Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six (5 page)

“I’m sure there is,” he says.

Turning back to her helpers, she says,
“Moyil, if you would be so kind as to help me distribute these
among the packhorses before you eat, I would greatly appreciate
it.”

“But I’m hungry,” he complains. He looks to
James for help.

“Don’t look at me,” he says.

Crestfallen and starving, he takes the packs
from Jace and Caleb and proceeds over to where the horses are
tied.

Delia flashes James a grin and follows him
over. Maybe he’ll think twice before making fun of her behind her
back again.

After everyone, including Moyil who received
a scant portion due to his lateness in reaching the cook pot,
finishes eating they come together at the center fire pit near the
center of camp. There they continue in the tradition James had
established back at The Ranch where stories are told and songs are
sung.

Tonight Scar and Potbelly are in rare form as
they relate a tale of how back at the City of Light when they were
but young teens they became entangled in a struggle between two
elements trying to wrest control of the less than savory aspects.
According to them, they stumbled across an assassination plot of
one faction who was targeting the leader of the other.

By means both devious and bordering on the
unbelievable, they saved the man, won his trust and had the chance
to become his lieutenants in the organization he was creating, but
instead passed it over in favor of the fight pits which they had
heard about and were interested in joining.

“I don’t seem to recall anything like that
going on,” Jiron says as they finally wind down. You can say a lot
about their stories, but dull and uneventful are not among
them.

“Of course not,” Scar says. “This was before
we met.”

“That’s right,” adds Potbelly. “It’s not like
events concerning this sort of thing are talked about. These sorts
of people don’t take kindly to their affairs becoming public
knowledge.”

“That was the biggest piece of trash I ever
heard!” Jorry says from where he sits across the fire from the
pair. Uther nods in agreement.

“True or not,” Illan says as he gets to his
feet, “it’s time for us to turn in. We still have many days ahead
of us before we reach Lythylla.”

As everyone but those pulling sentry duty
begins turning in, the two pairs eye each other with silent
intensity. It seems a rivalry has begun between them and things,
not to mention tales, are bound to get more outlandish.

James heads for his tent and can hear Uther
say to Jorry, in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone,
“You’d think if they were going to make up a story, they should at
least make it entertaining.” Rolling his eyes heavenward, he enters
his tent and gets ready for bed.

Lying upon the cot, he stares at the roof of
his tent as a smile plays across his face.
If nothing else, at
least things won’t get boring.

The grass covered rolling hills extend ahead
of him until they disappear in the horizon. A beautiful day, sun
high in a crystal blue sky, the odd fluffy white cloud drifting by.
The scent of wildflowers is borne upon the breeze as it brings a
welcoming coolness to the heat of the day.

Small animals race by as he walks, seemingly
completely unconcerned by his passing. A deer, or something very
similar actually comes right up to him. He reaches out his hand and
it allows him to stroke its neck before darting off.

A sense of peace and tranquility fills him
as he walks through the grass. He doesn’t walk long before the
sound of a carnival reaches him. Scanning the horizon, he can see
the top of the Ferris wheel behind a hill off to his right.
Intrigued, he turns in that direction and hurries along.

Topping the rise behind which the carnival
hides, he sees a sight he’s seen played out many times before.
Whenever spring and summer come, so did the carnivals and fairs.
This one is just like all the others, carnies working the crowds,
enticing them to either buy or play one of the overpriced
games.

A smile comes to him as he walks down the
hill. The sights, the smells, all remind him of home. Off to one
side he sees his favorite amusement park treat in all the world.
Cotton Candy. Oh man does he love that. Of course it has to be the
pink variety, none other is nearly as good. Reaching into his
pocket for money, he realizes he didn’t bring any. All that he
produces is a single ride ticket, good for any of the rides.
Saddened by being unable to buy the cotton candy, he still walks
his way through the midway enjoying the sights and sounds.

It suddenly occurs to him that he is the
only one there other than the carnies. He stops in his tracks and
gazes around but no one other than himself is there. At least he’ll
not have to wait in line to use his ticket.

As he walks along, he looks at all the
different rides available to him. Of course there’s the roller
coaster, the funhouse and the inevitable carousel. What would a
carnival be without one of those?

“
One ticket!” cries out the carnie in
charge of the carousel. “One ticket is all it takes.”

Shaking his head, James says, “No thanks.”
Moving on he comes across the bumper cars, he likes them but by
himself they would be little fun. Then comes other rides, one by
one, all of which he doesn’t have any interest in. Most are the
kind that tends to make you throw up by spinning around and
around.

Continuing to pass from one ride to the
next, he suddenly catches out of the corner of his eyes a flash of
blonde hair moving in the aisle on the other side of the rides.
Turning to look closer, he sees a girl roughly in her teens moving
along going the opposite way.

“
Hey!” he hollers to her but she fails to
respond. Moving quickly, he passes between two rides and enters the
aisle in which he saw her. Looking down the direction she went, he
sees her getting into a boat.

“
Wait!” he calls to her. Why he needs to
reach her isn’t clear, just that he must. Breaking into a run, he
hurries toward the ride she’s about to enter. It’s the Tunnel of
Love.

A large single story building sits atop a
stream. Several boats are lined up behind her and a carnie is just
finishing securing her in and then throws the lever. Her boat
begins to float with the current and moves to enter the
opening.

James starts to get into the next boat but
the carnie stops him, “Ticket please.” Reaching into his pocket he
discovers the ticket is gone. “I’ve got to follow her!” he
cries.

“
You can’t get on without a ticket,” the
carnie states.

Not knowing what else to do, he stands there
and watches as she disappears into the Tunnel of Love.

“Sir?” a voice says, bringing him back to
consciousness.

Opening his eyes, he glances over to the tent
flap and sees Devin there. “What?” he asks.

“Illan says we need to be on the road soon,”
he replies.

“Alright,” James tells him and then lies back
as the tent flap closes again. Trying to catch the fleeting
remnants of the dream, he begins to be unable to recall the
details. Sighing, he gets up and starts getting dressed. The one
thing about the dream he recalls is that the girl was in some way
familiar. Why, he’s not sure.

By the time he’s dressed and leaves his tent,
the memory or the dream has faded completely and all he’s left with
is a feeling of having lost something.

In less than an hour they’re up and on their
way. The sun rising over the Sea creates a truly dazzling display
as the waves upon its surface sparkle in the early morning light.
Leaving the city of Pyrtlin behind, they take the east road along
the northern shore of the Sea.

Not long after Pyrtlin disappears behind
them, they come to a crossroads where they can either continue
along the shore to the east or take the road to the north. They
continue along to the east.

“We should arrive at Shore Town sometime
before the evening meal,” Illan explains to James. “There we’ll
need to take the northeast road out of town.”

“Wouldn’t it be quicker to stay next to the
Sea?” questions Jiron.

Shaking his head, Illan says, “There’s a
mountain range on the eastern shore of the Sea which we will have
to ride around.” To the east they see the peaks of the mountains
silhouetted against the sky in the distance.

“How long will it take us to reach Lythylla?”
James asks.

“A week or so,” he answers.

The rest of the day passes fairly quickly and
just as Illan predicted, they reach Shore Town shortly before the
evening meal. They find an out of the way inn where they stop to
have a bite to eat. Having been on the road for many days and
eating their own cooking makes them all long for a real meal.

The mood here in Shore Town isn’t nearly as
harried and anxious like what they found back in Pyrtlin. Probably
due to the fact that before they’re going to be attacked by the
Empire, other cities will have to fall first. Everywhere there are
signs of preparations being readied in the event the Empire makes
it this far.

From where they sit having their meal in the
inn, they watch a group of boys who are put through drills, similar
in nature to those Illan had the recruits doing back at The Ranch.
When James asks a local at a nearby table about the drills, he’s
told that Madoc has called for a levy. All able bodied men and
older boys are required to present themselves for training in the
defense of Madoc.

“Look at that,” Caleb says as he watches the
lads. “They don’t even know how to hold a sword.” Others offer
their observation as to the boys’ lack of skill.

Illan turns to them and says, “You weren’t
much better before I got a hold of you.” He then winks to James and
gives him a grin.

A quick meal of roast duck, bread and ale and
then they’re off. They travel several more hours, putting as much
road behind them as possible before they decide to call it a day
and make camp.

The next day and a half finds them reaching
the northern edge of the mountains and skirting along the foothills
before coming to a town known as Raider’s Doom. It sits on the
banks of a river flowing from the north where two main roads
intersect. Illan tells them that after they cross the river they’ll
turn southward and follow the eastern side of the mountains until
they come to an end. From there it’s only a day to Lythylla.

Raider’s Doom is a quiet, little town, not
nearly the metropolis one would expect to sit on the convergence of
two main arteries. Not a small town to be sure, but the people
there have a quiet calm about them that’s been lacking in the other
towns they’ve passed through. It almost seems as if they are not
concerned about the war coming in their direction.

“They don’t seem to care about what’s going
on to the south,” Uther states as they pass through.

Kids playing in the street, ladies taking
their time in their daily routines, no one seems worried or
concerned about what the future might hold.

“Hope they can stay that way for a long
time,” James replies. He hopes someday every town could have that
same carefree attitude.

“How did the town get a name like Raider’s
Doom anyway?” Devin asks from the rear.

Before Illan has a chance to explains, Scar
pipes up and says, “You see, a century ago, there was this band of
raiders…” For the next twenty minutes, he regales everyone with a
tale of raiders and a trap laid by the local villagers. How the
raiders were slaughtered to the last man. “…and that’s why it’s
called Raider’s Doom. Since that day, so the story goes, no raider
has ever been seen in the area.”

From somewhere in the back, in a voice barely
heard, James hears Uther ask Jorry, “You know how you can tell when
he’s lyin’?”

“How?” Jorry asks.

“His lips move,” explains Uther. At that,
laughter breaks out up and down the line.

Before Scar has a chance to begin an
argument, Illan announces loudly, “No, it’s true. It actually
happened the way he said.”

Scar turns to look at Uther with a smug
expression and then turns back to the road.

The road continues to follow the river and
they are able to make good time. Other travelers pass them coming
from the south from time to time, those fleeing the coming of the
Empire. Seems no one has any confidence that Madoc and the alliance
will be able to hold the Empire when they finally make their
move.

Near the end of the day, the road begins
angling more to the southeast and away from the river as it
continues in a more southwesterly direction. Not long after leaving
the banks of the river, they come to a junction where a smaller,
little used road branches off and moves to follow the river.

“If you take that road,” Illan explains, “it
will take you to Serene Lake.” He turns in the saddle and glances
to James. “I know you have an interest in things of nature. On the
far side of the lake, Thunder Falls roars its way into the
Sea.”

“Thunder Falls?” he asks.

“Largest damn waterfall I’ve ever seen,” he
explains. “If you stand near its base, the sound seems to vibrate
through to your very soul. Quite an experience.”

James would like nothing better than to take
an excursion to see this wonder of nature. But time is pressing and
they need to reach Lythylla before the Empire begins the attack.
“Maybe another time,” he says wistfully. Glancing at the fading
light, he says, “Perhaps this would be a good time to make camp for
the evening.”

“As good as any,” agrees Illan.

They move off the road and set up camp near
the banks of the river for easy access to the water. The mountains
rise just to the west, casting deep and long shadows in the sun’s
final light of the day. Another couple days and they should arrive
at Lythylla, then things will become interesting.