Brian Pratt - The star of Morcyth

To Caleb, Illan says, “Take their horses.”

“Yes, sir,” he replies and steps up to take their reins as they dismount.

“Ezra has dinner ready for you,” Roland tells him. “When you have a minute, we need to go over a few things.” As James gives him a questioning look, he adds, “Nothing pressing.”

“Okay,” he says and then to Dave he asks, “Hungry?”

“You bet,” he replies.

Leading him through the front door, James takes him through to the kitchen where Ezra has two plates set out, each overflowing with food. Someone must’ve forewarned her about Dave, maybe saw them coming down the lane from the road.

As he sits down to eat, he can hear Illan from the other room telling everyone to go about their business and to leave him alone with his friend. Miko, Jiron and Roland join him at the table. After a brief round of introductions, he gives them a brief rundown of what Dave told him.

James can feel the awkwardness in the room and realizes the dynamics of his group have just changed with the introduction of an important person from his past. None, even Dave, are sure of how to act or what to do. But he hopes that will change over time.

To Roland he asks, “What’s going on?”

“Delia returned with the money from the sale of those knives you made,” he begins. “Got twelve hundred golds for the lot. She also dropped off another sack of crystals, it’s out in your workshop. Surprised you didn’t pass her on your way through Trendle, she just left.”

“I gave her some of those gems Fifer and I collected,” adds Jiron. “She’s going to try and find that gem cutter Alexander mentioned next time she’s in Bearn.”

“It looks like our money problems are over,” Roland says happily.

To Jiron he asks, “Where’s Aleya?”

“She and Errin are out hunting,” he explains. “They’ve become rather good friends and have appointed themselves the hunters of the group. Makes sense as they’re the best with bows we have.”

“She’s picking up her letters pretty quickly too,” adds Roland.

“How is the class going?” James asks him.

“Most are doing well,” he says. “I’ve started them off with basic letters and we’ll progress from there.”

Nodding, James continues eating as he mulls over the information they are giving him. From the front room, he hears Tersa begin a song as the evening gathering commences. Finishing his meal, he says to Dave, “Every evening, we have a get together in the front room where people sing songs or tell stories. Let’s join them.”

Looking slightly out of place, Dave hesitantly says, “Okay.”

They get up and make their way to the front room where James sees his favorite chair vacant as well as another someone placed next to it for Dave. Taking their seats, they settle back as Tersa finishes her song.

After a song by Jace about a farmer and his cow, Jorry and Uther begin another of their improbable tales. James does his best to translate for his friend while they relate the events of a journey to save a merchant’s daughter from a band of slavers.

During a lull, he relates Dave’s tale one last time to those gathered so they will better understand what’s going on with him. As well as to squash any wild rumors which may be in the making.

By the end of the evening, Dave has begun to visibly relax. The stories and songs, though in a language he’s unable to comprehend, helps to bring him into the group. When at last it’s time for it to end, James offers to share his bed with his friend. When they’re in his bedroom alone and the door closes, Dave turns to James and says, “I’m glad I found you.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed as he begins pulling off his boots, James replies, “Me too. I’m really sorry you went through what you did.”

“Hey,” interjects Dave, “you didn’t do the things that were done to me, and I don’t want you to feel blame. It’s not your fault.”

James just continues getting undressed in silence. Then both he and Dave crawl under the covers and they spend the next hour talking of home, the things they miss the most, that sort of thing. Eventually, sleep comes and takes them away.

AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

A cry in the night startles James out of a dead sleep. Dave is thrashing around in the bed next to him caught up in some nightmare. He turns to him and shakes him vigorously as he says, “Wake up!”

The door to his room bursts open as Jiron rushes in wearing nothing but his nightclothes with both knives drawn and ready.

Dave sits up and lets out another scream as he snaps awake. “He’s just having a nightmare,” James says to the crowd who’s gathered at his door. “Go back to bed.”

“Thought someone was dying in here,” comments Jiron as he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.

Dave’s eyes dart around for several moments as if he’s not aware of where he is. Slowly, his breathing begins calming down and his eyes settle on James. “You okay?” James asks.

“Yeah,” he says, voice quavering. James can still feel him shaking from whatever nightmare he just experienced. “Thought I was somewhere else for a minute.”

“Where?” James inquires.

Turning his eyes to James, he says very quietly, “I don’t know. It’s fading.”

“That’s the way with some dreams,” says his friend. “Just try to go back to sleep.”

“I’ll try,” replies Dave.

What happened to him in the Empire must’ve really screwed him up. Worry about his friend keeps James from falling asleep for awhile, but eventually he makes it.

The next morning, he wakes up before Dave and gets dressed quietly so as not to wake him. Going to the kitchen, Ezra prepares a plate of food and sets it before him on the table.

From where she’s cleaning up at the washbasin, she asks, “How is your friend?”

“Alright, I guess,” he says. “Did he disturb you last night?”

“I think he disturbed everyone last night,” she replies.

“Sorry about that,” he apologizes. “He went through a bad time in the Empire.”

“I understand,” she says.

He eats in silence and when he’s through tells her that he’ll be out in his workshop should anyone need him.

Once out the back door, he sees where Illan has the recruits doing morning exercises as they begin their daily drill. Glad he’s not one of them, he walks across to his workshop and goes inside.

The sack of crystals Delia brought is sitting atop his workbench. He checks and finds them similar to the ones she brought before. Next he goes over and makes sure the receiver crystal isn’t aglow. A glow would indicate someone or something has disturbed the hiding place of the Fire. He’d hate to think what that would mean. Satisfied it has remained undisturbed, he goes back to the problem of what he learned in Saragon.

If the old man’s family hasn’t unraveled the mystery in the centuries it’s been in their keeping, what hope do I have?

Knock! Knock!

“Come in!” he hollers.

The door opens and Dave walks in. “Good morning!” James says cheerfully.

“You too,” he replies. The cheerfulness that he once knew in his friend is nowhere to be found. The harshness of his recent past has subdued his spirit measurably.

“What are you doing?” he asks as he comes over to the workbench. Looking around, he takes in the sack of crystals on the floor next to him and the other things James has in his workshop. Reaching down, he picks up one of the crystals out of the sack and takes a look at it.

“Just some thinking,” James replies.

“You always did do a lot of that back home,” he says.

James considers what to tell his friend about his life here, what he’s up to and what he can do with magic. “True,” he says. “I want to show you something.”