The Unsuspecting Mage (42 page)

Shaking her head, she says, “Our horses were taken by several of the bandits to the south while this group continued this way. If we can get them back, then maybe we can bring in our caravan to Trademeet and salvage something from all this.”

“Oh, you’re hurt!” Sheila cries out when she finally becomes aware of Rylin’s blood soaked shirt, pressed to his side. “Let me help you.” Taking him by the hand she leads him over to the tent and rummages around, coming up with several strips of cloth. Removing his shirt, she inspects the cut and decides it’s not too deep. She then proceeds to wrap the cloth around his side tightly, finally securing it with a knot.

As Sheila dresses, James says to Rylin, “Miko and I can go after the bandits and see if the horses can be recovered, though I will need to rest for an hour or so before I leave. I pretty much wore myself out during the fight.”

“Perhaps I should go with you as well,” Rylin offers.

“You need to stay with the ladies and watch over them,” James replies. “You can defend them better than either Miko or myself. And we certainly don’t want to leave them alone and unprotected.”

Rylin glances over to the mother who nods her head, agreeing with the plan. “Alright, but how will we know if you are successful?”

“If we are, we’ll take them back to the road and meet you there,” explains James. “Take the horses here with you and if we don’t come back, use them as best you can to get the caravan to Trademeet.”

“Miko,” James says to him, “search all the bandits, especially the leader. See if there is anything that may tell us why they are here.”

“What do you mean?” Rylin asks as Miko begins to rummage through their belongings and inspecting each of the dead bodies.

“The leader seemed too professional to simply be a bandit leader,” James explains. “Also, if they were merely bandits, why did they split their forces and send the horses south? It just doesn’t feel right to me.”

“I see your point,” Rylin acknowledges.

While Miko searches the dead, Rylin and James tie the bandit’s horses in a line, bridle to saddle. Three saddlebags are found to be filled with gold and other valuables.

“This must belong to the ladies,” James guesses when he sees the fortune, “taken from their caravan.”

“Most likely,” Rylin agrees.

The rain begins to lessen though it’s still a constant nuisance. Miko returns from his search and says “Couldn’t find anything on anyone. There was some paper on the leader but it’s ash now, couldn’t make out any writing.”

“Alright, let’s get our stuff and we’ll go look for the horses,” James tells him. “Also, let’s take the tent with us, it may come in handy should the rain continue.”

“So do I,” he says. “We’ll wait on the road for a day or so before continuing on toward Trademeet. If you manage to get them, try your best to find us.”

“We’ll find you,” James assures him. They walk over to Rylin’s horse and James gives him a hand mounting.

“Goodbye ladies,” James says as he turns toward them. “We’ll see you in a couple of days.”

As Rylin gets the line moving, the mother says, “Thank you again, James. I can’t begin to express my gratitude for you helping Rylin to save us. Should you ever need anything, the House of Ellinize will help you.”

“Thank you ma’am,” James replies. He stands back a bit and waves as they begin moving northward to where the caravan was abandoned back on the road.

“What is that?” he asks as they approach the horses. On the back of the pack mule is the tent all right, but it looks like it was stuffed and tied up there without any effort made in compacting it.

He looks over at Miko and asks, “Ever folded a tent before?”

Shaking his head, Miko answers, “No, I’m a city boy.”

James begins to untie it from the horse, and then lays it on the ground. “Here, give me a hand and I’ll show you how to do it properly so it will be a much smaller package to handle.” Having never folded this particular type of tent, it takes him a couple of tries but they eventually get it down to a manageable size and secure it on the mule.

Then they mount up and begin to ride after the other band of bandits.

_______________________

The rain continues to lessen throughout the morning until shortly after noon, when it stops altogether. Not long after the sun breaks through the clouds to bring a much welcomed relief to the sodden pair. James and Miko manage to maintain a quick pace as they try to catch up with the remaining bandits, only stopping for brief periods to rest the horses before continuing the search.

They pick up the trail about mid afternoon when they encounter a swath of grass that has recently been trampled. “I think we found their trail,” announces James.

A large group of tents with a makeshift corral set off to one side appears out of the horizon not long before dusk. The number of tents indicates a far larger group than they had anticipated. James has them enter a copse of trees from where they will be able to observe what’s going on inside the camp, yet will still be far enough away so they won’t be discovered.

“Several things,” James replies. “First of all the tents are lined up uniformly, in rows with the larger tents in the center. Second, they have patrols walking a perimeter around the encampment,” he points out three men who appear to be walking around the camp at distinct intervals.

“What do we do now?” Miko asks.

Thinking for a second, he replies, “Not much we can do, but it’s beginning to look as if the ladies will not be getting their horses back. Unless you think we should go down there and ask for them back?” Seeing the look of apprehension on his face, he can’t help but add, “Or attack?”

“Good heavens no!” Miko exclaims. “They’d kill us for sure.”

“Most likely,” agrees James. “We’ll hang out here for a while and see what’s going on.”

“Why?” Miko asks. “I mean if we are no longer planning on getting the horses back, what’s the point of staying here any longer than we need to?”

“You see Miko, I hate leaving things unanswered, and there are still several questions I’d like answers to.” James leans back against a tree and opens a saddle bag, taking out some travel rations to munch on while he watches the camp. He hands some over to Miko as well.

“Like what?” Miko asks in between bites.

Considering the question while he chews, James replies, “If that is an army of some kind, whose is it? I doubt if it belongs to Cardri. After all, why would the bandits take horses that they stole in their own territory to them? And if it isn’t, why are they here in the first place?”

“Mercenaries, maybe?” Miko suggests.

“Perhaps, though it doesn’t feel right,” James says. “Look at it like this, suppose the bandits that sacked the caravan and those over there are part of a much larger force. Remember that Madoc is under siege right now and has requested Cardri’s aid. What if these are working under orders from the Empire to sow fear here in Cardri? What would the result be?”

“I don’t know,” admits Miko.

“If the stability of Cardri is in question, then the king would be unlikely to send a large force to help Madoc against the Empire. After all, he needs to care for his own first.”

“Some of those down there did a horrible thing when they killed all those people at the caravan,” explains James. “I would wish to hinder them for no other reason than that. Besides, people of good conscience must not stand idly by while bad people do bad things.”

“I understand,” Miko says, “I think.”

Smiling, James says, “Trust me, we are doing the right thing.”

They sit and watch until the sun begins settling closer to the horizon. At which point three horsemen emerge from the camp, riding hard to the north. Inside the camp, they begin to see activity as the tents start coming down.

“Looks like they are breaking camp,” James observes.

“Now what?” asks Miko.

“As much as I would like to know what those in the encampment are doing, I think we should go after the riders,” he says. Getting up, he quickly goes over and mounts his horse to follow the riders once they have ridden past. Miko moves to mount his as well. They wait upon their horses, hidden in the trees as the men first come abreast, then move pass, their hiding spot not more than a hundred feet from where they are watching. Once they are past and have moved further north, James and Miko emerge from the copse to set out after them.

James feels in his pocket to make sure his stones are there; glad to have picked them up earlier. Maintaining a good pace, they keep a discreet distance behind the riders, just within visual range.

“Looks like they’re heading for the bandits’ camp where we rescued the women,” James hollers over to Miko, once he realizes where the riders are heading.

Miko nods his agreement.

Suddenly from up ahead, they hear horns blaring and see the three riders turn and head back toward them at a full gallop. Coming into view behind the riders is a line of uniformed horsemen.

James brings his horse to a stop and dismounts.

“What are you doing?” Miko asks anxiously.

“Going to slow them up a bit,” he replies. Handing Miko his reins he says, “Here, hang on to this for a second.” He then turns and faces the riders who are coming fast.

Concentrating, he takes one of his stones and throws it as he casts his spell. It flies unerringly toward the rear rider and hits, causing him to fall backward off his horse.

Taking another stone, he does the same to a second rider. This time the rider’s foot gets caught in the stirrup as he falls and is dragged along the ground before the horse comes to a stop.

By this time, the remaining rider has seen James and Miko and are making straight for them. James throws a third stone and this time nails the horse not the man, knocking the rider to the ground.