Trail of the Gods: The Morcyth Saga Book Four (47 page)

When the rider comes into view, she sees
it’s the same soldier that had stopped her as she was leaving the
keep. Hurrying down, she rushes to the road before he has a chance
to race past.

“Stop!” she hollers to him as she reaches
the road after he passes by.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he sees her
there and brings his horse to a halt. Turning around, he comes back
toward her. “What are you doing out here by yourself?” he asks once
he’s come close to her.

“Going to the next town up the road,” she
tells him. “Can I ride with you?”

Giving her a grin, he asks, “Thought you
already have someone?”

“I do,” she replies. “I’m going to the next
town to meet him.”

Considering her request a moment, he reaches
a hand down to her and says, “Sure.”

Taking his hand, she swings up behind him.
Once she’s in position, he turns his horse back to the north and
breaks into a gallop.

“Would you stop your pacing?” James asks in
exasperation. Ever since coming to Yerith, the first town north of
Kern, Jiron has been on edge due to his worry over Aleya. James
lies in bed in their room at the first inn they came to when they
reached town. Exhausted from his magical endeavors, all he wants
now is simply to rest. But the nervous pacing of Jiron makes it
impossible for him to be able to relax enough for that to
happen.

“What could’ve happened to her?” Jiron asks
for the hundredth time. Maybe not that many but it sure seems that
way to a tired James. Going to the window, he looks out over the
road where it enters Yerith from the south, hoping to see her
coming. “She should’ve been here by now.”

“Jiron,” begins James in a tired voice, “it
was very chaotic as we came through the lines. She’ll be here.”
Pulling the covers over his head, he tries to block out Jiron’s
nervous pacing.

Turning to him, he asks, “What if she
doesn’t come? What if she’s been taken as a spy from the Empire?
She could be undergoing torture right this very minute!” Worry and
concern are etched across his face as even worse fates run through
his mind.

James peeks from under the covers to gaze at
his friend and watches as he reaches for his knife, pulls it out a
few inches and then slides it back into the scabbard. He does this
several times as he turns back to the window and looks for Aleya’s
return. “If it’s bothering you so much,” he finally says, “why
don’t you go back down the road and look for her?”

“Do you think I should?”

“Yes,” he assures him.
Anything to get a
little peace and quiet.

“Will you be alright?”

“I should be fine,” James replies. “We’re in
Cardri after all.”

“True,” admits Jiron. He again looks out the
window and then abruptly turns for the door. “I think I may just
ride back down the road a ways.” He looks over to James but his
eyes are already closed.

Opening the door quietly, he slips through
to the hallway and closes it behind him. Practically running down
the stairs, he makes it to the stable and quickly saddles his
horse. Mounting, he bolts out into the inn’s courtyard and turns
toward the road.

Once on the road, he kicks his horse into a
gallop just as he hears, “Thank you, I’ll be fine from here.”
Bringing his horse to a sudden stop, he looks back and sees Aleya
dismounting from behind a man wearing the uniform of a Cardri
soldier.

“Aleya!” he hollers as he turns his horse
toward her.

She turns and sees him there, a smile
breaking out upon her face. “Jiron!” she replies back. The soldier
moves his horse away and continues down the road as Aleya moves
toward Jiron.

In his excitement at seeing her, he vaults
off his horse and lands next to her. Grabbing her in his arms, he
gives her a big, warm kiss.

Smack!

Jiron’s head snaps back as her fist strikes
the side of his face. Letting go of her, he stumbles back in shock
as he gazes upon the grim expression she’s wearing. “What did you
do that for?”

“You never,
EVER
, do that again
without my permission!” she yells. With the enwrapped bow and
quiver under one arm she stands there and glares.

“I was just so worried…” he begins and then
trails off. “And when I saw you, I just…”

“Just what?” she asks her demeanor not
softening in the slightest.

“Oh, never mind.” Grabbing the reins of his
horse, he begins walking dejectedly back to the stables.

“Jiron,” he hears her say, her tone somewhat
softer.

Not turning around, he replies, “What?”

“You have my permission,” she says in a
soft, caring voice.

He stops in his tracks and glances back to
her. She comes forward and takes him in her arms. Pressing her lips
to his she begins to give him a kiss. This time, he’s the one who
breaks it off. “What’s wrong?” she asks as she looks him in the
eyes.

“It’s not that I don’t want to kiss you,” he
begins. “But…”

“But what?” she prompts him.

“But my face hurts where you hit me,” he
admits.

She just stares at him for a moment and then
they both start laughing.

He gives her a hug and then says, “Let’s go
up to the room, James is sleeping but I think he’ll want to know
you’re back.” With his horse’s reins in one hand, and his other
around her waist, they walk back to the inn.

He makes his way down the darkened street on
his way to the inn. This far into the Empire, he needs to be extra
careful, their agents are everywhere. He has just come from a
meeting, that should its agenda be known, would surely mean his
death. But he’s played this game far too long to let a little thing
like death be an obstacle.

Many people know him by many different
names, here he’s simply Kir, a traveling musician who makes his way
by playing at various inns. This persona has blonde hair and
slightly darker skin than he’d originally been born with, a result
of just the right mixture of dyes and other solutions. The overall
appearance is that of someone from the southern region of the
Empire.

Lately, the other players in the game have
begun to suspect him, as the last attempt on his life proves. How
many more effective years he may have has yet to be seen, but
through his long years as an agent, he’s learned the art of
disguise and misdirection well.

With his instrument over his shoulder he
continues down the street to his current engagement at the
Wallowing Swine. A none too classy establishment, its environment
fits in well with what he’s here to accomplish.

As he approaches the inn, several people
standing outside the Wallowing Swine wave to him as he draws near.
He’s a favorite around these parts, many wonder just what brings
him back to this same inn time and again. They’re sure that a
singer of his talents would be welcome in any of the finest inns in
the city. When asked about it, he just replies that he likes it
here.

A slave dressed in the regular slave garb,
loin cloth and nothing else, stands at the door and opens it for
him. “Thank you,” Kir tells him. The slave gives him a grin as he
passes by. Kir is one of the few people who treat slaves decently,
most don’t even acknowledge their existence, which has earned him
their help in various ways.

The smoke filled common room is crowded,
always is on nights he’s performing. He makes his way through the
crowded room to the stage, many people call out to him or offer
hellos. Returning their greetings, he finally reaches the stage and
gets his chair situated just where he likes it.

Next to the chair is a stand where he rests
his instrument when not in use. Once everything is set, he leaves
the stage and goes over to the bar where one of the slaves has
already set out a plate of food for him and a mug of wine. Nothing
too much, he can’t afford to stuff himself before a performance.
The quality of his music will suffer for it if he does.

This is his last night before he heads out,
could be why it’s so packed. Word gets around when he’s here and no
one wants to miss out hearing him.

“Sure wish you could stay longer,” Kalim,
owner of the Wallowing Swine says to him.

“I know,” replies Kir. “But I have other
engagements in which I’m committed, I’m sorry to say. I should be
back in a couple months.”

“Good,” replies Kalim. “Always a full house
when you are here.”

Kir just flashes him a grin before taking
one last swallow of the wine. Moving away from the bar, he makes
his way back to the stage amidst a smattering of applause. As he
takes his seat and removes his instrument off the stand next to
him, the room becomes quiet as every eye is fixed upon him.

He starts out with a lively tune, a favorite
of the locals and soon has them slapping the tables to the beat,
some even sing along.

As he continues through his repertoire of
songs, the house slaves move among the patrons, filling glasses and
seeing to their every need.

After his fourth song, a long love ballad
that always gets the ladies in the room misty eyed, someone calls
out for a new song. Others join in the cry and he says, “Very well.
Here’s one I learned not too long ago from a traveler who had come
a long ways.”

He begins the song, a catchy tune with a
chorus that’s easy to learn. When he begins the second verse…

Crash!

…a slave drops a tray which had held a
pitcher of ale and several mugs. As he continues the song, he looks
toward the sound of the breaking pottery and sees the slave
standing there, staring at him.

A strange look upon his face, the slave
begins to come toward him.

One of the workers at the inn makes his way
through the crowd toward the slave, all eyes now on the slave who’s
approaching Kir. “Back to work!” yells the worker to the slave.

Kir can see from the expression on the
worker’s face that the slave is going to be severely punished, not
only for the breaking of the pottery, but for not heeding his
words.

Suddenly, the slave notices the worker
coming for him and breaks into a run toward Kir.

Stopping the song, he gets to his feet and
begins backing away from the fast approaching slave as other
workers move to intercept him. The patrons begins shouting their
displeasure at the actions of the slave and one even throws a bowl,
hitting the slave in the head but not slowing him down.

Just as the slave reaches the edge of the
stage, he’s tackled by another worker. Crying out, he reaches out
for Kir, speaking in a language he’s unfamiliar with as a second
worker joins the first.

They begin pummeling him until he becomes
quiet and then drag him away. Before they take him completely from
the room, the slave looks back to Kir, the expression on his face
can only be one of pleading.

After the slave is removed, Kir resumes his
seat and starts the song over again. By the time he’s finished two
more songs, the mood of the inn has returned once more to the
jovial one it had enjoyed before the disturbance.

As he continues through song after song, the
incomprehensible actions of the slave continue to play over and
over in his mind.

The
Star of Morcyth

Check out the epically adventurous worlds of
fantasy author

Four comrades set out to recover the segments
of a key which they believe will unlock the King's Horde, rumored
to hold great wealth. Written in the style of an RPG game, with
spells, scrolls, potions, Guilds, and dungeon exploration fraught
with traps and other dangers.

For those who enjoy dungeon exploration

without all the buildup or wrapup.

Fans of his previous works, especially
The
Broken Key
, will discover
Underground
to be full of
excitement and surprises. First in a series of books written for
the pure fun of adventuring,
Underground
takes the reader
along as four strangers overcome obstacles such as ingenious traps,
perilous encounters, and mysteries to boggle the mind.

In many stories you hear how
‘The Chosen
One’
appeared to save the day. Every wonder what would happen
if the one doing the choosing bungled the job?

In
Ring of the Or’tux
, that’s exactly
what happens. Hunter was on his way to a Three Stooges’ marathon
when in mid-step, he went from the lobby of a movie theater to a
charred tangle of stone and timber that once had been a place of
worship. From there it only gets worse for the hapless
Chosen
One
. First, an attempt to flee those he initially encounters
(who by the way are the ones he was sent there to save), lands him
into the merciless clutches of an invading army (those whom he was
supposed to defeat).

Jaikus and Reneeke are ordinary lads whose
dream in life is to become a member of The Adventurer's Guild. But
to become a member, one must be able to lay claim to an Adventure,
and not just any adventure. To qualify, an Adventure must entail
the following:

1-Have some element of risk to life and
limb

2-Successfully concluded. If the point of
the Adventure was to recover a stolen silver candelabra, then you
better have that candelabra in hand when all is said and done.

3-A reward must be given. For what good is
an Adventure if you don't get paid for your troubles?

Jaikus and Reneeke soon realize that becoming
members in the renowned Guild is harder than they thought. For
Adventures posted as Unresolved at the Guild, are usually the ones
with the most risk.