Brian Pratt - The mists of sorrow

That night as he sleeps, dreams of Meliana run through his mind.

Miko had an uneventful sleep, no dream came to awaken him in the middle of the night much to his relief. He didn’t mind it when James had the dreams that left him in a cold sweat, but he definitely doesn’t care for them now that they are happening to him.

Up with the dawn, they’re quickly riding hard down the road. The road has continued to run alongside the river throughout their journey and if James’ memory is correct, they’ll follow it all the way to the Pass.

Not long after they leave camp they approach what once was the town of Pleasant Meadows. Now little more than a demolished ruin, there’s not much more to it than stone walls and chimneys which survived the flames that raged here. Throughout the ruins, people can be seen as they search through the rubble.

“I feel sorry for them,” comments Delia.

“War is always hardest on regular folks,” adds James.

A few people here and there take notice of their passing, only pausing in what they are doing to watch them ride by. Another road intersects the one they’ve been following and they turn onto it heading west toward the Pass. The Silver Mountains begin to appear before them and it isn’t long before Pleasant Meadows disappears behind them.

“Not much further now,” states Jiron. Elated to deliver his sister to a place of safety, he’s also saddened by the prospect of having to leave her once again.

Signs of the Empire encampment where they maintained a presence before the mouth of the Pass appear as the day progresses. They had constructed several buildings during their occupation and fire pits dot the area. At one point a Madoc patrol intercepts them, but as before, they are allowed to continue their journey.

When the mountains have risen high before them, a wooden wall appears ahead. It crosses the road and extends to the river on the right and far to the mountains on the left. Where the road passes through stands an open gate guarded by a squad of men. They see that the men are a mix of Cardri and Madoc soldiers.

One of the men wearing the uniform of a Cardri soldier steps forward as they draw close. Holding up his hand he signals for them to stop. “Good day to you all,” he says when they come to a stop. “Are you planning on taking the Pass into Cardri?”

“Yes,” replies James. “Some of our group plan to.”

“There isn’t a problem is there?” asks Jiron concerned.

“Not at all,” replies the guard. “Seeing as how they put us out here in the middle of nowhere and all the action is down south, we must look like we are actually doing something.” Giving them a smile he waves for them to continue through the gate and into the Pass.

Jiron moves his horse next to his sister’s and says, “I guess this is where we part again.”

“It looks like it dear brother,” she says. A tear begins to well from her eyes and she adds, “I told myself I wasn’t going to cry.”

Leaning over to her he envelopes her in a big hug. “Everything will turn out fine,” he assures her. “You keep working on those bears of yours and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Those who are leaving and moving on into Cardri begin to disengage themselves from the others. The pit fighters move to face the recruits as they gather near Delia.

“Now you be on your best behavior!” Scar tells them.

“If you aren’t,” says Potbelly, “we’ll have to come and thump you.”

“Leave them alone,” Delia says to them, “they will be fine. A lot better than the last guards I had. They were a bunch of drunken layabouts!”

Shorty laughs and says, “You take care.”

“I will,” she says and moves to give him a hug.

Blushing, he sits there in the saddle and hugs her back. Behind him, barely heard jeers and inappropriate comments come from his friends.

Aleya gives Delia and Tersa both a big hug goodbye.

Turning to the pit fighters, Delia says, “You boys better be on your best behavior as well.” Nodding to Aleya she adds, “If I hear of anyone being rude or belligerent around her I’ll come back and do a little thumping of my own!”

“Yes ma’am,” Stig says with a serious expression on his face which lasts all of a second before he breaks into a grin.

“We better go or we’ll never get home,” states Delia. To those not going with her she says, “You be careful and bring Tinok home.” Then she turns her horse toward the Pass and begins the last leg of the journey back to The Ranch. Tersa and the recruits follow along behind.

Jiron sits there and waits until they disappear further into the Pass then turns to James. “Ready?” he asks.

Nodding, he says, “Let’s go find Tinok.”

They spread out in a search pattern not long after leaving Abi Salim. In the dark they went slow as they kept a close eye out for any of the others who might be lost in the dark. By the time dawn comes, none of the young men have yet been found.

“Zyrn, look,” one of the men who accompanies him says. Pointing off to the south, he directs their attention to a dozen wagons moving on an almost parallel course with them.

“They’re heading to the battlefield,” Zyrn says. He knows those who are driving the wagons, they belong to a town south of theirs. Not known for their sociability, Zyrn decides to give them a wide berth. “If they are on the way to scavenge the dead, they won’t act kindly to anyone who happens by.”

“Maybe they would help us look for the others?” another suggests.

Shaking his head, Zyrn turns his attention to the man and replies, “Not these people. They would just as soon kill you as not.”

Just then, the men driving the wagons take notice of Zyrn and his group. With a flick of the reins they race forward to be first to the battlefield, apparently not knowing the dead have been almost completely scavenged already.

Zyrn gauges the distance between them and figures the wagons will reach the battlefield first. “We’ll keep our distance,” he tells the others. “We have more important things to worry about right now.”

Kicking his horse into motion, he moves quickly across the desert. He doesn’t travel far before he sees a body lying in the dirt a little to the north. “Over here!” he hollers. The others move to join him and they soon reach the body of one of the missing young men.

Hoping down from his horse, he’s quick to realize the young man is dead. Lying on his stomach the way he is, the man almost appears to be sleeping. Reaching out, Zyrn turns him over.

Jumping back in startlement, he almost loses the contents of his stomach. One of the men traveling with him does double over and begins vomiting. The skin of the young man is gray, gray like the sand surrounding the battlefield. Not only that, but his features seem to be sagging like wax held too close to heat. The young man’s eyes are open, the pupils are gray as well.

“I think it is Hakim,” one man says.

“He is,” confirms Zyrn.

“What happened?” another man asks.

“I don’t know but we better find the others quick,” he says. Mounting he turns to the others and says, “We’ll come back and get him on our return.” With the rest following he continues toward the battlefield.

When they reach the beginning of the gray area he pauses. The face of the dead man they left behind comes to mind. The fact that his face was gray gives him pause in entering the gray sand.

“There’s another!” cries out one of the men.

Further into the area of gray sand lies another of the missing young men. As one of the men makes to enter the grayness, Zyrn yells, “Stop!”

“But he may need our help, Zyrn,” the man says.

Dismounting, Zyrn moves to the edge of the gray sand. Bending over, he hesitantly reaches down and touches it. The feel of it is the same as it was when they were here before. Turning to the man he stopped, he nods.