “Said he wanted to get to know me better so he would be
able to make more informed wagers.” Shrugging, he looks around at
the others and says, “A meal’s a meal.”

“Was this guy about five foot six with a bad
comb-over?” asks Stig.

Smiling, Scar says, “That’s the guy.”

“I remember him now,” he says. “Always
managed to get a spot right in front.”

“Back to my story,” Potbelly interjects.
“While we were eating, he made some comment about how he’s bleeding
this one lord dry. Apparently he and this lord bet often and Oofa
always won. Anyway, the next day, he’s arrested.”

Scar begins laughing and says, “Someone must
have overheard their conversation. By the time the rumor mill
churned it out, he was an assassin bent on killing this lord.”

Potbelly starts laughing now and others join
in. “It took him three days to straighten the misunderstanding
out,” explains Potbelly. “The lord, too proud to admit that he
spent time at the Pits, claimed he didn’t know the guy.” Tears
coming from his eyes, he concludes with, “The day after Oofa was
released, the lord showed up at the Pits sporting two black eyes
and a split lip!” Unable to contain himself anymore, Potbelly slaps
the table and almost chokes to death on a piece of carrot. Scar
slaps him on the back and dislodges it for him.

Laughing with the rest of them, James is
suddenly aware that the entire room is quiet and the other guests
are staring at them. Sobering up quickly, he works to quiet the
others down a bit. “Everyone’s staring at us,” he says quietly. “We
don’t want to attract attention.” One by one they calm down. When
the laughter finally stops, the other patrons return to their meal
and the buzz of conversation resumes.

They hurry through their meal and are soon
back on the road. Taking out his mirror while he rides, he brings
Korazan’s image into focus. He sees the gaping wall where they made
their way into the slaver compound. A mile out of town lies a mound
of dirt that wasn’t there the last time. Probably the mass grave
where they buried the dead after the battles.