Brian Pratt - Fires of prophesy

“Why?” Jiron asks.

She points behind him to the six riders wearing Empire uniforms who are approaching their camp from the foothills, three have crossbows loaded and aimed at them. One who looks to be the officer in charge of the group comes toward them, flanked by the remaining two.

They all stand as he approaches. “Well, what do we have here?” he asks with a smile, coming to a stop a few feet away.

Cassie clings to Delia while James steps forward to speak, “Just some friends out having some fun is all.”

“I see,” he says, a small smile playing across his lips. “And what kind of ‘fun’ would bring you to this area?”

“We we’re camping up in the mountains and had come down to get some more supplies,” he explains. “We ran out.”

“Ah, yes,” the leader says. “And what town were you heading to for the supplies?”

“We don’t actually know where any are,” he admits. “You see we’re from Lornigan over in Cardri…”

“But,” Jiron jumps in, “we figured if we were to follow this road, it would eventually lead us to one.”

The officer nods his head and signals the crossbowmen to lower their weapons. “Then you’re in luck,” he says, “we were just on our way to a town just south of here. You’re more than welcome to accompany us and purchase your supplies there.”

“That would be great,” James says. “Just give us a moment and we’ll be ready.”

The officer nods his head and takes his men a short distance away, where he speaks to one of them in a language that none of their group understands. After a few short words, the man turns his horse and races off to the south.

The officer sees James looking at the departing rider and says, “He’s just gone ahead to keep a lookout for rogues.” Giving James a disarming, charming smile he continues, “You can’t be too careful.”

James comes over to his horse and gets ready to mount, when Jiron places his hand on his arm and whispers, “Are you crazy?”

James gives him a look of desperation and replies in a hushed whisper, “We’ve got no choice. We’d never be able to stop the crossbowmen before they fire, someone could get killed. Let’s just bide our time, and see what opportunities develop.” He mounts his horse and continues, “We can’t risk having the girls hurt.”

Not happy about it, Jiron mounts his horse as the officer and his men approach again. “Ready, are we?” he asks.

“Yes, we are,” James replies. “We appreciate the escort, though it’s not really necessary.”

Smiling a charming smile, he says, “Not a problem, really. As I said, we were already heading in that direction.”

The remaining man without a crossbow heads out first, leading the way. The officer rides next to James while his three crossbowmen take up position at the rear behind the girls.

James is very uncomfortable with the ‘helpfulness’ of the soldiers. Having three crossbowmen behind the girls doesn’t leave much opportunity to get out of the situation. Trying to appear nonchalant, he asks the officer, who’s riding next to him, “So what are you doing out in these parts?”

“Just on a routine patrol,” he replies, “making sure no one makes mischief, that sort of thing.”

“What town are we going to?” James asks.

“The locals call it Mountainside,” he explains. “Not a very original name if you ask me.”

“No,” comments James, “I suppose not.”

They ride for a short time before the town comes into view. “Ah,” he says to James, indicating the town up ahead, “there it is.”

Sitting at the base of the mountain is a rather small town, even though it’s at a junction of roads. A little over two dozen buildings are apparently all there is to it. As they approach, James begins to realize there are no people out amidst the buildings, just more of the Empire’s soldiers. As they pass a few houses, he can see faces peering out from windows. Faces full of fear and worry.

Suddenly very nervous, James glances back at his companions and can see his fears mirrored in their faces. But with the three crossbowmen behind, he dares do nothing yet.

They are led to a large, two story building on the edge of town, where several soldiers are standing around outside. One says something to the officer, who answers back in the same language. James sees them smile and one even laughs a little.

The officer stops his horse in front of the building and says, “You can get what you need inside, I am sure.” He gets down, handing the reins to a soldier who’s standing there and starts toward the door, where he pauses. Glancing back at them, he asks, “Coming?”

James gets down and the rest of them follow suit. Then the officer goes in through the front door, leaving it open behind him. They glance to each other, fear in their eyes, but not knowing what else to do. The three crossbowmen are still sitting astride their horses, looking casual but with the crossbows pointed in their general direction. Not exactly threatening with them, but they could definitely aim and fire in very little time.

With James in the lead, they walk up to and then pass through the front door. They enter a large room where the officer is already seated behind a desk across the room. “Do come in,” he says to them as they hesitate in the doorway.

“There’re no supplies here!” James says accusingly as they enter the room. Tinok, who’s bringing up the rear, is nudged in the back with something sharp. Looking behind him, he sees one of the crossbowmen right behind him, the crossbow close to his back. The other two crossbowmen have dismounted and are following them inside.

The officer smiles at them and says, “Of course not, I’m surprised you even believed me.” He gestures to four other crossbowmen on the second floor balcony overlooking the room. “Please, don’t try anything,” he says to James and the others, “it would be, unpleasant.”

“What are you going to do?” Jiron asks.

A couple soldiers enter from a side door and begin taking their things from them, including James’ backpack. “My orders are simple; detain anyone passing through the area.”

They search them and take their weapons, including the knives of Jiron and Tinok.

“What happened to the people who use to live here?” Delia inquires.

“Alas, they objected to us being here so had to be dealt with,” he explains.

“Dealt with?” she asks, afraid of the answer.

“Yes my dear, dealt with,” he says to her. “Now they stay in their homes and don’t bother us any more.”

When they’re done with removing everything from them but the clothes on their back, they place all of it on the desk. The officer says a few words to one of them in their language and then turns to their prisoners. “Now, just follow this soldier here and he’ll take you to your cell.”

“Why are we being locked up?” Tinok asks angrily.

“Would you rather we just kill you now?” he asks.

James can hear Cassie gasp and quickly says, “No, that won’t be necessary.”

“Good,” he says, giving them a smile, “then please follow along peacefully and you won’t be hurt.”

A soldier leads them through a back door into a hallway lined with solid looking wooden doors, each containing a small barred window. The soldier opens the cell doors and has them enter, one per cell. He puts three of them on one side and three on the other. Once they’re in and the doors are secured, the soldier takes up position in a chair at the end of the hallway.

James hears Cassie sobbing, but fortunately everyone has the good sense to keep quiet while the guard is there and can overhear everything they say.

“Don’t worry Cassie,” Tinok’s voice can be heard saying. “I’m sure they’ll let us go once they realize we’re no threat to them.”