Brian Pratt - The mists of sorrow

Then, when they reach the gates, a voice calls from the crowd congregating near the opening. “Shorty!” a woman’s voice cries out.

Turning toward the sound of the voice, Shorty comes to a stop as he scans the crowd for the source of the voice. Then he sees auburn hair tied back with a green ribbon. “Millie!” he cries. Dismounting, he races through the crowd toward her.

The others have come to a stop and watch as he reaches her and envelopes her in a very friendly hug. James glances questioningly to Jiron who explains. “That’s Millie. Shorty and her had a thing before she married some shopkeeper.” Turning to Scar he asks, “Do you remember his name?”

Shaking his head, Scar replies, “No. All I remember is the binge Shorty went on after she told him she was to wed someone else.”

Breaking off the embrace, Shorty asks, “Did what’s his name make it too?”

She gives him playful pat on the shoulder and says, “You know his name is Rulen. And yes, he made it. When we heard the Empire was being pushed back, he wanted to be one of the first to return and get the business up and running again.”

Slightly saddened that she isn’t his, yet happy that she’s alive and in good spirits, he says, “I’m glad for you.”

Reaching out, she gives him another big hug and then asks, “Can I see you later? Rulen could use help in getting the business back up and running.”

Shaking his head, he says, “No.” Nodding back to where the others are waiting for him he adds, “We were about ready to leave town.”

“I’m sorry,” she says. “Shorty, I’m glad you made it.”

“As I am for you,” he replies. Emboldened by the fact that he’s leaving, he grips her in his arms and kisses her smack dab on the lips. “May be back someday,” he tells her as he releases his grip.

“Come see us when you do,” she replies.

“I will,” he assures her. Turning back to his friends, he says to her, “If I don’t see you again, I wish you all the happiness.”

She follows him to his horse and waits while he mounts. “Fare you well, Shorty,” she tells him. “I missed you.”

“Let’s go,” says Jiron as he begins moving once more toward the gates.

As Shorty’s horse starts to follow the others, he turns in his saddle and waves goodbye. Millie stands there and waves back.

Finally, they reach the gates and pass through. Once past the crowd by the gate and on the road, Jiron quickly has them up to a gallop. Behind them, the walls of the City of Light quickly fall away in the distance, until finally disappearing altogether.

Throughout the rest of the day they ride hard until their horses, even with trading off with their spares, begin to show signs of exhaustion. They spend a night of relative quiet and are again off before first light.

The days of hard riding are beginning to show. Their horses are starting to weary faster so they’re forced to slow the pace and add a couple more rest breaks throughout the day. Some time before noon they pass the city of Reardon, only slowing down to work their way through its streets and the people upon them. Then once past they again resume a pace as fast as the condition of their horses will allow.

There’s no time to waste, the clock is ticking. They now must find Tinok!

After spending two more nights on the road, the walls of Al-Ziron appear before them in the late afternoon. Their horses are all but spent and they desperately need the replacements Illan promised them when they left just over a week ago.

Squads of riders patrol the countryside and they come across two with Raiders who had accompanied them to Korazan earlier in the summer. They report that the area is clear and the delegation from the Empire has arrived. Talks are already underway to halt the fighting permanently.

A cessation to the fighting is now in place until the conclusion of the talks. Whether it will become a permanent situation will depend on the skill of the representatives of the two sides. The last patrol they encountered sent a rider to inform Black Hawk of their approach. So when they draw close to the walls of Al-Ziron, they are met by Illan, and the two remaining brothers of the Hand of Asran.

Brother Willim is surprised to see the priests still here.

“I thought they were taking your fallen brethren back home?” asks Stig.

“They were,” he replies. “The fact that they are here cannot bode well.”

As the two groups meet, Illan says, “I didn’t expect you for a couple more days.” Then he takes in the thinness of the horses. “Rest assured, I have fresh mounts ready for you.”

“Thank you,” says James.

Just as he’s about to continue, Illan holds up his hand. “We need to talk in private,” he says quietly. Glancing to Brother Willim he adds, “You too.”

“Very well,” Brother Willim says.

“Trouble?” asks Jiron nodding over to the tents of the Ambassador’s party.

“Not here,” he says with a shake of his head. Turning his horse around, he leads them through the gates of Al-Ziron. “Are Delia and the others safely within Cardri?” he asks.

“Yes,” replies James. “Then we had a side trip to the City of Light.”

“Interesting?” he asks.

“Oh yes, very,” says James.

“I’d say,” adds Scar from where he’s riding behind them.

Once inside the main courtyard, guards come and take their horses. “Follow me,” Illan says as he leads them into the keep.

As they begin removing their things, Illan says, “Leave them. They’ll be taken to your rooms.”

Everyone but Miko takes his advice. Miko removes the saddlebag containing the Book of Morcyth and carries it with him. He plans on never letting it out of his possession.

Within the fortress they move down the somewhat familiar halls. As they pass down one of the hallways, Ceadric makes his appearance from out of a doorway and holds it open for them. Nodding to Illan, he stands there as they pass through.

On the other side of the door they find themselves in a large room with many tables and chairs. Once they are all in, Ceadric closes the door and stations himself outside to prevent them from being disturbed.

Illan moves to the far side of the room and takes a seat at one of the tables. The others take seats in the other chairs close to him. Brother Willim and the other two priests of Morcyth sit together at the table adjacent to his.

“Now,” says Jiron, “why all the secrecy?”

“Is the Empire up to something?” asks Stig.

He sits back a moment, then says, “I’m not sure.” Pausing for only a moment, Illan continues. “The day you left, one of my Raiders was found dead in one of the hallways. There was no discernable cause of death. No wounds from weapons,” then he gestures to the two priests of Asran, “and they said it wasn’t poison.”

Brother Willim and his brothers begin whispering together as the others assimilate what he just said. “They were kind enough to postpone their journey to return their fallen comrades until the following day. Unfortunately, by then two more had died, again within the keep and no discernable cause of death.”

“After the first death, a thorough search was made and the keep was locked down, no one allowed in or out. The brothers joined the search that first day but nothing was found. By this time the Ambassador from the Empire arrived.”

“Were they somehow involved do you think?” Potbelly asks.

“Nothing points in their direction, but you can’t dismiss the coincidence of my people being killed and their presence here,” he replies.

“Have you spoken to the Ambassador about the situation?” Jiron asks.

Shaking his head, Illan says, “No, it could possibly be taken as an implied accusation. At this stage in the negotiations, we can’t afford to do anything that would adversely affect the talks.”