Brian Pratt - Shades of the past

Topping the rise behind which the carnival hides, he sees a sight he’s seen played out many times before. Whenever spring and summer come, so did the carnivals and fairs. This one is just like all the others, carnies working the crowds, enticing them to either buy or play one of the overpriced games.

A smile comes to him as he walks down the hill. The sights, the smells, all remind him of home. Off to one side he sees his favorite amusement park treat in all the world. Cotton Candy. Oh man does he love that. Of course it has to be the pink variety, none other is nearly as good. Reaching into his pocket for money, he realizes he didn’t bring any. All that he produces is a single ride ticket, good for any of the rides. Saddened by being unable to buy the cotton candy, he still walks his way through the midway enjoying the sights and sounds.

It suddenly occurs to him that he is the only one there other than the carnies. He stops in his tracks and gazes around but no one other than himself is there. At least he’ll not have to wait in line to use his ticket.

As he walks along, he looks at all the different rides available to him. Of course there’s the roller coaster, the funhouse and the inevitable carousel. What would a carnival be without one of those?

“ One ticket!” cries out the carnie in charge of the carousel. “One ticket is all it takes.”

Shaking his head, James says, “No thanks.” Moving on he comes across the bumper cars, he likes them but by himself they would be little fun. Then comes other rides, one by one, all of which he doesn’t have any interest in. Most are the kind that tends to make you throw up by spinning around and around.

Continuing to pass from one ride to the next, he suddenly catches out of the corner of his eyes a flash of blonde hair moving in the aisle on the other side of the rides. Turning to look closer, he sees a girl roughly in her teens moving along going the opposite way.

“ Hey!” he hollers to her but she fails to respond. Moving quickly, he passes between two rides and enters the aisle in which he saw her. Looking down the direction she went, he sees her getting into a boat.

“ Wait!” he calls to her. Why he needs to reach her isn’t clear, just that he must. Breaking into a run, he hurries toward the ride she’s about to enter. It’s the Tunnel of Love.

A large single story building sits atop a stream. Several boats are lined up behind her and a carnie is just finishing securing her in and then throws the lever. Her boat begins to float with the current and moves to enter the opening.

James starts to get into the next boat but the carnie stops him, “Ticket please.” Reaching into his pocket he discovers the ticket is gone. “I’ve got to follow her!” he cries.

“ You can’t get on without a ticket,” the carnie states.

Not knowing what else to do, he stands there and watches as she disappears into the Tunnel of Love.

“Sir?” a voice says, bringing him back to consciousness.

Opening his eyes, he glances over to the tent flap and sees Devin there. “What?” he asks.

“Illan says we need to be on the road soon,” he replies.

“Alright,” James tells him and then lies back as the tent flap closes again. Trying to catch the fleeting remnants of the dream, he begins to be unable to recall the details. Sighing, he gets up and starts getting dressed. The one thing about the dream he recalls is that the girl was in some way familiar. Why, he’s not sure.

By the time he’s dressed and leaves his tent, the memory or the dream has faded completely and all he’s left with is a feeling of having lost something.

In less than an hour they’re up and on their way. The sun rising over the Sea creates a truly dazzling display as the waves upon its surface sparkle in the early morning light. Leaving the city of Pyrtlin behind, they take the east road along the northern shore of the Sea.

Not long after Pyrtlin disappears behind them, they come to a crossroads where they can either continue along the shore to the east or take the road to the north. They continue along to the east.

“We should arrive at Shore Town sometime before the evening meal,” Illan explains to James. “There we’ll need to take the northeast road out of town.”

“Wouldn’t it be quicker to stay next to the Sea?” questions Jiron.

Shaking his head, Illan says, “There’s a mountain range on the eastern shore of the Sea which we will have to ride around.” To the east they see the peaks of the mountains silhouetted against the sky in the distance.

“How long will it take us to reach Lythylla?” James asks.

“A week or so,” he answers.

The rest of the day passes fairly quickly and just as Illan predicted, they reach Shore Town shortly before the evening meal. They find an out of the way inn where they stop to have a bite to eat. Having been on the road for many days and eating their own cooking makes them all long for a real meal.

The mood here in Shore Town isn’t nearly as harried and anxious like what they found back in Pyrtlin. Probably due to the fact that before they’re going to be attacked by the Empire, other cities will have to fall first. Everywhere there are signs of preparations being readied in the event the Empire makes it this far.

From where they sit having their meal in the inn, they watch a group of boys who are put through drills, similar in nature to those Illan had the recruits doing back at The Ranch. When James asks a local at a nearby table about the drills, he’s told that Madoc has called for a levy. All able bodied men and older boys are required to present themselves for training in the defense of Madoc.

“Look at that,” Caleb says as he watches the lads. “They don’t even know how to hold a sword.” Others offer their observation as to the boys’ lack of skill.

Illan turns to them and says, “You weren’t much better before I got a hold of you.” He then winks to James and gives him a grin.

A quick meal of roast duck, bread and ale and then they’re off. They travel several more hours, putting as much road behind them as possible before they decide to call it a day and make camp.

The next day and a half finds them reaching the northern edge of the mountains and skirting along the foothills before coming to a town known as Raider’s Doom. It sits on the banks of a river flowing from the north where two main roads intersect. Illan tells them that after they cross the river they’ll turn southward and follow the eastern side of the mountains until they come to an end. From there it’s only a day to Lythylla.

Raider’s Doom is a quiet, little town, not nearly the metropolis one would expect to sit on the convergence of two main arteries. Not a small town to be sure, but the people there have a quiet calm about them that’s been lacking in the other towns they’ve passed through. It almost seems as if they are not concerned about the war coming in their direction.

“They don’t seem to care about what’s going on to the south,” Uther states as they pass through.

Kids playing in the street, ladies taking their time in their daily routines, no one seems worried or concerned about what the future might hold.

“Hope they can stay that way for a long time,” James replies. He hopes someday every town could have that same carefree attitude.

“How did the town get a name like Raider’s Doom anyway?” Devin asks from the rear.

Before Illan has a chance to explains, Scar pipes up and says, “You see, a century ago, there was this band of raiders…” For the next twenty minutes, he regales everyone with a tale of raiders and a trap laid by the local villagers. How the raiders were slaughtered to the last man. “…and that’s why it’s called Raider’s Doom. Since that day, so the story goes, no raider has ever been seen in the area.”