Brian Pratt - The mists of sorrow

James, having scrubbed himself clean the night before and looking very much his normal self, decides to remain at the inn to await the arrival of the diagram the Slavemaster promised. Miko and Brother Willim agree to wait with him. Also remaining at the inn are Aleya and the slave boy Aku. Now in regular clothes, the boy is quite happy to simply do nothing but stay in the room with Aleya. It was decided he shouldn’t go out in public, no sense risking the chance that someone may recognize him and blame him for the death of his master.

Sometime after the noon meal, there’s a knock at James’ door. When he opens the door, one of the workers of the inn hands him a rolled message. As Reilin is out with Jiron, he is unable to question him about who dropped it off. So he nods his head to the lad and closes the door.

“Is that it?” asks Miko. He and Brother Willim are sitting at the table and have been discussing various finer points to being a priest. To James it appears as if Miko is really taking being High Priest to heart. At least he desires to be the best that he can.

James unrolls the paper, or rather papers, as there are two separate sheets. He brings them over to the table and with the other’s help, spreads them out. The first one shows the layout of the temple complex. One building is circled.

Pointing to the circled building James says, “This must be the temple.”

Miko nods his head and then points to what looks like the routes the temple guards take while patrolling the grounds. “With this we should have little trouble in reaching the temple,” he comments.

The other sheet is a bit more detailed. It shows the inner layout of the temple. Not all of it, just the route to the room holding the teleportation dais. There are annotations at three points along the way to the dais room, but none of them can read the annotations. It’s written in the Empire’s language.

“Wonder what it’s trying to say?” Brother Willim asks.

“I don’t know,” replies James. “It would have been more helpful if they were written so we could understand them.”

“At least we have the map,” Miko says hopefully. “With this we should be able to reach the dais quickly.”

James nods his head but still looks at the three places where the annotations are the thickest. It worries him what they might be trying to say.

They study them for an hour or so before Jiron and the others return. When Jiron sees the maps, he begins comparing the one of the outer temple complex to what he had just been observing. “This looks like the routes we saw the guards taking,” he says.

“Then we can assume the other is just as accurate?” asks Scar.

“I would think so,” replies James.

“The patrols of the guards within the temple aren’t noted,” Shorty says.

“It’s possible they couldn’t get those,” offers Stig. “Or maybe there aren’t any guards roaming their halls.”

“You have a point,” agrees Reilin. “I mean really, who in their right mind would enter the temple uninvited?”

James glances at Jiron and grins. “Who indeed?”

Jiron grins back. “I’m going back to the temple,” he announces. “I would like to make sure the routes the guards take are indeed the same as those depicted here.” Picking up the diagram of the temple complex layout, he places it within his shirt.

“Be sure to take Reilin with you, just in case,” suggests James.

“I’ll take Shorty and Stig too,” he says. Then to Stig he adds, “You better leave your shield here until we return.”

Stig nods and removes his shield.

Knock! Knock!

Shorty opens the door and finds Aleya and Aku standing there in the hallway. Stepping back, he opens the door wider so they can enter.

“I got tired of sitting in the room,” she tells them as she and the boy enters. “What’s going on?”

They bring her up to date on what’s been happening, also on Jiron’s next excursion out to check on the temple guards. “See if you can scare me up some arrows too,” she says. “The two I have left won’t do much good if things go bad.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he assures her.

Aku takes his seat on a chair in the corner and watches them as they talk. He remains fairly quiet for the most part, almost completely unobtrusive. But then again, that’s probably something slaves have to do. He’s taken to Aleya, and of all of them, seems to relax most around her. After what he’s been through and the way he’s been treated, it could be a while before he’ll be able to fully trust anyone.

“The boy doing alright?” asks Brother Willim.

“Yes,” she replies, “he’s adjusting well.”

Miko catches Jiron’s attention before he walks through the door and says, “Bring back some tarts if you can.”

“Look,” he says as his gaze moves across those gathered there, “I am not going on a shopping trip. If you want something, get it yourselves.”

“Alright, fine,” states Miko defensively. “But if you do run across a baker, I’m sure Aku would love some.”

“As well as the High Priest of Morcyth I would imagine,” Stig says with a grin.

Miko returns the grin. “I’m sure he wouldn’t turn any away.” At that the rest of them chuckle, if not outright laugh.

Jiron shakes his head and hurries through the door before something else delays him. Reilin, Shorty and Stig follow right behind.

While they’re gone to verify the accuracy of the temple complex diagram, the others adjourn to the common room for dinner and entertainment. Brother Willim and Miko opt to remain in the room and look after Aku, allowing Aleya the opportunity to have some fun.

When Jiron and the others return several hours later, they join the party in the common room. “Everything is exactly as the paper says,” he tells them. Scar gets up from his chair and takes another seat to allow Jiron to sit next to Aleya. “Thanks,” he tells Scar as he sits down.

“Not a problem,” Scar replies.

“If that one is correct, then it’s safe to say the other should be as well,” Reilin says quietly.

James nods his head, “All we have to do now is wait for tomorrow night.”

“Fortunately that will allow us to be at full strength when we begin,” Jiron says. Signaling the server, he indicates that he and the others who just arrived with him would like an ale. In short order she arrives with four mugs and sets them on the table.

After knocking back almost half of his in one long swig, Stig leans forward and says in a hushed tone, “While we were there they brought a long string of slaves into the temple.”

“I can imagine what use they’ll be put to tomorrow night,” says James. His imagination begins churning through different ways they might be used during the rites. Sacrifice, blood offering, or maybe just stealing their life for dark magics. The thought of the theft of their life for magic brings him back to the question his own morality. About how he had done the same when he used the sphere back in the Eye’s Court. Is he really any better than they are?

Yes, he is.

What he did was out of survival. They are doing it out of choice and that is the difference. The day he no longer looks for better alternatives will be the day he can count himself as being just as they are.

The rest of the evening passes well. A traveling minstrel sets up on the platform at the end of the common room and they sit and listen to him all night. When James finally reaches the point where he can no longer keep his eyes open, he takes his leave.

Upstairs he finds Brother Willim in deep discussion of one theological idea or another. Off to one side of the room, Aku is asleep on the floor. Miko shrugs when he glances questioningly to him. “He wouldn’t sleep on the bed,” Miko explains. “The look on his face when we tried to get him to was one of distrust.”